LBS- During Baltimore’s touchdown drive in the second quarter, Flacco split out to wide receiver as Lamar Jackson entered the game to take a snap at quarterback. The play was a 5-yard rush by Jackson, setting up a 2nd-and-5 from the Cincinnati 8.
Flacco’s showed extreme disinterest during the play, mostly standing straight up and not moving. Aikman, who was calling the game with Joe Buck for NFL Network, said Flacco was “not happy” about having to move. “If I’m Joe Flacco, I’m not happy about it,” Aikman said. “Joe’s not going to say anything, but I can tell you deep down, he doesn’t like it. If you’re a pocket passer, you’re the quarterback, you do not like running out to the wide receiver position and letting somebody else play quarterback. It’s as simple as that. They talked to me about it one time … that was not gonna happen. I don’t think Joe’s real thrilled about some of the things within that system with Lamar Jackson within that offense.” ----- Here's the thing, Troy Aikman is probably right. Joe Flacco, a Super Bowl winning quarterback, probably does loathe being used as an utterly useless prop during the limited amount of plays that have officially started the process of his replacement. I don't think there's all that much doubt that some resentment is harbored by an old dog as his body and its language make him a bystander to new tricks. That being said, I think it's best we leave the verbalization of those entirely assumed whimpers to the man that would have to answer to the legitimacy of them. For the most part, last night was a painful reminder of exactly why exactly no one that doesn't eat at Joe Flacco's dinner table really gives a damn what Joe Flacco wants. Each off-target toss, of which there were many, might as well have been accompanied by a ticking clock sound effect, as it's only a matter of time before the lights go out on the man whose professional career has largely been powered by the ridiculous amount of lightning he happened to catch in a bottle (that was presumably first emptied during the intoxication of his playoff opponents)...
I'm pretty sure he knows that, which is why mum is the word most used when he speaks of any type of quarterback controversy. Lamar Jackson is the Ravens' future because of both their present and their recent past at his particular position, not in spite of it. You'd think the color commentator for a national, primetime broadcast would be able to work that fact into his analysis when taking it upon himself to fictionalize a player's feelings. Joe Flacco should have plenty of time to become a miserable malcontent if he keeps playing his way onto the bench, but - as he's done so many times before - can we let him make that awful decision on his own accord? Sidenote: I would say there is no reason to keep an immobile, uninterested player on the field when that position could be manned by an actual playmaker. However, the visual of a quarterback that was racially type-cast as a receiver during the draft process motioning the statuesque white dude he's replacing out wide quenches my undying thirst for irony, and I don't want to dehydrate.
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Listen, I'm not one to tell people how to spend their money. If Victor Rask is fond of the frugality of prepping his own food like one of us peasants then all the power to him...and his surgical team. There's definitely something to be said about rounding yourself into form as a functioning adult by knowing you way around the kitchen, so I'm not going to imply that learning to dice your own veggies isn't a fairly respectable initiative. It's just my personal belief that there is even more to be said about rounding yourself into form as a professional athlete who is making multiple millions of dollars a year for the foreseeable future by maintaining round fingertips as opposed to accidentally mixing them in with the onions. Point being, it's a slap in the face to every idiot that dreams of having the annual salary to be served professionally prepared meals, that perfectly intertwine nutritional value and taste, from the comfort of his/her own couch. Daily sustenance is the type of thing that people of modest means convince themselves to take pride in because they know they have to do it anyway, so why not do it well? Being a good cook, while being an honorable quality, is just wildly overrated when you have the money to make sure the hand that feeds you both has all its fingers and belongs to great chef. Therefore, if I were Victor Rask, I would need no more incentive than the overdone jokes (as he's not even the first pro athlete to fall victim to culinary cluelessness this year) currently being made at his expense on the internet to put down the knife and pick up the checkbook. The slight risk of sawing yourself is for the common folk, and it isn't worth the self-rewarding feeling of a pat on one's own back that works double duty in helping an amateur cook choke down his food. By rough estimate, making 4 million per year in the Carolinas is like making 40 million per year elsewhere, so it's about time he splits the difference as opposed to his shooting hand. WGRZ- Buffalo Bills' fans headed to the game on Sunday will have to deal with new rules to curb excessive drinking prior to games, a new ticket policy and traffic changes.
