NFL Draft: Baker Mayfield knows Lamar Jackson ‘is a great QB,’ not a WR

Posted on April 25 by admin

Baker Mayfield might be Lamar Jackson’s biggest supporter. At the very least, the NFL Draft quarterback prospect from Oklahoma sees his fellow Heisman Trophy-winning QB from Louisville throwing passes in the league, not catching them.

Jackson in recent weeks has raised his draft profile from a likely Day 2 pick to a possible first-round quarterback. It’s funny to think that a month ago teams supposedly were thinking he should try a new position.

He’s very talented, Mayfield added regarding Jackson. I love the guy. I think he’s going to have success. He’s fine.

I had a lot of fun with Aaron, Rosen said, via CBS Sports. It was really helpful. He taught me a lot, on and off the field, how to be a pro, how to conduct yourself.

It’s hard to deny Rosen is good at going through his progressions and finding players down the field. He is the most polished thrower out of the quarterbacks in this class and having run Jim Mora’s offense at UCLA, he is certainly prepared to step into the NFL and execute a pro-style offense.

I think we’re very similar personalty types, Rosen said of working with Rodgers. He’s a bit sarcastic and we kind of jab each other a little bit. It was all in good nature, it was a lot of fun. It was an awesome morning.

The question isn’t in Rosen’s ability though, it is in his commitment to the game. Whether this is an appropriate question or not remains to be seen, but he tried to assuage those worries at the combine as well.

Chow also said the SJHL has looked into the Go Fund Me page, which has raised more than $5 million. Chow said, to his knowledge, that money will only go to the families and players affected by the bus tragedy and that cannot be deviated from.

The news conference was held at the Broncos’ home arena, which has become a crisis epicenter. Sheldon Kennedy, a former NHL player who was a survivor of another junior hockey tragedy in the 1980s, was on hand to offer support. A bus carrying Kennedy and his teammates on the Swift Current Broncos crashed in 1986, killing four. Kennedy said counseling was not made available to him in the immediate aftermath.

Cowboys waive Brian Brown

Posted on April 23 by admin

The Cowboys waived wide receiver Brian Brown, according to Rob Phillips of the team website.

Brown spent most of last season on the team’s practice squad and signed a reserve/future contract in January. But the Cowboys since have signed Deonte Thompson and Allen Hurns in free agency and could draft a receiver.

Brown has never played a regular-season game.

Trail Blazers: F Ed Davis returned to action after missing four games with a sprained right ankle, and Stotts said the boost he provided was bigger than his 5.4-point and 7.4-rebound averages. “What he offers on the court is unique, as far as his rebounding, his screen setting, his finishing around the paint, all those things,” Stotts said. “His presence in the locker room, his presence on the bench. Just the intangibles. He’s been a very integral part of what we’ve done this year.”

Nuggets: Malone said he decided to bring Gary Harris off the bench rather than start him because he didn’t want to mess with the chemistry the Nuggets had developed while going 7-4 in his absence. … Barton had averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists while starting in Harris’ place the previous 11 games.

TECHNICAL SPARK: Malone drew a technical for arguing a no-foul call when Jamal Murray went down hard with 6:18 left in the third quarter and the Nuggets trailing 62-53.

As he stood in front of his home locker Sunday evening, fresh off another day of booing in the Bronx, there was only one way for Stanton to sum up his feelings after he went 3-for-28 (.107) with 16 strikeouts in his first six games officially donning the pinstripes.

“Just got to look at it as a bad week,” said Stanton, who heard it from angry fans following a 12th-inning strikeout that ended Sunday’s game in an 8-7 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

“The season’s much longer than a week,” he added. “A couple of good games, and I could turn it around and help us win.”

Stanton’s teammate, the similarly powerful Aaron Judge, is thinking along the same lines.

“We’re going to look back on this in August and laugh about it,” Judge said. “It’s just all about us and making adjustments like I know he will. He’s done it his whole career. Stanton’s a great hitter.”

NFL Draft: Josh Allen ready to impress Jets, other teams at Wyoming Pro Day

Posted on April 21 by admin

Josh Allen will be showcased as a player — not an analyst — at the 2018 NFL Draft.

That didn’t keep the Wyoming quarterback from channeling his inner Mike Mayock when asked about last weekend’s trade executed to help the Jets finally land a franchise quarterback.

Gang Green hopped three spots to No. 3 overall in a stunning deal with the Colts. The impetus was to foil the recent attempts of another QB-needy team — the Bills — to climb ahead of New York along the draft ladder.

