Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Sam Bradford Posted in Seattle Seahawks

Steve Wilks on QBs: Sam Bradford is Cardinals starter, but Josh Rosen can still win it

The Cardinals have had to find a new starting quarterback since Carson Palmer retired in January, and coach Steve Wilks addressed the issue on Friday.

Arizona signed veteran quarterback Sam Bradford to a one-year deal in March, but the Cardinals also selected Josh Rosen in the first round of last month’s draft.

Sillah says he’s “looking to commit sometime before the season.”

However, he currently has no visits planed, either officially or unofficially, and is a couple weeks away from cutting down his list.

His most recent trek took place at the University of Virginia towards the beginning of April, as he’s tied up throughout the spring with lacrosse.

But what will his decision come down to once he gets to fully vet his options?

The NFL had already cut way back on the old way, where practically the entire kickoff team would line up on the same side for an onside kick. With 5×5 formations being the rule, it would seem very hard to get a recovery on an onside kick. Kickoff teams won’t get much of a running start under the new rule proposals, either.

The NFL is proposing the kickoff team won’t be able to line up more than 1 yard from the restraining line (which is the line it can’t cross before the ball is kicked, or be called for offsides), which is the 35-yard line for most kickoffs. The current rule is they can line up 5 yards behind it, for a running start. If players are lining up at the 34-yard line, that will be eliminated. Also, another new proposal states that at least two players must be lined up outside the yard marker on the field, and two players between the inbounds line and the yard-line number. That spreads the field a bit more.

Kickoff return teams will look different too The kickoff return team will face changes as well. At least eight players must be in a 15-yard setup zone before the kickoff. That means most of the kickoff return team will be bunched up closer to midfield.

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Jason Garrett Posted in Seattle Seahawks

Three guards among seven undrafted additions to Panthers

The Panthers didn’t draft any offensive linemen this year, which helps explain why their group of undrafted free agent signings includes three guards.

Taylor Hearn of Clemson, Brendan Mahon of Penn State and Kyle Bosch of West Virginia will all join Carolina at next week’s rookie minicamp in what they hope is the first step toward making the 53-man roster later this year. All three were starters for multiple seasons in college and will compete for roles on an unsettled interior offensive line.

Brian Allen is a short, stout center with three years of starting experience for the Spartans. He has adequate quickness and can out-leverage his defenders. Top defensive tackles will put Allen between two slices of bread and munch on him if he tries to block them one-on-one. Positioning-and-technique centers like Allen often stick in the NFL for years because coaches trust them as spot starters, but Allen has limited upside. The Rams are adding depth along an aging offensive line, which is fine. Nothing will matter if the Suicide Squad they assembled on defense makes the team erupt in a giant Michael Bay-movie mushroom cloud.

Meanwhile, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett is working to persuade Witten to stay with the Cowboys. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones also indicated that he’d like to keep Witten around. It’s possible that Jones could offer to boost Witten’s salary to compete with his television offers.

Witten, who will turn 36 next week, started all 16 games last year but saw his production decline: His 63 catches, 560 yards and 8.9 yards per catch average were all his lowest since becoming the Cowboys’ starting tight end in 2004. But despite that decline in production, the Cowboys are hoping to get Witten back.

It is really important. We’ve got to eliminate any sense of unconscious bias in our decision-making. England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who has won 145 caps across all formats, said there are still barriers. Growing up in inner-city Birmingham, I fully understand some of the challenges and barriers for young south Asian cricketers, he said. I see many of those challenges now when I help my dad coach at his cricket academy. Lord Patel of Bradford, an independent ECB director, said he grew up playing cricket in Bradford in the 1960s and had first-hand experience of the benefits of the sport. The passion south Asian communities in the UK have for cricket remains high — but over 50 years later, there is still so much untapped potential, he said.

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Warriors waive Omri Casspi to clear playoff roster spot for Quinn Cook

The Golden State Warriors waived forward Omri Casspi after their loss to New Orleans on Saturday, clearing a roster spot in order to make room for Quinn Cook to be on the playoff roster.

According to multiple reports, the Raiders released the popular punter Friday because new head coach Jon Gruden had personality issues with the six-year veteran.

What the personality problems between Gruden and King were remains unclear, though former Raiders coach Jack Del Rio also experienced difficulties with King, who is known for his flamboyancy on and off the field.

The Celtics opened the fourth with a 9-2 run to take a 91-78 lead. But Atlanta tied it 99-all on a four-point play by Mike Muscala with 5:32 to play. After taking a 101-99 lead, the Celtics made five straight trips down the floor without scoring before Monroe’s tip-in made it 103-101 with just over two minutes left.

