HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

East Notes: Jets, Patriots, Bills, Cowboys

December 27th, 2015 at 6:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the Jets’ defeat of the Patriots shakes up the AFC playoff picture, let’s look at some of the news coming out of the Eastern divisions as Week 16 shifts to its night games.

  • Jets players were stunned the Patriots opted to kick to start overtime, Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com reports. “My face lit up, like ‘You really want to kick the ball?’ I don’t know, but I am glad they did choose to kick,” Calvin Pryor told media, including Hannable. Bill Belichick made the same decision two years ago against the Broncos, a game that featured several overtime punts before a Patriots victory. However, receiving teams don’t have an overwhelming percentage edge since the new OT rules were implemented for the regular season. Just 50.7% of receiving teams have won in extra periods since 2012.
  • The player who verbalized New England’s decision to kick, Matt Slater, could not retract his call regarding which direction the Patriots wanted to defend, per the NFL rulebook. But a post-regulation conversation between Belichick and referee Clete Blakeman may have set this mistake in motion, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com writes. Belichick told Blakeman before the coin toss he intended to have his team kick, and Blakeman worded that into his question to Slater, asking “You want to kick?” Once Slater responded, “We want to kick, that way,” Blakeman could only, by rule, follow his first command as teams that win the toss are not permitted to choose both the action that starts overtime or a half and the direction.
  • Bill Polian‘s recent critique of the current offensive front’s status was a point of contention among the Bills‘ line, Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News reports. The Hall of Fame ex-Bills GM referred to the Bills’ line as “aging and unathletic,” and the line mates, most notably 29-year-old Eric Wood and 32-year-old Richie Incognito, made it known that upset them. “We were chirping about it a little bit,” Incognito told media, including Dunne. “A lot of text messages back and forth. You know, we noticed it. We’re professionals. And for a guy like Bill Polian — who’s had a lot of success in Buffalo and is a Hall of Fame (executive) — to talk bad about our group like that, it puts a little (expletive) in our grit.” Despite not having LeSean McCoy‘s services, the Bills rushed for 236 yards on 40 carries in their defeat of the Cowboys.
  • Should Jerry Jones decide to fire Jason Garrett after this disastrous season, he’d have to pay up to do so, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. The Cowboys‘ coach is finishing out the first season of a five-year, $30MM contract he signed. An about-face on Garrett’s future in Dallas would cost the Cowboys up to $24MM. Garrett’s passive style in terms of deferring credit works well with the attention-hungry Jones, Florio offers.
  • Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis demurred when asked about his job security, responding, “That’s for other men to decide,” according to Paul Domowitch of Philly.com. Davis’ unit has ceded 216 points the past six games. Domowitch notes Chip Kelly’s vote of confidence about Davis’ future doesn’t mean too much considering Andy Reid gave Sean McDermott the same sentiment before firing him five seasons ago. The Philadelphia writer adds Davis is the likely scapegoat for Kelly’s first-year struggles assembling a quality roster.

NFL To Investigate Manning, Others Accused Of PED Use

December 27th, 2015 at 4:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL plans to investigate Peyton Manning, Julius Peppers, and other players accused of taking PEDs in a recent Al Jazeera report, a source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). It’s the standard operating procedure for the league to follow up on any such lead and/or tip in a matter such as this, per Cole, but the NFL has no official comment on the situation at this time.

A past history of failed drug tests will play a role in the investigation, reports Cole. While that won’t affect Manning (who hasn’t failed a test in his 18-year career), Peppers and fellow Packer Mike Neal have each served four-game bans in the past, so they could see additional scrutiny as the league looks closer into the report. Peppers was suspended way back in 2002 for taking a banned dietary supplement, while Neal was banned in 2012 for using Adderall.

Meanwhile, the Colts have issued a statement on the matter (specifically relating to the charges against Manning), calling the report “utterly ridiculous” while lauding Manning’s lengthy history of excellent work ethic and integrity (link via Pro Football Talk).

Jim Mora, Pat Fitzgerald Candidates For NFL Jobs

December 27th, 2015 at 3:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

With Black Monday – the day following the conclusion of the regular season when a number of NFL head coaches will inevitably lose their jobs – about a week away, clubs will soon take a circumspect look at the available candidates. Many of those replacement options will come from the NFL ranks, but college coaches will naturally engender interest, as well. Two such NCAA coaches, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, are Jim Mora of UCLA and Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern.

