These are selected questions and answers. To read the whole chat click the link below.
***********************************************************************************


http://sports.live.stltoday.com/Event/NFL_chat_with_Jim_Thomas_25?Page=0

Jim Thomas - NFL Chat

After game 3 what is your honest opinion on the Rams upcoming season? Without a good look at #30 and #11, it's been hard for me to judge the progress or lack of.

Case Keenum has played pretty well in the preseason, better than I thought he would. Jared Goff still looks a little lost to me _ not as far along as I thought he would be at this time. I thought the defense played very well in Denver, although the first-teamers were out there for only a couple, three series.

Cornerback looks like a concern, especially with E.J. Gaines being constantly nicked up during camp/preseason. I don't think this team has as much depth as some recent editions, so they can't afford too many injuries.
-------------
Can you see the Rams signing a veteran WR that may be cut by another team?

Always possible. And I noticed that James Jones is officially on the market.


-----------
Think the rams go with 5 or 6 receivers?

Fisher usually goes with five. But because of the injury situation with Spruce and Cooper, I could see them going with six _ at least early in the season.
----------
What are the chances that WR Brian Quick makes the 53 man roster?

Could be wrong, but I don't think the Rams have many other options at this point.
----------
Tavon Austin has never surpassed 500 yards receiving in a single season. The Rams realize that, right?

I know what you're saying. I'll be curious to see how the money breaks down when the contract is filed with the NFL Players Association. Sometimes the reality of these contracts is different than what's announced. I also realize that the price of signing players only goes up. The Rams want to sign some of their core players and have decided that Austin is part of that core.

What seems like an outlandish contract now, may not seem that way in four or five years. But even saying all that, Austin is being paid like a No. 1 receiver and despite his moments of electric plays isn't anywhere close to a No. 1 receiver. Very interesting to see how Boras/Groh use him this season.


-----------
Is it weird for you that you have not stepped foot in Rams Park in months after being in that building for so many years.

I've been keeping busy so haven't had too much time to think about it. But yes, after 21 years of a certain routine it has been different not being at Rams Park this time of year. A part of me misses watching practice every day.
---------
How did we lose out on a expansion team in the early 90's

Here's the Cliff notes version. The expansion process dragged out so long, that the expansion fee grew to a point where it was out of range for Jerry Clinton, the area beer distributor who was heading the St. Louis effort. James Busch Orthwein, from _ yes _ THAT Busch family, was brought in late as the money man. Clinton held the stadium lease, but didn't have the money to finish out the expansion process. Orthwein had the money, but didn't have the lease. Clinton wanted the power to run the franchise; Orthwein said if I have the money I want final say.

That split couldn't get resolved in time _ Carolina got the first expansion team. After a month's delay _ designed to give St. Louis time to get its act together _ the second expansion team was awarded to Jacksonville, which had dropped out of the expansion derby earlier in the process, but was talked into staying in the race by then NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
------------
Jim, in your opinion would Keenum be able to start for one other team in the NFL?

Well, let's see. Maybe Cleveland, maybe Houston. San Francisco.
-------------
Will Colin K make the 49ers?

It was interesting that Chip Kelly said Kaepernick currently is among the team's top two quarterbacks, which would indicate that yes, he makes the 49ers' final 53. But Kelly also said he doesn't have say over who makes the final roster. So make of that what you will.
----------
Have the Arizona Cardinals made any effort to capture an audience in STL?

Not that I'm aware of.
---------
Back to back games against sf and sea to open should either expose this team or prove they are finally ready to turn the corner. Doesn't 0-2 or 2-0 kinda set the tone in your opinion?

Keep in mind, Fisher's Rams have generally done their best work in the division, and struggled outside the division. With that track record, the worst you want to be after Week 2 is 1-1.
------------
Rams on the path to another 6 or fewer wins season! Defense will be worse with the defection on some key pieces. Offense will still be bad, with no real QB and a poor receiving core. Finally, they have hamstrung the cap with the TA signing.

Let's go Chiefs



We'll see. I came away from my weekend in Irvine at the start of camp thinking they looked like a five or six win team. But they've actually played a little better in the preseason than I thought they would, particularly on offense. And keep in mind, even with the Tavon Austin extension, they should have plenty of money this offseason. I'm wondering if LB Alec Ogletree is the next player due an extension.
-----------
Jim, you're a diligent man. A part of you must despise what this forum has descended into. It's now only 5% football... and the rest cryin' on your shoulder. I've always enjoyed your work, and will continue to read your columns. But this may be my FINAL forum. There's not much of substance here.



Thanks for checking in, and best of luck to you.
----------
Putting aside London, do you see even a glimmer of light at the end of this dark tunnel that suggests a team (like the Jags) could end up in St. Louis in the next 5 years?

I don't see anything happening over the next five years.
---------
Based upon what I see the Rams offensive game plan this year will be Gurley, Gurley, Gurley, punt.



No. 30 certainly will get a lot of work. But the Rams need to pass the ball more effectively to get over the hump.
---------
Also, what was Snead's comment about 'pairing Austin with #30 and our tight ends' all about? What marvelous receiving tight ends do they have?

I have always thought Kendricks was underutilized. And the Rams seem to be very high on draft pick Tyler Higbee, but he has had durability issues in the past.
---------
Is Tony Romo's injury the least surprising development of the NFL preseason? The only person who didn't see this coming was Jerry Jones.



Just the third play of the game for Romo, and it wasn't really a hard hit. Avril was trying to knock the ball out, not hammer Romo. If Prescotts continue to play like he has so far this preseason, maybe Romo's absence won't matter much. But Jerry Jones and the Cowboys front office did seem late to the party when it came to finding a possible successor or at least a competent backup.
-----------
You picking the Cardinals to take the NFC West?

I think you have to pick the Cardinals in the West with Seattle nipping at their heels.
----------
How do you see the rams DL shaking out? Longacre sure looks like a keeper.

Fisher always seems to keep an extra defensive linemen or two on the final roster. So I'd be surprised if Longacre doesn't make the team. That could make five DEs _ Quinn, Hayes, Sims, Westbrooks, and Longacre.

Unless I'm missing something, I see only three DTs right now on the final 53 in Donald, Brockers, and Easley. But keep in mind, Hayes usually slides inside on passing downs and Westbrooks can play inside as well.
-----------
What were the draft picks the Rams gave up to get Goff?

The Rams gave up a first-round, third-round, and two second-round picks in the 2016 draft, plus their first _ and third-rounders in 2017 in exchange for the Titans' first_, fourth-, and sixth-rounders in 2016.
----------
Who will the Rams lock up next, tru, donald

I think Johnson, Donald, and Ogletree are all in the on-deck circle so to speak.
----------
It will be fascinating to watch the Rams train wreck unfold in LA. The LA RAMS fans have no idea what is in store for them. I kind of feel bad but not really.



We'll see. You don't really wish the LA Rams fans 12 straight non-winning seasons do you? Or a five-year stretch of 15-65?
---------
comments on Goff's game 3 play? Also how did Mannion do? seems like he was playing with the 2nd and 3rd string lines.

I've only been able to watch the first half of the Denver game so far, so can't speak on Mannion. I'm sure he was operating behind the second_ and third-teamers though. Goff seemed like he looked a little more poised, but 4 for 12 is 4 for 12, and he was lucky that wasn't a pick 6 by ex-Ram Darian Stewart.
---------
Any word on what will become of the Dome? Cant see it being used for soccer, just maybe they leave it as is, and another team with stadium issues has a place to move?

Don't think it's going anywhere. As the months and years go by without NFL football, I'll be curious to see if it's being used more often for conventions, trade shows, concerts, etc. as the convention center people seemed to indicate would be the case once the Rams left.

With the high school football playoffs not in St. Louis this year _ I think they're in Springfield, Mo. _ and with no Missouri-Illinois or Gateway Classic game, the only football game in the building this season may have been the Legends of the Dome game!
---------
What is your favorite NFL venue in which to cover a game and why, please.

Without a doubt it remains Lambeau Field, because of the history, the tradition, the success of the Green Bay franchise. Although I will say it's lost a little of its charm due to recent renovations. But the atmosphere around the stadium on game day is fantastic, from the Cheeseheads to the hunter's orange later in the season. If I was a burglar, I think I'd operate in Green Bay on a Packers game day.



