Tag: 2021 nfl

The Touchdown Wire NFL podcast: Dueling power rankings!

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield get ready for the 2021 NFL season with their dueling power rankings!

Now that we have real football again (even if it’s Mason Rudolph and Ben DiNucci football, we’ll take it), it’s time for Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield to fire up the podcast again, and get into the season. Doug and Mark will preview every week of the season with advanced metrics and matchup notes based on extensive tape study, but since we’re starting from square one with the Hall of Fame game, we thought it would be fun to discuss dueling power rankings — to get a sense of where every team is, and how we might see things differently.

Mark’s power rankings:

Touchdown Wire’s pre-training camp power rankings

Doug’s power rankings:

Touchdown Wire’s preseason power rankings

We also get into Mark’s victory in the Sports Info Solutions Data Challenge (woo-hoo!), and you can watch the presentation by Mark’s team here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efSjcSl4_lA&t=5380s

Listen to the podcast on BlogTalk Radio:

Watch it on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cylhq3YaWxI

NFL announces 2021 preseason schedule

The NFL has announced its full 2021 preseason schedule.

One indication that the nation — and the NFL — is returning to some sense of normalcy is that there will be a preseason in 2021. The 2020 preseason was cancelled due to COVID, and the 2021 preseason will be different in that there are just three games — part of the agreement between the league and the NFLPA when the decision was made to expand the regular season to 17 games.

So, that’s one less week for the guys on the bottom of the depth charts to prove themselves before the regular season starts, which should add a new sense of urgency to the proceedings.

From the Hall of Fame game to the end of Week 3, here’s the complete schedule for the 2021 preseason.

Bengals had pre-draft meet with WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette

The Cincinnati Bengals have been in contact with a notable WR prospect ahead of the 2021 NFL draft.

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While free agency takes center stage, the Cincinnati Bengals continue to work the paces of the upcoming 2021 NFL draft.

While the Bengals have sent offensive line coaches to certain pro days of top prospects, the team has also been in contact with other prospects.

Such as Iowa wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette, according to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo.

A four-year player at Iowa, Smith-Marsette tallied 1,615 yards and 14 touchdowns for his career, averaging a strong 14.7 yards per catch. He’s a 6’1″ target with experience returning punts and kicks too, which naturally makes him an attractive target for the Bengals.

Cincinnati is bound to attack the wideout position at some point this offseason as they look to get a solid third to run with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Smith-Marsette could fit that, should the team avoid spending on the position in free agency and instead relegate the need to a mid-round pick.

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