Nov 21, 2019; Houston, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys former quarterback Troy Aikman attends the NFL game between the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Cowboys are coming off of their second embarrassing home loss of the season, and Troy Aikman feels he has identified one of the team’s main issues.
Aikman discussed the Cowboys’ struggles during a Thursday morning appearance on 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas. The Hall of Fame quarterback was asked if he thinks the time CeeDee Lamb missed during the offseason has negatively impacted Lamb’s chemistry with Dak Prescott. Aikman said the problem he sees is that all of the Cowboys’ wide receivers fail to give full effort on every play.
“I think the routes are terrible. I think they run terrible routes, and I’ve thought that beyond this year,” Aikman said. “I think CeeDee’s gotta improve in his route-running. As a quarterback, if you’re not certain where guys are gonna be consistently, it’s hard to play the position.
“That’s what I see. I see guys lazy coming off the line of scrimmage. Sometimes they run. Usually if they do it’s because they’re anticipating they’re gonna get the football on that play. If they’re not, they don’t, and it all ties together. I’m not impressed with that part of it.”
Lamb led the NFL with 135 catches last season. He set career highs across the board and finished with 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns. He then held out for all of training camp and the preseason before signing a massive extension.
Lamb has 467 yards through six games this year, but there have been numerous times where he and Prescott were not on the same page. The Pro Bowl wideout also made a big admission about the way he was carrying himself earlier in the season.
The Cowboys are 3-3 and have given up more than 40 points in two of their home games. They have had some major issues on defense, but Aikman views the game through a quarterback’s lens. If he has seen Lamb and other receivers loafing it with their routes, that is probably something the Cowboys’ coaching staff needs to address.
Aug 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) warms up before a game against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers look like they are going to make a quarterback change in Week 7 despite their impressive start to the season. If Justin Fields is angry about that, he is doing a good job of keeping it to himself.
Fields was asked on Thursday about the possibility of being benched for Sunday night’s game against the New York Jets after he has led Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record. The former first-round pick had a very honest response.
“I don’t think I played good enough, if I’m being real with you,” Fields said. “If I’m being real with myself, I think if I did play well enough I don’t think there would be any, sort of, ‘who should be playing, who should not.’ We got a few wins. Of course I’m glad about that, but there’s areas that I could be better in. I’m just gonna continue to work on those and try to be better.”
Russell Wilson, who returned to practice last week from a calf injury, has been taking first-team reps in practice this week. While head coach Mike Tomlin has not named a starter for Sunday’s game, all signs point to Wilson getting the nod.
Fields has completed 66.3% of his passes for 1,106 yards, 5 touchdowns and just 1 interception. He has 231 rushing yards and another 5 scores on the ground. He has avoided the types of mistakes that plagued his career with the Chicago Bears, which is a big reason why the Steelers have a winning record.
Wilson beat out Fields for the starting job over the summer, and it seems like Tomlin still views the 35-year-old as Pittsburgh’s best option. That has created an unfortunate situation for Fields, but the former Ohio State star is handling it well.
Oct 2, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Jets helmets on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Williams has landed on the trade block now that the New York Jets acquired Davante Adams, and it sounds like the veteran is drawing interest from several teams.
The Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints are among the teams that have reached out to the Jets about Williams, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on Thursday.
Williams spent the first seven years of his career with the Chargers. He suffered a torn ACL early last season and was released in March. L.A. also traded star wideout Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears, so they could use some help at the position. A reunion with Williams might make sense if the price is right.
The Saints are another team with a need at wide receiver, as one of their best playmakers might have to undergo season-ending surgery.
Williams did not practice on Wednesday for personal reasons, which led many to believe he was on the verge of being traded. Aaron Rodgers also threw Williams under the bus for a supposed mistake the 30-year-old made at the end of Monday night’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Williams has 10 catches for 145 yards this season. He had typically been a big-play receiver with the Chargers, averaging 54.6 yards per game with them. If the asking price is reasonable, the Jets should not have much trouble finding a suitor.
