NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Have not seen reports for other teams but in betting the majority will sell out after fans not being able to go last season.


Jean..........I'm sure hoping the Border will open in August.....I'm looking at getting tickets for week # 1 in Seattle.....Titans vs the Hawks.

 

I think it will open up in July. Let me know if you can come down here for the game. I’m not going to the game but maybe we can meet up and get a couple of brews

 

I think it will open up in July. Let me know if you can come down here for the game. I’m not going to the game but maybe we can meet up and get a couple of brews


Not sure about the Border opening Date........but hopefully soon........I will let you know if I can get tickets as I'm not sure how many Fans the Seahawks will allow ???..........and I'm sure the game will sell out quickly as it is Week # 1.......if I do come down to Seattle I will plan on driving over to Ocean Shores to have some Beers with you.........Great Idea Gidi.

 

Mike Tomlin has his players on board with the vaccine, giving the Steelers an edge in 2021



Lost in the entire discussion and debate regarding whether players will or won’t get the COVID vaccine is the unmistakable link between: (1) getting the vaccine; (2) being available to play; and (3) setting the stage for a season with reduced distractions.

It’s a simple, clear, bright-line bit of logic. Getting the shot(s) means one less thing that can keep a player off the field, one less thing that can make it harder for a football team to have the right connections and camaraderie in the locker room, the meeting rooms, the hotel, wherever. It becomes, in a strange sort of way, a permissible PED because it truly enhances — and enables — the full football experience for a player, and his team.

Enhancing the advantage is the fact that other teams apparently won’t have that, while many players operate under the 2020 protocols of masks and distancing and daily brain-scraping COVID tests.

That’s why it’s surprising that so many NFL teams seem to be struggling with getting players to get the vaccine. Think of the things players blindly will take to ensure that they can play, including most notably Toradol. The short- and long-term risks of having a wonder drug that removes pain so that a player can suit up and go routinely are ignored by players who see the clear connection between getting the shot and getting on the field.

That line isn’t as straight when it comes to the vaccine; the benefits aren’t as obvious as “if you take it, you will play.” Maybe some players need to come to their own conclusions once they understand and appreciate the benefits of getting the vaccine. Maybe some (if not most) coaches have decided to soft-pedal the pros of the vaccine in order to avoid the cons of creating friction or resentment from players who believe the coach is being heavy-handed.

Then there’s the fact that (wait for it) football coaches are heavy-handed. They tell players what to do, and they do it.

Look no farther than Pittsburgh, where coach Mike Tomlin has worked his interpersonal football-coach magic to ensure that guys are getting the shot. And it probably was easy for him to do it.

“It’s good for you, it’s good for the team, go get it.”

Who’s going to ask questions or roll their eyes when Tomlin comes up and says that? Who’s not going to get the shot after getting that kind of direction?

Not many, as Tomlin has said. So go ahead, every team against which the Steelers will be playing this year. Make their day. Make their year. Make their path to the playoffs and the Super Bowl easier because, for them, it will be 2019. For you, it will be shades and shadows of 2020, all season long.

PFT

 

I'm not a fan of Tomlin, but this is a great move on his part and imho shows leadership. Having everyone available throughout training camp and the entire season is a huge factor. Not having to plan around absences week in and week out, the lack of that distraction could go a long way.

 

The above article just reads like a propaganda post. What coach isn't encouraging their players to get the vaccine, reinforcing it on the basis that it's good for the players and the team? I would want to read the article about the outlier, not the norm, and it feels like this message is probably the norm... I would hope, at least.

 

Maybe because you don't read real well?

The conversation wasn't about whether players could or couldn't do anything, it was about how people get upset at players just on the principle of holding out. You're welcome to join that conversation, if you want.

 

In all fairness the average player can’t negotiate an opt out in their contract. That’s typically something only players of a higher caliber and therefore more leverage can get.

Every scenario isn’t covered in every contract.

Not taking a side on this debate but not every contract is written the same way. And not every player can make the same demands.

