NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I was big on shortwave in the '80s and '90s and assisted with a ham radio convention for a couple of years in the mid-80s.



Since we also have a bunch of musicians here, how I first got into shortwave is amusing.

I played keyboards, and at one point I bought a used mixing console from a classified ad - a 16-channel Peavey with one of the mains in place and the other either removed or simply never installed, and screws still embedded in the back (pointy end exposed) from where it had been attached to a wall or a mixing desk. It was a seriously heavy fucker with lopsided weight distribution since it only had the one amp on the left side.

One night I hooked my keyboards into this mixer, sent the output to a Roland amp, ran a cable from that amp's headphone out to a Fostex 4-track, and listened through headphones connected to the Fostex. I needed a quiet background (among other things, I was working on a version of Tubular Bells) but I was getting some kind of random interference noise. It wasn't a 60-cycle hum or any kind of faulty cable thing that I could identify. More of a random flutter, too quiet to make anything out of it but just loud enough to interfere with a soft piano part, and I was having a REALLY hard time trying to squash it. Muting channels one at a time on the mixer didn't help. I was already bypassing the mains on the mixer's amp, was as clean as possible through the Roland and wasn't using any outboard effects at all.

It was a true ghost in the machine - which seemed really funny at the time since Tubular Bells was also the theme music from "The Exorcist".

I decided to amplify it instead, hoping to figure out what it was and what part of the signal chain was causing it. So I went full Spinal Tap and turned everything up to eleven, so to speak, only turning down the input gain on the Fostex just enough to avoid overdriving it.

And when I put on the headphones, I was listening to the BBC World News. My ghost in the machine was the BBC's relay station in Antigua.

What the... I'm listening to sounds coming all the way from fucking ANTIGUA, and I don't even have a fucking radio. I'm the Accidental DX'er! (Seemed even funnier because one of the keyboards was a DX-21.)

I can only guess that either the mixer's amp or some part of the 4-track circuitry was acting as a fixed tuning crystal, with the long instrument cables making a great antenna and the mixer, amp and 4-track all serving to boost the signal.

That was seriously cool. I gave up on trying to play/record music and just listened to the BBC for the rest of the night, and I ordered a portable shortwave the next day.

 

Now thats a cool story... thanks!

 

That's also how I became a huge fan of Aussie Rules football. When I got that shortwave, I was able to pick up all the usual suspects easily enough - BBC, Deutsche Welle, VOA Africa Service, etc. I loved it, and I even rigged a timer to record the 2am "Daybreak Africa" broadcast so I could listen to it while driving to work the next morning.

But the coolest thing of all was the weekend sports feed from Australia - if you could find a frequency with the sports feed that you could tune in clearly. (Seemed like 2/3 of the ABC frequencies were their other feed, which aired country music instead of sports. Australian country music is pure torture.)

They'd broadcast one match but have reporters at three or four other matches going on at the same time, giving frequent updates. And every now and then they'd suddenly interrupt the match to bring you... a horse race. WTF???

Weird stuff, but a hell of a lot of fun.

 

Eagles add Kyzir White on a one-year deal



As the bargain phase of free agency begins to fully bloom, the Eagles have gotten a good player at a great price.

Per multiple reports, the Eagles have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with former Chargers linebacker Kyzir White. The contract is reportedly worth “up to” $5 million. It means he’ll get another crack at the market next year.


A fourth-round pick of the Chargers in 2018, White started all 17 games in 2021 for L.A.

The younger brother of NFL receiver Kevin White, Kyzir played safety at West Virginia. During his rookie minicamp in 2018, the Chargers moved him to linebacker. In four years, he appeared in 47 games, with 37 starts.

PFT

 

Tre’Quan Smith tests free agency, returns to Saints on 2-year contract



There we go: the New Orleans Saints are bringing back wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith on a two-year contract valued at $6 million, as first reported by ESPN’s Field Yates, with another $4.5 million available through incentives. But there’s more going on here below the surface. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that Smith’s deal with the Saints guarantees him just $2 million, which is near the league minimum for someone with his experience as a four-year veteran. Expect the salary cap hit to be minimal.

SaintsWire

 

Didn’t do much with Drew Brees and Sean Payton in town. So clearly he’s about to explode…

 

Atlanta has added yet another stellar threat to the WR corps. The latest signing is Auden Tate, who had 3, yes, THREE receptions last year with the Bengals.

