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Patriots: Brady Warns Against Great Expectations For Gordon

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FOXBORO – Patriots quarterback Tom Brady warned of placing great expectations on wide receiver Josh Gordon before he has time to settle in with New England. The Patriots traded a conditional fifth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns to acquire Gordon on Monday.

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Tom Brady

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“You know, I hate to make projections and expectations. That’s not fair,” Brady said on his weekly Westwood One on Monday night. “I’ve never met Josh personally, just like I hadn’t met some of the guys that have come in the last couple weeks. So we’ll see how it goes this week and hopefully he can work hard, put the team first and end up helping us in any role that he can find for himself on the team.”

After missing training camp to enter a rehab facility at the University of Florida as a preventative measure, Gordon caught a touchdown in Week 1. But he ran out of chances with the Browns, who parted with the troubled wide receiver following multiple suspensions and repeated violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy.

Head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday the team is exactly where it was the day before with regard to the pecking order at wide receiver. Gordon has not yet worked out with the team.

The Patriots traded Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams, and free agent Danny Amendola left for the Miami Dolphins in the offseason. The Patriots are still two games away from wide receiver Julian Edelman’s return from a four-game suspension.

Through two games, Brady is 18th in the NFL in passing, and the churn of the wide receiver depth chart has been constant. In adding Gordon, the Patriots released former first-round pick Corey Coleman.

“Any time you get someone in the middle of the season, there’s obviously a lot of things that have happened that have got the team to a certain point that they weren’t a part of,” Brady said. “So you know, I’m not sure how many of those things matter, but you’d like to try to get up to speed as quickly as possible and it’s really up to the individuals. … You know all these things need to play themselves out. I’m not going to project anything. I’m just going to try to go be the positive, enthusiastic leader that I am and try to be a great quarterback and try to embrace whoever’s on the team. And we’ve all got to play a lot better than we played (at Jacksonville) and that’s really where our focus should be.”

–Field Level Media

NFL: Head Coaches on the “Hot Seat”

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LAS VEGAS  – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – While it’s very early in the 2018 NFL season and there’s always a chance for a complete turn-around, several NFL head coaches find themselves on the proverbial “hot seat” as pressure mounts in their respective NFL cities.

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Hue Jackson

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The oddsmakers and analysts at MyTopSportsBooks.com looked at the odds of a dozen of the NFL’s head coaches with the potential to be the first to be fired this season. Here are the current odds from the MyTopSportsBooks.com team of analysts:

Odds to be First NFL Coach Fired (After Week 2)

  1. Hue Jackson (Browns): 2/1
  2. Sean McDermott (Bills): 7/2
  3. Bill O’Brien (Texans): 15/1
  4. Jason Garrett (Cowboys): 16/1
  5. Dirk Koetter (Buccaneers): 19/1
  6. Mike Tomlin (Steelers): 19/1
  7. Todd Bowles (Jets): 29/1
  8. Jim Harbaugh (Ravens): 29/1
  9. Anthony Lynn (Chargers): 29/1
  10. Vance Joseph (Broncos): 32/1
  11. Matt Patricia (Lions): 45/1
  12. Adam Gase (Dolphins): 49/1
  13. FIELD: 24/1

Sports fans and gaming insiders are turning to the most reliable and accurate odds/information source available online at MyTopSportsbooks.com for analysis.

Filed Under: NFL Tagged With:

Patriots: Do Their Job at WR

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CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Browns traded wide receiver Josh Gordon to the New England Patriots, the Browns announced.

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According to multiple reports, the compensation is a fifth-round pick. and the Patriots will receive a late-round pick in return if Gordon isn’t active for at least 10 games this season. Per ESPN, the Patriots will waive former Browns wideout Corey Coleman — who was signed last week — to make room for Gordon on the 53-man roster.

Gordon, who was ruled out of Sunday’s game at New Orleans because of a hamstring injury, is healthy enough to play for the Patriots Sunday night against the Detroit Lions, according to multiple reports.

