Washington Redskins defensive lineman Jonathan Allen will miss the rest of the season after suffering a Lisfranc injury in his left foot during Sunday’s win over San Francisco, a source said Wednesday.
It’s a crushing blow for a defense that had been improving, in part because of Allen’s performance.
Allen, the 17th overall pick in this year’s draft, visited noted foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson on Tuesday. Redskins right tackle Morgan Moses had a similar injury near the end of the 2014 season, but underwent surgery and returned for the start of training camp.
The Redskins picked DL Jonathan Allen 17th in the draft, and coach Jay Gruden said he’d been playing his position “like a veteran, really.” Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire
Allen had been starting as a tackle in the nickel package, usually playing alongside Matt Ioannidis. The two had been giving Washington what it needed: players who can drive offensive linemen back and collapse the pocket.
Allen only had one sack, but he had a number of strong rushes to help set up others — or prevent the quarterback from escaping. Those two, plus the outside linebackers, enabled Washington to often send just four rushers and focus on coverage.
On Monday, head coach Jay Gruden said Allen was playing the position “like a veteran, really.”
“He has got great fundamentals,” Gruden said. “He’s got a great idea of run/pass, how to get off blocks. He has got strong hands and he was getting a pretty consistent pass-rush push. He doesn’t have a lot of sacks obviously, but he was getting push in the pocket which was critical for the interior guys so the edge guys can get home. Just all around, he has played well.”
Allen had fallen in the draft in part because of concerns about his shoulders. The Redskins did not share those concerns and were ecstatic that he fell to them. He provided them with versatility, too; Allen also played end in their 3-4 base front and could line up at different spots. He also occasionally rushed from a standing position behind a nose guard, picking his spot where to rush.
Second-year player Anthony Lanier II will replace Allen in the lineup. The Redskins like his length and the fact the 6-foot-6 Lanier he bulked up to 286 pounds; Gruden said Lanier is much stronger than he was as a rookie. He can play tackle in their nickel package and end in their base. He’s also considered a good athlete, but more raw than Allen.
Washington’s defense is allowing just 88 rushing yards per game, the eight-best total in the NFL. Philadelphia’s offense is fifth with 132.5 rushing yards per game.
After crashing out of the Champions League last season courtesy of a 2-1 defeat to Monaco, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted his squad was too thin to handle the rigours of Europe’s marquee tournament.
“Our objective is to be competitive in the Premier League and Champions League but we need to show more, maybe to add more quality in our squad,” the affable Argentine gaffer told the Mirror last November.
“We have quality, yes, to compete in the Premier League but maybe to share both, maybe after today we see we struggle a little bit.”
Nearly 11 months removed from the loss at the Stade Louis II, Spurs were again hampered by a handful of injuries for Tuesday’s unenviable visit to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid, but instead of suffering through a slew of second-choice players, Tottenham excelled in the 1-1 stalemate.
Winks glimmers in the Spanish capital
It’s easy to hype up English players, especially those that wear the badge of an academy product.
That’s exactly the burden that Harry Winks carries, and while the load is beyond his control, the 21-year-old made a good account of himself Tuesday.
With ball-stopping midfield duo Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama both absent with injury, Winks paired with Eric Dier in a 4-2-3-1 formation opposite central midfield monoliths Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. Perhaps the greatest testament to Winks’ performance was that he didn’t appear out of place.
Winks completed 94 percent of his passes and successfully bagged 14 more than any other Spurs players, but it was his work in cutting off Real’s distribution through the middle to Karim Benzema that will earn the once-capped Three Lion praise. Look no further than Winks’ team-best three interceptions for proof of a polished two-way player who is making the most of Pochettino’s faith.
Sissoko shines out wide
Considering the magnitude of the opponent and its celebrated venue, Tottenham’s starting XI raised a few eyebrows.
Ben Davies’ illness and Danny Rose’s 10-month absence meant Jan Vertonghen slotted in at left-back, and with Dele Alli serving a suspension, Fernando Llorente played as a quasi No. 10 with Christian Eriksen and Moussa Sissoko on the wings.