I'd give the silver medal to CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Game in and game out, it's the noisiest venue in the league with all those over-caffeinated 12s. (There's literally a Starbucks or Tully's on every corner.)



The bronze medal goes to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City _ home of tailgate heaven and the Sea of Red.



Honorable mention to University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona. It took the Bidwills 20 years to get their stadium, but when they finally got it, they did it right. Logistically, the setup is very convenient to the media. And throughout the stadium, they pay homage to their gridiron past in St. Louis, and local football history at all levels. Very well done.
---------
Jim, I wish the LA Rams fans all the successes we have enjoyed in the past decade. May they replicate every single one.

There you have it.

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-4-gLlF0uw

----------
Apparently Teddy Bridgewater was hurt pretty badly today. That's not good for the Vikings. Can AP throw the ball?

Yeah, I just heard that a few minutes ago on Bridgewater. First indications are that it could be serious, although I haven't been able to check the news wires while I've been on this chat. What a blow that would be if he was seriously hurt. I've talked to scouts who think very highly of the Vikings, think they could be a Super Bowl contender.

(I'll check for you, Jim)

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...idgewater-suffers-apparent-injury-in-practice
----------
Jim, does Fisher have the pottiest mouth, so to speak, compared to other Rams coaches? Watching hard knocks, every other word is the F word. Nothing new for hard knocks but Fisher and Co seem to use it 10 times more than others.



Oh, I think he's pretty much mainstream on that. Mike Martz, for example, could cuss up a storm when riled up.
----------
Are the Chiefs Super Bowl contenders? And what are the chances the Chiefs stay on television in the STL area for all 16 games?

Yes, I think they are. Denver's not going to be the same with Siemian, Lynch, or even Sanchez this year. New England has to go one fourth of the season without Brady. Maybe the Steelers make a push if they can stay healthy. But the Chiefs as you saw just got Eric Berry under contract.

Hali and Charles should be ready for the opener. They are a very, very solid club with a very good coach in Reid. As for Chiefs games on regular-season TV, not sure. Depends on the ratings...
---------
Jim, I know as a journalist, you're not supposed to have a rooting interest. But, are there any teams you might follow closer than others going forward?

I'm sure I'll still be keeping my eye on the Rams, but I have always liked the Packers and Steelers, so I'll probably be watching them on Sunday Ticket more.

Our plans are to spend more time covering the teams nearest St. Louis _ Kansas City, Chicago, Indy, Tennessee. We'll still have some Rams coverage as well.
---------
Seems like Goff has a durability issue in addition to having bad pocket awareness. The pressure will be on the Rams to show off their new QB...do you think they may cave in before Goff is ready?

Goff has a slender frame, and if you put the truth serum in Jeff Fisher, I think you'd find a coach who's concerned about keeping his quarterback healthy. Already this preseason, Goff was pulled out of the opener when his shoulder got dinged.

He had X-rays after the Denver game for a tailbone/back issue. Hard to say on when Goff makes his debut. To a degree, it depends on how Keenum is playing _ and he's played pretty well this preseason. But also the won-list record will influence the decision.
----------
Rather have a 15-65 team than no team and apparently so would all the people so upset the rams moved.

I call it the bad pizza theory. Even bad pizza is better than no pizza.


---------
I have been to games at every NFL city through the years and the one thing that always struck me over the years the Rams were here was the lack of any sustained, interesting, unique attempt at involving the fans before, during and after the games. It seems every other team had some sort of clever, unique way to interact with the fans while the Rams had a shopping cart-catching-football-on-a-parachute game that went on for years, fairly lame halftime shows and nothing post-game.

Other venues had pre-game shows (Seattle 12th man and the Baltimore marching band for example) and halftime shows that got the fans early and kept them in their seats. Now I totally understand that we are all their for a football game, but it's like they never made an attempt to actually connect the team to the fans at the one place they had an opportunity to do so. You've been to them all, your thoughts?

There's some merit to what you're saying although I thought the Rams' game-day presentation improved over the years. But some of the things they tried were pretty lame, like having the guy on the scoreboard video _ was it a pro wrestler? _ telling the fans when they should clap. I think if there had been more tailgate areas around the dome it would've helped the entire game-day experience, but much of that space was gobbled up once Lumiere Place came into being.
---------
Hey Jim is Lamarcus Joyner helping this team? I am not a fan

I really liked Joyner coming out of college and he's an interesting person to talk to, very sincere and passionate about the game. But at this point, I'd have to say I was expecting more from him on the field. This is his third NFL season, and usually if you don't see it in season No. 3, it's not going to happen with an NFL player. So this is a key year for him.
----------
Goff does not look like a #1 Draft pick to me! Does he to you?

Not at this point. But that can change.

(Come on man. Goff has played sparingly in three preseason games. And this "He doesn't look like a #1 draft pick" crap begins already. Give the man a chance to develop. Lots of NFL QB's bloomed late in their careers. There's an interesting article on this topic at the link below).

http://www.footballperspective.com/how-long-does-it-take-great-quarterbacks-to-break-out/
------------
What's your take on Kaepernick's protest? Tempest in a teapot? I think we can mostly agree that he's a bit misguided, but what does he hope to accomplish? It doesn't have the same impact when the message is delivered by a 2nd tier player IMHO.

I haven't given it a ton of thought. But I am glad we live in a country where you have the freedom to offer an opinion, even if it's one you may not necessarily agree with. And this is coming from someone who has two Army officers went to West Point knowing they might die for their country in the line of service.

NFL players have a lot of free time in the offseason. And Kaepernick has a lot of money. I'm just wondering if he will actually try to do something about the issue? For example, Aeneas Williams is a preacher in Ferguson, he engages the community and at least in involved in dialogue on the issue and trying to make things better.


---------
Who was the former Rams you thought had the most potential but their career was cut short by injury?

Tight end Ernie Conwell was strong and fast, and had a horrific knee injury, I believe, in '98. Now, he did play for several seasons with the Rams and New Orleans, but it would've been interesting to see what would have happened were it not for the injury. The same holds for Sam Bradford, whom I wrote about Monday after catching up with him in Indy. He was playing some of his best football before both of his knee injuries. I know there were other issues involved, but he did lose 1 1/2 seasons of his career.

And let's not forget about Trent Green and what he might have been able to accomplish in 1999 where it not for that fateful preseason game with San Diego and Rodney Harrison crashing into the back of his leg with a hit that didn't have to be made.
-------
Who were you least favorite Rams players you ever had to deal with? Favorites?

Lawrence Phillips was a headache on multiple levels. As for favorites, too many to mention from Isaac Bruce to Leonard Little, D'Marco Farr, Toby Wright, Warner, Holt, Laurinaitis, William Hayes and on and on. . . .
----------

Is he injured and I missed it? He didn't play at all against the Broncos.

OK-we are into the last week of preseason and the team we saw last week (starters and 2nd stringers) is the 2016 Rams. As a 40 year Rams fan...Here are my thoughts on how the season will transpire:

• Rams will stick with Keenum as long as they are winning. My gut tells me after 6 to 8 games, the Rams will be .500 after a 2 game loosing stretch and it will be time to hand over the team to Goff.
• The defense will have its best year of the Fisher era. They have the talent to be a top 5 unit if the weak CB position can be held down by Gaines.
• The offense will be improved, but far from dynamic. I expect Gurley to gain between 1,700 and 1,900 yards.This will open up the passing game and the new comers; Higbey and Cooper will help create more space for either Gurley running the ball or the QB to find more open receivers. I expect the unit to fall somewhere between 15-20th in most categories.
• The team will field 5-6 pro bowlers in 2016. Donald, Hecker, Gurley will be back and Quinn, Tree and Tru will be added. There my be some others that breakthrough in Austin, TJ and Barron.
• Fisher and Snead will produce enough to be retained. The Rams will toy with a playoff spot all season and with an eventual transition to Goff, the arrows of progress will be pointing into the right direction.
• I am going with a 9-7 record with some breaks possibly leading them to a 10-6.
• After one of the most amazing off seasons (Move, Trade, Hard Knocks), the season will be one of the most satisfying ones in a long time!!

