NFC EAST

PHILADELPHIA

The Eagles have turned to QB MARCUS MARIOTA as the backup to QB JALEN HURTS.  It could be going better.  Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

Jalen Hurts missed a couple of games in the final weeks of the 2022 season and the Eagles put themselves at risk of losing the top seed in the NFC playoffs with a pair of losses, so the team knows the value of a backup quarterback.

Thursday night’s game against the Browns didn’t do much to inspire confidence in their current No. 2. Marcus Mariota was 9-of-17 for 86 yards and an interception while taking three sacks and overthrowing his intended receivers on multiple occasions.

“I was sloppy,” Mariota said. “I can do a better job of getting our guys operating cleaner and more efficiently. But that is what preseason is for. Kind of get some of that stuff ironed out. Clean off some of the rust. We’ll find ways to get better.”

Upgrading from Mariota at this point in the offseason would be difficult and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said the team has to figure out ways to put Mariota in positions to succeed when they have to put the ball in his hands.

“It’s also us finding out what he does well too,” Sirianni said. “What he sees well, what looks good to him. I know he didn’t play the way he wanted to tonight. I wouldn’t say he struggled the last game. You guys might have said that. I didn’t say that. He ran around and made some good plays and moved the ball really well with him in there against Baltimore. So tonight, yeah obviously not up to his standard, but it’s about us finding what works for him. And that’s just us learning him. That’s us working together to figure that out.”

In a perfect world, the Eagles won’t have to play Mariota in games that matter. The NFL is rarely a perfect world, however, and that means there’s some work to do to make sure the train keeps running under any circumstances.

WASHINGTON

No longer subject to the wrath of Eric Bienemy, some of his former players are telling the Commanders to toughen up and get with his program.  Jordan Dajani of CBSSports.com:

There were some waves made at Washington Commanders training camp Tuesday when head coach Ron Rivera admitted that some of his players were “a little concerned” when it came to new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s intensity.

Rivera was asked if players have had to adapt to Bieniemy’s intensity and if any had struggled with it at times. The coach admitted, “Yeah, they have.”

“I had a number of guys come to me and I said, ‘Hey, just go talk to him.’ I said, ‘Understand what he’s trying to get across to you.’ I think as they go and they talk and they listen to him, it’s been enlightening for a lot of these guys,” Rivera said, via the Washington Post. “I mean, it’s a whole different approach. Again, you’re getting a different kind of player from the players back in the past, especially in light of how things are coming out of college football. So a lot of these young guys, they do struggle with certain things …”

When Rivera was asked if the players felt like Bieniemy was riding them too hard, he responded saying, “Well, um. They just were a little concerned.”

Bieniemy is known for his fiery personality on the practice field, and a couple of his former Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers took to social media to defend him:

“Man there is no other coach that has your back like EB !!” Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill posted. “Take that coaching and get better we all been through … it’s tough but I promise you it will make you better.”

Hill’s former teammate, Mecole Hardman, now with the New York Jets, quoted Hill’s post in agreement, writing, “I promise.” He wasn’t the only former Chief to speak out, as retired running back Jamaal Charles did as well.

Bieniemy knows how his coaching style comes across, but he’s also deliberate. He says his job is to make sure his players are doing things the right way, and he’s seen progress when it comes to that.

“One thing I am, I’m an open book,” Bieniemy said. “I always invite players in. But also, too, as I am going through this process. Yes, I am intense. I would be afraid, too, to start, if I didn’t know me. But on top of that, one thing they do appreciate is this: I’m always going to be up front and I’m always going to be honest.

“Just like I stated when I first got here, we’ve all got to get uncomfortable to get comfortable. There’s some new demands and expectations that I expect. I expect us to be the team that we’re supposed to be. It’s not going to be easy, and everybody is not going to like the process. But when it’s all said and done with, my job is to make sure that we’re doing it the right way. There’s a way to do it.

“Do they understand that? Yes, because they’ve seen the results. Will everybody buy in? I believe so, but if not, it’s OK. Because you know what? My No. 1 job is to help take these guys to another level, and I can see it [happening]. When you think about where we started in the spring to where we are right now, we’re making a lot of strides. I’m proud of these guys. Excuse my language, but it’s been some good shit to watch.”

Later in the week, Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked about his former offensive coordinator. He backed up Bieniemy’s response, and pointed to the fact that his former players, such as Hill and Hardman, came to his defense.

“I think I saw EB said it perfect. EB is going to be harsh on you. He’s going to really try to get the best out of you every single day,” Mahomes said, via Pro Football Talk. “He’s going to hold you accountable whenever you don’t even want to hold yourself accountable. And it made me a better player.

“I think what he said that was the biggest thing is that he’s your No. 1 supporter, though. He will go to war with you just like any other guy on your team. And you’ve got to know that. And you’ve got to know when he’s talking to you on the football field, that he’s trying to get the best out of you. He’s not trying to put you down. He’s trying to push you to be even better than you think you can be.

“So, that’s something that I think they’ll understand when they go out there and they start winning football games, is there’s a reason to why he’s coaching you the way that he’s coaching you and that he loves you. I mean, he loves every guy that he coaches. And you see that with the guys that have come out and said stuff about him — Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson, Tyreek. They understand that he loves you and he’s going to try to get the best out of you every single day.”

