The MMQB Training Camp Tour Blog

[Prime Time]

Click link below to watch videos.
***************************
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/07/27/nfl-training-camp-tour-blog

MON JUL. 27, 2015
#TheMMQBTour Blog

We kick things off in Minnesota with Peter King’s Vikings training camp report—including observations on Adrian Peterson, Teddy Bridgewater and some intriguing new faces, plus exclusive MMQB video. And Peter weighs in on breaded walleye and beer at baseball nirvana, Target Field. Next stop: Steelers camp in Latrobe.

by Peter King

Welcome to our Training Camp blog
By late August, The MMQB will have taken you to every camp in the NFL. But not only to camps—we’ll take in ballgames and meet fans and experience lots of Americana along the road as we visit places we hope to bring to life for you. Please talk to us along the way … we’ll have plenty of chances to interact with you. Send your comments about the blog or about your team to us attalkback@themmqb.com. And check back two, three, four, nine times a day for our offerings on all things training camp.

Sunday, July 26, 2015
Minnesota State University-Mankato | Mankato, Minn. 7 p.m.

Minnesota Vikings Training Camp Report
What I Saw: Afternoon practice, Sunday, July 26. Sunny, 85 degrees, very humid.
Three things you need to know about the Vikings:

1. Adrian Peterson doesn’t look or sound like a bitter man. Maybe it’s his faith, or maybe it’s his ability to accept what he cannot change, or maybe he’s simply a happy man. Whatever, Peterson looked like his old self on the practice field, and I wrote about his state of mind for The MMQB in my Monday column after he missed 15 games last year stemming from charges of child abuse from whipping his 4-year-old son. One thing that didn’t make the column cut: I asked him if he had regrets about life in the last year. “I don’t get that year back, and there is a lot I could have accomplished in that year,” he said as a hot sun beat down on him between morning and afternoon sessions. “But then again, it was one less year of the wear and tear on the body. In that sense it was awesome. But not being able to get that year back, it hurts a little bit.”

2. Mike Zimmer’s defense will find the pass-rusher it needs, but how about the safety? Zimmer thinks Anthony Barr is ready to be an impact player on his defense, and he’ll need to be. Everson Griffin needs help rushing the passer. But there’s a fight on for the safety opposite Harrison Smith, and no one’s in the lead.

3. Teddy Bridgewater looks and acts older that he did in his rookie year. He looks more ready to take an NFL season’s pounding. Bridgewater’s not afraid of picking up the reins of the offense, even with Adrian Peterson and some old salts on the offensive line. “The one thing about Teddy,” offensive coordinator Norv Turner said, “is it’s not too big for him.” Zimmer: “Teddy’s really cerebral.”

What will determine success or failure for the Vikings: I say it's the protection for Bridgewater. The offensive line was shaky and in transition last year. Tackle Matt Kalil must rebound, and rookie T.J. Clemmings from Pitt likely needs to win one of the starting guard jobs for the group to shine. “We’ve got strong weapons on offense,” said Mike Zimmer, “but we’ve got to protect Teddy.”

Player I saw and really liked: MyCole Pruitt, rookie tight end, Southern Illinois. Because the Vikings have a good but injury-prone tight end, Kyle Rudolph, fifth-round pick Pruitt could become a vital player. Norv Turner loves his catching radius, and when I watched practice, I saw a 258-pound NFL body with quickness to make linebackers miss.

Five dot-dot-dot observations about the Vikings: Zimmer told me he wouldn’t go away from Blair Walsh as his post-touchdown alternative (going for one instead of two) with the movement of the PAT from the two-yard line to the 15 this year. “At least not till the weather gets really bad,” he said …

Good to see Kirby Wilson, the former Steelers running backs coach burned in a house fire in 2012, coaching the running backs hard on Sunday. He’s in his second year in Minnesota after seven years on the Steelers’ staff, interrupted by getting severely burned at home before a 2011 season playoff game …

Wideout Mike Wallace, coming off his embarrassing end at Miami, is doing and saying all the right things here. But proving time for him doesn’t come in July in camp. It’ll come in a pressure game in December …

I really like the depth at cornerback. Trae Waynes, the first-round pick, looks the part of an early-season impact player …

Something I have never seen before: Wideout Cordarrelle Patterson on a Segway riding around camp—with only the foot portion of the vehicle. No handlebars. It’s controlled simply by the feet and one’s balance.

“We’ve got strong weapons on offense,’’ said Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, “but we’ve got to protect Teddy.” John DePetro/The MMQB

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about. Brandon Bostick, tight end. Remember the guy who missed the catchable onside kick for Green Bay in the NFC title game, helping the Seahawks come all the way back to win late last January? The Vikings signed him, and he’s here, trying to break into a crowded tight end depth chart.

The thing I’ll remember about Mankato. Jake’s Stadium Pizza, just down the street from Vikings camp in a little strip mall. Impossible to be thin in this town once you’ve discovered this cheesy magic.

Gut feeling about this team as I left town. I’m drinking the Kool-Aid. I think if Bridgewater continues his natural progression—he was the league’s second-highest-rated quarterback over the last five weeks of the 2014 season—and offensive coordinator Norv Turner continues to school him in the fine art of not turning it over, this team will be a serious threat the Packer division supremacy.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/07/27/nfl-training-camp-tour-blog

Monday, July 27, 2015
Saint Vincent College | Latrobe, Pa. 6 p.m.

Sights seen at Steelers camp today:

1. Two Benedictine monks in full robes walking around the campus of St. Vincent College, which is home to the largest abbey of Benedictine monks in the United States. Long brown robes, mind you, on a 90-degree day.

2. James Harrison, inexplicably, dressed in heavy gray sweats and heavy gray hoodie. Midway through the afternoon practice, he had sweated through everything.

3. A sparse crowd in the bleachers at pristine Chuck Noll Field. Looks like the big crowd came Sunday, for the commemoration of the Steelers' 50th summer holding camp at St. Vincent. They even had a National Anthem.

4. Ben Roethlisberger signing autographs, unprompted, for 17 minutes after afternoon practice. He was one of seven Steelers still out signing more than a half hour after the practice ended. And Jerome Bettis was at camp earlier in the day, signing for everyone in sight.

5. Mike Tomlin coaching like this was a playoff game. The man does get after it.

6. Two Gaelic Football players from Dublin, in Pennsylvania to play a series of games over four months, watching from the end zone, 10 feet from offensive line drills run by Mike Munchak. The guys, 21, couldn't believe the size of the linemen, and thought it was heartbreaking when I told them that 25 or 30 of the players on this field wouldn't be playing football this year, and would have to find jobs doing something else. "What will they do?" one asked. My answer: "What everyone else who doesn't play football does, I guess."

Peter King catches up with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Photo: John DePetro/The MMQB

One thing I think watching this scene, as well as the one from Minnesota a day earlier: Teams miss so much when they stay in their home-facility cocoons, which more and more teams are doing now. The Jets, no long in upstate New York. The Giants, no longer in Albany. The Eagles, no longer in Bethlehem, Pa. The Ravens, no longer in Westminster, Md. I could go on and on. Teams need to be touching their fans more than they are, and training camp is the best chance to do that.

[Twitter:
]View: https://twitter.com/theMMQB/status/625679751852785664]


—Peter King

Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Report

Site: St. Vincent College in the Laurel Highlands of west central Pennsylvania, 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. Across U.S. 30 from the Arnold Palmer Airport.

What I Saw: Afternoon practice, Monday, July 27. Sunny, 89 degrees, humid. A scorcher.

Three things you need to know about the Steelers:

1. Life is different in 2015. No Hall of Fame defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. No (likely Hall of Fame) safety Troy Polamalu. LeBeau was gently let go by Mike Tomlin, replaced by 59-year-old Keith Butler, a player-and-coaching lifer getting his first shot to coordinate a defense. Polamalu retired and vanished, which you knew the reclusive one would do. In his place is seldom-used Shamarko Thomas, the 2013 fourth-round pick from Syracuse. No one knows how he’ll play, but he did make a heck of a play, nearly jarring the ball loose on a high throw to rookie Sammie Coates in the afternoon practice.

2. Ben Roethlisberger may still miss Bruce Arians, his former coordinator and Georgia off-season lake buddy, but he has adapted well to Todd Haley.Roethlisberger looked terrific in this practice, as did his cadre of excellent young receivers. Adding Sammie Coates (the fast kid from Auburn drafted in round three) to the mix is almost unfair. Roethlisberger clearly is on the same page with Haley. Last year, he set career marks in completion percentage (.671), passing yards (4,952) and touchdown-to-interception differential (plus-23). He said here in Latrobe that there’s no reason the Steelers shouldn’t average 30 points a game. “Well, Todd said that, and we follow him,” Roethlisberger said.

3. Keith Butler will be different from LeBeau, but don’t ask anyone here how.I’ll be writing on the Steelers’ defensive changes later at The MMQB, so come back for more details. But Butler is going to make mostly cosmetic changes to the D. The biggest change may come at defensive end. He’s a 3-4 guy, as the Steelers have been, but he doesn’t believe in the ends being stay-at-home space-eaters. He wants them to make plays and rush the passer better than they have. Good news for the underrated Stephon Tuitt and Cam Heyward, the likely DE starters.

What will determine success or failure for the Steelers: How they adapt to Butler and his defensive wrinkles. That’s clear. Watching this one unpadded practice, the one thing you could see stressed is a defensive physicality downfield. Butler is going to insist on the proverbial 11-hats-to-the-ball philosophy, and from watching these players, neither Butler nor Mike Tomlin is going to mind the occasional late hit or unnecessary roughness flag.

Player I saw and really liked: DeAngelo Williams, running back. The unrestricted free agent from Carolina comes into a crucial role after nine years as a Panther. He caught a wheel route from Roethlisberger out of the backfield and out-sprinted two linebackers down the right side for a long gain in the practice I saw. With no Le’Veon Bell for the first two (or three) games (Update: Bell’s suspension has indeed been reduced to two games), Williams will have to be big against the Patriots and 49ers, at least. The Steelers love having him.

Five dot-dot-dot observations about the Steelers: Backup QB could be a problem. Bruce Gradkowski has a sore arm and is on PUP, and Landry Jones inspires no confidence … If I’m Kevin Colbert, I’m stashing undrafted 6-4 free-agent Devin Gardner (a slash player, working at wideout and quarterback) on the practice squad and seeing if he can develop … The Steelers need second-round pick Senquez Golson, an interception machine at Ole Miss, to get in competition for the nickel spot, but he’s on PUP with a shoulder injury. That’s a vital position, particularly late in the season.

December quarterbacks on the Steelers sked: Andrew Luck, Andy Dalton, Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco … I think second-year man Ryan Shazier, the inside ’backer from Ohio State, looks ready to be the next in line of rush-and-cover linebackers … I don’t know how you cover all those wide receivers. I really don’t. Antonio Brown, by the way, made a catch at practice that would be among the 10 best he’s ever made had it been in a game, a one-hander way outside his body while keeping his feet inbounds.

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about. Dri Archer, wideout/running back. Maybe Steeler Nation will forget about him, too, if he doesn’t start making some plays. At 5-8 and 173, Archer needs to be the kind of shake-and-bake player who makes defenders miss on multiple plays a game. He hasn’t been, and looked totally pedestrian in this practice.

The thing I’ll remember about Latrobe. I think I found a player: Eli Rogers, a free-agent wide receiver/return from Louisville. He made a highly competitive leaping catch along the sidelines, then showed the softest, surest hands of any punt-returner, catching a couple of bombs from Brad Wing. I mentioned him to Mike Tomlin after practice and he said, “If you’re talking about Eli, you’ve done your homework.” Not really. Never heard of the guy before practice. Just watched him shine.

Gut feeling about this team as I left town. So hard to know anything on a team’s second practice of camp, and an unpadded one at that. But I think about the Steelers today what I thought of them all offseason: They’re going to score more than enough—they’ll be a top-five offense in the league, for sure—and the big question is whether they can be much better against the run (they allowed an ugly 4.4 yards per rush last year, very un-Steeler-like)—and adapt quickly to what Butler’s teaching. To challenge Baltimore and Cincinnati late into December, Butler is the vital guy.

—Peter King

 

[Prime Time]

Click link below to watch videos.
*****************************
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/07/27/nfl-training-camp-tour-blog

Believe in Baltimore

So what if Joe Flacco gets yet another offensive coordinator? The quarterback is cool as ever, the Ravens may have a perfect Haloti Ngata replacement and Steve Smith is ... Steve Smith. The MMQB likes Baltimore’s odds in 2015.

by Peter King

Baltimore Ravens Training Camp Report

The MMQB team visited Ravens camp for the third stop on the 2015 training camp tour. Photo: John DePetro/The MMQB

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Site: 1 Winning Drive, Baltimore Ravens HQ, Owings Mills, Md., 13 miles northwest of Baltimore.

Robert Klemko writes:

What I Saw: Morning practice, Thursday, July 30. Sunny, 85 degrees, humid (probably shouldn’t have worn jeans).

The thing I’ll remember about Owings Mills: There were several big plays, including picturesque snags by 36-year-old Steve Smith and 21-year-old rookie Breshad Perriman that should excite Ravens fans for the future on offense, but my favorite moment from Thursday happened well after practice as players trickled out of the heat and into the air conditioning of the swanky Under Armour Performance Center.

Following their first day of training camp – a spirited but cautious foray in helmets and shells – quarterback and Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco, dropped his helmet on the grass path to the door, strolled towards the media hub, answered seven harmless questions, chatted with a reporter or two and went inside. Twenty minutes passed. Players signed autographs for screaming kids lined up behind ropes on their way into the building, and soon there was no one left outside but a handful of media packing up gear.

And there was Joe’s helmet, resting on the ear fitted with Flacco’s all-important audio speaker linking him to coaches. Most of the quarterbacks I’ve met are cool on the outside and secretly neat-freak perfectionists at heart. I can’t imagine Peyton Manning or Tom Brady standing at a locker and not noticing or caring his helmet was missing. But that’s Joe. Maybe that’s what makes him so pedestrian in the regular season and so damn money in the playoffs; Joe cares when it counts.

Three things you need to know about the Ravens:

1. The offensive coordinator carousel continues. Joe Flacco will play for his fourth offensive coordinator in four years after former play caller Gary Kubiak’s departure for the Denver head coaching vacancy. Enter Marc Trestman, shown the door in Chicago after his locker room and his defense fell apart. It’s too early to say how different Trestman’s approach will be from Kubiak’s, but the foundation of his spread-leaning offense is being built on swing passes and dump-offs to Justin Forsett and a host of fullbacks, and on the downfield acumen of Smith and Perriman. The rookie’s hands remain a question mark, but he did pull off a beautiful falling catch on the right sideline near the end of practice Thursday.

2. Baltimore believes in Timmy Jernigan, the second-year lineman tasked with replacing longtime anchor Haloti Ngata (who was traded for fourth- and fifth-round picks to the Lions this offseason). Jernigan averaged just 26 snaps per game last season but did enough for John Harbaugh and the front office to feel comfortable dealing a player who remains a Top-10 3-4 defensive end entering his10th season.

3. It’s a relief to be done with Ray Rice. And that’s despite what the team said about tuning out distractions a year ago. The controversy surrounding Rice’s arrest on domestic violence charges and subsequent suspension and release was an emotional burden that loaded stress in the early season and applied pressure on nearly every aspect of the organization this time last year. Said running back Justin Forsett: “It’s nice. There are no distractions. [We] want to keep it that way and focus on football.”

What will determine success or failure for the Ravens: How healthy the defensive secondary can remain over the course of a season. I’m talking specifically about the cornerback position, where there are the biggest question marks and the least depth. Jimmy Smith is the top corner, but he never quite got over a Linsfranc injury suffered at midseason. Lardarius Webb had perhaps the worst season of his career a year ago, and Asa Jackson struggled similarly. If the Ravens lose Smith, Webb, Jackson or free agent pickup Kyle Arrington for any extended period of time, trouble awaits.

Player I saw and really liked: Steve Smith. Who doesn’t like Steve Smith? Here’s reason No. 43,547 Steve Smith is an All-American Badass: Halfway through Thursday’s practice, the five-time Pro Bowler entering his 15th season wiggled past cornerback Rashaan Melvin in an 11-on-11 session, cut to the post and made a diving, one-handed grab of a Flacco pass in front of a late-arriving Matt Elam. Later, Perriman matched his effort with a diving catch of his own. You think Smith doesn’t know what he’s doing, diving for 20-yard receptions in shells on the first day of practice? Steve wants a ring, and he’s making sure everyone in Owings Mills is on board.

Five dot-dot-dot observations about the Ravens: Second-round tight end Maxx Williams has had a quiet minicamp and first day of camp as he learns the ropes. Meanwhile, second-year tight end Crockett Gilmore has bulked up while maintaining fluidity in a bid for the starting job…

When the quarterbacks go with black jerseys and purple numbers, the easiest way to tell Flacco from 6-6 backup Matt Schuab is Schaub’s lackluster arm strength. Don’t count out Bryn Renner for the No. 2 job…

Perriman seems to have your classic hot-and-cold hands early in camp, and he’s already answering questions about his biggest pre-draft knock…

We surmise that the top position battle in camp will likely be at strong safety between Matt Elam and Kendrick Lewis, who, coincidentally, each struggle in coverage… In what seems like the next logical step in the downward sloping career of Lardarius Webb, the cornerback failed a conditioning test that measuresanaerobic conditioning, according to Harbaugh. Bad news for a defense that needs him to return to 2011 form.

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about. Kyle Arrington. Smart pickup for a couple of reasons: Baltimore is short on corners, as previously discussed, and Arrington fits a need for a quick-twitch nickel corner who can lock down the slot. For example, Indianapolis’ T.Y. Hilton made mince meat of the Baltimore defense in Week 5 a year ago with nine catches for 90 yards on 12 targets in an Indy win. But in two games against the Patriots and Arrington last season, Hilton managed four catches for 60 yards.