 

I would hope so as well, but many companies as a whole, not just the NFL have taken a "recommended" approach as to not impede on personal choice views. This could be misconstrued as a warning, "you are hurting your team if you don't do this" message. I agree with this statement and would not be upset by someone using it. I do believe that keeping normalcy in house would be a great advantage and getting immunized would go a long way in achieving that imho.

Propaganda or not, I hope it reaches other teams/players as well. The more people inoculated the better for scheduling purposes etc. Too many games/practices were interrupted last year, when there is an obvious answer to avoiding those interruptions.

 

Are the Steelers implementing penalties for not getting the vaccine? IE can't be at facility, etc? Because if not, they're also just "recommending" it. Maybe more emphatically, but until there's a mandate, it's just a recommendation. And I'd imagine all teams are recommending to get the vaccine. I'm glad the Steelers are doing it emphatically, but still... the article feels like a waste at worst, and a pro-Steelers propaganda article at best.

But yes, more vaccinations the better. I agree.

 

A.J. Green: Pairing with DeAndre Hopkins is going to be unbelievable



A.J. Green played with a number of different wide receivers over the last decade with the Bengals, but there’s something different about who he’s sharing the field with as a member of the Cardinals.

Green said he has “never played with a guy like” DeAndre Hopkins during a recent appearance on On the Fly and he’s spent the last few months getting used to someone else being the top player on the depth chart. It doesn’t sound like the change in status has rubbed Green the wrong way and he’s expecting things to go very well for the offense this fall.

“We don’t have no egos,” Green said, via Jess Root of USAToday.com. “You have two guys like that in a room, it’s going to be unbelievable. We feed off each other.”

Green missed 23 games over 2018 and 2019, but returned to play every game last season. His numbers were way down from his previous highs, but the Cardinals are betting that Green’s right about what teaming with Hopkins will bring to his game.

PFT

 

Report: Sheldon Richardson took less money from Vikings than Browns were offering



When Sheldon Richardson signed with the Vikings last week, he reportedly eschewed a better offer from the Browns.

Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports that the Browns offered Richardson more money than the one-year, $3.6 million contract he signed with the Vikings. The report doesn’t specify the Browns’ offer but said Richardson’s contract with the Vikings (which includes incentives that could pay him up to $4.35 million) wasn’t as good.

So why did Richardson go to Minnesota? The report indicates that Richardson was miffed by the Browns’ decision to cut him this year and then offer him a lot less than the $11.9 million he was originally slated to make.

Richardson also reportedly has a good relationship with Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, who coached Richardson in his previous stint in Minnesota in 2018. It was Richardson’s strong play in Zimmer’s defense that led to the big contract he got with the Browns in 2019, and Richardson may think another trip to Minnesota could yield similar results next year.

PFT

 

We got some dumbasses already.
Zaven Collins was arrested and charged Sunday for excessive speed and reckless driving, according to the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Police Department. He was spotted going 76 mph in a 35-mph zone, precipitating a traffic stop. He later was released and now awaits trial on a charge that is deemed to be a Class 2 misdemeanor and could result in jail time.

Frank Clark was arrested and charged Sunday in Los Angeles with felony illegal possession of a firearm, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports.

 

And thats Frank's second time.

 

Travis Kelce on Chiefs' 2020 season: 'Last year was a failure to me'

Travis Kelce enjoyed one of the greatest seasons ever by a tight end, setting a record with 1,416 receiving yards to go along with 11 TDs and 105 catches -- all career highs.

After becoming the first tight end to earn 1,000 yards in five straight seasons, Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs fell short of back-to-back Super Bowl wins, losing the Lombardi to Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The All-Pro told SiriusXM NFL Radio that the final loss made all the statistical greatness meaningless in his eyes.

"I took a note from the (Chicago) Bulls when they were winning their (NBA) championships and had their run. It don't mean a thing if you ain't got the ring, baby," he said. "All those accolades, all that stuff, it might be cool when I'm sitting down on a couch watching the young guys trying to chase the record, but right now, none of that really meant anything. Last year was a failure to me, to be honest. It just is. That's just what I have in my heart. That's the type of player I am, man. If we're not going out there winning Super Bowls, man, the season isn't a success."

