Tag: OTA

Panthers Pro Bowler, Brian Burns, shares his thoughts on Bryce Young

Brian Burns shares the impact Bryce Young has had on the Panthers organization so far.

The Carolina Panthers knew former Alabama quarterback [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag] was a special player when they traded up to select him in the 2023 NFL draft, but since he has gotten into the facilities he has blown his coaches and teammates away. Much has been made of Young’s intelligence and anticipation when it comes to playing on the field, yet it is his personality and leadership that is leaving a lasting impression on the organization.

A handful of players have already come out to the media to express how impressive Young has been through OTA and rookie minicamp. Two-time Pro Bowler, Brian Burns, is the latest Panthers player to give Young his stamp of approval saying, “It’s hard not to like that kid. He’s put a stamp on the locker room.”

Young completely changes the outlook of the Panthers organization as they have struggled to find any sort of consistent quarterback play since Cam Newton’s MVP season. Winning is simply in Young’s DNA as he spent his high school years at one of the most prestigious schools in the country, Mater Dei, and led Alabama to a national title appearance in his first year as a starter. As a rookie, Young will have a very real chance to guide the Panthers to their first NFC South title since 2015, Newton’s MVP season.

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Tua Tagovailoa has been wearing a camera on his helmet this off season for film study

The Miami Dolphins are trying out new technology to help QB Tua Tagovailoa with film study

Modern-day technology has changed so much about sports and the way we can assess things in real-time. In soccer, the use of a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has become incredibly crucial for making calls in important moments while on the other hand, the NFL uses Microsoft tablets on the sideline to watch the games as they are still being played.

The Miami Dolphins took it all a step further this offseason by placing a camera on the side of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s helmet during Organized Team Activities (OTA’s). It is just another tool that the Dolphins are trying to use to help with decision-making and seeing what Tua sees during reps and dissecting it in the film room. The former Alabama signal-caller has been relatively efficient at this point in his career with a completion percentage of 65.7% and 52 touchdowns to 23 interceptions.

McDaniels said of the Dolphins technology, “It’s not anything earth-shattering, it’s a camera, but it does have audio, and I think some of the strong attributes of that technology are that you get to hear play calls, you can library those play calls for players to hear when they’re studying. It’s a tool to help really drive home certain coaching points and just see what they’re seeing, to be on the same page as the player.”

Tagovailoa was outstanding to start the 2022 season as he won eight of his first nine starts, but after multiple, vicious concussions, he only played in 13 total games for the season and even missed their Wild Card game. He finished the season completing 64.8% of his passes, 25 TD to only eight INT, and a QBR of 105.5.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to monitor Tua Tagovailoa leading into the 2023 season.

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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 Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

 

Demario Davis returns to Saints OTA’s, but 14 others miss Tuesday practice

Demario Davis returned to Saints OTA’s, but 14 others missed Tuesday’s voluntary practice session:

Let’s start with the good news: Pro Bowl linebacker Demario Davis returned to the New Orleans Saints’ voluntary practice on Tuesday, the first of a three-day series of training sessions this week (and one of the few practice dates open to the media). He was joined by special teams ace J.T. Gray, who was also absent last week when the Saints practiced in front of the media for the first time as a team this spring.

But 14 other players were missing from the voluntary session. They’ll have more opportunities to report for work before mandatory practices begin later in June, and some players are sidelined because of injuries, so we shouldn’t make too much of it. Personal and other professional obligations can get in the way. And because the media has such limited access this time of the year, they could just be visiting on a day with abnormally high absentees.

What’s important is that these players have all been in communication with the coaching staff and plan on being available once they’re needed. For some of their younger teammates, veterans stepping aside is a good thing because it opens up much-needed practice reps.

Here’s a quick look at the list:

Cowboys 53-man roster, practice squad prediction ahead of OTAs

A breakdown of who we think makes the Week 1 (not initial) 53-man roster, who will be on the practice squad and who has some work to do to impress the coaching staff. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys begin their offseason work in earnest on Monday. The club has been through Phase One and Phase Two of the allowable offseason schedule up until this point. That allows the team to have install meeetings, strength and conditioning work along with rehab, escalating to on-field work at a walk-through pace.

As of Monday, they will have several sessions where they can go at full speed, just without contact, doing 7-on-7, 9-on-9 and 11-on-11. It will give the coaching staff and front office a chance to test the theories they’ve developed over the last month of who will really be able to help them in 2023.

