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NY Post
Giants fear significant Andrew Thomas foot injury in potential crushing development
Thomas hurt his foot during a 16-play touchdown drive in the third quarter of Sunday night’s 17-7 loss to the Bengals at MetLife Stadium.
He did not sound optimistic afterwards, saying he needed an MRI exam to determine the extent of the damage.
It is believed this could be a significant injury. Whenever the foot is involved, the fear is it could be a Lisfranc injury, an injury to the bones or ligaments or both in the middle part of the foot.
Thomas…was not having his finest season but he is a top-tier left tackle and the Giants do not have anyone remotely capable of playing at his level on their roster.
The likely move for Sunday’s game against the Eagles would be to install Josh Ezeudu into Thomas’ spot at left tackle.
Ezeudu, a 2022 third-round pick, started five games last season and did not make a case that he is the answer at tackle — he was originally drafted as a guard.
Another move, far more radical, would be to move veteran right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor to left tackle and bring Evan Neal off the bench to play right tackle.
Pro Football Focus
Why your NFL team won, lost in Week 6
Why the Eagles won: The Eagles offense looked much improved with their top two targets, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, back on the field. Brown caught six passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, earning a 90.6 receiving grade, while Smith caught three passes for 64 yards and a score. The explosive element of the offense is back.
Why the Commanders lost: The Commanders defense did what so many have done: it fell prey to Derrick Henry. The veteran running back carried the ball 24 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt. The defense allowed an average of 0.605 EPA per rush play, with Henry and Jackson combining for three rushes of 15 yards or more.
Why the Giants lost: The Giants struggled to deal with the Bengals’ pressure throughout the game. Trey Hendrickson won his matchup against Andrew Thomas by notching four pressures and two sacks, while the Giants gave up 11 total pressures. The offense lacked punch, and the offensive line couldn’t give Daniel Jones a stable platform to operate.
Why the Cowboys lost: The Cowboys’ pass protection struggled mightily against the Lions, giving up 19 pressures and three sacks over the course of the game. The surprising element is Hall of Fame guard Zack Martin allowing seven pressures and a sack, earning a 0.0 pass blocking grade. No one covered themselves in glory here.
The Ringer
Nick Sirianni can’t stop making himself the story
After Sunday’s game, Sirianni held a bizarre press conference in which he brought his kids with him to the podium and voluntarily told reporters that he was responsible for two play calls, one each on offense and defense, that went wrong. It reeked of a coach trying too hard. Look at me. I take the bullets for my coordinators. Aren’t you impressed with how accountable I am? It was a strange admission given that Eagles executives specifically hired Moore and Fangio because they wanted Sirianni to be less involved. But Sirianni didn’t sound like a man who was content getting out of the way.
Sirianni’s job this season couldn’t have been any clearer: get out of the way. Let Kellen Moore handle the offense. Let Vic Fangio handle the defense. Be the CVO (chief vibes officer). Run the team meetings. Come up with some hokey Football Guy slogans. Make sure the players are motivated. Answer questions from the media. Let the talent win out, and don’t screw it up. But six weeks into the season and coming out of the bye week, Sirianni has become the biggest distraction on the team. He was supposed to be a low-maintenance head coach; instead, it appears that he needs a babysitter. After an uninspired 20-16 win over the Browns on Sunday, Sirianni decided to engage in a back-and-forth with fans behind the Eagles bench.
Sirianni’s self-awareness at this point might be as bad as his offensive scheming. He is supposed to be operating as a CEO-type head coach. Instead, he is operating like an overzealous intern who needs to be meticulously managed. His behavior, from the sideline antics to the botched game management decisions to the bizarre press conferences, seems to run counter to what the person who determines whether he gets to keep his job actually wants.
Blogging the Boys
Jerry Jones: Dallas Cowboys will not be active at NFL trade deadline
According to Russini, Jerry [Jones] said that the Cowboys will not be active before the trade deadline. He also apparently reiterated to her that the Cowboys will not be making any changes at head coach or any coordinator spot.
