Jags' Meyer defends hiring ex-Iowa coach accused off racism
A lawyer for 13 Black ex-Iowa football players has filed a lawsuit alleging his clients suffered racial discrimination under longtime coach Kirk Ferentz. The group includes Darrell Bevell as offensive coordinator, Joe Cullen as defensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer as passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach, and Brian Schneider as special teams coordinator. Meyer kept seven holdovers from fired coach Doug Marrone’s staff, including veteran offensive line coach George Warhop, cornerbacks coach Tim Walton, nickel cornerbacks coach Joe Danna and assistant linebackers coach Tony Gilbert. The rest of Meyer’s coaching crew: receivers coach Sanjay Lal; running backs coach Bernie Parmalee; defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi; outside linebackers coach Zach Orr; and senior defensive assistant Bob Sutton. Schottenheimer has 21 years of NFL experience, including the last three as Seattle’s offensive coordinator.
Rams get better of division rivals, toppling Seahawks 30-20
They watched less than two weeks ago as the Seattle Seahawks loudly celebrated a division title the Rams felt they gave away. No team was better at limiting yards or points than the Rams (11-6) and they continued to torment Wilson and the Seahawks (12-5). The victory sent the Rams into next week’s divisional playoff round, likely at top-seeded Green Bay unless Chicago upsets New Orleans. His heart, his passion for the game is special,” Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. Seahawks: will head into an offseason filled with questions after winning the division but experiencing another early playoff exit.
Aaron Donald, Travis Kelce unanimous AP All-Pro Team choices
Donald was selected Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, to The Associated Press All-Pro Team. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear, File)Dynamic defensive star Aaron Donald and unstoppable tight end Travis Kelce are unanimous choices Friday for The Associated Press NFL All-Pro Team. It is the sixth All-Pro selection for Donald, who has helped the Los Angeles Rams to the top-ranked defense in the NFL, and the third for Kansas City's record-setting Kelce. Rounding out the offense are Cleveland right tackle Jack Conklin (second selection), and Washington right guard Brandon Scherff (first). The long snapper position is new to the All-Pro Team in 2020, and Baltimore's Morgan Cox is the choice.
Rodgers leads Pack to top of NFC after draft disappointment
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)The NFC playoff field features the usual cast of quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Russell Wilson. Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 45, 31-25 over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Feb. 6, 2011, at Arlington, Texas. Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 48, 43-8 over the Denver Broncos on Feb. 2, 2014, at East Rutherford, N.J. Last year: No. The Bears’ leading tackler left in the first quarter of the Green Bay game with an elbow injury. DBs Buster Skrine, rookie Jaylon Johnson and Deon Bush missed the loss to Green Bay.
Seahawks wrap up NFC West title with 20-9 win over Rams
Seattle Seahawks strong safety Jamal Adams (33) reacts to a play against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks claimed the NFC West title with a 20-9 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, with Russell Wilson throwing a 13-yard TD pass to Jacob Hollister with 2:51 left for the clinching score. Seattle flustered Jared Goff, shut down the Rams' run game, and held Los Angeles (9-6) to a season low in points. Now, Los Angeles risks missing the playoffs entirely if it loses to the Cardinals and Chicago beats Green Bay next Sunday. Seahawks: Seattle closes the regular season facing San Francisco next Sunday in Glendale, Arizona.
A bonus for NFL fans in Week 16: 4 straight days of games
They do have a sack in an NFL-record 71 straight games and have sacked Philip Rivers 15 times during seven games while he played for the Chargers. Rivers has had two or more TD passes in five straight games. He had career bests of 10 catches for 163 yards last week, and Ridley's seven 100-yard games lead the NFL. The 19 straight seasons without losing both games to a divisional opponent is an NFL record. The Jaguars have allowed at least 24 points in each of those 13 games, an NFL record.
Matchup of division leaders: Seahawks vs Giants. The Giants?
(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)In this strangest of NFL seasons in this weirdest of years, here's a matchup of division leaders you wouldn't expect: Seattle hosting the New York Giants. “If you win your division, you win your division,” Carroll says, and he knows: Seattle went 7-9 in 2010 and won the NFC West, then beat New Orleans in a playoff game. Patrick Mahomes has thrown for at least 300 yards seven times this season and has 22 straight games with at least one TD passing. New England has won the past five meetings, including a 2018 divisional playoff game. Chargers WR Keenan Allen leads the NFL with 85 receptions and has a TD catch in five straight games.
