#Pros of not being able to get a digital concussion

[circus-critter]

Unconventional shows of affection

[darksushimoon-moved]

Hurricane (The World (Stops))

Here’s my piece for @bnhaflashbang! You can also read it on AO3, under my name, tr_ash_tin :)

SUMMARY:  Izuku gets hurt, his self-esteem is in the gutter, and Shouto is there to help. What’s new? Maybe it’s that the whole world is watching. Maybe it’s because it’s worse than they ever thought. RATING: Teen and Up Audiences SHIP: Tododeku WARNINGS: Major Character injury, mental breakdowns.

My artist for this is @viraseii! Thank you for all your hard work!!! <3

Hero News Live! @RealHeroNews Pro Hero Deku (@ProDekuPHA) Maimed?!?! Read more on our website!

icythot, uravit.y, and ing.official liked this tweet.

Broccoli @breakyourarmsbroccoliman @RealHeroNews Woah WHAT??? Is he okay? you know ;) @icythot @RealHeroNews @breakyourarmsbroccoliman He’s fine, or he will be when I get my hands on him Broccoli @breakyourarmsbroccoliman @RealHeroNews @icythot ??? Cryptic but go off i guess

icythot liked this tweet.

Uravity @uravit.y I hope you feel better soon, Deku! <3

Ingenium II @ing.official I heard @ProDekuPHA was injured in the Kakegawa Incident. We await your return!

Ground Zero @kingofexplodokillsYA Get better, @ProDekuPHA, before I have to beat your ass in.

you know ;) @icythot @kingofexplodokillsYA @ProDekuPHA That isn’t really Plus Ultra of you :(

Ground Zero @kingofexplodokillsYA @icythot @ProDekuPHA Shut up, I’ll kill you.

Red Riot! @riottingredYA @kingofexplodokillsYA @icythot @ProDekuPHA Be nice, now!

Izuku winced as the light entered his retinas, aching as his consciousness returned to him. His head pounded and his body was sore, especially around his arms. Although, to be fair, his arms tended to hurt, near all the time, so whatever.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Izuku.” He heard from beside him and turned his head despite its soreness. In the chair beside the bed sat his fianceé, Todoroki Shouto. Hidden worry was etched into his features, and his left hand was in Izuku’s right. Izuku smiled awkwardly.

“What’s up?”

“My blood pressure, because of you,” Shouto sighed, with a small, relieved grin on his face.

Suddenly, Shouto was swept away by a flurry of doctors and nurses checking his vitals. Izuku finally was able to more closely examine the shape he was in. Frankly, it wasn’t the worst state he had ever been in, but his left arm was in a cast, and the staff shined lights into his eyes, so he could only assume he had some sort of concussion, which aligned with the searing headache. Finally, the nurses fled and only one doctor was left.

The doctor sighed disapprovingly. “All you hero types are the same,” he sighed as he began to read off a chart to further prove his point. “You managed to give yourself a concussion and fracture your left arm in three different places.” Izuku winced but attempted to immediately hide his pain. Izuku, however, was not the one in the relationship with that talent.

“Your concussion should go away, but the prognosis of your arm...” Izuku waited with bated breath for the doctor to continue. “On its own, it wouldn’t have been bad, however, with your past breaks,” Izuku looked down to his left arm.

“Midoriya-kun, can you move your arm?”

dekiru-deku

*blows kiss to hospital* for deku

tagged: #okay but seriously #that fight looked sort of bad? #hope he’s alright #pro hero deku #midoriya izuku

whatisthistomfoolery

pure bean… too good for this world……

allrightall-might

okay but WHY did this fool decide to punch a whole ass statue ??? like what was he expecting?

whatisthistomfoolery

HE’S TRYING HIS BEST SWEETIE…. i mean fr i guess that he was trying to stop that guy from hurting anyone else? i mean there was no back up

garbageboystinkman reblogged:

He’s been in this business for what now? 10 years? He’s gonna be fine.

icythot liked and reblogged this post.

Izuku was released later that day, with the promise he’d return next week for a checkup. The doctor and he found that the damage was not as extensive as they thought, though Izuku couldn’t move his last three digits in that hand and there was little locomotion to his index finger and thumb. He sat in silence beside Shouto as they rode the train back to their apartment.

Izuku continued to stare at his hand, moving it ever so slightly. It burned with pain since Recovery Lady had long since retired, and the healing quirk users in the hospital would have further damaged his tendons. So, it was unhealed, and Izuku wondered if he had ever been this hurt since before high school.

Great, Izuku thought as he stepped off the train, Just one more way to be useless . Even now, he still had to rely on others to help him just to be good enough. He doubted Toshinori would be happy when he heard about this. By now, he surely thought he was mistaken in his choice to pass down his power to Izuku, with how he broke himself so often. And neglected to rescue others. And, oh god, what was Mom going to think? How was he-

“Izuku,” He snapped out of his reverie to the calming darkness of their apartment, and the uneven temperature of the hands on his face. They had apparently made it home without Izuku even noticing. Shouto had reached up slightly to reach Izuku’s face, being a few centimeters shorter at this point. Shouto continued on, not letting go of his face. “What’s going on in that brain of yours?” He asked gently, allowing Izuku to back away if he wanted.

Izuku did just that. Shouto didn’t chase him. “I… I just,” Izuku tried to swallow any tears away. Shouto looked on patiently, his face stoned in a caring, yet nonchalant expression, waiting for him to continue. Izuku just raised his left hand. “I really fucked up this time,” he mumbled.

Shouto simply grabbed onto his hand. “I already knew that,” he said, urging him to continue. Izuku swallowed again.

“I just,” And here comes the waterworks, just great, Izuku. “Mom’s going to be so mad, and, and when Toshinori-san finds out, he’s going to be disappointed, he’s going to regret that he gave his power to s-such, su-such a us-useless child, an-”

“Izu,” Shouto put their heads together for a brief moment before hugging him. Shouto wasn’t the greatest at hugs, but to Izuku, it was perfect. At least for now. Izuku sobbed into his arms, letting out his pent up emotions, his fear, his worry. Eventually, the wracking sobs left him, and they stood in silence. Izuku heard mumbling in his ear, and he cleared his throat.

“What w-was that?” Izuku’s voice cracked. Shouto decided to lead them to the couch and sat them down before speaking again.

“Yagi-san,” The dual colored man paused to search for his words, “He and I, we may not get… along sometimes,” And Izuku couldn’t blame him, Shouto was raised to oppose him, “But I know he could never be disappointed in you, not for this,” Shouto rubbed his hand. He slowly got quieter as he continued. “I know he doesn’t regret giving you One for All.”. Izuku bit his lip, and the tears came anew. Shouto looked panicked for a second, unsure what to do. “S-Should I not have said that?”

Izuku let out a tearful laugh, which only panicked Shouto more. Izuku never expected to be able to tell Shouto about One for All, much less Shouto actually believe him, but he remembered their third year of UA when Todoroki became Shouto, a friend became a boyfriend. When Izuku told Shouto, he had merely shrugged, and said something like, “Well, I guess that makes more sense than thinking he was your father or something.” Instead of ending the night in fear that Shouto would hate him, they ended it with ice cream. It was nice.

Izuku held onto Shouto for a moment, hugging him. Shouto looked frozen in his tracks. Izuku wiped his tears away after letting go. Izuku gave him a light peck. “How do you know just what to say, huh?”

Shouto gave a small smile. “I guess I just do.”

Pro Hero Deku Takes a Temporary Leave of Absence.

Deku(CN: Midoriya Izuku, no. 2 Hero) has publicly announced he plans to take a year of leave from active duty to prepare for his and Polarize(CN: Todoroki Shouto, no. 5 hero)’s wedding. He has stated he plans to continue civil work in Polarize Hero Agency, where he works alongside his fianceé...

“Is it really good to lie like that?” Izuku mumbled, signing off of Twitter to avoid rampant backlash. They walked down the road, keeping their heads down as they walked away from the outpatient wing of the hospital back to their conjoined agency. Shouto shrugged, continuing to hold his hand.

“I mean, it isn’t a lie, just omitting information,” Shouto grinned wolfishly at him, “It’s not like we haven’t been trying to get married for three years now, ” Izuku spluttered, before hitting him gently.

“It’s not like I plan to get busy!” Izuku smiled. “And if you don’t stop stalking my social media, you’re going to get found out, icythot. ” Shouto looked on faux-innocently, with a slight smirk.

“I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”

Izuku already knew it was going to be a long year.

[tkmedia]

Heitritter: How Dwayne Haskins Compares To Steve Young

Wait! Before you scroll down to the comments to voice your complaints on the title above, stay with me for a minute here. This article is not to suggest that Dwayne Haskins is the next Steve Young who is recognized as a 7x Pro Bowler, 3x First-team All-Pro, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is more to compare the two players’ situations entering the league and how they transitioned teams and how it could work out for Haskins relative to how it worked out for Young. So, if you are willing to dive down the rabbit hole with me, as the true die-hard Steelers fans say, “Here We Go.” In terms of measurables, there isn’t much of a similarity with Young standing around 6’2, 215lb and Haskins at 6’3, 230lb. Young was far more mobile than Haskins currently is as a runner of the football, having multiple seasons under his belt where he rushed for over 400 yards and multiple TDs on the ground. Haskins possesses a strong arm than Young did back when he played, having great velocity on his ball as it jumps off of his hand. However, as you look more at the two players, you start to see some things align. Both were highly-touted QBs coming out of college, with Young throwing for 3,902 yards, 33 TDs, and a 71.3% completion percentage his senior season and Haskins going for 4,831 yards, 50 TDs, and a 70% completion percentage. Young elected to be selected 11th overall in the USFL Draft back in 1984 to the Los Angeles Express instead of being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals first overall in 1984 due to the state of the franchise. However, after issues arose with the USFL and the Express, he settled a buyout with the team and was selected first overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1986 Supplemental Draft. Haskins too was selected in the first round being taken 15th overall by the Washington Football Team in 2019. So, both players were recognized with the pedigree to be potential signal callers at the next level. However, both players were met with adversity with their respective teams in their first two seasons. As is well-documented, Haskins was thrust into the starting role by Week Four of his rookie season once starter Case Keenum was benched but also struggled as was deemed not ready for action, however, Haskins was forced into action again by Week Eight with Keenum suffered a concussion and thus proceeded to start the next seven games, going 119-for-203 (58.6%), 1,365 yards, seven TDs, and seven INTs with a 76.1 QB rating and taking 29 sacks while going 2-5 in his starts. In his second season, Haskins was named the starter and team captain from the start. He ended up going 1-5 in his starts in 2020, going 148-for-241 (61.4%) for 1,439 yards and five TDs with seven INTs with a 73.0 QB rating and taking 20 sacks. He was benched after going 1-3 to start the season due to poor play and unimpressive work ethic but started again in Week 15. Haskins was then caught at a strip club (although he said he was attending his girlfriend’s birthday party) without a mask. He was fined by the NFL, stripped of his team captain status, and would be released the following week after his final loss as the starter. In January, Haskins signed a futures contract with the Steelers to compete for a roster spot. Now Steve Young also met adversity in Tampa Bay, who had lost double digit games for nearly the past decade. He started five games in 1985, going 1-4 in those starts and completing 72-for-138 passes (52.2%) for 935 yards, three TDs, and eight INTs with a QB rating of 56.9 while taking 21 sacks. As the full-time starter in 1986, Young endured a dreadful season, completing 195-of-363 passes (53.7%) for 2282 yards, eight TDs, and 13 INTs while going 2-12 as the starter before being benched at the end of the year, recording a 65.5 QB rating and taking 47 sacks on the season. The Buccaneers deemed Young a bust after the season and chose to select Vinny Testaverde first overall in the 1987 NFL Draft, trading Young to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2nd and 4th round draft picks. He would then backup Joe Montana for the next four seasons before getting a chance to start in 1991. Now Young was able to sit behind one of the all-time greats in Joe Montana for four seasons and learn from him and under the tutelage of offensive mastermind Bill Walsh so when he took over the reins, he was ready for action on a well-built 49ers roster that was by far a better situation than that which he left in Tampa Bay. Now I argue the same could be said with Haskins in Washington, having similar lofty expectations put on him from the start and had very little help and support to meet those expectations. Sure, the defense played well last season for Washington, but the offense was mediocre at best, yielding an average offensive line where Haskins saw a lot of pressure and had to create out of structure to receiving weapons, outside of Terry McLaurin, that wouldn’t start for a majority of NFL teams. He also had to deal with a coaching change from his rookie to sophomore seasons, trying to learn an entirely new playbook in a pandemic-affected offseason. Obviously, you have to factor in the maturity issues with Haskins in terms of lack of preparation, leadership, and the lack of mask in public incident. This resulted in Haskins being pulled early on in his 2020 campaign, but Young was allowed to struggle for almost all of 1986 before being put on the bench. Also, the pressure of being around all of his family and friends in his hometown likely factored in his wavering focus, something easy to tell an NFL QB to do, but can be difficult for a 23-year-old kid with a poor inner-circle around him. For comparison sake, Young spent time in the USFL to start his career getting more professional game exposure under his belt and suffered his downfall in Tampa in his age 25 season. Also factoring all the controversy surrounding the Washington franchise the past several years with the Trent Williams debacle, the name changes, and the reported issues with the team owner and management, and you put a young kid in that situation and expect him to be the savior of a franchise, that can be quite the tall task. The point I’m trying to make is both players were thrust into situations that were almost insurmountable to overcome when concerning all of the factors. Both players were given relatively short leashes (less than two seasons) to prove their worth before being deemed as busts and shipped out of town. To Young’s benefit, he went to the best possible location a young, developing QB could ask for. He inherited a team with structure and a winning culture that had many leadership figures on the roster and throughout the coaching staff and front office to help mentor him and see his development through to capitalize on the promise he showed coming out of BYU. Haskins figures to be in a very similar situation now in Pittsburgh. He leaves a team that has dealt with instability for years to possibly the most stable franchise in the NFL, having long commitments to their head coach, general manager, and also to Ben Roethlisberger as their starting QB since 2004. There are plenty of role models/mentors on the team that can take Haskins under their wing, not including seeing him with the likes for Steelers great Franco Harris at a baseball game this offseason with some of the other young players. He won’t be required to be thrown into the fire under another new offensive system, being clearly in-line to sit the bench, learn, and develop behind the scenes with Ben hopefully starting all of 2021, much like Young did during his first four years in San Francisco before taking over the starting job. He inherits a top-notch defense in Pittsburgh, much like Young did with the 49ers, and both Young and Haskins have seen an increase in offensive weapons at their disposal with their respective change of teams compared to what they previously had. Again, this isn’t to say that Haskins in on pace to be a Hall of Fame quarterback like Steve Young was. The dude needs to throw a pass in a Steelers uniform first! However, many quickly forget how Young was dubbed a clear bust after his terrible start in the league, but he was able to resurrect his career with better scenery around him and develop into a great quarterback. The same could be said for Haskins, who has all of the physical tools and traits to be a successful passer in this league and has seen his scenery around him improve in just about every way this offseason. It comes down to maturity for Haskins at the end of the day, because if he blows this opportunity Pittsburgh has afforded him, he will be out the door. However, in the limited about we have seen Haskins in OTAs and minicamp, he seems to have his head on straight, and more importantly, he looks to have been humbled due to the events that started his NFL career. Again, that bad start likely humbled Young as well, who had to sit for another four seasons after leaving to get his chance. I do think though that this humility for both players comes with maturity, and more importantly, a hunger to capitalize on a second chance and compete to be the player you were projected to be coming out. I understand there are far more stories of players with high pedigree not panning out than those that do, but I wanted to share the similarities between these two situations. Young managed to create a successful career with himself with the new opportunity, and we get the pleasure of seeing if Haskins can do the same. Instead of looking at Haskins as either a broken reclamation project that can’t be fixed or as the heir-apparent to one Ben Roethlisberger, I say we view him similarly to a rookie coming into the league with a new team in a new city that is still very young and has the potential to bust, breakout, or be just average like any other rookie QB has the potential to do. I think one thing is certain though. Dwayne Haskins is in a better spot today than he was in several months ago both as a player and as a young man. Now we get to sit back, relax, and see what he makes of his new opportunity, similar to what 49ers fans got to do when they made the trade to acquire Steve Young. What are your thoughts on Dwayne Haskins heading into 2021 and beyond? Do you think he is broken beyond repair and shouldn’t get an opportunity to play again, or do you see promise and potential in the young passer and look forward to seeing what he can do in his new surrounds much like Steve Young did in his? As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments section below and thanks again for reading and all of your support here at Steelers Depot!

