National Football League News and Rumors
Bironas nails 40-yard FG to lift TitansThe Steelers will have to wait for their first road victory of the season. Rob Bironas chipped in a 40-yard field goal as time expired to help Tennessee hold off visiting Pittsburgh 26-23. |
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Roethlisberger becomes Steelers' passing leaderOct 11, 2012
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Ben Roethlisberger has passed Terry Bradshaw as the Pittsburgh Steelers' career passing leader, and he needed fewer games to reach that mark. |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has won half the Super Bowl rings as Terry Bradshaw, but Roethlisberger now has more passing yardage than the man who played for the Steelers from 1970 through 1983. Bradshaw finished with 27,989 yards. Roethlisb… |
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Doug Farrar, yahoo.com 42-year-old William "Christopher" Pettry was a resident of Lake Villa, Ill., and a longtime Chicago Bears fan. He was in Jacksonville last Sunday to watch his team beat the Jaguars, 41-3. Hours before the game, Pettry went to an Irish restaura… |
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Titans take lead as Steelers’ injuries mountOct 11, 2012
Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com The Titans have been blown out in four of their first five games, but tonight against the Steelers they’re playing good football, taking a 13-10 lead into the locker room at halftime. Tennessee kicked two first-quarter field goals, then turned a blocked… |
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Bears raising funds for Jacksonville murder victimOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com A Bears fan who traveled to watch the team play was murdered early Sunday in Jacksonville. Now, Bears tight end Kellen Davis is raising money for the victim’s family. Per various media reports, 27-year-old Matthew Hinson slashed the throat of 42-year-… |
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Mendenhall, Pouncey among injured SteelersOct 11, 2012
ESPN.com news services, ESPN.com Pittsburgh center Maurkice Pouncey injured his right leg on the Steelers' first offensive play from scrimmage against Tennessee on Thursday night, and will not return. |
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Doug Farrar, yahoo.com Ever since the Cleveland Browns either misdiagnosed Colt McCoy's concussion (or didn't diagnose it at all) late last season, the NFL has put forth the appearance that it is far more proactive when it comes to protecting players from returning to games a… |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Mike Wallace has shown once again why he may be the best deep threat in the NFL. After the Steelers and Titans traded field goals on Thursday night, it was Wallace who gave the Steelers an early lead by catching a deep ball from Ben Roethlisberger and r… |
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Of whistleblowers and witnessesOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com When it comes to the Saints’ bounty scandal, the NFL has said that whistleblowers must be protected at all costs. When it comes to the original whistleblower in the Saints’ bounty scandal, the NFL inexplicably outed former Vikings defensive tackle J… |
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Report: WR Johnson says he played concussedOct 11, 2012
ESPN.com news services, ESPN.com Calvin Johnson said Thursday he returned to a game against the Minnesota Vikings earlier this season after suffering a concussion. Johnson told the Detroit Free Press he suffered a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit from Chad Greenway. |
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Bills-Cardinals game is a selloutOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com The Arizona Cardinals have announced that their home game against the Bills has been sold out, according to the team’s official website. It’s the 69th (yep, Beavis) straight sellout of a Cardinals game at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The fact th… |
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Pats LB Spikes calls 'homophobic' tweet a jokeOct 11, 2012
Associated Press, ESPN.com New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes says he was joking when he tweeted that he was "homophobic." |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com On the same day Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was featured on this page in response to allegations that he’s not showing enough fight on the field, he’s showing too much fight off it. Allegedly. According to FOX 2 in Detroit, Steve Vines claims… |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com With Steelers safety Troy Polamalu out after re-aggravating his calf injury, Will Allen is in tonight’s starting lineup. The Steelers announced that Allen — and not Ryan Mundy, who started the first three games of the season, first in place of startin… |
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Picking apart the Week Six picksOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Every Thursday morning, we unveil the respective picks from MDS and yours truly. Every Thursday afternoon, MDS joins PFT Live to discuss the games on which we disagree — and other games that make us nervous. Today, we talked Vikings-Redskins, Broncos-… |
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Jack Dickey, deadspin.com Lots of football players get concussions. That's how it works. It's a violent sport, and they play it for so long, that most every football player you encounter, even long-retired dads, will say, oh, yeah, I had a concussion or two. So football players … |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com The NFL has fined Jets guard Matt Slauson for his ACL-tearing blow to Texans linebacker Brian Cushing, reportedly claiming that the hit constitutes an illegal “peel back” block. So what is a “peel back” block? Here’s the rule, from Rule 12, Se… |
