鈥?Derek Carr would do it all over again: stretch the ball toward the goal line for a potential winning touchdown Luke Kuechly Jersey , even though he knows the extra effort backfired and cost the Oakland Raiders a chance to win.Carr’s dramatic fumble that rolled through the end zone for a touchback ended Oakland’s comeback hopes and most of its playoff chances in the closing seconds of a 20-17 Week 15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.He scrambled toward the end zone, stretched the ball forward as he dived only to have it jostled loose by Dallas safety Jeff Heath and roll out of the end zone for a turnover on a somewhat esoteric rule that has been used more than usual this year.“I always think of it in basketball terms: I’d rather take the last shot and miss it than pass it off and try and do it another way,” Carr said. “From a competitive standpoint, I’d try it but with better technique, two hands, I don’t know, but something to where we don’t lose the game.”Carr’s play was just the latest example of a costly fumble near the goal line. Fumbles that go out of bounds on the field of play revert to the last team that had possession. If it goes through the end zone, it becomes a touchback and turnover.Several coaches last week said they used Oakland’s pain as a teaching tool for their players.“As coaches it is important for us to talk about is this goal-to-go or like in last night’s game, if you were watching it, you knew that Carr had gained the first down. He is trying to score, and yet at what cost?” Saints coach Sean Payton asked. “You could make a strong point to say ‘Hey, the two scenarios are: desperate and I need to get in here, as opposed to it is not at all cost, then maybe it is not worth the risk of extending the ball. Because every weekend, we see great plays … where players are diving for that landmark and extending the ball and getting a touchdown, but there is that balance of at what cost.”While there are countless examples of a player getting rewarded with a touchdown for stretching the ball over the goal line, the aggressive play has backfired more than ever this year.Carr’s fumble was the seventh that went through the end zone for a touchback Emmitt Smith Jersey , the most league-wide for a season since at least 2000, according to Sportradar. There had been an average of just over two a year in that span before it plagued several teams this year.“I just think it’s too risky to do something like that,” Jets offensive coordinator John Morton said. “I always try to say, ‘Just lower your head and finish with the ball through the end zone.’ That’s the best thing to do to protect it, otherwise you might fumble it through and now it’s a touchback. What good does that do you? Then they have the ball and it could cost you, but it’s hard. Guys are competing and they’re trying to score, and it just happens.”The Jets were hurt by the rule earlier in the season against New England when tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins had the ball knocked loose just short of the end zone and recovered it while out of bounds, leading to a touchback.Seferian-Jenkins didn’t stretch the ball but Tennessee’s Corey Davis , Arizona’s JJ Nelson, Todd Gurley of the Rams and Chicago’s Bennie Cunningham all lost the ball while trying to extend it over the goal line in a similar fashion to Carr.Washington coach Jay Gruden said it’s difficult for players not to try to do everything they can to get into the end zone when they see an opportunity.“You just got to hope they hold on to the ball if they do it,” he said. “You’ve just got to tell them to be very careful and protect the ball. I know that if I was running and I was getting tackled and I saw that goal line, it’s so important to score a touchdown.”Some teams are very strict on this play, with former Patriots executive Michael Lombardi saying coach Bill Belichick threatened to bench players who tried it.But there are several examples of Patriots players successfully stretching for touchdowns with no ramifications from their coach. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels says it’s a matter of knowing the situation and when a risk is worthwhile.“Awareness, I think is the most important thing,” he said. “Because there’s a time and a place you may have to try and do that. And then there’s a time and a place where it’s not really worth the risk. Whether that’s an early down play, a 2-point conversion, a fourth-and-goal 鈥?all those scenarios are different.”Players are very aware of the rule Zane Gonzalez Jersey , with Detroit receiver Golden Tate saying fumbling while reaching for the end zone is one of his “biggest fears” as a receiver, especially after a fumble at the goal line by Calvin Johnson cost Detroit a game against Seattle in 2015, even if the Lions should have kept possession because the Seahawks illegally batted the ball out of the end zone.But the lure of the touchdown is so great that players still try it even when they know better. Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins got away with it earlier this year against Minnesota when he reached across the goal line just before the ball was knocked loose“I was always coached, going back to college, never reach out unless it’s fourth-and-goal, never reach out,” Cousins said. “But it is tempting when you have it there to just reach out and get the six points. I go back to situational awareness. When he had already gotten the first down, it was going to be first-and-goal, there was enough time on the clock, those kinds of things start to factor in … you don’t need to reach out quite as much as if that was third- or fourth-and-goal, there was no time left, those kinds of things start to affect the decision you make in that moment. But, a
When surging Texas goes for a three-game sweep of the visiting Chicago White Sox on Sunday at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, Cole Hamels, the pitcher the Rangers expected to be their bell cow in this season of rebuilding, will be on the mound.