Allen, Bills torch Seahawks, win 44-34 in balmy Buffalo
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) rushes past Seattle Seahawks' Bruce Irvin (51) and Jayson Stanley (29) for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Josh Allen regained his early-season groove by throwing three touchdown passes and scoring one rushing, and the Buffalo Bills beat the Seattle Seahawks 44-34 on Sunday. The Bills offense came alive after Allen combined for just 846 yards passing and five touchdowns — including one rushing — in splitting the previous four games. It was just the eighth time since Week 9 of the 2011 season the Carroll-led Seahawks have lost by 10 points or more. Allen carved up a Seahawks defense that entered allowing 28.5 points per game and had already surrendered 500 yards of offense three times this season. For Buffalo, the entire Bills team continued its season-long decision to stay in the locker room for the anthem.
Seahawks sign coach Pete Carroll to contract extension
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has signed a multiyear contract extension that will keep him tied with the team well past his 70th birthday. The Seahawks did not officially announce the deal, but Carroll spoke about it following the Seahawks' 44-34 loss to Buffalo on Sunday. Carroll is in his 15th NFL season as head coach and 11th in Seattle, where he’s led the Seahawks to eight playoff appearances including the Super Bowl championship in the 2013 season. He ranks 22nd on the NFL list in wins in both categories, and is three shy of matching Steve Owen, who has 153 wins, including playoffs. Carroll is the Seahawks longest-tenured and winningest coach with a 106-60-1 record.
Big days from Wilson, Metcalf lead Seahawks past 49ers 37-27
Wilson threw four more touchdown passes, two to Metcalf, and the Seahawks rebounded from their first loss of the season with a resounding 37-27 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Wilson and Metcalf tormented San Francisco and its banged up secondary as the top-scoring offense in the league continued to pile up points. Wilson found rookie DeeJay Dallas on a 2-yard TD pass after San Francisco went three-and-out to open the second half for a 20-7 lead. The momentum from two straight wins for San Francisco (4-4) evaporated in a hurry as more injuries continued to pile. San Francisco played without starters Deebo Samuel, Jeff Wilson Jr., Kwon Alexander and safety Jaquiski Tartt.
NFL recommends some sideline players wear masks during games
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)The NFL is recommending that players on the sidelines who are not participating in a game or about to go on the field wear protective masks. Although the NFL stopped short of mandating masks for all players not on the field, it “strongly encouraged” all active players in the bench area who are not about to enter the game to wear masks while standing on the sideline and/or sitting on the bench. While the NFL considers expanding the bench area further down the sideline, teams may consider reconfiguring or adding benches. There’s no change to the status of the game,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The Associated Press. “There have been 70-plus instances of a team having a player or players who test positive.
Big Apple rotten with Jets, Giants off to 0-4 starts
The New York Jets and Giants are both 0-4 for the first time since 1976, and victories might be tough to come by this season. The Big Apple is pretty rotten when it comes to its professional football teams, and it's tough to imagine things getting better any time soon. Both the Jets and Giants are 0-4 for the first time since 1976 — the only other time they've gotten off to similar dismal starts. Just four games into the NFL season, the Jets and Giants have firmly established themselves as the league's worst teams. I could be a Jets fan,'" said Bob Gray, a 60-year-old resident of West Caldwell, New Jersey, and a longtime Giants fan.
AP source: Gruden, Payton fined for not wearing masks
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden celebrates after defeating the New Orleans Saints in an NFL football game, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)LAS VEGAS – Two more NFL head coaches and their teams have been fined for not wearing masks on the sideline. A person with knowledge of the punishment said Tuesday that Jon Gruden of the Raiders and Sean Payton of the Saints were each fined $100,000 for not wearing masks on the sideline on Monday night. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the league wasn’t announcing specific fines, said the teams were also fined $250,000 for the infractions. NFL Network and ESPN first reported the fines for Gruden and Payton.
