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 After some cuts Nevin Lawson Jersey , trades and injury designations, the Detroit Lions have a 53-man roster in time for the NFL’s 4 p.m. ET deadline on Saturday. Though the roster is far from “finished,” we have our first look at what the team may look like going into Week 1 against the New York Jets on “Monday Night Football.”Now that the roster has been established, it will be Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia’s job to build a practice squad and scour the waiver wire to see if any players cut by other teams can help this team more than some of their current players.But for now, the Lions have 53 players on their roster. Here they are:2018 Detroit Lions roster:Quarterbacks (2)QB Matthew Stafford QB Matt Cassel Running backs (5)RB Kerryon JohnsonRB Ameer AbdullahRB LeGarrette BlountRB Theo RiddickFB Nick BelloreWide receivers (6)WR Marvin Jones Jr.WR Golden TateWR Kenny GolladayWR TJ JonesWR Brandon PowellWR Bradley MarquezTight ends (4)TE Michael RobertsTE Luke WillsonTE Levine ToiloloTE Hakeem VallesOffensive line (9)OT Taylor DeckerOT Rick WagnerOT Tyrell CrosbyOG T.J. LangOT Andrew DonnalG/C Graham GlasgowOG Frank RagnowG/C Leo KoloamatangiG Kenny WigginsG Joe DahlOT Brian MihalikDefensive line (7)DE Ezekiel AnsahDE Anthony ZettelDE Kerry HyderDE/DT Da’Shawn HandDT A’Shawn RobinsonDT Ricky Jean FrancoisDT Sylvester WilliamsLinebackers (7)LB Devon KennardLB Jarrad DavisLB Jalen Reeves-MaybinLB Christian JonesLB Eli Harold LB Miles KillebrewLB Trevor BatesDefensive backs (10)CB Darius SlayCB Nevin LawsonCB Teez TaborCB Quandre DiggsCB Jamal AgnewCB Dee VirginS Glover QuinS Tavon WilsonS Charles WashingtonS Tracy WalkerSpecial Teams (3)K Matt PraterP Sam MartinLS Don Muhlbach The Lions have to be feeling like November has come after their Sunday loss to the Vikings. Actually Cheap Kerryon Johnson Jersey , in hindsight, that would have been a great song to open up the Pride Of Detroit PODcast with. I didn’t do that though. Shame.We’re back at it again with audio deduction of Lions football. The gang is here, the fight is on, and the loss looms heavy. We took a day to let things simmer and instead found the usual crushing weight that comes with the realization that the NFL season is halfway over and Detroit is staring down the barrel of too many losses.Nevertheless, if you want to know how this all fell apart T.J. Lang Jersey , how badly the Lions miss Golden Tate, and indeed how badly the team is itself handling the pressure, you can hear it on PODcast. Download and subscribe to the PODcast on these platforms: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts| Spotify | Stitcher | ART19This week on the PODcastFiguring out what exactly went wrong on Sunday. There’s a lot of wrong. Spoilers.How much blame does the offensive line take for allowing 10 sacks? How much blame does Matthew Stafford take for not staying aware of the defense coming after him?The offense was missing Golden Tate, but it wasn’t going to swing the game. Nevertheless, we discuss how this offense has looked different without him.Is the NFC North race over for the Lions? Is this a hole the Lions can’t climb out of at this point? Is there still hope to get this turned around.Real talk on the continued career of Jim Bob Cooter in Detroit.A lesson on “tilting” and what it means that the Lions are currently doing so Cheap Jarrad Davis Jersey , from Chris.In the mailbag, Ryan is crowned POD king of competitive eating.Marciano got fired while we were recording, so we talked briefly about that too.

 Now Quandre Diggs Jersey , they’ll have to avoid the same fate. This week, the Seattle Seahawks are coming in fresh and healthy off their bye week, and—much like the Lions—they are trending in the right direction. Having won three of their last four games, the Seahawks are not dead, as many assumed they would be. How have they managed to keep the team competitive despite losing so many key players? Let’s check the weekly scouting report: Seattle SeahawksLast season9-7 record (2nd in NFC West)11th in points scored, 13th in points allowedOverall DVOA: 14th (14th on offense, 13th on defense)2018 offseasonKey free agent additions: TE Ed Dickson, LB Barkevious Mingo, G D.J. Fluker, WR Brandon Marshall, K Sebastian Janikowski, S Maurice Alexander Key losses: CB Richard Sherman, DL Michael Bennett, DT Sheldon Richardson, DE Cliff Avril, CB DeShawn Shead, TE Luke Willson, TE Jimmy Graham2018 NFL draft picks:Round 1, 27 overall - RB Rashaad Penny Round 3, Pick 79 - DT Rasheem GreenRound 4, Pick 120 - TE Will DisslyRound 5, Pick 141 - LB Shaquem GriffinRound 5, Pick 146 - S Tre FlowersRound 5 Glover Quin Jersey , Pick 149 - P Michael DicksonRound 5, Pick 168 - T Jamarco JonesRound 6, Pick 186 - LB Jacob MartinRound 7, Pick 220 - QB Alex McGough This appeared to be the year that the Seattle Seahawks blew up everything and started over. It was only a matter of time before their excellent drafting five years ago caught up with them. They couldn’t realistically sign everyone to an extension, so they seemingly got rid of everyone. Just look at that “key losses” section. There’s a lot of Pro Bowls, All Pro nods and Super Bowls among that group.The most publicized losses came in the secondary, where the Legion of Boom was declared dead. Gone is Richard Sherman. Kam Chancellor is dealing with a potential career-ending injury. The one guy that’s a holdover from the championship secondary, Earl Thomas, suffered a season-ending injury and remains pissed at the team. This was as close to a complete overhaul as you can get for one team, but they were aggressive in recouping talent in free agency. 2018 season thus far (3-3)Week 1: Loss to Broncos, 24-27Week 2: Loss to Bears, 17-24Week 3: Win over Cowboys, 24-13Week 4: Win over Cardinals, 20-17Week 5: Loss to Rams, 31-33Week 6: Win over Raiders, 27-3Stats:17th in points scored, 5th in points allowed10th in DVOA (20th on offense, 4th on defense, 19th on special teams)Despite all of the key losses on defense, the Seahawks are managing to keep it together on that side of the ball. In just about every statistical category, the Seahawks rank in the top 10. Here’s a sampling:4th in yards per passing attempt allowed (6.8)3rd in passer rating allowed (79.9)4th in points allowed per drive (1.71)t-6th in interceptions (9)However, you may have noticed I left out one key piece of their defense: their ability to stop the run. That’s because they’ve been uncharacteristically bad at doing so, allowing 4.7 yards per carry (t-25th). That being said http://www.lionscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-ricky-jean-francois-jersey , they still have quite a few playmakers on that defense to fear. The defensive line is headed by youngsters Frank Clark and Jarran Reed, while veteran Bobby Wagner remains a force in the second level. However, most impressive is the Seahawks’ ability to maintain quality play in the secondary. Safeties Tedric Thompson and Bradley McDougald are playing like top-10 defensive backs right now.Offensively, Seattle is still working out some kinks. It’s clear they want their identity to surround the running game again, as they run the ball