Tag: 2022 NFL Season

D.J. Reed sees a ‘lockdown cornerback’ in Ahmad Gardner

Jets CB D.J. Reed is excited to play with Ahmad Gardner in 2022.

The Jets added two new starting cornerbacks this offseason in veteran D.J. Reed and fourth overall pick Ahmad Gardner.

Even before hitting the field with his new teammate, Reed believes the Jets drafted a true shutdown defensive back in Gardner. The vet is excited to play with the rookie this season.

“I love it, man. Sauce – I watched his tape and he’s everything that the media is saying he is, he’s a lockdown cornerback,” Reed told team reporter Caroline Hendershot. “He did it in college, and he can do it in the NFL, I believe.”

Gardner famously never allowed a touchdown reception during his three years at Cincinnati. He also recorded nine interceptions when opposing quarterbacks were foolish enough to throw his way.

Now the Jets are hoping Gardner’s ball-hawking abilities will translate to the next level. Reed has no doubt.

“He’s prototypical, he has elite characteristics, and he plays good coverage with great eye discipline. And he can catch,” Reed said. “He makes great plays on the ball and it’s just an overall complete cornerback, in my opinion. I’m looking forward to getting to meet bro and just balling with him.”

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The Philadelphia Eagles, owners of the NFL’s best offseason, are coming to steal the Cowboys’ NFC East crown

The Eagles rebuild has been swift and potentially devastating.

The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t content with a Wild Card bid.

The Eagles pushed the clock forward on what looked to be an arduous rebuild by making it to the postseason last fall. Philadelphia had absorbed a then-record $63.7 million in dead salary cap space just to rid itself of Carson Wentz before the 2021 season. Then, led by a young roster and facing a weak schedule, the team took care of business. Nine wins and a playoff spot later, the Eagles declared themselves a potential problem for the rest of the NFC.

But Philadelphia was a dismissible evil, as its not-especially-close one-and-done postseason loss to the Buccaneers proved. General manager Howie Roseman wasn’t going to let that stand through the 2022 offseason. He’s made splashy acquisitions to wrap up winter and welcome spring. In the process, he’s taken his franchise from a +450 early underdog to unseat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East to a worthy +175 contender to Dak Prescott’s throne, per Tipico.

In the span of three months, here’s what he’s done to add firepower to his playoff armada:

  • re-signed Jason Kelce so he can end his career in Philadelphia while drafting his replacement, Cam Jurgens
  • signed Haason Reddick and re-signed Derek Barnett to bring stability to an inconsistent pass rush
  • replaced Alex Singleton (12.7 percent missed tackle rate, 111.4 passer rating allowed in coverage) with Kyzir White (5.3 percent missed tackle rate, 88.1 rating allowed) at linebacker
  • traded one of his three 2022 first round picks to the Saints for a smattering of valuable selections that sets Philly up for another draft with multiple Day 1 selections in 2023
  • traded another 2022 first round pick to the Tennessee Titans to acquire AJ Brown, who then signed a four year, $100 million extension to stay in town
  • traded up in the first round to draft Jordan Davis, a 341-pound defensive lineman capable of beefing up an aging group in the trenches and also the fastest big man in Combine history
  • drafted Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean, an expected first round pick, in the third round after injury concerns caused Dean’s stock to plummet
  • signed James Bradberry, a 2020 Pro Bowler, to beef up his aging secondary after the Giants released him earlier this offseason.

These are all very good things. The Eagles bring back everyone from a top five offensive line. A pass rush that ranked 31st in the league in sacks got reinforcements along the edge and the kind of pocket-crumpling, gap-shooting interior line help to make their lives easier.

Opposing quarterbacks crushed Philadelphia with short-range targets, completing nearly 70 percent of their passes thanks to the league’s lowest target depth (6.4 yards downfield — 31st-ranked Buffalo clocked in at 7.0). Upgrading from Singleton to White helps that cause. So will Dean whenever he’s available to step into the lineup.

