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JackPMillerParticipantIt is one game, but it is Arizona. They still got a way to go. But sometimes a game like this, even if it is against a bad team, can get us back on track.
JackPMillerParticipantI hear that Kyle Murray is Questionable. Truthfully, if he is, I’d be shocked if Murray is not on the field, & playing. He is a similar player to Lamar Jackson, but the Cards don’t have the talent around him yet, even though they still have Fitz. I’m going Rams 16 – Cardinals 10.
JackPMillerParticipantExcept the Vikings & Packers are two games ahead of us. One of them will win the Division, the other we need to start to go on a major losing streak as well.
JackPMillerParticipant
JackPMillerParticipantNot sure if I agree with this, but this guy writes for Pro Football Weekly
The Rams are going to pay Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald, and Jared Goff all top-of-market dollars next season to be 7-9.
Jeff Fisher playing the long game.
— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) November 26, 2019
JackPMillerParticipantRavens are as of now, are the best team in the NFL, even though their record does not say it.
JackPMillerParticipantThe Ravens scare me. I have the Ravens winning this game, 20 – 6.
JackPMillerParticipantBrandin Cooks didn’t consider retiring after concussion
By Kevin Patra
Around the NFL Writer
Published: Nov. 22, 2019 at 09:38 a.mAfter Brandin Cooks’ latest concussion, the question hovered in the L.A. smog: Would the latest head injury bring an abrupt end to the receiver’s career?
For his part, the 26-year-old said he never considered retirement.
“Absolutely not,” Cooks said, via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN. “When it happened, that never went through my mind. Even now, it’s not going through my mind.”
Cooks suffered his second concussion in a 25-day span during the Rams’ Week 8 game in London. The wideout missed the previous two tilts but is expected to play Monday night versus the Baltimore Ravens.
Cooks has now suffered five known concussions in his six-year career. After his latest head injury, the wideout twice traveled to Pittsburgh to meet with Dr. Michael Collins, the director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program. After those meetings, Cooks said he grew comfortable returning to the field.
“One of the biggest things that I learned, concussions is a case-by-case thing,” Cooks said. “Mine was very unique, and just thankful once again to be able to go and get answers.”
The young receiver — who signed a five-year, $81-million extension before last season — said he’ll enter Monday night’s game not fearing another heard injury.
“It’s one of those things that I’m taking game by game. But, no, I don’t think you should be concerned, because I’m not,” he said.
The restricted Rams’ pass offense certainly could use Cooks’ dynamic playmaking ability Monday against a streaking Ravens squad. If L.A. is to press back into the playoff picture, a win this week is paramount.
JackPMillerParticipantSorry, I misread. I thought you wanted to talk 2020 draft. I threw out some players in the 2020 draft, on who may slide to us in round 2 & 3. My bad.
JackPMillerParticipantJackPMillerParticipantRams already have eyes on Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson
By Gary KleinStaff
Nov. 18, 2019
7:15 PMThe Rams saw glimpses of the talent in training camp practices with the Baltimore Ravens before the 2018 season.
Lamar Jackson was a rookie at the time, the last player and fifth quarterback picked in the first round of the draft, and he was just getting a feel for the NFL game as a backup to Joe Flacco.
“You saw a dynamic athlete,” Rams coach Sean McVay said Monday.
A year later, Jackson is among the front-runners to be selected the NFL‘s most valuable player.
“Best player in the league right now,” Rams running back Todd Gurley said Sunday after a 17-7 victory over the Chicago Bears.
The Rams, fighting to stay in playoff contention, will try to control Jackson next week on “Monday Night Football.”
It’s a huge showcase for a Rams team that improved to 6-4 with its victory over the Bears, and for Jackson, who has led the Ravens to an 8-2 record.
Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, passed for five touchdowns in Baltimore’s 59-10 season-opening victory over the Miami Dolphins. He has not stopped since. Rams linebacker Clay Matthews described the 22-year-old Jackson as “a human highlight film.”
On Sunday, in the Ravens’ 41-7 victory over the Houston Texans, Jackson completed 17 of 24 passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns. He had 86 yards in nine carries.
“The guys around him have a confidence because of his swagger and confidence,” McVay said.