more than anyone else in the league. Their success has been moderate, averaging 4.3 yards per carry with their trio of running backs: Chris Carson, Mike Davis and rookie Rashaad Penny. Carson brings the boom, Davis brings the balance, and Penny brings the quickness. Russell Wilson remains a big threat, despite the fact that he hasn’t run the ball much at all this year (62 rushing yards). The biggest story here, though, may be that the Seahawks found themselves an offensive line that is much better than it looks on paper. They haven’t been phenomenal—they’ve allowed 19 sacks, second most among teams that have only played six games—but they’ve held together more than expected. Put it all together, and you have a very good defense and an average offense. That’s a lot more than most were expecting after a tumultuous offseason. Vegas line for Sunday: Lions by 32018 NFL preview: Predicting the Detroit Lions offensive player of the year Now that it’s officially Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season, it’s time to start our preview series for the Detroit Lions. Throughout this entire week, our staff will be giving you our predictions for the 2018 season.Today, we start with probably the most obvious question facing the Lions: Who will be the team’s Offensive Player of the Year? Chris PerfettMatthew Stafford. You all made fun of me trying to pick anyone but him last year but to say his name is just unsporting. I wanted to list Golden Tate or something. I don’t think Stafford will be as good as past years though.Mike PaytonIt will easily once again be Matthew Stafford. The Lions quarterback is in his prime and only seems to be getting better. With a run game, a healthy offensive line and those receivers, we could be talking about more than just the Lions MVP. We could be talking about a dark-horse league MVP.Ryan MathewsMatthew StaffordWhile the 2018 offseason will be remembered for Bob Quinn’s commitment to establishing a running game in Detroit, no one is better set up for success than the Lions franchise quarterback, Matthew Stafford.Should the Lions offensive line manage to stay healthy, they have one of the top units in the league on paper, and for the second-most sacked quarterback a year ago Cheap Ziggy Ansah Jersey , keeping Stafford upright and with time to look downfield and throw, Stafford and this offense should finally be able to realize the potential so many see in both Stafford and the offense on a macro level.Mansur Shaheen Matthew Stafford. We are going to go as far as Stafford takes us. He is the most talented player on this team overall, and possibly the most talented player to ever play for the Detroit Lions. Expect him to continue to put up amazing passing stats and drag this team to victories in games that we have no business winning. John WhiticarMatthew Stafford.It’s a safe pick, but an easy one to make. This team rides-or-dies on the arm of Stafford. We’ve seen him carry this team to incredible comebacks. Some will criticize him for “padding stats,” but in the end, he keeps this team competitive. Will a rejuvenated run game help ease the burden? Perhaps. But this has been and will be Stafford’s team.Hamza Baccouche This is an easy one: if the Lions offense is a machine, Stafford is the gasoline. While there have been a lot of resources invested in revamping the running game and giving Stafford a supporting cast, I won’t believe it until I see it. Stafford’s importance to this team is only amplified now by the fact that nobody won the backup quarterback job, Matt Cassel was the lesser of two losers between him and Jake Rudock. If Stafford goes down, so does the Lions offense and in essence, the entire team, as playing Cassel or Rudock at quarterback is like fueling the machine with liquid glue and expecting it to run as normal.Kyle YostMatthew Stafford. He is not the most interesting answer, but sometimes the obvious choice is the right one. At this point in his career, Stafford is who he is. The national media may sleep on him a bit, and his overall stat line is often boosted by volume, but the Lions’ undisputed leader is set for another solid season. With questions still remaining on the offensive line, the running game will be better but not amazing. This will require Stafford to throw the Lions into wins as he has done so many times in his career.Jerry MalloryLet’s just name this the Matthew Stafford MVP award. That way, we can include our actual MVP in the name but give the award to someone else (the second most value guy on offense). In other words, my non Stafford MVP goes to Golden Tate. It’s potentially his swan song in Detroit, and he has been eyeing his fellow NFL receiver’s new contracts. Tate will play like a guy looking to get paid after this season.Kent Lee PlatteThe cop out for this is always going to be Matthew Stafford. He’s been carrying the team for so long, it’s almost a joke. In 2018, however, there’s a legitimate challenger emerging http://www.lionscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-devon-kennard-jersey , and it’s one I can’t believe I am going to be predicting. The Lions run game has been garbage the entirety of my time covering the Lions, but I sense a completely different feel with the team this season and specifically with rookie running back Kerryon Johnson. My RB6 in the draft (though I shuffled 5 and 6 back and forth a bunch of times), I won’t pretend I was hyping him up from the get, but I always loved his game and even predicted that by the end of the draft, he would be a Detroit Lion because of how good he fit. Johnson exceeded every expectation I have, and has looked not only like a perfect fit in the offense, but the kind of player who could completely legitimize an offense. Considering Stafford has already made this offense a threat, having a running back that can take it to another level would push this team into uncharted territory, which is why I’m choosing him for offensive MVP.Justin SimonIt’s got to be Matthew Stafford. I think Marvin Jones Jr. could have another great year, but outside of him I don’t see another viable option on offense. This team will live and die by Stafford even with an improved running game. If everything clicks, the Lions could push for a top five offense and Stafford will be the reason.Jeremy ReismanI’d like to write something witty or bold here, but why waste your time and mine. We both know it’s Stafford, so click the little thing at the bottom and we’ll both go along with our day. Levi BlueMatthew Stafford. I know this is the obvious pick but when a team shells out $135 million, everybody (myself included) should expect nothing less. We know that Stafford has good vision, a great arm and an increasing intelligence for the game. He has passion and toughness that this team will lean on during the season, and those are invaluable intangibles. Stafford’s stat sheets show that he has the skills that could possibly take us to the promised land. Now that he (hopefully) has a solid line and running game in place, opposing defenses will stay honest, opening up opportunities for him to exploit. If he’s able to do that, there’s no reason why he couldn’t make a case for being one of the best QBs in the league.

