NFL - NEWS & NOTES

What kind of a name is N apostrophe Keal anyway?

 

Doesnt mean some team will not be stupid and give something for him.

 

Trai Turner: Steelers play my style of football



The Steelers have remade their offensive line with four projected new starters. The latest change has come at right guard with the team releasing David DeCastro, who needs ankle surgery, and quickly signing Trai Turner.

Turner spoke to Omar Ruiz of NFL Media on Tuesday about his decision to sign a one-year deal with Pittsburgh.

“It’s just one of those teams, one of those organizations that they always compete, always in the game, and play my style of football,” Turner said. “They have a great quarterback at the head of the center, but they like to run the ball. That’s something I’m excited about.”

The Steelers’ focus this season was improving their run game after ranking last in the NFL in rushing in 2020. Pittsburgh averaged only 84.4 yards per game, prompting the team to draft Najee Harris in the first round.

Turner is ready for the Steelers to return to their “smash-mouth” roots.

“I believe in my game. I think I’m a dominant run-blocker,” Turner said. “I think I’ve shown that throughout the years. I’m just excited to come in and just be with the group of guys and learn, but also give out information, if that makes sense. Just go out there and compete. I think competing is the biggest thing. When you go out there and you compete, good things happen. So, I’m excited about it.”

The Steelers’ starting lineup could have Chukwuma Okorafor and Zach Banner at the tackle positions, Kevin Dotson at left guard and J.C. Hassenauer at center.

PFT

 

Lions OC Anthony Lynn ditched plans for year off in 2021 to join his former players in Detroit

Anthony Lynn's football life met a new turn in 2021 when he was fired by the Chargers, and with it came an expectation for a well-deserved vacation.

A year off was in Lynn's plans when a former player of his dialed him. Now he's back on the sidelines, but instead of powder blue, he's wearing a shade of Honolulu. Lynn is again coaching, this time alongside new Lions head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, two former Cowboys who played in Dallas when Lynn served as running backs coach.

"I got to know those two very well. They handled themselves like coaches as players. And so because coach [Bill] Walsh kind of picked me out and sat me aside and talked to me about coaching and it worked, I try to do the same thing with current players," Lynn said during an appearance on the Compas On The Beat podcast with Gilbert Manzano and Fernando Ramirez. "I just helped plant that seed -- when you're done playing, that's something I think you should do. And I did that with Dan and Aaron Glenn.

"And I was actually going to sit this year out, but when they called, I had to go because I wanted to be a part of that. I knew it was going to be special."

So far, Campbell has made as many headlines for what he's said as what the Lions have done, but their staff is filled with former NFL players who might turn Detroit into an attractive destination in the future. First, though, the Lions need to demonstrate they can win games and Lynn will be tasked with turning Detroit's offense into a competitive group headlined by new arrival Jared Goff.

It's a tall task, sure, but one Lynn has embraced because of who is involved in Detroit. On paper, this certainly isn't a run-of-the-mill coaching staff.

"I just think given I've been on the sidelines since I was six years old -- I have not had a break since I was six years old, literally every single fall," Lynn said. "And I really had in my mind that I was going to take a gap year, man. Travel a little bit, go see some other teams, visit some of the coaches I knew, see how they're doing things. I had made my mind to sit out.


"But then when Dan called, that changed everything. But out of respect, I did go talk with a couple other coaches. And those are guys that have helped me in my career on the way up, so I owed them that. But it just felt right in Detroit."

Winning always feels right. We'll see this fall if Lynn and the rest of the Lions staff can create a winning environment in Detroit.

NFL.com

 

Javonte Williams appears to be the favorite to start over Melvin Gordon in Denver



Broncos running back Melvin Gordon has said he’s “very confident” he can win the team’s training camp running back competition over rookie Javonte Williams. But if Gordon does win the battle, it may be short-lived.

Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post writes that Gordon may technically be the starter in the sense that he’s on the field at the start of the game in Week One, but O’Halloran predicts that Williams will lead the Broncos in both rushing attempts and rushing yards in 2021.

The Broncos traded up on the second night of the draft to take Williams with the 35th overall pick, and they’ve made no secret that they were very high on him coming out of North Carolina and believe he can be a significant contributor.

Gordon has vowed that he’ll help Williams in any way he can, even if Williams is coming to take his job. Gordon said that when he was a rookie with the Chargers, veteran running back Danny Woodhead did everything he could to help him adjust to the NFL, and Gordon realizes it may now be time for him to pass the baton.

PFT

 

Jessie Bates III “taking a level up” in Bengals leadership role



Safety Jessie Bates III is entering his fourth season with the Bengals, which makes him both a young veteran and one of the longest-tenured members of the team.

Bates’ experience in Cincinnati came in handy during the team’s offseason program. The Bengals added Ricardo Allen, Eli Apple, Chidobe Awuzie, and Mike Hilton as free agents in the secondary and they also have cornerback Trae Waynes back for his first snaps with the team after missing the entire 2020 season with an injury.

Bates said he took “a level up in terms of a leadership role” to help integrate the new faces into a defense that the Bengals hop will take a level up this season as well.

“The main part for us was getting those new guys up to speed,” Bates said, via the team’s website. “That’s why we decided to come in. The guys that we brought in are very intelligent. I know that they ran a couple of different things from where they came from, but how fast they picked it up and them asking questions is the main part of us installing.”

Bates would like to continue his run with the Bengals beyond the upcoming season and his move into a leadership position should help that effort if things go as hoped on the field this year.

PFT

 

Im real curious to see how many inter-division games the Bengals can win... The North will be fun... at least more competitive and entertaining.

 

I think it will be the most competitive division @Willie , but I still expect the Bengals to go winless in the North.
The winner might come down to which of the other three can come out with a winning record against each other.

 

I think it will be the most competitive division @Willie , but I still expect the Bengals to go winless in the North.
The winner might come down to which of the other three can come out with a winning record against each other.


I agree Irish........and the Browns don't play a divisional game till Halloween......week # 8.

 

A surprisingly pessimistic view coming from you Irish. As long as Burrow is healthy I think the Bengals can steal one from either Pittsburgh or Cleveland. Maybe both. Need a pleasant surprise from some defensive addition.
But hardly impossible.

 

Irish isn’t a bengals fan RT.

 

I do know that. I might be working too hard.
Orange-ish ≠ Orange-ish

Pessimism makes a lot more sense suddenly.

 

Reinvigorated Travis Kelce chasing title following Chiefs' 'shellacking' in Super Bowl LV

31-9.

A 22-point defeat has the Chiefs still smarting five months after they were soundly beaten by the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. Once seen as a nearly unstoppable juggernaut which happened to be the defending champion, Kansas City took it on the chin in February and has some work ahead of it to return to the NFL mountaintop.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce hasn't forgotten what it felt like to watch his team dismantled by Tampa Bay on the game's greatest stage.

"That was pretty embarrassing man, taking that last loss down there in Tampa, man," Kelce said during an interview with NFL Network's Patrick Claybon and Brandon Flowers on Thursday's NFL Total Access. "If you're not motivated after taking a shellacking like that, I don't know what's wrong with you. I want to go win one more than I ever wanted to get one in the first place and that's everybody in that building, man.

"That's why I love Kansas City, we've got great guys, top to bottom. Front office, Clark Hunt, the head of it all, the owner of the Chiefs, he's done a great job of getting the right people in the right place, even more so this year with the new additions that we have. It's just exciting times and everybody's motivated to just get better and go out here and try to win a Super Bowl, man."

Embarrassing is a good adjective to use to describe what the rest of the world saw as a lopsided affair. Instead of witnessing an explosive display of modern football with a Lombardi Trophy up for grabs, Super Bowl LV was instead a gradual teardown of the once-vaunted Chiefs offense, which simply wasn't capable of preventing the Buccaneers' pass rush from harassing Patrick Mahomes. The game was essentially decided early in the fourth quarter, when it became painfully apparent Kansas City simply didn't have enough to keep pace with Tampa Bay.

The Chiefs have responded in kind, revamping their offensive line in the offseason by acquiring left tackle Orlando Brown via trade and signing premier guard Joe Thuney and center Austin Blythe in free agency. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif returns following his season away from football due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Mike Remmers will man the right tackle spot, serving as Kansas City's frontside protector while also existing as the Chiefs' biggest question up front.


Because of injuries, the Chiefs' greatest weakness was the offensive line by the end of the 2020 season. They're hoping their offseason moves have addressed the problem, and they also bolstered their defense by signing Jarran Reed.

There's a different tone around these Chiefs, though. Instead of the collective football media spending the offseason wondering aloud whether the Chiefs could be toppled, they don't seem to be as much of a guarantee in 2021. Then again, any hopeful contender knows their path will likely run through Kansas City at some point.

