Kevin Peterson, Chris Jones get opportunity to prove themselves in final 4 games

Kliff Kingsbury says a combination of the two players will take over for the playing time Tramaine Brock used to get.

The Arizona Cardinals made a somewhat surprising move early in the week when they waived veteran cornerback Tramaine Brock. Brock wasn’t necessarily the reason why the Cardinals have struggled with their pass defense but the team felt it needed to go a different direction over the final month of the season.

“Tramaine gave us some good games and was injured,” Kliff Kingsbury told reporters in Monday. “We’re going to play some younger players. We’re always looking to turn over the roster and improve, so that’s how it came about.”

Those younger players are Chris Jones and Kevin Peterson. Jones began the season on the roster and got playing time early on. He was released and spent time on the practice squad until recently.

Peterson was acquired via a waiver claim before the season began. He took over Jones’ spot during Patrick Peterson’s suspension and has played little other than on special teams since Peterson’s return.

Kingsbury said that the playing time created by Brock’s departure would be “a combination of both” guys.

While Pro Football Focus numbers state that Brock was the team’s highest-graded cornerback in coverage, clearly there were other problems. Kingsbury said his release “wasn’t a one-game type of situation.”

Patrick Peterson and Byron Murphy typically play every snap during games. Kevin Peterson and Jones are expected now to split the snaps at third cornerback. Both will play outside cornerback. Murphy now slides inside to the slot when the Cardinals are in nickel.

From what we have seen from both this season, Jones is a more physical cornerback and a willing tackler. Peterson has made more plays on the football and seems to be superior in coverage but is not physical and doesn’t give the Cardinals much in run support.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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UFC 245 free fight: Watch Max Holloway take out Jose Aldo for the second time

Watch Max Holloway unify the UFC featherweight titles, taking Jose Aldo out for the second time.

[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] run through the 145-pound division, rising from prospect to contender to champion has been something to behold.

Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) faced then UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo the first time at UFC 212, where he took on the “King of Rio” in his own backyard. Holding an interim title at the time, Holloway took Aldo out in the third round, unifying the featherweight titles in a “Fight of the Night” effort.

But the legend Aldo was awarded an instant rematch, and Holloway left no doubt when they faced off a second time, defeating Aldo once again via third-round TKO and cementing himself as one of the greatest featherweights of all time. Holloway then went on to hand Brian Ortega his first career loss, battering him over the course of four rounds, until the doctor’s had to intervene and stop the fight.

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Despite subsequently failing in his attempt to move up in weight and capture the interim lightweight title, in a loss to Dustin Poirier, Holloway managed to bounce back with another featherweight title defense, defeating former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 240 in July.

Holloway will be part of the UFC 245 championship triple header, when he takes on Alexander Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the co-main event on Dec. 14. In the meantime, relive his second straight finish over Aldo, in the video above.

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Broncos worked out 19 players, including QB Tyree Jackson

The Broncos worked out more than a dozen players this week, including former Buffalo quarterback Tyree Jackson.

We already knew that the Denver Broncos worked out former Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald on Tuesday. Thanks to NFL reporter Howard Balzer, we now know the names of 18 other players that worked out for the team.

In addition to Fitzgerald, Denver also worked out two other QBs: Taryn Christion and Tyree Jackson. Here’s the complete list of players that worked out for the Broncos, according to Balzer:

  • WR Tyre Brady
  • WR De’Mornay Pierson-El
  • WR DeAndrew Thompkins
  • WR Trevion Thompson
  • WR Alex Wesley
  • WR Papi White
  • QB Taryn Christion
  • QB Nick Fitzgerald
  • QB Tyree Jackson
  • TE Tyree Mayfield
  • OG Larry Allen
  • OG Joshua Garnett
  • OG Bunchy Stallings
  • OT Ka’John Armstrong
  • OT Brian Fineanganofo
  • RB Alex Barnes
  • RB Nick Brossette
  • RB Jeremy Cox
  • RB Matthew Dayes

Jackson (6-7, 249 pounds) is likely the most notable player on the list. He threw for 6,999 yards and 49 touchdowns during his three years at Buffalo and rushed for 757 yards and 16 more scores. Jackson signed with the Bills as a college free agent in April but failed to make their 53-man roster.

