Tag: Thanksgiving

Lions depth chart and notes for Week 12 Thanksgiving matchup with the Bears

Detroit Lions depth chart and notes for Week 12 Thanksgiving matchup with the Chicago Bears

The Detroit Lions will host the Chicago Bears for the Week 12 Thanksgiving matinee in Ford Field. Several recent injuries and lineup changes have jumbled Detroit’s depth chart over the last few weeks, so it’s time to update who exactly will be playing for the Lions against their NFC North rivals.

Detroit Lions Podcast: Previewing Thanksgiving game, stuffing Week 11 away

Detroit Lions Podcast: Previewing Thanksgiving game vs. Bears and stuffing away the Week 11 loss to the Browns

The short week between Week 11 and the Detroit Lions’ annual Thanksgiving game provides the Detroit Lions Podcast with the chance to do a two-for-one show. We combined the regular weekly show with the game preview episode, which brings the inimitable Tony Ortiz into the mix as a co-host along with Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon and Chris from DLP.

The lack of offensive firepower on display in Cleveland is worrisome. The trio discusses how much blame goes on Tim Boyle, Anthony Lynn, Dan Campbell or the receiving talent for the poor showing. Can the Lions fix that against the Bears, who have some serious issues of their own?

There is also a quick dive into the potential for the Lions to lose some assistant coaches this offseason, and what jobs might be open around the league.

You can also download the podcast from your favorite podcast provider or stream it here.

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Mac Jones goes public with a very questionable Thanksgiving food opinion

Oh Mac, are you serious?

Former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones slipped to No. 15 in the 2021 NFL draft, all the way to the New England Patriots. Well, as a rookie, he has managed to maneuver the franchise into the top spot in the AFC East.

Jones has been praised all season for how he’s played on the field, and his leadership in the locker room. However, Jones is now starting to get some heat for something he said off the field.

With Thanksgiving just days away, Jones was asked a lighthearted question about which type of pie he likes on the holiday.

As it turns out, Mac Jones does not like pie.

Yes, that’s right. Former Alabama national championship-winning quarterback, Heisman finalist and first round draft pick Mac Jones does not like any type of pie.

Jones joined fellow Patriots star Matt Judon in having an unpopular opinion on Thanksgiving foods. Judon believes that Mac and Cheese doesn’t even belong on the table.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM.

Lions vs. Bears: Two turkeys of a passing game meet on Thanksgiving

The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears bring the NFL’s two worst passing offenses to the table for their Thanksgiving matchup

Fans of the forward pass might want to avert their eyes from Thursday’s Thanksgiving matinee in Ford Field. The two teams playing, the host Detroit Lions and visiting Chicago Bears, feature the two worst passing offenses in the NFL through Week 11.

Chicago and Detroit rank 31st and 32nd, respectively, in average yards per pass. The Lions sit at the bottom at just 5.53 yards per pass play, with the Bears next-to-last at 5.75. The Bears spiked up significantly in their Week 11 loss to the Ravens thanks to two passes by backup QB Andy Dalton that produced 109 total yards. One of those, a 60-yard touchdown to Darnell Mooney, was entirely on the legs of Mooney, who took a quick pass caught at the line of scrimmage and sashayed to the end zone while four separate Ravens blew tackle attempts.

Dalton is expected to start in place of injured/ineffective rookie QB Justin Fields. He could bolster what is by far the league’s lowest passing yards-per-game average. Chicago nets just 155.3 passing yards on average, over 40 yards lower than the Lions (197.8), who sit 30th in that category (the Texans are 31st at 194.6).

One of the reasons the Bears passing offense is so bad is their pass protection. No team allows a higher percentage of sacks per dropback than Chicago. Bears quarterbacks are sacked on an astonishing 13.3 percent of dropbacks; only one other team, the 2014 Jaguars, have allowed a sack percentage higher than 11 since 2007. The Lions offense currently ranks 24th with a sack percentage of 7.5, though they blanked the NFL’s top pass rush in Cleveland in Week 11…enough that the Bears defense now has the league’s top sack percentage at 9.8.

