Even without PI, there’d still have been targeting.
True that. The receiver’s mouthpiece was popped-out before he even hit the ground.
The facemask fouls you’re talking about were 5-yard incidental facemask calls, which were removed from the NFL rulebook in 2008. Essentially, a defender has to attempt a tackle by the facemask or helmet to draw the still-existing 15-yard facemasking foul.
Mentioning a nine-year old game is a non-sequitir – the point is not “too bad the Saints lost”, the point is “the official needs to get the obvious calls correct.”
I’m not sure if there were angles showing it clearly not touching exactly, But I’m pretty sure if you did a timecode synced side-by-side compare of two of the angles, anytime one angle showed a potential touch, the other angle would show a distinct separation in another dimension, if that makes sense.
We don’t have an off season thread yet, but it looks like Alex Smith will miss the entire 2019 season. Not exactly looking good for the Redskins.
I’m not at all surprised by this news, given both how bad the injury was, and the fact that he was dealing with infection complications.
SI.com story from today, with the Redskins stating that they don’t expect Smith back before 2020.
Teddy Bridgewater had a similarly-gruesome leg injury that took some time to recover from. Since he returned to the NFL he has gone from a starter that Minnesota hoped could be their franchise guy to being a backup bouncing around from team to team. (He’s currently on the Saints but it’s unsure whether he’ll stay there.)
Smith may have trouble getting a starting job when he can play again. He also isn’t as young as Teddy. We’ll see…
I assume this means that the Redskins have to be the most likely landing spot for Nick Foles?
Things haven’t looked good for the Skins since Daniel Snyder bought the team.
I understand he’s got a nice boat, perhaps he’ll take me fishing one day.
Is it traditional to have a separate SB thread, or just continue in this one?
Anyway, Bill Belichick today, when asked why he uses so many football players from the University of Georgia said:
“I think Kirby’s program is excellent to prepare guys for the National Football League.”
We really appreciate the recruiting boost, Coach. Thanks!
Even without the leg injury, he’s already 34 and played in 14 seasons. Ought to call it quits. It’s not like he’s on the cusp of a Super Bowl or something.
FWIW, Theismann was 36 and never played again.
I thought the same thing when I saw him carted off and saw how brutal the injury was. He’s not young, even a young guy might struggle to recover fully, and he wasn’t a top tier QB to start with (I’m not saying he’s bad but he’s not someone who elevates a team around him like Rodgers, Brady, Brees, etc.). Is there going to be that much interest when he’s 35/36 and wanting to get used to playing again?
If I were him I’d invest the millions I’d made, retire, and enjoy the opportunities available to a former long-time starting QB.
Then again, I’m not an NFL QB and don’t know what drives someone to get that far, so I might be completely off base.
Agree. How is his personality? Could he be recruited as a commentator on one of the networks?
True. On the one hand, Theismann’s injury was 33 years ago, and there’s been considerable advance in medicine (and sports medicine for the rehab) since then.
On the other hand, Smith suffered significant complications due to infection in the weeks that followed the injury, which required several additional surgeries, and has apparently weakened the bone considerably (at least in the near term).
A point of comparison (in addition to Bridgewater) might be Bears tight end Zach Miller, who dislocated his knee in a game in 2017. The incident also caused a tear in an artery in his knee, requiring emergency surgery, and he nearly lost the leg. He’s now been rehabbing the injury, and strengthening the leg, for over a year, and remained under contract with the Bears in 2018. He’s said that he hopes to be able to return to football at some point, but it remains to be seen if he’ll ever be able to do so.
That bar is pretty low.
Are we talking Jason Witten good, or Troy Aikman good…? 
Rob Ryan has s job again, he’s now the inside linebackers coach for the Washington Redskins. I’ve been following football for a long time and never knew they had a coach as specialized as that, I know teams have a linebackers coach but didn’t realize it got even more specialized. Guess he can’t do any damage there, but seems like a major demotion.
I think it’s a fairly recent thing, but not uncommon now. Checking the Packers’ web site for their new coaching staff, they, too, have separate coaches for ILBs and OLBs (as well as for TEs and WRs).
The Patriots only have one LB coach, but separate coaches for cornerbacks and safeties.