FOX NFL SUNDAY & FOX NFL KICKOFF NOTES – 10/4/15
Terry Bradshaw: “Kaepernick Has Lost His Confidence”
Howie Long on Cam Newton/Ed Hochuli: “There Is A Shaquille O’Neal Kind Of Effect With Cam”
Jay Glazer: Bears Are Not Having A ‘Fire Sale’
FOX NFL SUNDAY
Terry Bradshaw points to Colin Kaepernick losing his offensive coordinator and his confidence as reasons why he’s been ineffective thus far this season: “He [Kaepernick] lost his offensive coordinator in Greg Roman, who is now in Buffalo. Look at the emergence of Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor and you can understand just how important an offensive coordinator is. Kaepernick has lost his confidence.”
Howie Long discusses the controversy the emerged between Cam Newton and official Ed Hochuli, suggesting Newton’s size affects the way officials call his games: “What I’m hearing was said was something to the effect of, ‘You’re not going to get that call on that play because you’re a runner.’ There is a Shaquille O’Neal kind of effect with Cam, because Cam is so big and physical. You don’t treat him like every other quarterback. You’re not overtly trying to treat it that way, but I think subconsciously you do.”
GLAZER’S SUNDAY SCOOP
FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer reports that Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is active for today’s game against the Oakland Raiders: “Jay Cutler, as we told you last week, actually has a tear in that hamstring. The doctors originally told him, ‘You’ll be out four to six weeks.’ Jay said, “I know my body better than anybody else, I’ll be back in two.” Turns out he does know his body better than anybody else and he is back today. He is starting now, but he will be limited somewhat in his mobility as he is still not 100 percent, but Jay Cutler is toughing it out.”
Glazer provided an update on Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who will start tonight’s game against Dallas after being inactive last week with a shoulder injury: “Drew Brees, I talked to him yesterday and he said, ‘I’m good to go. I made every throw I possibly had to, I’ve got the swelling and inflammation down in that shoulder and I’ve got the arm strength back.’ In fact, Sean Payton said, ‘I was waiting to see Friday, because I didn’t want it to be a situation where we had to pull him out of a game, but that’s not the case, he was able to make every single throw and we’re confident that he’s good to go.”
Glazer says Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor is battling an ankle injury that is more serious than people realize: “You guys talked about Tyrod Taylor. He has actually been nursing an ankle injury all season long. He showed up on the injury report this week and hasn’t missed any time, but he is way worse off than people know. In fact, this week, Rex Ryan had to move practice onto grass just to help protect his ankle. Rex said, ‘He’s not 100 percent. When he is, watch out for this kid’s talent.’”
Glazer reports that despite the trade of Jared Allen this past week, the Chicago Bears are not having a fire sale or looking to trade away other veteran players: “No it’s not true, but the rest of the league thought there was as well, so all of these GMs started calling the Chicago Bears and were talking about Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, Willie Young and [the Bears] were saying, ‘No, the big thing was that [Jared Allen] didn’t fit what we were doing. He was an older guy, standing up as an outside linebacker, we knew he didn’t fit, he knew he didn’t fit, that was the one guy where we were looking to move on from.’ Now, the other thing they were saying was, ‘We are not having a fire sale, but, if you want to send us a great offer for somebody, we’re listening.’”
Jimmy Johnson says Brees’ early-season struggles are due to a lackluster offensive line and Brees no longer having Jimmy Graham to throw to: “Drew Brees has been a great quarterback in this league for a long time. This year, in the first two games, Drew Brees had just two touchdowns, two interceptions and six sacks so he’s struggling. He has a shaky offensive line and no Jimmy Graham.”
Johnson stresses the importance of the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line for quarterback Brandon Weeden throwing the ball down the field: “Dallas wants Weeden to throw the ball down the field. The problem is he’s not a very mobile quarterback, so that offensive line is going to have to protect him if they’re going to throw down the field.”
In previewing today’s Broncos vs. Vikings game, Terry Bradshaw made a strong statement about Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner: “It’s Wade Phillips, the defensive coordinator for Denver against Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who is one of the top five offensive coordinators in the last 30 years in the NFL.”
Following last week’s win over the New York Jets, Howie Long doesn’t see the Philadelphia Eagles as having solved their problems yet: “They stopped the bleeding, but the issues that were there a couple weeks ago are still there. I don’t believe Sam Bradford is necessarily comfortable at this point in the offense. Their protection has been bad, third-down conversions have been bad and they’ve dropped footballs. They lack explosive plays. With this offense, it all comes back to one thing: the ability to run the football which takes care of third downs and takes care of the protection. Running the football also takes care of having explosive plays when that safety is forced to drop down in the box. The defense has been really good so that has been one positive.”
FOX NFL KICKOFF
Colin Cowherd chooses the New York Giants as his best team in the NFC East: “The Giants are good when you don’t expect it and underachieve when you expect them to be good. I love the Giants. They have the best coach. They have the best front office and ownership. They have the best player, Odell Beckham. I love their playmakers and they don’t have a problem they can’t solve. This is the most underrated team in the league.”
Randy Moss feels the 49ers offensive play-calling doesn’t run enough motion offense to help Colin Kaepernick: “[Kaepernick] doesn’t read defenses well. From a coaching standpoint, they could make Kaepernick’s job a little easier by running motion which helps to dictate if the defense is playing man or zone.”
Michael Strahan is in awe of what Aaron Rodgers has accomplished this season: “He has mastered the offense. He has the control and confidence of his team, which is totally the opposite of what Kaepernick is going through.”
Champ Bailey comments on the 3-0 Denver Broncos, his former team: “It’s a great start but lets be real here. They [Broncos’ defense] haven’t played a top ten offense yet. I want to see what they do today against Adrian Peterson. On the offensive side, the Broncos have to get a run game going. Peyton Manning has been sacked eight times. He’s on pace to be sacked 40-plus times and never in his career has he been sacked more than 30 times.”
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