NFL News

[Futureshock]

FOX has an “unscripted project with Tom Brady”

Posted by Mike Florio on May 18, 2021, 9:23 AM EDT

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The GOAT may be coming to your local FOX affiliate, and not on Sunday afternoons or Thursday nights.

Via Deadline.com, FOX has revealed that it’s working with Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady on some sort of reality series.

“We also have an unscripted project with Tom Brady, yes, that Tom Brady,” FOX Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier said.

The show likely will be produced by Brady’s production company, 199 Productions. The 199 in the name refers to Brady’s status as the 199th pick in the 2000 draft.

That gives me an idea. How about an unscripted show based on the things that people will do to justify continuing to hold grudges long after the useful life of the grudge has ended?

[froot loops]

I'm sure a reality show with the Brady-bot is going to be thrilling.

[Futureshock]

With a cross-over of reality show fans, TB fans, NE fans, TB fans and NFL fans it will have viewership. And oh yeah, the wife is a top world model so she'll bring those viewers too. It actually is a great idea. I don't care too much for reality shows, but I am sure other people will watch.

[Futureshock]

Oh come on, don't you know how good Hines and Ingram are 🤭

I used to block for his dad, so yeah, I know a litlle about Ingram. He's closer to sittin on the bench with the ex-players then being on this list.

[Futureshock]

I guess they have young, proud men too...


Jaguars boast near-perfect participation during Phase Two of offseason program

Posted by Mike Florio on May 19, 2021, 11:10 PM EDT

USA TODAY Sports

Most teams are relying on reporters to proclaim that a high percentage of players are showing up for Phase Two of the voluntary offseason program. The Jaguars have done so directly.

“The Jaguars boast near-perfect participation from players during this voluntary period,” the team announced in a Wednesday press release.

“It’s a different mentality, it’s a different vibe, it’s a different energy,” said cornerback Shaquill Griffin, a free-agent arrival from Seattle. “I can feel everybody starting to buy into it. Everybody is starting to believe into it. That’s why it’s easier for us to practice out here. [We] really want to get better, everybody is working for each other. Everybody wants to see everybody improve.”

“[We’re] energized,” receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. said. “Hungry. Self-motivated. I can keep going on and on. Great vibes, I can tell you that.”

The workouts are occurring with 89 players on the roster, one short of the 90-man limit. Three days after the coaching staff had planned to meet regarding the possibility of adding tight end Tim Tebow, he has not yet been signed.

Some are starting to wonder whether coach Urban Meyer, after getting input from his assistants and otherwise reading the room, has decided not to proceed with giving a roster spot based on past relationships and not based on current or future football abilities.

[LightninBoy]

I guess they have young, proud men too...

Its nice to be on the front side of a new trend, instead of chasing the latest fad. I think this idea of building a team from big, proud, young men is really going to catch on in the league.

[Futureshock]

I don't know why, but that phrase just cracks me up

[Forsh]

Haha it didn't get me before but now yeah

[froot loops]

It reminds me back to days of Bennie Blades showing up at a Pistons game in front of 40k in the Dome right after he got drafted. He said he was going to bring the winning attitude they had at the U.

[edindetroit]

I don't know why, but that phrase just cracks me up

It was funny that's why.

[Futureshock]

Oh, to be young and proud again. Nowadays old and settled is my lot.

There are worse states I could be.

[Futureshock]

Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Greg Olsen starting Tight End University summit

Posted by Charean Williams on May 19, 2021, 8:19 PM EDT

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Some of the league’s best tight ends — Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, San Francisco’s George Kittle and recently retired Greg Olsen — are following the lead of the NFL’s pass rushers and offensive linemen.

They are creating a summit for players at the position. Tight End University will take place this summer in Nashville.

Twelve players have committed to joining Kelce, Kittle and Olsen.

Darren Waller, T.J. Hockenson, Kyle Pitts, Mark Andrews, Mike Gesicki, Robert Tonyan, Noah Fant, Zach Ertz, Cole Kmet, Jonnu Smith, Eric Ebron and David Njoku have announced their plans to participate.

Von Miller began a Pass Rush Summit four years ago, and Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson and offensive line scouting and development consultant Duke Manyweather started the OL Masterminds Summit in the summer of 2018.

[Futureshock]

Darius Slay: DeVonta Smith will win a lot of 1-on-1 matchups

Posted by Josh Alper on May 21, 2021, 7:29 AM EDT

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Questions about how wide receiver Devonta Smith‘s size will impact his chances of NFL success were asked before he was drafted 10th overall by the Eagles and they’ve continued to come after that selection.

Cornerback Darius Slay fielded one such query while streaming on Twitch recently. Slay said he’s had a chance to work with Smith a little and feels confident that the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner will remain a productive player at the professional level.

“What’s my take on Smith’s size? I ain’t worried,” Slay said, via USAToday.com. “Worked with him the other day a little bit, talking to him about a little ball. He’s heading in the right direction. He knows what he’s talking about, he knows how to win 1-on-1 matchups, and that’s what we need from our receiving corps right now. I think he’ll win a lot of 1-on-1 matchups. I’m not going to be shocked about it. Y’all might be shocked about it.”

Anything Slay can do in practice to help Smith win those battles come the fall will be welcomed by an Eagles Offense that’s been looking for a jolt to their receiving corps for a while.

[Futureshock]

Bashaud Breeland visited Vikings Thursday

Posted by Josh Alper on May 21, 2021, 6:51 AM EDT

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The Vikings traded cornerback Mike Hughes to the Chiefs this month and they spent some time with a former Chiefs cornerback this week.

Nate Taylor of TheAthletic.com reports that Bashaud Breeland visited with the Vikings on Thursday.

Breeland spent the last two seasons with the Chiefs and started 32 games in regular season and playoffs. He had 86 tackles, four interceptions, a forced fumble, three fumble recoveries, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the regular season. Breeland added 35 tackles in the postseason and he had a memorable interception of Jimmy Garoppolo in Super Bowl LIV.

Taylor adds that Breeland and the Chiefs have had some talks about a third season together, but his Vikings visit opens the door for new stomping grounds in 2021.

[Futureshock]

Patrick Mahomes calls for microchips in footballs to improve officiating

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 21, 2021, 5:35 AM EDT

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Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wants the NFL to go high tech to improve officiating.

The NFL has a microchip in every football as part of its data tracking, and bits of that data are sometimes revealed to the public through the league’s Next Gen Stats. But Mahomes says the chip should also be used to alert the officials to when a ball crosses a goal line.

“I’ve always thought the chip in the ball has to happen sometime, where if you cross the line, it just tells you a touchdown,” Mahomes said on the WHOOP podcast, via the Kansas City Star. “The biggest thing to me is when they get in the pile by the end zone, there is literally no way to tell if he’s in the end zone or not. It’s like you said, it’s just whatever they call. … I’m sure it’ll happen soon enough.”

The problem, however, is that on most touchdown calls, the question is not just, Did the ball cross the goal line? The question is usually, Which happened first, the ball crossing the goal line or the runner’s knee touching the ground? And a chip in the ball can’t answer that question. Even if the NFL used an instant replay system that benefited from a microchip that told the replay official exactly when the ball crossed the goal line, that wouldn’t necessarily help the official figure out when the runner, whose knee is obscured by a pile of players, went down.

So a microchip in a football might help with some replay reviews, but it wouldn’t necessarily be the major fix that Mahomes is hoping for.