FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When Bill Belichick was in his second season as New England Patriots coach in 2001, Bill Russell — the Boston Celtics great who won 11 NBA championships — visited the team. Russell’s death on Sunday at age 88 had Belichick reflecting on that visit, and current Patriots players reflecting on Russell’s legacy....
Aug 3, 2022 Brady HendersonESPN RENTON, Wash. — For the first time in his NFL career, running back Rashaad Penny began training camp as the Seattle Seahawks‘ projected starter. It didn’t happen as a rookie in 2018, when Chris Carson returned from his broken leg and reclaimed the job, even though the Seahawks had just...
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL: 1. Thornton’s fit: Given the most recent chapter of the Patriots’ shaky history selecting receivers early in the draft — when they whiffed on N’Keal Harry at the end of the 2019 first round — the status of 2022 second-round pick...
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was the final play of the third practice of training camp for the New York Giants. Coach Brian Daboll called upon quarterback Daniel Jones and safety Xavier McKinney to take the roles of offensive and defensive coordinator. Jones called the offensive plays; McKinney the defense. It was supposed to be...
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL: 1. Challenging change: One of the reasons Bill Belichick has traditionally promoted from within on his coaching staff is valuing continuity, and players not having to learn a new system with every change. Offensively, that resulted in Charlie Weis (2000-04) passing...
“The happiest person in the building should be Josh Jacobs. I know that.” — Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on the team’s offensive system under new coach Josh McDaniels HENDERSON, Nev. — Josh McDaniels landed in Las Vegas with the reputation of an elite playcaller, one who leans heavily on a roster of running...
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For most quarterbacks selected in the top three of the NFL draft, the immediate expectation is for them to take downtrodden franchises and elevate them to the league’s loftiest heights. More often than not, it doesn’t work. It’s why, at the time the San Francisco 49ers used the No. 3 pick...
The first week of the NFL preseason has come and gone. There is a lot of things to look at throughout the league and we will be going over some of the biggest takeaways. Starting off with Justin Fields.
The former Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers, who just retired at the end of last season, recently came out and said he has thought about returning to the field. He spent 16 long seasons as the leader of the Chargers before wrapping his career up with one season as the Colts...
With the 2021 NFL season right around the corner now, everybody is anxious to see what team is able to emerge as the strongest in the league. There are tons of good options to choose form with the majority of teams looking to gear up for a playoff push. Here we are going to go...
The hype built around the Cleveland Browns approaching the 2020 NFL season took a big stride backwards compared to the hype leading into the 2019 NFL season. While expectations were high last year, the struggles on the field including the sharp decline of Baker Mayfield slowed the Browns down in the AFC while the team...
The slow march to the Super Bowl title starts on Thursday September 10th, 2020. For the NFC East, one team that has not received a ton of attention during the offseason that has the potential to make the division one of the most exciting in the NFL is the New York Giants. While the Dallas...