At 8am, Abbot Road will be closed to vehicle traffic between the entrance to Lot 4 and Lot 2. All traffic will be diverted at that time. Fans will still be able to access the private lots along Abbott Road if you're coming from the south. Beginning at 9am, parking lots at New Era Field will open. Erie County Sheriff's deputies will be looking to eliminate excessive consumption of alcohol and checking for glass bottles. They are also reminding fans that they need to adhere to the "Fan Code of Conduct", which also includes the parking lots. Table slamming will not be permitted and those who violate the rule will be ejected and could face criminal charges. ---- First of all, this seems like too little, too late. You don't just allow of culture of rampant and raucous degeneracy to develop for years on end, and then all the sudden rein in it without warning. If I know Bills Mafia like I think I know Bills Mafia, this attempt at pouring a little water on their (figurative and literal) fire will have the exact same exact effect as gasoline. Good luck to the cops, I guess, but something tells me they are going to need a goddamn SWAT team to even slightly curb binge drinking in Buffalo on a gameday. Putting a stop to the breaking of tables? Ha! Why not just allocate another resource or two and achieve world peace while they are at it? Second of all, now?!? Now is when you want Bills fans to start behaving themselves? After having an impotent Ravens team put up 47 points on the team with which they live and die the week prior? They are about to lay witness to a dumpster fire of a season that will more than likely put to shame the actual dumpster they lit on fire. A season that, even by their insanely low standards, has all the makings of a complete shit show, and they are supposed to endure it while somewhat sober? I wouldn't let my worst enemy invest emotionally in a team that was led by Nathan Peterman/Josh Allen, never mind one that kept the pocket about as protected as the sex taking place in the back of a pickup truck 100 yards outside Gate D, without first having him meet the bottom of the bottle. Therefore, come hell or Miller High Life, I know that the lovable losers who live and breathe solely so that they can make it to the next life-threatening tailgate wouldn't dare let their Bills Mafia brethren suffer that fate either. Not only should these cops call for backup now, but their backup should call for backup now.
The trade of a transcendent talent that can play half the game, and change each and every facet of it in the process, netting merely a future 1st round pick and a handful of guys whose names could just as easily be replaced by those from a neighborhood petition to enforce speeding more strictly should be shocking. The Senators holding strong to their demands for a good chunk of last season and the entirety of the summer, only to turn around and flip an absolute freak of a future Hall Of Famer at the most sought after of position for a "who's who?" of San Jose's farm system should have me picking up the pieces of my jaw off the floor. I just can't say that it does. Look no further than the Sharks' team that just added another predator to the most dangerous of depths in their pool of defenseman getting more value out of Mike Hoffman than the team he helped make toxic in the first place for proof that the worst the NHL has to offer is just that for a reason...
Getting fleeced for Erik Karlsson might be one of the more egregious examples of organizational incompetence, but that's probably only because Marc Bergevin has run out of open beers to ask his fellow GM's to hold. Bad teams make bad trades, and it's gotten to a point where they do so with such a clear lack of shame that I can no longer, in good conscience, act surprised. Eugene Melnyk has already shown his greed by threatening to move the team, so the idea that the man who works under him chose quantity over quality is, if nothing else, extremely on-brand. What this means for San Jose is that they will fittingly terrorize teams with the 1-2 punch of Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson, while somehow still having more than enough veteran star power up front to threaten the best the Western Conference has to offer. That said, this deal was such a no-brainer from the Sharks end that the more intriguing aspect of it sort of feels like the active brainlessness of a victim that now seems as though it was just wading in the trade waters while soaked in its own blood.
