A trickle of positive tests among the Titans has moved the Steelers-Titans game out of Week 4.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com sees a way forward to get the game played without undue distress:

We learned on Wednesday that the Titans and Steelers would not be playing as scheduled on Sunday.

On Thursday, we found out that the two teams will not be playing at all in Week Four.

The NFL announced that the game will be rescheduled until later in the season. The league said the decision was made after one more Titans player and one other team personnel member tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. There were eight positive tests on Tuesday and one other player tested positive on Wednesday.

The league’s statement also said that the Titans facility will remain closed until further notice.

No word was given on when the league might look to play the game, but Week Seven looks like a good bet. The Titans are scheduled for a bye that week while the Steelers are set to play the Ravens. Baltimore and Pittsburgh both have scheduled byes in Week Eight, however, and they could move the Ravens bye up a week to account for this week’s change in schedule.

Charles Robinson of YahooSports on how an untimely incubation period could wreak havoc:

Much like the last few days, when the league’s most serious COVID-19 testing flaw was exposed by the Tennessee Titans in one word.

Incubation.

More specifically, the 3-7 day period when a person can become infected with COVID-19 and still pass point-of-care testing. It’s a reality that creates the problem the NFL faces now, where a person can test positive for the virus on a Saturday and create a late-week hole where the newly infected (to whom they may have spread the virus) unknowingly slip through testing barriers by virtue of an undetectable incubation period.

This has always been a creeping flaw in the league’s testing system. If someone tests positive for COVID on Saturday, how can a team determine if others are in an incubation period before a Sunday kickoff?

The simple answer? The NFL can’t. Not with the type of point-of-care testing that exists now, which failed to show any positives inside the Titans franchise beyond the assistant coach whose infection was flagged Saturday morning. At that point, it’s a fair assumption that the Titans had incubating infections heading into Sunday’s game with the Minnesota Vikings, particularly given that five employees from the football staff and four players have tested positive for COVID-19 since Monday’s testing.

It’s a scenario that lays bare what the NFL has known all along: It can put up a litany of COVID barriers in every possible inch of the league, but if COVID gets inside with even one person, testing alone doesn’t guarantee a stoppage in the spread of the virus. This is what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell telegraphed in his memo to team executives Wednesday, which again reinforced that teams must be religiously following their personal protective equipment protocols. Most especially in a scenario like the one facing the Titans, where people may have been walking around the building with an infection in the incubation stages.

“These results [from the Titans] confirm the need to remain diligent in implementing all of our health and safety protocols to the fullest extent,” Goodell wrote. “This includes not only our testing program, but facility maintenance, wearing of PPE by players and staff, and carefully regulating behavior and contacts outside of the club facility.”

If that isn’t clear enough, Goodell’s memo comes nearly two weeks after the NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, told NFL Network in the plainest language that coaches needed to wear their masks (including on the sideline), and that negative test results do not mean a person isn’t infected.

“As we’ve said all along, the tests are not what keep us safe,” Sills said two weeks ago. “The tests are simply a report card or a measuring stick to show how we’re doing with all our other risk mitigation efforts. … [A]gain, tests are not perfect. And even though everyone tests negative, that doesn’t mean someone couldn’t possibly be infected. So we want to make sure we do all we can to mitigate that risk.”

Sunday’s game has been postponed over positive tests.  We have not been told of anyone who even has symptoms.  The disease they are positive for is rarely serious in the players’ age group.

What is the right word here?  Ironic.  Odd.  Interesting.  Hard to believe.

NFC NORTH

CHICAGO

Now that starting QB of the Bears, QB NICK FOLES gives credit for his success to the coach of this week’s opponent.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Nick Foles will start his first game as a Bear on Sunday against the Colts, who are coached by Frank Reich. The two of them have a long history together.

Reich was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator when Foles won the Super Bowl LII MVP for the Eagles, and Foles says it was Reich more than anyone else who shaped the Eagles’ offense around Foles’ strengths when Carson Wentz got hurt and Foles had to take over that season.

“He was the one who really figured me out as a player and realized that we had it all wrong,” Foles said, via the Chicago Tribune. “They just threw some plays out there one day and said: ‘Just go play these plays. We studied you and these are the plays you do.’ And sure enough, something triggered inside of me.

