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NFL Random Thought of the Day

Commanders S Jeremy Reaves did in fact suffer a torn ACL that will require surgery....…The injury actually happened back in Week 5.........ACL #25.
 
Arthur Smith doesn’t seem to understand the problem with concealing Bijan Robinson’s illness
By Mike Florio
Published October 25, 2023 04:53 PM

Falcons coach Arthur Smith just doesn’t understand the problem with the concealment of running back Bijan Robinson’s illness on Sunday.

On Wednesday, Smith was dismissive and flippant about the situation. As noted earlier, Smith called the issue and the league’s investigation of it “sensationalized things.”

“I understand outrage and drama sells,” Smith said. “Guys, like, if you really understand how things really operate that there’s nothing, there’s nothing there. So I don’t know what, I haven’t given one second of thought about it.”

He apparently has given at least one second of thought about it, because Smith also riffed on the implications of a world in which teams are required to disclose player workload.

“Teams have to prepare for our three running backs, right?” Smith said. “It’s whoever has the hot hand. Maybe I’ll have to go tell [Titans coach Mike Vrabel], ‘Hey, [Tyler] Allegier got the hot hand. I’m gonna give him fifteen carries.’ Maybe that’s what I need to do. If that’s where we’re headed. Just make sure I don’t upset anybody and their fantasy team. So maybe I’ll yell across to [Vrabel], ‘Hey we’re gonna give [Cordarrelle Patterson] another carry here.’”

This isn’t about coaching decisions made with a full complement of healthy players. This is about hiding information that would have allowed people to consider whether a player might not have his full complement of work.

The NFL regularly talks about a desire to preserve and protect “the integrity of the game.” The NFL also needs to be concerned about the integrity of any wagers made on the game. Hiding an illness to a key player on fantasy football for money, daily fantasy games for money, and a variety of legal prop wagers for money undermines the integrity of those wagers.

Think of it this way. If you’re at the craps table, and the dice have a defect that might cause certain numbers to be far less likely to come up than others, you’ll factor that into your betting decisions.

People inclined to risk legally hard-earned money on fantasy football or prop bets need to know whether, in this case, a player like Bijan Robinson might not be putting up his usual numbers because he might not be getting his usual workload.

That’s why he had only one touch. It wasn’t about someone naturally developing a hot hand. It was Smith and the Falcons hiding Robinson’s hot mess of an illness.

As we’ve said all week, there’s an incentive for teams to keep such things secret. The NFL must create a disincentive that sufficiently outweighs the incentive to hide such matters, especially at a time when the NFL has grabbed every last gambling dollar that it can.
 
thunderkyss said:
I understand that. It's part of my argument.

It's an illegal hit. It's a good call by the refs. But it's just a penalty. He's not like Ndamukong...

The intent, I don't believe, is malevolent. He's just stupid.
Click to expand...
www.espn.com

Broncos' Simmons: Jackson far from dirty player

Broncos safety Justin Simmons ripped critics of Kareem Jackson on Wednesday, saying that nobody who has played with him would ever label him as a dirty player.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
And the horrendous last-minute game-changing Zebra calls continue unfettered..........almost seems like a revived mafia has taken over the NFL.........$$$$$$$$

*************************************************************************


Bills secure win with uncalled pass interference on Hail Mary
Published October 27, 2023 06:45 AM

Buffalo’s most recent prime-time home game before Thursday night ended with an untimed down. On Thursday night, Buffalo’s prime-time home game should have ended with an untimed down.

There was blatant interference on tight end Cade Otton, who was taken out by two Buffalo defenders just a few
feet from where the ball landed.

Here’s the play. Taylor Rapp and Christian Benford both mugged Otton.

And, yes, the ball was objectively catchable by Otton. If he hadn’t been eliminated from the play by two guys, he could have caught it.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Buccaneers were not complaining after the game about the lack of a pass interference call in that moment. The only reference to it seemed to come in backhanded fashion — with no followup by the media — from Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“Looked like a bunch of guys landing on the ground over there,” Mayfield told reporters. “I’m not sure who tripped over who.”

Nobody tripped. Rapp and Benford physically restrained Otton and eventually put him on the ground.
Even with the interference, Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin had a shot at making the catch.

