Primetime Preview: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks (TNF Week 5)

Primetime Preview: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks (TNF Week 5)

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by | Oct 4, 2019 | Featured, NFL

Week 5 of the NFL starts tonight with a terrific matchup as the Los Angeles Rams head to Seattle to take on the division opponent Seahawks. As both teams stand at 3-1, this should be one of the best matchups of week 5. As the fantasy football fans love Thursday Night, Rams star RB Todd Gurley has expressed his feeling otherwise, calling it the : “Dumbest Thing Ever”. 

Regardless of Gurley’s (and my) opinion, the game will be played tonight. What should be a high scoring duel could lead one of these teams to the top of the NFC West at the end of week 5. Vegas has the Seahawks as 1.5 Home favorites, and it’s such a toss up to feel comfortable placing money on the game. 

 

QB Matchup Jared Goff vs. Russell Wilson

Can you name a conference with better QBs across the board? The NFC West is loaded with QB talent, and this game should be a reminder of that. Jared Goff has had some struggles early on, throwing for 6 TDs and 6 INTs in his first four, but expect Goff to get back of track tonight. Wilson has been phenomenal so far, tossing 8 TDs with 0 INTs. His 69.8 QBR is the 5th best in the NFL so far. Both QBs are in great systems who establish the run early and then find success passing vertically via play action. 

RB Matchup Todd Gurley/Malcolm Brown vs. Chris Carson/Rashaad Penny

As stated before, Todd Gurley really dislikes Thursday Night Football, and he’s not to blame. Countless players suffer really tough injuries on Thursday Night, and it’s almost time for the NFL to take a closer look at this, for the health of the players. The Rams are trying to ease Todd Gurley into the offense, not giving him more than 16 carries in their first 4 games. His backup Malcolm Brown has done a fantastic job as Gurley’s counterpart, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. This will be a battle of the backfields as Seattle was the most run heavy offense in 2018, and 2019 has been more of the same. Carson had carried the ball over 15 times every game so far, and although he has struggled with fumble problems, Pete Carroll still has tons of confidence in him. Second year backup Rashaad Penny has showed signs of growth and maturity in these first four games as well. 

WR Matchup Robert Woods/Brandin Cooks/ Cooper Kupp vs. Tyler Lockett/ D.K. Metcalf/Jaron Brown 

The Rams has one of the best receiver corps in the whole NFL, and the three headed attack can hurt you in so many different ways. Brandin Cooks is known as a deep ball specialist, with Robert Woods as the star route runner and Cooper Kupp as Goff’s safety blanket in the slot. The Seahawks receivers won’t get the credit that the Rams WR’s will, but they quietly have nice depth at the position. Tyler Lockett has improved so much over the last two seasons, and rookie D.K. Metcalf is already proving doubters wrong. Even without a complex route tree, Metcalf presence as a physical specimen on the outside is deadly with Wilson behind center. 

TE Matchup Gerald Everett/Tyler Higbee vs. Will Dissly

An underrated matchup two pretty much unknowns units. None of these guys are the headliners at the position, but both the committee of Everett/Higbee and Dissly get the job done. Dissly quietly already has four receiving TDs this year, as the Hawks felt comfortable enough to ship off their other TE to Pittsburgh. The Rams TE group is really an afterthought due to their skill at the WR position, but Everett and Higbee are always dangerous in the red zone and on 3rd down. 

Defense Matchup

The Rams defensive unit had a rough week vs. Tampa Bay, giving up over 50 points in the loss. They have continued to create turnovers, counting for at least an INT every game so far. Before last week’s meltdown against Jameis Winston, the Rams were on paper one of the best units in the league. The Seahawks have been middle of the pack so far on defense. They had a great performance last week against Kyler Murray, surrendering only 10 points. Every close game comes down to who can get clutch stops, and this TNF should be nothing different. Whichever team can successfully get the opposing offense off the field on 3rd down will have the major advantage, especially because of how both offenses like to possess the ball and methodically move it down the field.

