Giants
Serby NYP: Nothing is normal as Daniel Jones, Joe Judge take on Giants camp
https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/nothing-is-normal-as-daniel-jones-joe-judge-take-on-giants-camp/amp/
Schwartz NYP: Five key Giants to watch this training camp
https://nypost.com/2020/07/26/five-key-giants-to-watch-this-training-camp/
Traina Forbes.com: New York Giants 2020 Training Camp Preview
https://www.forbes.com/sites/patriciatraina/2020/07/25/new-york-giants-2020-training-camp-preview/amp/
Traina SI.com: Examining the Return-To-Play Agreement's Impact on the Giants
https://www.si.com/.amp-nygiants/nfl/giants/news/assessing-the-return-to-play-agreements-impact-on-the-giants
Coach
Serby NYP: Joe Judge on Daniel Jones’ makeup and state of Giants before training camp
https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/joe-judge-on-daniel-jones-and-state-of-giants-before-camp/amp/
Schwartz NYP: The extra hurdle Joe Judge faces heading into Giants camp
https://nypost.com/2020/07/26/the-extra-hurdle-joe-judge-faces-heading-into-giants-camp/
RB
Jason OTC: Q When will the giants extend Saquon and how much do you think he gets
A Before next summer and $500K more per year than CMC unless Barkley has a bad year and Jones looks like a stud
TE
Lombardo NJ.com: Giants position preview: Can Jason Garrett turn tight end Evan Engram into Jason Witten? | Analysis
https://www.nj.com/giants/2020/07/giants-position-preview-will-tight-end-evan-engram-replicate-jason-wittens-success-with-jason-garrett-analysis.html
DT
Falato BBV: Giants’ positional battles: Fourth defensive tackle
https://www.bigblueview.com/platform/amp/2020/7/25/21332307/ny-giants-positional-battles-fourth-defensive-tackle-bj-hill-austin-johnson
SS
Dunleavy NYP: Giants’ Jabrill Peppers healthy and ready to live up to expectations
https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/giants-jabrill-peppers-healthy-and-ready-to-live-up-to-expectations/
Rosenblatt NJ.com: How Giants’ Jabrill Peppers, Darnay Holmes came together during quarantine, and why that could pay off
https://www.nj.com/giants/2020/07/how-giants-jabrill-peppers-darnay-holmes-came-together-during-quarantine-and-why-it-could-pay-off.html
ST
MG NFL.com: The Giants will release K Aldrick Rosas soon, sources tell me and RapSheet. Rosas was recently charged with three misdemeanors for an alleged hit-and-run accident in June.
Dan Duggan The Athletic: Ends a rollercoaster three years with the Giants. Rosas sandwiched two poor seasons around a Pro Bowl in 2018.
Cutting Rosas, who received a second-round restricted free agent tender in March, creates $3.3M in cap space with no dead money
Field Yates ESPN: The Giants signing Stephen Gostkowski to fill their kicker void would make a ton of sense. He spent 8 years playing for Joe Judge, has a huge leg, can handle the elements and is one of the most accurate kickers in league history. Getting healthy too.
NFL
Volin Boston Globe: Sunday Football Notes: NFL Notes: Players could lose salary if they contract COVID irresponsibly
What happens if the season is cut short?
Snyder’s lack of preparation for a name change is a joke
Duvernay-Tardif should be able to keep $750k bonus
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/25/sports/contingency-plans-will-have-spread-like-crazy-nfl/
Jason OTC: Q What are your thoughts on the free agent contracts given by the giants to Frackel, bradberry and Martinez? Also do the ravens have extend Ronnie Stanley before the season? Would it help the cap?
A I liked the Bradberry deal somewhat. Less so on Martinez though not awful. Originally didnt do bonuses which I thought was better than final contracts. I dont see the Ravens doing a deal until next year
Brown PFF: Biggest line movements related to 2020 NFL season win totals
SWING IN KEY NUMBER
“NEW YORK GIANTS
Expectations for the Giants have dropped in the offseason, as their win total has flipped from 6.5 with heavy vig on the over to an even 6. They have the ninth-most difficult strength of schedule, so unless you are a firm believer in Daniel Jones, this will be a tough task for Saquon Barkley to overcome.
Given our expectation that the Washington Football Team is better than current public perception, there is little upside to wagering on the Giants to exceed expectations in 2020.”
https://www.pff.com/news/bet-biggest-line-movements-2020-nfl-season-win-totals
Farrar Touchdownwire USA Today: The NFL's 11 best slot receivers
“A little weekend reading: Last season, slot receivers accounted for 32% of all targets, 31.6% of all receptions, 32.3% of all receiving yardage, and 34.3% of all receiving touchdowns. It's a crucial position in today's NFL, and here are the 11 best”
“7. Golden Tate, New York Giants
“Per Sports Info Solutions, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones threw 10 touchdowns to his slot receivers in 2019, and Tate caught five of those, with 41 catches on 67 targets for 552 yards. As has been the case throughout his career, Tate was able to get open on those plays with a nice combination of speed through the route and the strength to separate, but over the last few years, his route awareness — a problem during his time in Seattle — has really advanced.