“And he figured me out as a player to where, even during games when I’d come to the sidelines, usually coaches want to coach you up and all this, and he’d go, ‘Just keep doing it, just keep doing it.’ Like, he wouldn’t say much. At first it was sort of weird because you’re not used to a coach doing that. He was like: ‘I trust you. Just go do your thing.’ No matter what, if I threw an interception or I threw a touchdown, he cared more about the person than the player. And that says a lot about him and that’s why I have all the respect in the world.”

Reich still thinks highly of Foles.

“Really composed, unflappable under pressure,” Reich said of Foles. “Nick is a really unique player in that regard. A lot of quarterbacks in the NFL have that composure. I just think Nick’s is maybe at another level. Part of that is he’s fearless. He’s a fearless competitor. That’s where a lot of it comes from. He’s not tied up mentally or emotionally with failure. He deals with it in his unique way, and that makes him a better player.”

Given the success that both Reich and Foles are having now, Eagles fans may wish they could still have the two of them together in Philadelphia.

NFC EAST

PHILADELPHIA

An anguished QB CARSON WENTZ is trying to figure out what has gone wrong.  Reuben Frank of EaglesInsider.com:

Carson Wentz had his weekly chat with the Philly media Wednesday afternoon and was asked about 12 different ways how he can get himself back on track.C

His answers spanned the range of “I’ve got to do better” all the way to “I’ve got to do better.”

It is that simple. And he knows it.

“I don’t want to overthink it, I know coaches and everybody don’t want to overanalyze anything, because we’re not far off,” Wentz said. “We’ve just got to protect the football and execute at a higher level and I think we can do that.” It shouldn’t be hard to operate at a higher level, considering Wentz’s 63.7 passer rating is worst in the NFL, his six INTs lead the NFL and his 5.6 yards per attempt is lowest in the NFL.

The winless Eagles and their slumping quarterback face the 49ers on national TV Sunday night in Santa Clara.

It’s all fixable, Wentz keeps saying. But he just hasn’t fixed it yet.

 “I think the biggest thing, there’s no doubt about it, is just taking care of the football,” Wentz said. “We make some plays as a whole offensively, we do some really good things and move the ball and just the turnovers are really killing us. I’ve got to be better than that, and I know that and it’s something that I’ve looked into. I’ve critiqued myself hard and I’ve got to be better and kind of set the example on that front, but we’re really not far off offensively. They’re all correctable things and things that we can get going in the right way and I’m confident that they will.”

NFC SOUTH

ATLANTA

Covid-killing drones will be swooping around Mercedes-Benz Stadium.  Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com:

The Atlanta Falcons’ home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, is believed to be the first professional sports venue to implement drone technology to clean the stadium beginning after the team’s Oct. 11 game against the Carolina Panthers.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium officials said Thursday morning that no other stadium has yet to use such technology. The 71,000-seat stadium, which has not hosted fans for the first two home games because of the coronavirus pandemic, will welcome back a limited capacity beginning Oct. 11. (The stadium hosted about 500 family members, friends and associates for a test run during Sunday’s Bears-Falcons game.)

Mercedes-Benz Stadium partnered with Charlotte-based Lucid Drone Technologies for D1 disinfecting drones to sanitize areas. The drones use electrostatic spraying nozzles for even distribution of medical-grade disinfecting chemicals including an inhibitor that prevents bacteria and virus from adhering to surfaces without leaving a residue. The nontoxic hypochlorous acid solution used is in compliance with Environmental Protection Agency standards, according to the company.

Two drones will be used to clean the stadium, and the team will have a third as a backup.

“The process of welcoming fans back involves actively listening and responding to their concerns and we understand that proper cleaning and sanitization protocols are top of mind in the current environment,” said Dietmar Exler, COO, AMB Sports and Entertainment. “We have worked tirelessly to provide a safe environment for not only our associates, players and staff, but especially our fans.”

The drone technology will be used for post-event disinfecting of the stadium’s seating bowl, handrails and glass partitions. The drones allow for a 95% reduction of the time needed to clean the seating bowl.

