THE DAILY BRIEFING
| NFC NORTH |
|
DETROIT
PK DOMINIK EBERLE who missed a pair of PATs on Sunday (and also kicked off out of bounds) is gone. Kirkland Crawford of the Detroit News:
The Detroit Lions have a new kicker, and it was not one of the four they worked out on Tuesday.
The Lions signed veteran kicker Michael Badgley to the practice squad, one day after he was released by the Chicago Bears.
NFL Network first reported the signing.
Badgley scored every Chicago point in the Bears’ 20-12 loss to the Giants on Sunday. He played as a fill-in for kicker Cairo Santos, who missed the game for personal reasons.
The Lions first kicker of the year, PK AUSTIN SEIBERT, could be ready to return from a groin injury this week.
And how about WR JAMESON WILLIAMS, a first round pick? Jeff Risdon of USA TODAY:
The late great Tom Petty was correct. The waiting is the hardest part.
Unfortunately, the Detroit Lions will have to wait just a little longer to see first-round wide receiver Jameson Williams take the field. Williams is close to returning, but head coach Dan Campbell closed the door on designating Williams for return from the non-football injury list until at least after the team’s bye in Week 6.
“it’s really picking up in a good way,” Campbell said of Williams’ recovery from January knee surgery. However, the Lions aren’t in any hurry to speed up the process with their prized rookie weapon.
Teams can designate players to return from the reserve/NFI list, the same as the PUP list. The designation starts a three-week clock to either activate the player or see them placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. Detroit won’t start Williams’ clock to return until after the bye in Week 6. |
|
GREEN BAY
The Packers are going to make it a red-eye to London tonight. That’s the takeaway from this report from Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com:
Aaron Rodgers sounds slightly more excited about the Green Bay Packers’ game in London on Sunday against the New York Giants than his coach.
So much so that Rodgers would have preferred to spend a little more time overseas.
Rodgers was not complaining or second-guessing Matt LaFleur’s decision to do most of their prep work in Green Bay, but after hearing his coach talk about how difficult the lead-up to this game is, Rodgers sound amused about the way coaches stress over every little detail.
“Listen, coaches are creatures of habit, even more than players,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “Anytime there’s a minute adjustment to the schedule, it throws them all out of whack. So I wouldn’t read too much into that.
“We’re all excited. I think the reason I said I wanted to go over early was just to experience a little bit of that culture, to be able to get out and see some sights and interact with fans and … shoot, go to a pub and have a Guinness or whatever the local brew is. That’s what we all want to do, those of us that want to go over early.”
Earlier Wednesday, LaFleur gave a measured response when asked how difficult this week is.
“I’m not going to give you my honest answer,” LaFleur said. “I’d rather refrain. It feels like a Thursday night game for us as coaches just in terms of all the preparation you’ve got to do. But you just do it, so it is what it is.”
LaFleur has coached twice in the London game — once during his time as an assistant with the Los Angeles Rams and once with the Tennessee Titans. After studying past plans and consulting members of his staff who have coached in that game before, LaFleur decided not to leave until late afternoon or early evening Thursday.
That means the Packers will fly overnight. By the time they arrive in London, it will be Friday morning. They have a practice scheduled for 1:15 p.m. London time on Friday.
“Obviously the time we’re leaving might put a little stress on the schedule,” Rodgers said. “But that’s way down at the bottom of the concerns.”
With the Packers and Giants each at 3-1, it will mark the first time in 32 NFL games played in London that both teams have winning records. Before this season, the Packers were the only NFL team that had not played a regular-season game overseas. Neither the Packers nor the Giants have their bye next week.
“Right now, just the way that we are going about it with our schedule, [we’re] trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” receiver Randall Cobb said. “Obviously, tomorrow we’ll be traveling, which is a little different, but I just try to put it in the mind frame of us going to the West Coast and having an extra day on the West Coast. We’ll see what it entails on the other side of it, but as far as here preparing, we’re preparing the same way to find a way to win a football game.” |
| NFC EAST |
|
WASHINGTON
Daniel Snyder fires back at the Democrats in Congress who have singled out his company, out of all the companies in the country, for an inquisition on workplace practices. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com is puzzled as to why he resists:
When it comes to legal issues, Commanders owner Daniel Snyder likes to be aggressive. When it comes to the ongoing Congressional investigation of Snyder and the Commanders, Snyder has made his most aggressive move yet.