Narrator: "...but, the move was, in fact, not right at all." Look, you don't need me to tell you it's a bad idea to give a rookie, who is notably rough-around-the-edges, his first nod against the same quality defense that's less than one year removed from chewing up and spitting out the Bills' last attempt at a starting quarterback in less than one half of football. That's partially because it's pretty obvious that both Josh Allen and his confidence are going to get pounded while failing to find a single playmaker from behind a line that's easier to blow through than some nose candy. Mostly, however, it's because the person who made that call in the first place tried to say otherwise so many times it became obvious that he was actually just trying to convince himself. Honestly, as he's left staring wide-eyed at the ceiling on Saturday night, Sean McDermott might as well try falling asleep to the above tweet on loop, as subjectively blind reinforcement is as good a reason as any to believe that Sunday won't be a complete debacle. Now, that's not to say that starting Josh Allen is the wrong move, but that's only because I don't think you can say they have a wrong move available to them if there's no potential right move to offset it. If they toss Nathan Peterman to the dogs again then they might end up on the hook for the three decades of therapy he's going to need to get over the experience, so if starting Josh Allen is the right move then it's because "right" and "only" have become synonyms in Sean McDermott's vocabulary. Saying the man is in a lose-lose situation really doesn't feel like it does justice to what's bound to be a massacre, no matter who gets sacrificed under center.
First and foremost, a tip of the thinking cap to Sean McVay. I can barely piece together the sequence of events from last night (even if it was largely spent on my couch), never mind games I just finished sinking the entirety of my emotional availability into. Meanwhile, he's out here with a mental rolodex of his entire life's work. I do question whether his memory of the calls that didn't work and the defenses that were successful is quite as sharp, as I can't imagine a forced throwaway on 2nd-and-12 from his own 20 is taking up the same amount of real estate in his brain as the touchdown drives that reinforce his confidence in it. Nevertheless, the fact that his internal filing cabinet goes back to his days at his old job is highly, highly impressive. As an aside, however, doesn't this make any organization that has taken their coaching search to the doorstep of those not-so-recently departed from the league look all the more stupid? I'm not saying every youthful, exuberant football mind that can tell you what he ate 6 weeks to Sunday is cut out to be a head coach in the National Football League, but I am saying I'd rather take my chances on relatively young guy with fresh thoughts and a relevant memory than a 50 or 60-something year old that can barely recall forcing his firing the first time around. The Sean McVay's of the world are obviously one-in-a-million, but I'd take a poor man's version of him before backing up the Brinks truck to a 55 year old Jon Gruden who likely misremembers how far he had to walk uphill to school both ways. Teams has definitely trended younger and younger in the hiring process as of late, but it's weird that the coaching carousel was ever cluttered with those whose doctors have to constantly remind them to monitor their heart rate before getting on rides that go round-and-round.
And as comes as a result of all tragedies, we are given yet another reminder that life - as the teammates, friends, and families of the most innocent of victims never knew it before - does indeed go on, even if it is somewhat uncomfortable in doing so. I caught myself re-watching an NHL playoff game from last season yesterday, and when the camera happened to pan across the sticker that graced the back of every player's helmet in memoriam of the Humboldt Broncos my heart instinctually sank. The only affiliation I have with a junior team from a province in Canada that I'll never feel comfortable spelling without Google is that I too have ridden in a bus to play competitive hockey. Yet, the mere sight of their logo still resonated with me five months after it became internationally known for the most senseless of reason. I guess what I am trying to say is that, regardless of the game's necessity to go on, it took courage for every person in that building last night to take the most daunting of steps forward into a house that, to some, still needs to be made un-synonymous with horror. In its totality, what ended up a loss on the scoreboard for the Humboldt Broncos was a massive win for their community, but it certainly wasn't accompanied by the type of unadulterated joy that comes with most victories. Instead, I'd imagine the emotions were quite conflicting at every single level of an organization that, try as it may, will never quite be the same again. As refreshing as it was to see that particular team and that particular crowd erupt with excitement upon the scoring of their season opening goal, it seemed only as long overdue as it seemed way too soon. I'm no therapist, but I'd presume that's what it's supposed to feel like when you move forward while paying mind to those passed. I can't possibly comprehend what it must have been like to step foot on that rink knowing what it meant to so many people. I do, however, know that every stride taken on that ice was much more powerful in a figurative sense than it was a literal sense for those saying hello to a new season before saying one more goodbye to some old friends. Drew Brees Was As Humble As Ever In Saying That Baker Mayfield Could Be "A Lot Better" Than Him9/13/2018