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Jets' Slauson fined $10K for hit on LB CushingOct 11, 2012
Jane McManus, ESPN.com New York Jets offensive lineman Matt Slauson has been fined $10,000 for his hit on Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing on Monday night, the NFL said. |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com 49ers running back Brandon Jacobs expressed frustration at not playing in a game for the 49ers yet this season because he feels he’s totally recovered from the knee injury he suffered in the preseason. Jacobs said that he was healthy enough to play in e… |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen will be away from the team, after the sudden and unexpected death of his mother on Wednesday. Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said Griffen’s mother was visiting her son in the Twin Cities when she died. The cause is no… |
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Packers still missing three key playersOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com As the Packers prepare for a must-win game that based on their remaining schedule really isn’t, they’re still missing three of their key players. Actually, four. But there’s no way one of them — running back Cedric Benson — will be back by Sun… |
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Eagles' QB Vick confirms he is again dog ownerOct 11, 2012
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, who served 18 months in prison on dogfighting charges, has confirmed that he owns a dog. |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III appears set to return to the starting lineup on Sunday, a week after he was knocked out of a game with a concussion. And the Redskins see no need to change their offense to protect Griffin from another concussion.… |
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Vikes' Griffen leaves team after mother's deathOct 11, 2012
Associated Press, ESPN.com Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen missed practice on Thursday after the sudden death of his mother. |
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Why Is Everyone So Down On The Cleveland Browns?Oct 11, 2012
Jack Dickey, deadspin.com Not so long ago, Jets linebacker Bart Scott uttered some immortal words: "We take a lot of slack, people gave us no chance... we're a good football team." This is not the rhetoric emerging from Cleveland now, but it should be. Instead, we have… |
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Brian McIntyre, yahoo.com Despite catching just four passes for 59 yards in last Sunday's win over the Cincinnati Bengals — nearly 200 fewer yards than he had the week before against the Arizona Cardinals — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline remains the NFL's leader i… |
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Doug Farrar, yahoo.com It's October, which means that the NFL will have its member clubs wearing all sorts of pink paraphernalia to raise awareness for breast cancer. The NFL's official campaign, entitled "A Crucial Catch," has become a major initiative. The NFL, it… |
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Reggie Bush back on the Dolphins injury reportOct 11, 2012
Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Dolphins running back Reggie Bush wasn’t on the team’s injury report Wednesday, which suggested the knee issue that’s been bothering him for the last few weeks was no longer a concern. That suggestion may have been premature. Bush popped up on the i… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com The Rams are 3-2 and playing their best football in some time, so the Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network crew will be chatting with one of the guys responsible for the turnaround. Defensive end Chris Long will speak with Erik Kuselias on Thursday a… |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com Waived yesterday by the Texans, return specialist Trindon Holiday wasn’t out of work long. According to his agent’s Twitter account, Holiday was claimed Thursday by the Denver Broncos. The 5-foot-5 Holiday scored three touchdowns on returns in the pre… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Vikings running back Adrian Peterson returns to FedEx Field this Sunday for the first time since his 2011 season ended with a torn ACL he thinks occurred on a hit by Redskins safety DeJon Gomes. Peterson said Thursday that he felt “99.9 percent” sure … |
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Documentary Promises the Personal Side of L.T.Oct 11, 2012
Lynn Zinser, nytimes.com An coming documentary on the life of Lawrence Taylor promises to shed life on the personal life as well as the career of the former Giants star. |
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Mjd, yahoo.com Redskins defensive end Adam Carriker made a bet with former pro wrestler Bill Goldberg. If the Washington Redskins had beaten the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, Goldberg, a former Atlanta Falcon, would've had to wear a Washington Redskins jersey. If the F… |
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Dom Cosentino, deadspin.com We got the following email from a reader this afternoon: More » |
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Demaryius Thomas limited with hip injuryOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Demaryius Thomas wants to reduce his fumbles, and the easiest way to do that is to not play. That’s probably not an ideal option. But Thomas has a hip injury. According to Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post, he was limited in practice on Thursday, the f… |