No, through three weeks there could Authentic David Johnson Jersey be five or six teams with a claim to the best in the league.There could be three to four with a claim to the worst in the league and most NFL pundits will have their opinion on who and why.Well, through three weeks of the NFL season, we have a consensus.The Arizona Cardinals are the worst team in the NFL.At least, that is what the 2018 NFL Power Rankings tell us.NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison has the Arizona Cardinals 32:ESPN has the Cardinals at 32:Sporting News Vinny Iyer has the Cardinals at 32:Nate Davis of USA Today has the Cardinals at 32:Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports has the Cardinals at 32:SB Nation has the Cardinals at 32:Through three weeks, the Cardinals find themselves at the bottom.Just ask the SB Nation FanPulse:The good thing is, they now have Josh Rosen in and there is nowhere to go but up.Arizona Cardinals make four roster moves, including cutting Evan Boehm, Will Holden For less than 24 hours Youth Budda Baker Jersey , guys like Evan Boehm, Will Holden, A.J. Howard and Vontarrius Dora were released today in order to make a variety of signings.Holden and Boehm were outright cuts, while Howard and Dora were waived/injured.In corresponding moves the Cardinals claimed Blaine Clausell, Jeremy Vujnovich, Garrison Smith and in a free agent pickup, veteran defensive end Zach Moore, who was cut by the Carolina Panthers.From the team:Clausell (6-6, 330) originally entered the league with Baltimore as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2015 out of Mississippi State. He had practice squad stints with Baltimore http://www.cardinalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-christian-kirk-jersey , New England and Carolina in his first three NFL seasons and was inactive for three regular season games with Washington in 2016. Most recently, the 26-year-old Clausell spent the 2017 regular season on the Panthers practice squad and he was inactive for Carolina’s Wild Card playoff game last year.Moore (6-6, 275) comes to the Cardinals from Carolina where he spent the first 11 weeks of last season on the Panthers practice squad before being elevated to the active roster where he was inactive for the final five regular season games. He has played in 10 career games (one start) and has three tackles, a half-sack, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble after entering the league with New England in the sixth-round (198th overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Concordia-St. Paul. The 27-year old Moore played in eight games with the Patriots as a rookie in 2014 before playing one game with Minnesota in 2015 and splitting the 2016 season between Dallas and San Francisco.Smith (6-1, 295) entered the league as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Dolphins in 2014 out of Georgia and has spent time on the practice squads of Miami (2014), New Orleans (2014) and San Francisco (2014-15). The 26-year-old Smith made his NFL debut with the Seahawks in 2016 and collected five tackles in three games. He played in eight games with Seattle last year and had nine tackles. Vujnovich (6-5, 300) started all 16 games at left guard for Indianapolis last season after appearing in two games for the Colts in 2016. The 27-year-old Vujnovich entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Packers in 2014 out of Louisiana College and spent his first two seasons (2014-15) seasons on Green Bay’s practice squad.

It’s himself.Rosen himself has admitted that no one is harder on himself than himself.Apparently this is what SI writer Robert Klemko witnessed a couple of days ago at the Cardinals’ practice.Starting QB Sam Bradford had been given a veteran’s day off and Rosen was champing at the bit to take his reps with the 1st team and to find the quickest antidote for what was an inauspicious debut.Of the 5 QBs taken in the first round Josh Bynes Jersey , Rosen’s performance was the most lackluster. He didn’t get a lot of help from his teammates, but he didn’t rally them either. Certainly that did not sit well with Rosen—-after all, he was the overlooked one who insisted he should have been the first player taken in the draft and then vowed he would make nine teams regret they ever dared to pass him up.However, things were not going well for Rosen in this practice and he was visibly exasperated to the point of kicking the dirt a few times.Funny that Klemko noticed the disparity in Rosen’s demeanor versus Chad Kanoff’s.Didn’t you do the same last Saturday night?Rosen looked and played like he was ailing. He was grimacing inside his facemask between plays. He stood there awaiting each play call from the sidelines looking conspicuously alone and writhing in his own brooding. Moments later—-in gallops 4th string QB Chad Kanoff. Kanoff looks loose—-he’s yucking it up with the guys—-he’s explaining the plays and the assignments—-he’s pointing guys in the right direction.There was a tangible energy boost and level of enthusiasm.With the Cardinals suddenly behind—-and with all the momentum squarely on the Chargers’ side—-it appeared the Cardinals’ mix of 2nd and 3rd stringers would roll over and “go gentle into that good night.”Except that Chad Kanoff and his fired-up teammates “rage raged against the dying of the light.” Kanoff was looking like a choreographer, telling teammates, you do this, you do that. Suddenly Kanoff threw a 45 yard strike to fellow small school, undrafted rookie Jaylen Tolliver. The by then stagnant Red Sea was now swirling, welling and swelling. The Cardinals were now in field goal range where they could at least tie the game.But, Kanoff had other ideas.We could see him in animated fashion coaching up a play in the huddle—-and what a play it was. A perfectly executed play action TD pass to 3rd string TE Bryce Williams. Does personality matter?Does outward appearance matter?Yes and yes. Because leadership matters. Sure, while in his tent before battle Achilles could be seen brooding and lost in himself.But, when the battle horn sounded, he was up and out and leading the charge.Achilles gave his men confidence. He showed them how to win, by example and by enthusiastic instruction.Therefore, arise fair Rosen.Leave your brooding in the tent. Get outside of yourself. That’s what great leadership requires. Be the leader, the galvanizer, the spark, the catalyst. Brotherhood and victories await. Yesterday’s win against the 49ers was one of the ugliest games you’ll see鈥?for three quarters at least. But the fourth quarter was a wild ride, culminating in what is hopefully the first of many fourth quarter comebacks for Josh Rosen.The win marked the first home win of the season in the newly christened State Farm Stadium, and it is our eighth win in a row against our division rival. But with such an ugly win comes quite a few winners and losers. So let’s look back and figure out who is who.WinnersJosh Rosen: Like the team as a whole, Rosen started slow, but he turned it on when it mattered most, going 12/18 for 150 yards and 2 TDs in the fourth quarter. (He also chipped in a 9-yard run.) It was an impressive performance for the rookie Cheap Chase Edmonds Jersey , who completed passes to 6 different receivers during the comeback, generally looking like a polished veteran in the pocket. The game-winner to Christian Kirk—a dart to the back of the end zone—was especially impressive. He can go into the bye week full of confidence.Larry Fitzgerald: Of course, Rosen’s job was made a whole lot easier by a vintage performance from Fitz. He went 8/102/1 TD and the decisive 2-pt conversion—capped by an emphatic spike of the football, the first of his NFL career. He looked like the Larry we all know and love—coming up with several clutch receptions and smothering any ball that came his way. He also moved into 7th place all-time on the touchdown reception list. If this rapport with Rosen continues, he could pass Antonio Gates for 6th all-time by the end of the season.Byron Leftwich: It was an auspicious start for Lord Byron’s offense—three and out on the first drive then a bad safety on our second possession. Although there were a few playcalling and schematic wrinkles (I noticed a lot more play-action and some successful screens), the first three quarters were indistinguishable from Mike McCoy’s offense on paper, as we totaled only 137 yards and 3 points. But the offense came out firing in the fourth quarter, and we eclipsed 300 total yards for the first time this season. A vulnerable Kansas City Chiefs defense awaits after the bye.Budda Baker: Budda was the defensive MVP yesterday, flying around the field and filling up the stat sheet—5 tackles (1 for a loss), a half sack, another QB hit, and a pass defended. The half sack was especially clutch, as it forced the 49ers to punt late in the fourth quarter, which led to the game-winning drive. He was a half-step faster than the 49ers all day and is rapidly becoming one of the better safeties in the league.The Front Seven: The last