Tag: chemistry

Jacoby Brisset bullish on his blossoming chemistry with receiver Amari Cooper

Brissett got in rhythm with Cooper in the #Browns’ loss to the #Jets on Sunday.

Having found their stride on offense after two weeks of competition, the Cleveland Browns are on the precipice of putting together something truly special. With a plethora of talented skill position players and a competent signal-caller under center, the team is in a holding pattern while they wait for their defense to catch up.

In comments to reporters on Wednesday, quarterback Jacoby Brissett made a point to explain his growing chemistry with receiver Amari Cooper, who joined the Browns via trade in the offseason. A three-reception performance by the star wide-out in Week 1 gave way to a dominant showing against the New York Jets on Sunday, where he snagged nine catches on 10 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown.

“It is Amari,” Brissett explained of his talented teammate. “That was just one of those days for him. Did a really good job of understanding the plan. I thought we as a collective group understood the plan. It was not just Amari – obviously, Amari was getting himself open – but players running routes to help get him open. Just capitalized on the opportunities that we had. Like I said, looking forward to creating more opportunities in the future obviously coming up Thursday, and just seeing how things unfold.”

Cleveland will need to lean on Cooper while they wait for their full-time starter to see the field in his first action of the 2022 season. Brissett has been adjusting to life as the team’s top passer and is still in the process of feeling out the offense, so his newfound connection with his top receiver should be a boon for the Browns moving forward.

Few teams have the luxury of a dominant pass-catcher to pair with an elite running game, so Cleveland would be wise to maximize their abundance of talent as much as possible against the Steelers in Week 3. If they can get the ball into the hands of their most reliable playmakers, the Thursday night matchup could be the bounce-back that the Browns need to stay on course for the playoffs in January.

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The chemistry between Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle is alive and well

Former college teammates at Alabama, Jaylen Waddle and Tua Tagovailoa, are still in sync as they participate in offseason training.

The Miami Dolphins are seemingly all in on former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who they drafted No. 5 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. In oder to get him some offensive assistance, the Dolphins drafted one of his former top targets from Alabama, Jaylen Waddle.

A few other teams shared Miami’s approach. The Bengals reunited Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, the Eagles drafted DeVonta Smith to be paired with his former quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Jaguars drafted Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne in the first round in 2021.

With all of these reunions taking place, is there any evidence to support the chemistry will still be there at the professional level?

Well, for Tagovailoa and Waddle, it’s still there, and it’s reportedly visible during offseason training.

According to Safid Deen of the Sun Sentinel, Tagovailoa knows exactly where Waddle will be.

Waddle is making a strong impact during offseason training. Fellow first-year Dolphins wide receiver Will Fuller IV has discussed Waddle’s abilities during press conferences.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow these former Alabama stars as they get prepared for the 2021 NFL season.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

DK Metcalf’s bond with QB Russell Wilson growing even stronger year 2

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf’s bond with QB Russell Wilson is growing even stronger entering their second season together.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf had no problem bonding with his quarterback his rookie season, but the chemistry between himself and Russell Wilson figures to be even stronger his second year in the league.

“We know how one another is going to react to certain things,” Metcalf told reporters in a video press conference Thursday afternoon. “It’s just a bond that goes further than football. Football is only a short period of my life. Just building relationships while I’m here that are going last a lifetime. So any bond that you have, besides just the common ‘Hey, go run that go run that route and be done,’ is going to be great.”

Metcalf and Wilson spent quality time this offseason working out in Southern Califonia together hoping any extra reps could give them an edge in 2020, but clearly, Metcalf has benefitted just as much from the friendship and offseason activities.

Hopefully, the duo will be able to connect as seamlessly on gamedays.

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Celtics rang in the New Year together after Charlotte win

The Boston Celtics continued to bond into a new decade after a group New Year’s Eve outing organized by point guard Kemba Walker, relates rookie wing Romeo Langford.

At this point, it’s clear the Boston Celtics’ chemistry isn’t an act.