Although he won’t participate in any of the running or jumping drills after posting impressive scores earlier this month at the NFL Combine, Allen will run a scripted series of passes that he says are designed to “showcase your talent and ability and also improvement that you made over the offseason.”

Allen said he will be bringing the wide receivers he has prepped with the past two weeks in Southern California to the Wyoming campus because the school doesn’t have any senior receivers for him to throw with, which is the customary protocol among QB prospects from bigger programs.

King is fourth among both active and all-time punters with an average of 46.8 yards per kick and had a net average of 41.1 yards over his five years with the Raiders. Those numbers made it a surprise that the Raiders parted ways with King after signing him to a five-year extension in 2016, although reports have indicated that King’s often demonstrative on-field personality rather than his punting rubbed Raiders coach Jon Gruden the wrong way.

Riley Dixon is the incumbent punter in Denver and parting ways with him would have no negative cap implications for the Broncos. The Vikings have also reportedly shown interest in King since he was dropped by the Raiders.

There’s a lot to unpack in what Lewis said. The root of the problem seems to be that: (1) Lewis at one point reached out to Beckham; (2) Beckham initially was receptive; (3) Beckham eventually began to drift away from Lewis; and (4) Lewis thinks that Beckham’s failure to fulfill whatever “agreement” he reached with Lewis represents the root of Beckham’s current problems. Because of course it’s about Lewis, not about Beckham.

Bob Quinn: Keeping Ziggy Ansah was Lions “number one conversation”

Posted on April 19 by admin

The Detroit Lions may only have a temporary pact in place with defensive end Ezekiel Ansah after placing the franchise tag on him this offseason, but General Manager Bob Quinn made it clear how highly they value the veteran pass rusher.

According to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, Quinn said retaining Ansah was the team’s “number one conversation” had this offseason between himself and new head coach Matt Patricia.

The decision to use the franchise tag on Ansah came soon after Patricia was hired with the team officially placing the tag on Ansah in late February.

Pedro Alvarez doubled in a run in the fourth for the Orioles, a day after hitting a game-breaking grand slam in the 14th.

Machado tied it in the third with a two-out, two-RBI double into the left-field corner. The three-time All-Star is 5 for 9 with two home runs and four RBI over the past two games

Making his 200th career start, Tillman allowed five runs on eight hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings, striking out three. He is 0-9 with an 8.63 ERA since earning a victory on May 7, a span of 20 starts.

Said Titans T Taylor Lewan, “This is a great state. This is a great city. And I think we’re all a little tired of the Preds carrying us for so long in the sporting world, so we need to hold our end of the bargain.”

Boston, meanwhile, is locked into second place and coach Brad Stevens is working to prepare his team to enter the playoffs without Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis. He used his regulars for most of the first three quarters against the pesky Hawks on Sunday, and Atlanta rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Boston 112-106.

“Weird. Yeah, I mean it’s strange,” Stevens said told the Boston Globe of the Celtics having their final position determined with several games remaining. “But, you know, to be able to play those guys and to get them reps and to be able to do some of that stuff — you know, I wish Guerschon (Yabusele) would’ve been available because he would’ve been able to take advantage of that as well.

Odell Beckham to report to Giants conditioning program tomorrow

Posted on April 17 by admin

As the saga of the Giants and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. continues to eat the offseason, the next chapter will unfold tomorrow when the Giants begin their offseason conditioning program.

And Beckham’s apparently going to be there.

“As person, he’s just really down to earth and really cool,” Allen said of Darnold. “I don’t have a bad thing to say about Sam. We’ve been living together the last couple of months and he’s become a really good friend of mine.

“When you see him throw, he’s as consistent as anybody out there. He rarely has a bad day. He rarely misses. It’s been impressive to see him handle that aspect and actually get out there and compete with him every day. It’s been really fun.”

Allen calls it “a friendly rivalry.”

“I’m sure we made each other better,” he said.

And as he points out, the Jets feel they did the same with what may not be the last bold move to secure a marquee passer like Allen on April 26.

Not only that, it was a team the Chiefs knew well. The PJHL is the “B” junior hockey league in Saskatchewan. The Chiefs work closely with the Humboldt Broncos; the Broncos loan players to the Chiefs and vice versa, like a more active Major League Baseball club and its Triple-A affiliate. Often, Chiefs players practice with the Broncos.

“Everyone our team knows someone on their team,” Chiefs GM Ryan Marushak said. “That’s their buddies, their teammates, some of their best friends.”

“If we didn’t have a game that night, some of our players would have been with them,” coach Eric Ditto added.

The story of the Delisle Chiefs is a microcosm of how the Humboldt tragedy is affecting junior hockey players across Canada. They are grieving with their peers and grappling with how to move forward. Long bus rides between small towns is a part of life for every youth hockey player in the prairie provinces.

