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A recap of the best performances from Notre Dame football alumni in the NFL’s last week of regular season play.
The final week of the NFL regular season once again saw plenty of Notre Dame football alumni perform at an extremely high level. Let’s take a look back at week 17 action with photos and video highlights of the best former Irish players.
Jets Wire takes a look at some standout stats from the Jets’ 40-3 Week 14 loss vs. the Seattle Seahawks
After flirting with their first win of the season last week, the Jets showed why they’re the NFL’s only remaining winless team in Week 14.
New York sleepwalked into Seattle and paid the price in an embarrassing 40-3 loss. The Jets had some offensive momentum in the first half, but it didn’t materialize as Sergio Castillio missed three field goals.
From there, the Jets played a second half that’s been representative of their season thus far, getting outscored 17-0 after going into the break down 23-3. New York even got to see a familiar face in Geno Smith, who saw some time with the game out of hand and decided.
Let’s take a look at some numbers that stood out in the latest loss.
Jets Wire takes a look at the Jets studs and duds from the team’s 31-28 loss against the Raiders on Sunday.
While it didn’t happen in the fashion the Jets or Raiders might have envisioned, New York dropped its 12th straight game of the season Sunday while maintaining its lead in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. The Raiders were able to knock off the Jets, 31-28, avoiding another East Coast letdown.
The Jets put together quite the comeback effort in the second half behind the team’s rushing attack and Gregg Williams’ defense. The bend but don’t break mentality held until the dam burst on a 3rd and 10 at the end of the game, on which Williams sent an all-out blitz. Derek Carr threw a bomb, Henry Ruggs III was all alone and that was that.
Let’s take a look at New York’s best and worst from the team’s latest loss.
The Jets placed Sam Ficken and La’Mical Perine on injured reserve and activated Ross Travis and Josh Adams from practice squad.
Sam Ficken re-injured himself after making his return from a groin injury on Sunday against the Chargers.
The Jets announced on Tuesday that they placed Ficken and La’Mical Perine on injured reserve. They also activated Ross Travis and Josh Adams from the practice squad.
Ficken missed three games with a groin injury before coming back on Sunday. In his return, Ficken missed two of his four extra-point attempts. For the year, Ficken is 9-10 on field goal attempts and 8-10 on extra points. Sergio Castillo will kick in place of the injured Ficken.
Perine went down with a high-ankle sprain on Sunday. Prior to exiting the game, he scored the second rushing touchdown of his career. The rookie has rushed for 202 yards to go along with 49 receiving yards.
Adams was on the Jets’ active roster for the first two games of the regular season before being sent down to the practice squad. He had eight rushing yards, 14 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown. He’ll likely serve as the No. 3 running back behind Frank Gore and Ty Johnson.
Travis was just activated off the Reserve/COVID-19 list and placed back on the practice squad. He appeared in the Jets’ Week 9 game against the Patriots.
A potential positive from Le’Veon Bell’s release may be more opportunities for La’Mical Perine to see the field.
A potential positive from Le’Veon Bell’s release may be more opportunities for La’Mical Perine to see the field.
Earlier this week, Adam Gase suggested that Perine was not receiving more carries because he didn’t want to “stunt” the rookie’s growth. That was before Bell was granted his release on Tuesday night.
After Bell returned to the lineup in Week 5, Perine played zero snaps in New York’s 30-10 loss to the Cardinals. Perine was relegated to kickoff duty.
When Bell missed three games with a hamstring injury, Perine received just 40 snaps. Inexplicably, both Frank Gore and Kalen Ballage saw time in the backfield over the fourth-round pick from Florida. In his four games, Perine has 17 touches for 55 total yards.
There’s no longer any excuse for the Jets not to play Perine. The team is 0-5 and, with Bell’s release, they don’t appear interested in being competitive. At the very least, they should be using the next 11 games as an evaluation period, which should provide a measuring stick for someone like Perine.
At 37-years-old, the Jets know what they have in Gore. It appears that Father Time has caught up to the ageless wonder and he should be no more than a short-yardage back and a guide to Perine going forward.
On the season, Gore has 64 carries for 204 yards, averaging 3.2 yards per carrry. Even if Gase’s odd explanation for not using Perine holds any merit, the Jets gain nothing by playing Gore over the rookie, who has already followed Bell’s lead, liking a tweet that criticized his head coach’s explanation of his minimal use.
In all likelihood, Perine will probably be part of a running back by committee that includes Gore, Ty Johnson and Josh Adams. Even with that, he should reserve the right to be New York’s feature back for the remainder of the season.
The Jets released Bell because they knew he wouldn’t be here beyond this season. New York was likely to release him following the 2020 season regardless of his production. That same logic can be applied to Gase, who has all but written his fate. With that, a likely lame-duck head coach needs to feature Perine going forward, especially considering he could be New York’s running back of the future.
Jets Wire takes a look at what Le’Veon Bell’s release could potentially mean for rookie running back La’Mical Perine.
A potential positive from Le’Veon Bell’s release may be more opportunities for La’Mical Perine to see the field.
Earlier this week, Adam Gase suggested that Perine was not receiving more carries because he didn’t want to “stunt” the rookie’s growth. That was before Bell was granted his release on Tuesday night.
After Bell returned to the lineup in Week 5, Perine played zero snaps in New York’s 30-10 loss to the Cardinals. Perine was relegated to kickoff duty.
When Bell missed three games with a hamstring injury, Perine received just 40 snaps. Inexplicably, both Frank Gore and Kalen Ballage saw time in the backfield over the fourth-round pick from Florida. In his four games, Perine has 17 touches for 55 total yards.
There’s no longer any excuse for the Jets not to play Perine. The team is 0-5 and, with Bell’s release, they don’t appear interested in being competitive. At the very least, they should be using the next 11 games as an evaluation period, which should provide a measuring stick for someone like Perine.
At 37-years-old, the Jets know what they have in Gore. It appears that Father Time has caught up to the ageless wonder and he should be no more than a short-yardage back and a guide to Perine going forward.
On the season, Gore has 64 carries for 204 yards, averaging 3.2 yards per carrry. Even if Gase’s odd explanation for not using Perine holds any merit, the Jets gain nothing by playing Gore over the rookie, who has already followed Bell’s lead, liking a tweet that criticized his head coach’s explanation of his minimal use.
In all likelihood, Perine will probably be part of a running back by committee that includes Gore, Ty Johnson and Josh Adams. Even with that, he should reserve the right to be New York’s feature back for the remainder of the season.
The Jets released Bell because they knew he wouldn’t be here beyond this season. New York was likely to release him following the 2020 season regardless of his production. That same logic can be applied to Gase, who has all but written his fate. With that, a likely lame-duck head coach needs to feature Perine going forward, especially considering he could be New York’s running back of the future.
In wake of Sunday’s matchup against the 49ers, the Jets have signed Alec Ogeltree, while promoting RB Josh Adams and WR Josh Malone.
The Jets made a series of roster moves on Saturday, signing linebacker Alec Ogletree to the active roster and elevating running back Josh Adams and wide receiver Josh Malone from the practice squad for Sunday’s matchup against the 49ers.
Ogletree’s signing comes with Blake Cashman (groin) landing on injured reserve earlier this week and Avery Williamson listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury. Williamson is expected to play, but Ogletree bolsters New York’s linebacker depth nonetheless.
Now that he is on the active roster, Ogletree reunites with his former defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams. Ogletree played his best football under Williams’ watch with the Rams, recording 111 tackles in 2014 and 136 in 2016. He spent the last two seasons with the Giants, but struggled mightily for New York.
As for Adams and Malone, they have been elevated to the active roster for the second consecutive week. The NFL’s new 2020 rules allow teams to promote two players from their 16-man practice squad to have a gameday roster of 55.
Adams joins a backfield that is without Le’Veon Bell, who is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Frank Gore has been deemed the starter with Kalen Ballage and La’Mical Perine also in the mix. The Jets just re-added Ballage this week, while Perine is expected to make his season debut after dealing with an ankle injury. In New York’s 27-17 loss to the Bills in Week 1, Adams had two carries for eight yards and a score.