In terms of total pass defense, both the Bears (11th) and Lions (13th) rank in the middle of the pack. But the Detroit defense has proven more exploitable. The Lions are 31st in yards per pass play allowed at 7.85, with only the New York Jets allowing more. Chicago sits 19th at 7.0 yards per pass allowed. The Chicago passing offense against the Detroit defense is the resistible force versus the movable object. Whichever team lives up to the laws of physics in that matchup is likely to win the turkey leg on Thursday.

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Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu making an impact in Kansas City community ahead of Thanksgiving

#Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu passed out Turkey’s on Monday, helping families in the Kansas City community ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. | from @TheJohnDillon

Hoping to help as many people in his community as possible, Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu passed out turkeys to families in need on Monday, continuing a holiday tradition that has taken place since before he joined the team. His first Thanksgiving event in K.C. took place in 2019. Food insecurity is a growing issue in the area, and though there remains lots of work to be done in solving underlying systemic problems that cause it, his contribution of around 500 birds provided lots of assistance to those who might have had to go without this Thanksgiving.

Check out the video from Kansas City Star reporter Sam McDowell, who documented the event Mathieu organized to start the Chiefs’ bye week:

Mathieu has made a big impact on Kansas City’s defense this season, but his efforts in the community will prove to be the most important part of the work he does in 2021. The event on Monday was held at the Giving Hope KC Food Pantry on the Kansas side of town and was conducted in accordance with the veteran safety personally overseeing the donations during his limited time off.

While the bye week is ideally a time for some much-needed rest and relaxation in the middle of a team’s season, it seems Mathieu derives more satisfaction from knowing he has made a difference in his community when they have needed it most. His presence has been felt in every place he’s played since college, both on and off the field, making him something of a legend wherever his good deeds take place.

When Kansas City takes the field against the Denver Broncos on December fifth, Mathieu’s focus will shift back to football and making good on solid showings that have the Chiefs with a division lead through 11 weeks. Until then, emphasis is being placed on helping those in need whenever possible, and the results of Mathieu’s principled action will be felt by many who were beneficiaries of his generosity this holiday season.

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Bills at Saints: 7 storylines to follow in Week 12

#Bills at #Saints: 7 storylines to follow in Week 12:

It’s Wednesday (well, Tuesday, but it’s the start of new game week), so the Buffalo Bills are now turning their attention to their next opponent. This week, it’s a holiday contest once again.

After being smacked by the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the Bills (6-4) get right back after it on Thanksgiving Day. Their opponent is the Saints (5-5) in New Orleans.

With that, here are seven storylines to follow as Week 12 approaches:

Dan Campbell still sees Lions Thanksgiving tradition as a special thing

Lions coach Dan Campbell still sees Lions Thanksgiving tradition as a special thing and beating the Bears would be “freaking outstanding”

Dan Campbell understands the long-standing tradition of Detroit Lions football on Thanksgiving. The Lions head coach played in the annual Turkey Day matinee as a tight end in his three seasons with the team, and he gets the way Lions fans structure their holiday around the festive game.

“Look, I think that even though we’re in the world of social media, I do believe – so, you’ve got access to everything right now – I do believe our guys still look at it as it’s a special thing,” Campbell told reporters on Monday. “Everybody is watching this game and everybody’s got their families at home and they’re all circled around the TV, they just ate or they’re going eat afterwards. I think it still rings true that it is special.

Campbell also understands how awesome it would be to get his first win as the Detroit Lions head coach.

“And yeah to your point, to be able to get a win on that day – look to get a win, period, is going to be freaking outstanding. But yes, to get it on Thanksgiving would make it that much more special.”

His Lions have a chance, perhaps their best of the season, to notch that win. Detroit hosts the Chicago Bears, a team that has lost five in a row and sports an even worse (by the numbers) passing offense than Campbell’s Lions.

Drew Brees and Mike Tirico to call Saints-Bills Thanksgiving game

Drew Brees and Mike Tirico to call Saints-Bills Thanksgiving game

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Drew Brees will join his first NFL broadcast this week since retiring as a player, but he’ll do it in a familiar venue: the Caesars Superdome. NBC announced that Brees and Mike Tirico will call Thursday night’s game between Brees’ old New Orleans Saints team and the visiting Buffalo Bills from the booth, with Michelle Tafoya reporting from the sidelines. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET.

