Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Monday, four-time Super Bowl champ and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana made the best big game prediction of all.
Monday, four-time Super Bowl champ and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana made the best big game prediction of all.
Monday, four-time Super Bowl champ and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana made the best big game prediction of all.
Monday, four-time Super Bowl champ and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana made the best big game prediction of all.
The Bears’ 100th season was anything but special. In fact, it was an absolute mess. Here are five things we learned from the 2019 season.
The Chicago Bears’ 100th season was anything but special. In fact, it was an absolute mess. This, after a 12-4 season where expectations were sky-high for the future.
The 2019 season was an utter disappointment. The offense was a mess from top to bottom, with the exception of receiver Allen Robinson. They ranked near the bottom is most statistical categories, and aside from two back-to-back games against the Lions in Week 13 and Cowboys in Week 14, they never found a rhythm. Even the defense, who weren’t the issue this season, regressed more than anticipated due to a combination of injuries and a new defensive scheme.
This offseason will be integral in determining the direction of the 2020 Bears, who have nowhere to go but up following the disaster that was 2019. Especially now that they know what needs to be fixed.
Here are five takeaways from the 2019 season:
Believe it or not, the Bears aren’t far off from making a return to the postseason. Although they’re missing one very important part: An offense. And not even a high-flying offense, just an adequate offense that can average more than 17.5 points per game and help their defense out.
The Bears offense wasn’t just disappointing in 2019, it was downright abysmal. They ranked near the bottom of most statistical categories — including points (29th in NFL), yards per game (29th), passing yards (25th) and rushing yards (26th).
It wasn’t just one position group that disappointed, it was everyone. Quarterback, offensive line, run game, tight ends, receivers (not named Allen Robinson) and especially play calling.
Considering this was a team that went 12-4 last season with the same dominant defense and an adequate offense, they’re more than capable of making a return to the playoffs, and actually winning in the postseason. They just need something — anything — out of their offense.
Philadelphia 76ers point guard Raul Neto is beginning to understand his role with the team.
The Philadelphia 76ers tried something a little different in Monday’s 117-111 road win over the Brooklyn Nets and that was to have Raul Neto play next to Ben Simmons and have him wreak havoc.
Simmons received all of the glory, and rightfully so after a masterful performance, but Neto should receive some praise too. He ran the offense with precision off the bench and only had one turnover with his four assists while knocking down a shot from deep.
“One of the reasons why they brought me here was they wanted me to hit those open shots so I just try to shoot it with confidence,” said Neto. “Just being smart and being in the right space at the right time, I think will get me open shots or it would get somebody else open shots too.”
The focus of the Neto and Simmons lineup was the ability of the two players to run the pick-and-roll. Neto is more of a pass-first point guard so he is able to find with Simmons with pocket passes with him as a roller or he can throw lobs up to the rim and Simmons can go get it.
“It was good, he made it easier,” said Neto of the time with Simmons. “He’s so good on the pick-and-roll, he’s setting the screen and just rolling so I think for me it was just easy to make a choice. It was either me shooting a floater or he’s open on the roll. It was one of the first times I’ve played with him with that many minutes so I think it was good.”
The Sixers will still alternate the backup point guard role between Neto and Trey Burke as well as Josh Richardson getting a look, but as long as Neto is continuing to understand his role on this team, they will be able to make it work. [lawrence-related id=23985,23978,23967]
Should the Raiders make a run at free agent DE Jadeveon Clowney?
If we have learned anything from the 2019 offseason, it’s that Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden are going to be aggressive in free agency and via trades. With a ton of cap space, we can expect the Raiders will target one or two “big name” veterans in March.
One player the team could target is defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March. While the Seahawks did trade for Clowney before the 2019 season, he is expected to test the free-agent market.
In a recent piece by Pro Football Focus, Clowney was named the seventh-best available free agent in 2020 and the No. 1 defensive end target. Take a look at why PFF believes he could be in for a massive payday in a few months:
Clowney put up an 88.0 overall grade in 2018 — the highest mark of his career — and he followed up with an 87.3 grade after a trade to the Seahawks despite seeing his sack total drop from nine to three. Clowney has the 11th-best overall grade among all edge defenders since 2017, including the third-best mark against the run (91.3), but his pass-rush grade of 83.9 ranks just 25th among that same group.