Feb 2, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Former football head coach Urban Meyer on the sidelines of Super Bowl LIV between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Urban Meyer knows more than most about SEC football, and the former Florida coach believes one of the conference’s teams could be in trouble.
During the latest episode of “The Triple Option” podcast, which Meyers hosts with Mark Ingram II and Mark Stone, Meyer called Tennessee “a mess.” The three-time national champion pointed to how the Volunteers have looked offensively in their three games against SEC opponents.
“They are in reverse right now,” Meyer said, via On3’s Griffin McVeigh. “Twenty points per game the last three games. Twenty points per game, that’s usually in the first half. They just don’t look right, they look a mess.”
Meyer was extremely high on Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava at the start of the season. After Iamaleava threw for 314 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 69-3 win over Chattanooga to begin the year, Meyer called the freshman quarterback a “monster.”
“He was a 5-star product coming out of high school. I asked this question, is he a Top 10 pick in the NFL Draft, to Brady (Quinn) and Matt (Leinart),” Meyer said in early September, via Ric Butler of RockyTopInsider.com. “Obviously, he has another year left. This guy is unbelievable, Mark. I know they had Joe Milton last year but this guy is a monster.”
Meyer seems far less excited now. Tennessee scored 51 or more points in all three of their non-conference games to start the season. They have scored 25 or fewer in the last three, all of which were against SEC opponents. Iamaleava has not eclipsed the 200-yard passing mark in four consecutive games and has just 2 touchdowns during that span, though he has thrown just one interception.
There have also been moments where Iamaleava has shown his inexperience. He made a huge mistake at the end of Tennessee’s loss to Arkansas two weeks ago.
Tennessee is ranked No. 11 in the country and still in position to reach the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, but Meyer’s concerns are warranted. The Vols are not going to be able to hang with elite SEC opponents unless they straighten out their offensive issues.
Jan 22, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; A detailed view of the Tennessee Titans logo at midfield during a AFC Divisional playoff football game at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Veteran defensive back Jamal Adams is on the move once again.
Adams was released by the Tennessee Titans on Thursday at his request, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Adams signed with the Titans during the summer and then played sparingly through the early part of the season. He had been dealing with a hip injury and was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list last week. There was speculation that the hip injury might be significant, but Schefter indicated that Adams is healthy enough to play.
The 29-year-old Adams was released by the Seattle Seahawks in March and did not generate much interest. He then signed a 1-year deal with the Titans in July. Adams seemed to be looking forward to playing his preferred role on defense in Tennessee, but things did not work out.
Injuries have been a big issue for Adams in recent years. The three-time Pro Bowl safety missed almost the entire 2022 season because of a torn quadriceps and then dealt with chronic knee pain. He is unlikely to play a big role regardless of where he lands.
Walker Buehler threw four scoreless innings in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ win over the New York Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS on Wednesday night, and he delivered some trash talk along the way.
Buehler allowed just three hits and struck out six in the Dodgers’ 8-0 win at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. The right-hander got himself into a huge jam with L.A. leading 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning.
After getting the first batter to ground out, Buehler walked two hitters and allowed an infield single to load the bases. He then struck out Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor to end the inning.
Buehler was understandably fired up after he got Lindor to swing and miss at a 3-2 curveball. As he was walking back to the dugout, he appeared to turn toward Martinez and say, “Swing the bat, J.D.”
Martinez is known for his patience at the plate. Most people would say he did his job by getting on base with a six-pitch walk. Buehler, who was teammates with Martinez with the Dodgers last season, seemed to disagree.
Buehler made an interesting change during his Game 3 start, and it appeared to serve him well. The Dodgers now have a 2-1 series lead over the Mets.
The Philadelphia 76ers got a real scare with their rookie guard Jared McCain on Wednesday.
