Month: October 2017

The Green Bay Packers are 7-1 straight up and 5-3 against the spread in their last eight road games against division rivals. The Packers will face a division rival on the road this Sunday when they visit the Minnesota Vikings.

Brett Hundley will step in as Rodgers’ replacement on Sunday as the Packers are a 6-point home underdog hosting the New Orleans Saints.

The week wraps up with two intriguing matchups. The Atlanta Falcons visit the New England Patriots (-3.5) in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl on Sunday Night Football and the 5-1 SU Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5) host Washington on Monday Night Football. Atlanta is 8-1 ATS in its last nine night games.John Harbaugh defends Ravens OC Marty Mornhinweg, anemic offense

John Harbaugh deflected some of the criticism aimed at offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg on Monday, saying no one should point the finger at him even though the Baltimore Ravens rank among the worst offenses in the NFL.

There were no more miracles.

“Adrian made a great play,” Gould said. “They made blocks. They made a lot of good blocks. And we’re sitting here talking about a 55-yard game-winner.”

Peterson was named NFC offensive player of the week. Hester was named NFC special teams player of the week.

“All of the great things that happened are forgotten,” Hester said after.

More than any other game in 2007, this one summed up the Bears season. There were fireworks, and there was heartbreak. It was the second of five “must win” games that could have gotten the Bears back to .500. We lost all five.

The Chiefs can extend that streak with another win and cover this Thursday night against the Oakland Raiders.

“I thought EJ gave us a chance there at the end,” Del Rio said. “He did some things really well, and so there’s some definite positive, encouraging signs, that we can build on.”

If Carr just misses two weeks, Manuel may be just fine against the Ravens and Chargers. But if he misses more time, the Bills and Chiefs will be challenges for Manuel and the Raiders.

The four organizations are based in the three communities in which Long has played during his NFL career. The city that raises the most money during the season will receive an additional $50,000 donation.

“There’s a lot of opportunities to help out, and they’re wonderful organizations,” Long said. “We have such a great platform as football players, and hopefully fans get behind it.”

Long grew up in Charlottesville and starred in high school at St. Anne’s-Belfield before going to the University of Virginia. He was moved to start the scholarship program following the violent protests in Charlottesville in August.

“Our hometown is a wonderful place, and I feel like people got the wrong idea about what the residents of Charlottesville are all about,” he said.

It’s entirely possible that had the Lions needed to release an injury report this week, 20 players would be on it. How many will get back for next Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh? That’s the biggest question for the Lions right now. — Michael Rothstein

“Pretty much all bets are off in the postseason,” Arrieta said. “But every time I toe the rubber, I’m trying to do my best to finish that game.”

Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark will face Arrieta in a setting with which he is well-acquainted. Roark, a native of suburban Wilmington, Ill., made his first trip to Wrigley Field as a youngster. Roark is 4-2 in seven career starts against the Cubs and is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA against Chicago this season.

“He was fine,” Lue said of Smith. “It’s tough, you’ve been in position where you went to three straight Finals and you’ve been the starting 2-guard. But like I said it’s about sacrifice if you want to win. JR was great about it. Just knows he has to have a different role right now so we’ll see how it works.”

Harden, an All-Star in each of his five seasons with the Rockets, was especially bothered by McHale’s criticism because of the work he has done to become a better leader. He regularly reads books on leadership with Jason Biles, the Rockets’ director of performance rehabilitation and associate athletic trainer. Harden, who recruited Paul to join the Rockets, regularly organizes team social outings and offseason activities, such as the voluntary minicamp that Houston’s players held in the Bahamas this summer.

“All I can do is talk about my experience, and he’s been unbelievably great,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Obviously, I got Coach of the Year last year because of him and the other 10 guys on the team. He’s been great with everything I asked. I asked a lot of him last year. I asked him to be the point guard. I asked him to talk in D. I asked a lot of things, and he responded great. We had great chemistry. He’s the first one to get them all together in the summertime or take them out during the year to keep the team together. So I didn’t see it. He’s been great for me.”

Speaking on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, Jones left open the opportunity for a player to have a form of silent protest before the anthem — similar to the way the Cowboys handled the situation before the anthem in Arizona as a team — or after the anthem.

