Category: JwPlayerVideo

Report: Chiefs DE Emmanuel Ogbah to have season-ending surgery on torn pec

It sounds like the MRI results are in for Kansas City Chiefs DE Emmanuel Ogbah and the news is not good.

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The Kansas City Chiefs defense looks to be losing one of their pass rushers for the remainder of 2019.

Yesterday evening, Andy Reid let us know that they believed DE Emmanuel Ogbah had suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the Chiefs’ 35-32 loss to the Tennessee Titans. It appears that he’s since had an MRI to confirm the initial diagnosis, and according to a new report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Ogbah will require season-ending surgery.

It’s not an ideal situation for Kansas City as Ogbah has been a big surprise. He came over to the Chiefs in a player-for-player swap with the Browns where the Chiefs sent safety Eric Murray to Cleveland. Since the trade, Ogbah has seen one of the best seasons in his career, matching his career sack total of 5.5 in just four starts and 10 total appearances with Kansas City.

This could be the last we see of Ogbah with the Chiefs as he’s currently slated to become a free agent in 2020. Kansas City could try and work out a deal to re-sign him but they’re going to be up against the cap trying to fit big contracts for DT Chris Jones and QB Patrick Mahomes.

Replacing Ogbah’s production in the meantime will be a difficult task for the Chiefs as they’ve seen quite a bit of attrition along the defensive line already. Starters Alex Okafor and Frank Clark have both dealt with injuries throughout the season.

Right now, there isn’t a clear move to make when Kansas City decides to send Ogbah to IR. They could potentially elevate Cameron Malveaux from the practice squad or bring in some free agents for tryouts. One thing we’ll likely see is more snaps from Jones at defensive end for the time being. He’s played there several times over the past two weeks due to injuries along the defensive line.

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MSU vs. Michigan: Scouting Report

Michigan State football travels to The Big House to face off against interstate rival, the Michigan Wolverines. Here is a scouting report.

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Michigan State football travels to Michigan Stadium or “The Big House” this weekend to take on their interstate rival, the Michigan Wolverines. This is the biggest game of both team’s seasons thus far. Michigan aims to add another win to their season and Michigan State aims to add some sort of satisfaction to their season.

Here is a scouting report of the Michigan Wolverines:

Shea Patterson

Michigan QB Shea Patterson is quite the enigma. Many wrote him off due to a poor start to the season. Now, some are skeptical even though Michigan boasts a winning record. Note, the numbers are rather favorable for Patterson. He is actually quite similar to a QB that you know all too well.

Through nine games, Patterson has tallied up 1,773 yards, 12 touchdowns, and four interceptions. For comparison, MSU QB Brian Lewerke has put up 2,012 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Interestingly enough, Lewerke does indeed boast a higher QBR rating than Patterson. In my opinion, the QB matchup is dead even.

RB & WR Options

Michigan primarily relies on freshman Zach Charbonnet and sophomore Hassan Haskins. Through nine games, Charbonnet boasts 117 carries for 559 yards and 11 touchdowns. On the other hand, Haskins has rushed for 426 yards and two touchdowns on just 72 carries.

There are a few other RB options that eat on this team, but, Charbonnet and Haskins stand tall above all. Michigan may not always be able to rely on their passing game. Their running game is always a viable option though. So Michigan State must prepare themselves for a battle in the trenches.

Five different Michigan players have 20 receptions or more on the year. This includes WR’s Ronnie Bell, Nico Collins, Tarik Black, and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Nick Eubanks is the lone TE on this list with exactly 20 receptions on the year. Everyone but Bell has tallied up a touchdown. Note, Collins and Peoples-Jones have both recorded three touchdowns thus far. MSU’s secondary has been shaky, to say the least. Michigan may stretch the Spartan secondary thin this game.

Reliable Defense

The Michigan defense is not necessarily outstanding but they are certainly reliable. No team has scored more than 35 points against the Wolverine’s defense. All the while, Michigan shutout Rutgers in week 4. So Michigan State’s offense must execute well without errors. Lewerke and the company cannot cough up unforced errors that lead to turnovers in this game.

