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Surely seeing his potential to be a ballhawk (five interceptions in his lone college season playing just defensive back), the Detroit Lions drafted Kerby Joseph in the third round of the 2022.
It's safe to say Joseph has fulfilled that promise, intercepting four passes in each of his first two seasons. In Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys, he intercepted his fourth pass of this season over the first five games.
According to Lions' PR, Joseph is the first Lions safety to have an interception in four of the team's first five games since 1981 (Jimmy Allen).
So far this season, Joseph has also shown a propensity for intercepting passes in the end zone, including the one in Week 6. Lions' PR also noted some rare air he's in there.
"When teams have thrown passes in the end zone against the Lions this year, they are 1-of-14 (7.1%) for 10 yards, 1 TD & 5 INTs for a 23.8 QB rating."
"(Joseph) is the only player to have 4 INTs in the end zone in a season since 2006, as far as 'Tru Media's data goes."
Kerby Joseph in some rare air for interceptions so far in his career
Going even further, Lions' PR noted Joseph is the first safety since Ed Reed (2002-2004) to have four or more interceptions in each of his first three seasons.
.@Lions S @JKERB25 has produced 4+ INTs in each of his first three-career seasons.
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) October 13, 2024
The last @NFL safety to do so was S Ed Reed (2002-04).#OnePride pic.twitter.com/f5rdO8rprj
Reed had 21 interceptions over his first three seasons, so Joseph has a long way to go before he matches that total.
Reed led the league with nine interceptions and won Defensive Player of the Year in his third season. Joseph has a stated goal to lead the league in interceptions this season, and he's currently second behind Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney, who has played six games.
However you slice it, Joseph is doing some special things so far this season. Already matching the early-career interception accomplishment of a Hall of Fame safety is obvious evidence.
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Dolphins humiliated by Lions at joint practice
Joint practices have revealed some problems for the Miami Dolphins with a few weeks to go before the regular season. Tua Tagovailoa started against the Chicago Bears in Sunday's preseason game, wanting to show improvement after having a bad showing during the Dolphins' joint practice in Chicago on Friday. Tagovailoa did play better, going 5-of-6 passing for 27 yards and led the Dolphins to the Chicago 1-yard line before the offense was stopped on downs. A few days later, Tagovailoa and the offense had another poor performance at their joint practice with the Detroit Lions. Per Colton Pouncy of The Athletic, Miami couldn't score in the red zone against a motivated Lions defense during Wednesday's practice. "Dolphins offense just ran 16 or so plays in the red zone vs. the Lions and didn’t score until the final play (between the second units)," Pouncy posted on X. "Miami’s first-team offense didn’t score in the 7-8 plays vs. Detroit’s first-team defense. It was ugly. Lions’ D is having a day." Pouncy's observation of the Lions manhandling the Dolphins was universal among beat reporters covering the Lions and Dolphins, with The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner calling it the most "lopsided" practice he'd witnessed covering the NFL. Last week, Omar Kelly of the Miami Sun Sentinel said Miami folded when the Bears defense began to whip on the offense. The accusations of the Dolphins being a soft team are going to continue until they decide to fight back in joint practices or against opponents in the regular season. When healthy, the Lions have a fierce defense. So Detroit having the edge isn't a surprise, though not being able to score during 16 plays in the red zone is a concern. Miami doesn't appear to have found an identity, and that could spell doom for the season if it doesn't get it figured out before Week 1.
Phillies superstar may be building Hall of Fame case
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber is in the midst of another impressive season. Schwarber entered Wednesday having posted a .249/.373/.578 batting line in his 528 plate appearances this season, hitting 42 homers while driving in a National League-leading 97 runs. The Phillies slugger was named to his third All-Star Game this season and, according to NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, he should be the NL MVP. Schwarber has been one of baseball's premier power hitters since establishing himself in the majors in 2017. He's in his eighth season of hitting 30 or more homers and has reached the 40-homer plateau three times in his four seasons in Philadelphia. The 32-year-old Schwarber may find himself in elite company when his career comes to an end. He has already hit 326 homers in his career, potentially giving him a chance to reach the 500-home run plateau. If Schwarber does hit 500-plus homers, the narrative around his career may change. There have only been 28 players in MLB history to reach that plateau, 19 of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Two players — Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera — are not yet eligible and are expected to be enshrined on the first ballot. The seven players who have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame have been linked to PED use, torpedoing their candidacy. At the same time, his entire candidacy may be based on his home run total. Schwarber has a lifetime .232/.346/.499 batting line over 5,188 plate appearances; although batting average no longer carries much weight for the voters, he would have the lowest batting average of any non-pitcher in the Hall. His 20.7 fWAR has been dragged down by his defense and is unlikely to make him a favorite among the younger voters who put more emphasis on such metrics. Schwarber is marching toward the 500-home run plateau. If he does reach that mark, he could be a polarizing Hall of Fame candidate.
