Posted by Michael David Smith on November 4, 2011, 1:51 PM EDT
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The NFL fined Steelers safety Ryan Clark $15,000 for a personal foul against the Patriots, but Clark isn’t complaining.
Instead, Clark said he understands that the NFL is making player safety an emphasis and that he crossed the line.
“They’re really setting high standards for fair play,” Clark told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “They’re also setting high standards for keeping players healthy, safe. And that’s something we as players wanted implemented.”
Several other Steelers players have ripped the league office for handing down fines over the last couple of years, but Clark — the team’s union representative — doesn’t seem to see things the same way as his teammates.
“If you hit a guy out of bounds, they’ve been fining for that,” Clark said, “so I’ve got to be smarter.”
Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports reports that eight Browns veterans held an intervention-style meeting with Hillis on Wednesday to discuss the running back’s lousy attitude in an effort to improve his focus.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” one Browns player told Silver. “Last year, Peyton was such a positive, inspirational force on our team – but now he’s like a different guy.
Falcons LT Sam Baker will miss 3-4 weeks with a back injury, coach Mike Smith revealed Wednesday.
Baker was playing like one of the league's worst left tackles, so we're not so sure the move from him to Will Svitek will cause a downgrade. Baker also missed eight games in 2008, his rookie year, with a herniated disc near his spinal cord, an injury that required "discectomy" surgery. If Svitek plays well, it's not crazy to think that Baker would lose his job permanently.
Coach Steve Spagnuolo indicated that Sam Bradford (ankle) was "not quite there yet" after Thursday's work in individual drills.
While NFL Network reported a sense of optimism on Bradford's status for Sunday's game, ESPN's Adam Schefter says the feeling within the Rams building is that he's still uncertain. Schefter's colleague John Clayton suggested Friday that Bradford will likely end up sitting one more week. Check back later in the day for Bradford's practice update.
Coach Gary Kubiak has ruled out Andre Johnson (hamstring) for Sunday's game against the Browns.
"He's very close," said Kubiak. "When he got pushed Monday, the response was, 'No, not yet.'...We'll get there." The Texans want Johnson to get back to 100 percent before he plays. Tied for the team lead in targets since Johnson went down with the injury, Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones are both questionable WR3 plays against a Browns defense that has shut down opposing passing games.
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on November 4, 2011, 12:29 PM EDT
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Just when you think Peyton Hillis is back in, his season has taken another turn for the worse.
Hillis re-injured his hamstring during practice Friday. He reacted by throwing the ball he was carrying and his helmet in anger, according to Mary Kay-Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. He then limped off the field in frustration.
So we hope Hillis’ fantasy owners traded him yesterday when it looked like he had a little value back.
Chris Ogbonnaya figures to get the call as Cleveland’s starter Sunday, assuming Hillis will miss another game.
The support for Tim Tebow in Denver seemingly made it difficult for the franchise to operate until they gave Tebow a shot to calm everyone down.
Just two games into Tebow’s audition, Broncos coach John Fox already sounds frustrated with the debate surrounding his quarterback. More tellingly, Fox sounds frustrated with the blame Fox is taking for Tebow’s struggles.
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on November 4, 2011, 10:02 AM EDT
Giants-Patriots has the national late audience and the Super Bowl rematch angle, but for my money Bills-Jets this Sunday is a whole lot more interesting.
This is Buffalo’s chance to put significant distance between them and the Jets in the AFC East. This is New York’s chance to get right back in playoff position.
It’s the biggest Bills game since 2004, which is a sentence we’ll probably be able to write a lot in the next two months. The hype has Bills receiver Stevie Johnsontalking like he’s a Jet.
Posted by Mike Florio on November 4, 2011, 10:37 AM EDT
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The last time the Patriots prepared to face the Giants, a bombshell was dropped by the Boston Herald. Former Pats beat writer John Tomase reported — and later retracted — that the Patriots had secretly filmed the Rams’ walk-through practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI.
As the Patriots prepare to face the Giants for the first time since the day that 18-0 became 18-1 in February 2008, another controversy has surfaced, albeit far less inflammatory.
Former NFL defensive lineman Chad Eaton, in a profile published Thursday by theDayton Daily News, blurts out that, when he was a member of the Browns’ practice squad, coach Bill Belichick paid Eaton to start fights in practice.
Said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll of QB Tarvaris Jackson, “The competitiveness is there, a terrific arm is there, a sense for our offense and what we’re doing – all of those things are very positive. Now we need to see it be translated into winning.”
If you're a Falcons' fan, you know the turmoil that has been suffered from watching their offense this season. This was supposed to be it, right? This was supposed to be the year they took a huge step forward in the passing game, and became an explosive team.
Well, things haven't ventured far from that original plan. Matt Ryan is already one interception away from matching his total in 2010. Granted all of those picks haven't been his fault (Roddy White literally dropped one into a defender's hands against Green Bay), but it still makes you wonder when we will see the ideas we were promised in preseason.
Julio Jones was brought in to add some much-needed life to the aerial attack. He's fast, he's a freak-athlete and he can make some sparks fly. Yet, after giving up almost literally an arm and a leg for him, he only has five receptions of 20+ yards. Ryan hasn't been able to connect on those deep balls, and some of his passes have looked just abysmal.
Yes, I know his offensive line has stunk. The Falcons have made some adjustments to prevent Ryan from getting hit 10+ times a game, but he still feels pressure constantly. Sometimes I wonder if he feels pre-pressure, pressure before actually being pressured. I think he's so accustomed to having a defender toppling him over that he simply expects it to happen constantly.
All of these aspects aside, will Week 9 finally be the week we say, "Yes Atlanta, this is what we've be looking for." They take on the Indianapolis Colts, the team that was torched for 62 points against the Saints. Drew Brees threw five touchdowns in a game that looked like something you'd see when you play Madden on the rookie setting.
The Colts pass defense has been good enough for 22nd in the NFL, and their run defense is even worse. Coming out of a bye last season, Ryan threw for 235 on 24 of 36 passing, along with one score and zero picks.
Jones is healthy again and is expected to play on Sunday. They've had plenty of time to prepare. They have one of the best matchups possible. Will Ryan take advantage? Will this team finally display a sense of consistency on offense for an entire four quarters? Let's hope so. No one wants to be the first team to lose to a winless team. And the Falcons certainly don't want a repeat of last week's Saints/Rams performance.
