Robert Griffin III Throws Teammates Under the Bus After Loss
The Washington Redskins are in the middle of some locker room problems, all starting with their franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III. The Redskins lost at home to the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday and Griffin didn’t play very well. At one point in the game the crowd starting chanting for backup Colt McCoy to be put in. In the press conference after the game, Griffin said this: “If you want to look at the good teams in this league and the great quarterbacks, the Peyton Mannings and the Aaron Rodgers, those guys don't play well if their guys don't play well.” If this isn’t Griffin throwing his teammates directly under the bus then I don’t know what is. On Monday, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said in his press conference that Griffin “needs to worry about himself. Let me worry about everything else.” Griffin claims his intentions weren’t to throw his teammates under the bus, but moving forward he’s going to have to be much more careful in his choice of words.
Ahmad Bradshaw Fractures His Fibula in Loss to Patriots
The Indianapolis Colts lost handily at the hands of the New England Patriots. When all was said and done, the Colts lost a lot more than the game. They lost running back Ahmad Bradshaw to a fractured fibula. Head coach Chuck Pagano said on Monday that he doesn’t know if they’re going to place him on injured reserve at this time. This is a big loss for the Colts as Bradshaw was easily their best running back. The Colts will be forced to rely much more heavily on Trent Richardson now.
Philip Rivers Playing With Serious Rib Injury
San Diego Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers is one of the toughest quarterbacks in the league. Following a sack in the second half against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, Rivers injured his ribs (although he never left the game). Rivers’ tight end Antonio Gates, Rivers has been dealing with a pretty significant rib injury for the past three or four weeks. According to reports it is cartilage damage, no fractures or lung damage. Rivers downplayed the severity of the injury but as the Chargers make a push for the playoffs it is certainly something to keep an eye on.
Ahmad Brooks Benches Himself in 49ers Win
Star outside linebacker Aldon Smith was reinstated by the NFL following a nine game suspension. In the first series of the 49ers’ game against the New York Giants Smith stayed on the sideline. After that the 49ers were going to utilize a three man rotation at outside linebacker between Smith, Ahmad Brooks, and standout rookie Aaron Lynch. Apparently Brooks didn’t want to share snaps with anyone so he took himself out of the game. During head coach Jim Harbaugh’s press conference on Monday he announced that he and Brooks cleared the air and Brooks would be playing on Sunday against the Washington Redskins. The 49ers already shopped Brooks earlier this year and with the emergence of Lynch at the outside linebacker position, Brooks could be a cap casualty at the end of this season. It would be in Brooks’ best interest to put some good game film out there for other teams and not make himself an issue in the locker room.
Broncos Lose Emmanuel Sanders, Julius Thomas, and Game
The Broncos are another team that lost more than just a game on Sunday. Their star tight end, Julius Thomas, went down with an ankle injury early in the game. It came out on Monday that it’s a sprained ankle and not as serious as it had originally been anticipated. Wide receiver Emmanual Sanders is another weapon they lost. He took a vicious hit in the third quarter and left the game with a concussion. Sanders will have to pass the league’s concussion protocol before he is cleared to even practice again.
Marshawn Lynch Takes Jab at Seattle Front Management
The Seattle Seahawks have had some of their own locker room problems this season. They jettisoned one of those problems, Percy Harvin, to New York to be the Jets’ problem but they still have running back Marshawn Lynch to deal with. While things weren’t good between Lynch and the Seahawks’ front office and coaching staff before Sunday, things certainly didn’t get any better after their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. When asked about his future in Seattle, Lynch said, “Do I think I'll be gone after this season? I don't know, man. The Seahawks, their front office gets in the media; they talk a lot. I don't talk too much. I just play the game.” If the front office didn’t like Lynch and his poor attitude before, their distaste just got much worse.
Packers Trounce Eagles in Green Bay
Going into Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles were tied for the league’s second best record. Some pundits considered the Eagles one of the top teams in the league as well. The Packers put an abrupt end to that talk after they beat the Eagles by a score of 53-20. And the game wasn’t even as close as the score indicates. It was a beating in every facet of the game. The Packers scored on offense, defense, and special teams. For any teams going into Green Bay to play the Packers, they might be walking right into a buzz saw that can’t be stopped.
Rookie Odell Beckham Shines Again
In a 16-10 loss to the 49ers on Sunday, New York Giants rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham shined again. He’s been one of the only bright spots on this Giants offense and he didn’t disappoint on Sunday. Beckham seemed to be making all the plays he needed to make but quarterback Eli Manning just couldn’t get out of his own way, throwing five interceptions. Beckham finished the day with six catches for 93 yards. That stat line just doesn’t do his performance any justice, however. He made seemingly clutch play after clutch play, one catch he bounced in the air before securing it landing on his butt right on the edge of the sideline. In a season that seems to be lost for the Giants at this point, their standout rookie wide receiver is certainly something to be happy about in New York.
Larry Fitzgerald to get MRI on Knee
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald left Sunday’s game before halftime with a knee injury but came back to play in the second half. Although he played in the whole second half, he will still undergo an MRI to make sure the injury isn’t severe. Fitzgerald and head coach Bruce Arians didn’t seem to be too concerned with the injury Sunday after the game. Even if Fitzgerald has to miss any time, the Cardinals have done just fine so far filling in for injured players.
Mike Zimmer Has a Problem with the Clocks at Soldier Field
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer had a big problem with the clocks at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday. For much of the second half the refs had to keep time on their watches due to the malfunctioning clocks in the stadium. "The two in the end zone were wrong all day," Zimmer said. "The one across on the 50-yard line was accurate, so we had to go from one back to the other one. And then they shut that one off for awhile. Then they put it back on for awhile. Then they put the ones in the end zones on for awhile. It was musical clocks." At the end of the game as the Vikings were trying to drive down the field for the game tying score, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater seemed to be affected by the clock. With 42 seconds remaining in the game Bridgewater threw up a Hail Mary pass which was picked off.