Hot Button: NFL claims 'Guardian Caps' reduced concussions by fifty percent ... Yankees pull off Little League double steal ... Several star players to miss time after NFL Week 1

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NFL DATA SHOWS PROTECTIVE HEAD
GEAR REDUCED CONCUSSIONS

Wednesday, September 14: The National Football League claims "Guardian Caps," the cushioned selves worn over helmets in trainman camp, reduced concussions by fifty percent over the previous two preseasons.

The league mandated the use of the caps for high-contact position groups in practices through the second preseason game. According to the NFL's data, there were only 11 concussions this preseason, as opposed to an average of 23 over the previous two.  

My take: Causation or correlation? There are a lot of mitigating factors in how concussions can be prevented. There's more awareness now and there are fewer and fewer full-contact practices as the seasons go on. Anything that helps with head-hit safety in the NFL is a good thing, it's just that one preseason of data on a new product is not a proof of concept. — Bob

YANKEES' DOUBLE STEAL BRINGS
BACK MEMORIES FOR MANY

Wednesday, September 14: The Yankees pulled off a double steal in the fourth inning of Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, which is not often seen outside of youth baseball — advancing on a slow throw back to the pitcher from the catcher:

Second baseman Gleyber Torres was the alert Yankees at second base to advance on the weak return toss by Red Sox catcher Connor Wong, with Oswaldo Cabrera alertly taking second on the throw to third by pitcher Brayan Bello.

It eventually went for naught, with Bello getting the next two hitters without a run scoring, but the Yankees did go on to win, 4-1.

My take: Torres was having fun out there. After taking third, Bello was forced to walk him back toward third base because of Torres' dancing and big leads of third in between pitches. Fun, but embarrassing for Wong. Not sure what that lob was about — by the time you've made it in starting a game at Fenway, you should know better. — Bob

TOP STARS OUT 
AFTER NFL WEEK 1

Wednesday, September 14: The 2022 National Football League season is one week old but several star players are going to miss significant time due to injury. The Steelers, of course, avoided the worst possible scenario with TJ Watt, but he'll still miss at least 6 to 8 games with his torn pectoral muscle. Many other teams are going to be missing star players, too:

QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys, six to eight weeks (thumb)
S Jamal Adams, Seahawks, possible season ending (knee)
WR Keenan Allen, Chargers, two to six weeks (hamstring)
CB Trent McDuffie, Chiefs, IR — four weeks or more (hamstring)
RB Elijah Mitchell, 49ers, eight weeks or more (MCL)
WR Chris Godwin, Buccaneers, three to four weeks (hamstring)

My take: Injuries happen all the time, but the number of significant players injured in Week 1 was more than I can remember in any other season. Best to all in their recoveries. — Bob

BROWNS SELECT ELF
LOGO FOR MIDFIELD

Tuesday, September 13: The Browns organization announced Tuesday the selection of "Brownie the Elf" as its midfield logo in 2022, replacing the midfield helmet of recent vintage:

The angry elf, which ... ahem ... does not bring to mind at all a famous scene featuring Will Ferrell and Peter Dinklage, has been around since the late 1940s and shelved by late owner Art Modell in the 1960s. 

My take: Someone should teach that elf how to hold a football. Doesn't that franchise and its fans have enough fumble-related nightmares? Imagine the reaction if the Steelers ditched their helmet logo for a massive Steely McBeam at midfield. 'Nuff said. — Bob

SARVER SUSPENDED, FINED
FOR PERSONAL CONDUCT

Tuesday, September 13: Robert Sarver, owner of Phoenix franchises the Suns (NBA) and the Mercury (WNBA), has been suspended by the National Basketball Association for one year and fined $10 million dollars for multiple violations of the league's personal conduct policy. Sarver must also complete a training program appropriate workplace conduct.

Following a yearlong independent investigation handled by law firm Wachtell Lipton, the NBA found that Sarver had used the N-word five or more times — though it wasn't used in his own speech but in recounting others' statements — making "sex-related" remarks to female employees based on their appearance and being demeaning to employees by "yelling and cursing."