Oct 4, 2019 No Comments
SneakerReporter NFL Power Rankings: 10/3

SneakerReporter NFL Power Rankings: 10/3

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by | Oct 3, 2019 | Featured, NFL

Each week, SneakerReporter will put out their power rankings of all 32 NFL teams. 

With Week 5 kicking off tonight (Los Angeles Rams vs.Seattle Seahawks, 8:20 PM EST on Fox and NFL Network) it’s time to unveil where each team sits.

The fun begins below and be sure to check back each Thursday to track how far up or down your favorite team moves from week-to-week. 

 

1. Kansas City Chiefs 4-0 (LW:1)

Kansas City found themselves in a real fight on the road against the Detroit Lions and somehow Patrick Mahomes didn’t throw one touchdown in a game that totaled 64 points. 

 

2. New England Patriots 4-0 (LW: 2)

What looked like a routine AFC East blowout game turned into a defensive battle following Tom Brady’s uncharacteristic red-zone turnover with New England leading 13-0.

 

3. New Orleans Saints 3-1 (LW: 8)

A bunch of undefeated teams suffered their first loss and no opponent was more impressive than the Saints stifling the Dallas Cowboys.

 

4. Chicago Bears 3-1 (LW: 9)

This defense remains legit; now we get to see Khalil Mack unleashed against the team that traded him away.

 

5. San Francisco 49ers 3-0 (LW: 10)

(STILL) 13 MORE GAMES JIMMY GAROPPOLO, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!

 

6. Dallas Cowboys 3-1 (LW: 4)

Their offense let them down but even in defeat, the outlines of a potential Super Bowl Champion can still be seen.

 

7. Buffalo Bills 3-1 (LW: 11)

This team is arguably a Josh Allen concussion away from being undefeated AND atop the AFC East standings. 

 

8. Los Angeles Rams 3-1 (LW: 3)

I don’t know what happened on Sunday but that looked nothing like the Sean McVay Rams we’ve grown accustomed to. 

 

9. Detroit Lions 2-1-1 (LW: 13)

Is it time we put some “respeck” on Matt Patricia’s name???

 

10. Green Bay Packers 3-1 (LW: 5)

The clock struck midnight and the defense—specifically the run defense—turned back into a pumpkin.

 

11. Cleveland Browns 2-2 (LW: 17)

“The Cleveland Browns Story: From the league’s biggest disappointment to top of their division”; coming to a theater near you. 

 

12. Philadelphia Eagles 2-2 (LW: 15)

In what was ultimately a season-saving victory, the Eagles looked much more like the team everyone envisioned they would be.

 

13. Seattle Seahawks 3-1 (LW:16)

It’s hard to keep calling them average when they have a better record than more than half of the league. 

 

14. Baltimore Ravens 2-2 (LW: 6)

The Chiefs hangover hit Baltimore hard and they now find themselves in a real battle to make the playoffs the rest of the way. 

 

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2-2 (LW: 22)

Bruce Arians has done the unthinkable, he’s made Jameis Winston ELITE. 

 

16. Minnesota Vikings 2-2 (LW: 7)

Kirk Cousins is holding this team back in a MAJOR way.

 

17. Carolina Panthers 2-2 (LW: 21)

This group is doing a lot better than just keeping their heads above water in Cam Newton’s absence.

 

18. Houston Texans 2-2 (LW: 12)

PROTECT DESHAUN WATSON PLEASE!

 

19. Jacksonville Jaguars 2-2 (LW: 24)

We’ve moved on from #FREEJALEN and we’re 100% in on #MinshewMagic. 

 

20. Indianapolis Colts 2-2 (LW: 14)

They let a great chance at claiming the top spot in the AFC South slip away with a home loss to the Oakland Raiders.

 

21. Los Angeles Chargers 2-2 (LW: 18)

How do you win and drop down the rankings, when you’re the first team to trail the Miami Dolphins that’s how. 

 

22. New York Giants 2-2 (LW: 25)

Daniel Jones looked more the part of inconsistent rookie against Washington but there’s a chance Saquon Barkley returns from injury a lot sooner than everyone anticipated. 