“They had a guy pressed on me,” Godwin said after the game, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I had to avoid him so I’m a little late to the party. So when I get there, I just tried to look up and find the way. I wasn’t sure whether he grabbed me or not, but by the time I got my head around, I saw the ball coming in low.”

We’ve found no post-game quotes from Otton, Rapp, or Benford about the play.

Yes, the NFL has (inexplicably) applied a different standard to pass interference on Hail Mary plays. The rules contain no such distinction.

This is the operative sentence from the official rulebook: “It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball.”

No one can argue, not even a card-carrying member of Bills Mafia in mid-table dive, that Rapp and Benford did not significantly hinder Otton.

Remember when the NFL was preparing to implement its badly-failed one-year experiment with replay review for pass interference? They wrestled with the creation of a separate standard for Hail Mary plays, which amounts to a concession by the league that, in such moments, it’s to hell with the rules.

Al Michaels, deliberately or not, made a reference to the different standard for Hail Mary plays after the game ended. “You could call penalties on a bunch of guys here if you really wanted to,” he said.

They SHOULD have called penalties on Rapp and Benford, and the Bucs should have had an untimed down from the doorstep of the end zone for a chance at a walk-off win.

And, yes, this is another area where the league had better get its act together while otherwise in the act of cramming gambling dollars into every possible place that dollars can be crammed. The Bucs got screwed out of a chance to win the game because, for whatever reason, the NFL chooses to ignore blatant pass interference on desperation throws to the end zone.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
And the horrendous last-minute game-changing Zebra calls continue unfettered..........almost seems like a revived mafia has taken over the NFL.........$$$$$$$$

*************************************************************************


Bills secure win with uncalled pass interference on Hail Mary
Published October 27, 2023 06:45 AM

Buffalo’s most recent prime-time home game before Thursday night ended with an untimed down. On Thursday night, Buffalo’s prime-time home game should have ended with an untimed down.

There was blatant interference on tight end Cade Otton, who was taken out by two Buffalo defenders just a few
feet from where the ball landed.

Here’s the play. Taylor Rapp and Christian Benford both mugged Otton.

And, yes, the ball was objectively catchable by Otton. If he hadn’t been eliminated from the play by two guys, he could have caught it.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Buccaneers were not complaining after the game about the lack of a pass interference call in that moment. The only reference to it seemed to come in backhanded fashion — with no followup by the media — from Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“Looked like a bunch of guys landing on the ground over there,” Mayfield told reporters. “I’m not sure who tripped over who.”

Nobody tripped. Rapp and Benford physically restrained Otton and eventually put him on the ground.
Even with the interference, Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin had a shot at making the catch.

“They had a guy pressed on me,” Godwin said after the game, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I had to avoid him so I’m a little late to the party. So when I get there, I just tried to look up and find the way. I wasn’t sure whether he grabbed me or not, but by the time I got my head around, I saw the ball coming in low.”

We’ve found no post-game quotes from Otton, Rapp, or Benford about the play.

Yes, the NFL has (inexplicably) applied a different standard to pass interference on Hail Mary plays. The rules contain no such distinction.

This is the operative sentence from the official rulebook: “It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball.”

No one can argue, not even a card-carrying member of Bills Mafia in mid-table dive, that Rapp and Benford did not significantly hinder Otton.

Remember when the NFL was preparing to implement its badly-failed one-year experiment with replay review for pass interference? They wrestled with the creation of a separate standard for Hail Mary plays, which amounts to a concession by the league that, in such moments, it’s to hell with the rules.

Al Michaels, deliberately or not, made a reference to the different standard for Hail Mary plays after the game ended. “You could call penalties on a bunch of guys here if you really wanted to,” he said.

They SHOULD have called penalties on Rapp and Benford, and the Bucs should have had an untimed down from the doorstep of the end zone for a chance at a walk-off win.

And, yes, this is another area where the league had better get its act together while otherwise in the act of cramming gambling dollars into every possible place that dollars can be crammed. The Bucs got screwed out of a chance to win the game because, for whatever reason, the NFL chooses to ignore blatant pass interference on desperation throws to the end zone.
Click to expand...
And the LT held prior to the pass. In a perfect world, you have offsetting penalties.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
And the horrendous last-minute game-changing Zebra calls continue unfettered..........almost seems like a revived mafia has taken over the NFL.........$$$$$$$$

*************************************************************************


Bills secure win with uncalled pass interference on Hail Mary
Published October 27, 2023 06:45 AM

Buffalo’s most recent prime-time home game before Thursday night ended with an untimed down. On Thursday night, Buffalo’s prime-time home game should have ended with an untimed down.

