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Even practice might not have prepared them for Friday.
The two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks found themselves repeatedly talking about their biggest perceived weaknesses – Mayfield’s size and brash personality and Jackson’s future at quarterback. All they need to do now is convince pro scouts they’re worthy of being first-round draft picks in April.
”I’m the most accurate quarterback in this draft for sure Youth Matt Irwin Jersey ,” said Mayfield, last year’s runaway Heisman winner. ”I’m ready to be a franchise guy.”
Perhaps he will be the guy who turns around a struggling franchise, regardless of venue.
After all, Mayfield does possess the gaudy numbers, a multitude of honors and the winning resume pro teams covet in a starting quarterback. Mayfield went 33-6 as Oklahoma’s starter.
What he lacks in size, standing a smidge over 6 feet, Mayfield makes up with a bold confidence and brash personality that ranks second to none.
The combination has occasionally led the blurring of lines between excitable celebration and unsportsmanlike conduct.
Those antics – the planting of the flag at Ohio State, the crotch-grabbing gesture at Kansas and the image of him running onto the field against Texas Tech, his former school, with a T-shirt reading ”traitor” – have some NFL executives wondering how it would resonate in a locker room full of grown men.
Mayfield insists, though, he can change his actions.
”I’m up front and honest, brutally honest,” he said. ”Some people don’t like that because it’s rare these days.”
But it’s not just the on-the-field incidents that worry some.
Mayfield also was involved an embarrassing run-in with law enforcement officers in Arkansas last offseason and endured the humiliation of being stripped of his captain’s title before his last home game at Oklahoma.
Teammates, however, have never wavered in their support.
”It’s just really a perception,” left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. said. ”He’s not the guy you think he is. He’s a captain. He’s a leader. He’s very focused Keith Yandle Jersey , and he’s going to bring everyone together.”
Jackson finds himself in a vastly different situation.
Despite having equally impressive stats, his own Heisman trophy and playing in an efficient spread offense, the questions about Jackson and former Ohio State star J.T. Barrett are all about fit.
Both were dangerous throwing and running in college, and history suggests the dual-threat quarterbacks either don’t stick around long or stay healthy. Robert Griffin III and Tim Tebow are recent examples, which might explain reports suggesting Jackson will also work out with the receivers on Saturday.
Jackson repeatedly denied it.
”I thought I did a good job at quarterback (at Louisville). I did,” he said. I’m here at the combine to show my ability. It (the talk) is just more motivation and I’m going to show them how good I am.”
While Jackson has the numbers to prove his value at quarterback, Barrett’s numbers suggest something else.
The only three-time captain in Ohio State history played on two Big Ten title teams, a national champion and was chosen the conference quarterback of the year three times. But his inconsistency frustrated fans and have scouts asking questions about his accuracy – and whether he’s capable of being an NFL quarterback.
”I’m here to show 32 teams why they should draft me, and I think I can do that,” Barrett said.
Mayfield has the most to gain or lose here.
If he can sell teams on his personality and that he can play more in the mold of other short quarterbacks such as Drew Brees and Russell Wilson, Mayfield’s stock could soar and might push him into the top five or 10. If not, Mayfield could have a longer wait on draft day.
But nobody here believes more strongly in Mayfield than the Oklahoma quarterback. All you have to do is ask.
”I think if anyone is going to turn that franchise around, it would be me,” Mayfield said when asked about going to the Cleveland Browns, who have No. 1 and No. 4 overall picks in April.
As for the height question, Mayfield cited some success stories before finishing: ”If you want to see anything else, I’ve got three years of tape to prove it.”
Notes: More than a month after Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski committed suicide Womens Derek Dorsett Jersey , the Cougars’ departing starter, Luke Falk, acknowledged he’s still shaken by the event. ”It’s still just feels unreal. I know the guys up there are really doing a lot of team activities and trying to come together,” Falk said. ”But I don’t think we’ll ever get over it. It’s always going to be with us. Tyler is always going to be with us. Hopefully a lot of good comes from it. Tyler will always be a part of us.”
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Welcome back, Buffalo. You, too, Jacksonville and Tennessee. It’s been a while, Los Angeles.
The NFL playoffs open this weekend with a few teams – and cities – that have been merely spectators in January for years.
The Bills (9-7) are, of course, the poster boys of postseason dreaming, earning their first playoff appearance since 1999 and ending a 17-year absence that was the longest for any team in the four major North American sports leagues.