The Suns and Mercury cooperated fully after over 70 employees accused Server of creating a toxic workplace environment by personal conduct and permitting the conduct of others which was racist, sexist and hostile.

My take: Good. I'm no fan of the "yelling and cursing" part fo it, but there's definitely no room in the workplace, or anywhere else for that matter, for the other findings. In the end, it's not much of a punishment. He's still the owner and will still rake in the profits, easily covering his fine. — Bob

BRONCOS RELY ON KICKER,
NOT WILSON, IN LOSS

Tuesday, September 13: There will be plenty of Tuesday morning quarterbacking after new Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett took the ball out of $49-million-per-year quarterback Russell Wilson's hands with 20 seconds remaining in the game, 4th-down-and-5 at Seattle's 46 in Monday night's game at the Seahawks, attempting instead a 64-yard field goal by Brandon McManus which fell short, losing 17-16.

The Broncos did plenty to deserve the loss without Hackett's questionable clock management and decisions in the last minute — they lost two fumbles at the Seattle 1-yard line — but the coach's NFL debut will dominate the chatter. 

Hackett had all three timeouts at his disposal as Wilson quickly got the team lined up with 1:11 remaining at his own 45 on third down and 14. A completion to the back Javonte Williams go nine yards and Wilson hurried the team to the line again for the fourth-down play. People watching screamed "timeout!" at their flatscreens. Even Hall of Fame and former Broncos QB Peyton Manning was trying to will one through the television on ESPN's Manningcast:

However, Hackett let the clock run down to 20 seconds before calling one, leaving him two timeouts. Instead of allowing Wilson the opportunity to get five or more yards and a first down for a closer kick, he opted for one of the longest field-goal tries in NFL history.

My take: Anyone want to defend Hackett's decision? Smarter to go for it or trust a 64-yarder in the cool, damp Seattle night? When Peyton Manning's calling timeout through the TV to set up a fourth-down play, chances are that's the right thing to do. And why are you paying a QB $49 million per year if you don't trust him to convert a 4th-and-5, regardless of the situation? — Bob

REID CHANGES PLEA TO GUILTY
AS PART OF SENTENCING DEAL

Monday, September 12: Former Chiefs linebackers coach Britt Reid, son of head coach Andy Reid, had accepted a plea deal for his drunk driving case in which he injured four people, one seriously in February 2020, days before the Chiefs played the Super Bowl.

As part of the plea deal the prosecution has agreed to not seek more than four years in prison out of a possible seven, based on the charges. Reid has subsequently changed his plea to guilty and awaits a sentencing hearing.

Reid left the Chiefs practice facility and crashed into two cars parked on an on a highway on-ramp, injuring three and putting a young girl in the hospital for months with a traumatic brain injury. Reid's blood alcohol was over twice the legal limit. The team suspended him immediately and he did not coach in the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay. He was subsequently fired following his formal arrest.

My take: The victims' families are outraged over the plea deal, believing he should serve the maximum. Reid is a repeat DUI and drug offender. The families are right — he should serve the longest possible sentence. — Bob

PRESCOTT TO HAVE 
THUMB SURGERY

Sunday. September 11: The Cowboys were manhandled by Tom Brady and the Buccaneers Sunday night, but that might be the least of their worries moving forward. Dak Prescott will be out indefinitely after suffering a thumb injury during the game and will have surgery Monday to repair the thumb on his right, throwing hand.

Owner Jerry Jones said postgame that Prescott will miss "several weeks" with the injury. Backup Cooper Rush finished the last five-plus minutes of the game. He is the only other quarterback on the roster. Will Grier is on the practice squad.

My take: Will this be an opportunity for the Steelers to move Mason Rudolph? He's a backup with starting experience and went to school not too far from Dallas in Stillwater, Oklahoma. There certainly aren't any QBs of Prescott's caliber out there. Wouldn't put it past Jones to sign Cam Newton. Former Pitt quarterback Ben DiNucci, a backup in Dallas last season, is still available after being cut at the deadline. — Bob

Update: Prescott will miss 6- 8 weeks with a thumb fracture, meaning he will return October 30 against the Bears, or November 13 — following the team's bye — at the Packers, if he rains on schedule with the prognosis. He will miss three division games — at the Giants, home for the Commanders and at the Eagles.

