Red Raiders in the NFL 11.5.14

Amaro Adjusting Well
Jace Amaro is showing great progress in his rookie season. Here's a great summary of what he's accomplished so far:

But halfway through the Jets' miserable 1-7 season, Amaro has handled things reasonably well. He leads the Jets with 32 catches (on 39 targets) and is second on the team with 285 receiving yards. Amaro has the eighth-most catches among tight ends in the NFL, despite playing the 42nd-most snaps for that position.

In Pro Football Focus's ratings, Amaro is 16th overall, including 32nd as a receiver (largely because of three drops) and eighth as a run blocker - an area of his game that was very much uncertain coming out of a pass-happy offense in college.

He did a recent Q&A with NJ.com about his play and how he's adjusting. Click on the link for the whole interview.

Q: How would you assess your progress at the midpoint of the season?

A: I feel like I'm doing a really good job of making the plays count. I know I've made a couple mistakes (with drops). I feel like those are the easy balls, too, and it's just been frustrating for me, because those are the everyday, pitch-and-catch kind of deals. It's just like from a basketball reference, sometimes people think it's a little bit harder to make a wide-open shot than it is when a guy is contesting you. For me, I feel like I've made all the contested catches. I've made some tough catches as well. I've just got to make sure I make all the plays.

Q: So your older sister by two and a half years, Manae, lives with you here in New Jersey, and actually does public relations work for you, right?

A: Yeah. She does a great job with all that stuff. She helps get stuff done around the house, and helping with all that social media stuff. I really don't even look at all that stuff. She kind of handles it and filters it all out. But it's definitely fun. Having her up here in a new environment has definitely been good. I have a younger sister (Madison), too, and we've all been really, really close.

Q: So Manae's full-time job is working for you?

A: I have my own LLC, so she goes off of that. She just graduated from college, too, this past winter (at Texas Tech). So spring, she was with me, and summer. She's just getting started, too, with all that, but she's done a good job so far.

Broncos vs. Patriots
Wes Welker left Sunday's blowout loss to the New England Patriots with a back injury, and Denver Broncos coach John Fox said he is day-to-day. Despite the loss, Louis Vasquez and Manny Ramirez performed well, only allowing one sack of Peyton Manning. On the other side, Danny Amendola caught two passes for 35 yards in the Patriots' win.

Was that a Crabtree TD?
Michael Crabtree had a decent day against the St. Louis Rams, but many believe he was robbed of a touchdown on this play. You can check out the video and commentary in this post and see what you think the right call was.

Waddle Struggles a Bit
La'Adrian Waddle of the Detroit Lions seems to be in somewhat of a sophomore slump. Pro Football Focus hands out grades for offensive linemen, and Waddle has gone from a 5.5 in 2013 to a -1.5 in 2014. The entire offensive line seems to have taken a step back this year after an impressive showing last season. Hopefully, as Waddle continues to get healthier, his performance will improve as well.

Cody Davis is still inactive due to a concussion and didn't play on Sunday.