time these two teams met, the 49ers gashed us for 34/147/1 TD on the ground (4.3 YPC). Despite a similar number of attempts yesterday, the Redbirds front seven mostly held their own against the run: 31/107/0 TDs (3.5 YPC). Markus Golden, Josh Bynes, and Rodney Gunter were especially impressive, combining for 17 tackles (4 for a loss) and 2.5 sacks (plus 4 QB hits). Our front seven largely controlled the game and kept the score close to allow Rosen’s comeback. Maybe Al Holcomb is starting to figure this thing out.Special Teams: Sometimes, good special teams play is like good offensive line play—it’s better when no one is talking about it. Such was the case for the Redbirds on special teams yesterday. Phil Dawson didn’t miss a kick, Andy Lee continued booming punts, and there were no dumb penalties that cost us valuable field position. (Partially because we didn’t have any official kick returns.) In a close game, big mistakes in special teams can be very costly Cheap Chandler Jones Jersey , and we avoided those mistakes yesterday. I’ll be curious to see if we rose in the special teams DVOA rankings this week.LosersOffensive Line: A big reason for the slow start on offense was the play of our O-line, which gave up three sacks in the first half and was mostly to blame for the safety. It’s hard establish your offense when DTs are routinely in the backfield. (We need Justin Pugh back STAT.) They kept Rosen relatively clean in the second half, but the rushing numbers on the day weren’t great—12/88/0 TDs (4.2 YPC). Hopefully people get healthy during the bye week and can jell a bit in practice. Either way, this will be a huge area of need this offseason.Jermaine Gresham: Gresham was a bit more involved in the passing game than he had been (3 receptions for 22 yards), but his fourth-quarter fumble nearly cost us the game. He was just careless with the football—the ball wasn’t even knocked out of his hands by a defender. This is what we’re paying $7 million a year for?Chandler Jones: Number 55 was basically absent from the stat sheet, recording just a single assisted tackle. He also committed two offsides penalties—one negated his own sack, and the other was on Marquise Goodwin’s long TD. Not a great day for the NFL’s reigning sack leader.Patrick Peterson: Many Cardinals fans were wondering what to expect from Peterson in his first game after rescinding his trade demand last week. The results were a bit of a mixed bag. He held the 49ers #1 WR, Marquise Goodwin, to a single catch, but that catch was a 55-yard TD in which Peterson got absolutely roasted on a simple slant. He later made a phenomenal play on to break up a deep shot in the fourth quarter, but the damage had already been done. That he didn’t record a single tackle doesn’t help with the perception that he’s soft against the run either.Final ThoughtsIt might have been ugly, but a win is a win—and it was even sweeter in front of the home crowd. The Redbirds head into their bye week at 2-6 with a brutal second-half slate ahead of them (at KC, vs. OAK, at LAC, at GB, vs. DET, at ATL, vs. LAR, at SEA). That looks like a whole lot more losers than winners to me.But for now, it’s time to celebrate a bit and rest up. And no matter the results the rest of the way, at least we can take pride in a fourth straight season sweep of the 49ers.What did you think of the game yesterday, Cardinals fans? Was this a signature moment for Rosen? What did you think of Leftwich’s offense? Thoughts on subpar games from Peterson and Jones? Let us know what you thought in the comments.

Silver & Black Pridecast episode 1: It’s Broncos week! - Silver And Black PrideWelcome to the first of what will hopefully be many Silver & Black Pridecasts. Be gentle Youth Tahir Whitehead Jersey , we’re new at this."Great plan" required by Broncos against Oakland TE Jared CookDuring the second half last week against Oakland Raiders tight end Jared Cook, the Los Angeles Rams provided a blue-print the Broncos should avoid Sunday.Raiders-Broncos final injury report: PJ Hall ruled OUT, Gabe Jackson questionable - Silver And Black PrideJust one game in and the Raiders are limping a little bit. Long snapper Andrew DePaola and defensive tackle Justin Ellis were both placed on injured reserve and replaced on the roster by Trent Sieg...Raiders' Richard emerges as `satellite' in Gruden's offenseRaiders' running back Jalen Richard has moved beyond option routes and has more receiving responsibilities than in previous years in the system installed by Jon Gruden.AFC WEST NEWSChargers are in a rush to get after Bills rookie quarterback Josh AllenThe Chargers will face another young and relatively untested Bills quarterback Sunday when they line up against Josh Allen, who is making his first NFL start.Former Chargers Doctor Expects Joey Bosa Out Until OctoberFormer Los Angeles Chargers doctor believes that Joey Bosa will be out until October. How long is he going to be on the sideline?Chiefs vs. Steelers: Five Things to WatchKey matchups Youth Kelechi Osemele Jersey , important stats, the X-Factor and a special storylineChiefs vs Steelers: Eric Berry doubtful, Ben Niemann out in Week 2The secondary woes for the Chiefs will continue heading into Week 2 as Eric Berry has been listed as doubtful ahead of Sunday's game against the Steelers.AROUND THE NFLFantasy football 2018: NFL Week 2 cheat sheet - The Washington PostThe choicest fantasy advice from every corner of the Internet.These six angles could help you pick Week 2 NFL winnersThe NFL opening weekend was jam-packed with storylines, highlight performances Womens Johnny Townsend Jersey , upsets and unusual blowouts. Underdogs got the overall edge, winning seven games...NFL Week 2: Preview, analysis for each Sunday game | SI.comWhat can we expect in each of the 14 games to be played on Sunday? A quick look at the upcoming slate.NFL betting lines: Following Khalil Mack trade Raiders win total takes big hit, odds Jon Gruden first coach fired rises What a difference a day makes. The moment the word came down that Khalil Mack had been traded to the Bears Youth Rodney Hudson Jersey , Vegas odds did quite a turn. Everything changed. From the Raiders having a projected winning record and threatening to make some noise, to dropping to a losing record and out of the playoff conversation.Prior to that move, the Raiders over/under for the season was 8.5 wins by Bovada and 8.0 by Westgate. Now they sit at 7.0 wins according to SportsBettingDime.com and 7.5 by Westgate. Their over/under win total went from second in the AFC West to tied for last in a blink.Westgate also doubled the Raiders’ odds to win the Super Bowl from 20-1 to 40-1 and from 10-1 to 20-1 to win the AFC. Those odds put them in the bottom ten in the league.And the odds of Jon Gruden being the first head coach fired were cut in half, going from at the shortest 28-1 by Bovada Youth Jared Cook Jersey , with even longer odds from SBD to being tied with Jay Gruden at 14-1 odds. That’s the sixth highest odds to be first coach fired. Which is kinda crazy considering he signed a 10-year, $100 million deal and hasn’t even coached his first regular season game yet. Trading away a superstar in his prime will do that to ya.Follow @LeviDamien

 oddsmakers become  Cheap Mike Nugent Jersey voice of reason In most cases, fans hold considerably more faith in their team than the general public or those who are paid to predict games objectively. So, it’s hard to really trust a fan prediction of a game.Take the Raiders vs Dolphins in Miami this week. We sent out out FanPulse polls across the SB Nation network to get their score predictions. That means Raiders fans prediction how the Raiders will do and Dolphins fans predicting the Dolphins. As you might expect, each team’s fans think their team will win the contest. Where it gets interesting is when you compare those findings with where the two teams stand according to oddsmakers.Raiders FanPulse: Raiders by 4Dolphins FanPulse: Dolphins by 9Oddsmakers: Dolphins by 3Clearly oddsmakers think both Raiders fans and Dolphins fans should equally pump the brakes. They split these two predictions pretty much right down the middle; -6 from Dolphins fans predictions and -7 from Raiders fans.Last week the FalPulse results versus the oddsmakers told a similar story with an 11-point difference in fan predictions while this week holds a 13-point difference. The result of the game in Denver was the Raiders losing to the Broncos, but the Broncos didn’t cover the spread, winning by one point with a 6-point advantage in the line.See our picks against the spread for this and all of this weeks NFL games here.You can add your voice to our weekly FanPulse survey, powered by SurveyMonkey. Sign up HERE to join FanPulse.Follow @LeviDamien Three years after his last 1,000-yard season, Oakland Raiders running back Doug Martin is getting another chance to prove he can still be an effective player in the NFL.Marshawn Lynch's groin injury and subsequent surgery created a vacancy in the backfield and the Raiders are turning to Martin to fill