There are always going to be surprises, but it’s still a fun exercise to stop along the way and predict who will be part of the club’s efforts to bring home Lombardi No. 6. Here are our thoughts, position by position, on who makes the club’s original roster.

As it’s just OTAs, several categories we use in our closer-to-the-season predictions are removed here, including “Making it, but moving to IR”, “Cut but coming right back”, “Cut to go to practice squad” and “Going to PUP/NFI/Season-ending IR.”

6 things to watch as Colts begin OTAs

Here are six things to watch as the Colts begin OTAs next week.

Before we enter the dead period of the NFL calendar, the Indianapolis Colts will go through organized team activities (OTAs) over the next few weeks.

They then will wrap up their spring with a mandatory minicamp to kick off their break until training camp in late July. Indy starts their OTAs on May 23-25, then get back together May 31-June 2, and have their final OTA sessions from June 5-8. Mandatory minicamp falls from June 13-15.

It is important to understand to take any reports and highlight clips with a grain of salt because there is so much that can change over the next couple of months and, of course, there is the history of players showing out in practice at this time of the year then disappearing when the games in the fall.

But that doesn’t mean we can still take away information from OTAs and get some insight on the upcoming season.

Here are six things to watch for from the Colts during their practices in the coming weeks:

Chiefs 2023 offseason workout schedule revealed

The #Chiefs offseason workout program schedule has been revealed, with official dates for the first day, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp.

The Kansas City Chiefs are back in action quite a bit sooner than you’d expect after their Super Bowl LVII win

The NFL announced start dates for the offseason workout programs and voluntary workouts begin next month. Teams with new head coaches are able to begin their offseason program a bit earlier than other teams. The Chiefs (and all other teams with veteran coaches) can officially begin the first day of their offseason program on April 17.

The NFL announced full workout schedules for each team (find all teams here) from Day 1 through mandatory minicamp. Check out the schedule for K.C. down below:

  • First Day: April 17.
  • Organized Team Activities Group 1: May 22-24.
  • Organized Team Activities Group 2: May 30-June 1.
  • Organized Team Activities Group 3: June 6-9.
  • Mandatory Minicamp: June 13-15.

The Chiefs will hold their rookie minicamp either on the weekend of May 6-8 or May 15-17. Those dates won’t be confirmed by the team or made official until sometime after the 2023 NFL draft.

There are three phases of the voluntary workout program. Here are the descriptions of each phase per the NFL’s press release:

Phase One:

Phase One consists of the first two weeks of the program with activities limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only.

Phase Two:

Phase Two consists of the next three weeks of the program. On-field workouts may include individual or group instruction and drills, as well as “perfect play drills,” and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted at a walk-through pace. No live contact or team offense vs. team defense drills are permitted.

Phase Three: 

Phase Three consists of the next four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or “OTAs”. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.

There are no specific start dates attached to the first two phases, though the first phase can begin as early as the Chiefs’ first day on April 17th. Last season, the Chiefs conducted phase one remotely with offensive players joining Patrick Mahomes in Texas for conditioning and throwing.

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Browns Wednesday OTA highlights: See Watson and the offense thrive

A few highlights for you to enjoy from the first Browns OTA practice open to the media. Some fun throws from Watson on Wednesday:

The Cleveland Browns opened up their OTA practice on Wednesday to members of the media. In our first significant look at Deshaun Watson running the offense, there were a lot of fun highlights.

These types of early practices are set up mostly for the offense to win with no pass rushers or physical play allowed. That said, a lot of tight spirals with an easy, fluid throwing motion from Watson were seen.

Despite not speaking to the media, Watson was the focal point of the day including his time visiting with military personnel and a gift he gave to Anthony Walker, presumably for Walker giving up his jersey number.

Jadeveon Clowney’s return to the field was a fun sight for the team, the players played some basketball and excitement seemed to rule the day.

Here are a few of the highlights from the media presence for today’s session:

Takeaways from Day 2 of Colts’ OTAs

Here are some takeaways from Day 2 of OTAs.

The Indianapolis Colts were on the field for Day 2 of organized team activities (OTAs) as Phase III of the offseason workout program progresses.

The biggest storyline coming out for the Colts on Tuesday was the semi holdout that cornerback Kenny Moore II is going through. Looking for a new contract, Moore was present at the session but didn’t participate.

Here’s a quick look at some of the takeaways from Day 2 of OTAs: