Sherman says he’ll be playing on Sunday

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On Friday, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman attended a hearing on the appeal of his pending four-game suspension for violation of the league’s policy regarding performance-enhancing substances.

After the hearing, Sherman declared that he’ll be available to play when Seattle hosts San Francisco on Sunday Night Football.

“Been a long day but very productive,” Sherman wrote on his Twitter page, via the Seattle Times.  “I will be out there with my teammates Sunday!“

Per league policy, a ruling on Sherman’s appeal must be issued within five days.  Last year, however, a ruling was delayed in the appeals filed by Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams and defensive lineman Ryan McBean, prompting an eventual suggestion by Williams’ lawyer that the NFL didn’t want to suspend the players during the playoffs, in order to ensure that Tebowmania wouldn’t be undermined by the loss of a key defensive player.

In the end, the delayed ruling didn’t help Williams overturn his suspension.  In Sherman’s case, he likely wouldn’t complain if the decision comes after the team’s playoff run has ended, even though he stands to lose more money from a suspension during the 2013 regular season, unless the Seahawks make it to the conference title game.

Regardless of when the ruling comes, it won’t be easy for Sherman to win.  As one source with extensive knowledge of the process has told PFT, these cases weren’t lost in the hearing room but at the bargaining table, given that the NFL and the NFLPA agreed to procedures that make it harder for the players to develop the evidence that would support an attack on any deficiencies in the sample collection and testing process.

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Denver Broncos cornerback Kayvon Webster will require surgery to repair an injured thumb suffered during Thursday night’s loss to the San Diego Chargers.

According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, Webster will have surgery on Friday.

The Broncos don’t believe the injury is season-ending and believe he could just miss next week’s game against the Houston Texans.

Webster has been playing in place of starting cornerback Champ Bailey, who has missed 11 of the Broncos 14 games this season. Webster has 41 tackles, 10 passes defensed, an interception and a forced fumble this season.

The scene in Denver following the conclusion of Thursday night’s game between the Broncos and San Diego Chargers has apparently shifted from collective disappointment to something much worse.

The Denver Police Department confirmed via their Twitter account there was a quadruple stabbing outside of Sports Authority Field at Mile High following the conclusion of the Chargers 27-20 victory over the Broncos. The incident was initially called into police just before 10 p.m. MT. Officers have suspects in custody and are not currently searching for any more perpetrators.

According to Daryl Orr of FOX 31 KDVR in Denver, one victim is in critical condition with the remaining three victims in stable condition.

Denver police say there is no word on what led to the incident in the aftermath of the game.

photo courtesy of Daryl Orr, FOX 31 KDVR

AP

The notion that Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is “extremely angry” over being shut down for the last three games of the season is compelling.  It may not, however, be accurate.

Per a source close to Griffin, the second-year quarterback is disappointed but not angry.

“Where they got that I don’t know,” the source said of the report that surfaced Thursday night on NFL Network.  “No competitor would be happy but to say he’s angry makes for good TV, I guess.”

The source added that Griffin has “accepted the decision,” even though Griffin still wanted to play.

“He feels like he let his teammates down and he wanted to finish the season with them,” the source said.  “Now he will just do it from the sideline and through practices.”

This assumes that coach Mike Shanahan will even let Griffin be on the sidelines for the final three games.  The next move in the protracted game of checkers/chess/chicken could be to pull a Josh Freeman-style banishment of Griffin to a luxury suite away from the many cameras covering the on-field action.

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Peyton Manning spent this week railing against the narrative that he can’t win games in cold weather.

Thursday night against the San Diego Chargers, Peyton Manning again lost in cold weather.

The usually high-powered Broncos’ offense was held to less than 300 yards of total offense by the Chargers on a chilly night in Denver. With temperatures into the 30s, Manning went 27 of 41 for 289 yards and two touchdowns. However, a late interception led to a field goal by Nick Novak to give the Chargers a two-score lead with 2:36 left to play.

Manning’s pass for Julius Thomas was deflected by Corey Liuget and picked off by Thomas Keiser at the Denver 33-yard line. San Diego managed one first down before a 35-yard field goal from Novak gave the Chargers a 27-17 lead.

Manning led the Broncos to a 42-yard field goal from Matt Prater to pull within a touchdown but an onside kick attempt failed to travel the required 10 yards and the Chargers were able to run out the clock.

The Broncos scored a touchdown on their opening possession but were held to just a field goal until the fourth quarter.

