The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 15, 2018, Image 11

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The times., December 15, 2018, Image 11

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Newspaper Page TextNFL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Saturday, December 15, 2018 3B Eagles QB Wentz has stress fracture in back, but no surgery required Carson Wentz’s back injury means Nick Foies gets another opportunity to rescue the Phila- d e 1 p h i a Eagles. Eagles coach Doug Ped erson said Friday that Wentz does not require surgery for a stress fracture in his back and the injury could take up to three months to heal. The quarter back is listed as “doubtful” for Sunday night’s game against the Rams in Los Angeles and is scheduled to travel with the team. Foies wasn’t available to speak to reporters, but teammates expect the Super Bowl MVP to start. “He’s the guy and it’s my job to create as much sepa ration for him or if he gives me an opportunity and I am covered, go get it,” wide receiver Nelson Agholor said after practice. Pederson is optimistic about Wentz’s recovery. “The fact that he doesn’t need surgery on this is the best news you could possibly have on anybody that has a stress fracture or stress injury,” Pederson said. He wouldn’t rule him out for this week or the rest of this season. The Eagles (6-7) are still in the chase for a playoff spot. “If we put him out there, there has to be 100 percent that there’s no risk of any thing further.” The team isn’t certain when Wentz got hurt and Pederson said the injury developed over time. A test on Tuesday revealed his condition. “He’s one of the toughest dudes I know, but of course it’s going to affect him,” wide receiver Jordan Mat thews said after Thursday’s practice. “You have to be able to twist, you have to be able to turn. Carson is prob ably the best quarterback also throwing off the run, so that affects your running, too. He’s wearing a knee brace. This guy is playing through a lot.” Foies hasn’t taken a snap in a game since Week 2. He took over in Week 14 last season after Wentz tore two ligaments in his left knee during a comeback win on the road against the Rams. Foies led Philadelphia to its first NFL title since 1960 and started the first two games this season, going 1-1. “Nick is a Super Bowl MVP quarterback for a rea son and we’ve got a ton of confidence that he’s going to give it his all like he always does,” said tight end Zach Ertz, who caught the winning touchdown pass from Foies in P h i 1 a - delphia’s 41-33 win over New England in February. Foies is 21-12 as a starter, including playoffs, in two stints with Philadelphia. He has completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 451 yards, one TD and one intercep tion this season. He was outstanding last postseason, completing 72.6 percent of his passes for 971 yards, six TDs, one pick and also had a TD catch. “I’m not going to com pare,” Agholor said. “It’s two different situations. ” RAIDERS SUSPEND BRYANT FOR SUB STANCE ABUSE: Oakland Raiders receiver Martavis Bryant has been suspended indefinitely for violating the NFL policy on substance abuse. The NFL announced Fri day that Bryant has violated the terms of his conditional reinstatement in April 2017 and has been placed back on the suspended list for an indefinite period of time. Bryant is currently on injured reserve with a knee injury. He is in the final year of his contract and eligible for free agency next year. The Raiders traded a third-round pick to Pitts burgh for Bryant during the draft. Oakland cut Bryant on Sept. 1 and then brought him back later that month. He had 19 catches for 266 yards in eight games this season. Associated Press Foies Wentz FANTASY FOOTBALL JEFFREY BARNES I Associated Press Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen prepares to hand off during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 25 in Orchard Park, N.Y. Tips for those looking for a semifinal edge Buffalo quarterback Allen remains a strong option Associated Press A look at some key fan tasy football questions and answers for Week 15: WHICH UNDER-THE- RADAR PLAYERS HAVE THE BEST CHANCE FOR BIG GAMES THIS WEEK? We don’t recom mend making many whole sale changes to your lineup in the fantasy playoff semi finals that typically happen this week. However, if you’re look ing for a little magic at the QB position, Derek Carr of the Raiders has averaged 303 passing yards over the past two weeks with five touchdowns and no inter ceptions. He faces the Ben- gals, who allow the second most fantasy points per game (FPPG) to QBs. The Bengals have also allowed at least one rush ing TD to running backs in eight straight games and given up the most FPPG to the position. Raiders RB Doug Martin is averag ing just 54 rushing yards per game in his last seven starts but has TDs in three straight. The Jets have allowed the third most FPPG to WRs. Bills WR Robert Fos ter has at least 94 receiving yards in three of his last four games and with Kel vin Benjamin and Andre Holmes no longer on the team he’s likely to be heav ily targeted by QB Josh Allen. Bengals TE C. J. Uzomah has a plus matchup against the Raiders, who’ve given up the most FPPG to TEs. Panthers TE Ian Thomas has a tougher matchup against