Author: nshook61

Brandin Cooks on long TDs: ‘I turn it into a track meet’

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By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Brandin Cooks is fast — really fast.

This isn’t new information. But his 87-yard touchdown catch on Sunday showed the Saints don’t mind taking advantage of his speed, which has now become historic. Cooks became the first player in league history to score touchdowns of 85 yards or more in his team’s first five games on Sunday.

“I turn it into a track meet,” Cooks said, via The Times-Picayune. “It feels like you get the baton handed off to you and you just run. On the track, you’re not looking around, you’re just going. So, that’s what I feel like is my vision.” Continue reading →

Play-call on Dontari Poe’s TD? ‘Hungry Pig Right’

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By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Kansas City dominated Oakland in the second half on Sunday, shutting out a Raiders offense that has shown a penchant for second-half explosions. Few plays epitomized this superiority more than Dontari Poe‘s score from one yard out.

For as long as football has been played, when a team needs to gain a few yards, it lines up the most mass it has and punches it up the middle, between the tackles. But this is 2016, where we spread defenses out with our ingenious formations and innovations. Andy Reid’s play-call included 6-foot-3, 346-pound defensive tackle Dontari Poe.

There have been a handful famous names for plays in football history. Student Body Right. Red Right 88. Spider 2 Y Banana.

Now, we welcome Hungry Pig Right to the elite group. One can only imagine how many faces lit up inside the huddle when Alex Smith relayed the play to his teammates. Continue reading →

What we learned: Saints win late after Panthers rally

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By Around the NFL staff
NFL.com
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Week 6 saw huge games from big names and unlikely players alike. Rob Gronkowski and Odell Beckham posted career-highs in yardage in huge wins. LeSean McCoy saw his revenge game against Chip Kelly materialize to perfection. Jay Ajayi of all people became the first running back this season to break 200 yards! Here’s what we’ve learned from Week 6 so far:

Kansas City Chiefs 26, Oakland Raiders 10

1. Conditions weren’t favorable in Oakland, with the game starting in an absolute downpour. Derek Carrlaughed at that adversity, driving Oakland down the field for an opening touchdown. It was the first and last time the Raiders would find the end zone. From there Kansas City took control, bullying Oakland on the backs of Spencer Ware (24 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches, 32 yards) and Jamaal Charles (nine carries, 33 yards, one touchdown). While Oakland floundered on offense, Alex Smith was a tactician, chipping away at the Raiders‘ defense by completing 19 of 22 passes for 224 yards and swiftly moving Kansas City into Oakland territory.

2. Carr didn’t look quite like himself Sunday. You could blame the wet conditions, but he dispelled that notion early on. More of the blame (and conversely, credit) falls on the shoulders of Kansas City’s defense, which played tight coverage, harassed the quarterback and forced him into some awkward throws. On multiple occasions, Carr dropped back and floated passes off his back foot, with one being intercepted by Marcus Peters and another coming dangerously close to being picked off. We spent much of the afternoon waiting for another thrilling comeback win from Carr and BlackJack Del Rio, but it just never happened. Continue reading →

Bills’ defense keeping it simple under Dennis Thurman

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By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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There’s an old saying that can be applied to almost anything in life. It’s the KISS rule.

No, not the popular American rock band of the 1970s and 80s. It’s an acronym for Keep It Simple, Stupid.

That’s what the Buffalo Bills have done since their back-to-back opening losses that had the team on the brink of early season disaster, according to NFL Network’s Mike Silver. Buffalo jettisoned offensive coordinator Greg Roman and replaced him with Anthony Lynn, who pared down the playbook and played to the team’s strengths. The Bills did something similar on defense, retaining Rob Ryan but shifting playcalling duties to defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman. Continue reading →

Fines: Niners’ Carlos Hyde docked $9,115 for taunting

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By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Carlos Hyde has officially executed the most expensive front double biceps pose in history.

The flexing pose, popularized by modern bodybuilding pioneers and used by Hyde after a seven-yard reception against Arizona, cost the 49ers running back $9,115 in a league fine, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, according to an NFL spokesman. Continue reading →

Bold predictions: Big Ben harpoons Dolphins’ D

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By Around the NFL staff
NFL.com
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Week 6 of the NFL season is upon us, and that means it’s time for another round of bold predictions. As always, this week’s edition of fearless prognostications includes a macho helping of audaciousness and abandon as we head into Sunday and Monday’s contests. Warning: these predictions are not for the faint of heart.

A myriad of quarterbacks lead Browns to first win

The Browns have had their starting quarterback complete exactly two games healthy — a 30-24 overtime loss to the Dolphins and a 31-20 loss to the Redskins — this season, and have had a total of four signal-callers take the field. One of those was among Nashville’s most attractive and is also no longer on the roster. Another is dealing with a fractured coracoid bone, which I’d bet 85 percent of the football-watching world didn’t know about until Tuesday of Week 2. The point is, stability and Browns quarterbacks are water and oil. Continue reading →

Cowboys creating creases for Elliott to crush defenses

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By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Ezekiel Elliott was a near-consensus pick for Rookie of the Year at the start of the season. When considering the offensive line he’d run behind and the collection of talent around him in Dallas, it’s tough to disagree. But no one saw this — a league-leading 546 yards and five touchdowns on 109 carries — coming.

So how is Dallas, beyond its stellar offensive line, helping Elliott eat up so many yards? Well, against Cincinnati, personnel groupings and formation strength didn’t exactly help tip whether Elliott was due for a carry. Of his 15 carries, seven came in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two receivers), and seven came in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three receivers), according to Next Gen Stats. On his touchdown runs, one was a run up the middle in a formation with a strength to the left. The other was a 60-yard scamper off the right guard, coming out of a balanced formation.

What makes the difference for Elliott is the small creases — created by both long blocks from tight ends and receivers in motion, and second-level seals from his linemen — and the running back’s rare acceleration. Give Elliott a small amount of room to work and he darts through it like the finest sports car off the line. That 60-yard score was a prime example of this. Continue reading →

‘Undrafted’ star Mariel Cooper awaits next NFL call

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By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Throughout his life, Mariel Cooper has frequently had to call an audible.

When his father became ill and his mother had to pick up the slack, Cooper had to grow up quicker than most. When he was cut from his high school football team as a sophomore, he had to instead spend the season as a team manager, because it was as close to the game as he could get. When he was injured and his test scores didn’t qualify to get him into Clemson, the school to which he committed, he had to change his choice to Division I-FCS South Carolina State.

That’s enough major adjustments for anyone’s first 25 to 30 years of life. Cooper faced another after he wasn’t selected by an NFL team in the 2016 draft, a journey chronicled in NFL Network’s Undrafted, airing on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Continue reading →