Unmasked: NFL fines coaches, teams for not covering faces
(AP Photo/Don Wright)NFL coaches thumbed their collective — and exposed — noses at the NFL’s mask mandate in Week 2. More coaches and clubs can expect similar punishments as the memo last week from Troy Vincent, who oversees the league’s football operations, was largely ignored throughout the weekend. Players, who, like the coaches, are subject to daily COVID-19 tests, are exempt from the face covering requirements. Some coaches such as Belichick, McDaniels and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wore their masks or gaiters over their mouths but not noses. Others such as Carroll, Spagnuolo and Fangio wore their face coverings around their chins or necks, exposing both their mouths and noses.
AP source: NFL fines 3 coaches, clubs for unmasked coaches
(AP Photo/Don Wright)A person with knowledge of the punishment tells The Associated Press that at least three NFL head coaches have been fined $100,000 for violating the league’s rules that they wear face coverings on the sideline. More fines could be coming as several other coaches violated the league's rules requiring coaches to wear coverings over their mouths and noses at all times. Gruden wore his face mask like a chin strap and Payton wore his gaiter like a turtleneck. The punishments come a week after the NFL warned all 32 teams in a memo about following the rules for wearing face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic lest they put the NFL season at risk. ___Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/arniestapleton___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
You can't say the crowds influenced rusty NFL officials
“For one, he was clamping me the whole time,” Green complained afterward, saying the officials should call it both ways. “Honestly, it reminded me of the times I was back at the College of San Mateo, my junior college,” Edelman said. It brought me back at least to high school, junior college, college. In some ways, it brings the game back to why you started playing, just to love playing the game. ___With contributions from AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell and AP Sports Writers Tim Booth, Larry Lage and Kyle Hightower.
NFL teams huddling up to devise plans for social change
New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold warms up during a practice at the NFL football team's training camp in Florham Park, N.J., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. Instead of taking the field, the entire team spent more than four hours talking about racial injustice and social issues. They continued their discussions Friday, an off day, to begin devising plans to effect change among each other and in the community. Tomlin, one of three Black NFL head coaches, is the third-longest tenured coach in the league. We have to continue playing because, quite frankly, this is the reason we have a platform, is because we play football and we are in the NFL, Darnold said.
NFL partners with three organizations to get out the vote
The NFL is partnering with three non-profit, non-partisan organizations to get out the vote as the league leverages its Inspire Change initiative. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)The NFL is partnering with three non-profit, non-partisan organizations to get out the vote as the league leverages its Inspire Change initiative. The program will support and encourage voting and civic engagement efforts of current and former NFL players, club and league personnel and fans beginning Thursday until Election Day in November. Were launching NFL Votes to inspire everyone in the NFL family including our fans to participate in the civic process by getting registered to vote and ultimately exercising their right to vote, said Commissioner Roger Goodell, whose father was a renowned U.S. senator. "To get my brother to vote, my cousin, my family?___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Lynn: Kaepernick fits Chargers style but no workouts planned
Kaepernick was a second-round draft pick in 2011 who the next year led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl. The Chargers could explore bringing Kaepernick in for a workout depending on what happens during the preseason, Lynn said. Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said last week that he received a call from another team about Kaepernick. Carroll and the Seahawks brought Kaepernick in for a workout in 2017 and had another planned in 2018 but it was canceled. Lynn was the offensive coordinator for most of the 2016 season in Buffalo, where Taylor was his quarterback.
NFL commissioner Goodell encourages team to sign Kaepernick
FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2018, file photo, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a news conference in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)Roger Goodell would like to see Colin Kaepernick back in the NFL this season. The NFL commissioner said during ESPN's The Return of Sports special on Monday that he is encouraging teams to sign the 32-year old quarterback, who hasn't played the past three seasons. If he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously its gonna take a team to make that decision. I hope were at a point now where everybodys committed to making long-term, sustainable change, Goodell said.
Colin Kaepernick has more support now, still long way to go
FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to take a stand against police brutality and racial injustice in 2016, he was mostly alone. Global opinion has shifted so much that more people are now vilifying those who attack Kaepernick or misrepresent his stance. I have had many people attempt to discourage our support of Colin, which is unthinkable to me. He is encouraged because more folks support Kaepernicks movement but realizes theres a long way to go.