Aaron Rodgers pointed to the tables, each with four chairs, across the screen from his locker. He smiled as he sat thinking.
Now it’s 2022, and Rodgers will tell you: This is different.
“One of the things that was special is that these tables are back in the locker room,” Rodgers said an hour after a quick workout. It doesn’t mean anything to a lot of people, but they went last year [about controlling COVID-19]. And when the media leaves, to see the guys again playing cards in the dressing room, spend time with each other? It used to be, without any tables here, whenever we have a break, everyone is in their clothes; No one is talking, everyone is looking at their phone.
“The whole energy has taken over a little bit like that. Guys are hanging out, guys are BSing, guys are playing cards. That’s great. We’ve got the media back in the locker room, which is fun because now “A lot of guys are getting opportunities to speak, and you see their personalities. There’s a lot of exciting things to come.”
Rodgers is now 38 years old, and turned 39 in December, the same age Brett Favre was when he first retired, then came back, only to be traded to the Jets to make room for Rodgers to be the starter. Packers in 2008. And anyone who has been paying attention in the past 18 months knows that the idea that he could earn the same amount as his predecessor, while playing elsewhere, was not considered far-fetched a short time ago.
Instead, Rodgers is still in Green Bay, and we know it will definitely be good. That’s another change heading into his 18th NFL season.
What’s more, the long-haired, bearded, newly shaved and heavily scrutinized NFL MVP quarterback isn’t okay with it—he’s happy with it. Since throwing his career at the combine by openly questioning his future in Green Bay following the Packers’ loss to the Buccaneers in the NFC title game in January 2021, Rodgers has been through a lot, some of it self-inflicted. brought. There was an ugly season to follow. Vaccination status. Another painful playoff loss. Davante Adams trade.
With all of this now in the rearview mirror, Rodgers isn’t just happy: he’s grateful.
“When I went through it, it really made it clear who was an ally and who wasn’t,” he said. “It’s been a lot of the mind for the last two years trying to live with a little gratitude and the vision of a great player years are coming to an end. And the end is near. Who knows how many years that will be?” ?But it’s definitely closer every year. So I live my life with a little perspective on how special the trip was and a little bit about what you didn’t have, what you couldn’t do, what could have been.
“Because that’s something that never ends and takes you to live with more gratitude.”
With that in mind, Rodgers is now looking forward to, as he said, the exciting things to come. And maybe a different result than the Packers got late, too.
We hit the California leg of the training camp trip, and we’ve got a lot to cover – both the week’s news and where I’ll be for the next 14 or so days. In this week’s packed MMQB column, you’ll find…
• How college teammates are developing for, perhaps, the NFL’s best two receivers.
• Afternoon that still haunts the Colts.
• Bears’ baby steps, which may be giant steps.
• More of the week’s news, with coverage of Deshaun Watson, the Dolphins and more.
But we’re starting with the NFL’s best player of the past two years, and how he’s painting what, even now, he admits, is the darkness of his Hall of Fame career.
Those tables in the middle of the locker room were the perfect example, too, of how Rodgers got to where he is now, content and grateful to have called this place home for nearly two decades. Because those tables, as he pointed out, are where the relationship is formed and strengthened, the relationship tells his story of the last two years.
I’ll start with one that many in the Packers establishment would have kept him going through everything, the one planted by his coach, Matt LaFleur. It’s a relationship that has been asked many questions since 2019 and has proven to be as tough as a tree.
To remember where it all started, LaFleur, means going back to those doubts about whether the coach would bend his quarterback-friendly offense to suit a playmaker who loved the idea of having more. His plate, no less, on the line. of alarm. They doubted that, as LaFleur would now say, he always saw the impossible.
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated
“We have a lot of respect for each other,” LaFleur said. “Communication is great. We’re on the same page. He sure knows I trust the hell out of him, and he’s got the keys to the car when he’s out there in terms of doing what he feels is necessary for us to win. Had and we’re in constant contact to make sure we’re on the same page, and he’s not the type of guy to go off text.
But he also sees many things. … It’s hard to argue with his success and what he’s been able to accomplish. I would be a fool not to listen to a man like that. That’s crazy.”
That said, it just didn’t take the will of LaFleur and Rodgers to get to where they were last year, when their defenses were able to hold on and carry the rebounding through. going through a time when he and the front office didn’t see eye to eye. – eye. She also took a job.
So it was after their first season together, and during the epidemic, that many of the hours they needed to catch up were spent. The two have been Zooming together a lot. They had a season’s worth of tape to go through, to try to retool the offense, again, Rodgers’ best. Doing it together made a huge difference, and not just on the field.
“That time we spent on Zoom, that meant a lot to me,” Rodgers said. “To feel like a teammate was really important, and I did things off the field to help our relationship. The more time we spent together, the better our relationship would be. It was never bad. It just went from coach to player. until friend.”
From that job, just as LaFleur would trust Rodgers to change the game, Rodgers would trust LaFleur’s instincts and tactics so he didn’t feel the need to do it too often.
“When you get to know someone off the field, you know what makes them tick and what makes them go. You see everything from a different perspective,” Rodgers said. “I know Matt is the key. Matt is a creative person. He is very driven, very hard on himself. I also know off the field how much he cares. And it’s because of how much he cares that he spends a lot of time here, cramming the week into game planning, watching film and preparing.
“So when it comes to a situation where he calls something and I’m like, Eh … I don’t know, I’m just going back to, you know what, this guy’s been grinding all week, and I bet he has a special reason for that.” likes this as the No. 1 sport. And I might have thought it was down on the list, but we just trust him and rely on him and vice versa.”
“I probably learned a lot from him,” LaFleur added. “I think we’re both competitors, and even though we’re different in many ways, there’s a lot in common with us in terms of how much we care about winning and trying to do the right thing and working together to win.” Let’s work together. Try to produce the best possible product.”
Both, without question, at least come close to matching that standard. The last three years, all 13-win seasons, are the most successful years of Rodgers’ career, and he won multiple league MVPs during his 11 seasons before LaFleur arrives.
And while some have looked at that and see LaFleur simply in the fortunate position of getting coach Rodgers at a time when it seems very unlikely he can’t do it, Rodgers doesn’t see it that way. He sees a true partner, who has his own way of showing gratitude.
