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The latest
Broncos preparing for Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City’s ‘great improviser’ | Broncos.com
“I think he’s like John Elway was in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” Fangio said. “He’s that guy. Like Aaron Rodgers has been for the last 12, 14 years — however many years he’s been starting. He’s kind of that guy. He’s the great passer, the great improviser. He plays with a lot of athletic arrogance, which is a compliment. He’s very confident in his ability. He’s very poised, he doesn’t get rattled and he’s got an arm that is really, really good.
“He can make all the throws they are asking him to make and some that that [they] are not even asking him to make that just show up in his improvisations. He’s good in the pocket, has good pocket feel. You can tell he’s a gamer. The guy is really, really special.”
Chiefs’ run-pass option game has suddenly gone awry | TSN
Are the second-level defenders breaking toward the line of scrimmage, forcing him to keep the ball and look downfield? Or are they dropping into coverage, in which case the MVP quarterback will jam the ball in the gut of running back LeSean McCoy or Damien Williams and keep things on the ground.
The Chiefs’ use of that very run-pass option is a big reason why their offence has been so successful the past season-plus. It has largely kept defences uncertain where the ball is going, opening up the field for the Kansas City fleet of fast, athletic wide receivers.
Only the past two weeks, the RPO has been more like R-P-Oh no!
“The deal’s not done. I don’t have optimism, I don’t have pessimism,” Smith told USA TODAY Sports. “The reality is, we’re talking, but we’re far apart. … Either the deal is done and you could relax and not prepare for a work stoppage or the deal isn’t done and you can’t relax and you need to prepare for a work stoppage.”
The latter is the characterization used by Don Davis, the NFLPA’s assistant to the executive director/senior director of player affairs. He lays out exactly what a work stoppage looks like, because only six players on the Chiefs’ roster were even in the league in 2011 when business came to a 132-day standstill. In all, fewer than 200 of today’s NFL players experienced the 2011 lockout.
The Nine Most Surprising Fantasy Trends and Players of 2019, Ranked | The Ringer
9. Carlos Hyde Is a Fantasy Starter
Hyde has been on four teams (Cleveland, Jacksonville, Kansas City, and Houston) in the past 12 months. When a 29-year-old running back is told thanks, but no thanks by that many coaching staffs, it’s hard not to conclude that he’s going to be, well, hidden on the depth chart. But he’s found life with the Texans, who traded for him after losing Lamar Miller to a torn ACL in August. Many assumed Hyde would take a back seat to Duke Johnson, but instead Hyde has become the starting running back for one of the league’s highest-scoring offenses and is one spot ahead of Le’Veon Bell in fantasy scoring. Not bad for a player who was barely drafted in most leagues this year.
Early Week 7 NFL Lines and Predicted Movement | Betting Pros
Thursday, October 17th – 8:20 PM EST
Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) at Denver Broncos – O/U 49
Predicted Movement: This is a divisional matchup of two teams suddenly heading in opposite directions. Kansas City has surprisingly lost back-to-back games at Arrowhead Stadium, while the Broncos come in having won two in a row. Despite Kansas City’s recent slide, the numbers indicate this is a decent bounce-back spot for them. Over the last three seasons, Kansas City is 11-3 ATS on the road against divisional opponents. The Chiefs are also 4-0 SU against the Broncos in their last four meetings. Look for the public to continue their faith in the Chiefs, and for this number to be bet up to -4.5 or -5.
Rams trade 2-time Pro Bowl CB Marcus Peters to Ravens | Yahoo Sports
The Los Angeles Rams have traded cornerback Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens for linebacker Kenny Young and an undisclosed draft pick.
FS1’s Rob Parker first reported the deal, which the Ravens later confirmed.
The Rams traded for the one-time All-Pro cornerback in the 2018 offseason, sending a second- and fourth-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs. Entering this season, he led the NFL in interceptions with 22 since joining the league as a first-round draft pick in 2015.
Around the league
Cardale Jones, Landry Jones among 8 QBs assigned to XFL teams | ESPN
New York Guardians: Matt McGloin, a prolific passer at Penn State who started seven games between 2013 and 2016 for the Oakland Raiders.