There was blatant interference on tight end Cade Otton, who was taken out by two Buffalo defenders just a few
feet from where the ball landed.

Here’s the play. Taylor Rapp and Christian Benford both mugged Otton.

And, yes, the ball was objectively catchable by Otton. If he hadn’t been eliminated from the play by two guys, he could have caught it.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Buccaneers were not complaining after the game about the lack of a pass interference call in that moment. The only reference to it seemed to come in backhanded fashion — with no followup by the media — from Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.

“Looked like a bunch of guys landing on the ground over there,” Mayfield told reporters. “I’m not sure who tripped over who.”

Nobody tripped. Rapp and Benford physically restrained Otton and eventually put him on the ground.
Even with the interference, Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin had a shot at making the catch.

“They had a guy pressed on me,” Godwin said after the game, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I had to avoid him so I’m a little late to the party. So when I get there, I just tried to look up and find the way. I wasn’t sure whether he grabbed me or not, but by the time I got my head around, I saw the ball coming in low.”

We’ve found no post-game quotes from Otton, Rapp, or Benford about the play.

Yes, the NFL has (inexplicably) applied a different standard to pass interference on Hail Mary plays. The rules contain no such distinction.

This is the operative sentence from the official rulebook: “It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball.”

No one can argue, not even a card-carrying member of Bills Mafia in mid-table dive, that Rapp and Benford did not significantly hinder Otton.

Remember when the NFL was preparing to implement its badly-failed one-year experiment with replay review for pass interference? They wrestled with the creation of a separate standard for Hail Mary plays, which amounts to a concession by the league that, in such moments, it’s to hell with the rules.

Al Michaels, deliberately or not, made a reference to the different standard for Hail Mary plays after the game ended. “You could call penalties on a bunch of guys here if you really wanted to,” he said.

They SHOULD have called penalties on Rapp and Benford, and the Bucs should have had an untimed down from the doorstep of the end zone for a chance at a walk-off win.

And, yes, this is another area where the league had better get its act together while otherwise in the act of cramming gambling dollars into every possible place that dollars can be crammed. The Bucs got screwed out of a chance to win the game because, for whatever reason, the NFL chooses to ignore blatant pass interference on desperation throws to the end zone.
Click to expand...
Florio just trying for clicks and start some trouble... again.
The NFL has never called Hail Mary plays at the same standard they do the rest of the game... and you could call pass interference on both sides if you really wanted to. Much ado about nothing
 
Five reasons why the NFL won’t make meaningful improvements to officiating
Published October 29, 2023 10:50 AM

The NFL has been around for more than 100 years. In that time, not much has been done to change the way games are officiated.

To this very day, it’s 30 feet of chain and two sticks to determine a first down. And it’s the naked eyes of middle-aged men and women who have no helmets or pads among and around the well-armored gladiators that try to figure out what happened on the field.

Yes, replay review helps. The slowly expanding incorporation of the sky-judge concept makes things better as well. But these are Band-Aids, not solutions. The league needs to tear down the current officiating function and rebuild it in light of the many technologies that are now available to assist with the process of getting every call right.

Are that many officials on the field needed? Couldn’t some of them move to the booth level, monitoring the action from there while also reviewing all TV cameras in real time?

What about a full embrace of digital technology to determine whether a first down has been secured, or whether a touchdown has been scored? Given the ongoing advances in AI (which hopefully won’t result in all of us ending up DOA), there surely are ways to know what happens without someone having to actually see it happen.

But the NFL won’t do it — not until (for example) Congress creates an agency to regulate pro sports. And that could happen, in time. Until that time comes, nothing will change.

After years of thinking, talking, and writing about this issue, and securing viewpoints from a wide array of coaches and executives, here are the five reasons why it won’t happen.

1. Money.
The NFL is cheap. More accurately, the NFL won’t spend money unless it sees a potential return on the investment.

The NFL doesn’t see the benefit of spending the money necessary for adjustments such as full-time officials or a full embrace of digital technology. The perceived increase in accuracy doesn’t offset the actual increase in expense.