Mora, 54, spent 2004-06 as head coach of the Falcons, earning a postseason berth during his first season; he was also the Seahawks’ head coach during a forgettable 2009 season. He’s been much more successful during his NCAA time, posting a 37-16 record in Los Angeles. Per La Canfora, More might not be too eager to make the jump to the NFL, as he has long-term job security and one of the top collegiate rosters at UCLA. But the Chargers job, if open, would be particularly appealing to Mora, as he’d be able to stay on the West Coast while leading a team with a franchise quarterback in Philip Rivers.

The 41-year-old Fitzgerald has been garnering NFL interest for years, per La Canfora, as clubs are impressed that Northwestern has been able to stay competitive in the Big 10 despite lacking top-end talent. NFL teams are even more impressed this season, says La Canfora, and search firms are actively testing Fitzgerald’s level of intrigue in leaping to the NFL. One possible roadblock? Fitzgerald might be reticent to leave the greater Chicago area (and the Bears job isn’t likely to open up any time soon).

The Titans and Dolphins will certainly be searching for new head coaches this offseason, while the Rams, Browns, Giants, 49ers, Lions, and Saints could also be in the hunt.

PFR Originals: 12/20/15 – 12/27/15

December 27th, 2015 at 2:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The original content and analysis produced by the PR staff during the past week:

Week In Review: 12/20/15 – 12/27/15

December 27th, 2015 at 1:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The headlines from the past week at PFR:

Key News:

Signed/Re-Signed: 

Waived:

Injuries:

Sunday Roundup: Matthews, Dimitroff, Brees

December 27th, 2015 at 12:49pm CST by Rory Parks

As the NFL world continues to reel from the Peyton Manning HGH allegations, let’s take a look at some links from around the league:

  • Although the majority of the fallout from the Al Jazeera documentary has naturally focused on Manning, it should not be forgotten that other star players, like Packers LB Clay Matthews, were also named in the report. Per Mike Garafolo of FOXSports, via colleague Jay Glazer, Matthews has denied even knowing who former Guyer Institute intern Charlie Sly is and has naturally denied receiving any medications from him (Twitter link).
  • No one disputes that there is a talent deficiency on the Falcons roster, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says GM Thomas Dimitroff will not necessarily take the fall for that deficiency. Per Rapoport, owner Arthur Blank will sit down with Dimitroff after the season to hear his GM’s plan for the team moving forward, and Blank will make a decision about Dimitroff’s future then (Twitter links).
  • Speaking of embattled GMs, Kevin Patra of NFL.com (citing Rapoport) says Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey–who was essentially rendered superfluous when the team hired Mike Tannenbaum–will likely be fired at the end of the season.
  • Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Daily News has even more troubling news for Eagles fans, reporting that veteran left tackle Jason Peters took himself, unhurt, out of last night’s loss to Washington because he did not want to risk getting injured for a team that was not going to make the playoffs.
  • Following a report this morning that Drew Brees would need to take a hometown discount to remain with the Saints in 2016, former NFL agent Joel Corry weighs in on the matter in a series of tweets. Corry says that New Orleans will have to make a quick decision on Brees’ future, as $10.85MM of his $19.75MM base salary becomes fully guaranteed on February 10, 2016, the third day of the waiver period. Because there is no offset language in Brees’ deal, if the Saints were to wait until after February 10 to cut him, they would be saddled with nearly $21MM of dead money. As Corry points out, that reality gives Brees a great deal of leverage, which should allow him to “slow play” contract negotiations.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com looks at the dilemma the Panthers will face this offseason when deciding whether to re-sign Josh Norman, put the franchise tag on him, or let him walk in free agency.
  • Citing a league source, Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee tweets that the 49ers plan to keep Jarryd Hayne on the team’s active roster through the end of the season, thereby allowing San Francisco to keep Hayne under club control for 2016.

