Sauce Gardner Fires Shot At Refs After Week 4 Loss Vs. Dolphins
The New York Jets came into Week 4 with a very winnable game on the schedule. They matched up with the struggling Miami Dolphins as quarterback Justin Fields returned from his concussion.
Fields was dominant at times, scoring a 43-yard touchdown run on a broken play and connecting with Garrett Wilson for a big touchdown pass. The Jets' ground game was dominant, too. But they couldn't stop beating themselves. It seemed like each time the Jets would make a big play or get a big stop, there would be a yellow flag laying on the ground to negate it.
The Jets were flagged 13 times for 101 yards. They also turned the ball over three times.
Following the game, star cornerback Sauce Gardner expressed his frustrations with the officiating.
Sauce Gardner calls out refs after Week 4 loss to Dolphins
“I’m personally frustrated. I watch football and I just feel like — and I don’t know if this is wrong to say — but I think I get called for more stuff just based off of us not winning," Gardner said following the loss, via The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt. "I watch these winning programs and there’s some egregious things that don’t get called … we don’t win and I feel like don’t get the calls that we should get and we get calls we shouldn’t get called for. Obviously that’s not WHY I want to win. I want to win because I don’t like losing.”
While it doesn't seem right to blame the refs or call out the refs following a 0-4 start to the season, Gardner might have a point.
Wilson was flagged for a push off early in the game that negated a touchdown, but watching the replay, it didn't seem like much contact. At one point, a Jets tight end went down an a few seconds later, was hit late by a Dolphins defender. No flag.
Still, it seems like a conspiracy theory to suggest that all the refs are in cahoots to target the Jets. There might be some life to the theory that the officials are a bit eager to throw a flag against New York, given the fact that it's been one of the most penalized teams in football for the last few years.
Sturm’s Third-Line Experiment Fizzles in Preseason Shake-Up
The Boston Bruins' third line on Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers made a ton of sense on paper. It featured Fraser Minten, who projects as the team's two-way center of the future, who brings defensive reliability and is still searching for his offensive upside. Minten's wingers should've been able to bring out that offensive upside, as Matej Blumel funnels shots at the net at a high volume, and Matt Poitras is the prototypical playmaker.
The line's experience should give fans and the coaching staff some caution about expecting the trio to be a line in the regular season. It'd be hard for them to comfortably play 82 games at the NHL level without expectations of some regression and nights where they struggle. However, in a season where there are few expectations for the Bruins, it could be the perfect year to feature this line and build it up as a potential third, and eventually second, line of the future.
Well, the line lasted only two periods. Poitras moved up to the second line with Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha, while Viktor Arvidsson moved down with Minten and Blumel. I don't disagree with that move either, as the concept of Arvidsson automatically getting a second-line spot didn't seem right. He brings a speed and tenacity that could fit alongside Minten and Blumel while also lending some veteran leadership.
Head coach Marco Sturm's comments post-game make me think that he really wants Monday night's third line to work. It's too late in the preseason for him to be throwing lines together just for the sake of doing it, and it feels like the coaching staff feels that this line could work on paper as well. The challenge will be for the trio to actually show it on the ice.
"“They practice so hard and so well the whole time, and I feel like in games, they think too much. So, I gotta get them out of that.”"Marco Sturm
It raises an interesting question. While everyone thinks that those three are vying for the final spots in camp, is there a chance that the trio will be Providence's first line to start the season? Considering the lack of expectations, an idea for the front office is to gel them as a line in the AHL and then recall them all to Boston at the same time at a later date. They wouldn't be the first team to implement that strategy.
