Tag: passing

QB Russell Wilson broke an almost 70-year-old Steelers’ debut record

In his seasonal debut in Week 7, Russell Wilson broke a Steelers’ passing record that has been held for almost 70 years.

Russ cooked the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football, and no, I’m not talking about Russell Wilson’s signature ‘Dangerwich.’

After the controversial decision to bench the 4-2 Justin Fields, coming off a fantastic offensive showing in Week 6, Head Coach Mike Tomlin was definitely in the hot seat heading into Week 7. However, Tomlin’s intuition proved correct, and Wilson shocked the NFL world.

Wilson not only showed an impressive ability to finish drives with touchdowns, but he also broke a Steelers record in his debut. The previous record for most passing yards by a Steelers quarterback was held by Earl Morrall, set all the way back in 1957 with 249 yards. Wilson’s 264 passing yards officially stamped Mr. Unlimited’s name into the Steelers’ history books.

If Russ didn’t silence doubters after tearing through an elite Jets defense, nothing will. Wilson will look to keep this momentum going as his team hosts the New York Giants next week on Monday Night Football, on October 28th at 8:15 PM EST.

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Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes marked 10th career 400 yard game vs. Chargers in Week 7

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes notched his 10th career game with 400 passing yards in Kansas City’s Week 7 win over the #Chargers.

Patrick Mahomes is the most prolific quarterback in Kansas City Chiefs history and added a feather to his cap against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night.

He eclipsed 400 yards passing for the 10th time in his career and led Kansas City to its sixth win of the 2023 season.

Games like this are routine for the NFL’s reigning MVP but never cease to amaze fans who have watched Chiefs football since the dark ages when Tyler Thigpen, Kyle Orton, and Tyler Palko were under center.

Chiefs football has come so far in the few years that Mahomes has started for Kansas City, and his ability to put together player-of-the-week-worthy performances with ease is almost uncanny.

Mahomes is sure to have heard the recent talk in the media about his slow start to the 2023 season, but this game should put any questions about his trajectory to rest as the Chiefs enter the middle part of their schedule.

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Predicting Chargers WR Keenan Allen’s stats for 2023 season

Keenan Allen, who is entering Year 11, is still looking to produce at a high level in 2023.

Keenan Allen has been a mainstay of the Chargers’ offense for more than a decade, and with a crucial 2023 campaign on the horizon, now is the time for him to cement his legacy as one of the best receivers in the team’s history.

Though he and Mike Williams have proven to be effective weapons for Justin Herbert, the team elected to draft receiver Quentin Johnston with their first-round pick back in April. One or both of the veteran pass catchers could be on a hot seat if they don’t perform well early in the next season.

Allen won’t go quietly into the night for Los Angeles, though. He is one of the most tenured players on the Chargers’ roster, and even after being limited to 10 games last season, he put together an effort that is sure to stick with the team’s fans for years to come.

He will be 31 at the start of the 2023 season, so some regression is possible for Allen as he embarks on his 11th year of professional football. Assuming he plays a full schedule, this should mean that he can meet or exceed his production from 2022, but at this point in the offseason, it is too early to tell.

His Pro Bowl pedigree is hard to argue with, but his share of targets may decline with Johnston on the field, so many variables will play into his counting stats at the end of the season. At this point, though, it seems likely that he will have a fire in his belly to prove that his inclusion on the Chargers roster goes unquestioned until he decides to retire.

Our prediction: 98 receptions on 122 targets for 1055 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Best of Boston Celtics ball movement in the 2022-23 NBA season

A renaissance of ball movement has helped propel the team to one of the best offenses in the entire league.

For much longer than fans of the Boston Celtics likely want to remember, the biggest barrier between the Celtics and success was themselves — or more specifically, a criminally low level of ball movement on offense.

After a reckoning under former Boston head coach Ime Udoka that has continued to the present under head coach Joe Mazzulla, a renaissance of ball movement has helped propel the team to one of the best offenses in the league.