Tate’s first season with the Giants was marred by a four-game PED suspension and concussion issues, but over a full season, one can imagine that he’ll be an even more major part of the Giants’ passing offense, especially in the slot. An important position for a team that led the league with 25 passing touchdowns in three-receiver sets.”
https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/2020/07/25/the-nfls-11-best-slot-receivers-2/
BUFFALO
Talbot Syracuse.com: Buffalo Bills pre-training camp 53-man roster projection: WR, OL, DL among most intriguing competitions
https://www.syracuse.com/buffalo-bills/2020/07/buffalo-bills-pre-training-camp-53-man-roster-projection-wr-ol-dl-among-most-intriguing-competitions.html
CHICAGO
Kane Chicago Tribune: Bears to trade tight end Adam Shaheen — a 2017 2nd-round draft pick — to the Dolphins, marking the end of a rocky 3-year stint in Chicago
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bears/ct-chicago-bears-adam-shaheen-trade-20200726-od2rf6fh2vb4zdw76igr3bmbge-story.html
CLEVELAND
Cabot Cleveland Plain Dealer: How do Browns players feel about starting training camp amid the coronavirus pandemic? Hey, Mary Kay!
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/07/how-do-browns-players-feel-about-starting-training-camp-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-hey-mary-kay.html
Cabot Cleveland Plain Dealer: The Browns should trade for Jaguars DE Yannick Ngakoue, and other takeaways
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/07/the-browns-should-trade-for-jaguars-de-yannick-ngakoue-and-other-takeaways.html
DALLAS
Gehlken Dallas Morning News: Jets safety Jamal Adams, and the nagging potential that the Cowboys could acquire him, have been traded to Seattle
https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/cowboys/2020/07/25/jets-safety-jamal-adams-and-the-nagging-potential-that-the-cowboys-could-acquire-him-have-been-traded-to-seattle/?
DENVER
Klis 9News Denver: BRONCOS' CAMP QUESTION NO. 3: HOW WILL GORDON AND LINDSAY DIVVY THE TAILBACK TOUCHES?
https://www.9news.com/article/sports/nfl/denver-broncos/mike-klis/broncos-camp-question-no-3-how-will-gordon-and-lindsay-divvy-the-tailback-touches/73-f5c9ed72-7a2a-4369-9875-96238938a02d
O’Halloran Denver Post: Broncos Position Preview: Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler join Courtland Sutton to lead receivers
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/07/25/broncos-position-preview-wide-receivers-jerry-jeudy-courtland-sutton/amp/
DETROIT
Birkett Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions training camp preview: Coronavirus questions cloud start to NFL season
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2020/07/26/detroit-lions-training-camp-preview-coronavirus-questions/5501046002/
Birkett Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions face decision: Cut 10 players or keep rookies away from vets to start camp
https://amp.freep.com/amp/5510117002
GREEN BAY
Wilde Wisconsin State Journal: Packers by position: With Jaire Alexander on the rise, secondary could be Packers’ primary strength
https://madison.com/sports/football/professional/packers-by-position-with-jaire-alexander-on-the-rise-secondary-could-be-packers-primary-strength/article_5b5afaa8-1ffe-5561-b782-f80cb19d6c6f.amp.html
Wilde Wisconsin State Journal: Packers by position: In a football world filled with uncertainty, Packers enter training camp with all four specialists set
https://madison.com/sports/football/professional/packers-by-position-in-a-football-world-filled-with-uncertainty-packers-enter-training-camp-with/article_dfdd7be1-ca47-5221-afd3-9e3b033bede8.amp.html
HOUSTON
McClain Houston Chronicle: Texans aren’t getting any respect, yet
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/texans/article/McClain-Texans-aren-t-getting-any-respect-yet-15434001.php
KANSAS CITY
Gregorian KC Star: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is a true hero for NFL. His opt-out makes world a better place
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/vahe-gregorian/article244491457.html
Ian Rapoport NFL.com: The Chiefs are giving OL Kelechi Osemele a 1-year deal worth $2M max, source said. After a truncated year with the Jets, he’s healthy and fills the void left by Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who opted out.
Teicher ESPN KC: Source: Kansas City Chiefs reach deal with veteran guard Kelechi Osemele
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29539169/kansas-city-chiefs-reach-deal-veteran-guard-kelechi-osemele?
