Tag: pro football

Jahri Evans is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024

Congratulations are in order for Jahri Evans. The New Orleans Saints great is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024:

Congratulations are in order for Jahri Evans. The New Orleans Saints great is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024, meaning he has a chance to be the first player from the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV-winning team to be enshrined in Canton. Evans was announced as one of 15 modern-era finalists for the Class of 2024 by the Hall of Fame on Wednesday; the list of inductees will be revealed at the NFL Honors ceremony on Feb. 8, 2024.

This is a big step for Evans, who is in only his second year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. Last year he made it to the semifinalist stage. He’s already surpassed that, so it sure seems that he has strong support among the voters.

His resume speaks for itself. In addition to a Super Bowl championship, Evans earned five Associated Press All-Pro selections (four of them on the first team), six Pro Bowl appearances, as well as coveted recognition on the Hall of Fame’s NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. He was the best player on one of the finest offensive lines in pro football, keeping Drew Brees clean for years and paving the way for some of the greatest offenses in NFL history.

So will he make the cut? That’s yet to be determined. There are plenty of other deserving players on this year’s ballot and guards like Evans are often overlooked in favor of other positions that are easier to evaluate. Still, there’s a good chance Evans could be waiting for Brees when his quarterback is eligible to join the Hall of Fame himself in 2026.

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Pro Football Hall of Fame displays Taysom Hill’s gear after historic game

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is displaying Taysom Hill’s game-worn gear on exhibit after the do-it-all dynamo reached a historic milestone:

Now this is cool: the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced a new exhibit on Tuesday featuring New Orleans Saints do-it-all dynamo Taysom Hill. Hill recently became just the second player in NFL history to score at least 25 rushing touchdowns while catching 10 touchdown receptions and throwing 10 touchdown passes.

New York Giants Hall of Famer Frank Gifford is the only other player to accomplish that, so Hill is in rare company. A handful of other players have scored 10 or more times as a passer, runner, and receiver, but only Hill and Gifford have gone the distance here. Hill is up to 26 rushing touchdowns, 11 passing touchdowns and 10 receiving touchdowns in his career thus far. Gifford totaled 34, 14, and 43 touchdowns, respectively.

Hill’s game-worn jersey, play-call wristband, and cleats from Week 9’s win over the Chicago Bears are now on display in Canton. How’s that for impressive?

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See it: Bryant Young’s photos from Hall of Fame enshrinement

Congratulations to a Hall of Fame person on his Hall of Fame induction!

Former Notre Dame defensive lineman and San Francisco 49ers great [autotag]Bryant Young[/autotag] was officially enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend.  Young gave an emotional enshrinement speech that meant for many tears in the audience upon his induction.

Watch:  Bryant Young’s full Hall of Fame enshrinement speech

Young played at Notre Dame from 1990-1993 before being drafted seventh overall in the 1994 NFL draft by the 49ers.  He played his entire 14 year career in San Francisco and is one of just two former Notre Dame players to win a Super Bowl in his first NFL season ([autotag]Ben Skowronek[/autotag], 2021 Rams).

See the best photos from Young’s memorable weekend in Canton below.

Cowboys release former Notre Dame great

What is your favorite memory of Jaylon Smith at Notre Dame?

Jaylon Smith will go down as one of the all-time “what if’s” in football.

What if the 2015 Butkus Award winner didn’t suffer a devastating knee injury against Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl?  Would he have been a top-five pick as many projected him to be?

And just how great of career may Smith have had if it wasn’t for that injury that likely stirred many draft-eligible players to sit out of their bowl games in the years that have followed?

Smith was released Tuesday by the Dallas Cowboys, the same team that drafted him in the second round back in 2016.  According to Jori Esptein, Smith had played 56% of Cowboys defensive snaps this season, the most of any full-time Cowboys linebacker.

In full, Smith played all 56 games for the Cowboys since returning from injury in 2017, recording nine sacks and forcing six fumbles during his time.

Where he winds up remains to be seen but for a player who signed a five-year, $64 million contract extension in 2019 it’s hard to imagine him not getting picked up sooner than later.

And one more “what if” while we’re here.

What if literally anyone other than Brian VanGorder was Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator in 2015?  Just how good could the Irish and Smith both been?

Related:

Current NFL receiver shares why he de-commited from Notre Dame

40 Notre Dame players on NFL rosters to start 2021

Notre Dame releases depth chart for Virginia Tech game

Stop overthinking things and start Drew Pyne

Reading between the lines it sure seems like Pyne will start at Virginia Tech

PFF: Saints pass rush is the best in the NFL since Marcus Davenport’s debut

Pro Football Focus says the New Orleans Saints pressure rate leads the entire NFL since pass rusher Marcus Davenport returned from injuries.

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How important has Marcus Davenport been for the New Orleans Saints defense? The third-year pass rusher was frustrated by injuries early this season, and didn’t dress out for a game until Week 5 — but he’s transformed the Saints pass rush since getting on the field.

Pro Football Focus credits the Saints with a league-high pressure rate of 48% since Davenport’s Week 5 debut, above a couple of ferocious defenses like T.J. Watt’s Pittsburgh Steelers (46%) and Shaquill Barrett’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers (45%).

Sure, Davenport’s personal numbers won’t blow you away: PFF has charted him with 15 total pressures in four games, including just two sacks (remember, they round half-sacks up to full-sacks). But the force he adds to the Saints’ defensive line helps everyone around him, including fellow defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Cameron Jordan.

Hendrickson ranks third in the NFL in sacks, with four sacks and 17 total pressures since Davenport’s return. He and Davenport have been splitting reps at an almost even 50/50. Across from (and sometimes next to) them, Jordan has collected 20 pressures in that same time, including a pair of sacks.