Bringing Bradberry into the fold adds another capable defender to the secondary. That group was a deterrent that kept opponents from taking shots downfield thanks to the outstanding play of Darius Slay and Anthony Harris. Both those guys will be 31 years old this season. Adding a younger option to help carry the load should be a rising tide for the Eagles’ ships.

Finally there’s Brown, who football scholars will note is very good at this. The 24-year-old wideout combines all the individual strengths of Philadelphia’s existing wideouts and rolls them into a single player who commands double coverage.

He can chop up cornerbacks near the line of scrimmage and explode for big gains after the catch like Jalen Reagor was expected to, as evidenced by his 972 yards-after-catch in 2019 and 2020. He can be the deep threat DeVonta Smith proved to be as a rookie — his 11.3 yards before catch in ’19 matches up nicely with Smith’s 10.9 last fall. He has the big body to break tackles and scoot upfield like Dallas Goedert, as shown in his 13 broken tackles in 14 games in 2020.

That will be vital for the development of Jalen Hurts (or, if you want to be difficult, Gardner Minshew, though Hurts is absolutely the Eagles’ top option). Hurts’ third season as a pro will likely determine his fate. He’s a viable mobile quarterback, but isn’t yet a franchise cornerstone thanks to a passing game that has yet to match the efficiency of his legs.

Hurts ranked 16th out of 31 qualified starting quarterbacks last season in expected points added per play. His Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE), which measures throw quality by measuring the throws an average NFL quarterback is reasonably expected to make vs. his actual completions (using the league’s Next Gen Stats framework), paints him as 2021’s 18th-best quarterback. His CPOE of minus-0.2 significantly trailed league leader Joe Burrow’s 6.0.

from RSBDM.com/stats

Even if he’s just an average passer it’s a step up from the small sample size of his rookie 2020. Hurts’ CPOE that season was a rough minus-3.4 as he was outperformed by non-stars like Drew Lock, Joe Flacco, and Nick Foles. Between 2020 and 2021 he upped his completion rate from 52 percent to 61.3 percent while keeping his average pass distance roughly the same. That’s a function of an upgraded receiving corps led by Smith and Goedert, but it’s also a testament to the young quarterback’s growth.

Roseman is counting on another season of improvement and has gone out of his way to ply him with the quarterback’s equivalent of protein powder. Adding Brown to the receiving mix means Hurts will have viable options for at every level on any given down. Most importantly, his rising wideout corps gives him the opportunity to hone the deep ball issues that have held him back early in his career; per Sports Information Solutions, he ranked 24th among qualified quarterbacks last season after completing only 22 of his 57 attempts (38.6 percent) of throws that traveled 20+ yards downfield.

The Eagles made it to the playoffs in 2021 but beat zero of the 13 other teams that joined them in the postseason. They had one win over a franchise with a winning record and it was the Trevor Siemian-led Saints. It was easy to surmise last year’s unexpected competence wasn’t the end of Philadelphia’s brief trek through a rebuilding desert but just an oasis.

But rather run that well dry, Roseman invested in the land, drilled down in hopes of finding more water, and turned it into a resort. The Eagles understood their strengths and weaknesses and played to each in the kind of offseason that can inform the next decade of wins and losses.

The very real question of whether they have the quarterback play to usurp the Cowboys in the NFC East remains. If Jalen Hurts can’t do it, it won’t be blamed on the executive team behind him.

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Seahawks near bottom of Football Outsiders’ watchability ‘fun index’

After an offseason that saw many changes, the Seattle Seahawks now rank near the bottom of Football Outsider’s watchability “fun index.”

The Seattle Seahawks have undergone major changes this offseason, dealing their franchise quarterback to the Denver Broncos and releasing longtime defensive superstar Bobby Wagner, who promptly signed with the division-rival Los Angeles Rams.

Seattle did have a successful NFL draft, but the rookie additions may not have an immediate impact this season.

All that being said, will the Seahawks be enjoyable for fans to watch this year?

