NFC NORTH

GREEN BAY Maturely, QB AARON RODGERS says he is able to separate his feelings towards training his replacement QB JORDAN LOVE and those towards GM Brian Gutenkist who drafted Love. “He didn’t ask to be drafted by the Packers. He’s not to blame at all … I’m not going to say I was thrilled by the pick.” More from Reuben Coutinho of EssentiallySports.com: “I think it was more the surprise of the pick, based on my own feelings of wanting to play into my 40s, and really the realization that it does change the controllables a little bit. Because as much as I feel confident in my abilities and what I can accomplish and what we can accomplish.”   “There are some new factors that are out of my control. And so my sincere desire to start and finish with the same organization, just as it has with many other players over the years, may not be a reality at this point.”   Rodgers’ words seem to show that he too is aware of his stats dropping. He knows that he must now perform or there is a ready-made replacement waiting for a chance to make his NFL bow.   However, his words of “I understand” are clear proof that he will do what’s needed for the team. As per Dan Graziano, this is exactly what the executives at Lambeau Field were hoping for.   However, his words here have deep significance. Now, fans will entertain the thought of Rodgers moving away from ‘the Green and Gold’ to remain a starter. There will be no shortage of suitors if and when he does, but they too will have understood one thing from this conversation. Aaron Rodgers is doubting himself with the arrival of a young replacement to his throne. – – – Rodgers, a Celebrity Jeopardy! champion who easily disposed of the current Arizona Democrat Senate candidate, also reveals he plays for Team Reality instead of Team Apocalypse.  Henry McKenna of USA TODAY: A frustrated Aaron Rodgers sounded off on Friday with criticism of the government’s restrictions and lockdown amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.   The Green Bay Packers quarterback pointed to the growing unemployment rates and increased demand for help on suicide hotlines, and challenged the sentiment that the lockdown should continue.   “For many of us — and I’ve seen a lot of comments on this and obviously my story coming back from Peru before the country kind of went into a lockdown — I think we all were buying into the idea of quarantine to flatten the curve and I think there are a lot of questions now that it’s more of a house arrest to find a cure with people wondering exactly what that means as far as the future of the country and the freedoms we’re allowed to have at this point,” Rodgers said during an interview with Green Bay reporters.   Rodgers has discussed his departure from Peru as countries began to shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic. Rodgers was traveling to a remote location near Cusco, and rushed to that airport for fear of getting stuck in the country.

