Tag: NFL

NFC playoff picture: Who should Rams be pulling for in Seahawks-49ers?

The Rams have to hope San Francisco gets a win on Monday night.

The Los Angeles Rams’ playoff hopes took another big hit on Sunday following their loss to the Steelers. However, thanks to a few other NFC foes losing, the Rams are still in the hunt for a postseason berth.

It’s just that a win over Pittsburgh would’ve helped their chances greatly, pushing them closer to the No. 6 seed. As it stands right now, the Rams are seventh in the conference, bunched in a tie with the Eagles and Panthers, and just one game ahead of their Week 11 opponent, the Bears.

Let’s take a look at the playoff picture as it stands right now.

NFC standings

1. West: 49ers (8-0)

2. North: Packers (8-2)

3. South: Saints (7-2)

4. East: Cowboys (5-4)

5. Wild card: Seahawks (7-2)

6. Wild card: Vikings (7-3)

In the hunt

Rams (5-4)
Eagles (5-4)
Panthers (5-4)
Bears (4-5)
Lions (3-5-1)
Cardinals (3-6-1)

Clearly, things are tight in the NFC. The Rams are 1.5 games out of a wild-card berth behind the Vikings, and two games back of the Seahawks. They trail the 49ers by 2.5 games in the division and have very little chance to catch San Francisco.

Monday night’s matchup between the Seahawks and 49ers only complicates things for the Rams. On one hand, they’ll pick up half a game on someone. On the other, one of the teams is sure to move another step ahead of the Rams – barring a tie, of course.

So who should the Rams (and fans) be rooting for tonight? Following Los Angeles’ loss on Sunday, that answer is much clearer: San Francisco.

If the 49ers win tonight, they’ll move to 9-0, which is four games ahead of the Rams. With only seven games remaining, that’s a margin too wide for Los Angeles to close. More importantly, it’ll drop the Seahawks back to 7-3, which is 1.5 games ahead of the Rams. That’s not an impossible gap to close, especially with the two teams having one matchup left this season.

Seattle winning would give the 49ers their first loss and drop San Francisco to three games ahead of the Rams, but it would also give the Seahawks a 2.5-game cushion for a wild-card spot. That’s a recipe for disaster for the Rams and would create an even steeper climb to the fifth or sixth seed.

There’s no doubt the Rams need a lot of help. They need the Cowboys, Eagles, Seahawks, Vikings and even the Panthers to lose quite a few games. The 49ers crumbling wouldn’t hurt, but San Francisco’s cushion is likely already too big for the Rams to overcome.

On Monday night, the Rams have to hope San Francisco comes away victorious and pushes further ahead in the division – simultaneously knocking the Seahawks back a bit.

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Wolverines in the NFL: Week 10

Michigan football alumni were making plays once again in the NFL last week, check out how they all did during the Week 10 action.

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The Michigan football team was on a bye week this week, so that left your Saturday open to watching other college football teams. Luckily there are former Michigan football players in the NFL, so you were still able to get a small taste of the program this week in the NFL.

Check out how the Michigan alumni did this week at the next level.

OFFENSE

Quarterback:
  • Tom Brady (New England Patriots) – Brady and the Patriots were on a bye week this week.
Tight End:
  • Zach Gentry (Pittsburgh Steelers) – Gentry was inactive once again this week against the Los Angeles Rams.
Offensive Line:
  • Graham Glasgow (Detroit Lions) – Glasgow returned to action this week in his teams 20-13 loss to the Chicago Bears, and he had two false start penalties called on himself, not the best return for the former Wolverine.
  • Taylor Lewan (Tennessee Titans) – Lewan drew more penalties this week in his team’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs and he was upset with himself after the game about it. Lewan has nine penalties in just six games this season.

  • Patrick Omameh (New Orleans Saints) – Omameh was active, but didn’t play in his teams 26-9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
  • Michael Schofield III (Los Angeles Chargers) – Schofield had his worst week of the season so far, allowing half a sack in his team’s loss to the Oakland Raiders.
  • Mason Cole (Arizona Cardinals) – Cole got another start this week and while he didn’t allow a sack this week, he did draw one holding penalty. The Cardinals would lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-27.
  • Erik Magnuson (Oakland Raiders) – Magnuson was inactive in his team’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