LAS VEGAS
Raiders.com: Raiders sign all seven 2020 draft picks
https://www.raiders.com/news/raiders-sign-all-seven-2020-draft-picks
Gordon NFL.com: Suspended WR Martavis Bryant unlikely to play in 2020
https://www.nfl.com/news/suspended-wr-martavis-bryant-unlikely-to-play-in-2020
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Crepea Oregon Live: Justin Herbert signs 4-year rookie contract with Los Angeles Chargers for $26.6 million
https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2020/07/justin-herbert-signs-4-year-rookie-contract-with-los-angeles-chargers-for-266-million.html
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Long Rams.com: With Littleton gone, who will step up at ILB for Rams in 2020?
https://www.therams.com/news/with-littleton-gone-who-will-step-up-at-ilb-in-2020
MIAMI
Jackson Miami Herald: Miami Dolphins release quarterback and wide receiver and trade for a tight end
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article244494802.html
Deen Sun Sentinel: Is Dolphins’ Fitzpatrick still the most important player on the roster heading into season? | Countdown to camp
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-sp-dolphins-camp-countdown2-20200726-4skuq2nykng6xpwidtwpmnltlq-story.html
MINNESOTA
Tomasson Twincities.com: Vikings’ Mike Zimmer, 64, ‘blessed’ to get contract extension considering ‘my age’
https://www.twincities.com/2020/07/25/vikings-mike-zimmer-blessed-to-have-contract-extension-taking-him-into-his-late-60s/
Cronin ESPN Minn: Vikings coach Mike Zimmer says Dalvin Cook told him he will report to camp, but agent denies it
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29537075/vikings-coach-mike-zimmer-says-dalvin-cook-told-report-camp-agent-denies-it?
NEW ENGLAND
Reiss ESPN Boston: Quick-hit thoughts/notes around the Patriots and NFL (setting training camp schedule; unsung Jim Whalen; how lower cap in '21 could affect NE; ‘all-time greatest deal’ with Cam Newton; Bill Belichick’s call – 80 or 90 players?; Josh McDaniels’ value etc.)
https://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4820576/cam-newton-jarrett-stidham-to-report-monday-at-patriots-camp
D’Onfrio Boston.com: 20 years later, a look back at Bill Belichick’s first training camp
“The conditions – and the conditioning – at the start
The Pats were bumped up to the second page of the sports section on the morning of their initial practices, then coverage of that first day made the lower right quarter of the sports cover a day later. Still, the entirety of Patriots coverage in that day’s paper were two stories from the late Nick Cafardo; there were four reporters writing six stories to chronicle the events from Fenway the night prior, when the Sox improved to 47-42 on the season.
While those first practices were in progress, construction crews were working on the new stadium in the background — and Belichick wasn’t leaving it up to that symbolism to let his team know that times were changing in Foxborough. He opened training camp with a message-sending conditioning test that seemed like a shock to the system for some of those players who’d grown accustomed to a more laissez faire lifestyle under former coach Pete Carroll.
Five players failed their conditioning run. Defensive lineman Ed Ellis was cut on the spot, and four others were forced to run laps instead of practicing that day. One of those was backup quarterback John Friesz, who was embarrassed, but whose reaction offered further evidence that Belichick was officially in charge, even by Day 1. “We’re not supposed to talk to the media about these things,” Friesz said, according to Cafardo. “I’d like to defer for my own well-being.”
The players that day had to be careful not to make the coach any angrier than he already was. “He’s pissed off right now,” said safety Larry Whigham, who told the Globe that he was cursed out for being a couple of pounds overweight himself. Belichick wasn’t having it, reportedly fining players the union-negotiated $50 a day for every pound over their assigned weight, and $3,000 apiece for those missing practice.
“We have too many guys who are overweight and too many guys who are out of shape, too many guys who haven’t paid the price at this point in the season,” Belichick said, adding that too many players didn’t get the message he delivered in minicamp, and that at the NFL level there shouldn’t be anyone too out of shape to contribute.
He harped on those concerns repeatedly, then used a phrase he’d reiterate time and again over the next 20 years.
“Too many guys not practicing, and too many guys overweight,” said the coach. “We’re moving on. Whoever can keep up will keep up. We’re not waiting for anyone.”
What he walked into
Belichick’s approach isn’t surprising when seen with hindsight, though it did take some of his players aback. Even those who he’d coached before as a defensive coordinator — and even those who’d been part of the recruiting pitch to try and get him to New England.
According to a 2017 report in the Ringer, team owner Robert Kraft enlisted established stars Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy to help coax the coach’s interest. But five years into what became a Hall of Fame career, Law acknowledged right away that the transition from Carroll to Belichick would take some adjusting.