Malone will likely see more snaps on offense this week after just taking 10 on special teams in New York’s season opener. With Jamison Crowder sidelined with a hamstring injury, Malone joins Breshad Perriman, Chris Hogan and Braxton Berrios as the only healthy receivers on the Jets’ depth chart.
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The Jets protected four members of their practice squad ahead of their Week 2 matchup with the 49ers.
The Jets protected four members of their practice squad ahead of their Week 2 matchup with the 49ers, including LB Alec Ogletree.
Joining Ogletree are RB Josh Adams, CB Javelin Guidry and WR Josh Malone. New COVID-19 inspired rules allow teams to protect up to four players on their practice squad this season. Doing so means another team can’t sign any such player away that week.
Adams and Malone both appeared in the Jets’ Week 1 loss to Buffalo before reverting back to the practice squad. They are candidates for promotions again given Gang Green’s lack of depth at running back and wide receiver following injured reserve designations for Le’Veon Bell and Denzel Mims. Ogletree is also a possibility due to injuries after Blake Cashman was put on IR as well.
Guidry’s protected status, meanwhile, is intriguing after the Jets had to bench Pierre Desir, their No. 1 corner, and dip into their depth against the Bills.
This is the first time the Jets have taken advantage of the new protection rules. They did not protect any players prior to Week 1.
The Jets place Le’Veon Bell, Denzel Mims and Blake Cashman on injured reserve while also signing Kalen Ballage to their active roster.
The Jets placed RB Le’Veon Bell (hamstring), WR Denzel Mims (hamstrings) and Blake Cashman (groin) on injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday. All three players will be eligible to return in three weeks.
Mims was inactive Week 1 after suffering an injury to his (at the time) good hamstring during practice last week. Cashman exited Sunday’s game early in the first quarter after suffering an injury to his groin.
Bell’s hamstrings have been an issue since training camp. He disputed Adam Gase on Twitter, saying there was “nothing wrong with his hamstrings” after Gase elected to pull his running back from a scrimmage. Bell later backtracked his comments, but they came back to bite him this past weekend.
Bell slipped and injured himself going out for a pass Sunday. Gase was mad at himself for second-guessing the extent of Bell’s injury and allowing him to return to the game, even after the Jets running back pulled up lame and was clearly grabbing his hamstring.
Bell played out the rest of the first-half and saw snaps in the second, but the Jets saw enough and eventually pulled him in favor of Frank Gore and Josh Adams.
With Gore and Adams the Jets’ only healthy running backs, the team signed Kalen Ballage.
The Ballage singing comes just a couple of weeks after the former Miami Dolphins running back was traded to the Jets for a conditional 2021 seventh-round draft pick. He failed his physical, though, thus nixing the trade.
New York is signing Ballage to its active roster in wake of injuries to both Bell and La’Mical Perine, who has been dealing with an ankle injury. His timetable for return is still unknown.
With Bell down for at least three weeks, Gore will assume the starting role. New York elevated Adams from its practice squad for Week 1 but returned him Monday. It’s likely that Gore, Ballage and Adams will be the Jets’ backfield when they host the 49ers this weekend.
With New York in desperate need of a running back that it can immediately insert into the mix, Ballage’s prior knowledge of Gase’s offense made him the perfect candidate. The Jets just have to hope his hamstring is now healthy while Bell rehabs his.
The Jets sent two players back to the practice squad after Sunday’s loss.
RB Josh Malone and WR Josh Adams are heading back to the practice squad, per the NFL transaction wire.
Both players appeared in the Jets’ Week 1 loss to the Bills on Sunday. Adams ran for eight yards on two tries, including a garbage-time touchdown, in the 27-17 defeat. He also caught two passes for 14 yards.
Malone, meanwhile, returned a kick for 16 yards.
New COVID-19 inspired rules allow for players to revert to the practice squad twice without having to pass through waivers. Adams will likely be back for the Jets’ Week 2 matchup with the 49ers, as Le’Veon Bell is expected to miss time with a hamstring injury.
Malone could also return depending on the overall recovery of New York’s banged-up wide receiver room.