While the Raiders are undoubtedly optimistic about their young defensive ends in Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby, the team lacks the superstar edge rusher that demands extra attention on every snap. Defensive line coach Rod Marinelli loves using waves of pass-rushers, but he’s always had one stud who does the heavy lifting as a pass rusher.
Targeting Clowney would seem kind of odd, considering the team didn’t pay Khalil Mack when he was holding out for an extension. But in this scenario, the Raiders would still get their elite edge rusher as well as acquiring two first-round picks.
Clowney is going to want to be paid like a star edge rusher, and he deserves it. If the Raiders are going to spend money in free agency, they might as well target elite players. Clowney should be on the shortlist of players the team visits with on the first day of free agency. If the Raiders were able to pull off the signing of Clowney, the Khalil Mack trade would look all the better for Jon Gruden.
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The Seattle Seahawks have added players from the CFL before, and CB Tre Roberson is a player worth exploring for Pete Carroll and company.
The Seattle Seahawks will be in the market for some help in their secondary this offseason.
While Shaquill Griffin was a Pro Bowler, the rest of the team’s cornerback group left plenty to be desired. Tre Flowers got exposed in a major way against Davante Adams and the Packers in the NFC Divisional Round, and Seattle’s backups – Akeem King and Neiko Thorpe – are both free agents who have not proven themselves as reliable DB’s when called upon.
While Ugo Amadi stepped into the nickel role nicely near the end of the year, Seattle needs to find some more depth pieces this offseason, and potentially someone to challenge Flowers for his starting role.
While free agency and the draft both promise plenty of options, Seattle could take a familiar route to finding that added depth: via the CFL.
Tre Roberson is a cornerback for the Calgary Stampeders, and after two excellent seasons with them, the former Indiana quarterback is getting all sorts of attention from NFL teams.
Roberson has reportedly already visited with nine NFL teams, with five more on the schedule. While Seattle is not one of them, it wouldn’t be surprising if Pete Carroll and company take a hard look at adding Roberson to the mix.
Seattle brought a defensive back from the CFL to the NFL once, when they signed Brandon Browner and made him one of the original members of the Legion of Boom.
Roberson may not have that kind of impact, but if he can add key depth and versatility to Seattle’s secondary, he should be given a close look by the staff.
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In an interview with Bleacher Report, Paul said that “neither he nor his agents have requested a trade” from Oklahoma City.
Chris Paul has looked like a new player this year in Oklahoma City.
Or maybe, it would be more accurate to say that he’s looked like the old Chris Paul, the one people remember from before he got to Houston and played in the cast of James Harden and the rest of the Rockets.
The resurgence of Chris Paul is one of the reasons why the Thunder are where they are. Sitting in seventh place in the Western Conference standings, and, thanks to their 112-107 come back win over the Rockets on Monday, just two games behind Houston for sixth.
Paul led the team with 28 points in the win, 27 of them coming in the first half, essentially keeping OKC within striking range at halftime.
Step 👏 Back 👏 Corner 👏 Three 👏 @CP3 | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/fTRph4l1p3
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 20, 2020
Looking at where Oklahoma City is just past the midway point of the season, it’s hard to believe that mere months ago, Paul was believed to either be on his way out having never even played a minute for the Thunder or simply a part of the rotation as trade bait for a playoff contender.
Neither of those has been the case as Paul told Rohan Nadkarni of Bleacher Report that he’s happy right where he is and that neither he nor his agents have ever asked for a trade from the Thunder.
For now, both sides seem content to make the most of the situation, evaluating their options only as necessary. OKC benefits the better CP plays, and the front office isn’t in a rush to dump him. If or when Paul is moved from the Thunder, he and the front office will work together on where he ends up—the same way it happened for Westbrook and George.
As he has from the moment that he brought Paul in from Houston, Thunder General Manager Sam Presti praised his point guard’s professionalism and willingness to be “all in” in his return to OKC.
“His professionalism, his outlook, and his maturity have been on another level. We are going through a transition ourselves, so it’s somewhat poetic, how he has returned at this point in the organizational timeline, and how he’s elevated our team. All I can say is that Chris has been all we could have hoped for and more.”