Look out, NFC. There's no stopping this passing attack! If they can add one more starting caliber receiver, they'll have...

... one receiver.

 

Steelers signing Genard Avery to one-year contract



The Steelers are set to add another linebacker to their roster.

According to multiple reports, the team has agreed to a one-year contract with linebacker Genard Avery. No other terms have been reported.


Avery was a 2018 fifth-round pick in Cleveland and posted 4.5 sacks in 16 games as a rookie. His run with the Browns ended with an October 2019 trade to the Eagles, however, and Avery spent the last two-plus seasons in Philadelphia.

He started 12 games last season and ended the year with 43 tackles and a sack.

T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are set to be the starting outside linebackers for the Steelers. Avery will join Derrek Tuszka as backup options for the team to consider heading into next season.

PFT

 

Owners approve overtime rule change for the postseason



NFL owners approved a proposal to change its overtime rules for the postseason. Both teams now will be guaranteed a possession in overtime in the playoffs before the game becomes sudden death.

The Chiefs’ thrilling 42-36 overtime victory over the Bills in the divisional round reignited the debate about the league’s overtime rules. The Chiefs scored a touchdown on the first possession of overtime to deny Josh Allen and the Bills from seeing the ball in the extra period.


Under the new rules, the Bills would have gotten a possession after the Chiefs either tried a PAT or a two-point conversion.

Owners considered two proposals Tuesday.

The Titans’ proposal allowed for the team with the first possession in overtime to win only with a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion. The Colts and Eagles’ proposal, guaranteeing a possession for each team, is the one that passed.

So it seems that the team that wins the coin toss in overtime may choose to kick, rather than receive, so that it knows exactly what it needs for a tie and what it needs for a win.

PFT

 

The Patriots have added free agent safety Jabrill Peppers.

Peppers, who is recovering from a torn ACL, has agreed to a one-year deal, according to ESPN.


The 26-year-old Peppers suffered the ACL tear in October and could be back in time to play for the Patriots in Week One.

Originally a first-round pick of the Browns in 2017, he was sent to the Giants in 2019 as part of the Odell Beckham trade, and he played three seasons in New York.

For the last two years Peppers played under Giants head coach Joe Judge, who is now a Patriots assistant and presumably gave Peppers a good recommendation to Bill Belichick. In New England Peppers will join safeties Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips, Kyle Dugger, Joshuah Bledsoe and Myles Bryant.

PFT

 

Saints head coach Dennis Allen says Taysom Hill will focus on playing tight end

With Sean Payton stepping away from the New Orleans Saints football program, it appears Taysom Hill's run as an everyday quarterback could be ending as well.

Speaking Tuesday at the NFL's Annual League Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, new Saints head coach Dennis Allen told reporters the plan is for Hill to focus on tight end, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.

In five seasons under Payton, Hill has been used as a do-it-all, Swiss Army knife player. The 31-year-old has been a QB, WR, TE, RB and special teams ace.

The past two seasons, Hill has started nine games under center, as Payton saw him as a potential quarterbacking option who could be a dual-threat from the position. While he brought a diverse skill set to the position, Hill proved to be mostly inconsistent as a passer. Most of the Saints' success with Hill under center came when he ran the ball.

For his career, Hill has completed 64.2% of his passes for 2,025 yards with eight TDs and eight INTs. In 2021, he completed 58.2 percent of his passes for 978 yards with four TDs and five INTs.

With the Saints re-signing Jameis Winston to be the starter and later adding Andy Dalton to the roster, Hill focusing on the tight end makes sense for New Orleans, which has a need at the position. In addition, it will allow the Saints offense to get Hill on the field more often and provide them additional chances to use him in various ways.

"If Jameis is out there playing quarterback, I don't like Taysom standing next to me on the sideline," Allen added, per The Athletic's Katherine Terrell. "I think you'll see him more in that type of role."


Expect more of the short-yardage and gadget plays from Hill than we've seen earlier in his career coming in 2022.

NFL.com

 

It’s almost like the GM is slow-playing the build.
“We’ll start with a strong 6th WR, then an excellent 5th WR. Little by little…”

 

It also screams "we're drafting receivers". That doesn't really fit the profile as Terry Fontenot is allegedly a best player available type of GM, but we'll see how it shakes out.