Not according to Football Outsiders, who recently ranked all 32 clubs based on their “fun index.” The Seahawks scored a mere 3.5, landing them at No. 26 overall in the league.

“Watching the Seahawks will be like going out for beers to cheer up a recently separated pal,” writes Mike Tanier. “‘Uh-uh, he started drinking before I got here. Oh no, he’s straight-up asking a barmaid his daughter’s age out. Maybe we should go get some coffee, buddy? Please stop sobbing.”

“Drew Lock, in this metaphor, is the Tinder date who is just using the Seahawks for a free dinner.”

Well, none of this sounds particularly exciting, but this is only one man’s opinion.

Single-game tickets are now on sale, so you can find out the Seahawks’ fun factor for yourself.

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Ex-NFL quarterback has no faith in Jets, Zach Wilson

Brady Quinn believes Zach Wilson and the Jets’ tough early schedule will tank Gang Green’s 2022 season.

One former NFL quarterback is bearish on the Jets’ 2022 prospects.

Brady Quinn, who was a first-round pick by the Browns in 2007 but hasn’t played a regular-season snap since 2013, doesn’t think the Jets will win more than five games this year. He cited their tough easy-season slate before moving on to Gang Green’s quarterback.

“Their season is going to be over before the bye,” Quinn, who lasted just over a month on the Jets roster in 2013, recently said on CBS. “I mean that is just the reality of it. They play the entire AFC North and they might go 0-4 [to start the season].”

The schedule doesn’t get much easier for New York after the AFC North gauntlet. The Jets then face the Dolphins at home in Week 5 – a winnable game, according to Quinn – before facing Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson on the road. Gang Green closes out the first half with home games against the Patriots and Bills before the team’s Week 10 bye.

“I mean, there is a realistic scenario where they’re 1-8, maybe 0-9,” Quinn continued. “As good as the roster has improved, I just haven’t been a fan of Zach Wilson. I think this is an unbelievably difficult schedule that lines up in the second half, but they could be decimated by that point.”

This is a worst-case scenario for the Jets. But the team can recover even if New York doesn’t win more than one game in its first nine. The Jets have one of the softest second-half schedules in the NFL with games against the Bears, Lions, Jaguars and rebuilding Seahawks. The Jets will still face their AFC East rivals, though, which include three ascendant teams.

Quinn believes another bad season for the Jets could spell trouble for Wilson’s long-term prospects with the team.

“I’ve got them winning five games,” Quinn said, “and probably going back to the drawing board at the quarterback position in the 2023 NFL draft.”

That’s extreme, as the Jets aren’t likely to move on from Wilson after only two years.

Still, Joe Douglas handed Wilson as many new tools as he could this offseason. It’s on Wilson to prove he can be a franchise quarterback with a solid arsenal around him. An improved defense should help things, too, after the Jets finished with the worst overall unit in the league in 2021.

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Eagles to participate in joint practices with the Dolphins ahead of final preseason game

Philadelphia Eagles to participate in joint practices with the Miami Dolphins ahead of the final preseason game

The Eagles will open up their preseason with a matchup against the Jets on August 12, and then the action will really heat up during joint practice sessions.

After previously announcing joint practice sessions with the Browns during their week in Cleveland, Philadelphia will spend the bulk of their final week of training camp holding joint practices with the Dolphins at their training facility in Miami.

Last summer, the Eagles hosted the Patriots for joint practices and then traveled to the Jets’ facility to conduct two days of practices against New York prior to preseason games against each team.

If 2021 was an example, Philadelphia will likely put more stock into those two weeks of practice against the Browns and Jets, choosing to use the game action for bubble players and reserves.

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Week 1 NFL Odds: Eagles open as slight road favorites over Lions

Week 1 NFL Odds: Philadelphia Eagles open as slight road favorites over the Detroit Lions

The Eagles will open the 2022 regular season on the road against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, September 11, and the Birds will be slight road favorites according to early betting lines from Tipico Sportsbook.