All of the love that Paul has for the Oklahoma City organization doesn’t mean that he still isn’t chasing a championship ring. He is.
He knows it might not happen for him, and he knows it’s unlikely that it will happen with the Thunder. But he’s excited to be part of a team that’s going to compete night in and night out.
“We have a fun team. That’s all you want. A chance and an opportunity to compete. I guess I’m just different. Analytics may say this, the odds may say this. When the ball goes up that night, I think we have a chance to win.”
If Monday’s win was any indication, the Thunder always have a chance.
Check out the MMA junkie’s John Morgan and Dan Tom’s analysis and predictions for the Bellator 238 main event between Julia Budd and Cris Cyborg.
Check out the MMA junkie’s John Morgan and Dan Tom’s analysis and predictions for the Bellator 238 main event between Julia Budd and Cris Cyborg.
Recapping Week 3 of The Bachelor.
Peter Weber is losing hope after being informed that some of his cast members might not be here for the right reasons, and his Rose Ceremony in Week 3 ended with a shocking twist. We’ll be recapping each episode and ranking all the contestants weekly on FTW.
Last week, I wrote that Peter seemed to be doing a great job at making each woman in his cast feel special during their one-on-one interactions. After episode 3, I’m worried that Peter may be going too far and getting carried away with the things he’s saying so early in the process – which could make for some devastating moments later in the season. On Monday, for example, Peter told one woman that she’s the most inspiring person in his entire life after their first date. The late-season breakups in Peter’s season are going to make for epic television.
Last week’s rank: 3
Victoria P. earned the only one-on-one date of the show, and Peter drove her to his hometown to buy some cowboy gear for a night at one of his favorite hangouts. From the start, it’s clear that Victoria P. is absolutely smitten with Peter, and her feelings have already advanced to an alarming level after just two episodes.
“I want nothing more than for Peter and I to fall in love.”
They spent a romantic evening in a hangar, where Victoria P. revealed her remarkable life story to Peter in an emotional conversation. Victoria P.’s father died when she was young, and she said her mother became an addict after his death. Peter was moved by Victoria P,’s willingness to open up, and her story that showed him “what kind of person you are.” Victoria P., who seemed like she would say yes to a proposal if Peter were to get down on one knee, wondered if the stars were aligning for them.
Then things got a little crazy. Peter told Victoria P. a story that feels like it’s something Luke P. would say. According to Peter, he witnessed a shooting star during a conversation with God just before filming began.
“I couple days before all this started, I had a really special moment where I felt like I just knew this was going to work. I just started, like, talking to God, and I just was like, ‘I don’t know where she is, but watch over her. And the second that I said that, a shooting star went across the sky.”
Peter then gave Victoria P. the highest compliment imaginable after spending his very first day with her.
“I have never been inspired by someone so much in my entire life, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
If Peter doesn’t close the season by proposing to Victoria P. after saying that, it’s going to be even more awkward than Madison’s framed Weber family photo.
Later on in the show, Victoria P. says in a confessional that she’s already falling in love.
“I just had to tell the truth to the person that I’m falling in love with.”
Last week’s rank: 2
Madison only appeared once in the episode and had a short chat with Peter at the pool party, but after going on such an early one-on-one, it’s to be expected that she’s going to fly under the radar for a while. Most importantly, she’s been completely removed from drama this season, which bodes well for her in the long run.
Last week’s rank: 1
Peter’s conversation with Kelley, the woman he met prior to filming, had a decidedly different tone than the conversations he had with everyone else. After being told to shave his beard, Peter asked Kelley if she could realistically see the Bachelor process working out for her as a way to find a partner. Kelley said that she’s very out of her comfort zone, but that she would have left already if she didn’t feel it was worth it to stick around.
Last week’s rank: 7
If you’ve watched previous seasons of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, you know that it’s generally a terrible strategy to serve as a “cop” of the season. Ratting out fellow cast members to the person you’re trying to date, or questioning whether people are here for the right reasons, only serves to get the cop caught up in entirely avoidable drama, and also wastes time that they could be spending forging a solid relationship with the star of the season. As noted by FTW alum Greg Presto, Sydney may be the first cop in Bachelor history who was actually rewarded for causing a massive feud.