Video obtained by TMZ Sports shows Zay shoving Cayleb in a hallway and shouting he is going to “fight for Jesus.” The clip later shows what appears to be Zay’s blood on the walls of the apartment building where Cayleb’s girlfriend is a resident.

TMZ Sports claims Cayleb restrained Zay as he was attempting to squeeze through a hole in the 30th floor window he previously kicked his foot through.

“We are aware of the incident involving Zay Jones,” the Bills said in a statement. “We are still in the process of gathering more information on the matter. At this point, we will have no further comment.”

This was primarily the KD and Davis show.

Pearce’s drive soared well above the 14-foot wall in left field, just inside the foul pole. After Josh Donaldson struck out, Justin Smoak and Yangervis Solarte singled. Morales’ liner to the opposite field went into the Texas bullpen in right-center for the switch-hitter’s first of the season.

“Something where you just have to be able to execute early,” Hamels said. “The first game of the season, very similar situation. So I think that’s going to be a lot more of my focus, as we go out, is really trying to execute from the very first pitch.”

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Robert Kraft offers letter, gift to Parkland families on flight to D.C.

Robert Kraft expressed his sympathy and support to the Parkland, Fla., families who walked in this weekend’s March for Our Lives.

The Patriots owner welcomed students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and their families aboard the team plane last week with a touching letter and a Patriots baseball hat waiting on their seats.

The students and their families were flown from Parkland, Fla., to Washington ahead of Saturday’s March for Our Lives against gun violence. The group later returned to South Florida on the team plane after the demonstration.

An inning earlier, Ozzie Albies had an RBI double off Freeland. He then homered off Chris Rusin in the seventh to put Atlanta up 4-0.

The Braves have scored 62 runs through their first nine games of the year. Colorado, meanwhile, scored only six runs in the series and was shut out at home for the first time since May 27, 2017, against St. Louis.

The Rockies had a runner in scoring position in the eighth, but third baseman Charlie Culberson helped thwart the threat with a catch that took him over the rolled-up tarp and into the stands.

Mack has attended voluntary workouts in the past.

It’s not unprecedented for it to take time to work out an extension. Quarterback Derek Carr, the Raiders’ second-round pick after Mack in 2014, did not receive his extension until June 23 last year.

Gruden, meanwhile, praised Mack.

With Mack, obviously we’ve got to get him signed somehow, Gruden said. But he is a spectacular player. And I don’t think he’s scratched the surface yet. I think if we can get an inside, a better inside pass rush, a more consistent inside rush, a dominant inside rusher, you’d see the best of this guy. Some of the plays that he’s disrupted, that he hasn’t gotten credit for, are really exciting for us to think what could happen.

Mack has three straight seasons of at least 10.5 sacks and made NFL history in 2015 when he became the first player to be named first-team All-Pro at two positions in the same season, outside linebacker and defensive end. Still, Mack’s sacks have gone from 15 to 11 to 10.5 the past three seasons.

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Eagles sign Richard Rodgers

For the XFL, that may be the target audience, and that may be the ticket to creating a league that not only will compete successfully with the AAF, but also will potentially shift its schedule to traditional football season, with much greater results than the USFL experienced.

Here’s a new twist that has never been done before, in part because the draft has never been held in a football stadium. “We’ll have sections all over the stadium for all 32 teams, and it’ll be like a competition between all the teams and their fans,” Brandt said.

The competition will be rigged, because it will essentially be a home game for Cowboys fans. But the fans of the 32 teams surely will have one thing on which that can all agree: Every time the Commissioner walks to the podium, they’ll be speaking with one, unified voice.

And what’s it really worth to avoid paying agent fees? In 2017, pick No. 15 received a $12.6 million contract, fully guaranteed. Pick No. 17 received a $11.596 million contract, fully guaranteed.

Meredith missed all of last season with a torn ACL, but had 66 catches for 888 yards and four touchdowns during the 2016 season. Chicago’s wide receivers coach that year was Curtis Johnson, who now has the same job with the Saints and likely put in a few good words about his former charge as the Saints plotted their course.

The Bears were faced with a similar decision earlier this offseason when the Packers signed cornerback Kyle Fuller to an offer sheet after the Bears used a transition tag on him. The Bears chose to match that offer and we’ll have to wait to see what choice they make this time.

“We struggled to stop the run up the middle,” said Snead, referring to the Rams’ 28th-ranked run defense (122.3 yards) in 2017. “Suh is a big, strong body. We feel like we can use him to improve us there and obviously in passing situations getting the matchup with somebody having to deal with both Aaron and him.”

