??Leonard Fournette was sitting in his wrecked Mercedes-Benz on Interstate-295 earlier this week
http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-johnny-townsend-jersey , waiting for the police to arrive, when he got an unusual request.One of the
first responders wanted Jacksonville’s rookie running back to sign something.It
wasn’t a hat, a jersey or a football, either. The man asked Fournette to
autograph the damaged bumper off his $200,000 car.“The bumper was on the ground
and he just came out of nowhere like, ‘Man, can you sign this for me?'”
Fournette said Thursday. “I’m like, ‘You want me to sign a bumper?'”Fournette
said it’s “the first and hopefully last” automotive part that garners his
signature.If the former LSU star keeps playing like he did at Pittsburgh last
week, there’s no telling what he’ll be asked to sign next.Fournette ran for 109
yards and three touchdowns against the Steelers despite re-injuring his right
ankle in the first half. It was his most productive game in three months, a
positive sign for the Jaguars (12-6) as they prepare for the AFC championship
game at New England (14-3).“I feel good in spite of the ankle and stuff,”
Fournette said. “Just taking care of my body, but overall I feel
good.”Jacksonville’s ground game looked better than it has in weeks. The NFL’s
top rushing attack stalled down the stretch , averaging 3.58 yards a carry over
the final seven weeks of the regular season, and was mostly inept in a wild-card
victory against Buffalo until quarterback Blake Bortles started
scrambling.Fournette’s return to form couldn’t have come at a better
time.“Collectively, as a group, I feel like everyone came to play their part,”
Fournette said. “Everyone come out with it on their minds, especially from the
get-go with being physical.”Fournette averaged 4.4 yards a rush against the
Steelers
http://www.ravensauthorizedshops.com/authentic-anthony-averett-jersey , finding room to run outside and turning small holes between the tackles into big
gains. He scored three times, using his speed to get to the corner on one and
leaping over defenders and across the goal line for another.“We challenged these
guys early,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “Just because you
have success one week doesn’t mean you’re going to have success the next. It’s
just one of those things where it’s on the line, on Leonard, on the group, on
Blake, all the things that were going on.“It’s about wanting to do it and
understanding what you’re trying to do.”Now the Jaguars hope to have a repeat
performance against the Patriots, who ranked 20th against the run this
season.Fournette looked as healthy as he has since initially spraining his right
ankle in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in mid-October. Fournette ran for 130
yards in that game, which followed a season-high, 181-yard performance the week
before at Pittsburgh.Fournette missed three of the next eight games because of
the ankle and a bruised quadriceps muscle. And in the games he did play, instead
of ripping off long runs and grinding out tough yards, Fournette was slowed to a
crawl.The Jaguars were ecstatic to see him get back on track last week even
though he left the game briefly to get his ankle checked out and taped
up.Concerns returned Tuesday after his fender-bender.“You know what I always say
about car accidents?” coach Doug Marrone said. “It’s one of those things. You
can get into a car accident and feel pretty good, (and) two days later, you wake
up and I don’t know. That hasn’t happened yet. I never put that past car
accidents.”Fournette was limited in practice this week, but insists he’ll be
good to go for the game.His car won’t be so lucky. It’s in the shop getting
repaired.“The bumper’s probably like $50,000 by itself,” Fournette said. “I
don’t know what insurance they have or who they’re with, but …” The Los Angeles
Chargers could have declared this NFL draft to be a victory after they got
Derwin James in a widely perceived steal in the first round.
They still spent the next two days adding a diverse collection of talent on both sides of the ball to make a solid roster even better.
Two days after the Florida State safety unexpectedly fell to the Chargers with the 17th overall pick
Youth Brandon Parker Jersey , Los Angeles grabbed West Virginia safety Kyzir White in the fourth round Saturday with plans to turn him into a
linebacker.
The Chargers then drafted UCLA center Scott Quessenberry, a lifelong Chargers fan from the San Diego suburbs. With their final picks, they landed Texas Tech
receiver Dylan Cantrell and prolific Northwestern running back Justin
Jackson.