“I find it a very exciting celebration,” Rodgers said. “A lot of times you can tell by my initial celebration after a touchdown what kind of pass it was. If he hits something special and I throw a gimme touchdown, I’ll always give him the credit first, because he does so much. .You’ll see me point it out to him sometimes, and mostly it’s because he just called a great play, all I had to do was throw the ball to an open guy.
“I’m very grateful for that aspect that he brings to this offense and this team.”
Add that, and it’s easy to see how, even when things were at their worst in the first half of 2021 (from January’s open-ended comments to draft-day trade request news to hold his will- show-up-or-no-days-before-training-camp), LaFleur’s line of communication to the re-enforcement never closed. That was huge to keep the group’s wish for full reconciliation alive.
But doing that means repairing another, more complicated relationship.
When Rodgers talks about his current relationship with GM Brian Gutekunst, he pretty much admits that the two men’s positions are, in some ways, inherently conflicting.
“My role is to play quarterback, and I’ve been playing for a long time, I’ve seen a lot of football. I feel that in 18 years you have become a good referee,” said Rodgers. “The players, I think, see the quality, see the power, see the attitude. Coaches see performance, that’s how they see things. People would see the potential. So in a win-now situation when you’re an older player, and you feel the window is getting shorter, you want to win now, and the GM has to build his team for the future.
“It’s a fine line to balance those things. I haven’t spent a lot of time with Brian off the field. Our conversations have given me a little insight into the man’s character.”
It also helped Rodgers see his vision for the Packers, which, over time, the quarterback found himself aligning with.
In their conversation, Gutekunst explained how, ideally, the Packers wanted to draft and develop their own, and take their cap space with players who came through their system. Rodgers replied that there is more that can be done. Gutekunst, for his part, understands his immediate success and agreed that Rodgers’ desire for more aggression was reasonable — the Randall Cobb trade, in some ways, was a sign of good faith.
“We’re still a developing team,” Rodgers said. “I know we say a lot; that’s the majority of the league, they would like to be like that. There are few teams like [former Washington teams] when they tried to buy a team in free agency for many years. You’d like to recruit guys and develop them and give them second contracts in-house. But there are needs and opportunities. I’ve always felt like adding one or two veteran guys or almost at least. they can really pay great dividends in key areas.
“I’ve relied on young guys for most of my career. There are pros and cons to both of those things. But I love Brian and his staff, and I think everyone in the building, myself included, has tried to He should focus on how to grow a little and to communicate a little.
That communication led to a lot of activity last fall. The Packers hit on players who were cut elsewhere – bringing in Texans pass rusher Whitney Mercilus and Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith. They also ran Odell Beckham Jr., when the Browns cut the star receiver.
And for all that, Gutekunst and the front office tried to go to another level regarding Rodgers’ opinion of possible moves. That doesn’t mean they’ll agree on everything, nor does it mean the quarterback will even take every possible deal. It was just that the simple act of involving him ensured that everyone would stay on the same page.
“It was just honest conversations that were really, really honest about where everybody was at,” Gutekunst said. “I’m very grateful. I don’t know if every player can do that and then he’s able to see it from different people’s point of view, like he was talking about. So yeah, I think from that point, it’s just kind of: Go ahead. It seems like forever ago, although it really wasn’t that long ago.
“But to be where we are now, I think it’s really safe for him, to be honest.”
Gutekunst added that players like Rodgers have information that no one else will know. GM says his department can easily integrate that information into what they do.
What’s really interesting, then, is where it got the Packers this season.
Why didn’t Rodgers make a big deal about the trade that sent Adams—perhaps the best receiver he’s ever played with and perhaps the best receiver in the league—to the Raiders? Mostly because he has been released to date. There was nothing surprising about Jordan Love’s recruiting process in 2020. So when the deal fell through, Rodgers knew all the reasons and how the transaction, as well as different perspectives.
The Packers then drafted two receivers that Rodgers already took — North Dakota State’s Christian Watson and Nevada’s Romeo Doubs — to try to make up the difference, and are still open to adding more to the receiver room. On the other hand, Rodgers likes how they have improved another part of the team, one that is not directly related to his own style of play.
“The one thing that’s most encouraging is the emphasis on the special teams that are there this year that aren’t there,” Rodgers said. “That’s absolutely not [Gutekunst], but we haven’t had a lot of straight forwards on our roster for a while. And there are two guys that have a chance to make the team that might fit that role a little bit more. “
Then I told Rodgers how that statement, coming from a quarterback, might surprise some people.
“Well, you can see some of the playoffs in my time – it’s three phases to win the game,” he replied. “Like last year, when the offense is playing bad and the defense is playing great, we just need to break even with teams. Same with some of the other playoff games we’ve had here.”
Rodgers, of course, wouldn’t have re-signed with the Packers, after opting out of a year on his contract as part of a deal to return to Green Bay in the summer of 2021, and then re-signing in March, if he thought LaFleur wasn’t the right coach. or Gutekunst wasn’t the right GM. He gets there both, if the former is faster than the latter.
He felt for a while in the dressing room.
Rodgers’ voice seemed to edge after I asked him who he was referring to when he said that last year made it clear who his allies were – and who was on the outside looking in.
“Everybody in the locker room is in my corner,” Rodgers said. “I’m talking outside of the locker room.”
The time he was referring to, implicitly, was when his decision not to vaccinate against COVID-19 became public. Those in the building knew and kept quiet for months. He broke the rules – deciding to appear in public at press conferences without a veil – to protect his privacy. Finally, when he was diagnosed with COVID-19, the truth came out.
Regardless of where you stand on Rodgers, and his decision, there’s little debate that he beat the court of public opinion in November when his condition came to light, and again when he went on The Pat McAfee Show and headlined it. – aside from the decision, citing advice from popular podcaster Joe Rogan.
He heard all this, even if he tried not to listen, it led him to look deeply at how he lived in himself, and what is important and what is not.
“It allowed me to sit with the feelings of sadness and depression and despair, and to feel deeply in my heart what their specific emotions are, and to be able to separate every need that I try so desperately. to love,” said Rodgers. “It’s not about caring less. It’s about choosing what to care about. It’s not really about what it feels like to live a life that isn’t influenced or influenced by external thoughts about yourself. It’s more about how that character feels.” can affect the way I look at other people.
