Tag: Training Camp

While it’s unclear how much time will …

While it’s unclear how much time will elapse before play resumes in the 2019-20 NBA season, if it does at all, there are concerns among the league’s general managers and athletic training staffers that games might begin again before players are physically ready. “If you tell us two weeks in advance, and all we have is a two-week training camp to [get] guys back to work that have been out of work eight weeks, that’s a mess,” one NBA general manager said.

A long layoff will mean that virtually …

“You’ve got some players that are …

“You’ve got some players that are privileged enough to be isolating in their luxury mansions with full gyms and [who] practically built their own Olympic training centers,” an Eastern Conference NBA athletic training official said. “And you’ve got some people that are isolating in their 1,200-square-foot apartment or at their parents’ house. That’s the range of the 450-some-odd players in the NBA. I think that to make those determinations, you can’t make a determination on the guy that lives at his own private Olympic training center. You have to make the determination at the lowest common denominator.”

NFL fans aren’t happy about the Rams and Chargers reportedly being chosen for Hard Knocks

NFL fans seem extremely upset over Hard Knocks

Having your favorite football team show up on HBO’s Hard Knocks has never really been considered a great thing.

First, it means they probably weren’t good last year. They probably missed the playoffs by a thread or were one of the worst teams in the league. And they’ve probably got a high profile rookie people are looking forward to watching because they had a high draft pick because, well, they stunk.

Plus, on top of all that, NFL players seem to generally hate being on television in the middle of training camp.

Yet, still, for some reason, there are a bunch of NFL fans weirdly upset that their team won’t be featured this year.

This year’s Hard Knocks will be an all-LA extravaganza featuring the Chargers and Rams, according to a report from Adam Schefter.

There were a bunch of fans on Twitter calling for different teams to be featured.

Then, there was another bunch of (more reasonable) fans complaining that they had to watch the Rams again. They were also featured in 2016 ahead of Jared Goff’s rookie season.

Maybe they’ll pick differently next year, y’all. Who knows?

Although, with the way things are now because of coronavirus, there might not even be a Hard Knocks to complain about this summer. We’ll see.

Blake Bortles makes sense as backup to Russell Wilson

The Seattle Seahawks need a backup quarterback for Russell Wilson, and Blake Bortles fits the mold Pete Carroll loves of a former top pick.

Since 2015, the Seattle Seahawks have cycled through a new backup quarterback each season. Russell Wilson’s impeccable record of health prevented any backup from seeing the field, and they all move on after a year – likely looking for more opportunity to play elsewhere.

That seems like the most likely case with 2019’s backup, Geno Smith, who is an undrafted free agent. While he could return, the assumption is that Seattle will once again hold a training camp competition to find Wilson’s clipboard holder in 2020.

P.J. Walker of the XFL was a strong option before he signed with Carolina, and many felt Marcus Mariota was a good option before he signed with Las Vegas.

Jameis Winston could be a fit if he is willing to take a job as a backup, and the salary of a backup, although that may be more of a dream scenario for Seattle than an actual reality.

We know Pete Carroll loves guys with pedigree, often targeting former first round picks for the backup QB spot. That’s why Blake Bortles, who is a free agent after spending last season with the Rams, is an appealing option for Carroll and the Seahawks.

Bortles was the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft after starring at Central Florida. Similar to Winston, Bortles showed off a lot of the skills that made him such a high profile prospect, throwing for 4,428 yards and 35 touchdowns as a 23-year-old in 2015 – while also leading the league with 18 interceptions and 51 sacks.

He led Jacksonville to a 10-6 record in 2017, completing 60.2% of his passes for 3,687 yards but with a rather pedestrian 21-to-13 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Bortles started 12 games in 2018 before he became a free agent and was forced to settle for a cheap one-year deal in Los Angeles backing up Jared Goff last year.

It seems likely he will have to settle for a backup role once again in 2020, barring an injury in training camp.

Seattle is an appealing option to be a backup for the opportunity to learn from Wilson and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, a long time quarterbacks coach. Of course, the money would be minimal, and the opportunity for playing time is limited thanks to Wilson’s iron man status.

Whether Bortles will want to come into that situation remains to be seen, but it seems likely Carroll and company will pursue him on the open market, once they take care of some other things on the to-do list.