Will XFL pivot toward old-school football?

Posted on April 14 by admin

The XFL has been quiet since announcing its plan to return in 2020. But the preparations continue for the resurrection of the sports league that captured the imagination (but not nearly enough dollars) of American football fans in 2001.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the XFL quietly continues to conduct the research and planning necessary to give the XFL a solid foundation. With 22 months to go until the games begin, the XFL has plenty of time to figure out how to do things the way it wants to do them.

Although liability concerns may cause the XFL to shy away from old-school, rock ’em, sock ’em football, no players can claim that they don’t understand the risks — and any competent lawyer can draft a player contract containing a waiver that will include a full and complete acknowledgement that, in return for the opportunity to play and the compensation that goes with it, the player accepts the risks inherent to the specific type of game the XFL will play.

As a practical matter, getting sued is a sign of success. If the XFL opts to play football the same way that the NFL and the AAF will play it, the XFL may never come close to generating nearly enough interest and revenue to survive.

Said McMahon in January, “We’ll be asking football fans what they want and what they don’t want.” But the answers the XFL gets will depend on which fans are asked what they want and what they don’t want.

The deceased include the head coach, the bus driver and several players. The Broncos were en route to a playoff game on Friday when their bus collided with a truck carrying peat moss. The players were between the ages of 16 and 21.

Fourteen people were injured in the crash. One, Nick Shumlanski, was released from the hospital on Sunday and was in attendance at the vigil, with a cut under his left eye and wearing his jersey.

A hockey arena became the epicenter of grief for a small Canadian town Sunday, as friends and relatives gathered to mourn 15 people killed after a semi-trailer slammed into a bus carrying a youth hockey team in western Canada.

The hockey world was stunned and saddened to hear the news of a bus crash that killed 15 members of the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team. Said Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock: “It’s got to rip the heart out of your chest.”

2018 NFL draft may tie 1983 with six first-round quarterbacks

Posted on April 12 by admin

The 1983 NFL draft ushered in a new era in the NFL, with six first-round quarterbacks. That had never happened before and has never happened since. But it may happen now.

The 2018 NFL draft has four quarterbacks who are certain to go in the first round, in USC’s Sam Darnold, Wyoming’s Josh Allen, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson appears likely to go in the first round as well, and Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph has visited with several teams in need of a quarterback and may find himself going in the first round as well.

In this situation, I would try to convince the player and his agent that we would pay him more than he would receive if he were to be cut and picked up by a new team. I would offer incentives to give the player opportunities to recoup most or all of the lost salary. I’d also say that if he rejected the pay cut and opted to be traded (which would likely require a restructured contract) or released, he then would have to learn a new system and move away from the city in which he has established roots and maintains close ties to the community. This could be the approach Gaine takes with Watt.

However, pride gets in the way, and a player often makes the unwise decision to play elsewhere for less money, refusing to take a pay cut with incentives from his current team.

The draft will happen in little more than two weeks. For many, the draft boards are set, or damn close to it. So maybe it’s now officially nit-picking time.

That was the reaction during Monday’s PFT Live of Chris Simms to the assessment of Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen by former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who shared with Peter King of SI.com two specific critiques of Allen.

Simms pointed out that, without knowing what Allen said to his teammates and/or what Allen had been coached to do in those situations, it’s too hard to know exactly why things happened the way they appeared to be. As to Orlovsky’s other concern — that Allen stares down receivers — Simms seemed to give the issue more credence. But Simms pointed out that every incoming quarterback has flaws, and that he’ll need to be coached to iron out his flaws.

He can motivate people in a lot of ways. That is the Shaquem Griffin effect.

Posted on April 10 by admin

Considering Reid hasn’t collected a paycheck from the Eagles in half a decade, I’d say probably no. But that doesn’t mean the Eagles shouldn’t be wildly thankful for The Godfather, whose fingerprints are all over this league like no other sideline roamer.

In a sit-down interview at the Annual League Meeting in Orlando, general manager Les Snead told the Around The NFL Podcast that Ogletree was a victim of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ cornerback-oriented scheme.

Great leader, great human. We re-signed him because he was one of our best football players, Snead explained. But when we went back and really analyzed, talked about, discussed what makes Wade’s defense go, it’s the corner position.

It motivated me to calm down and do what comes naturally, Hughes said. Central Florida’s Shaquem Griffin runs a drill during UCF football pro day, Thursday, March 29, 2018, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) More Only a few months ago, he was a very good player on a very good American Conference team.