Via Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, lawyers representing the Commanders sent a nine-page letter to the House Oversight Committee regarding the group’s effort to examine workplace practices on Snyder’s watch.
The letter makes various accusations and includes inflammatory rhetoric, like this: “From the beginning, the Committee set out with a singular purpose — to destroy Dan Snyder and his family and attempt, with deception, innuendo, and half-truths, to drive him from the National Football League. This investigation reeks of the lowest form of politics and its only purpose is personal destruction.”
The letter also called the investigation a “politically inspired hatchet job.”
It’s a bold strategy for Snyder to paint himself as a victim, given that he has largely managed to avoid full and complete accountability for things that happened within the organization he owns and operates.
The letter also points to a sharp conflict in testimony given to the Committee by Snyder and former team president Bruce Allen. Although the Committee has yet to release all or part of the transcripts of their respective marathon depositions, the letter urges the Committee to ignore Allen’s version of the events. This implies that Allen gave testimony that would be harmful to Snyder.
“It is widely acknowledged that the single most significant step the Team took to remedy its toxic workplace was to rid itself of Mr. Allen,” the letter contends. “The fraternity-house culture that Mr. Allen instilled in the Commanders organization is the principal reason that the Commanders came under investigation in the first place.”
It’s unclear why Snyder has opted to take such a strong position, especially at a time when the Committee’s activities had seemingly subsided. The letter possibly is aimed at undermining the Committee as it prepares to make its next significant move, perhaps by disclosing some of Snyder’s or Allen’s deposition transcripts.
The move also could anger and alienate the Committee, prompting the group to become more determined to release publicly testimony that paints Snyder in an unflattering light.
Regardless of Snyder’s grievances regarding the work of the Committee, he continues to benefit from the fact that the league has kept any evidence developed during Beth Wilkinson’s investigation secret. Whatever the findings, Snyder has been removed from his day-to-day role and still not reinstated, for more than 15 months.
If Snyder is concerned about fairness or whatever, let’s just see the facts as Wilkinson determined them to be. Snyder can then chime in, as he sees fit.
However this plays out, it’s a strange development for a man who should still be on the defensive to go so aggressively on the offensive. Although it fits with Snyder’s approach to past controversies, it’s hard not to think that he’s trying to poison the well at a time when he fears it’s about to become a geyser. |
| NFC SOUTH |
|
CAROLINA
Charles McDonald of YahooSports.com piles on Matt Rhule:
The Panthers messed up at quarterback, again
Matt Rhule just can’t get this quarterback thing right. Teddy Bridgewater, P.J. Walker, Cam Newton, Sam Darnold and now Baker Mayfield. Not a single one of these moves turned out like the Panthers hoped they would, but this latest failure really puts a bow on what will likely be Rhule’s last season as the head coach of the franchise.
The Panthers traded for Mayfield hoping that he would solidify their quarterback position for at least a year after having a rotating door of, at best, mediocrity. That means the team spent picks on Darnold, Mayfield and traded up in the 2022 draft for rookie Matt Corral, whose season ended before it even started with a foot injury. That’s a significant amount of draft capital to have arguably the worst quarterback room in the league.
It’s fairly amazing that the Panthers’ quarterback play has been so bad that Darnold may legitimately be an upgrade over Mayfield. It’s at least a question worth asking, and one the Panthers should be asking themselves. According to ESPN’s Quarterback Rating stat, which grades quarterbacks on a 0-100 scale, Mayfield is dead last among all starters this season with a QBR of just 15.3. Sure, he’s playing with a new team and trying out a new playbook again, but Mayfield has been an active anchor on the Panthers’ chances of winning this season.
