Tag: NFL

93.7 The Fan host on Steelers’ trade rumors with new WR target

Andrew Fillipponi, host of the popular PIttsburgh sports radio station, 93.7 The Fan, touched a rumor involving a new WR trade target.

Steelers commentator and host of 93.7 The Fan, Andrew Fillipponi, threw some gas on the proverbial ‘Pittsburgh trading for WR’ fire. The trade rumor in question, from Fillipponi, focuses in on the Panthers attempting to move on from former three-time Pro Bowler and former All-Pro WR Adam Thielen. This isn’t the first trade Pittsburgh has been linked to, as Omar Khan and the Steelers’ organization attempted to trade for both WR Brandon Aiyuk and WR Davante Adams but ultimately came up short. 

Thielen is currently on IR after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 3. He will be eligible to return no sooner than the Carolina Panthers’ Week 8 contest against the Denver Broncos on October 27th. Could the Panthers activate Thielen and trade him between this date and the trade deadline on November 5th? 

Fillipponi, asked fans of the ‘Steel City’ on social media if the team should pursue the former Vikings receiver.

Let us know what you think about the rumor involving Pittsburgh’s sixth-round pick and Adam Thielen below:

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Cardinals’ schedule eases up significantly in final 11 games

After facing five 2023 playoff teams in their first six games, only three of their final 11 opponents made the postseason last year.

Coaches at all levels of football often say that for the most part, things are never as good as they seem to be or as bad they appear to be.

After a big victory, fan bases of teams that haven’t experienced consistent success react as if their team is heading to the Super Bowl and can beat anybody.

Conversely, an ugly loss will send that same fan base spiraling close to the abyss while wondering if their team can beat anybody ahead on the schedule.

That surely has been the case over the last two weeks for Arizona Cardinals fans and, for that matter, some in the media after an improbable come-from-behind win over the San Francisco 49ers was followed by a 21-point loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The reality, of course, is somewhere in between for a team still only 23 games into a massive roster rebuild that began when general manager Monti Ossenfort was hired after the 4-13 season in 2022. Does anyone know that what he is trying to do will work? Absolutely not.

But just as surely, no one also knows that it won’t, although a significant part of that latter belief is obviously rooted in the long history of losing that has resulted in having only one head coach of 11 with an overall winning record since the team moved to the desert in 1988. From 1960-1987 in St. Louis, there were three of eight.

That’s four head coaches of 19 with winning records in the last 64 seasons.

Still, it’s also important to note the collective amnesia that often envelops most everyone in this have-a-take world where opinions change on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

When the 2023 schedule was announced in May, it didn’t take long for everyone to realize it wasn’t very kind to the Cardinals in the first eight weeks of the season.

Five of the first six games and six of the first eight were against teams that were in the playoffs last season. Those teams had a combined record of 58-44 (56.7 percent). On the flip side, there are only three 2023 playoff teams to be played in the final 11 games. They had an 83-104 record (44.4 percent) last season.

The current record of the first six teams is 20-14 and the losses have come against teams that are 16-7. The current record of the final 11 teams (counting Seattle twice) is 28-34.

I dare say there weren’t too many people who thought the team’s record would be better than 2-4 at this point with the feeling that 1-5 would not be a surprise.

“We’ll see if they can rebound from a poor start” was a consistent part of the narrative from May through August.

Now, there are those that believe the sky is falling and that another rebuild with new leaders is what should happen.

When it’s noted that very few thought the Cardinals would be better than 2-4, the rejoinder is that it’s not that they lost to the Commanders and Packers but “how” they lost.

It’s an understandable reaction, but one that ignores the reality that games like that happen in the NFL. In fact, the Cardinals had a positive one, defeating the Rams by 31 points.

While the league often touts how many close games there are, it’s important to also note that in the first six weeks of the season, there have been 17 of 92 games (18.5 percent) where the margin of victory was at least 20 points and four with 30 or more.

In a week-to-week league where what happens one week often has no bearing on the next, it sometimes doesn’t mean much when a blowout occurs. As Margaret Mitchell wrote in the last line of the classic book “Gone with the Wind:” “After all, tomorrow is another day.”

We’ll find out soon enough what “tomorrow” will look like for the Cardinals.