Gut feeling about this team as I left town. They’ll win the AFC North, but what’s next? Do they get past Indianapolis or New England, or both? Earning home field advantage deep into the playoffs is critical.

—@RobertKlemko

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Seven quick observations after a three-hour morning session of the Baltimore Ravens, the first practice of the summer and first practice of coach John Harbaugh’s eighth season as head coach:

1. I’ll write about this more come Monday, but I thought Harbaugh hit the right note when talking to his team at the camp-opening meeting Wednesday night. He told them, referring to the way last season ended and the attitude the players should have entering 2015: “I’m pissed, but I’m proud.” Meaning he’s angry the Ravens lost leads of 14-0 (after 11 minutes) and 28-14 (after 35 minutes) and fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots in an incredible divisional playoff game at Foxboro in January. Translation: We had a great season overall, but there’s no excuse—not even injuries—for blowing two big playoff leads on the road.

2. There’s a reason New England respects Baltimore so. They’ve met four times in Foxboro in the playoffs in the Harbaugh Era. The tally is two for Baltimore, two for New England. Notably, Baltimore has outscored the Patriots by 27 points in those four games. The losses were both excruciating—the 23-20 defeat in January 2012 when Lee Evans had the winning TD stripped by his hands in the final minutes; and the loss last January. The Ravens hope a healthier secondary makes the difference if they meet again this postseason. Of course, that means important but brittle pieces like Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb must stay upright at cornerback for Baltimore.

3. In an ideal world, Baltimore defensive coordinator Dean Pees will line up Webb and Smith outside and Patriot import Kyle Arrington in the slot in Week 1 to face Peyton Manning. Look for Baltimore to play three or more corners at least two-thirds of the game.

4. Owner Steve Bisciotti did not prod, urge, call, suggest to or beg commissioner Roger Goodell to go tough on the New England Patriots or quarterback Tom Brady. Non-story. Take my word for it. Also, understand that Bisciotti is one of the least-involved NFL owners in the league. He doesn’t get tied up much in league issues, hasn’t attended many league meetings in recent years and rarely talks to Goodell. I don't think many, if any, owners called Goodell with get-tough suggestions on the Brady case. Bisciotti certainly did not.

5. The off-season has not dimmed the Ravens’ enthusiasm for getting versatile Iowa defensive lineman Carl Davis with the 90th pick in the draft. At 6-5 and 320, Davis should be a rotational piece on a strong defensive line (even without Haloti Ngata) immediately.

6. What team has a tougher first seven weeks than Baltimore? Five of seven on the road. Two back-to-back trips to the West Coast (at Denver, at Oakland in Weeks 1 and 2; at San Francisco and at Arizona in Weeks 6 and 7) ... and Cincinnati at home in Week 3 followed by a game at Pittsburgh the following Thursday night. If Baltimore survives that run 5-2, the Ravens will win the division. If they start 4-3, they'll make the playoffs. Maybe even with a 3-4 start.

7. What East Coast team has ever had four games west of Denver in the first seven weeks of a season? Doubt that’s ever happened.

I’ve often said it’s hard to draw any conclusions watching a team early in camp with little contact. And the very young receiver group will have to mesh early with Joe Flacco. But this team is a Super Bowl contender in my eyes.

—Peter King

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/07/27/nfl-training-camp-tour-blog

Washington Redskins Training Camp Report

Emily Kaplan writes:

Site: Bon Secours Training Center in historical downtown Richmond, Va., two hours South of Fed Ex Field. Sprawling grass fields with not even a square-foot of shade.

What I Saw: An afternoon practice, Friday, July 31. Baking hot at 91 degrees. Klemko, inexplicably, wore jeans. Again.

Three things you need to know about Washington:

1. The next month is about getting Robert Griffin III to be more of a conventional quarterback, so it isn’t all about being mobile. Coach Jay Gruden wants Griffin to stop winning games with his legs, and start winning games with his arm and his head. “We have to help keep the weight of the world off his shoulders,” Gruden told The MMQB. “He’s only 24, just turned 25. He’s been through so much. He just has to play quarterback for us and forget all the outside stuff.” To alleviate some burden, Gruden appointed Matt Cavanaugh as quarterbacks coach (something the team did not have last year). Cavanaugh will focus on Griffin’s presence in the pocket while Gruden will sprinkle more play-action into the offense.

2. To become less-quarterback reliant, Washington shored up its offensive line. Something needed to be done to a unit that allowed 36 sacks last season. Enter veteran offensive line coach Bill Callahan, architect of the Cowboy’s dominant run game in 2014. He has an exciting player to build around in 2015 first-round pick Brandon Scherff, the stud tackle from Iowa.

3. Washington also fortified its defense. Jim Haslett, the defensive coordinator for the last five seasons, is out. Joe Barry is in. You might remember Barry for his two-year stint as the Lions defensive coordinator. He’ll install a one-gap 3-4 scheme that should generate more pressure up front. New general manager Scot McCloughan prioritized on defensive linemen in free agency, adding Ricky Jean Francois, Terrance Knighton and Stephen Paea. And then came perhaps the biggest addition: Junior Galette. The controversial linebacker — a costly cut for the Saints earlier this week —attended his first practice on Friday (more on that in a bit).

What will determine success or failure for Washington: RG3. As stale as this storyline has become for a franchise which has been a bottom-feeder in the NFC East for the last two seasons, it's hard to overstate how true this is. As Griffin goes, so does Washington.

Player I saw and really liked: Alfred Morris. Maybe its because I know he’ll have such an important role in the offense, but I found myself watching Morris a lot in 11-on-11 drills. He plugged away in Washington’s power scheme. Of course, it was a no-pads session so if a running back didn’t look good that would be a problem. But with an added emphasis on the run game, I expect a productive year for Morris.

Five dot-dot-dot observations about Washington: Tough day for Bashaud Breeland, the second-year cornerback. After receiving a one-game suspension for a marijuana citation, Breeland took a nasty fall during one-on-one passing drills and was carted off. The apparent right leg injury looked serious. Breeland is one of the team’s better corners...

Washington is lining up Scherff at right tackle, and he had some great battles with Ryan Kerrigan in one-on-one drills.....

DeSean Jackson was fielding punts, as was fourth-round draft pick Jamison Crowder from Duke....

It's so fun to watch Gruden at practice. He is incredibly animated and involved, even jumping in a few drills himself....

Neither Kirk Cousins or Colt McCoy stood out, though Cousins did have a nice deep ball to Crowder toward the end of practice.

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about. Terrance ‘Pot Roast’ Knighton. After being so important to Denver’s defense, the self-professed “best nose tackle in the league” brought his 354-pound self to Washington on a one-year, $4 million deal. Knighton told me he’s excited to adopt a leadership role on this team, and was already a fan favorite as he walked off the practice field after day two. “We love you Pot Roast!” a group of women squealed as he walked to a local ESPN radio interview. He flashed them a smile. We’ll see if Knighton can maintain his upbeat persona as his switch from a perennial contender to an NFC bottom feeder sets in as the season marches on.

The thing I’ll remember about Richmond. Junior Galette’s debut. I did a double-take when players walked on to the field and there was Galette strolling side-by-side with Kerrigan. They were engaged in a pretty chummy conversation. Who would have thunk that these two would be teammates, and that Kerrigan would be the one with a fat contract and Galette on a veteran’s minimum deal?

Although Galette did not fully practice, his presence loomed. A cadre of reporters tracked his every move; the linebacker spent most of the two-and-a-half hour afternoon session doing sprints and footwork drills with position coaches and chatting with his new teammates on the sideline. Galette should fit into Barry’s scheme quite nicely, so his future in Washington, I think, depends solely on this: getting along with his teammates and staying out of trouble.

Gut feeling about this team as I left town. I have optimism that Griffin — if he stays healthy — will fare better than he did in the last two seasons. I really do. However I don’t think that’s enough to keep up with the Joneses (Philadelphia and Dallas) in a competitive NFC East. At best this feels like a 6-10 team, but even with a favorable schedule (Washington hosts the Dolphins, Rams, Buccaneers, Saints and Bills) that seems high. My gut tells me that next offseason will be especially fascinating in Washington.

—@emilymkaplan

 

[RAGRam]

but even with a favorable schedule (Washington hosts the Dolphins, Rams, Buccaneers, Saints and Bills)

Just wanted to quote that to make it visible for those who won't be reading all 3 articles.

 

[Prime Time]

Just wanted to quote that to make it visible for those who won't be reading all 3 articles.

We'll get respect when we earn it by having a high-scoring offense, season after season. However, RGIII will be running for his life when the Rams come to town, just like every other NFL QB on our schedule. Defensively we are already respected. MMQB should have noted that. Peter King/MMQB and ESPN are on the Patriots/NFL East bandwagon. The only thing that will change that is if they get knocked off their perch.

 

[RAGRam]

We'll get respect when we earn it by having a high-scoring offense, season after season. However, RGIII will be running for his life when the Rams come to town, just like every other NFL QB on our schedule. Defensively we are already respected. MMQB should have noted that. Peter King/MMQB and ESPN are on the Patriots/NFL East bandwagon. The only thing that will change that is if they get knocked off their perch.

Yeah it just seems strange to describe a team as "favourable" when they just beat their ass by 24 points the last time the two teams meet, especially when it should have been more if Greg had made 2 relatively easy kicks (and didn't he miss a PAT?)

 

[Moostache]

I don't sweat Peter King and his group of poo-flinging monkeys.
They are and have always been so Atlantic Coast Northeast biased that they think everything west of King of Prussia, PA. is where "fly-over country begins.

As for the Rams getting no respect, well, quite bluntly they have earned that level of ignominy. Last year's Giants fiasco is prime example of why no one believes in this team. Coming off of 2 dominating shut outs against really bad teams, and having also beaten the Broncos earlier and hacked up a game against Dallas that should have NEVER been lost, they came out and got whipped all over the field against Eli and a mediocre Giants team.

Until things like the Dallas meltdown, the Giants meltdown and 6-10 instead of 10-6 records stop happening, the Rams deserve no respect in a league where the only thing that truly matters is your record and getting into the tournament...

 

[Prime Time]

Notice the Austin Pettis mention further down in the article.
**************************************************
http://mmqb.si.com/2015/08/02/san-diego-chargers-training-camp-report

The Best Defensive Coach No One is Talking About

John Pagano is the best defensive coach no one is talking about. Andy Benoit reports on Pagano's multi-faceted scheme and more sights and sounds from Chargers training camp.

by Andy Benoit

San Diego Chargers Training Camp Report

Photo: Andy Benoit/The MMQB


Site: The Chargers home facility, located amongst a sprawl of Northern San Diego business parks, up against the green sage-brush hillside of Murphy Canon.

What I saw: Morning practice, the team’s first of this training camp. Also, very little shade. And, in my own reflection, the haggard redness of a man ill-prepared for such humidity.

Three things you need to know about the Chargers:

1. They have an “elite” quarterback. Philip Rivers, as good of a pure pocket passer as there, practices the way you’d expect: fully engaged and full throttle. In “offense vs. defense” sessions Rivers did his usual yeoman’s work before the snap, setting the protections by calling out the Mike linebacker and make adjustments based off the defensive front. (With plays being scripted, and this being Day One of camp, there did not appear to be any audibling.)

When the second-and third-stringers were working, Rivers took a knee and talked with safety Eric Weddle (the defense’s quarterback). During special teams sessions, Rivers engaged with offensive coordinator Frank Reich and head coach Mike McCoy. Since entering into McCoy’s system in 2013, Rivers has completed 68 percent of his passes (second only to Drew Brees), averaging 7.8 yards an attempt (fifth best in the league).

2. John Pagano is the best defensive coach nobody talks about. Pagano employs a multifaceted scheme that features a breadth of different looks. “We try to disguise on every snap,” he told me after practice. “We start with it on Day One. It’s not something where in Week 5 we say, ‘Hey, whoa, we gotta start doing this.’” (Here Pagano clapped his hands as a gesture of urgency.) “We try to start it Day One, that’s what it’s all about.”

Pagano hasn’t always had great cornerbacks to work with, making his pressure concepts and post-snap coverage rotations all the gutsier. “You always have to still have that attack mode mentality,” he said. Much of these ploys come out of zone, though in this practice, the Chargers primarily worked on man-to-man.

Most interesting was watching their corners perform a press coverage drill with their arms crossed shoulder-to-shoulder. Teams these days are finding all sorts of ways to teach corners to not rely on their oft-flagged hands. In the scrimmage portions of practice, the corners primarily matched up to specific wide receivers.

Every game has scenarios that demand man coverage. (Third-down-and-short, for example.) This could explain the heavy emphasis on it this first day. Overall, I’d expect the Chargers defense to continue using a heavy dosage of matchup zone concepts in their base packages. You can set up more disguises from zone than you can from man. This speaks to the point Pagano made to summarize his defensive philosophies: “The game is all about angles.”

3. Eric Weddle may not be happy with his contract situation, but the Chargers have every reason to be happy with him. Weddle is one of the most versatile defenders in the league. In this first practice, he played both deep safety and down near the line of scrimmage. I asked Pagano how important the ninth-year veteran is to their scheme. “Huge, huge, huge,” he said. “It’s like having a coordinator out there on the field. We’ve been together for so long, so he thinks like me. He has that mentality of football.”

What will determine success or failure of the Chargers: Whether their somewhat thin – and in spots, youthful – defense can stay healthy and generate more big plays. Last season, they registered only seven interceptions and 26 sacks, both near the bottom of the NFL.

Player I saw and really liked: Keenan Allen. The third-year wide receiver has very unique body control and a grasp on the nuances of his position. We talked in the afternoon about his route running, which he works on diligently during the offseason. He loves lining up in a tight split (i.e. inside the field numbers, closer to the quarterback).From here, he has more room at his disposal. He brought up Antonio Gates, and how much he’s learned from the likely future Hall of Famer. “He never takes baby steps,” Allen said. “He always takes full strides. That’s what I try to do.”

Five dot-dot-dot observations about the Chargers: First-round rookie running back Melvin Gordon looks the part. He showed eye-popping short-area lateral agility and cutback prowess. He both glides and explodes in his movement and can reach the second level effortlessly….

Another Melvin who is critical to this team: Ingram. The fourth-year outside linebacker lost 20 pounds this past offseason, which surprised me considering that he already possessed outstanding horizontal burst for a 260-something pounder. But Ingram explained to me it was “bad” weight that he lost. And that his horizontal burst isn’t a purely physical thing anyway.

“It’s about 50-50 for God-given ability and (something that’s) learned,” he said. “You’re given the ability but you take it to that next level by practice and film study, and (specifically) practicing lateral movements.” Ingram also said one of the more interesting tidbits about film study that I’ve heard: “In the pros, you have to do it to be successful.” So in college are you saying it’s just more of a bonus then? “Yep.”…..

Stevie Johnson is replacing the departed Eddie Royal as the No. 3 receiver. Johnson is patient and acrobatic, which we were reminded of when he made a twisted (literally) adjustment for a catch against perfect man-to-man slot coverage by Steve Williams. The patience and acrobatics are necessary because Johnson doesn’t have great quickness. That’s where Royal will be missed…..

Danny Woodhead has plenty of quickness, and he displayed it with no visible remnants of the fractured fibula that wiped out his 2014 season in Week 3. Woodhead also has a new little mustache, which looks either sharp or creepy, depending on your perspective….

Charger fans haven’t lost any love for Antonio Gates, despite his four-game suspension for a PED violation. The media also seems to be still very fond of the veteran.

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about: Austin Pettis. Not that I’m kicking myself for this. The former Rams third-round pick joined the team this past January. I only remembered him because during special teams gunner drills, which Pettis was partaking in, some kid up against the fence kept yelling his name. “Austin I know you hear me,” the kid eventually shouted. Pettis was left with no choice but to acknowledge the screamer, which he did by looking over (helmet off) and gently sticking an index finger in the air.

The one thing I’ll remember about San Diego: Qualcomm Stadium, and how absolutely hideous it looks from the freeway. “Yeah, and have you seen inside of it?” one Chargers staffer asked me. I have not. I’ve just seen its exterior of crisscrossing slabs of concrete. “It’s like a dinosaur,” the staffer said.

Gut feeling about this team as I left town: This has the feel of a 9-7 club. Maybe that’s just because the Chargers have won between seven and nine games each of the past five seasons. There’s talent here, but a lack of depth along the defensive and offensive lines. And there are unproven young players, like cornerback Jason Verrett and outside linebacker Jerry Attaochu (he ran with the first unit), who need to be stars for this defense to truly prosper. Maybe they can be; both are capable. In that case, the Chargers could win 11 games. But I’ve learned not to trust “maybes” in the NFL. So I don’t know. Just not a whole lot feels different about what’s been a good but certainly not great Chargers team.

Sights seen at Chargers camp today:

1. Handfuls of expensive cars in the Holiday Inn up the street. The Chargers are holding training camp at their regular facility, but the players – even the decorated veterans – are all staying at the hotel until mid-August. This is to create more of a camp atmosphere and to better accommodate the evening meetings that can run until 10:00 p.m. Coaches all have rooms at the hotel, as well, but most of them are sleeping in their offices.

2. Waves and waves of baggy blue shorts worn by players…and then Keenan Allen with his shorts cut off several inches above his kneecaps. But not to worry, Allen wore white spandex under the shorts. Still, it looked a little, um, well, dorky.

3. I didn’t see, so much as hear, Jason Verrett grunting. Every team has a grunter – a guy who makes guttural sounds off fully exerted movement. Verrett’s grunts were frequent, matching the chop of his feet on a press coverage drill.

4. Players leaving the field with helmet, pads and shoes off. It’s a nice soft grass field, so stocking feet aren’t a problem. But it looks just a little preemptive. About one out of four players – maybe one out of three – removed his shoes before exiting the field. Philip Rives was one of them.