Related: Broncos worked out 16 players last week.

Jackson was selected by the DC Defenders in the XFL draft for the upcoming 2020 season but he would likely turn down a chance to start in the upstart league if he is invited to camp by an NFL team.

Jackson and the other players that worked out for the Broncos are likely being considered as “future contract” candidates. Players not on an active roster at the end of the season are eligible to sign future deals that become official when the new league year begins in March.

At the end of last season, Denver signed 10 players to future contracts.

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Giants add DB Rashaan Gaulden to practice squad

The New York Giants have signed DB Rashaan Gaulden to their practice squad and lost OL Evan Brown to the Miami Dolphins.

The New York Giants added defensive back Rashaan Gaulden to their practice squad on Wednesday. Gaulden fills the void left by the promotion of long snapper Colin Holba to the active roster last week. Holba served as the team’s long snapper in their 31-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Gaulden (6-foot-1, 200 pounds), as per the Giants:

“Played in 24 games in two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, including nine games this season. He was released on Nov. 25….Gaulden was credited with 14 tackles (10 solo) and returned one punt for the Panthers. He was a 2018 third-round draft choice (85th overall) by Carolina, from the University of Tennessee.”

Another Panther joins the fold here with the Giants. Many fans are interested if the Giants will be seeking the services of Ron Rivera this offseason. Rivera was fired by the Panthers this week after almost nine seasons as head coach.

Gaulden is the third defensive back on the practice squad, joining cornerback Derrick Baity and safety Sean Chandler.

Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins signed offensive lineman Evan Brown off of the Giants’ practice squad to their 53-man roster.

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Cardinals’ pass defense has gotten worse since Patrick Peterson’s return

They are giving up more than 50 passing yards more per game since his return and more points overall.

The Arizona Cardinals have struggled on defense all season in 2019. When the season began, it was expected, especially during the first six games when cornerback Patrick Peterson was out with a suspension.

However, the pass defense has not improved since his return. In fact, since he returned to the starting lineup, the pass defense has gotten worse statistically.

Here are the numbers:

  • In games 1-6, the Cardinals allowed an opponent completion percentage of 71%, 281.2 net passing yards per game and 16 touchdowns. Overall, they allowed 171 points.
  • In games 7-12, opponents have completed 71.5% of their passes for an average of 338.3 net passing yards per game and 15 touchdowns. They have given up 180 points in those six games.

It isn’t fair to say that Peterson is the reason why the defense has gotten worse. However, a player of Peterson’s caliber should mean that his return would improve things.

It hasn’t.

In fact, the fact that Kliff Kingsbury has said that Peterson has been “a work in progress” is concerning. A supposed future Hall of Famer should not be going through some of the struggles he has gone through.

Peterson being on the field should mean the defense is better. So far this season, the defense has gotten worse since his return.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Tonight’s Cowboys-Bears TNF game could be one beautiful mess

Buckle up, football fans.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

When the NFL schedule-makers originally gave us this Cowboys-Bears Thursday Night Football game to kick off Week 14 they must have smiled, knowing what a treat this should be, especially so late into the season.

And boy is it a treat, but for far different reasons than those that must have gone into this decision last April when the schedules were finalized.

The Bears and Cowboys entered this season with high hopes. Mitch Trubisky came in getting some MVP talk. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys came in with the thoughts of being one of the favorites in the NFC.

Now, however, both teams are 6-6 and enter tonight’s game at Soldier Field with far more questions and concerns than any of us could have imagined back when the season kicked off.

This game tonight could be the type of laughable mess that will have everyone who doesn’t have a dog in this fight giggling in their living rooms for many different reasons.

First, “Jerry Jones Watch” is going to be a thing of beauty. The Cowboys have lost two straight games, including an ugly loss at home to the Bills on Thanksgiving. Every little thing that goes against the Cowboys tonight will have FOX Sports producers queuing up the camera that’s locked in on Jones’ suite. Great ready for some magical Jones reactions moments.