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/08/30/nfl-philadelphia-eagles-2016-scouting-report

Scouting Philadelphia: Carson Wentz Will Be the QB Before Thanksgiving
Is it really such a bold prediction? Sam Bradford has too many flaws to keep the starting job
by Andy Benoit

Carson Wentz will become this team’s starting quarterback before Thanksgiving. If the more experienced Sam Bradford were an old steady veteran, that’d be one thing. But Bradford is up-and-down in several core departments of professional quarterbacking, including: precision accuracy, pocket poise and coverage diagnosing.

He struggled mightily in Chip Kelly’s system early last season, and that’s a system built on basic reads and route concepts. If there had been a high first-round rookie QB behind Bradford last season, he likely would have been benched.

Doug Pederson’s scheme is user-friendly, like Kelly’s, though in slightly different ways. Remember: Bradford, like Wentz, has never played in it before. And while Wentz faced lower level competition at North Dakota State, he still had complete command of that pro-style offense.

He called protections at the line of scrimmage; he adjusted running plays; he made audibles; plus his reads often weren’t dictated by the play design, but rather, by the defensive look. He’s more prepared to play than a typical rookie QB.

http://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-r...ams-te-tyler-higbee-going-back-to-his-wr-ways

Alden Gonzalez

IRVINE, Calif. -- Rookie tight end Tyler Higbee lined up on the outside for 11 of the Los Angeles Rams' snaps in Denver on Saturday. He was isolated on five of those. On two others, he was part of a trips formation. And on four others, he was stationed between two receivers spread out wide.

"I did that a little bit in college," Higbee said, "so it’s cool getting out there and being able to kind of create some mismatches, get a linebacker out of the box or something like that."

Higbee was a wide receiver through high school and during his freshman year at Western Kentucky, before outgrowing the position and transitioning to tight end. He averaged 14.6 yards per reception as a sophomore, junior and senior, compiling 13 touchdowns over a span of 22 games. When he slipped to the fourth round of the 2016 draft -- a product of being arrested for second-degree assault, public intoxication and evading police 18 days earlier -- the Rams took him with hopes that he would contribute immediately.

"We’re putting him in some situations that he wasn’t asked to do in college," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said, "and he's handling it very well."

Higbee caught five passes for 49 yards in the preseason opener, then missed Week 2. He was targeted a team-best six times in Week 3, which ended in a 17-9 loss to the Broncos. Lance Kendricks, who has racked up 1,633 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns over the past five years, remains the primary pass-catching tight end. But the Rams will no doubt utilize the 6-foot-4, 243-pound Higbee, a freakish athlete who can rack up yards after the catch.

Rams running back Todd Gurley previously nicknamed Higbee "Little Baby Gronk," a reference to the Patriots' superstar tight end, Rob Gronkowski.

Higbee, 23, has watched Gronkowski closely in his four years as a tight end. But he's gone back further, pulling up YouTube highlights of Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, who basically re-defined the position.

"He dominated," Higbee said. "I’ve looked him up, watched some of his highlights, some of the things he used to do back in the day. He's a man."

Some additional notes from Monday's practice ...

• Jared Goff, who suffered a bruised tailbone on a vicious tackle from linebacker Vontarrius Dora, and Case Keenum, banged up on a late hit by Aqib Talib, both went through practice unrestricted. Fisher still hasn't mapped out playing time for his top two quarterbacks leading up to the final preseason game in Minnesota on Thursday.
  
  
• Offensive lineman Rob Havenstein, who has been rehabilitating a foot injury, practiced with the team for the first time in training camp, though he was admittedly rusty. Havenstein started 13 games at right tackle as a rookie last season. Fisher hasn't ruled him out for Thursday's preseason game, but it seems unlikely that he will play.
  
  
• The Rams will have Thursdays off in a typical week during the regular season. They used to be off on Tuesdays, like most teams, but have found that players get more out of Thursday off days, because they've had two full practices installing the game plan.
  

So I was just debating myself on what particular thing I absolutely love most watching our current Rams players doing and have a huge debate. I'm trying to decide what gets me most excited when I see a Rams player achieve or get in a certain position that is absolute must see, analyze every split second, edge of your seat, hold your breath and feel that thrill and excitement swell up in you and I think I finally narrowed it down to that split-second Tavon Austin is breaking into the open field is my absolute highest craziness I get.Knowing any and everything can happen with him in which I'm surprised it's not Gurley with being a former running back.

Anybody got theirs?

That split Second you see Gurley get into the open field or
that flash when you see Aaron Donald get into the backfield...
A QB tossing one long?

@-X-

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/gene-wilder-dead-dies-willie-wonka-young-frankenstein-1201846745/

Gene Wilder, ‘Willy Wonka’ Star and Comedic Icon, Dies at 83
Richard Natale

Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83.

His nephew said in a statement, “We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this situation presented we have been among the lucky ones — this illness-pirate, unlike in so many cases, never stole his ability to recognize those that were closest to him, nor took command of his central-gentle-life affirming core personality.

The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so that the countless young children that would smile or call out to him “there’s Willy Wonka,” would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.

He continued to enjoy art, music, and kissing with his leading lady of the last twenty-five years, Karen. He danced down a church aisle at a wedding as parent of the groom and ring bearer, held countless afternoon movie western marathons and delighted in the the company of beloved ones.”

He had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.

The comic actor, who was twice Oscar nominated, for his role in “The Producers” and for co-penning “Young Frankenstein” with Mel Brooks, usually portrayed a neurotic who veered between total hysteria and dewy-eyed tenderness. “My quiet exterior used to be a mask for hysteria,” he told Time magazine in 1970. “After seven years of analysis, it just became a habit.”

Habit or not, he got a great deal of mileage out of his persona in the 1970s for directors like Mel Brooks and Woody Allen, leading to a few less successful stints behind the camera, the best of which was “The Woman in Red,” co-starring then-wife Gilda Radner. Wilder was devastated by Radner’s death from ovarian cancer in 1989 and worked only intermittently after that. He tried his hand briefly at a sitcom in 1994, “Something Wilder,” and won an Emmy in 2003 for a guest role on “Will & Grace.”

His professional debut came in Off Broadway’s “Roots” in 1961, followed by a stint on Broadway in Graham Greene’s comedy “The Complaisant Lover,” which won him a Clarence Derwent Award as promising newcomer. His performance in the 1963 production of Brecht’s “Mother Courage” was seen by Mel Brooks, whose future wife, Anne Bancroft, was starring in the production; a friendship with Brooks would lead to some of Wilder’s most successful film work. For the time being, however, Wilder continued to work onstage, in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in 1963 and “Dynamite Tonight” and “The White House” the following year. He then understudied Alan Arkin and Gabriel Dell in “Luv,” eventually taking over the role.

Wilder also worked in television in 1962’s “The Sound of Hunting,” “The Interrogators,” “Windfall” and in the 1966 TV production of “Death of a Salesman” with Lee J. Cobb. He later starred in TV movies including “Thursday’s Game” and the comedy-variety special “Annie and the Hoods,” both in 1974.

In 1967 Wilder essayed his first memorable bigscreen neurotic, Eugene Grizzard, a kidnapped undertaker in Arthur Penn’s classic “Bonnie and Clyde.”

Then came “The Producers,” in which he played the hysterical Leo Bloom, an accountant lured into a money bilking scheme by a theatrical producer played by Zero Mostel. Directed and written by Brooks, the film brought Wilder an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor. With that, his film career was born.

He next starred in a dual role with Donald Sutherland in “Start the Revolution Without Me,” in which he displayed his fencing abilities. It was followed by another middling comedy, “Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx,” also in 1970.



In 1971 he stepped into the shoes of Willy Wonka, one of his most beloved and gentle characters. Based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” was not an immediate hit but became a children’s favorite over the years. The same cannot be said for the 1974 Stanley Donen-directed musical version of “The Little Prince,” in which Wilder appeared as the fox. He had somewhat better luck in Woody Allen’s spoof “Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex,” appearing in a hilarious segment in which he played a doctor who falls in love with a sheep named Daisy.



Full-fledged film stardom came with two other Brooks comedies, both in 1974: Western spoof “Blazing Saddles” and a wacko adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous book entitled “Young Frankenstein,” in which Wilder portrayed the mad scientist with his signature mixture of hysteria and sweetness.