This will be the first time Philadelphia and Detroit have opened a season against each other and the contest will mark the third consecutive year the Eagles have opened up on the road, which is the team’s longest such streak since 2011-13.

After a disastrous loss to the Raiders, Philadelphia found its identity at Ford Field the following week, as the Eagles dismantled Detroit 44-6 in a game that featured 236 rushing yards, along with a defense that battered quarterback Jared Goff with six sacks, and added a scoop and fumble return for a touchdown by Darius Slay in his return to Detroit.

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The Packers reportedly paid Jaire Alexander rather than risk another Davante Adams situation

Keeping Alexander was a priority, even if it means more time in salary cap hell.

The Green Bay Packers didn’t want another Davante Adams situation on their hands. That’s why they made Jaire Alexander the richest defensive back in NFL history.

Alexander signed a four-year, $84 million contract extension that will keep him in Green Bay through his age 29 season, ESPN first reported. It’s a fitting reward for a player who emerged as an All-Pro in 2020 while giving up a meager 4.7 yards per target. It was also a signal general manager Brian Gutekunst both is, and isn’t, willing to learn from the Packers’ past.

Adams left Wisconsin after eight seasons and five Pro Bowl selections as a Packer. The official reason for his departure via trade to the Las Vegas Raiders was to fulfill a lifelong dream by putting on the black and silver and team up with his former quarterback at Fresno State, Derek Carr.

Unofficially, it was because he couldn’t work out a timely extension before the four-year, $58 million deal he signed in 2017 expired. Negotiations between the two sides sputtered in 2021, leading Green Bay to place the franchise tag on him for 2022. When it became clear Adams wouldn’t re-sign long term, even at a price reportedly higher than the $28 million average annual salary Vegas wound up paying, Gutekunst had little recourse but to send his star wideout west and recoup some of his value in a deal with the Raiders.

Handing Alexander a market-resetting contract ensures that won’t happen again to another homegrown success story (at least not in 2023). While his new deal will pay him nearly $1 million more per year than any other cornerback or safety in the league, it’ll do so in fewer years than the Cleveland Browns gave Denzel Ward in his five-year, $100 million deal. More notably, it will reportedly come with significantly less guaranteed salary than several of his peers despite eye-catching overall numbers.

Top money in practical guarantees, current NFL cornerbacks/safeties, per Spotrac:

  1. Ward, Cleveland Browns: $71.25 million
  2. Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams: $71.2 million
  3. Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore Ravens: $67.3 million
  4. Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans Saints: $58.1 million
  5. Tre’Davious White, Buffalo Bills: $55.3 million

The numbers aren’t final thanks to the still-reported status of Alexander’s deal, but he’ll clock in at seventh place on that list if Josina Anderson’s report of $45 million in guarantees paid out over 2022 and 2023 is correct:

That’s pretty reasonable for a player who PFF rated as the best cornerback in the league in 2020. It’s only about $10 million more than Derek Stingley Jr. — the third overall pick in April’s draft — will make over the first four years of his rookie contract.

Alexander’s deal clears a considerable chunk of the $13-plus million he was owed in 2022 from the team’s salary cap.

The Packers had a little less than $11 million to spend under the 2022 salary cap before extending Alexander, per Over the Cap. This should bump them up to around $17 million to spend this season. With a lingering market for veteran offensive linemen capable of serving as stopgap options (Daryl Williams, JC Tretter, Billy Price, Ereck Flowers), veteran wideouts capable of adding depth (Odell Beckham Jr., Will Fuller, Emmanuel Sanders) and viable defenders (Akiem Hicks, Trey Flowers, Anthony Barr), Green Bay can be more adventurous when sifting through the bargain bin of leftover free agents.