“This is my sixth season and you’re showing me tackling drills?” the cornerback told the Globe at the time. “It’s kind of hard. You haven’t paid that much attention to smaller things, but Coach Belichick is the type to bring us back down to reality. We’re going out there right now in shoulder pads and we’re out there running and doing drills. He’s got a bus for guys who don’t make the conditioning. It’s something you desperately need.
“Sometimes you want to tackle Coach Belichick once in a while.”
Belichick’s fourth day of practices drew about 4,000 fans, which the team said was the most of that opening week — but was only about a fifth of the more than 21,000 who went to Gillette Stadium to watch a single padded practice in July of 2016. When training camp transitioned to Smithfield, R.I.’s Bryant College, the most to take in the free workouts was about 3,500, per the Globe.
(There was also supposed to be a scrimmage at UMass against the Giants as part of the ramp up to the preseason, though Belichick canceled it because by then his team had already incurred too many injuries. Such is life, it appeared, when an out-of-shape team is shocked with an increase in intensity.)
It’s hard to blame the fanbase for its lack of excitement, however. After reaching the Super Bowl under Bill Parcells in the 1996 season, the Pats slid to 10-6 … then 9-7 … then 8-8 under Pete Carroll. They’d lost the momentum of Kraft’s early years and were backsliding.
In fact, the Pats had been 6-2 a year earlier, but a 2-6 record over the second half cost Carroll his job. It also cast some shade on the shine of Drew Bledsoe, the former first-overall pick on whom the franchise had pinned their hopes, and even with Belichick at the helm New England had fallen off the list of teams considered on the cusp of contention.
Asked for a response to all the pundits who saw the Pats as no better than a .500 team, Bledsoe told reporters early in that camp, “I think we have the talent to have a very good year” — but the prognosticators were more correct than the quarterback. Belichick’s first training camp led into an 0-4 start, and by mid-November they were 2-8.
It was never pretty, or particularly encouraging in spite of the coaching change. The headline to Michael Holley’s Globe column after an opening-day defeat against the Bucs read, “Coach’s first day on the job couldn’t have been worse.”
Belichick, of course, wouldn’t categorize the day in such extremes. Rather, his response to the loss was something straight out of 2019. Or 2014. Or 2008. Or any year, after any loss.
“Tampa Bay outplayed us,” Belichick said, classically eschewing excuses. “We didn’t make enough plays.”
The consistency of Belichick
The soundbites aren’t all that was established at the very start, then became part of Belichick’s persona with the Pats. Contract talks with first-round pick J.R. Redmond lingered into training camp, and it was already being noted in the press that the Belichick administration was developing a reputation as tough negotiators. A decade-plus before his dealings with Tom Brady’s trainer, Alex Guerrero, caused a stir, he dismissed a member of the training staff who’d been popular with some of the team’s key players.
Most recognizable, however, was the expectation of professionalism. Based on the players’ takeaways from Belichick’s first meetings, before they’d even reached the field for real, it’s clear that Belichick wasn’t comfortable with the shape things had taken under Carroll, and he quickly and purposefully sought to install his own version of the Patriot Way.
“With Pete Carroll,” one player told Cafardo, “guys would still be talking even after he’d come in. With Bill, he walks in and everyone shuts up and pays attention. It reminds me of college a little bit, where the players didn’t say anything when the coach was about to speak.”
“Serious,” defensive back Tebucky Jones said in the same report. “He’s a very serious coach.”
“Vacation’s over,” said Tedy Bruschi. “It’s time to win games.”
Bruschi and Belichick would go on to win plenty of games together, of course, with the linebacker becoming one of iconic leaders and playmakers of the first half of the Patriots’ dynasty. “The dessert comes later,” Belichick told reporters at the time, simultaneously warning players that “personal sacrifice” was going to be a prerequisite if the Patriots were going to be the team they wanted to be.
That’s remained such a tenet of Belichick’s time that in most cases it’s a non-negotiable. There are exceptions to everything, but those accounts indicate that from those first days the demand of putting the team first and making football the No. 1 priority have been guiding principles in New England. Those who don’t buy in to Belichick’s beliefs on those fronts don’t often survive here for long.
At times, that has cost them talent or caused criticism. There are strong indications that Rob Gronkowski didn’t want to put up with the rigidity of playing for Belichick anymore, so he retired. Before that, there was Eagles lineman Lane Johnson squawking about the perception that the Patriots don’t have any fun.
Carroll, on the contrary, has built a reputation for being on the opposite end, as a player-friendly coach whose USC and Seattle Seahawks teams have since seemed to feed on his positivity. Yet back at the start, the members of the 2000 Patriots who were in a prime position to compare the styles of those two coaches, expressed an understanding of the need for a change.
And even used the word Johnson claimed nobody would associate with life in Foxborough.