Working with Brooks spurred Wilder to write and direct his own comedies, though none reached the heights of his collaborations with Brooks. The first of these was “The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother” (1975), in which he included such Brooks regulars as Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman. It was followed by 1977’s “The World’s Greatest Lover,” which he also produced.

Wilder fared better, however, when he was working solely in front of the camera, particularly in a number of films in which he co-starred with Richard Pryor.

The first of these was 1976’s “Silver Streak,” a spoof of film thrillers set on trains; 1980’s “Stir Crazy” was an even bigger hit, grossing more than $100 million. Wilder and Pryor’s two other pairings, “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” and “Another You,” provided diminishing returns, however.

While filming “Hanky Panky” in 1982, Wilder met “Saturday Night Live” comedienne Radner. She became his third wife shortly thereafter. Wilder and Radner co-starred in his most successful directing stint, “The Woman in Red” in 1984, and then “Haunted Honeymoon.” But Radner grew ill with cancer, and he devoted himself to her care, working sporadically after that and hardly at all after her death in 1989.

In the early ’90s he appeared in his last film with Pryor and another comedy, “Funny About Love.” In addition to the failed TV series “Something Wilder” in 1994, he wrote and starred in the A&E mystery telepics “The Lady in Question” and “Murder in a Small Town” in 1999. He also appeared as the Mock Turtle in a 1999 NBC adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland.”

He last acted in a couple of episodes of “Will and Grace” in 2002-03 as Mr. Stein, winning an Emmy.

He was born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee and began studying acting at the age of 12. After getting his B.A. from the U. of Iowa in 1955, Wilder enrolled in the Old Vic Theater school in Bristol, where he learned acting technique and fencing. When he returned to the U.S. he taught fencing and did other odd jobs while studying with Herbert Berghof’s HB Studio and at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg.

Wilder’s memoir “Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art” was published in 2005. After that he wrote fiction: the 2007 novel “My French Whore”; 2008’s “The Woman Who Wouldn’t”; a collection of stories, “What Is This Thing Called Love?,” in 2010; and the novella “Something to Remember You By: A Perilous Romance” in 2013.

Wilder was interviewed by Alec Baldwin for the one-hour TCM documentary “Role Model: Gene Wilder” in 2008. The actor was also active in raising cancer awareness in the wake of Radner’s death.

He is survived by his fourth wife Karen Boyer, whom he married in 1991 and his nephew. His sister Corinne, predeceased him in January 2016.

Before Radner, Wilder was married to the actress-playwright Mary Mercier and Mary Joan Schutz (aka Jo Ayers).

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/08/29/report-seahawks-to-cut-brandon-browner/

Report: Seahawks to cut Brandon Browner
Posted by Josh Alper on August 29, 2016

Getty Images

It appears cornerback Brandon Browner’s second stint with the Seahawks will come to an early end.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the team will release Browner, age 32, as they pare down their roster this week. He returned to the Seahawks in April after being released by the Saints following a dismal 2015 season in New Orleans.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said during the offseason that the team had a hybrid safety/corner role in mind for Browner this season because Browner “matched up well” with tight ends and slot receivers. That idea didn’t play out as well on the field as it did in Carroll’s mind, however, and Browner was passed by others vying for roles in the Seattle secondary.

Neither Browner’s poor 2015 nor his inability to make the Seahawks this summer bode particularly well for him moving forward, although the constant need for cornerbacks could earn him looks with other teams before and after the regular season gets underway.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/08/29/broncos-drop-to-79-players/

The Broncos are trying to find a way to get quarterback Mark Sanchez off the roster while getting something back in return, but they need to drop to 75 players by Tuesday whether they can trade him or not.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/broncos-reportedly-trying-to-do-the-impossible-trade-mark-sanchez/

Broncos reportedly trying to do the impossible: Trade Mark Sanchez
The Broncos no longer have any use for Mark Sanchez
by John Breech

After less than six months, it look likes the Mark Sanchez era in Denver is already coming to a close. According to Pro Football Talk, the Broncos are expected to dump Sanchez by the end of the week.

The team's plan is to try and trade Sanchez, but if that doesn't work, the Broncos will likely cut him sometime before Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, according to PFT. Every team in the NFL has to trim their roster down from 90 to 75 players by Tuesday afternoon.

Sanchez became expendable on Monday after the Broncos named Trevor Siemian as their starting quarterback. Paxton Lynch will serve as Siemian's backup, which left Sanchez as the odd man out.

It's been pretty clear for the past week that the Broncos were going to get rid of Sanchez. The quarterback didn't play a single snap against the Rams on Saturday, which is notable because it was Week 3 of the preseason and starters genuinely play at least a half during Week 3.

Sanchez fell out of favor in Denver after a rough outing against the 49ers in Week 2 of the preseason. The low point of Sanchez's short Broncos career came late in the first half when he fumbled two times in a 45-second span.

"I just squandered a great opportunity to separate myself and I put the team in a bad situation," Sanchez said after Denver's 31-24 loss to San Francisco. "There's no excuse for that, poor, poor quarterback play."

Although the Broncos are looking to trade Sanchez, that's going to be almost impossible. For most teams, there would be no use in making the Broncos a trade offer for Sanchez if they think he's going to be released, because in that case, they could sign him without giving up any compensation after he's cut.

On the other hand, the Broncos could possibly find a trading partner if a desperate team comes calling. For instance, if the Cowboys decided they really, really wanted a veteran backup quarterback while Tony Romo's out.

Anyway, Sanchez might be leaving Denver without a huge highlight reel, but he won't be leaving empty handed: The quarterback's one-year, $4.5 million contract guaranteed him $1 million whether he made the roster or not, so he'll get a nice seven-figure parting gift from the Broncos.

Also, maybe he'll decide to start dating, because being single didn't seem to help him too much. After he was traded from Philly to Denver in March, Sanchez said that he would probably win the Broncos' quarterback job because he's single and has nothing better to do.

What a waste of time not getting this done before camp.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/rich_hammond/status/770320495514226692


Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/rich_hammond/status/770320687957368832

http://www.rotoworld.com/teams/related/nfl/lar/los-angeles-rams

Per rotoworld, Coples has been released..

Sorry Mods in advance if there is a release thread going...

Had high hopes for the guy, but just didn't pan out. Side note tho, how great has the Easley pick up been tho?! Guy has shown some serious upside in our scheme.

I remember my buddy telling me "Aaron Rodgers is going to be a really good qb" I laughed and told him he was a good back up. Man was just wrong! Some guys just need time to adjust to the big stage . I think Goff can use a season behind keenum and keenum has been playing great this preseason . We rams fans know goff has special arm talent and eventually he will get his chance. For the first time in years though I am not concerned about our starting qb , keenum has truly showed us that he can be the guy to lead this team .

I remember there were RODcasts (podcasts) here in the past.

Any chance of a return?

I've been a staunch supporter of Greg Robinson and was very happy when the Rams drafted him. I also knew it was going to be a few years before he would realize his potential in the NFL. Auburn Univ. football program is not noted for its passing attack, and GRob never had to put his hand in the dirt or figure out who to block in an exotic blitz from a defense coached by a guy the caliber of Greg Williams.

Some folks that claim GRob was a bad pick and not performing to their liking may not realize that he is only 23 and the youngest OLineman on the Rams, and would be a rookie if he had stayed in college and finnished his senior year.

Personally, I think GRob has progressed just the way the Rams coaching staff thought he would. And he will get better.

Does anyone still think GRob is a bust or even a bad pick? I'd like to hear from some of the folks who have given GRob a hard time on this forum. You've all been very quiet.

How about a little love for GRob? Rams starting OL is looking good so far, and GRob as the "most improved".

I'm not sure how to post the video by itself.

Another big reason for me to like Fisher.

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.facebook.com/losangelesrams/videos/10153647947030981/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED&qsefr=1

These are only excerpts from this article. To read the whole thing click the link below. The Rams are pretty much excluded except for one pic and a few comments which I bolded, so don't waste your time searching.
***********************************************************************************
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/08/28/colin-kaepernick-national-anthem-49ers-nfl-peter-king

The Kaepernick Aftermath
Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit during the national anthem has ignited debate across the sport, and beyond. What’s next for the Niners QB? Plus much more on Tony Romo, Trevor Siemian and five impressive rookies
By Peter King

Photo: Julio Cortez/AP

Politics. Sports. Cops. Race. The perfect combo platter to inflame America.

