Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was injured in a very strange fashion by diving to catch an overthrown Hali Mary attempt on the last play of the first half. He hurt his shoulder and was unable to return, according to ESPN. Both are scheduled for MRIs this Monday.
Defender Kevin Vickerson also went down with a hip injury the second half but didn't return. As his teammates, Vickerson will undergo tests on Monday. Special teamer Omar Bolden sustained a concussion and will be assessed throughout the week, per Jack Del Rio.
Speaking of concussions, the Oakland Raiders suffered a pair in their loss against the Tennessee Titans. A tight-end Mychal Rivera along with cornerback Mike Jenkins both had to take off with head injuries. The Raiders playing on Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys, it is extremely unlikely that either of them will play.
The Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons each also have Super Bowl aspirations in 2013. so Thursday Night Football's matchup between the two teams was a peek into the best matchup for the upcoming Madden NFL 24 season.
The starters, however, didn't offer much excitement. Andy Dalton and Matt Ryan each only played a small amount throughout the game. Ryan was the more effective of the two quarterbacks in the starting lineup with a 6-for-9 performance for 89 yards. The Falcons took a 3-0 lead because of it.
Josh Johnson entered for the Bengals and the offense was able to take off. Johnson did the majority of the damage on his legs, rushing up to four times in 64 miles. He also completed nine of his 16 attempts to pass for 100 yards and a touchdown.
A pair of new running backs got things moving to the Bengals. Second-rounder Giovani Bernard only averaged 2.8 yards per carry but scored an touchdown at the one-yard line. Rex Burkhead helped keep the team's offense going during the second quarter, rushing at least nine times, netting 52 yards.
The Falcons displayed the lack of depth during the second half and Cincinnati managed to pull away to win by 24 points. The final score of 34-10 was somewhat lopsided, however the game was fairly even until the second- and third-stringers began dominate the game.
In other Falcons developments, Brian Banks, who spent five years in prison was able to play during the second half. He is said to be progressing very well during the training camp and is now battling for a roster spot.From the perspective of Washington in 2012. what this team had been doing was logical. Griffin appeared to be an extraordinary quarterback out of college. He was strong and had an accurate arm, an ability to make decisions, ability to move quickly and with a high level of intelligence. He also had a wide smile and charming personality. He was, from a Madden NFL 24 Draft perspective a player you can't miss.
And when he glanced in the rearview reflection... He was missing.
This is an overall lesson concerning the Madden NFL 24 Draft. Don't place all your eggs in one basket. It's pretty easy to have things fail with just one player. Despite all his talent the aforementioned injuries and political machinations turned the dream beginning of his Washington career into a nightmare. Any given player is so uncertain that you're better off diversifying your investments, as it's more difficult for things to go wrong with the entire team of players. The most effective way to select efficient players out of your draft is not to get the best pick. The goal is to get the best selections and also the best chances to pick players who aren't likely to fail.
But at least when Washington traded for the number. 2 pick, they were receiving a quarterback who everyone believed would be successful.
None of the players in this class fits that description. The Rams are said to be in search of an experienced quarterback, but everyone agrees that a player who plays quarterback isn't the best player in this season's draft, or even among those top three. Even if selecting a player, no one truly stands out from the other players: Draft experts are pretty evenly divided on what the top quarterback this year is Wentz or Jared Goff.
There was debate about Griffin or Andrew Luck in 2012. as well as a debate on Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota last year, however, this one is a completely different debate. The two were highly anticipated prospects battling to be considered the top. This is a crop of good prospects, and we aren't sure which has the most potential to be successful.
The week before, Bill Barnwell of ESPN described how in a lottery-like draft "the most efficient strategy is to have many more lottery tickets." The RG3 trade was possibly the best example of that in the past, but losers from that deal seem to be ignoring the information. It could be that it works out but the Rams should have a better idea.
The Chargers might be able to trade Philip Rivers, but they'd probably screw that up too.
LaDainian Tomlinson believes that the Chargers should sell Philip Rivers. It is said that the Chargers are in rebuild mode and should trade Philip Rivers instead of ruin his entire career. Does that sound like a realistic option?
It is logical in the simplest of terms. The Chargers have been, yet again an absolute mess, losing three games in excruciating manner by blowing their fourth-quarter lead. Rivers isn't a part of the problem. He's getting 68.8% of passes. He averages 7.8 yards per pass and has 1.110 yards. He also scored seven touchdowns, and one interception.
The Chargers signed Rivers to a four-year, $83 million extension this year, however his structure in the deal does not make it prohibitive for trading him. The cap-to-cap hit won't exceed $22 million until this year, so it's possible for a team to get out of the contract after 2018.
But then again, the Chargers really require as much fan support as they are able to get ... something they're not very good at after going through so many losses lately in the Bosa holdout , and that all-consuming threatening of relocation thing.
