- The Detroit Lions placed wide receiver Tyrell Williams (concussion) on injured reserve. Kicker Austin Seibert was added to the team's reserve/COVID-19 list, and practice squad linebacker Josh Woods was signed to the active roster.
- Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) and receiver Marquise Brown (ankle) were among Ravens players who did not practice Thursday.
- Per NFL reporter Mike Clay, the Cowboys will be without Demarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong, Neville Gallimore and Carlos Watkins this coming Monday.
- Seahawks rookie fourth-round pick Tre Brown and Nigel Warrior will be eligible to come off Injured Reserve next week.
- Tre Norwood "never got wide-eyed" in Steelers debut: https://steelersdepot.com/2021/09/c...tre-norwood-never-got-wide-eyed-in-nfl-debut/
- Losers from MNF: Creed Humphrey: This wasn’t the rookie’s night. He and Mahomes had their first bad snap of his career — and he missed a couple of blocks that really cost the Chiefs. Perhaps it’s unfair to put this on him, but he had a chance at Jason Oweh when he got to Mahomes for the pressure that forced an interception. Oweh also beat Humphrey on the play where Oweh forced and recovering a fumble.
- During an appearance Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show, Andrews bet show host Pat McAfee— a former Mountaineers and Indianapolis Colts punter and kicker — 20 push-ups on the Sooners to take down the Mountaineers. Andrews is so confident that he is even giving McAfee 14 points on the game. Oklahoma must win the game by 15 or more in order for Andrews to not lose the bet to McAfee.
“I think we’ll win by like 14,” Andrews said. “I’ll bet you 20 (push-ups) on that. … I’ll give you 14 points, man. My dogs got it, easy.” - Did Ben Powers and Ben Cleveland play well enough to continue the Ravens' rotation at left guard? "They did. They both played really well," coach John Harbaugh said. "So, yeah, they both should play going forward and we'll see where it takes us."
Lions express confidence in new kicker Austin Seibert
Justin RogersThe Detroit News
Allen Park — After trying out three different kickers during the offseason, the Detroit Lions settled on an outside option to start the season, claiming Austin Seibert off waivers earlier this month.
Lions special teams coach Dave Fipp noted Seibert, a fifth-round draft pick in 2019, was widely viewed as the top kicker coming out of college that year. And despite some early-career struggles, which includes five missed extra points as a rookie and just two makes on seven field goal tries from 40 yards and beyond last season, Fipp still believes in the potential.
"I think a lot of kickers, they come out, they have some ups and downs and some of these guys take a little but longer to get started," Fipp said. "If you go back and look at some of the great platers in this game at that position — like (Adam) Vinatieri's really kind of an interesting guy — you look at his numbers and early on in his career, they were up and down quite a bit."
The recently retired Vinatieri, who has a strong case for the Hall of Fame when eligible, converted 80.1% of his field-goal attempts through four seasons, including 66% from 40 yards and beyond. Siebert, through 21 games, is at 81.6%.
"The one thing that I looked at with Austin is I feel like over the last year he's really worked hard to improve his game and he's changed some things mechanically," Fipp said. "So for us, I felt real good about the fact that he's not the same guy coming in here that he's been. He's actually different and, in my opinion, mechanically he's a lot better."
Beyond accuracy, the other important trait for a kicker is leg strength. In Seibert's brief career, his longest make is from 53 yards, only slightly better than his personal-best of 51 yards playing four years at the University of Oklahoma.
Still, Fipp believes there's plenty of untapped potential there.
"He was hitting 61 yarders the other day," Fipp said. "He's got a really big leg. I think that's one of his real strengths, to be honest with you."
Marquise Brown is a certified “primetime” player
When the lights come on, “Hollywood” is ready shineBy Mike Reid.@Ravens_Reid Sep 22, 2021, 1:29pm EDT
Over the past two seasons, the Baltimore Ravens have been in a handful of big games. They have had plenty of success and huge wins, but also their fair share of heart-breaking losses and defeats. With a loaded roster, the Ravens have plenty of guys who have been difference makers in these big spots.
There is one player who shines especially bright whenever the primetime lights come on, though: wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.
Dating back to Week 11 last season, the Ravens entered a six-game stretch in which every matchup was essentially a must-win. They ended up going 5-1 in those games and clinched a playoff berth. Brown showed up in every single one of those games. He produced a total stat line of 26 catches, 338 yards, and six touchdowns over this six-game span. He then followed this stretch with two really solid performances in the playoffs.
Brown was a major factor in the Wild Card victory against the Titans with 128 total yards on nine touches. He also looked like one of the only bright spots in the Divisional loss in Buffalo, hauling in four grabs for 87 yards — good for 21 yards per catch. Going even deeper, specifically looking at just primetime games during his career in Baltimore, Brown has scored eight touchdowns in nine games under the lights.