I wouldn't say I am surprised by the humility shown by someone who is constantly working to prove he's as near perfect a person as he is a player, but I will say that I'm somewhat sickened by it in this instance. From a future first ballot Hall Of Famer who will, before the halfway mark of this very season, have thrown for the most yards in NFL history, the claim that a rookie who has yet to have taken a regular season snap could be a lot better than him is so preposterous that it would sound like outright sarcasm from the mouth of someone even slightly less modest. Aaron Rodgers probably has the most arm talent the league has ever seen, and to consider him substantially better than Drew Brees would be stretch. Therefore, I'm going to go ahead and say that, while Baker Mayfield is a promising player with a presumably bright future, the eventual best quarterback to ever grace the planet he is not. Now, I will encourage Saints' fan to shed a layer or two, for the incoming take might be a little hot for some of them to handle, but I actually do think that Baker Mayfield could be as good as Drew Brees. In the perfect world where, as a member of the Cleveland Browns, he develops unmatched mechanics, the ability to see through, around, and over lineman that dwarf him, a pocket presence that would make your wallet self-conscious, a manipulation of defensive backs that borders on mind control, the type of accuracy that makes everyone he throws to better, and an insane work ethic, they are basically the same player. As a quarterback that's six feet tall on a good day, who has a sneaky amount of athleticism, slightly above average arm strength, a chip on his shoulder, and an unrelenting competitive streak, what's stopping Baker Mayfield from having a drink at the bar set by Drew Brees? Besides the aforementioned list of things that the latter has worked tireless to prefect under the meticulous mentoring of the offensive genius of Sean Payton, I can't think of anything. All Baker Mayfield has to do is find a brilliant play-caller to share a brain with and go as far above and beyond in outsmarting his often exaggerated physical limitations as anyone in the history of sports and when it comes to keeping Drew Brees company in the record books...hey, it could happen!
I'm going to go ahead and do what's become far too easy to do recently, and disagree with Jon Gruden. With the myriad of things that have stunk up the joint in and around the Raiders' facilities of late, I think you actually do have to see a skunk to definitively claim it's responsible for the odiferous aura emanating in Oakland's locker room. Seeing as I have never heard of a skunk taking residence inside a building, I think I might take a whiff of the personnel decisions, the quarterback play, the recently re-inhabited stall of Khalil Mack, and the ripeness of the oldest roster in football before blaming an unseen scavenger. I understand Jon Gruden blindly hoping that it's a skunk, as animal control can't cage the rotting philosophies of an out-of-date head coach, but it might really just be six of one and a half-dozen of the other when it comes to what smells so off in Oakland. In all seriousness, while I'm not a religious man, some things are just too fitting not to have happened for a reason. A black-and-white animal running around the Raiders' facilities spewing it's ungodly stench while otherwise undetected is one of those things, because it's contaminating an organization that was somehow already in need of a tomato juice soak, if not a full blown housecleaning.
TribLive- Former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew says he has spoken to Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell. He revealed on "The Dave Dameshek Football Program" that the two had a conversation before the Week 1 matchup in Cleveland.
Among the topics discussed, MJD says Bell wasn't happy that his teammates talked about his contract publicly, but he was still rooting for them Sunday in the season-opener against the Browns. Jones-Drew also said that Bell is happy for James Conner, but that Bell should feel justified in staying away from the team because of it. His thinking is that if Conner got 31 carries, how many more than that would've been given to Bell? More importantly, Jones-Drew said that Bell had a return strategy in place that may have been impacted by his teammates publicly commenting about his contractual status. "I don't know when he comes back," Jones-Drew said. "He had a plan. He told me, but I will never say it. I knew. But then I didn't know because all this stuff came out after the players said (what they did about his contract)." -------- And that is why it is best to mind your damn business, with "business" being the operative word in what is nothing more than one man's financial dispute with his employer. To be very clear, I am skeptical that Le'Veon Bell, who gave not a one single indication that he planned on signing a franchise tag any time soon, is only now speaking of a hypothetical plan return now that said plan has supposedly been foiled by the loose lips of his teammates. It just seems like a very convenient way to lay the blame for his absence at the feet of those currently in line with the franchise for which he's at odds. That being said, we'll probably never know if Le'Veon Bell's alleged intention to show up to work was simply a conveniently timed line of bullshit, or something that was soured by the sharp words of his fellow Steelers. For what's it worth, with is really just the swaying of public sentiment at this point, Pittsburgh's All-Pro workhorse was only given more of a reason to stick things out from his sofa after getting run over by the bus his teammates threw him under. Again, I have a hard time believing that things were on the verge of magically getting better, but a select few members of the Steelers offensive definitely made things worse by inserting their opinion into an argument in which only money should have been talking.