With four minutes left to go in Philly’s preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets, McCain missed a shot at the basket and then tried to go up with both hands for the rebound in between two defenders. The awkward positioning led to McCain falling backwards and hitting his head on the court.
Here is the video.
Another angle showed how hard McCain slammed his head on the ground.
76ers head coach Nick Nurse said after the game that McCain went to the hospital for evaluation, having experienced difficulty breathing after the fall.
The former Duke star McCain, 20, was the No. 16 overall pick in this year’s draft by the 76ers. Though McCain is mostly known up to this point for his TikTok videos and his painted nails, he had been impressing with his play lately, averaging 13.2 points per game in Summer League and 12.8 points per game in preseason action.
Shohei Ohtani delivered yet another “Are you not entertained?” moment for MLB fans on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star Ohtani put an exclamation point on his team’s battle against the New York Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS. With the Dodgers already leading 4-0 in the eighth inning, Ohtani came up to bat with two on and only one out. In what can only be described as a vulgar display of power, Ohtani turned on a 1-0 cutter from Tylor Megill and absolutely smoked it.
The ball landed halfway up the upper deck at Citi Field, curving around the right field foul pole for a gargantuan three-run homer by Ohtani, giving the Dodgers a 7-0 lead. Here is the video.
Statcast officially had the home run at 410 feet, but it definitely felt like it went way way (way) further than that. That was positively Ruthian by Ohtani there. The poor baseball may not even land until November.
Ohtani continues to absolutely cook with runners in scoring position this postseason. He is now 5-for-6 (.833) with RISP in the 2024 playoffs. That cannon blast off Megill marked his second home run of the playoffs as well (after his nuke off Dylan Cease in the NLDS that led to an incredible bat flip from Ohtani).
Sabrina Ionescu has ice in her veins.
The New York Liberty star guard Ionescu hit a shot for the ages to win Game 3 of the WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday. With the game tied at 77 in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Ionescu isolated on Minnesota’s Kayla McBride, lulled her to sleep, and then sank an insanely deep pull-up three-pointer right in McBride’s face.
The shot splashed through the rim with 1.0 seconds left, and the Liberty held off the Lynx on the final possession to win 80-77.
Here is the video of Ionescu’s absurd shot from the heavens, which completely silenced the home Minnesota crowd.
The three-time WNBA All-Star Ionescu is known for her shooting range, but that was like something out of Norse mythology. Ionescu had struggled for most of the contest to that point but finished with 13 points as well as the biggest shot of the evening (and perhaps even the biggest shot in WNBA Finals history). Now the Liberty, who also got a 30-point, 11-rebound performance from Breanna Stewart, lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.
In Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, it was Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier who hit a massive late shot to win the game (video here). But in Game 3, it was all Ionescu’s moment as she and the Liberty managed to get a pivotal win to wrestle homecourt advantage back from the Lynx.
Walker Buehler got the start for the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game 3 of the NLCS Wednesday night against the New York Mets at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y., and he performed well. Some of the strong performance can be attributed to a change he made mid-game.
FOX TV announcer John Smoltz noted that Buehler had begun the game pitching from a wind-up motion with the bases empty. But Buehler had changed early on and instead decided to pitch from the stretch even if runners weren’t on base. The stretch is a more abridged version of a pitcher’s delivery, and it is typically used with runners on base because pitchers want to deliver the ball quicker to avoid stolen bases from the runners.
In Smoltz’s eyes, going from a stretch had helped Buehler balance himself and make his pitching more consistent.
Buehler pitched four innings and allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out six. He didn’t go long enough to qualify for a win, but he did keep the Mets off the scoreboard, which is the important thing.
Buehler’s biggest moment came in the bottom of the second when he struck out Francisco Lindor with two outs and the bases loaded.
Buehler had some excellent stuff in the game. His two-seam fastball had great run, while his sweeper had sharp bite.
The strong start was a relief for the Dodgers, especially after Buehler was roped for six runs over five innings in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Padres.
