Tag: NFL Total Access

Rashid Shaheed says he’s getting ‘bigger, faster, stronger’ in Year 2 with Saints

Breakout wide receiver Rashid Shaheed says he’s training to become ‘bigger, faster, stronger’ in pivotal Year 2 with the New Orleans Saints:

It took some time for New Orleans Saints fans to get a look at Rashid Shaheed, but the former Weber State wide receiver made a fast impression. He made plays for the Saints all over the field: on deep passes, near the first down marker, and in the return game (and that doesn’t even get into his big gains on end-around rushing attempts).

Those efforts were enough to put him on the map as someone NFL Network daytime shows should interview during the offseason, and Shaheed was happy to oblige when NFL Total Access came calling. He shared his reaction to the Saints signing Derek Carr in free agency and his eagerness to work with his new quarterback.

Shaheed also gave a quick update on his goals in offseason training, adding that he’s been working out with Marcus Epps and other NFL players at the EBS Performance and Fitness Gym in Cosa Mesa, Calif., owned by Epps and managed by pro trainer Karif Byrd.

He spoke highly of the facility and the resources available to him, saying: “My body’s been feeling amazing. I’m getting bigger, faster, stronger with him and I’m loving my time out there.”

Now that’s interesting. Shaheed weighed in at 5-foot-10.5 and 185 pounds before the 2022 NFL draft, though the Saints listed him at 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds on their official website roster. He has long arms for his frame (measuring 31.1 inches) and could add more muscle to his frame. We’re speculating, but maybe Shaheed’s angling to play at a 190 pounds, or closer to the 201-pound average the Saints have preferred over the last five years at wide receiver. Regardless of his listed measurements, Shaheed already plays bigger than he looks.

His combination of size and speed is certainly an advantage. There aren’t many defensive backs who can match Shaheed stride for stride, and his surprisingly-large catch radius gives his quarterback a wider margin for error in placing an accurate pass. If Shaheed can pack on a little more muscle mass to help him better fight for contested catches, he’ll be even tougher to defend in 2023.

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WATCH: Geno Smith joins ‘NFL Total Access’ to discuss new deal with Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith appeared on “NFL Total Access” to discuss his new $105M deal keeping him in the Emerald City.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith appeared on “NFL Total Access” to discuss his new $105M deal keeping him in the Emerald City.

You can watch the clip below.

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WATCH: Mark Ingram hypes DeVonta Smith ahead of Super Bowl LVII

Mark Ingram is the official hype man of DeVonta Smith!

This Sunday afternoon all eyes will be on the Super Bowl LVII matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs to see which team can earn the title of world champs.

A handful of former Alabama football stars will be taking the field for the Eagles, all of which are looking to win their first career Super Bowl.

One such player is former star Crimson Tide wide receiver, DeVonta Smith. And in case he wasn’t excited enough for the big game, another former Alabama star is doing his best to hype the talented wideout.

Former Tide running back Mark Ingram joined NFL Total Access and put the world on notice of the one and only “Slip Reaper”.

Ingram and Smith are forever linked in Alabama football history as Heisman Trophy winners and Ingram did his best to show support for his fellow Crimson Tide legend.

Take a look at what Ingram had to say!

Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for continuous coverage of all the former Alabama football stars now shining in the NFL.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

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Deion Sanders on Urban Meyer: ‘He’s a winner’

The Hall of Fame cornerback is a fan of the Jaguars’ new coaching hire, as well as their new franchise quarterback.

Jacksonville head coach Urban Meyer has never coached at the professional level before. Naturally, he has a fair number of doubters. But Hall of Fame cornerback and current Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders is not among them. In a recent appearance on NFL Total Access, the former NFL Network analyst said that Meyer has what it takes to be successful in the league.

“Urban Meyer’s a winner. He’s a winner,” Sanders said, according to 247Sports’ Garrett Stepien. “I feel like he has a good staff, has a pretty darn good quarterback. He’s going to have some hiccups. … But he has the opportunity.”

“Urban Meyer’s a winner, man. I like his staff that he assembled. I know the type of ball that he’s going to play. They did really well in the draft. We’re going to see if that pays dividends.

There’s no denying Meyer’s coaching acumen at the college level. In his four stops as a head coach, he won three national championships: two at Florida and then one at Ohio State. He’s one of the architects of the modern spread offense, which completely enveloped the college game and has slowly taken hold in the NFL, too.

Jumping to the NFL will certainly present some challenges to Meyer, and the recent history of coaches making that leap is a bit disconcerting, to say the least. But one thing he has that many of those coaches didn’t is a franchise quarterback right off the bat. The Jaguars’ 1-15 season in 2020 netted the first overall pick, which was used to select star Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is likely already the most talented passer the team has ever had.

Sanders thinks Lawrence will be successful, but that he will face a level of adversity he hasn’t yet in his career.

“But I like the young kid (Lawrence). I just want to see how the young kid handles adversity,” he said. “I don’t think he’s ever been up against adversity. And I guarantee you in Jacksonville he’s going to have some adversity.”

As the No. 1 recruit in the country coming out of high school who took the Tigers to a national title as a true freshman starter in 2018, he certainly has made it look easy at times. But as the quarterback of the Jags and the top pick in the draft, he has more to prove now than ever before.

There’s still a good deal of uncertainty surrounding Jacksonville’s new pieces, but there’s more excitement around the franchise than there has been in years, despite coming off its worst finish ever. And it seems that their list of believers includes Sanders.