JACKSON REJECTED DEAL 
WITH BIG GUARANTEE

Sunday, September 11: Lamar Jackson confirmed in a postgame interview Sunday that he rejected a substantial contract offer from the Ravens. Earlier in the day, it was reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen that Jackson had rejected a five-year, $250 million contract offer with $160 million guaranteed. Asked after the Ravens' 24-9 win over the Jets if the sourced report was true, Jackson admitted he had rejected Baltimore's deal and that the guarantee "was between $160 (million) and $180 million." That would likely represent the largest guarantee — short of a fully guaranteed deal — ever offered an NFL quarterback. Russell Wilson's new contract has $161 million guaranteed out of nearly $243 million over 5 years.

It's been reported that Jackson, who is representing himself in negotiations — with help from the NFLPA — wants a fully guaranteed contract equal to or superseding the one Deshaun Watson signed in Cleveland. 

WILD FINISHES
THEME OF WEEK 1

Sunday, September 11: The first Sunday of the 2022 National Football League season had a theme: Big early leads that evolved into tight contests, not least of which was the Steelers wild win in Cincinnati. There were two “revenge” games, involving two AFC North teams which held serve in each. Let’s begin:

AFC NORTH

Browns 26, Panthers 24: Rookie kicker Cade York — a fourth-round pick — hit a 58-yarder as time expired to give Cleveland the win in the Baker Bowl. Not much was in Cleveland’s favor heading into the contest, having won just one season opener since 1999 — in 2008— and playing without their suspended franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson, handing the reins to journeyman Jacoby Brissett. The good news was they were facing one of 2021’s worst teams. It wasn’t pretty. The Browns built a 20-7 lead only to have Baker Mayfield wake up and lead Carolina to 17 fourth-quarter points to take a 24-23 lead with just over a minute left, but Brissett got them deep enough for the winning kick. Cleveland gashed Carolina for 217 yards rushing and Mayfield finished 16 of 27 for 235 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, and a 7 yard TD run. The Browns have a good shot at 2-0, hosting the Jets in Week 2, while the Panthers are at the Giants. Box score

Ravens 24, Jets 9: Lamar Jackson bet on himself big time by allegedly forgoing a $250-million contract extension because it wasn’t fully guaranteed and padded the stats for the next postseason negotiation with three touchdown passes, one a 55-yarder to Rashod Bateman and the other two to Devin Duvernay. He completed only 17 of 30 passes for just 217 yards, but the TDs still count. Joe Flacco was forced to throw 59 times against his former mates, complete 37 for 307 yards, 1 TD, 1 pick.  Baltimore has its home opener against the Dolphins next Sunday and the Jets travel to Cleveland. Box score

REST OF LEAGUE

Dolphins 20, Patriots 7: Speaking of the upstart Fish, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 270 yards and a touchdown, and former Steelers “hostage” Melvin Ingram scored on a sack-fumble to give first-time head coach Mike McDaniel a win in his debut. New England turned the ball over twice and managed just over 300 total yards. Mac Jones finished the game but was examined for a back injury after, making for some drama heading into next Sunday’s game against the Steelers. Miami will be at Baltimore. Box score

Colts 20, Texans 20: Two teams played this game like neither wanted to win and they got their just desserts because of it. Davis Mills, whom I mocked endlessly last season, looked like an All-Pro through three quarters, leading Houston to a 20-3 lead, but water finds its level and Matt Ryan, making his first start for Indianapolis, managed three scoring drives in the fourth quarter to tie it at 20-20. Each team had a possession in overtime and Rodrigo Blankenship had a chance to win it fo Indy as time expired, but shanked the 42-yard attempt. Fantasy owners will be happy that Colts running back Jonathan Taylor had 161 yards rushing and a TD. That’s it, though. No one else is happy. Indy, which didn’t lose a season opener for the first time in eight seasons will look forward to a breather at Jacksonville next Sunday; The Texans will need first-half Mills if they’re to beat the Broncos in Denver … on anywhere else, for that matter. Box score

