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written-in-sunshine · 7 years ago

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Fandom List And Ships

Updated: 12/9/18

This is the current list of fandoms and pairings that are requestable. It’s a long list (12+ pages), and I can always add more if the need arises. Bolded fandoms are the ones I am currently in the mood to write for, and I will try to update that as much as I can. Italicized fandoms are something I might consider working on soon and can easily be pushed back into.

Please look at this list before requesting something, it’s in the rules.

Fandoms under the cut!

Adventure Time

Flame Prince/Fionna

Flame Prince/Prince Gumball

Hot Dog Prince/Lumpy Space Prince

Lord Monochromicorn/Cake

Marshall Lee/Flame Prince/Prince Gumball

Marshall Lee/Prince Gumball

As Told By Ginger

Carl Foutley/Blake Gripling

Carl Foutley/Hoodsey Bishop

Assassin’s Creed

Altair Ibn La-Ahad/Malik Al-Sayf

Desmond Miles/Shaun Hastings

Ezio Auditore/Leonardo Da Vinci

Federico Auditore/Vieri De Pazzi

Haytham Kenway/Charles Lee

Kanen'tó:kon/William Johnson

Kadar Al-Sayf/Gian ‘Salai’ Giacomo

Petruccio Auditore/Gian ‘Salai’ Giacomo

Ratonhnhaké ton (Connor Kenway)/Thomas Hickey

Rauf/Kadar Al-Sayf

Talal/Malik Al-Sayf

William Johnson/Thomas Hickey

The Babysitter

Bee/Allison

Bee/Sonya

Cole/Melanie

John/Allison

John/Bee

Max/Allison

Max/Bee

Max/Cole

Max/John

Sonya/Allison

Beetlejuice (Both Movie/Cartoon Verses)

Beatleguise/Lydia Deetz

Camp Camp

Max/Daniel

David/Daniel

Max/David

Max/David/Daniel

Nerf/Preston Goodplay

Neil/Harrison

Neil/Nikki

Quartermaster/Daniel

Catherine

Johnathan ‘Johnny’ Ariga/Tobias ‘Toby’ Nebbins

Orlando Haddick/Tobias ‘Toby’ Nebbins

Orlando Haddick/Johnathan ‘Johnny’ Ariga/Tobias ‘Toby’ Nebbins

Thomas Mutton/Astaroth

Vincent Brooks/Catherine

Vincent Brooks/Astaroth

Crossovers

The Bye Bye Man/The Crooked Man (The Bye Bye Man/The Crooked Man Crossover)

Jack/Max (The House That Jack Built/The Babysitter Crossover)

Jason Dean/Firkle Smith (Heathers/South Park Crossover)

Jason Dean/Lucas Ward (Heathers/Dismissed Crossover)

Jason Dean/Victor Criss (Heathers/IT Crossover)

Bane/John Blake

Blackfire/Starfire

Cyborg/Beast Boy

Deadshot/Diablo/Harley Quinn

Francis “Hotstreak” Stone/Richie “Gear” Foley

Joker/Harley Quinn

Killer Croc/Babydoll

Killer Croc/Diablo

Killer Croc/Harley Quinn

Killer Croc/Scarecrow

Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn

Raven/Terra

Red X/Speedy

Robin/Beast Boy

Robin/Red X

Robin/Red X/Speedy

Robin/Speedy

Deadman Wonderland

Ganta Igarashi (Woodpecker)/Shiro

Nagi Kengamine (Owl)/Azuma Genkaku

Senji Kiyomasa (Crow)/Toto Sakigami (Mockingbird)

Tamaki Tsunenaga/Rokuro Bundo

Tamaki Tsunenaga/Yo Takami

Wretched Egg (I refer to her as Sorae after Ganta’s mother)/Minatsuki Takami (Hummingbird)

Yo Takami/Ganta Igarashi (Woodpecker)

Death And Cremation

Stanley/Jarod Leary

Devil’s Carnival

The Devil/Tamara

Scorpion/Tamara

The Twin/Hobo Clown

Digimon

Matt/Tai

Willis/Davis

Dragon Age

Alistair Theirin/Cullen Rutherford

Alistair Theirin/Kallianne Cousland

Anders/Ethan Hawke

Anders/Fenris/Ethan Hawke

Anders/Jowan

Anders/Jowan/Ethan Hawke

Anders/Karl Thekla

Anders/Karl Thekla/Ethan Hawke

Anders/Sebastian Vael

Anders/Sebastian Vael/Ethan Hawke

Arishok/Carver Hawke

Arishok/Ethan Hawke

Ashaad/Ketojan/Saemus Dumar

Ashaad/Saemus Dumar

Bartrand Tethras/Carver Hawke

Bemis Cousland/Lysander Amell (OC Ship)

Blackwall/Carver Hawke

Cole/Dorian Pavus

Cullen Rutherford/Dorian Pavus

Cullen Rutherford/Ethan Hawke

Cullen Rutherford/Illeah Lavellan

Cullen Rutherford/Tempestia Surana

Danarius/Dorian Pavus

Duncan/Cailan Theirin

Fenris/Carver Hawke

Fenris/Ethan Hawke

Fenris/Sahir Nadeer (OC)

Greagoir/Irving

Herren/Wade

Jarvia/Isabela

Jowan/Sister(Mother) Petrice

Justice/Seneschal Bran

Ketojan/Saemus Dumar

Leliana/Josephine MontilyetLoghain Mac Tir/Maric Theirin

Meeran/Carver Hawke

Sebastian Vael/Ethan Hawke

The Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus

The Iron Bull/Solas

Varric Tethras/Ethan Hawke

Varric Tethras/Merrill

Varric Tethras/Solas

Zevran Arainai/Alistair Theirin

Zevran Arainai/Mortine Mahariel

Dreaming Mary

Boaris/Mary(Mari)

Father/Mary(Mari)

Foxanne/Bunnilda

Gwendell (Glenn)/Mary(Mari)

Ed, Edd, ‘n Eddy

Eddy/Edd

Kevin/Edd

Kevin/Rolf

Johnny/Jimmy

Sarah/Jimmy

The Evil Within

Reuben ‘Ruvik’ Victoriano/Leslie Withers

Sebastian Castellanos/Joseph Oda

Fallout Universe

Barrett/Murphy

Benjamin ‘Benji’ Montgomery/Derek Segraves(MLW)

Butch DeLoria/Derek Segraves(MLW)

Charon/Derek Segraves(MLW)

Charon/Iib Townshend(FLW)

Colin Moriarity/Andy Stahl

Desmond Lockheart/Derek Segraves(MLW)

Everett/Derek Segraves(MLW)

Flash/Derek Segraves(MLW)

Karl/Justin

Mercenary/Moira Brown

Sole Survivor/Sole Survivor

Three Dog/Gob

Timebomb/Derek Segraves(MLW)

Vance/Ian West

Wally Mack/Derek Segraves(MLW)

Wally Mack/Paul Hanon

Walter/Leo Stahl

Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest

Zak Young/Pips

Final Fantasy

Balthier/Vaan

Cloud Strife/Kadaj

Fang/Lightning

Genesis Rhapsodos/Sephiroth

Gilliam ‘Gil’ Blat/Angeal Hewley (OC/Canon Ship)

Gippal/Baralai

Layle/Keiss

Loz/Yazoo

Lulu/Yuna

Paine/Rikku

Reeve Tuesti/Vincent Valentine

Rude/Reno

Seifer Almasy/Zell Dincht

Snow/Hope

Squall Leonhart/Irvine Kinneas

Tseng/Rufus ShinRa

Wakka/Tidus

Zack Fair/Cloud Strife

Gravity Falls

Mabel Pines/Pacifica

Robbie/Dipper Pines

Thompson/Mabel Pines

Wendy/Tambry

Harry Potter (Movieverse) - ON HIATUS

Blaize Zabini/Saemus Finnegan

Dean Thomas/Saemus Finnegan

Lee Jordan/Saemus Finnegan

Oliver Wood/Marcus Flint

Ron Weasley/Draco Malfoy

Severus Snape/Lucius Malfoy

Harry Potter/Hermione Granger

Heathers (Movieverse, Slight Musicalverse)

Jason Dean/Lucas Ward (Dismissed Crossover)

Heather Chandler/Heather Duke

Heather Duke/Veronica Sawyer

Jason Dean/Firkle Smith (South Park Crossover)

Jason Dean/Vernon Sawyer (Male Veronica)

Jason Dean/Veronica Sawyer

Jason Dean/Victor Criss (IT Crossover)

Kurt Kelly/Ram

Veronica Sawyer/Heather McNamara

Veronica Sawyer/Martha Dunstock

Hellboy (Movieverse)

Hellboy/Abe Sapien

Hey Arnold

Helga G. Pataki/Rhonda Wellington Lloyd

Nadine/Rhonda Wellington Lloyd

Stinky Peterson/Sid

Torvald/Stoop Kid

Inception

Dom Cobb/Ariadne

Eames/Arthur

Insidious

Josh Lambert/Parker Crane

Josh Lambert/Specs

Tucker/Specs

Invader Zim

Dib Membrane/Zim

Red/Purple

Tak/Gaz Membrane

The Iron Giant

Dean/Hogarth

IT (2017)

Belch Huggins/Victor Criss

Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh

Bill Denbrough/Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh

Bill Denbrough/Beverly Marsh

Bill Denbrough/Stan Uris

Butch Bowers/Patrick Hockstetter

Butch Bowers/Victor Criss

Henry Bowers/Belch Huggins

Henry Bowers/Belch Huggins/Victor Criss

Henry Bowers/Victor Criss

Mike Hanlon/Bill Denbrough/Stan Uris

Mike Hanlon/Patrick Hockstetter

Mike Hanlon/Richie Rozier/Stan Uris/Eddie Kaspbrak

Mike Hanlon/Stan Uris

Mike Hanlon/Victor Criss

Patrick Hockstetter/Avery Hockstetter

Patrick Hockstetter/Belch Huggins

Patrick Hockstetter/Belch Huggins/Victor Criss

Patrick Hockstetter/Henry Bowers

Patrick Hockstetter/Henry Bowers/Belch Huggins

Patrick Hockstetter/Henry Bowers/Belch Huggins/Victor Criss

Patrick Hockstetter/Henry Bowers/Victor Criss

Patrick Hockstetter/Victor Criss

Pennywise/Pennywise

Pennywise/Victor Criss

Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak

Richie Tozier/Stan Uris/Eddie Kaspbrak

Jeepers Creepers

Jeepers Creepers/Darry

Kick-Ass/2 Movieverse

Todd Haynes/Katarina Dombrovski

Dave Lizewski/Chris D'Amico

Javier/Chris D'Amico

Kingdom Hearts

Axel/Demyx

Axel/Marluxia

Larxene/Namine

Lexaeus/Zexion

Luxord/Demyx

Luxord/Marluxia

Luxord/Xaldin

Pence/Olette

Rai/Fuu

Riku/Sora

Roxas/Xion

Saix/Demyx

Saix/Xemnas

Seifer/Hayner

Vexen/Marluxia

Xigbar/Demyx

Xigbar/Xaldin

Krampus

Howard/Tom Engel

Krampus/Max Engel

Krampus/Tom Engel

Tom Engel/Max Engel

Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler

Claude Faustus/Alois Trancy

Pluto/Grell Sutcliffe

Undertaker/Grell Sutcliffe

Undertaker/William Spears/Grell Sutcliffe

League Of Super Evil

Doomageddon/Doktor Frogg

Red Menace/Doktor Frogg

Left 4 Dead/2

Keith/Dave

Keith/Ellis

Louis/Francis

Nick/Dave

Nick/Ellis

OC/OC

Lollipop Chainsaw

Gideon Starling/Elizabeth Starling

Lewis Legend/Swan

Nick Carlyle/Juliet Starling

Vikke/Josey

Zed/Mariska

Zed/Swan

Mad Max

Angharad/Capable

Dag/Capable

Dag/Cheedo

Dag/Toast

Max Rockatansky/Blood Shed Ted

Max Rockatansky/Imperator Furiosa

Nux/Slit

OC/OC

Rictus Erectus/The Ace

Stank Gum/Scabrous Scrotus

Marvel

Alex Summers/Hank McCoy/Sean Cassidy

Alex Summers/Sean Cassidy

Azazel/Emma Frost

Azazel/Kurt Wagner

Bruce Banner/Tony Stark

Erik Lensherr/Charles Xavier

Hank McCoy/Charles Xavier

Hank McCoy/Sean Cassidy

Lance Alvers/Pietro Maximoff

Loki Laufeyson/Tony Stark

Mortimer Toynbee/Emma Frost

St. John Allerdyce/Pietro Maximoff

St. John Allerdyce/Tabitha Smith

Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

The Incredible Hulk/Tony Stark

Todd Tolansky/Kurt Wagner

Todd Tolansky/Pietro Maximoff

Tony Stark/Pepper Pots

Wade Winston Wilson/Bob, Agent Of Hydra

Wanda Maximoff/Anne-Marie (Rogue)

Miraculous Ladybug

Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

The Mist (2017)

Tyler Denton/Adrian Garf

Monster Prom

Amira Red/Miranda Vanderbilt

Amira Red/Polly Geist

Brian Green/Damien LaVey

Brian Green/Damien LaVey/Liam De Lioncourt/Oz Yellow

Brian Green/Oz Yellow

Damien LaVey/Liam De Lioncourt

Liam De Lioncourt/Oz Yellow

Scott Howl/Football Team

Scott Howl/Liam De Lioncourt

Scott Howl/Vicky Blue

Vera Oberlin/Polly Geist

Vicky Blue/Polly Geist

Monsters University/Inc.