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[banallequinesports]

Can protective boots really support joints and tendons? by, Dr. David Marlin, Scientific and Equine Consultant

Many people apply boots to horses’ legs too tightly. This may be for fear that they will come undone or move, in which case they are likely either of poor design or a poor fit. However, people often say that they put them on tight to give support to the soft tissue structures such as the tendons or the joints, and these claims are even seen in the marketing literature and adverts of some companies. There is minimal information to suggest that boots designed for training and competing provide support for soft tissues or joints. A boot may reduce the range of motion (flexibility) of a joint for example, but this risks moving the load from one structure to another and this may not be beneficial. Tight boots can also result in discomfort and rubbing injury. Just try strapping your ankle tightly over the Achilles tendon area and then go for a run! You will feel pain in the Achilles with each stride and you will modify how you run. Afterwards you may developing swelling and significant pain around the Achilles and also have pain in your knees and hips. It’s not only boots; it’s not uncommon to see bandages applied over-tightly in the belief that this offers “support” for joints and tendons. So appropriately designed boots have the potential to protect the lower leg against both concussive and cutting type injuries caused by hitting objects such as fences or from interference from other limbs. But there are a number of potential downsides to using boots which should be considered and this may help when trying to decide whether to use boots or not or which boots to use.

Quote from Dr Rachel Murray, Orthopaedic Clinician and Researcher at the Animal Health Trust Newmarket: “There is minimal information to suggest that boots provide support for soft tissue or osseous structures. The anatomy of the limb has the digital flexor muscles located proximally. This means it is difficult to provide support for the entire limb taking account of the muscle body. If a boot is used to reduce the flexibility of the limb, then there is a risk of load moving from one structure to another that has not been adapted to experiencing this load magnitude or direction.”