the gap."I feel good, fresh legs," Martin said Thursday. "I was just making sure that when it was time to go I was ready."A two-time Pro Bowl back during his six-year stay with Tampa Bay Cheap Johnny Townsend Jersey , Martin expected to be a major part of coach Jon Gruden's running game when he signed a one-year, $1.475 million contract with Oakland in the offseason.The 29-year-old Martin instead has spent the majority of time as Lynch's understudy, rushing for 99 yards on 27 carries.That figures to change significantly with Lynch on injured reserve and out for at least two months."I've been a lead guy since high school so it was definitely something that was difficult for me," Martin said of his limited work. "But I've got people behind me, in my ear, telling me to keep working hard and keep pushing and your time will come."I'm 29, pushing 30 . so it's definitely an opportunity to show the rest of the league and the Raiders and everybody, all my doubters, that I can still play."Offensive coordinator Greg Olson doesn't expect Oakland's running game to change much despite the difference in running styles between Lynch and Martin.Lynch is a more bruising runner who powers his way through defenders and often pushes the pile an extra three to five yards downfield while Martin tends to be more of a finesse back."There's a different style, a little bit, between those two runners www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com ," Olson said. "Marshawn has a package of plays that suit his skills and Doug has a package of plays that suit his skills. They both fit within the system. We're excited to see what he can do."How effective Martin can be remains uncertain. While he will be the primary back this week against Indianapolis, Oakland is also likely to lean more on third-down back Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington. Washington was inactive for the first six weeks of the season."We think Doug is the feature back," Gruden said. "He's ready to go. Jalen Richard has carved out a unique role. We'll try to get more out of him as we have been doing in recent weeks. To have DeAndre back . gives us some versatility that we'll try to use as well."Martin rushed for 4,633 yards during six uneven seasons with Tampa Bay. He twice ran for more than 1,400 yards but failed to reach 500 in the other four years while missing extensive time with a variety of injuries.Those injuries, Martin believes, were both a curse and a blessing. While it forced him to miss 28 games over five years, it also saved a lot of wear and tear on his body."I still have a lot of miles left on these wheels," Martin said. "This is my seventh year in the league. I'm going to go out there and just play like I've been playing. I've started for about six years so I'm just doing what I do."Notes: LG Kelechi Osemele (knee) did not practice. Osemele also sat out Wednesday and has not played since getting hurt against Cleveland on Sept. 30. . Former Raiders players and members of the front office will team up with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday to assemble care packages for U.S. troops overseas as part of Operation: Care and Comfort.

The most underrated rivalry in professional sports will be renewed this weekend in Atlanta. The Falcons and the Saints hate each other more than the city of New Orleans hates the phrase “10 seconds left.” In a series dating all the way back to Nov. 26 Atlanta Falcons Womens Hoodie , 1967, the NFL’s version of “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” (well, not too clean since that whole “Bounty-gate” thing happened) is set to hold its 99th game on Sunday. Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Steve Gleason, Steve Bartkowski, and Archie Manning. In 98 regular season games, all of them of made significant impacts that stand out amongst all the others. While I have only been alive for 23 years of this rivalry, the amount of history and hatred that exists between these two franchises has always surprised me. It is the closest thing the NFL has to a college football rivalry, and it genuinely feels like the game is always a good one no matter how good or bad either team is. The series between these two has been going on for 51 seasons. Out of the 102 seasons between either team, there have only been 28 winning seasons for the two franchises: 15 for the Falcons, 13 for the Saints. This series is about a whole lot more than numbers but we’ll Digg into some stats just in Case they come up later on. 51-46*The Falcons lead the series 51-46 in 98 games—52-46 if we include postseason games, though. Atlanta owns the lone victory in a postseason game between the two franchises: a 27-20 victory in New Orleans on Dec. 28, 1991. While Atlanta leads the overall series, the picture favors New Orleans when it comes to recent games. Since 2008, the Saints have beaten the Falcons 12 times Womens Customized Atlanta Falcons Jerseys , while Atlanta only holds eight wins in that time. Atlanta’s recent outlookIn the last decade, the Saints and Falcons have played 20 games, 10 at home and 10 in New Orleans. Of those 10 home games, the Falcons are 5-5 and have struggled to consistently beat the Saints in Atlanta. One of the key factors in the overall 8-12 record against New Orleans since Matt Ryan entered the league is the amount of pressure the Saints are able to get on the Atlanta quarterback. Since, 2008 the Falcons are 2-6 when they allow two sacks or more. New Orleans has had three (!!!) five-sack games against Ryan and the Falcons—all of them losses for Atlanta. Despite this, Matt Ryan typically plays pretty well against the Saints: 64 percent completion rate, 32 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. All of that while being sacked just under two times per game. Series quick-hittersAtlanta’s biggest win in the series came on Sept. 16, 1973 when they beat the Saints 62-7 in New Orleans. The Falcons’ biggest loss was on Nov. 1, 1987 when the Saints shut them out while scoring 38 points. A whopping 38-0 loss at home. Dan Quinn lost his first two matchups against the Saints, but has since gone 3-1, bringing his overall record agains New Orleans to 3-3.Falcoholinks: All the Falcons news you need for Wednesday, Oct. 3 Good morning, Falcons faithful. You’ve made it to Wednesday.Congratulations. It’s felt like a year in two days’ time, courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons squandering yet another high-scoring performance at home. We’re all aging at a rapid pace as a result of this season, so before you browse the online life insurance policies give a look to today’s edition of Falcoholinks. With Grady Jarrett’s ankle ailing, Atlanta signs wrong Michael Bennett /Inserts DJ Khaled “And Another One” gif. Grady Jarrett injured his ankle against the Bengals www.falconscheapshops.com , and apparently it’s concerning enough that the team signed a guy named Michael Bennett for depth at defensive tackle. This is an ominous sign for Grady’s availability going forward, and yet more confirmation that the Falcons unearthed some ageless curse like a Pazuzu figurine in the desert. Forget ice baths and ankle wraps — this team needs an exorcist. Let’s check out the word on the new signing:That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, but it’s where we’re at. The Falcons also kicked the tires on both Robert Ayers and Kony Ealy, but decided only to bring in Michael Bennett. The Jacksonville one, not the Philadelphia one.DQ missed the boat The injuries opened the door for Dan Quinn to bring in some veteran help to stop the bleeding, but according to our Matt Chambers he erred by not bringing in a defensive starter. It’s an ongoing debate here at The Falcoholic, and now with Grady Jarrett potentially missing multiple games, it goes without saying that the Falcons would be in a slightly better position had they secured the services of a proven starter. The primary options are no longer unavailable for a variety of reasons — one including starting for a division rival — and a hapless defense is about to be without its best presence up front. What a depressing season.The Falcoholic Postgame PodcastCory taped this one before we all learned the extent of Grady Jarrett’s injury, so it’s less sad than it could have been. Still sad, though. It’s difficult to not be discouraged with the way this season has gone, but such is the destiny of Falcons fans. Joined once again by Allen Strk, the two examined the loss and its implications. They also discussed rookie wideout Calvin Ridley at length, which is appreciated because he’s been one of the few bright spots so far in 2018. Engage your audio despair, here.Power rankings nosedive More good news! The Falcons still hung around in the top half of many of the NFL power rankings up until Sunday, but after the Cincinnati debacle they’ve rightfully collapsed. Glancing at power rankings is a somewhat like taking a belt sander to an open wound, but we’re gluttons for punishment here at The Falcoholic so that’s what we’re inclined to do. Join us.

