With the 2024 NFL season just a couple of short weeks ago, the New York Jets are receiving Super Bowl hype. Aaron Rodgers and company are expected to be a top contender in the AFC.
Joe Douglas and the front office have put together a stacked roster on both sides of the football.
Offensively, the Jets made some huge moves in the offseason. The two biggest additions came in free agency with the signings of wide receiver Mike Williams and offensive tackle Tyron Smith.
Of course, the offense will play as good as Rodgers can make them. He will be the main key to the unit being elite.
Keeping that in mind, Rodgers spoke out about his offense following New York’s preseason victory over the Carolina Panthers.
He started by talking about the running back room. Clearly, he’s a big fan of both Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.
“The league is very cyclical and I think the cycles right now, you’re seeing more teams wanting to establish the run game because teams on defense have decided to play a lot more nickel packages and dime packages using safeties as linebackers. When you do that, you’re kind of begging teams to run the football. So we have to run the football to be able to open up some of the stuff in the passing game, the play-action stuff. I like the way that we’ve done it. You look at our backs, you have to be excited about 0 [Allen] and 32 [Davis] the way they’ve played the preseason. Breece is such a different player this year.”
Next up, he opened up with his thoughts on the offensive line. He thinks that the line will be much improved from what it was last year.
“Obviously the line looks a little different, adding some veteran guys to it. I like the momentum we have up front, the way those guys are blocking. I love Joe [Tippmann] at center. He’s been a really solid second-year player for us, but adding Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses really solidifies the edges. More than that, it brings those veteran presences into the room to help [OL coach] Keith [Carter]. The best rooms, the best teams are player led and you need those veteran voices to help those guys out because we have so many young guys who played last year.”
While the supporting cast around Rodgers has improved, there are major questions about his ability.
Rodgers is coming back from a torn Achilles. At 40 years old, that will not be an easy thing to do. However, he has looked great in training camp and appears ready to get back on the field.
It will be interesting to see if the Jets can live up to all of the hype they have been receiving. Rodgers will be the main deciding factor in what kind of success, or lack thereof, the team can have this year.
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Three Las Vegas Raiders players who lost their jobs after preseason loss to the Dallas…
NFL
Raiders HC Antonio Pierce makes right call in starting QB competition
The Las Vegas Raiders’ tightly contested battle for the starting quarterback job has concluded. On Sunday, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce named veteran Gardner Minshew II the starting QB instead of second-year passer Aidan O’Connell (h/t NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport). It’s probably the right choice. The Raiders offense has looked more explosive when Minshew is in the lineup.
Through two preseason games, he has averaged 6.4 yards per pass attempt and thrown one TD with no interceptions. O’Connell, meanwhile, has averaged a measly 4.8 yards per pass attempt. He also threw a pick-six in a 27-12 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday. Pierce noted he likes Minshew’s ability to extend plays with his legs and indicated he believes he could add a needed fire to the locker room. “His personality is infectious, his energy is infectious and his leadership is infectious,” Pierce said of Minshew, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed. ”
There is some magic about him when he does break the pocket and does his thing, but there’s a lot of times where the first or second read is there and we got to let it rip. And, more importantly, taking care of the football.” Pierce hinted he would consider turning back to O’Connell if the Raiders stumble with Minshew as the starter. O’Connell went 5-5 in 10 starts last season and developed a friendship with star wide receiver Davante Adams. Earlier this offseason, Adams told Shannon Sharpe he’s a “big advocate” for the former fourth-round pick. Adams, however, probably realizes Minshew may give the Raiders a better chance to win and reboot their passing attack. Last season, Vegas finished 23rd in the league in passing yards (198.8).
Clay Holmes makes the wrong kind of Yankees history
NBA
Mavericks to add former NBA big man to front office
The Mavericks plan to hire former NBA big man Makhtar N’Diaye as their director of pro personnel and international scouting, reports Marc J. Spears of Andscape via Twitter. N’Diaye only appeared in four games for the Grizzlies back in 1999, but he made history as the first player from Senegal to play in the NBA. N’Diaye was a scout for the Knicks for nine years, Spears notes. N’Diaye, 50, played college ball at Michigan and North Carolina and spent time in the NBA D League (now known as the G League) after his stint with Memphis. He also played professionally in France.
The Mavericks have been busy the past handful of months, giving multi-year extensions to head coach Jason Kidd and GM Nico Harrison and making the NBA Finals in June for the first time since 2011. They made some roster changes this offseason, essentially swapping out Josh Green, Derrick Jones and Tim Hardaway Jr. for Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes. They also brought back Spencer Dinwiddie on a one-year, minimum-salary contract.
Randy Johnson’s advice for Paul Skenes is wildly out of touch
MMA
Howie Booth submitted arguably the worst scorecard in UFC history
Tai Tuivasa has millions of fans worldwide, but Howie Booth may have just proven to be his biggest supporter. As one of the three judges of Tuivasa’s matchup with Jairzinho Rozenstruik on the main card of UFC 305, Booth sat cage-side with arguably the most important job of the fight aside from the two fighters.