DEFENSE

Defensive Line:
  • Chase Winovich (New England Patriots) – Winovich and the Patriots were on a bye week this week.
  • Taco Charlton (Miami Dolphins) – Charlton was quiet in his team’s 16-12 win over the Indianapolis Colts, finishing with one total tackle.
  • Brandon Graham (Philidelphia Eagles) – Graham and the Eagles were on a bye week this week.
  • Chris Wormley (Baltimore Ravens) – Wormley had his best game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals this week, finishing with four total tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack.
  • Ryan Glasgow (Cincinnati Bengals) – Glasgow was active but didn’t show up on the stat sheet in his team’s 49-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
  • Frank Clark (Kansas City Chiefs) – Clark was active against the Tennessee Titans and had four total tackles, one sack, a pass deflection and a tackle for loss in his team’s 35-32 loss.
  • Maurice Hurst (Oakland Raiders) – Hurst had two total tackles, a half a tackle for loss and a half a sack in his team’s 26-24 win over the Chargers.
Linebacker
  • Rashan Gary (Green Bay Packers) – Gary was active against the Carolina Panthers this week, but didn’t end up on the stat sheet as his team won 24-16.
  • Devin Bush (Pittsburgh Steelers) – Bush was not much of a threat to the Rams this week, finishing with three total tackles and half a sack in the team’s win.
  • Ben Gedeon (Minnesota Vikings) – Gedeon was quiet in his teams win over the Dallas Cowboys, finishing with only one total tackle.
Defensive back:
  • Jourdan Lewis (Dallas Cowboys) – Lewis against the New York Giants last week had a nice game, finishing with six total tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in his team’s win. This week in their 28-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Lewis had only one total tackle and one pass deflection.

  • Jabrill Peppers (New York Giants) – Peppers against the Cowboys last week finished with a team-high 12 total tackles, along with a pass deflection in the team’s 37-18 defeat. Against the New York Jets this week, Peppers had six total tackles, one and a half for loss, and a pass deflection in his teams 34-27 defeat.
  • David Long (Los Angeles Rams) – Long was quiet in his team’s 17-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, finishing with only one total tackle.
  • Jarrod Wilson (Jacksonville Jaguars) – Wilson and the Jaguars were on a bye week this week.
  • Brandon Watson (Jacksonville Jaguars) – Watson and the Jaguars were on a bye week this week.
  • Lano Hill (Seattle Seahawks) – Hill and the Seattle Seahawks play on Monday Night Football this week, his stats will appear in next week’s edition.
Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

Raheem Morris, Jeff Ulbrich shared defensive play-calling duties Sunday

It was reported prior to Sunday’s win over the Saints that linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich had taken over the Falcons defensive play-calling duties from head coach Dan Quinn.

It was reported prior to Sunday’s win over the Saints that linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich had taken over the Falcons defensive play-calling duties from head coach Dan Quinn.

Following Atlanta’s 26-9 upset over New Orleans, NFL Network’s Steve Wyche reported that the team used a unique arrangement on defense:

Ulbrich called plays on first and second downs, while Raheem Morris called them on third downs and in two-minute situations. This led to the Falcons defense playing with a confidence and speed that we haven’t quite seen this season.

New Orleans had dominated the time of possession battle in its first eight games, but went 3-for-12 on third downs in Week 10, which changed the flow of the game.

Brees was sacked six times, and Atlanta’s young secondary held strong — particularly rookie CB Kendall Sheffield. Dan Quinn’s reign as defensive coordinator was a failure, but these changes were extremely effective.

According to Wyche, the Falcons plan to keep this defensive play-calling arrangement for the rest of the year.

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CB Patrick Peterson day-to-day with calf injury, will definitely be back after bye week

He might not be able to play this weekend against the San Francisco 49ers.

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson suffered a calf injury that caused him to have to miss part of the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Initially after the game, coach Kliff Kingsbury did not know what Peterson’s status was with the injury.

He addressed the media Monday and he had a little more information.

He told reporters Peterson was day-to-day with a muscle injury in his calf. He did not know whether Peterson will be able to play this weekend against the San Francisco 49ers, but said Peterson “definitely” will be able to play after the bye week in December.

Peterson has never missed a game because of injury in his career. The only games he has missed were the six he missed at the start of this season when he was suspended.

If Peterson is unable to go, hopefully Tramaine Brock will return. Brock had a hamstring injury that kept him out on Sunday. That would allow him and Byron Murphy to start and then Kevin Peterson could come in as the third corner.

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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Report: League offices considered reviewing final play in Cardinals/Bucs game

The league decided not have the play reviewed because it appearently would not have been overturned.

Many question why there was no review of the final play between the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Cardinals threw up a hail mary to receiver Pharoh Cooper and there was a ton of contact. Rookie cornerback Jamel Dean appeared to interfere with Cooper, but no flag was thrown and the game was over.

It appeared to be an obvious situation to review the play. The Cardinals could not challenge the play because it was in the final two minutes and the officials had already given a pass interference penalty on review, setting up the Bucs’ game-winning touchdown.