Brock Pearson/Claire Wheeler

James P. “Sulley” Sullivan/Michael “Mike” Wizowski

Johnny J. Worthington III/Randall “Randy” Boggs

Nadia Petrov/Taylor Harbrooke

Night In The Woods

Angus Delaney/Greggory Lee

Bea Santello/Mae Borowski

Casey Hartley/Greggory Lee

Levy/Steve Skriggins

Jeremy “Germ Warfare” Warton/Selma Ann “Selmers” Forrester

Outlast

Edward “Eddie” Gluskin (The Groom)/Terry “Theresa” Harriss (OC)

Portal/2

Adventure Core/Fact Core

Cave Johnson/Caroline

Cave Johnson/Evil Cave Johnson

Chell/GLaDOS

Companion Cube/Turret

Logic Core/Curiosity Core

Weighted Cube/Defective Turret

Wheatley/Space Core

Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time (Movieverse)

Garsiv/Dastan

Princess And The Goblin

Prince Froglip/Princess Irene

Rick And Morty

Abradolf Lincoler/Nancy

Birdperson/Tammy Gueterman

Brad/Morty Smith

Greaser Morty/Punk Morty

Lucius Needful/Summer Smith

Rick Sanchez/Morty Smith (in all/most incarnations)

Summer Smith/Jessica

Regular Show

Don/Rigby

Mordecai/Rigby

Skips/Benson

Rocket Power

Lars Rodriguez/Twister Rodriguez

Otto Rocket/Sam Dullard

Saw

John Kramer/Amanda Young

Lawrence Gordon/Adam Faulkner

Logan Nelson/David (Saw .5)

Lukas Faulkner (OC)/Adam Faulkner

Lukas Faulkner (OC)/David (Saw .5)

Lukas Faulkner (OC)/Scott Tibbs

Lynn Denlon/Amanda Young

Mark Hoffman/Peter Strahm

Scott Tibbs/Adam Faulkner

Scott Tibbs/Lark

Silent Hill

Butcher/Valtiel

Pyramid Head/Alessa Gilespie

Walter Sullivan/Murphey Pendleton

South Park

Bradley (Cartman Sucks)/Leopold “Butters” Stotch

Christophe “Ze Mole”/Firkle

Christophe “Ze Mole”/Kyle Broflovski

Christophe “Ze Mole”/Leopold “Butters” Stotch

Clyde Donovan/Bebe Stevens

Craig Tucker/Gregory of Yardale/Tweek Tweak

Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak

Damien Thorn/Firkle

Damien Thorn/Phillip “Pip” Pirrup

Eric Cartman/Bebe Stevens

Eric Cartman/Firkle

Eric Cartman/Wendy Testaburger

Filmore Anderson/Firkle

Gregory of Yardale/Tweek Tweak

Ike Broflovski/Firkle

Kenny McCormick/Bradley (Cartman Sucks)/Leopold “Butters” Stotch

Kenny McCormick/Firkle

Kenny McCormick/Kyle Broflovski

Kenny McCormick/Leopold “Butters” Stotch

Kevin McCormick/Firkle

Michael/Pete

Michael/Firkle

Mike Makowski/Firkle

Mike Makowski/Larry

Nathan/Firkle

Quaid/Filmore Anderson

Quaid/Firkle

Red/Henrietta Biggle

Ryan Ellis/Larry

Scott Malkinson/New Kid

Scott Tenorman/Firkle

Stan Marsh/Firkle

Stan Marsh/Gregory Of Yardale

Stan Marsh/Pete

Stan Marsh/Gary Harrison

Stan Marsh/Wendy Testaburger

Trent Boyett/Firkle

Token Black/Clyde Donnovan

Token Black/Clyde Donnovan/Bebe Stevens

Team Fortress 2 (I have OC’s for this)

Demoman/Soldier

Engineer/Medic

Heavy/Medic

Pyro/Medic

Pyro/Scout

Pyro/Sniper

Sniper/Medic

Sniper/Scout

Soldier/Engineer

Spy/Scout

Spy/Sniper/Scout

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Leonardo/Donatello

Raphael/Casey Jones

Raphael/Michelangelo

Until Dawn

Billy Bates/Mike Munroe

Josh Washington/Chris

Josh Washington/Mike Munroe

Matt/Chris

Matt/Mike Munroe

Matt/Mike Munroe/Jessica/Sam/Billy Bates

Mike Munroe/Jessica

Mike Munroe/Sam

The Walking Dead

Glen Rhee/Daryl Dixon

Merle Dixon/Daryl Dixon

Rick Grimes/Daryl Dixon

We’re Back

Louis/Cecilia Nuthatch

Yami No Matsuei/Descendents Of Darkness

Hisoka Kurosaki/Asato Tsuzuki

Seiichiro Tatsumi/Yutaka Watari

Zootopia

Chief Bogo/Benjamin Clawhauser

Finnick/Gideon Grey

Larry/Gary

Nick Wilde/Judy Hopps

Pronk Oryx-Antlerson/Bucky Oryx-Antlerson

#Current Fandom List

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racingtoaredlight · 5 years ago

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RTARL’s 2020 NFL Season Week 1 Extravapalooza

Two months ago, I really didn’t think the NFL would be kicking off this weekend as scheduled. You know, because of the ongoing viral pandemic that America has not at all managed to tamp down in any meaningful way. In hindsight, it was extremely naive of me to underestimate the coercive power of extremely lucrative television deals and non-guaranteed player contracts.

I don’t want to be a total downer and make it seem as though I’m not excited to watch the games, because I totally am. Football is and always will be a fucking blast to watch. It’s just that enjoying the NFL already requires a fair degree of mental bargaining and downright self-deception, and the possibility of COVID-19 tearing through an offensive line group comprised of men suffering from one of the worst comorbidities you can have with this disease (obesity) makes that calculus even more difficult.

These guys are all adults who have chosen to play, and they’re being well-compensated for their efforts. I get it. But, I still worry for them. Does the worry stem from genuine concern, or is it just that I don’t want to deal with feeling guilty down the line if somebody really does have their career cut short (or worse) due to playing a game for my entertainment during a society-wide health crisis? It’s a tough question to answer, honestly.

Anyway, let’s all form the online equivalent of a season-long prayer circle and hope that each and every one of these beefy boys makes it through without having their careers (or the lives of their loved ones and elderly coaches) drastically impacted by the effects of COVID-19. If a bunch of postponed games are the worst things that happen this season (Bill O’Brien’s playcalling notwithstanding), I’ll be a happy camper.

Now onto my dogshit picks! The picks are in BOLD, and the lines come to us courtesy of our friends at Vegas Insider. I use the “VI Consensus” line, which is the line that occurs most frequently across Vegas Insider’s list of sportsbooks. Your sportsbook of choice may offer a different number, and if you’d like my opinion on said number A) you are insane, and B) leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer at some point before kickoff today.

Early Games

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots (-7)

The Dolphins were exceptionally feisty toward the latter part of last season, and I see no reason why that won’t continue. Between the Patriots’ loss of defensive personnel due to Free Agency or COVID-19 opt-outs and Cam Newton’s adjustment period absent a preseason, I think this game’s gonna be a grind.

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens (-7.5)

As of this writing, it looks like the Browns are going to be down 3 DBs, a linebacker, and 3 offensive lineman. That’s not great, imo. I do expect them to be pretty good this year, though.

New York Jets at Buffalo Bills (-6.5)

My God, the Jets. If the players truly cared about winning they’d purposely get blown out in as many consecutive games as it takes to get Adam Gase fired. Josh Allen remains the league’s preeminent “Fuck it, I’m Chuckin’ it” player, and I love him for it.

Las Vegas Raiders (-3) at Carolina Panthers

Both quarterbacks in this game are risk-averse to a borderline detrimental degree. If you enjoy checkdowns and dumpoffs, this is the game for you.

Seattle Seahawks (-2) at Atlanta Falcons

I think barring an uncharacteristically shitty season, Russell Wilson is going to be this year’s MVP winner. The reason I think this is because there’s already a narrative building about the fact that it’s crazy that he’s never received an MVP vote despite being excellent for his entire career. The Falcons, with their impossibly shitty defense and loaded passing game, are going to be a solid place to spend your entertainment dollars this season.

Philadelphia Eagles (-5.5) at Washington Football Team

I’m picking Washington explicitly because Mina Kimes tweeted that this game would be close and who am I to question her? I was surprised to learn that Boston Scott was Philly’s starting RB and not Mark Wahlberg’s character in Ocean’s 14.

Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions (-2.5)

Matthew Stafford is one of my favorite players, and I do think the Lions will be in the playoff hunt this season. But for today, they’re down Kenny Golladay and Stafford hasn’t had a chance to knock the rust off in live action yet. The Bears D should be able to hold things down enough for the win here.

Indianapolis Colts (-8) at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Colts giving 8 seems insane to me. Sure, Jacksonville’s front office appears to be blatantly trying to field a losing team, but c’mon. They’ve still got the Minshew-Chark love connection, and the Colts are trying to break in a new QB in Phil Rivers.

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings (-2.5)

I really hope we get Rejuvenated Awesome Aaron Rodgers this season instead of Passive-Aggressive Counting Down the Days Until He’s Out of Town Aaron Rodgers. Kurt Cousins continues to entertain me one way or another, he’s the best.

Late Games

Los Angeles Chargers (-3) at Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow is such a cool dude. I’m rooting for him to be great, but the Bengals organization is going to make that as difficult as possible. I’m picking them to spring the mild upset on the Chargers, mostly because I’m a sucker.

Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers (-7)

This game, if it ends up taking place today, is going to be played in the middle of a goddamned inferno, Kane vs Undertaker style. On the plus side, the smoke coating the players’ lungs and airways should shield them from any coronavirus particles.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints (-3.5)

Huh, Tampa has a new QB. It’ll probably be tough for them to gel offensively until later in the season, especially with Mike Evans already dealing with a balky hammy. The admirably loyal Drew Brees will lead his men to a big win today, much to the delight of his fanbase that he loves and would never hurt in any way.

SNF Game: Dallas Cowboys (-2.5) at Los Angeles Rams

Dak Prescott is such a weakling he was actually sad when his brother killed himself, meanwhile Jared Goff ate his twin brother in-utero. Advantage: Rams. Seriously though, fuck Skip Bayless.

MNF Game #1: Pittsburgh Steelers (-6) at New York Giants

Why do I think that Daniel Jones is going to be really good this year? I’m genuinely asking, I don’t know the answer. Someone please help me. Ben Roethlisberger looks alarmingly like a bloated corpse these days, so don’t be surprised if you see a certain Super Bowl winning QB-turned-analyst lurking on the Pittsburgh sideline.

MNF Game #2: Tennessee Titans (-3) at Denver Broncos

It really sucks that Von Miller suffered a season-ending injury during practice this week. I realize he’s probably on the downside of his career at this point, but whenever I see his name I immediately flash back to watching him absolutely destroy multiple O-lines and QBs in several different playoff games. Von Miller could suit up at age 50 against my team and I’d still be terrified of him. What an awesome player.

Last Season’s Record: 113-115-6

#NFL #Football #Gambling #Extravapalooza

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norikateatro · 8 years ago

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Norikateatro’s Bootleg list! 💙

As of: October 22nd, 2017😄!

Please message me if you want a bootleg! Do not comment *If you want to trade with me that’ll be really cool!

Miss Saigon Manila: December 24th, 2000 Full Show Cast: Lea Salonga (Kim) , Will Chase (Chris) , Leo Tavarro Valdez (Engineer), Ron K. Smith, Lisa Capps (Ellen), Robert Seña (They), Isay Alvarez (Gigi)

Aladdin (OBC)

Beauty and The Beast: Broadway- April 28th, 2002 Cast: Sarah Litzsinger as Belle, Steve Blanchard as Beast, Bryan Batt as Lumiere, and Beth Fowler as Mrs. Potts, and Nicholas Jonas as Chip

Chicago US tour: November 23th, 2005 Chicago, IL Cast: Paige Davis, Brenda Braxton, Tom Wopat, Carol Woods

Cats- UK tour, Wolverhampton 30 March 2013 full show Cast: Joanna Ampil (Grizabella) Katie Warsop (Rumpleteazer) Clare Rickard (Jellylorum) Melissa James (Bombalurina) Lily Fraser (Demeter) Alice Redmond (Jennyanydots) Alicia Beck (Victoria/White Cat) Dawn Williams (Jemima) Nicholas Pound (Old Deutoronomy) Ben Palmer (Munkustrap) Oliver Savile (Rum Tum Tugger) Joseph Poulton (Quazo/Mistoffelees) Paul F Monaghan (Asparagus/Bustopher Jones/Growl Tiger:) Barnaby Thompson (Mungojerrie) Ross Finnie (Skimbleshanks) Jessica Buckby (Cassandra) Lizzi Franklin (Tantomile) Joal Morris (Carbucketty) Richard Astbury (Coricopat) Cameron Ball (Admetus/Macavity) James Darch (Alonzo) and Will Lucas (Bill Bailey).

Cats Broadway: July 2016 VOB Cast: Leona Lewis (Grizabella), Tyler Hanes (Rum Tum Tugger), Ricky Ubeda (Mistoffelees), Quentin Earl Darrington (Old Deuteronomy), Eloise Kropp (Jennyanydots), Giuseppe Bausilio (Carbucketty), Jeremy Davis (Skimbleshanks), Kim Faure (Demeter), Sara Jean Ford (Jellylorum), Lili Froehlich (Electra), Daniel Gaymon (Macavity), Shonica Gooden (Rumpleteazer), Christopher Gurr (Gus/Bustopher Jones), Andy Huntington Jones (Munkustrap), Kolton Krouse (Tumblebrutus), Jess Le Protto (Mungojerrie), Georgina Pazcougin (Victoria), Emily Pynenburg (Cassandra), Arianna Rosario (SIllabub), Ahmad Smmons (Alonzo), Christine Cornish Smith (Bombalurina), Corey Snide (Coricopat), Emily Tate (Tantomile), Sharrod Wiliams (Pouncival)

Come Far Away (OBC)

Dear Evan Hansen (Broadway) Cast: Ben Platt, Laura Dreyfuss, Will Roland, Kristolyn Lloyd, Mike Faist, Rachel Bay Jones, Michael Park, Jennifer Laura Thompson (OBC)

Falsettos Broadway: October 28th, 2016 Cast: Christian Borle (Marvin), Andrew Rannells (Whizzer), Stephanie J. Block (Trina), Brandon Uranowitz (Mendel), Anthony Rosenthal (Jason), Tracie Thoms (Charlotte), Betsy Wolfe (Cordelia) Link:

Finding Neverland (OBC)

Wicked Broadway: Preview October 12th, 2003 Original Broadway Cast Cast: Idina Menzel (Elphaba), Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda), Norbert Leo Butz (Fiyero), Carole Shelley (Madame Morrible), Joel Grey (The Wizard) Michelle Federer (Nessarose), Christopher Fitzgerald (Boq), William Youmans (Dr. Dillamond)

Wicked Chicago: July 1, 2005- Cast: Ana Gasteyer (Elphaba), Kate Reinders (Glinda), Kristoffer Cusick (Fiyero), Gene Weygandt (The Wizard), Steven Skybell (Doctor Dillamond), Rondi Reed (Madame Morrible), Heidi Kettenring Nessarose), Telly Leung (Boq)

Wicked (Broadway): January 8, 2006 Cast: Shoshana Bean (Elphaba), Megan Hilty (Glinda), David Ayers (Fiyero), Rue McClanahan (Madame Morrible), Ben Vereen (The Wizard), Michelle Federer (Nessarose), Rob Sapp (Boq), Sean McCourt (Dr. Dillamond). notes: Shoshanna's, David's, Rue's and Michelle's last performances. Camera wanders at points due to the master's blind filming.