Farrell dealt with several brush fires en route to the Red Sox winning 93 games and holding off the charging New York Yankees in the AL East. There were questions about his hold on the clubhouse, particularly after Pedroia appeared to take sides against his teammates during an April beanball war in Baltimore, and Farrell took heat for not apologizing to broadcaster Dennis Eckersley after ace lefty David Price humiliated the Hall of Famer during a tirade on the team plane.

“All the things that you would like to do as a starter, and I was able to do that,” Verlander said. “Top to bottom, man, these guys grinded against two of the toughest competitors in this game in Sale and (closer Craig) Kimbrel.”

The Astros will open the ALCS on Friday, either at Cleveland or at home against the New York Yankees. The Indians and Yankees will play a decisive Game 5 on Wednesday night.

The Red Sox forced a Game 4 after losing the first two games in Houston, and then took a 3-2 lead in the fifth on Benintendi’s homer. Bregman tied it before Reddick’s single off closer Craig Kimbrel made it 4-3.

Carlos Beltran added to his postseason legacy with an RBI double in the ninth — an insurance run that became the game-winner when Rafael Devers hit an inside-the-park homer off closer Ken Giles over leaping center fielder George Springer and off the Green Monster toward center.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Vikings, and there is a chance the two-time NFL MVP could miss the rest of the season.

That leads to a freak-out situation for Green Bay fans, and with good reason. It won’t be easy for the Packers to win games when arguably the NFL’s best quarterback is not on the field.

The Vikings and Packers are now both 4-2 in the NFC North. That’s the dilemma the Packers now face. What is the best QB plan to try to win without Rodgers?

We can confirm that this morning we filed a grievance under the CBA on behalf of Colin Kaepernick. This was done only after pursuing every possible avenue with all the NFL teams and their executives.

“F*****g awesome man”: How Jason Myers sarcastically described how he felt after missing two field-goal attempts in the Jaguars’ 27-17 loss to the Rams. Maybe instead of taking his frustrations out on reporters, Myers should focus on the one job he has.

Darkwa lives his dream: Few expected the Giants to roll into Denver and ease to their first win. But a defensive showing and a career-high 117 rushing yards from Orleans Darkwa propelled them to a 23-10 victory. “This is what you dream of as a back,” Darkwa said. “It’s been a long time coming for me. This is my fourth year, and to have this opportunity on this stage is something you dream of as a kid.”

Cassel’s best moment came when he drove the Titans 69 yards for a tying touchdown to start the second half. Backup tight end Phillip Supernaw caught an 11-yard pass for his first career touchdown.

“Matt managed the offense well,” coach Mike Mularkey said. “There are some throws I know he’d like to have back. There are some throws that I’d like to see our guys make plays for him.”

Mularkey said Mariota wasn’t close to being able to play, and his status remains day to day.

Bills: WR Jordan Matthews already was sidelined by a broken thumb. TE Charles Clay hurt his left knee when he was tackled in the first half and didn’t put weight on it as he was helped to the bench. He didn’t return.

Bengals: The Bengals lost starting cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick (right shoulder) and Adam “Pacman” Jones (lower back) to injuries in the first half. WR Tyler Boyd hurt his right knee in the first quarter and didn’t return.

Bengals: Following their bye, they play at Pittsburgh. The Bengals have lost four straight and seven of eight against the Steelers, including a first-round playoff game in the 2015 season.

During a rally in Alabama on Sept. 22, Trump chastised the practice, saying, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired.'” He later encouraged fans to leave NFL stadiums if they saw it happen in front of them.

Alex Smith threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns to help the Kansas City Chiefs remain undefeated with a 42-34 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday night in a game where J.J. Watt broke his left leg.

Deshaun Watson’s 48-yard touchdown pass got the Texans within six early in the fourth quarter before Smith extended the lead for Kansas City (5-0) to 32-20 on a 10-yard pass to De’Anthony Thomas with about 9 minutes left. Tyreek Hill padded the lead when he returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown.

Watson threw for 261 yards and five touchdowns, but the Texans (2-3) failed to recreate the magic they found last week when they scored a franchise-record 57 points in a victory over Tennessee.

Marcus Mariota (hamstring) is iffy at best to play. If Matt Cassel has to go for the Titans, he drags down the entire offense and further exposes a defense that can’t stop anything. Jay Cutler and Jay Ajayi have been in front of Miami’s major offensive woes, but they also haven’t had a chance to perform at home. The Dolphins’ skill players will drive the Titans batty as Miami wakes up big-time.

