Justin Tucker is more than just the most accurate kicker in NFL history. The Baltimore Ravens kicker is also the most talented player off the field.
Showing off his opera skills by singing “Ave Maria,” Tucker was the winner of “Most Valuable Performer,” an NFL talent show televised on CBS on Thursday night.
He beat out finalists Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart (played piano) and Cleveland Browns guard Kevin Zeitler (dog tricks).
“This is amazing,” Tucker said. “What an incredible opportunity. Such a blast.”
Opera singer/Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, far right, took home the honor of the NFL’s Most Valuable Performer. CBS Television
Tucker, who earned a music degree at the University of Texas, will give his $50,000 prize money to the Baltimore School for the Arts.
“Hopefully, we’re going to keep encouraging Baltimore’s youth to stay involved in music, dance and all of the fine arts,” he said.
In what was his fourth live performance, Tucker wowed the judges in the first such talent show involving NFL players.
“That’s what we call pitch perfect,” said Katharine McPhee, a singer and actress.
Tucker, who has sung previously at Christmas concerts, was the star of the show.
“I expected to be impressed tonight,” said wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who was also a judge. “But I was not expecting to be moved. This was emotional.”
The early betting action on Super Bowl LII had been evenly divided between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles at MGM’s sportsbooks in Las Vegas.
It’s not anymore.
On Wednesday, a bettor placed a “multimillion-dollar” bet on the underdog Eagles, according to MGM vice president of race and sports Jay Rood.
Rood declined to reveal the exact amount of the bet, but told ESPN that it was multimillions, making it one of the largest reported bets in recent years in Nevada.
“Obviously, we’re pretty heavy Eagles now,” Rood said.
Rood said he had dealt with the customer before, but refused to provide any further details.
He also would not say if the bet was a money-line wager or a straight bet on the point spread.
The Super Bowl line at MGM dropped from New England -5.5 to -4.5 on Wednesday afternoon. The money line on the Eagles also moved Wednesday at MGM, dropping +180 to +170.
The Patriots are 5-point favorites at the majority of Nevada sportsbooks.
As of Wednesday night, MGM had taken twice as many point-spread bets on the Eagles as it had the Patriots, and eight times more money-line bets on Philadelphia than New England.
In addition to the multimillion-dollar bet, Rood said he had taken a couple of six-figure wagers and several five-figure bets ranging from $10,000 up to $80,000. He said the majority of the larger bets had been on New England, but some were placed on the Eagles as well.
“I’ve had inquiries for some big bets,” Rood said. “Last year, on Saturday and Sunday, we took probably a record number of six-figure wagers. I’m thinking the same kind of thing is going to happen this year.”
Million-dollar bets on Super Bowls are not uncommon. One or two normally show up, but they’re usually placed closer to game day. Getting the big bet with more than a week before kickoff is a bonus, Rood said.
“It’s a good position that we got it this early,” Rood said. “It gives us an opportunity to do what we’re supposed to do — try to put us in the best possible position.”
TEMPE, Ariz. — There’s risk with any head-coaching hire, especially when it’s the first time a coach sits in the lead chair. There’s greater pressure, more responsibility, higher expectations. No longer can he toil in relative anonymity. As the head coach, he’s the face of the franchise to a large extent.
Those factors haven’t deterred the Arizona Cardinals from taking chances on first-time head coaches. They’ve found success recently with the likes of Ken Whisenhunt, who led the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl, and then Bruce Arians, who set the franchise record with 50 wins — surpassing Whisenhunt’s previous team high. The Cardinals continued their trend this week, hiring first-time head coach Steve Wilks on Monday.
But Wilks’ hire comes with an extra degree or two of risk. And that can all be placed on team president Michael Bidwill.
Arians retired on Jan. 1, and the Cardinals entered the coaching search with two knowns: They didn’t have a quarterback, and they had a top-10 defense the past three seasons. After casting a wide net, as general manager Steve Keim pointed out during Wilks’ introductory news conference on Tuesday, and traveling “thousands and thousands of miles” and having “hundreds of hours” of conversations, as Bidwill said, the Cardinals picked Wilks. They liked his presence and his resume. They liked his accountability and his command.
