The
#Bucs
were just dumping salary when they traded DeSean Jackson to the
#Eagles
in 2019 & got a 6th-rounder in return. But the 6th-rounder, Scotty Miller, has given them more production since than D-Jax has Philly, including Sunday's killer 39-yard TD in the NFC title game.
Let the record show the
#Patriots
gave up a 2nd-round pick for 218 yards of Mohamed Sanu (in 8 games, playoffs included). That's how they addressed their offensive problems.
Re: Antonio Brown
The
#Patriots
got Randy Moss, who was 5 months older than Brown, for a 4th-rounder in 2007. He caught 23 TD passes that season and 47 over the next 3. (And it would have been more if Tom Brady hadn't missed virtually all of '08.)
#Steelers
#Raiders
#WashingtonFootballTeam
WR Rod Gardner, the team's first-round pick in 2001, caught a pass from 5 different QBs in his first 19 games: Jeff George, Tony Banks, Kent Graham, Shane Matthews & Danny Wuerffel. This crap's been going on forever.
Colin Kaepernick threw for 263 and rushed for 181 (!) in a playoff game vs. the
#Packers
during the 2012 season, but everybody loves to forget him, don't they?
#49ers
#Ravens
Jimmy Breslin in 1982, when Donald Trump -- "a young builder named Junior With a Big Ego, . . . whose civic responsibility in the past consisted of getting tax abatements" -- made noises about buying the Daily News.
I'm gonna go cry now.
Sid Luckman, the HOF
#Bears
QB, just called. He said, "Read about that left-handed pass Patrick Mahomes completed to Tyreek Hill for 6 yards. Hell, I pulled that stunt in 1947 with George McAfee -- and gained *14* yards. Tell everybody to calm down."
#Chiefs
#NFL
While everyone is extolling the virtues of Tom Brady -- and understandably so -- be advised that Jason Pierre-Paul, the
#Bucs
pass rusher who was very visible today with 2 sacks, is now 7-0 in playoff games (games played *9 years apart*). He's 5-0 on the road. Hysterical.
R.I.P. Otis Taylor, who'll always be a HOFer in my book. Here's how he compared to other greats in the 7 seasons -- 4 in the AFL, 3 in the
#NFL
-- that you'd consider his prime:
#Chiefs
The 2 famous Native American college football teams in the early 1900s were Carlisle -- where Jim Thorpe ran wild -- and Haskell. In 1930 Haskell had a right tackle whose tribal name was Knocks Off Two. I'm running behind *that* guy.
Lamar Jackson leads the
#NFL
in TD passes (33) and is 8th in rushing yards (1,103).
In 1990 the
#Eagles
' Randall Cunningham finished 2nd in TD passes (30) and 9th in rushing yards (942).
That is all.
#Ravens
Drew Brees paraphrased: I thought, when you wrapped yourself in the flag, it was supposed to make you bulletproof. My bad. Maybe I'll just hug it next time.
Reminder that
#Northwestern
, which Dabo ranked lower than 11th, held
#OhioState
to 2 FGs until late in the 3rd quarter and 22 points overall.
#Clemson
has given up 21 in the 1st 20 minutes.
I would pay good money to see all those people complaining about Obama’s FCC chairman voting to repeal
#NetNeutality
actually explain it in detail. I’d also bet most hadn’t heard of it before this week.
#outrage
Jotted down the players Bobby Beathard brought in for Joe Gibbs' 1st year in '81. The additions included:
O
Russ Grimm
Joe Jacoby
Mark May
Joe Washington
Terry Metcalf
Otis Wonsley
Nick Giaquinto
Alvin Garrett
D
Dexter Manley
Darryl Grant
Curtis Jordan
ST
Pete Cronan
#Commanders
All this time, I never knew the reason Colin Kaepernick chose to kneel was that a veteran told him it would be a more respectful way of protesting than sitting on the bench.
Why hasn't the media ever bothered to mention this?
Pro football players are tough, tough guys, but an event as jarring as tonight's can change you. A Chiefs player, Stone Johnson, died in 1963 after suffering spinal-cord damage on a KO return. Coach Hank Stram said his top RB, Abner Haynes, "just wasn't the same" after that.
Knew there was something unusual about the
#Patriots
' Super Bowl run. They're the 1st
#NFL
champ since the rapacious 2000
#Ravens
to hold their playoff opponents to 50% completions or less. It was pretty common earlier before the game changed. Going back to 1978:
America needs College Football! It’s important for student-athletes, schools, and our Nation. These Great athletes have worked their whole lives for the opportunity compete on the college gridiron and they deserve the chance to safely get back on the field!
#WeWantToPlay
🏈🇺🇸
What's missing from these stories about the D.C. Prep School Party Scene in the Kavanaugh Era is the voices of the parents. Where the hell were they while this bacchanalia was going on? The country club? Their Other House? And who were the "cool" parents who supplied the booze?