The weight of boots Firstly, any weight added on to a horse will require an increased effort on the part of the horse to move that weight. This is of course true of a rider and tack. However, kilo for kilo, weight placed on the end of the limbs will have a greater impact than weight carried in the saddle area. The reason for this is that the limbs are moving faster than the main body. The need to be able to accelerate the limbs quickly explains why they are so light when compared with the rest of the body. Animals with big heavy legs cannot move them as fast. This is also why there is not much on the lower legs other than bone, some tendons and a small amount of muscle. All unnecessary weight has been “removed”. Any weight added requires more energy to be put in to get the leg moving and more energy to stop it and make it swing back again. Thus, adding small amounts of weight to the end of the leg in the form of a boot increases the effort the horse must put in to run. It is possible to measure the difference in energy to run between a horse wearing ordinary steel shoes (~260g each shoe) and the same horse wearing aluminium racing plates (around 80g per shoe), a difference of only 180g per shoe. In addition, not only can weight increase energy needed for exercise it can also alter the way the horse actually moves its legs (i.e. its gait). Some of the cross-country boots on the market for example weigh as little as 130g each whilst others are over double this. We should also take into account the potential for boots or bandages to absorb water when in use. Boots that weigh only around 200g each when dry may well be able to hold 100-200ml of water and as 1ml of water weighs 1g, this could double the weight of the boots if the horse was exercising in the rain, on wet grass or going through water. And the weight of the boots is also likely to increase if they do not allow sweat to evaporate and it gets absorbed by the boots.

Restriction of movement The next issue relates to restriction of movement. If boots are constructed of inflexible (i.e. stiff) material or if boots are applied too tightly, they have the potential to restrict joint movement. This can lead to abnormal loading or patterns of movement with an increased risk of injury. There are relatively few scientific studies in this area but Kicker et al. (2004) published a paper in the Equine Veterinary Journal in which they looked at 3 “support” boots and 1 “protective” boot. At walk, 2 of the support boots restricted the range of movement of the fetlock joint, whilst at trot all 4 boots reduced maximum extension. An undergraduate BSc student study at Hartpury college by Jadine Birchall also seems to support these findings. The average range of movement of the fetlock joint in five horses during walk, trot and canter exercise was 42° (degrees) without a boot and only 36° with a boot. Remember that restriction of movement may cause discomfort and injury.

Trapping of material between the skin and the boot Materials such as stones, twigs, sand, arena surface, mud, etc can become trapped between boots and the skin leading to abrasion and infection.

Restriction of blood supply Tight boots and bandages can restrict blood flow in superficial blood vessels leading to pain and tissue damage.

Insulation and heating The next issue with boot and bandage use during exercise relates to heating. Tendons are elastic structures and as they are repeatedly loaded/stretched (when the limb is on the ground) and unloaded (when the limb is in the air), they generate heat. Some work at the University of Bristol showed that the temperature inside the tendons of horses galloping without boots on could reach 45°C, second only in the body to muscle temperatures. The tendon temperatures are very high not only because of heat production within the tendons but because tendons have a relatively poor blood supply, which in any other tissue would help remove heat. In 1997 the same group published the results of a scientific study in which they showed that tendon cells in a test-tube were sensitive to heating. When the tendon cells were heated for 10 minutes at 45°C, around 10% died, but when they were heated to 48°C for 10 minutes then around 80% died. These results were also confirmed by a more recent study of equine tendon cells in Japan. This study also showed that the higher the temperature, the more tendon cells that died and furthermore, showed that inflammatory mediators were released after heating. Inflammatory mediators are chemicals and hormones within the body that cause inflammation (heat, swelling, pain) and tissue damage. If tendon core (central) temperatures can reach 45°C during a few minutes galloping without boots, it is almost certain that they will get even hotter when boots are being worn. It would therefore seem important to make sure boots are used only during the period of actual exercise and not left on for long periods when the horse is not active, especially after exercise. Removing boots soon after exercise and cooling the legs would also seem to be advisable.

Sweating and skin health The fact that the lower leg gets hot during exercise and even hotter when boots are used presents another potential problem: sweating. When boots are removed the leg underneath is often very wet from sweat. When skin is in contact with moisture for a long time it becomes hyper-hydrated; this is the effect you see if you stay in the bath for too long. Wet skin cannot “breathe” normally, and it becomes more permeable allowing greater absorption of anything on the skin. Wet skin is also more susceptible to mechanical damage, with an increased risk of abrasions and grazing. Finally, wet skin is also more susceptible to bacterial or fungal attack and hence a potentially increased risk of conditions such as mud fever, caused by the bacterium Dermatophilus congolensis.

Summary Riders should weigh up the pros and cons of using leg protection on horses. Different types of leg-wear give different protection. For example, bandages will clearly not offer the same protection as a cross-country boot. In addition, the level of protection offered by the same type of boot from different manufacturers can vary dramatically. Unfortunately, at this time there are no universal standards for equine leg protection as there is for example for hats or body protectors. It is also not possible to judge the effectiveness of boots based on appearance, price or advertising claims. At present, the best advice is probably to look for a light boot that is flexible, allows air to circulate and sweat to evaporate, that is not too absorbent and ask the manufacturer what form of testing for concussion and penetration protection that they undertake.

[junker-town]

It’s been hard out here for the NFL’s bird teams

Carson Wentz and the Eagles are off to a disappointing start to 2019.

The Eagles and Falcons have major questions to answer after a particularly bad week for our avian friends. And what’s up with the Cowboys’ slow starts?

Birds have had a rough go of it lately. To be honest, they’ve had a rough go of it since 1970, but none of us want to think too hard right now about how North America has lost 3 billion birds in five decades. We’ll leave the panic index for football matters because everything else can be too overwhelming.

This past Sunday, all five bird teams lost in the same week for the first time in at least a decade (there was one week in 2012 when they went 0-3, with two on byes). For some, it was business as usual (sorry, Cardinals). For others, it was their first loss of the year and wasn’t that big of a deal anyway. The Ravens fell on the road to the Chiefs and learned a valuable lesson about themselves, while the Seahawks always manage to get things figured out by the time December rolls around.

It was a little more concerning for the Falcons and Eagles, two teams that entered the season as possible contenders and are just 1-2 through the first three weeks.

Those aren’t the only teams we’re checking in on this week, though. I guess you could say the new panic index isn’t just ... for the birds.

The Eagles are tearing their fans apart!

Eagles fans, bless them, are a passionate flock. This is something we knew last year, when they booed the defending championship exactly one half into the new season. This is something we knew months before that following their Super Bowl victory. Hell, this is something we knew before many of us were even born.

So when the Eagles — a team some were picking to make it to Super Bowl 54 — dropped a home game to the Lions, the fans were unsurprisingly upset.

That includes everyone from an Ivy League dean of admissions:

Can’t stop watching this irate Eagles fan. pic.twitter.com/yzA3DYCgfJ

— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) September 22, 2019

To a baby-saving hero:

Eagles fans have no chill In the middle of an eyewitness describing how people were saving babies out of a burning building, this fan brings up Eagles drops on @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/RCLG5ZdNzw

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 23, 2019

Go birds.

