NFL News

[jaadam4]

John Mara “not happy” Giants are hosting Monday night game on Rosh Hashanah

Posted by Charean Williams on May 17, 2022, 7:10 PM EDT

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The Giants asked the NFL not to give them a home game in Week 3 of the 2022 season. League schedule-makers did not grant the request, with the Giants playing the Cowboys on Monday Night Football on Sept. 26 at MetLife Stadium.

That will prohibit Jewish fans wishing to observe the High Holiday of Rosh Hashanah from attending one of the most highly anticipated games of the Giants’ home schedule.

“I am well aware of that and not happy about it,” John Mara, the Giants co-owner, told Paul Schwartz of The New York Post on Tuesday. “I made my feelings known to the league as soon as I saw the schedule. We have always requested the league take the Jewish High Holy Days into consideration when formulating our schedule. Not sure why it happened this year.”

The 32 teams annually give the league blackout dates when it is unable to host a game. They also can request things such as a bye week after an international game or back-to-back games on the West Coast or, in the Giants’ case, not having a game on Rosh Hashanah.

“We are never able to accommodate every request,” Howard Katz, the NFL’s senior vice president of broadcasting and the leader of the group that puts together the schedule, told The Post. “It’s a pretty complex puzzle we put together.

“Mr. Mara absolutely this year and every year when the Jewish holidays fall on football days, he always asks to avoid the Jewish holidays. He certainly did. In this particular case we were not able to accommodate that request.”

A Monday night home game on Rosh Hashanah against the Cowboys in 1998 prompted the Giants to begin requesting to play on the road during the Jewish High Holy Days.

I'm sure all of the money that they're making will ease his anger. Poor rich guy

[edindetroit]

We will we will rock you.

[Futureshock]

Report: Marquise Goodwin agrees to terms with Seahawks

Posted by Charean Williams on May 22, 2022, 11:00 PM EDT

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The Seahawks have agreed to terms with free agent receiver Marquise Goodwin, Michael-Shawn Dugar of TheAthletic.com reports.

The team had an open roster spot after waiving fourth quarterback Levi Lewis on Friday.

Goodwin spent last season with the Bears and made 20 receptions for 313 yards and a touchdown in 14 games. He played 393 offensive snaps.

The Bills made Goodwin a third-round choice in 2013, and he spent four seasons in Buffalo before going to San Francisco. His best season came in 2017 with the 49ers when he caught 56 passes for 962 yards and two touchdowns.

He joins the competition behind Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf and Dee Eskridge. The Seahawks also have Freddie Swain and Penny Hart and seventh-round picks Bo Melton and Dareke Young.

[Futureshock]

George Kittle is working on Josh Allen, Zach Wilson to attend Tight End University

Posted by Mike Florio on May 22, 2022, 7:05 PM EDT

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It’s hard to pull of Tight End University with out a QB1 (or two) there to throw footballs. George Kittle and company have taken that into consideration for the second year of the tight end conclave.

Kittle told #PFTPM on Friday that a group of quarterbacks will be attending. Former 49ers Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard will be there. Current 49ers quarterback Trey Lance is also making the trip.

Two others have not yet committed: Zach Wilson of the Jets and Josh Allen of the Bills.

‘You can help me peer pressure him,” Kittle said, “but Zach Wilson is at about 99 percent. He’s trying to decide if he wants to come back from Cabo or not. I was like, ‘Zach, you’re going to come back from Cabo,’ so if you want to help me influence him a little bit. Then the last one I’m working on, Josh Allen’s trying to see if he can make it work. Hopefully, we have a handful of awesome quarterbacks there who could also talk to us about running routes and what they see out there.”

Kittle agreed that Allen could play tight end if he wanted to. And he could. He’s doing just fine at his current position, however.

Tight End University happens in Nashville from June 22-24. Kittle, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and former NFL tight end Greg Olsen established the event in 2021.

[Futureshock]

Jadeveon Clowney returns to the Browns

Posted by Mike Florio on May 22, 2022, 1:28 PM EDT

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The Browns once again have three No. 1 overall picks under contract.

Per multiple reports, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney has agreed to terms with the Browns. It will be his second season in Cleveland.

Clowney, the first pick in 2014, joins Myles Garrett, the first pick in 2017, and Baker Mayfield, the first pick in 2018. Mayfield isn’t expected to be there when the season begins. At this point, it’s unclear whether they’ll trade him, release him, or keep him.

