Standout cornerback Jalen Ramsey believes the Jacksonville Jaguars should be playing in prime time.
Ramsey expressed frustration that the NFL moved Jacksonville’s game against Seattle from 1 p.m. to 4:25 p.m. Sunday, far from the spotlight of a night game.
”That’s (wrong),” Ramsey said. ”If it ain’t 8 o’clock, it don’t matter. I would rather play at 1 than 4:25, but it’s all good. If we’re going to get flexed, we need to get flexed to the night game, you know what I’m saying?
”Playing at) 4:25 don’t do nothing for me. It don’t do nothing for anybody on this team.
”At the end of the day, we’re kind of like, `Damn.’ We’re balling and they’re a good team coming in here, and we’re still not getting respect.”
A very small percentage of the country will get to see the matchup of projected No. 5 playoffs seeds on Fox. It will be broadcast in Jacksonville, Orlando and Gainesville in Florida, and throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska as well as half of Montana. An overwhelming majority will get the Philadelphia-Los Angeles Rams game.
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THE MUSIC DIDN’T DIE: The New York Giants’ coaching change from Ben McAdoo to interim coach Steve Spagnuolo didn’t stop the music at practice. Just the style a bit.
McAdoo had music playing through most of his practices for his less than two-year tenure. There was a variety of hip hop, club, rap, country and others. Basically, there was something for everyone. His favorite seemed to be country.
When the team hit the practice field Wednesday with Spagnuolo running the team, the first song was Frank Sinatra singing ”New York, New York.”
”You noticed the Sinatra song,” the 57-year-old Spagnuolo said after the workout. ”I did it just to see if the players would know who that was. Some did. Some did not. My dad used to play Frank Sinatra every Sunday morning when we got back from church. It was great. So, I enjoy it. It shifted real quick, didn’t it?”
Spagnuolo, who coached the St. Louis Rams from 2009-11, will return to the head coaching ranks against Dallas (6-6) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
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GREEN BAY ”GLITZ” The Green Bay Packers have their own piece of jewelry that goes to a standout player. It’s not nearly as glitzy as the ”Turnover Chain” worn by Miami Hurricanes’ football players.
The Packers’ ”Rehab Chain” consists of the word ”rehab” printed in bold letters on a piece of cardboard, attached to a piece of white ribbon. Defensive lineman Kenny Clark had it hanging in his locker this week following his standout, two-sack game against Tampa Bay. He had missed the loss against the Steelers the previous week with a high ankle sprain.
Running back Aaron Jones wore the low-key necklace in the locker room after scoring the winning 20-yard touchdown in overtime to beat the Buccaneers. The rookie had missed the previous two games with a knee injury.
”Working hard in rehab, getting back on the field and making the most of it when you get the chance to get out there,” Jones said after the game in describing the chain.
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250 PLUS 250 EQUALS 500: The Dallas Cowboys, who visit the last-place New York Giants on Sunday, are one win from becoming the 12th NFL team with 500 regular-season victories. And it just so happens Dallas had 250 regular-season wins when Jerry Jones bought the franchise in 1989.
So yes, it’ll be a milestone for Jones in an eventful few months for the outspoken owner and general manager if it happens in the final four games.
Tight end Jason Witten, in his 15th season, has been there for 132 of Jones’ wins.
”I think anybody that grows up a fan of this game respects the tradition of what the Cowboys are,” Witten said. ”Certainly when Mr. Jones came, he had a lot of challenges in front of him. They don’t give away wins in this league. You earn every one of them.”
Chicago and Green Bay are the only franchises with at least 700 wins.
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CAPTURE THE FLAG: The American Flag Football League will have some NFL star power for its inaugural season-long tournament.
The league announced this week that three of the four pro teams in the tournament will have Michael Vick, Chad Johnson and Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk as captains. The fourth team will have an ”outside the box” tandem as captains. The rosters for those teams will be selected in a draft in 2018.
Registration has also begun for the 1,024-team ”America’s bracket.” Those teams will take part in a single elimination 7-on-7 flag football tournament starting in March, ending with a winner-take-all final for $1 million in July between the top pro team and the best from America’s bracket.
Among the players participating are former NBA slam dunk champion and college football player Nate Robinson, who will be on a pro team.
Teams will need to have a roster of between seven and 12 players and a player who loses in the first round will be able to sign as a free agent with another team later in the tournament. Teams that win their first two games get their $99 entry fee back.
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AP Pro Football Writers Barry Wilner, Schuyler Dixon and Josh Dubow, and Sports Writers Mark Long, Tom Canavan and Genaro C. Armas contributed.
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For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL
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