Tag: reaction

Cowboys News: A Jalen Ramsey gamble? Tyron Smith’s hard truth

Is Tyron Smith a cap cut? Would trading for Jalen Ramsey be worth it? Byron Jones clarifies cryptic tweet, and an underrated free agent. | From @ToddBrock24f7

It’s a time of hard decisions around the NFL. The Cowboys, for example, need to figure out whether it’s time to bid farewell to one of their most legendary offensive linemen in the name of salary cap savings. They may also be looking to determine if they’ll get into trade talks to acquire a star cornerback they let slip by them in the 2014 draft. There are also questions to be answered at running back and center, as well as calls to be made about this year’s crop of college prospects.

A former Cowboys star, meanwhile, may be working through a tough decision of his own after tweeting out what sounded like a retirement announcement… but apparently wasn’t. We’re also looking at the most underrated free agent on the team, we’re getting to know Darren Woodson off the field, we’re spotlighting some draft-day darlings, and we’re re-living the top 10 moments of the 2022 season… all in this edition of News and Notes.

Colorado women’s basketball recap: No. 21 Buffs close out regular season with a W

The No. 21 #cubuffs secured a dominant win on senior day

The No. 21 Colorado Buffaloes were determined to stop their first losing streak of the season and they did it with a bang, putting up a season-high 95 points in a 95-69 thrashing of the Cal Bears on Saturday.

Aaronette Vonleh had a monster day, scoring 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field. Frida Formann returned from an illness to add 19 points and Jaylyn Sherrod scored 16 points with six assists. The Buffaloes only held a 43-37 lead after two quarters, but they outscored Cal 52-22 in the second half to secure a 22-7 regular season record.

Colorado will now enter the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament as the No. 3 seed with a first-round bye. The winner of No. 6 USC-No. 11 Oregon State will face the Buffs in round two on Thursday.

A special shoutout goes to Tayanna Jones, who was honored for senior day.

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3 potential Patriots trade packages for Jalen Ramsey

Jalen Ramsey wouldn’t come cheap, but the Patriots have the assets and room to make a move if they wanted.

When one of the greatest defensive backs over the last decade is on the trade block, the New England Patriots, along with every other NFL team, would do well to pick up the phone and have a conversation.

That could end up being the scenario with the Los Angeles Rams expected to trade All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

At age 28, Ramsey is the kind of player defensive-minded coaches like Bill Belichick dream about. He is one of the few players in football capable of lining up and winning against the best receivers in the league on a weekly basis.

He’s long and physical with great ball tracking ability. There’s also a nasty streak of confidence that tends to be contagious and uplifts the entire defense whenever he’s on the field.

Every team would love to have a guy like Ramsey, a six-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, on their roster. But what will it take to get him from the Rams?

The Patriots already have a few things working in their favor. They have the fifth-most cap space in 2023, which is huge for a player due a $17 million base salary next season. The fact that the Patriots aren’t an NFC team is also a huge plus that should make them a great trade partner with the Rams, assuming the two sides can agree on compensation.

Here are three potential trade packages for the two teams.

Patriots’ 5-step plan for a successful 2023 offseason

Here’s a five-step offseason plan that could turn the Patriots back into contenders.

The New England Patriots are already well into offseason planning, mainly focused on the NFL draft, while also determining who of their own to retain or let walk in free agency.

As simple as it may sound, there are numerous combinations of moves that could occur this offseason.

This offseason, there is an optimal, five-step plan that should see the Patriots returning to the playoffs in 2023. Hiring Bill O’Brien was the first major step for the team to take. Now with a proven offensive mind in the building, the Patriots will look to fill multiple holes on that side of the ball.

However, the issues don’t stop there, and like every team, there will always be improvements to make.

Let’s get into the five-step plan for a successful Patriots 2023 offseason.

NBA’s roster rules will force Rockets to make imminent transaction

Based on the NBA’s roster rules, the #Rockets will need to make a free agent signing, G League promotion, or two-way contract conversion by early in the week.

Excluding two-way contracts, the NBA’s rules require teams to carry a minimum of 14 players on their standard 15-man roster.

But for limited windows of up to two weeks at a time, teams can dip below 14 players. That often happens around the league’s annual trade deadline, since teams can send out multiple players in deals without acquiring as many in return.

In the case of the Houston Rockets, it wasn’t directly the deals they made, but instead the buyouts that resulted from their sequence of trades at the Feb. 10 deadline. With veterans Danny Green, John Wall, and Justin Holiday all being waived, the Rockets currently have only 13 players on their roster with standard contracts.

The last of those three veterans to be waived was Holiday on Feb. 13. Thus, Houston has until Monday, Feb. 27 to fill that slot.

Internally, Houston could choose to convert one of its two-way players — Trevor Hudgins and Darius Days — to a standard deal. However, there doesn’t seem to be much need to do so, since neither player is close to hitting his 50-game NBA limit, per two-way rules.

If the Rockets want to sign either to a multi-year standard deal, that could be an option, as they did with Daishen Nix late in the 2021-22 season. However, it would be just as feasible in the coming weeks.

Thus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Houston uses the open roster spot to evaluate a free agent or G League callup, particularly with backcourt starters Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. still sidelined with injuries. The rebuilding Rockets (13-46) are short-handed and enter Sunday with eight straight losses, so more depth couldn’t hurt.

Whatever the case, some sort of transaction from general manager Rafael Stone should be coming by early in the week.

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Eagles have 13 players make the PFF Top 101 players of 2022

Pro Football Focus released their top 101 players of 2022 and the Philadelphia Eagles had 13 players make the list

The 2023 NFL offseason has begun and as the Eagles and 31 other teams start preparing for the NFL scouting combine, Pro Football Focus released their annual 101 best players from the 2022 season.