“This stadium is incredibly large, and as we begin to slowly welcome fans back, these drones allow us to maximize the time between games and private events to thoroughly sanitize,” said Jackie Poulakos, manager of building operations. “We are always challenged by leadership to continually innovate and this new technology is the ideal solution to effectively disinfect and sanitize our stadium in an efficient manner.”

NEW ORLEANS

RB ALVIN KAMARA says the Saints are coming.  Kevin Patra of NFL.com:

The sky is not falling in New Orleans. It just feels that way to Saints fans.

After a 1-2 start following Sunday night’s loss to Green Bay, the question buzzing around the league is, what’s the issue with a Saints team that was expected to contend for a Super Bowl? In a year with an abbreviated offseason, one would think a veteran team with continuity like New Orleans would have gotten off to a hot start. Instead, Sean Payton’s team stumbled out of the gate. Again.

Within the building, however, players aren’t fretting.

“When you’re losing it’s easy to point fingers, say this and say that. But we’ll get back on track and everybody will shut up,” Alvin Kamara said, via Luke Johnson of the Times-Picayune.

Kamara has been the Saints’ best player through three weeks, single-handedly keeping them in Sunday’s contest against Green Bay.

The biggest issues surrounding the Saints has been a defense that hasn’t pressured the QB consistently and gotten burned in the secondary. Given the names and players on D, it’s as surprising a poor start as any unit in the league. Cameron Jordan has been on the struggle bus through three weeks, earning just seven pressures, per Pro Football Focus, which puts him tied for 37th among all edge defenders with at least 90 snaps played. With Marcus Davenport out with injury, getting little pressure off the edge has exposed the secondary, which has given up big plays, including Pro Bowl corner Marshon Lattimore.

While the defense has been a problem through three weeks, Drew Brees’ struggles have been magnified with Michael Thomas out due to injury. With Brees unwilling or unable to pull the trigger on field-stretching plays, the Saints offense has been playing in a phone booth.

Without Thomas there to turn short passes into solid gains, the Saints are over-reliant on Kamra’s tackle-breaking ability. Kamara leads the Saints in rushing with 153 yards and receiving with 285 through three games. His 438 scrimmage yards leads the NFL.

The running back, however, defended his QB vociferously.

“I’m fine with Drew. It’s early in the season. Everybody outside of this building has something to say and quite honestly I don’t really give a damn,” he noted.

The good news for New Orleans is they’ve been here before. Rocky starts aren’t anything new under Sean Payton. Zero times in the past three years have the Saints started 3-0, and yet they’ve won the division each time. A 1-2 start might be out of the ordinary, but that one win coming against a division foe is a plus.

Likewise, Brees has struggled out of the gate before and come back strong. Per NextGen Stats, since 2016 Brees has started out a season with an EPA (expected points added) under 30 four times in five years through three games. While his completion percentage is down this year, it was below 70 percent through three weeks in both 2016 and 2017.

Brees has bounced back before. At 41 years old, can he do it again?

The Saints need that comeback to start Sunday on the road against a Lions defense that has been carved up like a Thanksgiving bird. If the struggles continue in Detroit — especially if Thomas returns — then a little more concern will be warranted.

NFC WEST

SAN FRANCISCO

Kyle Shanahan protests that no matter how brilliantly QB NICK MULLENS might play in the weeks ahead, he will re-install QB JIMMY GAROPPOLO as soon as he is healthy.  Kevin Patra of NFL.com:

Jimmy Garoppolo continues to miss practice this week while dealing with an ankle injury. The 49ers starter sitting out isn’t a great sign for his availability against the Eagles on Sunday night.

If Garoppolo sits this week, Nick Mullens will start again after an impressive performance in New York on Sunday. Jimmy G supporters, however, need not worry about Mullens Wally Pipping Garoppolo, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports.

Asked whether there was a possibility that Mullens impresses enough to keep the starting gig when Garoppolo is healthy and ready to go, coach Kyle Shanahan was blunt:

“That scenario does not exist,” Shanahan replied, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. “This is Jimmy’s team. When he’s healthy, he’s playing.”

Shanahan squashing any QB controversy talk before it gets off the ground is predictable. It doesn’t, however, change that Mullens looked impressive last week — albeit against a terrible Giants defense — going 25 of 36 for 343 passing yards, one pass TD, and a 108.9 rating. The Niners didn’t punt once in Week 3, which is impressive no matter who is under center.

