News of the day

Highly questionable play-calls, mind-numbing special teams decisions, and general unpreparedness comprised what arguably was Mike McCarthy’s worst game as Dallas Cowboys head coach.

The Cowboys fell to 3-8 on the season with Thursday’s 41-14 blowout loss to the Washington Football Team. Meaning, for the first time since 2012, they were swept by their bitter NFC East nemesis, who drove a stake through Dallas’ inexplicable playoff hopes at JerryWorld.

And shortly after the final whistle blew, the Twitterverse became aglow with scathing takes of the Thanksgiving slaughter — primarily from the local and national media.

“That Cowboys fake punt call, down 4 in a must win game is like adding raisins in the potato salad.. it doesn’t make sense now, it won’t make sense later,” said ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi.

“So #Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was salty with the media because he was asked about his goofy decisions. Come on Mike. This comes with the j-o-b. Your coaching decisions handed Washington the game and 1st place,” said NBC 5’s Newy Scruggs.

“The Cowboys are a bad team. And they are poorly coached,” said Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

“One of the ugliest Cowboys games I’ve seen in at least three weeks,” said The Athletic’s Jon Machota.

“If we’re using the roller coaster analogy, this was like one of those tower rides that drops you out of nowhere. I’m not surprised the Cowboys lost. I’m definitely surprised they played the same type of awful football we saw the last time these teams played. 3-8,” said in-house reporter David Helman.

Cowboys fans eating an entire pie tonight like:pic.twitter.com/BfHcM92sW1

— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) November 27, 2020

The Cowboys entering and exiting the playoff conversation this week like pic.twitter.com/XjEU7dAiJ4

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 27, 2020

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McCarthy Explains Puzzling Decisions

One of McCarthy’s Turkey Day errors was calling a time out late in the first half, with the Cowboys setting up for a field goal. Rather than allow the clock to run down to a few seconds, as to not give Washington an additional scoring opportunity, he …read more

Source:: Heavy.com

The Detroit Lions were stuffed like birds again on Thanksgiving Day in predictable, blowout fashion against the Houston Texans off a quick turnaround in Week 12.

Last week, the team failed in every single way possible amid being shut out in a humbling way. This week, the damage wasn’t nearly as bad amid another blowout loss, but it was pretty darn close. Detroit’s defense was the culprits of a major failure this week, but the offense and other positions weren’t that far behind in their struggle.

How do the grades shape up this week? Here’s a look at another ugly ledger and report card.

Lions Offensive Grade vs. Texans

D+

Detroit put the ball on the ground 3 times and struggled to have any shred of consistency with the run or the pass on a ugly afternoon. At the very least, the Lions scored this week, but they didn’t score nearly enough. Milking the clock and coming away with a mere field goal was perhaps the worst show of the entire season. The Lions needed a bit more on this day and couldn’t avoid their usual mistakes. It was bad news and a bad grade as a result.

Lions Defensive Grade vs. Texans

F

The defense didn’t stop the Texans, who did whatever they wanted on the day and moved up and down the field at will. Detroit barely touched Deshaun Watson, and they certainly didn’t generate much pressure on ball carriers or wideouts to create consistent turnovers like the Texans did. This is bad for the Lions because Matt Patricia was supposed to be an elite defensive coach, but his defense keeps getting exposed week in and week out. Is this rock bottom for this group? It could be, but that feels like it is still weeks away with as bad as they have played.

Lions Special Teams Grade vs. Texans

B

Usually, the Lions win with special teams. This week, they didn’t lose because of it but it was not a banner performance whatsoever. Jack Fox blocked a kickoff out of bounds leading to a fast Houston score, Matt Prater was perfect but Detroit wasn’t able to get anything going on special teams to help them in a close game early. It wasn’t the worst performance, but it certainly wasn’t the best the team has had this season, either. Just an average day.

Lions Coaches Grade vs. Texans

F

On offense and defense, the team lacked any …read more

Source:: Heavy.com

There are grills and there are Grills. Traeger products are GRILLS. Understand? If not, you will when you pick up this sweet deal on the Pro Series 575 for Black Friday.

Right now, save $100 on either the black or bronze version of this incredible wood pellet grill. Once you go Traeger, you will never go back to any ordinary gas or charcoal barbecue. If you slip and bring along a portable grill for tailgating at some point, you’re forgiven.

Hurry: Santa only has so much room in his sleigh for these Traeger grills. Don’t believe what you see in the movies, space is limited. Perhaps you can keep the fat man around for some holiday barbecued ribs?

Save $100 on Traeger Pro Series 575

Save $100 on Traeger Pro Series 575

Traeger

I said it above: after using a Traeger grill, you’ll never use gas or charcoal again. Traeger created the original wood-pellet grill as the ultimate way to achieve wood-fired taste. The Pro 575 takes it to the next level with precise temperature control.

WiFIRE technology connects your grill to your WiFi signal of choice. The free Traeger app will allow you to control the grill from anywhere. Alexa technology allows you to do it all by voice. That sort of spooks me out and I like to be up close and personal with what my grill is doing but the idea of telling your Traeger grill to add more pellets in another room? Cool.

The Pro 575 pellet grill offers 6-in-1 versatility to grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise, and BBQ all on the same grill. It can even handle an apple pie. And when you’re done, the porcelain grill grates make clean up a breeze.

The Traeger Pro Series is the best-selling pellet grill. The upgraded Pro 575 with a D2 drivetrain starts quicker, heats up faster, and puts out better quality smoke. Traeger grills are powered by 100% all-natural hardwood pellets that infuse amazing wood flavor into whatever you’re cooking (even apple pie).

Save $100 on Traeger Pro Series 575

Traeger

Set it and forget it. That’s the Traeger way. Bascially, here’s the skinny on how this amazing machine works. First, add the

Source:: Heavy.com

The New England Patriots’ Cam Newton had a question for a reporter who asked him about some of his struggles to throw short passes, and it created a bit of an awkward moment.

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Cam Newton: “Have You Ever Played Quarterback Before?”

ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss asked Newton about his struggles to throw short passes, especially considering he’s handled the longer throws more accurately. Reiss phrased the question about as kindly as possible, which is customary for the premier Patriots beat reporter in the land. Still, Newton seemed to be slightly irritated by the nature of the inquisition.

He responded: “Have you ever played quarterback before?”

Reiss said, “no Cam, I’d be more like the kicker or the coach.” Newton then said, “well, if you’re the coach, you’d have to have some knowledge of what you’re coaching, right?” Just before the moment got any more awkward, Newton explained, “I wanted to use an analogy.”

Essentially, Newton summed up his issues throwing the short passes to human error that can be related to anyone in any spot across sports. Kickers sometimes have bad kicks, basketball players sometimes have inaccurate shots. It’s just one of those things.

In Newton’s defense, it can at times be a little irritating when someone who likely doesn’t have the experience doing your job critiquing you. However, on the other hand, Reiss was simply doing his job, and the question wasn’t positioned in an insulting tone. When your answer to this sort of question begins with an inquiry about a person’s experience in the concept, the response doesn’t get off to the kindest start.

Accuracy Has Been Way Up

All that said, Newton has shown great improvement in his throwing accuracy over the past four weeks. He hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers. In fact, he has thrown 117 consecutive passes without an interception. Over that time, Newton has completed just under 69 percent of his throws.

Does he need to keep some of the short passes up so they aren’t batted down and don’t fall at the feet of his receivers? Of course, he does, but at this point, he’s been more than accurate enough to get the win.

Improvement is Likely On the Way

One thing is for sure, when Newton has had an issue this season, he has been quick …read more

Source:: Heavy.com