Tag: Tommy Sweeney

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

QB Sam Darnold – Concussion
QB Jameis Winston – Knee
RB Damien Williams – Knee
RB James Robinson – Ankle
RB Justin Jackson – Quad
RB Derrick Henry – Foot
TE Robert Tonyan – ACL
TE Rob Gronkowski – Back spasms
WR Denzel Mims – Finger
WR T.Y. Hilton – Concussion
WR Jalen Reagor – Ankle
WR Calvin Ridley – Stepping away
PK Chris Boswell – Concussion

Chasing Ambulances

QB Sam Darnold (CAR) – Suffered a concussion in the win over the Falcons and entered the league protocol. P.J. Walker will be the starter this week when the Panthers host the Patriots if Darnold remains out.

QB Jameis Winston (NO) – Believed to have suffered a torn ACL, but an MRI will confirm the damage.  Taysom Hill is expected to clear the concussion protocol by this week so he’ll likely be available. But then do the Saints use Hill as a starter? Will they stick with Trevor Siemian? Or will they pick up Cam Newton? They’ll be adding a quarterback if Winston is out for the year, the question is if it will just be a warm body at the bottom of the depth chart or will they look for someone with the potential to be the starter?

Oh yes, and the NFL trade deadline is Tuesday afternoon. That suddenly gets interesting. The Saints host the Falcons this week, so there’s a chance for someone to step in and look good.

RB James Robinson (JAC) – Injured during the loss to the Seahawks, head coach Urban Meyer said that Robinson bruised his heel. The extent of the injury and length of time to recover won’t be known until Monday at the earliest. Carlos Hyde took his place in the game and would do so  this week when they host the Bills if needed.

RB Derrick Henry (TEN) – Left the field and had his foot examined but later returned. He gained just 68 yards on 28 carries so his huge workload continues, but he’s been so indestructible that it’s the first sign that maybe he is getting too much work.

TE Rob Gronkowski (TB) – Only lasted for two series before he was pulled from the game with back spasms. He’s battled back issues at times in his career but the prognosis won’t be made until Monday. It is concerning that he’s going from one injury to the next so quickly, but it could be related to his previous rib injury.

TE Robert Tonyan (GB) – Tore his ACL in the Thursday night win at the Cardinals and is lost for the season. The Packers have Marcedes Lewis and Josiah Deguara who caught two passes in the game. There is speculation that they could trade for another tight end, but it is more likely they’ll stand pat on their roster. The tight end position hasn’t been very productive this year anyway.

 WR T.Y. Hilton (IND) – Speaking of the often injured, Hilton returned from his neck injury and just picked up a new concussion. He contemplated retirement already, and this string of injuries don’t confirm that he made the right choice to return.

WR Jalen Reagor (PHI) – Was carted from the field with an ankle injury in the blowout win over the Lions. Reagor hasn’t been productive this year, and his absence won’t leave any major hole to fill. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is his backup, but if he misses games, it would most likely just result in a couple of more targets for Quez Watkins or Devonta Smith.

WR Calvin Ridley (ATL) – Was inactive for personal reasons on Sunday, and then he tweeted during the game that he was stepping away from football to focus on his mental wellbeing. We wish him well and respect the tough decision that he felt was in his best interest. Tajae Sharpe took his place and led the Falcons with five receptions for 58 yards in the loss to the Panthers. This could make Russell Gage as the primary wideout now though he had no targets on Sunday. It makes Kyle Pitts likely to be the No. 1 receiver if he can handle it. The Falcons play at the Saints this week and have to figure out how they want to juggle their receivers.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

Trade Deadline – With all the injuries, the trade deadline may be more active than originally expected. The deadline is Tuesday, November 4 at 4 PM EST.

Falcons receivers – The Panthers secondary had no problem handling the Falcons wideouts and now that they are officially without Calvin Ridley, they have to reinvent this unit. They went from 2020 with Ridley and Julio Jones, with Russell Gage in the slot, to Tajae Sharpe and Gage who is now miscast as an outside receiver. The Falcons have one of the kinder schedules but there’s no certainty any of these receivers can step up. Gage was active, was on the field, and never had a pass thrown to him. Sharpe has never been more than depth on any team. And Olamide Zaccheaus totaled eight catches on the year. Gage may seem to be the best bet, but his success was last year as the No. 3 between Ridley and Julio Jones. He doesn’t seem capable of stepping into a primary role.