In 886 career pass attempts, Garoppolo has an impressive career passer rating of 101.6 (higher than we thought it would be we must admit).

Mullens has 321 career pass attempts, with a passer rating of 91.5.

We would say, he is a back-up you can still win with and we’re not sure how many of those there really are right now.

And Mullens may have two top targets back in action.  Nick Wagoner of ESPN.comupdates us on positive news concerning WR DEEBO SAMUEL and TE GEORGE KITTLE:

After three weeks of disappointing injury issues, the San Francisco 49ers finally got some good news on the health front Wednesday.

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel’s practice window has officially been opened as he works his way back from injured reserve, and tight end George Kittle was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.

The Niners opened Samuel’s window Wednesday morning, clearing him to return to practice for the first time since suffering a Jones fracture in his left foot in June. His return has been months in the making after he initially suffered the injury during a workout session with teammates in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Niners and Samuel had initially hoped Samuel would be ready for Week 1 but he had a small setback in side workouts and the team placed him on injured reserve before the opener against the Arizona Cardinals.

After spending the requisite three weeks on injured reserve, this is the first week Samuel has been eligible to return to practice. He has not yet been activated to the roster and the team will decide whether he will play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles later this week.

“He’s healthy so we just want to see him out there and get back in the swing of playing football,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I know it’s been a while since he has. I know he’s been working hard on his own and with our trainers. … We just need to see him go through three days and what type of shape he’s in and if he can protect himself, he’ll be out there.”

Kittle’s status appears more certain than Samuel’s, barring a setback. Kittle missed the past two games with a sprained left knee and though he practiced on a limited basis last week, he did not play against the Giants. But Kittle was a full participant Wednesday, albeit with some caution.

“We’ll always be smart with him,” Shanahan said. “We’re not gonna just throw him in with his normal reps and everything, but he’s full go. He’ll be involved in it all and I’m excited to see him out there going.”

On the other side of the injury coin, the Niners will still be without some prominent players at Wednesday’s practice. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (high right ankle sprain), running back Raheem Mostert (knee sprain), defensive end Dee Ford (back), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quad), cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (concussion), tight end Jordan Reed (knee) and cornerback K’Waun Williams (hip) all appeared on the injury report with “did not participate” designations.

Shanahan said again that Reed and Ford are likely to go on injured reserve this week, and he indicated Monday that Greenlaw might not be able to play Sunday night. Garoppolo’s status is less clear, though Shanahan acknowledged he needed the quarterback to return to practice at some point this week in order to play in the game.

“He’s just got to be able to be healthy in terms of if he can run around and protect himself and make the throws,” Shanahan said. “Any time you’re dealing with an ankle, you might feel all right when you’re standing there but can you move around and get into awkward positions without hurting yourself? That’s really what we’d have to see. It would be tough for us to see that and truly judge that if he didn’t get into practice, so I’m hopeful he can get out there for at least one live period.”

Joining Kittle as full participants in Wednesday’s practice were running back Jerick McKinnon (ribs) and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring).

In addition to opening Samuel’s practice window, the 49ers made a few other roster moves Wednesday. They officially placed linebacker Mark Nzeocha (strained quadriceps) on short-term injured reserve and waived long snapper Kyle Nelson. They also signed tight end Daniel Helm and long-snapper Taybor Pepper. Helm and Pepper take the roster spots vacated by Nzeocha and Nelson.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE

Money for CB MARLON HUMPHREY.  Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com:

The Baltimore Ravens signed All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey to a five-year, $98.75 million extension Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.

The agreement, which averages $19.75 million per season, makes Humphrey the NFL’s second-highest-paid cornerback, behind Jalen Ramsey ($20 million per season).

Humphrey, 24, is considered the Ravens’ top defensive player over the past three seasons. The deal, which was later announced by the team, runs through the 2026 season.

The No. 16 overall pick by the Ravens in the 2017 draft, Humphrey has quickly developed into a defensive playmaker. Last season, he was one of three NFL defenders to record at least three interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries (Minkah Fitzpatrick and Harrison Smith were the others).

He has an interception and a forced fumble during the Ravens’ 2-1 start in 2020.