NFC SOUTH

TAMPA BAY

After a spirited joint practice session on Wednesday, the Jets abruptly cancelled Thursday’s session with the Buccaneers – leaving Tampa Bay in New Jersey without anything to do but sit around the diner.  Then the Giants came to the rescue.  Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com:

The Buccaneers were supposed to hold a second joint practice against the Jets, but the Jets canceled Thursday’s session. That left Tampa Bay in New Jersey without a place to practice.

The Giants came to their rescue.

The Bucs practiced at the Giants’ Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Thursday instead of having to find a college or high school field.

The Giants have a home preseason game Friday against the Panthers, so they did not have a full practice Thursday.

“The Bucs needed a place to work since their joint practice apparently was canceled” the Giants said in a statement. “They asked about our fields. Given our schedule, we said yes. It worked out.”

The Bucs play the Jets at MetLife Stadium on Saturday.

AFC WEST

KANSAS CITY

Coincidence or not, the hardest training camp in the NFL is run by the coach of the team that won the Super Bowl twice in recent years.  Nate Taylor of The Athletic finds out why and what the players think of it:

In the NFL, gone are the days of grueling two-a-day practices, when players spent just as much time outside in the heat as they did in meetings and film sessions. This year, 25 teams opted to forgo a traditional training camp, choosing to stay home — at practice facilities, home stadiums or sites within 10 miles of headquarters.

The Kansas City Chiefs are an exception, one of just five teams that conducted camp on a college campus. Everyone in the Chiefs organization — players, coaches and executives — knows that as long as Andy Reid is their coach, the team will always start camp at Missouri Western State, or at least some college.

“I love being up here,” Reid said last month. “I look forward to it.”

Players agree that Reid, a future Hall of Famer at age 65, runs the league’s most difficult camp. Since 2013, when he joined Kansas City after 13 years in Philadelphia, veteran Chiefs players have tried their best to warn rookies and other newcomers about Camp Reid’s rigorous, old-school style.

The fighting Chiefs are going at it in training camp. Is that a good thing?

“How hard could it be?” new left tackle Donovan Smith asked through a smile in June.

Nine weeks later, Smith was still smiling, but he acknowledged his teammates were right: “It’s definitely an adjustment here. We definitely work our tails off.”

Without fail every year, many of those new players, drenched in sweat and near extreme exhaustion, ask a version of the same question: Why does Reid make camp this hard? The answers come through experience.

Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator (seventh camp tour): I’ve heard the war stories of that 1999 camp, Coach’s first year in Philadelphia, from guys like (Eric Bieniemy), Doug Pederson and Brad Childress. I’ve heard there’s never been a camp in the history of the NFL that’s been as hard as that camp. I think Coach kind of liked that.

Khalen Saunders, former defensive tackle (four tours): The first thing that comes to mind is precision and no wasted reps.

Nagy: When (Bienemy) talks about how hard something is, you know it’s hard.

Donovan Smith (first tour): A lot of plays. We run a lot of plays.

Saunders: You’re getting, like, 200 plays a day — and that’s two games worth.

Blaine Gabbert, quarterback (first tour): It’s an old-school method. It’s refreshing. It’s simple.

Richie James, receiver (first tour): As a receiver, it’s brutal, for sure. You run a lot.

Connor Embree, receivers coach (fifth tour): There’s no easy days. It’s not like other places around the league, where you might be a 10-year vet and get a day off here and there. If you’re healthy, you’re going — and we’re going hard and long.

Drue Tranquill, linebacker (first tour): It’s a lot tougher than the previous four camps I’ve been a part of, for sure. He maximizes every minute of on-field time. The CBA says we get four hours (each day), we’re going to be on the field for exactly four hours.

Mitchell Schwartz, former right tackle (four tours): He has the reps just generally set up a bit different. The first week or two of camp, most coaches have reps more evenly spaced out. He just starts right away — the ones are getting eight reps, the twos are getting four or five reps and the threes are getting two reps. That catches people’s eyes.

Justin Reid, safety (second tour): I came in prepared this year. Last year, that first week or two, was just very fast. It’s mentally challenging. The practices are way faster than any of the games ever are.

Tranquill: He grinds you. Sometimes you just feel like a turtle walking off the field.

Nagy: Last year, (former receiver) JuJu (Smith-Schuster) was laying on the turf in the indoor field and tweeted out, “That’s the hardest practice I’ve ever had.” I was like, “Dude, that’s, like, nothing compared to what you’re about to walk into.”

Dave Toub, special teams coordinator (13th tour): He’s not going to change his ways. You can’t knock it, his success.

Mike DeVito, former defensive end (three tours): He’s accounted for everything. In 2013, when I got there, I knew right away we were going to win. I could see how systematic he was. Everything had a purpose.

Mark Donovan, team president (16th tour): The process brings him joy.

Tranquill: That picture of the Super Bowl ring is at the start of every single slide of every presentation.

Donovan: With the uniform stuff, you tuck your jersey, there’s no initials, no triple names. You go to just about any other team, it’s like, “If the guy wants something on his jersey, just give it to them to keep them happy.” That’s not how we do things.

