News, Notes & Rumors for 9/9/14

News:

The best news possible for Bills fans is that Sabers owner Terry Pegula has reached agreement to buy the team. Pegula will keep the team in Buffalo.

The NFL claims they never saw the elevator video of Ray Rice knocking his girlfriend out. I find that not believable. To think that the most powerful sports league in the country couldn’t get a video that TMZ had no problem finding is a lie of the worst kind. It is an attempt to cover up the most ludicrous miscarriage of justice in the history of the NFL. If Roger Goodell had any guts at all he would have changed the suspension when he realized how unfair it was. But he doesn’t and won’t any time soon.

A prosecutor said that the feelings of the victim are taken into consideration when deciding how to proceed with a domestic violence case. In this case it is clear that Janay Palmer wanted Rice to get the minimum punishment. That would explain the decision to place Rice in a diversionary program.

Flag-mania was not prevalent in week 1 of the season. It was good to see that the zebras finally figured out that the DB has as much right to the ball as the receiver. That is kind of a good thing. Hands to the face flags were called at a higher rate than last year however. That is a good thing as well.

Several teams suffered serious injuries. Texan OLB Jadeveon Clowney, the 1st pick overall this year, has a torn Mencius and will miss 4 to 6 weeks. The Chiefs lost OLB Derrick Thomas for the season with an Achilles injury. The Browns lost TE Jordan Cameron (shoulder) and RB Ben Tate (knee). The Bears lost 2 offensive linemen C Roberto Garza and G Matt Slauson. The Colts suspended DE Robert Mathis injured is Achilles working on his own and is lost for the season.

Notes:

Falcons 37 Saints 34 – This was a giant win for the birds. The key to the game was the Saint D let the team down under the attack of QB Matt Ryan. Ryan threw for 448 yards. The Saint O built a 13-0 lead but the D could not hold it. The Saint D also allowed a late drive giving the Falcons the tie. It was a turnover in OT that setup the winning FG. The loss by the Saints hurts their chances of getting the #1 seed in the NFC. That will be critical if they expect to go get to the Super Bowl. The Saints are not going to go to Seattle and win the NFC title.

­Dolphins 33 Patriots 20 – This was a huge loss for the Pats because it exposed the O line issues. QB Tom Brady was sacked 4 times and pressured all day by DE Cameron Wake and the D line of the Fish. Brady also fumbled twice. The Fish converted 59% of their 3rd down attempts while the Pats converted just 29%. The Pats need the top AFC seed if they hope to get to the Super Bowl. But until they fix the O line and find a way to stop the run on defense, that is not likely to happen.

49ers 28 Cowboys 17 – Dallas could not give the ball away fast enough. They turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions. The 49ers had 21 points with only 4 offensive plays. The game was never close after that. The 49er D looked good but most of that was due to the charity of the Boys. Things will be a lot harder when the 9ers get into their division games.

Eagles 34 Jags 17 – Eagles QB Nick Foles turned the ball over 4 times which allowed the Jags to build a 17-0 half time lead. But the second half was a different story. The Eagle D has to start the game ready to play if this team expects to go deep into the playoffs. The Eagles are still the class of a very ordinary NFC East.

Steelers 30 Browns 27 – For my thoughts about this game check out “The Secret behind the Browns 24 point comeback” right here on Fryingpansports.

Rumors:

IF the NFL and NFLPA finalize a new drug policy several players that are currently suspended could get some relief from it. Browns WR Josh Gordon was tested slightly over the current NFL limit for weed in the system but the new higher limit could apply retroactively to his case. Bronco WR Wes Welker could also get a pass on his 4 game suspension.

Several teams are in serious trouble getting to the playoffs even after just 1 game.

The Ravens have a must win Thursday against the Steelers. Pittsburgh is already up a game in the division and if the Ratbirds go to 0-2 with 2 division losses, it will be very difficult for them to recover. The Ratbird O has struggled all preseason to get the TD rather than a field goal.

The Redskins O is also pathetic. While the Skins D has played OK, it will be the O that prevents them from getting to the post season.

The Bears’ loss at home was a huge failure. The fact that they lost to the Bills makes the loss twice as costly. To make the playoffs, the Bears have to win home games and win the games on the road against the teams they are supposed to beat.

The Johnny Manziel package was just a rumor. He did not appear in the game.

The officiating this week was weak. While there was no Fail-Mary there were a lot of calls that were head-scratchers. One surprise was the lack of calls for the arm bar by either a defender or receiver. The zebras got the word from Park Avenue that the preseason games were bogged down by all the flags. But they may have gone too far in the other direction.

That is what I think. Tell us what you think by commenting here or tweeting me @NNRonDSN.

NOTE: Check out the live News, Notes and Rumors show on Monday, Thursday and Friday at 6 PM Eastern on or https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/. On Samantha Bunten of NBC Sports, former NFL scout Kelron Sykes and I talk football with just a little Indians and Cavs thrown in. The archive is available on https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/. Please join us.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He edits https://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on and a non-fiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/. Follow him on twitter @NNRonDSN to get the schedule of Special News, Notes and Rumors broadcasts. You can hear the previous shows on https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/ and the live show Mondays at 6 PM Eastern time on .

He also edits .

To keep up with the News, Notes & Rumors podcasts, follow me on twitter @NNRonDSN.

 

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