Say What?
Cris Carter says Rams ‘know Goff can’t play’
Cris Carter, Hall of Fame wide receiver, appeared on Colin Cowherd’s show on Fox Sports and said the Los Angeles Rams regret making California Golden Bears QB Jared Goff the No. 1 overall pick in the last NFL draft. Goff did not distinguish himself in preseason play, prompting widespread belief that he’s a bust. “A colossal mess-up,” Carter called it. Goff has not played a down this season, as coach Jeff Fisher prefers the undistinguished veteran Case Keenum. “The guys know he can’t play,” Carter said of Goff. “They messed this pick up.”
Between the Lines: Fisher is afraid that if Goff plays poorly, it will be a reflection of his role in selecting the player and/or failing to develop him.
McCarthy, Super Bowl winner, 48 games over .500, on hot seat
In the wake of his Green Bay Packers losing 47-25 to the Tennessee Titans, coach Mike McCarthy has been subjected to media speculation that he’s about to be fired. He doesn’t think it’s fair. “Let’s state the facts,” he said. “I’m a highly successful coach.” In fact, this is his 11th season running the Packers, and he’s had only one losing one, 6-10 in 2008. He’s won a Super Bowl, and his overall record is 108-60-1. But the Packers, who were preseason favorites to win the next Super Bowl, are 4-5, and some wonder if McCarthy has lost his touch. His offense seems stale, the same plays over and over, little misdirection and subterfuge. His quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, suggested that complacency has set into the team, and that’s usually a sign of a coach losing his authority. “There has to be that healthy fear as a player that if you don’t do your job,” Rodgers said, “they’ll get rid of you.”
Johnson says rookies Zeke & Dak are MVP candidates
Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, now an analyst for Fox, is so impressed with QB Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, that he said, “These two rookies have to be MVP candidates.” Prescott has played almost mistake-free football while leading the team to an NFL-best 8-1 record. In Sunday’s 35-30 victory in Pittsburgh, Elliott totaled 209 yards rushing and receiving, and scored 3 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 1,005 yards and is on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s record for rushing yardage by a rookie.
Dear Coach: The last running back to be MVP was Adrian Peterson in 2012, after rushing for 2,009 yards. Zeke will have to pick up the pace to get to 2,000. As for Prescott, his passer rating of 106.2 trails Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and Drew Brees.
Songwriter’s family sold Cubs song before it took off
Steve Goodman’s song, “Go Cubs Go,” is a Billboard hit decades after he died and his family sold the rights. Goodman, a life-long Cubs fan, died in 1984 of leukemia. The family sold the publishing rights to the song, which did not become popular until this year, with the team going to the World Series and winning it. Goodman’s family still gets royalties from his recording of the Cubs anthem, but they do not share in the revenues from other musicians’ recordings.