DeVito: One of his rules is you cannot put your helmet on the ground. You have to keep your helmet in your hand. I was like, “That just seems so arbitrary.” Then, you found out there was a time in Philly when one of his starting receivers ran a route, went out of bounds and tripped over a helmet and missed games because of it.

Donovan: The first year, before the players came in, he walked around the field. He goes, “Can you come down?” I come down. He goes, “Can you look at our goal post?” I look out. He goes, “Can you imagine a player coming in here and seeing the chipped paint on that goal post? How does that reflect on our team, our organization?” I’m like, “Got it, let’s go paint the goal posts.” He wants the players to know they’re in a first-class organization.

Patrick Mahomes, quarterback (sixth tour): You’ll never know when Coach Reid throws those curveballs. My first year we went into the install (period). I knew the plays, but I got up there, and Coach Reid told Nagy, “Call the play but don’t tell him the formation.” He wanted me to be able to rattle off the formation. It just shocked me. I knew them, but my mind just went completely blank. Ever since then, I’ve always known the formations.

Travis Kelce, tight end (10th tour): It’s not an easy thing to get a bunch of grown men to stay disciplined. The welcome-to-the-league moment with Coach Reid was just that eyebrow he gives you, man. You’re like, “All right, I better pick it up.”

Donovan: Travis is the guy that’s like, “That (route) won’t fly with Andy. Do it this way.”

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, receiver (second tour): Coach Reid doesn’t have a lot of emotion. If you do get some emotion out of him, it’s one of those, “Oooh, I might’ve messed up, for real.” I have gotten that. It was in the meeting room. It’s not a good feeling.

Schwartz: If he has to criticize you, even in a team setting where he’s showing plays where he has to criticize someone, he’s doing it to teach something to the group.

Saunders: It’s mind-blowing how he says the exact same things, almost like a tape recorder. Then he’s got his catchphrases, the “son-of-a-buck,” “son-on-a-gun” and “doggone it.” We can probably put a money line on which one he’s going to say in the meeting.

Donovan: One of things that’s really powerful about him is (his) father figure (status). You want to do right by your father. When your dad gives you a look, you go, “OK.” I’ve experienced it. For the players, they just want to do right by him.

Some of the most demanding elements of Reid’s camps are the “long drive” team periods, which occur once the novelty of camp has worn off and with the first preseason game still a few days away. The projected starters can be on the field for as many as 20 repetitions in less than 15 minutes.

Jeff Allen, former offensive lineman (four tours): My favorite day in camp was always Day 1 of pads. After that, I just wanted to fast-forward to the season.

Valdes-Scantling: The long-drive drill sucks. It’s going to suck every time we do it — and we do it quite a bit.

Schwartz: It’s definitely weird. It’s one of the only periods in practice that feels somewhat realistic.

Saunders: It’s one of those things where you’re like, “When am I ever going to be in a 17-play drive?” You might never see it. But you might see a 10-play drive. If you’re ready for another seven more plays, that’s why you do it.

Justin Reid: By the time you’re done running the play, the next ball is already spotted.

Trey Smith, right guard (third tour): That’s where, in my mind, I go into a different place and try to get to know myself. I know it sounds crazy, just verbalizing it. It differentiates yourself, especially at the end of the season. You have to really find who you are as a man.

DeVito: You have to get into that almost zombie mood where you’re just trying to survive. Those shared experiences, when you’re suffering together, is why you go away for camp.

Donovan: I was on the sideline last year. Those receivers get completely gassed. Marquez (Valdes-Scantling) came to the sideline and went down.

Valdes-Scantling: I was frustrated, like, “Why are we doing this stupid sh–?”

Donovan: (Former receiver) Mecole (Hardman) went up to him and goes, “Dude, I know what you’re feeling! You have to get up! You have to do this!” I was like, “Damn!”

George Karlaftis, defensive end (second tour): You feel prepared for that first game.

Trent McDuffie, cornerback (second tour): Being in an uncomfortable state of mind really helps you, especially at the end of the season when you are tired and it’s cold.

Mahomes: You’re thinking the entire time. That puts as much stress on you as the physical toll. He wants to make sure you’re paying attention to the littlest details. He’ll ask you: “What’s the down and distance on that last play?” You’re like, “Man, we’ve ran eight plays in a row; I don’t know.” It’s like second-and-7, and you’re not even thinking about it. You’re thinking about the play and getting everybody lined up. He’ll ask you: ‘How much time was left on the play clock before you snapped it?” He wants to make sure you’re seeing everything the entire time, so when you get to the game, it’s easy.

Keondre Coburn, defensive tackle (first tour): It’s training your mindset to be ready at any moment because you never know what’s going to happen in a game, (when) you won’t be able to get a sub — and you got to play. I love it. I see why they’ve (the Chiefs) been great all these years.

Valdes-Scantling: We’re in the Chargers game (last November), and we’ve got to go 75 yards (in the final two minutes) and score a touchdown. We go down the field (in just six plays) to win the game. Those are the type of moments that the long-drive drill prepares you for.

Tranquill: There’s something in us, as human beings, when we do hard things and put that in our reservoir. It’s about building this foundation so that when we’re in Jacksonville in Week 2, and it’s 90 degrees and 80 percent humidity, we’re able to draw from that well of difficult circumstances.