To document the well-oiled machine that is the Celtics of today, fan videographer Tomasz Kordylewski put together a comprehensive compilation of the best of Boston’s ball movement of the 2022-23 season.

Check it out for yourself while we wait for the next game of the 2023 NBA Playoffs to roll around for the Celtics.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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The best Boston Celtics plays of the 2022-23 NBA season

Ball movement has made Boston’s 3-point attack elite, and these are some of the best plays of Boston’s 2022-23 season.

Perhaps more than anything — save an unstoppable barrage of 3-point shots — the ball movement that has made such assaults possible has defined the Boston Celtics‘ 2022-23 NBA season. And the club has put together quite a few flashy dimes; many of which have led to highlight reel-type plays of other kinds as well.

In order to keep busy while we wait for the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs to kick off on Saturday, April 15, fan videographer Tomasz Kordylewski has assembled what he believes to be the Celtics’ 10 best plays of the season for your viewing enjoyment.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to see the plays he believes define Boston’s play in 2022-23 courtesy of the video from his official YouTube channel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Vikings waive WR Thomas Hennigan on Tuesday

The #Vikings waived wide receiver Thomas Hennigan on Tuesday, bringing an end to his eight-month stint in Minnesota

The Minnesota Vikings waived receiver Thomas Hennigan on Tuesday after hosting him on their roster for eight uneventful months. Hennigan signed with Minnesota just before the 2022 season started on August, 16th of last year, and did not have a chance to make an appearance for the Vikings after being placed on injured reserve shortly after.

News broke that he had been waived in a tweet that was posted to the team’s social media account after they announced that they had signed defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard.

Though unsurprising, this move has a chance to affect Minnesota’s depth at the receiver position, which is particularly thin after their release of veteran Adam Thielen last week. Whether Hennigan might be a candidate to re-sign before OTAs or training camp later in the offseason is, to this point, unknown, though he will likely look to secure work for himself with another team in the coming months.

All in all, the Vikings’ decision to waive Hennigan should prove to be inconsequential so long as he doesn’t put together a breakout season elsewhere in 2023.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley looking to leverage QB Justin Herbert’s mobility in 2023

Brandon Staley said that Justin Herbert’s ability to move the pocket could give the Chargers a significant advantage in 2023.

With the 2023 NFL draft rapidly approaching next month, Chargers head coach Brandon Staley has his eyes set on the future as he looks to shepherd his team to their first playoff victory since 2018.

But in his comments to the media on Wednesday, it wasn’t rookies that Staley was worried about. Rather, Staley seemed more concerned with how he might be able to better utilize quarterback Justin Herbert to make his offense a more formidable threat to opponents throughout the 2023 schedule.

When expounding on ways he could make the offense more dynamic in 2023, Staley told reporters that leveraging Herbert’s athleticism to move the pocket could provide Los Angeles a major edge. He pointed to the strategies new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore deployed as a member of the Cowboys last year with Dak Prescott under center, which Staley said were a prime example of what he was looking for next season.

“[Herbert’s mobility is] certainly a weapon we need to take advantage of,” Staley explained. “I think that’s been a hallmark of how they played in Dallas, was getting Dak [Prescott] on the move whether it’s under center, in the shotgun, changing the launch point, changing the timing and rhythm of the play to keep defenses guessing.

“I think it can access more parts of the field for you, I think it can protect your O-line, which is very important. That’s something that Kellen understands, as much as it’s about Justin, which it certainly is, it’s also about your O-line. These defenses nowadays, the rushers are so good you have a way to slow them down, oftentimes changing the launch point is one way to do it. We all know how good Justin is outside the pocket. Hopefully, we’ll be able to take more advantage of that.”