Remember, this Wolverine’s defense is not overwhelming. So the Spartans can definitely put numbers on the board. Especially if they run the ball well. Army ran the ball all over Michigan earlier on in the season. MSU must dominate the run game to open up the passing game for Lewerke and company.

The Michigan vs. Michigan State rivalry is still incredibly strong. Both teams want to show one another up. The fan sentiment towards MSU’s coaching staff is already pretty negative. If they lose to Michigan, it will be out of control.

Cheer on the Spartans this weekend. Kick-off is at 12 P.M. and the game is on Fox. Stay locked on SpartansWire for coverage all throughout the weekend.

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Texas opens up as underdogs against Iowa State

The Texas Longhorns have opened up as underdogs for their game against the Iowa State Cyclones

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After an unfortunate few weeks for the Longhorns, Texas finally was able to steer the ship and get back in the win column. They did so by defeating the No. 16 Kansas State Wildcats by a score of 27-24.

Heading into week 12, Texas will look to continue the momentum on the road against a tough Iowa State squad. The Cyclones have opened up as early 6.5-point favorites over the Longhorns.

Iowa State is coming off a one-point loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, so we know they can compete with the best. Inconsistency has been Iowa State’s biggest issue.

You can catch the game this upcoming Saturday, November 16th, at 2:30 PM CT on FS1.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated 11/11 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Jon Gruden lays out Raiders top nickel option(s) should Lamarcus Joyner be unable to go

Jon Gruden lays out Raiders top nickel option(s) should Lamarcus Joyner be unable to go

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Following the Raiders’ Thursday night win over the Chargers, Jon Gruden was initially most concerned about the apparent hamstring injury suffered by nickel cornerback Lamarcus Joyner. He pulled up without contact on the Chargers’ final possession. Those non-contact injuries are often the worst ones.

As it turned out, it was fellow defensive back Karl Joseph who had the more severe injury, and he was placed on the injured reserve list two days later.

While Joyner’s hamstring injury is not season-ending, he may still miss some time. The Raiders signed free agent DJ Swearinger to try and fill the void left by the loss of Joseph, but at cornerback, they recently traded away one of their starters, leaving them with some serious depth issues now that Joyner is a question mark.

So, who replaces Joyner at the nickel cornerback spot? Well, that depends…

“Nevin Lawson is a guy that can play inside,” said Gruden. “Worley can play inside. Isaiah Johnson can play outside, so we have some options. But we’ll see where Lamarcus is here in the next couple days.”

Lawson is the first option. Worley had been tried out at safety and nickel earlier in the season as the Raiders explored their best five options for the secondary. Moving to safety may have been an option had Joyner not been injured, but now Worley is desperately needed at the cornerback spot.

Whether Worley could be tried at the nickel spot is dependent upon where rookie Isaiah Johnson is in his development. Johnson was activated from the injured reserve list just last week and plays exclusively outside.

“We’ll see where Isaiah is with a full week of practice. Remember last week was his first full week active, and we didn’t even have a full-speed practice before the Charger game. So this will be really the first time we get a chance to see him on the practice field for a full week.”

Experience is undoubtedly a concern with Johnson, while Lawson is a veteran cornerback with 54 NFL starts in 66 appearances under his belt. So, it would seem there is a very good chance the cornerback trio will be Worley and Trayvon Mullen on the outside, Lawson in the slot, and Johnson and Keisean Nixon off the bench.

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Mohamed Sanu on Rob Gronkowski’s potential return: ‘Come, man, come’

Gronk may be unlikely to return, but Mohamed Sanu would love to have the tight end.

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New England Patriots receiver Mohamed Sanu wouldn’t mind giving up a few touches to tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Gronkowski reentered the news cycle during the Patriots’ bye weekend. Though he has playfully teased a possible return from suspension, he has made zero meaningful indication that he intends to play for New England this season. To some, that’s surprising, because there was speculation he might return for a Patriots’ playoff run, a scenario that Patriots owner Robert Kraft reportedly suggested to Gronk at the end of last season. As unlikely as it may be, Sanu discussed the idea on Monday.

“If he does, I would love it. Just gotta go about it day by day and just do my part. Come, man, come,” Sanu told reporters, via NESN’s Doug Kyed.

