Johnny Manziel Indicted in Dallas

Johhny Manziel

Johnny Manziel has been indicted by a Dallas County grand jury on a misdemeanor assault charge, according to multiple reports, after an argument with his ex-girlfriend in January in which she accused Manziel of hitting her so hard he burst her eardrum.

The charge is set to be formally announced on Monday. Manziel’s case was heard by a grand jury on Thursday.

Colleen Crowley had told police that the incident, which happened on 29 January, began with an argument about another woman. She said she and Manziel had a confrontation in a Dallas hotel room, and it continued downstairs at the valet station. She said he forced her into a car, and a valet ignored her pleas for help.

The two drove to where her car was parked in front of a Dallas bar, she said in an affidavit. She accused Manziel of getting into the driver’s seat and beginning to drive. She said that when she tried to jump out of the car, Manziel stopped, dragged her back into the car and hit her.

Police said they have spoken to Crowley, interviewed several other witnesses and reviewed medical records. But they did not arrest Manziel, and instead took the unusual step of asking the district attorney’s office to present the case to a grand jury. Typically, the local grand jury hears only felony cases, according to ABC News 8.

Crowley requested and was granted a protective order against Manziel, 23, that prevents him from seeing her for two years.

A misdemeanor assault case carries a maximum punishment of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Manziel was cut by the Browns in March after two tumultuous seasons marked by substandard play and off-the-field headlines. His future in the NFL is uncertain, and the quarterback has been cut by two agents and dropped from a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal by Nike.

In a statement on Tuesday, Manziel said: “I’m hoping to take care of the issues in front of me right now, so I can focus on what I have to do if I want to play in 2016. I also continue to be thankful to those who really know me and support me.”

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NFL Vote on Touchbacks and Ejections

The NFL has moved touchbacks to the 25-yard line and passed a new ejections rule – despite objections from coaches.

NFL owners voted to move the ball spot on touchbacks after kickoffs to the 25-yard line, to try to limit the number of returns after injuries on the play rose in 2015. They also ruled that players will be subject to automatic ejection if they commit two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the same game. Specifically, a “player penalized twice in one game for certain types of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls” will be “disqualified”.

The automatic ejection proposal was suggested by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell just before the Super Bowl.

Both rule changes will be reviewed after the 2016 season before the NFL decides whether to make them permanent.

The owners were concerned about player safety on kickoffs – but the decision to move the touchback up five yards could have the opposite effect.

Some coaches suggested that the number of kickoff returns could actually increase, with kickers using “mortar kicks” that drop close to the goal line and require a return.

According to Deadspin, two veteran special teams coordinators told the Chicago Tribune the new rule will lead more teams telling the kickers to get as much hang time as possible while landing the ball near the goal line in an effort to cover a kick and pin the offense inside the 25 or even inside the 20.

Coaches also claimed that opponents will bait players into committing penalties that qualify for the ejection rule, but owners say that won’t happen. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said: “I think it points to our emphasis on good sportsmanship.”

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NFL CTE Link Absurd - Cowboys Jones

When a senior member of the NFL admitted last week that there is a link between football and the degenerative brain condition CTE, the issue appeared to have gone some way towards being settled. 

That admission does not appear to have been clear enough for the Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, however, who still believes there is no firm evidence of a connection.

Jones is currently attending the NFL owners meeting in Florida and was asked whether he thought there was a firm link between football and CTE.

“No, that’s absurd,” he told the Washington Post. “There’s no data that in any way creates a knowledge. There’s no way that you could have made a comment that there is an association and some type of assertion. In most things, you have to back it up by studies. And in this particular case, we all know how medicine is. Medicine is evolving. I grew up being told that aspirin was not good. I’m told that one a day is good for you. I’m saying that changed over the years as we’ve had more research and knowledge.

“So we are very supportive of the research. We have for years been involved in trying to make it safer, safer as it pertains to head injury. We have millions of people that have played this game, have millions of people that are at various ages right now that have no issues at all. None at all. So that’s where we are. That didn’t alter at all what we’re doing about it. We’re gonna do everything we can to understand it better and make it safer.”

Last week, Jeff Miller, the NFL’s senior vice-president for health and safety appeared at a congressional committee discussion on concussions. He was asked if there was a link between football and brain disorders such as CTE.

“Well, certainly … research shows that a number of retired NFL players were diagnosed with CTE, so the answer to that question is certainly yes, but there are also a number of questions that come with that,” Miller said.

Democratic representative Jan Schakowsky repeated the question: “Is there a link?”

“Yes. Sure,” Miller responded.