 

23. Tennessee Titans 2-2 (LW: 20)

This team is confusing. 

 

24. Oakland Raiders 2-2 (LW: 23)

This team is ALSO confusing. 

 

25. Pittsburgh Steelers 1-3 (LW: 26)

Nothing like a one-sided victory in primetime against a bottom three team to get the fan base revved up again!

 

26. Atlanta Falcons 1-3 (LW: 19)

If this continues Dan Quinn could possibly lose his job BEFORE Jay Gruden, which would be the most shocking development of the 2019 season. 

 

27. Arizona Cardinals 0-3-1 (LW: 27)

Wins are far from guaranteed but a matchup against Cincinnati should result in the first win of the Kyler Murray x Kliff Kingsbury era.

28. Denver Broncos 0-4 (LW: 30)

One of these days Vic Fangio’s team is going to WIN on a last-second field goal. 

 

29. New York Jets 0-3 (LW: 29)

If Sam Darnold does make his return to action this weekend things could turn around quickly for gang green.

 

30. Washington Redskins 0-4 (LW: 27)

Would you take the over/under on Washington using more quarterbacks than the number of Tom Brady touchdown passes thrown?

 

31. Cincinnati Bengals 0-4 (LW: 31)

If I were A.J. Green I also would stay away from this dumpster fire for as long as possible. 

 

32. Miami Dolphins 0-4 (LW: 32)

They might have to tank harder with Cincinnati and Washington hanging around. 

Oct 3, 2019 No Comments
NFL Community Mourns the Loss of Former Arizona Cardinals Owner Bill Bidwill

NFL Community Mourns the Loss of Former Arizona Cardinals Owner Bill Bidwill

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by | Oct 3, 2019 | Featured, NFL

The NFL community was dealt a serious blow when news that former Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill had passed away at the age of 88 years old. Bidwill owned the franchise from 1972 to 2006. His son, and current Cardinals president, Michael said, “Above all else, we will remember him as a man devoted to the three central pillars of his life–his immense faith, his love for his family and his lifelong passion for the Cardinals and the sport of football.”

During that time he oversaw many firsts in league history. His team hired the first black female executive (Adele Harris), the first black contract negotiator in the NFL (Bob Wallace, and the first-ever African-American head coach-general manager tandem (Dennis Green and Rod Graves). In 2015, the Cardinals named their fellowship program to promote and increase diversity within all NFL coaching staff after Bidwill.

16-year veteran Larry Fitzgerald, who spent his entire career with the Cardinals said the following about Mr. Bidwill, “Now you hear everybody talking about diversity and minority hires, back when he first started doing it that was not the norm…He didn’t care about the color of your skin or race or the gender, if he felt like you could do the job to the best of your ability to help us become better then you were the right person for it.”

https://twitter.com/azcardinals/status/1179461520469585920?s=21

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell shared his sentiments too, “Bill Bidwill was part of the NFL family his entire life, starting from his days as a ball boy through his time as an owner…[Bill] made extraordinary contributions to the NFL. Bill’s vision brought the Cardinals, the NFL and multiple Super Bowls to Arizona. He was a leader in embracing diversity…We extend our condolences to Bill’s family and the Cardinals organization, which along with his faith, meant so much to him.”

Teams around the league shared their condolences as well:

https://twitter.com/atlantafalcons/status/1179490550233407496?s=21

https://twitter.com/buffalobills/status/1179496687674560514?s=21

https://twitter.com/chicagobears/status/1179494041597235201?s=21

https://twitter.com/browns/status/1179498005201870849?s=21

Bidwill is survived by his five children, 10 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Oct 3, 2019 No Comments
Primetime Preview: Cincinnati Bengals vs Pittsburgh Steelers (MNF Week 4)

Primetime Preview: Cincinnati Bengals vs Pittsburgh Steelers (MNF Week 4)

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by | Sep 30, 2019 | Featured, NFL

To close the book on Week 4 we are getting the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers facing off on Monday Night Football. What was once the matchup that decided who would claim the title of the AFC North, now comes with both teams trying to capture their first win of the 2019 NFL season. The names that we are familiar with are mostly gone, especially with Ben Roethlisberger out with an injury.

