NFL players seem to have run out of creative ways to celebrate.Either that
Kurt Coleman Jersey Stitched , or they've decided to pay homage to the players they grew up watching, even if it costs them some funds for injecting fun into the game.Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill was the latest to go old school when he commemorated his second touchdown in Week 10 by commandeering the CBS camera like Cincinnati's Chad Ochocinco once did."The celebration just came into my head," said Hill, whose actions netted an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a coach Andy Reid's ire."That was too much," Reid said.The NFL, which has relaxed celebration rules, might agree.Hill's stunt came days after Saints receiver Michael Thomas was fined $30,000 for using a phone as a prop, a la Joe Horn, and Titans safety Kevin Byard was dinged $10,026 for celebrating an end zone interception on the Cowboys' midfield star logo, just like Terrell Owens did in 2000.Saints tight end Ben Watson added a little twist to his celebration when he stuffed the football under his jersey to signal his wife's pregnancy just like ... Ben Watson did, back in 2009.When Watson, 37, scored against the Rams last Sunday, he let the world know he and his wife, Kristen
Youth Patrick Robinson Jersey , are expecting twins by stuffing the ball under the front of his jersey and holding up five fingers on one hand as he often does to honor his five children.Then he held up two more fingers on his other hand in honor of the twins on the way.Nine years ago, Watson similarly stuffed the ball under his jersey after scoring as Kristen was close to full term with their first child, Grace. He was fined shortly thereafter for using the ball as a prop."So the cool thing is I will be able to say (to his twins) that, 'When I did it for Grace, I had to pay. When I did it for you all, the league had changed,'" Watson said. "What a difference nine years make."Not for everyone.Hill was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in Kansas City for taking over the TV camera, just as Thomas was for pulling a flip phone out from under the goal post padding after his fourth-quarter score against L.A."Where did he get a flip phone?" Watson said. "I said (to Thomas), 'Do you even know who Joe Horn is? You must have been in elementary school back then.' But that was pretty good. I've got to give him props on that one."No pun intended, of course.Byard said Friday his $10,026 fine was worth it because his interception denied the Cowboys a touchdown and sparked a 28-7 run in Tennessee's 28-14 win in Dallas on Monday night.Byard said he expected the Cowboys to take offense when he sprinted to the 50-yard line to pose on the star, then began a sort of Irish jig when teammates joined him at midfield."I was actually expecting someone to knock my head off," Byard said. "I was like, if we get enough guys to the 50, we are just going to start dancing on the star."Cowboys running back Byron Jones quickly shoved Byard away, playing the part of George Teague, who blasted Owens when he did the same thing while with the 49ers 18 years ago."You don't do that
Patrick Robinson Jersey Stitched ," Jones said.Byard met with his coach, Mike Vrabel, who had a big problem with his DB's actions.Vrabel said he wants players to celebrate with each other and not stand up an opponent."It's not what we want to do," Vrabel said.Byard said his over-the-top celebrations are history.Other takeaways from Week 10 included a stumbling, bumbling Tom Brady, a shoutout from the Rams to Halle Berry and Sean McVay's decision to train at altitude in preparation for Monday night's showdown between the Rams and Chiefs, who are both 9-1.ALTITUDE ACCLIMATION: Last year, Bill Belichick decided to stay in Colorado after a win at Denver to acclimate to the altitude of Mexico City's Azteca Stadium (elevation 7,200 feet) by practicing at the Air Force Academy (6,621 feet).It paid off in a 31-8 drubbing of the Oakland Raiders, who stayed home and prepped at sea level.McVay said the trade-off is scrubbing the team's routine, but the wildfires and mass shooting in Thousand Oaks has made training in Southern California anything but normal anyway.The Rams will train in the Rocky Mountains on Thursday through Saturday before flying to Mexico, and McVay said a second charter with family members will fly out from L.A. to Colorado later in the week."I think it really served us well last year when we went to Jacksonville before we played in London," McVay said. "Staying out there, kind of a way to connect with the team. Getting away a little bit. This instance definitely provides a little bit different approach where your families are so important right now."HAIL HALLE : Jarod Goff was glad it was quiet enough for fans to hear his "Halle Berry" play call Sunday. Even the actress heard it, tweeting him for an explanation.Goff couldn't reveal secrets of the audible, which resulted in an 8-yard pass to tight end Tyler Higbee.All he'd tweet back was
