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| Thursday, August 8, 2024 |
| Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! |
| Normally, this is the part where I babble through an introduction, but we don't have time for that today because there's so much to cover. The first full week of the NFL preseason will be kicking off tonight and we'll be taking a look at all the best games that will be going down this weekend. |
| One thing you will notice today is that I am NOT mentioning Brandon Aiyuk, well, except for right now. Nothing has really changed on the Aiyuk front: A trade could certainly happen today, but right now, things are at a stalemate. The 49ers receiver could still end up in Pittsburgh (or possibly Cleveland), but for now, he's still in San Francisco. |
| Now that we have our daily Aiyuk note out of the way, let's get to the rundown. |
| As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter and if you don't have any friends, then just tell some random person that you run into today. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. |
| 1. Week 1 preseason preview: Two games are going down tonight |
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| After getting a small taste of the NFL preseason with the Hall of Fame Game last week, we're getting an even bigger taste tonight with two games on the docket. Since there are only two games, we're going to go ahead and preview them both by pointing out one thing you should be watching out for tonight. |
| Panthers at Patriots (7 p.m. ET, NFL Network) |
| Patriots: Drake Maye set to make NFL debut. The Patriots are currently in the middle of a QB competition, and because of that, coach Jerod Mayo plans on playing all four of his quarterbacks tonight. Of course, the most notable player in this QB battle is rookie Drake Maye. The third overall pick in the NFL Draft could take his first big step toward winning the starting job with an impressive showing tonight. On the other hand, if he struggles, it could put Jacoby Brissett in the driver's seat for winning the job. Panthers: Dave Canales set to make his coaching debut in Carolina. After spending the 2023 season as the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator, Canales finally landed his first head-coaching job when the Panthers hired him in January. This will mark his first game with the Panthers, and he's already made one big decision for tonight: He'll be keeping Bryce Young on the bench. |
| Lions at Giants (7 p.m. ET, NFL+) |
| Lions: Hendon Hooker set to make NFL debut. Although Jared Goff won't be playing tonight, we will get to see the debut of Hendon Hooker. The Lions selected the former Tennessee QB with a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he didn't see any action last year because he was coming back from an ACL injury that he suffered in college. Hooker is now competing with Nate Sudfeld for the backup job and both quarterbacks are expected to play. Lions bonus: Jake Bates is kicking tonight. The former UFL kicker is trying to win the Lions kicking job and he could make a big statement with a solid game tonight. Bates has a booming leg and we know that because he hit THREE field goals of 60 yards or more during the UFL season, including a 64-yarder. However, Bates has struggled with consistency during training camp and if he continues to struggle, the Lions will likely bring in another kicker to battle him over the next few weeks (Bates is currently the only kicker on the roster). Giants: Don't look for very many starters to play. The Giants are likely going to keep most of their starters on the bench tonight, which means no Daniel Jones and no Malik Nabers. Even though Jones won't be on the field, we will get to see the Giants' debut of Drew Lock, who signed with the team in March. |
| We'll go over the full preseason schedule for the weekend in tomorrow's newsletter, but if you want to check it out right now, you can do that by clicking here. |
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| 2. Ranking the five best preseason games to watch in Week 1 |
| The two games being played tonight aren't the only ones happening this weekend. Over the next four days, there will be a total of 16 games played, but since most people don't have time to watch 16 preseason games, we thought we would rank the top five that you need to keep your eye on this weekend. |
| Here are the five best preseason games of Week 1, according to Bryan DeArdo. |
1. Texans at Steelers (Friday, Aug. 9, 7 p.m. ET on NFLN). "Buckle up for this one, as both teams are slated to roll out their starters in a matchup between two playoff teams from a year ago."
2. Bears at Bills (Saturday, Aug. 10, 1 p.m. ET on NFLN). "Not going to lie, the biggest reason why this game is No. 2 is because of the possibility that No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams makes his NFL debut."
3. Commanders at Jets (Saturday, Aug. 10, 12 p.m. ET). "Jayden Daniels will start for Washington and it'll be fun to watch the reigning Heisman Trophy winner face Gang Green's talented defense."
4. Broncos at Colts (Sunday, Aug. 11, 1 p.m. ET on NFLN). "The NFL's only three-man quarterback battle will be on center stage. And despite being No. 3 on the depth chart, rookie Bo Nix is currently the leader in the clubhouse as he looks to win the job over Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson."