”It definitely was a goal of ours, but it doesn’t just stop here,” quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. ”We’re excited to be in this position and we have a great opportunity in front of us.”
They also have the Jaguars (10-6) standing in their way. Jacksonville is in the playoffs for the first time since the 2007 season, and won its first division title since 1999.
The Bills also will see a familiar face Sunday leading the other sideline in coach Doug Marrone, who was Buffalo’s head coach from 2013-14.
”For me, obviously the past is past,” Marrone said. ”They have earned it as well as we have earned it. My focus obviously is going to be on our football team. It’s as easy as that for me.”
Football fans in Los Angeles haven’t been able to watch a home team in the postseason since the Raiders beat Denver on Jan. 9 Zemgus Girgensons Jersey , 1994, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – site of Saturday night’s showdown between the Rams (11-5) and the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons (10-6).
The Rams haven’t hosted a playoff game since 1986, before 31-year-old coach Sean McVay was even born. McVay is now the youngest coach to make the postseason.
”Until you take a step back (to see) what this team has done such a nice job with, you can’t fully appreciate the journey,” McVay said. ”You try to, every now and then, enjoy it and not get so caught up in the moment that you can’t enjoy the experiences as you’re going on that journey.”
The Titans (9-7) last made the playoffs back in the 2008 season , when Jeff Fisher was coach. Nine years later, it’ll be coach Mike Mularkey and quarterback Marcus Mariota leading Tennessee into Kansas City on Saturday against Andy Reid’s playoff-tested Chiefs (10-6).
”It’s been a long time coming,” tight end Delanie Walker said. ”We thought that at the beginning: if we get in, we can go all the way. That’s our mindset and that’s how we’re going to play.”
Tennessee at Kansas City
The Titans lost three in a row before beating Jacksonville in their regular-season finale to get into the playoffs. Now, they’ll try to win their first postseason game since beating Baltimore on Jan. 3, 2004.
Tennessee allowed only 88.8 yards rushing per game, but will have a tough task against Chiefs rookie Kareem Hunt, who led the NFL with 1,327 yards on the ground.
Kansas City has won four straight after a four-game skid that put their playoff hopes in doubt. But the Chiefs haven’t won a postseason game at home since topping Pittsburgh in January 1994.
”We completed the first step and now it’s on to the second one, which is winning this game http://www.officialhockeyjetsshop.com/authentic-adidas-jacob-trouba-jersey ,” quarterback Alex Smith said. ”It’s tough to add any more motivation with historic streaks or things like that.”
Atlanta at Los Angeles
The Rams have been one of the NFL’s best stories all season, with McVay leading an impressive turnaround – in the standings and with quarterback Jared Goff.
The franchise’s return to Los Angeles last year was hardly a happy homecoming with a 4-12 record, but things certainly changed in a hurry. Goff went from being a somewhat disappointing No. 1 overall pick to leading the league’s No. 1 scoring offense.
Running back Todd Gurley’s re-emergence as one of the NFL’s most dynamic and dangerous players has certainly been key. He finished second in the league with 1,305 yards rushing and had an NFL-leading 13 TD runs to go along with six TD receptions.
While this is all new for the Rams, Dan Quinn’s Falcons will lean on their experience with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Co. trying to make a second straight run to the Super Bowl.
”We’ve been tested,” Quinn said. ”I thought we’ve come through the fires to the other side together as one brotherhood. We’re battle ready.”
Buffalo at Jacksonville
After lengthy playoff droughts, one thing is for sure: either the Bills or Jaguars will get at least as far as the second round.
This is the first time since 1999 that Jacksonville is hosting a postseason game, and fans are fired up. Tickets went quickly and the team received permission to remove tarps covering four sections of seats in the upper deck to create 3,501 additional seats at EverBank Field.
”It’s good for both organizations,” said Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny, who spent his first four seasons with the Bills. ”It’s good for the NFL to have two teams that haven’t been to the playoffs in a long time to have the opportunity to play.”
The Jaguars had the second-ranked overall defense in the league, with a ferocious pass rush that produced a franchise-record 55 sacks.
Taylor and the Bills might have to try to make things happen against that unit without running back LeSean McCoy, who was considered day to day after being carted off the field last Sunday against Miami with an injured right ankle.
”This team thrives off adversity,” Bills guard Richie Incognito said. ”It
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