Wicked (Broadway): May 28, 2006) (Megan’s Last) cast: Eden Espinosa (Elphaba), Megan Hilty (Glinda), David Garrison (The Wizard), Derrick Williams (Fiyero), Carol Kane (Madame Morrible), Jenna Leigh Green (Nessarose), Rob Sapp (Boq), David McCourt (Dr. Dillamond)

Wicked First National Tour PROSHOT May 2006 - Victoria Matlock (s/b Elphaba), Kendra Kassebaum, Nicolas Dromard (u/s Fiyero), Jennifer Waldman (Nessarose), Alma Cuervo (Morrible), PJ Benjamin (The Wizard) *Proshot from one camera at the back of the house. Sound is patched in from the soundboard and is incredibly clear. Some washout, but amazing to see the set and choreo like this.

Wicked Broadway: July 17th, 2008 Cast: Kerry Ellis (Elphaba), Kendra Kassebaum (Glinda), David Burnham (Fiyero), Cristy Candler (Nessarose), Ben Liebert (Boq), Lenny Wolpe (The Wizard), Jayne Houdyshell (Madame Morrible), Steven Skybell (Dr. Dillamond) Notes: Kerry’s first on Broadway

Wicked 1st National Tour: March 4, 2007 Baltimore, Maryland Cast: Victoria Matlock (Elphaba), Christina DeCicco (Glinda), Cliffton Hall (Fiyero), Deedee Magno Hall (Nessarose), Barbara Tirrell (Morrible), P.J. Benjamin (Wizard), Josh Lamon (Boq), Tom Flynn (Dillamond),Paul Slade Smith as Witch’s Father/Frex, Lori Homles as Witch’s Mother/Melena, Leslie Becker as Midwife/ Nanny

Wicked Broadway: October 9, 2007 (mp4) Stephanie J. Block (Elphaba), Annaleigh Ashford (Glinda), Sebastian Arcelus (Fiyero), Kathy Santen (Morrible), Lenny Wolpe (Wizard), Logan Lipton (Boq), Cristy Candler (Nessarose), Steven Skybell (Dillamond)

Wicked Broadway: February 1, 2015

Cast: Lilli Cooper (s/b Elphaba), Kara Lindsay (Glinda), Jerad Bortz (u/s Fiyero), Brian Munn (u/s The Wizard), Kathy Fitzgerald (Madame Morrible), Catherine Charlebois (Nessarose), Robin De Jesus (Boq).

Wicked 2nd National Tour (Madison, WI): May 28, 2013 Cast: Jennifer DiNoia (Elphaba), Hayley Podschun (Glinda), David Nathan Perlow (Fiyero), Walker Jones (The Wizard), Gina Ferrall (Madame Morrible), Zarah Mahler (Nessarose), Michael Wartella (Boq), Jay Russell (Doctor Dillamond). quality: An absolutely beautiful HD capture with no obstructions. Jennifer is wonderful as Elphaba. Link:

Wicked West End: October 27th, 2014 Cast: Jennifer DiNoia (Elphaba), Savannah Stevenson (G(a)linda) Jeremy Taylor (Fiyero), Liza Sadovy (Madame Morrible), Martyn Ellis (The Wizard), Katie Rowley-Jones (Nessarose), Sam Lupton (Boq), Philip Childs (Dr. Dillamond)

Wicked 2nd National Tour: Jessica Vosk

Wicked Broadway: June 21, 2016 Cast: Rachel Tucker (Elphaba), Ginna Claire Mason (s/b Glinda), Jonah Platt (Fiyero), Peter Scolari (The Wizard), Judy Kaye (Madame Morrible), Dawn Cantwell (Nessarose), Zachary Noah Piser (Boq), Michael Genet (Doctor Dillamond).

Wicked San Francisco: September 5, 2010 (Last Show) Marcie Dodd (Elphaba) Alli Mauzey (Glinda) Clifton C. Hall (Fiyero) Jody Gelb (Madame Morrible) Tom McGowan (The Wizard) DeeDee Magno Hall (Nessarose) Etai Benshlomo (Boq)

Wicked 1st National Tour: December 12, 2007; St. Louis, MO. Carmen Cusack (Elphaba), Katie Rose Clarke (Glinda), Cliffton Hall (Fiyero), Alma Cuervo (Madame Morrible), Lee Wilkof (The Wizard), Deedee Magno Hall (Nessarose), Brad Weinstock (Boq), Tom Flynn (Dr. Dillamond)

Wicked UK/International Tour April 15th, 2017 Jodie Steele (alt. Elphaba), Carly Anderson (Glinda), Bradley Jaden (Fiyero), Kim Ismay (Mme. Morrible), Steven Pinder (Dr. Dillamond/Wizard), Emily Shaw (Nessarose), Iddon Jones (Boq)

Waitress (Broadway) − June 14, 2016: Jessie Mueller (Jenna), Keala Settle (Becky), Kimiko Glenn (Dawn), Drew Gehling (Dr Pomatter), Nick Cordero (Earl), Dakin Matthews (Joe), Eric Anderson (Cal), Christopher Fitzgerald (Ogie) (OBC)

Waitress ( Broadway) April, 2017 Cast: Sara Bareilles, Charity Angel Dawson, Molly Jobe as (u/s) Dawn, Chris Diamantopoulos, Will Swenson, Dakin Matthews, Eric Anderson, Christopher Fitzgerald Link:

El Hombre de La Mancha: Santiago, Chile Teatro Munipal:: 1974

Cast: Frankie Bravo, Jose del Campo, Omar Galarcé, Fernando Gallardo, Mary Hernandez, José Maria Langlais, Valentina Martinez, Alicia Quiroga, Carlos Trujillo

El Hombre de La Mancha: Madrid, Teatro Lope de Vega de Madrid Cast: David V Muro (Cervantes / Quixote) The rest of the cast is unknown

Mary Poppins- US tour February 15 2013 Full Show Cast: Con O'Shea-Creal (Bert), Madeline Trumble (Mary Poppins), Madison Ann Mullahey (Jane Banks), Eli Tokash (Michael Banks), Chris K. Hoch (George Banks), Kerry Conte (Winifred Banks)

Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway) − October 29, 2016: Josh Groban, Denee Benton, Brittain Ashford, Nicholas Belton, Lucas Steele, Gelsey Bell, Nick Choksi, Amber Gray

Hamilton Broadway August 13th, 2016 - Javier Munoz (Alexander Hamilton), Lexi Lawson (Eliza Hamilton), Sydney James Harcourt (u/s Aaron Burr), Renee Elise Goldsberry ( Angelica Schuyler), Christopher Jackson (George Washington), Andrew Chappelle (u/s Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson), Ephraim Sykes (u/s Hercules Mulligan/James Madison), Anthony Ramos (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton), Jasmine Cephas Jones (Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds), Rory O’Malley (King George), Roddy Kennedy (u/s Philip Schuyler/James Reynolds/Doctor), Thayne Jasperson (Samuel Seabury), Neil Haskell (Charles Lee), David Guzman (u/s George Eacker), Ensemble: Carleigh Bettiol, Hope Easterbrook, Karla Puno Garcia, Gregory Haney, Sasha Hollinger, Seth Stewart, Kamille Upshaw

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: April 1st, 2017

Heathers- Concert reading at Joe's Pub - September 14 2010 Annaleigh Ashford (Veronica), Jeremy Jordan (Jason Dean), Jenna Leigh Green (Heather Chandler), Corri English (Heather McNamara), Christine Lakin (Heather Duke), James Snyder (Kurt), PJ Griffith (Ram), Julie Garnye (Martha)

Heather Off Broadway- Cast: Dan Domenech as JD, Barrett Wilbert Weed as Veronica, and Charissa Hogeland as Heather Chandler

Spongebob the Musical: Chicago (Try-Out)

Wants: Anything with Wicked, Cats México or Argentina, Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, Heathers, The Wizard of Oz, and anything I don’t have!

Looking for a bootleg for Wicked in México

#wicked the musical #broadway bootlegs #heathers #beauty and the beast #spongebob the musical #hamilton #Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 #bootlegs #norikateatro

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actutrends · 6 years ago

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Eli Manning’s legacy, NFL playoff picture, Raiders farewell and more

Eli Manning said his farewell to New York on Sunday, but the Giants legend deserves a moment of remembrance beyond the cheers.

Eli Manning had the rarest of moments in sports. He got to say a proper goodbye.

Manning walked off the MetLife Stadium field to a standing ovation from the remaining fans following a 36-20 win over the Miami Dolphins. The New York Giants are a forgettable 3-11 and Manning is finished as a quality quarterback, but the day wasn’t about the present. It was about a career worth celebrating.

For years, Manning has been an unfortunate punching bag both locally and nationally. Some fans were happy when No. 10 was benched for Geno Smith by former head coach Ben McAdoo. On social media, the 38-year-old has been meme’d and mocked.

Now, nobody is here to say Manning hasn’t been given a damn good shake. He was taken first-overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers before forcing his way to the Giants. Once there, he learned under Kurt Warner before starting the second half of his rookie season. Manning was blessed to play for a future Hall of Fame coach in Tom Coughlin, surrounded by elite talent on both sides of the ball.

Manning is no victim, but he is underrated. History will remember him in a better light.

Why? Because regular-season miscues fade when compared to Manning’s postseason exploits. The four-time Pro Bowler has thrown 241 interceptions, and lost as many games as he has won. He’s led the league in INTs three times and made the postseason only six times in 16 years.

Still, Manning made the most of his opportunities.

Manning was never elite. He never put up Hall of Fame numbers. In 2007, Manning went to Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay in the playoffs, and won ’em all. In Super Bowl XLII, he engineered one of the great NFL upsets, beating a previously-undefeated New England Patriots team, highlights by his epic late-down-the-middle heave to David Tyree.

Four seasons later, Manning once again won the NFC Championship Game on the road, taking brutal shots from the San Francisco 49ers. Two weeks later, he stayed the Pats once more, punctuated by a phenomenal sideline throw to Mario Manningham.

Manning’s two best plays essentially won two Super Bowls. How many players’ best moments are so important?

Arguing Manning as a great quarterback is incorrect. Arguing him as one of the most important in the game’s history is a better route. And, frankly, that is Manning’s potential ticket to the Hall of Fame. You can’t tell the NFL’s story without him.

After this season, Manning will be finished in New York. Maybe he’s finished period. He doesn’t need the money, so why hold a clipboard?

If this is it, Manning will retire as an unqualified success. Two rings, two indelible moments.

On Sunday, Giants fans got to say goodbye. Another moment for Manning.

Power rankings

Top 10 underrated quarterbacks in NFL history

1. Y.A. Tittle, New York Giants (MVP, 3x All-Pro, 7x Pro Bowl, 242 TDs) 2. Dan Fouts, San Diego Chargers (4x passing champ, 6x Pro Bowl, Off. POY, HOF) 3. Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers (3x Super Bowl champ, 3x All-Pro, 2x MVP) 4. Boomer Esiason, Cincinnati Bengals (4x Pro Bowl, 1x All-Pro, MVP, Super Bowl appearance) 5. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (4x Pro Bowl, 1x All-Pro, MVP, Super Bowl appearance) 6. Steve McNair, Tennessee Titans (3x Pro Bowl, MVP, Super Bowl appearance) 7. Phil Simms, New York Giants (2x Super Bowl champion, 199 TDs) 8. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals/Arizona Cardinals (3x Pro Bowl, 46,247 yards) 9. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles (6x Pro Bowl, Super Bowl appearance) 10. Mark Brunell, Jacksonville Jaguars (3x Pro Bowl, 184 TDs)

Quotable

“I’ll be fine. The doctor says if everybody go out and vote for me for Man of the Year, it’ll be better.”

– Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner on his ankle after win over the Carolina Panthers

After injuring his ankle during a 30-24 triumph in Carolina, Wagner gave Seattle fans the best news on the day. The All-Pro linebacker’s health is fine as the Seahawks remain in control of their own destiny.

With two more wins — including a Week 17 win over the 49ers in CenturyLink Field — Seattle would finish the regular season 13-3 and the NFC’s top seed.

Plenty to shake out in the NFC playoff picture.

Podcast

Random stat

Jameis Winston threw his 30th touchdown on Sunday in a 38-17 win over the Detroit Lions. Should he throw for 427 yards over Tampa Bay’s final two games, he’ll eclipse the 5,000-yard mark.

If Winston does so, he becomes the eighth quarterback all-time to amass 5,000 passing yards and 30 touchdowns in a single season. After rampant speculation regarding Winston’s future, it seems quite likely the Buccaneers will bring him back for 2020 if not longer after a breakout campaign.

Info learned this week

1. Texans wrestle control from Titans, and now the race clears up

Deshaun Watson and Bill O’Brien are breathing much easier.

After beating the previously red-hot Tennessee Titans 24-21 on Sunday, the Houston Texans suddenly have a vice grip on the AFC South. While only leading by a game with two remaining, Houston owns the tiebreaker over Tennessee. A win against Tampa Bay on Sunday or the Titans in Week 17 wraps up a second straight division title.

As for Tennessee, a late surge might come up short. The Titans need to beat the New Orleans Saints next week and then take down the Texans to have any realistic shot of a playoff berth. While conceivable, a tall order.

Should the Titans come up short, the next questions surround Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry. Both have proven huge cogs in the offense alongside rookie receiver A.J. Brown. How does general manager Jon Robinson allocate resources?

The thought here? A long-term deal for Henry, and a pay-as-you-go pact for Tannehill dressed up as a multi-year contract.

2. Ravens, Chiefs separating from rest of AFC

The New England Patriots can’t be discounted. The Baltimore Ravens and Kanas City Chiefs are the AFC’s top two teams. Both things can be true at once.

On Thursday, Lamar Jackson accounted for five touchdowns in a rout of the New York Jets. On Sunday, Kansas City’s emerging defense smashed Drew Lock and the Denver Broncos. The Chiefs won 23-3, with Patrick Mahomes throwing for 340 yards and two scores. Both teams are rolling.

GOING DEEP: KC rookies are leading charge for Andy Reid’s club

Meanwhile, the Patriots led 13-10 at halftime over the one-win Bengals before pulling away in the second half for a 34-14 victory. Still, the trouble signs are everywhere. Tom Brady completed 15-of-29 for 128 yards. Of the wide receivers, N’Keal Harry led New England with 15 yards.

The Patriots are attempting to reach their fourth consecutive Super Bowl. They might well have a postseason bye. Counting out Brady and head coach Bill Belichick would be absurd.

It would also be absurd to not state the obvious. The Baltimore and Kansas City are ascending. New England appears stuck in neutral.

3. Packers’ offense a clear concern with playoffs looming

Green Bay keeps winning, but the Packers have obvious problems.

In a 21-13 win over the Chicago Bears, Aaron Rodgers went 16-of-33 for 203 yards and a touchdown. Green Bay was outgained 415-292 in total yards, only to be bailed out by a trio of Chicago turnovers.

Barring a loss to the last-place Detroit Lions in Week 17, the Packers will win the NFC North. They might even end up with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Still, Green Bay’s offense has largely been underwhelming in recent weeks. The defense is good, but can it be great against elite competition for a month straight?

If the Packers are going to win their fifth Lombardi Trophy, they’ll need Rodgers and the offense to be better than they’ve been.