OK, let's talk about Franco. Hidden Fact: When he retired after the 1984 season he was the leading rusher in
#NFL
history, playoffs included. (Gotta love those 1,556 postseason rushing yards. He's still No. 2 in the latter department, just behind Emmitt Smith's 1,586.)
#Steelers
This is a classically great SI cover from 2002 bidding farewell to Johnny U. But having Sam Huff lurking in the foreground takes it to another level. R.I.P. to one of the all-, all-, all-timers.
#WFT
#Giants
At some point, the president is going to have to look at Drs. Fauci and Birx and say, we're opening on May 1. Give me your best guidance on protocols, but we cannot deny our people their basic freedoms any longer.
Adventures of a Black Football Player, 1905. Sammy Ransom was a fabulous all-around athlete who won a Purple Heart in WWI. This is from the
@chicagotribune
.
Wilson has been sacked more times in his first 9 seasons than any other QB since the merger.
394 Russ
366 Randall Cunningham
362 Neil Lomax
356 Phil Simms
344 Big Ben
All good-to-great QBs. 4 rings in that group. Fascinating.
#Seahawks
I’m hearing Russell Wilson’s camp has grown increasingly frustrated by the Seahawks inability to protect the 8 time Pro Bowler. He has been sacked 394 times in 9 seasons. This situation warrants serious monitoring.
@CharlesPPierce
Great choice. One of my favorite things about it is: "Granholm defeated Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' husband to win her second term as governor."
Charley Taylor. Wow. Hard to know where to begin. Maybe with this: As a rookie with Washington in 1964 he had 755 yards rushing & 814 receiving in a 14-game schedule. No other
#NFL
rookie has ever had a 750/750 season -- not even in a 16-game schedule.
#Commanders
Every time I see a Southern football coach act like a jerk, I remind myself that, somewhere down the line, he'll probably be elected to the U.S. Senate.
And the
#Patriots
' top 2018 pick, OT Isaiah Wynn, didn't get on the field because of an injury. Neither did CB Duke Dawson, their second-rounder. That could be like adding a 1 & a 2 to this year's draft class.
Super Bowl champ
#Patriots
own the
#Bears
2nd-rd pick (No. 56) &
#Lions
3rd-rd pick (No. 73), and are projected to land two 3rd-rd compensatory picks.
Including their own 1 (No. 32) & 2 (No. 64), New England should hold *SIX* selections inside the ~ Top 100 of this year's draft.
We live in a world of diminished expectations. Me, I'm just hoping the
@WashingtonPost
's headline on its Rush Limbaugh obit makes him sound worse than Marty Schottenheimer.
Only one player in
#NFL
history has thrown for 200 yards, rushed for 100 yards, and rushed for 2 TD in a game.
Lamar Jackson -- last night vs. the
#Chiefs
#RavensFlock
For those wondering: Has this ever happened before? Here's
#Colts
DE Don Joyce standing over
#Rams
LB Les Richter in 1954 after he pulled off Richter's helmet (lying on the ground) and bashed him in the face with it. Joyce was ejected but not suspended.
#Browns
#Steelers
Via email, NFL spokesperson said league's Facebook promo advertising a Vikings-Patriots Super Bowl with Case Keenum and Tom Brady is a "regrettable mistake."
NFL created other promos w/different combos, including the Eagles, but were supposed to wait until Monday to release.
Will we ever see another player voted (unanimously!) to the
#NFL
's All-Decade team who was 33 years old at the start of that decade? A kicker, maybe. Tom Brady's First Decade vs. Tom Brady's Second Decade (playoffs included). He and the
#Patriots
won 3 Super Bowls in each.
I know I'm always going on about Otis Taylor, WR deluxe on the
#Chiefs
' last Super Bowl team, but that's because he could do stuff like this. It's the clearance that's impressive. He even gets separation from defenders looking to take his legs out.
Red Grange after playing his last game for Illinois in November 1925. He joined the Chicago
#Bears
late in the season & traveled the country in 2 tours (1 regular season, 1 postseason). Note his shoulder pads offer protection on the *throwing* side.
Either the
#Redskins
are overplaying their hand with Trent Williams or they figure their best chance to get a decent return for him is if somebody loses a LT and gets desperate. I'll take Door No. 1.
After Zion Williamson's 13-for-16 shooting game vs. the
#Nuggets
last night I decided to see how many
#NBA
players have had a season like the one he's having: 25+ ppg, 62%+ FG%. Answer: He'd be the first. He's 20 years old.
#Pelicans
Whenever anybody says they have some news to tell me, I like to break out Yaphet Kotto's line from Midnight Run: "Is this gonna upset me?" He was terrific in lots of stuff, but a perfect FBI Agent Alonzo Mosley. R.I.P.
Here are the 4
#NFL
teams since the 1970 merger to allow fewer than 10 sacks in a season. The offensive line coach of the '75
#Cardinals
was Jim Hanifan. The O-line coach of the '91 Super Bowl-winning Washington club was Jim Hanifan. R.I.P., Hanny.