While Eriksen was busy getting a 90-minute lesson in metronome management from Modric, Sissoko was starring on the left flank. Arguably his best performance in a Spurs strip since a deadline day move last summer from Newcastle, Sissoko combined with right-back Serge Aurier to brilliant results. An enterprising effort from the French international both in possession and off the ball saw Sissoko pair two successful dribbles, complete 82 percent of passes, and perhaps most remarkably, get stuck in on three fruitful tackles, monitoring the world’s best full-back in Marcelo.
Contrast between two continental campaigns
After getting bounced by the principality lot 11 months ago, Pochettino offered, “Maybe after five games we do not show enough quality to share two tough competitions in the Premier League and Champions League.”
Tottenham appeared outclassed in Europe, Winks barely had a few appearances under his belt, and Sissoko’s move to the English capital was maligned as one of Spurs’ worst summer signings.
A year on, and elated Tottenham supporters who had made the trip to Madrid were singing, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, who needs Bale when you’ve got Sissoko?”
NEW ORLEANS — Sean Payton was upset after his team’s win Sunday. Yes, upset after a win. The Saints had beaten the Lions 52-38 in a 1 p.m. ET game that took so long that former Saint Adrian Peterson already had rushed for 76 yards in the first quarter of a 4 p.m. ET game for his new Arizona Cardinals team by the time the New Orleans coach’s postgame news conference began.
All of a sudden, the Cardinals have their three-headed offensive monster back — and it all starts with Adrian Peterson.
Blocking matters in fantasy football, and in Week 6 we saw a pair of running backs stand out with big fantasy point totals. Are their performances sustainable? KC Joyner explores that and more in his review of the matchups along the line of scrimmage.
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The Saints had built a 45-10 lead only to see it whittled down to seven in the fourth quarter. Payton was annoyed about the way his team struggled to finish. So when someone asked about what Peterson was doing in Arizona and whether it gave him pause about trading the old warhorse five days earlier, Payton wasn’t having any.
“That’s a dumb question,” Payton said. “We’re trying to win games, and I’d love to have that player. But it’s hard to have that many and get into a rhythm. I thought Mark [Ingram] and Alvin [Kamara] had some big plays, and I would hope we would have had that type of rushing output if Adrian was a part of it.”
Ingram and Kamara combined for 189 yards on 35 carries in the Saints’ win on Sunday. And while they couldn’t salt away the game by running it late, they won it by running it early and often, which makes you realize the Saints were loaded at running back and just couldn’t come up with anything for Peterson to do.
“I told you all, he’s still got the juice,” Ingram said after hearing what Peterson was doing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his first game as a Cardinal.
He does, or did on this one day, and who’s to say that at age 32 a player as freakishly dominant and resilient as Peterson can’t possibly resurrect his career and the Cardinals’ season at the same time? Arizona’s offensive line has had a rough year, but Peterson in his prime was one of those running backs the old coaches like to say “brings his own blocking.” This is no longer his prime, but what if he has enough motivation to muster three good months?
Adrian Peterson had 26 carries in his Cardinals debut. He had only 27 total carries in four games with the Saints. Photo by Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports
Saints players with whom I spoke last week talked in near-reverential terms about Peterson and the impression he made on them in six months as their teammate.
Saints players were loving the news of Peterson’s performance in Arizona, while also happy about what they still have at running back. This could be the kind of thing that works out well for everyone, if Peterson helps rescue the Cardinals and the Saints’ backs blossom in their opportunities. Hey, the NFC is wide-open, folks. Go run through that hole.
Some other stuff we learned in Week 6:
All is still not well with the Steelers, but it’s getting there
The truth on the Martavis Bryant story, regardless of what the player is saying publicly, is that Bryant and his agent have expressed unhappiness with the way he’s being used in the offense and, some weeks ago, told the Steelers that Bryant would prefer to be traded if his current role is all they have in mind. Multiple sources say Bryant’s agent has spoken with Steelers management since the season began to express these sentiments, and that Bryant himself spoke with coaches during the week leading up to Pittsburgh’s Week 5 game to ask about being a bigger part of the offense. That has not materialized, though Bryant isn’t exactly being ignored. He has played 71 percent of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps, second among Steelers wide receivers to only the incredible Antonio Brown (93 percent) and slightly ahead of rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster (66 percent), though Smith-Schuster saw the field more in Week 6. Bryant has been targeted 34 times, which is third on the team behind Brown (74) and superstar running back Le’Veon Bell (39). Smith-Schuster has 24 targets.
