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DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Jalen Ramsey, cornerback, Jacksonville. With the Titans down 14 and 5:30 to play and scrambling to rally to save their playoff hopes, backup quarterback Matt Cassel threw a pass to his right that Ramsey made an athletic move and fingertip catch to nab. A great catch, and his 30-yard return for touchdown put the game out of reach. One of Ramsey’s question marks coming into the NFL was his paucity of interceptions in college. But with sneaky picks like that, and with the smooth transformation he’s made to cover corner, Ramsey has answered those questions with strong play.

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7. I think it’s always smart to remember at this time of year (a week from today is BLACK MONDAY WITH ALL THE NEWS ABOUT COACH FIRINGS COMING RIGHT UP!!!) that coaches have lives, and with the firing of each coach comes the firing of 18 to 22 other coaches and their families as well. It’s the lives they bought into, and they lives they love—except for times like this. I asked Austen Lane, who wrote for The MMQB in 2013 what it was like to get fired when the Jaguars, indeed, fired him, to tell me his thoughts on Gus Bradley. I find Bradley to be one of the most sincere and earnest and nice people I’ve met in this business—among coaches, players, team officials, whoever. This comes from Lane:

“The moment I knew Coach Bradley was a man of integrity and high character was the day I found out I was getting released by the Jaguars. Every head coach handles the process of cutting a player differently. Some coaches will give you a generic, We’re going in a different direction, with a handshake and an exit-stage-left while some coaches won’t even meet with a player or provide an explanation. Coach Bradley walked with me into the general manager’s office and sat in a chair right next to me as it was announced I would be let go. It was almost like he wanted to be there to help absorb the gut shot I received. After meeting with the GM, Dave Caldwell, Coach Bradley invited me to his office to meet with him one on one. There wasn’t any generic phrase or rushed handshake to get me out. You could tell he genuinely cared about my well-being and made every effort in reminding me that if I ever needed anything to give him a call. All this coming from a guy I only knew for 3 weeks.”