Saunders: Against the Titans (last November), when we got into overtime, I felt about as fresh as I could. I got a couple stops on Derrick Henry and got a sack. That was probably my best game. That was a time when I was like, “Wow, I’m not tired.”

Schwartz: When you see that backup defensive tackle — who, you’re like, “Damn, I really like this guy; he’s awesome, he gives me good looks and we have a good rapport” — gets in on a critical third down in a game and he gets a sack, you’re more pumped than you ordinarily would be because you have this cool relationship of having gone (against one another) so much in camp.

In a growing trend, 27 teams have scheduled joint practices with another team this year. Thirteen will practice against multiple opponents. Under Reid, the Chiefs have never participated in a joint practice.

Saunders: We’re just hitting each other for two-and-a-half weeks.

Schwartz: Coaches like it because they think it breaks up the monotony of camp and leads to a different level of emotional state. Most players will tell you they hate joint practices. (Reid) trusts us to do the work against each other.

Valdes-Scantling: The hardest part, obviously, is sleeping in a dorm room when you’ve got a Sleep Number bed at home.

James: It makes you uncomfortable. You’re sleeping in a twin bed.

Schwartz: They keep the dorms exceptionally cold. That’s one thing you have to tell the young guys: Bring an extra blanket, which sounds crazy. But it gets frigid in there.

Tom Mevlin, tight ends coach (25th tour): (Reid) is somebody who can survive on not a lot of sleep. I can’t do that.

Toub: I hate the dorms. I’m 61 years old living in a concrete block.

Saunders: It definitely brings you back to that college feel. For what (Reid) does and what he’s trying to accomplish, it’s definitely more beneficial to where you can only focus on football.

Schwartz: (Reid) would say, “We want you guys to hang out as much as possible.” You have enough time to hang out with your buddies, whether it’s in your room playing video games, in the meal hall or hanging out after meetings.

Saunders: Me and (former safety) Tyrann Mathieu were just talking about that the other day. I’ve got some unreleased Tyrann Mathieu music on my laptop. I make music and people used to come to my dorm all the time and record stuff until curfew.

Justin Reid: It’s fun playing chess with (guard) Joe Thuney. We’ve got a champion in Drue. I’m going to go challenge him and see if I can take the belt.

Saunders: I like to make all my teammates my friends, even O-linemen. We go against each other every day, but one of my closest friends is (guard Nick) Allegretti, just the camaraderie. That’s probably my favorite part about the Chiefs’ camp.

Justin Reid: I know a lot more guys (personally) on this team, from being here in St. Joe than I did in Houston just because you spend so much time together. There’s a rock-paper-scissors competition going around the locker room.

DeVito: A lot of teams will break camp after the first preseason game. You get the taste of freedom. But Andy brings you back. That, hands down, is the most difficult part. Five more days of suffering.

Brett Veach, general manager (16th tour): That’s the beauty of Coach. Most guys are like, “Camp is over; we just played a game.” Then Coach kicks them in the ass because that’s what they’re going to experience at some point.

Schwartz: Uh … the favorite moment of camp is when you pack up and leave. No one truly enjoys camp.

DeVito: When do you feel comfortable in camp? When that b—- is over. That’s the only time.

Toub: He loves it. He’s not going anywhere. People keep talking about retirement. He loves this. This is his hobby. I do other things. I like to play golf, go fishing. I’m trying to get him to go hunt. He won’t do it. This is all he does: football.

Mahomes: I’ve told guys if you can get through Andy Reid’s camp, then you’re going to be able to get through an NFL season.

DeVito: They have that sign on the wall: Come in as a team, leave as a family. For a lot of teams, that would just be a motto. For Kansas City, that’s real. When I think of those guys that I played with, I love those guys. I hadn’t experienced anything like that. I really believe a major part of that is through the relationships you build during camp. The locker room was our fraternity. That’s hard to do in the NFL, and that’s what I miss the most.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE

The Ravens put one of the most amazing streaks in sports history on the line Monday in the Battle of DelMarVa. An update from Max Gamarra of SI.com:

The Baltimore Ravens are winners of 24 straight preseason games, and that record will be back on the line Monday night when they visit the Washington Commanders.

Baltimore’s win last Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles marked the 24th straight preseason victory for the Ravens, a streak that spans all the way back to 2015. The last time Baltimore lost in the preseason was on Sep. 3, 2015 when the Atlanta Falcons defeated them in another game that ended 20-19 on a failed two-point conversion.

The NFL recognizes their 24-game win streak as the longest in the history of the preseason. The second-longest streak was 19 games by the Green Bay Packers from 1959-1962.

The Commanders have contributed the most losses in the streak, losing five times to the Ravens.

The entirety of the streak has happened with John Harbaugh as the head coach. Harbaugh has been at the helm for Baltimore since 2008 and won the Super Bowl in 2012.

“That’s a credit to Coach Harbaugh and the rest of this organization that this streak has been able to go on for so long,” Ravens quarterback Josh Johnson said. “With so many different guys playing in the preseason and to go over there and play above the standard, as he likes to state.”

The Commanders hope to snap the streak on Monday night against the Ravens. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. on ESPN.

CINCINNATI

A source in the Hamilton County legal community pointed out that it was not a jury of his peers that found pointing a gun at a woman was not “menacing” because she was angry.