Second, Jason Garrett’s employment status has been the main topic of discussion in Dallas ever since he opted to kick a field goal against New England two weeks ago. Now he gets to go out on another nationally televised game and have all of his moves scrutinized at a maximum level. There will be an opportunity for him to screw up and if he does… Twitter will be on fire.

Third, Trubisky has another shot to win back some fans… or totally throw his career in Chicago away. What fun! The No. 2 pick for the 2018 NFL Draft has struggled mightily in his second season. However, he is coming off his best game of the season in last week’s win over the Detroit Lions on Turkey Day. But now the lights will be on the QB and if he slides back and has a woeful performance against the Cowboys the boo birds are going to be reigning down inside Soldier Field.

Fourth, if the Cowboys lose the NFC East becomes even more of a dumpster fire. They’re currently in first with a 6-6 record, followed by the Eagles, losers of three straight, at 5-7. This once storied division is a joke right now and that joke could get even more laughs if the Cowboys lose this game or, better yet, are blown out of it.

Fifth, both teams are 6-6 and while the Bears’ playoff hopes are very slim, this game is a must-win for both teams. The Cowboys do get some help being in the NFC East but still, a third straight loss would be crushing for a club that looked really darn good in the first few weeks of the season. The Bears, who expected to contend this year, just want to keep things still slightly alive. So one of these teams is gonna be really sad at the final whistle.

Kick back and enjoy the show. It should be a fun one.

Wednesday’s big winners: P.K. Subban and Lindsey Vonn.

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

My colleague and friend, Mike Sykes, said it best when he wrote: “Nothing says “I love you” quite like allowing your fiancee to fire off hockey pucks at you.” Subban and Vonn, who are happily engaged, did just that in Bryant Park in NYC. What a date night for these two. Vonn has some moves, too.

Quick hits: Angry USC fans… Fantasy football advice… Tiger trolls Thomas… And more!

 (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) 

– USC fans were IRATE when they found out Clay Helton would be staying on as the head football coach next season.

– Are you in your fantasy football playoffs? Check out Charles Curtis’ studs, duds, and sleepers for a big Week 14.

– Tiger Woods had fun trolling Justin Thomas during their first round in the Bahamas on Wednesday.

– Clemson’s Dabo Swinney had a great take on naps.

– Nick Schwartz gets you ready for the XFL by ranking each team’s home and away uniforms.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

Watch: Daniel Jones, Clint Frazier poke fun at Astros while playing COD

New York Giants QB Daniel Jones and New York Yankees OF Clint Frazier had some fun at the Houston Astros’ expense while playing Call of Duty.

New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones and New York Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier had a little fun at the expense of the Houston Astros recently, making light of the ongoing cheating scandal while playing a game of Call of Duty online.

In the game, Frazier’s character can be seen hitting a trash can with the butt of his fictional firearm as Jones is heard laughing on. Frazier goes on to say that he knows a “heater” is coming because of the number of bangs on the trash can.

Frazier then says he’ll “hit a homer” because he knows what pitch is incoming.

That is, of course, a direct reference to one of the cheating systems the Astros had in place in Houston — banging a trash can a certain number of times to let the batter know if a fastball or off-speed pitch was coming.

Later on in the game, Frazier does it again and his entire team, including Jones, cracks up again.

Major League Baseball is currently in the midst of an investigation into the Astros’ cheating scandal and are expected to hand down one of the most harsh punishments in sports history, although no one is entirely sure what that will be.

In the mean time, Jones and Frazier intend to have a little fun with it.

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KSW champ Scott Askham wants to welcome Mamed Khalidov back to cage with KO

But why aren’t they fighting for the title?

KSW middleweight champion [autotag]Scott Askham[/autotag] knew he would be in [autotag]Mamed Khalidov[/autotag]’s sights as soon as the Polish MMA star announced his return from retirement, but he admits he was left bewildered when their fight at KSW 52 was booked as a non-title fight, at a catchweight of 187 pounds.

“We all know he’s the (expletive) guy,” Askham told MMA Junkie from Gliwice ahead of the bout on Dec. 7. “So we all know that if he wanted to fight for the title, we’d be fighting for the title. He’s the star, he’s the legend, so why is he coming back but not challenging me for the title? It’s a great question, and it’s a question that baffles me, as well.”