“I can’t let my heart get into outside criticism and judgment and projection, and I have to balance that by making sure I don’t do the same thing to other people. So it was a great learning process for me to be able to look in the mirror first.” As these comments come, sit with them, then check with myself, and say, “What parts of my life am I doing that to others? So I’m very grateful for the experiences I’ve had and the lessons I’ve learned.” “
Then he paused and added, “It was hard, but very, very fun, too.”
It’s something Rodgers has thought about a lot, as he’s become more famous, the spotlight has gotten hotter on him, going back well before this happened. He had TVs all over his house, as many people do. He downed a bunch of them a while ago and filled his time by reading books, spending time with friends and even cooking.
So discussing his vaccination status, as he explained, didn’t really make him leave more than he already had, just as it helped organize the way he approached his life: “There’s very little. It’s something make it easy.”
Packers public relations Tom Fanning, assigned to Rodgers, still gives him tapes, and Rodgers will go through the headlines and read what he needs to, which proves he’s not trying to cut himself off from the normal cycle of being an NFL player. The difference, now, is where he invests his free time.
“I read a book by Mark Manson last year that talks a lot about it,” Rodgers said. “I really believe that indifference and laziness only rots your soul, because it is very difficult to take your feelings of indifference and pity seriously. those things, and the things that I don’t really care about, so I have to find a way to remove the emotions associated with them. You can never erase them, and you can’t just turn them off. They are there and there are some benefits.”
Manson, on the other hand, is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Secret Art of Not Giving F*ck: The Prevention Method for Living a Better Life.
Considering all this, the title of the book is very funny. But the key, Rodgers, is the second part. He feels, now more than ever, that he is finding a way to live as good a life as he can. And he’s doing it, at least this time of year, in Green Bay, as he has for the last 17 summers.
David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated
So if we put this together, an important question arises: Will it all come together to make Rodgers even better?
“I think it’s a must. I laugh. I find myself a lot more flexible,” he said before pointing to Cobb’s box. , a nice throwback now.”
Then I asked him if he chose Cobb because he knew Rodgers 1.0, so he has a vision of Rodgers 2.0. Rodgers smiled and replied, “I hope it’s more than 2.0. More like 22.0.”
Then the conversation turned to Rodgers’ hopes for the season. That’s when the comments came from the dressing room tables in the middle – which was the way he explained that while he wants a second title, he hopes more for the team he is with as he is the chaser himself. .
Part of this year’s search will involve a little more responsibility, due to the departures of Adams, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett (replaced by Adam Stenavich), passing game coordinator Luke Getsy (replaced by receivers coach Jason Vrable ) and the coach of the end of Justin Justin Out It is the responsibility that Rodgers has to accept, which he insists that he will manage normally and cannot deal with forcefully.
“I have to rely on side conversations with coach Vrable or Steno, conversations with Randall and Allen [Lazard], the leaders in that room,” Rodgers said. “And then when there are opportunities, it’s about getting to know guys in training camp, knowing what buttons you can push on them to take advantage of them. Some guys respond automatically to direct coaching. Some guys need are confirmation. Some men need kid gloves sometimes and a lot of kindness. This is when you know what their personality is.
“You’ve got a group of young people in the reception room. I’ve got my spider’s eye on those guys all the time; I know the conversations going on, and I jump in and give them specific things. As I told Christian, When I talk about the meeting, it’s probably the reason, and I’d be glad if you wrote it down, because it might not come out that day or that week, but at some point that little drop will go. Come on, and I need you to call me back.”
And this is why, when I brought up how Rodgers might be seen as aloof or out of touch at times, LaFleur smiled and replied, “He’s always been invested. And I don’t know why that perception is. , if it was available, it would be there for him. Maybe because he’s not here during OTAs. I’m sure that’s probably why. But he’s totally invested. He loves to do it.”
Which, if you really think about it, makes all the sense in the world.
Because if Rodgers didn’t like doing it, there would be no reason to work on all these relationships, agree and decide to stay in Green Bay in the first place. So in a way, his simple presence in the Packers locker room was the ultimate confirmation of everything he was saying.
“If I didn’t feel like being there, I would say, I’m done,” he said. “There was a time when I wanted to be a full-time contributor during the offseason. But since my schedule for the whole year is so adjusted. I found what works best for me. Spending time during the offseason in Southern California with my gym team and my coaches and “My physiotherapists and massage therapists are what get me ready to play. But when I get back here it’s about my focus this season.”
“I can never say that this is my last year or I will play two or three more. I will never hijack the team and pull anything. But I need to focus on this season, and then go away and see how I do. feeling and then making a decision. And then once I make a decision like I did this year, then I’m fully, 100% committed. Until I don’t want to do that, I’m going to keep playing.”
He added, “I really enjoyed the guys.”
That has always been the case, of course.
Now, though, he’s getting more respect in Green Bay than his teammates. And the hope is, after six months, all these relationships he’s worked on, and all the intangibles he’s prioritized since things happened two Januarys ago, will come together to bring the Packers real results.
Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase on the LSU team
LSU TEAMMATES PUSHING EACH OTHER
It’s only been 30 months since they won a national championship, and Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, between the two of them, have played three seasons in the NFL since then.
Their numbers are running averages per season: 92 catches, 1,490 yards, 10 TDs. Read also : Second Quarter Sees Slight Slowdown in Health Services.
So before last September, the bet they made might have seemed outrageous, or even a little arrogant, to anyone outside their circles. Jefferson just broke Randy Moss’ 22-year record for receiving yards as a rookie with 1,400. Chase swore he was going to, basically, get struck by lightning twice and break Jefferson’s mark next year. Jefferson told him to put his money where his mouth is. Chase won 1,455.
You know the rest. While Jefferson managed to catch more balls for more yards and more touchdowns than he had in 2020 (108/1,616/10), Chase teamed up with their collegiate, Joe Burrow, to fuel one of the most feared passing attacks. more in the NFL. and help lead the Bengals to a resurgence that ended maybe one block away from the Lombardi Trophy.
And September? Well, entering the 2022 season, you could argue that the NFL’s best duo could soon be two men sharing a meeting room in Baton Rouge. Both would already be among the top five, and that their quarterback is entering the same air produced in his place.