Locals knew about him and his twin brother, Shaquill, who played here and went to the Seahawks. Fans knew Shaquem was born with amniotic band syndrome, which kept the fingers on his left hand from fully developing. He had surgery as a little boy and, when he saw his mom after, asked when he could play football again. He grew up playing on the same teams as Shaquill, all the way through college, but he was always considered a little bit behind his brother. Then a series of events vaulted him to the spreadsheets of scouts and the hearts of fans everywhere. The Knights ran the table in 2017 and then beat Auburn on New Year’s Day.

Viewers across the country watched UCF and couldn’t help but notice Griffin flying around the field and making tackles as if nothing was missing. Some of those viewers surely did web searches and found stats: 44 solo tackles and seven sacks in his final season. They found highlights of him wreaking havoc, breaking up passes and even making an interception. There was one play where he scooped up a fumble with his right hand as if he was a shortstop.

Giancarlo Stanton homers in 1st Yankees at-bat

Posted on April 7 by admin

The Giancarlo Stanton Era started off with a bomb.

Stanton hit a no-doubt home run in his first at-bat as a member of the Yankees in the first inning of Thursday’s Opening Day matchup with the Blue Jays.

Stanton’s blast zoomed on a line out over the right-center field wall and deep into the first deck’s seats. It came in a 0-1 count and it was off Toronto starting pitcher JA Happ.

It was also Stanton’s first Yankees swing, and it was on a 91.7-mph two-seam fastball.

Just build off (of it). Trust yourself. Trust your preparation. Know you’re going to do well and that you set yourself up to do well. Not worry about those side expectations or the sophomore slump or whatever you want to call it. It only exists if you put it in your mind.

Outstanding player, the elder Shurmur said. I watched him sack my son a year ago in the bowl game.

So will Shurmur hold it against Chubb if he is on the board when the Giants are on the clock

No, he said, laughing at the intentionally funny question. Sacking the quarterback is a good thing.

Shurmur just has to remember which proverbial hat he is wearing at which time: Wincing father or head coach scouting defensive prospects.

Last year, when all those SEC defensive linemen were getting drafted, their highlights were sacking my kid, Shurmur said. I texted him like four times:’I just saw you on tape. I just saw you on tape.’

It was a funny one-liner from Shurmur, who quickly slipped back into coach mode and clarified those pass-rushers are good prospects and he wasn’t critiquing his son for holding the ball too long or any Vanderbilt offensive linemen.

Anthony Averett Jr.’s story helps explain why Alabama is an NFL cornerback factory

Posted on April 7 by admin

No experience playing cornerback in high school? No worries when Nick Saban is your college head coach.

Anthony Averett Jr. arrived at the University of Alabama without a set position. Five years later, he leaves as one of the top-rated CBs in the 2018 NFL Draft.

The process, as Saban would say, wasn’t an easy one.

After a redshirt year, Averett began receiving snaps at wide receiver during spring practice in 2014. The conversion experiment was short-lived, as Averett quickly returned to the secondary. He appeared in only one game that season and received action almost exclusively on special teams rather than defense in 2015.

“I had to start from the ground up,” Averett said. “I don’t think I really realized how hard it was going to be.”

At the same time Averett was trying to get his footing, Alabama was recruiting other elite-level cornerbacks who too were competing for snaps. Averett admitted he considered transferring to a school where he’d have a better chance for more playing time.

“I was a guy that was the man in New Jersey in high school and I thought I was going to come right in and play right away [at Alabama],” Averett said. “It obviously didn’t work. It was just hard, but I have a strong family. They told me to be strong, don’t give up, keep doing what you’re doing and work hard at it.

Shurmur told reporters that he was encouraged by the fact Beckham showed up, and said he didn’t think the recent trade talk (which was generated by the bosses of Shurmur and Beckham) would be a distraction.

“I’m not worried about it,” Shurmur said, via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. ” I really believe Odell is a professional. He wants to be great.”

There’s still plenty to be worried about, of course. Until he signs a new contract (with the Giants or anyone), there will be reason to wonder how committed to any cause he’ll be. And until he shows up on the field in the fall (with the Giants or anyone), that speculation will continue.

Beckham’s covered in case of injury while he’s working out with the Giants, a protection he’ll lack if he works out on his own. Last year, he split time between the Giants program and working out on his own, so the fact he showed up for the first day of school is too soon to declare all is well, and Shurmur seems to know that.

“I’m not overthinking this, he said. “This is the first day of work. I think it’s important that Odell is here. I look forward to Odell getting one day better.”

МГКСС – Городской клуб служебного собаководства г. Москвы

Author: admin