Jackson has completed 66% of his passes, 19 for touchdowns. He has had only five passes intercepted, three coming in Baltimore’s 26-23 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers that started a six-game winning streak.
Jackson has rushed for six touchdowns and has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in three games.
The Ravens are averaging 428.6 yards per game, second in the NFL, and rank among the leaders in yards rushing (203.8) and scoring (34.1 points per game).
Safety Eric Weddle played three seasons for the Ravens before signing with the Rams. He has kept an eye on his former team and Jackson.
“That will be a great test for us,” Weddle said. “We’re excited for the challenge. We know we’ve got a great defense and we present challenges ourselves.”
The Rams defense has been stout the last four games. Or, since lockdown cornerback Jalen Ramsey joined the team after a mid-October trade.
But none of those games were against an opponent with a quarterback as mobile as the 6-foot-2, 212-pound Jackson.
Several Rams players said Monday that Jackson’s ability to extend plays was similar to that of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
But as Gurley did Sunday, linebacker Samson Ebukam compared Jackson to a former NFL star who redefined the quarterback position.
“I’d say he’s more like Michael Vick,” Ebukam said Monday. “Just a very versatile, fast, quick quarterback. He knows when to get down on the ground, not to take hits. He’s very smart.”
The Rams “have the right guys” to control Jackson because they are strong on the edge and also along the interior line, edge rusher Dante Fowler said.
“Once we start game planning and stuff like that, we’ll have the right plan for him,” Fowler said.
Then the Rams must execute that plan, knowing Jackson is capable of ruining it.
“Once he gets started, it’s a wrap,” Fowler said. “He’s a great dynamic player and kind of changing the game a little bit.
“We can’t let him have a really good game against us.”
Etc.
McVay offered no update on whether receiver Robert Woods will play against the Ravens. Woods was not at the game against the Bears because of what the Rams have described as a personal issue. “We feel good about where the situation is at,” McVay said. … Receiver Brandin Cooks, who has sat out the last two games while recovering from his second concussion of the season, is expected to play against the Ravens, McVay said. … Right tackle Rob Havenstein (knee) is doubtful for a second consecutive game, McVay said. Rookie Bobby Evans started in place of Havenstein against the Bears.
JackPMillerParticipantDemocratic Socialist is just a term. Democratic Socialists would like us to be those Scandinavian countries, not Venezuela, as what conservative media wants to use, & the rightist want to say.
JackPMillerParticipantRight now, the Ravens may be the best team in the NFL. Lamar Jackson probably is the MVP of the league. Baltimore beat in three of the past four weeks, they beat the Seahawks, Patriots, & Texans.
JackPMillerParticipantWhy are you showing all these games from the Vikings? All these losses, plus the one tie. I’m starting to wonder if you are a secret Vikings fan. I assume you believe in Norse Gods, & you had talked to the Mighty Thor on his world of Asgard. Did Thor let you pick up his Mighty Hammer?
JackPMillerParticipantNice job by the two rookies, Edwards & Evans. Goff was up & down. Defense is playing well. But next weeks game against Baltimore will show us if our Defense is for real.
JackPMillerParticipantI always liked this show. It is on syndication.
JackPMillerParticipantEat fruit & vegetables. Drink water. That is what Doctors say.
JackPMillerParticipantI believe he is better than meeting this guy in the woods.
JackPMillerParticipantMason Rudolph’s legal team reviewing Myles Garrett incident
Ray Fittipaldo
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
rfittipaldo@post-gazette.comIf Myles Garrett struck Mason Rudolph in the head with a football helmet at a bar in The Flats on Thursday night rather than inside First Energy Stadium, he would have landed in jail. Instead, the NFL came down hard on Garrett on Friday, suspending him indefinitely without pay — at a minimum, he will miss the rest of the regular season and postseason. For their role in a brawl that ensued after Garrett’s incident, Browns defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi was also suspended one game and Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey was suspended three games.
The Steelers and Browns were also each fined $250,000.