I really do believe in the principle that I mentioned earlier - that having four competent targets on the field (plus a RB with receiving skills) is better than having a #1 stud and a bunch of muppets. Unfortunately, right now we have Marcus Mariota throwing the ball to Kyle Pitts And The Pips.

Here are three ways the front office might proceed as we approach the draft:

Scenario A: trade Grady Jarrett to a contender, perhaps for a 2023 draft pick rather than 2022. That frees up cap space to sign a couple of second-tier WRs or pick up one or two in trades after June 1 or during training camp. Otherwise, we're probably out of cap space for free agents right now. (OTC lists 4.8 million cap space based on top 51 but doesn't have numbers yet for Tate or Qadree Ollison, and then room will be needed to sign the draft picks.)

Scenario B: draft WRs early and often. The intriguing side of this is that Atlanta is finally putting a coaching staff in place that seem like logical choices to work hands-on with WRs on routes and techniques. The one that interests me the most is Nick Edwards, who was hired just last week as an unspecified "Offensive Assistant". He's the type of hire that I've been waiting to see ever since the 49ers and Rams raided our staff in 2017 - an assistant coach that actually has experience working with WRs. (For the Falcons, this is a BRAND NEW and truly innovative approach to coaching.) Noteworthy: he was Cooper Kupp's college WR coach.

Scenario C: draft the best players available regardless of position and go with the current WR group of Auden Tate, Olamide Zaccheaus, Khadarel Hodge, Frank Darby, Austin Trammell, Chad Hansen and converted CFL tight end Brayden Lenius. The biggest challenge the front office and coaching staff will have in making this strategy work is keeping a straight face when they insist they aren't intentionally tanking the 2022 season.

In the meantime, Marcus Mariota is working on a new snap cadence: " 4 - 8 - 15 - 16 - 23 - 42 - HIKE! "

 

Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins is hanging up his cleats.

Jenkins announced his retirement during an appearance on The Pivot with former NFL safety Ryan Clark. Jenkins said at the end of the 2021 season that he wasn’t sure what decision he would make about continuing to play, but signaled that retirement might be coming when he took a pay cut to minimum salaries for the final two years of his deal as a way to create cap space for the team earlier this month.


Jenkins was a 2009 first-round pick in New Orleans and helped the team win a Super Bowl during his rookie season. He signed with the Eagles as a free agent in 2014 and won another Super Bowl after the 2017 season before returning to the Saints for his final two seasons.

Jenkins was named to one All-Pro team and three Pro Bowls during his career. He recorded 1,044 tackles, 21 interceptions, seven interception returns for touchdowns, 13.5 sacks, 20 forced fumbles, and 11 fumble recoveries over his 13 NFL seasons.

PFT

 

Jaguars sign Arden Key



Arden Key took several visits with NFL teams after free agency opened earlier this month and the edge rusher has found a place to play in 2022.

The Jaguars announced Key’s signing on Wednesday morning. The team did not announce any terms, but Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that it is a one-year deal that can be worth as much as $7 million.


Key met with Jacksonville last week and also spent time with the Lions, Ravens, and Chiefs before coming to an agreement with the Jags.

Key had an underwhelming first three NFL seasons after the Raiders made him a third-round pick in 2018, but he came on with 6.5 sacks for the 49ers last season. The Jaguars will team Key with Josh Allen for the time being and no one will be surprised if Aidan Hutchinson joins the group when the first overall pick in the draft is announced next month.

PFT

 

Whatta ya say Torgo; does Damiere Byrd move the needle for you?
Like seriously, what are they doing?

Flooding the bottom half of the depth chart with receivers and praying to find one gem, while planning to draft at least one early?

 

Scroll up... I listed three potential scenarios above.

 

Bruce Arians retiring from coaching will move into Bucs front office.

Bruce Arians retiring from coaching, will move to Buccaneers front office even as Tom Brady returns





Can this off season get any wilder?

 

Yeah I saw that. Then I read the Damiere Byrd news.
They have some decent picks. Obviously have to be looking pretty hard at WRs. Could use almost everything though. It’s a deep draft at WR at least.

Outside of WR, what would you presume are the 2-3 biggest needs the team has? Don’t even pick QB.