Rory McIlroy Reveals Why He Didn’t Go To St Jude Championship
Last week, the playoffs for the FedEx Cup officially began. The top seventy players of the season have been selected, and they are now off to the races. The first of four events was the St Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee. Although it was supposed to have seventy players, there was a notable absence. Rory McIlroy, despite occupying the no. 2 spot in the FedEx rankings, was nowhere to be seen. The decision has led to confusion and criticism. The main question was why he had done it, and now McIlroy has answered that question. Recap On McIlroy And St Jude Fallout Rory McIlroy’s decision has brought him some criticism. Some were calling it disrespectful to the sport and players. People like Johnson Wagner were calling for rule changes to keep such an absence from happening again. He proposed mandatory attendance with wiggle room for emergencies, given that the FedEx Cup has an elimination aspect to it. McIlroy was able to skip the event without any kind of repercussion. Going into the playoffs, he was second in the FedEx Cup rankings, just behind Scottie Scheffler. He was so far ahead of most other players that some people did the math and concluded that he could skip St Jude and the BMW Championship and still be in the race. After the St Jude Championship, McIlroy’s FedEx Cup standing did not change. He remained in second but he will be attending the BMW Championship. McIlroy’s Explanation Ahead of the BMW Championship, Rory McIlroy attended a press conference to answer some questions before the tournament. One of the questions was on his absence from the St Jude Championship, and McIlroy answered that he just needed an extra week off ahead of a very busy schedule. “I just think that extra week off will do me good with the events coming up. Some big events that are important to me—the Irish Open, Wentworth (BMW PGA Championship), obviously the Ryder Cup. I want to try to win my seventh Race to Dubai over in Europe as well. There’s some things that are still important to me that I want to go play in. That was a big part of the reason why I wanted to take that extra week off last week.” During this same conference, McIlroy addressed the need for a rule change after his absence. Mostly questioning if it was even necessary, but ultimately saying that he would support it if need be. McIlroy also pointed out that any rules change would need to keep a lot of people happy, including the media rights partner and the sponsors. Those two like to see big names on the field. Up Next: The BMW Championship Rory McIlroy may have skipped the St Jude Championship, but he’s not skipping the BMW Championship. Nor is he skipping the Ryder Cup, Irish Open, Wentworth, or the Race to Dubai. It was a calculated move, as suspected, but it is for much-needed rest right before McIlroy goes into several big tournaments. McIlroy has nine very busy weeks ahead of him, and he needs to save his strength before each one. For now, though, he is focusing on retaining his position during the BMW Championship this week.
Another Cowboys star could hold out amid Micah Parsons' contract drama
The Dallas Cowboys need to figure out what to do with Micah Parsons because whatever they're doing right now isn't working. Team owner Jerry Jones said he was willing to "stir the pot" when asked about Parsons' contract stalemate and trade request. Given Parsons' character, that may have rubbed him the wrong way. However, that's not the only contract situation they need to address. While everybody's focused on the Penn State product, CB DaRon Bland is also waiting for an extension of his own. More importantly, he recently said that he hoped it would get done before the Cowboys open the season on Sept. 4. "I do, but I'm not here to talk about it really too much," Bland told the team's website. "But yea, hopefully." Jerry and Stephen Jones aren't that fond of players setting deadlines for contract negotiations, and they've shown that they're willing to wait until the very last second to get a deal done, relationships be damned. Bland has been an instrumental piece of the Cowboys secondary, especially with fellow CB Trevon Diggs struggling with injuries. When asked about his goal for next season, he opened up about his desire to dominate opposite Diggs. "Always hopeful for both of us to be healthy first of all, and for both of us to show out on the field together. Can't wait until it happens," Bland said. Still, given the way the Cowboys have treated their stars and have dealt with contract situations, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see Bland also go to desperate measures to get what he's earned.
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