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Friday, 5 February 2016

Archie Manning Backs Broncos Peyton

Peyton Manning’s father Archie has backed his son over allegations the Broncos quarterback took the banned substance HGH, telling ESPN: “He didn’t. He said he didn’t. He didn’t.”

A report from Al Jazeera America in December linked Peyton to human growth hormone delivered to his wife while he was recovering from neck surgery in 2011, but Archie Manning insisted his son has never taken anything he shouldn’t have.

“I didn’t like [the report]. I thought it was some pretty shabby journalism,” Manning Sr said on ESPN’s Mike & Mike. “Actually, I hadn’t done a lot of interviews this year. This is the first time I’ve been asked about it. But I’m pretty much with him.

“He told me: ‘I didn’t do that.’ I always had a saying when he was going through everything, and he had to talk to a lot of different doctors and trainers, and I always said: ‘No voodoo.’ That was kind of our theme. And he didn’t. He said he didn’t. He didn’t.”

The report claims Manning received HGH from an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic in 2011 while he was still with the Colts. It said the drug, which was banned by the NFL in 2011, was delivered to his wife, Ashley, so that the quarterback’s name was never attached to the shipments.

Manning denied the story when it emerged just after Christmas. “The allegation that I would do something like that is complete garbage and is totally made up. It never happened. Never,” he said.

“I really can’t believe somebody would put something like this on the air. Whoever said this is making stuff up.”

Peyton Manning also supports an NFL investigation into the report.

“I do welcome it. It’s no news to me,” Manning said in January. “I still stand by what I said then – that it’s garbage from the first day that it came out, garbage today.”

Archie Manning also said he hasn’t spoken with his son about whether he’ll retire next year – but thinks Peyton hasn’t yet made up his mind.

“He’ll find the right time to sit down and discuss it. He hasn’t talked to me. He’ll talk to Ashley,” the former New Orleans Saints quarterback, told SportsCenter later in the day.

“I think it will be pretty clear-cut. He loves this game. The end of last year being hurt, this year being hurt could affect this. When the time comes, he’ll sit down and make the right decision.”

Thursday, 21 January 2016

Kathryn Smith Breaks NFL Barrier

Buffalo Bills

The NFL has its first full-time female coach after Kathryn Smith was promoted by the Buffalo Bills to take over as special teams quality control coach on Rex Ryan’s staff.

She will assist special teams coordinator Danny Crossman and his assistant Eric Smith, filling the role that opened after Michael Hamlin was not retained following the season.

Smith’s appointment comes after Jen Welter served a six-week training camp internship last summer coaching inside linebackers for the Arizona Cardinals.

Smith is well-known within the Bills staff after spending this season as an administrative assistant for the team’s assistant coaches. She spent the past seven years working alongside Ryan. She was the New York Jets player personnel assistant when Ryan took over as coach in 2009. Smith then served as Ryan’s assistant in 2014, his final year in New York before he was fired and then hired by the Bills.

“She certainly deserves this promotion based on her knowledge and strong commitment, just to name a couple of her outstanding qualities,” Ryan said in a statement released by the team. “She has proven that she’s ready for the next step, so I’m excited and proud for her with this opportunity.”

This is not the first time the Bills broke the gender barrier.

Linda Bogdan, in 1986, became the NFL’s first female scout, when she joined the team’s player personnel department. Bogdan, who died in 2009, was the daughter of late Bills Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson.

Several NFL teams have employed women in prominent roles in the front office. Amy Trask was the Raiders’ chief executive officer for owner Al Davis from 1997 until she resigned in 2013.

The Jets promoted long-time executive Jacqueline Davidson to director of football administration last season. She was previously the team’s manager of football administration.

Dawn Aponte is Miami’s executive vice president of football administration, and has been involved in the front offices of the Dolphins, Jets, Browns and the NFL for 25 years.

Among others on a quickly growing list of high-ranking women in NFL franchises include Katie Blackburn, Cincinnati’s executive vice president; Jeanne Bonk, San Diego’s executive vice president and chief financial officer; and Hannah Gordon, San Francisco’s vice president of legal and government affairs.

But Smith’s promotion is the latest step for women getting a chance to join the coaching ranks of North America’s major professional sports.

In August 2014, former WNBA player Becky Hammon was hired by the San Antonio Spurs to join coach Gregg Popovich’s staff, making her the NBA’s first full-time paid female assistant coach.

Last month, the Seattle Mariners hired Amanda Hopkins as an area scout. In announcing the hiring, the team said Hopkins is believed to be the first female hired as a full-time scout by a major league team since the 1950s.