the Saints but has 14 catches over the past two weeks including nine in Week 14. CAN CAM NEWTON BE TRUSTED THIS WEEK? Newton has been on the Panthers injury report for the past few weeks due to a shoulder injury but has been able to play. His shoulder woes may be more serious than the Panthers are letting on. His average yards per pass attempt has decreased from a high of 9.65 in Week 11 to just 6.31 this past week. Even Newton’s rush ing yards have decreased in each of the past three weeks. In addition, he’s failed to reach 200 pass ing yards in his last three games against the Saints, his Week 15 opponent. Combine those factors and you’ll be better off keeping Newton on your bench if you have a via ble alternative. IS JOSH ALLEN A BETTER START THAN AARON RODGERS OF CAM NEWTON THIS WEEK? Allen has scored the second most fantasy points among QBs over the past two weeks. Dur ing that time Rodgers has been a QB12 and Newton has been QB 21 in total fantasy points scored. Since Week 12, Allen has averaged 112 rushing yards per game. That’s 11 fantasy points in standard scoring systems. His rushing provides a nice floor to his fantasy production. Rodgers has averaged 209 passing yards over the past three weeks and visits Chicago this week. The Bears have allowed the second fewest FPPG to QBs. CAN TITANS RB DER RICK HENRY HAVE ANOTHER BIG WEEK? Recent history suggests the answer is no. Includ ing the playoffs, Henry has rushed for at least 109 yards three times in his career. His rushing totals in the weeks following those games were 13, 20 and 28 yards. Henry takes on the Giants on the heels of a tremendous 238-yard rushing performance. The Giants gave up just 43 rushing yards to Red skins RBs last week but in their previous five games RBs torched them for an average of 130 rushing yards. Henry’s 17 carries in Week 14 were his most since Week 3 and Dion Lewis is still playing sig nificantly more snaps than Henry every week. WHICH BRONCOS WR IS THE BEST FANTASY START? Fade Courtland Sutton. He’s averaging just over two catches per game and he’s been dealing with a quad muscle injury that could limit him. Tim Pat rick and DaeSean Hamil ton are two Broncos WRs who are both in play this week. Patrick plays on the outside and is coming off of a 10-target, seven-catch, 84-receiving yard perfor mance. He should benefit from top Browns CB Den zel Ward missing his sec ond straight game. WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE PATRIOTS BACKFIELD? Earlier in the season Sony Michel and James White were both startable in fantasy every week. Michel got the majority of carries and goal line opportu nities and White was a reliable change-of pace- option whose specialty was catching balls out of the backfield. “Buy Direct from the Manufacturer” A METAL ROOFING SALES, INC. • 16 Colors in Stock •Delivery Available (770)886-3880 www.metalroofingsalesinc.com 82 Etowah River Rd. Dawsonville, GA Recent missteps have separated Redskins as the worst in all of sports You’ve gotta hand it to Washington’s alleged NFL team. There’s the offensive nickname. Not to men tion claiming a player off waivers not long after he allegedly beat up a woman — again. And let’s not forget the organization’s unwillingness to pursue a legitimate quarterback — yes, there’s at least one out there — with the playoffs on the line. Oh, and while we’re at it, quietly trying to push through a plan for a new stadium that would undoubtedly serve as another raid on the public coffers. Let’s go ahead and give this bunch a new moniker: the worst franchise in sports. Washington’s NFL team has some stiff competition, of course. There are horri bly run franchises all over the sporting landscape. Even within its own league, it’s hard to dismiss the not-long-for-Oakland Raiders, who had the gall to announce they were bolting for a financial windfall in Las Vegas a full three seasons before they actually planned to skip town, smugly counting on the good people of Oak- town being nothing more than silver-and-black-clad suckers willing to support a lame-duck franchise. Now, it looks like the team might be homeless in 2019 after Oakland officials filed a lawsuit to recover some of the tens of millions of dollars they’ve invested in the team and its current stadium. The Raiders deserve to be banished to a season of aimless wandering after turning their backs on Oak land for the second time, trading away two of their best players, and handing the keys to the franchise to broadcaster-masquerad- ing-as-coach Jon Gruden, who has guided them to three wins in his first 13 games. But we’ll still go with the Washingtonians as the ones most faithfully following the path of Be Worst. A brief recap: — Reuben Foster, a troubled young man arrested not once but twice this year on suspicion of domestic violence, was claimed off waivers by Washington shortly after being released by the San Francisco 49ers. While we have little faith that any NFL team really cares all that much about deal ing with this scourge on society — see: Kareem Hunt and countless oth ers who’ve had similar brushes with the law — Washington turned the cynicism meter up to full blast before ripping off the knob. — While giving Foster what amounts to a fourth chance (he’s also got a marijuana arrest on his rap sheet), Wash ington