Brown’s importance to this team in big games goes far beyond his numbers as well. He is cut from the same cloth as Lamar Jackson: young, energetic, south Florida natives who just love playing football. They have such great friendship off the field and it is easy to see how much that chemistry translates to on-field success. The “jump pass” touchdown from Sunday night is a great example of that awesome chemistry. Jackson and Brown may not be the best quarterback-wide receiver duo in the league in terms of raw statistics, but they’re one of the best in terms of a mind-meld between two players.
Just two weeks into this 2021 season, the Ravens have dealt with major injuries across the team. In particular on offense, where they lost their entire running back depth chart and first-round pick Rashod Bateman. Bateman will be back soon, but the Ravens needed someone on offense to desperately make a leap in their development.
So far, through two games, “Hollywood” ranks 10th in the NFL in receiving yards with 182. He had hauled in 12 of his 16 targets for a 75% catch rate. Nine of his 12 grabs have gone for first downs. In other words, Brown looks absolutely primed for a third-year breakout campaign.
Once Bateman comes back into the fold, the Ravens’ passing attack has the looks of the best group of talent Jackson has ever had. Mark Andrews, Sammy Watkins, and Bateman alone are a great trio of pass-catchers. But the player who Lamar will continue to trust in the biggest moments this season is “Primetime Jet” himself, Marquise Brown.
Chargers HC Brandon Staley acknowledges Kenneth Murray's early-season struggles
Gavino BorquezSeptember 22, 2021 4:59 pm PT
The start of linebacker Kenneth Murray’s sophomore season has not been all sunshine and rainbows.
Expected to be a key piece in the middle of the defense, Murray has struggled to find his footing in Brandon Staley’s system.
Only a season removed from finishing with 107 tackles, Murray hasn’t looked like the same player who was consistently rallying to and making plays on the football.
While opportunities have been there, Murray’s tape has been littered with missed tackles, lack of mental processing, over-pursuing ball carriers and the inability to shed blocks or work off contact, all of which have attributed to the team’s lackluster run defense.
“I think up and down,” Staley said about Murray’s performances. “I think there have been some really good moments. And then, there have been some moments that we need to have him improve.
That’s part about seeing the game, understanding his style of play versus what’s on the other side of the football, understanding where he fits in within our defense.
He needs to improve for us just like a lot of guys. And I think that the exciting thing is that he’s such a hard worker … I think that you’re going to see him continue to improve.”
As for the rest of the group, Kyzir White has been the standout as the other starter in both pass coverage and against the run. White is greatly benefiting from Staley’s scheme that is tailor-made for his overall skillset.
Drue Tranquill, on the other hand, has only played 14 defensive snaps after missing nearly his entire sophomore season with an ankle injury. In the small sample size, Tranquill has still made an impact, and it’s likely that he’s going to see the field more often moving forward.
“Drue’s playing well,” Staley said. “We’re going to get him on the football field, that’s for sure. He played well in the Dallas game. He’s practicing great. It’s one thing I said in the preseason, I do feel like he’s a starter. We’re trying to unpack that rotation right now.”
In order to fix the issues, Murray needs to start utilizing proper eye discipline and play recognition to put himself in proper position, stay under control to avoid poor angles and overrunning plays and be more physical and quicker to dispel blockers from stringing him out of the action.
If Murray is unable to clean up his play, Tranquill could ultimately unseat him at the top of the depth chart.
This Time, Kyler Murray Wins NFC Offensive Player Of The Week
Quarterback grabs award after totaling four touchdowns in win over Vikings
Sep 22, 2021 at 05:31 AMDarren Urban
azcardinals.com
Quarterback Kyler Murray is interviewed after the Cardinals' 34-33 win over the Vikings.
After Kyler Murray dominated in Week 1 in Tennessee with four touchdown passes and one running, the Cardinals quarterback did not win the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
It didn't help that teammate Chandler Jones won the NFC's defensive honor -- one team is unlikely to win two awards in one week -- but Murray still admitted disappointment.
"I definitely feel like I did (deserve it), but it is what it is," Murray said last week. "It's all good. Go back out there next week and do it again."
Murray spoke it into existence.
Murray threw three more touchdown passes against the Vikings and ran for a fourth, along with 400 yards passing in a thrilling 34-33 win over the Vikings Sunday. On Wednesday, this time, he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
"We're moving as one (offensively), for the most part, we've just got to clear a lot of stuff up," Murray said. "It's a long season, so I feel great as far as command, what's going on, all that type of stuff."
It is the fifth time in his young career Murray has won the award. He won once as a rookie in 2019 and three times last season, most recently in Week 15 in a win over the Eagles -- Murray's other 400-yard passing game in his career.
Murray's rushing touchdown was the 17th of Murray's career, setting a franchise record for quarterbacks. Murray has already set the NFL mark for most games with at least three touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown in his first three seasons with five -- and Murray still has the rest of the season to go.