In promoting Smith, Ryan said he consulted with Cardinals coach Bruce Arians. “You can see the success some of these young ladies are having in the coaching profession, such as the young lady that is an assistant to coach Popovich at the San Antonio Spurs, and realize how exciting this is for women like Kathryn Smith as well as the Bills organization,” Ryan said.

Smith has 13 seasons of NFL experience, and began her career in 2003 as a Jets game-day/special events intern. Two years later, the Jets promoted her to become a college scouting intern, and eventually became the team’s player personnel assistant in 2007.

Sunday, 10 January 2016

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

After 22 years without a playoff victory, the Kansas City Chiefs were determined not to give up the lead this time.

The Chiefs had enough points to win after jumping ahead 7-0 in the first 11 seconds, and they used relentless pressure, five turnovers and a ball-control offense to dominate the Houston Texans 30-0 in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday.

They were especially cognizant of not letting up after blowing a 28-point lead in a loss to the Colts in their last playoff appearance in 2013.

“What happened to us a couple years ago, everybody remembers that even the coaches included, so our entire mentality is about finishing,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “The mentality doesn’t change.”

They finished off the Texans early, and they had the hometown fans booing by the second quarter. Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer had the worst game of his career with four interceptions and a fumble. Houston’s defense kept the Texans close in the first half, but JJ Watt left with an injury in the third quarter, Jadeveon Clowney never even put on his jersey and the Chiefs were able to close the game out in the second half.

The Chiefs extended their NFL-best winning streak to 11 games and will face Denver or New England next week.

“We wanted to come in and dominate,” Chiefs safety Eric Berry said. “Right now we are locked in and ready for next week.

On the opening kickoff, Knile Davis got three good blocks around the 10-yard line and then simply outran the rest of the defenders for the 106-yard kickoff return score, the second-longest kickoff return TD in postseason history.

“It was a huge deal, man. It set the tempo,” Davis said. “It quieted everybody, kind of made everybody relax.”

The defense took over after that, forcing Hoyer into a fumble and a three of his career-high four interceptions before halftime to help the Chiefs (12-5) take a 13-0 lead.

“I made some bad decisions that really hurt the team,” Hoyer said.

Houston coach Bill O’Brien said he never considered benching Hoyer, but backup Brandon Weeden told a different story, saying he was warming up late in the game.

“We had talked about me going in there with Brian,” Weeden said. “Brian wanted to finish the thing out. I don’t blame him.”

Smith threw a touchdown pass late in the third and Spencer Ware added a 5-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 27-0.

Travis Kelce, who also had more than 100 yards receiving in the first meeting with the Texans this year, had another big day, finishing with eight receptions for 128 yards.

The victory breaks a streak of eight straight playoff losses by the Chiefs and is their first postseason win since beating the Oilers in January 1994. That team was led by Joe Montana and Marcus Allen.

“Was it 1994? I didn’t feel it, but I know how important it is, too,” coach Andy Reid said. “You get to the playoffs, and first round, if things don’t go well, that rips your heart out.”

Hoyer was 15 of 34 for 136 yards as Houston (9-8) lost a home playoff game for the first time. Hoyer’s performance cast more doubt on his future as the starter.

Watt missed most of the second half after injuring his groin in the third quarter. Last year’s Defensive Player of the Year and the NFL sack leader didn’t have a sack as Houston’s defense played well but couldn’t hold off an offense that got so many extra chances because of turnovers.

Watt returned a few plays after he was initially hurt, but soon left the game again when he was pushed to the ground by the head by tackle Eric Fisher.

“That’s just a dirty play,” Watt said. “But the injury was before that moment.”

Fisher said he didn’t know the play was over. Kansas City receiver Jeremy Maclin strained his right knee on the same play and didn’t return.

The Chiefs capped that drive when Smith found rookie Chris Conley in the back of the end zone for 9-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 20-0.

Houston defensive end Jared Crick got a personal foul late in the third quarter when he hit Fisher after a play, in an apparent retaliation for the Watt hit.

Down 7-0, the Texans were driving when Hoyer was sacked by Allen Bailey and fumbled. Dontari Poe recovered it at the Kansas City 42 and the Chiefs extended their lead to 10-0 on a 49-yard field goal.

Trailing 13-0, a 49-yard run by Alfred Blue got Houston to the Kansas City 13. The Texans got a first down at the two and Watt and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork came in on offense, with Watt lined up as the wildcat quarterback and Wilfork blocking. Watt took the direct snap but had nowhere to go and lost a yard on his first career carry. Hoyer was intercepted on the next play by Josh Mauga.

