Tag: The Athletic

Former Steelers HC Bill Cowher is uncertain there will be a 2020 NFL season

In an interview with The Athletic, former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher shares his thoughts on whether there will be football this year.

Bill Cowher, our favorite former head coach, has his doubts that the NFL will move forward with a season this year. Like most of us, he knows the ramifications of COVID-19 can weigh heavily on the league and its players.

Cowher knows a thing or two about the virus because he and his wife believe they contracted it in March. Prior to states shutting down, the two had both traveled extensively and slowly began to experience symptoms. Although Cowher and his wife were not tested when the symptoms occurred, they tested positive for antibodies in April.

Cowher hasn’t been involved in the league — from a coaching standpoint — for 14 years now. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. He still holds a special place in his heart for the sport and the incredible athletes who play it.

So when it comes to his take on whether pro football will happen this year, his concerns are prevalent.

“I don’t know [if the league can pull it off],” Cowher said in an interview with Ed Bouchette of The Athletic. “No. 1, the players have to feel comfortable with whatever they come up with from a testing standpoint, from a protocol standpoint. I totally understand the reluctance. Even though they say young people aren’t getting it, you also have people who have asthma, people who have underlying conditions in their families — they’re going back to their homes with parents who may now be elderly. It’s not like you can isolate yourself from everybody, particularly during a season that’s five months long. …

“I still think we have a long way to go,” he said. “It’s going to come down to the league and the NFLPA feeling comfortable moving forward, and even within that if they come up with a set of guidelines, and now a player who doesn’t feel comfortable, he may not want to be part of it. It affects people differently not only from a physical standpoint but from a mental standpoint. … I think we have to respect that.”

Bouchette brought up an excellent possible scenario in his article: “And what, for example, if on the day before a game, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tests positive for COVID-19? What about teammates he might have come into contact with during the week? What if all three quarterbacks test positive?”

No one knows just yet — beyond testing — what the exact solution for that scenario would look like.

Cowher said the other pro leagues that are now re-convening will serve as a ‘litmus test’ for football.

“It’s going to come down to a set of guidelines that are fair to everyone, and there’s going to have to be flexibility within that. Between now and then, what happens with these other pro leagues, seeing how they handle it, will be a little bit of litmus test for the NFL to see how they can make adjustments. The timing for the NFL … you’re able to see other professional leagues, other professional athletes, start back up, and see how they are handling testing and some of the protocols that are being set.”

I think we can all agree that we’d rather have football this fall than not. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. There’s no doubt that the league is working tirelessly to ensure that players will be safe if football is played.

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We’ll take it: Bills’ Billy Buffalo is a top-10 mascot

You have your power rankings. Lists. Other things of that nature. TheAthletic.com went all out on their own with this one, though. But hey, when you’re top-10 in something, you take it. Billy Buffalo, the mascot of the Buffalo Bills since 2000, …

You have your power rankings. Lists. Other things of that nature. TheAthletic.com went all out on their own with this one, though.

But hey, when you’re top-10 in something, you take it.

Billy Buffalo, the mascot of the Buffalo Bills since 2000, ranked as the seventh-best mascot in the entire NFL recently by the outlet.

And here’s why:

7. Buffalo Bills
Mascot: Billy Buffalo

Debut: 2000

Thoughts: I can just see Billy with his hair blowing in the wind like Lord Farquaad from Shrek. But unlike the main villain from the movie, he doesn’t suffer from Napoleon syndrome, seeing as he’s an imposing eight feet tall.

And is the nature with these sorts of things, we’ll compare the Bills to the rest of the division. Top of the AFC East for Billy Buffalo!

Things are certainly going well for Billy in recent memory. His introduction in 2000 was going neck-and-neck with the team’s longest playoff drought, and the longest in professional sports at the time. Both were born in 200. Which one would last longer? As the story goes, the mascot won.

 

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Chargers 2017 draft class bookended as one of the best in NFL

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler is quite high on the Los Angeles Chargers’ 2017 draft class.

It’s always a fun exercise to revisit previous draft classes by using on-field production in the player’s professional careers to critique how general managers did with their selections and undrafted free agent signings.

That’s exactly what The Athletic’s Dane Brugler did, ranking each NFL team’s 2017 draft classes. With three seasons of play under their belts, he was able to accurately judge the hauls.

For the Chargers, they had one of the better classes among the rest of the league, finishing No. 10 overall.