I could go on and on about this. Why do it? Few will disagree. The NFL likes making money. It doesn’t like spending money. That’s not a surprise; every business acts that way.

But remember that when the NFL spouts off about integrity of the game or whatever. At the end of the day, every decision aimed at making things better from an integrity standpoint will be balanced against how it affects things financially.

2. Effort.

Here’s an angle that a high-level source with one of the NFL’s teams recently pointed out. Beyond what massive improvements would require in the way of money, it would take time and effort.

There would need to be meetings, discussions, conversations. People who already have enough work to do would have to find time to put in even more work. And for what? What’s the upside? What’s the benefit?

It’s human nature to not try to complicate our lives. Anyone within the league office who tries to spearhead an effort to revolutionize officiating would be complicating his or her life — especially when trying to sell the idea to others who do not wish to complicate theirs.

3. Incompetence.

When I was a kid, my parents made me cut the grass. My official position was that I had horrible allergies. My unofficial reality was that I just didn’t want to do it.

So I screwed it up so badly that they never asked me to do it again.

Rewind to 2019. The NFL implemented replay review for pass interference calls and non-calls.

And they screwed it up so badly that they can now hide behind that experience as the front-line defense to any push to make big changes.

The buzz words are “unintended consequences.” The reality is that the people who are well compensated to run the sport should be equipped to envision and account for all potential consequences.

If they are, they don’t want to. If they aren’t, they won’t have to.

4. “Embrace debate.”

At one level, the NFL hates the extra scrutiny that comes from officiating blunders. On the other hand, the NFL loves it.

Several years ago, Rams coach Jeff Fisher — who also was the co-chair of the Competition Committee at the time — said during a visit to PFT Live that the periodic officiating controversies give the media something to talk about. He said it somewhat jokingly. Like every joke, a kernel of truth was rattling around in it.

The scrutiny of officiating becomes something that drives media conversation, until the next slate of bright, shiny objects arrive on the conveyor belt. Then, the latest controversy is forgotten and all focus shifts to the next game(s).

It keeps any of the various officiating blunders that happen during the regular season from getting real traction. And it’s why most changes will come only after a major controversy happens in the postseason, like it did in the Rams-Saints 2018 NFC Championship.

5. The NFL doesn’t need to do anything.

This is the best reason to explain why nothing will happen. There’s no reason to change. People keep flocking to games. Millions keep watching. Money keeps flowing.

Why change anything that doesn’t have to be changed? Why fix what isn’t broken?
Yes, officiating in many respects is broken. But how broken is it if it’s not causing the NFL to go broke?

From the team’s perspective, the bad calls even out over time. Indeed, for every bad call that happens to one team, there’s a good call that happens to the other.

For all of these reasons, the NFL won’t overhaul officiating voluntarily. Instead, the status quo will remain until a major scandal happens and, as the dust settles, some governmental authority forces the NFL to reimagine all things about officiating games in a way that gets as many calls right as possible.

Until then, nothing will happen.
 
Purdy has been cleared post concussion to play 6 days post. These ultra quick concussion rehabs do not and has never made sense to me.............other than the NFL wants their high profile QB back on the field ASAP. No matter what some may say, this "philosophy" is not a sound one for the safety of the player and does set him up for another more serious concussion.
 
JB said:
www.espn.com

'Dream come true': Levis tosses 4 TDs in debut

Titans rookie Will Levis joined Fran Tarkenton and Marcus Mariota as the only NFL quarterbacks to throw four touchdowns in their first career game.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Click to expand...
& in an Oiler's uniform no less...

Here comes @Thorn with the I told you so.

Who was that saying they thought Levis would be further along at this point in his career?
 
