FOX NFL SUNDAY NOTES – 12/14/14
Johnson: “Unless Manziel is Really Balling, They’re Not Going to Make the Playoffs”
Long on Watt: “He’s as Dominant a Player at Any Position in Football”
Bradshaw Defends Harbaugh
FOX NFL KICKOFF on FOX Sports 1
Six-time NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb on what the Cleveland Browns need to do to take the pressure off Johnny Manziel: “In order to take pressure off Johnny Manziel, you’re going to have to continue to run the ball. It’s more about the attempts than the yards.”
FOX NFL SUNDAY analyst and Hall of Famer Michael Strahan stopped by FOX NFL KICKOFF and talked about the San Francisco 49ers chances of making the postseason: “I don’t believe this team is going to make the playoffs. After watching them and the way they lost last week in a game we all expected them to win or at least put forth an effort that was playoff indicative of a team with their backs against the wall, you didn’t see that.”
FOX NFL KICKOFF analyst Randy Moss says Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is more valuable to his team than Colts quarterback Andrew Luck: “Andrew Luck has a lot of help there. J.J. Watt is all the Houston Texans have.”
From FOX NFL SUNDAY on FOX
Two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Jimmy Johnson doesn’t see the Cleveland Browns making the playoffs, even under the direction of quarterback Johnny Manziel: “The reality of it is, unless Manziel is really balling, they’re not going to make the playoffs. Cincinnati is in first place by way of a tie right now. With the way the schedule is setup right now, Baltimore wins out, win eleven games and wins this division.”
Super Bowl champion and NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long makes a case for Texans defensive end J.J. Watt winning the MVP award this year: “He’s the first, second and third thing every offensive coordinator needs to deal with. He’s as dominant a player at any position in football. Granted there is a wide margin between Aaron Rodgers and the No. 2 guy but it’s a Grand Canyon between J.J. Watt and the second best defender.”
FOX NFL SUNDAY analyst Strahan makes a case for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the MVP this season: “Over the entire season so far, he has 35 touchdowns, only three interceptions and 16 touchdowns with no interceptions over the last five games. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t turn the ball over. If I played on that team, I’d be kissing that man’s feet because he is a defense’s best friend.”
Johnson and Strahan disagree on whether running back Adrian Peterson is serious about potentially retiring from football.
Johnson: “He’s not going to walk away from the game he loves. He’s not going to walk away from all that money. He is not going to retire.”
Strahan: “Maybe he has something else he loves. Look at the way he came back from injury [in 2012]; when he makes his mind up to do something he gets it done and he does not back down from it. So if he retired, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Hall of Fame defensive end Long is disappointed at the leaks coming out of the Washington Redskins organization: “The thing that is disappointing to me is all the leaks coming out of that organization. The front office, the coaching staff and in the locker room. It’s disappointing.”
Four-time Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw is upset with the San Francisco 49ers’ handling of head coach Jim Harbaugh: “It seems like I’ve done this week after week in the last month, defend Jim Harbaugh. When he came to the San Francisco 49ers four years ago they were going nowhere. Trent Baalke comes in as the general manager. And now it’s already been reported that Harbaugh is out and you expect him to go on the road, week-in and week-out, and get this team to play its very best when in fact everybody in that organization knows he’s gone. The players know he’s gone. It’s been reported that their defensive line coach Jim Tomsula will be the next head coach. How in the world can you expect a coach to coach and players to play especially in a game like this [against the Seahawks]? I am just baffled by the whole thing.”
FOX NFL Insider Jay Glazer on Manziel and his preparations leading into this week’s game: “When he wasn’t named the starter, he took it hard. But going into this week, he acted like he was almost cramming for a test to make up for lost time. He wants to show everyone in there that they can trust him. Because he is such a polarizing figure, there are defensive players around the league who are actually having discussions about what they are going to do if they get their hands on this guy [Manziel]. Maybe they’ll do the money sign. I was at dinner with some defensive players and they said they would take a fifteen-yard penalty just to welcome him to the league.
Glazer with the latest on Cam Newton’s injury: “I talked to his head coach Ron Rivera this morning and when he first came back, they gave him such a huge ovation. They already have him running on a treadmill underwater. Ron said they don’t know when he is coming back because of where those fractures are in his back, they have no idea how he’s going to respond when he torques.”
Glazer on a potential rule change in the NFL: “Goal posts have been the same width since 1920. That could now change. At next month’s Pro Bowl, they are actually going to try to move the goal posts from 18.5 feet to 14 feet. They are going to try and make things more exciting form 4th down. If it happens, in the long term it’s groundbreaking.”
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