By the year 2020
Sebastian Janikowski Jersey Seahawks , and the end of the current NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, what will the NFL look like? A panel of ESPN
experts were asked the same question and they came up with some very interesting
answers.There are at least five things these experts believe will happen and are
imminently on the three-year horizon. Conversely, there are at least five things
that seem to be a bit more of a stretch.Below is a bit more detail on each side
of the argument.Will Happen: Elimination of Kick-Offs This one is more in the
might happen category, but is working its way towards happening. The rules had
already been changed to encourage touchbacks, but the NFL is a series of
injuries away from changing the rule again. If players are exposed to more and
more injuries over the next three years, you can bet the league will look at a
more drastic change.Won't Happen: Guaranteed Contracts Even though NFL players
statistically average the shortest careers among professional athles - and a
high probability of injury?- the likelihood that owners will offer guaranteed
contracts is slim to none.?Players have long agreed to these terms during
individual negotiations and will continue to do so. The owners are under no real
stress to change the circumstances under which these contracts are offered.
??The Jacksonville Jaguars heard the chatter, read the tweets and Instagram
posts. And they got a little confused.Why were the Pittsburgh Steelers talking
about the New England Patriots? Didn’t they have to face the Jaguars first
before reaching a rematch with the Super Bowl champions?“I don’t know if they
misread the schedule or didn’t play us this week, but they didn’t acknowledge us
at all,” Jacksonville linebacker Myles Jack said. “And we didn’t take that too
kindly.”Not at all. That shouldn’t be a problem going forward.The
Jaguars
Authentic Tanner Lee Jersey , yes the Jaguars, have the NFL’s full attention now. A trip to Foxborough on the horizon, too.Dominant at the start and
resilient at the finish, Jacksonville stunned the Steelers 45-42 on Sunday to
advance to the AFC title game for the third time in franchise history and maybe,
finally, earn a bit of respect.Leonard Fournette ran for 109 yards and three
scores . Embattled quarterback Blake Bortles added 214 yards passing and a
pivotal fourth-quarter touchdown as the third-seeded Jaguars (12-6) beat the
second-seeded Steelers (13-4) at Heinz Field for the second time in three
months.The victory in October served notice Jacksonville was ready to put a
decade of losing firmly behind. This one sent an even bigger message: overlook
the Jaguars at your own peril, something Pittsburgh appeared to do in the
run-up. Coach Mike Tomlin hinted at facing the Patriots twice back in December.
Running back Le’Veon Bell posted on about the pair of “round 2s” the Steelers
will face in coming weeks.Turns out, one rematch is all the Steelers will
get.“We knew we had this team’s number,” Jacksonville safety Barry Church said.
“All we did was feed on the fuel that everybody was providing
Pat Valaika Colorado Rockies Jersey , the media, everybody was talking about how they’re going to run through us, it’s not going to be like last
(time). Blake Bortles this. Blake Bortles that. all he did was dominate their
defense.”A week removed from an ugly performance in a wild-card round win over
Buffalo in which he passed for 87 yards and struggled with the easiest of
throws, Bortles went 14 of 26 for a touchdown without an interception. He ran
for 35 more and wasn’t sacked by a defense that led the NFL and set a franchise
record with 55 during the season. Jacksonville’s 45 points tied the most ever
allowed by the Steelers in the playoffs.Not bad for an offense that at times
simply appeared along for the ride as the NFL’s top defense carried the
load.“Blake Bortles has always been criticized,” Fournette said. “It is
different now. He has guys that have his back, especially me.”Certainly looked
it as Fournette scored two first-quarter touchdowns. The Jaguars built a
21-point lead and responded whenever the Steelers rallied to get within one
score.“The guys played with confidence all day long,” Bortles said. “Obviously,
what they have on their side of the ball, it’s a good team. We know they got a
good offense. We knew we were going to have to be efficient
Youth Saquon Barkley Jersey , hold on to the ball for a little bit, so we did it.”Ben Roethlisberger threw for 469 yards and set a franchise record with
five touchdown passes, but was also intercepted once and had a fumble returned
for a score. All-Pro Antonio Brown caught seven passes for 132 yards and two
touchdowns in his return from a left calf injury. Bell had 155 yards of total
offense and two scores.But Pittsburgh’s vaunted “Killer Bs” couldn’t keep pace
with Jacksonville, one of four NFL franchises to never make the Super Bowl.“It’s
disheartening,” Brown said. “I thought we had the right group of guys.”The
Jaguars dominated the Steelers on Oct. 8, winning by three touchdowns in a
performance so overwhelming Roethlisberger only half-jokingly wondered aloud
whether he still had “it’ after throwing a career-high five picks.Roethlisberger
and his teammates left little doubt they hoped for a rematch, though
Jacksonville cornerback A.J. Bouye cautioned Pittsburgh to be careful what it
wished for. The Jaguars hardly appeared intimidated by the 18-degree chill or
trying to earn their first road playoff win in a decade.“I’m sure there will
still be tons of people that are going to disapprove and talk negative or hate
or do whatever they want,” Bortles said. “But we get to keep playing and we get
an opportunity to play in Foxborough next week for another week. Just honored to
be able to do this especially with this group of guys.”“It’s been an awesome
year. Just want to keep it going.”FOURTH AND WOEPittsburgh rolled up 545 yards
of offense, but it’s 2 yards the Steelers didn’t get that helped send them into
an offseason filled with questions.Twice Pittsburgh had fourth-and-1 in
Jacksonville territory. Twice the Steelers did something other than have the
6-foot-5 Roethlisberger sneak. Pittsburgh ran wide in the first quarter and Bell
was stuffed for a 4-yard loss. The Jaguars responded immediately by going 75
yards in 11 plays
Cheap Chukwuma Okorafor Jersey , the final one a 4-yard sprint by T.J. Yeldon that put them up 21-0.The Steelers were down a touchdown early in the
fourth quarter and had fourth-and-inches at the Jacksonville 39. Roethlisberger
checked at the line of scrimmage, faked a handoff to Bell and instead threw
incomplete to diving rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster .“It’s been a while since I’ve
run a quarterback sneak, I’m for it,” said Roethlisberger, who added he will
return in 2018. “That’s kind of over my head when it comes to why we don’t do
it. I’m not going to sit here and second guess why we didn’t quarterback sneak.
I don’t know how many years it’s been since we quarterback sneaked.”UP NEXTThe
Jaguars travel to New England,.