20-point wins in the NFL

38: Week 6, Detroit 47, Dallas 9

37: Week 3, Buffalo 47, Jacksonville 10; Week 5: New Orleans 47, Carolina 10

31: Week 2, Arizona 41, L.A. Rams 10

28: Week 4: Washington 42, Arizona 14

27: Week 3, Minnesota 34, Houston 7

26: Week 4, Baltimore 35, Buffalo 10; Week 5, Chicago 36, Carolina 10

25: Week 2: New Orleans 44, Dallas 19

24: Week 6: Tampa Bay 51, New Orleans 27

23: Week 2: L.A. Chargers 26, Carolina 3

21: Week 2, Buffalo 31, Miami 10; Week 3, N.Y. Jets 24, New England 3; Seattle 24, Miami 3; Week 5: Washington 34, Cleveland 13, Week 6, Green Bay 34, Arizona 13

20: Week 6, Houston 41, New England 21

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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Chargers WR DJ Chark designated to return from IR

DJ Chark was placed on injured reserve Sept. 7, and now his 21-day window is open.

The Chargers have designated wide receiver DJ Chark to return from injured reserve.

Chark was back at practice on Wednesday.

Chark was placed on the injured reserve on Sept. 7 with a hip injury. He has missed the last five games.

With Chark’s 21-day window open, he must either be activated to the 53-man roster or placed on season-ending injured reserve by the end of the three-week period.

Chark signed with the Bolts in May. The 28-year-old wideout was a standout during training camp and was projected to be a starter before sustaining the injury.

Now that he’s back in the fold, Chark will inject the offense with the speed and vertical element it desperately needs.

Chark earned Pro Bowl status in his second season in the league, which came in 2019 with the Jaguars. That year, he caught a career-high 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns.

Chark is the only receiver on the Chargers to surpass the 1,000-yard receiving mark.

Steelers injury update: C Zach Frazier has timeline for return

The Steelers hope to have Frazier back after the Steelers bye week in Week Nine.

There have been few rookies in the NFL this season who have played as well as Pittsburgh Steelers center Zach Frazier. Frazier took over the starting job after Nate Herbig was injured and looked like a 10-year veteran and not a rookie second-round pick.

Unfortunately, last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, Frazier suffered an ankle sprain that forced him out of the game. Ryan McCollum came in for Fraizer and played well. This is great news since it sounds like Frazier is going to miss the next two games and not be back until after the Steelers Week Nine bye week.

https://twitter.com/FarabaughFB/status/1846568933660176520

The Steelers offensive line has been decimated with injuries so far this season. The team has already lost James Daniels and Troy Fautanu for extended stretches and were without guard Isaac Seumalo for several weeks. And as we noted, it was an injury that got Frazier into the starting lineup.

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Center Ryan McCollum showcases resilience in buildup to Week 7

C Ryan McCollum proves why everyone should follow their dreams, and to continue to work hard to make all things possible.

While losing dominant rookie center Zach Frazier to injury in Week 6 was far from ideal, the wise words of the next-man-up, center Ryan McCollum, surely instill confidence in both Steelers fans and the organization alike.

McCollum has played in 19 career games after going undrafted in 2021. His lone start came during his rookie year with the Detroit Lions, and he has bounced on and off the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad since. However, now set for his second career start in relief of Frazier, McCollum has never let the hard times and uncertainty this game brings get him down.

This is exactly the type of attitude you want out a backup who is looking to make the most of his opportunity.  While the Steelers offensive line is extremely banged up, losing 3 starters to injury so far in 2024, the team appears to be in capable hands with McCollum looking to spearhead the Pittsburgh rushing attack.  The Steelers will lean on his efforts and the offense overall, as the team faces a stout New York Jets’ defense in Week 7.

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Former Notre Dame tight end named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

He surely never thought he’d add this to his trophy case.

If anyone proved how versatile they are in the NFL during the past week’s slate of games, it was [autotag]Cole Kmet[/autotag]. The former Notre Dame tight end, now with the Chicago Bears, was pressed into duty he likely never thought actually would come to pass.

While Kmet scored twice and had five receptions for 70 yards in the Bears’ 35-16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, it was what he did on special teams that caught everyone’s attention.

Already down their primary long snapper, the Bears suddenly were faced with a pickle when backup long snapper Scott Daly was injured in the first quarter. Knowing Kmet was a long snapper in high school, they pressed him into duty for five extra-point attempts and one field-goal attempt.

Kmet’s performance impressed enough that he was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He is believed to be the first player in NFL history to win the award as a long snapper. The fact that he’s not even a true long snapper makes this even more impressive.

Congratulations to Kmet, and let’s hope he has even more success after the Bears’ bye week.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Statistical Breakdown: How the Chargers and Cardinals stack up before Week 7 game

Here’s how the Chargers and Cardinals stack up statistically ahead of Monday’s matchup.

