NFL - NEWS & NOTES

NFL attendance will be determined “state-by-state, county-by-county”



Money trumps competitive balance.

With the NFL facing significant financial losses from games played without fans, the NFL will not be implemented a game-day approach that is identical for all teams, when it comes to attendance.

“Attendance will be a state-by-state, county-by-county thing,” an unnamed NFL source told Daniel Kaplan of TheAthletic.com. “It will not be a one size fits all.”

Which means that in some states, fans will be present for games. In others, not. And even though this will create inequities when it comes to crowd noise, that apparently will be acceptable because a one size fits all approach to attendance will result in no fans being present, for any NFL games.

The NFL remains highly optimistic that the season will be played in full. In some cities, there should be or eventually could be optimism that fans will be present to watch.

NBC

 

F***, this is going to be a disaster. The NFL proves, at every turn, that they have no idea what they're doing. So out of all the problems to solve during a global pandemic, the easiest one to solve and the one you already had figured out (no fans in attendance), is the one that you're now going back on and just throwing into total uncertainty?

What a s***show. For anyone who's optimistic about the NFL season this year, it's stuff like this that should have you absolutely terrified. This commissioner and ownership group has never proven that they can handle anything well, so why would this be the thing they finally get right?

 

Chase Young reminds Ron Rivera of Julius Peppers, Von Miller

Washington Redskins coach Ron Rivera put Chase Young on a pedestal with some big names heading into the pass-rusher's rookie season.

During a recent Redskins' "Offseason Update Live," Rivera compared Young to a smaller Julius Peppers.

"He's not quite as big as Julius was," Rivera said, via the team's official website. "He's built like him; he's a mini version of him. He's got a little bit more of that initial explosion. Julius was very long and his explosion was good, but because of his length it seemed even better than it really, truly was. I mean Julius was phenomenal, and this is a young man who could be that type of player."

Peppers stands 6-foot-7 and authored a Hall of Fame-worthy career, including nine Pro Bowls, three first team All-Pros, the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2002, and was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team for both the 2000s and 2010s. Peppers sits fourth all-time in sacks with 159.5 before retiring following the 2018 season, which he spent with Rivera in Carolina.

Young, who stands 6-foot-5 himself, owns freaky athleticism and explosion off the ball made him a no-brainer pick at No. 2 overall for the Redskins. Peppers wasn't the only comparison Rivera made for the young pass-rusher.

"Von Miller comes to my mind when I watch Chase and I watch him work out and I watch the tape he's putting out," Rivera added, "so I'm pretty excited about seeing him."


Rivera noted that he expects Young to play around 55 to 65 percent of snaps as a rookie.

If Young comes close to performing as well as Miller and Peppers did in their rookie campaigns, the Redskins defensive front will be tough to deal with in 2020. Miller compiled 11.5 sacks as a rookie, while Peppers snagged 12 -- both won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.

NFL.com

 

Report: Teams believe July 28 will remain start date of training camp



With teams doing no on-field work this offseason, there’s been a lot of talk about how to run training camp in a way that ensures players get the time they need before the start of the regular season.

One of the topics of those conversations has been the possibility of opening camp earlier than expected in order to give players more time to reacclimate themselves. It doesn’t look like that’s how things are going to play out, however.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that multiple teams are proceeding as if the start of camp will be July 28. That’s 47 days before the scheduled start of the regular season for most teams, which is the mandated start time by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The Hall of Fame Game is currently scheduled for August 6, but it seems like a stretch that game will be played given the camp start date and overall circumstances. A recent report indicated that the preseason schedule would be reduced to two games to allow teams more time to work on their own and Rapoport adds that is likely to happen.

NBC

 

Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott gives coronavirus health update, issues warning about season

Ezekiel Elliott, the star running back for the Dallas Cowboys who was diagnosed with the coronavirus, said in an interview Wednesday that he is feeling better but still cannot work out.

Yahoo! Sports reported that Elliott’s diagnosis in earlier this month was leaked to the press and is considered the most famous player to be diagnosed. The report said that Elliot, 24, was interviewed on Twitch, where he said, “I feel good. I feel normal. I still can’t work out.” He said at his worst, he suffered from a shortness of breath.

Elliott has been one of the most prolific running backs in the NFL since Dallas selected him with the No. 4 pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. In three seasons, Elliott has made two Pro Bowls and led the league in rushing twice.