NFC SOUTH

CAROLINA Peter King on the Golden Rhules/Rules of the Panthers: Last month, Matt Rhule gave the speech he’d been preparing, one way or another, since he knew he wanted to be a football coach back in sixth grade, growing up in New York City. Rhule didn’t actually give the speech live, which of course he hoped to do, seeing as it would be the first time he’d ever speak to his NFL team, the Panthers, sitting in the team meeting room in Charlotte. The rookie coach would tell his 62 players what kind of program he’d run and what kind of team they’d be. But the coronavirus changed everyone’s plans. The virus changed the speech too.   Rhule recorded the speech on his iPhone, sitting at the picnic table in his backyard, the phone propped up vertically against a lantern. He reversed the screen, so his face would take up virtually the whole thing, and he spoke for 6 minutes and 21 seconds, setting the stage for the NFL program he wanted to build. Kind of funny: a $60-million coach in a T-shirt, talking to the men of his $2.4-billion franchise in a video recorded on his $699 phone, looking very much like a foreman down at the mill FaceTiming with his wife on his lunch break.   When the players opened the email and clicked the attachment, they saw a 45-year-old man, graying at the temples, with a full beard and mustache, in a dark T-shirt. Behind him, the background morning sun made the image over-exposed, so his face was shadowy.   RHULE 1 “Hey everybody. This is Matt Rhule. I hope you’re all doing well, staying safe. It’s the start of our offseason program. While we all can’t be together, I thought it was really important I reached out and kicked this thing off the right way.”   The right way? For Rhule and these Panthers, the obstacle-filled offseason fits what they face.   No NFL team in this historically different offseason is as challenged as Rhule’s Panthers. Consider:   • New coach, with one year of previous NFL experience. (Of the other four new coaches, Ron Rivera and Mike McCarthy are NFL vets, and Joe Judge and Kevin Stefanski, combined, have 23 years of NFL experience.)   • Two NFL rookie coordinators.   • A new quarterback who still has not met a single one of his receivers.   • The defensive leader, Luke Kuechly, is gone; retired.   • The offensive cornerstone, 2015 MVP Cam Newton, is gone; released.   Oh . . . and there will be four games this year against two Hall of Fame passers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees, and two more against a passer who might end up in Canton, Matt Ryan.   Panthers coach Matt Rhule, in screen captures from his 6-minute message to his team. “I’ve coached at Temple and at Baylor, and my players will probably tell you we didn’t have a lot of advantages when we got there,” Rhule said in a conversation from his home Friday. “Just figure it out. Figure it out, bro. Really, that’s the key to life.”   This is a strange offseason for every team. It’s virtually certain teams won’t be able to gather until late July at the earliest. I’ve documented in this column in recent weeks how teams are learning by videoconference instead of in meetings, and there’s really no way to know if this virus will allow the season to open on time, or whether training camps will exist at all, or how long teams will have to practice for the season. Rhule has told his coaches: Plan as if the players are reporting tomorrow. Prepare as if we won’t have them till a week before the season. Teams that succeed this season (assuming there is a season) are going to be the very talented ones, as always—but I bet they’ll be the ones, too, that prosper in a time of mayhem. The mayhem won’t matter. The football will.   And so when Rhule did his 6-minute, 21-second iPhone video on the picnic table, talk of the program and the schedule and the plans . . . poof. Meaningless. Why bother?   RHULE 2: “Please know that my thoughts, your thoughts, our thoughts, are with everybody on the front lines of those fighting the coronavirus. But also know that whatever you need, we have resources here—whether it be medical, physical, psychological, emotional. Whatever we can do to help you during this time, please reach out. “Obviously, I was looking very much forward to getting together, to seeing everyone, as we were supposed to start phase one. It can’t happen. I also understand that there are some things way more important than football. So I just want to share a couple of thoughts about things that I think are important to me, things that maybe set the stage for us as we think about how this time’s affecting us.”   When a coaching staff and key players don’t know each other well—quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, for instance, has never met the assistant he’ll be joined at the hip with this year, QB coach Jake Peetz—the communication via videoconference is vital. NFL rules mandate that teams and veterans can meet virtually for only two hours per day, four days per week. So those eight hours a week are gold. With the Panthers, offensive coordinator Joe Brady, 30, and Peetz 37, are spending about three more hours per day by videoconference going over scheme and plays and the minutiae that guys coaching together for the first time just have to get right. On Friday, Rhule jumped into their Microsoft Teams videoconference three times as they try to design a new offense with a new quarterback.   “I’m a walk-around coach,” Rhule said, “and so because I can’t pop into a coach’s office or sit down with a player in the weight room or the locker room, I pop into their Teams meetings sometimes, just to ask questions. I learned about being a walk-around coach from studying [former coach] Bill Parcells. Only now I have to do it talking to a screen, not a person.”   Rhule has a seven-year contract, and so he’s concentrating on building a strong foundation. (It’s like the 49ers did with Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, on six-year deals, building for the long haul and surviving a 10-22 start.) On paper, the NFC South is miles ahead of the 2020 Panthers. Ten months from now, Carolina might be in the Trevor Lawrence derby. But whatever happens this year, owner David Tepper hired Rhule to build from the ground up so in 2022 the Panthers will be going toe-to-toe with Sean Payton and the best of the South. Tepper knows 2020 is an investment.   The Panthers will use this time to do something NFL-unconventional. Rhule has each coach watch the other coaches’ videoconferences and how they teach their individual positions. Defensive coordinator Phil Snow teaches on the greaseboard in his garage, the old-fashioned way. Peetz teaches the quarterbacks on a virtual projector, focusing his Microsoft Teams cam, standing next to a monitor with videos running to illustrate plays the way players would see them in a classroom. And they have an overseer. Rhule, in his time in college and the NFL, has coached linebacker, defensive line, special teams, offensive line, defensive line, quarterbacks, tight ends and as recruiting coordinator. So he finds value in having every coach learn every position. And he feels comfortable in giving coaching points to every assistant on his staff. Also: He’s assigned each assistant an area of expertise to present concepts and education topics to the rest of the staff, in 40-minute classes beginning this week. Linebackers coach Mike Siravo will give a clinic Monday on how to teach tackling. On Tuesday, Peetz will show routes that best attack a defense’s quarters coverage. And so on.   “Over the years,” Rhule said, “I just felt like there was a real disconnect between how much offense the defensive coaches know, and how much defense the offensive coaches know. And so that’s just allowed me I think to be really confident as a head coach. I’m not some guru, but I do know enough about every position on the field. The ones I haven’t been an expert at, I’ve hired really good coaches there. I’ll learn from them. It’s my job as a head coach to have players play their best football when they play for me. . . . You can’t ask the players to learn the full game if our coaches don’t do that. I think that all comes from my background.”   It bleeds down to the players. One day last week, Peetz handed the teaching for a day to Bridgewater. “He taught some drop-back and play-action,” said Brady, the new offensive coordinator. “We wanted Teddy to do it because I think there’s a fine line. Football’s in the grey. We can sit there as coaches and say, ‘Hey Teddy, you’re gonna take a three-step drop, and you’re gonna hitch, and here’s where the ball’s gonna go.’ But it’s good hearing a quarterback who’s actually going through it and seeing it—what he likes, what he sees, where he wants to go with the ball, where his eyes are going during all of it. He went about an hour and a half.”   Said Peetz: “He did allow a bathroom break. I had to ask coach Bridgewater for permission.”   RHULE 3: “It’s pretty well-documented that over half of the Fortune 500 companies, the most successful companies in the world, were started in depression or recession times. That’s really kind of counterintuitive. How can great companies come out of times when there wasn’t much money, when things were hard, much like they are right now? Really, the answer is these companies weren’t built on fads. They were built on solid fundamentals. They were built the right way because they had to be or they never would have survived. By having to scrap and fight to be successful in those hard times, when good times came, they were already successful, and they are to this day. I take that as a message for me. How can I build myself to be the man, the husband, the father, the coach that I want to be? If I can find a way to make myself better during these hard times, how much better is it going to be when we can all go out to dinner again?” It all sounds good and inspiring, but if history is a judge, Carolina fans better be patient. The edge Rhule has over, say, a Joe Judge or a Kevin Stefanski, is that he’s been a head coach—twice. And he’s had to build a program with a new base. His first Temple team was 2-10; his first Baylor team 1-11.   There are issues. Bridgewater is working with pro and college receivers (including Buffalo’s John Brown) in Miami, but not yet with any of his own. He’ll have to hit the ground running with five of his first 10 games against division foes with much more collegiality and collective experience. But Rhule wanted positive people who wouldn’t look for excuses. Bridgewater on that: “It’s a blessing to be back in this position that I’m in. Having someone believe in you, having an organization that believes in you and gives you the keys and says, ‘Here, this is your opportunity,’ that’s all that I’ve asked for. I know that it’s a difficult time right now and I’m not able to be around the guys, but with technology, we can FaceTime each other. We can call each other. We can meet. Guys have questions, it’s easy to get access to each other.”   Bridgewater might not be the most interesting story in the quarterback room. In the last 15 months, Brady has gone from being an invisible Saints offensive assistant to the passing tutor for Joe Burrow at LSU to the offensive coordinator for a division rival of Drew Brees and Sean Payton. Brady wakes up in his new home in Charlotte every morning around 5, makes his schedule, and knows everyone in the NFL world is wondering, Okay, kid. You think you can complete with the big boys? Bring it on. He doesn’t sound intimidated.   Maybe the most valuable lesson Brady learned from Payton/Brees is watching them on Saturday nights. Prep week would be finished, but one important element remained. Brees would take every one of the 18 sections in the New Orleans game plan—screens, quarterback movement, play-action, red zone 20-to-the-11-yard-line, red zone 10-and-in, empty-backfield, and others—and pick out the plays he liked and wanted called the next day. He might pick out 40 or 45. Payton, every week, would hope to call every one Brees liked in the game.   “I learned,” said Brady, “that if your quarterback doesn’t have trust in the play, why are you calling it? He needs to have a clear vision on why you’re calling the play and what you’re looking for in the play and that understanding so that when that pigskin hits his hands, he knows where to go with the football. That exact meeting Sean and Drew had each Saturday night is what I did with Joe Burrow every week. So Joe knew when we get to third-and-4-through-6, this is what we’re gonna call, and he’d like it. At New Orleans and LSU, I learned to create a system that fit the players we had.”   RHULE 4: “I think the thing we’re learning right now is there’s a lot of good people in this world right now—a lot of good players, a lot of good coaches, a lot of good doctors. But when you go through something like this, you realize we need great. I challenge you, I challenge myself right now, to be great. As players and coaches, if we can master our playbooks and our systems right now through distance-learning, iPads and laptops, if we can overcome all those obstacles, how great will we be when we have the opportunity to interact as teammates and co-workers and coaches?” Peetz, the QB coach, worked for Nick Saban in two different stints at Alabama. Saban would start a season building a process for how the staff wanted the season to end—with a national championship—and build it, perhaps, differently in one year than the previous one. That would often depend on the players on the roster. Rhule’s way reminds Peetz of that. In an offseason that’s different than any these coaches have seen, Peetz believes that approach is important.   “What I think you’re going to see,” Peetz said, “is the people who come out of this ahead are people who have a process and a clear vision of what they want. That’s why Matt has been successful—because he’s had a defined vision and purpose and process as to how he’s gone about it.”   Rhule learned most from two coaches: Joe Paterno (Rhule was a walk-on backup linebacker at Penn State in the nineties, and Paterno’s dog-earned 1971 tome “Football My Way” is at his office desk) and Bill Parcells. Parcells lived by two things Rhule values. One: There is a way to win every game. Two: Every 100 yards of field-position gained is worth seven points. What does that mean? Don’t underestimate special teams, and don’t underestimate field-position football. The Giants won a Super Bowl in 1990 with those mantras. Those are the kinds of things Rhule preaches. Does it matter, really, if you’re in the same room with a group of players, or with a group of coaches, when you’re teaching what you believe about football?   “People overuse ‘It is what it is,’ “ Rhule said, “but this situation is what it is. This is the adversity. There were a lot of constraints on me as a college head coach, going 1-11 and 2-10 and bearing the brunt of all that negativity and criticism and all those things. My first year at Baylor, my dad was around and I remember him saying to me, ‘You’ll rebuild Baylor football one relationship at a time.’ Same thing here. We’ll figure it out.”   RHULE 5: “We’re going to see a lot of tragedy, but we’re also going to see a lot of greatness as we beat the coronavirus. As I sit here in my backyard, not doing much on the front lines like our heroic doctors and nurses are, I can learn from their example. What can I do to be better today? What can I raise that standard to? Take some time to really look at ourselves. “Stay safe . . . Let’s find a way to go be great.”