Sydney is convinced that Alayah, who she cannot stand, is putting on a front while on camera, and isn’t letting Peter see who she truly is. Sydney is also alarmed that the women who seem to be connecting with Peter are the “opposite” of who she is, so she decides to tell Peter that inside the mansion, some of the women are “so artificial.”
Sydney’s plan backfires somewhat when Peter outs her as a whistleblower during a group date cocktail party, but she somehow emerged with a group date rose from the chaos.
Honestly, I was firmly on #TeamSydney until Alayah’s conversation with her at the pool party, where Sydney took her policing of the show to the next level, and straight-up asked if Alayah had feelings.
“Do you have feelings? Do you have emotions other than… perfect? You can’t be happy all the time.”
There’s zero chance that her conflicts with the rest of the cast don’t doom Sydney eventually.
Last week’s rank: 5
The episode opened with Hannah Ann and Kelsey dealing with the fallout from #ChampagneGate. In a somewhat surprising move given how vicious the dispute was, both women sat down together to hash out their differences – and Hannah Ann discovered that she will never be winning an argument with Kelsey. In what has to be one of the funniest conversations in Bachelor history, Kelsey admitted to “using unkind words” against Hannah Ann, but vehemently denied bullying her. Kelsey then asked why Hannah Ann didn’t just approach her instead of going to Peter, which led to this glorious exchange.
Usually in this situation, I’d predict that Hannah Ann wouldn’t be able to recover from this incident – but the feud between Sydney and Alayah took the spotlight off Hannah Ann and Kelsey, which may allow them to bury this beef and move on.
Last week’s rank: 9
Tammy, who was on the varsity boys’ wrestling team in high school, was disqualified from Demi’s pillow fight championship for repeatedly taking Kelley down to the mat. Peter complimented her at the cocktail party afterward fro being “so much fun,” and they capped the conversation with a kiss.
Last week’s rank: 6
It was another slow night for Lexi, who only really appeared to warn Peter about some of the women who “turn it on for the camera” and may have a different personality away from the show. Interestingly, Lexi didn’t name Alayah specifically and kept it general, so there may be other women that are still getting away with faking it around Peter.
Last week’s rank: 4
Mykenna was distraught after the cancelled pool party, as she was among the eight women who didn’t get any time with Peter ahead of the Rose Ceremony. Fortunately, Mykenna scored the very last rose of the week.
We’ve seen a total of seven hours of Peter’s season so far, but with episodes 2 and 3 being dominated by two-person feuds, we’re still waiting to learn more about several women who are struggling to earn camera time. With the cast already cut down to 15, Week 4 will be pivotal for these contestants.
T-9. Natasha
Last week’s rank: 8
T-9. Deandra
Last week’s rank: T-10
T-9. Kiarra
Last week’s rank: T-10
T-9. Shiann
Last week’s rank: T-10
T-9. Savannah
Last week’s rank: T-10
Last week’s rank: 18
It was a quiet week for Victoria F., but we saw in the preview for next week that she appears to go on a one-on-one date with Peter to a Chase Rice concert. The only problem? Victoria dated Chase prior to the show. Get your popcorn ready.
Victoria F went to stage coach!!!!
— Jordan Kimball (@jordan__kimball) January 21, 2020
I’m sure Peter had his reasons for not giving a rose to any of these three, but we never saw those reasons play out on television. Alexa, Jasmine and Sarah were essentially invisible after their first night in the mansion, so we’ll never know what kind of chemistry they had with Peter.
T-15. Alexa (eliminated)
Last week’s rank: T-10
T-15. Jasmine (eliminated)
Last week’s rank: T-10
T-15. Sarah (eliminated)
Last week’s rank: T-10
Last week’s rank: 19
According to Kelsey, Hannah Ann made a “serious accusation” that she was bullied, but being called expletives and pejoratives does not constitute bullying… or something.
#TheBachelor
Kelsey: “saying mean words to someone is not bullying”Me: pic.twitter.com/rZ3ukvat4u
— Taylor Dordoni🔅 (@taylor_dordoni) January 21, 2020
Kelsey also made the shocking revelation that she doesn’t “even like champagne,” despite exploding in Week 2 over a bottle that she had been saving for more than 12 months. It’s possible that Kelsey is telling the truth here, and that she’s really just upset about the possibility that someone interfered with her plans.
