Tag: spencer brown

Panthers sign 11 players to future deals on Monday

The Panthers have signed 11 members of their practice squad to future deals.

Carolina Panthers assistant general manager Dan Morgan began the organization’s transition from Scott Fitterer on Monday.

In addition to signing tight end Stephen Sullivan and defensive linemen Nick Thurman and LaBryan Ray to one-year extensions, the team also brought back 11 practice squad members on future deals.

Here are those 11 players:

Sooners pick up another offensive lineman via the transfer portal

The Oklahoma Sooners have added their third offensive lineman in the transfer portal, former Florida and USC tackle Michael Tarquin.

The Oklahoma Sooners had work to do heading into the offseason. Even prior to the transfer of true freshman [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag], Oklahoma was set to lose four starters along the offensive line heading into 2024.

They’ve made moves in the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] to add offensive tackle Spencer Brown from Michigan State and [autotag]Febechi Nwaiwu[/autotag] from North Texas. Now, the Sooners have added another experienced player to add to Bill Bedenbaugh’s group.

Former Florida Gators and USC Trojans offensive lineman Michael Tarquin is heading to Norman to join the Sooners, according to OUInsider’s Parker Thune.

Tarquin has started 28 games in his collegiate career with more than 1,110 snaps per Pro Football Focus. He’s predominantly been a right tackle at the collegiate level.

A former four-star player in the 2019 recruiting class, Tarquin has been on Bedenbaugh and the Sooners’ radar for a long time. Most recently, the Sooners attempted to recruit Tarquin to Norman after the 2022 season.

In the portal this offseason, the Sooners have added a trio of offensive linemen that provide a lot of experience to a young offensive line group.

With [autotag]Jacob Sexton[/autotag], Spencer Brown and now Tarquin with experience at right tackle, Bedenbaugh and the Sooners’ offensive staff will have to make some decisions to make with how they deploy their offensive linemen. It’s possible one of their tackles will move inside to guard. Tarquin could be a viable option to bump inside to right guard.

In addition to the 2024 offensive line class, the Sooners have done a nice job retooling their offensive line room in the wake of their five departures up front. Now it’s a matter of once again making the pieces fit together as the Sooners head into the SEC.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

Bills at Dolphins: Key matchups to watch in Week 18

#Bills at #Dolphins: Key matchups to watch in Week 18:

The Buffalo Bills will visit the Miami Dolphins in their upcoming Week 18 matchup at Hard Rock Stadium.

The two teams have been rigorously preparing for the contest throughout the past week. Buffalo (10-6) and Miami (11-5) will think they know their upcoming opponent, inside and out, after all the practicing and studying they have put in.

Because of that, despite all the off-field talking, speculation and discussion, it will still be the games, within the game, that will make all the difference when it comes to the final outcome of this upcoming weekend.

With that, here are three key matchups to watch during Sunday’s Bills-Dolphins contest:

PFF: 5 highest-graded Bills players on offense in Week 17

Not the best day for the #Bills offense, but these guys did well according to PFF:

The Buffalo Bills won a tight 27-21 final in their Week 17 matchup against the New England Patriots.

The Bills (10-6) had a few players that stood out above the rest in this one. On offense, the Bills were led by tight end  Dalton Kincaid.

In terms of the players who helped Kincaid pull out the win, Buffalo will hope such efforts remain throughout the rest of the 2023 season as they aim to secure a postseason spot.

According to Pro Football Focus, they’ll need these players to continue to play at a high level.

Here are the five highest-graded Bills players on offense against the Patriots (4-12) in Week 17:

Oklahoma Sooners must solve their offensive line problem heading into 2024

The Oklahoma Sooners have their work cut out for them with the offensive line but could any of the young guys be an answer?

There is no doubt the Oklahoma Sooners’ biggest question mark heading into 2024 and their inaugural season in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] is the offensive line. The Sooners lose five guys who started a bunch of games last season.

[autotag]Walter Rouse[/autotag], [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag], [autotag]Andrew Raym[/autotag], [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Guyton[/autotag] are gone. Four are off to the [autotag]NFL[/autotag]. The other found a new home in Missouri. That means the Sooners will have their work cut out for them to replace those five.

[autotag]Troy Everett[/autotag] played some at guard but started the bowl game at center, which is probably his more natural position. We’ll see if he wins that job, but it appears he’s the leader to take over for Raym. [autotag]Jacob Sexton[/autotag] started the last few games after Guyton went down with an injury and did pretty well. The Sooners also brought in two transfers [autotag]Spencer Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Febechi Nwaiwu[/autotag], who look poised to take over at tackle and guard.

But that still leaves spots unfilled. The Sooners are almost certainly going to remain active in the portal, but it’s also possible an incoming freshman gets a look. Most people have assumed that would be [autotag]Eddy Pierre-Louis[/autotag], seeing how highly thought of he is. But a constantly mentioned top performer at the Under Armour All-American events is [autotag]Eugene Brooks[/autotag].

“I don’t know where it will start for me, but I’m just going to go in there and ball out,” Brooks said. “I’m going to work my butt off. I’m going to go in there every day and give it 110% and be the first one in and the last one out.”

It seems with Brooks, [autotag]Daniel Akinkunmi[/autotag], Pierre-Louis, [autotag]Isaiah Autry[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Aisosa[/autotag], the Sooners have a class of offensive linemen that are physical and bring some nasty back to the offensive line.

That’s something they’ve been missing the last few years, and something we know Bedenbaugh wants out of his linemen. Combine that with what appears to be a strong work ethic from each, and Oklahoma could have a better offensive line class than many thought initially.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Report card: Bills top Patriots, 27-21

Report card: #Bills top #Patriots, 27-21:

The Buffalo Bills kept rolling in Week 17 against the New England Patriots.