East Notes: Giants, Harrison, Eagles

December 27th, 2015 at 11:16am CST by Rory Parks

The Giants were officially eliminated from playoff contention last night by virtue of Washington’s victory over the Eagles, which has led ESPN’s Dan Graziano to wonder where Big Blue goes from here. He lays out the three biggest questions facing the team this offseason, including, of course, the fates of head coach Tom Coughlin and former first-round draft picks Prince Amukamara and Jason Pierre-Paul. Although it has been widely reported that Coughlin would be fired if his team failed to reach the playoffs this season, Graziano writes that a decision on Coughlin’s future has not yet been made.

Let’s take a look at a few more links from the league’s east divisions, beginning with more out of New York:

  • Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News suggests that there will be pressure from within the Giants‘ organization to make a coaching change, but Vacchiano says it would be unwise to underestimate how much team president John Mara likes Coughlin, and if Mara wants to stick with the coach that has delivered two Super Bowl titles to his club, Vacchiano lays out five reasons that would justify such a decision.
  • If the Giants do decide to part ways with Coughlin, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is highly thought of within the organization and would become a strong candidate to become the team’s next head coach.
  • If he stays with the Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick could land a contract that will pay him between $10-12MM annually, according to Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (citing a prominent NFL agent).
  • Damon Harrison, one of the unsung heroes of the Jets defensive line, will be a free agent at year’s end, and during a recent Q&A with Steve Serby of The New York Post, Harrison expressed his desire to remain with the Jets for the foreseeable future.
  • Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald looks back at the disastrous 2013 offseason that saw the Dolphins make enormous mistakes in both the draft and free agency, mistakes that will continue to haunt the team in 2016 and beyond.
  • After the Eagles‘ loss to Washington last night, quarterback Sam Bradford said he would like to remain in Philadelphia going forward, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. Although Bradford has had an up-and-down season in his first year with the club, Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer believes the impending free agent did enough last night to prove to the Eagles that he is worthy of a new contract.
  • As Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Daily News notes, the question of who will make the decision on Bradford’s future with the Eagles is still very much up in the air. Although Bowen still believes owner Jeffrey Lurie is “in too deep” with Chip Kelly to pull the plug on his embattled head coach so soon after handing him control of the team’s personnel decisions, the Eagles loss last night and the manner in which they lost may force Lurie’s hand.

Saints Notes: Brees, Payton, Benson

December 27th, 2015 at 9:37am CST by Rory Parks

Let’s have a look at some Saints-related news that has come across the wire this morning, news that includes some of the biggest names in New Orleans:

  • Drew Brees may be under contract through 2016, but according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), Brees will not be back with the club next season unless he “takes a hometown discount.” As a result of the contract restructure that Brees and the Saints worked out in September, the veteran signal-caller will carry an exorbitant $30MM cap number in 2016–the highest in the league–so it was inevitable that the two sides would have to revisit Brees’ deal in the coming months. The team could reduce that cap number via an extension, but given the team’s uncertain future, a release or trade may be more likely options. As former NFL agent Joel Corry tweets, the term “hometown discount” is not in Brees’ agent Tom Condon’s vocabulary.
  • Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that there is some frustration among the Saints brass that Brees “maximized his contract” when he inked a five-year, $100MM deal prior to the 2012 season, a contract that has limited the club’s roster flexibility. Needless to say, it is difficult to blame a player for accepting money that a team willingly offers him.
  • Rapoport asked sources close to head coach Sean Payton whether Payton would leave New Orleans at the end of the season, and those sources told Rapoport “never say never” (Twitter link). Team executives believe Payton is searching for a potential landing spot in case his time with the Saints is, in fact, coming to an end, and Rapoport tweets that Payton himself has privately mentioned the Chargers as a possibility. Albert Breer of the NFL Network names the Colts and whatever team(s) that end up in Los Angeles as the most likely destinations (Twitter link).
  • Meanwhile, if Payton does leave the Saints next year, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports believes Jaguars offensive line coach Doug Marrone could be the team’s top choice to replace him.
  • Saints owner Tom Benson has announced that he has no intention of retiring or selling the Saints, per Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. Benson has been involved in a bitter legal dispute with his estranged daughter and grandchildren since he announced plans in January to will control of the Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans to his third wife, Gayle Benson.