5. An entire cooler of Gatorade falling off the back of a cart that was high-tailing to midfield after practice. A rainbow of, sealed bottles hit the ground, along with the ice they were packed in. Two other coolers still remained on the cart, and it was apparent the driver was unsure whether to carry on and reach those who awaited hydration or go back and retrieve the spilt beverages. After some hesitation, he carried on. Safety Jahleel Addae and undrafted tight end Brian Parker, the two people closest to the spill, bent down and kindly gathered the drinks.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/03/oakland-raider-training-camp-report

Oakland Raiders Training Camp Report

Don't believe Khalil Mack's 2014 sack total. Andy Benoit's dispatch from Raiders camp includes notes on the Raiders simplified defense, improved receiver corps and Oakland's massive O-line.

by Andy Benoit

Site: The Raiders Napa Valley Training Complex. Located 10 minutes from downtown Napa and five minutes from rows and rows of vineyards.

What I Saw: Saturday morning practice, Sunday night practice (the team’s first in full pads) and Monday morning practice.

Three things you need to know about Oakland

1. They’re simplifying on defense. After spending three seasons under coordinator Jason Tarver and his smart but voluminous scheme (Tarver and head coach Dennis Allen worked together on it), they’re moving to Jack Del Rio’s more traditional zone-based defense. “I feel more comfortable in the scheme we’re playing now,” third-year cornerback D.J. Hayden told me after Saturday’s practice. “Last year’s scheme was good. But when (the scheme’s) simpler, you don’t have to think as much and you can just play faster.”

Hayden’s running mate, ascending second-year cornerback T.J. Carrie, had a slightly different take, saying both staffs put the players in great positions to succeed and that there are so many variations to every coverage that it’s essentially all minutia anyway. “And in the end, they’re all just some form of man, zone or fire zone,” he said, explaining how coverages are not play calls per se, but rather, just concepts.

In the holistic sense, Carrie is exactly right. But the decreases in what he calls “fire zones” (i.e. rotations and disguises) makes for an increase in the more straight-forward coverage concepts. With this, the talented young Raiders defense should at least play faster in 2015.

2. Don’t believe Khalil Mack’s rookie sack total (4). It’s as misleading as any statistic I’ve ever seen. Week in and week out, Mack jumped off the film. He was as good as almost any defensive end in the league. It just so happened it didn’t translate to sacks. I asked him about that, acknowledging that he probably gets asked about it all the time. “Yeah, I’m asking myself about it,” he said. He didn’t seem too bothered by it, though.

“Justin Tuck told me, sometimes people get lucky,” Mack said. “Across the league, you see some guys just show up and the scheme, and maybe just (the nature of) a particular play, allows them to be in the right position.” He said this with no hint of resentment or dismay. He did, however, seem pleasantly surprised when I informed him that, according to Football Outsiders, he ranked second in the league in drawn holding penalties, with eight.

But mostly he talked about what he must do to improve his game. He cited “fundamentals” and applying them “throughout the whole game, being consistent” as his area in most need of work. “I can’t just rely on athleticism,” he added. To better understand fundamentals and various moves, he spent significant time this past offseason studying other pass rushers around the league, most notably, Dolphins veteran Cameron Wake, whom he lauded unequivocally.

In practice, Mack, lined up as the weak side defensive end on the vast majority of snap. The “Leo,” as it’s called in this scheme. He’ll draw a lot of one-on-one blocking that way. Expect his sack numbers to soar.

3. The receiving corps is better – thank goodness. In recent years, the Raiders haven’t had anyone who can beat man coverage. We’re seeing already that now they have two guys who can. In practice, corners struggled to stay with first-round rookie Amari Cooper, and a few of them got frustrated trying to defend Michael Crabtree. “He has a great sense for making you as a corner do something you don’t want to do,” Carrie said, lauding about veteran’s body control and mechanics.

What will determine success or failure of Raiders: The defense’s adaptation to the new scheme. Just because it’s simpler doesn’t mean it doesn’t still have nuances that must be perfected. The linebackers, in particular, have a ways to go here. (Or maybe linebackers coach Sal Sunseri is just nitpicky. Watching Sunseri instruct his player, by the way, was the highlight of camp. He has a passion for details and a way with words.) Offensively, the Raiders must stay healthy at receiver and become more consistent up front in run-blocking.

Player I saw and really liked: Tight end Mychal Rivera. He aligned in a variety of spots across different formations, most notably in the slot, where he covers a lot of ground as a long-striding interior route runner. Rivera showed excellent body control and consistently snatched balls away from his body.

Five dot-dot-dot observations about the Raiders: Everything quarterback Derek Carr does is compact. His footwork, his windup, his release. Raiders fans should be excited about their QB…..

Speaking of Raiders fans, they’re a rowdy bunch. I mean this in a nice way. They organize chants, shout at players with good-natured relentlessness and gladly brave the sun even though most wear all black. At one point, in the restaurant bar of the hotel where the Raiders are staying, fans spotted Mark Davis sitting in a back corner booth. Chants of “Stay in Oakland (clap-clap-clap)” erupted, a not uncommon occurrence this weekend in Napa. A nice hotel restaurant bar is about as inappropriate a forum as aggressive chanting can find, but Davis seemed to love it…..

The Raiders’ O-line is massive. And oddly shaped. In the right shade of brown pants, Gabe Jackson’s thighs could blend in with the trunks of the nearby redwood trees. Austin Howard looks like he could literally eat a linebacker. And Donald Penn has the body of a sumo wrestler but with the ankles of a long-distance runner. One would think such disproportion would be cause for injury, but Penn hasn’t missed a game in the past seven years. He’s coming off his best season, too…..

Free agent pickup Nate Allen will be an important piece to this defense as the box safety. He’ll rotate down in a lot of the coverages, with Charles Woodson playing centerfield....

Raiders defensive players probably hear echoes of Ken Norton’s voice as they drift off to sleep each night. The first-year defensive coordinator is a yeller. Not in an accosting way (unless needed), just in a “guy who’s always saying something but because he’s on 53-yard wide field talking to dozens of men at once” sort of way.

The one player on the roster I’d forgotten about: Malcolm Smith, Super Bowl 48 MVP (yes, I’m calling it Super Bowl 48; it’s time to take a stand against the archaic and complicated Roman Numeral system, which vanished hundreds of years ago for a reason). Smith will likely be part of the team’s nickel package and may start opposite Sio Moore at outside ‘backer in the base 4-3. He moves well, plus he played in a similar zone scheme in Seattle.

The one thing I’ll remember about Napa: The county library. Needing to print off 70 pages of a particular team’s film study notes Saturday night so that I could write that team’s preview Sunday morning, I raced to Kinkos, only to learn that they wanted well over $50 for the job. So, thinking I could take advantage of California’s taxpayer dollars, I raced across town to the public library, hoping they’d print them for a smaller fee. They did: $7.

And they weren’t going to charge me because I’d arrived just three minutes before closing and the register was already locked. I learned about the register only after I’d already laid out seven one dollar bills on the counter. It would have been an unspeakable display of parsimony to retrieve them at that point, for by then several library staffers had stuck around a few minutes after closing time to help arrange my printing.

Grateful, I submitted the $7 as a donation. It occurs to me now that the library must keep the donations in a compartment that’s separate from the register. Anyway, I’ll be writing it off in April.

Gut feeling about this team as I left town: It will be a much better team than it was a year ago. Unfortunately, the AFC West is ultra-competitive, so “much better” might only equal seven or eight wins. But the talent is young and fairly plentiful on both sides of the ball, and the new coaching staff is committed to aiding it with a simpler system.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/03/oakland-raiders-wide-receivers-amari-cooper-michael-crabtree

The Raiders Are Finally In Good Hands

You have to go back to the days of Tim Brown and Jerry Rice to find the last time the Raiders’ receiving corps was anything but a glaring weakness. But after drafting Amari Cooper and signing Michael Crabtree to catch passes from rising star Derek Carr, the Oakland offense might finally be headed in the right direction

by Andy Benoit

Eric Risberg/AP

Around late summer for the past dozen years, Raiders fans have thought a new day awaits their team. And, aside from back-to-back .500 seasons in 2010 and ’11, Oakland has answered that optimism with a season of 11 or more losses. A staggering eight different head coaches have overseen this stretch of futility.

Identifying the root of the problem is a lot like trying to identify the angriest person in a mob. There are myriad off-field items to point to, many of which, sadly, still tie to Al Davis’s final years. But if we’re to confine our search to strictly the field, the Raiders’ most consistent problem has been their wide receivers’ inability to win in one-on-one situations, particularly against man coverage.

In simplest terms, there’s been a paucity of talent at the position. But it’s not like the Raiders haven’t tried to address it. After Tim Brown and Jerry Rice left, they correctly made up-and-comer Jerry Porter the featured guy. An intriguing No. 3 receiver, Porter never quite flourished as a No. 1. In 2005, the Raiders acquired a known No. 1, Randy Moss. Though still in his prime, he averaged a middling 51 catches and 779 yards in his two years here. In ’08 they paid big money for ex-Packer Javon Walker.

He played all of nine games in the Bay. In ’09, the Raiders used the seventh overall pick in the draft on who they hoped was a young Moss, Darrius Heyward-Bey. The Maryland speedster reminded everyone that catching the ball is sort of an important prerequisite for being a professional wide receiver. The next relatively notable move came last year, when James Jones was signed for $11.3 over three years.

It took GM Reggie McKenzie all of one season to see what his and Jones’s former club, the Packers, had already known: the then-30-year-old was best suited to be a cog in a passing attack, not a featured weapon. McKenzie released Jones this past offseason.

With more and more NFL defenses playing matchup-based coverages, it’s tough to function offensively if your receivers can’t win one-on-one. Spreading the field becomes perilous; third downs are a nightmare; turnovers are more likely. True, there are ways to mask such receiving deficiencies. Bunch and stack alignments, pre-snap motion and unbalanced or condensed formations can all force man-to-man defenders to at least give a cushion. But unless your quarterback is Tom Brady, you’re not going to sustain significant success with this sort of makeshift approach.

That’s why, after releasing Jones, McKenzie doubled down on the wide receiver issue. Maybe this time Raiders fans really can safely believe it’s a new day. Sure, this past offseason brought yet another coaching change; Jack Del Rio and a staff comprised largely of veteran retreads was brought in. In coaching, a bunch of veteran retreads isn’t the worst thing. In some ways, it might even be a good thing. But it doesn’t exactly galvanize a fan base. Neither does continued talks about the franchise relocating to Los Angeles, which have gained steam. But none of this is new for the Silver and Black.

What is new is having a receiving corps that might actually scare defenses. On draft night, McKenzie used the fourth overall pick on Amari Cooper. You never know about a guy until he faces actual NFL competition, but let’s assume the Alabama product is every bit as dynamic as expected. First-round wideouts have mostly panned out in recent years. (For every Justin Blackmon there’s an A.J. Green and a Julio Jones).

Cooper is said to be one of the most polished all-around receivers to ever enter the league. Prior to that selection, McKenzie signed free agent Michael Crabtree—the wideout Al Davis once passed on in order to draft Heyward-Bey. Crabtree is not a burner; he won’t stress coverages downfield. But with fluid hips, deft feet and magnetic hands, he has a unique knack for creating separation and adjusting to balls at the underneath and intermediate levels. He can consistently beat man-to-man coverage.

Cooper (left) and Crabtree are just what the Raiders needed in the receiving corps. (Eric Risberg/AP)

With a starting receiver duo that’s not just acceptable but possibly exceptional, new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave can expand his approach in ways predecessor Greg Olson never could. The dearth of receiving talent often constricted Olson to elementary play designs out of base personnel packages (i.e. two receivers teamed with two backs or two tight ends).

From here, Olson was limited. Musgrave won’t be. If he wants to play out of base packages, in addition to the wideouts, he has a unique pass-catching fullback in Marcel Reece and a little known third-year tight end, Mychal Rivera, who can flex out and win athletic battles against safeties around the seams. There’s also third-round rookie tight end Clive Walford, who should eventually play ahead of free agent pickup Lee Smith (a blocking-oriented ex-Bill whom McKenzie signed for well above sticker price at $9 million over three years).

Musgrave also has the option to go small and spread the field with three or four receivers. The guys Oakland had been forcing into the starting lineup—namely Andre Holmes and Rod Streater—are now backups and will finally be on the right side of a mismatch. Holmes, a long-striding, acrobatic outside threat, showed newfound diversity as a route runner last year, racking up a team-leading 693 yards. Streater missed most of the season with a fractured foot; when healthy, he’s a fundamentally sound inside weapon who should flourish if allowed to focus solely on playing the slot.

Oh, and it bears mentioning, there’s someone to throw the ball to this revamped receiving corps. The Raiders have found their eventual franchise quarterback in Derek Carr. At this point, Carr can, stylistically, be described as a poor man’s Aaron Rodgers. Expect his up-and-down decision-making to stabilize in Year Two. Musgrave does a good job of calling plays that make life easier on a QB.

• The Mariota Project Begins: The track record of run-oriented college quarterbacks in the NFL is not good. This summer, Marcus Mariota and the Titans begin a quest to buck that trend.

What also makes life easier on a QB is a clean pocket—something Carr had surprisingly often last season. Left tackle Donald Penn is coming off what was by far the best year of his career (2010 Pro Bowl season included). Left guard Gabe Jackson is a developing mauler who can hold ground against bull rushers. The line’s right side is less reliable but equally gifted—or at least it can be if third-year man Menelik Watson beats out Khalif Barnes and J’Marcus Webb to start alongside Austin Howard.

Watson has mostly played right tackle in the NFL; having shorter arms, he’d be better at guard. That would allow Howard to move back to his natural right tackle position. In the middle of this line is free agent pickup Rodney Hudson, one of the five best centers in football.

With an intriguing young quarterback, solid line and a viable receiving group (praise the Lord!), the long-standing question marks that have pocked Oakland’s pass attacking will soon be replaced by exclamation points. Go ahead, Raiders fans. Allow yourself to proclaim: It’s a new day in Oakland.

The passing attack is on its way. Can Latavius Murray carry the running game to bigger and better things? (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Raiders Nickel Package
1. Improvements in the passing game are nice, but investments there won’t provide a full return if the Raiders’ 32nd ranked rushing attack doesn’t improve. Last season Oakland often didn’t even bother with the run, attempting a league-low 21 rushes per game. That was due to having no confidence in the front five. Despite averaging a massive 320 pounds, the Raiders O-line regularly failed to get any push on the ground last season.

Having Hudson at center should help, but other men simply must play with more initial burst and leverage. If running back Latavius Murray stays healthy, he’ll be The Guy. Murray can accelerate, but mostly just going north and south. He doesn’t have a lot of lateral pop. This sort of downhill style is fine, as long as there’s sound blocking.

2. Besides the capacity—and willingness—to make all the throws, the most encouraging aspect to Carr is the responsibility he assumed in the pre-snap phase as a rookie. Carr understands football, which is why he was able to make headway in correcting many of his weaknesses over the course of his rookie season. His most notable improvement was his poise in a muddied pocket.

3. Khalil Mack is coming off the most dominant four-sack season of any pass rusher in NFL history. It would be a shock if he doesn’t post double digit quarterback takedowns in 2015. Mack might already have the league’s finest combination of initial burst and short-area lateral redirect prowess. He amplifies this with great technique and an innate understanding of angles.

4. The $64,000 question: What type of system will Mack play in? We know he’ll rush from the edge in nickel and dime. But how will he line up in Jack Del Rio’s base 4-3? In Denver, Del Rio coached a similar type of talent, Von Miller, who was used as a standup strongside backer in base packages. With so much veteran talent at all three levels of that Broncos defense, there was added flexibility for how to employ Miller in sub-packages. Del Rio, a longtime straight zone acolyte, grew more comfortable with man-based concepts, propagating blitzes and disguise.

In Oakland, he has more young defensive talent than people realize. Linebacker Sio Moore is a budding star who should thrive in a run-and-chase scheme, and corners D.J. Hayden and Travis Carrie were terrific down the stretch in 2014. (Oversized fourth-rounder Keith McGill is intriguing, as well.) That said, these strong spots are offset by a few positions of question: Nate Allen at safety? Curtis Lofton at middle linebacker?

Stacy McGee and Justin Ellis at defensive tackle with Dan Williams? (The questions seem to run right through the middle of this defense.) It wouldn’t be surprising if Del Rio simplified and put his men in a straightforward Cover-2/Cover-3 zone.

5. The other issue Del Rio will bump into on defense is a lack of depth. That has contributed to this club wearing down in past years, and it will probably limit the diversity of Del Rio’s sub-package designs.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/04/atlanta-falcons-training-camp-report

Atlanta Falcons Training Camp Report
From Flowery Branch, read about what Dan Quinn brings to Atlanta from his stint in Seattle, why life has just become easier for Kyle Shanahan and what players could fortify the Falcons' defense.
by Kalyn Kahler

Site: Atlanta Falcons’ Flowery Branch Headquarters, located northeast of Atlanta.
What I Saw: Morning practice, Sunday, Aug. 2. Blue skies on a sunny morning for the Falcons first practice in full pads.

Three things you need to know about the Falcons:

1. Almost nothing is the same in 2015. Atlanta has new head coach in former Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, and a new offensive coordinator in Kyle Shanahan. “Half the team probably wasn’t even here last year,” veteran tight end and free agent signee Jacob Tamme says. “I have no idea what happened last year. No one cares really.” That attitude is obvious at Flowery Branch and these 2015 Falcons will be an interesting team to follow. Says free agent signee linebacker Brooks Reed: “We’re all excited that we got all new staff. The staff is excited they are on new teams, there’s a lot of energy out here right now.”

