e can battle and be resilient down the stretc | Forum
123
Feb 28 '19
BEREA, Ohio -- Cody Kessler relishes the underdog role. Adidas Superstar Baratas Rebajas . Its the only one hes known.Clevelands rookie quarterback has spent his entire football life overcoming long odds, sidestepping danger and making the best of difficult situations.Hes in a new one.Just three weeks into his first NFL season, Kessler, who was once told his career would not take him further than junior college, will make his regular-season debut Sunday when the Browns (0-2) visit the Miami Dolphins.This wasnt the plan the Browns had in mind for Kessler, but the 23-year-old has experienced enough turmoil to know not everything follows a script.Thats how life is, he said. Youre going to have adversity, youre going to have different things that you dont expect to happen, and its just how you react to them. I know it might sound clich?, but I really believe in that.With Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown sustaining injuries to their left shoulders in the first two weeks, the Browns quickly ran out of options and will now turn to Kessler, a third-round draft pick who started 41 games at USC, to run their offense and lead them.Kessler is the fifth quarterback to start Clevelands past five games and the franchises 26th since 1999.Kessler has been consumed by preparation the past two days. He buried his nose deep in Clevelands playbook, spent hours watching and re-watching the Browns first two losses and studied tape on the Dolphins.Miami roughed up Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson in Week 1 and then knocked New Englands Jimmy Garoppolo from the game a week ago when linebacker Kiko Alonso drove him to the turf.Kessler knows he has to avoid Miamis vice.Their front seven is very physical and I think a lot of that has to do with how well their back four play, Kessler said before practice Wednesday.Their safeties, their DBs, they get after the ball and they hold up really well in coverage and then their front seven get after the quarterback.Browns coach Hue Jackson, whose selection of Kessler stunned draft experts, admires the way his young QB is digging into his assignment.One thing we all know about Cody is he is in this building from morning to night, Jackson said. We have to kick him out. That is just the way he is.He sees this as a tremendous opportunity for himself and I think he wants to go represent himself and the organization and his teammates well. He is preparing as hard as he can to get himself ready to play.Kesslers path to the pros was not normal.After deciding in high school to focus on football, he didnt get any major college offers and there was a long period when it appeared his dreams would be dashed.His father, Don, a former corrections officer, drove him around to various summer camps and put together highlight videos hoping to entice a major college to take a chance on his son.There was times when people would just say, `Hey, youre not going to play college, expect to go to the junior college here in Bakersfield, he said.Kessler wouldnt let rejection discourage him.I just kept telling myself I want to be bigger, I want to be better than that and I want to continue to work, he said. And it paid off. Just worked for me, just kind of always having that no-quit mentality.Browns Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas has been impressed with the focus, work ethic and humility Kessler has shown.You admire a guy that kind of has a chip on his shoulder, a guy like Cody who has had to work for everything and hasnt been given anything, Thomas said. A smaller guy, not your 6-6, 250-pound quarterback, so you respect him because everything he has gotten, hes earned it.At USC, Kessler fought to win playing time and wound up throwing 88 touchdown passes while enduring numerous coaching changes and playing in one of college footballs most celebrated programs.Kessler recalled missing a potential touchdown with an incompletion on his first throw before connecting 15 times in a row.It was a cool experience, he said. But it was something that youll never forget. Like a situation like this, something that youll never forget and something you want to take advantage of.Game notes WR Terrelle Pryor would sacrifice everything for his team. Ill do anything to help us win, anything, cut my finger off, do whatever Ive got to do, he said. Im willing to die on this field.... Rookie DE Carl Nassib had surgery on his broken left hand. Jackson believes Nassib, who has been impressive so far, will be back soon. ... NT Danny Shelton was limited in practice with a sprained knee.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFL ;Comprar Adidas Superstar Baratas . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. Adidas Superstar Baratas España . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. http://www.baratasadidassuperstar.es/ .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. No. 22 Creighton came close to scoring more than 115 points for the first time in more than 30 years Sunday.Curious observers will be interested to see if the Bluejays can crack the 115-point mark Monday night when they face Ole Miss on Monday night in the championship game of the Paradise Jam tournament at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.Creighton (4-0) set a tournament record for points when it advanced with a 112-94 victory over North Carolina State. It was the most points scored by the school since getting 115 against former Missouri Valley Conference rival Indiana State on Jan. 19, 1985.The outburst was the fifth-highest total in school history and followed a 103-point showing in the opening round against Washington State. In those games, the Bluejays shot 58.3 percent (80 of 137) and made 52.5 percent (21 of 40) of their 3-pointers.Cole Huff scored 20 points Sunday and has 39 points in the tournament, making him a candidate to be named MVP of the event. Huff was one of six Bluejays in double figures Sunday, including leading scorer Marcus Foster.Creighton, with its high-scoring offense is on the verge of winning the schools fourth regular-season tournament title under coach Greg McDermott.Our pace in our transition game really impacts (the opponents) choices to go to the glass, McDermott said. Because if they dont get it, were going to get downhill in a hurry. Thats a credit to our rebounders, our outlet guys. Our wings are doing a great job running the floor.A win on Monday also would give Creighton its fifth 5-0 or better start under McDermott. It would also mark the second time a current Big East Conference school won the tournament.Ole Miss (4-0) has not approached triple digits in the tournament, but its offense has been pretty good through four games. Adidas Superstar Baratas. The Rebels advanced to the title game with an 81-68 win over Saint Josephs on Sunday.The Rebels reached at least 80 points for the fourth consecutive time, due in part to the best game of Sebastian Saizs career. Saiz, a senior forward, helped the Rebels improve to 21-8 in regular-season tournaments under coach Andy Kennedy by getting 26 points and 12 rebounds.Leading scorer Deandre Burnett scored 20 points after collecting 41 points with nine 3-pointers in the opening-round, 95-88 overtime win over Oral Roberts.We were giving up a lot of free opportunities in the last game Saiz said. We used the mentality of nothing free tonight. I knew they were going to try to double-team me, but I was ready for it. I knew they werent going to be able to stop me.Before advancing to the title game Sunday, the Rebels needed to rally from a five-point deficit Saturday against the Golden Eagles. And even before reaching St. Thomas, Ole Miss rallied from nine-point deficits against Massachusetts and Tennessee-Martin in its first two games.It just shows how resilient this team is, Burnett said after the win over Oral Roberts. It shows we can battle and be resilient down the stretch. We fix a couple of things, and well be pretty good.If Ole Miss wins, it would be 5-0 for the first time since 2013-14.Monday will be the second meeting between the schools. Ole Miss recorded a 75-68 victory in the semifinals of 2014 Emerald Coast Classic in Florida, the schools last win over a ranked team on a neutral court. ' ' '
Share:
