Tag: NFL Network

NFL Network to air ‘Hail to the Chiefs’ marathon starting next week

A look back at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl-winning season is coming to NFL Network.

NFL Network is celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl-winning season with a marathon of games from the 2019 season starting the week of Monday, August 10.

On Friday, NFL Media officially announced the marathon titled, “Hail to the Chiefs.” It’ll feature a look back at several games throughout the teams’ championship season, starting with the Week 3 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

Here is the full schedule:

Monday, August 10:

  • 7:00 p.m. CT – Chiefs vs. Ravens, Week 3
  • 10:00 p.m. CT – Chiefs @ Lions, Week 4

Tuesday, August 11:

  • 7:00 p.m. CT – Chiefs vs. Texans, Week 6
  • 10:00 p.m. CT – Chiefs vs. Vikings, Week 9

Wednesday, August 12:

  • 7:00 p.m. CT – Chiefs @ Titans, Week 10
  • 10:00 p.m. CT – Chiefs @ Patriots, Week 14

Thursday, August 12:

  • 7:00 p.m. CT – Chiefs vs. Texans, AFC Divisional Round
  • 10:00 p.m. CT – Chiefs vs. Titans, AFC Championship Game

Friday, August 13:

  • 7:00 p.m. CT – Chiefs vs. 49ers, Super Bowl LIV

From the looks of it, the marathon will feature several opponents who Kansas City will face as they seek to defend their Super Bowl title in 2020. A group that includes Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots. There will be a little bit of something for every Chiefs fan in this marathon. We’ll even get a second look at Matt Moore’s start against the Vikings in Week 9.

The “Hail to the Chiefs” marathon will repeat over the weekend of August 15-16. You can find the schedule for that in the tweet below:

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WATCH: Chris Lindstrom earns high praise in film breakdown

The Atlanta Falcons had to wait until late in the season to see what they had in first-round pick Chris Lindstrom after the rookie offensive lineman broke his foot during a Week 1 loss to the Vikings.

The Atlanta Falcons had to wait until late in the season to see what they had in first-round pick Chris Lindstrom after the rookie offensive lineman broke his foot during a Week 1 loss to the Vikings.

Lindstrom was out until the team’s Week 14 matchup with the Panthers. Once he returned, though, it was clear what general manager Thomas Dimitroff saw in the powerful guard out of Boston College.

Over the final four games of 2019, Lindstrom’s presence gave the running game some punch. His return also seemed to have a positive effect on fellow rookie lineman Kaleb McGary, whom Atlanta also selected in the first round. 

NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger loves great offensive line play, and was highly impressed by what he saw out of Lindstrom during Weeks 14-17. Check out the breakdown Baldinger shared of the Falcons starting right guard on Twitter below:

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Former return specialist Bucky Brooks joins Jags media team as an analyst

The Jags are getting back another former player on their media team in NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks.

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t just been emphasizing getting better on the field, but they’ve been trying to do the same off of it. That goal seemed to be achieved this week as it was announced that they would be adding a former defensive back and return specialist of the team to their digital group in Bucky Brooks.

Brooks, 49, is a huge addition to the Jags’ media team when considering his resume in the football community. He’s spent the last six seasons with NFL Network, providing analysis on the draft, co-hosting the “Move the Sticks Podcast” alongside Daniel Jeremiah, and also providing weekly analysis on the NFL in general.

Brooks was drafted in the second-round of the 1994 draft (No. 48 overall selection) out of North Carolina by the Buffalo Bills. After a season with the Bills, he spent two with the Green Bay Packers before joining the Jags from 1996-97. Afterward, he followed his time in Duval up with another stint with the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Oakland Raiders.

Brooks registered most of his stats as a return specialist, finishing it with 26 kick returns for 574 yards. During his time in Jacksonville, he played with Jags greats Natrone Means, Jimmy Smith, Keenan McCardell, Jimmy Smith, Mark Brunell, and Tony Boselli.

Podcast: Jags Wire chats with NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah

The Jags will need a lot of help from their 2020 draft class. To discuss the group, Jags Wire sat down with draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah.

If the Jacksonville Jaguars are to have a successful 2020 season, they are going to need a lot of help from their rookie class. While that may seem like a difficult feat to achieve, it’s worth noting the team had arguably 2019’s best class in terms of contributions with players like Gardner Minshew II, Jawaan Taylor, and Josh Allen aiding the team to six wins.