AFC WEST

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS Anthony Lynn of the Chargers says they like TYROD TAYLOR better than CAM NEWTON.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com: The Chargers let Philip Rivers walk in free agency and drafted Justin Herbert to replace him, but in between they considered another quarterback: Cam Newton.   Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said he thinks highly of Newton and explored the possibility of signing him.   “Absolutely, Cam is a tremendous quarterback,” Lynn said on CBS Sports Radio. “He’s been MVP of this league, he’s led his team to the Super Bowl and he’s healthy now from what I hear. Cam is going to be on somebody’s roster and he’s going to help somebody win a few games, but yeah, we did take a look at that, sure.”   So why didn’t the Chargers sign Newton? Lynn said that even before they drafted Herbert, they liked the quarterbacks they have.   “I feel really good about the quarterback room that I have,” said Lynn. “With Tyrod Taylor, Easton Stick — those are guys that a lot of people don’t talk about, but he was a Division I AA — he won like three national championships. He’s a hell of a leader, hell of a professional and I think he has a bright future in this league one day.”   Newton has a wealth of accomplishments in the NFL, but he’s now been a free agent for two months and still hasn’t found a job. Plenty of teams seem to like him, just not enough to sign him.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE Sun Sep. 13           Cleveland Browns                   1:00pm ET           CBS Sun Sep. 20           at Houston Texans                  4:25pm ET           CBS Mon Sep. 28          Kansas City Chiefs                  8:15pm ET          ESPN Sun Oct. 4             at Washington Redskins          1:00pm ET          CBS Sun Oct. 11          Cincinnati Bengals                    1:00pm ET          CBS Sun Oct. 18          at Philadelphia Eagles              1:00pm ET          CBS Sun Oct. 25          Pittsburgh Steelers                    1:00pm ET         CBS Sun Nov. 1           BYE Sun Nov. 8           at Indianapolis Colts                  1:00pm ET         CBS Sun Nov. 15         at New England Patriots            8:20pm ET         NBC Sun Nov. 22         Tennessee Titans                      1:00pm ET         CBS Thur Nov. 26        at Pittsburgh Steelers                8:20pm ET         NBC Thur Dec. 3          Dallas Cowboys                        8:20pm ET          FOX/NFLN/Amazon Mon Dec. 14        at Cleveland Browns                 8:15pm ET         ESPN Sun Dec. 20         Jacksonville Jaguars                 1:00pm ET         CBS Sun Dec. 27         New York Giants                       1:00pm ET         FOX Sun Jan. 3            at Cincinnati Bengals                1:00pm ET         CBS SCHEDULE THOUGHTS The Ravens get the full five primetime games, backloaded with four in a five-week span around Thanksgiving…ESPN’s new Monday night crew gets the AFC Game of the Year when the Chiefs visit in Week 3…The big games with Pittsburgh happen in a six-week period in the middle…Home-and-away are pretty well balanced…If they need a big finish to nail down the number one seed, they have a presumably favorable group of foes over the last four games.