AFC EAST

BUFFALO

Rookie RB ZACH MOSS sat out last week’s win over the Rams with a toe injury, but he is back at practice and should be available Sunday against Vegas.

MIAMI

Any time in 2020 that you hear a player missed practice with an “illness” you go uh-oh.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa appeared on Wednesday’s injury report, but for reasons unrelated to the hip injury that derailed his final season of college football.

Tagovailoa missed practice due to an illness. The illness isn’t believed to be COVID-19 — otherwise, he’d be on the COVID-19/reserve list.

“This is not a false positive,” coach Brian Flores said Wednesday. “We’ve been through the protocols. We test every day. We’re confident saying it’s not COVID-related.”

Flores possibly meant to say it’s not a false negative. Regardless, Tua will continue to be tested, non-COVID illness or not. If he has it, the Dolphins eventually will find out that he does.

With Ryan Fitzpatrick playing well, Tua’s illness isn’t a major issue. With Fitzpatrick taking so many hits, however, the Dolphins may need Tua, at any given moment.

– – –

In a world where the hiring of minorities to prominent positions is deemed a priority, the one team that has walked the walk has not received enough credit.  Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tries to rectify that:

Race and social justice took center stage during the NFL’s opening weekend, when protests during the anthem, unifying T-shirts and decals honoring victims of police brutality were methods players and coaches used to make their voices heard.

Add on that an NFL-record 10 Black quarterbacks started Week 1.

Yet it was the Miami Dolphins, with coach Brian Flores’ on-camera support, who made perhaps the most memorable statement before the games began. They released a video in which 18 players called out the NFL’s “fluff” reaction and team owners’ lack of action in impacting real change.

It was the conviction of the Dolphins’ message, not their decision to stay in the locker room during the playing of the national anthem and “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” that stood out.

NFL player activism came to the fore in 2016 when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat on the bench and then took a knee during the anthem in protest of racial injustice. Now in 2020, after the killings of Black men and women such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, there is a new wave of activism among athletes. It provides a backdrop to the continued call for the NFL and its teams to do more for diversity and inclusion.

Headed by Flores and Chris Grier, the NFL’s only Black coach and Black general manager duo, the Dolphins are a model for hiring diverse and inclusive leadership while cultivating the pipeline of talent on the football and the business side.

“Unquestionably, the Dolphins have been one of the leaders and, in my opinion, the foremost leader in terms of diversity,” said Rod Graves, a Black man and chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a group that encourages and assists the NFL in equal opportunity practices.

“This is an organization that is putting their money where their mouth is. They aren’t just talking about diversity. They have a plan and strategy in effect. That’s a lot more than I can say about most NFL teams.”

Diversity isn’t solely about hiring minorities for key positions. It means being inclusive of different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, disabilities and sexual orientations with differences in education, personalities, skill sets, experiences and knowledge bases.

Black players represent 70% of the league, so inclusion, in particular, is a long-standing issue. The NFL has five Black men filling its 61 head coach and general manager roles. (New England, Houston and Washington have coaches functioning as GMs.) There is one Black president, Washington’s Jason Wright, and none in ownership.

The Dolphins have focused on bypassing the NFL’s sometimes flawed hiring criteria in an effort to reach an inclusive pool of qualified candidates, and through that process the franchise serves as a model for other NFL teams and their owners.

Changing the criteria in coaching searches

In January 2019, the Dolphins were looking for a head coach.

The hiring trend among NFL front offices was finding the “next Sean McVay” — leading most to seek an offensive-minded quarterback guru, such as the Los Angeles Rams coach, who is white. Miami had a similar mindset when it hired former coach Adam Gase, also white and now the New York Jets coach, over finalist Anthony Lynn, a Black longtime running backs coach who is now leading the Los Angeles Chargers, in 2016.

But the Dolphins’ process for hiring was altered in 2019. A member of the brain trust watched 100 media interview clips featuring 30 to 40 coaches, and from those clips, Miami then selected six candidates (three Black, three white) to interview.

A New England Patriots assistant at the time, Flores, 39, had one year of experience as a coordinator and defensive coach. The Dolphins saw potential in Flores’ leadership qualities, so much so that he got the first interview and checked all the boxes.