Davenport’s influence extends to the interior line, too. Defensive tackle David Onyemata only has one sack to his credit in their last four games, but he’s totaled 15 pressures in his own right. And as we’ve seen in the team pressure rate, the Saints are playing their best football with Davenport in the fold.

Here’s hoping he can stay healthy the rest of the way. He’s shed the “Two Firsts” moniker given his high level of play, but Davenport is one of several young defenders the Saints will need firing on full cylinders in the playoffs, along with cornerback Marshon Lattimore. These players are so talented and have such high potential that they can win games on their own, or put teammates in position to do so. We just need to see it when it matters most.

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Will the NFL play on Sunday?

With more and more news of positive tests in the NFL coming out – is it safe to assume Sunday of Week Four gets started as planned?

I’ve been keeping my nose out of the NFL early on this weekend beyond thinking about who I’m going to start on my fantasy team, but as the fifth Saturday of college football has come and gone and I get ready to say goodnight, I can’t help but wonder if we’re going to have professional football played when I wake up.

Is it a dramatic take to even wonder?

I’ll let you decide that but there is quite a bit amiss here.

Obviously the Steelers and Titans game for this weekend was already postponed earlier this week after the news that came out of Nashville of positive tests in the Titans facilities and more news came later in the week that has already put their game next weekend in perceived jeopardy.

Saturday also saw the news that Cam Newton has tested positive for COVID-19 and as a result, the Patriots will no longer be clashing with the defending champion Chiefs this weekend.

Then we get the news from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that a New Orleans Saints player who took the team flight to Detroit on Saturday has tested positive.

Florio also added the following in the wee-hours of Sunday morning:

I hope I’m just sleep-deprived and thinking the worst in all of this but I really hope I don’t wake up to a Sunday of NFL games having been called off.

The Rock says XFL to return to play in 2022

The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson has put down money to restart the XFL and says the league will resume play again in 2022.

Know your role and shut your mouth.

For those of you that got the reference bless your hearts.  For those that didn’t, just enjoy part of my youth for 30 seconds.

The Rock, who goes by Dwayne Johnson in real life purchased part of the XFL a few months back and now says with Dany Garcia that the league will resume play again in 2022.

Some will say that minor league football won’t work and in terms of how much money they’re able to actually generate, they may be right.  I root for it though because it allows for solid football players to continue playing the game even if it’s not at the absolute highest of levels.

It also offers several jobs for those that want to work in sports in some capacity as well.

If you don’t want to watch it (in two years) then don’t, but I’m all for more jobs in sports for those that want to work in them or are capable of playing them.

With that in mind, four former Notre Dame players started the year on XFL rosters this past spring so if nothing else, it gives you a chance to watch more of some of your favorites from Saturdays of years gone by.

Notre Dame in NFL – Eifert’s first touchdown as Jaguar

Tyler Eifert went up and got it for his first touchdown reception as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Tyler Eifert made a habit of making bit catches during his time at Notre Dame and eventually became a first round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals after his time with the Fighting Irish.

In seven years with the Bengals, Eifert had some issues staying healthy but was a touchdown machine when available, scoring 24 touchdowns in 60 career games.

This past off-season Eifert signed a free agent deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars and today he snagged his first touchdown with the squad.

Eifert ended the game with three receptions for 36 total yards but it wasn’t enough for the Jaguars as they fell on the road to the Titans, 33-30 as Jacksonville is now 1-1 on the season.

Notre Dame in NFL: Lions workout former Irish QB

DeShone Kizer hasn’t lived up to the expectations in the NFL but was given a tryout to make the Lions roster on Thursday.

Notre Dame does not currently have a quarterback on an NFL roster but perhaps that may be changing soon.

The Detroit Lions today worked out former Notre Dame quarterback and 2017 second round draft of the Cleveland Browns, DeShone Kizer was given a workout.

Despite putting up some big-time numbers at Notre Dame between 2015 and 2016, Kizer has struggled mightily in the NFL.

Kizer was at the helm as starting quarterback for the Browns in 2017 as they went winless in all 15 of his starts.

Kizer has thrown for over 3000 yards in his NFL career that also includes a 2018 stop in Green Bay, but has completed just 53.1% of his professional pass attempts and threw 24 interceptions to 11 touchdowns.

The Lions currently have three quarterbacks on their roster: veteran and star Matthew Stanford, veteran backup Chase Daniel and second year Purdue product, David Blough.

WATCH: Joe Montana reacts to Tom Brady’s move to Tampa Bay

Joe Montana shared news about what Tom Brady didn’t enjoy about his time recently in New England. Watch and react to that right here!

Few have ever played quarterback better in the NFL than Joe Montana did, as the former Notre Dame hero helped guide the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl Championships in his career.

Montana and the 49ers eventually split up though as the quarterback played out the rest of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, getting them to the AFC Championship in January of 1994.

Montana sat down with Mackenzie Salmon on SportsPulse and discussed Tom Brady’s move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  During the conversation, Montana revealed something that bothered Brady about how things went in New England, see for yourself below.

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Color me surprised because my perception was always that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady worked hand in hand and that Brady had a ton of say as to what went into game plans and play calls.

Whatever the case in New England, it clearly worked for a long time as Brady left the Patriots after helping create the greatest dynasty the NFL has ever seen in his 20 years on the job.

I’ll be curious to see how Brady, who started to really look his age for much of the 2019 season, looks this year with what appears to be as talented of receivers and targets as he’s ever played with in his NFL career.

As for Montana, I’m wondering how Brady likes that conversation between a couple of legends getting out.