And inflame America is exactly what Colin Kaepernick did. The MMQB is in its fourth year. Never has a poll we’ve taken generated more than 1,000 responses, until last night. We asked if you supported Kaepernick’s right to sit during the national anthem. In two hours, 9,630 of you responded.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/SI_PeterKing/status/770034437035810816
Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/SI_PeterKing/status/770034717915803648


It‘s unprecedented. On Sunday afternoon Kaepernick had what observers thought was the longest press briefing with Niners’ media of his five-year career—18-and-a-half minutes—to double-down on the statements he made to Steve Wyche of NFL Media on Friday night. Kaepernick will continue to sit during the national anthem, as his protest of the way blacks are treated in America, even if it costs him dearly as an NFL player.

And he hammered away at police, and the training of police, and police brutality. “You can become a cop in six months,” he said by his locker at the Niners’ training facility, “and you don’t have to have the same amount of training as a cosmetologist. That’s insane. I mean, someone that’s holding a curling iron has more education and more training than people that have a gun and are going out on the street to protect us.”

For the CNN crowd wondering about the scope of this: It’s quite large. There are some 1,200 African-American players who will make NFL rosters this year, and you can count on one finger those who will take on the subject of race in America the way Kaepernick is. The reaction has been intense. Asked about it Sunday afternoon, one NFL head coach said, “My f---ing guys will stand for the anthem! And they want to!”

It also marks Kaepernick’s return to relevance. Three years ago this week, former NFL passer Ron Jaworski said Kaepernick “could be one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.” Since then, Kaepernick’s passer rating has steadily declined: from 91.6 in 2013 to 86.4 in ’14 to 78.5 last year. Early in his career Kaepernick made the kind of throws Brett Favre could make, and the kind of runs Steve Young used to make. But he’s fallen off a cliff the past couple years.

He’s been mediocre to poor this summer for new coach Chip Kelly, Kaepernick’s third coach in three years. No one heard a thing of substance from him in months, until Friday night, after a poor performance against Green Bay, when he told Wyche he wouldn’t stand for the anthem. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he said. (As Wyche told me Sunday: “He spoke with absolute conviction, knowing there’d be backlash.”)

The Niners mobilized Sunday in Santa Clara to address an issue no team in my memory has had to address. Coach Chip Kelly’s 10-man team leadership council met in the morning to discuss the story, and Kaepernick addressed the group and found supportive teammates. Wisely, Kaepernick spoke to a media throng for a long time post-practice, because the issue’s not going away.

He was eloquent, strident and not argumentative making some cogent points, while some of the beat people iPhoned video segments of the interview and sent it out on social media, virtually live. For this one American, I was glued to my laptop while the segments were parceled out.

We also solicited reader comments on Facebook. There were more anti-Kaepernick comments than pro.

Observations:

• Kaepernick might not make the team when final cuts are announced this weekend, which would inflame the situation even more, because the 49ers are rudderless at quarterback and Kaepernick used to be such a star. FOX’s Jay Glazer reported his tenuous roster spot Sunday, and he’s right. Kaepernick is 10-14 with a pedestrian 83.7 rating in the past two years, and he appears to have lost significant weight—he’d be the thinnest starting quarterback in football, for what that’s worth—and he wasn’t any better than his competitor for the job, Blaine Gabbert, in the offseason program and camp.

Gabbert’s fairly certain to be one of the quarterbacks when the final roster is announced. Kaepernick, sixth-round rookie Jeff Driskel and veteran Christian Ponder are in contention for either one or two roster spots. Kaepernick may make it, but it would have to be on faith, because he’s shown Kelly little this summer.

• Money’s not much of a factor, but there’s an asterisk there. Kaepernick had his 2016 salary of $11.9 million guaranteed by being on the roster on April 1, but failing to make the roster would negate his $1.125 million roster bonus. The Niners might be thinking that if Kaepernick suffers an injury that would carry into 2017, he could force the team to pay him $14.5 million guaranteed in 2017; that salary is guaranteed next year on April 1.

• The Niners finish their preseason Thursday night at San Diego, where a heavy concentration of about 95,000 active-duty military personnel live. Though Kaepernick spoke on Sunday of his appreciation for the sacrifice of so many in the military, the fact that he’s not willing to stand for the anthem will anger the community there.

• It’s not logical to suggest to Kaepernick that he sit in the locker room each week until the end of the anthem, so that that every camera in the stadium in this week and in future weeks won’t be focused on him. That would be seen as stifling his right to protest, and the Niners said over the weekend he can do what he wants while he’s on the team. If San Francisco brass told him to stay in the locker room until the end of the anthem, that’s not exactly allowing players to exercise free speech.

• Some teammates could find Kaepernick’s stand a problem. Football’s a team game, emphasizing togetherness. What if the left and right tackles are staunch America-right-or-wrong guys and there’s a rift in the locker room or on the field because of it? Now there’s a problem a coaching staff never thought it would face.

The next chapter in this? No one knows. Expect the Niners to be buttoned up for the next few days; they don’t want to be the MSNBC live shot all week. Expect Kaepernick to focus mostly on trying to make the team this week. And expect other players to be opinionated, and not just in a totally positive way.

Said Tampa Bay tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins: “If you live in America, you have the right to express yourself freely. This is not a Communist country. It’s the land of the free and the home of the brave, and people sacrifice their lives so Americans can have the freedom of speech that he chose to use—regardless how people feel about it. But I think if he’s serious about the problem, he should invest in the black community. He should invest in education. He should invest in Oakland. People have been standing up and saying things, but we need action.”

A postscript: I like Kaepernick’s action. We want players to speak freely and tell the truth—until they do it, and then we want them back in the same boring mold. Good for Kaepernick to exercise his First Amendment right of free speech, which you rarely hear a current player do. For his sake, I hope he has some thick skin this Thursday and on days following, when he’s sure to get pushback on his recent actions.

For people who know the man, this weekend wasn’t a big surprise. Three years ago, Kaepernick told me: “I want to try to break that perfect football mold. I don’t want to be someone who can be put into a category.” In one weekend, he accomplished that.

* * *


Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

There is nothing certain about Tony Romo

After a rough tackle early in the preseason game at Seattle on Thursday night, Tony Romo, 36, got an MRI Friday and discovered he’d fractured a vertebra in his back. The starting job falls now to the 135th pick in the 2016 draft, Dak Prescott of Mississippi State.

Romo faces the frustrating madness of a fourth straight year with a significant injury (disk surgery, two fracture back bones, fractured clavicle, re-fractured clavicle, and now a fractured vertebra), but he did tell one club official over the weekend: “I’m gonna be in Dak’s back pocket to help him. We’re gonna win games with Dak.”

Brave talk. Hasn’t worked that way in the past in Dallas.

Two important points here, from Cowboys COO and director of player personnel Stephen Jones on Sunday afternoon:

• Dallas is all-in with Dak Prescott. Remember the draft-day obsession with Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch? As I reported last spring, the Cowboys spent 67 minutes and 19 phone calls with at least nine teams trying to move up in the draft to take Lynch late in the first round. They failed, settling for Prescott late in the fourth round. Now?

“I don’t think our guys would even consider trading Prescott for Lynch right now,” said Jones. “No, I know they wouldn’t. That’s how much they like Dak right now.” Look for Dallas to pick up a veteran body as a backup—but only to back up Prescott—as players get waived and traded in this week of roster movement.



Romo’s very likely to get his job back when he’s healthy, but … “I can’t imagine a scenario where Tony’s not our quarterback when he’s ready,” Jones said. “But things happen. You know that. You know what happened to Bledsoe and Brady. [In 2001, Drew Bledsoe was KO’d with internal bleeding for most of the season. Unknown Tom Brady relieved him and never gave back the job.) I’m sure Tony’s aware of that. But the reality is, Tony’s going to come back for us and play great, we believe.”