A talented but troubled wideout who has appeared in only 11 games over the past four-plus seasons because of drug suspensions and injuries, Gordon reportedly injured his hamstring during a promotional shoot between Friday’s practice and Saturday’s walk-through session. The injury worsened an already weak level of trust between the player and the team, leading the team to announce its plans to move on from Gordon.

NFL Network reported earlier Monday that the Browns and Patriots were nearing a trade. ESPN reports the Browns also spoke with the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers and others about a deal and hoped to send Gordon to an NFC team before accepting the Patriots’ offer.

After leading the NFL in receiving yards with 1,646 in 2013, he has played only 11 games since, including five last season and one this year.

Suspensions cost Gordon 56 out of 96 possible games over his first six seasons.

–Field Level Media

NFL Monday Night Game Scout:

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Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears

When: 8:15 PM ET, Monday, September 17, 2018
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote
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Russell Wilson
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CHICAGO – The Chicago Bears were shaping up to become the toast of the town halfway through their season opener – until Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers crashed their party. Khalil Mack will make his Soldier Field debut as the Bears look to rebound from a crushing defeat in Week 1 when they face the Seattle Seahawks in their home opener on Monday night.Chicago built a 20-point lead and Mack was looking every bit like the dominant force for which the team had hoped before Rodgers returned from injury and threw three fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 24-23 victory. “Things happen for a reason – I’m a firm believer in that,” Chicago’s Matt Nagy told reporters regarding his head-coaching debut. “And when things happen for a reason and you stay positive, then in the end, we’re going to use this thing.” The Seahawks also absorbed a narrow loss in their opener, taking the lead early in the fourth quarter before dropping a 27-24 decision to Denver. “It’s a big matchup (between) two hungry teams getting ready to go on Monday night,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll told reporters. “The Bears had a terrific game going and then, as we all know, Aaron Rodgers kind of stole the show.”

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Bears -3.5. O/U: 43

ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS (0-1): Russell Wilson was under relentless pressure against Denver’s defense and finished 19-of-33 for 298 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Seattle’s passing game received a jolt, however, when No. 1 wideout Doug Baldwin suffered a sprained MCL in the contest – leaving them to go forward with veteran Brandon Marshall and speedster Tyler Lockett, who each had a touchdown reception. The Seahawks raised some eyebrows around the league by signing linebacker Mychal Kendricks, who pleaded guilty last week to charges of inside trading. Seattle is thin at linebacker, with K.J. Wright (knee) and Bobby Wagner (groin) both sitting out practice on Friday.

ABOUT THE BEARS (0-1): Mack, who was acquired from Oakland and signed to a record six-year, $141 million contract prior to the season opener, was a wrecking ball against Green Bay in the first half with a sack, forced fumble and interception return for a touchdown. Mack and the defense recorded four sacks and will set their sights on a Seattle offensive line that surrendered six sacks versus Denver – three by linebacker Von Miller. Running back Jordan Howard looked comfortable in Nagy’s new-look offense, rushing for 82 yards on 15 carries and adding five receptions for 25 yards. Second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (22-of-35) threw for only 171 yards, hooking up with wide receiver Allen Robinson four times for 61 yards.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Mack has registered eight sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions in his last seven games versus NFC opponents.

2. Wilson has thrown at least two touchdown passes in each of his last six road contests.

3. Trubisky has recorded three TD passes, zero interceptions and a 95.6 passer rating in his last four home games.

NFL Round-Up: Week 2

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PITTSBURGH – In a game with wild swings and pass-happy quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes threw for 326 yards and six touchdowns Sunday to lead the Kansas City Chiefs past the host Pittsburgh Steelers 42-37.

The Chiefs (2-0) blew a three-touchdown lead, went back up by 14 points and held on. Kansas City’s Travis Kelce had 109 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Mahomes has set an NFL record with 10 touchdown passes through the first two games of a season, and he finished with more touchdown passes than incompletions (five).

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Patrick Mahomes

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Ben Roethlisberger was 39 of 60 for 452 yards and three touchdowns, and he rushed for another score. Jesse James had 138 receiving yards with a touchdown for Pittsburgh (0-1-1), and JuJu Smith-Schuster added 121 yards and a touchdown.

