Category: Oklahoma City Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder

Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. officially inactive vs. Cowboys

Odell Beckham is in Dallas, but the Giants receiver won’t see the field at AT&T Stadium on Sunday night.

Beckham flew to Dallas with the Giants and tried to warm up ahead of their game against the Cowboys, but he was listed as part of the Giants’ inactive players as he continues to heal from an ankle injury.

The three-time Pro Bowler was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report before the game but the Giants were prepared for him to miss Sunday’s game.

Fournette finished the game with 100 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. He also hauled in three receptions for 26 yards.

There hasn’t been much to celebrate for Jaguars fans in recent seasons, but Fournette looks like the real deal. Houston boasts a formidable defensive line — even with J.J. Watt leaving with an injury — which makes Fournette’s effort even more impressive.

The Jaguars could be without star receiver Allen Robinson for the foreseeable future after he left the game in the first quarter with a non-contact knee injury.

Jacksonville will likely try to beat teams on the ground and with its stingy defense, so Fournette could be in store for a monster season.bears_015-223x223

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Houston has a reliable workhorse in Lamar Miller

When Watson eventually takes over, he’ll be surrounded by plenty of quality weapons to succeed. DeAndre Hopkins struggled to do anything with Osweiler last year, but he remains one of the league’s premier receivers, just two years removed from a 111-catch, 1,521-yard campaign. He’s the kind of No. 1 receiver you can build the passing game around. The jury is still out on two 2016 picks: first-rounder Will Fuller and Braxton Miller (former Ohio State QB), but both men have untapped potential.

In the running game, Houston has a reliable workhorse in Lamar Miller, who rushed for 1,073 yards and five touchdowns last season. However, he struggled while playing through injuries and needs someone who can spell him during games. The Texans addressed that issue with third-round rookie D’Onta Foreman, a 233-pound bruiser who should be an upgrade over Alfred Blue as the change-of-pace back.

Fitzpatrick was replaced behind center by Geno Smith and then Bryce Petty during an ugly season that saw him throw six interceptions in a single game. The journeyman QB went 3-8 as a starter, completed less than 57 percent of his passes, and threw only 12 touchdowns compared to 17 interceptions in his 12th season as a pro.

The Jets have plenty of improving to do after a disappointing 5-11 season. Their rebuild has started with a focus on defensive improvements. One way to spark a turnaround would be getting Richardson back to his Pro Bowl form. If he can’t, he won’t have Marshall to take his frustrations out on anymore.yankees_1653_29916f092bd05332-180x180

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Uffsides Week 12 previews: Broncos-Patriots features NFL’s largest collection of ‘Welker-like’ receivers

The biggest game of the NFL Week 12 slate is the Sunday Night Football showdown between the Broncos and Patriots, as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady face off for the 14th time in their Hall of Fame careers. But there are other notable games as well, games between playoff contenders, a coin flip of an NFC East battle, and a raging tire fire down in Houston. Join our ragtag Uffsides crew for offbeat previews and picks.

Philadelphia Eagles – Bradley Roby, Cornerback, Ohio State: 2017 has not been kind to Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby. He ran into trouble with the law in the offseason and he seems to have regressed a bit on the field as a junior. Still, the talent flashes at times, and at this point, it would still be a surprise for him to drop out of the first round. The Eagles have a big hole to fill at cornerback, and Roby would be a nice pickup.

Carolina hasn’t had the best luck with USC wide receivers, but Marqise Lee is a nice value pick here. If not for injuries bringing down his level of play, Lee may be a top-15 lock. Instead, the Panthers get him in the 20s.

When I think of a good running back I usually envision a guy who has good speed, good vision, is strong enough to get the tough yards inside and can make somebody miss in space. I believe that Trent Richardson is a good running back. I also think that might be what is hurting him in Indy.

You have to understand something about teams that run power football schemes — generally they set up the blocking to give the running back a crease that opens and shuts in an instant. The thought process is something like they get you through the hole and then its your job to get anything extra. If you never make it through that crease, however, you are shit out of luck.
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Goran Dragic’s nasty looking eye will keep him out of Heat vs. Pacers

In the Miami Heat’s game against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday, Dragic took a vicious elbow right to the eye. Unfortunately, due to the injury, Dragic won’t be able to play Sunday against the Indiana Pacers. And the above picture tells you everything you need to know about why that is the case.

The good news — Hassan Whiteside gave him a new nickname as a result of it — Drago, from Rocky IV.

Even though the loss total isn’t ideal, a 6-8 Top-50 record and 11-14 Top-100 record resulting from what’s now the nation’s best schedule (even with a mediocre SEC weighing down what was already the top non-conference slate) should be enough to make basketball history.

With all that being the case, it’s extremely doubtful that there will be any “region of death” talk once the brackets have been revealed Sunday evening.

Typically, there’s an established overall No. 1 seed and then at least a couple of teams on the seeding lines below that the public agrees are better than their second, third, or fourth-seeded brethren. When two or three of those teams wind up with the same path to the Final Four, the public cries foul and one grouping dominates the other three in everybody’s “toughest region” polls from Sunday night up until the first games on Thursday afternoon.