The Eagles’ lone win of the season so far came against the still-winless Washington, the current betting favorite as the first team to fire its coach. Oh, and Philly was losing that game 17-0, only to rally for a five-point victory — at home.

On the other hand, the Eagles aren’t that far off from being 3-0 either. The margins in their two losses were close: four points to the Falcons on the road, and three points to the Lions. They could’ve won both games on their last possession, and maybe should’ve, if not for self-inflicted wounds like drops and penalties. They are also dealing with so many injuries that they canceled practice one day last week.

Still, Philly is two games back of Dallas in the NFC East standings, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier from here. In the next five weeks, the Eagles hit the road four times: against the Packers, Vikings, Cowboys, and Bills. Through Week 3, those teams are a collective 11-1.

Panic index: You know who else lost to the Lions in Week 3 to slip to 1-2? The 2018 Patriots. Maybe the jawn isn’t falling after all, Eagles fans. There’s still time to turn things around.

Here we go again with the Falcons

Following a disappointing 7-9 season last year, Atlanta was expected to bounce back in 2019 — perhaps even as a potential Super Bowl contender. Its potent offense — featuring the consistently underrated Matt Ryan and the NFL’s best WR, Julio Jones — returned with several new offensive linemen, and the defense was finally healthy again.

But early on, the Falcons look more like the same team from 2018, with injuries and penalties piling up and a lack of cohesion on offense. The Falcons are one of the most talented teams in the NFL, but they just can’t get out of their own way.

In Week 3, they lost to the Colts 27-24 on the road and despite clawing back, Atlanta couldn’t overcome a 20-3 first-half deficit. The bigger problem is how the Falcons keep falling into those holes, mostly due to undisciplined play. From The Falcoholic:

Mental errors are becoming far too common on a weekly basis for the Falcons. You can’t be dependent on converting third and long situations at a staggering rate every week. These careless, unforced penalties will usually come back to haunt any team.

Most of the biggest penalties were committed by the defense. On 16 penalties, the Colts picked up seven first downs.

The Falcons had a lengthy list of injuries after the game, none more costly than safety Keanu Neal’s season-ending Achilles tear.

Offensively, the entire unit is essentially being driven by Jones. Through three games, Jones has four touchdowns, and is averaging 88.3 yards per game. In fact, the Falcons wouldn’t even have a win this season if not for Jones’ superhuman efforts.

Ryan has done a good job of finding Jones when he needs to, but he’s almost thrown as many interceptions this year (six) as he did all of 2018 (seven), which certainly doesn’t help production on offense. Second-year receiver Calvin Ridley is also seeing a curious lack of targets, getting just one against the Colts.

The run game has to get a lot better than it has been early on, too. Devonta Freeman has just 129 yards and no TDs through three weeks. Backup running back Ito Smith has just 11 carries and is concussion protocol. That’s a lot of pressure to put on Ryan and the passing game week in and week out.

Right now, this feels a lot like the same old Falcons.

Panic index: Atlanta’s slow start is particularly concerning given who it has left on the schedule, which includes road trips to Houston and New Orleans, and home games against. the Rams and Seahawks. The offense has time to work out the kinks, and should be able to, based on its strong second half against the Colts.

But if the Falcons can’t clean up their mistakes, they could be out of the NFC South race quickly.

Slow starts are going to eventually bite the Cowboys in the butt

The Cowboys opened the season with an easy three-game slate against the Giants, Washington, and the Dolphins. They’re 3-0 and those three opponents are 1-8, collectively.

Dallas is averaging just over 32 points per game and is allowing just under 15. Everything is peachy keen, except the Cowboys looked pretty shaky early against the tanking Dolphins. At halftime, Miami trailed 10-6 and were even in position to take the lead before Kenyan Drake fumbled inside the Cowboys’ 10-yard line.

Eventually, the Cowboys — who are much, much more talented than the Dolphins — figured things out and cruised to a 31-6 win.

But Dallas had similar issues in the first two weeks. Both New York and Washington scored first to take 7-0 leads against the Cowboys, who then straightened themselves out in and won by double digits each time.

Those slow starts could become a problem, though, and soon. Dallas will face the 2-1 Saints and the 3-0 Packers in the next two weeks and can’t afford to keep stumbling out the gates. It won’t be as easy to pull off a comeback against actual contenders.

Panic index: The second quarter has been Dak Prescott’s best quarter over the course of his NFL career so far. He’s thrown 30 of his 76 career touchdowns in the second quarter compared to just 13 touchdowns in the first quarter. That lends some credence to the idea that the Cowboys have a slow-start problem.

Dallas is doing its best work in the third quarter in 2019, but thrived in the first quarter last year. There’s still plenty of time to channel its 2018 self and get out to faster starts.

Marcus Mariota’s not getting that nine-figure contract extension

Mariota’s been a mercurial figure through four-plus seasons with the Titans. The former No. 2 overall pick has guided Tennessee to winning records in each of the past three years and even has a playoff upset under his belt. He’s also never played a full 16-game schedule, ranked higher than ninth in the NFL in passing efficiency, or been selected to a Pro Bowl roster.

That pendulum swung hard to the negative side in Week 3. Mariota couldn’t find his footing on a rainy night in Jacksonville, throwing for 304 yards but needing 49 dropbacks to get there. He didn’t reach the end zone, but he was sacked nine times behind an offensive line that desperately misses Taylor Lewan (currently serving a four-game PED suspension).

The Titans only scored once in a 20-7 loss that dropped them to the bottom of the AFC South’s pecking order. They’ve totaled just 24 total points since their opening week upset of the Browns in Cleveland.

Once again, Tennessee faces a season in purgatory. The Titans are occasionally good enough to strike fear in the hearts of actual Super Bowl contenders, but not the kind of threat that can make noise beyond the first weekend of the postseason.

The source of the frustration and the heart of the team’s “just good enough to break your heart” status is Mariota, who is staring down free agency after the 2019 season. He was never quite consistent or eye-popping enough to earn the massive contract extension most quarterbacks selected in the top five do before their rookie deals run out. After the loss to the Jaguars, he might wind up searching for a new home next spring.