What would have to happen for Prescott to stay under center? No one knows. Dallas doesn’t have a killer early slate (vs. Giants, at Washington, vs. Chicago, at San Francisco, vs. Cincinnati, at Green Bay), but you can’t sit here and say if they go 4-2 or 5-1 Romo wouldn’t get his job back. Put it this way: It’s highly likely that Romo returns as the starter. But that probably shouldn’t be the question. Romo missed 12 games with the twice-fractured clavicle.

He’ll miss up to six games this year with the back break. That would be 18 missed games in one-plus seasons. He’s 36. Romo’s at the point in his career—and has been so abused since mid-2013—that nothing is guaranteed, except again the backup quarterback is more important in Dallas than anywhere else in football.

Backups in Dallas are 1-13 in the past three years.

“It’s a different feel around here this time,” Jones said. “We like what we’ve got behind Tony now. This is still a gut punch. It hurts bad. But I can tell you this time we’re not going to be sitting around worrying when Tony gets back. We can’t say, ‘We need to go 3-3,’ or whatever, with Tony gone. The hell with that. We gotta have a game plan to beat the Giants, and to win every game without him.”

Prescott, of course, has been a godsend. A DUI arrest in March (he was later cleared) pushed him down draft boards, and he’s been the best quarterback by far in the NFL preseason—whatever that means. His 137.8 rating and .780 accuracy rate have blown away the Cowboys. In some ways, he’s almost been too perfect. This story from training camp reflects that: In an 11-on-11 period late in practice, the offense had 10 seconds left to score, and Prescott was the quarterback with the first unit.

He passed to Dez Bryant, and Bryant was supposed to out of bounds immediately so the clock would stop or go to the ground so the offense could call a timeout. But Bryant tried to score instead, was stopped, and the clock ran out. Prescott ran to him and said words to this effect: We know you’re the best receiver in the world and you MIGHT score, but we can’t take that chance. You gotta use your head and get the clock stopped.

That’s a rookie, talking to Dez Bryant. And Bryant, to his credit acknowledged Prescott was right. Prescott grew a lot in the eyes of the starting offense, and the coaches, that day.

What’ll happen now? Prescott wasn’t a great deep-ball thrower at Mississippi State, but he’ll have to do that some to keep the Giants honest on opening day. In a way, this reminds me a bit of the Ravens in 2008. That year, first-year coach John Harbaugh wasn’t planning to start rookie quarterback Joe Flacco, but incumbents Kyle Boller and Troy Smith were hurt, and Flacco had to play.

Baltimore had a great run game and an excellent offensive line, and reliable targets in Derrick Mason and Todd Heap. Dallas is similar with Bryant and Jason Witten. Where the teams differ is that Baltimore’s defense was terrific; the Dallas unit will struggle.

If you saw the Cowboys on Thursday night in Seattle, you saw a preview of how I think Garrett and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan will play: bashing first-round running back Ezekiel Elliott even against the most physical of defenses—Elliot didn’t shy away from challenging Kam Chancellor in the hole—with Prescott relying inordinately on Witten for security. They don’t offer insurance for this kind of thing, as former Cowboy coach Bill Parcells once said, and this is a bad injury for Dallas.

But that why this game’s so maddening to predict. Who can really say Prescott’s not ready? Watching the preseason so far, I’d take my chances opening day with Prescott over Jared Goff, the first pick in the draft. Jerry Jones likes great theater. Well, this isn’t the way he envisioned it, starting the 135th pick in the 2016 draft at quarterback. But he’s got the reality show of the year to open the new season.

* * *


Photo: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

The Trevor Siemian interview

Barring a major surprise, Peyton Manning will be succeeded as quarterback of the Super Bowl champions by a 2015 seventh-round pick who was lucky to be that. Trevor Siemian is the heavy favorite to take the first snap for Denver in the NFL opener in 10 days against the Panthers and reigning MVP Cam Newton.

A bit of a stunner for a guy who, entering the 2015 draft process in Denver, was listed on the scouting department’s “Others’’ category, not even one of the primary 15 prospects the Broncos were investigating for the draft. I talked to Siemian in Colorado on my camp trip.

MMQB: So you tear your ACL late in your senior year at Northwestern. How in the world did you prove to anyone you were draft-worthy?

Siemian: I had my surgery, I think, Dec. 7. I’m thinking about what is going to happen next. My senior year wasn’t going the way I thought it would. It started getting a little bit better toward the end, but then I got hurt. I interned in commercial real estate in college and I interned in medical device sales, and I was thinking, ‘This is why I went to Northwestern. I have a chance to get a job if making it to the next level doesn’t work out.’ I was hedging my bets, if you want to say that.

I think I could have had a job [in commercial real estate] after college somewhere, somehow. But as I was rehabbing, probably my third month of rehab, Denver reached out. Obviously I couldn’t do much with the knee anyway. So I had a little workout where I just did dropback stuff. This is four months after my ACL surgery. My thought was, I’m a fringe guy anyway. So I have to do everything I can to take advantage of every opportunity I can.”

MMQB: When did you first have the idea that you might really have a chance to play here and you weren’t just some insurance policy?

Siemian: Probably OTAs that spring [in 2015]. I was only getting a couple reps; my knee still wasn’t fully right yet. I strung a few throws together in seven-on-seven team drills, and I said, Shoot, I can do this. I have a chance here. As a quarterback you have to have confidence, and I was always confident I could do it, but I just figured I’d try to just get better each day and see where it takes me.

MMQB: I saw you in your first preseason game at Chicago, and your first four throws were downfield—like Gary Kubiak is trying to see right away if you’ve got it in you to play at this level.

Siemian: That’s why I like playing for Kubes and the way we call plays here. I remember last year—my second preseason game—we were at Houston and we get the ball backed up, and the first play he calls is a seven-step play-pass out of the end zone and I’m thinking, Whoa, was that the right call? I loved it. You get in there, cut it loose and be aggressive. That’s our mindset as a team.

MMQB: There’s no way the Super Bowl champs can start a guy with a 119-word Wikipedia page at quarterback, is there? What do you want people to know about you?

Siemian: Not too much. I love playing the game. I love the process, I love being around my teammates and coaches, and I just want to be the best teammate I can be, really. Every game that I go into is the most important game I’ll play.

* * *

The men of summer

This season, The MMQB will partner with the think-tankers at Pro Football Focus to give some morning-after analysis of the most significant events of Sunday’s games in Monday Morning Quarterback. This weekend, always the weekend with the most first-unit snaps of the preseason, I asked PFF founder Neil Hornsby for the five young players who impressed him the most in the first month of their pro careers. His starting five, amazingly enough, begins with a fourth-round quarterback and a fifth-round wide receiver:

Dak Prescott, quarterback, Dallas. Looking at the box-score numbers—39 of 50, 454 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions—it’s easy to see Prescott as the heir apparent to Tony Romo. But as our Steve Palazzolo points out in this article, there are at least a few cautionary signs. That said, for a rookie to grade as well under pressure as when kept clean (as Prescott has) is a very encouraging sign and one that has Cowboy fans staying away from the ledge.

Tajae Sharpe, wide receiver, Tennessee. One of the most predictive stats we have for receivers is yards per route run (YPRR). You take a receiver’s yards (163, in Sharpe’s case), divide it by the number of routes he’s run (34), and you come up with 4.79—the highest in the NFL this preseason. This stat worked well last year in assessing the potential of Jordan Reed. But it’s not just the numbers; operating almost exclusively on the outside, Sharpe is also our third-graded receiver overall, operating in the upper echelon with the likes of Allen Robinson and Mike Evans. Not bad for a guy who played for UMass in the Mid-American Conference.

Ronnie Stanley, left tackle, Baltimore. Three games, three starts, 81 snaps (51 in pass protection) and only a single quarterback-hurry allowed. He’s also not been penalized and blocked pretty well in the running game. It’s pretty hard to conceive how the first-round pick from Notre Dame could have expected a better introduction to NFL life.

Chris Jones, defensive tackle, Kansas City. Playing mostly the disruptive three-technique spot (53 of 61 snaps), Jones has been by far our top-rated interior defensive lineman. The second-round choice from Mississippi State (37th overall) has gotten consistent pressure (at least two hurries in every game) and been PFF’s fifth-rated run defender as well. If this continues, Jones may end up being the steal of the draft.

