Tomorrow on the road and it will be different …
• One thing you’ve seen over and over the past few days: the order in which the Patriots quarterbacks snap shots. It was nice Brian Hoyer, then Jarrett Stidham, then Cam Newton. I wouldn’t read anything else in it than Bill Belichick Sticking to one’s own way of dealing with such things – this is put in the same category as newbies who have to wear ugly numbers (in the 50s and 60s) during the camp, and Tom Brady to be chewed in meetings into your forties. This place has always been set up as a meritocracy and all of your justice in the building does not come from other accomplishments but from what you did in your time there. Newton has none of that equity right now. In time it will come. I would be pretty surprised if he wasn’t the starter in September.
• LSU DB Kary VincentThe case will be interesting. And Oklahoma RB too Kennedy Brooks. Both have withdrawn from the season. Vincent declared himself in favor of the draft. Brooks hasn’t done it yet, but that will likely come as he was thinking about going pro last year. And none of these guys are considered first round players. By the looks of it, Vincent is a really good athlete, and Nickel Corner in particular, who had a shot this fall to sap his stocks by playing in an LSU secondary school losing picks for Day 2 in 2020 Grant Delpit and Kristian Fulton. But how is it? Maybe a third round. Brooks is a prospect for Day 3. So when we see how sitting affects every man’s design inventory – and this doesn’t criticize either decision as they can be deeply personal in this climate – we should learn about how these prospects are assessed. Like freakish talents Micah Parsons and Greg Rousseau I know the wait won’t be long in April. People like Vincent and Brooks are a lot more of a gray area.
• As we work on the draft, I tweeted Monday about a number of 2011 conscripts entering their tenth year in the NFL. My intention was to mention the achievement – fewer players than you might think makes it a decade among the pros, so getting there is pretty remarkable for me. In doing so, I got another reminder of how far this class was off the charts. JJ Watt, From Miller, Julio Jones, Richard Sherman and Tyron Smith are very serious Hall of Fame candidates, and there are others like AJ Green and Patrick Peterson, that’s not far behind them. Then you have Cam Newton, Cam Heyward, Kyle Rudolph, Ryan Kerrigan, Robert Quinn … you get the picture. Lots of great players and lots of people who are just playing at a high level. Consider the following: In 2011, when training camps were shortened, we said what we are now. Essentially, These rookies are screwed. It turned out that these newbies weren’t. And the 2020 newbies can take some of it.
• For what it’s worth, I was told Washington had a fine moment for it Alex Smith during training on Sunday, and it really was. Smith, it seems, just wants to fit in and be part of the team again, which wouldn’t surprise anyone who knows him. But there was some pretty cool message he sent through an interview with the team’s website: “We all face adversity in life. It comes in different forms. Did I want to talk about it or be about it? Anyway that comes out, I’ll be better off. I keep making profits. I’ve been getting better and better over the past few weeks. For me it always excites me that I can continue. At some point I’ll find out where my limits are, but I haven’t found them yet. “Smith’s story is incredible, of course. Overlooked recruit, even as Reggie Bush’s high school teammate; Play quarterback for Urban Meyer in Utah and lead the Utes to a Fiesta Bowl title; to No. 1 overall selection; alleged bankruptcy after six coordinators in his first six NFL seasons; to the heart of Jim Harbaugh’s first offense in San Francisco; beating by Colin Kaepernick during a Super Bowl run; to the pilot of Andy Reid’s Renaissance in Kansas City; Placeholder for a potential all-time great in Patrick Mahomes; on Washington’s replacement for Kirk Cousins after the cousins’ situation became chaotic; to Joe Theismann 2.0; to … a miracle return. No matter what happens next, few players can claim to have had the kind of ride they have. We hope he has a nice final chapter.
• While we’re in Washington, I’m excited to see which new team president we have Jason Wright can handle what has become an increasingly empty canvas there. There is an opportunity to rethink the team’s image and perspective, and that a 38-year-old ex-NFL player is now the one with the brush who should make the next steps all the more interesting. And since I don’t know Wright, I made a couple of calls on Monday to find out more about him. One was the managing director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance Rod Graveswho was Cardinals GM for the last two years of Wright’s career (2009-10). “He’s an excellent young man,” said Graves. “Very, very competent, very professional. I really assume he will do very well for the team. He’s the kind of person, when you meet him, you see it – he’s successful everywhere. “It turned out that Graves had an idea where Wright was going in 2011. He tried to bring Wright back for a third year and Wright explained his plans to attend business school. Few players would choose that another year in the NFL. But Wright wasn’t just another guy. “He told me he was interested in going to business school and you hear that a man like him makes you feel like his priorities are in line with a successful career,” Graves said. “We liked Jason very much, he’s a very intelligent person, he worked on it, he gave us all the effort we could want. He was excellent in every way. “And after the few months the franchise has had, there is no question Washington can use someone like him to mate with the overhauled football operation.
• If this is the case Gerald McCoy– and the question has to be on the table for a 32-year-old player to break his quadriceps – the ex-buccaneer and the panther had a hell of a run, doing three times six pro bowls and all-pro first team. But I also think he’s going to be one of those guys, like the guy who moved into a place before him. Ndamukong Suhwhere I’m going to wonder how much more would have been possible if he had gone to a more stable franchise after college. Sometimes that’s the price paid for making the design so high. The teams that choose there are usually not in the best shape.
• It’s fun to see the attention Joe Judge Ensures Giants players run laps for practice errors. It’s always been like that in Foxboro, and Judge isn’t the first to go elsewhere and pucker up a few feathers. Some people think it’s demeaning. Others don’t care. Me? I can’t believe anyone thinks it’s a big deal.
• The league-wide number of players on the COVID-19 list has now dropped to 12 – three more are coming out and none will take place on Monday at 4pm ET. This is fantastic news, and it made it clear to me at least the importance of daily testing. This is also the reason why the low cost, quick results and accessibility of the upcoming saliva test can be of vital importance not only for football but for all sports. When college programs become able to test daily, their chances of beginning and ending a season change overall. Because of this, I think any major conferences would be wise to gather together, take a deep breath, and meet again to see where all of this is on September 1st.
• I would pay attention to something Kyle Shanahan says about Brandon Aiyuk. I don’t think there is a better evaluator or developer of receivers in football than the Niners coach, so he already speaks so highly of the newbie saying something. And San Francisco needs Aiyuk to come as advertised Jalen Hurd out and Deebo Samuel hobbled.
• Finally, a remnant from my conversation with the Chargers coach Anthony Lynn … He told us at MMQB that a by-product of the disclosure of his COVID-19 case was on Hard blows There were loads of texts and calls from those who got the news wrong – thinking Lynn was still sick. (Of course it isn’t.) And then others saw something almost as annoying. It turned out that some of his old friends in Texas weren’t happy with the scene where Lynn was cooking with his wife. “There were a few things about grilling,” said Lynn, laughing. “Some people at home who actually cook better than me were embarrassed that I was using a gas grill. Where is your smoker “If you know people from there, that’s probably a fair question.
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