It was a bench trial and that decision was solely made by a judge named Gwen Bender.  Judge Bender it should be noted is a former prosecutor who went to the same high school as two of the DB’s sisters.

CLEVELAND

More missed kicks for PK CADE YORK.  Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Cade York was in the midst of a perfect night of kicking — until he wasn’t.

During Thursday night’s 18-18 tie with the Eagles in the Browns’ third preseason game, York went 3-for-3 on his first three field goal attempts and the Browns and their fans breathed a huge sigh of relief.

It appeared that their second-year kicker had busted out of his slump and was back on track, with boots of 43 and 37 yards in the first half, and 43 early in the fourth quarter to extend the Browns’ lead to 18-10. Forgotten were the missed 49-yarder in the victory over the Jets and the missed 46-yarder in the loss to the Commanders, both pushed wide right.

But then came not one — but two chances — to make the potential gamewinning field goal — and he missed them both.

After a stellar Day 2 of joint practices against the Eagles where he went 6-for-6, York waited out the seemingly endless two-minute warning and then lined up for the 47-yard field goal attempt. Like his other two misses, it sailed wide right, with 1:56 left in the game and the score tied at 18.

Was the two-minute icing a factor?

“That’s just part of it,” Stefanski said.

Lucky for York, the Eagles had lined up illegally on the kick to give him a mulligan — a chance for a do-over from 41 yards. Surely, the big-legged kicker would have no problem with this one. Instead, he nudged it slightly wide left with 1:52 remaining. The Browns got the ball back one more time with 32 seconds left, but only got to their 39 before time ran out.

How much did he want another chance?

“Oh, so badly,” he said. “Definitely disappointing for that to happen and wanted a shot to get back out there and do something from a long distance. Just who I am. I kind of want to go back out there. So disappointing, but it’s what it is. Moving on.”

It looked like his plant foot might have slipped on the last one.

“I have to go back and watch it,” he said. “I think it was maybe just a little bit of overcompensation for the first one. Again, I’m hitting the ball well, not having an issue. Just, again, trying to peak at the right time. Season’s in three weeks now.”

Kevin Stefanski was asked if the otherwise stellar night was ruined for York with two misses.

“It’s preseason, so everybody’s working through the preseason and certainly as you know, Cade wants to make those so that we can finish as a team, so we can go get that W,” he said. “But he’s like any young player — he’s like any player on our roster. It’s preseason so he’s got to continue to work through it.”

Stefanski was asked if he still feels good about not bringing in any competition for York.

“I do,” he said.

Like everyone else in Browns Town, Stefanski was encouraged by York starting the night 3-for-3. But everyone also knows it’s not how you start ….

“Obviously making the first three is great and then he knows he wants to make that last one,” Stefanski said. “So that’s something that I think he’ll continue to work through.”

York, the Browns’ fourth-round pick last year out of LSU, stressed that he’s not rattled by the misses.

“Confidence is never going to be an issue for me,” York said. “Bounced back every week, but definitely was moving in the right direction. Again, trying to take off at the right time of the year. I don’t think the preseason so far has been a good indication of how I’ve been kicking so far. I mean, in training camp it only means so much, but I think I’ve missed one kick out of like 40, 45. Still hitting the ball well. I’ve just had that right miss a couple times and just got to pull it back down the middle and keep going.”

After his 2-for-2 performance in the first half, special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone was as happy as anyone.

“He’s so talented,” he told Aditi Kinkhabwala on the News5 broadcast. “He’s a hard worker. He’s been really consistent throughout training camp. I know that we haven’t had the results in these games that we’ve wanted, but he’s stuck to his process so far and made both his kicks.”

York has been trying not overthink things this preseason — or tinker too much — and let the kicks come to him.

“Try not to make too many adjustments,” he said. “Sometimes they’re just subtle things that you kind of just automatically do if one thing happened wrong. I think I kind of just clipped the ground on the second one, toe popped up and kind of ugly ball. The first one was a good hit. It just started off right, like those couple misses from before. So, hitting the ball well again, just got to start putting ‘em down the middle.”

AFC EAST

BUFFALO

QB JOSH ALLEN will be playing in Preseason Game 2.

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott said quarterback Josh Allen will play Saturday in the preseason game against the Steelers

Allen did not play in the preseason opener last Saturday against the Colts.  In addition to Allen, receiver Stefon Diggs is slated to make his debut as well.

McDermott. said they will play about “a quarter and a half.”

NEW YORK JETS

Rich Cimini of ESPN.com on the return of Tony Oden:

There were several skirmishes (Wednesday) between the Jets and Bucs, who play Saturday night at MetLife Stadium. Oden, 50, who coaches the cornerbacks, was struck as a fight began to escalate. Coach Robert Saleh said Oden was hit by “friendly fire.”

Oden said his wife, knowing tempers tend to flare in joint practices, made him promise to stay out of harm’s way.

“She said, ‘Do not try to break up any fights.’ I said, ‘I won’t,'” Oden said. “I was not trying to break up a fight. I was trying to prevent it from happening. Those guys were a little too big, a little too fast for me. I didn’t move my feet well enough, and I kind of got caught up a little bit.”

Oden fell to the ground and appeared to lose consciousness during the skirmish, but he denied it Thursday.