In any event, the Sydney-Alayah feud was a lifesaver for Kelsey, who we know will be sticking around long enough to tell Peter that she’s falling in love with him. I’d peg the over/under on that occurring within 1.5 episodes.
me when kelsey got the first rose on #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/o6EvfQNO2s
— caroline (@carolnepaschal) January 21, 2020
Last week’s rank: T-10
Alayah didn’t receive a rose at the end of a wild third episode, but she may not be out of the game just yet.
The episode opened with a fantastic supercut of Alayah potentially annoying everyone else in the mansion, expertly framed in a way by Bachelor producers to establish her as a villain. We know that Sydney hates Alayah and wants her gone, but we aren’t entirely sure if anyone else agrees.
Alayah is a part of the group date pillow fight, and somehow emerges victorious thanks to Demi’s nebulous rules and ridiculous tournament structure. (Instead of just advancing the winners from each round, Demi elects the two women she felt showed the most effort to fight in the final, and then randomly declared Alayah to be the winner. I’m surprised Tammy didn’t lodge a formal protest with the California State Athletic Commission.)
At the cocktail party after the date, Sydney launched her full frontal assault against Alayah, delivering another legendary quote in an episode full of them.
Sydney: “Do you work at all?”Alayah: “I have three jobs.”
In a private conversation with Peter, Sydney outs Alayah as “fake,” but likely wasn’t expecting what came next. In an incredibly poorly planned speech, Peter told all of the women on the date that he was afraid of falling for someone who wasn’t genuine – and then revealed that Sydney told him that a person on the cast wasn’t being authentic. By outing Sydney as a whistleblower, Peter immediately made her an enemy of the house – but Sydney picked up the baton and continued running at full speed, calling Alayah out in front of the group for being fake.
peter: i've been hearing from multiple girls that you're being manipulative
alayah: who is saying all this
peter:#thebachelor pic.twitter.com/8xEbYzZdE2
— Marissa (@MarissaSaysWhat) January 21, 2020
At the pool party, nearly every woman Peter talked to corroborated Sydney’s claims about Alayah, and Victoria P. – who knew Alayah personally from the pageant circuit – revealed that Alayah had asked her not to tell producers that they were acquaintances. When asked about this by Peter, Alayah makes up a ridiculous excuse that she thought both she and Victoria P. would be disqualified from the show for… knowing one another (???).
Despite all these red flags, Peter is torn over his Rose Ceremony decision. He apparently meant to give his final two roses to Alayah and Mykenna, but changed his mind mid-Rose Ceremony, and had Chris Harrison remove one of his roses. The episode closed with Peter second-guessing his decision, and wondering if he should let Alayah leave the house. In the episode preview, we see that Alayah comes back in Week 4, so it’s possible that she may re-join the cast.
Alayah- “especially when you’re looking at me like you’re looking at me right now 🥰💕”
Peter- pic.twitter.com/hNTlJzQRkI
— tash (@KosalskiNatasha) January 21, 2020
When Peter “has a really good feeling” about Alayah & you know you’re in for a loooong season… #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/AnZ9dNMwXQ
— Bach Bracket (@bachbrack) January 21, 2020
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There’s a lot of high-level talent in Mobile, Alabama.
The New England Patriots have sent two of their top defensive coaches to the Senior Bowl in Mobile Alabama. Secondary coach Steve Belichick and linebackers coach Jerod Mayo will be in attendance, according to The Athletic’s Nick Underhill.
Over the past four of five years, the Patriots coaching staff has been busy preparing for the Super Bowl. This season, however, they can get rolling on the pre-draft process. The Senior Bowl is one of those opportunities for additional evaluation, as it’s essentially an All-Star game for draft prospects.
This year’s top prospects include quarterbacks Justin Herbert (Oregon), Jordan Love (Utah State) and Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma) along with defensive standouts Kristian Fulton (LSU) and Javon Kinlaw (South Carolina).
Steve Belichick is also on the trip to the Senior Bowl. https://t.co/zZjJ0YALWp
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) January 21, 2020
New England picks at 23rd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. They seem to have needs at tight end, receiver, linebacker and, of course, quarterback. Though, those needs will be determined by free agency in March when Patriots’ standouts like Tom Brady, Devin McCourty, Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy could leave the team.
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