“We had a great offseason and it’s been a lot of fun around here. Everyone is real excited. You just want to play under the guy,” lineman Todd Rucci told the Globe.
“It’s hard to have fun when you’re losing,” he added while speaking just before training camp. “You get a bad taste in your mouth. We haven’t won any games yet. He put a big challenge to the guys on offseason workouts. It’s been fun taking on a challenge.”
Clearly not everyone agreed with Rucci’s perspective on keeping up with offseason workouts, and when reflecting on that camp, the failed conditioning tests were still on Belichick’s mind in 2017. He noted the way that got things off to a bad start, but that hasn’t been a persistent issue since then. “Yeah, I don’t think there was a lot of commitment with that group,” he said during a press conference three years ago.
“We obviously made a lot of changes from 2000 to 2001, and a lot of the guys that we stuck with from that team became pillars of the program, the organization in later years. That was a pretty slow start. I mean, it wasn’t a very good football team on a lot of levels. So, we’ve moved past that hopefully.”
We’re well past that now, 20 years and six Super Bowl championships removed from the week when Boston’s sports consciousness cared far more about the brim of Carl Everett’s helmet than the fact there were 90 Patriots about to put on theirs.
Things really started to noticeably change about a year and a half later, when Adam Vinatieri split the uprights in the Super Dome — but, two decades later, we can look back at that week in the middle of July 2000 and see a divergent turning point. Everett’s career with the Red Sox was never the same after that incident.
And in the meanwhile, Belichick was out to blow the opening whistle on a Patriots career that has ensured his franchise, and the formerly baseball-dominated New England sports hierarchy, would never be the same.”
https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2020/07/26/bill-belichick-training-camp-patriots/amp
Guregian Boston Herald: Patriots training camp countdown — No. 4: Can N’Keal Harry make the proverbial second-year leap?
https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/07/26/patriots-training-camp-countdown-no-4-can-nkeal-harry-make-the-proverbial-second-year-leap/amp/
NEW ORLEANS
Just Nola.com: So, how is this Saints training camp going to work? Get answers to some FAQs
https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/article_582f9798-ce15-11ea-997a-071c237adc8b.amp.html
Walker Nola.com: With no preseason games, finding diamonds in the rough like Saints often do becomes tougher
https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/article_327ed2da-cebe-11ea-b209-0b4e3fa8515d.amp.html
NEW YORK JETS
Costello NYP: Adam Gase and Jets’ future tied to Sam Darnold’s development
https://nypost.com/2020/07/26/adam-gase-and-jets-future-tied-to-sam-darnolds-development/
Costello NYP: Five key Jets to watch this training camp
https://nypost.com/2020/07/26/five-key-jets-to-watch-this-training-camp/
Costello NYP: ‘Real’ Adam Gase big reason Frank Gore chose the Jets
https://nypost.com/2020/07/25/real-adam-gase-big-reason-frank-gore-chose-the-jets/
Barnwell ESPN: Jamal Adams trade grades for Seahawks and Jets: Can a safety really be worth this much?
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29538280/jamal-adams-trade-grades-seahawks-jets-safety-really-worth-much
Mehta NYDN: Jamal Adams trade will make or break Jets GM Joe Douglas
https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/ny-jamal-adams-seahawks-trade-analysis-20200725-3jxzqzu2evgj5dc455hy6hjqxy-story.html
Glauber Newsday: Jets GM Joe Douglas couldn't pass up Seahawks' package for Jamal Adams
https://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/jets-jamal-adams-trade-joe-douglas-1.47332804
Cimini ESPN NY: Jets eliminate headache, set up future by trading Jamal Adams
https://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/83599/jets-eliminate-headache-set-up-future-by-trading-jamal-adams
Braziller NYP: Bradley McDougald excited to be joining the Jets
https://nypost.com/2020/07/26/bradley-mcdougald-excited-to-be-joining-the-jets/
PHILADELPHIA
Kaye NJ.com: Will Eagles’ T.J. Edwards claim a starting job next to Nathan Gerry? Linebacker breakdown
https://www.nj.com/eagles/2020/07/will-eagles-tj-edwards-claim-a-starting-job-linebacker-breakdown.html
Kempski Phillyvoice: Eagles 2020 training camp preview: Safety
https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-2020-training-camp-preview-safety/
PITTSBURGH
Fittipaldo Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Five storylines to follow during 2020 Steelers training camp
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2020/07/26/steelers-training-camp-2020-storylines-to-watch-ben-roethlisberger-update/stories/202007260002
SAN FRANCISCO
Madson Ninerswire USA Today: Kyle Shanahan's explanation of 49ers defense explains why team didn't trade for Jamal Adams
https://ninerswire.usatoday.com/2020/07/25/san-francisco-49ers-kyle-shanahan-jamal-adams-trade/amp/
SEATTLE
Condotta Seattle Times: Training camp countdown: Ranking the Seahawks roster, Part 6 (15-1)
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/seahawks-make-blockbuster-trade-for-safety-jamal-adams/
Condotta Seattle Times: Seahawks make blockbuster trade for safety Jamal Adams
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/seahawks-make-blockbuster-trade-for-safety-jamal-adams/
Henderson ESPN Seattle: Jamal Adams, Seahawks seem like an ideal long-term partnership
https://www.espn.com/blog/seattle-seahawks/post/_/id/34201/jamal-adams-seahawks-seem-like-an-ideal-long-term-partnership?platform=amp#click=https://t.co/0WsBnpcEUF
Matt Bowen ESPN: On Jamal Adams to the Seahawks...