4. Bills, Steelers must find offensive groove to be playoff threats

The Buffalo Bills are in. The Pittsburgh Steelers might be. If either wants to stay more than three hours, the offenses need to show up.

On Sunday night at Heinz Field, we saw two terrific defenses in Buffalo’s 17-10 win. We also saw Josh Allen miss one open receiver after the next, while Duck Hodges lived up to his first name with four interceptions. Yes, defense can win games, but in the playoffs, offenses rife with miscues go home.

On an aside, Bills fans should be thrilled. After failing to make the playoffs from 1999-2016, Buffalo is now making its second trip in three years under head coach Sean McDermott. Both he and general manager Brandon Beane deserve ample credit for the program they’ve built.

No, they aren’t serious AFC contenders yet, but the Bills are a good team. They’ve come a long way in a short time.

5. Cowboys, Eagles may finally put the NFC East race to a merciful end

Our long, national nightmare might end. We might have an NFC East champion come Sunday.

After throttling the Los Angeles Rams and essentially ending their playoff dreams, the Cowboys visit the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend. The same Eagles who barely survived the Washington Redskins and New York Giants, juggernauts who are a combined 6-20.

If Dallas wins, it clinches the NFC’s No. 4 seed. At 8-7 and with a tiebreaker over Philadelphia, Week 17 becomes moot. If the Eagles win, they would need either a win over New York or a Dallas loss to Washington in the season’s final weekend to advance.

Maybe the Cowboys turned the proverbial corner on Sunday. We’re about to find out.

History lesson

The Raiders played their final game in Oakland on Sunday. The postgame was emotional, with players and coaches saying their goodbyes to the Black Hole after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-16.

For longtime Raiders’ fans by the bay, it’s been a journey. The team was founded by Wayne Valley in 1960 in the American Football League. The organization was on the verge of relocation a few years later, only to be saved by a loan from Bills founder, Ralph Wilson.

From 1967-75, the Raiders went to seven AFC/AFL title games. They lost all but one, and were hammered by the Packers in Super Bowl II. Finally, in 1976, they went 13-1 and beat the Vikings in Super Bowl XI. Four years later, they won it all once more, handling the Eagles in the Superdome.

The return to glory was short. Owner Al Davis was in litigation against the NFL to move his team to Los Angeles. He won. The Los Angeles Raiders came to be in 1982. Thirteen years and a title later, they were back in Oakland. It seemed one of the league’s largest wrongs had been righted. Now, it’s so wrong again.

Perhaps Las Vegas ends up being a wonderful NFL city. Maybe the fans embrace the silver and black. Maybe the Raiders win a few Lombardi Trophies in the coming years.

Still, one can’t help but mourn the move. Oakland has great fans. It deserves so much more.

It deserves a football team.

Parting shot

Jay Glazer did all NFL fans a service on Sunday morning.

The well-respected FOX insider secured the Patriots footage in question last week regarding whether they filmed the Cincinnati sideline. From the initial viewing, New England can’t feel confident.

A cameraman in Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s employ filmed the Bengals’ sideline continuously. In the video, the same employee can clearly be heard offering to destroy the tape. No such luck. Whether Bill Belichick and his staff have any involvement remains to be seen. According to Glazer, the league is attempting to wrap up its investigation shortly. More answers are coming, and perhaps a stiff fine and the forfeiture of draft picks.

GOING DEEP: Video shows Patriots in hot water

Fans in New England will cry foul, but optics matter here as well. Whether the Patriots were trying to gain a competitive advantage or simply had someone on the payroll with no knowledge of league rules, it’s on them. They need to be held accountable for shoddy practices, and after being popped for both SpyGate and DeflateGate, one would imagine they will be.

New England has dealt with myriad on-field issues this season. It’s biggest off-field one is only growing.

The post Eli Manning’s legacy, NFL playoff picture, Raiders farewell and more appeared first on Actu Trends.

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junker-town · 6 years ago

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You can make a dang good NFL all-star team from non-FBS alums

Some NFL legends have taken the path from unheralded recruit to small-school prospect to big-league stardom.

Being a five-star recruit won’t guarantee you a spot in the NFL, but it certainly makes it a little easier to get there. Playing for a powerhouse Power 5 program can turn you into a household name and inundate scouts with plenty of opportunities to study your game. A blue-chip pedigree can also help teams overlook a lackluster college career in hopes of banking on the unknown quantity of untapped potential.

But NFL rosters don’t solely consist of can’t-miss high school stars. Some of the league’s best players were under-appreciated teenagers who never earned the adoration of scouts or collegiate assistant coaches. There are several standouts who played their college ball in front of small or disinterested crowds before overcoming the odds and earning a spot in the pros. In fact, you could probably put together a pretty good all-star team filled with them.

Let’s do that. Let’s say you had to make a team of all the best NFL players who were enrolled from non-FBS colleges from 1978 onward — the year the NCAA split Division I into I-A and I-AA distinctions that would later become the FBS and FCS, respectively. How would it look? How many Hall of Famers would you find?

It turns out, a whole bunch. I padded out the depth chart with a handful of backups for the especially solid positions — settling with 22 players wasn’t an option thanks to the level of talent the NCAA’s lower levels have pumped into the league.

Here’s that slightly unbalanced but totally stacked roster of non-FBS programs.

QB: Kurt Warner, Northern Iowa Phil Simms, Morehead State

Warner’s Hall of Fame career was built on his ability to revive both the Rams and Cardinals en route to Super Bowl appearances at each stop. That journey began in Cedar Falls, Iowa, as a single-year starter for Northern Iowa, weaved through various low-level feeder leagues like the NFL Europe and Arena Football League, and eventually landed in St. Louis as a lottery ticket backup. This crooked path to greatness put him ahead of a host of other celebrated names among the least-lauded high school passers.

Simms gets tabbed for backup duty after a pair of NFL championships in a Giants career that seems downright quaint when stacked up against the high-powered offenses of the 2010s. Only seven times had passers ever thrown for 4,000+ yards in a season when he pulled off that feat (along with Neil Lomax and Dan Marino) in 1984. As of 2019, it’s been done 175 times.

Check out the list of also-rans:

Ken Anderson, Augustana

Steve McNair, Alcorn State

Tony Romo, Eastern Illinois

Rich Gannon, Delaware

Joe Flacco, Delaware (after starting at Pittsburgh)

Ron Jaworski, Youngstown State

Ken O’Brien, Cal-Davis

And that doesn’t even count 2019 starters like Jimmy Garoppolo or Carson Wentz. Good QBs can come from anywhere.

WR: Jerry Rice, Mississippi Valley State Terrell Owens, Tennessee-Chattanooga Andre Reed, Kutztown

Rice is the greatest NFL player to come out of the now-FCS, then I-AA after the 1978 split. One of the few receivers even in his orbit statistically is Owens, who managed to be a longtime game-changer both on and off the field. Reed, the third Hall of Famer in the bunch, was a force in the early 90s and part of the Bills’ fearsome offensive Cerberus alongside Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas.

There are even a couple of stellar backups available. Jackson State’s Jimmy Smith had nine seasons in which he had more than 1,000 receiving yards, but he was largely underrated as he toiled away for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Alcorn State’s Donald Driver rose up from the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft to account for more than 10,000 receiving yards for the Packers.

RB: Terrell Davis, Long Beach State (kinda) Brian Westbrook, Villanova David Johnson, Northern Iowa

Tailback is one of the thinner positions culled from these ranks, but if we cheat a little we can still find a Hall of Fame veteran. Davis started his college career at Long Beach State, then wound up at Georgia after the school discontinued its football program. Otherwise, you’re looking at the ultra-versatile Westbrook to hold down the top spot on the depth chart.

Behind him is a useful receiving threat who can also churn out yardage on the ground, though Johnson’s spot on the team is dependent on proving he’s more than just a one-season wonder after failing to follow up on his breakout 2016 in Arizona.

FB: Larry Centers, Stephen F. Austin

Centers, who played from 1990 to 2003, was ahead of his time as a pass-catching dynamo out of the backfield who could also pick up blitzes in a pinch. If he came to the NFL two decades later, he’d be a perennial Pro Bowler. Instead, he only went three times, which is still pretty good.

TE: Shannon Sharpe, Savannah State Ben Coates, Livingstone

Two of the top pass catchers of the 90s each make the team, just in case we end up throwing a lot of 22-formation sets into the mix.

Sharpe, who spends his days in retirement waking up early to battle a purposefully contrarian Vandy grad, was the decade’s most dominant tight end — an athletic specimen who stretched defenses and chipped blockers despite suboptimal size. Coates was often the best thing about a woeful Patriots’ offense, serving as Drew Bledsoe’s No. 1 target in a pass-happy offense.

OL: Nate Newton, G/T, Florida A&M Matt Birk, C, Harvard Tom Newberry, G/C, UW-La Crosse Jahri Evans, T, Bloomsburg Larry Allen, G, Sonoma State Adam Timmerman, G, South Dakota State Tunch Ilkin, G/C/T, Indiana State

Protecting Warner and clearing a path for Westbrook is a heady brew of Hall of Famers and sturdy pros who range from the FCS to Division III. The headliner is Allen, who made six All-Pro teams while anchoring the Cowboys’ offensive line for 12 seasons and was athletic enough at 325 pounds to stop pick-sixes in progress. Behind him are a combination of players who can hold down multiple positions at an all-star level.

DE: Howie Long, Villanova Richard Dent, Tennessee State Michael Strahan, Texas Southern Jared Allen, Idaho State

There’s an embarrassment of riches when it comes to smaller-school pass rushers. I went four deep and still had to exclude Mark Gastineau (attended East Central University after Arizona State) and Lyle Alzado, whose alma mater — Yankton College — no longer exists.

Instead, you’ve got three Hall of Famers and Allen, who will likely join them once he’s eligible. Between them they’ve got 499 career sacks and the chops to completely terrorize opposing quarterbacks.

DT: John Randle, Texas A&M-Kingsville Clyde Simmons, Western Carolina Pat Williams, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College

That pass-rushing punch only gets stronger with Randle leading things on the inside; the undersized tackle had nine seasons with 10+ sacks in his Hall of Fame career. He’s bolstered by an out-of-position Simmons, who moved inside late in his career but is best known for a 19-sack breakout season as an Eagles defensive end back in 1992.

If it’s thickness you crave, you can throw Williams into the lineup; the 317-pounder was a blocker-absorbing vacuum up front in 14 years as a pro.

LB: Karl Mecklenburg, Augustana Sam Mills, Montclair State London Fletcher, John Carroll Greg Lloyd, Fort Valley State

MORE BEEF. This lineup provides two run-stopping tackling machines in the middle and some extra power at the edge in Mecklenburg and Lloyd. The outside guys combined for more than 120 sacks, while Mills and Fletcher have nearly 3,300 career tackles between them.

And if you don’t like those guys, you could always sub in Bart Scott, Jessie Tuggle, Charles Haley, Mike Merriweather, Bryan Cox, or Jeremiah Trotter.

CB: Everson Walls, Grambling State Albert Lewis, Grambling State Aeneas Williams, Southern Darrell Green, Texas A&M-Kingsville

Cornerback is stocked with players who were very good for very long, including a pair of Eddie Robinson-coached bookends in Walls and Lewis, who have eight Pro Bowl selections together. They’re stuck in a rotational role behind Williams and Green, however — two Hall of Famers who played for a combined 34 seasons.

S: Eugene Robinson, Colgate Tyrone Braxton, North Dakota State Rodney Harrison, Western Illinois

There’s a lot of range and some big hits from our center fielders in this lineup. Robinson gave the league 16 solid years. Braxton was a versatile defensive back who could line up at either corner or safety and played a major role as Denver crashed through to glory in the late 90s. Harrison brought the lumber over a borderline Hall of Fame career with the Chargers and Patriots.

K: Adam Vinatieri, South Dakota State

Still going at age 46. Few kickers are surefire Hall of Famers, but Vinatieri’s one of them. He’s kicked 582 field goals so far in his career — most in league history and 141 more than the next closest active kicker. His 56 postseason field goals are the most the NFL’s ever seen by a double-digit margin.

P: Sean Landeta, Towson

A pretty good punter! Landeta stuck in the NFL for 21 seasons and was a three-time first team All-Pro. Like Simms, he won two Super Bowl rings with the Giants.

What if we had to make a starting 22 based on only active players? I’ve got some ideas there, too.

QB: Carson Wentz, North Dakota State

RB: David Johnson, Northern Iowa Jerick McKinnon, Georgia Southern Tarik Cohen, North Carolina A&T

FB: Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard

WR: Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington Adam Thielen, Minnesota State Tyrell Williams, Western Oregon

TE: Delanie Walker, Central Missouri State Dallas Goedert, South Dakota State

OL: Terron Armstead, Arkansas-Pine Bluff J.C. Tretter, Cornell Julie’n Davenport, Bucknell Ryan Jensen, Colorado State-Pueblo Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, McGill (Canada) and, for depth, free agents Jermon Bushrod from Towson and Brandon Fusco from Slippery Rock

DE: Akiem Hicks, Regina (playing a bit out of position) Matt Judon, Grand Valley State Derek Rivers, Youngstown State

DT: Damon Harrison, William Penn Javon Hargrave, South Carolina State Brandon Williams, Missouri Southern

LB: Darius Leonard, South Carolina State Patrick Onwuasor, Portland State Samson Ebukam, Eastern Washington Todd Davis, Sacramento State

CB: Malcolm Butler, West Alabama Trumaine Johnson, Montana Josh Norman, Coastal Carolina Robert Alford, SE Louisiana

S: Jeff Heath, Saginaw Valley State Antoine Bethea, Howard

K: Adam Vinatieri, South Dakota State

P: Jordan Berry, Eastern Kentucky

You can find elite players from the NCAA’s smaller schools at every position in the league. Most of them can even be picked up on Day 3 of the NFL Draft or later. If you’re looking for underdogs just waiting for the opportunity to make good on Sundays, you can start looking toward the gridiron’s non-FBS programs on Saturdays first.

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profootballytics-blog · 8 years ago

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2016 in Review

Let's all harken back to the halcyon days of 2016, when representatives of all 32 NFL teams gathered in Chicago to restock their rosters with fresh talent. A few weeks prior, the Los Angeles Rams had made sure they would take center stage when they acquired the very first pick of the draft from the Tennessee Titans. They paid a hefty price to make the move -- nine picks in total, including three first-rounders, two seconds, and two thirds -- but after several years floundering under quarterbacks like Sam Bradford, Kellen Clemens, Austin Davis, Shaun Hill, Nick Foles, and Case Keenum, the Rams were desperate for stability in their offense. The Rams opened the draft by taking California quarterback Jared Goff, hoping he would be their shining star as they returned to Hollywood. Kevin Weidl of ESPN praised Goff's "excellent pocket presence" and the way he "feels pressure naturally to buy time while going through progressions," though he did concede that Goff "might need time adjusting to an NFL playbook coming from a wide-open system." This proved to be a remarkable understatement.