Vernon Hargreaves III, cornerback, Tampa Bay. The Bucs traded down in the first round to get Hargreaves at No. 11, and he has more than justified his spot so far. It’s rare for stat lines to tell an adequate story but maybe this is one of those times. Playing right corner and in the slot, Hargreaves has been in coverage for 54 opposition dropbacks. He’s been targeted eight times, allowed one reception for two yards, intercepted two balls and knocked down another. The passer rating against him: 0.0.

Pro Football Focus grades every player on every play, and 23 teams buys their services. You can too, for fun or for fantasy football prep—or both.

* * *

Notes from Preseason Week 3

Keeping in mind that the preseason should be conclusion-free...

• Embattled rookie Bucs kicker Roberto Aguayo lasered a 48-yarder Friday night at home, which is good—because he would have been booed back to Tallahassee had he shanked another one. Would have been plenty good from 60.

• Ben Roethlisberger’s in November form: 14 straight no-huddle plays, scoring drive, first series of the preseason.

• Impressed with three first-unit defenses: New England, Pittsburgh and Buffalo. It took a ridiculous catch by a Steeler-blanketed Willie Snead for the Saints to get off the schneid after 20 frustrating offensive minutes Friday night. The Patriots frustrated Cam Newton from the jump in Charlotte, shutting out the Panthers in the dress-rehearsal first half. And Buffalo, with several front-liners hurt, shut out the opposition (Indy, Giants, Washington) for the first 11 possessions of first unit-versus-first unit this summer, until Kirk Cousins strafed the Bills late in the first half Friday night.

• The Chiefs have had a good summer in terms of getting healthy—and, presumably, that means Eric Berry playing opening day against San Diego after his summer holdout—and the defense will be good enough. But everyone who’s been through Chiefs camp says Alex Smith, in his fourth season with Andy Reid, has had a boffo off-season. If Smith is efficient and can stay healthy and focused on making three or four more downfield throws a game, Kansas City will be a January factor.

• The Demaryius Thomas one-handed, in-stride-while-his-left-hand-is-being-held, incredibly routine-looking catch Saturday night? Insane.

• Forget the anthem controversy: Colin Kaepernick played poorly against Green Bay on Friday night, and Blaine Gabbert was barely better. Chip Kelly will probably start Gabbert, but with the Rams, Panthers and Seahawks in the first three games, the Niners have a chance to be really bad in the passing game early and often.

• One of the quiet storylines from the preseason has been the quick adjustment of Ryan Tannehill to Adam Gase’s offense in Miami. You can tell when a quarterback’s comfortable in an offense, and when I watched Tannehill on tape in Week 2 at Dallas, I saw a decisive player making the right decisions. The interesting thing about this is how multifaceted the Gase offense is, and how quickly Tannehill has taken to it.

Gase’s offense has some Tom Moore/Peyton Manning inventiveness to it, some Josh McDaniels/Patriots chameleon to it, some West Coast to it. “One of the things Peyton said to me in Denver was, ‘You can always know how much a guy can see in an offense by not drawing it up—but just by talking about it,’ ” Gase told me Saturday. “So you know a guy knows it, just when you talk about it and you’re on the same page and it’s clear. That’s how I am with Ryan. He embraced everything in the offense from day one. He was, How do I do this better?

Right away I knew how much he was invested. Already it’s showing up. His decision-making has been good—he’s been getting the ball out quick. He has a feel when he can change something, and I’m trusting him with that. We’re all still learning. It’s going to be a while before we get too exotic. But it’s encouraging, what we’ve seen so far.”

• Gase, by the way, is very high on fourth-year wideout Kenny Stills, who has had a big summer in South Florida.

• After Giants kicker Josh Brown was suspended one game by the NFL for domestic abuse, how exactly does USA Today find out more about the case than the league? And why is a player not suspended longer for violating terms of a protective order issued to protect his wife? Brown allegedly violated that order in 2015. One game for Brown is just too light.

• Ezekiel Elliott visited a marijuana dispensary while the Cowboys were in Seattle. Memo to Zeke: You probably don’t want to be random-tested in the NFL’s substance-abuse program. Sort of cuts in on your freedom, being tested up to 10 times a month.

• Teddy Bridgewater looked terrific in the first football game at the new Vikings stadium Sunday afternoon. The San Diego defense did not.

* * *

“You suck 75! What the f--- is that 75?!!! Shouldn’t be in the league!!!”

—Rams offensive line coach Mike Waufle, in last week’s “Hard Knocks’’ episode on HBO, screaming at number 75 for the Chiefs, tackle Jah Reid, after a questionable block by Reid of the Chiefs knocked Los Angeles defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks from the game.

* * *

Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me

Cleveland drafted six players in the first round from 2011 to 2014.

None start for the team in 2016. Five are gone. The remaining one is a hugely disappointing backup—cornerback Justin Gilbert.

Gone: Phil Taylor, Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Barkevious Mingo, Johnny Manziel.

That’s an astounding, all-time level of draft failure. But you knew that already.

Cleveland! I’ve got good news!

The only team in the past quarter-century to have 21 draft choices in the first five rounds over two drafts combined is the Cowboys, in the 1991 and ’92 drafts.

Cleveland is slated to have 21 draft picks in the first five rounds of the 2016 and 2017 drafts.

The Cowboys used many of those 21 players to help the franchise win three Super Bowls.

Dallas had 12 such in 1991 and nine in 1992, and used those picks to buttress the offensive triplets. Key guys: Russell Maryland, Alvin Harper, Erik Williams, Dixon Edwards, Kevin Smith, Robert Jones and Darren Woodson. (They also got Leon Lett and Larry Brown late in ’91.)

Cleveland had 13 picks in the top five rounds last spring. After dealing Barkevious Mingo to the Patriots on Thursday for a fifth-round pick in 2017—another horrible waste of a high pick—the Browns are scheduled for eight picks in the first five rounds next year. (That could change, based on compensatory picks next year and the end of a trade with Philadelphia.)

So now, in order to win three Super Bowls, all the Browns have to do is choose as well as Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones did at the start of their great run in Dallas. And make up for the fact that Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith were the Cowboys’ top picks in the three drafts before ’91. Unless Corey Coleman, Cody Kessler and Duke Johnson turn into Hall of Famers, of course.

* * *

Nine Things I Think I Think

1. I think you’ll see some fun new things at The MMQB this fall, and one of the things I’m excited about is Emily Kaplan’s weekly college football column (with a twist), beginning this week. I say with a twist because I’ve asked Emily to write each week about college football with an eye on the NFL—who’s the hot coach we might see next in pro football, who’s the next Carson Wentz, etc.

Emily has the kind of reporting style that just finds good stories, so I’m excited to see her sink her teeth into a college column. That showed up in her debut column, which we’ll publish this week. She interviewed Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, and here’s a sneak preview—Saban, after a decade away, on whether he’d return to the NFL one day:

“I guess there was a time, when I said, ‘Okay, if you win a national championship in college, because I was a pro coach for however many years, it's time to go win the Super Bowl.’ That would make my career complete. But when I did that [went to the NFL, with the Dolphins in 2005], I found out that I missed some of these things about college that were really important to me.

So you learn about yourself. I just decided when I came back here, I wasn’t going to think about [pro football] anymore. I used to think at the end of the day, being a head coach in the NFL was the number one thing. But when I got to that, it was like, well, maybe you already had the number one thing for you and what you like.”

Much more Saban on Wednesday at The MMQB.

2. I think, not to be repetitive (see my Aug. 1 column), it’s remarkable how MIA Roger Goodell has been this summer. Goodell’s 10-year anniversary of taking office as commissioner (voted into the job on Aug. 8, 2006; officially replaced Paul Tagliabue on Sept. 1, 2006) is Thursday, and the commissioner has been downright invisible this preseason.

No notation of the Goodell anniversary by the league—not a word. No public appearances by him in training camp. A brief public sighting and local TV interview in the first game in Los Angeles. But none of the usual klatches with reporters that has marked his tenure. I’m guessing the NFL figures there’s no point in sending him out to face the same line of questioning that has gotten him nothing but headaches in the past two years. But somehow the NFL’s got to change the narrative with Goodell and put him out there for the public to see.