Jaguars 31, Patriots 20

Blake Bortles passed for 377 yards and four touchdowns as host Jacksonville avenged last season’s loss in the AFC Championship Game with a win over New England.

Keelan Cole caught seven passes for 116 yards and one touchdown for the Jaguars (2-0), his third career 100-yard receiving game. Donte Moncrief, Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Dede Westbrook also caught scoring passes for Jacksonville, which defeated the Patriots for the first time in eight all-time regular-season meetings.

Tom Brady passed for 234 yards for the Patriots (1-1) and threw two touchdown passes to wideout Chris Hogan. Tight end Rob Gronkowski, subject to recent criticism from Jacksonville cornerback Jalen Ramsey, had just two receptions for 15 yards.

Broncos 20, Raiders 19

Brandon McManus kicked a 36-yard field goal in the final seconds, and host Denver rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Oakland.

Case Keenum completed 19 of 35 passes for 222 yards, 62 of which came on the drive that set up the winning field goal. Keenum and Royce Freeman ran for scores for the Broncos (2-0).

Derek Carr was 29 of 32 for 288 yards and a touchdown pass as Marshawn Lynch and Seth Roberts scored for Oakland (0-2), which remained winless in the return of head coach Jon Gruden. The Raiders blew a 12-point, second-half lead against their division rivals.

Vikings 29, Packers 29 (OT)

Kirk Cousins came close to delivering a dramatic comeback in the second half, but visiting Minnesota and Green Bay settled for a tie.

Cousins, who had 425 passing yards and four touchdowns, set up the Vikings (1-0-1) for a game-winning 35-yard field goal, but rookie Daniel Carlson missed wide right to end the game. That was his second missed field goal in overtime and third on the day. Packers kicker Mason Crosby missed a 52-yard field goal wide left as time expired in regulation.

Cousins guided Minnesota to 22 points in the fourth quarter and led the Vikings downfield to tie the game at 29 with a two-point conversion toss to Stefon Diggs that followed Adam Thielen’s 22-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left. Aaron Rodgers, playing with an injured left knee, was 30 of 42 for 281 yards for the Packers (1-0-1).

Falcons 31, Panthers 24

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta offense bounced back impressively from a subpar outing in the season opener, recording touchdowns on all four red-zone possessions in a home victory over Carolina.

Ryan, who frequently misfired in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Falcons (1-1) defeated the Panthers (1-1) for the fourth straight time in Atlanta and fifth in six games overall.

Ryan completed 23 of 28 passes for 272 yards and Tevin Coleman, filling in for Pro Bowl running back Devonta Freeman, gained 107 yards on 16 carries, becoming the first player to rush for 100 yards against Carolina in 22 games. Panthers QB Cam Newton was 32 of 45 for 335 yards and three touchdowns and one interception.

Buccaneers 27, Eagles 21

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdown passes, and host Tampa Bay held on to defeat defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia and move to 2-0.

Fitzpatrick, who also tossed four touchdown passes against the New Orleans Saints last week, became the first quarterback in league history to throw for at least 400 yards and four touchdowns in consecutive games to open a season.

Quarterback Nick Foles received his second straight start for the Eagles (1-1) in place of injured starter Carson Wentz and completed 35 of 48 passes for 334 yards and one touchdown.

Cowboys 20, Giants 13

Dak Prescott made a big early statement, and the Dallas defense dominated New York for a win at Arlington, Texas.

Prescott launched a 64-yard touchdown pass to Tavon Austin on the game’s third play from scrimmage. The former Rams receiver’s first catch as a Cowboy made it 7-0 just 94 seconds into the game. Prescott completed 16 of 25 passes for 160 yards and added a career-high 45 rushing yards.

The Cowboys (1-1) sacked Eli Manning six times and held the Giants to 255 yards of offense. New York is off to its fourth 0-2 start in the past five years.

Dolphins 20, Jets 12

Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown passes, and visiting Miami held on for victory against New York and rookie quarterback Sam Darnold.

Tannehill was 17 of 23 for 168 yards, but he absorbed four sacks and the Dolphins (2-0) didn’t score in the second half after building a 20-0 lead.