2. Kyle Shanahan’s job got a whole lot easier. Finally, Shanahan has a fully groomed quarterback to work with in Matt Ryan. Shanahan’s escape from Cleveland with Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel led him to the promised land with Matt Ryan, a true franchise QB.

Shanahan has developed a reputation for adjusting well to personnel — Robert Griffin III, Hoyer and Matt Schaub were all at their best under Shanahan’s tutelage. Just imagine what he can do with an established 3-time Pro Bowler like Ryan. “Kyle has been a chameleon,” Ryan says. “Everywhere he’s gone he’s had different guys to play with him and I think he has shown that he’ll adjust to whatever personnel they add. He’s open to trying to do some things that I like and the combination of the two has been really good.”

3. Running backs will be important again.

Atlanta relied heavily on its passing game in previous seasons, but Shanahan will lead a more balanced offensive attack, with more emphasis on the ground game.Last season with the Browns, Shanahan coached Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell to average nearly four yards per carry. This could be the year the Falcons run game rebounds and the starting spot is Devonta Freeman’s to lose. Rookie third round pick Tevin Coleman is in the mix to battle Freeman in the team’s biggest position battle to watch this season.

Photo: Ted S. Warren/AP

What will determine success or failure for the Falcons:

Defense. Quinn In Seattle, Quinn used a simple playbook and he’ll work to remake the NFL’s worst defense in 2014. The Falcons need to improve on a unit that finished last against the pass and 21st against the run last season. Atlanta ranked 30th in the league with just 22 sacks last season. To fortify the pass rush, Falcons drafted Vic Beasley in the first round and added a couple veterans: linebackers Justin Durant and Brooks Reed and defensive ends Adrian Claybornand Tyson Jackson.

Last season, Durant started at outside linebacker for the Cowboys and was on his way to the best season of his eight-year career when he tore his right biceps in a Week 8 loss to Washington. Durant led the Cowboys in tackles at the time of his injury, and even though he only played six games, he finished sixth on the team in tackles with 59 for the season.

Clayborn comes to Atlanta from Tampa Bay, and he’s also returning from a biceps injury that sidelined him after Week 1 last season. When he’s been able to stay healthy,Clayborn has been effective (7.5 sacks as a rookie in 2011 and 5.5 in 2013). The Falcons will need Beasley to step up as a rookie and Durant to stay healthy to improve upon last year.

Player I saw and really liked. Justin Hardy, wide receiver. Hardy, rookie fourth-round pick out of East Carolina University, has been hailed as a potential “secret weapon.” “Justin Hardy has done a great job coming in as a rookie,” Ryan says. “He’s a smart ballplayer. He had a ton of catches in college, so he knows how to get open.” At East Carolina, Hardy broke the FBS record for career receptions (387) and he posted three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons. Hardy’s reliable catches showed during one-on-one drills, when Ryan threw him a deep ball that the rookie caught smoothly in stride down the sideline.

Five dot-dot-dot observations about Atlanta. Quinn’s practice was efficient. Practice began at 10 a.m. and ended promptly at 11:46 a.m. Short and to-the-point, the Falcons wasted no time in the heat.. Desmond Trufant will be soon be among the Richard Sherman-type corners of the league. Trufant goes up against elite wideouts Roddy White and Julio Jones in practice everyday. This could be his first Pro Bowl year…

Saw some competitive one-on-one battles between two first round draft picks Vic Beasley and Jake Matthews…

Sad I couldn’t see Durant practice as he had a scheduled day off Sunday….

The team’s slogan, “Rise Up,” seemed to be everywhere.

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about. Jacob Tamme, tight end. Falcons signed the eight-year veteran away from the Broncos, where he played a role in the 2013 record-setting offense. Tamme will battle last year’s starter Levine Toilolo and Tony Moeaki for a starting role as a pass-catching tight end.

The thing I will remember about Flowery Branch: While writing this, the walls in the media workroom were vibrating with the loud bass beats of the Falcons hip hop-heavy playlist that blares outside during practice and in between meetings inside. Falcons hired homegrown DJ Jay Envy to bump some extremely loud hip hop music during the entire length of practice. A Pete Carroll tactic that Dan Quinn has carried over to Atlanta, the playlist energizes players and creates a game-like environment to facilitate better on-field communication. “It’s just another part of Quinn’s philosophy, trying to simulate a game-type atmosphere,” Tamme says.

Gut feeling as I left camp: It doesn’t take much to win the NFC South, and Quinn’s changes on defense will make a much improved Falcons team. I think the have a good chance to take the NFC South crown.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/04/atlanta-falcons-music-nfl-training-camp

Falcons Are Right On Beat

Dan Quinn took a page out of Pete Carroll's book and hired a DJ to play Falcons camp to create a game-like environment and facilitate better on-field communication

by Kalyn Kahler

Atlanta DJ Jay Envy is a fixture in the local nightclub scene. As the winner of 2014 Best of Atlanta DJ, he regularly fields requests for gigs across the city. This past spring, he received an unusual request.

It was Falcons strength and conditioning coach AJ Neibel. Neibel called up Envy (real name: James Lam) before the start of OTAs, on the hunt for a DJ to help push practices to the next level and got Envy’s name from Red Bull. Envy quickly signed on for OTAs and training camp, and although his perch on the balcony overlooking the practice fields of the Falcons facility couldn’t be more different from the DJ booth at dark indoor clubs, he said playing Falcons camp is the same idea- minus the strobe lights.

“I’ve never played training camp or any other football gigs before but it's the same concept really,” Envy said. “Get people hyped and bodies sweating.”

Said linebacker Brooks Reed: ”When you’re out here sweating and there’s no noise, you just think about how tired you are. But when there’s music in the background, you’re more in the moment and not thinking about how tired you are.”

It’s well documented that Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll uses loud music to energize his players at practices. So it comes as no surprise that first-year coach Dan Quinn would take this tactic from his former boss and implement it in Flowery Branch. “It’s like a new energy,” receiver Roddy White said. “Q is making sure everybody is up and going. Whatever keeps the players going, to keep us happy.”

White’s favorite song on the hip-hop heavy playlist is, “We in Da City” by Young Dro. Envy met with White and the rest of the Falcons several times to get a feel of what the players wanted to hear (Kevin Gates, Troy Ave, Migos and K Camp were popular requests). “Turns out they liked the same type of music I do so it made my job easy,” Envy said. “Being born and raised in Atlanta, hip hop is my first love so it was easy to cater to the players.”

While the right tracks give players the extra push they didn't know was there, the music is more than just a way to stay motivated at practice. The Falcons (minus Quinn) are no stranger to simulated crowd noise, and Jay Envy’s tracks create an extremely distracting game-like atmosphere. “It’s never quiet in the game, that’s very rare for it to be quiet,” tight end Jacob Tamme said. “The only problem is that I can’t hear the quarterback. I don’t like that part, but it makes it game-like so it’s good work for us.”

By the end of training camp, the Falcons will be well-adjusted to the situations Tamme describes- where traditional verbal communication doesn’t carry through the sounds of the crowd. “It’s just another part of Quinn’s philosophy, trying to simulate a game-type atmosphere,” Tamme said. White agreed, noting the loud noise aids the offense in facilitating communication- especially during two-minute drills.

While Tamme and White benefit from the game-like environment, running back Devonta Freeman claimed he doesn’t notice the blaring music. “I don’t hear it,” he said. “I tune everything out when I practice. I’ve been taught over the years to concentrate only on my job. I can’t tell you what songs they play.”

The music volume doesn’t turn down with the horn that signals the end of practice. “We actually do it all over, even in the meeting rooms,” White said. White isn’t kidding- an hour after practice broke for team meetings, the walls of the Falcons headquarters at Flowery Branch shook and the floor vibrated from the heavy bass of songs by Future, Rich Homie Quan and Drake (Back to Back was on the playlist, are the Falcons on Team Drake?)

While only 53 players will make the final roster at the end of camp, Envy has proven himself worthy to Falcons staff; he recently signed on to be the Falcons official DJ throughout the season and will provide his tunes at all home games at the Georgia Dome.

SAMPLING OF SUNDAY’S PLAYLIST:

U Mad- Vic Mensa ft. Kanye West

Work- ASAP Ferg

Karate Chop- Future ft. Lil Wayne

Booyah (Party Favor Remix)

Racks- YC feat. Future

We Dem Boyz- Wiz Khalifa

Back to Back- Drake

Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh) - Rich Homie Quan

It’s All About the Benjamins- Puff Daddy ft. The Notorious B.I.G. The LOX & Lil Kim

Don’t Tell Em- Jeremih

Bring Em Out- T.I.

My Partna Dem- Rich Kids

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/04/jameis-winston-tampa-bay-buccaneers-nfl-training-camp

Winston and the Whys

The challenges are coming fast and furious at Jameis Winston in his first training camp with the Bucs. He's making mistakes, but the rookie QB is learning from them and asking the right questions.

by Peter King

Chris O'Meara/AP

TAMPA, Fla. — Patience: a word no one here wants to hear.

“JAME-is! JAME-is! JAME-is!” Forty-five minutes after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tuesday morning practice in this soggy city, a good chunk of a big crowd was still waiting for Jameis Winston to sign for them. But he was done for the day with that. In all, signing and interviewing took up 75 minutes of Winston’s day, and that is just the norm these days for the first pick in the 2015 draft, the man who just happens to be the Bucs’ savior. They hope.

Winston looks the part. He’s shed a few pounds since draft weekend, and looks more tapered and sinewy than the kid with the Roethlisberger physique—not chunky, but not Matt Ryan either—who was drafted to save the woebegone franchise three months ago. Part of this is a result of becoming a weight-room regular. “He was the first player in the weight room on the first day of camp,” said one Buc insider Tuesday. “Six a.m. A couple of the coaches had to tell him to save a little bit for practice. He just couldn’t wait. He’s been like that a lot this off-season.”

Said GM Jason Licht: “The city’s super-excited. When I go out, I hear either, ‘This is the year,’ or, ‘So glad we’re finally headed in the right direction.’ ”

But not necessarily today. The Bucs were 30th in total offense in the league last year, 30th in sacks allowed, 29th in points … with significant holes on the line and at quarterback. And just because they've taken the quarterback of Licht’s and Lovie Smith’s dreams doesn’t mean that quarterback will be a star tomorrow. Or even in December.

Take Tuesday’s practice, in pads, at the Bucs’ training facility in the shadow of Raymond James Stadium. In team drills against the first defense, the first and third plays of Winston’s day were interceptions—by linebacker Lavonte David and cornerback Alterraun Verner. This came after a three-pick practice Sunday. Five weeks from the first game of his pro career, Jameis Winston is very much a work in progress.

But why wouldn’t he be? What rookie, confronted with a great drop-and-cover linebacker like David and a clinging cornerback like Verner, isn’t going to make some errors? Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions in a 3-13 rookie season. The pressure will come, from the pass-rush and the media and the public, and Winston will have to have answers. He had them after practice Tuesday.

On the Lavonte David interception, was it not having his read down?

“No sir,” Winston said. “I overthrew Vincent [Jackson].”

And the Verner interception—any reason you were behind him?

“Yeah, I was late,” he said. “That's a thing with the chemistry. That concept was a timing lapse. We’ve got all the reads—I get those. But when the [strongside] linebacker pushes over, I'm supposed to work backside. So obviously, I'm going to see that on film and I already know in my head what I did wrong.

“One thing I've learned is you have to know the whys. If you know why then you can make corrections but if you don't know why you did something, then you are stuck. As long as I keep learning the whys and focus on the positives, I’ll be okay.”

That’s important. Remember what offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said in the spring. When Winston told Koetter he wasn’t afraid of making any throw to any place on the field, Koetter told him, “Maybe you should be.”

That’s the fine line Winston will walk this season, behind an offensive line that’s very much a work in progress, with either two or three new starters, including rookies Donovan Smith at left tackle and Ali Marpet of mighty Hobart & William Smith College at right guard. (Though Marpet was still working with the second line Tuesday.) He needs to have guts. But he has to know when to fold ’em too.

“Look at [Winston's] last couple of years,” Smith said. “Highs and lows. That’s the life of a quarterback. You’ve got to get used to them. They’re coming.”

One last thing about Winston, who had a slew of legal issues in college, including one sexual-assault accusation: He was a human headline for three years at Florida State. The best thing that happened this off-season for Winston? He was invisible. We’ll see how long it lasts, but that might be the best sign of his first three months as a pro—being seen and not heard.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/04/nfl-washington-bill-callahan-offensive-line-robert-griffin-iii

RG3 & Co. Relying on Bill Callahan’s Magic

Washington is hoping its offensive line coach can get the team back in contention, which is exactly what he did for the Cowboys last season

by Andy Benoit

One of the most respected teachers of offensive line play in football, Bill Callahan oversaw a Cowboys’ rushing attack in 2014 that turned out to be one of the best the NFL has seen in recent memory. Behind an athletic, young front five, DeMarco Murray ran for a league-leading 1,845 yards. Caught in the right sort of mood, Callahan would probably tell you Murray could have had several hundred more yards. The run blocking in Dallas was that good.

Now Washington is counting on Callahan’s magic to get the team back in contention in the NFC East. While Murray made all the headlines this offseason, leaving Dallas for Philadelphia, Callahan also moved within the division, with the hope that he can ease the burden on Robert Griffin III just as he did for Tony Romo.

Dallas’s zone running success made Romo more of a complementary player. Asked to shoulder less of the burden, he often played ahead in the down and distance, enjoyed a more dynamic play-action game and operated in cleaner pockets. Overall, he did the best he’s ever done at consistently working through his progressions. From there, the Cowboys capitalized on having a talent advantage with wideout Dez Bryant and tight end Jason Witten.

Shuffle over to Washington. Callahan has a lot of similar circumstances at his new home. Start with the front five. Left tackle Trent Williams is on par with Tyron Smith athletically. If his technique becomes steadier, Williams, who figures to be offered a long-term contract when his rookie deal expires after this season, might even outrank Smith on some lists.

On the other side is Brandon Scherff, a first-round rookie whom the team hopes is this year’s Zack Martin. Martin, of course, moved from left tackle at Notre Dame to right guard in Dallas. Scherff, a left tackle at Iowa, is probably best suited for this exact same transition, though head coach Jay Gruden and his staff plan to make him the long-term answer at right tackle. (Consider this their shell shock from having to call on Tyler Polumbus and Tom Compton at right tackle last year.

Also, consider this a bad commentary on what they think of 2014 third-round pick Morgan Moses, who was presumably drafted to one day assume the right tackle duties. Moses’s mechanical struggles last year were at times hard to watch when he was filling in at left tackle, and he did not always look mentally prepared.)

Inside, Washington’s O-line drops off a bit. Callahan won’t quite have here what he had in Dallas. But he has a second-year right guard he can mold (practically from scratch) in third-round pick Spencer Long, and a reliable enough center in Kory Lichtensteiger. Left guard Shawn Lauvao is adequate though not always great in pass protection. But with talent at the bookends, and this group having experience in previous zone schemes from the Mike Shanahan era, Callahan has enough to work with.

Running behind these men is Alfred Morris, a less gifted physical specimen than Murray but probably a better zone-running decision maker. Morris, a sixth-rounder in 2012, is one of the game’s best perimeter runners, which is why you can expect Gruden to continue calling stretch handoffs, pitches and sweeps. The only negative is that the 220-pounder doesn’t have the light feet or stop-start preciseness to consistently cut to the backside—a key component to having a diverse zone ground game.

With this in mind, it wasn’t surprising that Washington coveted a complementary running back early in this year’s draft. What was surprising was that they chose Matt Jones (third round). At 231 pounds, Jones will likely be an even purer north-south bruiser than Morris. It stands to reason that Gruden has decided to commit fully to this style of running, with an eye on putting games away in the fourth quarter. It makes sense Washington would invest heavily at both offensive tackle positions if the offense is going to feature downhill zone runners.

Just like in Dallas, Callahan’s zone ground game will be boosted by receivers who make a defense think twice about bringing a safety down in the box. DeSean Jackson is not as diverse as Dez Bryant, but he’s an equal if not superior big-play threat, capable of tracking deep balls or exploding for chunk yards after the catch. Jackson’s 13 receptions of 40-yards-or-more last year were five more than the next highest total (Jordy Nelson) and eight more than Bryant’s.

Jackson does not deal well with physicality, and his shoddy route-running habits can prevent him from winning at the intermediate levels the way Bryant does. But where Jackson is lacking, the receiver opposite him, Pierre Garcon, excels. Garcon is an outstanding mid-range target, capable of separating from slower DBs and posting up smaller ones. This makes him valuable in quick-bang play-action, a key complement to a zone ground game.

At tight end, it’s precarious to say an injury prone third-year pro is better than Witten, a 10-time Pro Bowler Witten—and you’re not going to read that declaration here. But make no mistake: Jordan Reed has a chance to become the most feared tight end in the NFC East, if not the entire NFC. He’s the smoothest runner the game has at his position. Reed can be a matchup problem wherever he lines up. Last season, this included as a single receiver on the weak side, where he took over on late drives to help win games against Tennessee and Dallas.

Lastly, there’s the man delivering everyone the ball. Washington needs Callahan’s zone game to relegate Robert Griffin to complementary status much more than the Cowboys ever needed this to happen for Romo. Last season Griffin regressed in his footwork, mechanics and sense of timing. He showed little understanding for how routes relate to coverages. Because of this—and because Kirk Cousins has been far too up and down to be given a starting job—Gruden will have to protect Griffin through play-calling.

Look for variations of the play-action and moving pocket tactics that Shanahan employed in his zone game with Griffin. Gruden isn’t as big on Griffin’s legs as Shanahan was. And truth be told, Griffin isn’t as coordinated or as explosive a runner as he was during his rookie season. But he is still a great athlete playing quarterback; it will be interesting to see if Callahan adds a zone-read wrinkle to his ground game.