wouldn’t dare consider giv ing even a second look to a quarter back who had the gall to kneel dur ing the national anthem as a pro test against racial injustice. Again, Dan Snyder & Co. are hardly alone in the two-years long blackball ing of Colin Kaepernick — see: 31 other NFL teams — but the hypocrisy really stands out in the nation’s capital. After all, this team was in the hunt for the playoffs when it lost starting QB Alex Smith to a gruesome leg injury and backup Colt McCoy to a broken fibula. Last week, the Redskins trotted out the carcass of Mark Sanchez, whose last glimmer of relevance came toward the end of Barack Obama’s first term. A 46-10 loss to the woe ful New York Giants (who could’ve seen that com ing, except everyone?) led Washington to make another change for what could be their last shot at making the postseason. Exit Sanchez, enter Josh Johnson, who has twice as many NFL employers (this is his 12th team) as career starts (Sunday’s game at lowly Jacksonville will be his sixth, and first since 2011). Johnson gave Washing ton fans plenty of reason for hope when he declared “just a week ago, I was at home in the hood, chillin’ with the kids, chillin’ with my family and thinking on the couch that I might never play in the NFL again.” Also, he prepped for his new gig by playing the PAUL NEWBERRY pnewberry@ap.org “Madden” video game. The Redskins would prob ably be better off just play ing the game’s namesake, 82-year-old John Madden, at QB. — While Snyder’s horrific reign as owner — see: only five playoff appear ances since buying the storied fran chise in 1999, dwin dling attendance at the FedEx Mau soleum, the RG3 fiasco, the embarrassing reign of coach Mike Shanahan, and so many other missteps that a full documenting would require transform ing this column into book- form — he’s keeping up the push for a new stadium that, like so many others landed by his socialist-loving brethren, would surely require the taxpayers to turn over a hefty chunk of what occupies their wallets. The Washington Post reported last week that Snyder is working with the outgoing Congress and the Trump administration to pull off an underhanded maneu ver: getting a provision in a new spending bill that would allow him to build on the site of team’s for mer District home, RFK Stadium. A very Snyder- like move, indeed. — Finally, let’s never forget that awful nick name, the one that Snyder steadfastly refuses to walk away from and won’t be typed out on this keyboard. I checked again with Merriam Webster. Yep, that word is still “very offensive and should be avoided.” Much like Washington’s NFL team. The worst franchise in sports. Paul Newberry is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry@ap.org or at www.twitter.com/ pnewberry1963. Foster McCoy Playoff scenarios AFC CLINCHED: Kansas City and Los Angeles Chargers, playoff berths NEW ENGLAND (9-4) at Pittsburgh (7-5-1), Sunday New England clinches AFC East with: — Win and Miami loss or tie, OR — Tie and Miami loss New England clinches playoff berth with: — Win and Tennessee loss or tie, OR —Win and Baltimore and Tennessee losses and Indianapolis loss or tie HOUSTON (9-4) at N.Y. Jets (4-9), Saturday Houston clinches AFC South with: — Win and Indianapolis and Tennessee loss or tie, OR — Tie and Indianapolis and Tennessee losses Houston clinches playoff berth with: — Win and Miami loss or tie and Pittsburgh loss, OR — Win and Miami and Baltimore loss or tie, OR — Tie and Indianapolis loss or tie and Baltimore and Miami losses, OR — Tie and Indianapolis loss or tie and Pittsburgh and Baltimore losses and Miami tie, OR — Tie and Indianapolis loss or tie and Pittsburgh and Miami losses and Baltimore win, OR — Tie and Tennessee loss or tie and Baltimore and Miami losses, OR — Tie and Tennessee loss or tie and Pittsburgh and Baltimore losses and Miami tie, OR — Tie and Tennessee loss or tie and Pittsburgh and Miami losses and Baltimore win NFC CLINCHED: Los Angeles Rams, NFC West; New Orleans, NFC South NEW, ORLEANS (11-2) at Carolina (6-7), Monday New Orleans clinches first-round bye with: — Win and Chicago loss or tie, OR — Tie and Chicago loss LOS ANGELES RAMS (11-2) vs. Philadelphia (6-7), Sunday Rams clinch first-round bye with: — Win and Chicago loss or tie, OR — Tie and Chicago loss CHICAGO (9-4) vs. Green Bay (5-7-1), Sunday Chicago clinches NFC North with: — Win, OR — Minnesota loss, OR — Tie and Minnesota tie Chicago clinches playoff berth with: — Tie, OR — Washington loss or tie DALLAS (8-5) at Indianapolis (7-6), Sunday Dallas clinches NFC East with: — Win, OR — Tie and Philadelphia loss or tie and Washington loss or tie, OR — Philadelphia loss and Washington loss SEATTLE (8-5) at San Francisco (3-10), Sunday Seattle clinches playoff berth with: — Win, OR — Tie and Minnesota loss and Carolina loss or tie, OR — Tie and Minnesota loss and Philadelphia and Washington loss or tie, OR — Tie and Carolina, Philadelphia and Washington loss or tie Associated Press INTRODUCING a* and orwh Sav ed You - Mr. NilS % UW OU LD!1av *“>-aoi 7 Little & Davenport Funeral Home To inquire about pricing packages available to memorialize a pet in print, please contact Megan Lewis at 770-535-6371 or mlewis@gainesvilletimes.com Pets at Peace will appear in The Times the last Sunday of each month.