This year, there is no clear-cut overall No. 1 seed, and there are no “obviously superior” teams on the seeding lines below. Kansas or Villanova? Arizona or Duke? Everyone has an opinion on these questions, but there’s not going to be an overwhelming consensus on any of them. Because of that, expect the committee to get some pats on the back for “keeping the regions fair,” even though there was no possible way for them to make them lopsided.

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Ben McAdoo and the Giants punished for using walkie-talkie to communicate from sideline

The NFL was swift to dole out punishment to the New York Giants after head coach Ben McAdoo used a walkie-talkie to communicate with quarterback Eli Manning from the sideline.

The NFL fined the Giants $150,000 and McAdoo $50,000 for the use of the walkie-talkie, and also had their fourth-round pick in 2017 moved to the end of the fourth-round after any compensatory picks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

S Eric Weddle, Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are making a lot of noise about Weddle getting left out. The safety has consistently been one of the best players at the position for years. He’s not on pace to post career bests in any major statistical category like tackles or interceptions, but with 81 tackles and four interceptions, he’s still playing at a high level. Eric Berry, Devin McCourty, and Reggie Nelson are all in ahead of him, and while the first two have played great football, Nelson has struggled quite a bit this year, and it’s surprising to see him ahead of Weddle.

RB LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots

Blount is having the best year of his career, with 1,060 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. It’s worth noting that the three AFC running backs selected — Le’Veon Bell, LeSean McCoy, and DeMarco Murray — all have better per-carry averages and more yards than Blount. But Blount’s 15 touchdowns leads the league, and he fits so well into the Patriots offense. He broke the Patriots’ record for rushing touchdowns in a single season, and smart money is on him getting a couple more before all is said and done.

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Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson entered this season as a relative unknown

Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson entered this season as a relative unknown, with more than one hurdle to clear. He’ll exit it with the Heisman Trophy.

Jackson capped his remarkable rise with the first Heisman Trophy in school history, having wowed enough voters — despite losses in his final two games — with 51 total touchdowns and 4,928 total yards.

What Jackson accomplished in 2016 goes down as the greatest season ever at Louisville — a school where Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas starred in the 1950s.

Jackson had a speech prepared but he stopped at various points to say, “This is crazy.” He got through the written portions while also improvising, saying his speech “started coming from the heart.”

“To be the first person from Louisville to win it, it’s an honor. I’m humbled.”

Jackson is the third player in FBS history — joining Cam Newton and Tim Tebow — with 30 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in a season. He set ACC and school records for touchdowns responsible (51) in a season and yards in a single game (610, versus Syracuse), plus school records for most single-season rushing yards (1,538) and most touchdowns in a single game (eight), and he became the first quarterback in school history with a 1,000-yard rushing season.

After finishing third in the balloting in 2015, Watson, meanwhile, became the 11th player with multiple top-three finishes without a Heisman win and the first to do so since Andrew Luck during the 2010-11 seasons.

It is only the seventh time in Heisman history — and first since 2008 (Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Texas’ Colt McCoy) — that the winner and runner-up hailed from the same conference.

Before the ceremony began, Jackson was asked whether he ever dreamed about winning the Heisman.

“I thought about it a lot growing up, playing the NCAA video games,” Jackson said. “I was like, ‘Man, it would be great to go to college and win that award.’ So just to be sitting here right now and having my name talked about, it’s crazy.”

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I’ll acknowlege the fact that maybe even if Griffin had done all the above

If your as big a competitor as Griffin claims to be, you find a way to get your ass on that field. Whether its using your vast knowlege of the mechanisms behind knee injurys to pull a Nancy Kerrigan on Kirk Cousins, or simply reminding your coach that Mack Brown recruted you as a safety and that you can help the defense, there’s only one person to blame for not playing- thats yourself.

I’ll acknowlege the fact that maybe even if Griffin had done all the above, he still wouldnt of gotten into any games due to his huge injury liabilty in his contract. Even in that case his mere presence around the facilty is enough to instill a jinx on a franchise that has recently performed like they play on some sort of cursed burial ground. Griffin now has the dubious distincton of having the worst playoff winning percentage of any backup QB with a minimum of 2 non-starts.

And like any good jilted ex-lover, Griffin couldnt quietly make his way out the door without getting in one last dig. Now we can all agree that RG3 should of been a more agressive passer, but no one will ever acuse him of not being passive agressive enough. He cleaned out his locker at the team facilty but left this note behind:
Folks even Hitler didnt leave a note. What is RG3 your roomate who washed your dinner dishes from last night before you even had a chance to wake up in the morning? You know who else use to leave cryptic messages? The Zodiac killer. As reader Matt points out, Griffins letter actually comes across reading more like this:

The irony of Griffin quitely leaving a franchise in shambles using the same method that folks use to apologize for destroying a parked car is not lost, even though Washingtons season is.

Its our first ever three way tie for RGOTW here with the Father Son and Holy Ghost bringing home the hardwear. God certanly packed his lunchpail this week folks and you can see His fingerprints in the outcome of every single game:

Chiefs 30, Texans, 0: Funny how the team who elected atheist- Arian Foster as there captain, lost in a biblical blowout at the tiny hands of Alex Smith. Smiths Mormonism was a weakness as Smith used to had to follow the rules of the church- meaning no drinking, caffeine, or completing TD passes to wide recevers on Sundays. But ironically as the Latter Day Saints have opened up the playbook, Smith has been looking more and more like yetseryear’s Drew Brees.

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