NFL OWNERS DELAY DECISION ON MOVE TO 17-GAME SEASON
The inevitable has been delayed.
NFL seasons are still 16 games long. For now.
In an update from commissioner Roger Goodell, per ProFootball.com, owners chose not to vote on expanding the regular season to 17 games during their Wednesday meeting, despite having full power to do so.
They did, however, vote on and approve a scheduling formula when the 17th game is added.
So why do that if you’re not going to do the other thing, right?
Goodell said a decision on expanding the season is expected in the next several weeks.
The delay could be related to the ongoing negotiations for the next round of TV contracts, and finding out how much more the networks will shell out for the extra games. Either way, 17-game seasons are almost certainly just around the corner, starting in 2021. Why wouldn’t everybody be excited about that? And why would the NFL wait even one season to start recouping some of the losses caused by the pandemic?
FIRST-YEAR SENSATIONS:
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is poised to break the rookie record for touchdown passes. He needs three more to wipe out Baker Mayfield’s 27 scoring tosses in 2018. Seems the only thing that could stop him is injury. Herbert has averaged 2.1 TD passes per game … Herbert’s numbers over just 12 starts: He’s completed 331 of 499 passes
(66.3 per cent) for 3,467 yards, 25 TDS and 10 interceptions. Other candidates for the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, in no particular order, include: Vikings WR Justin Jefferson
(65 catches, 1,078 yards, seven touchdowns), Steelers WR Chase Claypool (50 catches, 664 yards, 10 touchdowns), Jags RB James Robinson (224 carries, 1,035 yards, 46 catches, 326 yards, nine touchdowns), Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (168 carries, 759 yards, 31 catches, 286 yards, seven touchdowns), Washington RB Antonio Gibson (141 carries, 659 yards, 32 catches for 233 yards, 11 touchdowns), Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-helaire (167 carries, 724 yards, 35 catches for 293 yards, five touchdowns) and Bengals WR Tee Higgins (58 catches, 778 yards, five touchdowns). Of the last 16 winners, 13 were first rounders and eight were quarterbacks.
UP THE MIDDLE: The betting odds of Derrick Henry winning the MVP award have improved to +6,600, which means he’s now only behind quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes (-225), Aaron Rodgers (+170), Josh Allen (+2,000) and Russell Wilson (+5,500). Henry is 573 yards shy of the single season rushing record of 2,105 set by Eric Dickerson, which means to tie it he has to average 191 rushing yards over his last three games. The Titans’ opponents, and where they rank against the run, are: Lions (29th), Packers (11th) and Texans (31st). So yeah, I’m tellin’ ya there’s a chance. RAPPING ABOUT THINGS: Lions centre Frank Ragnow suffered a fractured throat in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against
Green Bay but didn’t miss a snap the entire game, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport … ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Louis Riddick is scheduled to interview for the GM jobs with the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions this week, according to Rapoport. A 51-year-old former safety who spent six seasons (1992-98) with the Falcons, Browns and Raiders, Riddick was a scout and a director of pro personnel with Washington (200107) and Philadelphia (2008-13) before moving to the broadcast booth. He’s considered a strong candidate to take over a team. BUTTON HOOKS: Knowing his days as coach of the Jets are numbered, Adam Gase told reporters he realizes he has let down team owner Charles Johnson. “He knows how I (feel),” Gase said on Wednesday, per ESPN.COM. “I’ve told him multiple times. He deserves better, especially with how he is with our players, our staff, coaches, anybody involved in this organization. I couldn’t ask to work for a better guy.” The Jets are 0-13 this season, with a point differential of minus-210 that, by giving up just five more points than they score in the final three games, will set a new record of franchise futility. They are 7-22 since Gase took over as coach … The sexiest rumour as Gase’s replacement is Bill Cowher, who told fellow CBS analyst Boomer Esiason the “job is going to be really attractive” and that he “loves” Jets GM Joe Douglas. Cowher, who’s been retired since 2006 after coaching the Steelers for 15 seasons and to a Super Bowl title, recently denied his interest in an ESPN interview. “I have no interest in coaching,”
he said. “I have too much respect for the coaching profession to talk about a job that isn’t open. From that perspective, any job that is open, I have no interest in coaching.” Sort of sounds like a firm maybe.
DOWN AND OUT: Bengals veteran DT Geno Atkins is done for the season with a shoulder injury. A former fourth-round pick who has spent his entire 11-season career in Cincinnati, Atkins failed to register a single sack in 2020, the first time that’s happened after averaging 7.5 sacks a year for a decade. At 32, and scheduled for a $14.8-million cap hit next season with the Bengals, the Fort Lauderdale native may be changing jerseys.
GOING DEEP: Lamar Jackson believes the cramping he had Monday night could be related to his recent bout with COVID-19. “Probably,” he said on Wednesday. “Because of the body heat and we’re running in the cold. It’s so cold out there. That probably had an effect on it, as well. I can’t call it.” Despite the cramping that kept him in the locker-room for almost a quarter, and despite the fact he completed just 11 of 17 passes for 163 yards, Jackson was named the AFC offensive player of the week. In rallying Baltimore to a late victory, Jackson had nine carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Three teams can clinch a division title this week including the Buffalo Bills, who will do so for the first time since 1995 simply by beating the Broncos on Saturday. … Pittsburgh can clinch if the Giants beat the Browns on Sunday night or by defeating Cincinnati on Monday night. The Saints will clinch by beating the Chiefs or if the Bucs lose to the Falcons.
EXTRA POINTS: The Chargers have listed WR Keenan Allen (hamstring), RB Austin Ekeler (quad) and WR Mike Williams ( back) as questionable for Thursday’s game against the Raiders …. Saints QB Drew Brees returned to practice Thursday.