By season’s end, improvements in Washington will be tied to the new O-line coach and what he does with his vaunted zone rushing attack.

Washington Nickel Package
1. Helping Griffin’s cause is the fact that Jay Gruden hired a quarterbacks coach, something he didn’t do a year ago. Matt Cavanaugh, a nearly two-decade long NFL assistant, is aboard to handle many of the daily QB interactions that had fallen on the plate of offensive coordinator Sean McVay. You can bet that McVay, and especially Gruden himself, will still have steady contact with whoever is under center. But now there’s someone who actually has the time to work with Griffin on the rudimentary elements of quarterbacking throughout the season.

2. It was time for Jim Haslett to go. Creative as the team’s five-year defensive coordinator might be, Haslett last season was once again hamstrung by a weakened secondary and finally got wildly out-schemed in multiple games. New coordinator Joe Barry is an interesting hire. He was a Tampa 2 coordinator with Detroit in 2007-08 and coached 4-3 linebackers in Tampa Bay before and after his time in the Motor City. But Barry spent the past four seasons coaching linebackers under John Pagano in San Diego, where he worked in a more variegated 3-4 defense. He’s bringing that scheme with him to Washington.

3. The commitment to the 3-4 explains the free-agent signings of nose tackle Terrance Knighton and defensive end Stephen Paea. Fascinatingly, neither has actually played in a true 3-4 before. Knighton has spent his six NFL years as a nose shade on Jacksonville and Denver’s four-man front; Paea was a defensive tackle in Chicago’s 4-3. But both players have ideal skillsets for their new positions. Knighton is big and light-footed. Paea has great strength and can shed blocks. In fact, Washington might be one of the few defenses that can get more than just the hoped-for stalemates out of its three-man D-line.

4. Barry’s most important work will come in his sub-package designs. Washington played almost all nickel on passing downs last season and opponents feasted on inside linebacker Perry Riley, who was often forced to cover wide receivers over the middle. A three-safety or four-corner dime package eliminates these mismatches. The problem, however, is who does Barry bring off the bench to fill these roles? Much like how Haslett was hamstrung, Barry doesn’t have great secondary depth.

5. Washington’s corners will be boom or bust. The guess here is bust. Bashaud Breeland (currently battling a knee injury) improved as a rookie last season, but he started from a very low point and reports of his progress were exaggerated because some of his best moments happened to come in nationally televised games. The other corner, newcomer Chris Culliver, had character issues and was prone to mistakes in San Francisco. And DeAngelo Hall, of course, is coming off an Achilles injury.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/05/nfl-washington-sean-taylor-legacy-number-21

The Legacy of No. 21

Nearly eight years after Sean Taylor was fatally shot while protecting his family during a home invasion, the free safety’s presence is still felt every day by Washington’s players and fans

by Robert Klemko

Photo by Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated

RICHMOND, Va. — It’s an unofficial rite of passage for Washington’s newest starting free safety. You finish your first practice in the oppressive humidity of late July, and then you sign autographs for the throngs of fans who attended the first day of training camp.

All is going well—until an energetic fan in a No. 21 jersey hands you a sharpie. Suddenly you’re faced with an existential dilemma:

Can I sign this jersey and respect myself in the morning?

“I’m like, ‘Why you doin’ that?’ ” says Dashon Goldson, who came over from Tampa Bay in an April trade. “I feel weird about that. That’s Sean Taylor.”

The relationship between this team, its fans, and its deceased star is one of the most unique in sports. Taylor was 24 when a group of young men broke into his residence in Palmetto Bay, Fla., in November 2007, to burglarize the home. They brought a pistol and encountered a machete-wielding pro football player who was trying to protect his girlfriend and 18-month-old daughter. Eric Rivera Jr., of Fort Myers, Fla., then 17, is now imprisoned in Florida, having been convicted of second-degree murder and armed robbery as the triggerman.

In his four NFL seasons, Sean Taylor was named to two Pro Bowls, one posthumously after being murdered in November 2007. (Photos by James Lang/US Presswire and Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated)

In life, Taylor was the kind of safety who was going extinct in the NFL: an intimidating headhunter. He was a 6-2, 220-pound track star who had the mentality of Jack “The Assassin” Tatum, the hands of a wide receiver and the range of an all-star centerfielder. The only limit to his potential, it seemed, was the occasional lapse when his unrelenting aggression got the best of him. Taylor’s most-viewed standalone highlight on YouTube shows him flying downhill to destroy miniscule punter Brian Moorman on a fake punt … in the Pro Bowl.

“He just didn’t let up at any time. In the Pro Bowl some guys don’t really play their hardest. They don’t want to get hit,” says Goldson, himself a two-time Pro Bowler during his first eight seasons in the NFL, with the 49ers and Bucs. “But s---, he was out there playing full-go.

“I’m no Sean Taylor, but I do have the mentality of knocking somebody’s head off. I just want to put that sort of thing on film. Because when you do stuff like that, people have to game-plan around you. They’re thinking, Watch out for No. 38, because he can hit. Getting in somebody’s head—the presence of being a safety is a mindset. Sean was that mindset.”

In death, Taylor takes on an enhanced aura with each passing year, as the game drifts farther away from the style he once played. To today’s NFL players, he represents a bygone era in which strikes to the helmet earned you a spot on the highlight reel, not a suspension or a fine. Yet young safeties all aspire to match his relentlessness. “He could’ve been the greatest to ever play the game,” says Ryan Clark, who played his third and fourth seasons with Taylor in Washington.

As loud as his play spoke, Taylor’s thoughts were often a mystery to the public. He spoke quietly in the media, if at all, and largely avoided the press after run-ins with the law, including arrests for DUI and aggravated assault in 2004 and 2005. The backlash against those who initially suggested that Taylor’s death was a product of his contentious past united Washington fans. And last year, an NFL Films’ documentary on Taylor’s life shed more light on a young man who was beloved by many around the league, burnishing a legacy that still impacts the team.

The evidence was all around the practice facility in Richmond, where on the second day of training camp Taylor’s No. 21 and No. 36 jerseys (his rookie number) outnumbered all other Washington players’—active or retired—with the exception of Robert Griffin III.

One fan, Mike Hans of Atlanta, bought his son a white No. 21 jersey shortly after Taylor’s passing.

“The respect doesn’t necessarily start with the fans; it starts with the players,” Hans said on the practice sideline. “All those guys look up to him—anybody who’s a safety. That tells me he’s the crème de la crème. He’s the one who set the bar.”

And that bar has been the first obstacle for any hard-hitting safety who gets pegged as a starter in Washington.

After eight years in Pittsburgh, Clark returned to Washington for one final season in 2014. As a tribute to his friend, he wore Taylor’s No. 21 jersey during practices.

“It’s not a matter of being compared to Sean, because you can’t compare yourself to what Sean could’ve accomplished,” Clark says. “It’s the same way that rappers are compared to Tupac. Was it because he was amazing? Yes. But it’s also because he passed in his prime … when you don’t fulfill a destiny that was so promising, people feel like the next player needs to fulfill that.”

Ryan Clark wearing Sean Taylor’s No. 21 jersey during a 2014 practice as a tribute to his late friend. (Nick Wass/AP)

Rare is the day when Goldson checks his Twitter mentions and doesn’t see a link to a Taylor highlight or a note from a fan about the man who wore No. 21. He estimates he’s heard or read Taylor’s name at least 100 times since the team acquired him from Tampa Bay in early April for a sixth-round pick.

“Fans say, ‘Make sure you live up to the hype of Sean Taylor,’ ” Goldson says. “I get it. He was a hell of a player. For me to be mentioned in his name speaks volumes, but I’m no Sean Taylor.”

But there was Dashon Goldson after his first day of training camp, hemming and hawing as a fan pleaded for him to sign a Sean Taylor jersey. He thought about it for what seemed like an eternity. Then he picked up the pen and put ink to the white numbers of the blue NFC Pro Bowl jersey trimmed in red.

Clark remembers facing this dilemma when he returned to Washington last season.

“At first it was weird, because I feel like those things should never be touched or signed by anyone,” he says. “I would always say, ‘You don’t need me on there.’ I always made sure to have a conversation about it first, so I could tell if their heart was in the right place. After a while, it started to feel like an honor to do it.”

• Questions or comments? Email us at talkback@themmqb.com.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/07/27/nfl-training-camp-tour-blog

Will Jaguars Free Agency Spending Pay Off?

There's a lot of optimism amongst the Jaguars, but the team is an NFL-worst 9-39 in the past three seasons. Emily Kaplan on whether Jaguars free agency spending will pay off and observations on Blake Bortles newly-healed arm from a rained-out practice in Jacksonville

by Peter King

Jaguars Training Camp Report

Emily Kaplan writes:

Site: The practice field adjacent to EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Fla.

What I Saw: Evening practice, Monday, Aug. 3. After canceling a fan-centric session at a local high school with threats of thunderstorms, the Jaguars tried practicing at home. It was damp, steamy and lasted just under 30 minutes until the skies opened and players scurried inside.

Three things you need to know about the Jaguars:

1. This the first year they've spent real money on free agency. Davon House (four-year, $24.5 million) was signed as a shutdown corner, Jared Odrick (five-year, $42.5 million) as a vaunted defensive end, Stefan Wisniewski (one-year, $2.5 million) as a steely center and tight end Julius Thomas (five-year, $46 million) as a red zone stud for second-year quarterback Blake Bortles. House is the lengthy, physical corner that Gus Bradley coached in Seattle.

House’s production may depend on how effective the front seven, led by Odrick, can dial up pressure. Odrick, ferocious and spry veteran, hasn’t missed a game since 2010 but tallied just one sack last season (however that’s a misleading stat; with the Dolphins he had to two-gap quite a bit). Wisniewski has the pedigree and experience Jacksonville desires, but is coming off shoulder surgery.

Thomas, now the NFL’s highest-paid tight end, thrived in Denver the last two seasons, but who doesn’t look good when Peyton Manning is throwing you the ball? Most of these players have “if’s” attached to their role, so we’ll see if the Jaguars spent money wisely.

2. Blake Bortles entered the offseason with a sore arm. It stems from poor mechanics at Central Florida and his rookie season with the Jaguars. In February, the 23-year-old went to Southern California to visit quarterback guru Tom House (yes, the “Tom Brady guy”). It was supposed to be a one-week session, but Bortles ended up staying most of the offseason.

For three days a week, House tutored Bortles on a new throwing motion and warm up regimen. Through the early days of camp, Bortles reports no problems on his previously achey right arm. With new offensive coordinator, the venerable journeyman Greg Olsen calling the shots (Jedd Fisch was fired for “philosophical differences”), Bortles’ development and health are storylines to watch 2015.

3. The Jaguars are 9-39 in the last three years. The big question is, how patient is owner Shahid Khan? Nobody inside the organization has a true sense of what Khan wants. An international businessman (and billionaire) who bought the team in 2012, Khan isn’t around the franchise much.

He hasn’t given much indication of what he considers progress. However, this much is clear: if the Jaguars, with a splashy free agent class and promising quarterback come out with another dud of a season, general manager Dave Caldwell and third-year coach Gus Bradley could be on the hot seat.

What will determine success for the Jaguars. Bortles. The Jaguars had all intentions of sitting their No. 3 pick for his rookie season. Plans changed. Jacksonville benched Chad Henne and Bortles wound up playing 14 games, showing some promise but spiraling as the season slogged on. If House cured all that ails Bortles, the Jaguars have a chance to overachieve.

But if Bortles still has growing (or literal) pains, the Jaguars will revert back to Henne, proving this truly is a franchise stuck in neutral.

Player I saw and really liked. I’m taking a cop-out here because I didn’t get to see practice.

Five dot-dot-dot observations about Jacksonville. The injury to top pick Dante Fowler Jr. in rookie mini camp is unfortunate, but not totally detrimental. Two reasons: At least it happened early on, and the Jaguars have had time to adjust their game plan, and how many rookie pass rushers thrive right away anyway? Aredshirt season could benefit Fowler’s end game…

Man do the Jaguars love PaulPosluszny. During my day at EverBank I heard Posluszny’s name mentioned at least five times — independently — as a model of consistency, including gushing words by the head trainer and Bradley…

Jacksonville admitted mistake on their Toby Gerhart free agent signing by drafting running back T.J. Yeldon in the second round, hoping Yeldon can shoulder the load like Maurice Jones-Drew did for so many years….

The Jaguars locker room is ridiculous. By now you may have seen the video of Peter King playing ping pong there, and the rest of the room is tricked out with a wall-size flat screen TV, mood lighting and individual lock combination cubbies for cell phones, along with chargers (I’ve seen other teams with this, like the 49ers, but something about the Jags just felt swanky). No wonder they don’t have trouble signing free agents…

Bradley is one of the most upbeat coaches I’ve ever been around. I see why guys rave about playing for him, and why they want to play hard for him. Get Bradley on a long tangent and he begins to sound like he’s giving a Ted Talk.

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about. Nick Marshall, the former Auburn quarterback who signed with Jacksonville as an undrafted free agent. He’s trying to make the team as a cornerback. I don’t know if he has a shot — looks like he’s competing with four other corners for two roster spots — but beat reporters said Marshall has impressed, at times early in camp. Marshall has the speed, length and size (210 pounds) Bradley prefers in the position, and he’s so gifted I hope the Jaguars can find a place for him on their roster.

The thing I will remember about Jacksonville: “Marquis Lee was held out of practice today because his GPS was too high,” Bradley told the local media contingent.

“What does that mean?” a reporter asked.

Welcome to football in 2015. The Jaguars were the first NFL team to institute GPS tracking on players — to answer the reporter’s question: it monitors how much, and at what intensity players are running, a potential indicator to prevent injury. Lee told me it’s because he also spends time returning kicks. “I don’t think I was doing too much,” Lee says. “But it’s what the coaches want and what this team does.”

Next up: drones that conduct scouting evaluations and breathalyzers that monitor hydration. I’m just kidding, but with the tech-savvy Jaguars, who knows?

Gut feeling as I left camp: I think the money shelled out will pay off. That’s not enough to surpass Indianapolis or Houston in the AFC South (or even come close) but Jacksonville’s trajectory is pointing up.

—@emilymkaplan

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/07/27/nfl-training-camp-tour-blog

New England Patriots Training Camp Report

Storm clouds brew over Gillette Stadium. Photo: Jenny Vrentas/The MMQB

Jenny Vrentas writes…

Site: Practice fields outside Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.

What I Saw: Afternoon padded practice, Tuesday, Aug. 4. Sunny, high 80s. The team made it off the practice field just before the storm clouds rolled in. (Make of that a metaphor what you will.)

Three things you need to know about the Patriots:

1. Tom Brady is still taking all the team reps with the starting offense. At some point you’d that expect backup Jimmy Garoppolo will need to take meaningful reps with the first-team offensive line and skill players to prepare for the starts he’ll make if and when Brady serves his four-game suspension from the NFL. But not yet. Garoppolo has gotten in some 7-on-7 work and individual drills with the starters, but so far all the 11-on-11 reps in practice have belonged to Brady.

2. Tom Brady is still also not talking publicly. His only public comments since the NFL upheld his four-game suspension for his purported role in Deflategateremain the lengthy statement he published on his Facebook account last Wednesday. Each day, when the team’s media relations staff comes around during practice to ask for interview requests, the beat reporters and national media in attendance request Brady. Each day Brady leaves the practice field without talking.

3. Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler is primed for a major upgrade in his role on the Patriots defense. With Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner gone, Butler looks in line to step into the starting cornerback void—yet another stage in his stunning ascent from a fringe-of-the-roster undrafted free agent one year ago. Butler earned the distinction on Tuesday of the first player to pick off Brady in this training camp, when he undercut a slant route intended for receiver Josh Boyce in the 11-on-11 team session.

“He’s just taken the next step,” safety Devin McCourty said of Butler. “He’s trying to learn as much as possible. We know one thing we’ll get out of him is competing against receivers. That’s what he does exceptionally well. Everything else, we just keep talking to him, whether it be the first time he saw routes or different combinations in zone coverages.

We just continue to talk to him like we do all the young guys. I think he’s moving forward and trying to step up and be more verbal.” Revis’s offseason return to the Jets has left a big question for the young players on the Patriots roster to answer.

What will determine success or failure for the Patriots: The cliché answer would be “block out Deflategate,” but we all know Bill Belichick is the best in the league at closing ranks and eliminating distractions. Even if Brady serves all four games of his suspension, who’s betting on the Patriots not winning 11-plus games and taking the division yet again?

Not me. For a team that hasn’t had a losing record since 2000, failure is relative, so I’ll answer like this: The two potential trouble spots that could hold the Patriots back from defending their title are the defensive backfield and the offensive line.

Player I saw and really liked: Travaris Cadet, a fourth-year running back who spent his first three seasons with the Saints. The scouting report on Cadet from the New England beat writers was that he catches the ball well, and he showed that in Tuesday’s practice with a clean reception in the back of the end zone against tight coverage from linebacker Jonathan Freeny (the ball was also beautifully thrown by Garoppolo).

The Patriots have a lot of power backs, with LeGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray, but they’re looking for someone to step into the role the now-departed Shane Vereen held. Cadet also plays a lot on special teams, covering and returning kicks, which adds to his value to the team. “I’m working day to day on trying to become a complete player,” he said. “Running the ball, blocking, pass pro-ing, and being able to create mismatches out of the backfield just as well as lining up at receiver.”