Racial generalizations aside, I can't help but think that Diego Lainez and the rest of his fellow ankle-biters owe the sub-6-foot community an apology for succumbing to every stereotype that haunts the vertically challenged. After all, if there is one venue that proves Randy Newman wrong in providing short people that all-too-elusive reason to live, it's professional soccer stadiums all over the world... Some of the most professionally and sexually accomplished futbol'ers on the planet couldn't even kick it with their friends while on line for the big boy rollercoaster. Therefore, while they say that the one-eyed man is king in the land of the blind, I say that the 6'4 yankee is the freak on the pitch of the petite. Unfortunately, that proclamation rings pretty hollow when one height joke has a legion of Napoleon's cocking their complexes and ready to sick their insecurities on those that intentionally play way, way down to them. As demeaning as that measuring stick mockery was, you have to act like you've been there before if you're Diego Lainez, and by "there" I mean 3-4 inches below the average male's line of sight. So either fake a jumper in his face, as Matt Miazga clearly sucked as a shooting guard growing up, or go the "sticks and stones may break my bones, but cricking my neck to look you in the eyes will never hurt me" route. If not because shortness is a stature that serves you well in soccer then because getting defensive and jumping up and down in desperation is sure to make you look far worse when getting dunked on. LATimes- Allegations that two students at Bernstein High in Hollywood spiked the water at a junior varsity football practice with a male enhancement drug prompted an investigation that led to the dismissal of varsity coach Luis Barajas. The investigation of the July 12 incident discovered that Barajas had failed to notify school officials or parents that players had possibly ingested contaminated water until two weeks later, according to a report The Times obtained through the Public Records Act. Barajas, who was dismissed Aug. 7, also was cited in the report for failing to secure a permit for practice. The report showed the investigation discovered the athletics department had not properly vetted an assistant coach and that the school allowed students to practice before their academic eligibility was verified. “No parent complaints were received at Bernstein, school police [were] not involved, no testing of the alleged contaminated water took place and there [were] no student illness reports,” according to a statement by the general counsel’s office for Los Angeles Unified School District. Dr. Richard Ferkel, a San Fernando Valley-based orthopedic surgeon, said it would be difficult to determine the potential danger if a teenager ingested a male enhancement drug without knowing how much was digested. He said if anyone was taking medication with nitrates because of high blood pressure, consumption of a male enhancement drug could produce a change in blood pressure. -------- Ahhhh... Look, I don't mean to act like having the water supply tainted with medication meant for men two generations their elder isn't the type of thing you'd want to put an end to in a high school locker room. If only because the pranks would only stand to become more severe, you should definitely discourage your players or their peers from drugging themselves with dick pills. However, considering the terrible, awful, no good, very bad things we read about teenagers (and particularly jocks) doing to each other now-a-days, is it possible that it was an overreaction to can a coach for his decision to take under his own advisement (i.e. ignorance) the slightly increased awkwardness of boyish boners? I don't know, maybe I'm underestimating how detrimental a spike in blood pressure can be for those at the most unbreakable of age, but is reporting to your higher ups that your players may be feeling a little longer in the shorts really necessary when not one of them experienced any other side effect? Sort of feels like an "all's well that ends...(wait for it)...swell"-type situation. As far as I can tell, the extent of this coach's transgressions were saving his players the embarrassment of talking to adults about their penis, not procuring the type of permit that ultimately gets racist white people shamed on the internet, and letting the dumb kids get some reps. That not really all that inexcusable given the grandness of the scheme of negligent supervision in youth sports these days. Hell, if you compare it to homoerotic harassment and minors molesting each other, it actually seems kind of funny.