San Diego scored 21 straight points with two touchdown passes from Philip Rivers to Keenan Allen to give the Chargers a 24-10 lead.

Manning hit Andre Caldwell for a 5-yard touchdown, his second of the night, to pull within a touchdown. The Broncos defense held to give Denver a chance to tie before Manning’s interception ended those hopes.

Ryan Mathews had one of his best games for San Diego in the win. He carried 29 times for 127 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers.

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Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos offense did what it’s done most of the season in marching down field for a touchdown on their opening possession. Since then, the night has belonged to the San Diego Chargers.

San Diego has scored 21 consecutive points in taking a two touchdown lead over the Broncos midway through the third quarter.

Philip Rivers and Keenan Allen hooked up for a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter – a 19-yard and a 14-yard touchdown, respectively – in taking a 17-10 lead into halftime. The Chargers continued to move the ball against a struggling Broncos’ defense to open the second half. An eight-play, 80-yard drive was capped by a 23-yard touchdown run from Ryan Mathews to extend the San Diego to 24-10.

The Broncos high-powered offense has managed just one first down since late in the first quarter.

AP

If Mike Shanahan isn’t talking to reporters off the record, someone committed to his version of reality is.

The latest twist in the Godfather RGIII saga comes from Mike Silver of NFL Network, who reports that owner Daniel Snyder was the “impetus” for the trade that sent three first-round picks and a second-round pick to the Rams for the ability to trade up and draft Griffin.

We say in response, “Baloney.”

Shanahan has final say over the composition of the roster.  If Shanahan didn’t want to trade for Griffin, all Shanahan had to do was say so.  While standing pat for, say, Ryan Tannehill would have placed extra pressure on Shanahan to earn an extension, Shanahan should have taken a stand if the owner were trying to impose his unqualified will on the football operation.

Even if it’s true (and we doubt that it is), Shanahan forfeited the ability to complain about the decision to give up so much to get Griffin by ultimately signing off on the trade.  If Snyder pushed the issue and Shanahan ultimately went along to get along, Shanahan opted to try to have it both ways.

If Griffin had worked out well (like he did last year), Shanahan could be regarded as a genius.  If Griffin didn’t work out (like he didn’t this year), Shanahan or someone close to him could start leaking like a racehorse the notion that Shanahan didn’t want Griffin in the first place.

Snyder has remained silent throughout the past few days of dysfunction.  At first, we thought he was making himself look bad by letting Shanahan make him look bad.  The truth may be that Snyder has opted to simply let Shanahan make himself look bad, before firing Shanahan for cause.

And when Snyder fires Shanahan for cause and Shanahan files a grievance with Commissioner Goodell and reporters from other networks can’t be forced to disclose at the hearing whether Shanahan or someone close to him were leaking detrimental information, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with reporters who work directly for the league, and indirectly for the Redskins.

AP

The Texas Rangers got plenty of free publicity on Thursday by selecting Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in the Rule 5 draft, a name that actually makes baseball sound even more boring than it is.

The Rangers got some more free publicity, via Wilson and others talking about whether he’ll play baseball.

“Obviously, I love baseball and just love the game,” Wilson told reporters on Thursday, via quotes distributed by the team.  “It’s a relaxing sport, it’s a good sport.  I played it my whole life, but there’s nothing better than playing the quarterback position and playing in front of 90,000 people and it being third and six and the game on the line or being in the red zone and having to make a play in a big situation.  So that’s why I decided to play football because I love those moments and I love those big games.”

Wilson admitted that, at one point, he considered being a two-sport athlete at the professional level.

“[Rangers G.M. Jon Daniels] asked me if I’m trying to go Bo Jackson?” Wilson said.  “I thought about it before, I’m not going to lie.  But no.  I mean I’m just focused on football.”

Some think he should consider playing baseball, including an NFL Hall of Famer who once played for the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves — on the same day.  (Mrs. PFT and I attended the baseball half of that doubleheader, two years before she was Mrs. PFT.  And nine years before PFT was PFT.)

During the Chargers-Broncos pregame show, Deion Sanders said that Wilson should weigh all options and consider playing baseball.  49ers owner Jed York tweeted, “I agree.”

I agree with his agreement, for reasons explained during Thursday’s PFT Live.  Wilson will be eligible for a new contract after the 2014 season, but he’ll have no way to force the Seahawks to do a new deal that pays him close to market value.  Playing baseball in lieu of playing football becomes a viable alternative, especially if the Seahawks make a below-market offer to extend a contract that would pay him a mere $798,000 in 2015.