While Mayfield’s poor play is a huge reason for Carolina’s slow start to the season, the Panthers are in this spot because they didn’t dive fully into a rebuild when Rhule was hired. They tried to win and rebuild at the same time and now have a mangled, expensive quarterback room that really offers no promise in regards to winning more games this season. They’ve backed themselves into a corner of hoping their defense can survive a litany of turnovers and punts — obviously not a sustainable strategy for winning in the NFL. Rhule brought in Ben McAdoo to replace Joe Brady as the Panthers’ offensive coordinator, which hasn’t worked either.
This season feels like a lost cause. Once again, the entire offense revolves around Christian McCaffrey. They have a couple talented receiving options that haven’t gotten off the ground. A talented defense isn’t getting the help they need from the other side of the ball. They might be able to play a brand of constipated football that gets them to a respectable record when the season is over, but this team has no hopes of postseason success.
Here’s a silver lining: If the Panthers can get to the top of the 2023 NFL draft, they’ll at least have a couple options at quarterback to choose from with Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.
Just 13 more games, Panthers fans! Some of us are rooting for you. Not me, my team is scoring points even with Marcus Mariota as the quarterback and $85 million in cap space on injured reserve or on other teams. But some people are rooting for you guys. |
|
NEW ORLEANS
RB ALVIN KAMARA tells his Fantasy backers to put him in the lineup.
Alvin Kamara didn’t take the field for the New Orleans Saints in their Week 4 trip to London, but he’s adamant that he’ll be back in Week 5.
“This week I’m feeling great, healthy, ready to roll,” Kamara said Wednesday, via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. “So, I’m going to be out there.”
Kamara and the Saints (1-3) host the Seattle Seahawks (2-2) on Sunday and the running back’s reinsertion into the lineup will be a welcomed one for a struggling New Orleans squad that’s dropped three in a row.
Absent for his second game in three weeks when the Saints lost to the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, Kamara is dealing with an injury to his ribs that he characterized as “weird.”
“It’s a weird injury,” the five-time Pro Bowler said. “There’s nothing really you can do for it. It’s one of those things you’ve got to kind of be easy with and one morning you wake up and it’s feeling terrible, the next morning you wake up and it’s feeling better. I kind of try to stay on the rehab and try to do everything I can. Obviously, there’s not too much I can do, but obviously I try to do everything I can to make it feel good and just promote and stimulate the healing.”
Kamara’s ribs have resulted in a questionable designation for thee weeks running and he was limited in Wednesday’s practice. He’s also seemingly been limited on the field as his two games played have resulted in just 100 yards rushing, 19 yards receiving and no touchdowns.
Still, with the statuses of quarterback Jameis Winston and wide receiver Michael Thomas uncertain after they too missed Week 4, Kamara’s presence is all the more important.
New Orleans is 3-7 without Kamara in his career. |
|
TAMPA BAY
QB TOM BRADY is not practicing prior to the first place showdown with Atlanta. Luke Easterlong of USA TODAY:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released their first injury report for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, and there’s a massive name at the very top.
Quarterback Tom Brady missed Wednesday’s practice due to an injury to his right (throwing) shoulder, as well as one of the fingers on his throwing hand. Brady suffered the injury on a strip-sack during last week’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but he never left the game.
Brady has downplayed the injury throughout the week so far, and he’s been known to take a veteran day off on Wednesdays, as well. That said, he’s listed as having officially missed practice due to the injury, so it’s noteworthy.
Brady’s head coach was not there either. Todd Bowles was absent Wednesday for unspecified “personal reasons.”
WR COLE BEASLEY also was not at practice, and it looks like he never will be again. Nick Shook of NFL.com:
Cole Beasley’s return to the NFL lasted just two games.
The 33-year-old Buccaneers wide receiver has decided to retire after 11 NFL seasons, NFL Network Insiders Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero reported on Wednesday.
“He is ready to be with his family after playing in 11 seasons and it’s time to be a full-time dad and husband,” Beasley’s agent, Justin Turner, told Garafolo and Pelissero. |
| NFC WEST |
|
LOS ANGELES RAMS
In the no good deed goes unpunished, we have this from Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com:
The fan who ran onto the field during the Los Angeles Rams’ loss at the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night filed a police report against Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner.
Shortly before halftime of the game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, a fan ran across the field with what appeared to be a device letting out pink smoke. Rams linebacker Takkarist McKinley came toward the person then Wagner stepped in and laid him out with a big hit.