Welp, going viral for all the right reasons is certainly one way to avoid being scoffed at as the social pariah of sport in a locker room full of tumultuous teens and throughout the hallways that serve as an aggressive gauntlet of ruthless assholes. The truth is, I can't imagine that high school squads, who split the uprights at a rate of success that would make the Chargers' kicking unit feel special about their teams, roster kids who bring nothing more to the table than an undeveloped and unreliable leg. That touchdown was impressive regardless, but the dude who, without hesitation, scooped an errant ball and started shedding tacklers like they were pubescent insecurities more than likely also plays a position in which he spends a lot of time with it in his hands. What I really, really want to imagine, however, is that he had one job and one job only, and when that job went awry he instinctually turned into Barry Sanders just to desperately avoid the wrath of the most prickly of peers. Achieving 15 seconds of fame is nice, but not being mocked by malicious minors is even nicer. I know it's extremely unlikely that a Young Gostkowski incredibly hulked into a Young Gronk out of self preservation, but Colin Kaepernick once said to believe in something...even if it means sacrificing everything. Therefore, my credibility is just the price I'll have to pay for treating the ultimate zero-to-hero, survival-of-the-fittest-type transformation as an undeniable truth.
LBS- Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported on Sunday that some of Patricia’s methods were not well-received in his first offseason with the Detroit Lions. Like Belichick, Patricia went hard on players in training camp, which many of them were apparently not accustomed to.
“Matt Patricia went really hard on these guys in camp. There was a lot of contact there. There’s a lot of harsh criticism, from what I’m told,” Garafolo said. “There’s not a lot of, ‘Hey, good job!’ There’s a lot of, ‘Hey, bad job, bleep, bleep, bleep.'” Garafolo also said Patricia has implemented a lot of new rules for the team, including one that states you can’t take any photos from inside the locker room and post them on social media. “Matt Patricia is trying to establish some kind of culture there, and the veterans are not very happy,” he said. ------- Huh, who knew?!? Adopting the hard ass approach from quite possibly the best coach in the history of the sport doesn't quite fly when the players you're trying to get on board attribute all of your personal success to working alongside said coach. What a shocker! I thought it was toootally a coincidence that almost every person that branched out on the Bill Belichick coaching tree went too far too fast before quickly snapping their tenure as an NFL head coach off at the trunk. Guess I have no choice but to assume there's something to it now that a team that accomplished nothing more than mediocrity before his arrival couldn't even make it to Week 1 before growing tired of giving their new head coach the benefit of the doubt. To be clear, I'm nearly certain that the Detroit Lions, of all teams, aren't the one that knows how to get the best out of themselves, but - like most - they are one in which you first have to build trust to not be seen as a blowhard. If you recall what the response was from Patriots' players when Eagles O-lineman Lane Johnson implied it wasn't "fun" playing in New England, it was something along the lines of "winning is fun". Unfortunately, that's only a card that a coach can play when he, himself, has orchestrated a hell of a lot of winning. Now, I have absolutely no idea what Matt Patricia was preaching behind closed doors throughout training camp, but if last night was any indication then it didn't take too long for it to fall directly on deaf ears. That's an insanely bad sign for someone who looked as overwhelmed as his players were underwhelming in getting trounced in every phase of the game. Therefore, he might wanted to loosen up on the poor man's Bill Belichick act and switch up a thing or two before he's the next in a long line of coordinators who didn't understand what awaited them when they flew the most non-nonsense of nests and actually had to establish a culture, as opposed to reinforcing one.