Appearing in 14 games last season for the Browns, Clowney had 9.0 sacks.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that it’s a one-year, $11 million deal. We’ll see whether the details match that amount; it’s possible some of the $11 million comes in the form of incentives.

[Futureshock]

Saban vs. Fisher brought back memories of Schwartz vs. Harbaugh

Posted by Mike Florio on May 22, 2022, 10:20 AM EDT

USA TODAY Sports

[Editor’s note: The recent dust-up between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher, two of college football’s most prominent coaches, made me wish that something similar would happen among NFL coaches. Eleven years ago, it sort of did. After a regular-season game between the 49ers and Lions, San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh and Detroit coach Jim Schwartz had an interaction that became a full-blown brouhaha. Coincidentally, the Schartz vs. Harbaugh incident became one of the 100-plus chapters in Playmakers. So, with the express written consent of the fine folks at Hachette, I’ve copied and pasted the chapter. If you like what you see, you can see more that you’ll like when you buy Playmakers.]

IN THE EARLY portions of the past decade, John and Jim Harbaugh had become two of the most accomplished coaches in the NFL. Both have reputations for being fiercely intense and competitive. In 2011, that intensity and competition led one of them to cause a minor melee in Michigan.

Those who know both men—Jim coached the 49ers from 2011 through 2014, and John has coached the Ravens since 2008—claim that they possess equal fire but that John usually does a better job of keeping it under wraps (except, for example, when the lights went out in the second half of Super Bowl XLVII, which pitted brothers against each other for the first time ever in the league’s championship game). Jim, on the other hand, typically wears his heart, mind, ego, and temper on his sleeve.

It came to a head in Jim’s sixth game as coach of the 49ers. And it had its roots in an offseason dinner with the coach of his opponent that day. At the NFL’s annual meeting in March, not long after a lockout that would wipe out the offseason had commenced, Lions coach Jim Schwartz lectured Jim Harbaugh on the challenges of being competitive in his first season on the job given the lack of opportunities to practice from April into June.

“We were having dinner the other night, and Jim Schwartz told [Jim] basically there’s no way you’re going to be able to get it done [if the lockout lasts into the summer],” John Harbaugh said at the time. “[Schwartz] told him there’s no way you’re going to be able to accomplish what you need to accomplish in two weeks if this thing lasts a while. Jim [Harbaugh] just kind of bit his tongue, which is what you’ve got to do in this situation. Because there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Jim Harbaugh had a chance to do something about it when the 49ers visited the Lions on October 16, 2011. Detroit had started 5–0 for the first time since 1956. The 49ers unexpectedly had won four of five games to start the year but were 4.5-point underdogs.

Regardless of whether Jim Harbaugh still had the offseason condescension from Schwartz in mind (and surely Harbaugh did), another incident laid the foundation for what was eventually to come. After Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with tight end Brandon Pettigrew on a 16-yard touchdown pass, Jim Harbaugh threw the red challenge flag. That year, however, the league had passed a rule making all scoring plays automatically reviewable. Harbaugh drew a 15-yard penalty for challenging a play that coaches no longer could challenge. On the other sideline, Schwartz taunted Harbaugh, strutting and preening and shouting “Know the rules” at Harbaugh, whose expression suggested that he was more dumbfounded by the development than disrespected by Schwartz.

The touchdown plus the extra point had given the Lions a 10–0 lead. The 49ers, however, managed to erase the deficit, to take the lead, and to hold the lead, winning the game 25–19 and dropping Detroit to 5–1.

That was when things became interesting. Harbaugh got excited. The TV copy shows him pulling up his shirt to reveal a ghostly white midsection. But Harbaugh wasn’t trying to show off his incipient dad bod; the gesture came from a gimmick Harbaugh had hatched to inspire a blue-collar work ethic in his players.

After the initial rosters for the season had become set, Harbaugh had work shirts made for all players and coaches. Dark blue, short sleeved, with a name plate stitched over a pocket. Harbaugh had explained that the 49ers would be a rough-and-tough team that earned each day’s pay. And, like blue-collar workers, they’d come home, kiss the wife and kids, grab a beer, sit in a favorite chair, untuck the work shirt, and watch TV. Harbaugh, in his excitement, untucked his shirt as a nod to the hard day of work that had led to an upset win in Detroit.

The excitement continued into a hard postgame handshake with Schwartz, followed by a slap on Schwartz’s back. Schwartz called out to Harbaugh, Harbaugh said something back to Schwartz, and Schwartz then followed Harbaugh, chasing him in order to confront him (or, at a minimum, to create the impression that he was trying to confront Harbaugh).