Cliff Avril: Seahawks must find consistency to return to Super Bowl

Former Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril stated that the team must find some consistency in 2021 to return to the Super Bowl.

Former Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril appeared on NFL Total Access along with former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew to discuss how the blue and green can make a championship run in 2021.

Avril more or less stated the obvious, saying that Seattle must find consistency when it comes to their best play on both sides of the ball.

“They’ve got to be more consistent,” Avril said. “The first half of the [2020] season, Russell Wilson was basically the MVP of the league. You know, people were chanting ‘Let Russ Cook,’ he balled out. And the defense definitely didn’t look anything like we’re used to seeing, nothing like those 2013-2014 years. And then halfway through the season, it felt like it flipped. The defense, when they got Jamal Adams, they got Carlos Dunlap, and then the defense played probably some of the best defense they’ve played in an eight-game span, and then the offense wasn’t anywhere to be found.”

2020 was indeed a tale of two halves for Seattle, but the Seahawks were able to squeak out wins on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, their 12-4 record turned out to be for naught as the Rams bounced them in the wild card round by a score of 30-20.

“So consistency is the name of the game for the Seahawks right now,” Avril said. “If they can play the entire [2021] season like the offense played in the first half and the defense played in the second half, I think the Seahawks can actually make a run and also possibly win the Super Bowl.”

The Seahawks must continue their strong defensive performance from the second half of 2020 and the offense must produce under new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. But most importantly, they must do so simultaneously. As Avril said, consistency is the key to returning to the Super Bowl.

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Russell Wilson acknowledges need to limit turnovers in 2021

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson acknowledged the need to limit offensive turnovers while still excelling on NFL Total Access.

Russell Wilson appeared on NFL Total Access on Thursday to discuss the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive goals for 2021 after a blazing-hot start to the 2020 season that propelled the team to 5-0 turned into a multitude of struggles over the second half that culminated in their disappointing postseason loss against the Los Angeles Rams.

Wilson addressed his issue with turnovers throughout 2020 while still maintaining elite offensive production, especially regarding touchdowns. He expressed his hope to lead the offense to a new level with assistance from new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

“Obviously, you never want to give the ball up. I think that’s something historically I’ve usually been great at. So, I’m not concerned about that, that’s just a fact,” Wilson said. “We’ve been able to score a lot of touchdowns and do all that but if we can eliminate several of those, I think that’ll help. I think also, too, Shane and I, we’ve been talking this offseason about just really being able to go after it and not be timid about it and just really use all of our players in all different facets, all different ways, really causing havoc for the defense as much as possible.”

Wilson stated that the offense must excel in all aspects, and be explosive like in the first five weeks of 2020.

“I think that moving forward, we want to be explosive on offense, we have to be able to be explosive in scoring. And that’s running it, throwing it, that’s doing all the things that we want to be able to do creatively and everything else,” Wilson said. “But also knowing that, as our defense is playing great too, our offense really has to kick it in too. And I think that there was a bump in the road there where we kinda got dinged up and that kinda messed us up. I started turning it over a little bit more than normal, I’m not a guy who gives the ball away too much and so, I think that was a bump in the road and so, we just have to get back to trying to go for what we know how to do best.

“Hopefully this season coming up, we can go win that Super Bowl.”

The Seahawks will have to play up to the full potential of their offense and continue their strong defensive performance from the second half of 2020 to have a chance to compete for a title in 2021.

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NFL Network suspends live TV programming due to coronavirus pandemic

The NF Network has temporarily suspending live programming as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the National Football League opted to go forward with the start of the new league year and free agency last week as scheduled.

Although many deals were announced, many more are yet to be finalized as physicals and visits have been on hold due to travel constraints in the name of safety.

The NFL Network had been continuing to broadcast throughout the week, however, as a result of California’s order to shut down all non-essential businesses to prevent the spread of COVID-19, live shows have ground down to a halt.

“It is certainly a unique time at NFL Media, as it is for the rest of the industry and the world. At the forefront of every decision is our commitment to the health and safety of our employees and communities,” an NFL Network spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports in an email.

“In light of the latest updates and the directive from the Governor of California, we have now shifted our coverage to a digital first approach which we can do remotely. We will continue to take advantage of our experts and insiders in the field who are staying on top of all the news and can file video reports using home cameras.”

The NFL Network is continuing to air classic games for fans to enjoy and is offering free access to NFL Game Pass.

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2020 Pro Bowl: How to watch roster reveal and player selection show

Everything you need to know to tune in to find out which of your favorite Seattle Seahawks were named to the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl roster.

After weeks of voting, the 2020 Pro Bowl rosters have been set and will be revealed live Tuesday night on the NFL Network’s special broadcast, “NFL Total Access: Pro Bowl Players Revealed.”

Following a tally, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson received 539,768 fan votes and ranked second overall, only behind Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson. The Seahawks squad as a whole garnered the fifth-most votes of all clubs around the league.

The Pro Bowl will kick off Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida at noon PT.

Here’s everything you need to know to tune in Tuesday night to see which of your favorite Seahawks made the 2020 NFC Pro Bowl roster.

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How and when to watch

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 17

Time: 5:00 p.m. PT

Channel: NFL Network’s special “NFL Total Access: Pro Bowl Players Revealed”

Be sure and follow the Seahawks Wire Twitter and Facebook pages as we cover the Pro Bowl player selection show live Tuesday night.

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