Santa Clara Police Department Lt. Cuong Phan confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that the police report was filed Tuesday afternoon. Because this is an active investigation, information will be limited, Phan said.
According to TMZ Sports, the individual is an activist for the Berkeley, California-based animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere and was trying to “raise awareness for a trial involving the alleged theft of pigs from a factory farm.”
Wagner said Wednesday he is aware of the police report but that the incident is behind him.
“Can’t really focus on it,” Wagner said. “I’m more concerned about the security guard that was hurt trying to chase him. … You just got to do what you got to do.”
Wagner reiterated Wednesday that as players, you never know what a person has in their hands or their pockets when they’re on the field.
“There’s consequences for your actions,” Wagner said.
When asked what he thought of the police report, Rams coach Sean McVay said, “I think that we all know where Bobby’s intentions were.”
“And I support Bobby Wagner,” McVay said. “That’s where I’m at with that. I don’t think anybody will disagree.”
More from the TMZ story – but the miscreants are getting anonymity for some reason:
According to Direct Action Everywhere, the individuals performed the stunt in order to raise awareness for a trial involving the alleged theft of pigs from a factory farm. The org. said the man suffered a burn injury during the incident.
“Otherwise,” they said in a statement, “they’re a bit beaten up but in good spirits.”
The only injury came from his own smoke bomb. |
|
SEATTLE
Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com does weekly dynamic QB ratings. He’s surprised he’s compelled to put QB GENO SMITH in the top 20:
20 Geno Smith
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS QB
His resume suggests this is an anomaly, but each week as Seattle’s QB1, he’s been both efficient and dynamic. Among active regular starters, only Jalen Hurts has averaged more yards per attempt this year. (+2)
Ryan Tannehill, Matt Ryan and Carson Wentz are among the QBs still ahead of Smith, so we think there is room to grow. We did a little comparison:
Smith Tannehill Ryan Wentz
Yards 1,037 784 1,125 1,031
Completion pct. 77.3% 66.3% 66.2% 62.2%
TDs 6 5 5 8
Turnovers 2 3 8 6
NFL passer rating 108.0 93.8 85.0 82.3
Wins 2 2 1 1
Smith leads or is tied in 4 of the 6 categories and is 2nd in the other 2. He leads the whole NFL in completion percentage and is 3rd in passer rating. We understand where he started from, but if you are talking about 2022 quarterbacking, he’s got to be better than 20th.
Charles McDonald of YahooSports.com has noticed:
Geno Smith is back
While the Rams offense has sputtered for the vast majority of the season, the Seattle Seahawks are fresh off a 48-point outburst against the Detroit Lions behind the golden arm of Geno Smith — who has legitimately outplayed Russell Wilson this season.
Smith’s 320-yard, two-touchdown performance vaulted him into the ranks of the elite passers this season. He ranks fifth in expected points added per play (0.229), first by a mile in completion percentage over expectation (12.4%) and fourth in success rate (54%). Before this year, Smith hadn’t entered an NFL season as a starter since he was a young quarterback for the New York Jets in 2014, and he’s now taken his new opportunity by the horns.
Smith isn’t playing like someone who is supposed to be a bridge quarterback — he’s playing like someone who intends to keep this starting job for at least the next season. Smith and Drew Lock were supposed to battle for the new starting quarterback job now that Wilson is in Denver, but this experiment is going better than anyone could have hoped so far. Smith is making plays downfield, performing well against pressure looks and has slid right in as a capable (and dangerous at times) quarterback for the Seahawks.
Think about it like this. This division featured Matthew Stafford, Kyler Murray, Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance coming into the season. Would anyone have guessed that Geno Smith would be far and away the best quarterback in the NFC West at this point? That’s where the Seahawks find themselves. Between Geno Smith and breakout star running back Rashaad Penny, they have a legitimate shot to win the division and host a playoff game in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year.
There is a bit of a sad aspect to this story, considering the fact that Smith never really got a chance to start in the near-decade since he was a starter for the Jets, but he’s taken this opportunity and run with it. If Smith, whose deal expires after the season, can continue to perform in the same ballpark as he has through the first four weeks of the season, he may wind up as the most surprising big-money quarterback that free agency has seen in a long, long time.