“I mean, we knew,” Chase said, smiling, a little over a week ago in Cincinnati’s locker room. “It’s not surprising to us, because we knew at the beginning of the year that we won the league. We said to ourselves, we could see: Either our defense was like that or we were really good. That’s how we knew it.”
So I took the opportunity on my trip to the Midwest to talk to the two guys, and after I did that, what stood out to me was how this happened to two people who have the same commitment to LSU’s older receiver tandem (Beckham and Jarvis) Landry. ) had. “It’s the same,” said Jefferson.
Both have potential, basically. You don’t become a first-round pick, or look physically fit early in an NFL career, without a lot of upside. But beyond that, both are like Burrow, pushing for more than just making it here in the first place. That was evident in how each man explained where he was in his development and even how they explained themselves.
I asked Jefferson, who is off to the best two-year start for a receiver in NFL history, what he sees when he rolls his tape in the 2020 and ’21 seasons. “I just see myself as a young player,” he replied. “I find myself a little bored on some tracks, thrown off balance coming out of the break.”
Compare that, then, with what his training says about him.
“He’s long and aggressive, full on the ball, explosive and attacking defenses,” Vikings OC Wes Phillips said in a statement. “He’s successful at all levels – deep, middle and low. He can go full speed and down and double a man, playing underneath. Great flexibility and balance. Hard worker. There are no High expectations!”
“Justin is unique because of his ability to play fast and be in an offensive style while also playing with great balance and route-running ability to win in multiple ways,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. added. “He’s got a lot of natural tricks, but he’s also really driven. He wants to be great.”
Which is where the rough assessment of his game comes in, and how his season has been focused. While working out at Florida Sports Hall, Jefferson wanted to keep his athleticism close to that of his former teammate Chase, so he reduced his calf and muscle strength building, and did more back squats. to get there. The idea is that he will be quicker and more explosive off the ball, off the break and after the catch.
Just as Jefferson was important in the area of his game where Chase excelled, Chase took a similar look at his tape and realized that the areas he needed work on were the areas Jefferson was really, really good at.
“I felt that I could improve in everything – not just catching, not just routes: All of the above was for the receiver,” he told me. “But what I worked on the most was trying to lose weight. That was something I always heard coming out of college; that was something I would always try to work on.”
Chase spent time at the Players’ Home, but most of his time away from Cincinnati was with his coaches in Austin. They went through the details to make the Bengals star better at throwing his hips when he changed direction, making him an easy runner. It means drilling slowly at first and increasing the speed over time so that the movement becomes natural.
And there was one more thing, shortly after the season, that Chase went to work. He avoided watching the Super Bowl for a while. Finally, at the beginning of May, at the start of the Bengals’ preseason program, he turned to watching it alone. Yes, on the Bengals’ last offense, Burrow checked Chase (“He actually checked me”), and, sure enough, if Aaron Donald didn’t do any harm on the play, the ball was going to him, wide open in the end zone.
Now he’s saying, “I can’t stay in that game. If I had to throw a pass, I’d have to walk away. So I’m going to treat that game the same way.” There is another play, though, a little while ago, that he really lived. Burrow made sure of that one too. The ball didn’t go his way, and, he explained, that was his fault: “I wasn’t ready, because I am tired.”
So on top of the technical work he had to do, he also focused on getting his conditioning level where it needed to be, working with team trainer Mo Wells in Austin. That included a flight of stairs that he couldn’t quite navigate, where he did 300, 250, 150, 100, a 150, a 100 and a 50. “That told me,” he said, “that I can find a better way.”
That shows the drive he’s got and why his coaches explain the way they do.
“Yeah, it’s not fake,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “I mean, he really, really wants to be the best receiver in the football. And he believes he can. … He’s not just coming to be a good player. He wants to be recognized as one of the best ever. And probably the best. He’s so driven, and I think that’s what attracted Joe and Ja’Marr to LSU. I think they started there. They are like-minded people.”
You can throw them in, too, of course.
They may be a little more conservative than they used to be. But they are not shy about where they want to go.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s what I hope to be. That’s my goal,” Chase said. “Not only to be the best, but I hope to one day be one of the greats. A Hall of Famer is something I want to be. Not only should it be good, but overall be one of the best ever. “
Jefferson, a few days later and 700 miles away repeated the sentiment: “I want to be a Hall of Famer. And, of course, I want to be a Super Bowl champion. That’s the biggest goal. I feel like if I don’t get that My career, I’m down. It’s what I want. Of course, I want that gold jacket at the end of my career.”
Maybe it’s a little too early for that kind of talk.
Then again, you’d be saying the same thing these guys were saying a year ago.
COLTS FEEL CLOSE
Points may also be painted on the field in Frank Reich’s fifth training camp as Indianapolis coach. He spoke directly to the team in April, when the Colts opened their regular season program. Read also : Will the wheel of time have a season 3 on Prime Video?. Owner Jim Irsay and GM Chris Ballard then spoke to the players as a whole as the team arrived at camp a short drive north of their practice facility in late August.
Get over it? When you look around here, that wasn’t really the message. In fact, Ballard and Cirsay told the players they have to own it and grow from it moving forward. So while the reminder is still there (and everywhere) for the players, the honest truth is that Reich, Ballard and Irsay are OK. while the wound is still open.
“So we have to move somewhere,” Reich told me after an evening practice in Grand Park. “Sir. Cirro, he talked to the team. He mentioned. Chris, he talked to the team. He mentioned. I said it back in April. Use it and change how hard it is. I think we’re all there. now, because, yes, OK, we’re moving on. But the analogy I used: Last year, it’s a scar. It’s never going to go away.
“So every time I look down, yup, there it is, the 2021 season. I’ll never forget it. You look down at that scar and it reminds me of what you’ve learned. It reminds me that that doesn’t define us.”
A loss like that, with the playoffs on the line, would hurt any team. The Colts had their worst passing yield, 233 yards, in more than two years. Their best play, opened by leading rusher Jonathan Taylor, was held to less than 100 yards. Carson Wentz was not effective, and Indy was affected by two important turnovers, not being able to score a single take.
But to really know how deep this one dug, and to understand the dark place that Irsay, Reich and Ballard have entered, context is needed. The team blew out the Bills four days before Thanksgiving; lost, but went toe-to-toe with the defending champion Buccaneers the week after; and cold-cocked Patriots a week before Christmas. Entering January, with two games remaining, it looked like Indy was a lock to make the playoffs. And even after the last loss to the Raiders in week 17, the fact that they had positions in Week 18 gave them a safety net.