To recap, here’s a look at GM Tom Telesco’s haul:

Round 1, (No. 7 overall) Mike Williams, WR, Clemson

Round 2, (No. 38) Forrest Lamp, G, Western Kentucky

Round 3, (No. 71), Dan Feeney, G, Indiana

Round 4, (No. 113) Rayshawn Jenkins, S, Miami

Round 5, (No. 151) Desmond King, S, Iowa

Round 6, (No. 190) Sam Tevi, OT, Utah

Round 7, (No. 225) Isaac Rochell, DT, Notre Dame

Brugler highlighted the players that are still on the team, and it just so happens that Los Angeles is the only squad that has managed to retain each one of their picks from that draft.

Wide receiver Mike Williams has turned into a solid vertical threat, leading the league league in yards per catch in 2019. Williams had his fifth-year option picked up earlier this offseason.

Guard Forrest Lamp entered the league as one of the best linemen from that class. However, injuries over the past few seasons have hampered him from reaching his full potential.

Guard Dan Feeney has been a starter since his rookie season. After facing some bumps in Year 1, Feeney has improved as years have gone on. He has made 41 of 46 possible starts.

Rayshawn Jenkins has taken over as the starter at free safety after beginning his career as a strong safety. There are still deficiencies to Jenkins’ game, but he led the team in interceptions last season (3) and the coaching staff covets him.

Cornerback Desmond King has proven to be a great value pick as the impactful defender has been stout in both coverage and against the run. While he may have lost his starting job as the starting slot corner with the signing of Chris Harris Jr., King could still contribute in the dime linebacker role.

Offensive tackle Sam Tevi was drafted to serve as a swing tackle, but injuries to other players forced him into the starting lineup. He hasn’t performed well in each of his three seasons, but the coaching staff is hopeful that new offensive line coach James Campen will help improve his game.

Defensive end Isaac Rochell has been a key contributor as a rotational pass-rusher, playing in all 16 games the last two seasons and posting seven sacks and 46 tackles in his career.

2017 was also significant because it marked the year that running back Austin Ekeler was signed as an undrafted free agent. Brugler cites Ekeler as the second-best pass-catching back behind Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey. Ekeler finished 2019 with 92 catches for 993 receiving yards and eight scores.

Notre Dame Football Shares Summer Return Plan

As college football fans anxiously wait to see if there will be a season, some programs have revealed their return plans.

As college football fans anxiously wait to see if there will be a season, some programs have revealed their return plans. Notre Dame became the latest program to do that Wednesday. Pete Sampson of The Athletic outlined it in a pair of tweets:

While the fate of the 2020 season is unknown right now, it’s encouraging that Notre Dame has a plan in place. Everything mentioned is as safe as a college football program can hope for if it wants to play games this fall. It’s impossible to avoid physical contact in any major sport in this country, and this is uncharted territory for everybody.

There’s no question this will be a tough adjustment for the players. After all, when you can’t see your brothers for a week and a half after reporting for duty, it’s torture. But if this is the new normal, at least until we get a vaccine for COVID-19, sacrifices have to be made as our society continues to push towards more intimate things. The Irish only are one example of how things are now and the foreseeable future.

Jay Glazer says it again: Taysom Hill is ‘the guy’ for New Orleans after Drew Brees

FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer wrote in his mailbag with The Athletic that Saints coach Sean Payton sees Taysom Hill as his next QB.

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Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer reported for The Athletic that he fully expects Taysom Hill to take over at quarterback once Drew Brees has hung up his cleats. That’s what Glazer wrote in his latest mailbag, echoing the same take he made back in January, on Colin Cowherd’s radio show.

Glazer is tight with Saints coach Sean Payton. He’s broken stories before like Payton’s five-year contract extension with the team, and put the nail in the coffin for Antonio Brown signing with the Saints after his bizarre free agent workout and high-profile fallout. Whenever Payton is seen on a parade float at Mardi Gras, Glazer is usually right there with him as his guest.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Glazer has rare insight into Payton’s thinking. And when asked by a reader if the faith the Saints have shown in Hill so far is genuine, he was quick to confirm it.

“No smokescreen, he’s the guy. Sean Payton loves him but it’s not just him, the whole team loves him, not just Sean Payton. Watch a Saints game,” Glazer wrote. “When he’s in the game, watch the other players on the sideline, watch their reaction. They all get up and stand on the sidelines to watch him.”

Glazer continued, “I think Sean was always hoping to unleash him on the league without anyone seeing him before but now we’ve seen it with Lamar Jackson. He’s a bigger Lamar Jackson. No, it’s not a smokescreen. He likes him that much, he’ll be the guy. He’s with the perfect coach for that.”