He expressed hope that the NFL season won’t be affected by the outbreak but said,“I just don’t know how they can keep the players healthy. You’ve got to put the health of the players first. He continued, "We have to find a way to make sure the players and their families, and the coaches also and their families, aren’t put at risk.”

Elliott agreed to a new contract in September to make him the highest-paid player at his position.

FOX

 

49ers have clear goal this season: It’s Super Bowl or bust



The 49ers led the Chiefs 20-10 in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. Then, they didn’t.

San Francisco walked off the field watching the Chiefs raise the Lombardi Trophy.

“I know we were good enough to win that Super Bowl and we didn’t, and that’s something we have to live with,” coach Kyle Shanahan said during the 49ers State of the Franchise event, via Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “And that’s why the state of the franchise right now is we got to get right back to that moment. We got to get right back to that fourth quarter and get to have a lead and we got to finish the job.”

The 49ers have a long way to go to get back where they were, though. Six months. 16 regular-season games (if all goes as planned). Postseason games.

San Francisco has gone back to the beginning. Like it or not.

“I didn’t want to go through this offseason. I want to get right back to where we left on in February and I know we have to go through a season and it’s going to be a lot harder to do — a lot harder,” Shanahan said. “We can play a lot better and still not do what we did last time. That’s why all of our guys have to take this challenge and we got to take advantage of this offseason and we got to still find a way to take a step ahead of other people because everyone is chasing us right now and it hasn’t been that way.”

The 49ers make clear what their goal is for 2020: Super Bowl or bust.

“We had as good of an opportunity as you can ever have to be a champion, and we came up just short, so that’s by all means what we’re going for this year,” Shanahan said.

NBC

 

Hall of Fame Game canceled

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL continues to say the regular season will start on time. The preseason, however, will not.

The Hall of Fame Game, the league’s annual preseason kickoff in Canton, Ohio, has been canceled, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The enshrinement ceremony for the Hall of Fame Class of 2020 has also been postponed, likely until next year, when the Steelers and Cowboys are expected to face of in the 2021 Hall of Fame Game.

The cancelation of the Hall of Fame Game is the biggest concession the NFL has made yet to the pandemic. Although the league canceled the live event portion of the NFL draft, it still had the draft on its scheduled date and has gone through the offseason as if everything is proceeding as planned.

Whether further changes are coming in training camp, the preseason and the regular season only time can tell, but it’s clear that the pandemic is a force the league simply cannot control.

NBC

 

Wow i wonder what's next?

 

Kevin Stefanski is thinking about how to spread the ball around on offense



Good news: The Browns have a lot of great players on offense. Bad news: The game still calls for only one football.

And so how will the Browns spread that one football among the likes of running back Nick Chubb, running back Kareem Hunt, receiver Odell Beckham Jr., receiver Jarvis Landry, tight end Austin Hooper, and tight end David Njoku?

“I actually went over that with the offensive staff this morning, just talking about carries, touches and what that looks like,‘’ Stefanski said during a Thursday videoconference, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “It’s definitely on our mind. We know, having been on different teams with different offensive players, sometimes you have a great running back, great receiver or great tight end, and certainly, you have to be mindful and intentional about how you want to go about that while understanding that each week calls for a different game plan.”

In other words, some weeks will involve more running and less passing. Some will involve more passing. Some will involve more opportunities for Beckham. Some will involve fewer.

“We’re fortunate enough to have players at each of those levels that can affect the game, but it’s definitely on our mind of how you divvy that pie up and how you design plays,” Stefanski said.

The challenge will be getting players to buy in. The easiest way to accomplish that is to win. Without victories, players who aren’t getting the ball as much as they’d like to get the ball can easily convince themselves that, if only they got the ball more, they’d be winning.

That’s exactly what happened last year. As the Browns struggled to live up to unrealistic expectations in 2019, Beckham (and some teammates) became more and more vocal about his lack of targets and touches. That created stress on the offense, on the coaching staff, and on quarterback Baker Mayfield.

One of the biggest challenges for Stefanski will be to ensure that players set aside their desire to get the ball in their hands and let the offense unfold based on the circumstances of a given game. If they win, it will work. If they lose, Stefanski will have to spend extra time explaining to whoever isn’t getting the ball as much as he’d like to get the ball that the secret to winning doesn’t flow from forcing the ball to that specific player more frequently.

NBC

 

Jets coaches say Frank Gore is already making his presence felt

Frank Gore has not yet played a game as a Jet, but his coaches are already glad to have him.

Jets head coach Adam Gase told reporters today that Gore’s leadership has been on full display even in the team’s Zoom meetings, where Gore has shown the same kind of leadership that made Gase love coaching in Miami.

