Tag: FTW

Jaguars’ Andre Cisco calling the team out for quitting in London loss is bad omen for Doug Pederson

Doug Pederson really might get fired before the Jaguars leave London.

If Doug Pederson hoped to stay on as the Jacksonville Jaguars through their extended London trip, he might have to make some other arrangements very soon after their 35-16 blowout loss to the Chicago Bears.

Throughout the game, it was apparent the Jaguars were not bringing their best punch to the table. Caleb Williams more or less did whatever he wanted to the Jacksonville defense, while the elite Chicago defense flat-out bullied Trevor Lawrence without three of their five starting defensive backs.

After the game, Jaguars defensive leader Andre Cisco distilled Jacksonville’s current state of mind into a blunt assessment of their 1-5 start. At first, Cisco hesitated before saying that there was a “lot of quit” in the Jaguars.

Oof. That’s a horrible look for Doug Pederson and a clear shot across his bow:

Has an NFL team fired its coach while staying abroad for another game? In the coming days, the Jaguars and Pederson feel pretty likely to make a unique history in this regard.

Jim Nantz ignored Tony Romo’s reference to Commanders’ old racist nickname with awkward silence

Tony Romo using the Commanders’ old racist name is unacceptable.

I know it’s been a while since the Washington Commanders were relevant on a national level. But with Jayden Daniels’ ascendance, it’s probably time to start getting used to the Commanders being a must-watch. That also means broadcasters who have likely seldom announced their games over the years need to be on their P’s and Q’s more than ever with, ahem, you know.

Enter Tony Romo, the decidedly WRONG person for that job.

As the Commanders battled the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon, Romo let out a reference to Washington’s old racist nickname while breaking down a Lamar Jackson pass play. Not only did Romo NOT correct himself — which makes an unacceptable mistake even worse — but Jim Nantz seemingly didn’t even acknowledge the faux pas.

Instead, there was an awkward silence as Romo kinda just continued talking after a brief pause. (Warning: Racist language used in the clip below.)

If you’re an NFL broadcaster in 2024 calling a Commanders game, it is a prerequisite to calling them the correct nickname and never, ever reference their old racist nickname.

Leave it to Tony Romo to make this highly inappropriate and unprofessional mistake in front of the country.

Nick Sirianni’s explanation for shaving his head after Eagles’ bye shows he’s out of good ideas

Nick Sirianni is finally out of good ideas.

The Philadelphia Eagles entered the 2024 season with Super Bowl expectations. Instead, through a month of play, the Eagles have looked as uneven as it gets. A nonexistent pass rush has hung the Philadelphia secondary out to dry, Jalen Hurts looks like a shell of himself as a passer, and Nick Sirianni seems as if he’s at his wit’s end.

But … the Eagles are still just 2-2 coming out of their bye week. There’s still plenty of time for them to turn it around. All they have to do is change the vibes.

READ MORE EAGLES: It’s been a brutal two years for Philadelphia sports

According to Sirianni, shaving his head is part of that grand vibes-shift plan.

Uh, sure. Whatever:

https://twitter.com/JClarkNBCS/status/1845495194269225318

What a rote, cliche way of explaining how you and your players are apparently new men now. I already thought this a while ago, but it seems pretty clear that Sirianni is all out of ideas if shaving his head to shift the energy is one of the cards in his hand.

Arthur Smith seemingly took a dig at Russell Wilson while praising Justin Fields’ lack of drama

The Steelers don’t seem to like Russell Wilson very much.

For anyone holding out hope that Russell Wilson will eventually take over as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starter, they should probably start looking at logical Wilson trades that will take him out of the Steel City instead.

At least, according to a new, unsubtle eye-opening quote from offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

On Thursday, Smith praised Justin Fields — who has filled in for Wilson to start the 2024 season while he nurses a calf injury — for being coachable and, wait for it, for his lack of drama as someone who “doesn’t try to live through his avatar.”

