Matthew Schmidt Articles - Page 36

The Cincinnati Bengals were the worst team in the NFL this past season, going a league-worst 2-14. It wasn’t exactly a great debut campaign for head coach Zac Taylor, although the Bengals’ ineptitude was hardly his fault and was due more to a sheer lack of talent than coaching miscues. The problem for Cincinnati is […]

Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. is set to hit free agency next month and will be one of the top defensive backs available when he does. But is there a chance that Harris returns to the Broncos? Harris says that “if they want me back, then I’ll be back,” but he seems to think […]

The Pittsburgh Steelers somehow contended for a playoff spot this past season, and their stingy defense was a big reason why. But safety Terrell Edmunds doesn’t think the unit did anything particularly special in 2019 and is looking forward to an even stronger performance from the defense next year. “We never did anything great, spectacular,” […]

The Chicago Bulls are looking to shake up their front office, with Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times reporting that the team is looking to replace Gar Forman with a new general manager. The Bulls probably won’t be firing Forman. Cowley notes that they will probably just move him into the scouting department. But nevertheless, […]

The Green Bay Packers had a good year. A really good year, as a matter of fact. They went 13-3, won the NFC North and locked up a first-round bye. They then defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. However, during the Packers’ lifeless NFC Championship Game loss to the San […]

Stephen A. Smith doesn’t think Tom Brady is going anywhere. Speaking on ESPN First Take on Monday morning, Smith said that he feels Brady will return to the New England Patriots and that the probability of him returning becomes more and more likely as time passes. Smith notes that Brady doesn’t really have many other […]

The New England Patriots are in desperate need of a wide receiver, and the good news is that there will be no shortage of options for them when free agency begins next month. But the best candidate for both short and long-term success may be Robby Anderson. No, Anderson does not have the track record […]

The New York Jets explored trades for running back Le’Veon Bell at this past season’s trade deadline, but were not able to find any deals. Will they revisit trade talks this offseason? Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes that while the Jets may want to move Bell, they have come to the realization that the chances […]

The 2019 NFL campaign was not kind to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. First, Roethlisberger put forth a rather nightmarish outing in a 33-3 Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots, and the following week, the veteran suffered what ended up being a season-ending elbow injury in a defeat at the hands of the […]

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is none too pleased with Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett, who is sticking by his assertion that Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph hurled a racial slur at him prior to Garrett hitting Rudolph over the head with a helmet back in Week 11 of this past season. While appearing […]

This time around, the players actually cared, at least for a good portion of the game. Yes, I am talking about the NBA All-Star Game, an event that generally profiles more as a practice session with less defense than a seriously competitive affair. But on Sunday night, in the 2020 iteration of the contest, Team LeBron […]

A couple of years ago, Richard Sherman’s career appeared to be going downhill. The cornerback had suffered a torn Achilles midway through the 2017 campaign with the Seattle Seahawks, and that ensuing offseason, the Seahawks allowed him to walk to the San Francisco 49ers via free agency as a result. Given that a torn Achilles is […]

The Miami Dolphins own the fifth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, and the general consensus is that they will be taking a quarterback at that spot. Could it be Oregon’s Justin Herbert? According to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald, the Dolphins have an “increasingly positive view” of Herbert and could even favor […]

All summer long, I warned everyone not to sleep on the Indiana Pacers. This is a team that could have been on its way to a deep playoff run last year had Victor Oladipo not suffered a ruptured quad tendon midway through the season, and during the offseason, they added big-time pieces such as Malcolm […]

The Jacksonville Jaguars could release wide receiver Marqise Lee this offseason, notes John Oehser of the Jaguars’ team website. If the Jaguars do cut Lee, it would hardly come as a surprise. The 28-year-old has two years remaining on his current deal and is scheduled to earn $6.25 million in 2020 and $8.25 million in […]

Could the Cleveland Browns potentially move on from tight end David Njoku this offseason? Jake Trotter of ESPN.com seems to think so. Trotter notes that Njoku, who missed much of the 2019 campaign with a broken hand and barely played even after returning from the injured reserve list, had fallen out of favor with the […]

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could look into signing free-agent safety Tony Jefferson, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic. Jefferson was released by the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, and from 2013 through 2016, he played under Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians while Arians was coaching the Arizona Cardinals, so there is some familiarity between the […]

Leonard Fournette just had a terrific bounce-back season after a miserable 2018. But John Reid of The Florida Times-Union doesn’t think it’s a sure thing that the Jacksonville Jaguars with pick up his fifth-year option. Fournette’s option would pay him $10.1 million for the 2021 campaign. Reid notes that he thinks the Jaguars should bypass […]

The New York Jets are not likely to re-sign wide receiver Robby Anderson, according to Connor Hughes of The Athletic. Anderson is set to be a free agent next month and said this past season that he would not take a hometown discount to remain with the Jets. Hughes notes that New York would love […]