“I want the best leaders. If you want to have the best, you have to have it open. Once you start restricting yourself, you don’t always have the opportunity to get the best,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said. “It doesn’t matter the color of their skin, where they are from or what their gender is. People want to know they get a fair chance and opportunity.”

That hit home for Bill Polian, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and a longtime general manager, who made the only consecutive Black head-coaching hires in NFL history with Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell.

“Had I not worked with those men and got to know them as people, I would not have had the same exalted opinion of them. It may not have worked out the same. It helps when you get to know people as people instead of names on pages,” Polian said.

Seven of Dungy’s assistants have become head coaches, including five minority coaches (Caldwell, Herm Edwards, Lovie Smith, Mike Tomlin and Leslie Frazier). Dungy’s success paved the way for a generation of minority men to become head coaches, including Flores.

“I’m certain people will look to the Dolphins at some point and say this is a model for success,” Graves said. “Some have to be motivated by quantitative evidence and others will do it because they believe it is right. The Dolphins are doing it because they believe it is right and they believe it will be successful, but they have set themselves up as a beacon for whatever needs to be proved in terms of the effects of diversity.”

Dolphins’ work isn’t just at the top

It’s April 2020 and Flores wears a big smile when exchanging secret handshakes with his young sons, Miles and Maxwell, in front of cameras planted in his home for the virtual NFL draft. And we watch his kids beam with joy as they converse with Miami’s first-round pick, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Those scenes with the Flores family showed the relatable nature of coaches and GMs, whose attributes are often hidden from fans. A big takeaway from the virtual draft, which had a NFL-record 55 million viewers, was seeing two Black men, Flores and Grier, as the faces of a NFL franchise; a sight to see, considering four NFL teams have a Black head coach or general manager (the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Chargers and Dolphins).

“What America saw for three days was the visual of what this industry’s leadership looks like, the small number of coaches and individuals in supervisory roles who are men of color,” said NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent, a Black man. “More owners have to be deliberate and unapologetic, like the Dolphins, about putting words into action in areas of Black inclusion.”

Flores and Grier are the fourth Black coach and GM duo in league history, and Dolphins players say they enjoy being somewhat of an outlier.

“That’s something very unique, first off, because you don’t get that too often around the NFL,” said Tagovailoa, who is Samoan. “It speaks volumes to the Dolphins’ organization, from the top down, that whoever can get the job done for us, that’s who we are going to go with.”

Dolphins receiver Jakeem Grant, who is Black, added: “It shows that Black people can reach that level of success, too.”

The Miami franchise has made strides in diverse hiring that is in line with what the NFL’s Rooney Rule was intended to do. The Rooney Rule, enacted in 2003 but amended in 2020, requires teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for any vacant head-coaching job and at least one external minority candidate for any vacant offensive, defensive or special-teams coordinator job.

“You have owners who are only going to go with certain people. … Hopefully, we’ll get more people like [Ross] who will look at everyone, and not just a small segment who they think are qualified,” Grier told The Undefeated in 2019.

The Dolphins’ work isn’t just at the top. Of Miami’s 17 player personnel members, 11 are minorities or women, not including Grier. That group includes assistant general manager Marvin Allen and senior personnel executive Reggie McKenzie, who are Black.

Also, Miami led the NFL with 15 Bill Walsh Diversity coaching fellowship hires in 2019. The team hired one of its fellows — a Black man, Gerald Alexander — as defensive backs coach this offseason. Five of the 20 coaches on Flores’ staff are Black, not including Flores.

On the business side, the Dolphins have a leadership development program where four people — most recently three women and a Black man — rotate working throughout the organization every three months. This summer, the team formed a diversity and inclusion council as well as a women’s network.

Polian has three tips on inclusivity: Teams need to get recommendations to owners quickly, before agents fill the pool with “hot candidates.” Franchises need to “identify, mentor and create a path of growth for young coaches and personnel people who have a chance to be general managers.” Finally, Polian says “a concerted effort to recruit and hire minorities at entry-level positions” must be made.

The Dolphins have been intentional in all three categories.

Conflict, race and Dolphins’ Ross

In many ways, 2020 has been defined by the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest. Athletes are challenging league owners to do more with their power, and not just their money, to effect change.

