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Showing posts from October, 2020

New on SI: Week 8 Preview: How Familiar Foes Deal With Russ, Trade Deadline Deals That Must Happen

Plus, Lamar Jackson’s rematch with a Steelers D that shut him down, Patriots on the brink, why the Jets would be fine for Trevor Lawrence, and more. 1a. I’ve long wondered why “Rainbow Connection” starts with the line “Why are there so many songs about rainbows/And what’s on the other side?” when there’s really only one song anyone is familiar with that even tangentially deals with that subject matter. It seems that is more placeholder lyric rather than the iconic opening line of an iconic song. I’ve also long wondered if, because he’s not just a uniquely wonderful quarterback but also a wonderfully unique quarterback, NFC West opponents have more success containing Russell Wilson than teams who prepare for him less often. Take this with a grain of salt due to (1) small sample size, and (2) the fact that the NFC West has been an especially strong division in recent years, but here’s Wilson’s numbers in intra- and inter-division play over his career: Vs. NFC West: 7.55 yds/att, 23...
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New on SI: Raiders Stadium Will Have Fans, but for College Game Not NFL

The Raiders were the first team in Allegiant Stadium, but UNLV were the first to have fans. LAS VEGAS — The Raiders were fittingly the first team to play inside Allegiant Stadium, their sparkling new home near the famed Las Vegas Strip. But the first fans allowed inside the $2 billion venue will be there to cheer on the UNLV Rebels, not the Silver and Black. UNLV is scheduled to host in-state rival Nevada on Saturday in the annual battle for the Fremont Cannon, college football’s largest rivalry trophy. It will be the first game played with a crowd at the stadium because the Raiders have decided to play their inaugural season in Las Vegas before empty seats amid the pandemic. “They’re our roommates there at the stadium,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said. “If they want to have fans there that’s their prerogative. Whether they feel it’s safe and everything else, that’s their decision-making process.” The university’s plan to allow a limited number of spectators was recently approved ...
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New on SI: Report: Washington LB Jon Bostic Fined $12,000 for Andy Dalton Hit

Bostic was ejected from last week's game after he hit Dalton in the head as the Cowboys QB was sliding to the turf. Washington Football Team linebacker Jon Bostic has been fined $12,000 for his brutal hit on Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton last Sunday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero . Bostic was ejected from the game after he  hit Dalton in the head as the QB was sliding to the turf . Dalton exited the game and did not return after sustaining a concussion. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters after the game that he took exception to the hit, seemingly more so, though, because of how his team responded.  "We speak all the time about playing for one another, protecting one another," McCarthy said. "It definitely was not the response you would expect." The Cowboys trailed Washington, 22–3, in the third quarter at the time of the hit. Dalton had completed just nine of his 19 pass attempts for 75 yards with one interception. Dallas went...
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New on SI: Cowboys QB Andy Dalton Ruled Out vs. Eagles, Rookie Ben DiNucci to Start

Rookie Ben DiNucci will start for Dallas on Sunday. The Cowboys have downgraded quarterback Andy Dalton from doubtful to out for Sunday night's game against the Eagles. Dalton exited last weekend's matchup with Washington after a helmet-to-helmet hit from linebacker Jon Bostic. He was hit in the head as he slid to the ground and later diagnosed with a concussion. Bostic reportedly was fined $12,000 for the hit . Dalton was replaced by rookie Ben DiNucci , who will make his first career NFL start on Sunday. Garrett Gilbert will be DiNucci's backup against the Eagles. The Cowboys signed Gilbert off the Browns' practice squad on Oct. 13. Dinucci, a seventh-round pick out of James Madison, is the third quarterback to play for Dallas this season. Starting quarterback Dak Prescott is out for the year after fracturing his ankle against the Giants on Oct. 11.  Dallas activated linebacker Sean Lee and center Joe Looney ahead of Sunday's game. Lee...
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New on SI: 10 Best Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Players of All Time

These are the top 10 Pittsburgh Steelers defensive players of all time. The Steelers have always been known for tough defense and these are the men that built that reputation. Linebacker James Harrison is one of the best defensive players in Steelers' history. There are two ways to win a football game: score more points than your opponent or prevent them from scoring more points than you. For the last fifty years, the Steelers have excelled at the latter. During the ‘70s, the Steelers' Steel Curtain defense was a 4–3 scheme with a dominant front four, three athletic linebackers and hard-hitting defensive backs. The ‘90s ushered in the Blitzburgh era, marked by hyper-aggressive linebackers who relentlessly ran down quarterbacks. During the Super Bowl years of the mid-2000s, the addition of a roving, tenacious, strong safety made the Steelers defense even more dangerous. The Steelers defense has ranked in the top five for points allowed in a season 17 times since 1972. Dur...
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New on SI: NFL Week 8 - Best Bets Against the Spread From the SI Gambling Team