The Heisman Trophy winner has struggled to build a rapport with his wideouts, especially former fifth overall pick Corey Davis, who has just six catches and 12 targets through three games. No wide receiver has ever recorded a 1,000-yard season with Mariota at the helm. Through three games, only 69.6 percent of his passes have been catchable, per SIS. That number slots him right between Eli Manning and fellow 2015 draftee Jameis Winston toward the bottom of the QB rankings.

If he can’t find the extra gear he’s been searching for over most of the past four seasons, the Titans could be doomed to another year where the best they can hope for is nine wins.

Panic index: Taylor Lewan’s Week 5 return should help a little. Will it be the panacea this team needs? Delanie Walker doesn’t think so:

.@delaniewalker82 loves @TaylorLewan77 but doesn’t think his return in a week is going to fix everything for the #Titans. pic.twitter.com/C7iDry5lmh

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 23, 2019

And he’s probably right.

[flauntpage]

Four PR Nightmares Waiting to Happen in UFC

The UFC has had a pretty hard 18 months. The loss of Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor’s absence have left it with few pay-per-views that can even break the 250,000-buy mark. Clearly, the new owners of the UFC have some work to do to get the promotion back in a position anywhere near where it was in 2015 when WME-IMG purchased it for $4 billion.

Many have noticed a drop in card quality as the UFC searches for its next Rousey or McGregor, but more pressing to the UFC’s immediate future are a number of stories that sit as dry kindling, waiting for the mainstream media to realize they could have a good moral outrage on their hands. Let us consider some of the potential public relations disasters the UFC will have to avoid bumbling its way through in the immediate future.

Akhmat MMA

During last weekend’s Fight Night card in London, Akhmat MMA was ever present. Fabricio Werdum could be seen wearing Akhmat MMA gear during segments of the broadcast and in his social media posts around the fight. Why is this a problem? Akhmat is the promotion owned by Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen Republic leader accused of numerous human rights violations, including killing and torturing gay men. When beloved MMA legend and head of the Russian MMA federation Fedor Emelianenko was asked about Kadyrov allowing children to fight in the cage, Emelianenko responded that he did not like it. Almost immediately after the story broke, Emelianenko’s daughter was reportedly assaulted while walking to school.

Werdum catches most of the ire for this, which perhaps isn't fair. Chris Weidman, Frankie Edgar, Frank Mir, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and others have all been out to see Kadyrov. In fact, Alexander Gustafsson should probably be in the hottest water of the lot for posing with Kadyrov in an Akhmat T-shirt masquerading as an open hoodie with T-shirt underneath, serving as an accomplice in crimes against good taste.

Ali Abdelaziz, one of MMA’s most notorious managers and a figure you should definitely Google, apparently makes many of these meetings possible, and the truth of them seems to be that Kadyrov is simply one of those rich, powerful people who likes to pose next to manly men and is willing to pay for the chance.

Unsavory people are just a part of fight promotion. Remember that when UFC president Dana White replaced Don King at the Republican National Convention, one of his main selling points was that he was the promoter who hadn’t stomped a man to death in the street. The UFC might well be quiet on the Kadyrov issue because they hope to get into Russia in the near future should Khabib Nurmagomedov win the UFC lightweight title, and a pro-UFC friend of Putin would be a great advocate for them. Hell, we all fondly remember the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle of the "Rumble in the Jungle," but it was all bankrolled by the terrifying president of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko. It's pretty basic: Some sketchy people have money and like fights.

But this Kadyrov story is already getting uncomfortably big for the UFC. The US placed sanctions on Kadyrov back in December 2017 as part of the Magnitsky Act (sanctions that Russia declared were illegal), and investigative MMA journalist Mike Russell recently reported that the US government is looking into the financial arrangements between US-based MMA fighters like Werdum and the warlord. Whether or not that report is true, it seems likely that Werdum is being incentivized to represent Akhmat, and that seems like an invitation to be audited.

Nick Newell

Having discussed the seediest elements of the sport, it might be nice to discuss a more positive problem. Nick Newell is a good lightweight. He fights in the sport’s strongest and deepest division, and he has accumulated a record of 14-1. Newell also has one hand. After a retirement that lasted two and a half years, Newell returned to the cage a couple of weeks ago and submitted Sonny Luque in the first round at Legacy Fighting Alliance 35. Now Newell wants a run in the UFC and fans are supportive of his cause.

As we pointed out when Newell retired in 2015, the great thing about Newell was that you never felt like anyone was carrying him or feeling sorry for him or, in fact, treating him differently from any other fighter. Newell struggled to find opponents early on—a win over a one-handed man could be seen as almost worse than a loss to a one-handed man when looking down a record—but by the peak of his career Newell was just another fighter with some unique quirks to his style. He mitigated attacks on his left side through footwork rather than being able to rely on his left forearm to block or parry. Newell’s sole loss came to Justin Gaethje—then the best lightweight outside the UFC, now a top ten ranked contender within it—and Gaethje gave him no quarter. Gaethje, a human highlight reel and knockout machine, went after Newell just as he would anyone else, and Newell did exactly as well as anyone else. The truth is that two hands or one, Newell is a good fighter.

Gaethje in fact came out this week to say that Newell deserves his shot in the UFC. Newell even hooked up with the aforementioned Ali Abdelaziz, a manager with a great many other clients in the UFC.

The problem is entirely the image. Nick Newell is a good lightweight, but not a great lightweight. He relies on his takedowns and footwork, and the moment those stop working he has trouble. In extended striking exchanges, his lack of a left hand and forearm do make life considerably harder for him. If he gets to the UFC and has a handful of fights, he will lose at some point. When he loses, the edited video of a one-armed man being beaten up in the world’s premier MMA organization is all that will matter.

On the other side of that conundrum are the fans and media calling for Newell to fight C.M. Punk or Floyd Mayweather in the UFC—reducing him to a sideshow and using his handicap to humiliate fighters who just flat out aren’t good enough to be in the cage with him.

In a just world, we could have Nick Newell take on another debuting lightweight in the UFC and it wouldn’t matter who won or lost—he would be just another fighter. Unfortunately it seems unlikely that the UFC will take the risk of that image of a one-armed man being pounded on. If the UFC do take the gamble on Newell, we can only hope that they handle it gracefully, provide the context of Newell’s other 15 fights immediately before the contest, and don’t reduce him to the circus act that fans seem to be begging for.