Officials and players and photographers and even 49ers PR director Bob Lange (in full suit and tie) scurried to keep Schwartz from getting too close to Harbaugh. The team congregated at the lone tunnel to the locker rooms, and cooler heads eventually prevailed.

Not everyone wanted things to quiet down so easily. When 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman realized what was about to happen, a team official cautioned him, “Be smart.” So Bowman put his helmet on and buckled his chinstrap before running to the middle of the action.

Ultimately, there was not much action. The incident, however, is one of the biggest examples from the past twenty years of the manner in which competitive drive mixed with toughness, real or contrived, can spill beyond the players to the coaches, causing one to be perhaps a little too exuberant and forcing the other to try (or at least to seem to try) to confront his foe with physical force.

For Schwartz, it was good that his effort was unsuccessful, or at least inauthentic. Harbaugh, a first-round draft pick of the Bears and long-time NFL quarterback, likely would have made quick work of Schwartz, a Division III linebacker at Georgetown who never played a down of football beyond college.

[This article is an from Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn’t) by Mike Florio © 2022. Available from PublicAffairs, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.]

[Futureshock]

Fans are... fanatical. Too bad for the kids


A.J. Brown says his peace is being threatened because he was traded

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 20, 2022, 3:47 PM EDT

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Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown released a statement today about unspecified concerns he has related to fan reaction to his trade from the Titans.

Apparently referencing a football camp in Tennessee that he has decided to pull out of, Brown said that he was sorry to the kids attempting the camp, but felt he had no choice because of the way some adults in Tennessee have acted toward him since he moved on to Philadelphia.

“I’m so sorry I let down your kids and many others but I will not put myself in a place where my peace is going to be threatened by adults who feel a way because I was traded,” Brown wrote. “I’m every bad word it is for taking care of MY FAMILY! if you’re not aware just look on social media. I’m a man first and I will always do what I feel is right for me and my family. People are upset and that’s fine but it’s not that serious when it comes to me. People can disrespect me on social media and that’s fine but being disrespectful to my face is whole another things and I’m not tolerating it on any level. So forgive me for not putting myself in a place where my peace could be threatened because if something happens and I react, I’m the one who has everything to lose and not willing to risk my peace, my family, or my job.

“I would love to make everyone children’s day but not if I’m putting my own at risk. Please don’t say nothing is going to happen because nobody knows that. I’m sure someone will still have a problem with this and that’s fine as well. If you can’t understand that then it’s because you don’t want to. Take care! Love.”

As is often the case for pro athletes who change teams, Brown has taken some social media abuse from fans of his former team. And Brown has decided to avoid appearances in Tennessee, to prevent that social media abuse from moving into real life.

[Futureshock]

Naw man. FMP is pulling strings. 3rd round = 1st round to that so-called genius. Even the draftee knows it was a major reach

Cole Strange asked “Is this a prank?” when Patriots called him on draft night

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 20, 2022, 12:38 PM EDT

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Everyone was surprised when the Patriots drafted Chattanooga guard Cole Strange in the first round. Including Strange himself.

In fact, Strange wondered if he was being pranked when he got a call from an unknown number and the voice on the other line said he was from the Patriots, letting Strange know he was going to New England with the 29th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Cole’s father Greg Strange told MassLive.com that the call came as a shock.

“[Cole] said, ‘Sir, I don’t mean to be disrespectful at all, but I’ve gotta know because I’ve got some crazy friends. Is this a prank?’ The guy said, ‘Hold on just a second.’ And then Bill Belichick got on the phone and of course, unless you’ve been under a rock for the last 20 years, you know Bill Belichick’s voice,” Greg Strange said. “As soon as I heard Bill Belichick’s voice, Cole and I both started screaming and hugging and acting crazy. Probably saying a bunch of inappropriate stuff. We were so excited. To his credit, you’ve gotta love the guy, Belichick is sitting there and when we got through, the first break he had, he said, ‘Hey Cole, you’ve gotta act like you’ve been there, man.’ It was classic to us. We absolutely loved it.”

Strange was not expected to be a first-round pick, and Belichick took some criticism for a pick that many viewed as a reach. Even Strange didn’t see it coming.

[Futureshock]

Treylon Burks didn’t make it through first practice in the heat

Posted by Charean Williams on May 13, 2022, 5:42 PM EDT

USA TODAY Sports

It was 86 degrees at Saint Thomas Sports Park as the Titans took the field for the first day of their rookie minicamp. Rookie receiver Treylon Burks didn’t make it through.