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Cowboys LB Spencer expects to play SundayOct 11, 2012
Calvin Watkins, ESPN.com Dallas Cowboys starting outside linebacker Anthony Spencer said he expects to play in Sunday's game at the Baltimore Ravens. Spencer missed the Week 4 loss to the Chicago Bears with a pectoral muscle injury. |
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Nicks Still Hopes to Play Against 49ersOct 11, 2012
Tom Pedulla, nytimes.com Receiver Hakeem Nicks has not played since the second week of the season, but there remains a possibility that he could be on the field against San Francisco. |
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Dom Cosentino, deadspin.com On Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild card playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field. It was Fox's first postseason broadcast that season, which meant that it was the first opportunity for the network… |
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Mjd, yahoo.com When the New York Giants lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the regular season last year, 49ers defensive back Carlos Rogers snared a pair of interceptions. He also broke out a mock version of Victor Cruz's salsa dance, which Cruz did not like. A couple… |
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William Powell waited for the shot he’s getting nowOct 11, 2012
Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com When Ryan Williams was injured, the Cardinals were willing to go with the running backs they have on hand because they trusted them. Even though one of them was working in a Best Buy warehouse a year ago. William Powell could actually be the main ball-c… |
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Rams-Dolphins game will be televised in MiamiOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com It’s not known how many tickets were sold to Sunday’s game between the Rams and Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. It is known, however, that the Dolphins have complied with the NFL requirements for games to be broadcast locally. It’s known because the… |
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Colts sacks leader Mathis out 2-3 weeksOct 11, 2012
ESPN.com news services, ESPN.com Indianapolis Colts outside linebacker Robert Mathis is out two to three weeks with a sprained left knee, defensive coordinator Greg Manusky confirmed Thursday. |
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Bears' Urlacher: I'll be impact player againOct 11, 2012
ESPNChicago.com, ESPN.com Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher admitted Thursday that he's been somewhat of a spectator during his team's strong start, but he maintained he could return to an All Pro level despite a knee injury that he said will never |
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Torn ACL recovery is usually a process, but nothing about Jamaal Charles is slow. Gone last year, Charles is quickly picking back up as the NFL's best big-play back, Dennis Dillon writes. |
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Ten things you can expect to see in Week 6Oct 11, 2012
Last week: 4-6 (.400); Season record: 17-33 (.340) |
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Jahvid Best hopes to be cleared for return FridayOct 11, 2012
Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Lions running back Jahvid Best has missed a full year after suffering two concussions early in the 2011 season, but he hopes he is less than 24 hours away from being cleared to return. Best said on Thursday that he has gone through a battery of tests an… |
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Rex hasn’t lost confidence in Shonn GreeneOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com With all the problems in New York, one of the most glaring hasn’t gotten nearly enough attention. Shonn Greene, the supposed centerpiece of the ground-and-pound offense, has been doing more grounding than pounding. But coach Rex Ryan, who may or may not… |
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Brandon Weeden: I have to get rid of the egoOct 11, 2012
Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Heading into the draft there were questions about Brandon Weeden’s age leaving teams to make different decisions than they might when considering a typical rookie quarterback. Through five games, Weeden has shown one clear similarity with many of the mo… |
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Tim Tebow Is Destroying The Jets Before He Even Has A Chance To Destroy Them As A StarterOct 11, 2012
Drew Magary, deadspin.com Drew Magary's Thursday Afternoon NFL Dick Joke Jamboroo runs every Thursday during the NFL season. More » |
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Lawrence Vickers not scared of big names on Ravens DOct 11, 2012
Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis sent a message to the Cowboys running game. And Cowboys fullback Lawrence Vickers said he’s not backing down. During a conference call with Dallas media, Lewis said the Ravens had other plans if the Cowboys wanted to try to f… |
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Tony Romo might have to hold this weekendOct 11, 2012
Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Should you mention the idea of Tony Romo holding for a kick, you can be pretty sure what the response will be. Are you crazy? Don’t you remember what happened in Seattle during the playoffs? That’s not really the end of Romo’s holding story, though.… |
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Brees says bounty penalties based on 'rhetoric'Oct 11, 2012