Someone Is Going to Die at Some Point

At some point there is going to be a televised death in mixed martial arts. Or rather, there will be a televised bout that leads to a fatality, likely some time later in a hospital. If you have followed combat sports or even contact sports for any length of time you already know this. The UFC has done remarkably well to avoid it in its 20 years of hosting events. So far, the closest we have had to a televised death in a major promotion was the 300-pound non-athlete Dada 5000’s heart stopping in the cage during his fight with full-time fighter of over a decade (and juiced to the gills) Kimbo Slice. Bellator promoter Scott Coker has still not apologized for this. But as the years go on and the number of reliable stars on the UFC roster seems to dwindle, MMA’s number one promotion has been playing fast and loose with good sense.

The most egregious examples are Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem. Both are known as chinny fighters and have been for a long time, but they have suffered the most knockout losses in the history of the UFC. The studies are always being updated—recently a study declared that it is cumulative head trauma that most affects CTE and not concussions—but concussions are generally recognized as bad news, and more concussions are generally seen as worse.

The lowlights of Andrei Arlovski’s long, brutal career. It is easy to forget these when insisting that because he’s still competitive he is healthy.

When Tim Hague died two days after being knocked out in a boxing match in Canada in June 2017, he had suffered a total of eight knockouts between his MMA and boxing careers. From 2015 to 2016, he went 1-4, being stopped in each of the losses, three knockout losses coming back to back. Just this week, boxer David Whittom died after ten months in a coma—he had suffered 11 stoppage losses in his career, again many of them back to back. When you’re getting towards double digits in stoppage losses, it’s getting ridiculous—but neither of their careers were as ridiculous as Arlovski or Overeem’s. Overeem has been knocked out or TKO’d 11 times in MMA and three times in kickboxing. Arlovski has been knocked out ten times in MMA.

Even in his one impressive victory of recent years—against Travis Browne—Arlovski was repeatedly sent stumbling by blows to the head. After being stopped four times in a row, he survived three rounds against Marcin Tybura. Then Arlovski finally got a victory over Junior Albini and the UFC could take him back to Vegas and risk him getting a license under a real commission.

And it seems that commissions operate with the same mindset that many apologists do—he’s still competitive, therefore he must be fine. The truth is you can still be competitive and a liability. You can still be a great fighter and be seriously ill or even dying. Muhammad Ali fought his last bouts while exhibiting symptoms of Parkinson’s, Andy Hug put together the best streak of his career—including a handy decision over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic—while unknowingly suffering from leukemia, which would soon kill him. The fact that Arlovski and Overeem are still being allowed to fight by the UFC, and even being licensed by real commissions, is extremely concerning for anyone with a vested interested in the future of this sport.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t wheel Arlovski and Overeem out each time they want to build up a big hitter’s chances at the title. The only elite fighters that Francis Ngannou met in his run at Stipe Miocic’s belt happened to be the two most knocked-out fighters in the UFC. And just this week, the UFC announced that it's throwing Arlovski to its next knockout puncher of the moment, Tai Tuivasa.

Add to those glaring issues the minor acts of taking the piss that the UFC is currently playing with. For instance, Michael Bisping fighting in Shanghai—where there is no commission—just a couple of weeks removed from being violently dropped and submitted by Georges St.-Pierre. Bisping’s official medical suspension from the first contest was 30 days, but somehow mysteriously dropped to seven when the second fight was booked. Interestingly, Tim Hague’s death also drew attention to inattentiveness regarding medical suspensions, as Steven Marrocco from MMA Junkie reported:

On two occasions prior to Hague’s fatal bout, commission doctors gave the fighter a shorter medical suspension than was required by the rules. It also failed to account for an unsanctioned MMA bout held in July 2016, when Hague suffered a knockout loss, which should have triggered an immediate 90-day suspension.

Had that term been enforced, Hague wouldn’t have been licensed two months later, in September, for a nine-round boxing match in Edmonton, which he lost via unanimous decision.

Or consider when Rashad Evans was denied a license in New York due to irregularities on his MRI ahead of UFC 205, rebooked to UFC 206, and denied a license by the Ontario athletic commission as well, until finally—four years removed from his last victory—he was allowed back into the cage in Las Vegas to lose a dull decision to Dan Kelly. This highlights the main problem with commissions and fighting generally: You can always go somewhere else and give your money to another group of people. If fighters don’t care about commission-hopping to get a license, fair enough, but the biggest company in the fight game probably shouldn’t be partaking in this small-time nonsense.

Of course the counter argument is always that fighters are warriors and should be “allowed to go out on their shields,” but this isn’t an argument over individual rights. A death in the UFC would be disastrous and undoubtedly begin a witch hunt in the media. What would be the correct defense if the victim was someone whose knockout losses were into double digits and who had likely suffered multiple concussions over his career? Or someone who had been denied a license in two states already? Or someone flagrantly ignoring the bare minimum that the athletic commissions do to make this sport safer by fighting within his medical suspension?

The GOATs Are the Only Ones Failing Drug Tests

The final major issue facing the UFC in terms of public perception is the work that USADA has done to find and punish drug cheats in the sport of mixed martial arts. The UFC announced its partnership with USADA back in 2015 and it was an attempt to counter the perception that everyone in MMA was juiced to the gills. Joe Rogan’s famous line about performance-enhancing drugs in MMA becoming an epidemic was the perception that many casual and hardcore fans shared.

Perhaps it is an unfortunate coincidence that after USADA’s increased testing was brought in, injury rates and dropouts noticeably increased. Between UFC 180 and UFC 209, there were 15 changes to pay-per-view headliners. To many it seemed like the UFC was destroying its own product and paying USADA for the privilege, but few on the roster were ever caught using performance-enhancing drugs or banned substances. The real story of the USADA era is that seemingly the only fighters repeatedly being flagged for banned substances are Jon Jones and Anderson Silva—two fighters the UFC markets as the greatest of all time.

Some fans and even pundits will bend over backwards to excuse Silva and Jones’s positive tests. You need only listen to the theory that Jones’s cocaine was cut with creatine, which in turn was cut with a 1960s East German steroid, to begin to suspect that this might just be willful naiveté in hopes of getting a great fighter back in the cage. But the entire point of bringing in USADA was always perception. Silva and Jones can tell their stories and be judged by those who make the decisions to have simply ingested an illegal substance by accident. The public doesn’t buy it, though. Look down USADA’s list of sanctions on their website and you will notice that amid their 50 offenders in MMA, only George Sullivan and Ricardo Abreu can boast a punishment for a second violation. Perhaps Jones and Silva are just especially unlucky in their supplement and dong pill choices, but most fans are a bit more skeptical than that.