Five dot-dot-dot observations about New England: Wide receiver Julian Edelman, who beat writers said appeared to tweak something during Sunday’s practice, was dressed in his uniform and came out for stretching but then retreated to the field house and did not practice. …

WR Danny Amendola had two nice back-to-back TD catches from Brady during red-zone 11-on-11 drills, beating corners Logan Ryan and Tarell Brown.
… The Patriots rewarded Rob Gronkowski by paying him early $4 million of a $10 million option bonus that is due by the end of the year, ESPN reported. Picking up the option will keep Gronkowski with the team through 2019, so this is a sign of the Patriots' long-term commitment to the game-changing tight end. “It’s a great feeling,” said Gronkowski, who called the organization “first class.” …

Last year’s left guard, Dan Connolly, is now retired, and last year’s right guard, Ryan Wendell, is on the physically unable to perform list, so there’s a lot of pressure on two rookies. Twin fourth-round picks Tre’ Jackson (from FSU) and Shaq Mason (Georgia Tech) have been working at the two guard positions with the first-team offensive line. …

Belichick was in a bit of a chipper mood after the first off day of camp on Monday. “Alright, how was the weekend?” he said when he walked into his press conference. “Good, good.”

One name I’d forgotten about: Dominique Easley, the Patriots’ first-round pick in 2014. The defensive lineman from the University of Florida played in bits of 11 games as a rookie, but the team shut him down for the year in December because of knee soreness from his collegiate ACL tears. His injury concerns flashed again when he began camp on the PUP list, but he only missed the first two practices. He looks like a player who needs to knock the rust off, but if he can stay healthy, he has the talent to help New England's interior pass rush.

The thing I will remember about Foxborough: There’s something eerie about there being an elephant in the room and everyone going to great lengths not to talk about it, even when they are definitely talking about it. After practice, Belichick had Willie McGinest, the three-time Super Bowl champion who is being inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Wednesday, address the team. His message: “Stay tight-knit and stay a team,” Amendola recounted. That pertains to Deflategate. But as McGinest emphasized, he never brought up Deflategate.

Gut feeling as I left camp: The ranks are closed, and this team is in attack mode.

—@JennyVrentas

 

[kurtfaulk]

Just wanted to quote that to make it visible for those who won't be reading all 3 articles.

don't you mean "any" articles?

.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/05/nfl-baltimore-ravens-formula-success

Baltimore and the Four Pillars of Football Success

How does a team remain good for the long term? The Ravens have undergone a massive makeover since their Super Bowl win in February 2013 but have stayed solid where it matters most—with an owner, GM, coach and QB all committed to the same goal and on the same page

by Peter King

Flacco has started every game since 2008, his rookie season. (Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP)

OWINGS MILLS, Md.—Late on a recent practice morning at the Ravens’ training camp, newness was on display. It’s not a one-season makeover here, but a continuing cycling-through the roster while remaining competitive. Rookie wideout Breshad Perriman, with a twisting catching of a Joe Flacco throw deep downfield. Maxx Williams and Crockett Gilmore alternating with the ones at tight end. Timmy Jernigan and Carl Davis starring in the defensive-line rotation. Kyle Arrington, the New England import, starting as the slot corner.

Watching on the sidelines, I began to wonder, Two-and-a-half years since the Ravens won the Super Bowl, and this team looks so different. How different is it?

A little research, with an assist from PR aide Patrick Gleason, revealed that 17 of the 22 Baltimore starters from the Super Bowl 47 victory over San Francisco are not here. Ninety players in camp. Only five current Ravens were on that Super Bowl team: guards Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele, quarterback Joe Flacco, and linebackers Terrell Suggs and Courtney Upshaw.

The secondary, mostly wiped clean. The defensive line, gone. Virtually every skill player—Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones and Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce—gone.

“Well, San Francisco’s had a lot of change from that game too,” GM Ozzie Newsome said.

True. But not as much—the Niners have seven of 22 starters from the Super Bowl in training camp this summer. And there’s one other big difference: The Ravens are in position to contend for the Super Bowl. The Niners will be hard-pressed to make the Super Bowl this year. San Francisco is a great example of a very good team hitting a bump in the road and struggling to keep the car out of the shop.

Harbaugh has taken the Ravens to the playoffs in six of his seven seasons. (Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP)

Not Baltimore. This is year eight of a run that just might have five or six prime seasons left. That’s what’s so special about what this franchise has built. The Ravens are not afraid to say goodbye to solid contributors via free-agency or trade—Haloti Ngata, Arthur Jones, Pernell McPhee, Torrey Smith, Corey Graham, Dannell Ellerbe—because of the draft picks that come Baltimore's way either through trade or from the compensatory-pick system. And there are four other reasons:

Steve Bisciotti.
Ozzie Newsome.
John Harbaugh.
Joe Flacco.

What do consistently good teams have in common? An owner who empowers his staff and gives the personnel side and coaches the resources to win. A general manager who can take the slings and arrows of change, who can keep his front-office staff together and who can work well with a strong-minded head coach.

A coach who doesn’t have to buy the groceries, but who wants to at least push the cart down the aisle at the store, and who can keep good assistants together and command a room, year after year. And a quarterback in mid-prime. Flacco is 30, has started every Ravens game since 2008 and looks to be immune to injury. Plus, he laughs at distractions.

That four-headed football hydra has a good chance to stay good. And that formula works for other teams. New England: Kraft/Belichick/Belichick-Caserio/Brady. Pittsburgh: The Rooneys /Colbert/Tomlin/Roethlisberger. Seattle: Allen/Schneider/Carroll/Wilson (now that the franchise quarterback has signed a lucrative extension).

"The most important thing I’ve learned about this level of football is to always be open-minded," Flacco said. “Things change. Coaches change, your receivers change. Have a good attitude about it. Be open to change. I actually don’t mind it. Last year we had [offensive coordinator] Gary Kubiak, and he was great to work with. Now Marc Trestman comes in, and there’s stuff I’ve learned from him that has made me better. So change is really not a bad thing.”

Arrington, the former Patriot, sees the common elements of long-term successful teams now that he’s been a Raven for the preseason. “It starts at the top,” he said, “from the owners and front office and coaches, good leadership and a consistent quarterback. If you have that, and everyone has the same attitude, then you can plug different guys in and still win. It’s proven."

But there’s something else. It’s something important, and it has torn asunder relationships on teams that looked to have the four important men at the top.

It’s about staying in your lane. One major factor on teams that have a strong coach and quarterback and have remained good for a long time is that people take care of what's asked of them and don’t worry about other people’s responsibilities. Interesting little anecdote: At a hotel in New England during last year's playoffs, I saw a sticker on the front door of a hotel with the Flying Elvis logo and the oft-repeated words of Patriots coach Bill Belichick: “Just do your job.” In New England, “Just do your job” has become a pop-culture mantra, and Belichick is the yogi.

Stay in your lane.

Tomlin’s Steelers follow the same pattern as Baltimore, New England and Seattle: stable, consistent and focused. (Photo: John DePetro/The MMQB)


Last week at Steelers camp in Latrobe, Pa., I asked coach Mike Tomlin about the Steelers’ perennial success, and about the franchise’s unparalleled coaching stability—if Tomlin finishes his current deal in 2018, it will mean three men will have coached the team over 50 years. Tomlin was clear about why that's happened. “With the Steelers, we have very few questions organizationally about the division of labor,” Tomlin said. “They just don’t exist. There is total clarity there. And when you have total clarity there, you can focus on the things that matter. We waste very little time creating challenges because of our comfort, our continuity, our clarity.”

I got plenty of hate from western Pennsylvania last winter when I suggested thatJohn Harbaugh reminded me of Chuck Noll. The venom was spewed because Noll won four Super Bowls and coached the Steelers for 23 years. Harbaugh has won one NFL title and coached the Ravens for eight years.

The era is different. Noll fit Pittsburgh perfectly, and there was no question that he would stay with the Steelers for the long haul. He passed endorsement deals off to his players. He had zero interest in fame. There is no reason to think, in this age of egos and multimillion-dollar career advancement, that Harbaugh would be a lifelong Ravens coach. He may well leave at some point, or get fired because teams are more impatient these days.

I cannot say that Harbaugh will be in Baltimore for 23 years. But I can say that he stays in his lane. I have seen him doing so—and I have seen others in Baltimore stay in their lanes when Harbaugh gets bull-headed about something that he feels is important. And ultimately, they all get along well—and seem to genuinely like each other.

Harbaugh is a good coach for this era because of his mindset entering camp each year, which he relays to his players. “Every year it’s the same,” he said after this early-camp practice. “Basically, ‘This is a football.’ That’s how we start camp, how we start every season. That’s the Vince Lombardi way. Don’t assume anyone knows anything. With so many new people every year, that’s the way it has to be.

“The NFL is a young man’s game. Around here, we always say, ‘Adapt or die.’ ”

Newsome has had control over personnel since the Ravens’ first season in 1996. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Harbaugh brought up the famous Bill Parcells quote about coaching—“If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.” He respects that opinion but doesn’t agree. “To me it’s not the best way to do it," he says. "Ozzie and I, we’re shopping together. We’re buying the groceries together. Two heads are better than one.

The thing I’ve learned is neither guy is going to throw a trump card on the table. The times Ozzie and I have disagreed vehemently on things, I walk in the next day and I say to him he’s probably right, and he says to me that he sees things my way a little bit. You have to have that in this job to succeed.”

Words to live by—and win by—today in the NFL.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/04/chicago-bears-jay-cutler-matt-forte-adam-gase

Chicago’s New Regime Should Rely on an Old Stalwart

Matt Forte has been the Bears’ best offensive player for seven straight seasons, and don’t expect new coach John Fox and coordinator Adam Gase to deviate from that in 2015. Get ready for the veteran running back to be QB Jay Cutler's best friend in a revamped, quick-strike scheme

by Andy Benoit

JAY CUTLER'S INFLUENCE: Six years ago he was viewed as a franchise savior. Now, on his third head coach and fifth offensive coordinator, with fans’ frustration boiling over, it has come down to this: Jay Cutler has one last chance to make it work in Chicago

The Bears don’t have to line up in old-fashioned I-formations and static two-receiver sets to run their offense through their 29-year-old tailback. Gase has a modern football mind, he understands the basic geometry that a staggering number of NFL coaches still don’t seem to get: spreading out in, say, three-receiver personnel helps not just your passing game but also your running game. When you spread out, the defense does too.

So instead of there being a third linebacker to block with either your fullback or second tight end, there’s now a third corner who isn’t even in the box to begin with. Chances are, that defender is not making the tackle near the line of scrimmage. This is, in other words, the same end result as the best possible outcome of a fullback or tight end blocking a linebacker.

What’s more, with a box defender removed by the spread, the running back has more space to work with. And you can still employ all of your traditional running concepts—especially with a smooth, patient back like Forte.

One of Gase’s mentors early in his career was Mike Martz. The two were in Detroit together in ’06-’07 and San Francisco in ’08. Earlier in his career, Martz had been one of the trailblazers for three-receiver sets on first and second downs. He started this in St. Louis, where a three-receiver approach best capitalized on the unique multidimensionality of running back Marshall Faulk. Forte is not of Faulk’s Hall of Fame caliber, but he’s of Faulk’s ilk. Aside from improved but still inconsistent pass-blocking, Forte is a complete all-around player.

This includes in the passing game, where he can run routes not just from the backfield, but also the slot or even out wide. Simply moving Forte around the formation is a way of making him your scheme’s catalyst. When you move a feared versatile running back around, the defense’s response often tips the coverage.

It’s in this realm—presnap coverage diagnosis—where Gase must work closest with Cutler. The surly QB has often focused his efforts on the post-snap phase and been willing to let a play go late into the down. That works with a lot of Martz principles ... if you have an O-line that can keep a quarterback clean on regular deep dropbacks. Cutler played under Martz with a bad front five and got clobbered (52 sacks in 2010 alone). While Chicago’s line has since improved, it’s still a far cry from the one headlined by Hall of Fame left tackle Orlando Pace and veteran stalwart Adam Timmerman in St. Louis.

Besides, Cutler is no Kurt Warner when it comes to post-snap decision-making. He’s no Peyton Manning, either, but that’s the style Gase needs to shift him towards. Gase must bring over the lessons he learned from working with Manning. Putting Cutler’s emphasis more on the presnap phase helps him get the ball out quicker.

Adam Gase and Jay Cutler (Matt Marton/AP)

This is the best chance Gase has at curtailing the mechanical inconsistencies that many good coaches have tried but failed to wrench out of Cutler. Those coaches have learned hard lessons about what happens when Cutler has to continuously make full progression reads at the deep-intermediate levels. There will be some spectacular completions, yes. But erratic footwork and poor decision-making eventually will stall drives and, worse yet, lead to turnovers.

Since Cutler, 32, still has not learned to lasso his considerable raw throwing talent, Gase’s scheme must regulate the QB—even if it seems counterintuitive to exploiting the advantages of wideouts Alshon Jeffery and first-round rookie Kevin White. Both have the run-after-catch prowess to be productive on quicker throws.

And it’s not like there won’t still be opportunities to take a shot or two downfield. Gase just can’t premise his approach on such vertical concepts. With his targets—mainly Jeffery, but also tight end Martellus Bennett—having such wide catching radiuses, Cutler is prone to gaining a false sense of security and taking too many chances.

Moving Forte around the formation also moves the wideouts around, increasing the likelihood of drawing a favorable matchup and, in the very least, creating the illusion of diversity to receivers’ route trees. This includes Bennett, who can use his size advantageously in the flats and last season was effective on shallow crossing routes.

A quick-strike spread offense is also the best fit for the current Bears O-line. Overall, it’s an athletic group. But it’s also somewhat undersized, particularly when it comes to arm length. Putting blockers in position to “quick set” in pass protection, where they attack defenders, as opposed to having them drop back and react to defenders, plays to the group’s strengths and gives Cutler a larger pocket to throw. That helps mask the footwork deficiencies that he’s yet to fully rectify. It also expands the draw and play-action game, bringing the offense back to its most important player, Forte.

John Fox (Nam Y. Huh/AP)

Bears Nickel Package
1. If on the day of his hiring you’d asked new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, formerly the DC in San Francisco, how many players from the Bears’ long-standing 4-3 zone scheme he’d like to replace in his more diverse 3-4 system, he probably would have told you 10. And head coach John Fox, who will have a voice in the defense, probably would have agreed. Second-year corner Kyle Fuller is the only bright spot these men inherited. In free agency, the Bears acquired veteran safety Antrel Rolle and ex-Raven Pernell McPhee, so maybe Fangio’s answer now would be a more encouraging eight. The point: it’s going to be rough transitioning to his scheme this first year.

2. The roughest of the transition will be at inside linebacker. Jon Bostic and Mason Foster don’t have great physicality or instincts. Shea McClellin is inexperienced there and yet to find his NFL footing. But these are Fangio’s most realistic options at this point. Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman where art thou?

3. Fangio didn’t blitz much in San Fran. With Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks playing behind Justin Smith and Ray McDonald, he didn’t have to. He will in Chicago. With 33-year-old Jared Allen slowing down and moving to a foreign outside linebacker position, the roster’s only viable edge-rusher is Willie Young, who is coming off an Achilles’ injury. It will be fun to see what Fangio comes up with in his pressure packages. Prior to joining the Niners, he was on staff with two of the league’s more creative pressure designers: the Ravens, coordinated by Rex Ryan (’06-’08) and Texans (’02-‘05), coached by Dom Capers.

4. What happens with last year’s high-round defensive line draft picks Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton now that it’s a 3-4? The new front office and coaching staff have no skin invested in either guy. As rookies, Ferguson, who played the one-technique (shaded over the center), was a bigger and more impressive mover than Sutton, who often played the three-technique (between the guard and tackle). It would reasons that Ferguson’s style is the better fit for the new system.

5. Slot receiver Eddie Royal is a good addition, especially if Gase does indeed feature a quick-strike spread game. Royal thrived in this sort of system as a Charger. That said, $15 million over three years ($10 million guaranteed) seems a tad high for the 29-year-old. Maybe the Bears envision him contributing to their return game, as well?

• Question or comment? Email us at talkback@themmqb.com.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/07/titans-training-camp-report

Titans Training Camp Report

On Marcus Mariota's near-perfection, an offensive lineman showing grit and a defensive guru taking control...

by Emily Kaplan

Site: Titans’ practice facility, Saint Thomas Sports Park, Nashville, Tenn.

What I Saw: Morning practice, Wednesday, Aug. 5. Mid 80’s and sticky, with absolutely no shade (which shouldn’t even be a note anymore; this is the norm).

Three things you need to know about the Titans:

1. Welcome to the Marcus Mariota era. After months of speculation, general manager Ruston Webster and coach Ken Whisenhunt chose the Oregon quarterback to become the face of their franchise. Tasked with leading the team out of the muck — Tennessee hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2008 — Mariota is also looking to become the first college spread quarterback to flourish in a traditional NFL drop back system.

Oh, and he’ll always be inextricably linked to Jameis Winston, the more pro-ready quarterback chosen one slot ahead by the Buccaneers. No pressure for a soft-spoken 21-year-old from a tight knit family in Hawaii. To ease the load, the Titans spent six of their next eight picks on offense, including 6-foot-6 freak athlete, wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham.

The early reports on Mariota have been glowing. Beat writers say he has gone five-straight days without making an interception (his entire camp), and in the practice we saw he was not only efficient, but coolly comfortable.

2. The Dick LeBeau effect has begun to rub off. The longtime architect of the Steeler’s defense, a Hall of Famer who pretty much introduced the zone blitz to the NFL, is now manning the Titans. It felt odd to watch the 77-year-old at practice in Nashville. He wore high socks, white sneakers and a white polo tucked into navy shorts. He never yelled, never took notes, but felt very present in every play, pulling aside a player here and there for a quick instruction.

While Ray Horton is listed as defensive coordinator, make no mistake: this is LeBeau’s defense now. LeBeau will call plays on game day and runs most meetings while Horton — LeBeau’s former pupil — has no choice but to be OK with the change. It feels in many ways like a kid who got in trouble and his father has to take charge. LeBeau should impact a defense that ranked 27th in the NFL last season, bringing disguises to his signature 3-4 style.

“Just to learn under a guy like that? A guy who has coached all of the great players I’ve grown up watching?” says defensive lineman Jurrell Casey, perhaps the best player on the defense. “He’s going to help us so much.