To discuss the potential of the Jags’ most recent class from April, we spoke to someone who covered it live on ESPN for NFL Network in draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. The former scout of the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Philadelphia Eagles joined us for our latest episode of the “Bleav in the Jags Podcast” and had plenty of takes the fans will definitely like.

Some of the specific topics we discussed outside of the Jags 12-man draft class was Jeremiah’s pick for the Jags’ top undrafted addition, his thoughts on how COVID-19 will affect college football, Gardner Minshew, being a general manager one day, and more.

After our conversation with Jeremiah, Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and I continued to discuss Jimmy Smith’s recent resurgence on Twitter and the Jags’ value, according to Forbes.

Feel free to listen to the archived episodes of “Bleav in the Jags,”too, and subscribe via Apple podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify.

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Cameron Jordan talks trash to Tom Brady, but can the Saints back it up?

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan trolled Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, creating fresh bulletin board material.

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Few NFL players enjoy chopping it up with the media more than Cameron Jordan. The New Orleans Saints defensive end appeared on “Good Morning Football” this week on NFL Network to preview the 2020 season and lay out his expectations, starting with a Week 1 kickoff against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“They’ve got the second-greatest quarterback of all-time, right behind Drew Brees, and now we’ve got a head-to-head two times a year,” Jordan said, via NFL.com. “We’ve got our work cut out for us and then they have an addition, you bring in Rob Gronkowski and LeSean McCoy, you already had two 1,000-yard receivers in (Chris) Godwin and Mike Evans.

“This is a team that’s fighting for second place.”

That’s bold talk, which isn’t new for Jordan (who famously shipped bottles from Jordan Winery to Cam Newton after his Saints swept Newton’s Carolina Panthers). But will the Saints defense show up in Week 1?

The black and gold have been notoriously slow starters in recent years. Despite winning 13 games in each of the last two season, they stumbled out of the gate in both season-openers: in 2019, the Saints averaged 333.1 total yards allowed per game (11th-best in the NFL), but opened the year by allowing Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans to drop 414 yards of offense on their heads, scoring 28 points in a game that came down to a last-second Wil Lutz field goal for the win.

A year earlier, the Saints allowed 349.1 yards from scrimmage per game (ranking 14th league-wide) but were run off the field by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Ryan Fitzpatrick shredded them to the tune of 529 total yards, winning 48-40 in a game that was more lopsided than that score suggests. This kind of goes without saying, but just to be clear: Brady is a better quarterback than Fitzpatrick.

Sure, the Saints rebounded in both cases. But it’s an ugly pattern, and they can’t afford another start like what we’ve seen before. Jordan and the Saints must hit the ground running in 2020 if they’re going to win their third consecutive division title. With new uncertainty introduced from the COVID-19 pandemic and Brady surrounded by weapons young (Evans, Godwin) and old (Gronkowski, McCoy) there’s very little margin for error.

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Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick has ‘proven to be a worthy investment’

In a debate among NFL Network analysts as to which team has the best secondary, Minkah Fitzpatrick and the Steelers were spoken of highly.

Not that we needed confirmation that Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has been worth trading a first-rounder for, but NFL Network analyst Adam Rank noted as much during a debate on which team has the best secondary.

Rank, who is a staunch Chicago Bears fan, voiced his opinion that the NFL’s best secondary belongs to the Black and Gold:

The Pittsburgh Steelers have the best secondary in football. I say this even with Terrell Edmunds still entrenched at strong safety. He’s the Paul Roma of the Steelers’ Four Horsemen in the defensive backfield, which is led by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. I know a lot of people were stunned when the Steelers offered a first-round pick for Fitzpatrick, but he’s proven to be a worthy investment. If he isn’t the best safety in the game, he’s clearly in the conversation. And the Steelers also have an exceptional group of corners that includes Joe Haden, Steven Nelson and Mike Hilton. All three guys landed in Pro Football Focus’ top 25 cornerbacks last season, and in case you didn’t know, Nelson ranked seventh. Back to Edmunds for a second. I understand Steelers fans’ frustration with the former first-round pick many thought was a reach, but he’s still a really young player and showed great strides last year playing opposite Minkah. And Edmunds doesn’t have to break out into stardom — if he can become a replacement-level player, this secondary is going to be one of the league’s best in years.