The Rams weren't the only team looking for a quarterback in the first round. The Dallas Cowboys had a solid starter in Tony Romo, but they were looking for a young prospect to develop. They wanted to move up for Memphis signal-caller Paxton Lynch, but were ultimately outbid by the Denver Broncos. With Lynch off the table, they would consider another trade up to take Connor Cook, but were caught off guard when the Raiders made their own trade to jump the Cowboys and take the Michigan State passer. Two days after the Rams had selected Goff, The Cowboys went with Plan C: Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott, whom they took in the fourth round, pick 135 overall. Prescott had slipped due in part to a DUI arrest in March, but scouts were lukewarm about his potential even before that incident. "Prescott is a developmental prospect," wrote Steve Muench of ESPN, "but he has enough raw talent to push Kellen Moore for the backup job and potentially develop into an effective starter under the tutelage of Jason Garrett."

Neither young passer was supposed to start right away, and when the Rams kicked off their first season back in L.A., it was Keenum taking snaps. Things in Dallas, though, had not gone so smoothly. Veteran backup Kellen Moore broke his leg in training camp, and then Romo suffered a broken bone in his back in a preseason game against Seattle. Once again, the Cowboys tried to make a trade, but Cleveland refused to part with Josh McCown. Instead it was Prescott under center when the Cowboys took on the Giants in Week 1. The Cowboys had a narrow lead going into the fourth quarter, but gave up a touchdown to Eli Manning. Prescott and the Cowboys had two chances to regain the lead, but couldn't get into the end zone and ultimately lost.

They wouldn't lose again until December, winning 11 games in a row. Romo's back healed, but by then he had been Wally Pipped, and had to publicly concede that Prescott had earned the starting job. Prescott and the Cowboys stumbled again in a rematch against the Giants, but otherwise didn't lose a meaningful game all year, and they are the NFC's top seed as the playoffs are about to begin.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Keenum and the Rams won three of their first four games, including victories over 2015 playoff teams Seattle and Arizona. That fast start turned out to be a mirage, though, and was followed by a four-game losing streak in which the Rams scored a total of five touchdowns. A week later they failed to score a touchdown at all, and though the Rams defense played well enough to beat the Jets 9-6, it was clear that Keenum's time as a starter had come to an end. At 4-5, the Rams announced that Goff would start in Week 11 against Miami. In a best-case scenario. Goff would kick-start the offense and rally the team to a playoff berth -- worst case, Goff would gain valuable experience that would benefit him in 2017 and beyond. At least, the Rams thought that would be the worst-case scenario. What actually happened was actually much, much worse than that, as the Rams' already-terrible offense plummeted even further. The Rams lost each of Goff's seven starts, averaging 12.1 points per game along the way.

None of this will be news to regular Quick Readers, but now that the season is done, we can finally nail down Prescott's accomplishments and Goff's failures in the record books. Even a month ago, it was clear that Prescott was going to break several records, and in fact he did.

Dak Prescott's Rookie Records

CategoryFormer Record-HolderOld RecordNew Record

Completion Rate Ben Roethlisberger (2004) 66.4% 67.8%

Interception Rate Robert Griffin (2012) 1.27% 0.87%

NFL Passer Rating Robert Griffin (2012) 102.4 104.9

Passing DYAR Matt Ryan (2008) 1,012 1,301

Pass + Rush DYAR Russell Wilson (2012) 1,019 1,422

Minimum 200 pass attempts

With 23 touchdowns in the air and six more on the ground, Prescott also threatened the rookie records of Peyton Manning(26 passes) and Russell Wilson (26 passing, four rushing). And though his DVOA of 31.5% was short of Ben Roethlisberger's 31.7% in 2004, the difference is slight enough that Prescott could leapfrog Roethlisberger should we tweak the DVOA formula in the future.

While Prescott's numbers shattered rookie thresholds, some of Goff's stats are unprecedented among all quarterbacks, young, old, or in-between. Goff completed 112 of 205 passes for 1,089 yards this season, while losing 222 yards on 26 sacks. That's a net average of 3.75 yards per pass play. That is not the worst such mark on record -- Dan Darragh averaged 2.92 yards per passing play with the Bills in 1968. It is, however, the worst since Akili Smith in 2000, and just the 12th time we've found that a player who was that inefficient with at least 200 passes. Coincidentally, three of those 12 seasons were produced by Philadelphia quarterbacks, which explains why Mike Tanier drinks whiskey. The good news for Goff and the Rams is that Randall Cunningham and Donovan McNabb went on to become very successful quarterbacks. The bad news is that Bobby Hoying didn't.

So that's all quite bad, but keep in mind that Goff is playing in the most passer-friendly era in league history. This means that as bad as Goff's numbers appear on the surface, they are in fact even worse on close inspection. DVOA and DYAR account for that sort of thing, and as you would imagine, they are quite unkind to Mr. Goff. Goff's passing DYAR of minus-880 is not the worst season on record, but it is in the bottom five. The record still belongs to David Carr's minus-1,130 with the expansion Houston Texans in 2002. But remember that Goff only had 231 pass plays this year. Carr had 520 in 2002. Goff got three-quarters of the way to Carr's record in only seven starts.

This brings us to DVOA, which measures quarterbacks on a per-play basis. Goff's DVOA of minus-74.7% this year was very, very, very, very, very bad. How bad? Consider that the second-worst quarterback this year, Brock Osweiler -- you know, the guy who was so bad that his team benched him for a third-year pro with zero career starts in the middle of a playoff race -- had a DVOA of minus-27.1%. That means Osweiler was closer to the sixth-ranked quarterback (Derek Carr, 19.9%) than he was to Goff. Keenum, the quarterback who kept Goff on the bench for half a season, had a DVOA of minus-19.6% -- closer to second-ranked Tom Brady than he was to Goff.

So is Goff's DVOA the worst we have ever seen? Well, it depends. For most of Football Outsiders' existence, we have used 100 pass plays as a minimum threshold for our quarterback tables, and there have been a handful of 100-pass seasons with DVOAs worse than Goff's, led by Alex Smith's minus-88.6% as a rookie in 2005. As time has gone on, though, we have come to realize that 200 passes is a more logical minimum. After all, Bryce Petty had 145 pass plays this season. Would you consider Bryce Petty a full-time quarterback this year? So these days we only look at quarterbacks with at least 200 passes -- and we have never found a quarterback with a worse DVOA than Jared Goff had this year with at least 200 passes in a season. Goff broke the record of Kelly Stouffer, who had a minus-72.7% DVOA with the 1992 Seahawks. That season, Stouffer completed less than half his passes while getting sacked on 12 percent of his dropbacks, with less than 5 yards per pass, three touchdowns, and nine interceptions. That, adjusting for era, is still a better stat line than what Goff produced this year.

(Ed. Note: By the way, all the QB stat pages are going to be updated to require a minimum of 200 pass attempts for the main ranking table, sometime in February or March. We'll also be updating our listing of ESPN QBR at that point to reflect their new opponent-adjusted formula. -- Aaron Schatz)

By now I hope we've made it clear who the best and worst rookies have been this year. Here's a look at the best and worst players at all positions, regardless of position. Don't worry, Rams fans, we have a lot more to say about your team!

Quarterbacks

Best Quarterbacks, 2016

NameTeamPass DYARRush DYARTotal DYAR

2-M.Ryan ATL 1,918 32 1,950

9-D.Brees NO 1,581 21 1,603

4-D.Prescott DAL 1,301 121 1,422

8-K.Cousins WAS 1,342 18 1,359

12-A.Rodgers GB 1,251 89 1,340

Analysis: Matt Ryan never finished higher than fourth in either DYAR or DVOA until leading the league in both categories this year. He also led the league with 9.26 yards per pass. That's not the all-time record, but it's the most since Kurt Warneraveraged 9.88 in 2000, and it's also the most of anyone with even 350 passes in a season. (Ryan had 534.) Drew Brees led the league in attempts, completions, and yards. He broke his own record for completions (he is now in first, second, third, sixth, seventh, and eighth place on the leaderboards), and enjoyed his fifth 5,000-yard season (all other quarterbacks ever have produced four). This was his highest finish in DYAR since he led the league in 2011. Kirk Cousins is starting to quietly become a regular in these parts -- he was seventh in DYAR and sixth in DVOA last year, and is third and fifth in the same categories this year. Aaron Rodgers was short of his earlier career highs, but still had a strong rebound season after a mediocre 2015.

We should mention that Tom Brady was fifth with 1,295 passing DYAR, but fell short of Rodgers' totals due to rushing value. Considering Brady missed four games, it might be tempting to subconsciously bump him up the rankings, but by DYAR he was clearly not the best quarterback in football this year. He averaged 108 passing DYAR per game this year to Ryan's 120. In fact, even if you took away Ryan's best four games this year, he would still have 1,149 DYAR -- comparable to what Brady did in 12 contests. Now add four A-plus games on top of that, and it's clear who the better quarterback was.

Dak Prescott was also pretty good.

Worst Quarterbacks, 2016

NameTeamPass DYARRush DYARTotal DYAR

16-J.Goff LA -880 -2 -882

17-B.Osweiler HOU -569 53 -536*

9-B.Petty NYJ -414 0 -414

14-R.Fitzpatrick NYJ -328 -14 -342

13-J.McCown CLE -269 -6 -276

* Total includes minus-20 DYAR receiving.

Analysis: None of these quarterbacks played a full season -- in fact, you'll find three of them didn't even qualify for our final quarterback tables. But with the exception of Goff, Osweiler, and Ryan Fitzpatrick, none of the quarterbacks at the bottom of the DYAR standings was able to stay healthy and active for the majority of the season. If we take out Petty and McCown, we're just replacing them with other journeymen and reliever types such as Robert Griffin, Case Keenum, Blaine Gabbert, or Drew Stanton. So we'll just leave our bottom five as it is and not worry about minimum plays this year.

Did we mention that Jared Goff was really bad?

Better Than His Standard Stats Made Him Look: Kirk Cousins, WAS

Among qualifying quarterbacks, Cousins ranked fifth in DVOA, but seventh in NFL passer rating -- not a huge discrepancy, but there weren't really any passers this year who fell too much when going from one stat to the other. Derek Carr and Jameis Winston (who was also better than standard stats made him look last year) would also be good options. Carr had the lowest sack rate in the league this year, and Cousins was fifth, and while sacks are not a part of passer rating, they are a part of DVOA. Winston was just 15th in sack rate, so I'm not sure why he is consistently underrated by conventional stats.

Worse Than His Standard Stats Made Him Look: Colin Kaepernick, SF

Kaepernick was in the middle of the pack in passer rating, but 30th in DVOA. In a related note, he had a higher sack rate than anyone except…. Jared Goff. It was a similar story for Ryan Tannehill -- 12th in passer rating, 25th in DYAR, sixth-highest sack rate.

Most Improved: Matt Ryan, ATL

Hard to believe, but Ryan was just 19th in DYAR, 18th in DVOA last year. It appears working with Kyle Shanahan has been a good thing for Ryan in 2016.

Biggest Decline: Carson Palmer, ARI

Palmer led the NFL in passing DVOA and DYAR last year. He was outside the top 20 in both categories this year, the second-worst rankings of his career, and the worst since he played for Cincinnati in 2008.

Running Backs

Best Running Backs, 2016

NameTeamRush DYARRec DYARTotal DYAR

31-D.Johnson ARI 176 283 459

25-L.McCoy BUF 337 108 445

26-L.Bell PIT 278 164 440*

21-E.Elliott DAL 340 80 420

24-D.Freeman ATL 147 140 287

* Total includes minus-2 DYAR passing

Analysis: As the rest of the Cardinals offense fell apart around him, David Johnson just kept on making plays. He finished with 15 games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage, and likely would have made it 16 had he not left last week's game with a knee injury. It was a similar story for LeSean McCoy, who was outstanding for the Bills, but all anyone wanted to talk about in Buffalo was the status of the coach and quarterback. Le'veon Bell, like Brady, missed four games due to suspension, but returned and was still one of the very best players in the league. Ezekiel Elliott led all players in rushing DYAR and would be a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year were it not for his own quarterback. Obviously, that's quite a dropoff from the top four to Devonta Freeman, but he might have ranked higher had he not split time with Tevin Coleman, who was 11th in total DYAR himself.

Worst Running Backs, 2016

NameTeamRush DYARRec DYARTotal DYAR

23-D.Booker DEN -98 -55 -154

20-J.Forsett BAL/DET/DEN -91 -52 -143

24-T.Yeldon JAC -85 -53 -138

33-C.Ivory JAC -127 2 -124

23-R.Jennings NYG -84 -30 -114

Analysis: The offenses in both Denver and Jacksonville were pretty bad last year, and running backs like this were a big part of the reason why. Justin Forsett kept getting released, picked up by a desperate team, and released again. Rashad Jennings is the only player in this table to make the playoffs. Green Bay's defense had its ups and downs this year, but Jennings doesn't seem to offer much of a threat.

Better Than His Standard Stats Made Him Look: Mike Gillislee, BUF

LeSean McCoy may not have even been the best running back on his own team. Mike Gillislee had 101 carries for the Bills this year, putting him just over the 100-carry minimum needed to qualify for our record books. And qualify he did -- his DVOA of 45.0% destroyed the old record of 36.6%, set by Marshall Faulk in 2000. Gillislee also set a record with a success rate of 66 percent, breaking the old mark of 63 percent set by Gary Brown of the Houston Oilers way back in 1993. He finished with 238 total DYAR on only 627 yards from scrimmage.

Worse Than His Standard Stats Made Him Look: Todd Gurley, LARM

There are other candidates we could pick here -- DeMarco Murray, Lamar Miller, and Devontae Booker all would have been fine choices -- but selecting Gurley lets us keep picking on the Rams. Gurley was 15th among running backs in yards from scrimmage, but just because he got the ball often does not mean he played well -- he was among the bottom ten running backs in rushing DYAR, though his receiving DYAR did hit positive numbers. That was quite an achievement in Los Angeles this year, as we shall explain shortly.

Most Improved: Le'veon Bell, PIT

Bell might have played only 12 games this year, but that's still twice as many as he played last year. It wasn't just volume, though -- Bell set a career high with 105.7 rushing yards per game, and added 51.3 yards per game as a receiver to boot.

Biggest Decline: Matt Forte, NYJ

A year ago, Forte was still a very efficient if not explosive runner and receiver for the Bears. This year, at age 31, Forte looked to have been beaten by Father Time -- and by his teammate Bilal Powell, who averaged 5.5 yards per carry compared to Forte's 3.7.

Wide Receivers

Best Wide Receivers, 2016

NameTeamTotal DYAR

11-J.Jones ATL 458

13-M.Thomas NO 429

87-J.Nelson GB 373

13-T.Hilton IND 360

11-C.Beasley DAL 337*

* Total includes 340 DYAR receiving, minus-4 DYAR passing.