ADVERTISING

“Nah, I just got tired and decided to sit down for a while,” he said. “It was hot.”

Clearly, Oden didn’t want to make himself the story. As he noted, “These [players] deal with way worse than this, so I’ll be danged if I’m going to talk about anything that I have. I’m just a coach. All I have to do is hold a clipboard.”

Oden said his wife was angry and asked him, “What were you thinking?”

THIS AND THAT

RE-IMAGINING THE KICKOFF

Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com:

It has been more than a decade since the NFL began reworking its kickoff in a quest to reduce concussions. The formula has been simple — incentivize teams to avoid returns — but only moderately effective. Now the league is considering an existential question as it implements its latest, and perhaps final, tweak of that effort:

Will 2023 be the final year of the kickoff as we know it?

League officials are openly referring to their latest rule change, one that encourages returners to fair catch balls that are kicked inside the 25-yard line, as a short-term patch for a spike in concussions during the 2022 season. According to multiple sources, commissioner Roger Goodell and executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent were part of a recent meeting with XFL officials to discuss its version of the kickoff, among other rule innovations, which has produced lower injury rates as well as a return rate of more than 90% in its two seasons. In the XFL version, all players but the kicker and returner line up 5 yards from each to reduce high-speed collisions.

“I remain optimistic that we can find creative solutions, whether it’s a version of the XFL or a reboot of this play,” Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL competition committee, told ESPN. “We can find variations that continue to evolve this play and keep this play in the game, but I think we have to be open to the idea that the answer can’t be, ‘Let’s just do it the way we’ve done it.’ That just isn’t a good answer when the data says otherwise.”

Such aggressive talk is rare for the slow-changing NFL, but McKay and others are beginning to acknowledge that simply limiting returns has run its course. That approach dropped the return rate to as low as 36% in 2020, but an increase in teams using “pop-up” kicks short of the goal line added more returns, and more concussions, over the past two seasons.

A series of more fundamental adjustments in 2018, including the elimination of double-team blocks and a prohibition on a running start for cover men, had an “incremental” impact, McKay said. But the nature of high-speed collisions on kickoffs has kept the ratio of concussions per return relatively constant. Last season, players remained more than three times as likely to suffer a concussion on a kickoff compared to a regular offensive or defensive play.

NFL modeling estimates concussions associated with kickoffs will drop by 15% in 2023 with the new fair catch rule, but only because it is projected to reduce returns by 7%. Further diminishing the frequency of kickoff returns no longer appeals to the league, in part because the XFL has shown there are other viable options.

“While we figure this out, and we need to figure it out, this seems like something we can do,” NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said on the “Pat McAfee Show” recently. “I think it’s a stopgap. I think it’s an interim measure while hopefully we can figure out a better solution.”

Special teams coaches and players have largely opposed the effort to reduce returns over the years, and the fair catch rule — which spots the ball at the 25-yard line even if it is fielded inside of that mark — is no exception. As the touchback rate has risen from 9.2% in 2009 to nearly 60% in 2022, kickoffs have become far less relevant to the outcome of games — all while making only a small impact on injuries.

In this case, they question if enough collisions would be averted on a fair catch to make a difference in injury numbers.

“There’s going to be contact on every single kickoff unless the ball is a touchback,” New England Patriots special teams coordinator Cameron Achord said. “If that ball is coming down in the field of play, there’s going to be contact on that play. It’s not like we’re getting rid of contact.”

The likeliest outcome, said Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels, is that teams will stop using shorter “pop-up” kicks.

“It just doesn’t make sense to do something like that,” Daniels said. “If it does happen, you should immediately go ahead and fair catch that thing.”

Even so, teams will continue to look for ways to pin opponents with field position inside the 25-yard line. Some coaches said they expect an increase in “squib” kicks that bounce downfield rather than ascend in the air. But several kickers noted that squibs are not as routine as they look and could lead to unintended consequences.

“That’s risky,” Vikings kicker Greg Joseph said. “At that point there’s so many moving pieces. The ball can obviously bounce in different ways and there are people trying to stop the ball and get the ball for field position. There’s more moving pieces and more of the unknown.”

Said the Patriots’ Nick Folk: “When you’re kicking this ball that is this oblong shape, you just don’t know. It’s a tough kick to perfect. You’re at the mercy of the football.”

McKay said the NFL’s research showed squib kicks didn’t increase at the college level following the implementation of its own fair catch rule in 2018. Even if they do proliferate, he added: “We’re comfortable that would be a better place than we’re currently in.”

That dynamic will be tough to judge during the preseason, when coaches are unconcerned about field position and instead prioritize every opportunity to evaluate their return and coverage teams. In fact, there was not a single fair catch on a kickoff in the first 17 games of the 2023 preseason.

But at this point, even McKay knows that the toolbox for reducing injuries via returns is nearly — if not entirely — empty.

“It doesn’t feel like we have a lot of other options there,” McKay said. Reducing concussions via fewer returns is an “OK result for this year,” McKay said. But the method is “not preferred,” he added. “None of that is preferred.”

The NFL’s arrival at this crossroad has coincided with the emergence of a potentially viable option, one that would counter years of concerns that the ultimate outcome would be to eliminate the kickoff entirely.