Commanders 28, Jaguars 22: Carson Wentz was looking every bit the bust many predicted he would be in Washington, with two untimely interceptions, but he tossed two touchdown passes in the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter to come back and give the Commanders the win. Two of his four TD passes on the day went to Penn State rookie Jahan Dotson, who finished with three catches for 40 yards. The Jags? Well, they Jagged, meaning everything was ‘meh,’ and looked out of sync in new head coach Doug Pederson’s offense. Jacksonville hosts the undefeated, winless Colts next Sunday; Washington travels to Detroit. Box score

Eagles 38, Lions 35: This is the make-or-break year for Jalen Hurts and though he struggled with accuracy, he dusted off new toy A.J. Brown for 155 of his 243 passing yards. Hurts ran for a score — all four Philly offensive TDs were on the ground (they had a pick-six on D) — to build a 38-21 fourth-quarter lead. The Lions hung tough, scoring twice in the fourth to make it interesting, but ultimately fell short. The teams combined for 397 rushing yards (Phil-216, Det-186) and DeAndre Swift had a good fantasy day with 144 yards rushing with a TD. Detroit hosts Washington next Sunday and the Eagles get the Monday night treatment, hosting the Vikings. Box score

Vikings 23, Packers 7: Kevin O’Connell made his coaching debut for the Vikings and gifted the home fans a spanking of the Packers. Seriously, Aaron Rodgers is going to need Percocet and ayahuasca to forget this one. Green Bay was missing both starting tackles, and it was a smidge closer than the final score — Minnesota had a goal-line stand in the first half — but the reigning MVP was held to just 195 passing yards and a pick. Kirk Cousins played pitch-and-catch with Justin Jefferson most of the game, connecting 9 times for 184 yards and two touchdowns — some were pretty easy, Jefferson had a few catches with no Packers in the widescreen. An allegedly unmedicated Rodgers and the Pack will host the Bears immediately after a Carrie Underwood song Sunday night; Vikings at Eagles Monday. Box score

Bears 19, Niners 10: Trey Lance was given the Niners starting job in the offseason over the untradeable Jimmy Garoppolo and disappointed against the Bears. Granted, the game was played in a steady rain throughout, but he only managed 13 of 28 for 164 yards and a pick, though he did lead the team in rushing with 54 yards. Justin Fields only had eight completions for ‘da Bears’ but two went for touchdowns, one of 51 yards to Dante Pettis. The Niners may have lost RB1 Elijah Mitchell to a knee injury, too. The Niners have their home opener next Sunday vs. the Seahawks; Bears at Packers Sunday Night. Box score

Giants 21, Titans 20: Brian Daboll made his NFL coaching debut for (ahem … best Chris Berman voice) The. New. York. Football. Giants. He immediately served notice that he’s willing to take chances, going for two after scoring on a late Daniel Jones touchdown pass with 1:06 left in the game, down 21-20 on the road. Saquon Barkley converted it, though, and New York avoided the loser label to start 2022. Ryan Tannehill drove Tennessee down the field to set up a 47-yard Randy Bullock field goal try, but it was missed left. The Titans choked a 13-0 halftime lead as Barkley scored on a four-yard run and Daniel Jones threw a 65-yard TD pass to a wide open Sterling Shepard in the third quarter. Barkley had a monster game, rushing for 164 yards, a TD and the two-pointer, plus he caught six balls for 30 yards. Funny how good Jones looks (17/21, 2 TDs, 1 INT) when Barkley’s healthy, right? The Giants get the Baker Mayfield Show next Sunday at home, while the Titans *gulp* get the Bills in Buffalo. Box Score

Saints 27, Falcons 26: The Saints blocked a Younghoe Koo 63-yard game-winning field-goal try to escape with a win over the Falcons, after being down 16 points at one point in the fourth quarter. Jameis Winston threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and Will Lutz kicked a 51-yard field goal to give New Orleans the lead with 19 seconds remaining. Marcus Mariota made his debut as the Falcons starter and did Mariota things with 215 yards passing and 72 yards rushing with a TD on the ground. Taysom Hill had some big runs for the Saints and Michael Thomas had two touchdown catches. The Saints host the Bucs Sunday; The Falcons are at the Rams. Box score