Easy fit here in single-high coverages. Zone impact as an underneath defender vs. run/pass. Can match to TEs in man-coverage, too (Kittle/Higbee in NFC West).
Want to see where Adams lines up in sub-personnel. Blitz ability.
Werner Seahawkswire USA Today: Thrilled Jamal Adams tells Seahawks fans he is a 'man on a mission'
https://seahawkswire.usatoday.com/2020/07/25/thrilled-jamal-adams-tells-seahawks-fans-he-is-a-man-on-a-mission/
Condotta Seattle Times: Jamal Adams-Le’Veon Bell Twitter spat makes Jets-Seahawks game can’t miss TV
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/jamal-adams-leveon-bell-twitter-spat-makes-jets-seahawks-game-cant-miss-tv/
TAMPA BAY
Stroud TB Times: Who needs the preseason? These Bucs do
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2020/07/25/who-needs-the-preseason-these-bucs-do/
WASHINGTON
Fortier Washington Post: Alex Smith’s 20-month comeback hits key point with a team physical approaching
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/25/alex-smiths-20-month-comeback-hits-key-point-with-team-physical-approaching/
Colleges/Draft
Rang SI.com: Countdown to College Football Kickoff: Top NFL prospects at Colorado
https://www.si.com/.amp-draft/nfl/draft/news/countdown-to-college-football-kickoff-top-nfl-prospects-at-colorado
History
Dan Daly: Just to show you how much the NFL has changed, in 1968 Washington traded HOF safety Paul Krause, the all-time interception leader (81!), to the Vikings. Krause was 26 years old & had 28 picks in his 1st 4 seasons. Washington got journeyman LB/TE Marlin McKeever & a 7th-rounder.
Dan Daly: Late Night "Who Am I?" Bears great Walter Payton was the first back to rush for 1,000+ yards and score 10+ rushing TDs in 4 straight seasons. I'm the most recent of the 7.
Answer: Marshawn Lynch is the last NFL RB to rush for 1,000+ yards & score 10+ rushing TDs in 4 straight seasons. Only 6 others have done it: AP, Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomlinson, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell & Payton. Tomlinson did it a record 8 seasons in a row
Dan Daly: Imagine an NFL RB rushing for 1,000 yards, scoring 10 rushing TDs *and* catching 10 touchdown passes in the same season. The Vikings' Chuck Foreman just missed doing that in 1975 -- in a 14-game schedule! What a talent
Dan Daly: Never understood why TDs aren't weighted more heavily by HOF voters. When Billy Howton retired at the end of the 1963 season he was 1st all time in receptions & yards & 3rd in TDs. Bones Taylor who I was talking about earlier, is on this list too. Most TD catches thru '63:
9 years after he retired. Bones was still 5th in NFL history in TD catches. And at the end of the '60s he was *still* in the Top 10. Didn't drop to 11th until 1970.
Dan Daly: Today's NFL Trivia Question: Who was the first NFL player to have 2 KO-return TDs of 100+ yards in the same season? The last to do it was Cordarrelle Patterson with the 2013 Vikings (105, 109).
Answer: The Colts' Lenny Lyles in 1958 was the 1st #NFL-er with 2 KO-return TDs of 100+ yards in the same season. Lyles played in 2 hugely famous games: the '58 Sudden Death title game vs. the Giants & Super Bowl III vs. the Jets
Dan Daly: Quick NFL Quiz: Sammy Baugh, Bob Waterfield and Peyton Manning have all held this record. So has Jim Zorn. What is it?
The answer is . . . Baugh, Waterfield, Manning and Zorn all held the NFL rookie record for passing yards -- now in the possession of Andrew Luck (4,374).