The XFL’s low-impact kickoff is largely the brainchild of Sam Schwartzstein, who played college football at Stanford from 2008 to 2012 and was one of the XFL’s first hires when it returned for the 2020 season. Tasked by then-owner Vince McMahon to “reimagine” football, Schwartzstein zeroed in on the kickoff as fertile ground.

“We knew our fans wanted players to stay safe,” he said, ” but they also wanted to keep the foot in the game. And that’s what we wanted, too. It’s just too much a part of the game. The word ‘kickoff’ is just part of the American vernacular. We ‘kick off’ meetings, we ‘kick off’ everything. We had to have it in there somehow.”

The traditional football kickoff, Schwartzstein said, has a “speed and space” problem. Players run halfway down the field (or further) at top speed before colliding into violent hits, and there was no fundamental way around it under conventional formations.

But at the moment the returner catches the ball, Schwartzstein found, the other players on the field are almost always in the same spot: between the receiving team’s 30- and 35-yard lines, and between 3 to 7 yards apart. So why not start the play at that moment?

Through experimentation and tweaking over nearly two years leading up to the XFL’s 2020 season, the league settled on an admittedly unusual formation in which 10 players from each team line up five 5 yards across from each other between the receiving team’s 30- and 35-yard lines. The kicker stands alone at his 30, reducing the chances of the ball traveling into the end zone, while the returner lines up around the 20-yard line.

By rule, none of the 20 players lined up across from each other can move until the returner secures the ball or after three seconds pass when it hits the ground. A touchback is marked at the 35-yard line and a kick out of bounds, or short of the 20-yard line, is marked at the 45.

McKay admitted he was “not all that jacked up” about the formation the first time he saw it. The Vikings’ Daniels called it “funky.” But McKay has watched film of every single XFL kickoff from the 2020 and 2023 seasons, and both he and Daniels agreed that it solved the primary issues facing the NFL kickoff.

“I love how they do it,” Daniels said. “It’s a guaranteed play every single time. No touchbacks. And you’re not getting those collisions from players running 30 or 40 yards down field. What’s not to love about that? You’re getting the enjoyment for fans who get to see an actual play. I always think it’s anticlimactic when everyone in a stadium gets excited for an opening kickoff, and then it goes out of the end zone.”

The XFL return rate in 2020 was 93% and did not incur a single concussion, according to Schwartzstein, who is now a Thursday night football analytics expert for Prime Video. The 2023 XFL had a 90% return rate but injury information is not yet available, a spokesman said.

XFL coaches have generally used blocking schemes similar to run plays on their kickoff returns, and the average return in 2023 was a modest 21.7 yards. But Schwartzstein said he envisioned multiple options and avenues based on the body type and skill set of the players involved.

“When coaches really embrace it and buy in, they’re going to try new things,” he said. “That’s what makes this play so fun.”

McKay and the competition committee will spend the time between now and next offseason studying details of the XFL play, while also considering other options. Change happens slowly in the NFL — it took five years of debate before enough owners were convinced in 2015 to move back the extra point by 13 yards — but McKay is eager to advance the conversation.

“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible to approve something like this in a year,” he said. “But most rules that have major changes take time. Let’s see what the data shows us not just from their rule, but from our rule in 2023. We don’t have to just adopt their formation just the way it is. Maybe we tweak it. But the concept of putting those players closer together and further down the field, to me there’s something to that.

“What I do know is that the concussion rate numbers the past two years have been disappointing, and we have to follow the data.”

FIVE PLAYERS TO DRAFT

You’ll win your league if you get these guys (although we note that our last “expert” on fantasy said stay away from George Kittle) says Nathan Jahnke ofProFootballFocus.com:

TONY POLLARD, DALLAS COWBOYS ESPN ADP: 19.7, FROM ESPN)

Pollard has graded out as an elite runner in recent seasons and finally gets a chance to shine without Ezekiel Elliott in the offense.

His head coach Mike McCarthy has made it clear he wants to run the ball more this year.

His 92.0 run grade ranks the second among running backs over the last two seasons.

He has been among the best backs at making big plays. He gained at least 10 yards on 16.1% of his carries and averaged 3.8 yards after contact per attempt. Both ranked first out of 31 running backs with at least 175 rushing attempts since 2022.

This led to 0.802 rushing fantasy points per attempt, which ranked second out of the same sample of backs.

He finished at RB8 last season despite Ezekiel Elliott playing every game, taking 75% of the goal line carries and leading to 12 rushing touchdowns.

If Pollard can take those goal-line opportunities, he should rank even higher than this. There is still a chance the Cowboys add a bigger back or bring Elliott back, and Pollard doesn’t receive as many touchdown opportunities.

He should also benefit from a healthier offensive line, which ranks sixth overall heading into the season. Every projected starter was on the team last season, so they should also benefit from having worked together already.

Pollard should also benefit from running more routes. While he was a much better receiver than Elliott, he just barely ran more routes last season at 245-234.

His 1.51 yards per route run ranked fifth among running backs.

Pollard only needs to average 6.2 more PPR points per game this season compared to last to reach RB1. With his excellent rushing efficiency, receiving production and the Cowboys offensive talent, he doesn’t need to be a 20-carry-per-game back to get there.

AMON-RA ST. BROWN, DETROIT LIONS (ADP: 20.0)

St. Brown is an underrated receptions machine.