Ross, who is a billionaire real-estate developer, founded RISE in 2015, a nonprofit organization committed to fighting racism, and has committed $30 million to it (including $13 million this year). The Dolphins Football Unites program, overseen by a Black senior vice president in Jason Jenkins, has been an NFL leader in volunteering time and impacting underprivileged communities. The team’s Food Relief Program, with support from Ross, provides 1,000 meals daily to families in need, much of it from minority-owned restaurants.

Still, there are questions and conflict about Ross, 80, as an example in this evolving fight against systemic racism which center on his relationship and financial support of President Donald Trump.

Ross drew widespread criticism in August 2019, including from then-Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills, who is now with the Houston Texans, after hosting an up-to $250,000-a-plate fundraiser luncheon for Trump at his New York home. Stills said Ross can’t “play both sides of this,” having his RISE nonprofit committed to fighting racism while opening doors to Trump. Ross said he has been friends with Trump for 40 years, and while they agree on some things, “we strongly disagree on many others.”

“Ross can get into rooms that I can’t. [He] can convince people that I can’t,” Stills said in August. “He’s had so much success in things he’s spent his time focusing on. I can just imagine what he could do to create real change with all his power. Writing a check for $13 million is appreciated, but it isn’t going to do it — not in this country with this much corruption.”

In August 2020, Ross reflected on the fundraiser, telling the New York Times he did it in hopes of raising money for New York and Metropolitan Transportation Authority after New York governor Andrew Cuomo requested help and “if I would have known the impact of what happened last year, would I have thought about it differently? Of course.”

Disagreement over whether a person can support Trump while fighting against racism lingers.

“No impact at all. The proof is in the pudding. He made a personal decision,” Vincent said of Ross’ legacy. “He has decades, going back to my time, of inclusive efforts.”

NEW ENGLAND

The Patriots are underdogs of 7 points or more at Kansas City.

The combination of a New England Patriots team in transition without quarterback Tom Brady and the early-season dominance of the Kansas City Chiefs has sparked a rare situation.

The Patriots are 7-point underdogs, according to Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, in Sunday’s road game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS).

This marks the third time since the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, that they have been at least a 7-point underdog.

Week 1 of 2016, at Arizona, while Brady was serving an NFL suspension. Led by Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots recorded a 23-21 win despite being 8.5-point ‘dogs.

Week 17 of 2009 at Houston when the Patriots were locked into playing on wild-card weekend, and thus didn’t go all-out in terms of playing starters. The Patriots lost by seven points in a game remembered most for receiver Wes Welker tearing his ACL.

The Patriots have had 11 games in Bill Belichick’s 21-year coaching tenure in which they have been underdogs by seven points or more, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Of those 11 games, eight came in Belichick’s first two seasons.

The game in which the Patriots were the biggest underdogs was Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams (14 points).

The Patriots are 9-2 against the spread in those 11 games and have won outright in 6 of them.

NEW YORK JETS

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears that no matter how horrible the Jets might be tonight, Coach Adam Gase will coach again.

When a team struggles, as the New York Jets have, speculation mounts. In this instance, the chatter persists about the job status of head coach Adam Gase, whose team is 0-3 and has lost the last two games by a combined score of 67-20.

However, heading into tonight’s matchup against the Denver Broncos on the NFL Network, it does not appear Gase’s job hangs in the balance pending the result of the game. According to those informed of the decision-making, the thinking is that firing Gase would not only be counterproductive in general, but also potentially damaging to quarterback Sam Darnold.

In addition, the Jets want to see if the team turns it around.

History has shown that brutal performances for woeful teams on Thursday nights or right before bye weeks can lead to job turnover. But that isn’t slated to happen this time.

To be clear, no one is happy about the brand of football being played. It has been bad. But there is more that goes into it than simply firing the coach and moving on.

The hope is that Gase and the team can do a U-turn, starting tonight, similar to how it finished 6-2 last season. Pulling the plug now may satiate a frustrated fan base, but would it do any good?

The roster is still in need of talent, and the slew of injuries (including to almost the entire receiving corps) has not helped. It’s more than just receivers. The Jets have also been without their top running back, Le’Veon Bell (injured reserve with a hamstring injury) and their best defender C.J. Mosley opted out due to COVID-19 concerns. It’s also a transition year, which the Jamal Adams trade signified, and an influx of talent is necessary. But that’s what Gase and his coaches have had to work with.