But the risk in hiring Wilks, who was the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, lies in the short-term future of the franchise.
Wilks is well aware of the Cardinals’ most dire need at the moment; he even called it the “elephant in the room.” The Cardinals don’t have a quarterback under contract for the 2018 season. There’s a chance they’ll draft one. There’s a chance they’ll sign one in free agency. Either way, the Cardinals’ offense will be rebuilding behind center while the defense is poised to keep chugging along like it has the past few seasons.
So herein lies the exact risk: Bidwill decided to hire a defensive mind who — although he said Tuesday he doesn’t run a scheme, rather a system that allows him to adapt to his personnel — likely will tweak and tinker with the defense to his preference. There’s no harm in that. Every coach has his own ways of doing things. And Wilks even said Tuesday that he’s “not trying to change too much.”
“If it’s not broke, don’t try and fix it,” Wilks followed.
Steve Wilks calls the Cardinals’ situation at quarterback the “elephant in the room.” Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports
But for a team in desperate need of stability at quarterback, hiring a coach who’ll implement his system will lead to a learning curve and could stunt the progress of a defense that’s been one of the best over the past few seasons.
Bidwill sees the risk as, well, something different.
“The risk is we have potential to get better,” he said. “It’s a positive risk, which is we have potential to get better. When we look at our defense, it’s about the players on the field that are making the plays. So when I think about bringing in great leadership, I’m really excited about what he can bring.”
The Cardinals are entering a pivotal era in their long and storied existence. The tide had turned from them being a perennial sub-.500 team to being a franchise that’s expected to make the playoffs. Both Whisenhunt and Arians experienced success early in their tenures, which was followed by losing or .500 seasons.
Should Wilks follow the same path, he’ll win for two or three — maybe four — years and then the team will fall off. But based on the Cardinals’ current condition, winning may be easier said than done in the next season or two because of the coming turnover at quarterback. Instead of hiring a head coach whose main responsibility would be to help find a quarterback and then develop him, the Cardinals opted to hire a coach who’ll delegate that responsibility to his offensive coordinator.
That’s risk.
The Cardinals’ defense will carry this franchise for the next two or three years behind the likes of Chandler Jones, Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and Markus Golden while the offense finds itself. Arizona needs to rebuild its receiving corps and restock its offensive line, all while finding its quarterback.
On Tuesday, Keim was asked what will be harder: finding a coach or a quarterback. He laughed.
“Quarterback,” he said.
And the Cardinals just took a franchise-defining risk in hiring a defensive coach when their most pressing need is on offense.
MOBILE, Ala. — Former Wyoming QB Josh Allen knows that Senior Bowl week is a big one for his NFL draft stock, and he didn’t shy away from any topics in a wide-ranging media session Monday night.
Unlike UCLA QB Josh Rosen, who has previously stated that he would like to avoid being drafted by the Cleveland Browns, Allen made no such claims about his draft position.
“It’s not about going as high as possible,” he said. “It’s about the right fit.”
Allen made it clear that he wants to prove he belongs and put to rest any concerns about his 56.1 career completion percentage at Wyoming, noting that he has been working this offseason on his footwork and “I’m way more accurate than that [number] shows.”
Admitting that he wasn’t playing “the greatest competition week in and week out” at Wyoming, Allen recognizes that this week is important to show he belongs. As to what NFL teams should know about him: “I want them to understand I have a high football IQ and that I love the game.”
Denver Broncos general manager John Elway scouted Allen at the 2017 Potato Bowl, in which Allen threw for three TDs in a 37-14 win. Allen didn’t meet Elway at that game, but he confirmed Monday that he had spoken with the Broncos and said that Elway’s being there “spoke volumes” about what Denver is trying to accomplish this offseason.
Baker Mayfield, the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner, will also be competing at the Senior Bowl, which gives the event a rare opportunity to showcase potential first-round QBs. Mayfield is clearly the more accomplished college QB, but Allen is looking forward to the challenge, saying, “It’s going to be fun competing with Baker.”
Allen went No. 1 overall in Mel Kiper’s first 2018 NFL mock draft and is Todd McShay’s third-ranked QB behind Sam Darnold and Rosen. The Senior Bowl game will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET Jan. 27.