The Patriots’ tight end situation has been extremely unsettled since the team  saw Gronk retire. They have looked to tight ends Ben Watson, Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo, but haven’t gotten much production. Even with the position struggling, the Patriots receivers and running backs have carried the passing offense, and New England entered Week 10 with the second-most points per game (30).

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Chiefs send OL Martinas Rankin to IR, sign OT Jackson Barton

The Kansas City Chiefs have sent Martinas Rankin to IR and signed an offensive tackle from the Indianapolis Colts practice squad.

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The Kansas City Chiefs made a pair of roster moves on Monday. Following the report that offensive lineman Martinas Rankin suffered a season-ending knee injury, we now have some clarity on that situation. According to the NFL’s transaction report, the team has opted to place Rankin on the injured reserve list.

Rankin joined the Chiefs this season in a trade that sent running back Carlos Hyde to the Texans. He’d been starting at left guard since Week 6 after Andrew Wylie suffered an ankle sprain. The move to place Rankin on IR suggests his season is over.

In a corresponding move, the Chiefs have signed a rookie offensive tackle from the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad. Jackson Barton was a seventh-round draft pick by Indianapolis out of Utah. His brother Cody plays linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. Jackson was making well over the weekly minimum on the practice squad, with the Colts shelling out $20,000 a week to keep him there. That alone shows you what they thought of him.

Barton didn’t make the 53-man roster out of the preseason and spent the first 10 weeks of the season on the Indianapolis practice squad. At 6 feet 7 and 302 pounds, Barton is a big body that is better suited playing tackle than he is in the offensive interior. He has experience playing both left and right tackle.

Given the injury concerns for the Chiefs, Barton might have to get up to speed quickly. Eric Fisher has been out recovering from a groin injury, and Mitchell Schwartz was dinged up in Week 10. If Barton fills a similar role to Rankin in Kansas City, expect him to be listed on the depth chart as the backup right tackle with the ability to fill in at other spots as well.

Nate Reuvers Named Big Ten Player of the Week

Nate Reuvers was named by the Big Ten as its player of the week.

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It’s only been two games but Nate Reuvers certainly has been impressive in the early goings as he’s averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 6.5 blocks.

This is the first time in Reuvers career where he has been recognized as player of the week by the Big Ten. Reuvers is the first Wisconsin player to earn this recognition since Ethan Happ who did it last season (Dec. 10, 2018).

In Wisconsin’s season opener against Saint Mary’s Reuvers finished the game with 22 points, tying a career-high while also registering six rebounds and four blocks. Reuvers was able to follow that up by registering his second career double-double against Eastern Illinois as he finished the game with 14 points and 14 rebounds in addition to having nine blocks.

Reuvers has been Wisconsin’s most consistent scorer as he’s shooting 46.2 percent (12-for-26) from the field and has made at least one three in each game. In addition, Reuvers 6.5 blocks per game rank second nationally behind Marquette’s Theo John who’s averaging eight blocks per game.

Wisconsin will host Marquette on Sunday at noon as the game can be seen on FS1. Before the Badgers square off with their in-state rival in the Golden Eagles the Badgers will play McNeese State on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Davis says shoulder is ‘fine’ and hopes to play Tuesday at Phoenix

Davis added that he won’t know for sure that he will play against the Phoenix Suns until going through shoot around on Tuesday.

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Anthony Davis told reporters after the Los Angeles Lakers first loss in over two weeks that he does feel discomfort in his shoulder fairly often when he’s playing after aggravating it on a block attempt in Sunday’s game against the Toronto Raptors. But come Monday afternoon, Davis was already past his discomfort while also admitting he’s not 100 percent sure he will play Tuesday night against a strong Phoenix Suns group.

Davis told reporters on Monday that he hopes to play Tuesday at Phoenix but won’t make the final call on whether he will play until he goes through shoot around in Phoenix, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

Davis also suggested that his shoulder is much better than it was when he initially injured it on a missed dunk during the team’s victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 27, according to Mike Trudell for Lakers.com.