The matchup caps off this year’s Thanksgiving slate, following an earlier game between the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears as well as a matchup pitting the Las Vegas Raiders against the Dallas Cowboys.

Brees has been working with Tirico this season on Notre Dame college football broadcasts as well as the weekly “Football Night in America” studio show, so he’ll have an added level of comfort in making the jump (back?) to the NFL. This will be Tirico’s fifth Thanksgiving NFL game.

And it could be a vision of NBC’s plans for the future, if Brees continues to do well. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth have been slowly easing back their weekly assignments on the “Sunday Night Football” flagship program, with Tirico replacing Collinsworth in as many as half a dozen games in recent years. Having him and Brees ready to step up in the near future makes sense.

Additionally, the Saints plan to give Brees the send-off he earned after 15 years in New Orleans, which they weren’t able to do in his final season. Commemorative rally towels will be handed out to fans in attendance and plans are in the works for a halftime ceremony celebrating his accomplishments in black and gold. Be sure to tune in.

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Saints open as home underdogs for prime-time Bills game on Thanksgiving

Tipico Sportsbook: Saints open as home underdogs for prime-time Bills game on Thanksgiving

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Tipico Sportsbook released its opening lines for Week 12’s games, and they aren’t favoring the New Orleans Saints to snap their three-game losing streak. The Saints are 4.5-point underdogs at home with the Buffalo Bills visiting the Caesars Superdome on Thanksgiving night. Take that with the over/under (46.5) and there’s an implied final total of Buffalo 26, New Orleans 21.

That would line up with the Saints’ recent history, in which they’ve really struggled to put points on the board until the opposing team has the game in hand. New Orleans has scored 53 of their 75 points over the last three games in the fourth quarter once their opponents stopped taking them seriously.

They can’t risk that approach against a good — but vulnerable — Bills team. Trevor Siemian imploded under pressure against the Philadelphia Eagles, but he played well enough to keep the Saints competitive in his first two starts. It became a different story once his supporting cast was whittled down by injuries to Alvin Kamara, Taysom Hill, Terron Armstead, and Ryan Ramczyk.

If just two of those players can return by Thursday the offense should get back on schedule — or as close as they’re getting at this point in the season. But the defense needs to be on top of their game against Josh Allen and his loaded receiving corps. It’s tough to see a path to victory if they give up as many points to Buffalo as they did Philadelphia. The offense just doesn’t have enough firepower to keep up.

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Cowboys WR Amari Cooper out next two weeks on reserve/COVID list vs Chiefs, Raiders

Cowboys WR Amari Cooper out next two weeks on reserve/COVID list vs Chiefs, Raiders

Two games that were no doubt circled on this year’s schedule by former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden were the Bears game in week five and the game against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Those were the weeks Gruden was to face the two big name former top picks he traded away.

Week five, Gruden and the Raiders lost to Khalil Mack and the Bears in what would be Gruden’s final game as head coach before his forced resignation. That ensured Gruden wouldn’t be facing off against Amari Cooper and the Cowboys. But as of today, his former team will also not be facing ‘Coop’.

Today the four-time Pro Bowl receiver was placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list. If he were vaccinated, that designation likely wouldn’t cost him any more than the Cowboys’ game against the Chiefs this Sunday. But he’s not vaccinated, which means not only will Coop miss the Chiefs game, he’ll also miss the next game against the Raiders on a short week, due to the NFL’s 10-day quarantine mandate.

Coop has averaged over 1100 yards and seven touchdowns the past three seasons and was on pace to do it again, with 583 yards and five touchdowns in nine games. He won’t be on pace for that anymore after two weeks out.

This would’ve been Cooper’s first game against his former team. He would undoubtedly love to have been able to show up big time against them. But decisions have their consequences. In this case, Coop decided not to get vaccinated against a deadly virus so…(sad trombone).