Free-agent cornerback Josh Norman could be an option for the Buffalo Bills, notes Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com. Louis-Jacques mentions that Norman had his best season under Bills head coach Sean McDermott when McDermott was defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers back in 2015. Norman was released by the Washington Redskins on Friday. The veteran is […]

Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard is growing tired of the constant questions about his load management. During Leonard’s media session at All-Star weekend on Saturday, a reporter asked the two-time Finals MVP why he has not been playing in back-to-backs this season, to which Leonard responded by saying the following: “I’m pretty sure everyone […]

A year ago, the Miami Heat were a fringe playoff team in the Eastern Conference and ultimately missed the postseason altogether. Now, the Heat are in fourth place at the All-Star break at 35-19. Quite a bit has changed in South Beach since last season. Rookies such as Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro have been […]

Los Angeles Lakers big man Dwight Howard will be participating in the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night, marking the first time he will have taken part in the event since losing to Nate Robinson in 2009. A lot has changed for Howard since then, as he went from being one of the top players […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are not where they—and many others—thought they would be at the All-Star break. Yes, the 76ers have entered the hiatus winners of three straight, and yes, they have a solid 34-21 record, but they are just fifth in the Eastern Conference and have been a model of inconsistency all season. Going into […]

Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Harris will aim to defend his title at the 3-Point Contest at All-Star weekend on Saturday night. Harris outlasted Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry last year. So, why is Harris such a good three-point shooter? On Saturday morning, he offered a blunt response to that question: “I can’t jump, so […]

A lot of people expected the Miami Heat to be better this season, but I’m not sure how many people expected them to be this good. The Heat are 35-19 at the All-Star break and sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and while they are clearly a step or two below the top […]

So the XFL is back, and with Week 1 out of the way, we can kind of get a general idea of how things may end up going. Operative phrase: kind of. The league drew 12.47 million viewers for its opening week, which was roughly in the neighborhood of the first week of the Alliance […]

The Boston Celtics are entering the All-Star break on one heck of a note, as they defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in a double-overtime thriller on Thursday night behind 39 points from Jayson Tatum. The win put the Celtics at 38-16, one loss behind the Toronto Raptors for second place in the Eastern Conference. This […]

Boy, was I wrong about this team. After the Toronto Raptors lost Kawhi Leonard this past summer, I saw them as a 5 or 6-seed in the Eastern Conference, at best. I figured their aging roster coupled with their lack of star talent would drop them out of contention and that the Raptors would even […]

The Milwaukee Bucks are in a similar position to where they were around this time a year ago: in first place in the Eastern Conference (and the NBA), looking nearly unstoppable. We are now at the All-Star break (jeez, that was quick), and the Bucks are an NBA-best 46-8. They are blazing through most of […]

The Boston Celtics came away with a thrilling 141-133 double-overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night, but not without some controversy. With the Celtics up by three with just over 27 seconds remaining in the first overtime period, Clippers guard Lou Williams was fouled by Gordon Hayward and then thrust up a […]

The Houston Texans have released cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. This allows the Texans to avoid Hargreaves’ $10 million fifth-year option for 2020 before it becomes fully guaranteed. Houston initially acquired Hargreaves off of waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in November. In six games with the Texans, he […]

Twenty years ago, Vince Carter established himself as an NBA icon with a legendary Slam Dunk Contest performance, one that has basically made the event a joke today because save for the Jason Richardsons and Zach LaVines of the world, hardly anyone has been able to measure up ever since. One of the most memorable […]

The Boston Celtics came away with a thrilling 141-133 double-overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night in what may very well have been the best game the NBA has seen this season, and now, the Celtics can head into the All-Star break feeling pretty darn good about themselves at 38-16. While Boston […]

Those of you who grew up watching the NBA in the ’90s surely have vivid memories of the intense rivalry between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. Patrick Ewing. Reggie Miller. Spike Lee. It had it all. The Knicks and Pacers met six times in the playoffs between 1993 and 2000, with the two […]

The Washington Redskins are releasing cornerback Josh Norman, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as Norman’s playing time was rather sporadic in 2019. The veteran played in 12 games and made just eight starts, finishing with 40 tackles, a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and […]

ESPN college football analyst Tim Tebow is most known for his time on the gridiron, but the former NFL quarterback also has a love for the game of baseball. The 32-year-old has been a part of the New York Mets’ organization since 2016, most recently having played for the club’s Triple-A affiliate last season. While […]

Devonta Freeman was once a force in the Atlanta Falcons’ backfield, but over the last couple of seasons, the running back has lost a whole lot of his luster. In 2018, Freeman played in just two games due to a groin injury that ultimately required surgery, and this past year, he rushed for just 656 […]

Tom Brady may be the greatest quarterback of all-time, but he is still human, meaning it is possible to irritate him on the football field. Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones figured out a way to do that this past season, telling Barstool Sports on the Pardon My Take podcast that calling Brady old […]