Falling down was painful right then. But, months later, there is hope that it is spring for something bigger. At least, Reich can say that now it has already brought some tangible things – the most famous, of course, in the quarterback circle.
“When we came back in April, I used the phrase, I can’t change it, I won’t change it,” Reich said. “We have learned from it, we will be strong, and the fact has made me a better coach. It made us a better team. We probably made some moves on both sides of the ball that maybe wouldn’t have been made had we been in the playoffs. When you have the defeat you did at the end of last season? We know this team is built, we know we’re close, that’s what made the end of last year so unacceptable.
I think it gave us more determination, Chris and I and Mr. Irsay. As we discussed, we are not going back. We will not go back. I will not allow that to happen. more solutions Mr. Irsay, hey, do you want to get Matt Ryan? Let’s go to Matt Ryan. Stephon Gilmore? Let’s go to Stephon Gilmore. Yannick [Ngakoue]? Let’s find Yannick. I’m not sure we would have made all those moves if it had gone smoothly last year. “
Reich then added, “So we’re a better team. We’re ready.”
Yes, the quarterback change plays into Reich’s confidence big time — we did a story in June with Matt Ryan about why the coach is excited to see where the offense will go next.
But Reich isn’t just a quarterback change; It’s also a cheap way for the Colts to land Ryan in 2022. In terms of druthers, of course, it would have helped Andrew Luck the past three years and this year, too. However, there is a lot to take in, the team, from the team’s approach from Jacoby Brissett to Philip Rivers to Wentz and now Ryan.
In some ways, it reminds Reich of what it was like for him as a player in Buffalo. The build to what became the Bills in the early 1990s was tumultuous.
“When I was drafted in Buffalo in ’85, 2-14. Then we got Jim Kelly, and you think, O.K., we’re all good,” he said. “We went 4-12 the next year, then we went 7-8, then we went 12-4. We had a good team, then we got the quarterback we needed, but it still took a few years. This It doesn’t happen overnight. The first time Chris and I were here, we were rebuilding. And there’s a lot of last-to-first ever in this league.
“We have made good strides. We had a crush on Andrew. That was a bit of a setback. But I think we handled that the way we should have handled it. I think our team handled it, our organization handled it the right way. We’re proud of the way we handled it, we’re proud of the way Andrew handled it, and we fought and scratched and clawed to get it right. And every year we made what we thought were the best moves for our team to get there. …. I think this will be a good thing for us.”
We will know soon if it will be. But there’s no question these Colts feel a little overlooked. If anyone needs confirmation of that, Indy’s moves on Ryan, Ngakoue and Gilmore are, as Reich said, a sign of how the brass thinks he is.
Of course, they thought they were close last year, too. And they don’t want to forget.
BUILD-THE-BEARS
New Bears coach Matt Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles sat side by side at a conference table inside the newly renovated Halas Hall, and the first question I asked them both was whether they felt they had to fight the perception that their season was, basically, tear. See the article : F1 upgrades with ESPN US media rights until 2025.
Eberflus smiled and said, “If that view is there, we can’t control that. You will fight this view now. When we win, we will fight another view.”
Then he explained where the Bears were and said something interesting.
“The way we go about our business here is not for everyone,” he said. “It’s not easy. So the way we work, the way we put pressure on the field, the way our coaches ask our guys to retain information, it’s not for everybody. And we’ll find out, that’s what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to find out who the Chicago Bears are, in terms of the players, in terms of the people in the building. And if you’re a man who likes to work hard, that’s respect, and has the right attitude for success, guess what? You will post it.
“And if you’re not there, we’re going to go in another direction. And we have great guys. When I say great, these guys bought in 100%.
Can you see what I thought was interesting? He used the word respect.
“It’s important to me, just in my opinion. We’ve hired all these guys, and Ryan and I share the same vision of respecting the players and respecting everyone in the building,” he said. “But we’re also going to have standards. We will also have high expectations. And that’s why I brought you here, because you’re that quality player, and you’re a hard worker. It’s all the guys that we drafted, [Jaquan] Brisker, [Kyler] Gordon, Velus [Jones Jr.], all the guys that we signed … they have that makeup.”
Poles, for his part, also pushed back on the idea that the Bears are doing a poor job here: “I don’t see it that way. I think there’s a core of players here that can help us win. I think that A lot of lost is almost accepting to be an inferior group. The idea of ’tear-off’ in this quote? The winning culture part is important. … You see groups that are stuck in that vice, and they can’t get out.”
But there’s a reason people think that’s what’s going on.
The Bears jettisoned or let walk Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Allen Robinson and Eddie Goldman, among others. They have about $57 million in deductibles for players not currently on the roster. They got, once again, a new coach and GM. And in many ways, all that happened at once is understandable – it was time (and maybe even a year late) to turn the page on the team that made the playoffs in 2018 and ’20.
It is also understandable why, as the Poles say, they cannot allow that idea to enter the dressing room. Which is where we can bring back the “respect” part of the equation.
I think, deep down, Poles and Eberflus know there will be many bumps this year. I also think that they know that it is important to have the right atmosphere in the dressing room to overcome, which is why they are pushing back that vision, and even why it is important to find the right types. people who entered the dressing room this season.
It’s also why, as Eberflus points out, the small successes the new leaders are seeing along the way stand to become big over time. It’s when they saw the coaches Justin Fields coming to the building for the off week of the players and gathering the coaches to go out on the field to get some to throw when he tried to do his job. It’s Brisker, Gordon and Jones coming as advertised. It’s the secondary that is looking better sooner than most would expect because rookies like Brisker and Gordon have been ready to go.
“We have to have the right kind of people,” said Poles. “I believe that the more we include those who think the same way, who work in the same way, who are passionate about the game, who are really good friends and who are good in skill and physical characteristics, we can create a culture that is just it continues to grow, and grow with more men to add in. We’re already starting to see a little bit, where you don’t say much.
Poles then told a story about one time the coach put what the Bears call “accountability tape” up on the screen. He was showing his players and suddenly one of them in the back of the room asked him to stop watching.
“Hey,” the player said, “what about the corner on the other side? Did you see him behind him?