This also changes, for now, the immediate outlook of Seattle’s rebuild. Maybe they don’t need to burn one of their first-round picks on a quarterback in the 2023 NFL draft. A new path forward has emerged and they might be able to have two luxury picks next spring.
All hail Geno Smith. This is easily one of the best stories in the NFL this year. |
| AFC WEST |
|
DENVER
Alliteration abounds as Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com profiles Kelly Kleine, now a Denver football boss:
Kelly Kleine has half an hour to catch her breath and sip a latte before practice begins at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. It’s early February, and she’s in her uniform of athleisure, a white baseball cap and red manicured nails.
Her upbeat demeanor masks any hint of exhaustion after spending the previous three weeks crisscrossing the United States in search of the Denver Broncos’ next head coach.
As Denver’s executive director of football operations and special adviser to general manager George Paton, Kleine was part of a six-person team that interviewed 10 candidates in 19 cities before ultimately landing on Nathaniel Hackett.
Kleine used her decadelong experience in the Vikings’ personnel department to vet the candidates. A former Minnesota scout said Kleine was the best interviewer in the building. She also researched every candidate’s background, set up interviews, organized itineraries, took notes that would be part of the debriefing on the way home and kept everyone on schedule.
“I thought she had a presence about her; she asked great questions,” Hackett said. “That was so powerful.”
It’s not a role Kleine imagined for herself when she first applied for a public relations internship with the Vikings in 2012, which set her on a path to becoming “the glue” that Paton says has held the front offices together in Minnesota and now in Denver.
She’s taken part in a massive overhaul of a Broncos franchise that has missed the playoffs the past six years. New coach. New quarterback after a trade for Russell Wilson. New ownership group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton. New team president in Damani Leech. All in that order.
“We just flipped an entire franchise upside down,” Kleine said.
There’s also the changes she experienced personally and professionally within the past 18 months and the responsibilities she feels as one of the highest-ranking female scouting executives in NFL history at 31 years old.
It’s been a journey that’s included overcoming self-doubt, a lack of female representation and seizing opportunities through a skill set and work ethic that have earned her the respect and trust of her peers. Where her path ultimately leads is uncertain, but her trajectory is arching toward even greater significance.
“I look back 10 years ago, and did I ever think I’d be here?” Kleine asks. “No way in hell.”
KLEINE’S DREAM WHEN she entered the University of Minnesota was to be a sideline reporter, so the Sheboygan, Wisconsin, native pursued degrees in sports management and communications, and she worked in public relations for the university’s athletic department and for a firm.
There was a class assignment to interview someone in the sports industry, and a classmate who had interned with the Vikings set Kleine up with Jeff Anderson, who was the Vikings’ director of corporate communications. During the interview, Anderson told Kleine about the Vikings’ game day internship, and after the Vikings reached out to her a few months later, she accepted the position.
Kleine stayed on during the 2012 season and helped twice a week in the office — doing everything from updating copy for the weekly game book to assisting with media needs. Two months ahead of the 2013 draft, while she was finishing up her senior year, one of the Vikings’ scouting interns quit. Kleine was the Vikings’ first choice to fill the opening.
“I got very lucky with how I got my job, but I earned it too,” Kleine said. “I keep stumbling into things, and I’m at the right place at the right time sometimes, but I’ve also put in my work.”
In those days, universities mailed NFL teams thick stacks of information from pro days that had to be entered manually into the system: player name, agent, cellphone, email, date of birth, height, weight and other measurements. Rinse and repeat. She did hundreds of these, and her diligence caught the eye of former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, who offered her a yearlong scouting internship.
It started with administrative work and learning how the department operated. It expanded to Kleine helping college scouts organize their schedules each fall, knowing when they could and couldn’t visit specific schools. Then came the evaluation.
“Watching the film is still hard for me,” she said. “I’m not going to lie. It’s not natural for me.”
But Spielman saw something unique about Kleine and her ability to handle whatever he threw at her. It led to promotions as the college scouting coordinator and eventually a hybrid role as the manager of player personnel, while simultaneously being a college scout with five states in her territory.