The Steelers were not supposed to be at the bottom of their division. Even though Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown are gone, Pittsburgh was thought to have undergone addition by subtraction this offseason. However, they suffered defeats in all of their first three games and the replacements for the departed stars (James Conner and Juju Smith-Schuster) have not been able to replace their production so far. Losing Roethlisberger is likely attributing to that but excuses aren’t going to make the fan base happy–or keep Mike Tomlin off the hot seat. They’ve doubled-down on figuring things out this year when they traded away their 2020 first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for a second-year defensive back, Minkah Fitzpatrick. Finishing at the bottom of the standings would be an even worse outcome for this franchise. On the other side of the field will be the Bengals. They are in year one of the post-Marvin Lewis era and they chose Zac Taylor (from the famed Sean McVay coaching tree) to lead the way. Andy Dalton is likely on his last leg as the franchise quarterback and even though A.J. Green has yet to take the field the team is still expecting him to orchestrate an average moderate offense. Joe Mixon’s slow start to the season hasn’t helped any and as we saw with McVay and his disciples, establishing the run is priority number one.

During tonight’s game, both teams will be looking to turn their season’s around. With the vast majority of teams hovering around 2-2 the winner won’t be too far out of things at 1-3. However, falling to 0-4 all but assures three’s no chance at making the postseason. For some Bengals fans, the latter outcome might be the favored one as it gives them a better chance at drafting Dalton’s eventual successor if they get a higher pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Names like Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Jake Fromm, Joe Burrows, and Jacob Eason are likely to be among the potential quarterbacks selected in the first round.

Pittsburgh will be defending their home field and this could be a good opportunity for the Steelers defense to get their act together. After acquiring Fitzpatrick they now have nine defensive players that were drafted in the first round on their roster. T.J. Watt has been one of the bright spots to date but they are going to need more from the other two levels if they want any chance at getting back into the playoffs this year. The Bengals offense hasn’t exactly set the world on fire in Taylor’s first season with the team so what better way to get back on track than Monday Night Football. All eyes will be on this game and a good to great performance tonight can completely change the narrative surrounding this team.

PREDICTION: Steelers 28 , Bengals 13

Sep 30, 2019 No Comments
BREAKING NEWS: Denver Broncos Linebacker Bradley Chubb Done For the Season With Torn ACL

BREAKING NEWS: Denver Broncos Linebacker Bradley Chubb Done For the Season With Torn ACL

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by | Sep 30, 2019 | Featured, NFL

Not only did the Denver Broncos suffer their second walk-off loss of the season on Sunday but they also lost one of their star defensive players as well.

Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb left the game in the fourth quarter after suffering a knee injury. Yet, he was able to return to action and finish the game.

The initial diagnosis revealed that he could play through it to finish the game. On Monday, further examination showed that he had suffered a slight tear in his ACL and he would require season-ending surgery.

Chubb had found his footing as a true partner to Von Miller and gave the Broncos two of the strongest pass rushers in the NFL.

Sep 30, 2019 No Comments
BREAKING NEWS: Mitchell Trubisky Won’t Need Surgery

BREAKING NEWS: Mitchell Trubisky Won’t Need Surgery

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by | Sep 30, 2019 | Featured, NFL

In yesterday’s win over the Minnesota Vikings, the Chicago Bears lost starting quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky after he was brought to the ground on a strip sack that ultimately was overturned.

The seriousness of the injury wasn’t immediately divulged but Trubisky did not return to the game and came out of the locker room with his arm in a sling.

During his media availability today, head coach Matt Nagy revealed that the quarterback would not need surgery and would be back “sooner rather than later”.

Trubisky will travel with the Bears as they head to London to take on the Oakland Raiders, however, it is not expected that he will play in the game.

A timeframe has yet to be formally revealed but based off what Nagy said today it seems like Trubisky won’t miss much time at all.

Sep 30, 2019 No Comments