In the waning moments of Thursday night’s 21-7 Steelers loss to the Browns, Garrett ripped the helmet off Rudolph and swung the helmet at the second-year quarterback, hitting him in the head. In the immediate aftermath, Rudolph did not appear to suffer any major injuries. He spoke to reporters about 30 minutes after the game ended. He called Garrett’s actions “pretty cowardly” and “bush league.” He also said he was “fine” when a reporter asked him how he was feeling after absorbing the helmet blow to the top of his head.Rudolph’s agent, Timothy Younger, said Friday morning via text that he is still gathering information on Thursday night’s incident before any decisions regarding legal or civil action on Rudolph’s behalf are made.
Younger also tweeted the following: “There are many risks an NFL QB assumes every snap taken on the field. Being hit on your uncovered head by a helmet being swung by a 275-pound DE is not one of them. Tonight could have had a catastrophic ending. The matter will be reviewed thoroughly.”
Tyler Sinclair, a public information officer with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office, said he was unaware of any investigation into the events that took place Thursday night. He said any investigation would initiate with the Cleveland police department.
The NFL hadn’t seen an on-field incident as ugly or dangerous as Garrett’s act since 2006, when former Tennessee defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth stomped on the head of Dallas center Andre Gurode. Gurode needed 30 stitches to close the wound caused by Hayesworth’s cleats. He suffered blurry vision and headaches in the aftermath of the incident. Ultimately, he did not seek to press charges against Haynesworth.
Haynesworth did receive the most severe suspension for on-field behavior in NFL history when he was suspended for five games, three more games than any other previous suspension for on-field behavior.
Other professional sports also have dealt with dangerous in-game behavior. In 2004, the NBA and NHL had incidents that marred their seasons.
There was the Malice in the Palace, the infamous on- and off-court brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. That resulted in Pacers player Ron Artest being suspended for the rest of the season. He missed a total of 86 games and forfeited nearly $5 million in salary.
Other Pacers and Piston players received suspensions, too. Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal of the Pacers were suspended for 30 and 15 games, respectively. Seven other players received suspensions, as well.
In addition, five Pacers players and five fans in attendance at the game were charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. Another fan was charged with a felony for throwing a chair.
In March of the same year, NHL player Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks pleaded guilty to assault for punching Colorado player Steve Moore from behind and driving his face into the ice.
Moore was hospitalized with fractured vertebrae, facial cuts, post-concussion symptoms and amnesia. Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of the season, a total of 20 games. His suspension lasted 17 months because the NHL had a lockout that canceled the entire 2004-05 season. He forfeited more than $500,000 in salary during the suspension and was required to perform 80 hours of community service and had one year’s probation.
In February of 2000, Bruins player Marty McSorley slashed Canucks player Donald Brashear in the temple with his stick. McSorley was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He avoided jail time, but he did serve 18 months probation. He never played in the NHL again.
The NBA had another major incident in 1977 when Lakers player Kermit Washington sucker-punched Rockets player Rudy Tomjanovich. Washington was suspended for 26 games and fined $10,000. It was the longest suspension in NBA history at the time.
The most infamous on-field incident in an MLB game occurred in 1965 when Giants pitcher Juan Marichal swung a baseball hat and struck Dodgers catcher Johnny Roseboro in the head.
Marichal was suspended for eight days and fined $1,750. Roseboro later sued Marichal and received $7,500 in a civil suit.
There was one other helmet swinging incident in an NFL game. In 2013, Texans defensive lineman Antonio Smith ripped off the helmet of Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito and swung it at his head. He missed, but the NFL suspended him for the final two preseason games and the regular season opener.
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
JackPMillerParticipantTheir front 7 is going to run rough shot over us. It will be ugly. Bobby Evans having to go against Khali Mack? I’m scared. Then you have the rest of that LB core, along with NT Eddie Goldman going as well, it is going to be a nightmare for us to watch. Bears 34 – Rams 10.
JackPMillerParticipantI guess I am a combined Progressive Activist & Traditional Conservative.
Where do you fit wv?
November 12, 2019 at 9:04 am in reply to: The Coach McVay Show: loss against the Steelers, the Bears Sunday #108042JackPMillerParticipantThe game against the Bears will be our first game back in LA since Oct. 13th. Still, I am scratching my head on how we are favored? We were crushed last year by the Bears, even though it was in Chicago. And we struggle against bigger Defenses. I see a blowout, Bears 34 – Rams 6.