CINCINNATI Sun Sep. 13           Los Angeles Chargers            4:05pm ET           CBS Thur Sep. 17          at Cleveland Browns               8:20pm ET           NFLN Sun Sep. 27           at Philadelphia Eagles            1:00pm ET           CBS Sun Oct. 4              Jacksonville Jaguars              1:00pm ET           CBS Sun Oct. 11            at Baltimore Ravens               1:00pm ET           CBS Sun Oct. 18           at Indianapolis Colts                1:00pm ET           FOX Sun Oct. 25           Cleveland Browns                    1:00pm ET           CBS Sun Nov. 1            Tennessee Titans                    1:00pm ET           CBS Sun Nov. 8             BYE Sun Nov. 15           at Pittsburgh Steelers              1:00pm ET          FOX Sun Nov. 22           at Washington Redskins          1:00pm ET          CBS Sun Nov. 29           New York Giants                      1:00pm ET          FOX Sun Dec. 6             at Miami Dolphins                    1:00pm ET          CBS Sun Dec. 13           Dallas Cowboys                       1:00pm ET          FOX Mon Dec. 21          Pittsburgh Steelers                   8:15pm ET          ESPN Sun Dec. 27           at Houston Texans                   1:00pm ET          CBS Sun Jan. 3             Baltimore Ravens                      1:00pm ET          CBS SCHEDULE THOUGHTS The Bengals get two primetime games, including a surprise Week 15 immovable Monday night home game with the Steelers.  It will be interesting if the NFL is right in thinking the Bengals will be meaningful in mid-to-late December…Joe Burrow at Baker Mayfield in Week 2 seems of interest…Four of the first six on the road for the Bengals with three of four at home…How about those last three home games?  All big brands in Cincinnati – Dallas, Pittsburgh, Baltimore…The Bengals don’t seem to travel very far, with Miami the most exotic destination…Cincinnati is done with the Browns before Hallloween, three weeks before the first meeting with Pittsburgh…Neither Steelers game is on CBS with FOX getting the 11/15 meeting at Pittsburgh…In fact, Joe Burrow is slated for four FOX appearances.

CLEVELAND Sun Sep. 13              at Baltimore Ravens          1:00pm ET       CBS Thur Sep. 17             Cincinnati Bengals            8:20pm ET       NFLN Sun Sep. 27              Washington Redskins       1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Oct. 4                 at Dallas Cowboys            1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Oct. 11               Indianapolis Colts              4:25pm ET      CBS Sun Oct. 18              at Pittsburgh Steelers         1:00pm ET     CBS Sun Oct. 25              at Cincinnati Bengals         1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Nov. 1               Las Vegas Raiders            1:00pm ET      FOX Sun Nov. 8               BYE Sun Nov. 15             Houston Texans                 1:00pm ET      FOX Sun Nov. 22             Philadelphia Eagles            1:00pm ET      FOX Sun Nov. 29             at Jacksonville Jaguars       1:00pm ET     CBS Sun Dec. 6               at Tennessee Titans            1:00pm ET    CBS Mon Dec. 14            Baltimore Ravens                8:15pm ET    ESPN Sun Dec. 20             at New York Giants             1:00pm ET    CBS St/Sn Dec 26/27      at New York Jets                 Time TBA ET Sun Jan. 3               Pittsburgh Steelers              1:00pm ET     CBS SCHEDULE THOUGHTS Last year, the Browns had four primetime games as the It Team of 2019.  This year, it is back to two, practically the same as the Bengals…Ohio’s two teams play each other on Thursday in Week 2 and have interdivision Monday Night action on consecutive weeks in December…Why does the Week 17 game with the Steelers feel like a flex play-in game for the third and final Wild Card spot?…Lots of two-game home stands and road trips including back-to-back games in New York late in the season…There is a run of four out of five on the road before the home finale vs. the Steelers…Both Bengals games fall in the first seven weeks…Not much travel, with the longest trip to Dallas at just over 1,000 miles.

PITTSBURGH Mon Sep. 14             at New York Giants            7:15pm ET       ESPN Sun Sep. 20              Denver Broncos                 1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Sep. 27              Houston Texans                1:00pm ET        CBS Sun Oct. 4                 at Tennessee Titans          1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Oct. 11              Philadelphia Eagles            1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Oct. 18              Cleveland Browns               1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Oct. 25               at Baltimore Ravens           1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Nov. 1                BYE Sun Nov. 8                at Dallas Cowboys              4:25pm ET       CBS Sun Nov. 15              Cincinnati Bengals              1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Nov. 22              at Jacksonville Jaguars       1:00pm ET       CBS Thur Nov. 26            Baltimore Ravens                 8:20pm ET       NBC Sun Dec. 6               Washington Redskins          1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Dec. 13            at Buffalo Bills                       8:20pm ET       NBC Mon Dec. 21           at Cincinnati Bengals            8:15pm ET       ESPN Sun Dec. 27            Indianapolis Colts                 1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Jan. 3              at Cleveland Browns             1:00pm ET       CBS SCHEDULE THOUGHTS This year will mark Pittsburgh’s first home Thanksgiving game.  The Steelers are 2-6 in their road Turkey Day tilts…The NFL thinks the Big Ben-Tomlin tandem will have the Steelers relevant late in the year as three of their four primetime tilts come in a four-week stretch that starts with Thanksgiving…After the Monday night opener at home, the schedule is surprisingly bland with early kickoffs all the way to Week 9 when the Burgh goes to Dallas for a national late appearance on CBS…So no home games in Pittsburgh on Sunday or Monday night with seven home games scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday…We could envision Indianapolis at Pittsburgh on Week 16 as a Flex game to Sunday instead of Tennessee at Green Bay.

AFC SOUTH

HOUSTON Thur Sep. 10          at Kansas City Chiefs            8:20pm ET       NBC Sun Sep. 20           Baltimore Ravens                  4:25pm ET       CBS Sun Sep. 27            at Pittsburgh Steelers           1:00pm ET        CBS Sun Oct. 4              Minnesota Vikings                 1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Oct. 11            Jacksonville Jaguars             1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Oct. 18            at Tennessee Titans              1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Oct. 25           Green Bay Packers                1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Nov. 1            BYE Sun Nov. 8            at Jacksonville Jaguars           1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Nov. 15              at Cleveland Browns            1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Nov. 22              New England Patriots          1:00pm ET       CBS Thur Nov. 26             at Detroit Lions                     12:30pm ET     CBS Sun Dec. 6                Indianapolis Colts                 1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Dec. 13              at Chicago Bears                  1:00pm ET      CBS St/Sn Dec. 19/20       at Indianapolis Colts             Time TBA ET Sun Dec. 27              Cincinnati Bengals                1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Jan. 3                 Tennessee Titans                 1:00pm ET       CBS SCHEDULE THOUGHTS The Texans are deemed to be good enough to serve in the role of the Washington Generals to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the opener, but after that they are kept off primetime for 16 straight weeks – this despite having won a division championship in four of the last five years…They do get the road Thanksgiving role in Detroit, another “national” game and are likely to have their Week 15 game at Indianapolis go to NFL Network on Saturday…If you are a Texans ticketholder and allowed in the stadium, you have a 4:25 Week 2 national game with Baltimore – then seven straight Sunday noon kickoffs at home…The Texans get a 3rd FOX game when their November 15 visit to Cleveland goes for a flex…Nothing too exciting with the home-and-away sequence…Their first game with the Colts isn’t until Week 13, then right back on Week 15..