Wilson’s “Go ‘Hawks!” attitude is refreshing, but if he carries that mindset too deeply into his career, he’s going to get hosed.  Having options means having leverage.

Wilson currently has a significant option that eventually can be parlayed into significant leverage.  While playing two sports at the same time is unrealistic for a modern NFL quarterback, Wilson shouldn’t close the door on taking up baseball — especially since he could play it a lot longer, emerge from the game a lot healthier, and if he rises to the major leagues make a lot more money.

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Things have gotten so bad in Washington that the ongoing debate regarding the team’s name arguably represents not an unwanted annoyance but a welcome diversion from current football-related controversies.

On Thursday, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights voted unanimously to urge the owner of the Washington Redskins to change the team’s name.

“This is not someone else’s problem, this is everyone’s problem,” said Wade Henderson, CEO of the The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 diverse national organizations.  “Having an offensive slur for the Washington team name teaches young people to celebrate the denigration of people for being who they are.  That has a damaging psychic impact on individuals, as well as on the entire nation.  Changing the name is the right thing do, regardless of how comfortable fans have become with it.  And when Mr. Snyder does decide to put the slur away, I think he’ll discover a new market of consumers who recognize the dignity of all people and want to honor that with the sports teams they support.”

The team, which has remained largely (but not completely) silent in response to the persistent calls for change, has issued a statement in response to the resolution.

“The Washington Redskins hold these civil rights leaders in high regard, but we respectfully believe they are mischaracterizing decades of honor and respect toward America’s Indian heritage that our name represents for generations of Redskin fans and Native Americans alike,” the team said.  “We understand these leaders hold their views deeply, but so do hundreds and hundreds of Native Americans who have written to us expressing an opposite point of view. . . .

“We believe it is important to listen to and respect all sides on this issue, and that includes also listening to and learning from Native Americans and countless Redskin fans who, for generations, believe our name represents the strength, character and pride of our Indian heritage.”

In other words, the team’s current position is that the issue falls squarely within the realm of subjects on which reasonable minds may differ.  Some people reasonably find the term offensive.  Others reasonably find the term not offensive.  And while the team will listen to those who find the name offensive, the team won’t change the name as long as sufficient Native Americans and Redskins fans are not actually offended.

So, basically, the team won’t change the name unless and until a unanimous consensus emerges that the name is offensive.  And that likely won’t happen any time soon.

AP

Peyton Manning is closing in on taking the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a season back from Tom Brady.

On the first drive of Thursday night’s Chargers-Broncos game, Manning marched Denver’s offense down the field on a drive that culminated in a touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell, Manning’s 46th touchdown pass of the season.

Brady set the current NFL record of 50 touchdown passes in a season in 2007, breaking a record that previously belonged to Manning, who threw 49 touchdown passes in 2004. Now Manning is just five away from breaking Brady’s record.

Manning now looks like a lock to break Brady’s record. With a few touchdowns to spare.

AP

The longstanding agreement that gives DirecTV exclusive access to the Sunday Ticket package that gives NFL fans the ability to watch every game expires after next season. But the two sides have apparently come to terms on a new deal.

Multiple reports on Thursday say the league and the satellite TV provider have agreed to keep Sunday Ticket on DirecTV for years to come.

DirecTV, which pays about $1 billion a year to the NFL for exclusive access to Sunday Ticket, expects to keep that exclusive access going forward.

“We’ve had very, very constructive conversations with the NFL, but it’s complex,” DirecTV CEO Michael White told Variety. “I’m very optimistic we will get an exclusive deal done on NFL Sunday Ticket.”

There had been talk that the NFL might open up the Sunday Ticket package to cable companies, or that an Internet distributor like Google’s YouTube could bid on the contract. But DirecTV seems set to keep the competitors at bay and hold onto exclusive access to Sunday Ticket.

A new deal would need to be approved by DirecTV’s board of directors and the NFL’s owners, but this is a deal that has made both sides a lot of money, and now seems likely to keep making both sides a lot of money for many more years.

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The Broncos are without Champ Bailey for tonight’s game against the Chargers.

Bailey, the veteran cornerback who was listed as questionable with a foot injury, is inactive tonight. It will be the 11th game Bailey has missed this season.

Chargers receiver Eddie Royal, who was listed as questionable with a toe injury, is active. Royal leads the team with seven touchdown catches this season, so having him available is a big plus for San Diego.

In addition to Bailey, the Broncos’ inactives are WR Wes Welker, QB Zac Dysert, RB CJ Anderson, OL JD Walton, OL Chris Kuper and DL Derek Wolfe.