As fans watched the Australian fighter get picked apart for 15 minutes in what was largely an uneventful fight, everybody in the building was surprised to hear Bruce Buffer announce a split decision. As the scorecards were being read, both Tuivasa and Rozenstruik were stunned to hear Booth score the fight 30-27 in favor of ‘Bam Bam,’ indicating his belief that the 31-year-old won all three rounds. While stats hardly tell the full story of an MMA fight, Rozenstruik dominated all three rounds in every aspect.
In a fight that involved no wrestling or grappling, ‘Bigi Boy’ landed 91 significant strikes through three rounds to just 37 coming back from Tuivasa. In an uncharacteristically slow approach, Tuivasa never landed more than 15 significant strikes in a single round and ended the first frame with just nine strikes landed. Damage is always the top priority under the unified ruleset of MMA and despite Tuivasa being known for his knockout power, the Aussie landed just 19 headshots and could not get Rozenstruik to ever feel as if he was in danger. In similar situations in the past, the reaction of the crowd in favor of their preferred fighter has been an inadvertent factor in influencing judging.
But in this specific situation, that can hardly be considered, given how little success Tuivasa had throughout. The crowd was desperate to react to anything they could grasp but spent most of the 15 minutes in deep frustration, leading to even Tuivasa’s fans gasping in shock at Buffer’s announcement of Booth’s tally rather than cheering. In the end, Rozenstruik wound up winning by split decision, having rightfully earned the favor of the other two judges. However, in terms of individual judging, few scorecards can be brought up as worse than giving Tuivasa even one round, let alone all three.
Later in the night, Jon Anik revealed on the ESPN+ pay-per-view broadcast that Booth had been relieved of his remaining duties for the night. It was not revealed if that call came from UFC CEO Dana White, who has never been shy in criticizing judges, or the Athletic Commission.
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NBA
Dodgers add pair of righty pitchers to active roster
MLB
Braves’ Austin Riley to undergo MRI after suffering injury vs. Angels
Initial x-rays and a CT scan on Austin Riley’s right wrist and hand were “inconclusive” after the third baseman was hit by a Jack Kochanowicz pitch in Sunday’s game with the Angels, Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Riley will undergo an MRI on Monday during the Braves’ off-day, as Snitker said the team’s own medical staff wants to fully explore Riley’s status. It could be viewed as an ominous sign that the first set of tests didn’t definitively say whether or not Riley had suffered a break or a fracture, but it also stands to reason that the club would want to be as careful as possible with one of its star players. Since we’re in the middle of August, a more serious type of injury could end Riley’s season entirely, including both the regular season and whatever postseason run the Braves might yet enjoy. Just getting to the playoffs has been a lot more difficult than expected for Atlanta, as injuries and an unexpectedly average offense have contributed to a lot of inconsistency.
The Braves are still 66-58 and in possession of the final NL wild-card slot, but they hold only a two-game lead over the Mets for that wild-card berth, and the Phillies remain seven games ahead of Atlanta in the NL East race. After bursting out of the gates to an 18-6 record in their first 24 games, the Braves have since posted a sub-.500 record (48-52) while weathering season-ending injuries to such stars as Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider.
The rest of Ozzie Albies’ 2024 campaign is also in jeopardy due to a fractured wrist, and both Jorge Soler and Travis d’Arnaud have been out of the lineup in recent days. Riley also missed close to two weeks earlier this season due to an intercostal strain, though the Braves made the curious decision to not actually place him on the 10-day IL during that stretch, leaving the team short-handed for an extended period of time. The injury contributed to a very slow start to the season for Riley, but his bat has come to life as the season has gone on, with 16 home runs and .275/.337/.531 slash line over his last 285 plate appearances.
There’s no easy way for the Braves to replace such All-Star levels of production if Riley is facing a lengthy IL stint, and it’ll be even trickier to fill Riley’s spot at third base now that the trade deadline has passed. Luke Williams took over at the hot corner on Sunday, and such veterans as Leury Garcia and Zack Short are at Triple-A as additional depth. As uncertain as Riley’s situation may be, some injury relief is on the horizon for the rotation, as Reynaldo Lopez was announced as the starter for Atlanta’s game on Tuesday when the Braves start an important series against the Phillies.
Lopez will return after missing just slightly beyond the 15-day minimum after he was placed on the IL due to forearm inflammation on August 2. Lopez’s start on July 28 was cut short by his injury, but tests revealed no structural damage. While even less serious types of forearm problems can linger, Lopez looks like he has been able to recover in pretty short order, and he got up to 71 pitches in a Triple-A rehab outing last Tuesday. Signed to a three-year, $30M free agent deal last winter, Lopez has excelled in his return to starting pitching.
Though he has worked almost exclusively as a reliever during the 2022-23 seasons with the White Sox, Angels, and Guardians, Lopez has posted a 2.06 ERA over 104 2/3 innings for Atlanta this season. Between Lopez, Cy Young Award candidate Chris Sale, and solid performances from Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and rookie Spencer Schwellenbach, the Braves have limited the damage after Strider was lost for the year.
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