Analysis: Four of these receivers played with top-five quarterbacks. That's probably not a coincidence. Julio Jones led all wide receivers in DYAR and finished second in DVOA -- to his own teammate, Taylor Gabriel, who finished with exactly 50 targets, the bare minimum required to qualify for our leaderboards. Jones' totals were down from his 2015 season, but his yards per catch soared from 13.8 to 17.0. Michael Thomas was everything the Saints could have hoped for as a second-round rookie out of Ohio State, though playing with a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback no doubt helped. Jordy Nelson wasn't quite as good as he was pre-injury, but he still had an amazing season after missing all of 2015. The Colts didn't win many games this season, but T.Y. Hilton did all he could, including 100-yard games against the Bears, Titans, Jets, Texans, and Raiders. Cole Beasley was actually leading the league in DYAR early in the season. His numbers regressed once Dez Bryant returned to the lineup, but he remained one of the NFL's best No. 2 receivers.

Worst Wide Receivers, 2016

NameTeamTotal DYAR

11-T.Austin LA -173*

17-J.Kerley SF -126

15-J.Kearse SEA -113

13-B.Miller HOU -88**

11-Q.Patton SF -85

* Total includes minus-220 DYAR receiving, 46 DYAR rushing

** Total includes minus-79 DYAR receiving, minus-9 DYAR rushing

Analysis: So, uh, how about that NFC West, huh? At least the 49ers receivers were out there trying to catch passes from Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert. What was Jermaine Kearse's excuse? Russell Wilson, in the worst year of his career, was still 15th in DVOA, worlds better than anything San Francisco had to offer.

And then there's Tavon Austin. Though his kick return and rushing value make him a dangerous weapon, Austin has now finished dead-last among wideouts in receiving DYAR in back-to-back seasons. That brings his career total to minus-354 -- which means Austin has surpassed Dez White's total of minus-312 to become The Worst Wide Receiver of the DVOA Era. And this can't all be blamed on Jared Goff -- Kenny Britt played with the same quarterbacks Austin did this season and finished with a better DYAR than Odell Beckham, and we'll repeat that Austin was also worst last year when Goff was still with the Golden Bears.

Better Than His Standard Stats Made Him Look: Julio Jones, ATL

Fourteen wide receivers had more catches than Jones this season. There were not four wideouts better than Jones this year, let alone 14.

Worse Than His Standard Stats Made Him Look: Tavon Austin, LARM

Austin had 58 catches this year, not a bad total for a secondary slot receiver type. He was tied for 60th among all players in receptions, but 99th with 509 receiving yards -- a total that was bested by four running backs and 20 tight ends.

Most Improved: Davante Adams, GB

In 2015, Adams had the worst receiving DYAR of any non-Rams wide receiver and was well on his way to becoming the biggest bust in Green Bay since Tony Mandarich. But after catching only 88 passes for 928 yards and four touchdowns in his first two seasons combined, we're happy to say that Adams finally put it together in his third season, catching 75 passes for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Biggest Decline: Jermaine Kearse, SEA

Kearse was a top-five wide receiver in DVOA in 2015, but fell to the bottom five this year. At times a valuable blocker in the run-based Seahawks offenses of days gone by, Kearse's physicality was often a detriment in 2016. He led the NFL with five accepted offensive pass interference violations. Seattle was one of only five teams that committed OPI five or more times.

Tight Ends

Best Tight Ends, 2016

NameTeamRec DYARRush DYARTotal DYAR

87-T.Kelce KC 264 -20 244

88-J.Graham SEA 211 -1 210

88-M.Bennett NE 200 6 206

85-E.Ebron DET 148 10 158

87-R.Gronkowski NE 156 -- 156

Analysis: Yes, there was a lot of rushing value among the top tight ends this year, though it's likely that postseason cleanup will show that most of these "runs" were actually receptions on backwards passes. Travis Kelce's appearance at the top was no fluke -- he has finished in the top ten in both DVOA and DYAR for three seasons in a row. In his second season in Seattle, Jimmy Graham was everything the Seahawks had hoped he would have been in his first season. After 27 games in a Seahawks uniform, he needs 53 catches, 215 yards, and seven touchdowns to become Seattle's all-time leading tight end in all three categories. Eric Ebron's career started with a thud in 2014, but he improved considerably in his second year, and improved again this season to become one of the NFL's best players at his position. And finally, one can only imagine how effective New England's offense would have been with a full season of both Martellus Bennett and Rob Gronkowski.

Worst Tight Ends, 2016

NameTeamTotal DYAR

89-T.Higbee LA -109

88-D.Pitta BAL -94

47-T.Burton PHI -84

84-R.Griffin HOU -79

88-L.Kendricks LA -71

Yes, that's two more Rams in the "worst of" section. In this way, they are sort of the opposite of the Patriots. (Come to think of it, there are many ways in which they are the opposite of the Patriots.) Tyler Higbee warrants special mention -- the fourth-round rookie out of Western Kentucky had a receiving DVOA of minus-68.5%. That's the second worst on record of any tight end with at least 25 targets in a season, and the worst since Howard Cross had a minus-77.8% with the Giants in 1998. Dennis Pitta, as we shall get to, is now the patron saint of the high-volume, low-value player. Trey Burton caught 37 passes in his third season, but averaged just 8.8 yards per catch, showing why he spent his first two years buried on the Philadelphia bench. Ryan Griffin actually finished among the top 15 tight ends in DVOA in both 2013 and 2015, but nosedived with the rest of the Texans offense when Sheriff Osweiler moseyed into town.

Better Than His Standard Stats Made Him Look: Martellus Bennett, NE

Though Bennett was third among tight ends in DYAR, he was 15th in receptions. We're confident that the former number is a more accurate reflection of his skills and abilities.

Worse Than His Standard Stats Made Him Look: Dennis Pitta, BAL

Never before has there been such an easy selection in this space, and never again will there be such an easy selection in this space. Pitta had the most receptions of any tight end in the league, but was still next to last in receiving value. This will happen when you average 8.5 yards per catch and score only two touchdowns. Pitta played 16 games this year after playing only seven from 2013 to 2015. Here's hoping the Ravens will have a better option for 16 games in 2017.

Most Improved: Dwayne Allen, IND

Allen was almost impossibly bad in 2015, with a 6.8 yards-per-catch average and just one touchdown in 13 games. This year, those numbers jumped to 11.6 yards per catch with six touchdowns in 14 games. Allen was 49th among tight ends in DYAR in 2015; he has been in the top ten in each of his other four NFL seasons.

Biggest Decline: Tyler Eifert, CIN

One year after leading all tight ends in DYAR and DVOA, Eifert ranked 18th and 14th in those categories this year. It didn't help that injuries limited him to only eight games and two starts.

Thanks to Vincent Verhei at profootballoutsiders for this piece

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sunlightraeee · 6 years ago

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Heather's / IT

Ok Heather's and IT crossover

Veronica - Eddie

JD - Richie

Heather C. - Bill

Heather D. - Beverley

Heather M. - Stan

Ram - Henry

Kurt - Patrick

Mrs. Fleming - Older Mike (idk)

Martha - Ben

Ok...think about it...

#Heather's x IT #idk what the fuck im doing #IT #heather's #crossover

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sustainhealthmagazine · 6 years ago

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NFL Network’s Week 1 Saturday and Sunday Programme Listing

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On Saturday at 9:00 AM ET, Good Morning Football: Weekend airs for three hours live from NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, hosted by Colleen Wolfe, Michael Robinson, DeAngelo Hall and Mike Garafolo.

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On Sunday, NFL Network's GameDay programming kicks off at 9:00 AM ET with the Emmy-nominated NFL GameDay Morning Presented by Lowes from Los Angeles. Rich Eisen anchors the most comprehensive pregame show on television, joined by Pro Football Hall of Famers Michael Irvin and Kurt Warner, former head coach Steve Mariucci, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, analytics expert Cynthia Frelund and various NFL Network reporters stationed across the league. This season, NFL GameDay Morning celebrates its 11-year anniversary.

NFL Network's GameDay coverage continues at 1:00 PM ET with NFL GameDay Live – the ONLY show on television providing in-progress NFL highlights and analysis of the day's games – and at 7:30 PM ET with NFL GameDay Highlights, which recaps the entire afternoon.

At 11:30 PM ET, NFL GameDay Prime airs with Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and host Chris Rose recapping the weekend's games.

NFL RedZone hosted by Scott Hanson whips around the league providing all of the exciting plays and touchdowns as they happen starting at 1:00 PM ET.

This season NFL Network broadcasts 10 Conference USA games, kicking off Saturday, September 7 at 3:30 PM ET with Grambling State vs. Louisiana Tech. Play-by-play announcer Rhett Lewis, analyst Max Starks and sideline reporter Molly Sullivan are on the call.

Saturday, September 7 on Good Morning Football: Weekend – 9:00 AM ET

Hosts: Colleen Wolfe, Michael Robinson, DeAngelo Hall & Mike Garafolo

MJ Acosta joins live from Oakland with the latest on Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown

Aditi Kinkhabwala joins live from Cleveland to discuss the expectations for the Browns entering the 2019 season

DeAngelo Hall explains who the best safety in the league is right now

Michael Robinson answers viewer questions in the Real Mike Rob Report

Mike Garafolo delivers the latest news and notes from around the league in Mike Drop

Will the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense take a step back this season?

What can we expect from quarterback Carson Wentz and the new weapons in the Philadelphia Eagles' offense?

How much can the Dallas Cowboys really expect from running back Ezekiel Elliott this week?

Good Morning Football: Weekend predicts which teams that missed the playoffs last season will be playing in January

Dave Dameshek explains why no matter which team wins the AFC North, we all win

Fantasy expert Adam Rank offers some not-so-obvious fantasy advice for Week 1

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Sunday, September 8 on NFL GameDay Morning – 9:00 AM ET

New York Jets RB Le'Veon Bell w/ Steve Smith Sr.

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger w/ Andrea Kremer

Host: Rich Eisen

Analysts: Kurt Warner, Michael Irvin & Steve Mariucci

NFL Media Insider: Ian Rapoport

Analytics Expert: Cynthia Frelund

Steve Smith Sr. goes 1-on-1 with New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell to discuss why he left the Pittsburgh Steelers and his fresh start with his new team

Andrea Kremer sits down with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to discuss losing wide receiver Antonio Brown and facing New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady

Kay Adams, DeAngelo Hall and Michael Robinson join live from the Lincoln Financial Field parking lot ahead of the Washington Redskins-Philadelphia Eagles matchup

Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens speaks with Aditi Kinkhabwala after he arrives at FirstEnergy Stadium

Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera speaks with Tiffany Blackmon

Warner's Corner – Kurt Warner and Steve Mariucci break down how Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will adjust without playmakers Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell and Rob Gronkowski

Players Only – DeAngelo Hall and Michael Robinson join Kurt Warner and Michael Irvin to discuss if Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown's season will be dominated by distractions

How much should Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott play against the New York Giants after sitting out the entire offseason?

Will the Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. era with the Cleveland Browns get off to a hot start?

How long will it take New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell to get up to speed after a year off?

Is this the year New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady finally starts to show his age?

Cynthia Frelund examines top matchups and Michael Fabiano discusses his fantasy starts and sits

Live reports

MJ Acosta from Oakland

Tiffany Blackmon from Charlotte for Rams-Panthers

Mike Garafolo from Philadelphia for Redskins-Eagles

Mike Giardi from New England for Steelers-Patriots

Kimberly Jones from East Rutherford for Bills-Jets

Aditi Kinkhabwala from Cleveland for Titans-Browns

James Palmer from Jacksonville for Chiefs-Jaguars

Tom Pelissero from Minneapolis for Falcons-Vikings

Jane Slater from Dallas for Giants-Cowboys

NFL GameDay Live, NFL GameDay Highlights and NFL GameDay Prime Conclude Sunday Coverage

At 1:00 PM ET, NFL GameDay Live provides in-progress highlights and analysis, as well as live fantasy football updates for all of the 1:00 and 4:00 PM ET games. Hosts Rhett Lewis and Kyle Montgomery are joined by analysts Terrell Davis, James Jones, Marcel Reece and Andrew Hawkins providing 6.5 hours of coverage. NFL GameDay Live is the ONLY in-progress NFL highlights show on television.

At 7:30 PM ET, Cole Wright and Chris Rose host NFL GameDay Highlights, providing a recap of the day's action thus far with highlights, postgame press conferences and commentary leading up to kickoff of the Sunday night matchup.

At 11:30 PM ET, NFL GameDay Prime airs with Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and host Chris Rose recapping the weekend's games.

NFL RedZone Hosted by Scott Hanson

Every Sunday starting at 1:00 PM ET, NFL RedZone hosted by Scott Hanson whips around the league, providing all of the touchdowns and exciting action from the day's games. To order NFL RedZone, visit NFL.com/redzone.

Grambling State vs. Louisiana Tech – Saturday, September 7 at 3:30 PM ET

NFL Network's live coverage of Conference USA games kicks off Saturday, September 7 at 3:30 PM ET with Grambling State vs. Louisiana Tech. Play-by-play announcer Rhett Lewis, analyst Max Starks and sideline reporter Molly Sullivan are on the call for NFL Network.

Editions of NFL Now air at 3:00 PM ET and postgame, with host Patrick Claybon.

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#health #fitness #lifestyle #good health #brits

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jodyedgarus · 7 years ago

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Jimmy Garoppolo Is The NFL’s Most Expensive Lottery Ticket

No quarterback has ever earned more with less of a sample than Jimmy Garoppolo. After a midseason trade, Tom Brady’s latest former understudy had just five starts for the San Francisco 49ers1 before becoming eligible for free agency. He won every one of those games for the previously moribund team and was handed $137.5 million for five years in return, which made him the highest paid QB in the NFL at the time. Again, this was for five starts of work in San Francisco — or 246 fewer games than Brady has started in New England.

There’s really nothing else to go on. Garoppolo had played so sparingly before being traded to the 49ers that Bill Belichick and company were able to get only a second-round pick in return.

There’s no debating that Garoppolo was very good in the scarlet and gold. The only question is how good. Is the weight of the sample such that fans should expect Garoppolo to earn his contract and propel the 49ers into a new era of excellence? Or is he overrated, piling up passing volume for a 1-10 team that was playing out the string on a lost season?