Burks was laboring in team drills, according to multiple reports, with breathing difficulties before going inside. He later returned, ran a few routes and worked with receivers coach Rob Moore on his releases and head fakes before heading back inside. Burks did not return the second time.

“I think it’s hard to think that they can recreate, with a trainer, how we do things, and we see that with guys that have come back and started with our offseason program and guys that have joined a few weeks in. It’s just different,” coach Mike Vrabel said, via video from Paul Kuharsky of paulkuharsky.com. “I know that they’re working, and they think they are trying to get in shape, but that’s just not the case. That’s something we have to focus on and try to make sure we’re getting some work in, but with all of them, we’re trying to be as smart as we possibly can.”

Vrabel deferred to trainer Todd Toriscelli on Burks’ condition.

“If he’s out there tomorrow, we’ll coach him up,” Vrabel said.

[Futureshock]

DANIEL SNYDERO, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
USA Today's Jarrett Bell reports NFL owners are "counting votes" on potentially removing Commanders owner Dan Snyder.


Bell's source is an anonymous NFL owner. By "counting votes", the owner is alluding to the fact that 24 franchises would need to vote Snyder out, and the cohort that wants him gone is seeing if they have the numbers necessary to make it happen. An official vote has yet to occur. The move stems from an ongoing investigation into the Commanders that alleges they cheated other teams out of ticket revenue which is shared amongst the franchises. The allegation adds that the team withheld as much as $5 million in refundable deposits from season ticket holders. Washington has also been investigated for fostering a culture of sexual harassment. Snyder's reign as the Commanders' owner has been marred by an unending series of scandals. His mismanagement of the team may finally come to an end if the rest of the league has had enough. Snyder would be forced to sell the franchise if he is successfully voted out.

... See More
SOURCE: USA Today
May 21, 2022, 8:05 PM

[Futureshock]

I am so surprised. Not...


TRAVON WALKEREDGE, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Jaguars EDGE Travon Walker has lined up at outside linebacker in rookie minicamps.

The Jaguars are moving Walker to strong-side linebacker after he was a five-technique end at Georgia. Dropping into coverage isn't something Walker has done a lot of, but the rookie has prototype size and speed for the position in the NFL. There are some reasons for concern, however, as Walker was more of an interior run stopper in college, with a better Combine than track record of production. Walker and fourth-year LB Josh Allen will set the edge for a Jacksonville defense that generated the sixth fewest sacks in the league last season.

SOURCE: jaguars.com
May 21, 2022, 10:25 AM

[chemiclord]

I guess... if that was Jacksonville's goal, then I suppose it made sense to get the guy with the best measurables if you're going to move them out of their college position?

[JGSpartan]

It plays into what his strengths were in college but it's a gamble either way. They are either gambling on his pass rush skills improving or that he can pick up pass coverage without experience in it. The potential is there though. They'll either look like geniuses or idiots.

[Futureshock]

I guess... if that was Jacksonville's goal, then I suppose it made sense to get the guy with the best measurables if you're going to move them out of their college position?

Well, it plays to his known strengths. Get him in space and tell him to be aggressive to the ball. At Georgia he passively made tackles after the ball carrier crossed the LOS. And truthfully told he has the best LB skills of the big 3 Edges (from the 2022 draft). His film pops when you watch the snaps from off the ball.

I still do not think his value is better than Hutch or KT.

[Futureshock]

Ole Danny boy is in trouble....


DANIEL SNYDERO, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
USA Today's Jarrett Bell reports NFL owners are "counting votes" on potentially removing Commanders owner Dan Snyder.

Bell's source is an anonymous NFL owner. By "counting votes", the owner is alluding to the fact that 24 franchises would need to vote Snyder out, and the cohort that wants him gone is seeing if they have the numbers necessary to make it happen. An official vote has yet to occur. The move stems from an ongoing investigation into the Commanders that alleges they cheated other teams out of ticket revenue which is shared amongst the franchises. The allegation adds that the team withheld as much as $5 million in refundable deposits from season ticket holders. Washington has also been investigated for fostering a culture of sexual harassment. Snyder's reign as the Commanders' owner has been marred by an unending series of scandals. His mismanagement of the team may finally come to an end if the rest of the league has had enough. Snyder would be forced to sell the franchise if he is successfully voted out.

SOURCE: USA Today
May 21, 2022, 8:05 PM