Hoyer had also struggled against the Chiefs in the season opener, being benched in the fourth quarter of a 27-20 loss.

Sunday, 27 December 2015

Browns Bryant and De'Ante Arrested

Getty Images

Armonty Bryant will miss Sunday’s game at Kansas City after he and safety De’Ante Saunders were arrested Christmas morning following a traffic stop.

Bryant, who has a history of legal troubles, is not traveling with the team so he can tend to the legal matter. Browns general manager Ray Farmer issued a statement on Saturday condemning the players’ behavior.

“These are charges that we take very seriously,” Farmer said. “The importance of responsible decision-making is something we continually stress to all members of our organization, which makes it extremely disappointing that these two individuals would put themselves in this situation by making such poor decisions.”

Farmer said the incident is subject to the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

There were no immediate details about the arrests. The state highway patrol said no information will be available until after 10 pm Saturday.

Browns coach Mike Pettine gave his players the holiday off so they could be with their families.

Bryant is second on the team with 5 1/2 sacks this season, his third with the Browns. The 25-year-old was drafted in the seventh round in 2013 from East Central Oklahoma, where he had some off-field problems. He was arrested for driving under the influence less than a week after Cleveland drafted him. He was also suspended for three games in college for selling marijuana to an undercover officer.

Saunders has been on Cleveland’s practice squad.

The Browns, who are 3-11 and dead last in AFC North, will visit the Chiefs on Sunday before ending the regular season at home against Pittsburgh on Janueary 3.

Monday, 14 December 2015

Brady Bunch Win in Houston

Tom Brady got Rob Gronkowski back and it helped the New England Patriots return to the win column and clinch a playoff spot. Brady threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and the Patriots snapped a two-game skid with a 27-6 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday night.

The Patriots (11-2) moved ahead of the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals in the race for the top AFC playoff seed and can clinch the AFC East with one win, or with one loss or tie by the New York Jets. New England haven’t lost three straight games since 2002.

Brady threw TD passes to Keshawn Martin and Gronkowski in the first half to help New England build a 17-6 lead. Gronkowski had four receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown in his return after missing last week’s game with a knee injury.

The Patriots didn’t move the ball as well in the second half, but the defense harassed Brian Hoyer into multiple mistakes. Jabaal Sheard had strip sacks on Hoyer twice after halftime. The Patriots recovered the second one early in the fourth, and James White made it 27-6 with a two-yard run three plays later.

Hoyer was sacked five times and left the game to be evaluated for a concussion with about nine minutes remaining. The quarterback already missed a game this season after getting a concussion on 16 November. Hoyer was 11 of 22 for 155 yards.

The Texans (6-7) recovered a fumble and forced two punts by the Patriots in the third quarter, but weren’t able to take advantage of any of those opportunities and entered the fourth quarter trailing 20-6. JJ Watt played despite breaking his left hand in practice on Wednesday. He wore a cast that enclosed his fingers in a club-like ball.

The Texans won two challenges on plays that were called receptions on New England’s first drive of the second half, forcing the Patriots to kick a 49-yard field goal to make it 20-6.

Houston were forced to punt on their next possession, but Martin fumbled the return and the Texans recovered on the New England 21. But the Texans couldn’t move the ball and turned it over after a failed fourth-down attempt.

The Texans were driving again later in the third when Hoyer fumbled and the Patriots recovered. Houston challenged the call and it was overturned, but he actually fumbled on the next play on a sack by Sheard. The Texans recovered but lost 10 yards on the play and had to punt again.

Gronkowski simply outjumped Quintin Demps to grab a one-yard touchdown pass just before halftime to extend New England’s lead to 17-6.

The Patriots took a 7-0 lead when former Texan Martin got away from rookie Kevin Johnson and was wide open in the end zone for a two-yard touchdown. That score was set up when Brady threw across his body and on the run to Gronkowski for a 45-yard gain earlier in the drive. Gronkowski was open after linebacker Whitney Mercilus fell trying to cover him.

The Texans cut the lead to 7-3 on a 37-yard field goal by Nick Novak in the first quarter. New England got a 43-yard field goal early in the second quarter to make it 10-3.

Jonathan Grimes had a 37-yard run on Houston’s next drive, but the offense stalled soon after that and the team settled for a 45-yard field goal to get within 10-6.

Last year’s top overall pick Jadeveon Clowney had two sacks for the first multiple sack game in his career with Houston.