Chargers 24, Raiders 19: All the hype’s been on the Raiders after landing receiver Davante Adams in the offseason, pairing him with former Cal teammate Derek Carr, making them a Super Bowl favorite for many. Adams filled the stat sheet — 10 catches, 141 yds., 1 TD — but Carr filled the interception column three times, while Justin Herbert put that same number in the touchdown pass column for the Bolts, completing passes to nine different receivers for 279 yards and no picks. Advantage Chargers over Raiders in the AFC West, but they have another tough divisional test Thursday night at Kansas City; the Raiders host the Cardinals Sunday. Box score

Chiefs 44, Cardinals 21: Patrick Mahomes was 30 for 39 for 360 yards and five touchdown passes. What a shock. Travis Kelce had 8 catches for 121 yards and a TD. What a shock. Kyler Murray cashed his first massive-money game check and managed just 282 yards of total offense. What a shock. Juju Smith-Schuster had six catches for 79 yards and, uh, a fumble. Big shock … to those not quite over that Saints game in 2018. KC host LAC Thursday; Cards at Vegas Sunday. Box score

Buccaneers 19, Cowboys 3: The news after the game is al about Dak Prescott's injury, but the in-game news was the inability of the Dallas offense to generate anything, even before Prescott was forced exit late in the fourth quarter — Dallas took the opening drive of the game down for a field goal and never scored again. The Bucs pressured throughout, sacking Cowboys quarterbacks four times, and their tight coverage forced many errant throws and an interception. Tom Brady was efficient but struggled to get Tampa Bay into the end zone, settling for five field goal tries — four made —  and one touchdown, a pass to Mike Evans. Leonard Fournette seems to have dropped the fifty extra pounds he showed up in camp with, rushing for 127 yards on 21 carries. The Bucs are at the Saints Sunday, and someone lame will be under center for Dallas at home next week against Joe Burrow and the gang. Box score

— Bob

BELL POUNDS PETERSON
TO WIN BOXING EXHIBITION

Sunday, September 11: LeVeon Bell won his first professional boxing exhibition Saturday night, knocking out former fellow running back Adrian Peterson in the fifth round:

The match was shown on pay-per-view. The purse was never announced.

Apparently, not many tickets were sold — just 200 before the event — but there were several walkups to bring the crowd to about 800 to 1,000 in the 22,000-seat venue.

My take: Dumb and dumber do a dumb thing in front of virtually no one. 'Nuff said. — Bob

COLTS NELSON NOW 
HIGHEST PAID NFL GUARD

Sunday September 11: Colts left guard Quenton Nelson is now the highest-paid guard in National Football League history after Indianapolis signed him to a four-year, $80-million extension, with $60 million guaranteed, on the eve of their season opener at Houston. The new deal beats Jacksonville's Brandon Scherff by $3.5-million average annual value.

Nelson, the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, was about to play on the team's fifth-year option. He's made the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons and first-team All-Pro three times.

My take: He's the best guard so he should be paid the most. Interior offensive linemen are now making $20 million per. Who'd a thunk it? — Bob

NOTRE DAME, A&M FALL
IN MAJOR UPSETS

Saturday, September 10: It's just the second full weekend of college football, but two top-10 teams went down in in major upsets at home during Saturday's afternoon games: Marshall beat No. 8 Notre Dame 26-21, and Appalachian State beat No. 6 Texas A&M 17-14. 

App State did not shrink after a heartbreaking loss to North Carolina last week, when they scored six fourth-quarter touchdowns but lost by two points. This week they stormed into College Station and took down the No. 6 team in the country with outstanding defense, limiting the Aggies to just nine first downs, 186 total yards and forced two turnovers. the big play for the Mountaineers was a 95-yard kickoff return in the third quarter to answer an Aggies touchdown. 

The Fighting Irish, however, are in dire straits, now 0-2 in head coach Marcus Freeman's first season, losing last week at Ohio State and now its home opener against a Sun Belt Conference opponent. The Thundering Herd rushed for 219 yards — running back Khalen Laborn had 163 with a touchdown — and the defense had three interceptions against Irish quarterbacks Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne. 