Comparing Hill to the reigning league MVP is bold, especially considering how much more progress Hill has to show as a passer before he can run a full game script. And unlike Jackson, Hill doesn’t have time on his side — he’s seven years older than the Baltimore Ravens superstar, and will be forced to rely more on his arm than his legs as he continues to age.

But stranger things have happened than a 30-year-old quarterback taking over for a year. And that’s what the Saints have prepared for by inking Hill to a contract extension, penciling him in as the heir-apparent for 2021. He’ll probably have to compete against Jameis Winston for that job (should he re-sign with the Saints after riding the bench this season), but Hill’s heightened salary reflect what the Saints and those close to the organization have said about him. Whatever the case, it’ll make for must-see TV whether he flames out or rises to the occasion.

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Report: Errol Spence Jr. vs. Danny Garcia set for this fall

Errol Spence Jr. will defend his welterweight title this fall against former two-division beltholder Danny Garcia, The Athletic reported.

Well, Errol Spence Jr. isn’t taking a tune-up fight following his horrific car accident this past October.

Spence will defend his welterweight title this fall against former two-division beltholder Danny Garcia, the fighter he was expected to face in January, according to The Athletic. The original date became moot after the single-car crash in Dallas.

The fight this fall would be televised on Fox Pay-Per-View. No specific date or site was mentioned.

Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) has said he’s fully recovered and back in training, which is miraculous given the severity of the crash. The only thing he hasn’t been able to do is spar as a result of losing teeth in the accident.

Spence is coming off a sensational split-decision victory over Shawn Porter in September.

“I have no restrictions in my training except sparring,” Spence said on the “All The Smoke” podcast, which is available on Showtime Sports’ YouTube channel. “I can’t spar yet because I got my teeth knocked out. And they put two posts in my mouth, well, three posts in my mouth. And I’m waiting on them to heal.

“And once they heal, then I’ll get my permanent teeth. And then I’ll be able to spar.”

He added: “In all actuality, this pandemic has really been helping me out a lot, yeah, basically [with] recovery and just taking my time to get back. But I’m already back. I’m 100 percent. I went to a facility in Cleveland, where they checked me out, checked my brain, gave me MRIs and things like that, and everything went well.

“So everything’s been going good. I think I’m 100 percent healthy and in shape.”

Spence obviously has respect for Garcia, who has held titles at both junior welterweight and welterweight.

“Danny Garcia, he’s a very tough fighter,” he said on the Premier Boxing Champions Instagram account. “He’s a guy that’s accomplished a lot in the sport of boxing. And that’s a fight that really makes sense … it’s a fight that can definitely happen next.”

Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) hasn’t held a title since he lost his 147-pound belt to Keith Thurman by a split decision in March 2017. He then lost a close decision to Shawn Porter for a vacant title in September 2018. The 32-year-old Philadelphian has since beaten Adrian Granados and Ivan Redkach.

Garcia likes his chances against Spence.

“I feel it’s a great style for me,” Garcia said on The PBC Podcast. “Porter hit him a lot. I’ve seen things in the Mikey Garcia fight that I could definitely take advantage of and defeat him.”

Room on bandwagon: Patriots seeing decrease in ticket demand

Report on ticket demand from TicketIQ and The Athletic, featuring the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots

The 2020 NFL schedule came out and it injected life into Bills fans. Could this be the first time since 1995 that Buffalo takes home the AFC East title?

While fans in western New York will think so, it appears the ones out in New England are thinking the same thing.

The Patriots lost their beloved quarterback in Tom Brady this offseason. Their former tight end Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement and followed him to the Buccaneers, too.

Evidently, the bandwagon in New England is emptying out now. A report in The Athletic recently took a look at NFL ticketing with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Patriots are one of only four teams that have seen a decline in ticket pricing in the secondary market.

The Athletic reports:

“Average prices on the secondary market for NFL games since the schedule release Thursday night are $391, which is up 51 percent from 2019, with only four teams down; the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears, according to TicketIQ. The 51 percent rise is by far the largest year over year increase TicketIQ has tracked.”

In addition, Patriots tickets are reportedly valued 39 percent less than last season. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has seen a 135 percent uptick in ticket value. In regard to the Bills, TicketIQ reports that the average ticket price for the Bills on the secondary market has increased from $147 in 2019 to $179 this offseason.

 

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Isaiah Wilson talks viral NFL Draft clip of his mother and fiancee

Former Georgia football OT Isaiah Wilson discussed the viral video involving his mom and fiancee after being picked by the Tennessee Titans.