3. Taylor Lewan is taking over as a leader, but more importantly as an enforcer. That’s just what the team needs. When Tennessee drafted the Michigan product in 2014, they envisioned him as the blue collar type of guard who could be a cornerstone for their offense. His rookie season didn’t quite pan out and the offensive line was “soft” (Lewan’s own words, not mine).

Now that longtime Michael Roos retired, Lewan is the one tasked with bringing grit to the line, protecting Mariota from taking too many hits (something that is just as important from a confidence standpoint for the young quarterback as it is from a practical standpoint). Based on Wednesday’s practice, Lewan seems to be embracing that role just fine. During an 11 on 11 drill, someone stepped on Lewan. The 6-foot-7, 300-something-pound lineman got up, looked at a group of offensive lineman and pointed to whoever he believed was the offender.

Said Lewan: “You’re an asshole.

What will determine success or failure for the Titans: The offensive line staying healthy and running back Bishop Sankey does drastically better than he did last season. The easy answer here would be saying Mariota overachieves and shines in Whisenhunt’s offense, but I think just as important are the pieces surrounding him. Sankey was the second round choice in 2014 expected to be the Titans’ featured back. Instead, he struggled, averaging just 3.7 yards a run, his longest dash of just 22 yards. I don’t want to pile on Sankey, but expectations are big in 2015. Meanwhile, Mariota really needs Lewan and Co. to show grit and consistency for him to flourish at all.

Player I saw and really liked. Mariota. Maybe it was because the backup options — Zach Mettenberger, Charlie Whitehurst and Alex Tanney — each received a lot of reps, and all seemed uninspired, but Mariota looked cool and composed on Wednesday. He didn’t throw one bad ball in seven on seven or 11 on 11 drills, and his best might have come late in practice in a red zone situational as he found Kendall Wright crossing into the corner of the end zone.

Five dot-dot-dot observations about Nashville. The Titans literally have tree trunks for receivers. Highlighted by Green-Beckham, Mariota has some tall rangy targets….

Speaking of Green-Beckham, my impression was mixed. His athleticism was exciting (on one one-on-one drill, he absolutely floated into the end zone, burning Perrish Cox who complained “there would’ve been a safety up top”) but he dropped a few balls, which apparently has been a pattern….

Wright and Mariota are going to be fun to watch….

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan might have commented to Peter King that his teammates no longer play cards in the locker room, but the defensive linemen in Tennessee had a lively game of Craps at their lockers….

Note to next year’s The MMQB Tour planners: 11 hours from Tampa to Nashville is plain evil.

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about. Where to begin? Watching the Titans on Wednesday literally felt like an exercise of, ‘Where Are They Now?’Hakeem Nicks, and Harry Douglas at wide receiver, Anthony Fasano at tight end,Perrish Cox at cornerback, Da’Norris Search at safety… but the one name that I forgot about being here — and the player of this free agency class I think will have the biggest impact on 2015 — is Brian Orakpo, the linebacker previously with Washington. He should benefit immensely from LeBeau’s tutelage and could have a big role as Tennessee brings on an aggressive defense.

The thing I will remember about Nashville: The contrast from my visit to Tampa Bay, just 24 hours earlier. Of course, the easy storyline to point to is the interceptions — Winston had three in the 90 minute session we watched; Mariota hasn’t had any all camp — but I was more struck by the juxtaposition in environment. After practice, Winston is swarmed by a scrum of reporters, and is closely followed by Tampa Bay employees. Mariota, meanwhile, is low-key. He goofs off with teammates after practice, practicing drop punts (including a 30-yarder that lands on the roof of the facility) and casually hangs out in the locker room during the open-media session.

Gut feeling as I left camp: Nashville won’t regret drafting Mariota. But to think it’s going to be a quick turnaround would be silly. This team is still a ways from becoming contenders in the AFC.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/07/jameis-winston-marcus-mariota-rookie-quarterback-training-camp

A Tale of Two Rookies, Training Camp Style

Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota are having very different training camp experiences. Plus, a Panthers punter delivers the early front-runner for quote of the summer, and Walter Payton’s son Jarrett with an amazing camp story about his dad

by Emily Kaplan

Mark Humphrey/AP; Chris O'Meara/AP


I think the coolest aspect of The MMQB training camp tour is its successive nature. Visiting teams back-to-back (to back-to-back….) reveals some interesting contrasts. Take, for instance, a 24-hour span during which we saw Jameis Winston’s Buccaneers and Marcus Mariota’s Titans. Winston’s three interceptions certainly juxtaposed Mariota’s clean, fluid session. I won’t make grand assumptions on that tiny sample size, but I was struck by what happened afterward. Winston, the No. 1 pick, gets swarmed by nearly two dozen reporters and a handful of camera crews jostling for position.

His interceptions become headlines, tweeted about incessantly. Winston is monitored closely by Buccaneers employees. In Nashville, meanwhile, there are only a handful of local reporters. Mariota answers questions, coolly, and moseys around his own locker room without interruption.

I think it’s my first time on the road visiting training camps, and here’s another thing I’ve noticed: a huge cultural difference between teams that go offsite and those that stay home. Teams practicing at their facilities may have an edge in convenience and cost, but practice has the monotony of just another day at the facility. At Bears camp, at quaint Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., The MMQB team is immediately greeted by coach John Fox whizzing by on a golf cart.

Hundreds of fans funnel through merchandise stands and face-painting stations. At night, players are cooped up in dorm rooms, forced to bond over card games and late-night delivery. Plus, there’s something romantic about hundreds of fans cheering for a 15-yard run by a second-string running back, or a volunteer who says, “to get to the field, just take a right at the log cabin.”

I think if things don’t work out with Jay Cutler this season, the new regime of general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox could have a tumultuous run in Chicago. They’re in danger of reaching the same quarterback purgatory the Bills find themselves in—not bad enough to get a top quarterback in the draft, but also not good enough to break through to the playoffs.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/07/atlanta-falcons-defense-dan-quinn-nfl

Falcons Will Go as Far as Quinn Can Coach ’Em

New coach Dan Quinn inherits an Atlanta team that put up double-digit loss totals for two straight seasons. Putting together a winner starts on defense, where the ex-Seahawks coordinator will put a Seattle stamp on the unit. Just don't expect success and Super Bowls to happen overnight

by Andy Benoit

John Bazemore/AP


Dan Quinn needs to hope Falcons owner Arthur Blank is a patient, understanding man. The first-time head coach could have a tough go of it in Year One with the Falcons. A high-powered passing offense might keep his team in a lot of contests, but Quinn was hired for his defensive pedigree. That side of the ball will determine how soon the Falcons return to being NFC South contenders after a combined 22 losses in 2013-14.

Shoddy defensive play is what cost Mike Smith and his staff their jobs last year, opening the door for the 44-year-old Quinn. Smith and his defensive coordinator, Mike Nolan, used a litany of different defensive concepts; no one knew what to expect of their group from week to week. Well, actually, there was one thing to expect: no pass rush. This was the motivation for Nolan’s frequent, at times maybe even desperate, schematic gyrations. It didn’t help that the Falcons secondary was hit by injuries and average to begin with, or that their linebacking corps was subpar and inexperienced.

With Quinn, you do know what you’re getting week to week: a Seahawks style approach. In the broadest terms, this means a hybrid 4-3 featuring a variety of different four-man fronts, wide-reaching responsibilities for the linebackers, man-press concepts by the outside corners and cohesive zone coverage from back-level defenders inside.

It’s a straightforward scheme, easy to gameplan against but difficult to out-execute. Or at least, that’s how it was in Seattle, when Quinn had a roster featuring five different players who were among the three best league-wide at their respective positions (free safety Earl Thomas; strong safety Kam Chancellor; middle linebacker Bobby Wagner; cornerback Richard Sherman; and nickel defensive tackle Michael Bennett). And many of the other six defenders on the field were often dominant in their own right, thanks in part to playing styles that perfectly answered the scheme’s demands.

Along with head coaching responsibilities, Quinn also takes over roster responsibilities, as technically he has final personnel say over eighth-year GM Thomas Dimitroff. The two work closely together, though, and were able this past offseason to bring in a handful of new defensive players: first-round rookie pass rusher Vic Beasley and second-round rookie corner Jalen Collins via the draft, as well as defensive end Adrian Clayborn and strongside linebacker Brooks Reed in free agency. That makes for at least four new first unit players in Week 1.

Having new players doesn’t necessarily mean having the right players. With the scheme being a puzzle contingent on pieces working together, the best way to understand what lies ahead for Atlanta is to break this defense down section by section.

Front Four

There’s a belief amongst hardcore football nerds that Quinn’s system is very complex along the defensive line. But most of what he does is not unusual. Like every defensive caller, Quinn employs a variety of different fronts, based on the situation. What leads the nerds to believe there’s complexity is that in many of the base front concepts, Quinn uses a two-gap approach from the nose shade positionand strong side defensive end, and plays a one-gap approach at three-technique and weak side defensive end. Indeed, this mixture of assignments can put a mental burden on D-linemen and the linebackers reading the action. But, as shown in Seattle, the burden quickly lifts into simplification if you have the right personnel.

In this realm, the Falcons actually indeed might have the right personnel. It will depend on how Clayborn performs. He’ll be asked to play the strongside edg—like Red Bryant did in Seattle. Clayborn, 280 pounds, weighs about 40-50 pounds less than Bryant, and injuries sidelined him for almost all of 2014 and, before that, 2012. But if healthy, Clayborn can play beyond his expected physical strength by knowing how to operate laterally and with leverage. He’s good at working his way off blocks.

If Clayborn doesn’t pan out, the likely next strongside defensive end candidate would be Tyson Jackson, a former 3-4 defensive end. And, a suggestion for a dark horse candidate: Ra’Shede Hageman. The second-round pick of a year ago is built like a lankier Bryant and flashes stunning initial quickness. Hageman’s more natural position, however, is defensive tackle. His quickness could work there at the three-technique, but his size and strength are favorable for taking on double-teams as the nose shade (aka the one-tech).

It ultimately may come down to what the Falcons see from veterans Jonathan Babineaux (a three-tech) and Paul Soliai (one-tech). Both are on the wrong side of 30 and showed signs of decline last season. But they were often working in unfamiliar 3-4 concepts. Now back in a 4-3, either could rebound. And it must be noted that Hageman, while talented, is immature and raw.

The objective with the weak side defensive end—the “Leo,” as the nerds like to remind everyone—is to give him space so he can run and chase, as well as work in one-on-one pass rushing scenarios. The importance of this role was verified by Beasley’s selection at eighth overall. The hope is he’ll capture the job ahead of former Seahawks backup O’Brien Schofield (who fits the scheme but is less gifted) and ahead of Kroy Biermann (who is versatile but doesn’t fit the scheme).

The Falcons could have a budding young line featuring Hageman and Beasley. Or, they could have an aging, declining unit featuring an assortment of 30-year-olds. Most likely, it will fall somewhere in between.

Linebackers

An important component of Quinn’s system is a middle man who can go sideline to sideline. (Keeping the Mike ‘backer clean for this is one of the reasons some of the defensive linemen play two gaps.) Paul Worrilow is no Bobby Wagner, but he played increasingly faster as his second NFL season progressed last year. Worrilow weighs 230, 10 pounds lighter than Wagner, and it shows when blockers get contact on him. He’s also not quite as adept in pass coverage.

Which brings us to Brooks Reed. He’s playing the role of Seattle's K.J. Wright, an extremely dimensional three-down player who could often be asked to cover tight ends in space. Reed is versatile, but in a different way. A 5-2 outside linebacker under Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips early in his career, he transitioned to stacked linebacker in Romeo Crennel’s 3-4 for some of last season, where he was sturdy but not sensational. He’s never played linebacker in a 4-3, where he’ll more often find himself in space. The only other option here is Joplo Bartu, a fleet athlete but unreliable decision-maker.

Secondary

Assuming Beasley and Clayborn can provide at least a modicum of pass-rushing pressure, this area of the defense becomes most critical to Atlanta’s success in 2015. Let’s get the hard part out of the way: there’s no Earl Thomas. Or anyone close, for that matter. Charles Godfrey does not have Thomas’s range and awareness in centerfield. That will mean less freedom for strong safety William Moore, a fierce hitter like Kam Chancellor but not as heady of a read-and-react pass defender.

Then there’s the question of who plays outside. Desmond Trufant is not as lanky as a Sherman or a Byron Maxwell, but at 6-0 he’s not small, and with his short area change-of-direction dexterity he’s dangerous to throw against in off-coverage. Trufant can also man up in the slot, which may ultimately be his greatest area of impact, depending on how the Falcons’ other young corners do. Headlining this category is the long-armed second-rounder Collins (6-1, 203) and last year’s third-rounder, Dezmen Southward (6-0, 211). Both are inexperienced. Collins made only 10 starts at LSU; Southward, in his second year, is converting from safety.

The only other experienced corners on the roster are journeyman Phillip Adams and third-year man Robert Alford. Adams becomes more of a liability the more he’s asked to play. Alford had a miserable start to last season but regained his footing around late October before going down with a broken wrist in Week 11. The 5-10 Alford’s problems come when perimeter receivers get a step on him and use their size advantage. Those weaknesses would only get magnified in Quinn’s bump-and-run scheme.

The imminent dead ends on this defense are outnumbered by simple question marks, which is encouraging but still a harbinger of growing pains. It’s important to remember, however, that Quinn did not have only former first-and second-round players in Seattle. Several low-round guys, and even some undrafted youngsters, blossomed under him. That’s an indication of good day-to-day coaching. And isn’t good day-to-day coaching really what Quinn was brought here to provide?

Falcons Nickel Package
1. It’s rare to see an offensive coordinator get hired before a head coach. That’s how it went with Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta this past January. But you can’t blame the Falcons for pouncing on the 35-year-old son of Mike. (Besides, most likely, once Rex Ryan went to Buffalo, the Falcons knew they’d hire Quinn once Seattle’s playoff run ended. And they probably learned somewhere along the grapevine that Quinn would want Shanahan as his OC.) Shanahan is a good hire if for no other reason than he will install a fresh zone rushing attack. That may not be ideal given this team’s lack of mobility at guard and right tackle, but after seeing the Falcons ground game finish 24th, 32nd and 29th over the past three years, any change is good at this point.

Kyle Shanahan and Matt Ryan (John Bazemore/AP)

2. A defining characteristic of Shanahan’s system: play-action concepts that put the quarterback on the move. That wouldn’t be considered a great fit for a classic pocket passer like Matt Ryan, but in 2014 Ryan worked diligently on this aspect of his game and became one of the league’s better on-the-move operators. Expect Shanahan to use Ryan this way, though not as often as he did with Brian Hoyer last year in Cleveland or Robert Griffin in Washington before that. Ryan, after all, also remains an elite dropback anticipation passer.

3. It’s vital that left tackle Jake Matthews improve against bull rushers. Matthews shows the dexterity you’d expect from a No. 6 overall pick, but if he can’t single-handedly block edge rushers in Year Two, Atlanta’s dropback aerial attack will again fail to fully capitalize on the rare talents of wideout Julio Jones. Matthews is the key player because it’s already a given that protection slides and chip-blocks will have to regularly go to right tackle Ryan Schraeder.

4. The pressure is on Jones. For the first time in his career, he won’t face defenses that also must consider giving special attention to Roddy White. At 33 (34 in November), White no longer recovers well from minor injuries, and his quickness in and out of breaks has diminished. It shows in a lot of his route running.

5. Punters and kickers beware: Devin Hester, at 32, is still lethal.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/09/green-bay-packers-training-camp-report

Green Bay Packers Training Camp Report

Packers coach Mike McCarthy surrendered play-calling duties after Green Bay's devastating loss to Seattle in the NFC Championship. Jerk reaction or wise choice?

by Emily Kaplan

Site: Practice fields adjacent to Lambeau Field.

What I Saw: Morning practice, Friday, Aug. 7. Low 70s and gray skies, occasional mist. Refreshing. However practice was cut short after about 90 minutes as coach Mike McCarthy looks to shield his already injury-bitten team from a wet field.

Three things you need to know about the Packers:

1. Mike McCarthy is not calling the shots. This is the biggest change for a team that was a botched onside kick away from reaching the Super Bowl. In fact, it’s the biggest structural change for the organization since firing defensive coordinator Bob Sanders in 2009. McCarthy enters his 10th year in Green Bay; he has a Super Bowl, a street named after him in town and twice in the last four years has directed the NFL’s top-scoring offense.

Making such a drastic change after one aching loss? Said Mike Holmgren of McCarthy’s choice: “What’s wrong with you? You never give up play-calling!” There’s nothing necessarily wrong with McCarthy’s play-calling, but rather something problematic with the machine. The coach felt that other parts of his team — specifically special teams — suffered because he focused so intensely on minutia of the offense, so he tapped longtime assistant Tom Clements to navigate game days. When you have a quarterback as mechanical as Aaron Rodgers, and an offensive line as dependable as the Packers, you don’t need a lot to keep the engine oiled.

And so the new chapter of McCarthy’s tenure begins. “I don’t see him as much now,” says wide receiver Randall Cobb. “He’s not with the offense as much as he used to, but he’s definitely there. You feel his presence everywhere.” What we’ll find out quickly: if this will help Green Bay in a larger sense or is simply a jerk reaction to one loss — a decision with potential to implode.

2. The Packers have lost two of their top three corners. Left cornerback Tramon Williams inked a three-year, $21 million deal with the Browns while Davon House, who was used mostly in dime, “wanted to be the number one guy” and signed on for four years at $24.5 million in Jacksonville. Suddenly, Green Bay found itself a bit thin in the secondary. Sam Shields became the sole returning corner, and at 27, the oldest player in the defensive back room. I wouldn’t be surprised if Shields takes on a larger role this season, shifting away from his regular right side to shadow the opponent’s No. 1 receiver at times. “I don’t know what the coaches think,” “Shields says. “But I’m willing to do it. I’d like to be that top guy.”