Askham (18-4 MMA, 3-0 KSW) said he was all set to take issue with Khalidov (34-6-2 MMA, 17-2-2 KSW) and call him out on his apparent unwillingness to challenge for the title when they met at the first promotional press conference to announce the fight. But he admitted that Khalidov’s respectful attitude completely disarmed him while on the dais.

“When the Polish media asked him about it at the first press conference, he answered the question in a way that was so respectful towards me that I couldn’t really go back at him and call BS on it,” Askham said with a laugh. “It is what it is. I’ve got the fight I wanted.”

The fight itself pits current 185-pound champ Askham with arguably the best middleweight in KSW history. And while Askham’s record since joining the Polish promotion is spectacular – three knockouts, with two via body kick and one via flying knee – he says it’s Khalidov’s fear of being dragged into the championship rounds that led him to sign for a non-title fight at just two pounds higher than official championship weight.

“It’s a three-round fight – that’s the reason it’s not for the belt,” Askham explained. That’s 100 percent the reason why he’s not fighting for the belt – it’s because he didn’t want the five rounds. Everyone who watches Mamed knows he doesn’t have a five-round style. He fades in the later rounds.”

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Askham, meanwhile, has no such concerns. He hasn’t seen a scorecard since joining KSW, and says his latest run of knockout finishes has been a direct result of his decision to base his training out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla.

“Since joining American Top Team I just feel like I keep leveling up and leveling up,” he explained. “Steve Bruno, my striking coach, has made me a completely different striker now. I used to be a counter striker, and although I knocked some people out, when I didn’t finish people I didn’t win too many rounds. Now I’m a different striker altogether. I’m taking people out through confidence and precision striking. I’m landing the strikes in the right places and they’re taking people out.”

With his striking weapons sharpened and the confidence of a man who is now fulfilling his fighting potential, Askham says he’s ready to take on Khalidov and cement his position as the premier 185 pounder in KSW. But while the media and fans in Poland have put Khalidov up on a pedestal, Askham sees him as just another challenge.

“I keep seeing all over social media: ‘legend’ this, ‘legend’ that, ‘a legend returns’, ‘Scott fights a legend.’ But I don’t get caught up in all that stuff. He’s just Mamed Khalidov to me – he’s not a legend in my eyes. I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way. He’s just in the way of what I’m trying to do for myself. I’m going in there with the right mentality. He’ll get my respect coming into the fight, but when that cage door shuts, I’ll be more than ready for him.”

And for a man who admits he thrives when fighting on enemy territory, Askham says he would love nothing more than to finish his final fight of the year standing in the middle of the cage staring out at a silenced Gliwice crowd after handing Khalidov his first knockout loss in a decade and a half.

“That would be icing on the cake for this year,” he said. “I looked at his record and he hasn’t been knocked TKO’d since 2004, but I’m not one of those guys who’s going to say: ‘Yeah, I’m gonna knock him out!’ Of course, I’m always looking to knock people out, I look to land my strikes and the knockouts just come. But this is the goal. The first goal is to get the win, but the dream is to knock him out.”

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Broncos make 2 roster moves

The Broncos claimed center Patrick Morris off waivers from the Steelers and placed defensive end Derek Wolfe (elbow) on injured reserve.

The Denver Broncos claimed offensive lineman Patrick Morris off waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers and placed defensive lineman Derek Wolfe (elbow) on injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday.

Morris (6-3, 300 pounds) is a first-year center from TCU who spent his rookie season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad and dressed for two games this year. Morris earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference honors three times during his time with the Horned Frogs before signing with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent last year.

Morris will add more depth on the offensive line with guard Ron Leary in concussion protocol. When Leary left last week’s game, Austin Schlottmann filled in for him at guard. Schlottmann is also Denver’s backup center so the team needed to add depth in case Leary does not play in Week 14.

Wolfe (6-5, 285 pounds) totaled 34 tackles and a career-high seven sacks in 12 games this year before suffering a season-ending elbow injury. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March.

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