As for the upcoming November 5th NFL trade deadline, #Cowboys Jerry Jones says they will not be active.
He also says they will not be making any changes at head coach or coordinators. He points to a lot of details that need to improve during practice.— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) October 15, 2024
SB Nation
Cowboys stadium Twitter account caught blurring out score on Week 6 attendance graphic
The Cowboys lost in embarrassing fashion. The stadium then managed to embarrass the organization further.
Shortly after the game ended, the X (formerly Twitter) account for the Cowboys stadium decided to post a tweet with the attendance total. 93,644 fans were on hand for a truly embarrassing display. And somehow, AT&T stadium decided to make the result all the more embarrassing.
is it us or is the scoreboard a little blurry? https://t.co/TIFeprUrGc
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 14, 2024
Yep, the stadium X account decided to blur out the score on the graphic showing the attendance figure.
Apparently this has been a bit of a recurring theme. Dallas photojournalist Noah Bullard noted that the attendance graphic had the score blurred out for the Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens….
The Athletic (paywall)
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones snaps back at critics over Sunday’s blowout loss
Jones, 82, was defensive when asked about his decision not to make roster moves this offseason.
It felt like Jones went into the interview looking for an opportunity to show his passion and emotion. Cowboys fans are obviously frustrated with how he has been running the team for several years.
“This is not your job,” he said. “Your job isn’t to let me go over all the reasons that I did something and I’m sorry that I did it. That’s not your job. I’ll get somebody else to ask these questions. I’m not kidding. You’re not going to figure it out what the team is doing right or wrong. If you are, or any five or 10 like you, you need to come to this (NFL) meeting I’m going to today with 32 teams here, you’re geniuses.”
Apathy is setting in with the fanbase, perhaps more than ever before. With Jones’ radio interview, the Cowboys are front-page again. People are talking about them, which is a win for Jones. He said as much a few months ago at training camp.
NFL league links
Articles
Washington Post (paywall)
Reeling Jets trade for Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams
Davante Adams is reunited with Aaron Rodgers in New York after the Jets completed a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The reeling New York Jets are not giving up on their season, at least not yet. They completed a trade Tuesday to reunite their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, with wide receiver Davante Adams.
The Las Vegas Raiders sent Adams, the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who was in his third season with the team, to the Jets for a conditional third-round draft choice next year. That pick could become a second-rounder under certain conditions.
“We want to bring a lot of change this week,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said Tuesday as he attended the NFL owners meeting at a hotel here.
The trade comes a day after the Jets lost, 23-20, on Monday night to the Buffalo Bills in East Rutherford, N.J., to drop to 2-4. That was their first game since they fired coach Robert Saleh last week and named defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich their interim coach.
Adams, 31, missed the Raiders’ past three games because of a hamstring injury. It was not immediately clear whether he will be available to play in the Jets’ game Sunday night at Pittsburgh.
NFL.com
Bills trade for Browns WR Amari Cooper in blockbuster deal
Another blockbuster trade went down in the AFC East on Tuesday.
The Buffalo Bills acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported.
The teams later confirmed the deal, which includes the Bills shipping a 2025 third- and 2026 seventh-round draft pick to Cleveland for Cooper and a 2025 sixth-round selection (from Detroit).
Cooper, who has now been traded three times in his career, hasn’t seemed comfortable all season, generating 250 yards on 24 catches with two touchdowns. The top-flight target has had a trove of miscommunications with quarterback Deshaun Watson as the entire Browns’ passing operation has struggled to get off the ground thus far this season.
The Bills released veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling later Tuesday in a related move, per Rapoport. Valdes-Scantling has just two receptions for 26 yards in six games this season.
NFL.com
Commissioner Roger Goodell, EVP Troy Vincent address Deshaun Watson review, kickoff progress, other topics at Fall League Meeting
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is still reviewing the latest claims of sexual assault and battery against Deshaun Watson.