Unfortunately for Gutekunst, the money saved in 2022 is going to land on future years where his team isn’t exactly flush with spending room. The Packers had only an estimated $12 million to spend next offseason before their Alexander extension. They’re projected to have the seventh-worst cap space in 2024 without factoring whatever money Alexander will be owed. There’s no chance of a 2019-style spending spree in the foreseeable future. This is what the Packers will be for the next two-to-four seasons, with the exception of inexpensive veterans who outplay their contracts and rookies picked up through the draft.

That lack of cap space and locked-in future helped contribute to Adams’ departure when the team refused to give him DeAndre Hopkins-type cash before the 2021 season. It shouldn’t be as damaging moving forward. The team’s most important pending free agent for 2023 is either Adrian Amos, Dean Lowry or Allen Lazard — each important contributors, but none of whom would devastate the roster if Gutekunst can’t find the funds to re-sign them.

Things get dicier in 2024 when players like Rashad Gary, Darnell Savage, AJ Dillon and Elgton Jenkins are set to hit free agency. Fortunately, there’s more wiggle room against an expanding cap two years from now and, as the New Orleans Saints have repeatedly shown, you can always restructure contracts to kick the can on your salary commitments down the road a year or two.

There’s also the fact of the matter Gutekunst has been really good at finding bargain playmakers recently. De’Vondre Campbell and Rasul Douglas each played at a Pro Bowl level in 2021 despite being signed well after the offseason’s free agent rush and at dirt cheap prices. Ricky Wagner was a key part of the league’s second-best offensive line after signing an inexpensive deal in 2020. Draft hits under Gutekunst include Alexander, Gary, Savage, Dillon, Jenkins, Jon Runyan and Eric Stokes.

By extending Alexander to record money at his position, Gutekunst is sending the signal he can continue turning underappreciated players into assets. Paying Aaron Rodgers $50 million annually kinda meant he’d always have to do so if he wanted to keep the stars from his perennial playoff team aligned. The Packers, without Adams, are going to run it back and try again despite a litany of postseason disappointments littering their short-term memory.

Given the alternative — another win-now departure from a decidedly win-now team — it was the only strategy that made much sense. The Packers have an opportunity to continue their regular season reign across a depleted NFC. A healthy Alexander is a major part of that.

Now he’s under contract for four more years at a reasonable number. That’s a win for Green Bay and Gutekunst. Now they need Alexander to help engineer a few meaningful postseason victories to go with it.

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Every holiday game — Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day — on the NFL’s 2022 schedule

The games to watch while you’re digesting on the couch.

The NFL won’t just be a part of America’s Thanksgivings this season. Thanks to Christmas and New Year’s Day both falling on Sundays, we’ll have plenty of chances to watch pro football while slowly digesting on the couch.

The league has jumped on this opportunity, and 2022’s Christmas slate is loaded with big ticket games and likely playoff teams. One week later, the pro and college games will clash when the bulk of Week 17 runs the same day as the Rose and Sugar Bowls. All in all, despite the presence of the Jets, Giants and Lions — all of whom could easily exceed expectations this fall — it’s clear commissioner Roger Goodell made being the official background noise of your family gathering a priority this offseason.

Here’s what we’ve got when the weather turns cold and holiday season starts up again this winter.

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POLL: Predict Chiefs’ win-loss record for 2022 NFL season

The #Chiefs’ schedule has been revealed. What will the team’s W-L record be in 2022? Vote in our poll:

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The Kansas City Chiefs’ schedule for the 2022 NFL season has finally been revealed.

It’s regarded as one of, if not the toughest schedule in the league. Don’t believe it? Just go check out this crazy stat about the team’s first eight opponents.

Now that you’ve had some time to process and look over the schedule, we want to know what you think the Chiefs’ final record will look like at the end of the 2022 NFL season. Is Kansas City poised to have a winning record for the 10th consecutive season or will they have a losing record for the first time since 2012? Will having Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid at the helm make a difference for the Chiefs amidst the changes they’ve undergone in the offseason? Will the youth of this team have a positive or negative impact on the field?

Be sure to vote in our poll at the top of the page. Also, leave share your thoughts with us in the comment section down below or on Facebook and Twitter.

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