JackPMillerParticipantYou admitted we struggle with tough Defenses. Now we are going against Chicago who put a whooping on us lat year, then Baltimore. Let’s not forget, we still have Seattle & San Fran on our schedule. These are strong defenses. I feel like in the remaining 7 games, at worst, we need to finish 6-1 to have a shot at getting in as a wild card. It is due to how the NFC teams are playing. I don’t see that happening.
JackPMillerParticipantSad thing is CJ Anderson is a free agent. He was a big part of our running game last year.
Do you think that CJ could run as well behind this year’s line?
The backs they have are better than CJ.
Plus he didn’t know the pass blocking routines and wasn’t much of a receiver, so whenever he was in there, defenses knew the Rams were going to run.
This is the issue and it has nothing to do with who starts at RB etc. Since last year, top DLs and front 7s have made the Rams look the way they did today. Pitt is one of those. So is SF. Last year, it was Detroit, Chicago, Phil, and in a different way, the Patz.
Last year it was because the OL was eroding, with Sullivan being a shell of himself.
This year it’s because it’s young and has not played together.
This stuff is not new–put the Rams up against a top DL/front 7 and it happens–and will keep happening until the OL finally solidifies.
That means we might as well start looking at next years draft & see who is available in the 2nd round. It is not going to get any better for us then. I wonder what Havenstein will net us? Wonder how much dead money it would cost us as well? We need some of it to pay Dante Fowler. We need to find a way to keep Fowler here for the next few years as well, along with Jalen Ramsey.
JackPMillerParticipantYes. Plus he is healthy.
Sad thing is CJ Anderson is a free agent. He was a big part of our running game last year.
Do you think that CJ could run as well behind this year’s line?
Yes. Plus he is healthy.
JackPMillerParticipantYes. Plus he is healthy.
JackPMillerParticipantI don’t think that anything is wrong with McVay. I think the biggest problem that the Rams need to figure out how to fix is the running game. The already mentioned issues on the offensive line are clearly a problem. I don’t know if the answer at RB is currently on the roster either. I believe once they fix the running game the rest of the offense will fall into place. I don’t see that happening this year though. It’s going to have to be addressed in the offseason. Right now I think we are looking at a .500 team maybe a little worse.
Sad thing is CJ Anderson is a free agent. He was a big part of our running game last year.
JackPMillerParticipantHate to say this, but
JackPMillerParticipantOur Offense still has not been right all season. Is it possible the teams figured out McVay? Since starting out 3-0. We have gone 2-4. I don’t have the confidence that this team is going to get any better this season.
November 7, 2019 at 6:46 pm in reply to: Republicans are Gearing up to Steal the Kentucky Governor Race #107880JackPMillerParticipantCould Matt Bevin Steal the Kentucky Governor’s Election?
By Richard L. Hasen
Nov 07, 2019 : 11:39 AMWill the Kentucky Legislature assist Matt Bevin in stealing the governor’s race from Democrat Andy Beshear, who appeared to have won Tuesday’s election by about 5,000 votes? Ordinarily, I would consider the possibility preposterous. We do not live in ordinary times, though, and on Wednesday Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers raised the prospect that his institution, not the voters, could determine the outcome of the race. If Stivers and Republican Kentucky legislators were to make such a hardball move without good evidence that there were major problems with the vote count, the election would likely end up in federal court, where it is anyone’s guess what would happen. Either way, that we’re even discussing this potentiality one year before Donald Trump—who has repeatedly challenged the vote totals in his 2016 election victory—is set to face reelection is a wrenching sign for our already-damaged democracy.
Bevin, the incumbent Republican governor, was deeply unpopular in part due to an extended fight with Kentucky’s teachers. He tried to tie himself to Trump, who visited the state just before the election and asked his Kentucky supporters to vote for Bevin as a way to help the president: “If you win, they are going to make it like, ho hum. And if you lose, they are going to say Trump suffered the greatest defeat in the history of the world. You can’t let that happen.”
But Trump’s exhortations apparently weren’t enough. With about all the votes counted, Beshear leads by about 5,000 votes. He declared victory on election night but Bevin did not concede, citing unspecified irregularities. Bevin has since provided just a bit more information, but his claims are still incredibly vague. As Politico reported:
Without providing details, Bevin cited ‘thousands of absentee ballots that were illegally counted,’ reports of voters being ‘incorrectly turned away’ from polling places and ‘a number of machines that didn’t work properly.’ He said his campaign would provide more information as it is gathered, and he did not take questions from reporters.