The SI Gambling team, along with our colleagues at SI's MMQB weigh in on their top best bet against the spread for Week 8 in the NFL. Over the course of this year's 2020 NFL season, the SI Gambling team, along with a few of our friends from the SI MMQB NFL team are putting our collective heads together to pick our top game of the week against the spread. We'll keep track over the course of the year for bragging rights as well as transparency. Our team collectively had its fourth consecutive winning week at 7-6-0 ATS, putting the squad at 51-38-1 ATS overall at just under 58%! Over at SI PRO , the "Vegas Whispers" NFL betting plays and information from SI Gambling insider Frankie Taddeo have now gone 43-28-0 ATS as well as 11-1-0 on Thursday Night Football . Yesterday for Falcons vs. Panthers, we did not have an official "Vegas Whisper" play on the game. However, SI PRO members were alerted to one prop bet play of Todd Gurley UNDER 17.5 receiving ya...
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New on SI: Traina Thoughts: Stick to Sports, Unless You Agree With Me

Green Bay Packers legend Brett Favre publicly supported President Donald Trump, this coming on the heels of him saying people don't want politics mixed with sports when addressing the current state of the NFL and NBA. Sports Illustrated host Robin Lundberg and SI media columnist Jimmy Traina discussed the seeming hypocrisy from Favre and what people really want from athletes.
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New on SI: Week 8 NFL DFS Plays: Top Values, Low Ownership Players and Stacks

SI Fantasy analysts Ben Heisler and Michael Fabiano provide their favorite value-priced options for Week 8 in daily fantasy football on DraftKings, as well as players to use in tournaments that are likely to garner low ownership. Every week, SI Fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano breaks down his favorite DraftKings values  in the NFL to help offset the expensive studs, and SI Fantasy analyst Ben Heisler breaks down several low ownership plays with high upside to help leverage the field. If you already play DFS, or want to start playing with more confidence, be sure to become a SI Fantasy PRO member to get access to our NFL DFS Optimizer featuring rankings and projections from High Stakes champion Shawn Childs. Plus, your membership covers EVERY SPORT for less than $20 month as well as all of our premium betting content from insiders such as Frankie Taddeo and Casey Olson . Check it out and subscribe TODAY . Michael Fabiano's Week 8 Top DFS Values on DraftKings QB: Derek Carr ...
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New on SI: Five Sneaky Teams That Could Make a Run in the Second Half

The Lions and Chargers could make pushes, it's too early to count out the Patriots and more thoughts on the NFL's second half. There is not a ton of middle ground in the NFL right now, which was safe to expect after emerging from the most unprecedented offseason in modern history. It seems the pandemic has (somewhat) rewarded established coach-quarterback relationships as we expected. Eight of the 10 best records in the league are held by coaches and quarterbacks who worked together last season, with the Tom Brady–Bruce Arians and Matt Nagy–Nick Foles pairings the two exceptions. That said, now that everyone is in a groove, do we expect the tides to shift at all? There are always one or two good second-half teams and, thanks to the additional playoff spot in each conference this year , it would not be surprising to see a more significant trade deadline push to lift teams from middling to competitive. So where is that middling team going to emerge from? We’ve got five option...
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New on SI: 6 Pittsburgh Steelers Inexplicably Snubbed by the Hall of Fame

Here are six Steelers players who should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They haven't been enshrined yet for reasons that are hard to imagine, but they certainly deserve it. Will Hines Ward make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Biggest Steelers Hall of Fame Snubs Every football fan wants to see their favorite team’s players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. When beloved players are inducted, it is a source of pride for the entire franchise. For the player, it is the ultimate honor. Pittsburgh fans don’t have a lot to complain about when it comes to the Hall of Fame, as there are 30 former Steelers players, coaches and contributors enshrined . Then again, there are a few cases that make you wonder what in the heck is going on over there in Canton. Some great Steelers get snubbed year after year, even though they clearly have what it takes for Hall of Fame induction. So what can you do about it? You can write articles like this one, for s...
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