Author: nfltalk

FRISCO, Texas — In Week 4, All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons’ return to AT&T Stadium with the Green Bay Packers to face the Dallas Cowboys, his former team, was an unavoidable storyline. 

This week, there’s another return game storyline surrounding Dallas’ Week 5 matchup at the New York Jets: head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s return to New York. The Jets gave Schottenheimer his first offensive coordinator job at 32 years old under then-head coach Eric Mangini. 

Schottenheimer stayed on through then-head coach Rex Ryan’s first three seasons in charge from 2009-11. His tenure included calling plays for Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre at 39 years old in 2008, a campaign that began with a lot of promise thanks to an 8-3 start but then went downhill after Favre suffered a biceps injury, and the team finished 9-7. Schottenheimer built a punishing rushing offense that accentuated 2009 first-round quarterback Mark Sanchez’s skill set. The result was consecutive AFC title game appearances in 2009 and 2010. When he was let go following the 2011 season, Schottenheimer departed as the longest-tenured offensive coordinator in Jets history, as confirmed by CBS Sports Research.

“A little different. It wasn’t as big of a story when I left the Jets,” Schottenheimer said Wednesday after a big laugh when asked about his return this week in comparison to Parsons’ last week. “But it’ll be good. There’s still some people in the organization that I’m really close with. I like to think this way, I spent six years as the OC in New York, and I think that’s the longest-tenured coordinator there since the early 70s. It can feel like dog years at times because they have such great fans, and it’ll be fun to be back there. So I guess I was the coordinator there for 42 years. But, nah, we had great success. We won a lot of games. Proud of the fact that we went to back-to-back AFC Championship Games and things like…

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Colts cornerback Xavien Howard said that his play in last Sunday’s loss to the Rams was not up to his ability and the numbers back up the feeling that his performance was lacking.

According to Next Gen Stats, Howard gave up seven completions in 10 attempts when he was the closest defender and those completions went for 112 yards and a touchdown. Plenty of corners struggle when tasked with facing Rams wideout Puka Nacua, but Howard’s issues have been a running theme this season and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was asked about them on Tuesday.

Anarumo said “we’ve all got to do a better job” and that “rust or no rust” Howard, who did not play in 2024, is part of that group. He also said that the team will continually look at how players are performing when deciding who is going to be on the field from one week to the next.

“We’ll evaluate everybody, every game,” Anarumo said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “X is a player on the team, so he’s certainly going to get evaluated. . . . Not only X, but everybody will always be evaluated each week, based on performance. We’ll always take a look at all those things and move forward accordingly.”

The Colts would not have signed Howard in August if they were content with their cornerback group and Kenny Moore’s calf injury has depleted the ranks even more, so the veteran will likely get more chances to find his previous form before the Colts fully turn in other directions.

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San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh made headlines last week when he pointed out what he called a “really advanced signal-stealing-type system” in his assessment of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense. After a heated postgame spat with Jaguars coach Liam Coen, who took clear exception to what was an apparent accusation of rules-skirting, Saleh walked back his comments.

Saleh said in the wake of the vulgar exchange with Coen that he merely meant to compliment the Jaguars for their in-depth preparation and ability to identify and adjust to defensive play calls.

“It’s all good,” Saleh said on Tuesday. “Whatever happened on Sunday doesn’t change how I feel. In my heart, I genuinely was trying to give a compliment. I own the fact that I probably used a wrong choice of words. But however you want to word it, they’re really, really good at putting their players in position to be successful.”

In his initial comments, Saleh softened his verbiage when he noted that there is nothing illegal about the Jaguars’ preparation and that it is common throughout the NFL. Teams are, in fact, allowed to use broadcast footage and All-22 film to identify opponents’ signs and tendencies. They are not, however, allowed to film signals from unauthorized areas, including the sideline or press box.

“As coaches, we’re always chasing leverage,” said Saleh. “They’re trying to have winning leverage. We’re trying to take leverage away. Everyone in the league is trying to find every avenue they can. As a coach watching their tape, I recognized the amount of hours that must be spent to be able to build formations and to be able to find every little indicator they can to give their players a chance to be in a successful position. That’s exhausting.” 

He continued: “Every team does it, some do it better than others, and it was my way of acknowledging that these guys are really, really, really good at it….

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Four weeks are in the books, which means four managers in your Yahoo Fantasy guillotine-style leagues presented by Liquid Death are no longer around. It’s a wicked game, isn’t it? Of course, it’s wickedly fun when you’re on the good side of things.

Every week I’ll examine the most common NFL players on those cut teams and try to figure out where the puck is headed. I will also offer some FAB advice ($1,000 cap is the Yahoo default), but please remember this area is highly context-sensitive and manager-specific.

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Waiver strategy in guillotine-style leagues

If you’re new to this format, it’s critical to understand that waiver strategy is significantly different in the world of guillotine-style leagues.

You can often win a traditional fantasy league with modest help from the waiver wire, maybe a timely pickup or two. Sure, it’s great if you crush the market and land the right guys, and the best managers will always aim to be smart on the wire, but if your drafted team stays healthy and runs pure, some years that might be enough.

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Immediate needs vs. playing the long game

In guillotine-style leagues, the eventual winning manager will have assembled a MONSTER team at the end of the year, a juggernaut, a Pro Bowl-type of roster. And the way you build that beast is usually by having resources all season — by not blowing the majority of your FAB on a tantalizing early star. It’s pivotal that you understand that the waiver wire gets stronger and stronger every week in guillotine-style leagues, because the eliminated manager is coming from a smaller and smaller league size every week.

Unless you have a draft touched by the fantasy angels, you are unlikely to win a guillotine-style league without a successful and careful waiver-wire strategy.

[Eliminated or looking for more fun? There’s still time to join or create another Yahoo Fantasy guillotine-style…

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Tyreek Hill is apparently making the best of a tough situation following his devastating knee injury that occurred during the Dolphins’ win over the Jets on Monday night. 

To the surprise of everyone, the former All-Pro receiver smiled and waved to the crowd as he was carted off the field during the first half of Miami’s eventual 27-21 win. Hill — who was immediately hospitalized after dislocating his knee in the second quarter of Monday’s game — has continued to display positivity in his conversations with teammates. 

One of Hill’s teammates, offensive tackle Terron Armstead, posted a message on X stating that Hill “is in good spirits” while explaining the reasoning behind Hill’s smiles as he exited the field. 

As expected, Hill was a major topic following Miami’s first win of the season. An eight-time Pro Bowl receiver and three-time All-Pro, Hill is just two years removed from his banner 2023 campaign that saw him lead the NFL in both receiving yards and touchdown receptions. 

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said that he was one of several teammates who able to speak to Hill prior to him getting carted off the field. He said that Hill’s surprising smile as he exited the field is “just his personality.”

“That’s just who he is,” Tagovailoa said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with him.”

Tyreek Hill injury: Dolphins star WR dislocates knee — what it means for his future and Miami’s season

Zachary Pereles

 Fellow receiver Jaylen Waddle, who referred to Hill “as my twin” during his postgame…

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