Tyrod Taylor sustained a massive hit to the chest and was hurried to the hospital with what was felt to be rib fractures. He is now probably being evaluated for lung contusions and pneumothorax (punctured lung). Such a hit with a sharp end of a fractured rib has to be evaluated for puncture/laceration of the spleen, liver and kidney. Praying for the young man to have avoided the more serious injuries.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Tyrod Taylor sustained a massive hit to the chest and was hurried to the hospital with what was felt to be rib fractures. He is now probably being evaluated for lung contusions and pneumothorax (punctured lung). Such a hit with a sharp end of a fractured rib has to be evaluated for puncture/laceration of the spleen, liver and kidney. Praying for the young man to have avoided the more serious injuries.
Click to expand...
That dude is snake-bit
 
www.espn.com

Sources: NFL tells UH to halt Oilers-inspired uni

The NFL sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Houston Cougars for their usage of uniforms that resemble those of the old Houston Oilers, sources confirmed to ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

"The Houston Cougars' attempt to free ride on the popularity of the NFL and the club violates the intellectual property rights of the NFL and the (Tennessee) Titans," attorney Bonnie L. Jarrett wrote in the Oct. 13 letter, according to the Chronicle, which reported the letter said the Oilers design is "among the most famous and valuable NFL marks."
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk is the daughter of former Oilers owner Bud Adams and is from Houston. Former Texans player JJ Watt often espoused a desire to wear Oilers throwbacks, but Strunk has long rebuffed any overtures from the uniforms to be used in Houston.
"I lived and played in Houston," Watt told "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday. "I wanted to wear those uniforms very badly. They have such a massive history and tradition of 'Luv Ya Blue' with Bum Phillips and everything that went on there. I understand the end with Bud Adams and everything that happened. I don't even want to get into all of that.

"I just know, having lived and played there for 10 years, and the people there and the connection they have to Earl Campbell, Warren Moon, to Billy White Shoes, to the guys that wore those uniforms and what that meant when they played in that Astrodome, it hurts to not be able to wear those in Houston and it hurts to see them being worn somewhere else."
 
I love the NFL!!!
giphy.gif



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NFL tells University of Houston to cease and desist using uniforms that look like Oilers throwbacks
By Mike Florio
Published October 30, 2023 04:20 PM

Nearly 20 years ago, the Houston Oilers left town and took their nickname with them. And they don’t want anyone to even use the color scheme that goes with that name and logo.

Via Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle, the NFL has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the University of Houston for using the Oilers’ throwback “Luv Ya Blue” uniform.

The NFL has threatened legal action if the University of Houston does not stop the allegedly “blatant copying” of Oilers throwback jerseys. The league also wants the school to “discontinue all sales of merchandise and remove any promotional campaign or social media posts that feature the popular light blue, or Columbia blue, with red stripes color scheme and design.”

The University of Houston wore the uniforms on September 2. The NFL’s letter contends that it informed the school seven months earlier that it does not consent to the use of the uniforms or similar designs.

The school says that the jerseys are “part of a nostalgic moment, paying homage to a bygone era in the city’s football history while also recognizing the city’s connection to the light blue that was a recognizable fixture for years in the Houston Police Department.”

Regardless of where the law comes down on this, it’s the latest reminder that football isn’t “family.” Football is business. And the NFL is in the business of making sure that, as to anyone who wants to buy a jersey that looks like the jersey the Oilers used to wear (and that the Titans will wear twice this year), the only way to get it is to buy it from the NFL or the Titans.
 
Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor went 4-for-7 for 8 yards passing and lost 7 yards on sacks Sunday against the Jets. After Taylor left the game with an injury, backup Tommy DeVito went 2-for-7 for -1 passing, and lost 9 yards on sacks.

Add that up, and the Giants netted -9 yards passing in the game. That’s the worst total in any NFL game this century. link
 
www.espn.com

Cards bench Dobbs; Tune set to start, per source

The Cardinals have benched quarterback Joshua Dobbs, coach Jonathan Gannon announced Monday, and a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter the team is planning to start rookie Clayton Tune on Sunday at the Cleveland Browns.
www.espn.com www.espn.com


However, earlier Monday, coach Jonathan Gannon said there's a chance Kyler Murray could start as he continues to ramp up his return from ACL surgery.

"If it's not Kyler, then it's going to be Clayton Tune," Gannon said during his news conference.
 
IDEXAN said:
At 27, 5th year in the league in last year of his contract and should be MOL at his prime, so I dunno seems like a fair price ?
Would Greenard fetch a second round pick ? Probably not.
Click to expand...
What I like about Sweat for a round two is he should be very comparable to Maxx Crosby in stats and age and only had to give up a round 2.

Comparatively, so should Greenard which I would utilize in a trade scenario. 🤔
 
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