Kickoff progress
The NFL is pleased with the early results from the new kickoff rule and league executive vice president Troy Vincent said no changes are planned this season, but there could be adjustments next year.
The 32% return rate through six weeks is a 90% increase from last season when the play was essentially “ceremonial” as Vincent called it. The return rate was 17% at this time in 2023 and increased to 22% by the end of last season. A 33-35% return rate is the goal, Vincent said.
Moving the spot of the ball from the 30-yard line to the 35 after a touchback will be discussed in the offseason.
Jeff Miller, who oversees player health and safety, said there have been no ACL or MCL injuries on kickoffs and only one concussion.
Hip-drop tackles
Seven players have been fined for hip-drop tackles but none over the past two weeks, Vincent said.
“Coaches and the players have been outstanding with sending in video, whether it’s their own club without the player making the tackle or something in another game,” Vincent said.
No player has been penalized yet for a hip-drop tackle during a game.
Atlanta Falcons.com
Atlanta to Host Super Bowl LXII in 2028
The National Football League announced that Super Bowl LXII will be hosted in Atlanta in 2028, with the game played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The National Football League announced that Super Bowl LXII will be hosted in Atlanta in 2028, with the game played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The announcement was made at the NFL Fall League Meeting in Atlanta following a review of the proposal by the NFL’s Fan Engagement & Major Events Committee and a vote by full ownership.
Tom Brady becomes a part-owner of the Raiders, as the NFL owners unanimously approve the deal…. https://t.co/zFYnKgDnBP
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) October 16, 2024
Discussion topics
Owners shouldn’t be be allowed to call games each week.
Tom Brady is about to become a minority owner. He’s also on the FOX A-crew every week. Bad precedent to set. Gets access to teams his club competes with (he’ll forego some of that access apparently). Shouldn’t be allowed. pic.twitter.com/n8yfr6fvCD
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) October 15, 2024
Pro Football Talk
Jerry Jones’s anger at flagship station shows upside-down nature of NFL business relationships
The latest example comes from Tuesday’s contentious interview between Jerry Jones and 105.3 The Fan, the team’s flagship radio station, and its aftermath.
Yes, 105.3 The Fan has secured the privilege of carrying the radio broadcasts of the team’s games. And it’s indeed a privilege in the eyes of the Cowboys, because there’s only one station that can buy the rights. If that station doesn’t play nice, a competitor might end up with the rights.
Look closely at what Jones had to say about Tuesday’s kerfuffle with his flagship station, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com.
“I don’t know that I would go as far as [calling] the volume connotation as yelling, OK?” Jones said. “But the facts are that if I’m going to be grilled by the tribunal, I don’t need it to be by the guys I’m paying. I can take it from fans and take it from other people. I take a lot of pride in how fair and how much I try to work with the media, we’re brothers and sisters. But I was a little frustrated there today. . . . The wrong ones were doing the questioning. Now, if those had been real fans sitting there or if there had been people that knew what they were talking about, football people, I might have had a different answer.”
First, and most importantly, he’s not paying the folks at 105.3 The Fan. But the relationship allows him to act like he is, because he can always take that relationship somewhere else, if the folks at 105.3 The Fan don’t play nice.
The weirdest part about all of it is that Jerry has been appearing twice per week on 105.3 The Fan for years, and he has consistently answered real questions, tough questions. Without getting mad or upset and at all times embracing the idea (as he testified at this year’s Sunday Ticket antitrust trial) that any publicity is good publicity. That the key is to be interesting.
Today was definitely interesting, but only because Jerry bristled at the hosts asking questions aimed at getting answers the fans want.
Why did those questions set him off? Because he has no good answers. Sure, he’ll string a bunch of words together that might or might not make sense, but the fans are starting to see through the grift.
This year, the misplaced frugality and inexplicable foot-dragging has resulted in a regression of the franchise. And, again, there’s nothing he can say to gaslight the fan base.