5. Raiders at Vikings (Saturday, Aug. 10, 4 p.m. ET on NFLN). "Once again, we've got several quarterback storylines to keep an eye on. For the Raiders, it's the position battle between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew." |
| If you want to check out the rest of Bryan's ranking, you can do that here. |
| 3. One thing to watch in every preseason game |
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| As you can see, we've going all in on the preseason today. Not only have we previewed tonight's games AND ranked the top five games of the weekend, but now, we're going to give you one reason to watch every game being played over the next four days. |
| Let's take a look at what Jeff Kerr wrote about three of the 16 games being played: |
| Falcons at Dolphins: Michael Penix Jr. will be playing. "Penix isn't likely to see the field in his rookie season if Kirk Cousins stays on the field. This preseason will be the best opportunity to see what the No. 8 overall pick brings to the Falcons offense."Chiefs at Jaguars: Kansas City's battle at left tackle. "Will the Chiefs have second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia protecting Patrick Mahomes' blind side? Kansas City has a left tackle competition brewing between Suamataia and Wanya Morris, with Suamataia getting the reps with the 1s." Seahawks at Chargers: Easton Stick taking first-team snaps at QB. "Justin Herbert isn't coming back this preseason (foot), making who the Chargers' QB2 will be even more paramount. The offense has struggled without Herbert, stalling in the week he's been out." |
| If you need a reason to watch any or all of the 16 games being played this weekend, Kerr's got you covered here. |
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| 4. Ranking AFC contenders by tiers |
| Earlier this week, we ranked the top NFC contenders by tiers. If you need a quick refresher on that, we basically said that the 49ers, Lions and Packers were the only three contenders and that the other 13 teams should just focus on next year. Although the NFC is top heavy, the same can't be said for the AFC, which seems wide open. |
| After ranking the NFC teams, Garrett Podell is back again to rank the AFC contenders: |
Tier 1 (In a league of their own): ChiefsTier 2 (Real-deal contenders): Ravens, Bills, TexansTier 3 (Fringe contenders): Bengals, Jets, DolphinsTier 4 (Wild card wilderness): Colts, Jaguars, Steelers, ChargersTier 5 (Not so hot in Cleveland): Browns Tier 5 (We're already counting down to the 2025 draft): Patriots, Titans, Broncos, Raiders
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| If you want a full explanation of these tiers, including why the Bengals are considered FRINGE CONTENDERS and not 'real-deal' contenders, you can read Garrett's entire story here. |
| 5. Browns unveil plans for $2.4 billion domed stadium |
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| The Cleveland Browns have existed since 1946, and in the 78 years since then, they've played all of their home games outdoors, but that could soon change. The Browns are hoping to build a domed stadium near Cleveland and they unveiled their plans for the project on Wednesday. |
| Here's what you need to know: |
| Proposed stadium would be south of Cleveland. The Browns are hoping to building their new $2.4 billion stadium in Brook Park, which is a city that sits about 15 miles away from the location of the team's current stadium. "The Brook Park site is the most compelling option for a dome for several reasons: its central location for our regional fan base, its proximity to downtown, the RTA and the airport, and its strong existing infrastructure," the team wrote in a letter that was shared Wednesday. Browns don't seem interested in proposal from Cleveland. Last week, the city proposed a plan to renovate the Browns' current stadium. Under the plan , the city would chip in $461 million to the project. Based on what they wrote yesterday, the Browns don't seem too enthusiastic about the city's proposal. "One option is the renovation on the lakefront; while our current stadium has served us well, it would need substantial improvements to ensure future sustainability and make it a state-of-the-art facility that makes Cleveland proud," the team said. "The lakefront site also has significant operational limitations for a building of our size, and requires major infrastructure moves to improve our operational and fan experience challenges."Browns want the public to help pay for it. With a $2.4 billion price tag, the Browns don't want to be stuck footing the entire bill, so they've proposed a 50-50 public-private partnership. Although the public has mostly been against paying for stadiums in recent years, Cleveland already lost the Browns once, so the citizens there may be more open to help paying for a stadium. That being said, the Browns are hoping to get the public portion paid for without raising taxes. |
| When the Browns made their big announcement on Wednesday, they released several renderings of the proposed dome stadium, which you can see here. One upside of the building a domed stadium is that it could host other major events, including the Super Bowl, Wrestlemania and the NCAA Tournament. |
| The Browns' current stadium opened in 1999 and their lease at the building runs through 2028. |
| You can check out our full story on the situation here. |
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| 6. Extra points: Former Super Bowl MVP retires |
| It's been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. |
| Nick Foles announces his retirement. After 11 NFL seasons, Foles has decided to retire. Although Foles only started 58 games in his career, he'll forever be remembered in NFL history for what he did in 2017. After Carson Wentz went down with a season-ending injury, Foles came in and led the Eagles on an improbable Super Bowl run that culminated with a 41-33 win over the Patriots. Foles threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns, which was good enough to earn him Super Bowl MVP honors. You can read more about his career here. Giants and Lions both fined $200,000. The NFL doesn't like it when two teams fight during practice and to discourage it from happening, the league has decided to fine both the Lions and Giants. Both teams were hit with a $200,000 fine as punishment for the multiple fights they got in during their joint practices this week. Colts starting receiver out at least one month. Josh Downs, who finished second on the team in both receiving touchdowns and receiving yards last season, likely won't be on the field for Indy's opener. Downs injured his ankle in practice and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks, according to NFL.com. Packers add another player to their kicking competition. The Packers clearly aren't happy with how their kicking competition is going because they've decided to add another player to the mix. The team signed Alex Hale on Wednesday and he'll not keep with Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph for the kicking job. Son of Terrell Owens gets cut by 49ers. Terique Owens, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, was released by the 49ers on Wednesday. Terique was waived because he suffered a hand injury that's expected to keep him out for several weeks. According to multiple reports, Owens was having a decent training camp and it's certainly possible the 49ers could bring him back once he's healed. |
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| | | | | Canadian Football League | | 24/7 Sports News | Get excited for Canadian football all weekend long. First up, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats take on the Montreal Alouettes at 7 PM ET on Saturday, then it's the BC Lions at Edmonton Elks at 7 PM ET on Sunday, both live on CBS Sports Network.
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