Is it fair to judge a coach after four games with so many key pieces injured? Would a coaching change and a lame-duck coaching staff benefit a third-year quarterback attempting to find his footing?

The current thinking is no.

The wish is that this is the low point, and that Darnold shakes off a turnover-filled start and begins to fulfil his considerable potential. The same can be said for the entire team. In addition, neither owner Christopher Johnson, nor any other team executive, has had exploratory conversations about moving on.

The goal is to not have to.

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Gase’s struggling offense is getting a boost.  Tyler Sullivan of CBSSports.com:

The New York Jets will be getting a much-needed boost to their offense on Thursday night when they host the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, receiver Jamison Crowder (hamstring) is expected to play in the Week 4 opener. Crowder, who has missed the past two games due to that hamstring injury, will not be 100%, per Pelissero, but the 27-year-old receiver will give it a go.

Crowder was stellar in New York’s Week 1 loss to the Bills, catching seven of his 13 targets from Sam Darnold for 155 yards and a touchdown. He originally signed with New York back in 2019 after a four-year stint in Washington and proved to be a key safety valve for Darnold in the passing game. Last season, Crowder was targeted 122 times and turned that into 78 receptions for 833 yards and six touchdowns.

This return is well-timed as New York has been decimated by injuries to key areas on the offensive side of the ball. At receiver, Breshad Perriman (ankle) has already been ruled out for this contest, while Chris Hogan (ribs, knee) is questionable. Of course, star running back Le’Veon Bell has also been sidelined after landing on IR due to a hamstring injury.

THIS AND THAT

NFLPA PREZ IS SMOKIN’ HOT THAT GRASS BE MANDATORY

Jake Trotter of ESPN.com:

NFL Players Association president JC Tretter is calling for NFL teams to change all field surfaces to natural grass to reduce the risk of injury to players.

Tretter, the starting center for the Cleveland Browns, wrote in a newsletter that players have a 28% higher rate of noncontact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf as compared to grass. Tretter, citing NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, added that those rates are even higher for noncontact knee injuries (32%) and noncontact foot and ankle injuries (69%) on turf as compared to grass.

“The data stands out,” Tretter said Wednesday during a videoconference with media. “Those numbers are staggering, the difference in injury rate between turf and natural grass. It’s possible to get grass in every location, and it’s about pushing for that. We all should be working toward the safest style of play. We know the dangers of playing on turf. That’s not good for anybody. It’s not good for players. It’s not good for the GMs and the head coaches. It’s not good for the owners. It’s not good for the fans. Increased injuries isn’t good for anybody.

“Until we can find a way to get synthetic turf to respond and react like natural grass, it’s too much of a danger to continue to play on and expect different results.”

Currently, 13 NFL stadiums use artificial turf.

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and his players had expressed concern about the turf at MetLife Stadium, where the Niners recently lost a number of players, including quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and defensive end Nick Bosa, to injuries. MetLife is the home of the Jets and Giants.

Tretter said a “committee of engineers” has been tasked with examining field surfaces. Tretter also advocated for a better regimen for surface testing, noting that the Clegg Impact Tester presently used by the league measures hardness of a surface, “but not for performance and safety.”

He said teams shouldn’t use climate or indoor stadiums as an excuse not to implement grass, given that several cold-weather teams, including the Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers, use grass, and the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders have natural grass despite playing indoors.

“Players safety will always be a priority for us and for the union,” Tretter said. “… It’s something from here on out we need to make a priority.”

AGE NOTES

On old coaches, from Hall of Famer Gil Brandt:

@Gil_Brandt

Sunday’s #NEvsKC game will feature the second-most combined wins by coaches entering a matchup:

532 Shula, Landry (Week 11 1987)

531 Belichick, Reid (Week 4 2020)

517 Reid, Belichick (Week 14 2019)

497 Belichick, Reid (2018 AFC CG)

486 Knox, Shula (Week 3 1992)

And this from Andrew Siciliano:

@AndrewSiciliano

If Justin Herbert (22) starts for the Chargers Sunday against Tom Brady (43) and the Buccaneers, it will mark the first time since at least 1950 there was an age gap of 20+ years between @NFL  starting QB.