Casey Hayward will likely start in the other spot. General Manager Ted Thompson spent his first two draft picks on potential corners in Damarious Randall (first round) and Quinten Rollins (second round). Randall was one of the most intriguing players in the draft, a free safety with the speed and size of a cornerback, and should figure in the rotation this season, mostly in dime. One wild card to look out for: LaDarius Gunter, an undrafted free agent, who has had great offseason reviews. However the one play I noticed Gunter in Friday, he overplayed wide receiver Jimmie Hunt and got beat badly.

3. This team needs to get healthy — especially at outside linebacker, where there are currently just four healthy bodies. Of course most Packers fans are concerned about one linebacker in particular: Clay Matthews, who has missed four-straight practices with a sore knee. Matthews, wearing compression leggings and a t-shirt, plead that reporters not worry about him. “This is the best I’ve felt the entire offseason,” says Matthew, who is continuing his transition to inside linebacker (when he’s on the field).

What will determine success or failure for the Packers: That they don’t have an epic collapse again. All kidding aside, there is not reason the Packers shouldn’t return to the NFC Championship game. Their division is a cinch, and as long as Aaron Rodgers is in his prime, dominance is the expectation.

Player I saw and really liked. Cornerback Casey Hayward, the favorite to take Tramon William’s starting spot. Hayward actually underwent a minor foot surgery at the end of last season, and was limited during the offseason program, but looked just fine when I saw him on Friday. During an 11 on 11 drill, Hayward read a throw by Matt Blanchard perfectly. In the back of he end zone, he cut in front of Jeff Janis for what should have been an interception but it bounced off Hayward’s chest.

Five dot-dot-dot observations about Green Bay. Nate Palmer proves you can totally play football with a club hand (take notice, Jason Pierre Paul). With a cast on his left hand, Palmer batted down a ball from Scott Tolzien…..

I like rookie wideout Ty Montgomery a lot. He reminds me of Randall Cobb — overall similar skillset, with Montgomery perhaps a tad stronger — and should be used in a variety of ways on offense, plus contribute right away by returning kickoffs…..

Secondary coach Joe Whitt is one of the most animated assistants I’ve seen yet. He wouldn’t stop yapping in positional drills (mostly words of encouragement) and jumped up and down on the sideline when Randall broke up a pass in 11 on 11s…..

It was my first time at Lambeau, and I’ll admit, I spent a few minutes simply in awe of the place. Coolest fact I learned: When they moved the tunnel during reconstruction, they brought a patch of cement from the old tunnel, so that players could step on the same ground that Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, and so many great Packers once walked…..

I’ll just let Aaron Rodgers’ Tweet from Friday speak for itself. It’s wonderful:
Can't wait to see what my Espn QBR was from practice today. Glad they factor in clean handoffs and walk thru td passes b/c I was on point - Aaron Rodgers

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about. Richard Rodgers. The Packers achieved all of their offensive accolades last season with very little production from their tight ends. Rodgers, the 2014 third-round draft pick, barely registered as a blip last season, but we should probably know better than to overlook a Packers draft pick from Cal-Berkeley. I'd expect this Rodgers to take on a larger, pass-catching role in 2015.

The thing I will remember about Green Bay: The Game That Shall Not Be Named isn’t talked about much in this building, although the painstaking loss still lingers. “I haven’t watched it, I can’t watch it, really, I have no interest in watching it,” Eddie Lacy told me. “But I remember the pain, and I never want to feel that pain again.”

Gut feeling as I left camp: Aaron Rodgers is going to be automatic and he returns pretty much every offensive weapon from a team that scored 30.4 points per game last season. Given the team works through its injuries, and the Mike McCarthy no-play calling experiment pans out, say hello to your 2015 NFC (and Super Bowl) favorites.

—Emily Kaplan

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/10/nfl-odell-beckham-jr-new-york-giants

Transcending ‘The Catch’

One play defined Odell Beckham Jr.’s rookie season in a big way. The rest of his game is about to make him more than a superstar

by Andy Benoit

Carlos M. Saavedra/SI/The MMQB


When fans think about Odell Beckham Jr., they think about The Catch. Understandable. But defensive coordinators who have to face the Giants go back to that Cowboys game and think about all the different ways in which Beckham was used. The Catch was gravy on an all-around sensational night; the rest of the contest offered a startling illustration of Beckham’s wide-ranging talent.

Against the Cowboys, Beckham played in the slot, outside and out of the backfield. He shifted before the snap. He went in motion. He ran a variety of routes—some deep, some swinging toward the sideline, many toward the middle of the field. In addition to The Catch, he hauled in nine other passes for 103 yards and a touchdown, bringing his total haul to 10, 146 and two.

A lot of damage was done via the basics: shallow crosses, hook routes, wide receiver screens and deep comebackers—all ways in which Beckham can dominate, given how he has the best short-area agility and stop-start quickness of any receiver in the league (including the former standard-setter, Antonio Brown).

Beckham could have had a lot more than 1,305 yards last season; there were several instances when he burned defenders deep but, for a variety of reasons, didn’t get the ball. He has a chance to be more than a superstar. He has a chance to be transcendent, to become the most valuable player at his position in just the second year of his career.

For this to happen, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo must continue being creative in the way he deploys the 5’11”, 198-pound receiver.

Think about how McAdoo wants to play. He hails from Green Bay, where he was the quarterbacks coach for a West Coast spread-style offense that often used variations on the three-receiver set. The passing game there was built not on the usual three-and five-step timing, but on two-and four-step timing, to take advantage of Aaron Rodgers’s quickness.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo (Carlos M. Saavedra/SI/The MMQB)

Despite inheriting an 11th-year veteran with two Super Bowl rings in Eli Manning, McAdoo wasn’t shy about implementing his brand of football with the Giants. (This included adjusting Manning’s mechanics.) The results were dodgy at first, but as last season progressed, the Giants’ new offense showed a stronger foundation as a dangerous quick-strike passing game. A critical component was McAdoo drifting away from so many static formations and frequently redistributing where his receivers lined up.

If you have an intelligent quarterback, this is the type of offense that best sustains drives and wins games in today’s NFL. We just saw Tom Brady and the Patriots ride this style to a fourth Super Bowl title.

Maybe it should come as no surprise that the Giants shelled out $12.4 million over three years to acquire Pats running back Shane Vereen in free agency. Vereen is a unique weapon. While a decent runner, he is a very reliable receiver. He’s excellent on angle and option routes out of the backfield. He can consistently get open from the slot. He has even hurt defenses by splitting out wide (ask the 2013 Browns, whom Vereen beat for 12 catches and 153 yards).

This versatility sets Vereen apart from incumbent running back Rashad Jennings, an underrated screen receiver but a more traditional back. Jennings can give the Giants a between-the-tackles running game, including out of shotgun, where he’s most effective. (That’s critical in a three-receiver system.) Vereen can align anywhere in the formation. Beyond linebackers, he can also beat some defensive backs.

Take a back like this and add Beckham to the equation. If you’re a defense, what do you do if, say, Vereen splits out wide and Beckham lines up in the slot, motions to the backfield, and then sweeps out wide in the other direction? Then, what do you do when the Giants hurry to the line and snap the ball quickly out of a more traditional set? These aren’t impossible puzzles to solve. But with the volume of dimension being presented, plus the scarier-than-hell factor of Beckham, they canfeel impossible in the heat of battle.

Manning, at 34, is fully equipped to recognize and exploit stress in a defense. And he has other weapons with which to do so. Larry Donnell is emerging as a very flexible tight end who is capable of stretching the seams, working the flats and lining up anywhere in the formation. (He does, however, need to improve his blocking.) If Victor Cruz can regain most of his burst and wiggle coming off a serious October knee injury, he’s a problem for defenders, particularly in the slot, where he has a two-way go.

And Rueben Randle, though still too inconsistent at the top of his routes, can also hurt you. With Beckham drawing attention from multiple spots, all of these guys will frequently face one-on-one coverage, and not always against the best equipped defender.

Tom Coughlin would probably rather not have articles like this talking about Beckham’s potential transcendentalism. It would be legitimate to harbor concerns about Beckham becoming the NFL’s version of Vince Carter. Recall Carter in his earliest years: the rarest of rare talents, capable of owning entire highlight shows, but also capable of buying into his own hype and fielding bites from the minor injury bug.

(Already, hamstring issues have interfered with parts of Beckham’s career. At this early stage, you could argue he is just a muscle pull or two away from trending toward Percy Harvin 2.0.) Carter wound up being an outstanding NBA player, but aside from a variety of windmill dunks, he redefined nothing in his sport.

An apples-to-apples comparison this is not. But you get the idea. So do the Giants. Coughlin has publicly praised Beckham, but he’s also had to keep a thumb, if noton, then certainly around the 22-year-old.

The Giants also understand that if Beckham doesn’t thrive, their whole team probably won’t. Despite having myriad holes to fill on defense, general manager Jerry Reese spent his first-round draft choice on offensive tackle Ereck Flowers. That’s the move of a GM who knows that his team will probably need 30 points in order to win most games. In McAdoo’s system, the ball is often out too quickly for pass blockers to be a major factor. By drafting Flowers, Reese was essentially investing in a more expensive insurance policy on his offense. With a transcendent wide receiver to build that offense around, Reese won’t leave anything to chance.

Giants Nickel Package
1. Just because the Giants are a spread three-receiver base offense doesn’t mean they can’t still pound the rock. Much like how the Packers will occasionally substitute their tight end for fullback John Kuhn and run the ball out of the uncommon (and therefore hard-to-game-plan-against) three-receiver, two-back set, the Giants are prepared to do the same with Henry Hynoski, one of the game’s premier lead-blocking fullbacks. In fact, it’s specifically part of the plans to play this way. That’s why the team last season spent a fourth-round pick on Andre Williams, a one-dimensional but bruising north-south runner.

2. Williams and Rashad Jennings are both almost strictly inside runners. Certainly neither has the agility needed to create space for himself. That’s where the changes along the offensive line become critical. Too often unable to handle NFL pass rushers, 2013 first-round pick Justin Pugh is moving from right tackle to left guard. That slides last year’s second-round pick, Weston Richburg, over from guard to center. The two young blockers have a chance to be an excellent double-teaming tandem on inside zone runs. Richburg has also shown he can get out in space on pull blocks.

3. Let’s assume Jason Pierre-Paul won’t be his usual self this season after losing an index finger in a fireworks accident. That kills this defensive line. Pierre-Paul last season regained the lateral explosiveness that once made him so dominant. Besides being destructive against the run, Pierre-Paul was the front four’s only steady pass rusher. Steve Spagnuolo, here for his second stint as defensive coordinator, will have to rely even more on manufactured pressure than he did when leading this D and its sensational front four to a Super Bowl in 2007.

4. Linebacker has been an area of need in New York ever since Antonio Pierce left after the 2009 season. Reese hasn’t done much to address that need. Since Pierce’s departure, he’s spent only four draft picks on the position, and nothing higher than a fourth-rounder. His most aggressive move was trading for oft-injured Panther Jon Beason in 2013. As a member of New York, Beason has had injury woes continue, missing all but four games in 2014 because of a toe injury he suffered that offseason.

The Giants are once again relying on Beason as their only veteran at the second level. It’s dicey, to say the least. Their only other linebacker equipped to play on passing downs—and this is assuming the banged up 30-year-old Beason himself still moves ably enough to contribute in nickel—is JT Thomas, a free-agent pickup from Jacksonville.

5. A saving grace for Spagnuolo is that if he wants to hide his front seven’s deficiencies by going on the attack, he might have the corners to do it. When healthy, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie effectually shadowed No. 1 receivers last season. Prince Amukamara also had his best campaign as a pro. Both have an understanding of angles and route concepts in one-on-one coverage. And that’s what they’ll often be in as man defenders, given how the Giants are too inexperienced at safety and too thin at slot corner to employ complex matchup-zone coverages.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/11/nfl-indianapolis-colts-2015-training-camp-report

Gore Gears Up

The high-powered offense adds plenty of new weapons—and Frank Gore looks particularly spry—but the issues for this team remain on the other side of the ball

by Kalyn Kahler

The MMQB Tour checks into Anderson, IN to visit the 2015 Indianapolis Colts.

Site: Anderson University campus in Anderson, Ind., about 40 miles northeast of Indianapolis.

What I saw: An afternoon practice, the seventh day of Colts camp. Dark clouds warned of a storm, but the Colts were able to finish out practice before the drizzling rain began.

Three things you need to know about the Colts:

1. Frank Gore is ready. Colts management knows this is Andrew Luck’s window. They acted to surround him with more options and signed an offensive weapon in veteran running back Frank Gore. The longtime 49er has been impressive in camp and has yet to take a day off of practice. He’s a total workhorse. The Colts need a 1,000-yard season out of Gore (the team hasn’t had a 1,000-yard back since Joseph Addai in 2007). “He practices hard, really hard, he runs hard in practice,” Luck said. “The old adage ‘practice how you play,’ he does that.” In 10 seasons Gore has come up short of 1,000 yards just twice. The Colts need Gore to be twice what they thought they were getting in Trent Richardson.

2. There’s an insane amount of talent at receiver. Despite their apparent defensive shortcoming, the Colts focused on receiver in the offseason, drafted Phillip Dorsett in the first round, signing Duron Carter from the CFL and adding seven-time Pro Bowler Andre Johnson in free agency. With those three joining leading receiver T.Y. Hilton and deep threat Donte Moncrief, Luck has a wealth of options here. So many, that it feels like Johnson, a potential Hall of Famer, is a spare part.

Hilton made his first Pro Bowl last season and was targeted 131 times for 82 passes and 1345 yards. It will be interesting to watch how Luck shares the love among his receivers. Luck plans to find a balance with his offense, “There is a happy medium,” he said. “Coach Pagano has always said, ‘If you win, there is enough credit to go around.’” With Coby Fleener at tight end and Gore at running back, this offense could be the best in the league.

3. How much does Robert Mathis have left? The Colts' five-time Pro Bowler is set to make his return from a torn Achilles this season. The team is optimistic that he’ll be ready for the opener at Buffalo Sept. 13, but for now Mathis remains on the PUP list. His last game was a playoff loss to New England on Jan. 11, 2014, which seems like an eternity ago. Mathis tallied 19.5 sacks and 44 tackles that season. He’s now 34, and the question is, will an aging Mathis be able to make a full return to his prime?

Frank Gore takes a handoff from Andrew Luck. (Photo: Darron Cummings/AP)

What will determine success or failure for the Colts in 2015…

Stopping the run. No-name Patriots running back Jonas Gray rushed for 199 yards and four touchdowns last season against the Colts. Indianapolis allowed well above the league average 111.3 yards in both games against the Patriots last season (Week 11: 246 yards, AFC Championship: 177 yards). For the Colts to finally beat New England this year, they have to improve against the ground game. The signings of defensive lineman Kendall Langford and linebacker Trent Cole should bolster the defense.

Cornerback Vontae Davis made his first Pro Bowl last year and hasn’t given up a single touchdown in coverage since Week 13 of the 2013 season. Luck said going up against Davis in camp is a great challenge for the offense. “If there’s a litmus test out there for a quarterback and a wideout, that’s it, we’ve got it!” Luck said. “So if we can complete balls on him, then we’ll have a chance.”

Player I saw and really liked…

Amarlo Herrera, linebacker. The rookie picked off third-string quarterback Bryan Bennett on Sunday. Herrera saw some important reps with the first-team defense. “He’s one of the top rookies,” linebacker Jerrell Freeman said after practice. “For a rookie, I feel comfortable enough with him to make plays with him. He is showing a lot of flashes and a lot of good things.” The Colts are thin at inside linebacker, so Herrera could make an impact this season.

Name I forgot was on the roster…

Duron Carter. Son of Hall of Famer Cris Carter, Duron is an undrafted free agent for the Colts by way of Ohio State, Alabama and the CFL. He's been making some impressive plays early in camp. I didn’t get to see Carter practice Sunday (he was out with a groin injury), but even on the sidelines, his 6-5 frame—two inches taller than his dad—was imposing.

Five dot-dot-dot observations…

Center Jonotthan Harrison and defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles were led off the field and sent to the locker room mid-practice after a fight …

"Guys are tired and they are sore and all that stuff and tempers flare. It gets over the top and we can not tolerate it and we are not going to tolerate it,” Pagano said about the Harrison-Quarles scrum …

Although Anderson University is no picturesque Wofford College or St. Vincent College, I love that the Colts are one of the few teams that still travel for camp. I’m sure that putting up with the communal bathrooms (stocked with the thinnest, flakiest zero-ply toilet paper of any training camp we’ve been to), and experiencing that common suffering together is what really bonds the team

… If you can believe it, Coby Fleener’s hair is even better looking in real life… I was dissapointed not to see some of the big free-agency signings practice, as Andre Johnson had an off day.

The thing I’ll remember about Anderson…

A conversation I had with Adam Vinatieri. The NFL’s oldest active player had his best season last year and was just one kick shy of a perfect season. At 42, he’s hoping to put together the perfect record this season, his 20th in the league. Vinatieri is two decades older than the Colts’ rookies and has been in in the league for almost as long as they’ve been alive.

The silvery gray stubble growing in on his cheeks is the only thing that gives away his age. Last year, as the rookies came into camp one of them mistook Vinatieri for a coach. “He said, ‘Hey, what’s up coach?’” Vinatieri said. “I said, ‘When we get on the field, you’re going to see me kick field goals, so I’m not a coach.’” Rookie mistake, literally.

Gut feeling as I left camp…

The Colts will win the AFC South again. They’ll meet the Patriots in the playoffs, and this time the free-agent signings will allow the Colts to come out on the other side.