St. Louis Battlehawks: Jordan Ta’amu, a starter at Mississippi for two seasons who went undrafted by the NFL in 2019.
Seattle Dragons: Brandon Silvers, another AAF veteran who was briefly signed by the New York Jets this spring.
Tampa Bay Vipers: Aaron Murray, a third AAF veteran who also spent four seasons as an NFL backup.
Lamar Jackson isn’t Michael Vick — he’s better | SB Nation
Jackson is well ahead in passing stats
The era that Jackson plays in does him plenty of favors. League-wide records were set for passer rating (92.9), completion percentage (64.9 percent) and touchdown passes (847) during Jackson’s rookie year. During Vick’s rookie season in 2001, the average NFL passer rating was 78.5 and the league completion percentage was 59 percent.
Still, Jackson has been an above-average passer in yards, touchdowns, and passer rating in 2019. Vick didn’t crack the top half of the league in any of those stats until he was 10th in touchdown passes in 2006, his sixth season in the NFL and his final year with the Falcons.
London lively as ever; Winston, Mariota stumble; Rams in trouble | NFL.com
6) These Chargers are not the same. I said a few weeks back that the Chargers were possibly the softest 2-2 team in football. Then they became one of the shakiest 2-3 teams after a disappointing home loss to the Broncos. Now they are just a 2-4 team.
Injuries have played a big role, but the Chargers have fallen off a cliff defensively this season despite a mostly forgiving schedule. They have already lost as many games as they did all of last year and are unable to find one part of the team to rely on. The team’s running game and scoring have declined since Melvin Gordon returned in Week 5, and they have to deal with unwelcome crowd noise in all 16 games. Philip Rivers is set to become a free agent after this season, with the team heading into its new stadium in 2020. I worry.
This past weekend marked the final time the Rams and Chargers play at home on the same Sunday. Next season, they will both move into the new $5 billion SoFi Stadium being built in Inglewood. Not only did both teams lose, dropping their combined record this season to 5-7 after combining to go 25-7 last season, but their fans were outnumbered at their home stadiums. It was closer to 50-50 for the Rams-49ers game and probably 90-10 in favor of Pittsburgh for the Steelers-Chargers game.
Phil Simms: ‘The Patriots Defense Is Loaded’ | CBS Boston
Their defense leads the NFL in multiple categories, including points per game (8) and yards per game (234.7). It even compares favorably to some of the NFL’s historically great defenses. To be perfectly clear, the Patriots’ competition is a combined 10-23 on the season so far. Only the Buffalo Bills, who they beat 16-10 in Week 4, has a winning record. And some better offenses dot the schedule in November and December, including the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs. Whether they stay a leader, while certainly possible, remains to be seen.
In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs’ recent flaws may remind you of Alex Smith era
Reid has always had the occasional head-scratching play-call — but two of his worst may have been in the past two weeks. On second-and-30 late in the fourth quarter against the Colts, the Chiefs handed it off for two yards. Against the Texans, the Chiefs decided that second-and-14 on their last drive would be a good time to hand it off and get one yard. In fact, the Chiefs ran the ball on five second downs with 10 or more yards to go in the past two games — and earned nine total yards from those attempts.
Adding to that, Reid’s last meaningful offensive plays in each game were questionable. In Week 5, he decided to turn to a power run play with a backup lineman pulling on fourth down instead of putting the ball in Mahomes’ hands with the game on the line. Then, against the Texans, he went ahead and punted the ball away when down a touchdown with five minutes left. Yes — it was fourth-and-13 and they were backed up on their own 22-yard line — but can you really trust the defense to get you the ball back?
Reports: Jalen Ramsey is a Los Angeles Ram
The Rams will send two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder for the 24-year-old lockdown corner, who is due to become an unrestricted free agent in 2021. With the amount of draft capital the Rams sent in exchange for Ramsey, it is likely Ramsey will never see the open market.
Ramsey had been tied to the Chiefs back in mid-September, when it became public knowledge that he requested a trade after a sideline altercation with Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone. Ramsey played his last game for the Jaguars on September 19, a 20-7 win over the Tennessee Titans. Ramsey has been out of the lineup ever since, first citing illness, then the birth of his child, then back issues.
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