If I didn’t know any better, it sure sounds like that is an apparent reference to Wilson, who has garnered a reputation for his utter lack of authenticity over the years:

https://twitter.com/BrianBatko/status/1844413235635863641

Oof. If Smith is really referring to Wilson, it’s hard to imagine the quarterback ever playing a single snap for Pittsburgh at this rate, barring injury. Imagine that. Wilson might have worn out his welcome without throwing a single regular-season pass for the Steelers.

I guess that’s just where his still-future Hall of Fame career is these days.

Caleb Williams refutes Paul Atreides comparisons, which is exactly what Paul Atreides would do

Caleb Williams is too humble to admit the Bears’ prophecy!

A great Chicago Bears quarterback is genuinely the last frontier there is in the NFL. It is not a happening most people could say they have witnessed in 2024. But the more time passes, the more it certainly seems like Caleb Williams — already an owner of a Bears rookie record — might be The One.

Or he might even be the Bears’ … Lisan al Gaib.

Just don’t expect Williams to admit that.

In a snippet from a new interview with NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt, Williams seemingly does everything in his power to refute comparisons to Paul Atreides from the fiction series Dune, a.k.a. the Bears’ “Lisan al Gaib,” a.k.a. the Bears’ “messiah.”

(Ahem) That’s even more reason to believe he is! Because that’s exactly what Paul Atreides would do!

Caleb Williams isn’t slick. Bears fans see and hear him, and I have a hard time thinking this interview won’t just reinforce their faith.

A Chicago-area Costco is apparently selling badly Photoshopped Caleb Williams signs

These Costco signs did Caleb Williams really dirty.

If you’re a Chicago Bears fan, it’s easy to get excited about the potential future with Caleb Williams. The No. 1 pick has already broken a major Bears rookie record and is doing intelligent things like measuring the wind at Soldier Field. For a guy with just five starts, he’s everything Bears fans could’ve hoped for to this point.

But the next time you go to your local Costco in the Chicagoland area looking for some Williams-related swag, you might want to examine what you’re buying very, very closely. According to the Twitter account Six Points Sports (@SixPointSports), a Chicago-area Costco is selling a teammate wall art sign featuring Williams and his No. 1 receiver, D.J. Moore.

There’s just one problem.

If you look closely at the Bears player wearing an 18 jersey on the sign, it’s not actually Williams. Not even close. It’s former Bears first-round pick Justin Fields … with an “8” doctored onto his jersey. Come on, man:

https://twitter.com/sixpointsports/status/1844247555879874968?s=46

I don’t know whose idea this sign was, but it’s the definition of brazen laziness. It’s almost certainly hoping someone who doesn’t follow the Bears closely — and, as such, likely doesn’t actually know what Williams looks like aside from the fact that he wears an “18” jersey — makes a mistake and buys it as a gift for a diehard fan in their life.

What a brutal look for whichever Chicago Costco tried this.

Mics caught Caleb Williams smartly measuring heavy wind for his perfect deep TD pass to D.J. Moore

Caleb Williams was clearly born to be the Bears’ QB.

The more time passes, the more Caleb Williams looks comfortable in his own skin as the Chicago Bears quarterback. While it’s still early to make a definitive judgment on the exact kind of NFL player the rookie No. 1 pick will be, he keeps showing us eye-opening signs he was probably born to be a star quarterback for the league’s charter franchise.

On Sunday, it was Williams taking the elements into account — namely, the customary heavy wind at Soldier Field — before dropping an absolute dime to star receiver D.J. Moore. NFL Films captured Williams smartly using a water bottle to gauge the wind’s direction and how he’d have to aim a pass to pitch the idea of a deep route to Moore right before their connection.

Because of course he did. That’s what any smart, forward-thinking quarterback would do. (Psst: it can obviously be very windy in Chicago. This is a great thought and skill to have if you play there regularly.)

It worked out exactly as intended.

I mean, my goodness. It’s hard not to think the Bears have finally found their first truly great franchise quarterback in history after seeing a cool little clip like this. Williams really might be The One.