 Kyle Whittingham’s Utes Womens Brian Poole Jersey have maybe been the most consistently solid team in the Pac-12 South; they are also the only team not to have won it.After a brilliant October that featured blowouts of Stanford, Arizona, and UCLA and an arm’s-length win over USC, everything was aligned properly. The South stunk, and Utah was up to 12th in S&P+. This was the year.On November 3, starting quarterback Tyler Huntley broke his collarbone and was lost for the season, and the Utes got blown out at Arizona State.On November 7 or so, starting running back and 1,000-yard rusher (already) Zack Moss aggravated a knee injury climbing into bed. He, too, was lost for the season.On November 10, Utah surged to a 13-0 lead against Oregon with backup quarterback Jason Shelley and backup running back Armand Shyne but watched that slowly fritter away. Oregon took a 25-22 lead with eight minutes left, and another late-season malaise — Utah fans’ biggest complaint about Whittingham is mediocre Novembers — appeared underway.The Utes responded to Oregon’s lead with a five-play, 60-yard drive that culminated in a Shelley touchdown. They tacked on a late field goal and survived, 32-25. And after two weeks from hell, they somehow remain the statistical favorites in the division from hell.There have been some spectacularly strange division races this year, and while some have wrapped up (Northwestern won the Big Ten West), and others have a clear leader (Pitt is in control of the ACC Coastal), the Pac-12 South remains as messy as ever.Three teams still have a shot. At 4-3 and holding a tie-breaker advantage over Utah, Arizona State controls its own destiny, needing only to beat Oregon on Saturday and Arizona the Saturday after to reach its second conference title game.According to S&P+, though, the Sun Devils are projected underdogs against Oregon and are in a virtual tossup against UA. Controlling your destiny only means so much if you’re unlikely to win out.There are, for all intents and purposes, four games in this race. Let’s see what S&P+ has to say about each.November 17: Arizona State at Oregon (S&P+ win probability: Oregon 54%)November 17: Utah at Colorado (Utah 78%)November 17: Arizona at Washington State (Wazzu 80%)November 24: Arizona State at Arizona (50%)It should be noted that S&P+ is not designed to take injuries into account, at least not before the team’s play is affected by the injuries. So while it is extremely confident in Utah’s chances of winning at a collapsing Colorado, maybe it should be a hair less confident, even if the Utes offense looked fine last Saturday.Even if you tamp down that 78 percent win probability Womens Grady Jarrett Jersey , you only tamp it down so much (again, Colorado is lost in the woods at the moment), and win projections suggest Utah is still very much in the driver’s seat.Let’s look at the scenarios required for each team to win and the odds of each.Utah (65 percent)Beat Colorado and have ASU lose to either Arizona or Oregon (or both)Lose to Colorado but have ASU lose to both Arizona and Oregon and Arizona lose to WazzuArizona State (33 percent)Beat Oregon and ArizonaLose to Oregon, beat Arizona, have Colorado beat UtahBeat Oregon, lose to Arizona, have Colorado beat Utah and Wazzu beat ArizonaArizona (2 percent)Beat Washington State and Arizona State and have Utah lose to ColoradoHere are the odds of each potential combination:Pac-12 South ScenariosASU-UO winnerUU-CU winnerUA-WSU winnerASU-UA winnerS&P+ OddsSouth ChampASU-UO winnerUU-CU winnerUA-WSU winnerASU-UA winnerS&P+ OddsSouth ChampIf you believe that Utah’s win probability against Colorado is more like 70 percent because of the injuries, that changes the overall odds to Utah 60 percent, ASU 37 percent, Arizona three percent. And if you believe that Utah’s chances against Colorado are more like 60 percent (I do not), that tamps the Utes’ division odds down to about 55 percent. Regardless, if Utah handles its business in Boulder, the odds are good that ASU will lose one of the next two, and Whittingham will finally have his division title. It has long been the case that the biggest threat facing the Warriors was purely internal. Specifically, either one of two things: a Stephen Curry ankle injury or a personality implosion sparked by the blown-speaker-made-human that we call Draymond Green. Curry has stayed mostly healthy since the birth of the Golden State dynasty in 2013. Green has skated on the knife’s edge over the years, with a few spills, one of which helped cost the Warriors a championship in 2016. He flew off the edge again on Monday.As you know by now, the Warriors suspended Green without pay for their Tuesday game against the Hawks due to conduct detrimental to the team. That conduct reportedly included Green calling superstar teammate Kevin Durant a b---h a few too many times and screaming about KD being a free agency tease. The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson reports that the level of sanctions surprised Green and others. Green expected to walk away with a small fine and an unofficial suspension without being docked a game check or embarrassed in the media. Before we completely write off the Warriors, here are some episodes they’ve survived over the years:Draymond Green and Steve Kerr’s shouting match in Feb., 2016Draymond Green getting suspended during the 2016 FinalsStephen Curry’s untimely knee injury A previous KD-Draymond on-court war of words Steve Kerr’s health problemsKevin Durant’s burner accountsThe Rockets spurring an ISO-ball crisis in the 2018 West FinalsDavid West alluding to drama that hadn’t become public after winning another titleSome awkward KD jokes at the Warriors’ 2018 championship paradeGreen was piping mad at Durant before this punishment. How’s he going to feel now?Thompson, who knows the personalities inside the Warriors better than anyone in the media, is sounding the alarm bells about a breakup. He’s previously written that his “guess” is Durant will leave in free agency this summer, and reports now that the players and organization are reckoning with that as well. For Green, who played a huge role in recruiting Durant after the 2016 screw-up, this is particularly irksome. It must feel something like a betrayal. This could have all been calm and copacetic: a final bash with the super-duper-team before the Warriors retreat to being merely a super-team built around Curry, Green, and Klay Thompson. There are worse things, and Durant will have stayed for two or three titles in three years Authentic Takkarist McKinley Jersey , burgeoning everyone’s credentials and helping the crew make history along the way.But this is Draymond Green. Calm and copacetic aren’t really his thing. Durant chiding him for a late-game turnover — and worse, a waving-off of Durant in a crunch time moment when KD had been hot — blew the top off. Clearly, Green had been at a high simmer, and the lid popped off in this moment. If it hadn’t then, it would have at some point.Thompson’s alarm bells are focused on how Green and the Warriors move forward assuming Durant leaves. Will Green want to leave too, feeling betrayed by Steve Kerr, who approved the punishment and has had a difficult relationship with Draymond over the years? Green is a free agent in 2020, and the Warriors are too smart to give him a full maximum-value contract without being convinced he’ll get it somewhere else. There could absolutely be hard feelings and consternation as that free agency approaches, especially if Green wins another Defensive Player of the Year and becomes eligible for the supermax extension. Does that fear lead the Warriors to kick the tires on a Green trade before then, perhaps this summer should Durant flee? (Or heck, perhaps more so if Durant stays.) What exactly would the Warriors be looking for in return as a capped-out, star-laden squad? Does the mere hint of a potential trade lead to an immediate internal crisis as the betrayal of Green comes into full view?How does Curry feel about all of this? He wasn’t in Los Angeles when this blow-up went down — good ol’ Klay had to play peacemaker, which is hilarious to imagine — but he has a strange relationship with Durant and a long, fruitful history with Green. He has the personality to handle Green. Most notably, he’s not going to call Green out for a turnover. He’s not going to get mad about not getting the ball in that spot. He’s too chill to spark that cherry bomb over a regular season game against the freaking Clippers. Many NBA critics complain that the Warriors have ruined basketball by stacking the deck with top-level talent. So let’s take that point to its logical, absurd conclusion. If this gets worse, which it might, will Curry quietly side with Green in the internal debate? Or is he, as a chill human apparently uncomfortable with confrontation, secretly hoping Green’s bark could disappear from his life?How does DeMarcus Cousins figure into all of this? Boogie has famously struck up a great relationship with Green, and Kerr has flat-out said Cousins is simply a visiting scholar in Warriorsland and won’t be back next year. Is Cousins cool enough to stay out of this, or is he going to serve as a backroom accelerant for Green? We don’t know much about Cousins’ relationship with Durant, but he’s friendly with Curry and Klay as well as Green. Is this an X factor we all need to pay attention to as Cousins inches closer to an on-court presence?Is this how the Warriors fall apart?We won’t know until we know, and we should give the benefit of the doubt to a smart, cool Warriors front office who know what they are doing. We should give Kerr the benefit of the doubt: he’s been as close to perfect as you can get managing the strange brew of personalities this dynasty contains for years. We should give Durant and Green the benefit of the doubt that they can shrug this off as they’ve shrugged off past disagreements. We should give Curry the benefit of the doubt as a calming force.Perfect harmony can’t last forever, though, and we might be watching the dynasty buckle. We’ll know when we know.

Sunday Atlanta Falcons Hoodie , 1 p.m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE — Bengals by 2 RECORD VS. SPREAD — Pittsburgh 2-3, Cincinnati 4-1SERIES RECORD — Steelers lead 62-35LAST MEETING — Steelers beat Bengals 23-20, Dec. 4, 2017LAST WEEK — Steelers beat Falcons 41-17; Bengals beat Dolphins 27-17AP PRO32 RANKING — Steelers No. 12, Bengals No. 5STEELERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (8), RUSH (27), PASS (4).STEELERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (29), RUSH (15t), PASS (29).BENGALS OFFENSE — OVERALL (17), RUSH (23), PASS (15).BENGALS DEFENSE — OVERALL (25), RUSH (23), PASS (21).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Steelers won last six in series, nine of 10 and 14 of 17. Bengals are 8-24 vs. Steelers under coach Marvin Lewis, including 2-15 at Paul Brown Stadium. ... Steelers overcame 17-0 deficit to win last meeting in Cincinnati. Ryan Shazier hurt spinal cord in game. Teams combined for four penalties for unnecessary roughness, one for unsportsmanlike conduct, one for taunting, one for roughing the passer, and two 15-yard penalties for grabbing facemask. Cincinnati set club record with 173 yards in penalties. ... QB Ben Roethlisberger is 24-4-1 in his native Ohio, including postseason. He's 13-2 at Paul Brown Stadium with 23 TDs, 10 INTs. ... Roethlisberger has three games with three TDs Customized Atlanta Falcons Jerseys , tied for most in NFL. ... RB James Conner ran for 110 yards and two TDs, had four catches for 75 yards in win over Atlanta. He joined Jim Brown as only players with two games in first five of season that included 100 yards rushing, 50 receiving and two TDs rushing. ... LB T.J. Watt had three sacks vs. Falcons, is tied with brother DE J.J. Watt and Bengals DT Geno Atkins for NFL lead with six sacks. ...WR Antonio Brown coming off first 100-yard game of season. Brown averaging 10.7 yards per catch, well below career average of 13.4 yards. ... K Chris Boswell struggling after reaching Pro Bowl last season. Boswell just 3 for 6 on field goals and 14 of 17 on extra points. ... Steelers ranked 29th in defense through five weeks. Team has finished worse than 20th in yards allowed just once since 1991 (21st in 2015). ... DE Michael Johnson had 22-yard INT return for TD and DE Sam Hubbard had 19-yard fumble return for TD in win over Dolphins, first time two Bengals defensive linemen scored in same game. Bengals' defense has three returns for TDs. ... Bengals overcame 17-point deficit for eighth time in club history to beat Dolphins. ... QB Andy Dalton is 3-11 vs. Steelers with 17 TDs, 13 INTs. ... Dalton needs 171 yards passing to move ahead of Boomer Esiason for second on team career list. ... WR A.J. Green has 62 receiving TDs, one shy of Carl Pickens for second on team list. ... Fantasy tip: Conner looking for another big game against defense that has trouble covering multipurpose back. Miami's Kenyan Drake had seven catches for 69 yards, including 22-yard TD, to go along with six runs for 46 yards. Heading into the break between the 1993 regular season and the bowls, the public was unhappy. At first glance, it might be difficult to see why.This had been, after all, a rousing year. Just about every time two top-10 teams had met, they played a classic, from No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 9 Florida early on (the Gators won, 41-34) to No. 9 WVU vs. No. 4 Miami late (the Mountaineers won, 17-14, to stay unbeaten). Plus, we had plenty of silliness, like unranked Michigan State beating No. 9 Michigan (that might seem familiar), a loss that set up unranked Michigan destroying No. 5 Ohio State (which might seem less familiar).In between the zaniness were two legendary November contests, both of which involved Lou Holtz’s Fighting Irish.On November 13 www.authenticsatlantafalcons.com , second-ranked Notre Dame hosted top-ranked Florida State. It was an all-time classic. The Irish went on a 24-0 run and led by 14 well into the fourth quarter, but FSU came back, scoring on a tipped, fourth-and-20 pass from Charlie Ward to Kez McCorvey to cut the Notre Dame lead to 31-24. The Seminoles got the ball back and drove to the Irish 14 with three seconds left.Shawn Wooden’s deflection of a pass to Warrick Dunn gave the Irish the win. But that was alright — it felt like merely Chapter 1 in the era’s proto-BCS system. From Sports Illustrated’s Austin Murphy:The thought of a rematch was new to college football, but this was a time for imagination.The Supreme Court’s famed NCAA v. Board of Regents of Oklahoma ruling in 1984 had opened the television floodgates, and in the name of fairness revenue, the sport’s minds were making changes, including a conference realignment frenzy.In the late-1980s, the College Football Association — originally formed to help programs negotiate with networks for TV deals — had begun to investigate the possibility of a (TV-driven) college football playoff. Many people had wanted it for decades, and only more so in the early-1990s, with split national titles in back-to-back seasons (Georgia Tech and Colorado in 1990, Miami and Washington in 1991).In 1992, the Bowl Coalition formed to assure better matchups. It didn’t include the Big Ten and Pac-10, which were married to the Rose Bowl, but in 1992 it had produced No. 1 Miami vs. No. 2 Alabama and No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 5 Notre Dame. This was seen as definitive progress.In 1993, however, came a lesson in the drawbacks of what amounted to a two-team playoff.Even as FSU fell to only No. 2 in the polls following the tight road loss to new No. 1 Notre Dame, 10-0 Nebraska lurked at No. 3, with unbeaten No. 5 Ohio State (9-0-1), No. 6 Auburn (10-0), and No. 9 West Virginia (9-0) behind. Being assured of a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle was great, but no one was going to be satisfied with just that in 1993.That became doubly true when Notre Dame lost to Boston College.Three teams finished the regular season unbeaten, and none were FSU or Notre Dame. When the Bowl Coalition mashed poll rankings together Atlanta Falcons T-Shirt , it produced a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup of FSU-Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Undefeated West Virginia would get rocked by No. 8 Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Unbeaten Auburn was banned from the postseason. And No. 4 Notre Dame would play No. 7 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. So Holtz would spend most of the bowl break politicking.To those sympathetic and unsympathetic to Notre Dame alike, this stunk. A world of possibility was opening, and this sport was still settling its title in the least satisfying way possible. The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel’s Randall Mell:With a blowout over A&M and the narrowest of FSU victories over Nebraska, Notre Dame might have been able to swing the polls. But the Irish only eked by the Aggies, 24-21. So when a late Nebraska field goal came up short, it clinched the Seminoles’ No. 1 ranking.Twenty-five years later, the season is noted mainly for two classics and Bowden’s first title. But at the time, no one outside of Tallahassee was particularly satisfied. It was clear that college football was capable of a great national race, but college presidents remained stubborn.If you needed an ivory-tower villain to rail against, college football was still the standard. Here’s the San Francisco Examiner’s Ray Ratto after FSU’s Orange Bowl win:The story, of course, has a happy ending. After 1993, it would only take a Bowl Coalition, a Bowl Alliance, a Bowl Championship Series, a BCS formula modified to the point of parody, an all-SEC national title game, and a couple decades of increasingly amplified complaints for college football to establish a system that only screws half of FBS instead of 90 percent.At this rate, we’ll figure out the amateurism issue by 2055 at the very latest.

 I’m still trying to pretend the game ended after the Falcons scored 37 points with an Atlanta victory www.falconsfootballauthentics.com , so this is a short preamble. OffenseJake Matthews: 68Wes Schweitzer: 68Alex Mack: 68Brandon Fusco: 68Ryan Schraeder: 68Matt Ryan: 68Mohamed Sanu: 59Austin Hooper: 58Julio Jones: 54Tevin Coleman: 53Calvin Ridley: 42Logan Paulsen: 21Justin Hardy: 15Marvin Hall: 12Ito Smith: 10Ricky Ortiz: 9Eric Saubert: 5Russell Gage: 2Despite a huge day for the offense overall, there were some players here who didn’t do much with their snaps. I include the line in that. Mohamed Sanu is forgiven because he’s still blocking well even as his role in the passing game fades, but the offensive line had an uneven day and I genuinely didn’t even notice Ortiz’s nine snaps. He’s had a couple of solid blocks thus far, but on a day where the ground game was borderline useless, his blocking was not a noticeable net benefit for this offense. The good news is that Ridley did a ton playing about two-thirds of the snaps, Ito Smith was awfully useful for just 10, and Ryan did a great job of spreading the ball around to his many weapons. The offense made some questionable decisions leading up to the half and need to be more balanced going forward, but it was still a hell of a day for them. DefenseRobert Alford: 78Desmond Trufant: 77De’Vondre Campbell: 76Damontae Kazee: 73Brian Poole: 70Grady Jarrett: 66Ricardo Allen: 66Vic Beasley: 65Duke Riley: 63Brooks reed: 62Terrell McClain: 41Deadrin Senat: 29Jordan Richards: 25Jack Crawford: 21Foye Oluokun: 19Steven Means: 18Isaiah Oliver: 11Justin Zimmer: 9The Falcons played their best defenders a ton in this one, and while they had an uneven day overall at best Atlanta Falcons T-Shirt , they really looked like they were tiring in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Falcons barely used Steven Means, leaning heavily on Brooks Reed and Vic Beasley with decidedly mixed results, and will have to hope that Means can earn more playing time in the coming weeks or that Takk comes back quickly. Ditto at defensive tackle, where the Flacons made the curious decision to use Crawford, arguably their second best pass rusher at defensive tackle, less than either McClain or Senat. It’s hard to argue that the pass rush benefitted from that decision. Jordan Richards’ usage and Keith Tandy being parked on the inactives list should tell us how the Falcons will handle the strong safety position in Week 4 with Ricardo Allen out for the rest of the year, as anyone they sign is going to need to get up to speed. It’ll be Kazee and Richards back there with Tandy and maybe Brian Poole as key depth for at least one week, but don’t count the Falcons out of trading or signing a free agent to take over the position soon, especially if Richards falters. Otherwise Atlanta Falcons Hats , there’s not a lot of surprising usage here. Oliver’s role should increase with Poole potentially getting a look at safety and struggling plenty in coverage, while Oluokun’s injury and Riley’s improvement in Week 3 probably means he’s not going to step into a bigger role anytime soon. It’ll be worth watching whether the Falcons use Crawford and Justin Zimmer more in an effort to goose the pass rush, too.Special TeamsRussell Gage: 25Kemal Ishmael: 23Foye Oluokun: 22Jordan Richards: 21Eric Saubert: 21Justin Bethel: 20Marvin Hall: 18Damontae Kazee: 18Isaiah Oliver: 18Matt Bosher: 17Richard Jarvis: 17Robert Alford: 16Justin Hardy: 15Logan Paulsen: 12Josh Harris: 10Brian Hill: 10Jack Crawford: 9It wasn’t all great, but teams looked better this week, and the decision to trot Marvin Hall out there for returns looked like a solid one, as he’s far more explosive than Justin Hardy. Returns have still been pretty dismal overall, but the coverage unit is at least picking up their game.It helps to have Russell Gage out there, as he already looks like the terrific special teamer he was advertised as. The Falcons have lined up some fast, physical players there Atlanta Falcons Womens Hoodie , though, and the additions of Oluokun, Richards, Bethel and Gage have gone a long way early here in the season. If Alford looked like he was a little shaky in this one—and he did—perhaps the Falcons would consider dialing back his special teams snaps a bit. He’s a great player in both situations, but with the secondary depleted, the last thing they need to do is wear out their #2 cornerback further. The NFL’s partnership with Fortnite is giving players a chance to rep their favorite teams on the map, but it’s already having one unfortunate outcome for Patrick Mahomes.It’s okay man. If it makes you feel better 99 people have to die — but do any of them truly live? Who among them can say they have 31 touchdowns and a 117 passer rating this season? Probably not the person who gunned you down while looking like you.The new quickly spread, and immediately people leaped out to claim responsibility.Even his teammates.While it’s super cool that average people are getting to play games with Patrick Mahomes the player you really don’t want to see in Fortnite is Nathan Peterman. Think about it: The dude has trained for years of having the other team catch his bullets. Now that’s who I’d be afraid of. I don’t care that he was cut a few days ago. I was too proud of that joke.