Month: September 2024

The Dolphins should just call Ryan Tannehill already as their season teeters on quarterback instability

It’s time for the Dolphins to call Ryan Tannehill.

The Miami Dolphins cannot keep this going any longer.

After suffering a dispiriting home loss to the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football and not getting much of anything from quarterback Tyler Huntley in the air, the Dolphins have to stop pretending this quarterback plan is going to work if they still want to make the playoffs this season.

For as talented as this offense is and how much the franchise was expected to meaningfully contend this year, the Dolphins are going to have to swallow their pride and bring quarterback Ryan Tannehill back to salvage the season.

Sure, bringing back your former first-round quarterback who flamed out in your uniform and revived his career with the Titans would require eating more than a bit of humble pie. However, Tannehill is the ultimate escape hatch at the position in free agency. Miami needs a miracle right now to get this offense going in any direction that’s positive. That miracle may be returning to the past.

Huntley is a career backup, and there’s no shame in him not quite rising to the occasion on Monday night. Skylar Thompson hasn’t really shown much to give you hope he can lead the franchise past a game or two, and turning to Tim Boyle just feels like a bad idea.

Tua Tagovailoa, the team’s primary quarterback, is on injured reserve right now and facing a pretty severe concussion situation. There is no guarantee he returns this season, and Miami would play with fire to put him back in the lineup this season. The risk of another concussion so soon after the one he sustained a couple of weeks ago is palpable and deeply worrisome.

Signing Tannehill gives the franchise a perfectly viable reason to allow Tagovailoa the year to heal before playing contact football again. The  veteran started in eight games for the Titans last year, and he was okay. He doesn’t have Tagovailoa’s ceiling, but his floor is steady enough.

Mike McDaniel has built the fastest offense in the NFL, and all he really needs his quarterback to do is point and throw with enough arm power to hit one of the speedy weapons at Miami’s disposal. Tannehill can do that.

McDaniel is still regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds in the game, so a down year won’t put him on the hot seat. However, this Dolphins team isn’t getting any younger. Maximizing a very weird season and a suddenly open AFC should be a priority for a talented team like Miami, even with a 1-3 record. That’s where the Cincinnati Bengals are, hypothetically!

Even if the advanced statistics aren’t great, maybe Tannehill could at least pick the offensive side of the ball up from the bottom of the league. Maybe?

Tannehill coming back to the team that drafted him to save its season could be a really fun story, even if you cannot guarantee he’d be able to do enough to win a division with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets… defense or even push for a wild-card spot. However, this team is destined for a lost season as it is without a meaningful swap at quarterback.

It’s entirely possible the Dolphins could keep playing quarterback musical chairs until Tagovailoa returns, but that feels like a terrible idea and a huge gamble with the franchise quarterback’s long-term viability to play football.

You can’t say with confidence that adding Tannehill is enough to save the Dolphins’ suddenly shaky season, but you can say it’s a much better idea than any of the other ones present for the team at quarterback right now.

Why not give it a go if Tannehill is open to the idea of going home? He’s as good an option as Miami is going to get right now to right the ship.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1371]

Watch Kenneth Walker’s Houdini act on Monday Night Football

Kenneth Walker was a magician on MNF:

Former Michigan State football running back Kenneth Walker is currently playing on Monday Night Football, as his Seattle Seahawks traveled to Ford Field for a game with the Detroit Lions.

During the first half of the game between the Seahawks and the Lions, Walker broke social media with an insane run, which saw the former Spartan spin off of LB Alex Anzalone’s body not once, but two times to stay upright and earn extra yards.

Watch the insane play via X:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner

 

Watch former MSU RB Kenneth Walker score TD on Monday Night Football

Former MSU RB Kenneth Walker got the Seahawks scoring going with a rushing TD in the second quarter

Former Spartans great Kenneth Walker was back in Michigan on Monday night and like he did at Michigan State, he found the endzone.

Walker punched in the Seattle Seahawks’ first touchdown of the game in a Monday Night Football matchup against the Detroit Lions. Walker was originally stuffed at the line of scrimmage but bounced it outside to get the Seahawks on the board in the first half.

