Football leans on tradition, providing convenient cover for the NFL's lenient stance on smelling salts, ammonia crystals that players believe enhance performance when inhaled. Does the olfactory exhilaration also enhance play-calling, amplifying one's grasp of X's and O's? Kyle Shanahan apparently believes so. The San Francisco 49ers coach was caught by a Fox television camera moments before a playoff game Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles taking several whiffs from a small packet before handing it to an assistant.
... I've been instilled by a lot of great players here. I learned from a lot of just special players, Troy [Polamalu], Brett [Keisel], Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, shoot, guys I didn't even play with like Joey Porter. They've all been in my ear. And even when I didn't want to hear it, they were honest with me. ... I'm just honestly jealous of them.
The Washington Commanders aren't a part of the NFL playoffs this year, but the teams that did qualify provided no shortage of entertainment on Wild Card weekend. The highlight was a rivalry clash between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. It featured a massive second-half comeback, highlight plays left and right, and a heartbreaking loss for a team that's become more than used to playoff disappointment. For the Packers and former Washington assistant Matt LaFleur, it could force a difficult decision.
A.J. Brown had nothing to say - to reporters after the Philadelphia Eagles' playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, that is. Philadelphia's star receiver did have plenty to say to Coach Nick Sirianni - and vice-versa - during a sideline spat late in the second quarter of the game that eventually marked an end to the Eagles' attempt at defending their Super Bowl title from last season.
Likewise, when our beloved boys set foot on the hallowed gridiron, we would never indulge in the "tush push." The game of football is about handing off the pigskin to the halfback and hitting the A gap made by the big hogs in the trenches. It's not about having a thousand pounds of man flesh get behind you and push you straight forward through everything in front of you, and you're carrying the ball, and then you get the yards.
"He's got the best hands I've ever seen. The way he catches the ball, the amount of different types of catches that he's made. When you get as many targets as he does, you're going to have some drops," said Sirianni, who noted the wind affected the ball in the air. "I know he will beat himself up on that."
I'm not sure a Jim Harbaugh quarterback has ever been beaten up in a big game the way Justin Herbert was hit over and over again by the Patriots on Sunday. With an underwhelming run game, an offense that couldn't diagnose New England's coverages, a green light to scramble at the first sign of daylight and little in the way of help from his offensive line, Herbert endured 21 hits for the three points the Chargers scored in Foxborough.
There were mitigating circumstances attached. Luvu freely admitted it, and fans have known for some time. When the Commanders suffered some critical injuries on the defensive edge, their plans changed. Concerns about their lack of pass-rushing quality were realized. General manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn scrambled for answers. One solution they implemented centered on using Luvu more on the edge. It didn't work.