Youth Jermon Bushrod Jersey , "It's my favorite play ever."On Monday, McVay said, "It's one of my favorite plays, too, Halle."BRADY'S BUNGLE : A lot is made of Brady's arm at age 41 and how he was just 21 of 41 Sunday in a 34-10 loss at Tennessee, where he was held without a TD pass for the second time in three weeks.But what about his stumble and tumble on a trick play in which he caught the pass only to trip over himself and plop down a yard short of the first-down marker?Tennessee QB Marcus Mariota later caught a pass on the Titans' own trick play."I wanted to see if ours looked any better than theirs," deadpanned Vrabel.With contributions from Associated Press Writer Terry McCormick. Eli Manning's age suddenly doesn't seem as important as a year ago.The two-time Super Bowl MVP is having somewhat of a bounce-back year after many wondered whether he would remain the Giants' quarterback in the wake of a 3-13 season.Not only did new coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Dave Gettleman commit to Manning in the offseason, the 37-year-old has rewarded their faith. He is coming off a 25-of-29 performance for 297 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-22 win over the Texans in Houston on Sunday.His completion rate of 86.2 percent was the second-highest in a full game in his career, topped only by an 87.1 percent effort against Miami in 2015."I think last week we had great urgency and understanding what we had to fix it and get better," Manning said Wednesday."I think you have to have that same mentality. We got to fix things from last week that there were mistakes and I think that's the mindset is to get better."For the year, Manning is 81 of 110 for 800 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, which came on a pass tipped by a defensive lineman. His statistics are top 11 in the league among quarterbacks as the Giants (1-2) prepare to face another geezer: 39-year-old Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints (2-1) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday."I've known Drew a long time and watched his career and obviously what he's been able to do in New Orleans is impressive," said Manning, who met Brees in college when the two attended an Indianapolis Colts' game. "So great person, great quarterback and always fun to compete against him."Both quarterbacks have played well this season. Brees is third in the league, hitting just over 80 percent of his passes for 1
Jermon Bushrod Jersey Stitched ,078 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions."They're both outstanding players and I think I said it either Monday or yesterday, there's no substitute for experience, especially when you're well-performing guys like they are," Shurmur said."They're good players, and so it doesn't surprise me. I think in this game at certain positions, as long as your legs and your arms stay good, you've got a chance to continue to play."Tom Brady of the Patriots is the NFL's current oldest quarterback at 41, while Brees and Jets backup Josh McCown are 39. Manning is the fourth oldest.Manning said the length of quarterbacks' careers are increasing because players are taking better care of themselves, there is less practice and subsequently less throwing. The league also is making sure quarterbacks are protected.How long Manning continues to play is uncertain."I don't think I ever had an expectation of how long it would be in the first place," he said. "You kind of play until you're not."Manning and the Giants are going to have to step it up to compete with the Saints. New Orleans is averaging more than 34 points. The Giants have not scored 30 in a game since their regular-season finale in 2015."You never put a 'you have to score this amount or that amount', you always have goals you want to hit in general, but you play the game and you don't know what's going to happen or what the circumstances are," he said. "You just got to be ready for whatever game it turns out to be."NOTES: CB Eli Apple (hamstring) and TE Evan Engram (knee) did not practice. Shurmur seemed to give some of his older players a maintenance day with DT Damon Harrison, LB Connor Barwin and RB Jonathan Stewart not practicing. Harrison briefly became a line coach and worked with the group on snap movement.