First, a mild concern. Documentaries require cameras, camera crews can be a distraction, and a young team that made no significant upgrades after making the playoffs by all of one single point last season can't afford distractions. I hardly think what was a hungry team has been made complacent by a postseason appearance, especially considering the fact that said postseason appearance was of the humbling variety. Still, John Hynes' responsibility to keep his team focused towards taking the next step in becoming a true contender is undoubtedly made at least a little more difficult by contending for their attention with those eventually relaying their inner-workings to a television audience. Luckily, what some (myself not included) may perceive John Hynes to lack in personnel expertise, he more than makes up for in motivational tactics and leadership qualities. If there's one thing that was undeniably true about the New Jersey Devils last year it's that they may as well have worn a patch bearing Taylor Hall's likeness, as the logo on the front of their jersey was basically synonymous with the name on #9's back. However, if there was a second thing that was undeniably true about the New Jersey Devils last year, it's that they bought completely in to the coaching staff's vision and message. For that reason, I have actively suppressed that initial concern in prioritizing the excitement born of the opportunity to get a second-hand look into something that was once as rarely seen at the Prudential Center as a regular season beard. That, of course, being an exciting and fun Devils' team that is likable both on and off the ice. As a fan, I've personally found the outdated 'boring' label to be as unintelligible as it was lazy, but the the truth of the matter is that giving the team we saw last year any amount of the airtime they've been denied by the NHL and NBC Sports will entirely disarm those that still repeat it ad nauseam. In both play and personality, the Devils are as intriguing as a group as they have ever been. That has a lot to do them presumably confiscating personalities at the door until Ray Shero showed up, but it's also has to do with his long overdue commitment to patience providing them captivating young talent like that of Nico Hischier, Will Butcher, Jesper Bratt, and Miles Wood to satisfy the Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri types that can suddenly see a fruitful future in New Jersey. This idea doesn't get signed off on unless the front office and the coaching staff believed in the cohesiveness of a young group that's entirely capable of dispelling a stereotype that dates back to last century. Therefore, I can't wait to flip to NHL Network and watch them do just that in preparation of building on the enthusiasm they inspired last season. I think the reward outweighs the risk, even if both make Lou Lamoniello's stone-face sour, as what was once his fortress gets glorified as an inviting and entertaining workplace with the ability to attract professional athletes.
Maybe my lack of familiarity with the amount of loose screws required to compete in motorcycle racing had me thinking they misspelled 'detainment' when I read that Romano Fenati received a disqualification for a move that seems like it's one step short of cutting someone's breaks. Like, ignorance must have been bliss, because I was fairly happy living in a world in which high speed attempts at vehicular homicide were more likely to be punishable by a prison sentence than a short two-race ban. To be fair, I think most sports benefit from branding a "bad boy", but maybe not the sport that entails whipping around a race track on a two-wheeled death trap at upwards of 135 MPH, as petty gamesmanship is decidedly less entertaining when it's potentially fatal. I don't know, I'm probably the wrong person to make this call, but slapping Romano Fenati with a restraining order to remain at least 100 yards away from all forms of transportation seems like the move here. At the very least it's a better option than giving him some alone time to work out his own psychosis, since he clearly can't keep his hands to himself in a sport in which your life should probably only end up in your own hands. UPDATE: This is more like it. Credit to him for at least halfhearted admitting he was wrong before making excuses as to why...
NBCSports- In the team’s season-opening 33-13 drubbing at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams, Jared Goff sat back and picked the Raiders' secondary apart. Without a pass rush pressuring the third-year pro out of Cal, he opened up the field with his arm. With the defense chasing, the Rams turned to star running back Todd Gurley to further complicate matters.
“When you can run the ball like they ran in the second half, it’s very hard to rush the passer,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “Obviously, we didn’t get to Goff enough, and we didn’t get to Gurley enough. We’ll take a good look at the reasons why we didn’t.” ------- I almost...almost...feel bad for Jon Gruden. There's just absolutely nothing he can say without sounding stupid. Maybe that's fitting, as the decision that put him in this position was decidedly dumb. That said, it'll be years until we learn exactly how dumb it was to create another gapping hole in a Raiders' defense that was already filled with them by trading away the type of transformative talent that can cover up the deficiencies of the men behind him...
Unfortunately, until that time arrives, the urge to chastise Chucky literally every time Khalil Mack has a great game is going to be too much to resist. Add in his insistence that he has his answer at quarterback, and every time Derek Carr puts forth a performance that makes his contract (that's eerily similar to the one the otherworldly pass rusher was asking for) seem laughable is going to damn near demand ire. We are just one week into the Jon Gruden era, and already everything that could go wrong predictably has gone wrong. In a little over a 24 hour period, Khalil Mack did all he could in dragging the Bears by their balls in a heartbreaking loss to a division rival and Derek Carr aimlessly lofted up any chance that the Raiders might have had against a superior Rams team into the awaiting arms of their secondary...