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Broncos OLB Bradley Chubb says his knee is doing great

Broncos outside linebacker Bradley Chubb says his knee is recovering well.

During a live appearance on the Broncos’ Instagram page on Tuesday, outside linebacker Bradley Chubb provided a positive update on his ACL recovery.

“My knee is doing great. I am in rehab every day. Me and one of the trainers are working out. It’s just the two of us [at the facility],” Chubb said, via KMGH-TV’s Troy Renck. “We are making sure we are doing the right things to stay clean and do the right things so there are no setbacks for the coming year.”

Chubb also had positive things to say about quarterback Drew Lock.

“Yes, Lock is ready to go off,” Chubb said. “I am excited to see how he reacts to a new offensive coordinator and new system. A lot of guys have taken huge jumps [in Year 2]. I am looking forward to it.”

Chubb totaled 12 sacks as a rookie in 2018. Last year, he had one sack through four games before going down with a season-ending ACL injury.

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Chiefs DB Juan Thornhill anticipates return from ACL injury by training camp

Kansas City Chiefs DB Juan Thornhill suffered an ACL injury during the final regular-season game of 2019.

Kansas City Chiefs DB Juan Thornhill was of the best defensive rookies in the NFL last season. You could see him get more comfortable with his role in the defense with each week.

Unfortunately, his season was ended prematurely when he suffered a non-contact knee injury in the final game of the regular-season, tearing his ACL. There has been some speculation on Thornhill’s recovery timeline, but now we have word from the man himself on when he expects to be ready to return to play.

During an autograph signing on Wednesday, Thornhill told reporters that he anticipates being ready to go by training camp.

“Finally got my full range of motion,” Thornhill said. “They say I should be ready for camp. That’s always good news. But I feel like, for the most part, everything is going pretty well.”

While the training camp schedule for 2020 has yet to be released, it typically begins late July. I’d expect Saturday, Aug. 1 to be the start date this year. It’s not clear if Thornhill would be ready at the onset of camp, but any work that he could get in before the start of the regular season would be ideal.

Thornhill could be a driving factor in the Chiefs’ ability to repeat as Super Bowl champions. He had to watch the postseason from the sidelines and even though he’s still a Super Bowl champion, Thornhill wants to experience playing in the game himself.

“It’s always special when you’re a Super Bowl champion so I can’t complain about that,” Thornhill said. “But at the same time, I’m super hungry to get back out there because I want to get back to a Super Bowl and actually be able to play in that game because this is a dream of mine that I’ve always had as a kid.”

If Thornhill returns to form, he’ll have a chance to help the team get to Super Bowl LV and live out his childhood dream.

John Schneider discusses L.J. Collier’s unlucky rookie season

Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider is excited about the versatility defensive end L.J. Collier will bring to this defense in Year 2.

Speaking to the media ahead of the 2020 NFL combine, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider discussed the injury-shortened rookie season that defensive end L.J. Collier – the team’s first round pick in 2019 – had last year.

Collier suffered an unusual ankle injury early in training camp last summer, which cost him the entire preseason as well as a portion of the regular season. By the time he was healthy, he was so far behind developmentally that he rarely had any impact in game situations, often getting placed on the inactive list, despite a clean bill of health.

Even though his performance was disappointing, Schneider was just happy they were able to see Collier on the field at all in 2019.

“We were lucky that we had him,” Schneider said. “We thought we were going to lose him for the season that day. We’re lucky that we didn’t have to place him on IR. Obviously we’d have liked to have seen him make a little bit more of a dent, but his checkout meeting was awesome, he’s really excited about next year and what that brings.”

With one of the worst pass rushes in the league last year, the Seahawks have plenty of work to do to improve in that area in 2020. A second-year leap from Collier would go a long way toward improving that unit as a whole, especially with the added versatility he brings to the table.

“He’s a powerful rusher,” Schneider continued. “He’s got great hands, he can rush inside he can rush outside. Rush at the five, rush at the three. We’re excited.”

With Quinton Jefferson, Jadeveon Clowney, Jarran Reed and Al Woods all set to hit free agency, the Seahawks have a lot of holes to fill on the defensive front. Collier will almost certainly get a chance to play regularly next year – and his development will be a key story for this Seattle defense.

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