The Chargers get a much-needed second road game to get away from the mess in Los Angeles. Philip Rivers is the better overall QB than Eli Manning, now, then and always. The Giants’ defense has hit a free-fall, and their pass-happy ways play into the strengths of the Chargers’ defense. With a lot of Rivers and enough Melvin Gordon, it’s LA getting its first win instead of NY.

Success in daily fantasy comes down to your ability to find value, identify players in great matchups and maximize the relationships between the players on your roster (otherwise known as correlation).

Each week, I’ll go through each position and give you a few players I’m considering for my head-to-head lineups — usually players who are getting as much volume as possible while also coming it at value prices.

With that in mind, here are my favorite plays for Week 5.

The loss drops the Steelers’ record to 3-2, and Roethlisberger’s performance has to make Pitt fans a bit uneasy. He finished 33 for 55 for 312 yards, no touchdowns and the five aforementioned INTs, marking his third straight subpar effort. Over his last three games, he has two touchdowns and seven picks.

Big Ben wasn’t in the best of spirits after the game, facetiously remarking on his poor outing.

The Jags, meanwhile, have alternated wins and losses through the first five weeks of the season and sit at 3-2 as well. They got there Sunday in spite of their own quarterback, Blake Bortles, throwing for a mere 95 yards. A stellar performance by your defense and 181 yards and two touchdowns from your stud rookie running back, Fournette, goes a long way.

Carlos Hyde, RB, 49ers: Only eight running backs were started in a greater percentage of ESPN leagues than Hyde in Week 5 (93.8 percent), and he delivered his owners a mere 2.8 PPR and 1.8 non-PPR fantasy points. Those were his sixth- and fifth-worst totals in any of his 39 career NFL games. Hyde’s hip issue presumably played a part in the performance, however, especially as per Pro Football Focus’ Nathan Jahnke, he played 33 snaps to Matt Breida’s 35. Breida remains one of the game’s most critical handcuffs.

Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon didn’t start the second half of Sunday’s game because of a knee injury but returned in the third quarter.

Before briefly leaving with the injury, the Wisconsin product was having a big day, with 78 rushing yards on 15 carries, including an 11-yard run for a score.

He missed Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers but played in the Bengals’ first two games. He did not practice at all last week.

Eifert, 27, was one of the team’s top red zone targets in 2015 and had 13 touchdown receptions. He played in only eight games last season due to a combination of back and ankle injuries. He has missed 28 games due to injury in his NFL career and has never completed a full season without injury.

He underwent offseason surgery on his back, which he admitted in July will affect him in some ways for the rest of his career. He was unable to participate in practice during organized team activities but was back for training camp.

The 2013 first-round pick is in the final year of his rookie contract with the Bengals.

Although he was able to catch balls in practice, he told reporters this pain is worse than the pain associated with last year’s shoulder injury. This is a Sunday night game for Washington, which hosts the Oakland Raiders. For fantasy owners who want to wait on Reed’s official status, be sure to have an alternate plan in place.

Having prior experience being displaced, the Dolphins helped another team in need following the devastation of Hurricane Irma.

Several Dolphins players are chipping in to cover hotel and transportation costs for the 69 players, coaches and administrators of the Miami Central High School football team after the Category 4 storm interrupted their scheduled travel plans and left the squad stranded in Las Vegas.

Central upset three-time national champion Bishop Gorman, a private school in Summerlin, Nev., last Friday and had been expected to remain at the SpringHill Suites near the Las Vegas Convention Center until Sunday. But Central’s original flight home was canceled and the school had trouble getting on a flight back to Florida — until the Dolphins came to their aid.

Initially, the Lions remained mum on the incident, but they confirmed to ESPN Thursday that the fan was banned from attending future games at Ford Field.

“Providing our fans with a safe and enjoyable experience at all Ford Field events is of the utmost importance and an absolute priority for our organization. A core component of our guest conduct policy is the expectation that all fans are respectful and considerate to each other regardless of their personal beliefs or differences,” the Lions said in a statement.

“With respect to the issue in question, the Detroit Lions and Ford Field do not comment on specifics related to any alleged guest incident(s) or altercations at games or other stadium events.”