The Chargers’ inactives are CB Johnny Patrick, SS Brandon Taylor, OT Kenny Wiggins, WR Lavelle Hawkins, G Steve Schilling, NT Kwame Geathers and QB Brad Sorensen.

AP

The Chiefs have gotten some positive news on the injury front about linebacker Justin Houston and tight end Anthony Fasano this week, but a new name popped up on the injury report on Thursday.

Punt return ace Dexter McCluster did not practice because of an ankle injury. McCluster was not on the injury report at all on Wednesday, indicating a new injury that may be tough for him to battle through at this point in the week.

McCluster has been a big factor on special teams for the Chiefs this season, returning two punts for touchdowns and an average of 11.7 yards per return. He’s also caught 46 passes for 438 yards and a touchdown, so they’d also have a role to fill on offense as well.

The same could hold at left tackle. Branden Albert missed practice for the second straight day with the knee injury that kept him out of last week’s game. The better news in Kansas City is that Houston and Fasano were both limited for the second day in a row. Houston has missed two games after dislocating his elbow while Fasano missed last week’s victory with a concussion.

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As part of the effort to make the Pro Bowl less unwatchable, the NFL has fashioned another three-hour block of unwatchable television.

The league has announced that the first-ever Pro Bowl draft will be televised on Wednesday, January 22.  The event will come a day after the teams, led by Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders, draft 11 players who play the least interesting positions — guard, center, fullback, interior defensive linemen, punter, and special teams.

Those players will walk the red carpet at the site of the made-for-TV Wednesday night draft, which should help chew up a few of the 180 minutes devoted to the effort.

Once finalized, the teams will “practice” on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before “playing” on Sunday.

The new approach won’t make the players play any harder.  Which continues to be the biggest problem with the Pro Bowl.

Indeed, Rice himself — who will have a key role in the reconfigured, no-conference-affiliation Pro Bowl — has said that he doesn’t think the changes will work.

“You’ve got prima donnas, egocentrics, who act like it’s not an honor,” Rice said earlier this year, via Jarrett Bell of USA Today. “Plus, they’re thinking, ‘Why should I go and jeopardize what I’m doing?’ But it should be for the fans. How can you get the players to recognize that it’s an honor? You’ve got to play your best football in the Pro Bowl. So the spirit of this needs to be changed. I’m not sure that can be accomplished now.”

It’ll never be accomplished as long as players who have made it through a regular season and, for many, part of a postseason healthy enough to suit up and play to play so hard that they risk spending the offseason rehabbing and injury and, for some, squandering a free-agency payday.

AP

The 49ers’ only touchdown in Sunday’s win over the Seahawks came on a Colin Kaepernick pass to tight end Vernon Davis, with Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner in coverage. That was coverage Davis knew he could beat.

As shown on NFL Turning Point on NBCSN, before the series that ended with Davis’s touchdown, backup quarterback Colt McCoy approached Kaepernick on the sideline and told him that Davis recognized single coverage he could beat.

“Vernon said their guy was playing him straight up man. He said he can run right by him,” McCoy told Kaepernick.

Once the 49ers reached the red zone on the ensuing drive, Kaepernick threw three passes to Davis, one a 13-yard pass down to the 6-yard line, one incomplete and one that touchdown. Clearly, Davis was right when he said he could beat that coverage.

That drive came at the end of the first half, and in the second half Kaepernick never threw a pass in Davis’s direction. So the Seahawks apparently made some halftime adjustments. But the damage had been done.

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Ravens rookie safety Matt Elam created a stir by saying Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson was old and that the Ravens could stop him on Monday night by being physical with him as a result.

Johnson responded, saying that he’d show off his old-man strength to Elam while saying that he thought Detroit could make some plays against the Ravens safety. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco wondered what Elam was thinking by calling out the league’s best wide receiver before a game and now coach John Harbaugh has chimed in with further criticism of Elam’s verbal volley.

“I don’t appreciate it,” Harbaugh said, via the team. “It doesn’t help us. You get a guy like Calvin Johnson all fired up, that’s really not the idea.”

Flacco said earlier in the day that the team took deep shots at Elam throughout practice to try to get him ready for what he’ll face against Johnson on Sunday. It doesn’t help matters that linebacker Elvis Dumervil wasn’t able to practice with the ankle injury that kept him out last week. Whatever Elam’s feeling about the best way to approach defending Johnson, keeping balls from getting in the air at all would be safer.