According to classic barometers like passing yardage, Garoppolo’s five-game run to close last season does indeed rank among the most impressive rattled off by a young quarterback in NFL history. Going back to the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, we looked for similar five-game runs within a QB’s first 16 games as a team’s primary passer,2 filtering for QBs under age 30 — passers who generally fit Garoppolo’s profile as a fresh starter in the league. Only five quarterbacks — Andrew Luck, Marc Bulger, Cam Newton, Kirk Cousins and Kurt Warner — had a stretch of five consecutive games with more raw passing yards than Garoppolo did:

Jimmy Garoppolo’s raw stats were impressive…

Most raw passing yards in a five-game stretch for post-1970 NFL quarterbacks under age 30 (within first 16 career starts)

Quarterback Team Year Gm. span Pass Yards 1 Andrew Luck IND 2012 8-12 1,625 2 Marc Bulger STL 2003 4-8 1,624 3 Cam Newton CAR 2011 1-5 1,610 4 Kirk Cousins WAS 2014 2-6 1,571 5 Kurt Warner STL 1999 11-15 1,563 6 Jimmy Garoppolo SF 2017 12-16 1,542 7 Dan Marino MIA 1984 1-5 1,527 8 Matt Cassel NE 2008 7-11 1,520 9 Daunte Culpepper MIN 2000 7-11 1,499 10 Billy Volek TEN 2004 12-16 1,473

Includes playoffs.

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

That the stretch represented Garoppolo’s entire body of work as his new team’s starter makes him look even more impressive — and that’s without considering his pair of exceptional games in 2016 as New England’s fill-in while Brady was suspended for his role in Deflategate.

But there’s more to evaluating a quarterback than simple passing yards. If we take into account touchdowns, interceptions and rushing stats (plus adjust for strength of opponent) using our “yards above backup” metric, Garoppolo’s stretch-run performance takes a bit of a step back relative to history.

Over those five games, Garoppolo had six touchdowns but also five interceptions, and he added nothing with his legs. He also faced a mixed bag of defenses that ranged from dominant (the Jaguars) to mediocre (the Bears) to downright bad (the Texans). And the Week 17 win against the division-winning Rams is less striking when you consider that L.A. sat many of its starters, including defensive player of the year Aaron Donald and standouts Alec Ogletree, Connor Barwin and Robert Quinn. After adjusting for all of that, Garoppolo’s five-game stretch still cracks the top 50 for young post-merger QBs, but it no longer seems quite as reliable a predictor of his future — particularly relative to the size of his contract. For every Dan Marino atop the ranking, there are some Tony Easons and Richard Todds as well. Not to mention the very glaring presence of a previous San Francisco QB much higher on the list: Colin Kaepernick. When adjusted for opponent strength, Kaepernick’s 2012 run from Week 16 to the Super Bowl was topped by only three quarterbacks in our sample.

…but he falls upon further adjustment

Most adjusted yards above backup* in a five-game stretch for post-merger NFL quarterbacks under age 30 (within first 16 career starts)

Quarterback Team Year GM. span Yds above backup 1 Dan Marino MIA 1984 1-5 899.9 2 Kurt Warner STL 1999 11-15 725.8 3 Nick Foles PHI 2013 9-13 696.9 4 Colin Kaepernick SFO 2012 15-19 679.8 5 Boomer Esiason CIN 1985 12-16 639.3 6 Daunte Culpepper MIN 2000 4-8 630.1 7 Tony Eason NE 1984 4-8 623.0 8 Chad Pennington NYJ 2002 13-17 612.7 9 Richard Todd NYJ 1977 3-7 603.2 10 Dak Prescott DAL 2016 7-11 602.7 … 42 Jimmy Garoppolo SF 2017 12-16 437.0

Includes playoffs.

*Yards above backup is a metric that credits a QB for his passing and rushing yards, with adjustments for touchdowns and interceptions, and the defensive quality of the teams he faced.

Source: PRO-FOOTBALL-REFERENCE.COM

Still, it’s difficult to deny Garoppolo’s effect on the 49ers’ play down the stretch last season. Going into his first start (Week 13 against the Bears), San Francisco had a 1288 Elo rating — FiveThirtyEight’s preferred gauge of team strength at any given moment — which ranked second to last in the NFL. By the time Garoppolo had helped the Niners engineer their fifth straight win, San Francisco’s Elo had risen to 1452, good for a much more respectable 22nd in the league. That 164-point boost in team Elo was the most for any QB in the top 50 of our five-game leaderboard above, and it might be the best indication of how much potential Garoppolo brings to the table for his first season directing San Francisco’s offense.

Jimmy reshaped the 49ers’ outlook in just five games

Biggest gains in FiveThirtyEight’s Elo rating over a five-game stretch for QBs under age 30 who ranked among the top 50 in yards above backup over the same span of games

Quarterback Team Year Gm. Span Yds Above Backup Elo Gain 1 Jimmy Garoppolo SF 2017 12-16 437.0 +164.1 2 Nick Foles PHI 2013 9-13 696.9 +138.6 3 Ben Roethlisberger PIT 2004 4-8 433.6 +119.1 4 Russell Wilson SEA 2012 12-16 591.5 +118.2 5 Rex Grossman CHI 2006 1-5 517.1 +114.1 6 Brett Favre GB 1992 10-14 405.1 +107.0 7 Vince Ferragamo LAR 1980 3-7 586.4 +106.3 8 Joe Montana SF 1981 2-6 495.8 +105.6 9 Jon Kitna SEA 1999 6-10 411.5 +104.8 10 Dan Marino MIA 1984 1-5 899.9 +93.6

Source: pro-Football-reference.com

While the 49ers’ offensive boost, from 17 points per game with other starting quarterbacks to 28.8 with Garoppolo, can’t be fully explained by their QB’s statistics, there’s no doubt that much of this was earned from scrimmage. In its 11 games without him as the starter, San Francisco averaged 4.9 yards per play, 24th in the league. At 65.6 plays per game, that adds up to 322 yards. With Garoppolo, the Niners averaged 6.1 yards per play, which ranked fourth in offensive efficiency during games 12 through 16. And the play count also rose, to 67.2 yards on average, resulting in 410 yards per game.

To quantify that boost of 88 yards per game, consider that NFL teams since 1990 have generated an average of 1 point for every 15.4 yards. So that equals 5.7 more expected points for the 49ers with Garoppolo at the controls (26.6 points per game) than without (20.9), not adjusting for that mixed bag of opponent quality.

While about 6 points of added value may not sound like much, it’s what the oddsmakers subtract from a team when a top NFL quarterback is forced to miss a game. And we can definitely count Las Vegas among Garoppolo’s believers. This year, the sports books expect the 49ers to win 8.5 games with a full season of Garoppolo. That’s after they expected just five wins for the team before the start of last season, when Garoppolo was still stuck behind Brady.

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/jimmy-garoppolo-is-the-nfls-most-expensive-lottery-ticket/

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mystlnewsonline · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://www.stl.news/nfl-rushing-leader-gurley-inactive-rams-rest-starters/59153/

NFL rushing leader Gurley inactive as Rams rest starters

December 31, 2017 (AP)(STL.News) —NFL rushing leader Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams is inactive for Sunday’s home regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers.

Gurley will finish the regular season with 1,305 yards rushing. Also resting for the playoffs are center John Sullivan, left tackle Andrew Whitworth and defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

The Rams clinched the NFC West title last weekend and first-year coach Sean McVay is opting to rest several of his stars. Quarterback Jared Goff is expected to get the day off but is active as the backup to Sean Mannion, who will make his first career start.

Carolina running back Jonathan Stewart is inactive for the first time this season against Atlanta. Stewart had seen a diminished role the past two weeks. He had only seven carries for 19 yards in last week’s win over Tampa Bay, but was still listed as the Panthers’ starter. Stewart’s exit leaves Christian McCaffrey as the probable starter.

Jacksonville is locked in as the third seed in the AFC, but is sitting only two starters against Tennessee: left tackle Cam Robinson, who left last week’s game with an abdominal strain, and receiver Marqise Lee (ankle).

Derrick Henry is getting the first start of his two-year NFL career with DeMarco Murray scratched for the first time since joining the Titans. Murray is out with an injured right knee.

Denver running back Jamaal Charles will sit out against Kansas City, his former team. Charles was a four-time Pro Bowler with the Chiefs, but never found a groove with the Broncos this season. His past month reads like this: No carries in two games, inactive for two games.

Rookie quarterback Patrick Mahomes will start for Kansas City in place of Alex Smith. Inactives for Sunday’s late games:

CAROLINA-ATLANTA

Panthers: QB Garrett Gilbert, WR Mose Frazier, S Kurt Coleman (ankle), CB LaDarius Gunter (illness), RB Jonathan Stewart, G Trai Turner (concussion), DE Zach Moore.

Falcons: TE Levine Toilolo (knee), WR Nick Williams, WR Marvin Hall, CB Leon McFadden, LB Sean Weatherspoon, G Sean Harlow, G Jamil Douglas. ___

JACKSONVILLE-TENNESSEE

Jaguars: WR Marqise Lee, WR Montay Crockett, RB Chris Ivory, OL Chris Reed, OL Cam Robinson, OL William Poehls, DT Abry Jones.

Titans: QB Brandon Weeden, RB DeMarco Murray, DB Curtis Riley, OLB Josh Carraway, LB Nate Palmer, G/C Corey Levin, WR Harry Douglas. ___

CINCINNATI-BALTIMORE

Bengals: WR Cody Core, CB KeiVarae Russell, RB Jarveon Williams, LB Vontaze Burfict, DT Josh Tupou, OT Cedric Ogbuehi, OT Justin Murray.

Ravens: WR Breshad Perriman, WR Jeremy Maclin, RB Terrance West, LB Tim Williams, OL Jermaine Eluemunor, G Maurquice Shakir, DE Bronson Kaufusi. ___

ARIZONA-SEATTLE

Cardinals: QB Matt Barkley; WR Chad Williams; LB Edmond Robinson; C Max Turek; TE Gabe Holmes; DL Xavier Williams.

Seahawks: WR Tanner McEvoy; RB Eddie Lacy; CB Mike Tyson; C Joey Hunt; LB D.J. Alexander; TE Nick Vannett; DE Quinton Jefferson. ___

KANSAS CITY-DENVER Chiefs: WR Tyreek Hill, CB Marcus Peters, RB Charcandrick West, S Ron Parker, LB Derrick Johnson, TE Travis Kelce, DL Bennie Logan.

Broncos: WR Emmanuel Sanders (ankle), WR Cody Latimer (thigh), RB Jamaal Charles, CB Michael Hunter, OG J.J. Dielman, OT Donald Stephenson (hand), DE Zach Kerr (ankle). ___

NEW ORLEANS-TAMPA BAY

Saints: RB Jonathan Williams, DE Kasim Edebali, C Tom Cameron, T Terron Armstead, WR Austin Carr, TE Michael Hoomanawanui, DE Trey Hendrickson.

Buccaneers: QB Ryan Griffin, WR DeSean Jackson, CB David Rivers, LB Devante Bond, OL Adam Gattis, DE Patrick O’Connor, DE Robert Ayers. ___

SAN FRANCISCO-LA RAMS

49ers: WR Max McCaffrey, RB Jeremy McNichols, DB Antoine Exum Jr., LB Pita Taumoepenu, DL Aaron Lynch, DL Leger Douzable, DL D.J. Jones.

Rams: S Lamarcus Joyner, LB Mark Barron, RB Todd Gurley II, LB Alec Ogletree, C John Sullivan, T Andrew Whitworth, DT Aaron Donald. ___

OAKLAND-LA CHARGERS

Raiders: QB Connor Cook, WR Isaac Whitney, DB David Amerson, OL Ian Silberman, OL Vadal Alexander, DL Darius Latham, DL Treyvon Hester.

Chargers: QB Cardale Jones, WR Geremy Davis, S Adrian Phillips (ankle), RB Russell Hansbrough, OT Michael Ola, DT Corey Liuget, DE Jerry Attaochu. ___

BUFFALO-MIAMI

Bills: WR Malachi Dupre, CB Shareece Wright (concussion), CB Breon Borders, T Conor McDermott, G John Miller, TE Logan Thomas, WR Brandon Reilly

Dolphins: QB Matt Moore, RB Damien Williams, CB Alterraun Verner, S Trae Elston, T Laremy Tunsil (ankle), T Eric Smith, WR Rashawn Scott ___

Early games:

NY JETS-NEW ENGLAND Jets: RT Brandon Shell (concussion), TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (ribs/foot), DB Rashard Robinson, OLB Freddie Bishop, WR Lucky Whitehead, NT Deon Simon, DE Muhammad Wilkerson.

Patriots: RB James White (ankle), RB Rex Burkhead (knee), RB Mike Gillislee (knee) DL Alan Branch (knee), WR Chris Hogan (shoulder), OL Cole Croston, LB David Harris. ___

CLEVELAND-PITTSBURGH Browns: QB Cody Kessler, G Geoff Gray, FB Danny Vitale, C Marcus Martin, WR Matt Hazel, TE Matt Lengel, LB Jeremy Cash.

Steelers: QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Le’Veon Bell, WR Antonio Brown (calf), CB Coty Sensabaugh, RG David DeCastro, C Maurkice Pouncey, DE Cam Heyward. ___

HOUSTON-INDIANAPOLIS

Texans: QB Josh Johnson, WR DeAndre Hopkins (calf), WR DeAndrew White, RB Jordan Todman (shoulder), LB LaTroy Lewis (shoulder), OL Kendall Lamm Q(concussion), OL Jeff Allen (concussion).

Colts: QB Brad Kaaya, WR Donte Moncrief (ankle), TE Jason Vander Laan (concussion), OL Mark Glowinski, DT Caraun Reid, OL Denzelle Good (knee), DT Johnathan Hankins (ankle). ___

CHICAGO-MINNESOTA

Bears: DE Rashaad Coward, S Deiondre’ Hall, RT Bobby Massie, RB Taquan Mizzell, QB Mark Sanchez, TE Adam Shaheen, LG Josh Sitton.

Vikings: QB Kyle Sloter, WR Stacy Coley, CB Tramaine Brock, RB Mack Brown, C Pat Elflein, DE Tashawn Bower, DT Shamar Stephen. ___

GREEN BAY-DETROIT

Packers: CB Damarious Randall (knee), WR Davante Adams, WR Jordy Nelson, TE Richard Rodgers, G Jahri Evans, RB Aaron Jones, LB Chris Odom.

Lions: CB Nevin Lawson (concussion), RB Zach Zenner, RB Dwayne Washington, OT Brian Mihalik, TE Michael Roberts, DT Rodney Coe, WR Jace Billingsley. ___

DALLAS-PHILADELPHIA

Cowboys: WR Cole Beasley, RB Rod Smith, LB Tre’von Johnson, OG Kadeem Edwards, TE Blake Jarwin, DE Benson Mayowa, DL David Irving.

Eagles: RB Jay Ajayi, DE Derek Barnett, LB Nigel Bradham, DE Brandon Graham, DT Tim Jernigan, S Rodney McLeod, CB Jalen Mills. ___

WASHINGTON-NY GIANTS

Redskins: WR Robert Davis, S DeAngelo Hall, LB Ryan Anderson, LB Zach Brown, G Kyle Kalis, C Demetrius Rhaney and NT Ziggy Hood.