Several lower seeds or unseeded teams manufactured upsets, including No. 17 Pitt's loss to No. 24 Tennessee. No. 21 BYU beat No. 9 Baylor; No. 20 Kentucky topped No. 12 Florida; Washington State beat No. 19 Arkansas and Texas Tech beat No. 25 Houston. Though unranked, West Virginia lost at home to Kansas on a pick-six in overtime and Georgia Southern stunned Nebraska in Lincoln. Even No. 1 Alabama needed a last second field goal to beat unranked Texas as part of the wild Saturday games.

My take: That's a terrible loss for A&M, and Jimbo Fisher is already on the hot seat. The only benefit is it's a non-conference opponent. And How about App State? Teams have to be leery of designing them to their early-season schedule, where they seem to do damage every year to a ranked team. The Irish? Not sure what's wrong. I like Freeman but the team doesn't seem to be in sync on both sides of the ball. — Bob

ALL-TIME NFL GREAT
LEBEAU TURNS 85

Saturday, September 10: Former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau turned 85 Friday. 

A fifth-round pick by the Browns out of Ohio State in 1959, he was cut in training camp and signed with the Lions where he spent his entire 14-season career. The three-time Pro Bowl cornerback is still 10th on the NFL's all-time on the career interceptions list with 62. He was continuously in the National Football League from 1959 to 2017 as a player or coach, a span of 59 seasons. He was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 as a player.

LeBeau spent 15 seasons with the Steelers as a defensive coach over two stints — 1992-1996 (the first two as defensive backs coach and the second two as defensive coordinator); 2004-2014 as defensive coordinator. 

My take: I don't normally do birthdays here, but I'm tired about writing about great athletes only when they die, so Happy Birthday to the ageless wonder. No word on whether he still shoots his age or better over 18 holes, but I wouldn't doubt it. — Bob

MLB APPROVES SEVERAL
RULE CHANGES FOR 2023

Friday, September 9: Major League Baseball passed several rules changes for 2023 in an effort to shorten games and increase offense. First a review of the new rules:

• No shifts: There must be two infielders on either side of second base and none can be on the outfield grass.
• Pitch clock: 15 seconds with bases empty; 20 seconds with runners on base. Catchers must be in position with 10 seconds remaining on the pitch clock and hitters must be ready with eight seconds remaining. Alex Stumpf covered the pitch clock in depth in his most recent Mound Visit.
• Pitcher and hitter limitations: Pitchers can only step off the rubber or throw to a base for a pickoff twice per plate appearance. In pitch-clock testing at the minor-league levels it was found pitchers would step off to reset the clock — this eliminates the frequency of that. Similarly, batters are permitted only one timeout per plate appearance.
• Larger bases: Bases are expanding from 15 square inches to 18 square inches. The reasons are three-fold: One, it shortens the distance between first and second, and second and third, to promote stealing bases and turning doubles to triples; second, it provides greater area to avoid tags; third, in that same way it provides safety at each base, limiting player-to-player contact. The distance between first and home and third and home is still 90 feet.

The players on the competition committee voted against the shifts and pitch clock rules. The larger bases and pickoff/step off limits were unanimous.

Robot umpires were not discussed or voted on. It is expected they will be introduced in spring training next year — the plan pre-lockout for 2022 — with possible implementation in 2024 or 2025.

The big question is, will this work? The league is obviously attempting to increase batted balls, limiting strikeouts and reducing the time of games. "Small ball" seems to be the focus, with shorter distances between bases on each side of second. By eliminating dramatic shifts and keeping all infielders on the dirt or infield grass, the league is encouraging contact and hitting for greater average. This equals, in theory, less swing-and-miss and a more station-to-station approach.