For years, Kleine sat in on personnel meetings where she observed, but was cautious in giving her opinion. It wasn’t until she spent more time on the road and was given more scouting responsibilities that she had the confidence to speak up in meetings with conviction about her evaluations.
– – –
Evaluating was only part of Kleine’s job. She balanced the schools and players she was responsible for while managing the schedules and workloads for all of the Vikings’ college scouts.
And perhaps her biggest impact was felt when the Vikings evaluated draft prospects in an in-person meeting environment.
“The same players I’ll try to interview won’t give me anything, but they’ll give it to Kelly because they trust her and she can connect,” Paton said. “She can connect to everyone.”
TWELVE-PLUS HOUR workdays in Minnesota were routine. She made sure her reports were written perfectly and that all the loose ends were tied up, whether it was corralling reports from college scouts or arranging for a plane to pick up a newly acquired player because he would not travel unless his dog was on board.
Her work ethic was inherited from her father, Artie, a businessperson who came from humble beginnings and displayed a rigid attention to detail. Artie spent 26 years in various roles at Kohler Company and was the director of the international supply chain for Johnsonville. Artie and Barb Kleine were together for 42 years, high school sweethearts with opposite personalities. Barb has an infectious laugh, the life of the party who loves wine and chasing after her seven grandchildren. Artie had the “don’t-cut-corners” attitude he instilled in Kelly.
“Artie always said,” Barb recalls, fighting back tears, “this one’s going to make it someday.”
Kelly stood in the receiving line at her father’s funeral on Oct. 5, 2017, after Artie died of a stroke at 58 years old. Someone approached Kelly and told her there was a bus in the parking lot.
When she walked outside, she fell to her knees sobbing. One by one, members of the Vikings’ front office and personnel staff, the people Kleine still refers to as her extended uncles and brothers, walked off the bus to support her and her family.
There was a GoFundMe set up so Barb could visit her daughter regularly in Minneapolis. Former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer invited Kleine’s entire family, including Kelly’s older siblings, Eric and Amie, to a game.
It’s memories like these that bring Kleine to tears five years later. It’s also what made it difficult to say goodbye after working for the same franchise for a decade, a rarity in today’s NFL.
But Kleine was faced with a decision. Spielman was ready to make her a full-time area scout after the 2021 draft. She would have been the first woman to serve in that capacity for the Vikings.
It was everything she had worked for, but she was grappling with being on the road 200-plus days a year. She was engaged at the time, and got married last summer, and she wants to start a family.
“I love scouting, but I love the other side of it, too, and working with people in the building,” Kleine said. “My strength as a person is working with people and communicating. My strength is not sitting at my desk watching film. I finally came to the point that I’m OK that that’s not me. I’m going to use my strengths and grow in other areas.”
Kleine was at peace with her decision to leave. There were bigger challenges awaiting her with the Broncos.
THE BRONCOS HIRED Paton as general manager in January 2021, and he knew Kleine would be one of the first people he hired. He saw her master the balancing act of scouting and being the in-house point of contact for all the college scouts. She could handle any task, big or small.
Paton hired Kleine in April 2021. In her role as executive director of football operations, Kleine oversees the video and equipment departments. She contributes during meetings regarding the salary cap and analytics. And she’s helped implement a new grading scale in scouting.
Her relationship with Paton has been a key to her growth.
“He’s so good at interacting with people, and that’s a huge part of it,” Kleine said. “It’s been cool to learn from him. I’m honored he wanted me to come work with him, and that he trusts me to be his right hand.”
Kleine sat down with members of the video department and asked what changes they wanted to see as the team was about to overhaul the system it used to catalog practice film and game film. What worked? What didn’t? What best fits their style of doing things?
She meets regularly with the scouting interns and has helped young employees seek opportunities. Within the past year, the Broncos hired a female intern in scouting and football operations, and their full-time trainer and training intern are both women. She aims to empower people “in the trenches” — people just like she was not long ago.