The Chargers and Cardinals are set to square off this upcoming Monday.

Here’s how Los Angeles and Arizona stack up statistically ahead of the Week 7 matchup:

Offense

Category Chargers Cardinals
Points per game 18.2 ppg (26th) 22.2 (17th)
Passing offense 153.2 ypg (29th) 187.0 (24th)
Rushing offense 127.8 ypg (10th) 145.2 (7th)
Total offense 281.0 ypg (28th) 332.2 (15th)
3rd down conversions 42.47% (10th) 40.63% (15th)
Red zone scoring 41.67% (28th) 58.82% (13th)
Sacks allowed 12 (11th) 11 (10th)
Turnovers 2 (1st) 8 (24th)

Defense

Category Chargers Cardinals
Points allowed 13.2 ppg (1st) 27.2 (27th)
Passing defense 192.0 ypg (8th) 220.3 (22nd)
Rushing defense 97.2 ypg (6th) 153.0 (29th)
Total defense 289.2 ypg (6th) 373.3 (28th)
3rd down conversions 37.31% (18th) 49.25% (32nd)
Red zone defense 44.44% (2nd) 53.85% (18th)
Sacks 13 (11th) 11 (T-16th)
Takeaways 9 (10th) 8 (12th)

 

Steelers have new starting quarterback at practice

Russell Wilson took the first-team reps at Steelers Wednesday practice.

On Wednesday, several members of the Pittsburgh Steelers acknowledged that it was indeed Russell Wilson who took first-team reps at practice that day. This is something head coach Mike Tomlin noted was a real possibility this week and it has now come to fruition.

The Steelers are preparing to square off against the New York Jets on Sunday night and we should know on Friday afternoon who the starting quarterback will be. Justin Fields has started the first six games of the season for Pittsburgh and led the team to a 4-2 record. Nevertheless, Tomlin has maintained the door is ajar for Wilson regardless of Fields’ success.

If we were betting, we would wager that Tomlin would give Wilson the nod as the starter but still include Fields in the game plan. We don’t like this from a schematic standpoint as Fields coming in sort of telegraphs the play but no one should be surprised if Wilson is the starter this week and going forward.

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Raiders, Rams Week 7 injury report: 6 Raiders starters miss practice

Another week for the Raiders with several starters missing.

Preparations for the Raiders week seven game in Los Angeles against the Rams have begun. This time without Davante Adams on the roster. But Adams wasn’t the only starter not practicing for the Raiders Wednesday. They were without six starters Wednesday.

Those starters included DE Maxx Crosby (ankle), WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle), T Kolton Miller (knee/shoulder), G Dylan Parham (foot), DT John Jenkins (illness), and CB Jack Jones (illness).

Maxx Crosby has been resting Wednesdays for a few weeks now and has played the past couple weeks. Same with Kolton Miller.

Meyers missed last Sunday’s game with his injury and the team struggled to replace him in the lineup. Dylan Parham left Sunday’s game with his foot injury and was replaced at right guard by Jordan Meredith.

Other Raiders players not practicing were linebackers Kana’i Mauga (knee) and Tommy Eichenberg (quad).

The only player missing for the Rams was long snapper Alex Ward (illness).

Rams-Raiders injury report: Cooper Kupp limited, Maxx Crosby DNP Wednesday

Cooper Kupp was limited Wednesday, one of five Rams listed on the injury report

The Los Angeles Rams returned from their bye on Monday and held an unofficial practice as they prepare to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon. On Wednesday, the Rams released their first injury report of the week, providing an all-important update on Cooper Kupp’s status.

Kupp was one of five players listed on the initial report as he continues to work his way back from an ankle injury. Sean McVay said Kupp was slated to participate in individual drills but not the full team practice, hence his limited designation.

Jordan Whittington was limited with a shoulder injury that he suffered in Week 5 before the bye but McVay said at the time that it’s not something he expects to prevent the rookie receiver from playing.

Joe Noteboom returned to practice for the first time since injuring his ankle in Week 1, so he’s been designated to return from injured reserve. The Rams now have 21 days to activate him to the 53-man roster, which could happen as soon as this week.

Long snapper Alex Ward missed practice because he was sick and Logan Bruss was a full participant despite a lingering knee injury.

For the Raiders, their side of the injury report was significantly longer. A total of 13 players were listed, eight of whom did not participate at all on Wednesday. In that group is Maxx Crosby, who missed practice with an ankle injury. Jakobi Meyers, Kolton Miller and Jack Jones were also among the notable non-participants.