At the time of this post, this was the first of three touchdowns for Walker in the matchup against the Lions.

Walker only played for the Spartans for one season after transferring from Wake Forest. But he starred for Michigan State in his one season, helping lead the 2021 Spartans to the Peach Bowl.

Watch the highlight play from Walker in the post below:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

Look at the alternate uniforms Oregon will wear against MSU

Oregon unveils new alternate uniforms for Friday night’s matchup with MSU:

Michigan State football will travel to Eugene on Friday night for a big time clash against No. 6 Oregon at Autzen Stadium.

Oregon, who Phil Knight is very famously an alumnus of, is known for the creative uniform combinations that they wear from Nike. On Friday, the Ducks will be unveiling a new uniform combo.

Revealed via X, the uniforms were designed by the Lanning family with each thread represents triumph and showing support for those who have battled cancer, while raising awareness to fight for the cure.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner

Dan Lanning offers injury update on Oregon Ducks TE Terrance Ferguson

In his Monday night press conference, Oregon coach Dan Lanning says tight end Terrance Ferguson will be available to play Friday.

It was a hit no one wanted to see.

But when Terrance Ferguson went over the middle for a pass deep inside UCLA territory, he was knocked silly and missed the majority of the game. That play left Oregon with Patrick Herbert and Kenyon Sadiq to play tight end for the rest of the night.

Although nothing was confirmed, it was assumed Ferguson was suffering from a possible concussion and was kept out for precautionary reasons. Oregon’s offense was OK without him, but having Ferguson on the field makes the Ducks more potent.

According to head coach Dan Lanning, the Ducks will have the services of Ferguson after the tight end was able to fully practice on Monday ahead of the Friday night game with Michigan State.

So far this season, Ferguson has 14 catches for 177 yards, an average of 12.6 yards per catch. He’s also valuable with his blocking abilities in the run game and down the field in certain passing situations.

In short, Oregon is a much better team with him on the field rather than the alternative.

Amon-Ra St. Brown throws touchdown pass to Jared Goff for Lions

Amon-Ra St. Brown found Jared Goff for a Lions touchdown

Dan Campbell’s playbook knows no boundaries.

On Monday night in the second half of the game with the Seattle Seahawks, Campbell got real trick.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, the elite wide receiver, took a handoff and rolled out.

He threw back across the field to his quarterback, Jared Goff, who took the football into the end zone for the score.

Kickoff time and TV info for Penn State’s road trip to USC announced

What time and what channel will the Penn State-USC football game be?

Penn State is coming off their primetime victory over Illinois in a good spot regarding their College Football Playoff chances. While there are still plenty of hurdles they have to overcome before that happens, they are viewed as one of the best teams in the country, heading into Saturday’s matchup against UCLA.

With that kickoff time already known, there is a huge game upcoming against USC on Oct. 12 that will go a long way in determining if they will be competing for a Big 10 championship game spot.

[autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] won’t allow his team to overlook this weekend’s game, but that doesn’t mean fans can’t start preparing for a rematch of the 2017 Rose Bowl game that ended in an agonizing defeat.

National college football writer Bryan Fischer has revealed what time their game against USC will air, reporting this game will kick at 3:30 p.m. EST on CBS.

CBS has since confirmed that information.

Again, Penn State will have the UCLA game this upcoming Saturday to worry about before they turn their attention to the other Los Angeles school, but their game against USC could feature an undefeated Nittany Lions team that travels to face 4-1 Trojans squad.

This will undoubtedly be one of the biggest matchups of the entire weekend with major ramifications on the Big 10 title race that could shake up the College Football Playoff picture.

If Penn State wins, they will continue to remain in the Big Ten championship picture, and even if they lose, that wouldn’t necessarily take them out of the equation by that being their sole conference loss.

However, if USC loses to the Nittany Lions, then that could eliminate them from the title game by picking up their second loss in conference play.

Nittany Lions Wire will have everything covered leading up to that game, but for now, stay tuned for the preview ahead of their matchup with UCLA.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.

Former Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker wins game for the Chicago Bears

Jaquan Brisker had the play of the day for the Chicago Bears.