St. Brown’s rookie season started slow in 2021 but had an excellent ending. He caught at least eight passes in each of the last six games, leading to a minimum of 70 yards and a touchdown in five of six games.

He scored the second-most fantasy points over that stretch, averaging 25.2 fantasy points per game.

He followed that up with an even more impressive 2022 campaign. His 90.4 receiving grade placed third among wide receivers last season.

He was targeted on 28.8% of his routes, leading to a catch on 21.9% of his routes — which both ranked second last season. His 0.53 receiving PPR points per route run ranked fourth.

The Lions no longer have T.J. Hockenson, D.J. Chark or D’Andre Swift — three of the Lions’ top five receivers last season by PFF grade. This should lead to the passing game relying even more on St. Brown.

He’s received plenty of praise in camp so far and is looking to expand his route tree this season by becoming more of a deep threat. This would make him a more well-rounded receiver, and allow him to have more huge games rather than just consistent good ones.

The only problem is St. Brown ran the 43rd-most routes last season, at 483.

The Lions invested a lot at running back this offseason with Jahmyr Gibbs in the draft and David Montgomery in free agency. If anything, Detroit will be getting the ball more to running backs — not less.

If the Lions end up increasing how much they pass the ball, St. Brown has a chance at being the overall WR1.

KEENAN ALLEN, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (ADP: 46.6)

Allen remains one of the most effective receivers in the NFL despite his age.

Allen’s PFF grade isn’t the same as it was during his peak from 2017-2018, but he’s continued to grade very well, including an 84.4 receiving grade last season.

He has run 37.9 routes per game since 2020, which ranks third out of 148 wide receivers with at least 25 games in the span.

He’s maintained a high reception rate on his routes despite the large sample, making a catch on 17.9% of his routes (sixth).

This has given him 9.3 targets and 6.8 receptions per game, ranking fourth and third, respectively.

His success continued into 2022 when he was healthy despite a down season by the Chargers.

His 150.3 PPR points from Weeks 11-18 in 2022 ranked third most among wide receivers.

He will gain Kellen Moore as his offensive coordinator. His Dallas Cowboys threw to the slot more frequently than the Chargers had been in recent seasons, which could lead to more targets by Allen.

Allen has been Justin Herbert’s favorite target when there is no pressure, and his target share sees a significant drop when there is pressure. Los Angeles’ offensive line should be even better this season with a healthy Rashawn Slater, and Jamaree Salyer moving to guard.

Allen was WR3 over the last eight weeks and there is reason to believe he can do even better this season.

JUSTIN FIELDS, CHICAGO BEARS (ADP: 52.6)

A quarterback has run for 132 or more yards 16 times in NFL history. Fields logged three of those games in November and December.

Fields had 20.5 PPR fantasy points per game, which ranked fifth last season. Over half of that production came as a rusher.

When he threw, it often went for a big play, as 48.4% of his completions gained 10-plus yards over the last two seasons — third-most among quarterbacks.

Chicago traded for D.J. Moore this offseason, which is arguably the biggest receiver addition any team made this offseason.

Moore’s achieved an 85.4 PFF receiving grade over the last four seasons, which ranked 20th among wide receivers despite sub-par quarterback play.

The two have already begun turning heads at the start of training camp.

Fields should also benefit from more general stability at the position. The Bears had seven different wide receivers run at least 70 pass routes, but none of them topped 350.

Fields should consistently have a top three wide receivers of Moore, Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool this season.

We have recently seen other quarterbacks have subpar passing seasons, gain a new top wide receiver, and propel them to be better passers.

This includes Hurts gaining A.J. Brown last season, as well as Tua Tagovailoa gaining Tyreek Hill.

Fields has the potential to have another elite rushing season. If he makes progress as a passer, he has a shot at the top overall quarterback spot.

GEORGE KITTLE, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (ADP: 50.3)

Kittle has been nearly as talented as Travis Kelce, just without the pass-happy offense and future Hall-of-Fame quarterback to boost his fantasy value.

Kittle has finished in the top four among tight ends in fantasy points per game in each of his last five seasons.

He finished second in the league last season.

He’s averaged 5.5 receptions per game along with 70.8 receiving yards and 15.0 PPR points over the last five seasons, which all rank second to Kelce.

One problem in his career has been a lack of touchdowns, but he overcame that this last season. His 0.73 receiving touchdowns per game ranked first among tight ends.

The big reason to be even more excited for Kittle this season compared to past seasons is Brock Purdy.

In Kittle’s career, he’s averaged one touchdown per game when Purdy plays 80% of snaps or more, and 0.3 touchdowns per game in all other games, including the playoffs.

Kittle has consistently graded among the league’s best tight ends on deep passes, but it’s been on a small sample size as most previous 49ers quarterbacks and Jimmy Garoppolo in particular don’t throw deep very often.

Purdy was right at league average in terms of how often he threw deep.

Kittle caught five of seven deep passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns from Week 13 on including the playoffs once Purdy took over. He only caught two deep passes over the first 12 weeks, and four deep passes in all of 2021.

Kittle led all tight ends in fantasy points from Week 13 to 18 once Purdy started playing.

He will still be stuck in a run-first offense, but more big plays and more touchdowns give Kittle a chance to be the overall TE1.