Brett Favre's on-again, off-again relationship with the NFL appears to be over once and for all. The 44-year-old quarterback declined an offer to return to the league with St. Louis, as the Rams are forced to play out the 2013 season without Sam Bradford.
NFL news roundup: Brett Favre declines Rams’ offer, Greg Schiano has lost the locker room
The St. Louis Rams attempted to take a well-trodden path to get them through Sam Bradford’s injury, but the allure of playing again wasn’t enough for a future Hall of Fame quarterback.
Jim McIsaac
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The Rams are sitting at 3-4 after a 30-15 loss to the Carolina Panthers that caused far more damage than falling behind in the standings. The loss of Bradford means the team will move forward with Kellen Clemens, without another good option at quarterback.
Earlier this week, the team was linked to free agent Tim Tebow, but those reports were later determined to be false. It's unclear what the organization will do in the long term, but Monday night's game against the Seattle Seahawks will determine if Clemens is capable enough to keep the team afloat in the second half of the season.
Reports of vote-rigging, leaked medical records and mistrust are three tenets of Greg Schiano's reign as Buccaneers head coach. Now it appears his players are pushing back, with a report from NFL.com's Michael Silver that Schiano is losing respect due to his dictatorial approach to team management.
There's no mystery that the Buccaneers head coach hasn't won fans in league circles. His insistence on rushing quarterbacks in kneel-down situations transcended "grittiness" and became an example last season of a first-year NFL head coach not understanding how the league operates. Players also took exception for his reverence of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during the team's joint practices in training camp.
“He said, ‘Treat their coaches like they’re your coaches.’ We were like, ‘Huh?’ When we practiced together, whatever Belichick wanted, he did. It was hilarious -- here (Schiano) is, acting like Mr. Tough Guy all the time, and when Belichick wanted something, he was like, ‘Yes, Bill.’ ”
The Buccaneers face the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football, and it remains to be seen if Schiano will last through the weekend, should Tampa Bay lose.
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul cooled significantly following a 2011 season where the pass rusher was named an All-Pro with 16.5 sacks. He has just one sack in 2013, on pace for fewer than his rookie season, when he was used as a rotational piece of the defensive line.
It appears there’s an answer for his struggles, as Pierre-Paul admitted he’s not healthy and likely won’t be until 2014. The fourth-year defensive end underwent back surgery this offseason, causing him to miss preseason and leaving him unable to practice until the beginning of the regular season.
Even a healthy Pierre-Paul wouldn’t save the Giants’ woeful season that’s off to a 1-6 start. His recovery will be in step with the team as a whole, playing for next year.
The Philadelphia Eagles are poised to return to starting Michael Vick as second-year quarterback Nick Foles has not yet been cleared to practice.
Vick has missed the last two weeks due to injury following a start that saw the quarterback lead the Eagles to a 2-3 record, throwing five touchdowns and two interceptions. It’s unclear if a good game against the New York Giants would keep Vick in the starting role, especially after Foles led Philadelphia to a 1-1 record in two starts, posting a season quarterback rating of 101.2.
New England Patriots rookie Logan Ryan showed great agility in returning a Geno Smith pass for a touchdown, and he'll be a little lighter in Week 8 after the NFL fined the defensive back $10,000 for the celebration of the biggest play of his young career.
Ryan elected to dive backwards into the end zone, staring back at the Jets' offense and grabbing his crotch. New York had the last laugh, however, as the Jets won on an overtime field goal.
Reigning MVP running back Adrian Peterson almost set the NFL single-season rushing record last season with his quick-twitch and decisive running style. However, Peterson admits that he's been hesitant in 2013 after sustaining a hamstring injury earlier in the season.
Peterson told the Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the injury was mostly in his mind.
“I feel like it was definitely hurting a little bit,” he said. “I feel like it was more in my mind. It’s strange to say that, but I think I was kind of holding myself back, not being able to stretch out and really run. I think I was kind of hindering myself. Now that I’m able to be more relaxed and got a clearer mind, I think I’ll be able to go out there and go full-speed.”
A clear and unencumbered Peterson won't be enough to turn the Vikings' season around. The team started 1-5 this season and remains firmly in last place in the NFC North largely on the back of spotty quarterback play and poor pass defense.
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