CTE’s symptoms include memory loss, depression and progressive dementia, and can only be detected after death. Hall of fame players who have been shown to have been suffering from CTE include Ken Stabler and Junior Seau, who took his own life in 2015.

Jones’s Cowboys have an estimated value of $4bn and Forbes rated them as the most valuable sports team in the world last year.

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Green Bay Overcome Washington

Aaron Rodgers did a jig after his first touchdown pass. Later, he was smiling and nodding and thrusting both arms overhead. And why not? He has a lot more fun when his offense is balanced — and the Green Bay Packers score seemingly at will.

Spurred by a hurry-up, and strong running, the wildcard Packers got going after a rough start Sunday, with Rodgers throwing for a pair of touchdowns while Eddie Lacy and James Starks each rushed for a score, and Green Bay beat the NFC East champion Washington 35-18 to reach the divisional round.

Rodgers opened one for eight, and the Packers’ first four drives ended this way: punt, safety, punt, punt. They had all of 11 yards after one quarter.

But trailing 11-0 early in the second quarter, two-time NFL MVP Rodgers and the Packers suddenly began to show the sort of ability to gain yards in chunks and put points on the board they had been missing while losing six of their final 10 games and letting the NFC North title slip away.

Green Bay (11-6) will play at the No2 seed Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night. In the other NFC game next weekend, the No1 seed Carolina Panthers will host the wildcard Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

With the Packers and Seahawks joining the AFC’s Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, it’s the first time road teams went 4-0 in the wildcard round under the current NFL playoff format, which started in 1990.

Washington (9-8) had won four games in a row, but their season ended without a single victory over a team that finished with a winning record.

Rodgers finished 21 for 36 for 210 yards and no interceptions. Washington QB Kirk Cousins, making his first career playoff start after a breakthrough season, was 29 for 46 for 329 yards. He threw for one touchdown, lost one fumble and was sacked six times.

Here is how effective Green Bay was against a Washington defense that had developed a bend-but-don’t-break-reputation: The Packers scored on five consecutive possessions in one stretch, with four touchdowns and a field goal. Green Bay compiled their highest point total since a season-high 38 in week three.

Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb and Davante Adams in the endzone en route to a 17-11 half-time lead. In the second half, Starks scored from four yards out, and Lacy from two, as the Packers ran the ball on 13 of 15 snaps. After gaining 17 yards on nine carries in the first half, Green Bay finished with more than 140 yards rushing.

Washington looked like the better team in the early going. The game was barely four minutes old when Washington led 2-0 on its first postseason safety since 1984 — rookie linebacker Preston Smith got to Rodgers for his sixth sack in the past four games.

Washington then went ahead 5-0 on Dustin Hopkins’ 25-yard field goal, but the lead could have been larger. DeSean Jackson caught a pass from Cousins and initially was ruled to have scored, but the points came off when it was ruled that the ball never crossed the goalline. Later, Cousins connected with tight end Jordan Reed for a 24-yard score and, after a missed extra-point attempt, it was 11-0.

That was when Rodgers, the MVP of the 2011 Super Bowl, turned things around. Rodgers looked a lot more like himself in the second quarter, going five for six for 68 yards on a drive that ended with a 12-yard TD pass to Cobb, drawing Green Bay within 11-7. And Rodgers pulled out all his usual tricks, twice going with a quick snap that generated a too-many-men penalty on Washington’s defense. Later in that quarter, Cousins was strip-sacked by Mike Neal, who also recovered the fumble, which the Packers turned into a 43-yard field goal to trim their deficit to 11-10.

And Rodgers added his second scoring toss of the quarter with 28 seconds left, a 10-yarder to Adams that gave the Packers a 17-11 half-time lead. Rodgers danced around after that touchdown, and threw some fist pumps, too, feeling good about his offense for the first time in a while.

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Vikings March Past Giants

USA Today

The Minnesota Vikings have secured a place in the post season, playing as if they’re poised for more than a token appearance.

Adrian Peterson ran for 104 yards and a touchdown over three quarters, Harrison Smith took one of Eli Manning’s three interceptions into the end zone and the Vikings clinched at least a wild card spot with a 49-17 victory over the listless New York Giants on a frigid Sunday night.

Why the smartest man in football made the dumbest decision of the year

Teddy Bridgewater turned in another sharp December performance, Blair Walsh chipped in five field goals and theVikings (10-5) set up an NFC North championship game next week at Green Bay. That game, like this one, was moved to the Sunday night slot.

