By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
Dan Campbell’s Standing ‘O’
Watching The Detroit Lions offense under OC John Morton has been like watching a Ferrari never getting started or even taken out of the garage. Great players and a lousy OC. His first year as the playcaller after Ben Johnson’s departure to become the Bears coach. “Let’s try something a little different,” Campbell said. “I know what I want to do, I know how I want to do it. That being said, this is a collaborative effort. I was taking input from John Morton.” The players have been begging for this change since early in the season. Scoring on every offensive possession and producing over 500 yards of offense should let Morton know the ice is melting.
The Detroit Lions 3 Up/3 Down column
QB J.J. McCarthy on his subpar performance against Baltimore
On the Ravens batting down passes at the line of scrimmage: “It’s just absolutely killer. It’s a credit to them up front. You know, they played a tremendous game. They had a tremendous game plan, threw the kitchen sink at us in terms of coverage, pressures, new looks. But yeah, it’s the little things like that. I think it’s the worst play in football, a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage.”
Brian Daboll OUT as Giants HC
Wellington Mara: “I’m aware of how many games we’ve won, and obviously the results are not even close to what we want them to be,” Mara said at the time. “They’re going to have to get better if we’re going to move on to Year [5].” Turns out, Mara could not take it any more than the Giants players and fans could.
NBC Sports Chris Simms on Matt Stafford
“Matthew Stafford is an all-time great that does not get the credit of the all-time great quarterbacks, and hopefully this will be the year that does it.” – Chris Simms on Rams QB Matthew Stafford
NBC Sports Jason Garrett on Josh Allen
“They simply didn’t show up at all. They were sloppy, they couldn’t run it, and Josh Allen looked ordinary. This was a shocker.” – Jason Garrett on the Bills’ loss to the Dolphins
SNOOP DOGG before the SNF Game on NBC
Snoop Dogg on which Winter Olympic sport he would most like to win a gold medal in: “Probably figure skating. I’d be a great figure skater. You never seen nobody tall as me, as athletic as me, elegant and dynamic. I think I’d be fly as a skater.”
Chris Collinsworth on the death of former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue
Cris Collinsworth: “Paul was, more than anything else, just a really good guy. I had some really tough conversations with him about tough issues that deal with the league, and he always treated you with respect, he always treated you like a peer, even though I clearly wasn’t, and I think that’s how I’ll remember him most. Just being a good guy.”
Jalen Nailor finally connectw with JJ McCarthy
Jalen Nailor broke two tackles and nearly stiff-armed his way out of a third on his 62-yard reception in the opening minutes Sunday, his eyes toward the end zone. It was third-and-4, only the Vikings’ sixth snap on offense, when quarterback J.J. McCarthy found Nailor outpacing Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey on the left side of the field. Nailor moved around Humphrey with ease as the cornerback fell to the ground. He threw cornerback Chidobe Awuzie off into the Vikings sideline with little effort. Then he stiff-armed safety Alohi Gilman long enough to pick up about another eight yards before he was brought down at the 4-yard line.
“I was trying to score,” Nailor laughed postgame about the stiff-arms. “I didn’t, but we still put it in at the end of the drive, so I’m excited with that.”
Aaron Rodgers on his play
Aaron Rodgers‘ last three dates with prime-time football have all resulted in losses, but none looked as ugly as his latest. It’s a fact the 41-year-old quarterback readily admitted following Pittsburgh’s 25-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night in Inglewood, California.
“This was not my best performance,” Rodgers said, via ESPN. “I got to play better than this for us to win. Whatever it takes … if it’s better checks, if it’s better throws, whatever it is, I got to play better. I will. … We got to play better on offense, for sure. But this is part of the season. There’s ebbs and flows, there’s ups and downs, and we can’t ride the wave.”
Roy J. Akers covers the NFL for www.skyviewsports.net
