Falcons’ Schweitzer struggled in opener
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Wes Schweitzer was in no mood to talk Wednesday.
That was obvious as soon as he got to his locker. The Atlanta Falcons offensive guard rummaged through his belongings, barely acknowledging a pair of reporters standing behind him. When he finally turned around, he answered a handful of questions with a terse stream of clichés, making it perfectly clear he’d rather be doing just about anything but this interview.
“I’m just excited for another opportunity to compete,” he said. “Umm, another game. I’ve got to get ready to play.”
Schweitzer’s sour mood was hardly a surprise.
His first game as the starting right guard for the NFL’s most potent offense didn’t go so well. It was easy to point a finger at Schweitzer — a sixth-round pick who didn’t get on the field at all last season — as one of the primary causes for Atlanta’s lackluster showing in a 23-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. Of course, it was much more complex than that.
“There’s definitely some things that went well,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said, turning on his diplomatic skills, “and some things that didn’t.”
When things go well, an offensive guard can cruise through his football life with hardly any attention.
But when someone on the opposite side of the line — in this case, Chicago’s Akiem Hicks — has a couple of sacks, then everyone wants to know what went wrong. Schweitzer is certainly feeling the heat heading into Sunday night’s game against a much more challenging opponent, the Green Bay Packers, in a rematch of last year’s NFC championship game.
Green Bay’s Mike Daniels and Nick Perry combined for three sacks in a defensive masterpiece in the opener. The Packers limited Seattle to three field goals in a 17-9 victory that showed just how much Green Bay has improved since being blown out 44-24 by the Falcons nearly eight months ago with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Quinn said he’ll be looking for Schweitzer — and the entire line, for that matter — to clean up some of the mistakes that slowed the offense against the Bears. The coach pointed out that if a lineman handles 50 plays flawlessly but messes up a couple of assignments, everyone talks about those two plays.
“That’s the nature of the position,” Quinn said. “It’s not just him on that one. Actually, that’s been a big topic for our team. Can our execution, our consistency, really get better?”
Cushing suspended
Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing has been suspended for 10 games by the NFL for violating the league’s performance enhancers policy.
It’s the second time Cushing has been suspended; the 2009 defensive rookie of the year missed four games in 2010 under the same policy, testing positive for HCG a fertility drug. Currently in the NFL’s concussion protocol after being injured in Houston’s opening loss to Jacksonville, Cushing will be eligible to return Nov. 28.
Cushing has had a checkered career since his sensational rookie season. Injuries curtailed his 2012 and ‘13 seasons, when he got into a total of 12 games. He has never come close to matching his first-year production of 86 tackles, 47 assists, four sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles and 10 passes defensed.
Fast-tracking Elliott
FRISCO, Texas — The NFL is trying to accelerate the timeline in its appeal of a federal judge’s injunction that blocked Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension regarding a domestic violence case.
The NFL quickly answered a filing from Elliott’s attorneys Wednesday, telling U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant the league would immediately go to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans if he didn’t rule on its request for a stay of his injunction by today.
The legal maneuverings are unlikely to keep last year’s NFL rushing leader from playing Sunday at Denver. He had already been cleared to play in a season-opening win over the New York Giants before Mazzant granted his request for an injunction.
The NFL had until Friday to respond to arguments from Elliott’s camp against Mazzant rescinding his own order blocking the suspension. In that scenario, Mazzant wouldn’t have ruled until next week.
Back to football
The Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers got back to work Wednesday after a long layoff because of Hurricane Irma, with the Bucs practicing in Tampa and the Dolphins working out under cloudless blue skies in 72-degree, humidity-free weather at the Dallaw Cowboys’ preseason facility in Oxnard, Calif.
The Dolphins are spending the week up the Southern California coast from Los Angeles after leaving Miami several days early to avoid the hurricane. Their home opener against Tampa Bay was postponed by the storm, so they will begin their regular season Sunday against the Chargers.
With the Florida teams’ matchup pushed back to Nov. 19, Tampa Bay players scattered across the country for their bye week after a workout last Wednesday.
They returned — some after long car trips that began the previous day — late Tuesday for a walk-through practice at One Buccaneer Place. Preparation for Sunday’s home game against Chicago began in earnest Wednesday with just the third full practice the team has had since the end of the preseason on Aug. 31.