The outcome of the trade continues into the 2021 draft, as the Steelers included a sixth-round pick; however, the Dolphins packaged a seventh-round selection to balance out the future selections aspect.

The trade resulted in five interceptions (one for a 96-yard touchdown), two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries (one for a score). Between Fitzpatrick and Edmunds, Haden, Nelson and Hilton, the Steelers secondary was one of the most feared in the league in 2019. Expect that trend to continue in 2020.

Rank’s NFLN colleagues Charley Casserly, David Carr, Maurice Jones-Drew, Cynthia Frelund and Brian Baldinger all played devil’s advocate and did not agree with Rank’s position. Instead, the rival Baltimore Ravens was the team most discussed as having the league’s best secondary.

That’s ok. Opinions don’t matter — the Steelers play on the field will speak for itself come September.

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Eagles QB Carson Wentz responds to being left off the NFL’s Top-100 players of 2020 list

Carson Wentz says he’s motivated by being left off Top-100 Players list

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Carson Wentz addressed the media for the first time since arriving at Eagles training camp and the Birds star addressed the elephant in the room, which was his snub from the NFL Top-100 Players list.

Despite leading the Eagles to the playoffs, having better stats than both players ahead of him, and having the first 4,000 yard passing season in franchise history, Wentz was omitted from the Top-100 Players list despite Kyler Murray and Josh Allen being named to the list.

On Thursday Wentz addressed the slight and handled it in a similar fashion to the way he responds to disrespect, with class and a singular focus.

“I usually don’t get caught up in a lot of that stuff. … You can always use anything and everything as a little bit of extra motivation. It is what it is.”

Wentz stated that he can use anything for extra motivation, but that he’s “not losing sleep over not appearing in the NFL Top 100 list.”

Wentz went on to say that he’s taking a “glass-half-full” approach in terms of the 2020 season happening. Wentz also said he respects & understands any decision to opt-out of the season.

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Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett lands at No. 65 in NFL Network’s Top 100

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett has landed at No. 65 in the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2020 list.

Seattle wide receiver Tyler Lockett marks the third Seahawk so far to land on the NFL Network’s “Top 100 Players of 2020” list ahead of the start of this year’s season.

Lockett, who landed at No. 65 overall, joins running back Chris Carson (No. 96) and wide receiver DK Metcalf (No. 81), who were named to the Top 100 Sunday night.

For Seattle in 2019, Lockett finished with 82 receptions for 1057 yards and eight touchdowns. Doug Farrar of USA TODAY’s Touchdown Wire recently named Lockett the best slot receiver in the NFL.

The NFL’s “Top 100 Players of 2020” is voted on by players in the league. Should Lockett have landed a bit higher on the list?

Here’s a look at his highlight reel from the NFL Network from Monday night.

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Who will be the next Steeler on NFL Network’s Top 100 players?

Vote for which Steeler shows up next on the NFL Network’s Top 100.

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The NFL Network has begun its countdown of the top 100 players in the NFL. So far, we’ve seen Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward check in at No. 84 and we do know there are two more Steelers to go.

I don’t think it takes a tremendous amount of intuition to speculate the other two Steelers on the list will be safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and linebacker T.J. Watt. NFL Network will count down another 30 on Tuesday as they prepare for the top 10 and we have to wonder which Steeler will make the list next.

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Our money is on Fitzpatrick having his name called next with Watt being ranked significantly higher. We still aren’t sure why Fitzpatrick doesn’t get the credit he deserves for being one of the top safeties in the NFL but Steeler fans understand what a special player he is.

Cast your vote and let us know who you think the next Steelers on the list will be.

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NFL top 100 players list: Falcons RB Todd Gurley ranked No. 51

Watch Falcons running back Todd Gurley’s NFL Top 100 segment as he lands at No. 51.

The Atlanta Falcons now have two players on the NFL Network’s top 100 players list as running back Todd Gurley made the cut on Monday night, joining defensive tackle Grady Jarrett,

Gurley came in at No. 51 on part two of the countdown after finishing with 1,064 all-purpose yards and 14 total touchdowns in 2019. Check out the full segment below, as shared by the team’s Twitter account:

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