The tape showed the corner, away from play, rushing the ball. The coach then looked in the corner: “Good job.”
Now, of course, where Poles and Eberflus can take it from here will rest largely on how quickly they can turn around an aging roster from last year that is much younger now. But the hope is that they are already starting to tick one box.
“Because when you have a talented team that plays hard…” Poles began.
“That’s a winning formula,” Eberflus continued. “You have good systems. Our systems are good. The scheme we run on special teams and defense and offense, they are good schemes. So you add that piece, then the effort, the talent, and then you have it there.
What they have so far is similar moments when they drafted Jones out of Tennessee in the third round. The scouts liked him. Then she went to the coaches. Getsy (former Packers QB coach and now Bears OC) and the offensive staff were all in on how his ability to get down the field put pressure on receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet. Special teams coach Richard Hightower explained the value he can bring to the return game. So Poles and Eberflus raised a man they judged rightly.
“And the way we knew that was true,” Eberflus said, “was that we got 10 calls right after we drafted him.”
Poles smiled and said, “That’s the best feeling in the world.”
Of course, the Poles won the Super Bowl in Kansas City, so he knows who is better. That said, if things go as planned? He hopes these moments can lead to those.
TEN TAKEAWAYS
Don’t miss the gist of Roger Goodell’s baton passing on Deshaun Watson’s appeal to former New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey. I think the first reason he did it, obviously, is because it is a little more true to the spirit of the compromise of the league and the union that struck discipline during the negotiations of the CBA 2020. The NFLPA, of course, wanted a neutral process. Some of the owners, for their part (Cowboys’ Jerry Jones among them), wanted to get some out of that system anyway, if nothing else than to spare the league some form. of the embarrassing situations they have stumbled into over the past decade. If the first case Goodell came in and turned the clock back to ’19 by dropping his hammer, it would probably be very difficult for any player going forward to believe that the first phase of the new process applies at all. . So there is. But I also think about Harvey’s background in the league, and in general, matters. Check out his post here.
• He is a board member of Futures Without Violence, a non-profit organization “on the mission of ending domestic and sexual violence.”
He was elected to the league’s Diversity Advisory Board in March.
• He chaired a committee that looked hard at the NFL’s serious problem group, which, among other things, was charged with helping to protect women in such cases.
• He was one of four people assigned to the Ezekiel Elliott case in the league.
He was the hearing officer in the Washington vs. Former GM Scott McCloughan.
• Helped develop and write the NFL’s personal conduct policy following the suspension of Ray Rice.
• He also consults with other sports leagues.
Now, to Sue L. Robinson’s decision last week, my reading of it is this: She found Watson guilty of three charges in the four cases presented by the NFL, she called it sexual abuse but also “non-violent”. (which applies to the NFL). politics), and then she said that the preliminaries indicated that she could not exceed six games of suspension. Or, to put it simply, it was basically, You’ve proven your case, but if you’re going to be tougher than you were before, it’s going to be you, not me, doing it.
So now, the NFL is surely hoping to get the needle on Watson, while also avoiding a return to federal court. I think I’m going to, say, 10 games maybe do that. But in any case, it will not be the office of the league to do. It will be a man who helped write his policy with a deep history of such cases. Which can make it difficult for Watson, or the organization, to argue that the process was unfair (even considering that Harvey, unlike Robinson, is only working in this league).
In the Dolphins case, to me, it’s still about tanks. Look, is Miami’s flirtation with Tom Brady and Sean Payton over the board? Absolutely not. And they make a meritorious penalty. But a first and third round pick, a two-month suspension for the owner and a $1.50 fine, in addition to both Stephen Ross and minority owner Bruce Beal being banned from NFL events for the rest of the year? Yeah, I’d say that’s a little higher.
So, no, I don’t think it’s out of the question to consider the fines, at least, for all the Miami violations, holding and interference combined. The league can’t imagine that the games are not going up, and I’m sure that other owners don’t want to set precedents here that could lead to their clubs losing their teams… ahem… creative rebuilding. So producing Brady and Payton’s interference (remember, we reported back in June that Miami’s offer for Payton was $100 million over four years) allowed the league to say, Hey, look here!! while still finding Ross guilty of what Brian Flores accused him of. That Flores did not allow the tank to happen, of course, does not excuse Ross for what he was accused of, just as he said he was joking.
Remember, this is not something that came out of nowhere. We all know what the Dolphins are doing in 2019, when they downsized the roster – at that time, rumors were circulating in NFL circles that Ross became addicted to the plan the Sixers implemented (the “System” in the NBA). So we know what happened. It’s not a big crime, of course. But the NFL can’t let it happen. And maybe even more, they can’t let the public think it’s happening. Which I think is how we got to where we were when the penalties were announced on Tuesday.
Speaking of the Dolphins, they are one of several teams that already appear to be involved in the trade market ahead of Week 1. Things should heat up as injuries start to occur and preseason games begin to be played. But Miami has already worked here with more than a prominent position. They talked to other teams about getting veterans Preston Williams and Lynn Bowden Jr. Williams showed plenty of promise as a rookie, with 32 catches for 428 yards and three touchdowns, but has leveled off since. Bowden came out of Kentucky as a sort of Swiss Army offensive weapon, serving as a receiver, punt returner and punter in college. He was taken in the third round by the Raiders and traded to Miami before Week 1 of his rookie year, and has struggled to find a spot and battled injuries since. So maybe someone out there will see something in either of these two and wave. However, it’s probably wise for the Dolphins to get out in front of the fence on names that might hit the trade market later this month.
Here is a surprising achievement that I did not think about until this trip: This year Andy Reid will be the first coach to make at least ten years in charge of two companies. This season is his 10th in Kansas City after a 14-year run in Philadelphia. I don’t know what made me think of it, but I did watch The Commander in Chief on Wednesday, before I looked it up and found that, yup, he’s the only guy who does it. When I brought it up to Reid himself, he smiled sheepishly and said, “Come on, man…” before he hesitated a little, acknowledging the run he’d been through. “First of all, I was lucky enough to work for two great organizations,” he said. “And then it had great owners and front office people. Then the general managers and the players worked well for me, so I was lucky. I didn’t think about the rest. But I enjoyed working in both areas.”