Apparently, the league sort of reviewed the play, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

Per a league source, the play was considered for a potential replay review, but a decision was made not to officially review it, because it was determined that the play would not have been overturned, if the review had happened.

Sound confusing?

So they basically reviewed the play before deciding not to review it because the review would not have changed anything.

Perhaps nothing would have come out of a review. After all, very few calls have been changed on review.

And perhaps a review resulting in nothing might have created the same outrage. However, at minimum, the decision at least review the play when a coach can’t challenge would show they were at least trying to get the call right at the end of the game.

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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Falcons rookie CB Kendall Sheffield shines in win over Saints

Entering Sunday’s game against the Saints, the Falcons secondary looked to be in bad shape with top corner Desmond Trufant set to miss his fourth straight game.

Entering Sunday’s game against the Saints, the Falcons secondary looked to be in bad shape with top corner Desmond Trufant set to miss his fourth straight game.

Apparently, something clicked for this team during the bye week, however, and Atlanta would play its best defensive game all season, beating a 7-1 New Orleans team on the road.

The Falcons recorded six sacks of Saints QB Drew Brees, while the secondary played with confidence for the first time in weeks. Rookie Kendall Sheffield more than held his own in Week 10 — being targeted seven times and allowing just five catches for 28 yards.

Pro Football Focus gave Sheffield an impressive grade of 89.9 for his performance on Sunday:

The Falcons have asked a lot of their rookie fourth-round pick this season, and although there have been some bumps in the road, Sheffield has exceeded expectations in 2019.

The team may have lucked into another building block if the former Ohio State standout can keep it up.

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Irish in the NFL: Rudolph’s Huge Night Elevates Vikings

Rudolph finished with four receptions for just 14 yards total but that number looks a lot more important when two of them were for scores, giving him 45 career touchdowns in his now nine-year NFL career.

Tight End U was at it again Sunday, with a Notre Dame product doing damage at the position and again helping his team to victory.

Kyle Rudolph found the end zone for the Minnesota Vikings not once but twice on Sunday Night Football at Dallas.

Rudolph was twice on the receiving end of one-yard Kirk Cousins touchdown passes in the first quarter, helping to get the Vikings to an early 14-0 lead. His first reception was as good of catch as you’ll see a tight end make.

Rudolph finished with four receptions for just 14 yards total but that number looks a lot more important when two of them were for scores, giving him 45 career touchdowns in his now nine-year NFL career.

The Vikings held off a Cowboys comeback to move to 7-3 on the season, plenty alive in the NFC playoff chase. Rudolph now has four touchdowns over the last three games after being kept out of the end zone the first six weeks of the season.

Jalen Ramsey criticizes officiating after Rams loss to Steelers

Jalen Ramsey voiced his opinion on the officiating after the Rams’ loss.

There’s been a lot of talk about the officiating in the NFL this season, from the controversial pass interference rule change to players being unnecessarily flagged for roughing the passer on plays that look like ordinary tackling. Clay Matthews took issue with it last month when he criticized the officials in the Lions-Packers game from Week 6, and he was subsequently fined $12,500 for it.

Jalen Ramsey voiced his opinion of how Sunday’s Rams-Steelers matchup was called after the game, saying he was “kind of frustrated” with how closely it was officiated. Ramsey was called for two pass interference penalties, but only one of them seemed to warrant a flag.

The biggest issue Ramsey had was with JuJu Smith-Schuster pushing off at the top of his routes without being called for offensive pass interference.

“I’m kind of frustrated a little bit with the (officiating). I’ll probably get fined for this but it’s all right. I was kind of upset with the officiating a little bit, just because he was pushing off quite a bit – especially on his first pass he caught on me, he pushed off with two hands. I thought that was clear as day. It didn’t get called, I kept playing and remained playing,” Ramsey told reporters in the locker room.

As for the pass interference penalties called on him, he only agreed with one of them. He said the first one was just incidental contact after their feet got tangled. The second pass interference call, Ramsey admitted was fair.

“Then they called a PI on me when it was for the most part incidental. They called a PI when we tripped over each other’s foot. That usually doesn’t get called,” Ramsey said. “And then they called a PI when I tugged him once. That was a tug, for sure. I can’t argue that, that was a tug. But I was kind of disappointed in some of the non-calls. He pushed off quite a bit, but it’s OK. That’s just the type of game we had. I thought they were going to let us play, that’s really why I tugged him on that one.”

This was Ramsey’s first loss as a member of the Rams, but he and the rest of the team will have a chance to bounce back next week against the Bears at home.

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