Bills GM Doug Whaley “On Very Solid Ground”

December 27th, 2015 at 8:50am CST by Rory Parks

After a pair of reports last weekend suggested just the opposite, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Bills GM Doug Whaley is “on very solid ground” and that Whaley is more likely to receive an extension than be fired (Twitter link). Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that team ownership supports Whaley, and that the GM and head coach Rex Ryan work well together.

Reports from Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports last Sunday indicated that owner Terry Pegula had sought outside NFL consultation in an effort to address the problems that his club has faced in recent seasons, and those reports suggested that much of what Pegula heard was unfavorable to Whaley. Furthermore, Carucci and La Canfora suggested that Whaley and the Bills’ coaching staff did not see eye-to-eye, and La Canfora indicated that a “showdown” between Whaley and the team’s coaches could be coming at the end of the season.

Rapoport’s tweets, however, throws some cold water on all of that talk. And although Whaley has made a few missteps–blowing a first-round draft pick on EJ Manuel, for instance–he has also made some notable improvements to the roster during his time in Buffalo. Whaley, who served as the Steelers’ Coordinator of Pro Scouting for 11 years before being hired by the Bills as Assistant GM/Director of Pro Personnel in 2010, assembled a particularly strong rookie class in 2015, a class that has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing year. He also has a decent track record in free agency, and even though he should bear some of the blame for the Bills’ failure to qualify for the playoffs this year, he has certainly done enough to earn another chance in 2016. And despite the team’s recent attempts to lure Bill Polian to the front office–along with its continued consultation of Polian–Rapoport’s sources believe Whaley will get that chance.

Documentary Links Peyton Manning, Other NFLers To PEDs

December 26th, 2015 at 9:50pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

9:50pm: Manning has issued a strongly worded denial through the Broncos (Twitter link via Albert Breer of NFL.com):

“The allegation that I would do something like that is complete garbage and is totally made up. It never happened. Never. I really can’t believe somebody would put something like this on the air. Whoever said this is making stuff up.”

9:04pm: In 2011, when Peyton Manning was recovering from a career-threatening neck injury, an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic supplied him and his wife with human growth hormone – which is on the NFL’s banned substances list – according to a pharmacist who worked at the clinic, Travis Waldron and Ryan Grim of The Huffington Post write.

Guyer Institute pharmacist Charlie Sly claims he was “part of a medical team that helped [Manning] recover.” Sly made that statement to Liam Collins, a British hurdler who went undercover for an Al Jazeera documentary, “The Dark Side,” centering on the global epidemic of performance-enhancing drugs in sports.

“All the time we would be sending Ashley Manning drugs,” says Sly on video, unaware that Collins was taping him. “Like growth hormone, all the time, everywhere, Florida. And it would never be under Peyton’s name, it would always be under her name.”

Sly also declares that Manning and his wife showed up at the clinic after normal business hours for intravenous treatments.

In response, Manning’s agent, Tom Condon, rejected Sly’s allegations to Al Jazeera and referred to them as “outrageous and wrong.”

“The treatment he received at the Guyer Institute was provided on the advice of his physician and with the knowledge of team doctors and trainers,” said Condon, who neither confirmed nor denied that growth hormones were sent to Manning’s wife.

“Any medical treatment received by Ashley is a private matter of hers, her doctor, and her family,” Condon said.

As noted by Waldron and Grim, the league banned HGH in 2011 but didn’t begin testing for it until 2014. No NFL player has ever tested positive for it.

In addition to Manning, Sly and fellow pharmacist Chad Robertson name Packers linebackers Mike Neal and Julius Peppers, Steelers LB James Harrison and ex-NFL tight end Dustin Keller as players they supplied with banned substances. Neal, Peppers, Harrison and Keller are all linked to hormone supplement Delta-2, which Sly says is designed to stay ahead of drug tests.

Further, Sly contends to have provided prescription painkiller Percocet to Packers LB Clay Matthews, whom Sly says also attempted to obtain Toradol – another painkiller. Toradol is banned in many countries, but not the United States.

Harrison issued a denial to Al Jazeera, while Neal, Peppers, Matthews and Keller didn’t respond to the network’s request for comment, per Waldron and Grim.

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