WR DeVante Parker (MIA) – Returned after missing three games and led the Dolphins with eight catches for 85 yards. Parker collected 11 targets which were second only to Jaylen Waddle (12) with just four catches for 29 yards in the loss at the Bills.

TE Tommy Sweeney (BUF) – The Bills lost Dawson Knox in Week 6, and Sweeney takes his place. Dawson broke his hand and is out for an indeterminant amount of time.  Sweeny caught a touchdown in Week 6 on his only catch that extended the Bills’ tight end scoring streak to five games. That streak ended on Sunday, but Sweeny accounted for three catches for 30 yards for his best game.

QB Justin Fields (CHI) – Maybe it was because head coach Matt Nagy was out with COVID or maybe it was something else. But while the Bears lost the game, Fields looked more dangerous than in any previous week. He completed 19-of-27 passes for 175 yards and one score and ran for a season-best 103 yards on ten rushes. He still hasn’t connected well with Allen Robinson, but using his legs more adds a needed element to the offense.

Eagles Backfield – This is getting hard to track. Miles Sanders is on injured reserve with an ankle issue, and the Eagles called up Jordan Howard from the practice squad. They split all the rushing work up almost perfectly between the three backs of Boston Scott (12-60, 2 TD), Howard (12-57, 2 TD), and Kenneth Gainwell (13-27) who was given almost every carry during the mop-up time in the fourth quarter. And yet, none registered a catch but it was a blowout win over the Lions. This week the Chargers show up with a below-average defense against running backs, and there’s no telling what to expect.

WR Brandin Cooks (HOU) – He was a Top-12 wideout this week and he’s one of those fantasy rarities that produces nearly all of his production at the end of games when the opponent is already substituting players and trying to just go home. This week, Cooks had two catches for 16 yards by midway through the fourth quarter but then logged four catches for 67 yards and a touchdown in the final minutes. It all counts.

TE Brevin Jordan (HOU) – The Texans’ fifth-round pick was this rookie out of Miami who generated some hype in the summer. He’s been inactive  until Sunday when he caught 3-of-4 targets for 41 yards and a touchdown in his debut.  This is more notable because the Texans are 1-7 and will look at new players for the rest of the season and for next year.

QB Mike White (NYJ) – The first start in his three-year NFL career was one for the record books. He threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Bengals. Zach Wilson’s best effort so far was only 297 yards and two scores against the Titans in Week 4. White mostly used his two starting running backs that combined for 14 catches and 166 yards, but he connected with ten receivers, and eight had at least two or more catches. He’ll start next week  at the Colts, but there will be a little game film on him for the Colts to study.

WR Jamal Agnew (JAC) – On a day that Trevor Lawrence mostly looked for tight end Dan Arnold (8-68) and running back Carlos Hyde (6-40), it was notable that Agnew continues to expand his role in the offense. He caught six passes for 38 yards and the lone touchdown, and his 12 targets led the team.

RB J.D. McKissic (WAS) – The third-down back started the season with fewer catches but led Washington with eight catches for 83 yards in the loss to the Broncos. That makes two of the last three games with eight receptions.

WR Jerry Jeudy (DEN) – He injured his ankle in the season opener and just this week was taken off the injured reserve. He only caught four passes for 39 yards in his return, but that was a team high for receptions in the win over Washington. The Broncos play at the Cowboys this week and Teddy Bridgewater will need to throw more than 26 passes in that game.

RB Mark Ingram (NO) – His first game back with the Saints saw Ingram run for 27 yards on six carries and catch two passes for 25 yards. That was impressive for just arriving there and he’ll offer more in the coming weeks. Alvin Kamara still ran 19 times in the win over the Buccaneers, and needs to scale that level of work back so he can last the season.

QB Cooper Rush (DAL) – His first NFL start after four years in the league couldn’t have gone much better. Rush passed for 325 yards and two touchdowns and produced two 100-yard receivers in Amari Cooper (8-122, TD) and CeeDee Lamb (6-112). Dak Prescott is likely to return this week, but Rush pulled off the win at the Vikings to extend the Cowboys’ winning streak to six games.

Huddle player of the week

Michael Carter  –   The Jets’ rookie started the season locked into a maddening three-way committee but eventually became the primary back on a bad offense with a bad offensive line during a bad season. No matter – Carter ran for 77 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries in the win over the Bengals and caught a team high nine passes for 95 yards.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Now get back to work…