”I thought we got good individuals,” coach Anthony Lynn said. ”They all have great personalities, backgrounds, good intangibles, but they’re good football
players as well.”
Los Angeles chose defensive players with its first four picks, bolstering a unit that allowed fewer points than all but two teams last season. The Chargers’
final three picks were used on offensive players, and all three appear to have a
legitimate shot to make the roster of a unit that finished fourth in the NFL
with 376.6 yards per game last season.
The Chargers’ second- and third-round picks arrived in Costa Mesa on Saturday – and one of them drove there. USC linebacker Uchenna Nwosu’s family lives in
Carson, the suburban Los Angeles town where the Chargers play their home games
at StubHub Center for the next two seasons.
”This being my city, any questions guys have, they can come to me,” Nwosu said. ”Where to go for good food, sightseeing or anything, I’ve already got
those ideas in my head.”
Here are more things to know about the Chargers’ draft:
SWITCH IT UP
White is a big, versatile talent who had 94 tackles and three interceptions last year. The Chargers will move him to linebacker to fill an area of need, and
White welcomed the switch.
”I’ve never played it before, but I can adjust to anything
Jimmy Garoppolo Youth Jersey ,” White said. ”I think it would be a good situation. I’m always up for a challenge.”
Chargers general manager Tom Telesco believes White has several qualities necessary to move from safety in college to weak-side linebacker in the NFL.
That’s a switch that came up frequently when Telesco’s former team,
Indianapolis, looked to draft players for its Tampa 2 defense.
”Part of it is a mentality, and he has that mentality to come up and hit and do all the dirty work up at the line of scrimmage,” Telesco said.
White is the younger brother of receiver Kevin White, the seventh overall pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2015 draft. Kevin White has played in only five
games in his three NFL seasons due to numerous injuries.
PRODUCTIVE PICK
Jackson is the 11th-leading rusher in NCAA FBS history after racking up 5,440 yards during his four seasons with the Wildcats. Telesco and Lynn cited
Jackson’s steady production, including four 1,000-yard seasons, as a primary
reason to acquire him.
”Sometimes the measurables – height, weight, speed – sometimes that doesn’t add up,” said Lynn, a former running backs coach. ”There’s one thing, to me,
that’s hard to measure, and that’s a young man’s heart. And he has shown heart
every year he’s been at Northwestern, and his production shows that.”
RED RAIDERS
Lynn
Youth Daryl Worley Jersey , a Texas Tech product, was thrilled to grab Cantrell in the sixth round. And shortly after the draft ended, Texas Tech
announced that the Chargers had signed quarterback Nic Shimonek as an undrafted
free agent.
NO QB
After months of speculation, the Chargers did not draft a quarterback and potential heir to Philip Rivers. Los Angeles apparently will have newcomer Geno
Smith, Cardale Jones and Shimonek behind center in the offseason program. The
36-year-old Rivers has started every game since 2006, and Telesco repeatedly
said the Chargers are in no hurry to groom his successor. The Bolts haven’t
drafted a quarterback since 2013.
SO FRESH, SO CLEAN
Jones, who flew cross-country from Atlanta on Saturday morning, related the humorous circumstances around his selection. He didn’t expect to be drafted
until Saturday, so he went bowling with his girlfriend and other friends
Friday.
”I was bowling mad hard, and my girl was like, `Yeah, you ain’t smelling the best,”’ Jones said. ”So I go take a shower, and I’ve got the suds going on.”
That’s when the Chargers called. He struggled to answer his iPhone with wet fingers while running up and down and up the stairs after forgetting to put on
pants. When he finally got dressed and down into the living room, he was with
his mother when his name was called.
STILL NEED
The Chargers are still looking for a kickoff returner who can do better than last season’s unimpressive group, although Jackson returned kicks early in his
college career. Los Angeles didn’t draft an heir apparent at right tackle. The
Bolts would still like more depth on the defensive line. But they clearly feel
comfortable about the overall makeup of their roster.
—
.
