Crazy Rebel(l)s
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25.03.2019 10:10
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DETROIT -- So far, this has not been the Todd Gurley who was the NFLs top offensive rookie.Gurley is off to a sluggish start, averaging 2.7 yards per carry and running for no more than 85 yards in any of the first five games. The Los Angeles Rams running back got off much better a year ago when he had had at least 128 yards rushing in four of his first five games.With teams figuring out how to slow him down, the Rams are averaging an NFL-low 284.2 yards a game on offense.The Rams (3-2) still plan to keep giving him the ball early and often, with handoffs and passes, Sunday at Detroit.Hes a big-play guy and weve just got to find ways to give him the football, Los Angeles coach Jeff Fisher said.The Lions (2-3) are bracing for the challenge of preventing Gurley from having a breakout game. They also hope to keep their distinction as the NFLs only team that hasnt given up a rushing touchdown this season.Up close, they saw how good the 6-foot-1, 227-pound Gurley could be last year. Gurley ran 16 times for 140 yards, a career-high 8.75 yards per carry, and two TDs in a 21-14 win over Detroit in St. Louis.Hell probably touch the ball 25 to 30 times between running and passing, Lions safety Glover Quin said. He makes them go. Hes very unique back. Hes big, strong. Hes fast. Hes quick. Hes shifty. Hes got the total package.Here are some other things to watch when the Lions host the Rams:TWO-STOP ROAD TRIP: The Rams have been on the move a lot, relocating to Los Angeles from St. Louis and bouncing around to three cities for offseason workouts, training camp and the regular season. Perhaps the unsettling transition prepares the Rams for quite a road trip. After playing in Detroit at 1 p.m. EDT, a challenging kickoff time for West Coast teams, the Rams plan to fly Sunday to London. After having days to adjust, Los Angeles will play the Giants on the afternoon of Oct. 23 when it is 6:30 a.m. back home.Really, nobody really knows what weve been through since last March, Fisher said. But were settled in and the players are resilient and theyre focused.ANTICIPATING ANSAH: The Lions have played much of the season without one of their best players, defensive end Ezekiel Ansah . He hurt his left ankle early in Week 2 and missed three-plus games.Hes a Pro Bowl player and you miss those guys, Detroit defensive Teryl Austin acknowledged. Youd like to say you dont miss them and weve had guys that have done an outstanding job in his absence, but theyre not Ziggy.Ansah looked very healthy in practice, shooting out of his stance to work on rushing the passer earlier this week.THIN LINE: Los Angeles was without three starting defensive linemen last week and the Buffalo Bills took advantage, gaining 193 yards on the ground, led by LeSean McCoys 150 yards. DEs Robert Quinn (shoulder) and William Hayes (ankle) along with tackle Michael Brockers (hip) didnt face the Bills and were unable to practice at all Wednesday, raising doubts about their ability to play in Detroit. The Rams do have DT Aaron Donald, a healthy and potentially dominant player they can count on up front. Donald had a career-high three sacks in last years win over the Lions and has two sacks in the last two games.BANGED-UP BACKFIELD: The Lions signed veteran running back Justin Forsett on Tuesday, adding a much-needed player to their banged-up backfield. Ameer Abdullah is on injured reserve with a foot injury. His backup, Theo Riddick, has been ruled out this weekend with an ankle injury. Rookie Dwayne Washington missed last weeks game with an ankle injury. The 30-year-old Forsett had just 31 carries for 98 yards over three games as a starter this season with the Baltimore Ravens. He asked for, and was granted, his release from the Ravens last week. Forsett ran for 1,266 yards in 2014 and 641 last year in 10 starts before breaking his arm. Forsett said the only thing he has seen in Detroit has been the Lions playbook.What does he have left?Watch me, Forsett said with a smile.HURRY UP, AND WAIT: Jared Goff , the No. 1 overall draft pick, hasnt been playing as a rookie for the Rams, unlike Matthew Stafford, who started right away after Detroit drafted him No. 1 overall in 2009. Goff is relegated to learning by watching Case Keenum, and that doesnt sound as if it will change anytime soon.Im going to play him when hes ready, Fisher said.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Larry Lage at http://www.twitter.com/larrylage and follow his work at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/larry-lage Cheap Asics Shoes Canada . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Wholesale Asics Shoes http://www.discountasicscanada.com/ . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. Asics Clearance Canada . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Discount Asics Canada . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. Oversight of an important email from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) left India on the verge of embarrassment in the lead-up to the Under-19 Asia Cup. The cost of the error is not insignificant: it has broken the hearts of seven young cricketers born between November 1997 and November 1998.On November 3, the BCCI announced through a media release a fresh batch of Under-19 cricketers who were to take part in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in mid-December. On December 2, a day before the conditioning camp began in Bangalore, the Indian Express reported that the selectors had made seven changes to the original squad because of the last-minute discovery of the ACC email.It turned out that the selectors picked the original team based on BCCI tournament norms: anyone who is under 19 can play Under-19 tournaments. The ACC, though, had clearly communicated its eligibility norms to the BCCI: only those who qualify for the next Under-19 World Cup, to be held in New Zealand in early 2018, were eligible for the Asia Cup. This communication was noticed because of a recent reshuffle of duties within the BCCI. Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI general manager - game development, who is now looking after Under-19 operations, spotted the email and arranged a fresh selection-committee meeting.The selectors were caught off guard themselves. The board didnt communicate to us the eligibility norm, Venkatesh Prasad, the chairman of the junior selection committee, told ESPNcricinfo. Even Amitabh Choudhury, a BCCI joint secretary and convenor of the junior selection committee, didnt know of the eligibility criteria.The selectors met again last week to pick seven new players. In one blow they had lost three quicks. Of the 39 players that played in the Under-19 Challenger Trophy, 22 were born before November 1998, and were thus ineligible to play the Asia Cup.dddddddddddd Had they seen the email from the ACC earlier, the selectors would arguably have selected the Challenger Trophy squads accordingly.If not for this reshuffle within the BCCI, India could have landed up in Sri Lanka with half its squad ineligible. While the risk of disqualification has been averted, seven players who had their passports made, visas stamped, and bags packed to go to Bangalore to train under Rahul Dravid suddenly have nowhere to go but their state Under-19 matches.Our biggest concern as selectors was the psychological effect of this on these kids, Prasad said. If I were in their place, I would feel pretty angry and disappointed. We have been assured by the BCCI that it will speak to them and take all necessary steps.This has unwittingly brought to fore a gap in the Under-19 system. The World Cups are played every two years, and with boards directing all their efforts towards winning those events, it could mean every alternate batch of Under-19 cricketers doesnt get to play big tournaments. Cricinfo understands the BCCI is in talks with the ECB for a bilateral series early next year, and these seven players could get their chance there.This is not the first time the BCCI has made unexplained changes to a representative side. In August this year, more than a month after naming the India A squads for the tour of Australia, the selectors made changes less than a week from departure, without acknowledgement or explanation. ' ' ' |
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