Penn State is enjoying a good season of its own so far following its second big test of the year by beating Illinois in primetime on Saturday in a battle of undefeated teams.

The goals of this team are to get back to the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2016-17 and put themselves in a position to make their first-ever College Football Playoff. If they continue to play the way they have during their first four contests, they should be able to accomplish one, if not both, of those goals.

While Penn State has enjoyed success on Saturdays, there have been tons of former Nittany Lions who have continued their careers at the professional level in the NFL, and on Sunday, one of their former standouts, [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag], sealed a win for the Chicago Bears.

Brisker was selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft after being a first-team All-Big 10 and second-team All-American selection in his final season with Penn State.

He originally started his career with Lackawanna Community College after not being rated as a high school prospect. He transferred to the Nittany Lions ahead of the 2019-20 season where he played in 13 games and recorded 32 total tackles and two interceptions.

That earned him a larger role heading into the next year where he became an elite defender during his time in Happy Valley.

Brisker finished his career with 146 total tackles, 10 for a loss, 19 passes defended, and five interceptions across his 34 games and 21 starts.

So far, the former Penn State standout has also enjoyed a solid career in Chicago, starting all 34 games he’s been available to play and recording 244 total tackles, 159 of them being solo with 11 of them coming for loss, while also showing his versatility with six sacks, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.

First half highlights: Seahawks trail Lions 21-7 on Monday Night Football

First half highlights: Seahawks trail Lions 21-7 on Monday Night Football

The Seattle Seahawks went into Detroit facing their biggest challenge of the year, and they sure are feeling it right now. Absent some of their best defensive line players in Byron Murphy II, Leonard Williams, Boye Mafe and Uchenna Nwosu, the Lions have had their way with the Seahawks defense rushing for 88 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.

Detroit got things going with a touchdown run from David Montgomery to take an early 7-0 lead. Seattle attempted to answer with a promising drive of their own, but DK Metcalf had a rather untimely fumble which was recovered by the Lions.

Once again, the Seahawks defense was put in a situation forced to defend their own red zone. Unfortunately, they did not have the success against Detroit the way they did against Denver or Miami. The Lions quickly scored to make it a 14-0 game.

Seattle did answer, by Kenneth Walker III plunging into the end zone for a touchdown himself. Of course, not before being set up by a huge reception from DK Metcalf who earned some redemption.

Detroit did not let the Seahawks off the hook, as they extended the lead to 21-7 on their ensuing drive. Seattle attempted to answer back, thanks to some exceptional trickery on third-and-long to convert for a first down.

Seattle, sadly, could not take advantage and had to punt shortly afterwards.

The Seahawks will get the ball to start the second half, and they are in need of serious work. Despite the return of Kenneth Walker and his touchdown, Seattle as a team has all of 18 yards on the ground, 12 of which have come from quarterback Geno Smith. Major adjustments on both sides of the ball are going to have to be done if the Seahawks have any hope of clawing their way back into this one.

Be sure to follow @TheSeahawksWire and @KoleMusgrove23 on Twitter for live updates, analysis and highlights during the game.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1360]

Chargers QB Justin Herbert on Chiefs’ rabid pass rush: ‘I thought we were prepared’

#Chargers QB Justin Herbert told reporters about the challenge of facing the #Chiefs’ rabid pass rush after Los Angeles’ Week 4 loss to K.C.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ defense has been on fire to start the 2024 regular season, and it seems that the defending champions somehow caught the Los Angeles Chargers off guard in Week 4.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert addressed the media after Los Angeles’ loss to Kansas City and praised the Chiefs’ pass rush that was orchestrated by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

“It’s tough,” Herbert told reporters. “Like we said during the week, they do a good job of getting after the passer. We expected that. We knew that and I thought we were prepared for it. I’ve got do a better job of getting the ball out, quicker, with answers. I thought the offensive line did a great job stepping up and blocking and doing everything they needed to do. It’s definitely on us to be better at that.”

Herbert was sacked by star defensive lineman Chris Jones twice on Sunday and was held to just 179 passing yards.