INDIANAPOLIS Sun Sep. 13              at Jacksonville Jaguars         1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Sep. 20              Minnesota Vikings                 1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Sep. 27              New York Jets                       4:05pm ET       CBS Sun Oct. 4                 at Chicago Bears                  1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Oct. 11              at Cleveland Browns              4:25pm ET      CBS Sun Oct. 18              Cincinnati Bengals                 1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Oct. 25             BYE Sun Nov. 1              at Detroit Lions                        1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Nov. 8              Baltimore Ravens                    1:00pm ET      CBS Thur Nov. 12           at Tennessee Titans                8:20pm ET      FOX/NFLN/Amazon Sun Nov. 22            Green Bay Packers                  1:00pm ET      FOX Sun Nov. 29            Tennessee Titans                    1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Dec. 6              at Houston Texans                  1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Dec. 13            at Las Vegas Raiders              4:05pm ET      CBS St/Sn Dec. 19/20     Houston Texans                     Time TBA Sun Dec. 27             at Pittsburgh Steelers            1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Jan. 3               Jacksonville Jaguars              1:00pm ET       CBS SCHEDULE THOUGHTS Tom Brady goes to the Buccaneers and Tampa Bay leaps to the top of the schedule heap.  Philip Rivers goes to Indianapolis and the Colts get a Thursday night game in Tennessee…The start isn’t too bad and we could see the Colts at 5-2 or so when the Ravens come to town in early November…They have the oddity of the Titans twice in three weeks in November, then the Texans twice in three weeks in December.

JACKSONVILLE Sun Sep. 13            Indianapolis Colts                    1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Sep. 20            at Tennessee Titans               1:00pm ET      CBS Thur Sep. 24          Miami Dolphins                        8:20pm ET      NFLN Sun Oct. 4              at Cincinnati Bengals              1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Oct. 11            at Houston Texans                  1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Oct. 18            Detroit Lions                             1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Oct. 25            BYE Sun Nov. 1              at Los Angeles Chargers         4:05pm ET       CBS Sun Nov. 8              Houston Texans                       1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Nov. 15           at Green Bay Packers               1:00pm ET      FOX Sun Nov. 22           Pittsburgh Steelers                    1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Nov. 29           Cleveland Browns                     1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Dec. 6             at Minnesota Vikings                 1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Dec. 13           Tennessee Titans                     1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Dec. 20           at Baltimore Ravens                 1:00pm ET       CBS Sun Dec. 27           Chicago Bears                          1:00pm ET       FOX Sun Jan. 3               at Indianapolis Colts                 1:00pm ET      CBS SCHEDULE THOUGHTS The big news is eight game in Jacksonville for the first time since 2012 (can you believe the Jaguars have been going to London since 2013?)…The Jags get an early-season, heat-beating Thursday night home game with the Dolphins which is the extent of their prime slot love…The Jags have 14 games in the early Sunday slot, the other is late because they are at Los Angeles against the Chargers…The first two games and three of the first five are in the division…A road game at Green Bay shows up on FOX on November 15…The best part of the schedule is road games at Green Bay and Minnesota around home games with Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

TENNESSEE Mon Sep. 14           at Denver Broncos                   10:10pm ET     ESPN Sun Sep. 20            Jacksonville Jaguars                 1:00pm ET     CBS Sun Sep. 27            at Minnesota Vikings                 1:00pm ET     CBS Sun Oct. 4              Pittsburgh Steelers                     1:00pm ET    CBS Sun Oct. 11            Buffalo Bills                                 1:00pm ET    CBS Sun Oct. 18            Houston Texans                         1:00pm ET     CBS Sun Oct. 25            BYE Sun Nov. 1             at Cincinnati Bengals                  1:00pm ET     CBS Sun Nov. 8             Chicago Bears                            1:00pm ET     FOX Thur Nov. 12          Indianapolis Colts                        8:20pm ET     FOX/NFLN/Amazon Sun Nov. 22              at Baltimore Ravens                  1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Nov. 29              at Indianapolis Colts                  1:00pm ET      CBS Sun Dec. 6                Cleveland Browns                      1:00pm ET     CBS Sun Dec. 13              at Jacksonville Jaguars              1:00pm ET     CBS St/Sn Dec. 19/20      Detroit Lions                                Time TBA Sun Dec. 27              at Green Bay Packers                8:20pm ET      NBC Sun Jan. 3                at Houston Texans                     1:00pm ET       CBS SCHEDULE THOUGHTS The Titans, a 2019 Championship Game participant, get three widely-spaced primetime games…The Week 16 Sunday Night visit to Green Bay could be ripe for a flex if either team has faltered…Three of the last four on the road with the home game ticketed for either Saturday or Sunday…The two Colts games are 17 days apart around a visit to Baltimore.