She has made an impact on decisions big and small. From working with the equipment staff to make sure Denver’s female staffers had clothing tailored for them, simple things like shorts made for women to wear to practice because “I’m not a dude,” Kleine said, to being involved in trade discussions.
She was among a few with knowledge of the Wilson trade talks from the beginning.
“In the most important things we have done, she’s had a big role,” Paton said.
THE WEIGHT OF it all can be imposing, but the support network Kleine relies on is only a text away. The “women in football ops” group chat started by Browns co-assistant general manager Catherine Raiche and Eagles pro scout Ameena Soliman has hundreds of members and helps Kleine and others on this path.
When Raiche became the first woman known to have interviewed for an NFL general manager job — with the Vikings on Jan. 17 — the group chat was on fire: “Holy s—. This is happening.”
Said Kleine: “You look at some of these new GMs getting hired, you don’t have to be a 20-year scout anymore. It’s different. Teams are looking for different things.”
Being a GM wasn’t Kleine’s endgame originally, but her time with the Broncos — after 10 years in various roles with the Vikings — has changed that perspective.
“It’s taught me that someday I could [become a general manager],” Kleine said. “Do I need to get stronger in some areas? A hundred percent. I know that I still have a way to go, but I absolutely do think it could [happen] someday.”
Kleine has leaned on Paton for guidance, but she gradually started to go with her gut, shelving the self-doubt. She was in this position for a reason, and she was going to act like it.
“The same players I’ll try to interview won’t give me anything, but they’ll give it to Kelly because they trust her and she can connect. She can connect to everyone.”
“I struggled with confidence for a while,” Kleine said. “I think it’s because I didn’t see any other women doing it.
“So, it was like, can I do it? Can I not do it? But now these young women can see a lot of us doing it. You have to be confident and strong. Believe in yourself.”
Kleine was inspired in August when Denver announced its new ownership group, which includes three women: Carrie Walton Penner, a majority owner, and minority owners Mellody Hobson and former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
Kleine said she almost started crying hearing Hobson’s story of growing up in poverty while facing evictions and utility shut-offs to become the first Black chairwoman of Starbucks and president of Ariel Investments, the largest minority-owned investment firm in the United States. Hobson began her career as an intern at Ariel.
“It gives me the chills talking about it, because of how powerful these three women are,” Kleine said. “It was the most surreal day of my life.”
Kleine mentors women interested in working in football. There weren’t many in football ops to serve as an example when she got started, but women such as Kleine, Catherine Raiche and Ameena Soliman are changing that. Amanda Lopez for ESPN
BEFORE HEADING OVER to the Senior Bowl practice on this early February day, Kleine notices something that fills her with pride.
There was a time she could count on one hand how many women she’d see at offseason events, such as the scouting combine, all-star games and pro days. It was a small, close-knit group.
But the biggest sign of progress is the number of women she doesn’t recognize in Mobile. As of 2019, every NFL team had at least one woman working on its football side. The number has grown substantially, thanks to the NFL Women’s Forum, which is an annual event connecting female participants with leaders in professional football. Twenty-six clubs have hired directly from the Forum, and there are 15 female coaches on 10 clubs, including six full-time female coaches.
Kleine said she would be honored to become the NFL’s first female GM, but mostly, she wants to get past the need to identify a hire based on gender significance.
“It needs to happen, because I’m so sick of ‘you’re the first this, you’re the first that,'” Kleine said. “I can’t wait until we’re at the point where we stop that and just respect why someone got their job.”
Kleine is doing more than trying to lead by example. Every Tuesday, she speaks to women in a variety of roles, including interns, students, women working for college programs, who are interested in pursuing a job — or an advancement — in football.
“I talked to a girl the other day who’s at LSU; she’s doing [advance scouting],” Kleine said. “She was at Notre Dame, and Coach [Brian] Kelly brought her to LSU, and she’s killing it down there. I’m like, ‘You can get a job in the league whenever you’re ready, whenever you want.’
“So it’s just amazing to see. It’s trickled down to college now, and the difference in 10 years has been unbelievable, and it’s been awesome.”
And the message she has to those women looking to follow in her footsteps is simple.