ESPN.com news services, ESPN.com Drew Brees said Thursday that commissioner Roger Goodell seems to have changed his reasoning for punishing Jonathan Vilma and Scott Fujita based on the letters the commissioner sent to both players in re-issuing their suspensions. |
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Bucs are blacked out againOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com To no surprise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ home game against the Chiefs will be blacked out. The team has announced the fact that the game won’t be televised in the Tampa area, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Even with the Bucs taking … |
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Hakeem Nicks returns to the practice fieldOct 11, 2012
Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com The Giants have played their last three games without wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, a streak which might have a chance at coming to an end with the news that Nicks has returned to practice on Thursday. Jenny Vrentas of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that … |
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Jets lose Ellis 4 to 6 weeks to sprained left kneeOct 11, 2012
The New York Jets will be without defensive end Kenrick Ellis for 4-6 weeks with what coach Rex Ryan labeled a "significant" knee injury. |
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Falcons’ bandwagon is growingOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Being undefeated has its benefits. Apart from receiving extra praise and/or pastries from family, friends, and fans, more people want to watch the games. In Atlanta, they are. According to Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Falcons hav… |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Early this month, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was saying that any questions about benching Russell Wilson for Matt Flynn were moot because Flynn wasn’t ready to play because of a sore elbow. Now Carroll says Flynn is ready. But he’s sticking with Wils… |
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Chiefs' Cassel officially ruled out vs. BuccaneersOct 11, 2012
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has been ruled out for Sunday's game at Tampa Bay with a concussion, and Brady Quinn will start an NFL game for the first time since the 2009 season. |
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Raiders want to run the football moreOct 11, 2012
Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Running back Darren McFadden has been healthy through the first four games of the Raiders season, but their rushing attack has not been as robust as hoped. The team is dead last in the NFL with 60.8 rushing yards per game and getting better was a point … |
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Barry Petchesky, deadspin.com When Brandon Marshall called Chicago's win over the Cowboys two weeks ago—at Cowboys Stadium—a "home game", he wasn't kidding. The Bears jumped out to an early lead, never looked back, and received an increasing percentage of the cheers as the… |
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Move over, Packers and Lions, Leslie Frazier has Minnesota Vikings playing like NFC North contendersOct 11, 2012
It's bottoms up in the NFC North where the Packers and Lions were expected to fight things out for the division. But in perhaps the biggest of surprises of the NFL season, the Vikings have stormed out to a 4-1 record matched by the Bears. |
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Chiefs rule Matt Cassel out this weekOct 11, 2012
Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com Though it hardly qualifies as a shock, the Chiefs have ruled Matt Cassel out of this week’s game against the Buccaneers because of his concussion, according to Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star. That leaves things to Brady Quinn, with Ricky Stanzi in… |
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The Pats' offense is a juggernaut, but unstoppable? The Seattle crowd, and a crazed pass rush, will have something to say about that, Peter King writes as he picks Week 6's games. |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com It was the kind of thing that could have easily landed Bears rookie defensive end Shea McClellin on the sequel to Broke. Instead, after a brief scare, he realized it was all just a joke. After taking the defensive line and a few linebackers out for a Ro… |
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Anonymous GM rips Lions’ personnel choices; Ndamukong Suh questions GM’s manhood in responseOct 11, 2012
Doug Farrar, yahoo.com It seems like only last season that the braintrust behind the Detroit Lions -- general manager Martin Mayhew and head coach Jim Schwartz -- were lionized (sorry) for the miraculous team turnaround they engineered. Oh, wait ... that's because it WAS only… |
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Jake Delhomme understands the pressure on Cam NewtonOct 11, 2012
Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com There are no real one-to-one correlations to Cam Newton’s place in Charlotte right now. Prior to the Panthers drafting him first overall last year, the city’s biggest sports personality was a basketball player with a national shoe deal which required … |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Chargers left tackle Jared Gaither gave up the game-sealing sack at the end of Sunday night’s loss to the Saints, and Chargers coach Norv Turner says Gaither shouldn’t have been on the field. Turner said on Wednesday that Gaither strained his groin a … |
