Tag: milestone

Linebacker Christian Kirksey reflects on upcoming career milestone

Kirksey is just two tackles away from the 700-mark on his career but he told reporters on Tuesday that he’d rather be winning football games

Houston Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey has had quite the career in the NFL since entering the league in 2014 as a third-round pick from the University of Iowa. He found early success as a member of the Cleveland Browns until 2019 when the team parted ways with him and played for one season with the Green Bay Packers before finding his way to Houston last year.

Now in his ninth year of professional football, Kirksey is closing in on marking his 700th career tackle, a mark that is indicative of his knack for being at the right place at the right time over the course of his playing career. He reflected on the upcoming accomplishment in comments to reporters on Tuesday, when asked about what achieving such a concrete marker of success meant to him.

“To be honest, playing linebacker in this league, yeah, you look at the tackles and say it’s a good milestone, but I’m worried about winning,” Kirksey explained. “What good is it if you’re making tackles and you’re not winning? For me, where I can really excel in my game is the big plays, the takeaways, the game-changing plays. That’s what I’m concerned about. It is a milestone, and you never want to overlook anything, any type of success you have. I give it up to god, and thankful to play a long time to get to that milestone. I’m more worried about winning games and seeing where I could be the best fit to help my team.”

While his somewhat flippant response belies the fact that the milestone will reflect highly on his achievement at the professional level, one can certainly appreciate that his mind is on winning football games and not career milestones. He will need just two tackles against the Washington Commanders on Sunday to cross the 700-tackle mark, and for his benefit, fans should hope that the Texans manage to pull out their second win of the season in the matchup so that Kirksey’s outstanding accomplishment isn’t made bittersweet by the team’s underachievement.

Frank Ross comments on long snapper Jon Weeks’ upcoming 200th career game milestone

Jon Weeks has been a rock for the #Texans’ special teams unit since 2010 and will start his 200th career game at long snapper vs. Tennessee

One underrated contributor on the Houston Texans’ roster this season has been long snapper Jon Weeks, who will mark his 200th game at the position this week against the Tennessee Titans. The milestone drew praise from Texans special teams coordinator Frank Ross at the team’s Thursday press conference, where the seasoned coach remarked on Weeks’ uncanny consistency in the role over the course of the last several years.

“Selfishly, I’m fortunate and lucky to coach that,” Ross explained, “because people like Jon Weeks in our business, in the NFL, have the ability to do it day in and day out, season in season out for an extended period of time for years is difficult. Okay, now we’re talking about 200 games. I’m fortunate to learn from him to have him on or roster where I know week in and week out he’s going to do exactly as asked and work hard every week to do so.

“Talking about 200 games specifically, it’s an achievement that I honestly don’t know how many times that’s happened and the ability that it’s been consecutive is a testament to consistency, every day coming in, showing up, hard work but doing work with intentionality and focus. As you know, once you hit a certain age in life to be able to continue to work on your body and improve your body, becomes more and more challenging and he’s done just that. Excited for him, happy he was able to achieve that. Big goal for him and congrats to Jon.”

Weeks is a consummate pro and has certainly helped keep Houston’s special teams unit on an even keel through all the trials and tribulations the Texans’ have battled through in the last few seasons. He has been with the team since 2010 and has not missed a single game due to injury since he was picked up via free agency after going undrafted in the 2008 draft.

Few players at any position in the NFL boast the consistency that Weeks has shown over the course of his career, and even fewer can say that they have been a member of the same team for more than 10 seasons. As he heads into Sunday’s matchup, Weeks is sure to be reflecting on his successful career.

Cooper Kupp marks third game of 100-plus receiving yards vs. 49ers

Kupp made his mark in the primetime matchup, but it wasn’t enough to get the #Rams a win on the road against the #49ers

Star receiver Cooper Kupp was on his A game against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, notching his third game with 100 or more yards receiving in the 2022 season for the Los Angeles Rams. With 14 catches on 19 targets, Kupp set a career high for raw receptions in a game, and was involved in the Rams’ longest play from scrimmage in the matchup on an 18-yard catch.

His contributions were one of the only reasons that Los Angeles’ offense was able to get into field goal range in the primetime blowout, and without Kupp to present a downfield threat, the Rams likely wouldn’t have been able to score. He is reliant on quarterback Matthew Stafford to get him the ball with consistency, but when the signal-caller struggles as he did last night, the team is at a marked disadvantage.

Los Angeles’ defense didn’t do him any favors either, letting the 49ers score seemingly at will and forcing the offensive strategy to get desperate starting in the first quarter. Next week, the team’s game plan will need to find a more suitable balance between the run and pass games, so as to minimize the amount of time that the opposing defense can spend keyed in on Kupp on a drive-by-drive basis.

The Rams will face the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, and the prospect of starting quarterback Dak Prescott’s return looms large over the discourse around the game’s possible outcome. Los Angeles will look to get back on track in their divisional standings with a win, but given their defeat to the 49ers on Monday, it seems unlikely that they will be able to take sole ownership of first place, even if they emerge victorious.

For now, the team will re-group and seek to find solutions on both sides of the ball, focusing on getting star talents like Kupp involved in more creative ways against their next opponent.

Bobby Wagner is NFL’s only active player with 1,400 or more tackles

Wagner is already a stalwart on the #Rams’ defense, and reached the remarkable 1400-tackle milestone in the team’s win over the #Cardinals

When Bobby Wagner signed with the Los Angeles Rams following his illustrious career with the division rival Seattle Seahawks, fans knew they were in for something special. The 32 year old linebacker has plenty of gas left in the tank, and added a new feather to his cap in Week 3, recording his 1400th tackle in the Rams’ win over the Arizona Cardinals.

The team took to Twitter to congratulate Wagner on the outstanding achievement. In a post made on Tuesday, they recognized the milestone, noting that he is the only player in the NFL with more than 1400 career tackles.

As stated at the bottom of the graphic, Wagner is just the 17th player to reach the 1400 tackle benchmark, and there is a good likelihood that he will continue adding to this gargantuan total through the rest of the 2022 season. Given the abnormal rate of injuries Los Angeles has sustained since training camp, the team will rely on Wagner’s steady play on defense, and his contributions will play a key role in their efforts to get back to a second consecutive Super Bowl.

Wagner is an 11-year veteran, and one of the league’s most revered linebackers. With his championship pedigree and wealth of experience contending at the highest level, his ability to serve as a mentor to the Rams’ up-and-coming defenders will prove to be invaluable to the unit’s development this season.

Already a stalwart in the middle of Los Angeles’ defense, Wagner has helped the team bounce back from their Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills and regain their first place position in the NFC West. Under his tutelage and with the benefit of his rock-solid play on nearly every down the team plats on his side of the ball, the Rams will continue reaping the benefits of Wagner’s presence on the field.

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