If things keep up at this pace, even the undefeated internet might manage to exhaust itself of mocking Jon Gruden before one of his shiny new first round picks has an actual name and face. He can't even utter the words "pass rush" without making football fans from far and wide do the social media equivalent of smacking him on his sunburned nose with a rolled up newspaper. Any defense he offers for himself is about as leaky as the one he put on the field last night, and there's no real reason to believe it's going to get better (or he's going to get less delusional) anytime soon.
Isn't it just great to see a young player put into execution everything he learned through the mentorship of a more experienced and accomplished player that unofficially adopted him as a little brother so many years ago? Almost brings a tear to my eye to see just how diligent Marcus Peters was in sponging up all that Marshawn Lynch had to offer as a role model only to put it on full display in front of him in the city that raised them both. That tear, of course, being one of laughter, as a flying, spinning groin grab that puts an explicit exclamation point on both a game-sealing pick-6 and the disappointment of the degenerates in The Black Hole is hilariously disrespectful, but the time and place it was broken out is as much on the teacher as it is the student. Nothing Marshawn Lynch can really do but shrug his shoulders and chuckle after watching his protege fully embrace the mode of the beast. After all, Marcus Peters decision to tell the city of Oakland to hold his dick was more of a tribute to the friend-turned-family member that taught him the art of junk-centric celebrations a little too well than it was a slap in the face to the pride of his hometown. At least I think it was, as there is more than enough reasons to believe that adding insult to injury is a key part of Marshawn Lynch's lesson plan...
I am fully aware that young passers do dumb things that they are told, ad nauseam, not to do. Sam Darnold isn't the first, nor will he be the last rookie to get under center and immediately forget everything he ever learned once facing the fire of NFL competition for the first time in which it actually counts. That being said, I just had a hard time believing that Sam Darnold's very first play would have resulted in him breaking the cardinal rule of quarterbacking in such inexcusable fashion had that snap been taken in any other jersey (minus that of the Cleveland Browns). Interceptions get delivered in all forms and fashions, but a late, off-balance throw traveling all the way back across to the far side of the field is, without question, the one most guaranteed to result in the gift wrapping of six points to the defense. For that reason, that dumb of a decision, made that promptly in his debut, just reeks of the type of self-fulfilling prophecy that's been known to creep up and smack New York Jets' quarterback prospects in the face faster than the ass of their own offensive lineman. I personally think Sam Darnold is going to develop into a good player and a quality leader. In fact, as his team currently leads by a touchdown at halftime, he's already shown some damn good glimpses into how bright his future may be. However, the fact that he started off by looking as though he was playing the position in the dark is just too damn fitting of the franchise that drafted him for its past not to be at least partially responsible. Only fair I sneak in the first touchdown pass too...
— Adarius Zabri Lemons 32 (@adariuslemons) September 9, 2018 I'd imagine the truth is that this was decision that has been in the works for awhile now. Adarius Lemons is a kid who moved around in high school, de-and-re-committed multiple times, and was playing his first game of his sophomore season following a suspension to start the year. There's plenty of reasons for him to want out of an environment that plays pretty heavily to him ending up in more trouble sooner rather than later, especially if he doesn't see eye-to-eye with the coaching staff. Therefore, this loss was probably nothing more than the last straw. That said, the truth isn't anywhere near as funny as the idea of a otherwise content student-athlete having the entirety of the camel's back broken by the disappointment of suffering through the snapping of a 31-year winning streak. I don't think that one loss during a football season could convince a player to take to his notepad to up and transfer schools after mere minutes of self-reflection, but if (and only if) one could then it would probably be one that came at home at the in-conference hands of the SEC's branded basketball school for the first time since 1986. Kentucky football rarely gets credit for demoralizing anyone other than their own fans out of any building, so I'm giving the Wildcats full credit for Adarius Lemons' immediate decision that he had officially squeezed all the juice out of his time in Gainesville. And that's the bottom line...
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