Judge SI.com: Guest columnist: Centennial Class missed by excluding Wistert, Emerson
https://www.si.com/nfl/talkoffame/nfl/wistert-and-emerson-belong-in-hall
Giants Birthdays 7-26
Chris Claiborne OLB W-STL 2006 NYG 2006 7-28-1978
Chris Davis LB UDFA-SD State 1987 NYG 1987 7-28-1963
Eddie Hicks RB D6-East Carolina 1979 NYG 1979-1980 7-28-1955
EC HOF: “Hicks rushed for more than 2,100 yards during his four-year career playing for coach Pat Dye and completed his eligibility with the fifth-most rushing yards in school history. As a freshman in 1975, he scored three touchdowns to lead ECU to its first-ever win over North Carolina. A year later he was named all-conference after he rushed for 897 yards to steer ECU to the 1976 Southern Conference championship. Hicks holds the school record for the longest rushing play (95 yards) in ECU history. As a senior and team captain in 1978, he helped the Pirates win the Independence Bowl and was named to the All-South Independent second-team as well as the Pirates' Most Outstanding Offensive Player. The New York Giants selected him in the sixth round of the 1979 NFL Draft.”
Bonesville.net:
Eddie Hicks
A Speed Merchant Takes Time to Reflect
Mentors, fleet feet carried Eddie Hicks
to an unforgettable ECU caree
(2004)
“As expected, in the 1979 NFL draft, Hicks was selected, though lower than he had thought he’d be.
“Believe it or not, I had broken my hand playing basketball and it never really healed right,” he said of his condition pre-draft. “I was taken in the sixth round by the New York Giants.”
Hicks was the 158th overall pick in the annual collegiate draft and there were high hopes for him in the pros. But, the broken hand was just the beginning of a series of injuries that cut his promising career short after three seasons.
“You know, you learn real quick that the pros is a job… it’s a business,” he said. “It requires more discipline and more hard work. If you can get through July… get through training camp, then the games are a piece of cake. And it is a totally different world… a first-class world that I would never, never trade for nothing in a lifetime.
“And the Giants, they were no doubt a family, too. Everyone on that team pulled together. One of my greatest friends on the Giants is Harry Carson, who played middle linebacker. I still keep up with him to this day. This is a man who played for 16 years and dominated the game… yet he is not in the Hall of Fame. Can you believe that?”
https://bonesville.net/Articles/RonCherubini/PirateTimeMachine/2004/Hicks/092004_EddieHicks.htm
Bjorn Nittmo PK UDFA-Appalachian State 1989 NYG 1989 7-28-1966
In Memoriam
Bill Stits DB W-WAS 1959 NYG 1959-1961 Born 7-26-1931 Died 12-05-2011
Si.com: THE BEST TEAM YOU EVER SAW
THE BALTIMORE COLTS EARNED THE TRIBUTE IN AGAIN BEATING THE GIANTS TO RETAIN THEIR WORLD FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP (1-04/1960)
“It was late in this period that the first of some key injuries to Giant personnel occurred. Jim Patton injured the arch of his left foot and limped out of the game. He was replaced by Bill Stits, a good defensive back, but his loss was to cost the Giants dearly in the violent fourth quarter.
Now, however, with the Giants covering Colt receivers so well that time and again Unitas was forced to take a loss when he could not find an open target, Patton's absence did not seem so vital. Immediately after Patton left the game, Unitas was thrown for losses on successive plays, and the Giants ended the period by driving 52 yards in five plays to set up Summerall's curving 37-yard field goal, which Colt Defensive Captain Gino Marchetti vehemently maintained had gone wide.
A third Summerall field goal gave the Giants the lead early in the third period, and at this point in the game the New Yorkers appeared to have established control. ("This is a game of momentum," Landry said later. "We had good momentum then. We were moving the ball well. Charlie wasn't getting as much protection as he has in the past, but Schnelker was doing a great job and we were rolling. When we lost that momentum, the Colts took it over and we never got it back.")
The Giant momentum died late in the third period on the same kind of play which cost them the championship in the sudden-death playoff in 1958. With fourth down and a yard to go on the Baltimore 28, the Giants went for the yard instead of trying another field goal. Alex Webster took a quick hand-off into the left side of the Colt line and was stopped cold. The Colts took over and built up a momentum which grew with the speed of a snowball rolling downhill.
Unitas, who had been having poor success trying to run against the Giants, now went into a double wing T formation in order to pass. This left only his fullback for pass protection and, had Patton been available in the deep secondary, the Giants might have chased Unitas out of this formation by blitzing—sending the linebackers in after him to get him before he could throw. But Patton was on the sidelines, and the Giants needed their linebackers to help on pass defense. The Colt double wing forced them into covering Berry and Moore each with only one man, and Unitas, early in the fourth period, hit Berry for a 17-yard gain, then passed to Moore on a quick slant. Moore caught the ball on a dead run, moving with the high knee action which makes him very difficult to tackle, and Crow, coming in fast, dived at Moore's legs and caught a knee on the side of his head. Stunned, he fell away from the tackle, and Moore went on down to the Giant 14. Landry's gamble on Moore's getting two touchdowns was very nearly exactly right, for he scored one and set up this one, scored by Unitas on a roll-out and run from the Giant four-yard line. Unitas got a strong block from Moore; he ran to Crow's side and Crow, had he not been still dazed from the blow on the head, might have reacted quickly enough to reach Unitas.