We can forgive Davis for holding saying two disconnecting thoughts at once because it seems like his shoulder is going to be a day-to-day thing as the season goes on, so his outlook on his shoulder will likely vary from one day to the next.

Until Sunday night’s game, Davis had gone quite a while without enduring a shoulder discomfort but it’s been something he’s had to deal with for a long time. He had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder after the 2015-16, but it’s his right one that is currently ailing. Either way, it looks like it will be something he’s going to deal with all season. Sometimes like Monday, it will be simple for Davis. But as Sunday showed, there will be complicated moments as well.

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Raiders tried to claim DJ Swearinger last year, now need him to ‘put it all together’ quickly

Raiders tried to claim DJ Swearinger last year, now need him to ‘put it all together’ quickly

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Safety was a bit of a question mark for the Raiders late last season. So, when Washington waived DJ Swearinger on Christmas Eve, Jon Gruden hopes his brother had sent him a Christmas gift. Jon put in a claim for the former second-round pick. But it was the Arizona Cardinals who swooped in like a game of White Elephant and claimed Swearinger instead.

Swearinger started at safety for the first four games for the Cardinals. That’s when the Cardinals thought 5th round supplemental draft pick Jalen Thompson was ready to take over, so they cut Swearinger loose.

For five weeks, Swearinger was unemployed, waiting for an NFL team in need of his services. Last Thursday, his opportunity knocked when, on the last play of the game, Karl Joseph suffered an ankle injury and was lost for the season.

The former top pick safety is the second starting safety the Raiders have lost this season after first-round rookie Johnathan Abram was lost in the opener.

Joseph had played nearly every single snap at safety and made the game-sealing play of the game the past two weeks. So, losing him is significant. After him and fellow starter Erik Harris, there’s just Curtis Riley and Dallin Leavitt, who play almost exclusively on special teams.

Swearinger has started 70 games in 90 appearances in seven NFL seasons, but he has switched teams six times in that span. There’s a reason why a safety as once highly touted as Swearinger has been unable to stick with a team for long. Some have suggested it is his character that is most concerning. The Raiders don’t have the luxury of worrying about personality issues. They need what he can bring on the field. And they need it now.

“He’s got to put it all together,” said Gruden. “That’s what he needs to do. He’s got to start that process today. We need the very best of Swearinger.”

Despite some solid stints over 31 starts in Washington, Swearinger was waived just before the season finale. In his four starts in Arizona this season, the Cardinals weren’t getting the “very best” of Swearinger, and that was ultimately why he was let go this time.

Last season, Swearinger would have been a claim for the future. Now, in the thick of the playoff chase, he will be looked to bolster their lineup for the stretch run.

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Freddie Kitchens blames goal-line stall vs. Bills on O-line

Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said the team’s goal-line offense stalled in Week 10 because the line didn’t block well enough.

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Eight straight times, the Browns snapped the ball inside the Buffalo 2-yard line in Week 10. The offense failed to score a touchdown, even when given bonus chances by defensive penalties.

Five of those plays were runs with Nick Chubb, one of the NFL’s best at breaking tackles. Those five carries netted minus-2 yards, including the 4th-and-goal play where Chubb was bowled under for a loss almost as soon as he got the toss from quarterback Baker Mayfield.

It was an embarrassing series for the offense and for Freddie Kitchens. During his conference call with reporters on Monday, the rookie coach offered an explanation of what went wrong on the epic red zone failure.

“Yeah, we have to do a better job of maintaining our blocks,” Kitchens stated. “We were on the right people for the most part. We just have to win our one-on-one matchups a lot of times down there. When you get down in goal-to-go situations, you would like to be able to run the ball in. To do that, you have to win your one-on-one matchups.”

The Bills defensive front did dominate the line of scrimmage the entire series. Kitchens was not pleased with the mentality of his offensive line in the tight quarters and close-range combat.

“This is just my personal belief: You are dealing with different types of scenarios when you are at the 1-yard line as opposed to the 12. It is a lot more about being precise in landmarks, execution, timing and things like that when you are in red zone offense because the field diminishes. When you are down there at the 1, it is almost like being in a phone booth. It is more of a mentality thing.”

It’s something the Browns need to fix quickly. The Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of four games in a row, visit FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday.