Category: Football

Heartbreaker in Foxborough

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Mac Jones hopped off the field Sunday at Gillette Stadium after suffering an injury to his left ankle in a 37-26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. X-rays reportedly showed no broken bones, but he’ll undergo MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the injury. Given the apparent seriousness of it, he’ll almost certainly miss at least one game, but if I had to guess, six weeks is more likely, if indeed he is able to return at all this season.

The injury occurred on a play where Jones’ final pass was intercepted, effectively sealing the victory for the Ravens, as the Patriots dropped to 1-2 on the season. What was so painful about the loss was that (a) it was the best game of the season so far for the Patriots’ offense, which had struggled previously, and (b) the defense simply could not stop Lamar Jackson in the second half. New England’s defense stopped the Ravens on three of their first four possessions and, after Jackson was intercepted by Jonathan Jones midway the second quarter, the Patriots quickly drove 32 yards for a touchdown, with Mac Jones running the ball in himself for the score. Leading 10-7, however, New England couldn’t stop Jackson, who led a 75-yard TD drive that put Baltimore up 14-10. The Patriots managed to get a field goal just before halftime to cut it to 14-13. After taking the second-half kickoff, New England put together their most impressive drive of the season, going 75 yards in seven plays — including passes of 36 and 25 yards to DeVante Parker — before Damien Harris punched it in from the 2-yard-line for the touchdown. Leading 20-14, the Patriots then yielded 17 unanswered points to the Ravens.

As disappointing as the loss was, it wasn’t necessarily discouraging, had it not been for the injury to Mac Jones, who threw for over 300 yards, as the offense totaled 466 yards on the day. Three interceptions and one costly fumble proved to be the difference in the game, but the connection between Jones and Parker, who finished with 156 yards on five catches, showed real promise. Now, with the second-year QB likely sidelined until November, it’s looking like maybe this will be a “wait ’til next year” season for New England. Or on the other hand, maybe not.

Ever the optimist, I think backup QB Brian Hoyer could keep the Patriots competitive over their next six games, at least four of which look winnable for New England. After the Nov. 6 home game against Indianapolis, the Patriots have a bye week, and perhaps Mac Jones will be ready to get back on the field for the Nov. 20 matchup with the New York Jets. So, if the Patriots go 4-2 between now and then, they would be 5-4 when Mac comes back, and who knows what could happen in those last eight games? Hope springs eternal, and I honestly think that another run at the playoffs is still possible: Mac Jones, the Comeback Kid.

Start writing the victorious narrative . . .




 

Crazy Weekend in the NFL

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All manner of insanity broke out in Sunday’s NFL games. In a comeback victory over the Las Vegas Raider, Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals scored a two-point conversion in which he ran 84 total yards.

The Raiders, who made it to the playoffs last season and added former New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel as their head coach, are now 0-2, last place in the AFC West. Meanwhile, in the AFC East, the Miami Dolphins are 2-0 after a ccomeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The Dolphins trailed 35-14 going into the fourth quarter, but then scored four touchdowns to win 42-38 as Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa finished 36-for-50 for 469 yards and six touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to former Alabama teammate Jaylen Waddle.

It was a good weekend for the ’Bama boys, as Tua’s former backup, a guy named Mac Jones — maybe you’ve heard of him — was good enough to win a road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-14, thanks in part to this amazing touchdown catch by wide receiver Nelson Agholor.

That 44-yarder shows the increased confidence of Mac Jones to throw deep, into coverage, counting on his receiver to make the contested catch. It’s more risky than the kind of “dink-and-dunk” check-down stuff that Jones did so effectively last year, but if he is ever going to become a great quarterback, he’s going to have to take some chances like that. Sunday was not a great performance by Mac — there were plenty of errors, including an interception made by former ’Bama teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick, where Mac tried for the deep post route it would have been better to hit the crossing route underneath — but it was good enough. There were some encouraging signs of improvement by the offensive line, and the Patriots defense looked solid. We’ll see what happens next week when New England hosts the Ravens. Meanwhile . . .

The usually pathetic New York Jets made an amazing last-minute comeback to defeat the still-pathetic Cleveland Browns 31-30. In San Francisco, the Niners lost their starting quarterback, Trey Lance, to a season-ending ankle injury in the first quarter, but then brought veteran Jimmy Garoppoolo off the bench to beat the Seahawks 27-7.

For Monday night, the NFL will try a doubleheader this week, with the Tennessee Titans taking on the Buffalo Bills in the early game, then the Minnesota Vikings playing the Philadelphia Eagles in the late game. Of course, I’ll be cheering for the Titans, not just because they’ve got Alabama alum Derrick Henry at running back, but also because as a Patriots fan, I need the Bills to lose. In the late game, let’s hope Philly’s Jalen Hurts makes it 3-0 weekend for ’Bama QBs.




 

Death by ‘Analytics’

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“Mom knew more about football than half these people,” my brother Kirby remarked this morning, discussing the role of “analytics” in the Monday Night Football defeat of the Denver Broncos. Indeed, our mother was a pretty savvy football fan, and no doubt she would have advised the Broncos, “Kick the damned field goal.”

Denver trailed 17-13 at halftime and, on their opening drive of the second half, drove 78 yards in nine plays to reach the one-yard-line of the Seattle Seahawks. On fourth-and-goal, the Broncos disdained the opportunity for a field goal that would have brought them within a point, 17-16, and instead went for it. Running back Melvin Gordon III was stopped short of the end zone and fumbled. And this choice would come back to haunt Denver later. In the fourth quarter, the Broncos again drove deep into Seahawks territory, coming up on fourth-and-goal from the Seattle 8 with a little more than six minutes left in the game. This time, though, they were willing to settle for three points and cut it to 17-16. However, if they had kicked a field goal when they had the chance earlier, this fourth-quarter FG would have put Denver ahead 19-17 — and enough to win the game, as it turned out. In the end, the Broncos got the ball back with about four minutes left, drove to the Seattle 46 and, with 20 seconds left, attempted a 64-yard field goal that missed. So because they turned down the chip-shot early in the third quarter, they lost the game on a 64-yarder at the end. Another sterling example of “analytics” in action.

My mom could coach better than that. Literally.




 

Can the Patriots Exceed Expectations?

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Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings

After a generally depressing off-season, the New England Patriots will kick off Sunday at Miami, and few sports analysts forecast either a Pats victory over the Dolphins or a winning season, for that matter.

Every year, sports writers do a pre-season “power ranking” of all 32 NFL teams and, via CBS Boston, here’s how they rate the Patriots:

Now, 14 teams make the playoffs, so you see that seven of these eight rankings project the Patriots to miss the playoffs this year. And who am I to argue with the experts? However, I am hopeful that despite all the hand-wringing from the Boston sports press over Bill Belichick’s odd choices in assistants to direct the New England offense this year, somehow those wrinkles will get ironed out. Furthermore, there are indications that the Patriots’ defense will be better overall this year. It was the breakdown of the defense at year’s end that doomed New England to be “one and done” in the wild-card playoff game, and if the defense is notably improved this year, that could help compensate for whatever struggles the Patriots endure on offense. Also, for those who credit Belichick as a cunning chess master, there is the suggestion that he’s been hiding his real offensive scheme during the pre-season.

Every time people start trying to prognosticate outcomes in football, my answer is, “We’ll see.” Whatever happens on the football field speaks for itself, and we can’t rule out the possibility that the Patriots will run roughshod over the Dolphins, racking up five or six touchdowns in a one-sided blowout. This could happen, although it’s not likely, but if New England somehow manages to squeak out a win Sunday, no matter how close the final score, it will certainly move them up in the power rankings, considering that many of the experts figure Miami to finish ahead of the Patriots in the AFC East division this season. And then, of course, there are the Buffalo Bills, who open the season tonight against the defending Super Bowl champions, the L.A. Rams. Even though it’s a home game for Los Angeles, the Bills are actually favored by the oddsmakers, which tells you how highly Josh Allen and his Buffalo teammates are esteemed by those who watch the NFL most closely, i.e., the gamblers.

Mac Jones and the Patriots are underdogs this season, and maybe that will give them some extra inspiration. Remember, nobody in pre-season last year predicted the Bengals would make it to the Super Bowl, where they just barely lost to the Rams. Let’s hope the Pats can beat the odds like that this year. Hope is about all they’ve got.




 

NFL Pre-Season Injury Report

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Rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr.

Professional football is a hard-hitting sport, and every NFL team has suffered its share of pre-season injuries this year. The Carolina Panthers lost quarterback Sam Darnold to an ankle injury in Friday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots rookie wide receiver Tyquan Thornton suffered a broken collarbone, the Los Angeles Rams lost their top draft pick, offensive lineman Logan Bruss, to a serious knee injury, and the Washington Commanders will start the season without rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr., because of gunshot wounds:

Washington Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. says his “surgery went well” after he was shot Sunday in Washington, DC, in what police say may have been an attempted robbery or carjacking.
Robinson shared the news in a brief message on his Instagram stories on Monday, writing, “Thanks for the prayers! God is Great!”
Robinson suffered two gunshot wounds to his lower extremities and was taken to a local hospital, Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Dustin Sternbeck said. The shooting happened in the 1000 block of H Street NE, police said. Two suspects fled the scene and officers recovered a firearm nearby, Sternbeck said.

Robinson was a workhorse for the Alabama Crimson Tide last season, rushing for 1,343 yards on 271 carries and adding 296 yards as a receiver, totaling 16 touchdowns. In the championship playoff semifinals against Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl, Robinson racked up 204 yards rushing, winning the game MVP trophy. He was apparently going to eat Sunday afternoon at Crab Boss, near world-famous Ben’s Chili Bowl on H Street, when he was accosted by two not-very-bright teenagers. Advice for young hoodlums: If you’re going to rob somebody, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound professional athlete might not be the easiest target:

“What has been reported to us is that [the suspects] may be between 15 and 17 years of age,” [Police Chief Robert] Contee said.
Robinson, 23, had just exited a location in the 1000 block of H Street NE at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday when the two armed teens approached him and tried to rob him, the police chief said.
“Our victim in this case began to struggle with one of the suspects, was able to actually wrestle a firearm away from one of the suspects, and he was shot twice by the second suspect,” he said. . . .
The teens ran from the area — a busy strip with several restaurants — and jumped into a car, which Contee said had been stolen two days earlier. D.C. police believe they found that car in Prince George’s County, in cooperation with county police.
The teens had tried to take Robinson’s Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, police said Sunday. The white luxury vehicle could be seen still parked on H Street later Sunday.

Brian Robinson worked hard to make it to the NFL, and if some punks think they’re going to steal his $90,000 sports car without a fight, they’ve got another think coming. But it’s a helluva sad day when an NFL player goes on injured reserve because of gunshot wounds.




 

Ex-NFL Player’s Brother Charged With Fatal Shooting of Youth Football Coach

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Role models for America’s youth:

Former NFL defensive back Aqib Talib was in the middle of a fight at a youth football game in Texas on [Aug. 13] in which a coach was fatally shot, new video shows. And Tailb’s brother, Yaqub, turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
On Tuesday, WFAA-TV in Dallas published a video that showed the moments before coach Mike Hickmon was killed. The station also reported that witnesses identified Aqib Talib in the footage as wearing a hat and white sneakers at a community park in Lancaster, a suburb south of Dallas, where the incident took place.
Multiple witnesses said Talib was the one who started the brawl, apparently due to being upset about referees, according to WFAA. The station reported Talib, 36, and his brother, Yaqub Salik Talib, 39, jointly coach a youth team for the North Dallas United Bobcats.
On Monday, Yaqub turned himself in after a murder warrant was issued for his arrest over the fatal shooting.
Heath Mays, a coach on the opposing football team, told WFAA that Aqib “ran across the field and ran over on our sideline and got in the ref’s face.”
“He threw the first punch,” Mays said, “and you see Mike [Hickmon] trying to defend himself.”
Police said in an arrest affidavit the incident began over an argument about the score of the game.
“The altercation became physical, leading to the suspect pulling out a firearm and shooting Mr. Hickmon multiple times,” the Lancaster Police Department said in a statement. “At this time no other injuries have been reported. After the shooting, the suspect fled the scene in an unidentified vehicle, taking the firearm with him.”

Click here to see video of the brawl and the shooting.

Jason Whitlock has some thoughts on media bias in this case:




 

Mac Jones Doesn’t Expect to Lose

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Mac Jones is expected to start at quarterback tonight when the New England Patriots host the Carolina Panthers in their second preseason game. Last week against the Giants, Mac and the first string didn’t play, so veteran backup QB Brian Hoyer and rookie Bailey Zappe got all the reps. This week, the Patriots held two days of joint practice with the Panthers, and both days were marked by fights between the players, which most observers seemed to suggest were provoked by Carolina.

In Wednesday’s practice, Mac threw the kind of pass you generally don’t want to see, targeting wide receiver Nelson Agholor in double coverage, but it was aimed so precisely that Agholor was able to jump over Carolina cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Myles Hartsfield to make the catch.

That’s the kind of high-risk pass that great quarterbacks sometimes have to make — trust the receiver to fight for what commentators call the “contested catch” — and the fact that Mac Jones was willing to try it, even in practice, says something about his confidence going into his second season in the NFL. One of Mac’s best passes last year was a 22-yard touchdown strike to Kendrick Bourne in between two Cleveland Browns defenders. It was a truly great play, both for the receiver and the quarterback, and the Patriots are going to have to make more great plays like that if they hope to compete in the AFC East this season. Many analysts expect the Buffalo Bills, who beat New England in two out of three meetings last year, to make it to the Super Bowl this season, and the Miami Dolphins (who beat the Patriots twice last season) are expected to be greatly improved, having signed All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill as a free agent from the Kansas City Chiefs. The Patriots are very much the underdogs in their division this season, and New England owner Robert Kraft made a pointed remark in the spring that the team hasn’t won a playoff game in three years. The pressure on Mac is heavy.

New England fans have been fretting this off-season because the Patriots lost their longtime offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, who left to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Bill Belichick’s apparent plan to replace McDaniels has all the NFL analysts scratching their heads in disbelief. Belichick brought back two former assistants, Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, who had failed in head coaching jobs for other teams (Patricia with the Detroit Lions, Judge with the Giants). Neither of them has any experience as an offensive coordinator, but through the preseason, appeared to be splitting the play-calling duties. Longtime Boston sports writer Tom Curran has slammed what he calls Belichick’s “inexplicably slapdash approach” to the coaching staff assignments, and everybody in the media who follows the Patriots has expressed concern for how this could affect Jones’s development in his second season.

“In Bill we trust,” as they say in Boston — Belichick has won six Super Bowls, so surely he must know what he’s doing, right? While everybody’s wringing their hands over the Patriots offense, meanwhile there are encouraging signs of improvement on the New England defense. Last year, the Patriots defense broke down late in the season — they notoriously couldn’t force Buffalo to punt a single time — but in this week’s joint practices with the Panthers, they looked very strong. Everybody is singing the praises of second-year defensive tackle Christian Barmore, Jalen Mills has been a standout at cornerback, and there have been signs of promise from linebacker Anfernee Jennings and rookie cornerback Marcus Jones. Football is a team sport, and if the New England defense is stronger this season, that will help relieve some of the pressure on Mac Jones and the defense. If the defense can reliably limit opponents to 10 or 14 points, the offense never feels like they’re out of the game, even when they’re behind. During New England’s seven-game winning streak last year, their defense held opponents to 13 points or less in six games. If the Patriots can match that kind of defensive performance consistently this year, the worries about who’s running their offense will be greatly alleviated. Which brings us back to . . .

Mac Jones. Whatever else happens with the Patriots this season, their quarterback will be closely scrutinized. The shadow of Tom Brady looms large over Foxborough, and the kid from Alabama knows he’s got to reach a very high standard to be recognized as worthy in New England.

He is competing with a legend. He doesn’t expect to lose.




 

America Needs More Patriotism

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“Patriotism,” as in being a New England Patriots fan. My team — led by my quarterback, Mac Jones — opened training camp last week, and the stands were crowded with thousands of Patriots fans. Is there any other team in America that gets that kind of turnout for training camp?

After winning six Super Bowls in 20 years, New England fans are the most football-crazy people outside of Alabama, and so it feels like a natural fit for Mac Jones, who was accustomed to high expectations in Tuscaloosa, to be tasked with meeting the demands in Foxborough, where merely making the playoffs is not considered success:

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is preaching patience through the process following another training camp practice in which the defense appeared to outplay the offense.
In the last few practices, Jones has had to scramble because plays have broken down. Jones emphasized that learning a new offense takes time.
“We have a lot of room to grow here,” Jones said following Tuesday’s practice. “…Our offensive line is doing a good job, we just have to get on the same page.”
As the Patriots work to discover their offensive identity, Jones has been visibly frustrated at points as the offense has struggled.
“I care a lot about football and…when we lose the day, to me that’s like a shot in the heart, it’s like we lost a game,” Jones said of his frustration.

Did I mention he went undefeated his senior season at Alabama? He’s got that championship mindset, where even “losing” in practice is “like a shot in the heart.” Going 10-7 last year and then losing to the Bills in wild card round might have been OK with some people, but not Mac Jones, who wants to win everything, all the time — like Patton said:

Now, I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country. Men, all this stuff you’ve heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans, traditionally, love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle.
When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball players, the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. Now, I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That’s why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans.

That is how Mac Jones approaches football. He’s got a great sense of humor and loves to joke around with his teammates, but when it comes to football — winning — he takes that very seriously. And that’s good, because Patriots fans take it seriously, too. They’re so football-crazy up there in New England, they demand a daily stream of Patriots news, even during training camp, so the headlines just keep stacking up:

Mac Jones sees ‘room to grow’
for Patriots’ new-style offense
— Pats Pulpit

Tyquan Thornton ‘clearly has the speed
to get open’ as Patriots’ second-round
pick continues to impress
— MassLive.com

Patriots training camp Day 6 observations:
Mack Wilson shines, Ty Montgomery
making case for roster spot
— CBS Sports

Day 6 blogservations: Agholor enjoys solid start
— Patriots.com

Christian Barmore, defense handcuff
offense again in Patriots’ second
padded practice at training camp
— WEEI-FM

Patriots training camp notebook:
Linebackers stand out on Day 6
— WBZ-FM

When 12,000 fans show up for training camp, there must be a huge audience of diehard Patriot fans out there, and the business of feeding them tidbits of news — which linebacker looked good in drills, which cornerback got an interception in practice — employs a small army of sports writers. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the NFL, and these football-crazy New England fans just love Mac Jones.

Is there another quarterback in the league who gets a standing ovation just for running out on the field before practice? We are now nine days away from the Patriots’ first pre-season game at home against the New York Giants, and a month after that, they open the regular season at Miami against their AFC East rival Dolphins. Probably you don’t care. Probably you’ve got some local NFL franchise where you live, but you don’t really care about them, do you? So why not join me in becoming a New England Patriots fan? America needs more patriotism.