Bo Nix smoothly denied hearing Maxx Crosby’s incessant trash talk during Broncos’ blowout win

Bo Nix is so comfortable that he’s already tuning out Maxx Crosby.

In an already tumultuous Las Vegas Raiders season, Maxx Crosby is doing everything he can to keep his team afloat. The Defensive Player of the Year candidate already has a monster 11 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss, seven quarterback hits, and five sacks in just four starts. Of course, Crosby is also up to his usual antics of trying to get into the head of opposing quarterbacks.

The problem is that this strategy doesn’t seem to be working. At least, according to a composed Bo Nix.

After Denver Broncos practice on Wednesday, Nix was asked about his recent viral moment with Crosby, during which the Raiders’ defensive end was heard yelling at Nix to speak up. Per Nix, he didn’t even know this happened until he saw the moment become viral on the internet after the fact.

Not only did Nix seemingly tune Crosby out, but the fact that the Broncos scored 34 unanswered points in a blowout Denver win after the incident should almost be insulting to the Las Vegas star.

Nix’s denial that he heard the trash talk of a terrifying superstar defender also happened in the same game where he actually talked back to Sean Payton and still enjoyed great success. That is eye-opening.

It’s early, but it sure looks like the Broncos are properly developing their young quarterback into a potential franchise player.

Patriots reward Drake Maye’s patience by letting him start against the NFL’s most fearsome defenses

This is a worst-case scenario for Drake Maye.

The New England Patriots didn’t want to throw Drake Maye into the fire as a rookie. They tried to be patient. However, an atrocious offense somewhat necessitated that Jerod Mayo finally start the rookie No. 3 overall pick rather than lose his veteran locker room.

New England’s decision to let Maye play now behind a horrific offensive line and one of the NFL’s worst supporting cast of weapons reeks of unwitting desperation. Even worse, it comes at the worst possible time.

That’s because Maye will play not one, not two, not three, but four elite defenses in the league within roughly a month of his first year as the starter.

It starts this Sunday against DeMeco Ryans’ complex Houston Texans, who are buoyed by two of the best edge pass-rushers in the NFL, Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. That’s more or less just hoping Maye survives his official NFL starting debut. Maye will then get a break against the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars in two weeks before squaring off with the ferocious New York Jets, the underrated Tennessee Titans, and the stacked Chicago Bears in successive weeks.

Oh, and all of these defenses not only rank in the top 12 in FTN’s DVOA efficiency, but three of them (the Bears, Jets, and Titans) are in the top six expected points (EPA) added per play, according to RBDSM.com.

Uh … hoo boy. That’s basically throwing Maye into the deep end of the pool without floating tubes and hoping he doesn’t drown.

Yes, the Patriots can’t afford to lose their locker room with ineffective quarterback play. That’s fine. But everyone knows that ruining a quarterback’s confidence early is what mainly leads to them becoming a bust. There should’ve been some sort of compromise here for the most important person in New England’s organization right now.

Asking Maye to take relentless shots and struggle against some of the best defenses in the game with no help is asking for trouble. Worse yet, it might risk the Patriots’ entire future with the young signal-caller.

What is the helmet decal NHL players are wearing to honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau?

Team USA Hockey and the NHL are beautifully honoring the Gaudreau brothers.

It’s been just over a month since former Columbus Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed in a tragic accident in a situation that should have never happened. With the 2024 NHL season now here, Team USA hockey has decided to honor the two brothers in a beautiful way.

According to a Team USA hockey press release, NHL players who are part of the U.S. National Team will wear a special “Gaudreau” helmet decal with both of the brothers’ jersey numbers and dueling hockey sticks this season.

Here is USA Hockey’s executive director Pat Kelleher on the move:

“Johnny and Matthew [Gaudreau], along with their families, will forever be a part of the USA Hockey family. This is a small way to not only honor their memory, but help keep their wonderful spirit for our great game and life in general in the forefront.”

Not only that, the NHL will also have their own decal honoring the Gaudreau brothers through October 24.

Kudos to everyone involved in this wonderful tribute.