Living in a Triple-A city, I can tell you the games are shorter with the pitch clock and that there has been a subtle difference with the larger bases, though not as dramatic as I had anticipated. Do you like the new rules? Does this help address what has become a pretty boring game to watch? What else would you change to improve the on-field product? Would you consider going to or watching more games if they wrapped up in a reasonable amount of time? Let's here what you've got. — Bob

RAVENS RISK LOSING JACKSON
WITHOUT EXTENSION

Friday, September 9: Lamar Jackson's self-imposed negotiation deadline passed Friday without an agreement on a contract extension with the Ravens. The former league MVP will now play out his option year at $23 million and become a potential free agent in 2023, though Baltimore could still opt to apply a franchise tag. The team released a statement shortly after the negotiation deadline:

Details of what each party wanted or was offering were held close — nothing was leaked except a report that two points of controversy were contract length and guaranteed dollars. Jackson himself debunked a rumor last week on Twitter that he had rejected a fully guaranteed contract offer.

The Louisville alum and two-time Pro Bowl selection enters his fifth season with a career 37-12 record, 9,967 yards passing, 3,673 yards rushing and 105 total touchdowns.

My take: I wouldn't have paid him either — not Deshaun Watson money, I mean — though the "despite the best efforts of both sides" part of that team statement was utter nonsense. He's just 12-8 inside the division, with 24 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions in 20 games, and he's struggled to win playoff games. If he has a big year, pay him; if not, tag him and/or trade him. What say you? Did Jackson earn the big payday in your assessment or do you agree with the Ravens front office to let it play out? They run a huge risk if he has a monster year. — Bob

MLB APPROVES MINOR 
LEAGUES UNIONIZATION

Friday, September 9: In a day dominated by discussion of Major League Baseball's rules changes, there was another momentous decision by the league — it recognized the Major League Baseball Players Association to collectively bargain for the minor leagues, officially unionizing affiliated baseball.

MLB did so voluntarily after the MLBPA sent out authorization cards two weeks ago to all active minor-league players, needing 30 percent to allow the union to ask MLB to accept it as a collective bargainer for the affilated players. The response was well over 50 percent voting for MLBPA, a threshold needed to pass if MLB refused to voluntarily accept MLBPA representation on behalf of the minor leagues. 

Despite some improvements to the living conditions, pay and treatment of minor-leaguers, the union can now address those issues further and others, like improved travel and diet.

My take: This was always going to happen once MLB took over the minors. It's why some teams have already started addressing some of these issues on their own, but it will be nice to have a minimum standard and it serves all parties well in the end — the players will be better prepared, physically and mentally, to develop and MLB teams will directly benefit from that. — Bob

BILLS STIFLE WORLD
CHAMPS ON THE ROAD

Friday, September 9: The Bills looks every bit the favorite to win the AFC this season with a convincing 31-10 win over the reigning champion Rams Thursday night in Los Angeles. The game was tied 10-10 at the half, despite three Bills turnovers — they had four total on the night — but Buffalo pulled away with three unanswered second-half touchdowns. 

Buffalo controlled both lines of scrimmage, registering seven sacks on defense — former Ram Von Miller had two — and generating 413 yards of total offense. Josh Allen, an early favorite for league MVP, was efficient completing 26 of 31 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns, with two of those over 45 yards — one to Stefon Diggs, who had a big day with 122 yards on eight catches, and one to big-play threat Gabe Davis, who had four catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. Allen also led Buffalo in rushing, gaining 56 yards on 10 carries and scrambles, with a touchdown.

Matthew Stafford, who missed much of the preseason recovering from an offseason elbow procedure, played inconsistent football, looking slow in his reads and missing open receivers, leading to three interceptions. He had his usual chemistry with Cooper Kupp, who had 13 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown, but the Rams could not generate any running game, amassing only 243 total yards, and they could not contain Allen in the pocket on defense.

The Rams (0-1) stay home to host the Falcons on September 18, while the Bills (1-0) play host to the AFC South -favorite Titans on Monday night, September 19.  

My take: Good to have the NFL back in action. This was a drubbing, If the Bills hadn't coughed the ball up four times (they lost the turnover battle, 4-3), they would have won by a couple more touchdowns, at least — the Rams had no real answers on defense. This definitely serves notice to the AFC, though hardly a surprise, while the Rams need to find their championship mojo — perhaps a Super Bowl hangover, combined with all the pregame celebration? They'll get nine days before getting an expected breather against the Falcons. — Bob