THIS AND THAT

ROONEY RULE WITH CARROTS Jim Trotter, an African-American working for NFL.com, was handed the task of revealing “the proposal” to incentivize teams to hire more minority coaches and GMs.  A proposal that did not arise upwards from one of the member teams, but from the inner workings of the NFL bureaucracy.  This is something The League (and presumably The Commish) want to pass: During his state of the league address three months ago at Super Bowl LIV in Miami, Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged a need to increase the opportunities for minorities to become head coaches and general managers.   “Clearly we are not where we want to be on this level,” he said. “It’s clear we need to change. We have already begun discussing those changes, what stages we can take next to determine better outcomes.”   The call to action grew even louder after only one of the five coaching vacancies during the offseason was filled by a person of color, continuing a trend in which just three of the past 20 openings have gone to a minority. Now in perhaps its most aggressive and controversial attempt to address the issue, the league will present a pair of resolutions this coming Tuesday during the owners’ virtual meeting that it hopes will level the playing field.   The first would remove the longstanding anti-tampering barrier that permits clubs to block assistant coaches from interviewing for coordinator positions with other clubs, even though having coordinator experience is typically the final and most significant step in becoming a head coach. The other would incentivize the hiring of minorities as head coaches or primary football executives by rewarding teams with improved draft slots, multiple sources told NFL.com.   The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic. The league declined to comment Friday on this specific agenda for Tuesday’s meeting. But if the resolutions were to be voted in under the League Policy on Equal Employment and Workplace Diversity, they would work as follows:   If a team hires a minority head coach, that team, in the draft preceding the coach’s second season, would move up six spots from where it is slotted to pick in the third round. A team would jump 10 spots under the same scenario for hiring a person of color as its primary football executive, a position more commonly known as general manager.   If a team were to fill both positions with diverse candidates in the same year, that club could jump 16 spots — six for the coach, 10 for the GM — and potentially move from the top of the third round to the middle of the second round. Another incentive: a team’s fourth-round pick would climb five spots in the draft preceding the coach’s or GM’s third year if he is still with the team. That is considered significant because Steve Wilks and Vance Joseph, two of the four African-American head coaches hired since 2017, were fired after one and two seasons, respectively.   If passed, the changes would be a radical departure from current protocol. League officials have been trying for years to implement programs and procedures that would increase advancement opportunities for minorities, from adopting the Rooney Rule in 2003 to increasing fellowship positions to bringing in pro and college coaches for networking and empowerment summits to working with clubs to allocate more entry-level positions to diverse candidates. In addition to the coaching hires, only two of the 32 GM positions currently belong to someone of color, alarming statistics considering 70 percent of head coach hires during the past three years came from two positions: quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.   The belief internally is the numbers can be reversed by removing some of the barriers that have hindered minority mobility, such as teams blocking assistants from interviewing for coordinator positions elsewhere. Many owners view coordinator experience as essential for first-time head coaches, but currently Eric Bieniemy in Kansas City and Byron Leftwich in Tampa Bay are the only minority coordinators on offense.   Under the proposed resolution, clubs would be prohibited from the end of the regular season to March 1 from denying an assistant coach the opportunity to interview with a new team for a “bona fide” coordinator position on offense, defense or special teams. Any dispute about the legitimacy of the position would be heard by the commissioner, and his determination would be “final, binding and not subject to further review.”   If a minority assistant left to become a coordinator elsewhere, his former club would receive a fifth-round compensatory pick. And if a person of color leaves to become a head coach or general manager, his previous team would receive a third-round compensatory pick.   One final provision: Any team that hires a person of color as its quarterbacks coach would receive a compensatory pick at the end of the fourth round if it retains that employee beyond one season. The provision is an attempt to get a more diverse pool of coaches working with quarterbacks, since the trend of late is to hire head coaches with offensive experience — 24 of the past 33 hires have been from the offensive side of the ball — and it’s considered even more beneficial to have worked with quarterbacks. Currently there are only two African-American QB coaches in Pep Hamilton of the Chargers and Marcus Brady of the Colts.   The league office is also looking at further enhancing the Rooney Rule by doubling the number of minority candidates a team must interview for head-coaching vacancies. It also is expected to apply the rule to coordinator positions for the first time. Steelers owner Art Rooney II hinted at changes in January during an interview with the NFL Network’s Steve Wyche.   “I think where we are right now, is not where we want to be, not where we need to be,” Rooney said. “We need to take a step back and look at what’s happening with our hiring processes. The first thing we’ll do as part of our diversity committee is really review this past season’s hiring cycle and make sure we understand what went on and talk to the people involved both on the owners’ side, management’s side as well as the people that were interviewed.   “The thing I think we have to look at is back when the Rooney Rule was passed and put in effect in 2003, there was a period there where we did see an increase in minority hiring at the head coaching position. And I think over a period of time there were 10 or 12 minority coaches hired. Since then that trend seems to reverse itself particularly in the last few years. We need to study what’s going on and understand better what’s going on and really decide how we improve the situation.”   Step one could be taken during Tuesday’s virtual meeting. We would expect Peter King to provide an enthusiastic endorsement – let’s see: That’s a lot to consider. Providing incentives to do the right thing in a league with an estimated 70 percent players of color is laudable, and Goodell and NFL exec Troy Vincent have been trying to come up with an aspiring tablet for this splitting headache. So I was taken aback by the near-universal condemnation of the proposals in the media and the public. The most common-sense voice on the issue I heard was ESPN’s Louis Riddick, an African-American who was runnerup to Dave Gettleman for the Giants’ GM job in December 2017. I called him Saturday to ask his thoughts.    “I understand what the diversity committee is trying to do,” Riddick said. “Their intention is honest and real. I know they spent a lot of time trying to think of how to get people into these positions. But the bottom line remains the same: Owners can hire who they want to hire. When I interviewed with the New York Giants, I felt it was a fair process. But if these policies are implemented, the first day I walk into the building, I know people with that organization would wonder: Did he get this job because he’s the best man for the job, or did he get it at least in part because it gives us a big break in the draft? On the first day of the job, that team would be undermining its own hire by injecting doubt in the minds of the people who work in the building. Is that how you really want a GM to start off his career?   “Owners need to answer the questions about why the numbers are the way they are. Nobody wants to get a job they didn’t earn. But of all the minority scouts who have risen up to be pro or college scouting directors, you cannot tell me some of them are not qualified to be GMs. If it’s not racism or they’re qualified, then what is it? We tend to surround ourselves with people who we’re comfortable with, people we have shared experiences with. How do you then branch out and get different people in your circle. You have to spend time with them, learn them. If the very first time minorities are meeting these owners is in an interview for the GM job, how are you going to get a fair shot?   “How can we set up more networking opportunities, so scouts and directors can mingle with and get to know owners—maybe at Super Bowls, at the combine, at owners meetings? But it truly has to have 100 percent buy-in from the owners.”   I’m dubious about networking leading to jobs. The NFL’s tried that—maybe not at the level Riddick would like, but it’s not a new concept. If the NFL by three-quarters vote implements rules to spur minority GM and coach hiring Tuesday, it sounds like one of the leading candidates, Riddick, would be angry about it. He doesn’t want to get a job unless he wins it with the factors the same for every candidate. So the NFL risks alienating the very group it’s dying to help by passing these bylaws Tuesday.   