3. I think the NFL is interested in the NFL Players Association seriously engaging in a deal to chip away at Goodell’s disciplinary power. Maybe that’s why the NFLPA isn’t being aggressive in seeking that right now; the union knows it has the upper hand publicly with Goodell under attack.

4. I think it is far too early to sound any alarms—three preseason games are just that—but I would like to see Jared Goff a little better than completing 48 percent of his throws, with one touchdown in 13 possessions, and a shaky presence (at least last week against the Chiefs) when he’s hanging on to the ball trying to make plays. That’s a good trait at times, but it can also make a young quarterback turnover-prone. The Rams almost certainly will start Case Keenum to open the season, and there’s no question it’s the right call by Jeff Fisher.

5. I think this is not what the Bears had in mind entering the season, under the new offensive regime of Dowell Loggains in the three exhibitions so far: 12 series, six three-and-outs, two games with the first offense shut out, one touchdown, one field goal. Chicago opens at Houston, which had the best defense statistically in the last nine weeks of last season.

6. I think one of the underrated X-factors of the early season is the availability, or lack thereof, of Cincinnati tight end Tyler Eifert after May ankle surgery. The Bengals think Eifert could be ready to play as early as Week 4, which is probably optimistic. But the problem is Cincinnati’s first three games: at Jets, at Steelers, Denver at home.

The Jets had the fourth-rated defense in the NFL last year, the Broncos ranked first, and the Steelers, well, that’s the kind of rivalry game where you can throw the personnel out the window. (Can’t help it: That’s how an old coach once referred to a rivalry game with me, and I’ve never forgotten it.) I’m just saying: The Bengals need all hands on deck, including their second-biggest target, and won’t have Eifert through much or all of September.

7. I think it’s always a good day when “Football Outsiders Almanac” arrives. Why? Here are a few examples why I love what Aaron Schatz and his crew do:

a. The Seattle Seahawks have been by far the best drafting team of the past five years, according to Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value stat. Seattle has 637 games started from 2011-2015 draft picks, more than any other team.

b. The Giants have had the worst health in the league for three straight years, according to Football Outsiders' Adjusted Games Lost metric, which measures starters and important situational players based on how they are listed on each week’s injury report.

c. Adam Vinatieri, who turns 44 in December, has 27 field goals of 50-plus yards in his career. He's had more of these long field goals in the past four years (15) than in his first 16 NFL seasons combined (12).

d. Cards cornerback Patrick Peterson led the NFL in both of the cornerback metrics that Football Outsiders figures from game-charting data—adjusted yards per pass and adjusted success rate. Arizona opponents threw a league-low 19.5 percent of passes to their No. 1 receivers.

e. New Orleans had the worst defense measured by Football Outsiders' DVOA since at least 1989, a remarkable feat (remarkably sad feat?) considering that DVOA is normalized to each season’s offensive level and therefore corrects for the fact that offenses in general are better now than they've ever been in NFL history.

f. Warning for Chicago’s Kevin White and Baltimore’s Breshad Perriman: You would think one lost season would not torpedo a player's entire career, but the record of first-round wideouts who miss most of their rookie seasons is terrible. Including White and Perriman (both out all last season with knee injuries), there have been 25 first-round wideouts who played in fewer than 10 games in their rookie seasons. Only four of those receivers (Santana Moss, Haywood Jeffires, Mike Quick, Frank Lewis) eventually had a 1,000-yard receiving season.

g. The rate of pressure faced by Tom Brady has gone up for three straight seasons: 15.5 percent of pass plays in 2012, 20.3 percent in 2013, 22.5 percent in 2014, and 25.7 percent in 2015.

h. The Eagles ran zero draw plays in 2015.

i. If you like to see good tackling, don't go to a Tampa Bay game. Based on Football Outsiders’ charting, the Bucs ranked fifth in the league in broken tackles on offense last year, but also missed more tackles than any other defense.

j. Come on! How about the draw-play stat in Philadelphia? The Giants’ health? The pressure faced by Brady? That’s good stuff. Want to read more? You can buy a PDF version or the actual book.

8. I think, for one week at least, crisis averted with Roberto Aguayo.

9. I think the outpouring of support for Don Banks—laid off last week at SI.com and Sports Illustrated after a 16-year run at the company—was so notable that I asked him to jot down his thoughts about the reaction. I did this because every time I’d talk to him in the wake of the stunning news, he’d tell me about all the people who’d reached out with such support. Here’s what he sent me:

“The small, neat envelope arrived on Friday, and contained a warm, handwritten note of encouragement from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, in the same unmistakable Tomlin-speak we’ve come to know so well. On Thursday afternoon, there was an out-of-the-blue phone call, this time from an old friend who wanted to wish me well, offer me his help, and let me know he was thinking of me during this difficult week.

You wouldn’t think ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, waging his months-long battle with throat cancer, would have time to worry about much of anything else. But he made time, and that’s part of what makes Mort the kind of guy anyone would be lucky to claim as a friend. Welcome to my world these days, which has routinely left me blown away and overwhelmed by the well wishes and support of so many good people. It seems counterintuitive, but the reality is, I’ve just experienced one of the best weeks of my life, even though I just got let go.

“If you ever require a self-esteem boost, strangely enough, try getting canned. Because that’s when you find out who your real friends are, and I’m almost speechless when I take a recent head count. I’ve started to think that everyone should go through this at least once in his career, although I realize how ridiculous that probably sounds. But for me, losing a job has been a little like getting a preview of one’s eulogy, with time enough to appreciate and enjoy it.

At a dizzying pace, via text, email, Twitter, Facebook, phone or mail, I’ve heard from scores of media colleagues, NFL club front office members, coaches, agents, team public relations officials, old friends, loyal readers and listeners, and even one former Super Bowl-winning quarterback. (Thank you, Brad Johnson. You always were a class act.)

My week unexpectedly morphed into one long Don-apalooza, and every time I think I’ve heard from everyone I could possibly hear from, some one else checks in on me, in an effort to help me through this first-time career event. Like the AFC general manager who called me while I was waiting in line at our neighborhood sandwich shop, inviting me to come and spend a couple days around his club if I so desired.

Or the NFC club executive who reminded me of a talk we had at the Super Bowl in February, about the new opportunities and career paths he foresaw in media in the years ahead. That chat seems much timelier now.

“Many contacted me to just tell me what my work has meant to them over the years, and to remind me that a new chapter awaits somewhere else. Saying thank you doesn’t say nearly enough. But my heartfelt thanks is what I had to offer. This too shall pass, and no two weeks are ever the same, but it’s humbling to know that so many people care.

And to try to make sense of how I managed to add almost 1,000 new Twitter followers since announcing the news of my departure last Sunday. Clearly I should have tried this years ago. My popularity seems to be in direct proportion to my dwindling days left at SI, but then again, maybe that’s the right time to make an exit.

“I’ve had a week to absorb the news, and I still can’t believe it. Not the job. Those will come and go. What I have lived through this week, I wish everyone could experience at least once.”

Very good on you, people.

According to a tweet by QB Dylan Thompson, he was cut today by the Rams....

https://www.seccountry.com/south-carolina/former-gamecock-dylan-thompson-released-by-the-rams

LA Rams Preseason 3 Games

RECEIVING STATISTICS

Player..............Rec/Yds.. YPC..TD

Lance Kendricks 6 /62.. 10.3.. 0
Tyler Higbee 6 /60.. 10.0.. 0
Brian Quick 6 /55.. 9.2.. 0
Nelson Spruce 6 /51.. 8.5.. 1
Aaron Green 6 /50.. 8.3.. 1

Kenny Britt 5 /55.. 11.0.. 0
Paul McRoberts 5 /44.. 8.8.. 0
Chase Reynolds 4 /32.. 8.0.. 1
Malcolm Brown 3 /20.. 6.7.. 1
Pharoh Cooper 2 /30.. 15.0.. 1

Temarrick Hemingway 2 /29.. 14.5.. 0
Justice Cunningham 2 /11.. 5.5.. 0
Benny Cunningham 1 /20.. 20.. 0
Mike Thomas 1 /14.. 14.0.. 0

Austin Hill 1 /7.. 7.0.. 0
Duke Williams 1 /4.. 4.0.. 0
Bradley Marquez 1/ -1.. -1...0

.

Sorry but maybe someone can post the video. I can't from this device.