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Sam Darnold Posted in Seattle Seahawks

Giants like Darnold but not Rosen

Two weeks after former UCLA coach Jim Mora suggested that former USC quarterback Sam Darnold would be a better fit for the Browns than former UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, the Giants reportedly have decided to follow Mora’s advice.

Matt Lombardo of NJ.com reports, citing an unnamed NFL talent evaluator, that the Giants would take Darnold if he’s there at No. 2, but that the Giants wouldn’t take Rosen.

With so much riding on what the Giants do with the pick, the Giants have no reason to leak this information. Unless, of course, someone within the organization wants to avoid drafting a quarterback and hopes to ensure that Darnold will be gone at No. 1, so that the Giants can then choose between Barkley and Chubb.

Indeed, drafting a quarterback with the second overall pick could get very awkward, given the lingering presence of Eli Manning. Appearing last month on PFT Live, Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy suggested that the Giants should choose based on their evaluation, without regard to the question of whether picking a quarterback could set the stage for a clunky transfer of the baton at some point, sooner or later.

Joining Elliott are Jaylon Smith, Taco Charlton, Anthony Brown and Kavon Frazier, and former Cowboy (current Raider) Keith Smith.

“It’s no secret that football is a growing around the world and we’re thrilled to play a part in spreading the game to our friends south of the border,” NFFC CEO Andy Alberth said, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We take immense pride in making the yearly convention a Disneyland for football fans and can’t think of a better way to bring that same joy to kids that may not normally get the best exposure to America’s new pastime.”

The NFFC’s second convention will happen from July 13-15 in Dallas, and it will feature more than 200 NFL players.

“We started with a vision this offseason getting our defense better,” Rams general manager Les Snead told co-host Mark Dominik and me Tuesday on Sirius XM NFL Radio at the NFL’s annual meeting. “Even though last year was fulfilling when we won 11 games and the (NFC West), we still lost in the playoffs.

“We knew that we didn’t want to just sit still and rest on our laurels. We wanted to do what we could where we thought we needed to add to get better. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Austin Howard Posted in Seattle Seahawks

Austin Howard visits with Colts

Veteran tackle Austin Howard visited with the Saints last week and his search for a new job has also taken him to Indianapolis.

Field Yates of ESPN reports that Howard visited with the Colts as well.

Howard did not have his option for 2018 exercised by the Ravens earlier this offseason. He started all 16 games for Baltimore at right tackle last season and has made 88 NFL starts since entering the league in 2011.

With the way the draft is already unfolding, it wouldn’t be a surprise if three quarterbacks are taken in the top five picks for the first time since 1999, when Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith were taken with the top three picks overall.

The Jets just have to hope that whomever they choose works out for them like McNabb in Philadelphia rather than the draft disasters that Couch and Smith became with Cleveland and Cincinnati, respectively.

And for that matter, better than the two wasted picks Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan already used on the position in previous drafts in Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty.

“Everybody see? It’s not real,” Donald said with a grin while stabbing himself in the arm with the plastic knife. “It’s not real. It’s fake. … You can’t die with this. It just hurts when it hits you though.”

“It makes you react faster, makes your hands go faster.”

According to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com, the training Donald is utilizing is called Krav Maga, which was developed by the Israel Defense Forces.

The man “attacking” Donald in the video is a police officer by the name of Al Carson, who has been working with Donald for the last two months.

“I am very, very impressed with Aaron,” Carson said. “His hands are just — they’re at a different level compared to the average NFL player. And his eye-and-hand-and-feet coordination are just superior to a lot of the NFL players that I’ve trained. I can truly understand why he is the best defensive player in the NFL, because he’s a different breed. When God made Aaron Donald, he only made one of him.”

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Jeremy Maclin Posted in Seattle Seahawks

Jeremy Maclin drew “preliminary inquiries” from Cowboys, Eagles

Free agent Jeremy Maclin received “preliminary inquiries” from the Cowboys and the Eagles before both teams signed other receivers, Josina Anderson of ESPN reports.

The Cowboys signed Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson, and the Eagles signed Mike Wallace.

Maclin is “waiting for the right fit,” per Anderson, while training in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

“Our guys have been excellent in this situation,” Lewis told reporters at the owners’ meetings. in March “Because we are about playing football. They have other agendas, this is not the place to be. On Sunday for us and throughout the week in the building, it’s about football. That’s how I’ve approached it.”

The Bengals have never shied away from signing controversial players, including cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, whose off-the-field issues have followed him throughout his career, and running back Joe Mixon, who fell to the second round of last year’s draft after he punched a woman in the face in 2014.

Reid was a first-round pick by the 49ers in 2013 and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. He has been a strong player throughout his career, playing strong safety, free safety and even some linebacker last season when San Francisco was shorthanded at the position.

He has 10 interceptions and 36 passes defensed in 70 career games.