Now for the coaching issue, which I think is a bit different. Think of these three jobs: offensive quality control, quarterback coach, assistant quarterback coach. Eight of the last 13 hires as NFL head coaches have entered coaching in those positions. So the NFL should be motivated to improve the pipeline there. My proposal would be to mandate that every coaching staff have at least one of the following five positions filled by a minority: head coach, offensive coordinator, quarterback coach, assistant quarterback coach, offensive quality control coach. To think that a staff would be somehow disadvantaged by forcing one of those coaches each year on every staff to be a person of color is silly; lots of teams don’t even have an assistant QB coach. So mine the colleges for the best and the brightest and give them shots at the highest level. Get them in the pipeline.   Three conclusions:   1. I believe it’s likely the vote to allow assistants to interview for coordinator jobs will pass. There seems to be little opposition to it.   2. The measures to buttress the Rooney Rule—the improvement in draft slots—are another matter. I believe Art Rooney of the Steelers, a strong believer in diversity as his father was, and Vincent want to see this pass. I’m not sure of Goodell’s ardor for it; usually when it comes to owner votes, what Goodell wants, Goodell gets. But Sunday night, someone with knowledge of the issues in the league told me, “This is going to be close. I can’t call which way it’ll go.”   3. If the measures fail, the NFL absolutely has to turn to strengthening the minority fellowship programs. Instead of “internships,” have all 32 teams budget every year for a full-time minority coach to assist on the offensive side of the ball (sort of my point about making sure one of the key five pathway jobs to being a head coach goes to a minority coach) for one year. Ask Bruce Arians how Byron Leftwich got to his post now, and he’ll tell you Arians kept asking and asking until Leftwich agreed to come to Arizona for a season . . . and now Leftwich, who has fallen in love with coaching, is on a track to be a head coach. Without going into the merits of the proposal, the DB is most troubled by issues that are likely to arise in the details. Robert Saleh, a Lebanese-American who we presume is of the Muslim faith, is likely to be hired next cycle as head coach.  Is he a “minority”?  Would it matter if he was a Lebanese Christian? What about a woman like Amy Trask?  What if Paul Brown’s granddaughter Katie Brown Blackburn is “promoted” to GM, a position she already sort of holds? Colin Kaepernick is at most half African-American biologically, raised in a white home – but clearly now identifies as “minority.”  But what about Patrick Mahomes? What about Patrick Mahomes’ son if he has one with his longtime girlfriend?  What about the daughter of Patrick Mahomes?  Is “minority” status to be self-identified, and if not what is the definition? For the sake of this discussion, let’s look at the 49ers front office.  John Lynch is the GM.  But what if at some point in the near future he were to become President as Rich McKay has done in Atlanta.  Still very influential, but not in charge of the draft room it can be claimed.  He now has two top aides – if Martin Mayhew is promoted to “GM” is that a draft pick bonanza?  What about Paraag Marathe, the EVP of Football Operations who we presume is of Indian heritage?  Is he a “minority.” All we are saying here is that if the Revised Rooney Rule with Teeth passes, we see issues of job and heritage definition arising down the line.   Mike Florio says those pushing change at the NFL Office are only just getting started. Friday’s reporting regarding the incentives that teams will realize for hiring minority head coaches and General Managers and for promoting the mobility of minority assistant coaches into positions that will assist their development may be just the beginning. The league could be moving toward revolutionary changes to the way coaches are hired.   “The old hiring system is dead,” said one source with knowledge of the dynamics of the situation.   Incentives for hiring minority coaches and General Managers are just part of a broader effort to enhance diversity on a league-wide basis. The league, the Fritz Pollard Alliance, and others have been working on a wide range of minority hiring initiatives in recent months.   Potential changes include adjusting the hiring period for head coaches, eliminating the ability of teams to deny permission for an assistant coach to interview for coordinator jobs or the quarterback coach position, and expanding the diversity initiative to address senior executive opportunities. The new program is expected to be rolled out over the course of the next two years, with careful evaluation of the manner in which the adjustments are working.   “It is going to be a comprehensive and dynamic process,” the source said.   Thus, despite the focus on the draft-pick enticements that have been proposed for hiring minority coaches and General Managers, the league will be addressing the situation far more broadly and comprehensively, in an effort to solve a problem that the original Rooney Rule, despite its good intentions, has not yet fully resolved. The sponsors are quick to know that the proposed affirmative action measures are perfectly legal. The NFL has proposed an adjustment to the Rooney Rule that would reward teams hiring minority coaches and/or General Managers with enhanced draft position. Some within the league are concerned that enticing teams to make hiring decisions based in part on the race of the applicants would invite litigation from non-minority candidates who are fired from their positions or passed over for openings.   Cyrus Mehri, co-founder of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, believes those concerns are unfounded.   “I’m 100 percent certain based on my experience that they are on solid legal ground,” Mehri told PFT by phone on Sunday, regarding the proposed expansion to the Rooney Rule.   Mehri said the league developed the proposal after a “robust dialogue” with the Fritz Pollard Alliance throughout the offseason, with much of the conversation occurring at the Scouting Combine. Although the proposal “happened organically on the owners’ side,” Mehri wasn’t completely surprised by it. He explained that, through corporate America, companies link senior management bonuses to equal opportunity and diversity performance. Basically, it’s a diversity boost, with the incentive falling into a sweet spot where it’s significant enough to get a team’s attention but not so significant that it would be an overwhelming factor in firing and hiring decisions.   This doesn’t insulate the league from a legal challenge by a non-minority coach who believes that the proposal amounts to reverse discrimination on the basis of race. Mehri, who has extensive experience handling major discrimination cases against companies like Texaco, Coca-Cola, and Morgan Stanley, believes that the league would be exonerated, if challenged in court.   The legal merit in the proposal comes from the fact that, historically, the league has struggled to achieve diversity in coaching and G.M. ranks. This sets the stage for a carefully-crafted incentive aimed at helping to remedy past failures in the hiring of minority coaches and General Managers.   Mehri sees this proposal as “one of the great moments for hope” in the 18-year journey that began with the creation of the Rooney Rule. He also believes that owners have begun looking at the problem “more holistically,” with the use of entry-level fellowships and efforts to persuade franchises to develop their own diversity plans. The 49ers, Mehri pointed out, have a Rooney Rule that applies to both women and minorities for non-football positions.   Thus, Mehri sees the idea as an innovative concept and an “overall positive trend,” one that will be good for the game, and good for retired players who are trying to get into coaching and executive roles.   This doesn’t eliminate the concerns, including the comments made publicly by Chargers coach Anthony Lynn on Friday night. Lynn, a minority coach, said of the proposal, “Sometimes you can do the wrong thing while trying to do the right thing.”   “I have a great deal of respect for Coach Lynn,” Mehri said, “and what the owners are contemplating is something worthy of dialogue and refinement and improvement by casting a wide net and hearing other ideas on it. Coach Lynn’s voice should be heard.”   That may indeed be the next challenge for the league. Instead of ramming this proposal through without hearing all voices and talking through all concerns, the league should listen and discuss and contemplate before making a final decision — especially since the next hiring cycle won’t begin for eight more months.   Even if the powers-that-be are determined to pass this one over any objections or concerns, it makes sense to talk it through thoroughly and not dismiss those who believe it could be problematic or who believe that there’s a better way to enhance minority hiring. There’s a chance that, after understanding all issues and angles and discussing the matter fully and fairly, those who have concerns about the proposal will come around. Mehri, by the way, is a lawyer who has made the Rooney Rule one of his principal life missions.  He does not appear to personally qualify for any Rooney Rule enhancements.