With Peterson relaxing on the sideline, Jerick McKinnon rushed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 68-yard romp through a disinterested defense with the temperature down to 11 degrees.

Manning badly missed suspended wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and his 1,396 yards and 13 touchdowns, as the Giants (6-9) trudged toward a fourth straight absence from the postseason.

The night wrapped up a rough week-plus for the Giants, who had control of the diluted, wide-open NFC East for much of the season until dropping five of their last six games. The day after their rally at then-undefeated Carolina fell three points short, Beckham was suspended by the NFL for multiple violations of safety-related playing rules. That stemmed from the tussles with Panthers cornerback Josh Norman.

There wasn’t much fight left in the Giants for this.

Washington’s win over Philadelphia on Saturday night ended the division race, rendering the outcome meaningless. By the time the Vikings built their lead into double digits on Smith’s 35-yard return of Manning’s overthrow for Rueben Randle late in the second quarter, the Giants looked ready for their winter vacations.

After winning the Super Bowl following the 2011 season, the Giants have gone just 28-35.

Manning finished 15 for 29 for 234 yards, boosted by a 50-yard pass to Rashad Jennings that set up an early field goal and a 72-yard touchdown heave to Randle made possible by a botched tackle by Andrew Sendejo, who had the first interception. Backup Ryan Nassib tacked on a late score with a pass to Myles White, but Manning was sacked four times and was hindered by a handful of drops by his receivers in these tough-to-catch conditions. He fumbled a shotgun snap, too.

Bridgewater went 15 for 25 for 168 yards and a touchdown to Kyle Rudolph, delivering precise, under-pressure passes at just the right times and avoiding the turnovers that dogged Manning.

The Vikings reached the playoffs for the first time in three years with their highest score since a 50-10 victory over Jacksonville on Dec. 20, 1998, giving them an 87-34 margin of victory over the last two weeks. Smith, linebacker Anthony Barr and nose tackle Linval Joseph all returned from injuries, putting the Vikings back at full strength on defense heading into the rematch with the Packers.

Beat Green Bay, and they’re the No. 3 seed in the NFC with a home game against Seattle. Lose, and they’re a wild-card team with a trip to Green Bay or Washington.

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Dallas Cowboys Eliminated

No more maybe for the Dallas Cowboys. They are finally eliminated from the playoff chase.

Maybe no more Matt Cassel, either.

Kellen Moore replaced an ineffective Cassel and threw a touchdown pass to Dez Bryant in his first game action in four seasons as a pro, but the Cowboys lost 19-16 to the New York Jets on Saturday night after Randy Bullock kicked a 40-yard field goal with 36 seconds remaining.

Dallas (4-10) is done in a division that doesn’t have a winning team, a year after winning 12 regular-season games and the NFC East title.

“We’ve got a long time left here this month and of course a long January. You want to be a part of this thing at this particular time. It’s very disappointing,” owner Jerry Jones said. “This is nothing like I could have envisioned. Our plan sitting here was we’d really have it together at this time.”

Washington, Philadelphia and the New York Giants are all 6-7 going into home games Sunday. The Redskins and Eagles each have two division games left, including head-to-head in Philadelphia next Saturday night, so at least one of them is assured of avoiding 10 losses.

Bullock missed a 45-yard field goal at the end of the first half, but kicked the winner eight plays after Dan Bailey’s tying 50-yard field goal, which hit the right upright and barely ricocheted through and over the crossbar with 1:55 left.

Ryan Fitzpatrick and the AFC wild card-contenting Jets (9-5) have their first four-game winning streak since 2010.

Cassel once won 10 games filling in for Tom Brady in New England. But he has won only one of his seven starts for the Cowboys, the latest with two bumbling plays and not playing past the first series of the second quarter against New York.

After faking a throw and stumbling when he tried to change directions, Cassel threw blindly to a spot where Darrelle Revis was by himself for an easy interception.

Cassel came out the series after taking a 19-yard sack, which wasn’t long after he left the field to loud boos following a three-and-out. He finished 3 of 8 for 37 yards with the pick.

“Didn’t seem like we were able to get in a rhythm,” coach Jason Garrett said. “At that time wanted to give Kellen a chance to see if he could jump start the offense.”

Moore went 15 of 25 for 158 yards with the 10-yard touchdown to Bryant to put the Cowboys up 10-9 at halftime. The lefty also had three interceptions ending his first series, another picked off in the end zone midway through the third quarter after driving to the Jets 6, and then a desperate deep heave in the closing seconds. 

Garrett said he wasn’t ready to talk about whether Moore or Cassel would start next week at Buffalo.