The virtual 2020 NFL Draft was one to remember, not because of shocking picks or huge trades, but really just because of all the funny clips we got of people having to stay at home during this year’s draft.

Of course one of those clips involved former Georgia OT Isaiah Wilson. As Wilson was announced as the No. 29 pick to the Tennessee Titans, his fiancee was sitting on his lap embracing him in the emotional moment. However, she wasn’t aware that she was taking up most of the screen of ESPN’s live coverage from Wilson’s home, so Wilson’s mom made some changes showing some serious power…

Wilson recently reacted to the video in an interview with John Glennon of  The Athletic :

“At the end of the day, the draft was the biggest spectacle of the quarantine,” Wilson said. “Everyone was tuned in, waiting to get something to harp on to put on social media because people are bored. Everyone is in the house; nobody can do anything. People were bored and jumped at some funny content. I mean, my family is doing great. We’re all smiles over here.”

Wilson’s mom Sharese also talked about the video.

“I did get quite a few calls from friends on that,” Sharese Wilson said with a laugh. “It’s funny because that little clip, we couldn’t see it at all (while it was happening) because we were kind of following along with ESPN. But in our minds, we were just like, ‘The cameras are rolling, so let’s get everybody out of the way’ so that Isaiah — we knew they would pan to Isaiah — would talk about his reaction or they’re going to catch him crying or whatever it is. What ended up happening is they were rolling when we were trying to clear out.”

Report: Saints, Vikings to play rare Friday NFL game on Christmas Day

The New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings are reportedly scheduled to play a rare Friday NFL game on Christmas Day 2020, per The Athletic

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There haven’t been many NFL games played on Christmas Day, and even fewer have kicked off on Friday. But per a report from Jeff Duncan of The Athletic, the New Orleans Saints will accomplish both feats against the Minnesota Vikings in 2020.

Duncan reports that the Saints and Vikings will play again — their fifth meeting since the 2017 season-opener, including the playoffs (and excepting a 2019 preseason game) — on Dec. 25, 2020. Traditionally, the NFL limits its games to Sunday, Monday, and Thursday kickoffs, except for a few select Saturday games after the college football season concludes.

A Saints-Vikings game on Christmas Day, which falls on a Friday this year, might conflict with the upcoming NBA schedule. The NBA often schedules big-time matchups to dominate the holiday’s sports broadcasts, so this might be a sign that the NFL is aware of different plans from across the aisle. The coronavirus pandemic has prompted every professional sports league to review its plans for the 2020-2021 season, and things figure to look differently later this year.

The time for this Saints game isn’t settled just yet, though Duncan’s colleague at The Athletic, Katherine Terrell, suggested an afternoon time slot of 3 or 3:30 p.m. CT might be where it settles.

Remember, nothing is official until the Saints or the NFL announces it so stay tuned for confirmation. The NFL will reveal its full 2020 schedule in a prime-time release at 7 p.m. CT, while the Saints and other teams are allowed to release their individual lineups thirty minutes earlier.

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The Athletic ranks Bills uniforms in bottom-half of NFL

Buffalo Bills in The Athletic uniform rankings.

Not everything has to be analytics breakdown of sorts when talking about football, even if some lead you to believe that.

Instead, it can be the eye test just for fun. Although, The Athletic didn’t really give the Buffalo Bills a fun ranking in a list the outlet released recently.

Ranking the entire uniform schemes in the NFL, The Athletic says the Bills only have the 19th best jersey in the league:

19. Bills. Royal blue pants? You know who else wears royal blue pants? Kids. When it’s time for bed. Bring back the Rorschach ink-blot buffalo and we’ll discuss raising your grade. Until then it’s nighty-nighty time.

Best look: The blue jerseys create a pleasing white, blue, white, blue pattern from the helmet to the socks. Fun fact: the Bills, too, once wore Honolulu blue, because nothing says paradise like Buffalo in December.

Have to agree in one spot. The “Rorschach ink-blot” buffalo is better known locally as the standing buffalo helmet, is a great look. Bring those back. But 19th? Ouch. But overall, the AFC East might, collectively, have the worst cumulative ranking here. The Dolphins are ranked the best at 18, the Patriots are at 23, slightly edging out the Jets at 24.

Although, while requesting more gusto from Buffalo’s uniform, The Athletic does rank the simple black Raiders’ uniforms as the best in the league. They edge out the Bears and Chargers for the top spots, respectively.

At least it appears the NFL is not a “look good, feel good” type of league.

 

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