By doing so far, I think Reid has become something else as well. Without being too dramatic, he really is kind of the Godfather of NFL coaches. When John Madden passed away earlier this year, I spoke to several coaches who knew him, and they told me what a great tribute he was to all those who came after him. Two of them then added how close Reid is to Madden and how, very naturally, Reid was a great place to pick up from Madden as that guy. “You try to [help others],” Reid said. “It’s a great game. We are going through those times. I want to give it to the players. I want to be able to give it to the coaches—without getting bored. There’s nothing worse than an old man saying, Hey, I like this story! I try not to do that. But if someone asks me, I will give them everything I have. “And I know for that reason, he is a valued member of his fraternity.
The Kareem Hunt trade request is understandable. I’m never going back to trying to get every penny I can while the tires are still on – because they can suddenly pop out of that position. I’m just not sure where this will go from here, and it’s not just because the Browns have already said no. Hunt was cut by the Chiefs in 2018, after video of his attack surfaced. He signed with the Browns in February, served an eight-game suspension, played well down the stretch and was hit with a second-round offer as a restricted free agent in March ’20. He then signed a two-year contract extension, which made him less than $15 million on a three-year deal. Good, not a lot of money.
Two years later, at the age of 27, coming out of a bad injury in 2022, I totally get why he wants one more bite of the apple. I, too, would worry that this year, when it’s enough for $6.25 in cash, might be the last one that I’ll make money at the rate I’ve made the past two years. And to me the root of that concern is probably why the Browns said no. To count internal causes:
1) The team that trades him will have to be comfortable paying him the money he wants or fork over one year. That in itself limits the kind of return Cleveland can get.
2) The Browns already paid $1.5 million of the aforementioned $6.25 million, in the form of a roster bonus in April.
3) Cleveland will likely rely on its running game early regardless of Watson’s absence.
4) There is a lot of mileage in Nick Chubb’s legs, and the depth behind him is important to manage properly.
In the end, if you look at all of this, the pros of the business (3rd day pickup?) may not outweigh the cons. So while I fully understand why Hunt would do this, I also see where it doesn’t make sense for the Browns to move under the current circumstances.
One deal always affects the next. Christian Kirk’s deal with Jacksonville went like a Hindenburg for other teams in March – that a receiver who didn’t post more than one 1,000-yard season will land a four-year, $72 million contract will surely create. Conflict with other players who are good but not good for the overall league position. After five months, do you believe it actually helped a team? That’s how I view the Diontae Johnson contract. But before we get into the details of why Kirk’s deal was good for the Steelers, here’s a look at those two’s numbers from last year…
• Johnson: 107 catches, 1,161 yards, 8 TDs.
• Kirk: 77 catches, 982 yards, 5 TDs.
So Johnson was fine. But Kirk was also a free agent; Johnson was not. And Johnson didn’t give the team the longevity that Kirk did—Johnson could hit free agency seeking a third contract after his sixth year, while Kirk couldn’t until after his eighth year. All of this is even a little out of the question. What matters is where the market is placed. Kirk gave the Steelers a number they could work with that didn’t think Johnson was at the level of Terry McLaurin, DK Metcalf, Deebo Samuel and A.J. Brown. And Johnson was willing to accept that, with a chance to prove that he might be able to reach that level and, if he did, command a big payout soon. So the two year, $36.71 million raise for me, is all good.
After talking to Pete Carroll on Friday, I’m not sure the Seahawks are close to making a call on the starting quarterback. At that point, Geno Smith was getting almost all of the first-team reps, and Drew Lock was mostly with the second team. Both have a lot left to prove. Smith that the game slowed him down. Lock has the mental side where he needs to be, after playing with a lot of noise in Denver, and his foot is fixed. That’s why when I asked Carroll if he felt he needed to announce the start of a certain date, to let the team know who will be the quarterback, he answered the question.
“It’s fun to watch. These guys are really talented, and they’re doing things every day. I know everybody’s watching them, and they know that, too, that… everybody’s going to be watching them. That it’s the way it should be,” he said. “We’ve been there before. I’ve done it a few times. This is nothing new to be involved, but there is patience required. You have to look at the returns and the opportunities and weigh them up. all when it’s that close, because all three of our guys [including Jacob Eason] can throw the football. They can all understand the offense. They can all take responsibility. All of that, that’s even It’s not about guys. So who’s going to finish on top, who’s going to make the plays, who’s going to come through when we need them the most? It’s going to take time to figure that out.”
So, for me, the next question naturally was whether he needed to meet Lock in the first team in the coming weeks. “That was always part of the plan, to make sure we even looked at what was going on,” he said. “Geno has been outstanding. He’s been here the longest. He’s got the background. He can make all the throws, and he’s done a great job so far. But we’ve got to do a great job of making sure we’ve got good information. , so we have to strike a balance.” Which, again, will probably take time, given the disparity in first-team averages so far.
On the other side of NFC West quarterback limbo, I don’t see a big rush on the part of the 49ers to move Jimmy Garoppolo. I think part of him being held back, this time, is concerned that his cut will lead directly to the aforementioned Seattle quarterback derby, which won’t be good for San Francisco. And my feeling is the 49ers still think they can get something, even if it’s just a late pick, telling him where he’s going. Meanwhile, it’s not all good for Garoppolo. While he’s on the Niners’ roster—and they can keep him until Monday in Week 1, when his ‘Paragraph 5 salary’ (base salary) of $24.2 million is fully guaranteed—the less time he has to adjust to win playing time with a team. new. Of course, there is a chance that an injury will shake things up elsewhere. But situations like the Vikings in 2016 don’t happen every year. So, for now, he will continue to rehab in Santa Clara and await news of his fate like the rest of us. I can say that the Niners still think he’s a great player, which is part of the equation of not letting him walk on anything.
While we’re there, I hope everyone is careful about overreacting to what’s happening in training camp culture. And I say as someone who passed the inspection of 13 training camps it should stop now. Garoppolo happens to be a great case study in that. Before the 2019 season, he had bad behavior after bad behavior, and was amassing a terrifying total that was being singled out on social media as if it were October stats.
So what was really happening there? Garoppolo is coming back from a torn ACL, and the team has been throwing him the kitchen sink in practice in an attempt to speed up his reintegration into real football. And the Niners wound up going to the Super Bowl. That, by the way, doesn’t mean all training camp scouting is worthless. There are tons of beat writers who do amazing work, with the context of being there every day. It just shouldn’t be taken as some kind of preview of how the season will play out, mostly because different coaches have different goals in how they handle any given practice.
Want some fast-track camping tracks? We’ve got your quick ones right here.
• Josh Jacobs’ workload in the Hall of Fame game definitely caught my attention. Josh McDaniels didn’t lie when he said that it helps them to come back to play in the preseason, to prepare them to see the game as soon as the regular season goes on. Still, that game, as an addition to the team’s regular season schedule, is always a special part of the save.
• I liked what I saw from No. 1 Travon Walker in that game. As for me, I’m starting to think Khalil Mack is the perfect comp for him. And one thing to keep in mind—what you hear about Georgia players, especially on defense, is that they came out of Athens almost as “survivors” of that program. It’s a tough place to play, and, as a result, the guys who make it to the NFL are prepared for the requirements of being a football player. Walker looks like he is.
• Duane Brown’s visit to the Jets caught my attention, because I can’t imagine the five-time Pro Bowl left tackle going there as a backup. Mekhi Becton was drafted by Tristan Wirfs in 2020 to play left tackle, and that didn’t really work out. So he’s in at right tackle, George Fant at left tackle, and now the wheels are being kicked on other options. That’s why the Jets considered taking NC State’s Ickey Ekwonu with the fourth round pick in April.
• I’m at Rams camp on Monday, and I’m interested in seeing Matthew Stafford. I have no reason to believe that the brass over there is really optimistic that his elbow pain will go away. But I’ve also seen enough to know that any kind of injury to a quarterback’s throwing shoulder or arm shouldn’t be dismissed unless, well, it’s appropriate to be dismissed.
Good to hear Michael Thomas is back to being Michael Thomas in New Orleans. And with the good return of Chris Olave, it’s enough to think that if Jameis Winston’s knee is right, he’s got a chance to have a big year. Along those lines, as rookie tackle Trevor Penning, who was among the Warriors in training camp last week, progress is critical for that to happen, too.
One thing I forgot to mention about Green Bay: Doubt can legitimately win the rebounding job. Why do you care about that? Well, we told you how amazing the fourth round receiver was. And that he would be assigned to succeed in that particular role on special teams, which requires moving quickly in tight spaces, should give you an idea of the movement skills he possesses for a man who stands 6’2″ tall. 200 pounds.
• Dareke Young is a fun dark horse for you. The seventh-round pick of the Seahawks, until last year, was a winger for Division II Lenoir-Rhyne’s Delaware wing T, and he finished his college career with 88 runs on just 73 runs. But if you go back to his last full season (COVID-19 wiped out 2020, and he was injured most of last year), he had 12 touchdowns on 74 offensive touches. A very good percentage. His height-for-weight-speed (he’s 6’2″, 224 pounds) has gotten the attention of teammates at camp. Keep an eye on that one.
I’d say that Matt Rhule now announcing that he won’t be named the starter for another two weeks is a pretty sure sign that the Panthers want to give Baker Mayfield every chance to win the job.
If this is the Calais Campbell of last year, it was one hell of a ride. A better player, a better man is a cliché. But as we know from Campbell, it certainly applies in this case.
Happy birthday to Tom Brady, who made it to his stated goal of playing at age 45. Fun fact: That number is not arbitrary. It is one of Brady’s pitching coaches, Tom House, he came up with years ago, and is based on the skills of former Rangers Nolan Ryan (House put eight years in comedy, and then became the Texas field coach).
Forty-five, Guri will tell you, is the age when the body’s ability to recover decreases to the point where it’s very difficult to perform consistently like a professional athlete. So… might Brady want to challenge that idea next year?
SIX FROM THE SIDELINE
1) It still amazes me that a good 23 year old like Juan Soto needs to be traded because he is not getting a decent contract with a team that plays in… Washington, D.C. And now San Diego is the big market team?
2) It seems to me that this is probably not a very good time to give LeBron James two more years of almost $100 million, if you are the Lakers. He turns 38 in December. He has 19 seasons in his legs. And I don’t know how you’re going to build real competition around that number if it starts to slip. Maybe he’s like Brady and he won’t. That just doesn’t seem as likely as a small forward as it could be for a quarterback.
3) From a draft standpoint, the next two weeks are really important for NFL teams. It’s when scouts, make school calls, get the best information from coaches (who are all undefeated and have plenty of time) and see real football in action (which isn’t always the case during the season). ).
4) While we’re at it, as we all begin to talk about next year’s quarterback, Spencer Rattler’s story is one to keep in mind. In August, some thought he would be a first-round pick. In October, he was put on the bench. Two months later, he transferred from Oklahoma to South Carolina. So are there any promising guys who will be eligible next spring? Yes But I’m not sure there are certain things.
5) Denver looks like a healthy place to live. And El Five is a great place to eat.
6) If I tore the 630 miles from North Carolina to Nantucket, I don’t think I’d be able to come back and paddle the 250 miles back to Long Island. Maybe that’s just me!
BEST OF THE NFL INTERNET
The Panthers practiced at Gaffney (SC) High last week. And what a wonderful idea it was.
It’s really cool that the Hall of Fame has done this – with former Canton McKinley quarterback Josh McDaniels stepping aside for his father, Thom, in his first game as a Raiders coach.
Taking a gun on Uber is definitely a veteran move.
Me too. Fergie needs to explain her role in the intervention.
I just love that this is a Mike Davis pinned tweet.
Garrett Wilson is definitely better at football than football.
Lategate offenders Randy Moss, Adalius Thomas, Gary Guyton and Derrick Burgess will understand what Richagu is saying.
I have no idea how Bryant Young kept this together.
Best line I’ve seen in a speech (actually I was at 49ers practice when they were playing… so… shhhhh… I haven’t seen it yet).
This was a rosary. But the Bills need to kill some of the 1990s throwbacks, now that the cap rules have changed.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
I have four more stops left—Rams, Cowboys, Cardinals, Raiders—on the first round of my camp trip. That would bring me to 17 teams. And we’ve got information about each of them on the site every day, so be sure to check those out, and we’ll keep them coming.
(I’m at the point in the journey where I don’t remember what city I’m in when I wake up. Home soon, though!)
• Deshaun Watson’s charges should last the rest of his career • Is the NFL ready for the return of Donald Trump?