“It was not an easy situation just because I’ve been here to support Matt in any way and help him,” Moore said. “I felt good. I felt like communication was pretty good. ... We’ll see what happens. Obviously, I took this opportunity for what it was. We’ll grow from it and learn from it and see what happens.”

Tony Romo started only four games this season, the first two games in September before breaking his collarbone, and then two games after his return before suffering the same injury.

Brandon Weeden lost his only three starts before being replaced by midseason acquisition Cassel. Moore, the former Boise State quarterback, was moved from practice squad to active roster after Romo got hurt again Thanksgiving Day against Carolina.

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Cardinals Clinch Play-Off Spot

The Arizona Cardinals beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-20 at the University of Phoenix Stadium on Thursday to secure a play-off spot. But they need to wait until Sunday to know if they have secured the NFC West title.

The Cardinals blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, but a 47-yard field goal from Chandler Catanzaro, his third of the game, with less than two minutes of the match remaining broke a tie and gave the home team a winning margin.

The Vikings had a chance to win it or at least force overtime but the veteran pass rusher Dwight Freeney forced a fumble by Teddy Bridgewater that was recovered by the Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell with five seconds to go.

The Cardinals (11-2) extended their winning streak to seven games and they can claim their first division title since 2009 if the Seattle Seahawks lose or tie at Baltimore on Sunday.

The Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer worked over a depleted Minnesota defence that was missing a handful of starters, throwing for 310 yards and two touchdowns. He has 31 scoring passes for the year, breaking Kurt Warner’s single-season franchise record.

The loss was the third in four weeks for the Vikings, who are now jockeying to stay in play-off contention.

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Field Goal Seizes Cowboys Win

Perhaps fittingly, a fumbled punt return by Washington’s DeSean Jackson deep in his own territory led to Dallas’ only touchdown.

Dez Bryant’s sideline pouting aside, the receiver and the Cowboys will gladly accept the victory, because it means they’re somehow still in the thick of the playoff chase in the woeful NFC East.

With a wild finish capping an otherwise dull game filled with turnovers, punts and penalties, the Cowboys edged Washington 19-16 on Dan Bailey’s 54-yard field goal with 9 seconds left Monday night.

After combining to score 18 points in the first 58 1/2 minutes, the teams combined for 17 the frenzied rest of the way. Dallas scored the game’s first TD with 74 seconds remaining to lead 16-9 after recovering Jackson’s miscue on an ill-advised return, Washington tied it on Jackson’s 28-yard TD catch, and then Bailey hit the go-ahead kick.

The last-place Cowboys (4-8) won for the first time this season without Tony Romo at quarterback, and made quite a jumble of their division. They are only one game behind Washington, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, who are all 5-7.

Washington had won its past five home games, but this loss continued a pattern: Washington have not won in consecutive weeks all season.

With the score knotted at 9-9, Jackson – who hadn’t been used as a punt returner this season until last week – caught the kick at his 16, began running up the field and got past the 20, before reversing course and heading backward all the way to the 1. As he again tried to move forward, Jackson was surrounded and the ball popped out, recovered by punter Chris Jones at the 15 with 86 seconds remaining.

Dallas needed only two plays to cash in, jumping in front on Darren McFadden’s 6-yard touchdown run. A 41-yard kickoff return plus a 15-yard facemask penalty on J.J. Wilcox set Washington up at Dallas’ 43, and four plays later, Jackson hauled in a perfect pass from Kirk Cousins in the back corner of the end zone to pull even with 44 seconds to go.

That left enough time for Matt Cassel – previously 0-4 as a starter in place of the injured Romo this season – to take Dallas 20 yards in five plays for Bailey’s fourth field goal of the evening.

Washington’s Dustin Hopkins made three kicks but missed one from 43 yards with about 7 1/2 minutes remaining.

The teams combined for 16 penalties for 144 yards, along with 10 punts, seven in the first quarter alone.

Dallas lost three fumbles, including two by McFadden in his team’s own territory, but that trio of turnovers led to only three points for Washington.

Both QBs were mediocre, with Cousins going 22 for 31 for 219 yards, the one TD and zero interceptions, marking the first time Washington has lost this season when he avoided throwing a pick. Cassel finished 16 for 29 for 222 yards, with several of his throws landing nowhere near teammates.

Bryant was yelling and cursing and generally carrying on along the Cowboys’ sideline in the first half, apparently upset about not being thrown the ball. By halftime, he had zero catches and had been targeted twice.

He finished with three receptions for 62 yards, including a diving 42-yard grab that led to – what else? – a field goal.

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