The Bills (10-6) took a 27-21 win. As the score indicates, everyone wasn’t perfect against New England (4-12). Some positions played better than others.

With that, here is Bills Wire’s position-by-position report card for Week 17:

Two Bills players fined for actions vs. Chargers in Week 16

A clip of the more questionable one:

Two Buffalo Bills players were fined by the NFL for plays against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16.

In the 24-22 win for the Bills (9-6), offensive lineman Spencer Brown and cornerback Taron Johnson were dinged by the NFL.

Brown was flagged for a tripping penalty which seemed like the right call at the time even though the flag negated a first down on a pass from quarterback Josh Allen to running back James Cook. Brown has since additionally been fined $7,159 for that penalty.

Johnson’s was the more questionable one that happened against the Chargers (5-10). He was slapped with a $21,855 fine for an unnecessary roughness hit. From the moment it happened, it was a borderline call.

Johnson’s penalty can be found in the clip below:

[lawrence-related id=129467,129334,129441]

5 takeaways from the Sooners 38-24 loss to Arizona in the Valero Alamo Bowl

5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners season-ending loss to the Arizona Wildcats.

Team 129 had one final chance to play together on Thursday night in San Antonio. Brent Venables’ team tried to make the best of it, but it finished the 2023 season by losing to the No. 14 Arizona Wildcats, 38-24. Oklahoma ended its season 10-3.

The game was incredibly entertaining if nothing else. It had some head-scratching moments that will stick with fans for the next few weeks into the offseason.

Jackson Arnold was up and down, as one might expect for a freshman. He showcased some real talent and things that his coaches would love to build on in the offseason. He also made some decisions that someone who had fewer than 100 snaps in real game action would make.

Turnovers ultimately did the Sooners in. One of their six on the evening turnovers was returned for a touchdown.

In the wake of the Sooners’ loss, here are five takeaways:

Bills eager for another shot to beat Patriots: ‘They’re going to be ready to go’

Here’s a roundup of what the #Bills are saying ahead of facing a #Patriots team that already beat them once this season:

The Buffalo Bills are in a prime position to make the 2023 NFL playoffs after things looked grim a few weeks ago.

The Bills (9-6) can win out and will likely make it.

Even with the New England Patriots (4-11) up next, the last-place team in the AFC East, Buffalo’s locker room knows they can not overlook the Pats.

New England has beaten them once already this season, back in Week 7, after all.

“I think we’ve grown as a group collectively [since Week 7],” quarterback Josh Allen said via video conference. “They’re going to be ready to go.”

A roundup of clips of the Bills previewing the Patriots can be found below:

How the Bills changed their entire offense and ran all over the Cowboys

How the #Bills changed their entire offense and ran all over the #Cowboys:

Generally speaking, when Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen completes seven of 15 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown against a team like the Dallas Cowboys, you don’t expect a 31-10 win in Buffalo’s favor. But that’s exactly what happened last Sunday, and the Bills’ run game is worthy of our attention. 

New offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who’s been in that position since mid-November following the firing of Ken Dorsey, had already put some new much-needed wrinkles in the passing game. But what Brady did against the Cowboys was a different level of sea-change in philosophy. Brady and the Bills went into this game with a clear vision of how to disrupt Dallas’ defense with the run game, which was unusual for a number of reasons.

Coming into this game, the Cowboys had allowed an EPA per rushing attempt of -0.11, sixth-best in the NFL. Their 4.1 yards per carry allowed, 2.2 yards after contact allowed, and 10 rushing touchdowns allowed were all among the NFL’s best. Now, the Bills’ EPA per rushing attempt of 0.04 was already the NFL’s best, but they had managed just 2.2 yards after contact per attempt, and while their 15 rushing touchdowns was a nice figure, 11 came from quarterback Josh Allen, so it wasn’t as if Buffalo’s rushing attack with James Cook as the lead dog was scaring anybody.

Where Brady and his staff may have seen their openings was in the Cowboys’ fronts and overall defensive philosophy. Through the first 14 weeks of the season, Dallas had faced just 337 rushing attempts this season, because their offense has been so explosive. And under Dan Quinn, the Cowboys aren’t focusing on the run in an old-school sense. They had put eight or more defenders in the box against 142 rushing attempts this season through Week 14, fifth-highest in the league, but it’s not a heavy run defense, and that’s especially true since defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 14 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Without Hankins on the field this season, the Cowboys have allowed 5.3 yards per carry. With Hankins on the field? 4.2.

Moreover, per Sports Info Solutions, the Cowboys have had six defensive backs on the field for 221 opponent rushing attempts, which is wildly out of whack from the rest of the NFL. The New England Patriots rank second with 43. The number is a bit skewed because most advanced metrics sites have misclassified Markquese Bell as a safety when he’s more of a linebacker, but even so… Bell is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound player, so it’s not as if he’s thumping down on run fits at a Mike Singletary level.

Factoring all that in, Brady’s decision to completely turn his team’s offensive philosophy on its head was still quite revolutionary. Through Week 14, the Bills ran the ball on 37.9% of their offensive snaps. Against the Cowboys, they ran by design on 71% of their plays against the Cowboys, the highest rate for any team in any game this season. The aforementioned James Cook ran 25 times for 179 yards, 7.2 yards per attempt, 3.52 yards after contact per attempt, one touchdown, seven runs of 10 or more yards, and eight forced missed tackles.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell,” the guys got into this difference in approach, and all the reasons it worked so well.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Now, let’s get into the thick of this new Bills run game.