Bevin certainly deserves a chance to make his case, though so far he has suspiciously refused to provide details of his claims. Kentucky does have a history of voter fraud, though much less in recent years. If Bevin can substantiate his charges, they would warrant a full and fair hearing. Bevin has also asked for a “recanvassing” of votes, essentially just to make sure that the reported vote totals line up with the totals from voting machines. That is also a reasonable request to make.
But Bevin may be doing more than that, and here’s where things can get weird. Kentucky has a set of rules to resolve contested elections, but those rules do not apply to a governor’s race. Instead, the state constitution provides that “Contested elections for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be determined by both Houses of the General Assembly, according to such regulations as may be established by law.” According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, the last time the Legislature resolved a governor’s race under this procedure was 1899.
Suppose, as seems most likely, that Bevin cannot come up with evidence of voter fraud or other problems that could plausibly swing a 5,000-vote margin. Would the Republican-dominated Legislature still attempt to hand the governorship back to Bevin? If it did hand Bevin the victory—even without evidence of fraud or major error—could federal courts refuse to review the decision as an action committed by the state legislature in accordance with the state constitution?
There’s some question about whether the normal rules apply anymore.
To begin with, there are both political and normative reasons why the Kentucky Legislature usurping the power of the voters is unlikely. Politically, Bevin was not popular with the Republican Legislature to begin with, and the Legislature would face serious national public blowback if it declared the loser of the election the winner based on flimsy evidence. This goes against all the norms of democracy that we hope remain in place.
But there’s some question about whether the normal rules apply anymore. We have already seen Republican state legislatures in places like Wisconsin and North Carolina go so far as to strip powers from incoming Democratic governors. We’ve reached the point where it is conceivable that the Kentucky Legislature could go even further and make the election loser the winner. Stivers himself expressed support for Bevin, noting that the Libertarian gubernatorial candidate got 2 percent of the vote, more than the difference between Bevin and Beshear. Stivers remarked that “most of those votes … [w]ould have gone to Bevin.”
Stivers’ point would be an excellent one in arguing for the adoption of ranked choice voting, which would have allocated the Libertarian Party candidate’s votes to the voters’ second choice. But it is emphatically not an argument to overturn the results of a fair election run under rules giving the plurality winner the right to the seat. I am very wary—and often critical—of claims of “stolen” elections, but if Stivers does what he is hinting at it would be a case where such a label would be justified.
If the Kentucky Legislature did go through with a theft attempt, no doubt Beshear would file a lawsuit in federal court. As Sam Marcosson, a constitutional law professor at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, told the Courier-Journal:
If the House and Senate were just to proceed on vague allegations without proof, that raises serious questions about disenfranchisement of the voters who voted for Attorney General Beshear. It’s an extraordinary proposition to suggest that the General Assembly would take vague allegations of unspecified irregularities and call into question a gubernatorial election.
It is not certain that federal courts would get involved, perhaps preferring to leave matters in the hands of political branches granted the power to resolve disputes under the state constitution. Still, Beshear would be able to raise arguments under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection and due process clauses. He could also point to the part of Bush v. Gore—the decision ending the 2000 presidential contest—that held “having once granted the right to vote on equal terms,” a state “may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person’s vote over that of another.” A system that declares the election loser the winner on arbitrary grounds would certainly value the votes for the loser over those of the winner.
Such an effort would also violate due process, which protects against arbitrary government treatment in elections. It calls to mind an important 1995 11th Circuit case, Roe v. Alabama, which found a due process violation when a state appeared to change the rules for conducting recounts for a state supreme court race after the election was held. If the Kentucky Legislature adopts new contest rules that deprive Beshear of fundamental fairness, that could violate due process under Roe.
A lot of bad things would have to happen for Beshear not to be the next governor of Kentucky. Either the election would have to be so marred by fraud or problems that it fairly calls the results into question, or the Kentucky Legislature would have to abandon democratic values and allow the election loser to become the election winner, with federal courts staying on the sidelines.
We may not live in ordinary times, but if the latter scenario comes to pass, our democracy is in great trouble as we look ahead to 2020.
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