The touchdown gave the Colts a 14-9 lead, but more importantly it shifted the control of the game to Baltimore. The Giants now began to gamble with the long pass, a fatal mistake against the very fluid, very quick zone defense of the Colts.
Under tremendous pressure from a Colt defensive line which was consistently beating the Giants on the snap of the ball, Conerly threw a long pass down the middle which was intercepted by Andy Nelson and returned to the Giant 14. If the measure of a great team is its ability to score in the wake of an opponent's mistake, the Colts proved their ability here. Unitas sent Berry on a pattern which took him into the Giant end zone, bringing a Giant defender with him, then tossed a short pass to rookie End Jerry Richardson, who ran 12 yards for the touchdown. Again this pass was to the side where Patton normally defends.
The zone defense the Colts use can be beaten, but only by very precise execution of pass patterns complemented by precise passing. "The Browns beat it by making no mistakes," Landry said. "They never hung a ball up there and they threw short and under the Colt backs and they threw exactly. If you throw poorly into this kind of defense, you'll get interceptions. The Colts can gamble on you getting an occasional hard touchdown because they can score so quickly themselves. You need a great offense if you use this kind of defense."
In the face of the inexorable rushing of Art Donovan and Gene Lipscomb and Gino Marchetti and Don Joyce, Conerly was not throwing exactly. On the Giants' first series after the third Colt score, he threw off balance, far downfield toward Gifford, and Johnny Sample, a tremendously fast Colt defensive back, raced in front of Gifford to intercept the pass and return it 42 yards for a touchdown.
"I was playing the middle in the three-man-deep zone," Johnny said. "I saw Gifford come into my zone and I looked for the ball and I knew I could beat him to it."
He picked off another pass, this one thrown by Gifford, to set up the field goal which closed the Colt scoring. Again he did it on a dead run, free to play the ball in the zone defense. The Giants scored a meaningless touchdown after that, and it ended 31-16.”
https://vault.si.com/.amp/vault/1960/01/04/the-best-team-you-ever-saw
Dick Woodard LLB/RLB/DE/C D21-Iowa
1948, NYG 1950-1951, 1953 Born 7-28-1926
Died 8-24-2019
Quad-City Times (2019): “Woodard was born in Britt, Iowa, in 1926 and grew up in Fort Dodge. He was a center and linebacker at Iowa, earning varsity letters in 1944, 1946, 1947 and 1948. His younger brother, Ralph, also won four varsity letters for the Hawkeyes.
After his college days, Dick Woodard was drafted in the 21st round by the New York Giants, although he began his pro career in 1949 with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-American Football League.
After the AAFL disbanded, Woodard played for the Giants in 1950 and ’51, was with the Washington Redskins in 1952 and returned to the Giants in 1953. He suffered a career-ending knee injury in training camp in 1954, but finished his 59-game pro career with six interceptions, four fumble recoveries and two touchdowns.
Along the way, he played with such Hall of Fame players as Frank Gifford, Emlen Tunnell, Roosevelt Brown, Arnie Weinmeister and Sammy Baugh as well as other greats of the era such as Kyle Rote and Charlie Conerly. He also became good friends with Giants defensive back Tom Landry, who went on to a legendary career as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
"He was a terrific guy, one of the neatest guys I've ever known," Woodard said of Landry in a 2001 interview with the Quad-City Times.
https://qctimes.com/sports/football/college/big-10/iowa/former-nfl-player-longtime-iowa-supporter-woodard-dies/article_5588cf88-4f81-5d77-bb88-76e8eae633ae.amp.html
Woodard related on birthday 91:
2016: Redskins Quarterback Kirk Cousins' Great Uncle Used To Play In Washington
http://redskins.com/news/blog/article-1/Redskins-Quarterback-Kirk-Cousins-Great-Uncle-Used-To-Play-In-Washington/919fb5d7-a7a7-4640-b38a-76c6165454d6
Browns Held Scoreless First Time in 62 Games as Giants Win 6-0 Battle
"Once, the Browns got as far as the 10 in that last period but lost the ball on a third-down effort when Marion Motley collided with Graham as he was about to take a handoff on the oldest play in the Cleveland book, the trap play. The ball was knocked from Graham's hands and center Dick Woodard recovered for the Giants on the 9-yard line."
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/1950/10/browns_held_scoreless_first_ti.html
