Unser Chat » The Browns‘ playoff odds remain immense

BEREA Clelin Ferrell Jersey , Ohio (AP) — nearly impossible.Gregg Williams’ chances, on the other hand, have improved.Since being elevated to Cleveland’s interim coach when Hue Jackson was fired on Oct. 29, Williams, the team’s in-your-grill defensive coordinator, has guided the Browns to four wins — two on the road — and has a team that didn’t win once last season playing meaningful December games, believing anything is possible.Seven weeks ago, Williams was a long-shot candidate. He now looks like a serious one.“He deserves credit for a lot of stuff that’s going on now, just the fire and the energy that he’s bringing to this team has been incredible,” Browns wide receiver Breshad Perriman said Monday, two days after a 17-16 win in Denver. “I feel like you can’t put a limit for the amount of credit you give him.”Williams has won over his players, who feel his attention to detail and demand for accountability has brought out the best in them. He’s also endeared himself to a segment of battle-scarred Cleveland fans, who would hate to see Williams leave and prosper elsewhere after his successful substitute stint.General manager John Dorsey http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-josh-jacobs-jersey , who is heading the team’s coaching search, will interview Williams for the full-time job once the season ends. Until then, the 60-year-old Williams won’t discuss his future.The gregarious coach loves to talk — about anything. But with two games to go, Williams is not going to address his interest in coaching the Browns (6-7-1) in 2019 and beyond.“I appreciate to answer that, and all honesty, I do not think it is fair to the players or to anybody here,” he said. “The most important thing is making sure that these guys understand how we continue to win and how we get ready for the Bengals (on Sunday). Really. When they see the mindset is that way — that is the way that my mindset has always been. We will talk about that at the end.”There is no denying Williams’ impact in less than two months.The Browns were in shambles when he took over, headed toward further disgrace. But Williams has helped salvage this season — Cleveland is technically still alive for a wild-card spot — while providing a glimpse of a future that hasn’t looked nearly this promising in years.Williams has more wins in six weeks than Jackson got in 40. He has demanded, and the Browns have responded.“I just think it was just more attention to detail, and just us in the locker room just not letting all the outside elements affect us and affect how we play,” said safety Jabrill Peppers. “It would have been easy to crumble and blame everything else that was going on, but we stuck together, fought it out and we’re on the cusp of having our first winning season around here in a long time, so everything falls how it may.”Peppers said he didn’t have any “ill will” toward Jackson Johnathan Abram Jersey , but indicated the Browns have been better prepared by Williams, who stresses competition at all times.“We just practice real-game situations competitively now instead of having the game be the first time that situation arises,” Peppers said. “Let’s say it’s a two-minute drive, instead of the game being that first time our offense goes into two-minute mode, we do it in practice — competitive. We’re the ultimate competitors, so we all want to win that period, both offensively and defensively. I think that’s been the main thing that he’s brought that helps us win.”It’s possible that Dorsey, who recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with the Browns, already has his next coach in mind — his wish list may include former Packers coach Mike McCarthy and Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley — and there may be nothing Williams can do to dissuade him from selecting another coach.However, if Cleveland wins its last two games and finishes with a winning record for the first time since 2007, Williams could make it very difficult for Dorsey not to hire him.That once seemed a far-fetched scenario. Turns out, it may not be far off.NOTES: Rookie CB Denzel Ward has not yet cleared concussion protocol. He has missed the past two games. … Peppers and his teammates were motivated by meeting former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, who spoke to the team on Friday in Denver. “That was probably one of the dopest moments since I’ve been in the league,” Peppers said. “It was just a good experience http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-trayvon-mullen-jersey , man, and his message really hit home. It gave me that extra little oomph that I needed for prime time.” Peppers had an interception, and his first NFL sack in the closing minutes clinched Cleveland’s win. ATLANTA (AP) — Sam Shields is one of just four Los Angeles Rams who has played in the Super Bowl before. He finds the privilege much sweeter the second time around.In the big game against Pittsburgh eight years ago, Shields won a ring as an undrafted rookie defensive back making plays for Green Bay. He eventually became a Pro Bowl cornerback for the Packers before a fairly innocuous tackle in the 2016 season opener derailed his life.Shields’ fourth recorded concussion kept him out of football for nearly two full years. After months of pain and grueling rehabilitation, he joined the Rams last spring and gradually made one of the most unlikely comebacks on either roster at this Super Bowl — a former defensive star now thriving as a key special-teamer and steady veteran for Los Angeles.Shields wants to beat New England on Sunday to earn a second ring, which would put him in elite NFL circles. But he is also proud of his ability simply to stay in the game.“It never crossed my mind that I could go this far,” Shields said. “I was definitely out of it, in a dark situation. At first, it was tough. Now I’m getting rewarded.”Shields sought refuge in darkened rooms for months on end after his injury, unable to alleviate his pounding headaches any other way. He needed extensive, complicated rehab at UCLA before he could even contemplate a return to regular life, let alone football.“The hardest part was not letting my family see everything I was going through,” said Shields, who has three daughters back home in Florida. “I didn’t want to talk to my kids about all I was going through Maxx Crosby Jersey , because I didn’t want them to be going through it with me. All those things that I was going through, I had to deal with by myself. It definitely made me who I am now.”Shields was unable to handle bright lights or any prolonged mental concentration, let alone an NFL career. He went through months of physical and mental exercises, gradually healing his brain.He chuckles at the memory of running on a treadmill while “being asked a million questions so that I would remember how to cope while I’m tired. It’s just training your brain to get back and rolling again, because I was in a dark moment. My brain wasn’t alive.”Even after turning a corner on his health following months of guidance from UCLA’s doctors, the former Pro Bowl cornerback thought for several more months about quitting his sport.He just couldn’t do it, even after so much physical agony and soul-searching. He had to play again, even if another hit could take him back to the start — or even deeper down.“He loves the game,” Rams general manager Les Snead said. “He can’t live without it. He could have easily moved on to that next chapter, but there was that itch inside.”Shields has recounted the details of his rehabilitation before, but he is more interested in focusing on its success. He hasn’t missed a game for the Rams this season, contributing as a backup on defense while gladly playing a major role on the Rams’ vaunted special teams.Shields’ daughters weren’t old enough to enjoy his first Super Bowl trip. They know what’s happening this time around — and unlike his injury, Shields is eager to share this experience with them.“That’s a really unique dude,” Rams cornerback Marcus Peters said. “I really respect everything he’s been through. He’s an amazing father Hakeem Butler Jersey , an amazing person. You’ve just got to have ultimate respect for a guy who started off his career as a Pro Bowler and just killing the league. He went through the little concussion thing, and when you love and care about the game as much as you do, to see him come back and be the same explosive player that he was in the past, you just salute him.”Even when he was a Pro Bowl cornerback, Shields didn’t look down on the dirty work of kick coverage. He realizes a big play on special teams can have a major impact on a game, just like he had two weeks ago.During the second quarter of the NFC championship game in New Orleans, Los Angeles was down 13-0 with a stagnant offense. That’s when Johnny Hekker threw a pass to Shields , a receiver at the University of Miami until his senior season, for a first down. The perfect fake punt, which included a clever juke by Shields to pick up the first down, prolonged the Rams’ first scoring drive.“It feels great to get your name called and to take advantage of it,” Shields said. “It was a crucial moment. I’ve been in crucial moments before, and I know how to take advantage of it.”