This is too good. Diane Sawyer won the 1963 Junior Miss pageant the same night Wes Unseld led her HS basketball team in Louisville to the state title. Her question after being crowned: "Who won the ball game?" Answer: Seneca by 6. "What a wonderful night this has been."
#Wizards
#Steelers
fans were lined up around the block to buy playoff tickets in 1947 -- 70 seasons ago. The cutline says it was "reminiscent of the nylon, cigarette and other wartime waiting scenes."
#NFL
Will have a few thoughts about Tom Brady as the day wears on. Here's one: You think of all the QBs who got hurt/dinged this season -- including the 2 in the Super Bowl. Brady played until he was 45. His last missed game due to injury was at 31. He showed up.
#Bucs
#Patriots
For as long as ExFedEx Field is sponsorless, the
#Commanders
should name it after a different famous player every week. Sammy Baugh Stadium! Darrell Green Coliseum! I could get into that.
Sammy Baugh's 335-yard passing day in the 1937
#NFL
title game was so ridiculous. It wasn't until '81 that a QB threw for more yards in *any*
#NFL
playoff game without the benefit of OT. And it wasn't topped in regulation in a Super Bowl until Doug Williams did it 50 years later.
The
#Bengals
release Andy Dalton. It's easy to be underwhelmed by him, what with his 0-4 playoff record & all. But only 16
#NFL
QBs since the '70 merger have won 70 regular-season games in their 1st 9 seasons. Dalton's 24 4Q comebacks are tied for 4th in this group. Lotta HOFers.
That's it. I don't watch Fox News, and now it's become clear I shouldn't be watching any of Fox's programming, much as I love pro football and the Super Bowl. Just can't support this crap on any level. It's time. Probably overdue.
#NFL
on Fox: Dead to me.
Can't wait for the next
#NFL
game where a 45-year-old QB accounts for 99.2% of his team's offense.
Brady: 373 net passing yards
#Bucs
: 3 net rushing yards
Just realized Chuck Grassley is as old as the NFL championship game (1933). Some guys in that game played without helmets, never mind facemasks. The Bears' winning TD was scored on a hook-and-lateral.
Kaepernick's last regular-season game, by the way, was Jan. 1, 2017 -- a mere 703 days ago. He put up these numbers in a loss to the
#Seahawks
, whose D wasn't exactly chopped liver (3rd in points allowed, 5th in yards). On top of that, he played a 100% Butt-Fumble-Free Game.
Here's a great stat, Derrius Guice mourners:
Most Career Rushing Yards By A Back Who Missed His Rookie Season With An Injury:
10,643 Ricky Watters
8,614 Terry Allen
8,474 Willis McGahee
There's still hope!
#Redskins
Nov. 20, 1960. Imagine an
#NFL
game ending this way: The
#Browns
, down 14-10 to the
#Steelers
, throw into the end zone on the last play, & a kid fan, who'd crept onto the field, had to scamper out of the way to avoid interfering with receiver Leon Clarke. Incomplete.
President Donald Trump catches a ball while hosting youth baseball players at the White House on opening day for Major League Baseball. Photo by Kevin Lamarque
This is awesome. The L.A. Times sends a writer & cameraman out to the
#UCLA
practice field in 1939 to try to figure out why Bruins RB Jackie Robinson is so hard to tackle. Devoted most of the sports front to it.
As game-ending mayhem goes, nothing will ever top the
#Raiders
' Matt Millen punching
#Patriots
GM Pat Sullivan, son of owner Billy Sullivan, during the 1985 playoffs. But the Garrett-induced donnybrook tonight has gotta rank pretty high up there.
#Browns
#Steelers
In 1999 Dan Snyder bought the shiny new bike of his boyhood dreams & then left it out in the rain to rust. Negligence doesn't begin to describe his ownership of the Washington franchise. It's like cutting him a break.
Josh Harris owns pro basketball & hockey teams, Jack Kent Cooke owned pro basketball & hockey teams, franchise founder George Preston Marshall owned a pro basketball team & Dan Snyder, of course, owned a Redskins belt buckle.
#Commanders
OK, last one and then I'm gonna call it a night. Thanks, all. From a 1959 school yearbook:
On the left: Wes Unseld in the 7th grade.
On the right: Diane Sawyer in the 8th.
(They graduated a year apart from Louisville's Seneca High School.)
#Wizards
#NBA
Never saw these before. Pretty cool. Jim Brown and Ernie Davis' game-by-game rushing stats at
#Syracuse
. Can you imagine them in the same
#Browns
backfield? Maybe the biggest Might Have Been in
#NFL
history.
To me, the continuing anger at Ron Rivera -- "Fire him! Fire him! Why don't they fire him!" -- is misplaced. He didn't create this Chernobyl, he just walked in near the end. Joe Gibbs had a losing record under Dan Snyder. So did Mike Shanahan. It just became Loserland.