While Herbert likely won’t be mistaken for Lamar Jackson next season, his ability to present himself as an elusive threat on rollouts and in improvisational scenarios could put opposing pass rushers in the blender with the right game plans in place. His long stride and sneaky quickness are sure to vex defensive coordinators around the league over the course of the 2023 season if the Chargers’ coaching staff can do their part to put him in a position to execute properly, and if Staley’s comments on Wednesday were any indication, that’s exactly what his crew are intent on doing.

Chargers’ 2022 season-in-review: Assessing the play of Los Angeles’ quarterbacks

The Chargers are in great shape at the quarterback position.

The quarterback position has never been as important as it is now across the NFL, and the Chargers have secured themselves a true franchise signal-caller in Justin Herbert.

His expert play in his third season as a professional football player helped Los Angeles achieve their first playoff berth since 2018 this season, though the outcome of their Wild Card matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars left something to be desired.

For his part, though, Herbert’s performance was exceptional. Throughout the regular season, he threw for over 4,700 yards and 25 touchdowns while only being intercepted ten times. He was also the team’s third-leading rusher by yardage but could not find the end zone on the ground.

While he might not have lit up the stat sheet as he did in his first two seasons, Herbert still put the team in a position to win weekly, despite dealing with fractured rib cartilage for most of the season, missing multiple starters throughout the year, and being hamstrung by an offensive scheme that did not tailor to his strengths. Nevertheless, Herbert did take a massive leap as a leader of the team and solidified himself as the face of the franchise.

Behind Herbert on Los Angeles’ depth chart is journeyman backup Chase Daniel, who has carved out quite a career since 2010. Daniel did not make a start this season but made four appearances, throwing for 52 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts, mostly in garbage time.

This output from their quarterbacks should enable the Chargers to focus on other areas of their roster in the offseason as they look to assemble a team that can be a legitimate contender in next year’s playoffs.

They will need to extend Herbert at some point shortly to ensure his place in Los Angeles for the long term. Still, outside of that piece of housekeeping, the Chargers are set at the most crucial offensive position except for his backup, which will need to be addressed, given Daniel and Easton Stick are set to be free agents.

Remembering USC legend, Heisman Trophy winner, Charles White

RIP to an all-timer.

We here at Fighting Irish Wire join in mourning the loss of an all-time college football legend, Charles White.  Our colleagues at Trojans Wire have done a phenomenal job remembering the 1979 Heisman Trophy winner since his passing on Wednesday.

I was too young to ever see Charles White play but his stats speak for themselves.  At a program known as “Tailback U”, White was perhaps the finest.  His 6,245 career rushing yards remain a program record to this day and his 2,050 yards and 19 rushing touchdowns that year were remarkable.

White took over as the Heisman front runner that season after an incredible showing at Notre Dame Stadium in October.  He ran for a career-best 261 yards and four touchdowns as the Trojans routed the Irish 42-23 that afternoon.

White was just 64 years old after battling cancer and dementia.  Here is how some of the college football world remembered the legendary running back.

Streetball legend The Professor breaks down how to do Rajon Rondo’s iconic behind-the-back pass

Watching the iconic behind-the-back fake pass that made champion Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo famous (or infamous, depending on your fandom) is a little bit like watching a street ball legend go to work on the asphalt courts of New York City’s Rucker Park.

Watching the iconic behind-the-back fake pass that made champion Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo famous (or infamous, depending on your fandom) is a little bit like watching a street ball legend go to work on the asphalt courts of New York City’s Rucker Park and elicited the same sorts of oohs and aahs one might hear at the historic streetball destination renowned for such flashy but effective play.

Given that, a recent video from And1 streetball icon The Professor showing how to do the trademark Rondo fakeout “pass” makes all the sense in the world seeing as the celebrated basketball wizard has long made a name for himself psyching out his opponents on the court with such deceptive moves.

To see the clip for yourself — and to pick up the move if you are more gifted than many of us are in this regard — check out the video embedded below courtesy of The Professor’s official YouTube channel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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