FOX NFL SUNDAY NOTES – 11/30/14
Glazer: 49ers Will Attempt To Trade Head Coach Jim Harbaugh This Offseason
Strahan: “Tom Brady Has Done More With Less Than Any Other Quarterback In The League”
Moss Chooses His Top-Five Rookie Wide Receivers
FOX NFL KICKOFF on FOX Sports 1
FOX NFL insider Mike Garafolo reports on whether the NFL would consider changing the playoff format to prevent a team with a losing record from hosting a playoff game. Given records of teams in the NFC South, this scenario is possible this season. “The chances of this changing are not very high and that surprised me. I checked in with a couple owners this week and I said, ‘We’ve got a division that’s probably going to be the weakest one that we’ve ever seen. Don’t you think that there is going to be some momentum to change this now?’ Again, remember, they’re thinking about adding a playoff team, so they are thinking about changing the format overall.”
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw joined FOX NFL KICKOFF to compare quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers who face off at Lambeau Field today: “The first thing I’ve always said about quarterbacks is, you’ve got to have poise. So therefore, the ability to operate under pressure and both are excellent at that. They both have great pocket presence and are both great leaders. The only difference would be that Rodgers is a better athlete.”
Former head coach Dave Wannstedt provided insight into what former Washington
Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan did to help Robert Griffin III adjust to the NFL early in his career: “He sent his offensive coaches down to Baylor and they met with the Baylor coaches. They [Washington] then incorporated some of the Baylor terminology into the offensive playbook.”
Six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Randy Moss on what team will win the NFC West division: “The Arizona Cardinals will win that division. The Seattle Seahawks will get in as a wild card, but the Cardinals with what head coach Bruce Arians is doing, he’ll have them going in the right direction.”
From FOX NFL SUNDAY on FOX
Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice won his appeal of an indefinite suspension and has been reinstated to the NFL. NFL on FOX insider Jay Glazer reported on whether rumors that the New Orleans Saints will sign him are true: “No, absolutely false. The New Orleans Saints have zero interest in bringing in Ray Rice and they will say as much after today’s game. You’ve got to understand, Ray Rice plays the position of running back where there is not a big premium. He’s also had a lot of wear on his tires. If he was 22 or 23, there might be some more teams that would be open to him.”
Host Curt Menefee followed up, asking Glazer if any team was interested: “Teams have to weigh signing Ray Rice and the circus that comes with it and the value of signing Ray Rice along with him, the production value. Teams were so outraged when this first went on. In fact, I had one head coach tell me this morning, ‘We want nothing to do with Ray Rice because we don’t want our female fan base to all of a sudden hate us. This week, you’re going to see Ray Rice come out, tell his side publicly, hope to garner some favor back in the American public. It only takes one team to take a flyer on him.”
NFL on FOX analysts Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan debate which quarterback they would take right now – Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady.
Johnson: “I’m going to go with Aaron Rodgers. He’s got the mobility, the release, he’s got it all.”
Strahan: “Tom Brady has done more with less than any other quarterback in the league over the course of his career.”
NFL on FOX insider Glazer reported on if the San Francisco 49ers will fire head coach Jim Harbaugh before the end of this season: “As ugly as it is right now with Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers, no. The plan right now is to try to trade Jim Harbaugh this offseason. He has one year left on his contract. After the season, even though he’s not going to be back, you might as well get some value for him. They’ve done it with Herm Edwards getting traded to the Chiefs and Jon Gruden was traded to the Bucs. It’s been done before.”
FOX NFL SUNDAY analyst Howie Long discusses the style of offense that Robert Griffin III’s next team will have to play: “Whatever team picks him up is going to have to tailor their offense to a certain extent, to RG3. He’s going to have to find a way to stay healthy. How does he stay healthy? The first thing I would do is put cut-ups of about 400 of Russell Wilson’s plays. This style of playing, with a mobile quarterback, keeps you playing week to week.”
FOX NFL KICKOFF analyst Randy Moss joined FOX NFL SUNDAY to give his top five rookie wide receivers:
- Mike Evans (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Sammy Watkins (Buffalo Bills)
- Odell Beckham Jr. (New York Giants)
- Brandin Cooks (New Orleans Saints)
- Kelvin Benjamin (Carolina Panthers)
Co-host Bradshaw on whether Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has shown enough progress to be considered Minnesota’s franchise quarterback: “Yes. He needs his running back, back. He needs a couple wide receivers and it’s hard to evaluate young quarterbacks when in fact, they’re not surrounded with great talent.”
Analyst Long on if the defending NFC South division Champion Carolina Panthers have a shot at making the playoffs this season: “If the Panthers had a few more Luke Kuechlys –he’s the best middle linebacker in football — they would win the division. It’s about the run game and defense down in Carolina and they’ve had neither.”
Analyst Johnson comments on whether New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin should be back with the team next year: “Tom Coughlin has proven that he’s an outstanding coach. They’ve had a bunch of injuries this year and he deserves to decide when he wants to walk away.”
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