Darnold couldn’t get New York (1-1) into the end zone enough despite completing 25 of 41 throws for 334 yards. He threw one touchdown pass and was intercepted twice.

Chargers 31, Bills 20

Philip Rivers threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns to lead visiting Los Angeles in a win over Buffalo in Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen’s starting debut.

Rivers was surgical in the first half, completing 15 of 16 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns. He finished 23 of 27 and did not throw an interception. Melvin Gordon found the end zone three times for the Chargers (1-1).

Rookie quarterback Josh Allen was 18 of 33 passing for 245 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in his first career start for the Bills (0-2). He connected with Kelvin Benjamin on a 3-yard pass for his first career touchdown with 38 seconds left in the game.

Titans 20, Texans 17

Blaine Gabbert orchestrated a late drive that resulted in a field goal to give Tennessee a tight victory against visiting Houston.

Ryan Succop’s 31-yard field goal with 1:05 remaining broke a tie, capping a 62-yard drive that consumed 12 plays and nearly six minutes. The Texans (0-2) reached Tennessee territory but they were out of timeouts and couldn’t get another play off after making it to the Titans 21-yard line on the last snap.

The Titans (1-1) were led by Gabbert, who had less than 100 passing yards until the game-winning drive. He was filling in for quarterback Marcus Mariota, whose status had been in question after sustaining an elbow injury a week earlier. Gabbert ended up 13 of 20 for 117 yards.

49ers 30, Lions 27

Matt Breida rushed for a career-best 138 yards, and Robbie Gould set a franchise record for most consecutive made field goals with a 3-for-3 effort Sunday afternoon, propelling San Francisco over Detroit in Santa Clara, Calif.

Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes and remained unbeaten in home games in his 49ers career with a third straight win as San Francisco (1-1) rebounded from an error-filled loss at Minnesota with a turnover-free performance.

Matthew Stafford amassed 347 passing yards and three scores for Detroit (0-2). He threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones Jr. and a 15-yarder to Michael Roberts in the final 8:36 to rally the Lions, down 30-13 at one point, to within three.

Saints 21, Browns 18

Drew Brees connected on a pair of short touchdown passes to Michael Thomas in a six-minute span of the fourth quarter, and Wil Lutz kicked a 44-yard field goal with 21 seconds to lift host New Orleans over visiting Cleveland.

The Browns (0-1-1) had a chance to force overtime for the second consecutive week, but Cleveland kicker Zane Gonzalez pushed a 52-yard field-goal attempt wide right with three seconds remaining. Gonzalez also missed two extra points and a 44-yard field-goal attempt earlier in the game.

After the two Brees-Thomas scores, the Browns drove 75 yards to tie the game 18-18 on a 47-yard pass from Taylor to rookie Antonio Callaway with 1:16 left. However, Gonzalez hooked the potential go-ahead extra point to the left. Brees then took the Saints 49 yards in six plays, and Lutz nailed his 44-yarder, putting the Saints (1-1) up 21-18 with 21 seconds left.

Colts 21, Redskins 9

Andrew Luck threw a pair of touchdown passes, and the Indianapolis defense kept host Washington out of the end zone.

After surrendering 34 points to the Bengals in Week 1, the Colts (1-1) contained Alex Smith and Co. Smith passed for 292 yards, but Washington (1-1) was 5-for-15 on third down and 0-for-2 in the red zone.

Adrian Peterson, who ran for 96 yards in Week 1, was held to 20 yards on 11 carries, and the Redskins gained just 65 yards on the ground. Luck completed 21 of 31 passes for 179 yards and was intercepted twice.

Rams 34, Cardinals 0

Todd Gurley rushed for three touchdowns, and Jared Goff passed for 354 yards and a score as host Los Angeles rolled over Arizona.

The Rams’ defense held the Cardinals to 60 yards of total offense in the first half and 137 for the game. It was the second consecutive season the Rams (2-0) pinned a shutout on the Cardinals (0-2), doing so last year in a game at London.

The Cardinals’ offense did not cross the 50-yard line until quarterback Sam Bradford connected on a pass with Ricky Seals-Jones on the second-to-last play of the game.

–Field Level Media

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