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Watt loses a sack, Ben picks up a scoreOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com When it comes to football, the only thing final about a game is the final score. The stats can and do change, and a pair of them did this week. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Elias Sports Bureau has stripped a sack from Texans … |
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Jaguars set to host 49ers in 2013 London contestOct 11, 2012
LONDON (AP) The San Francisco 49ers will return to Wembley Stadium to play an NFL regular-season game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2013. |
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Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com No 49ers player has more to make amends for this weekend than Kyle Williams. Which is why he didn’t bother trying to make Sunday’s NFC Championship Game rematch with the Giants just another game. “After what happened last year, I definitely want to … |
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PFT’s Week Six picksOct 11, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Last week, the “mild” concussion to RG3 prevented me from taking a “major” lead over MDS in the picks contest. Robert Griffin III exited, the Redskins lost, and what would have been a two-game win for the week turned into a push, with both of us g… |
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49ers QB Smith says sprained finger 'fine'Oct 11, 2012
ESPN.com news services, ESPN.com Alex Smith's sprained middle finger shouldn't be a problem when the San Francisco 49ers host the New York Giants on Sunday in the anticipated rematch of last season's NFC Championship Game. |
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Doug Farrar, yahoo.com SEATTLE -- The New England Patriots are expected to field a typically explosive offense when they travel across the country to meet up with the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. But there is a new kind of contender that awaits Bill Belichick's team… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com If ESPN didn’t plan it this way, it should have. After ESPN boosted Rob Riggle’s sports cred by having him host the ESPYs, FOX hired Riggle to supplant Frank Caliendo as the host of the comic-relief-and-picks segment on the FOX pregame show. But Rig… |
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Thursday morning one-linersOct 11, 2012
Darin Gantt, profootballtalk.com A reeling Bills defense is hoping a reeling Cardinals offense is what they need to get on track. This will be popular in South Florida: A rational defense of Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland. Patriots rookie CB Alfonzo Dennard is earning more reps (with others … |
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Brian Burke, nytimes.com What has been holding the Steelers back is their penalty rate. They have a league-worst rate of 0.7 penalty yards per play; the league average is 0.4 yards per play. |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Scott Fujita lashed out at NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday, saying that Goodell’s actions in the Saints bounty case have been detrimental to the league. Now Saints quarterback Drew Brees has weighed in, saying he feels the same way. “I agr… |
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Evan Silva, profootballtalk.com Dolphins running back Daniel Thomas suffered a concussion in the second quarter of the regular season opener. He sat out the following game before returning in Week Three. Thomas suffered another concussion in Miami’s Week Five win over Cincinnati, exit… |
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Terrell Owens: Desperate Jets need meOct 11, 2012
Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Terrell Owens wrote on Twitter during the Jets’ loss on Monday night that he’s available if the Jets want him. But the Jets don’t want him. So now Owens is turning up the heat on the Jets. In an interview on TSN, Owens said the fact that the Jets ar… |
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Remembering Alex Karras as a Football PlayerOct 11, 2012
Andy Barall, nytimes.com The movie and television actor should also be remembered as one of the N.F.L.'s defensive stars of the 1960s. |
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NY Giants' Justin Tuck held without a quarterback sack so far, and that needs to change for Big BlueOct 11, 2012
As the NFL heads into the sixth weekend of the 2012 season, there have been 201 players who have registered sacks, starting with Houston’s J.J. Watt, who leads with 8.5, all the way down to the 22 players who barely make the list with a half-sack apiece… |
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There is no cover, no escape from the relentless pounding that Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez continue to take over the Tim Tebow question. |
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The Trenchie Awards: Houston's Zone Blocking, the Rams' Rushers, and the Best Line Play From Week 5Oct 11, 2012
In celebration of the NFL's release of the all-22 and end-zone film for the 2012 season, each week we'll be bringing you the best in offensive- and de... |
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The Sports Guy's Thursday NFL PickOct 11, 2012
Bill Simmons, grantland.com The Tennessee Titans have been outscored 88-181 through five weeks, which means they're giving up an astonishing 36.2 points per game. They're on pace... |
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The Hidden Factors for Winning in the NFLOct 11, 2012
With 20 quarters in the books for 26 of the league's 32 teams, now seems like a good time to take a quick look back at the first five weeks of the yea... |