I can see the reason for Bryant’s frustration. He views himself as a difference-making player whose size/speed combination is unique and who, if given the opportunity, can do serious damage downfield or in the red zone. He has worked extremely hard to come back clean, healthy and in better shape than ever following his one-year drug suspension. By all accounts, he looks incredible in practice. On a representative number of current NFL teams, he’d have a claim on the title of No. 1 wide receiver.
Martavis Bryant has 17 catches for 231 yards and a touchdown this season after being suspended for all of the 2016 season. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Bottom line, the Steelers aren’t going to trade Bryant, who still has more value to them as a member of their team than he does in trade. As brilliantly talented as he might be, he has yet to establish himself as an NFL dominator, and until he does, the Steelers aren’t likely to get a team to offer them sufficient return for his still-latent potential. There’s still likely a breakout coming, and when it does, the Steelers want to benefit from that with points and wins.
A victory Sunday over previously unbeaten Kansas City has the Steelers feeling better. And the production and opportunity Brown and Bell are getting has those guys placated for the moment at least. Bryant’s day will come, and while it’s easy to understand his impatience, the Steelers have no reason to act on it.
Ben McAdoo did some coaching this week
In this space last week, I laid out the case for the New York Giants moving on from Jerry Reese after this season. He has been general manager for 11 seasons and will have made the playoffs in only four of them — two of which were in his first two seasons. This is a large sample size.
But I also made the point that changing GMs doesn’t automatically mean changing coaches, and that two years on McAdoo would be too small a sample size. Week 6 proved my point. McAdoo was taking a lot of heat this time last week, and it got worse as the week went on because of the Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie discipline issue. But the proof is in the pudding, and the display the Giants put on Sunday night in dominating the Broncos in Denver shows that McAdoo pulled off an NFL head coach’s No. 1 job. He had his team completely ready to play in Sunday night’s upset at Denver.
The discipline of Rodgers-Cromartie was, Giants coaches believed, necessary to send a message that turning your back on teammates won’t be tolerated. The decision to hand over playcalling to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan was a case of a head coach swallowing his pride and realizing his attention was needed for the bigger picture. Smart, responsible moves that paid off. At 1-5, this Giants season isn’t salvageable, but McAdoo will rightly be judged on how he navigates it now that it’s lost. The final score Sunday night indicates he’s on the right track.
But … did Vance Joseph?
There was a lot of focus on how surprisingly great a night that was for the Giants, but wasn’t it also just an inexcusably terrible loss for the Broncos? At home, coming off a bye against an 0-5 team that was down its top three wide receivers, its starting center, its best pass-rusher and one of its top two cornerbacks? And your top two division rivals had already lost, like, an hour before? How do you come out flat in a game like that? Should be a wake-up call for a Broncos team that has mainly played angry after missing the playoffs in 2016.
Brett Hundley was 18-of-33 passing for 157 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in relief of Aaron Rodgers on Sunday. AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn
Mike McCarthy is betting on himself, and it could pay off
There’s no way Hundley has Rodgers’ gifts for accuracy, for manipulating the pocket, for game-winning throws on the run — no one does. But Hundley, who is signed on a cheap deal through 2018, has some talent, and McCarthy now gets more than half a season to figure out how to maximize that talent and minimize his weaknesses. If he succeeds, the Packers could have one of next offseason’s more compelling trade chips on their hands.
A fantasy note on the Cowboys’ running backs
This isn’t a “What We Learned” from this week, because the Cowboys were off, but I have spoken with people close to the situation about what the Cowboys would do at running back if they had to play without Ezekiel Elliott for a long period of time. And with Elliott apparently re-suspended for the next six games, it’s worth mentioning.
They do like McFadden better than Morris in some areas, however, including the passing game. So if they know they’re going to be without Elliott, expect a change in the way the Cowboys’ offensive coaches make a game plan and a lean toward a system in which Morris and McFadden (and maybe Rod Smith) split duties and carries in some way. That’s what I’ve been told to expect by folks in the know there, which is unfortunate for fantasy players who might have been hoping that Morris or McFadden would simply slide into Elliott’s spot and get his workload. Sorry to be the bearer of bad fantasy tidings.
Since the European Cup was rebranded with a new moniker in 1992, Real Madrid has won the Champions League on six occasions for a total of 12 top-tier continental triumphs.
During that same spell, Tottenham reached the tournament’s knockout phase just once before bowing out to the heavyweights from the Spanish capital in the quarter-finals of the 2010-11 installment.
Seven years on, Spurs supporters will look back at the 4-0 first-leg defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2011 as a symbol of the rift in quality between the two sides. That divide has since narrowed, though, with the emergence of a talented Tottenham core in line for a European shock.
Considering both form and pedigree, here’s a look at a combined XI between the two squads ahead of Tuesday’s tilt in Madrid.
GK- Hugo Lloris: France’s No. 1 has been instrumental to Tottenham’s consecutive top-three finishes with 28 clean sheets over two seasons, giving Lloris the edge over Los Blancos shot-stopper Keylor Navas – who, to his credit, has been better than the routine chorus of whistles would imply.
RB – Dani Carvajal: Slick-passing Carvajal is indisputably first choice ahead of Spurs right-back duo Serge Aurier and Kieran Trippier. Despite a spell on the sidelines with a viral condition that will see him miss Tuesday’s visit, the Spaniard has quietly emerged as one of Europe’s best full-backs.
CB – Sergio Ramos: Given his incomparable experience in the tournament and his knack for timely goals on Europe’s biggest stage, three-time Champions League winner and reigning tournament Best Defender honouree Ramos is a an automatic pick ahead of Jan Vertonghen.
CB – Toby Alderweireld: A massive reason Tottenham’s spine is arguably the Premier League’s best, Belgium international ball-stopper Alderweireld could walk into any club’s starting XI. Hotspur habitues are hoping that soon doesn’t become the case with reports of a contract stalemate prompting exit talk.
LB – Marcelo: Marcelo is football’s preeminent full-back and the first name in this lineup. Even if Danny Rose was fit, the England international couldn’t hold his Brazilian counterpart’s boots if he was selling them at a High Street retailer.
MF – Luka Modric: With Modric and his midfield mate Toni Kroos manning deeper positions in support of a No. 10, a defensive midfielder a la Casemiro or Mousa Dembele would be persona non grata in this squad. And for good reason, with the former Spurs star providing the midfield metronome in a bountiful Los Blancos squad.
MF – Toni Kroos: If Modric has the keys to the engine room, Kroos does the little things to ensure the train runs on time, combining a characteristically German source of industry with a penchant for threading a perfectly weighted ball into cramped confines.
MF – Isco: Free from the shackles of injury-plagued Gareth Bale’s usual spot in Zidane’s starting XI, Isco has finally gotten his chance to shine in a central playmaking role. The Spaniard’s spot in this team pushes crafty Christian Eriksen out wide, relegating Dele Alli to the bench.
RW – Christian Eriksen: Making his case as the continent’s most underrated player, Eriksen is in the best form of his life. After being castigated as a crafty player who doesn’t score, the talismanic Dane has seven goals in his last 10 for club and country. His inclusion over Marco Asensio is a statement in itself.
FW – Harry Kane: Boosted by a varied skill set and deceptive acceleration, Kane has cornered the market on making the spectacular look unspectacular. The 24-year-old England No. 1 is the continent’s in-form striker courtesy of 36 goals in 31 matches in 2017 with six hat-tricks to boot.
LW – Cristiano Ronaldo: Even if the clock struck midnight and Ronaldo turned from football’s majestic stagecoach into an Emile Heskey-sized pumpkin, the Champions League record goal-scorer (109) gets into this starting XI based on his resume. The four-time winner has dominated the tournament over a decade and change.
Bench: Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Serge Aurier (Tottenham), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham), Dele Alli (Tottenham), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
