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The San Francisco 49ers need to take an improv class
When rolling, the San Francisco 49ers look like they’re never going to lose again. Until Monday night’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Niners were undefeated this season when Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffery, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are healthy. And it looked as if that trend might continu...
A Black vs. white NFL game might teach league talent evaluators to give white players a chance at all positions
I do not agree with Rashard Mendenhall, entirely. In my humble opinion, people of all races and ethnicities talk entirely too spicy about professional athletes. No professional is above criticism just because the critic is not one. However, regardless of whether someone can dunk at an open gym or be...
It's time to take a hard look at who deserves to win NFL MVP
We have three Sundays left. Three more Sundays until that IV is ripped out of our arms and we are forced to trudge through the subsequent eight months not being able to start the week with at least 10 NFL games. With the holidays on the way to provide a bit of a distraction from that fate, let’s tal...
We’re being held hostage by bad or pointless football
The first two games of the NFL’s Saturday football lineup featured four backup quarterbacks. Instead of Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, Anthony Richardson and Kenny Pickett, we got Jake Browning, Nick Mullens, Gardner Minshew and Mitch Trubisky. Thank god for Jared Goff and Russell Wilson in the night gam...
The NFL has an offensive line problem — and help is not on the way
The league has an offensive line problem, according to longtime lineman Andrew Whitworth. ...
Mike Vrabel wants Will Levis to not try and truck defenders
Mike Vrabel is hoping some reverse psychology will work with his rookie QB....
God, I’m sick of the Kansas City Chiefs
Full disclosure, I’ve never been on board with the Kansas City Chiefs. Sure, they were, for a while, the best team in America, with a young and exciting generational talent under center and a head coach who never had to answer for anything because he wears Hawaiian shirts, has a funny mustache, and ...
This week in football: Aaron Rodgers finally sees the end; FSU boycotting the Orange Bowl?; Oregon hit with Title IX suit
Injured New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a lot going on over this first weekend in December. He turned 40 on Saturday, then stood on the sideline Sunday and watched the Jets lose to the Atlanta Falcons while scoring eight points. That could be when it dawned on Mr. Rodgers that suiting up...
Since 2013, 45 percent of Heisman finalists have been QBs of color. That’s progress
You know progress is taking place when things that used to be groundbreaking become the norm. Thankfully, it’s been a long time since Andre Ware was the only one....
David Carr's take on Jalen Hurts was good, until it was terrible
David Carr’s point that went viral on Tuesday was actually an interesting zig. He said on NFL Network’s Total Access that he does not believe Jalen Hurts should continue to play through his knee injury. Hurts is clearly not as mobile as he usually is, and because of that, the Philadelphia Eagles off...
Tate Rodemaker was robbed of an opportunity to join the pantheon of iconic backup quarterbacks
If anyone should be feeling the price of inflation today, it should be backup quarterbacks, whose stock just skyrocketed. Last week, Matt Rhule made headlines in his press conference by announcing that the (NIL) cost for “a good quarterback in the portal costs $1 million to $1.5 million to $2 millio...
NFL quarterbacks are becoming an endangered species
It is hard enough to find a starting-caliber NFL quarterback. There certainly are not 32 in the league right now. Finding one in the draft is like discovering that your grandma’s furniture is a valuable antique. ...
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants to deprive fans of the ‘tush push’
According to a rumor floating around the league, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is not a fan of the play that’s been affectionately dubbed the “tush push” or “brotherly shove” in Philadelphia. The Eagles’ nearly unstoppable gimmick play could go away soon if reports about Goodell wanting to ban it a...
Bobby Petrino's return to Arkansas is further proof cancel culture doesn’t exist
Staying in coaching was never going to be a problem for Bobby Petrino. Once coaches reach a certain status, most can work for as long as they are willing to pack up suitcases and change homes every few years. But to be welcomed back onto the Arkansas campus, and likely paid a salary to again be a pa...
Patrick Willis should already be a Hall of Famer
Patrick Willis should already be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For eight seasons he was an enforcer for the San Francisco 49ers. He was drafted by a proud franchise that had fallen into disarray, and was intricate part in bringing it back to prominence. Willis did this all while playing a positi...
Red Wings sign old, decrepit man
There have been some green shoots for the Detroit Red Wings (how Christmas-y. Timely!) so far this season. Their trade for Alex DeBrincat has paid off so far, as Top Cat has 12 goals in 20 games so far (a 49-goal pace). Dylan Larkin is doing that thing again where he teases being a genuine No. 1 cen...
Justin Fields and Josh Dobbs capped a week littered with awful QB play
There are far more important things to be thankful for in this world than being a fan of an NFL team with consistent quarterback play. Beginning with that caveat, many Americans do spend a lot of hours watching football. The product is exponentially better when the quarterbacks are above average....
The Broncos are the NFL’s biggest walking plot twist
An 18-week NFL schedule creates a plethora of nexus points where the season diverts from its expected path. Aaron Rodgers tearing his Achilles four plays into the season, the New England Patriots crashing, CJ Stroud flying out the rookie gates, Frank Reich being fired after 11 games and two rookies ...
Behold the Skate Men — NHL Season Preview: Western Conference
Let’s keep it rolling. You can see our Eastern Conference preview from yesterday here....
The D-List: Mario Cristobal makes Miami look like college football’s Bluth Company
The beauty of college football is that it’s Ground Zero for raw athletes being molded into gems every week before our very eyes. However, pressure doesn’t always make diamonds. Welcome to the D-List, Deadspin Dean’s acknowledgment of college football’s most woeful performances. This is a nod to coll...