For some players like Kelce, a season is as black-and-white as that: pass or fail. Fortunately, for the prolific TE, he plays on a team with perennial Super Bowl aspirations. It would be interesting to juxtapose his response to such a question in, say, 2014, before Patrick Mahomes' arrival, the Chiefs' Super Bowl LIV victory and sky-high expectations dropped into Kansas City. Perhaps his perspective would have been the same. Perhaps slightly more shaded in gray.

For now, Kelce plays on a team that expects to be a Super Bowl winner each season with its current core. His comments underscore those beliefs with a bright highlighter.

NFL.com

 

Lot of teams wish they had failed as well as KC.

 

Jets LB C.J. Mosley: Return after nearly two years has 'been a breath of fresh air'

New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley returns to the gridiron this fall after nearly two years away.

After signing with Gang Green in 2019, Mosley played in just two games due to injury. He then opted out of the 2020 campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following all that time off the radar, Mosley returned this offseason to rave reviews from teammates and coaches, who have called the linebacker trimmer and motivated to return to his Pro Bowl form.

"It's been a breath of fresh air, that's the best way to put it," Mosley told The Official Jets Podcast recently. "I'm happy to be back in the building with my teammates, to be around the locker room and the new energy. What we're doing now is building a great foundation, setting this team on course to stack up wins and get to where we want to go."

Mosley is often a forgotten part of the puzzle after missing most of two years. Much of the Jets offseason has focused on upgrading the offense surrounding rookie quarterback Zach Wilson and wideout Elijah Moore. But Mosley's return could go a long way to helping turn around an atrocious defense last season.

It's easy to forget that in Week 1, 2019, Mosely looked like the best player on the field in the Jets' 17-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills, and worth every penny of his five-year, $85 million contract. The roving linebacker compiled six tackles, a pick-six, a fumble recovery, and two passes defended. He played like a man on fire until a late groin injury took him out. The Jets' defense fell apart after the injury.

Mosley tried to return to the lineup five weeks later but was clearly still hindered and ultimately shut down for the season.


The injury, coupled with his opt-out last season for family reasons, caused Mosley's time away to generate questions about whether the four-time Pro Bowler will return with any rust that could leave permanent scarring. Mosely scoffed at those questions.

"Yeah, I don't have any doubts in myself," he said. "I mean, [Rob Gronkowski] took two years off [only one] and won a Super Bowl, so it is what it is. I'm here, so we'll let the play do the talking.

"When you're out for a while, you're always in your head, thinking, 'When I get back, how's it going to feel? Am I going to be able to move like I used to?' I feel great."

In new coach Robert Saleh's defense, Mosley will be the key in the middle. The presumption has been that Saleh will immediately upgrade a unit that got torched last season, particularly on the back end. If Mosley returns to his battering-ram ways -- still a legit 'if' at this stage -- it would be a massive aid to a unit that lacked leadership and playmaking while he was off the field for almost two full seasons.

NFL.com

 

I read perfectly. You said...

The contract language is relevant because a player shouldn't expect to make anything that isn't guaranteed.

 

Sure they can. They just have to give up something to do it. Brady gave up salary on the front end for that option.

Exactly, they can be vastly different as are the desires of the player. But all contracts have one thing in common. They are negotiated. Players have the ability to lay out what's important to them.

 

1. It's a bit of a reach to assume all coaches are approaching vaccinations the same way.

2. Coaches have bosses and many of these NFL owners are hard core Republicans. If an owner is anti-vaxx I double the coach is in the locker room making it an issue.

3. You missed an important part of the article. I'll quote it...

Author: Tomlin's recommendation has the Steelers tops in the league at player vaccinations. Many other teams are really struggling getting their players vaccinated.

DLine: Tomlin is just doing what everyone else is surely doing - because that's what makes sense to me.