Jets offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains also praised Gore for the way he’s making clear that he wants to keep getting better, even at age 37.

“Oh, my gosh, I could go on for a long time,” Loggains said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN. “This guy has the ultimate chip on his shoulder.”

Gore may have lost a step, but the Jets still think he has something to contribute on the field. And a lot to contribute off the field.

NBC

 

Chris Jones and the Chiefs are where they were a month ago in contract talks: Nowhere.

In fact, James Palmer of NFL Media used the same phrase Friday that Jeremy Fowler of ESPN used a month ago. There is “not much traction” on a long-term deal for the pass rusher.

The Chiefs want Jones with them long term, but COVID has created uncertainty with the salary cap for 2021, and according to Palmer, some clarity from the league before July 15 could help. That’s the deadline the team faces to get a contract completed or Jones will play 2020 under the one-year franchise tag.

The Chiefs tagged Jones on March 16, and he has not signed the $16.1 million franchise tender.

Jones, who turns 26 next week, has 33 sacks and seven forced fumbles in four seasons in Kansas City. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2019.

NBC

 

The Browns’ new coaching staff has not yet settled on a play caller.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said he’ll decide at some point during the preseason whether he or offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will be the primary play caller.

“That really remains to be seen,” he said. “I’d like to get everybody back in the building, get out there practicing and get together before we make that decision. That decision will be made before September 13, I promise you that.”

Stefanski was the Vikings’ offensive coordinator last season and will surely play a very heavy role in crafting the offense, but as a first-year head coach, Stefanski may feel that he needs to have a hand in everything on game days, and that he’ll be better off if Van Pelt is managing the offense.

NBC

 

Connor McGovern: Le'Veon Bell is 'one of the greats'

Holes were hard to find and running lane were narrow for Le'Veon Bell during his debut season for the New York Jets.

After a year away from the game holding out from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bell's first year with Gang Green was arguably the worst of his career, his career lows of 3.2 yards per carry and 52.6 yards a game lending credence to that.

Connor McGovern, formerly a starter with the Denver Broncos, is preparing for his first season with the Jets and therefore wasn't there for Bell's forgettable first act with New York.

The 2019 campaign did nothing to diminish the interior offensive lineman's lofty admiration for Bell, though.

"He's a special player," McGovern said, via the team website. "He's one of the greats and will go down as one of the greats, and I'm excited to have someone like that [in the backfield]."

A three-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro, Bell was one of if not the best backs in football with Pittsburgh, tallying three 1,000-yard seasons with each of those instances accompanied by showings of at least 75 catches.

In 2019, though, he had just 789 yards and three touchdowns, his season seemingly one long, fruitless campaign in which he searched for running room that was never found.

With general manager Joe Douglas looking to protect burgeoning quarterback Sam Darnold, New York has brought in a bevy of new offensive linemen -- which includes guard Greg Van Roten, tackle George Fant, guard Alex Lewis and first-round tackle Mekhi Becton -- and it would seemingly bode well for Bell, also.

"If you don't make the perfect block, he'll still make you look good and make something special happen," McGovern said. "If you block for three yards and the play is supposed to get three yards, he'll get seven or eight yards."

Bell was most certainly one of the greats of the game as a Steeler. Perhaps McGovern and Co. will aid him in once more achieving that status as a Jet.

NFL.com

 

If he can recapture the magic he had as a Pittsburgh Steelers Le'Veon Bell as Jets rb would be awesome I just wonder can he?

 

Cam Newton signs a 1-year deal with the Patriots.

 

NFL Football Operations sent a tweet Monday evening, saying the league has advised teams that training camps are expected to begin as scheduled July 28.

The league’s general counsel, Jeff Pash, said the same in a conference call last Thursday.

The NFL will allow rookies to start earlier. Panthers coach Matt Rhule said last week that the league had informed teams that they could bring in rookies July 21 with quarterbacks following July 23.

PFT reported earlier in the day that some teams may not bring in their rookies early.

The NFL issued guidelines earlier this month for protocols and procedures for when players could return to team facilities. The guidelines need to be agreed to by the NFLPA, which is directing agents to advise players to talk to their personal doctors about the risks of playing during a pandemic.

NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills has acknowledged protocols still are being developed as the science around COVID-19 evolves.

NBC

 

Are any sports actually doing anything now? Practice

 

MLB reports Wednesday.

 

All their championships are tainted.