Many fans are now feeling USADA fatigue more than they are disappointment in their old heroes. USADA seems to have turned up and ruined the show in many respects. They are catching and suspending fighters for things that don’t seem to matter, like marijuana, while others are getting away with lesser sentences for being caught with traces of far more suspicious estrogen blockers and actual steroids. There are still plenty who would like to see the UFC quietly drift away from its commitment to extensive drug testing and return to the easier days of commission testing.

Jones and Silva are still stars, but both are pending hearings for failing drug tests yet again. If they end up out of action for a year or more, the UFC loses two reliable draws in an era where those are in short supply. If they get off with a slap on the wrist, the entire process seems undermined yet again and fans continue to ponder whether a fighter who would willingly cheat under the scrutiny of random testing might also have cheated during the earlier part of his career. Either way, it is hard to see the UFC coming out of this one as a winner, either morally or financially.

Four PR Nightmares Waiting to Happen in UFC published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[junker-town]

Dak Prescott needs more help to get the Cowboys back on track

It’s a tall order with Ezekiel Elliott out and the offensive line’s regression, but it can be done.

Dak Prescott’s record-setting rookie season is fading in the rearview. He’s fresh off of the worst three-game stretch of his young career, and it’s difficult for Prescott to wrap his mind around it.

“I mean, yeah, it’s frustrating, it’s shocking,” Prescott said, via Clarence Hill Jr. of the Star-Telegram. “You look around and you see the Pro Bowlers and the talent you have. It’s almost a loss for words on why it’s happening, but it just shows you this game is tough. It’s tough week in and week out, no matter who you play, and that’s what makes the NFL great.”

As Prescott has gone, so have the Cowboys.

The Cowboys have been outscored 92-22 in their last three losses to the Falcons, Eagles, and Chargers, failing to reach double digits in each game. That’s not good company to be in:

Cowboys have scored fewer than 10 points in 3 straight games for the first time in franchise history. Last 2 teams to do that? '09 Browns w/Brady Quinn '09 Raiders w/Jamarcus Russell@NFLResearch

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 29, 2017

But lost in Prescott’s performances over the past three games is the fact that he can’t do it alone.

Before their skid, the Cowboys beat Washington 31-19 when these two teams faced off in Week 8. Now Dallas is 5-6 heading into this week’s rematch Thursday night at AT&T Stadium — and the Cowboys’ postseason hopes are hanging by a thread. They’re two games back in a crowded wild card field, and if they lose to Washington, the Eagles will clinch the NFC East.

Thursday night is a must-win situation. And that’s going to be a tall task for this Cowboys team.

Here are two reasons why Prescott and the Cowboys are struggling:

The offensive line is letting Dak down

This was the best unit in the league last season, but personnel shakeups from last season and injuries have derailed their performance this year. In the offseason, right tackle Doug Free retired and left guard Ronald Leary moved on to the Broncos in free agency. La’el Collins and Jonathan Cooper have been downgrades.

Left tackle Tyron Smith has battled back and groin injuries and has missed two games — an absence that everyone noticed. Right guard Zack Martin has been dealing with a concussion. On Thursday, Smith, Martin, and right tackle Collins are all listed as questionable for the game.

The line has been especially bad over the past three games. This unit allowed just 10 sacks over the Cowboys’ first eight games. Prescott has been sacked 14 times in the team’s three-game skid.

That pressure has kept the Cowboys from the end zone. The Cowboys have only been able to score on 33.3 percent of their trips to the red zone over their last three games. That’s a significantly lower rate than their 61.6 conversion rate in the red zone all year. The Cowboys’ inability to score leaves them consistently playing from behind.

Prescott’s been pushing it with deep passes into tight coverage to try to make up ground. And it’s a lot harder to let those fly accurately when he’s constantly under pressure.

That pressure has affected him in other ways, too. Prescott had seven turnovers all last season; he’s had eight in the past three weeks. Two of those turnovers have been returned for scores by the other team.

Dak Prescott is only QB in last decade with 0 pass TDs and 8+ turnovers in 3-week span. But he's in good company. Last to do so: Brett Favre in 2005.

— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) November 30, 2017

He’s not getting much help from the run game without Ezekiel Elliott, either.

The Cowboys need a ground game while Ezekiel Elliott is out

That last win over Washington was powered by an 150-yard, two-touchdown performance from Elliott. This time around, Elliott is serving the fourth game of his six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations made against him in 2016.

Elliott averaged 97.9 yards per game on the ground. He added 210 receiving yards. And Elliott is singlehandedly responsible for almost one-third of the Cowboys’ 30 touchdowns this season. He had nine — seven rushing and two receiving — over the eight games he’s played in this year. The Cowboys have scored two touchdowns total without him on the field.

The strength of Dallas’ ground game with Elliott opened up play-action opportunities for Prescott in the passing attack. And the threat of Elliott as a receiver out of the backfield made the Cowboys tougher to defend.

In Elliott’s absence, Alfred Morris and Rod Smith have had decent production on the ground: Morris is averaging 60 yards per game, while Smith has 45 per game, plus one touchdown. But they aren’t explosive like Elliott is.

“The run game has been efficient,” tight end Jason Witten said via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “We’ve done a good job with our running game. We just haven’t had enough big plays in there to get in control of the defense and get them to kind of playing our style of football.”

Morris and Smith aren’t dual threats like Elliott is, either. Smith has caught just six passes for 22 yards with Elliott out. Morris only has one catch for 13 yards.

Prescott doesn’t think the Cowboys’ lack of production is necessarily because Elliott isn’t playing. He doesn’t blame the coaches, either. He thinks the players on the field should be getting it done.

“I look in the mirror and I look at the other guys on the plays. I mean, simply explosion plays, I don’t know if you can point at a coach,” Prescott said. “It’s just us making guys miss and wanting to go get those extra yards. That to me is simply about the athleticism of our playmakers and being able to go make guys miss.”

Elliott will be eligible to return to the field in Week 16 against the Seahawks. But if they can’t turn it around, the Cowboys’ season may be effectively over by then.

But all hope is not lost.

Dallas has been competitive in the first halves of each of the last three games, and things spiraled starting in the third quarter and beyond. The Cowboys have enough talent in place to sustain drives and get in the end zone. It’s just a matter of the offense rallying around Prescott and helping him get it done.