“Mr. Kelly continues to make solid progress in his recovery from extensive surgery for his oral cancer,” said Dr. Mark Urken, head and neck surgeon at Mount Sinai West. “He has been moved out of the intensive care unit and made that transition by walking, on his own, from the unit to the inpatient floor where he will continue the next phase of care. He is still several days away from resuming swallowing and taking nutrition by mouth.”

Kelly and his family have remained upbeat throughout his recovery, sharing messages thanking people for their support. He’s expected to remain in the hospital for two weeks.

Athletics: Oakland put OF Boog Powell on the 10-day disabled list with a right knee sprain in a move retroactive to Saturday. Mark Canha was recalled from Triple-A Nashville. Powell will return to Oakland for an MRI on Monday. He was injured Friday, when he crashed into the wall and later got his spikes stuck in the dirt while running the bases.

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Mark Jankowski Posted in Seattle Seahawks

Jankowski scores 4 as Flames beat Golden Knights 7-1

It was a bittersweet night for rookie center Mark Jankowski.

Jankowski scored four times, and the Calgary Flames finished off a disappointing season with a 7-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

“Not the way we wanted it to end, we want to keep on playing, but definitely a building year,” said the 23-year-old Jankowski, who had just three points in his previous 18 games. “I just take everything I learned this year from all the vets and use that as fuel in the summer to come back into camp and even better player.”

“We talked a lot to our guys about the emotion and the purity of the game,” Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. “Just think about the young men on that bus, who would love to be in the seats that we are. That was their goal and we wanted to play as well as we can to honor that.”

Spencer Foo, Garnet Hathaway and Johnny Gaudreau also scored for the Flames (37-35-10), who missed the playoffs for the seventh time in the past nine seasons. A big factor was Calgary’s 17-20-4 home record, its worst mark since 2000-01.

Cody Eakin scored for Vegas (51-24-7), which finished first in the Pacific Division and will open the playoffs on home ice against Los Angeles. Vegas is the first modern-era expansion team in any of the four North America pro spots to win its division in its first season.

No one will accuse Aaron Boone of sleeping on the job.

Coming off a rugged extra-inning loss that stretched past midnight and cost his team four players to injuries and illness, the new Yankees manager didn’t have much time to prepare for Saturday afternoon’s game.

The day after the Yankees used eight pitchers in a 14-inning marathon, Gray gave his team some welcome length. The righty was charged with three runs on four hits, walking two and striking out four.

“We needed it,” Gray said. “Any time you lose a game like we did last night it’s important that you come in the next day, especially with the quick turnaround that we had, it’s important to come in and to win that next game.”

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Andrew East Posted in Seattle Seahawks

Raiders waive Andrew East

The Raiders waived long snapper Andrew East, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

It is not surprising given the Raiders signed Andrew DePaola to a four-year deal worth up to $4.27 million after deciding not to re-sign Jon Condo. DePaola played all 15 games for the Bears last season.

Ishmael Temple has expressly acknowledged in his own lawsuit that Odell Beckham, Jr. never once touched him; and yet, Mr. Beckham is being sued for an alleged altercation that definitively did not involve him at all. In January, 2018, Mr. Temple arrived drunk and belligerent at a third-party, private residence at which Mr. Beckham was also present, among others. Mr. Temple made threatening remarks to several attendees, at which point he was repeatedly asked to leave. When he refused, and aggressively threatened yet another attendee, he was involved in a fight with that person. The situation was diffused, and Mr. Temple was escorted off the premises.

Even though Mr. Temple agrees that Mr. Beckham was in no way involved in the physical altercation, neither as a participant or an instigator, he nevertheless demanded money from Mr. Beckham, and has now filed a meritless suit against him.

Hotel management claimed in an email to the Times that the incident occurred off the hotel’s premises and involved none of the persons attending the pool party.

Rodgers-Cromartie faced no allegations of wrongdoing. The party was promoted as an event that would be attended by celebrities and athletes. The report identifies none other than Rodgers-Crimartie.

“What I told the people at the Combine is that you’ve seen a whole lot of ‘spread’ quarterbacks,” Rudolph said. “That term does not bother me in the least, but you’ve seen guys like Jared Goff and Deshaun Watson, who couldn’t have been more spread and ended up just fine in the NFL. So that is not even on my dashboard of worries at all.

“I think in all the meetings I’ve had, the conversations, the interviews, the NFL people see a whole lot of translation in the concepts and the drop-back passes that we run at Oklahoma State.”

In one of his Combine interviews, Rudolph said, a team tasked him with doing just. They showed him a play, had him watch NFL game film for 10 minutes, then asked him to apply the play into the film he watched.