Irsay: Luck’s injury is ‘in his head;’ Smith, Manning will step aside?
Irsay questions Luck’s mental state, casting doubt on franchise QB’s future in Indy
During a commercial break on a national TV show when he mistakenly thought the mikes were off, former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy told Dan Patrick that Colts owner Jim Irsay said of Andrew Luck’s shoulder injury: “It’s inside his head now.” Various media reports have circulated that Irsay is unhappy with his franchise quarterback for not recovering sooner from surgery. Luck, on medical advice, has ruled himself out for the season. And with his courage being threatened by Irsay, Luck’s future in Indianapolis is in doubt.
Dear Mr. Irsay: Once again, your foolish behavior is undermining your team, which has failed to provide protection for Luck or a defense that can take pressure off him. By the way, his labrum injury is extreme – similar to what ended the career of Hall of Fame ballplayer Jeff Bagwell.
Is it time for Alex Smith and Eli Manning to step aside?
With their teams faltering, veteran QBs Alex Smith of Kansas City and Eli Manning of the New York Giants may be asked to step aside for younger players. Smith has been saying for months that this will be his last season as No. 1 ahead of Patrick Mahomes, first-round pick of the April draft. The Chiefs, who won their first five games this year, have lost three of their past four. Chris Simms said on Pro Football Talk that Chiefs coach Andy Reid may elevate the power-armed Mahomes before this season ends: “Their defense is never going to stop anybody, so they have to win shootouts. Tyreek Hill making magic plays that happen once a decade, that stuff’s not going to happen. . . . You have to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots in the playoffs. They’re going to take away all those bull-crap plays. You have to drop back and be surgical in the pass game, and that’s where it gets scary for the Chiefs.” While Reid has not mentioned a possible change, the embattled Ben McAdoo of the 1-7 Giants is more desperate: “You have to see if there’s any players we can give reps to that have a chance to be part of our future.” Asked if that includes the quarterback, he said, “That includes everybody.” Manning’s backup is Davis Webb, who was drafted on the third round this year out of California.
Between the Lines: Smith at 33 is having his finest season, but Manning at 36 is clearly not the player he was when winning two Super Bowls.
Did Sashi Brown botch the McCarron trade to ‘sabotage’ his head coach?
The failure of the Cleveland Browns’ front office to complete a trade for Cincinnati’s backup QB A.J. McCarron has not been adequately explained by the Browns. CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that some of Hue Jackson’s assistants suspect “sabotage” by general manager Sashi Brown after he agreed to trade second- and third-round draft picks for unproven fifth-rounder McCarron. The theory from the Jackson camp is that Brown intentionally botched the paperwork so the deal didn’t get completed before last Tuesday’s deadline ended. Brown in his denial showed no sign of being anguished by news reports that he was trying to oust Jackson. “I’m not worried about it externally or internally, I can just put it to bed,” Brown said. Jackson was given the opportunity to express faith in his boss’s support, but he declined: “I’m not gonna talk about any of those things. I think Sashi addressed all that.”
Between the Lines: As relentlessly clumsy as the team is, doubts persist that Brown and his staff – some of whom actually have knowledge of NFL rules and procedures – could have done something this stupid.
Broncos coach Joseph questions his players’ heart in 4th quarter of a blowout loss
Vance Joseph, coach of the Denver Broncos, had an interesting response to a reporter questioning if his players “quit” toward the end of their 51-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. “I told the team this after the football game: ‘Every man has to do a self-check. Only each man will know what his heart said to him in the fourth quarter.’ That’s where I will leave that.” Another telling comment by Joseph, who called two timeouts late in the fourth quarter: “I wanted to see who would finish the game tonight.”
Dear Coach: Your players are realists. You expect them to believe Brock Osweiler will score 4 TDs in the fourth quarter against the NFL’s hottest team?
Jags slow to reveal that Fournette was suspended for being late
Ninety minutes before the Jacksonville Jaguars were scheduled to kick off against Cincinnati, they announced the suspension of their leading rusher (99.3 yards per game), Leonard Fournette, for “an infraction of a team rule.” The violation was later reported to be failure to show for a team photo earlier in the week. The punishment was interpreted as reflecting the iron discipline of Tom Coughlin, who was hired in January to be executive VP. Astonishingly, the team played better without Fournette than it usually does when he plays. The Jaguars rushed for 149 yards and Blake Bortles passed for 259 in a 23-7 stroll past the Bengals.
Dear Tom: Good thing your team won, or there might be gamblers preparing to set your feet into cement for not being forthcoming about suspending your star player. If you have to announce injuries when they occur, why not suspensions?
Lions punter Martin injured himself with a conch shell
Detroit Lions punter Sam Martin missed the first six weeks of this football season with a mysterious “foot injury.” The Detroit News has reported that Martin’s foot was severely lacerated by a conch shell he encountered while walking on a beach in the Bahamas.