Here is the criteria from PFF.

• This list is based solely on play in 2022. Past or future play is not accounted for. This isn’t about class or talent; it’s about performance throughout the 2022 NFL season.

• This list is created with an “all positions are created equal” mantra. So, you won’t see 32 quarterbacks heading the list, even though that is the game’s most valuable position. Instead, we take a look at how guys played relative to what is expected from their position.

• Unlike PFF’s awards, the 101 factors in the postseason, so some players who won PFF awards may find themselves jumped in the 101 by rivals who had a playoff run worthy of a change in ranking.

Looking to avoid any conflict with the NFL Network’s Top 100 players list, Sam Monson of PFF utilized both film and analytical data to rank the 101 best players from the 2022 season and Philadelphia led the charge with 13 players.

10 Eagles players who could have bigger roles in 2023

We’re looking at 10 players who could have bigger roles for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023

The Eagles are going to look a lot different when the team reconvenes at the NovaCare Complex for the 2023 off-season program.

Philadelphia has 18 pending free agents and 9 key contributors on defense that could move on for heftier paydays when the new league year starts on March 15.

Making matters even more urgent, the franchise will work to sign All-Pro quarterback Jalen Hurt to a hefty contract extension, ensuring that multiple free agents are unlikely to return.

With the offseason now underway, we’re looking at 10 Eagles who could have bigger roles next season.

Nets’ Jacque Vaughn says team’s effort has to be ‘unconditional’

Jacque Vaughn says that he needs effort from every player regardless of the minutes played or shots taken.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn, fresh off a contract extension, has to address an important issue with his team: effort. There have been various times throughout this season where his players have either given little to not effort or just weren’t able to get anything soon enough and appeared to give up.

In Friday’s 131-87 demolition at the hands of the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn looked out of it from the opening tip. Right away, the Bulls got off to a fast start by scoring the game’s first 11 points and it took the Nets nearly four minutes to score a basket. This contest was the definition of lopsided in every conceivable way.

Brooklyn shot 37% from the field compared to Chicago’s 56.8%, Chicago out-rebounded Brooklyn 57-31, and to cap things off, the Bulls out-scored the Nets in the paint 62-22. In a game in which Chicago’s biggest lead was 50 points, it looked like the Nets never gave an ounce of effort after that poor start to the game. Vaughn said after the game that the effort has to come from which player regardless of the circumstances:

“I’m looking forward to how we respond. But, it’s going to be a test of our collective unit, of doing everything you possibly can, every single day. Off days, recovery days, in order to give your all to your team. And, it’s got to be unconditional too. It’s not, if I play this amount of minutes, if I get this amount of shots. You have to be an unconditional teammate at this time of year. Because teams are playing for position, teams are playing to get into the playoffs. And, so you cannot have nights like this, where we play this bad.”

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Auburn gymnastics posts 197.550 in rivalry win over Georgia

Suni Lee wins the all-around title as Auburn defeats Georgia for the third straight season.

Several starters returned to their usual positions on Friday night in No. 7 Auburn gymnastics’ meet with rival Georgia, who entered the meet as the No. 16 team in the nation.

A strong start by the Tigers on vault and a great finish on floor allowed them to cruise to a strong victory defeating the rival Gymdogs by over a full point, 197.550-196.075.

Auburn kicked off Friday’s meet by scoring 49.450 on vault. [autotag]Derrian Gobourne[/autotag] and [autotag]Sara Hubbard[/autotag] took home the events’ high scores with 9.900. Auburn’s outstanding opening act is a product of a hard week of practice following a short week.

“It is what we set out to do. Our whole week, that is what we have been focusing on, even starting strong in the gym,” [autotag]Olivia Hollingsworth[/autotag] said following Friday’s meet. “It meant a lot to us to achieve that goal that we were working for this week.”

Auburn mirrored their 49.450 vault score on floor. Three athletes reached a 9.90 score or higher, led by Gobourne’s 9.950.

Auburn reached a 197 score for the seventh time in eight meets on Friday, which led Gobourne to reflect on just how far the program has come in her five years on the Plains.

“A few years back, this would be a top score for us. We would be jumping up and down,” Gobourne said Friday. “Just being able to look at the (197.550) score and be like ‘alright, this is an OK night,’ it is inspiring honestly and I am so proud of this team. I’m so grateful and I can not wait to see what it looks like when we put it all together.”

Auburn hits the road for their final SEC meet of the season next Friday when they face No. 12 Kentucky in Lexington. Check out Friday’s results below.

News: Elliott’s future written in Cowboys past? New brain processing test for QBs?

Renewed looks at Byron Jones and OBJ, a Michael Irvin development, and a test that measures brain processing could be the new Wonderlic. | From @ToddBrock24f7

What happens between the Cowboys and Ezekiel Elliott will be one of the offseason’s biggest questions, but the team may have already answered it- many times over the years with other superstar running backs. We’ll look at that, plus why veterans like Odell Beckham Jr. and Byron Jones could be getting another look in Dallas.

Meanwhile, a new development in Michael Irvin’s $100 million lawsuit as a federal judge turns up the heat on the Marriott chain, Jason Witten hands out an award and talks about the one Dak Prescott just got, the Cowboys finalize their 2023 coaching staff, and the Wolf Hunter’s cousin gets his pro football break within howling distance of his star relative. All that, plus a new test that measures brain processing speed could be the next-gen Wonderlic for NFL teams trying to forecast quarterback success. News and Notes, coming right up…