Giants: WR Sterling Shepard, TE Evan Engram, QB Geno Smith, DE Avery Moss, LB Akeem Ayers, G Damien Mama and OT Ereck Flowers. With Bobby Hart waived-injured on Saturday and Flowers (groin).

By The Associated Press by Associated Press , published on STL.NEWS by St. Louis Media, LLC (US)

#Aaron Donald #Carolina #Christian #NFL #San Francisco

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junker-town · 8 years ago

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NFL Panic Index 2017, Week 16: Patriots’ road to the Super Bowl just got easier

Here’s what you should be freaking out about this week.

Eli Rogers thinks the Steelers will handle the Patriots should the teams meet again in the postseason. Recent history doesn’t bear that theory out.

It’s been nearly 20 years since Pittsburgh was able to beat New England in the playoffs. Tom Brady is 3-0 against the Steelers in the second season, and now he’s got the inside track to ensure Rogers and his cohort have to travel to a raucous Gillette Stadium for a potential showdown in the AFC Championship Game. Home wins over the Bills and Jets will ensure the path to the conference title cuts through Massachusetts.

That’s what happened last winter, and it ended in a 36-17 victory for the home team, the final step on a journey to the greatest comeback in NFL history two weeks later. It’s a familiar feeling for Pittsburgh and its fans — since that January 1998 playoff win, the Steelers are just 3-11 against Bob Kraft’s franchise.

There are still a couple of downsides for the Patriots. New England is actually better on the road (7-1, with wins over the Saints and Steelers) than it is at home (4-2). Sunday’s win also gave Brady the inside track in the league’s MVP race, which is a blessing AND a curse; no NFL MVP has won the Super Bowl in the same year since Kurt Warner did it in 1999.

Panic index: Everyone outside of New England is getting sick of the Patriots — especially the players who have to deal with them in January. Sunday’s loss just added more momentum behind the Pats’ quest to repeat as champions.

What if Antonio Brown doesn’t come back for the playoffs?

Antonio Brown was solidifying his case for the MVP award when he went down two minutes into the second quarter of the Steelers’ Sunday loss to the Patriots. Not coincidentally, Ben Roethlisberger got sacked on the next play, at the Patriots’ 25-yard line, and a promising touchdown drive ended with a field goal instead.

That wasn’t the only drive where the Steelers missed their MVP.

A fun what-if game: The game-ending INT #Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger threw intended for Eli Rogers would have been for Antonio Brown had he been healthy. That was AB's route.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 18, 2017

It’s hard not to think that might have been a touchdown instead of game-sealing interception, even with the confusion between the QB and the sideline over whether or not spike it.

The Steelers have plenty of talent on offense, but there’s no one-to-one replacement for what Brown brings to the field. Now, he’s got a partially torn calf muscle, and probably won’t play for the last two regular season games, which fortunately for the Steelers are against the Texans and Browns.

Panic index: Brown is supposedly going to be back for the playoffs, which is good news for the Steelers. If that assessment turns out to be wrong, well, it’s not going to be a very fun January in Pittsburgh.

The Chargers are back to their old BS again

We wanted to believe in you, Chargers. You were healthy. You had won four in a row. You hadn’t missed a potential game-winning kick in a couple months. It looked like maybe, just maybe, you could steal the AFC West right out from under the Chiefs. Instead, in your biggest game of the season and perhaps the one that determines if you’ll be playing in January, you fell on your faces.

On Saturday night, the Chargers lost, 30-13, to the Chiefs — their eighth straight loss to Kansas City. LA looked more like the team that began the season 0-4 alongside the Browns and Giants than the one from just a week before: a team that had its shit together and was one of the hottest in the entire NFL.

Philip Rivers, who had us starting an MVP campaign, threw three picks. Top receiver Keenan Allen, who has yet to play a full 16-game season, was carted off with a back injury. Tight end Hunter Henry, who has become Rivers’ favorite big-bodied target, lacerated his kidney. Running back Austin Ekeler, who has emerged as a fun-to-watch rookie, fumbled and broke his hand on the same play. Kicker Travis Coons, who had yet to miss an extra point attempt .... well, you can guess it, he missed a PAT.

And just like that, Coons was out of a job:

The Los Angeles Chargers just released my client Travis Coons who was 7 of 8 on field goals (88%), and 5 of 6 on extra points. Talk about a short leash...

— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) December 18, 2017

Now the Chargers are on their fourth kicker of the year, Nick Rose — someone they’re hoping will stick around for the long term.

Still, blowing opportunities, injuries piling up, changing kickers ... we thought the Chargers had grown up, but they just seem to have reverted back to their old screwup selves.

Panic index: The Chargers aren’t out of it, but they need a lot of help to make the playoffs. More than anything, we’re just disappointed in them.

Is Bortles the Jags’ QB of the future again?

Don’t look now, but Blake Bortles is having a very good run as the Jaguars starting quarterback. In some respects, he’s been the best QB in the NFL over the last month.

Blake Bortles This Month NFL Rank W-L 3-0 T-1st Yds per att 9.9 1st TD-Int 7-0 1st Total QBR 85 1st

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 18, 2017

Last Sunday’s win over the Cardinals clinched a playoff berth for the Jags, their first in a decade. That, combined with Bortles’ play down the stretch, is setting up a familiar scenario, something that could change Jacksonville’s offseason plans for the quarterback position.

January 2013. That’s when the Joe Flacco #elite narrative caught fire, right after the Ravens won the Super Bowl thanks in large part to Flacco’s incredible four-game run through the playoffs. He threw for 1,140 yards, 11 touchdowns, no interceptions and a 117.2 QB rating.

Despite that, his career had been pretty mediocre until then. And it was after that, too. Except he had a fat new contract, a six-year, $120 million drag on the Ravens salary cap.

Bortles is Flacco-ing. True, he’ll have to do this in playoffs, when it really counts toward #eliteness, but if he does that, could it mean more Bortles in Jacksonville beyond 2018?

Panic index: He’s got one more year on his contract, the fifth-year option the team picked up, worth $19 million fully guaranteed. Technically, the Jags wouldn’t have to make a decision until after next season at the latest. Is the team willing to bet a gazillion dollars that Bortles’ problems really are fixed?

What if the Bengals end up with Hue Jackson as their head coach?

It doesn’t matter how much Marvin Lewis tries to walk back the rumors about his time in Cincinnati coming to an end. We all know it’s coming. And that means that the Bengals are in the market for a new head coach. Could they bring back a familiar face to replace Lewis?

Hue Jackson was with the Bengals from 2012 through 2015 as an assistant and special teams coach, the running backs coach, and finally their offensive coordinator. He was hired away by the Browns to take over their mess of a team. It hasn’t gotten any less messy since Jackson arrived in Cleveland.

Owner Jimmy Haslam says the Browns will stick with Jackson. But we all know that may not be the case. So what if the Browns decide to trade Jackson to the Bengals?

The Bengals were last competitive in 2015 — when Jackson was there. They went to the postseason during every year that Jackson was on staff. But that was obviously not in a head coaching role. Jackson’s record as a head coach is 9-37.

Panic index: It’s up in the air whether Jackson will be back in Cleveland for another season. Marvin Lewis is almost certainly out the door. But these two Ohio teams couldn’t even pull together a trade for AJ McCarron before the deadline when the details were already worked out. It’s probably not going to happen.

Titans’ last-second loss could cost them their shot at the playoffs

The Titans lost on a game-winning field goal against the 49ers on Sunday, putting them at 8-6 on the season and two games behind the Jaguars in the AFC South.

They’re starting to flirt with failure again. After Marcus Mariota was lost for the season near the end of last year, the Titans barely missed the playoffs. They came into this season with higher expectations, and haven’t quite met them, fluctuating week in and week out.

Things aren’t going well for them offensively, either. They’ve put up a combined 30 points the past two weeks against the Cardinals and 49ers — teams that aren’t exactly defensive juggernauts.

Rishard Matthews was asked if he felt they were too predictable. He said, “Yeah, I believe so.”

Currently, they still hold the No. 5 and first Wild Card spot in the AFC, with the Bills and Ravens right behind them also at 8-6. They hold a tiebreaker over those teams based on best win percentage in conference games, but with two more weeks of football, all of that can change.

Panic index: The Titans have games against the Rams and Jaguars to finish the season. Unless they play their best football of the year, things could be looking bad for them.

The Bucs’ kicker curse is back

Former second-round pick Roberto Aguayo landed on Carolina’s practice squad and had a chance at a fresh start with the Panthers. But the Panthers cut him last week. And suddenly the Buccaneers’ kicker curse seems to be back in full effect.

Tampa Bay had a shot to play spoiler against the Falcons on Monday night. It all came down to a field goal with six seconds on the clock to tie things up 24-24 and send the game to overtime.

But this one was doomed from the start. You can tell simply because this official randomly falls down on the line of scrimmage. It’s got to be the kicker curse.

Patrick Murray’s attempt went wide right. The Falcons won and headed back to Atlanta with postseason hopes intact.

Panic index: Don’t be silly. Curses aren’t real — unless you’re a Browns fan.

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footyplusau · 8 years ago

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Dogs honour flag unfurling with thrilling win

THE WESTERN Bulldogs have won a wildly fluctuating Grand Final rematch with Sydney, overcoming a slow start and a late Lance Franklin-inspired Swans comeback to prevail by 23 points at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

The Swans looked as if they were still smarting from their shock round one loss to Port Adelaide when they burst from the blocks to kick the opening four goals, jumping to a 23-point lead midway through the first quarter.

But the Dogs soon settled and looked to have control of the match when they led by 28 points late in the third term.

The Dogs would eventually record a 16.14 (110) to 13.9 (87) victory, but Franklin and the Swans gave them an almighty scare in the meantime.

Five talking points: Western Bulldogs v Sydney

Franklin kicked a goal in the shadows of three-quarter time that brought the Swans within 22 points, and then rammed on the first three majors of the final term, the last two majestic curling shots from outside 50m.

The last of those goals dragged the Swans within two points, and they hit the lead a minute later when Sam Reid marked and kicked his sixth goal.

But just when the Dogs were on the ropes they rediscovered their verve.

First, Marcus Bontempelli picked Harry Cunningham’s pocket to mark in the goalsquare and goaled without breaking stride to put the Bulldogs four points up at the 17-minute mark.

WATCH: Plucky Picken haunts the Swans again

Shortly after, Callum Mills seemed unlucky to be pinged for a deliberate rushed behind – he had Liam Picken bearing down on him – but Picken showed him no sympathy, running around from a tight angle to convert the resultant free kick.

Jake Stringer streamed through the centre to goal just over a minute later, and when Picken added the Dogs’ fourth unanswered major eight minutes later the Dogs were 23 points up and home.

It was the perfect end to a joyous night for Bulldogs fans, who had earlier watched 1954 premiership player Angus Abbey and 1970-80s legend Doug Hawkins raise the club’s second premiership flag.

WB v Syd: Full match coverage and stats

The Swans’ disappointing night was further soured by a left ankle injury to Kurt Tippett and Zak Jones being reported for rough conduct on Travis Cloke just minutes later.

Tippett landed awkwardly after taking a strong mark midway through the first quarter, his ankle rolling underneath him. He was unable to take his kick and came straight from the ground, playing no further part in the game.

Jones cannoned into Cloke moments after the Bulldogs spearhead had marked, but did not appear to make head-high contact. Cloke was also able to get to his feet relatively quickly and goaled after receiving a free kick and 50m penalty.

Bontempelli (29 possessions, five clearances and two goals) was the star for the Dogs, while Ling Jong (23 possessions and eight marks) was outstanding in attack.

Jake Stringer (three goals) was also back to his barnstorming best, Liam Picken (21 possessions and two goals) worked his tail off in attack, Travis Cloke kicked three first-half goals and key defender Marcus Adams did well in his first game of the year.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge conceded after the match he had been worried when Franklin went on his last-quarter goalkicking spree.

“We were in a bit of trouble. It was a great effort to arrest that momentum because the Swans were flying at that point in time,” Beveridge said.

“It was a strange one because we don’t often sit on our hands, but there was a fair bit of trust in the boys and what they’re capable of doing.

“There was a slight shift in roles but it was a tremendous effort to get that back on our terms.”

Franklin (22 possessions, 11 marks and four goals) was brilliant for the Swans, and was ably supported by Reid, whose game-high six goals included three of the game’s first four in a remarkable 15-minute burst.

Jake Lloyd had 34 touches through the midfield, while Josh Kennedy (23 possessions and five clearances) and Luke Parker (21 and five) did a power of work at the stoppages.

Swans coach John Longmire was pleased with his team’s response to its poor loss to Port Adelaide.

“Coming off last week we were really keen for our blokes to make an impact around the contest and strike at the ball and get their hands on the ball first,” Longmire said.

“We had a really young team in tonight, so the way they went about it for the majority of the game I was really happy with.

“And to fight back, and obviously to lose Kurt in the first quarter, but then to keep going as long and as hard as what we did in that last term, and having young kids in their first games play 105-110 minutes, I thought the intensity and effort was pretty good.”

The Swans’ loss marked just the second time since 2006 that they have opened a season 0-2. But when they last did that in 2014, they recovered to make the Grand Final.

Sydney was missing eight players from last year’s Grand Final team (Isaac Heeney, Ben McGlynn, Jarrad McVeigh, Tom Mitchell, Tom Papley, Dane Rampe, Xavier Richards and Gary Rohan) and unveiled three debutants: Robbie Fox, Nic Newman and Will Hayward.

But the Bulldogs were also missing seven of their Grand Final 22 (Dale Morris, Jordan Roughead, Tory Dickson, Toby McLean, Joel Hamling, Josh Dunkley and Clay Smith).

MEDICAL ROOM Western Bulldogs: The Dogs emerged from the contest with a clean bill of health. Sydney: Tippett’s injury looked a nasty one. Coach John Longmire said after the match the key forward had escaped any bone damage, but had damaged the ligaments around his ankle.

NEXT UP The Bulldogs play Fremantle next Saturday at Domain Stadium, a venue where they had lost seven games in a row before their dominant 2016 elimination final win over West Coast. The Swans return to the SCG to host Collingwood next Friday night.

WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.6 7.7 12.11 16.14 (110) SYDNEY 5.2 6.5 9.7 13.9 (87)

GOALS Western Bulldogs: Cloke 3, Stringer 3, Bontempelli 2, T.Boyd 2, Picken 2, Jong, Murphy, Hunter, Suckling Sydney: Reid 6, Franklin 4, Newman, Florent, Laidler

BEST Western Bulldogs: Dahlhaus, Jong, Bontempelli, Stringer, Picken, Hunter, Cloke Sydney: Reid, Franklin, Lloyd, Kennedy, Jones, Parker

INJURIES Western Bulldogs: Nil Sydney: Tippett (ankle)

Reports: Zak Jones (Sydney) for rough conduct on Travis Cloke (Western Bulldogs) in the first quarter

Umpires: Hosking, Ryan, Mollison

Official crowd: 42,834

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