THE CRIME OF THE LOCKDOWN Two NFL players played poker on Monday, then went after the winnings of the winners on Wednesday. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com starts our coverage with the initial version of the heist: The Miramar, Florida, police department announced on social media it has issued arrest warrants for Giants cornerback Deandre Baker and Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar.   Baker faces four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. Dunbar faces four counts of armed robbery with a firearm.   The players attended a party at a private residence Wednesday night when an argument ensued, and Baker drew a semi-automatic firearm, according to the arrest affidavit. With Baker directing, Dunbar helped collect more than $11,000 in cash, an $18,000 Rolex watch, a $25,000 Hublot watch, a $17,500 Audemars Piguet watch and other valuables from partygoers.   At one point, Baker ordered another armed man in a red mask to shoot someone who walked into the party. The armed man did not comply. There are conflicting witness statements about whether Dunbar had a gun or not.   Vehicles were pre-positioned to expedite an immediate exit.   Baker and Dunbar “lost” about $70,000 two nights earlier at a different party in Miami, and TMZ.comreports the losses were from gambling. On Thursday morning, Dunbar did a conference call with the Seattle media. The interview was conducted Thursday morning and was done as if Dunbar was unaware of the impending charges.   During the virtual press conference, Dunbar talked about the Seahawks defense and how happy he was to be in Seattle.   “I’m pretty versatile like I said,” Dunbar told the media in regards to how the Seahawks will utilize him in their defense. “A few years (in Washington) we did it different ways. You could start on the left and then move right into the slot. Predominantly, they’re going to throw a lot at me and I’ll be on the right side. I’ll learn that right side and then the sky’s the limit.   “My headspace is pretty much, I have no worries first and foremost. I know what I’m doing on the field and I believe in me. I don’t have any worries in Seattle, I’m happy to be in Seattle and I just want to go out there and play ball.” Mike Sando of The Athletic noted this: @SandoNFL A person telling reporters “you just want to feel wanted at the end of the day” while actually being WANTED by the end of that actual day seems somewhat surreal. The duo quickly acquired effective legal representation.  Scott Gleeson of USA TODAY: Attorneys for New York Giants cornerback Deandre Baker and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar claimed Friday that multiple witnesses have signed affidavits affirming the pair’s innocence after both were charged with four counts of armed robbery with a firearm on Wednesday.   The Miramar (Florida) Police Department issued an arrest warrant for the two players Thursday night, tagging their respective NFL teams on social media. Baker, who was also charged with an additional four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, turned himself in Saturday morning and was booked without bond. Miramar Police confirmed Saturday afternoon that Dunbar had also turned himself in.    Bradford Cohen, Baker’s lawyer, said in a public statement Friday that he had affidavits from “several witnesses that also dispute the allegations and exculpate our client.” Michael Grieco, Dunbar’s lawyer, told ESPN that he has “five sworn affidavits” from “star witnesses recanting within 48 hours” to the Miramar Police Department. He said Dunbar hasn’t turned himself in yet because it’s a “bogus case” and that he was “targeted because of who he was.”    According a 14-page affidavit compiled by the Miramar Police Department for the police report and arrest warrant, the two NFL players allegedly robbed guests at a party in which several people were playing cards and video games. After an argument erupted and the card table was flipped, Baker allegedly brandished a weapon and told Dunbar and two other individuals to start robbing the people at the party, per the police report. Thousands of dollars in cash, several watches and other valuables were taken, with Baker telling people he’d shoot them if they left the house, according to the report.   The Miramar Police Department issued the following statement on Friday night: “We have taped, sworn statements from four victims and one witness. If they are changing their statements, we welcome them to come into our police department and give us a new statement.”   Baker’s lawyer, Cohen, said: “Where some seek publicity, we seek justice. I look forward to moving this case forward to proper conclusion, as we believe our client is innocent of any charges.” Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com seems to smell a rat in the changed statements: Giants cornerback Deandre Baker and Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar face serious charges arising from allegations of an armed robbery at a private party. Proving those charges may not be easy for prosecutors.   The affidavit supporting the arrest warrants, as prepared by Detective Mark Moretti, tells the detailed story of a robbery perpetrated by both men, with the names of the witnesses redacted. Some or all of those witnesses apparently have recanted, in affidavits harvested by the lawyers representing the defendants.   At Sunday’s bail hearing, Dunbar’s lawyer reportedly presented five affidavits that came from the same persons who were interviewed by police — four victims and one witness. The prosecutor found it “suspect” that the witnesses changed their tunes so quickly, and that their affidavits spoke directly to Dunbar’s role, or lack thereof, in the alleged crime.   The circumstances justify investigation as to both the harvesting of the witness statements by police and the creation of the affidavits. As a lawyer will ask (or at least imply) when confronting a witness with inconsistent statements, “Were you lying then or are you lying now?”   The witnesses, if lying in the affidavits, could face perjury charges. If they lied to the police, they face potential liability for that. If the police coerced them into lying about Baker and Dunbar, the police face potentially serious problems. If someone induced the witnesses, with rewards or threats, to change their stories, that’s another set of problems — if it can be proven.   These are issues that need to be fully developed as the cases begin to unfold. The dramatic shift in the witness statements didn’t happen randomly or accidentally. Something caused the first version to be false or the second version to be false. In the interests of justice, the statements need to be reconciled.