Kelce will be there to stop their progress and avenge his team's embarrassment. We'll learn this fall and winter whether he and the Chiefs can make good on his goal.

NFL.com

 

Browns' Wyatt Teller thrilled with 'insane' continuity on Cleveland's offense

The Cleveland Browns spent the offseason upgrading their defense following the team's playoff run. The offense didn't need much tinkering.

Cleveland opted for continuity on offense rather than another rework, returning its QB, top receivers -- including Odell Beckham coming back from injury -- and its league-best backfield.

Browns guard Wyatt Teller told Cleveland Browns Daily earlier this week that stability should be a huge advantage.

"We have 11 guys on offense returning, which is insane -- I've never heard of that," he said, via the team's official website. "We've got the guys in the backfield who can do it at a high level ... and if the best D-line I play is our own team, I'll be very, very happy."

The continuity isn't only with the players on offense, but the coaching staff. After spending his rookie season with Buffalo, then on Freddie Kitchens' Browns squad in 2019, this year is the first time Teller has experienced any coaching stability in his career. All-time great offensive line coach Bill Callahan will continue to head the unit in Cleveland.

"It's crazy going into Year 4 in the NFL, and this is the first time having the same offensive line coach for two years in a row," he said. "I'm doing my work, and I'm trying to get better."

The Browns' blockers will key the offense and the ground-first approach Kevin Stefanski prefers. Jedrick Wills, Joel Bitonio, JC Tretter, Teller and Jack Conklin make up one of the best units in football.


"I've been blessed to be put in a situation where we have great guys around me and I just have to do my job," he said. "I don't have to do anything else but my job, and that's a blessing."

The Browns' defense upgraded this season, and the offense looks poised to take another step under Stefanski. The promise in Cleveland is sky-high entering 2021. Now, they must live up to the hype.

NFL.com

 

Season begins in two months



It will be here before you know it.

Two months from tonight, the Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Dallas Cowboys in the first game of the biggest season yet for the NFL, with 17 games per team and 272 regular-season contests in all. Throw in the expanded playoffs (as of last year) with 14 teams making it, and that’s 13 more games for 285 total NFL games.

The league numbers each of the regular-season games, and Game No. 1 should be a great one.

Via the PointsBet sports book, the Buccaneers remain 6.5-point favorites, with an over-under of 51.5. The moneyline has -261 for the Bucs (bet $261 to win $100) and +230 for the Cowboys (bet $100 to win $230).

Locking in bets now entails risk, because injuries can change everything. Assuming that both teams are healthy, the over makes sense for this one, and Brady and the Bucs should be able to win by at least a touchdown, given that for the first time during his tenure with the team, Raymond James Stadium will be a-rockin’ — just in time for the Cowboys to come a-knockin’.

PFT

 

Stephon Gilmore: “I just want what I’m worth, however that plays out”



Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore has demonstrated in various ways this offseason that he’s not happy with his current contract.

But now the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year has explicitly said the words.

Speaking to reporter Josina Anderson on Friday, Gilmore made it clear that his objective is to be paid his market value. He’s currently slated to make a $7 million base salary for 2021.

“I just want what I’m worth, however that plays out,” Gilmore told Anderson. “Every player should be paid what they’re worth. That’s just how it is.”

However, Gilmore is not currently pushing for a trade out of New England.

“Hopefully we can find some common ground and get it situated,” Gilmore said. “I just know what I bring to the table and my style of play. Right now, I’m just trying to focus on myself and make sure I’m good mentally and physically.”

For the latter of those two categories, Gilmore did have offseason surgery to repair his partially-torn quad. He played only 11 games last season.

“I feel stronger than I’ve ever felt since the surgery. I’ve been running a lot, building full speed,” Gilmore said. He may or may not be ready for training camp, though, saying, “We’ll see; if I need to be. But I also don’t want to push it.”

Reporting as of mid-June indicated that there was no significant progress between Gilmore and the Patriots for a new deal. Perhaps Gilmore’s comments on Friday can push the situation to a resolution before training camps begin at the end of the month — whether Gilmore re-signs with New England or ends up elsewhere via trade.

PFT

 

I still don’t know why the freaking Cowboys are playing the buccaneers to start the season. The Cowboys suck

 

lol... Im thinking they will be better than last season with a healthy Dak, at least thats what they are banking on. If they can play defense, which is a big 'IF', they should be able to hang in there...

 

I don't get that either. And don't give me that "Americas Team" crap. That died with disco.

 

The ratings they draw haven’t died yet, though.