Starting with Team Shamrock this summer as Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart bonded while playing for Team USA all the way up to Tuesday night’s New Year’s celebrations, the camaraderie shared by the Celtics is based in real mutual respect and friendship.

It’s driven the team’s success in ways which are difficult not to compare to last season’s dysfunction.

So, we won’t.

Instead, the focus should be on how veteran leadership shown by UConn product Walker in organizing the team’s decade-end festivities as an example of how the team has managed to integrate a staggering seven rookies into the roster in a uniquely low-pressure environment despite the team’s recent past.

It’s allowing first-year players to contribute to the team with the third-best record in the league without feeling pressure to produce most teams with younger players in such a situation might not.

You know, some hypothetical team, struggling to live up to big expectations.

Small gestures, such as Walker’s invitation to his teammates to ring in he new year collectively, might not seem like a big deal, but they do a lot of good, especially for young players just entering the league.

“Kemba set [the team’s New Year’s gathering] up. It was his idea, his party,” said rookie wing Langford (courtesy of NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg).

“He wanted all of us to be able to end the year on a good note, help us out with team bonding,” he added.

That bonding and its role in team cohesion isn’t lost on the rookies, who recognize the value it has brought the team, and more specifically, themselves as they try to learn how to be professionals at the highest level of their chosen vocation.

“It’s been real nice. It makes the transition into the NBA a lot easier to have a nice, supporting cast and guys like that welcome you with open arms from the jump,” Langford explained.

“I feel the good vibes. Definitely,” he continued.

“From top to bottom, everybody gels, everybody works together well. It’s not like you can only go talk to one person on the team, or one other vet. You can go talk to anybody you want and they’ll help you out with something. And it translates on the court because we all trust each other and have great chemistry.”

It strains the mind of even those of us who’d prefer to have our memories of last season flashed Men In Black-style, never again to have to revisit a situation which sounds the polar opposite of what the Indiana native describes this iteration of the Celtics to be like.

But we won’t linger there.

With a heavy schedule between now and the All-Star break, plenty of those rookies will see real minutes to help the older (and more banged-up) vets weather the busy slate of games ahead.

And friendships and trust built by spending holidays together will help power Boston through one of the more challenging segments of the season.

While it might be nearly as worn a path as the darker side of the coin that was 2018-19, the ubuntu-like bond this team shares defines Boston in ways which are transforming individual narratives in ways focusing on the self never could have.

There’s an object lesson in there somewhere, but not for fans, nor for analysts to lecture professionals in another field on, either.

This season’s Celtics have built something sustainable, and looking ahead from the start of a new year, new decade, and quite possibly new era…

…it’s pretty hard not to be optimistic.

Bobby Wagner: Seahawks’ success fueled by locker room chemistry

The Seattle Seahawks’ success in 2019 has been fueled by the culture and chemistry in the team’s locker room according to LB Bobby Wagner.

The Seattle Seahawks are 10-3 and in second place in the NFC West coming off a brutal loss Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams. However, they are still hot on the heels of the 49ers for the division lead with three games left to play, culminating in a showdown with San Francisco in Week 17.

Almost nobody expected the Seahawks to start 10-3 in 2019. There are multiple factors that have contributed significantly to the team’s success this season, including the culture in the locker room.

“I just think it shows how close of a group we are,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said last week. “When we go on the road, everybody’s connected, everybody’s together, and I think that’s what makes us a really good road team – the connection, the chemistry, especially on the defensive side because when the offense is up it’s so quiet. We’re able to communicate a lot better, we’re able to talk to one another a lot better. You can only talk to other people if you have a chemistry with them.”

Wagner said he and the other veterans got the younger players involved and mixed the position groups together to make them feel more connected – including while riding on the team bus.

“The one bus thing was just for everybody to be more connected,” Wagner explained. “Instead of separating the groups, having everybody come together, everybody preparing together, everybody coming out together, I feel like it speaks to that closeness. When you’re around the guys so much it makes you learn who you’re playing with and builds that comradery.”

Following their gut-wrenching primetime loss to the Rams, the Seahawks will seek to recover together against the Panthers in their final road game of the season.

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