It remains to be seen how much longer Hamels (4-6 J.J. Jansen Jersey , with a 3.61 ERA) stays in that position. He could, instead, be a huge piece to the puzzle in a trade that would net more prospects for a team in dire need of them.
The White Sox will send right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (3-5, 3.73 ERA) to the mound in the series finale.
The Rangers beat Chicago 13-4 on Saturday behind five solid innings from the ageless Bartolo Colon, a three-run double from Robinson Chirinos, a home run from Joey Gallo and a seven-run eighth inning.
Texas was without designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo on Saturday as he battles right quad soreness and was given the night off.
Choo said his upper quad has been bothering him over the past 10 days, but he’s played through it well enough to extend his streak of reaching base to 41 straight games, tops in the Major Leagues this season. It’s also tied with Toby Harrah (1985) for the third-longest single-season streak in club history.
“I felt like it was an opportunity to get him off his legs, give him a day,” manager Jeff Banister told mlb.com about Choo’s absence from the starting lineup. “He’s played through it for a while.”
Choo underwent an MRI at his own request on Saturday and said afterward he does not believe the injury is serious.
“I know I have the streak going on, but my body and staying healthy is more important,” Choo said. “And winning games is more important than records. I don’t want to make it worse. I don’t think it’s serious.”
Chicago is another team building from the ground up but already has its second baseman of the future, Yoan Moncada, on the field as an everyday player. Moncada, who was acquired from Boston as part of the trade that sent Chris Sale to the Red Sox, has struggled through the first half of the season, hitting just .225 after batting .231 in 54 games last season.
He also has a team-high 13 errors at second base.
“I did not expect to have as many tough Terrell Owens Jersey , difficult moments as I’ve been having,” Moncada told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I’ve learned that this is a process, it’s something young guys have to get used to. You can’t get frustrated at any point. If you keep your faith in what you do, you’re going to be good.”
Lopez will make his 17th start of the season, 10th on the road and second against the Rangers this season when he takes the hill on Sunday. He is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA over his past three road starts. His last time out, on June 26, Lopez earned the win versus Minnesota, allowing four runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings in an 8-4 Chi-Sox victory.
Lopez is receiving a 3.45 run support average this season, the ninth-lowest in the AL. He will be making his third career start against the Rangers and second at Globe Life Park.
Lopez garnered the win in his last start against Texas on May 20 in Chicago, pitching eight scoreless innings.
Hamels will also make his 17th start of the season and leads all Texas starters in ERA (3.61), starts (16), innings (97 1/3), and strikeouts (97). He has gone 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA in his nine starts since May 5 to lower his ERA from 4.08 to 3.61.
Hamels will be working on five days’ rest and last worked and took a no-decision in the Rangers’ 7-4 win on Monday at home against San Diego. He allowed a season-high nine hits in that game, exiting after trailing 4-1 in the sixth, ending a streak of eight straight starts six-plus or more innings pitched.
Hamels has gone 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA in four career starts against the White Sox, recording quality starts in three of those four outings.
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