“I tell this all the time to people: When you get in there, be f—ing confident in yourself,” Kleine said. “You got the job for a reason.” |
| AFC NORTH |
|
BALTIMORE
WR ANDY ISABELLA is like baseball’s “player to be named later” in the trade that sent WR MARQUISE BROWN to Arizona. Grant Gordon of NFL.com:
Andy Isabella is set to be a bird of another feather.
Isabella is signing with the Baltimore Ravens practice squad a day after he was waived by the Arizona Cardinals, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Wednesday.
Free agency didn’t last long for the speedy wide receiver, who was waived on Tuesday by Arizona, cleared waivers Wednesday afternoon and is now booked for Baltimore.
Isabella could potentially add fleet feet to the Ravens wide receiver corps. |
|
PITTSBURGH
Mike DePietro of The Athletic is sure that QB KENNY PICKETT will seize the moment and prosper:
The Miami Hurricanes rolled into Heinz Field on Nov. 24, 2017, unbeaten and unblemished.
Ranked second in the country, they were 12-point favorites over Pitt, looking for a win in the regular-season finale to cement their bid for the College Football Playoff.
The only thing standing in their way? A fresh-faced, 19-year-old quarterback. The freshman began the season buried on the depth chart and running the scout team. Now he was making his first college start on a massive stage.
His name was Kenny Pickett.
With Pitt’s losing season already cemented, Pickett introduced himself to a new fan base and sent shockwaves through the college football universe, putting his skills on display.
Accuracy. Anticipation. Arm strength. Pickett showed it all, as he threw for 193 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
Mobility. Speed. Toughness. Yup, those attributes were all there, too, as he helicoptered into the end zone on a 6-yard run that evoked memories of John Elway in Super Bowl XXXII.
Then, with just over three minutes remaining, the Panthers led by 10 points and were driving. On fourth-and-5, Pickett produced a highlight that would live on in Pitt lore and, if you look at it right, reveal something else beneath the surface.
Fans will remember Pickett bootlegging 22 yards to the left before diving headfirst into the pylon for the game-sealing touchdown.
“At that moment, we’re like, ‘All right, we got our guy,’” former Pitt center Jimmy Morrissey told The Athletic. “Kenny is the next era of Pitt football.”
While the highlight will be relived at Pitt for years to come, the hidden beauty of the play was the way it was called in the huddle. Pickett told everyone it was a run play to the right. That was by design. Not even the offensive players knew it was a bootleg.
Only after Pickett pulled the ball out of the running back’s belly and darted in the opposite direction did anyone on either team realize what was unfolding.
It was the perfect play call. And Pickett? He was the perfect quarterback to execute it.
Why? Underneath all the records Pickett broke and trophies he hoisted at Pitt is a foundation of unflinching confidence. A laid-back cool you’d expect from a kid who grew up within biking distance of the Jersey Shore beach, a belief in himself forged and hardened by years of being overlooked and underrecruited and a palpable swagger that even Morrissey — Pickett’s best friend — admits flirts with the fine line between confidence and arrogance.
“Kenny has this great way of carrying himself that he’s just a winner,” Morrissey said. “Call it confidence or cockiness. Whatever it is, it helps Kenny be the great player he is.”
It’s contagious, this attitude. The quarterback isn’t afraid to dream big and tell everyone about it. He believes in himself to the point that he convinces everyone around him they should, too. And before long, they started thinking, yeah, a sub-.500 Pitt team with nothing to play for can upset the No. 2 team in the country — just as long as they block to the right with everything they have.
“I have an unbelievable amount of confidence in myself,” Pickett said after the 24-14 upset, a statement that spoke even louder than the game itself. “No matter what field I walk on, I feel like I’m the best player there.”
Five years and 48 college starts after that upset, the 6-foot-3 signal caller is preparing for another debut — his first NFL start as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback.
Without squinting too hard, you can see the parallels. Instead of a 10-0, top-five college football team, Goliath is now MVP hopeful Josh Allen and his Super Bowl-favorite Buffalo Bills.
Pickett will actually face longer odds than he did in his first college start. The 14-point spread makes the Steelers the biggest underdogs in modern franchise history, dating to the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Just don’t tell Pickett.
“You guys and everyone else thinks we’re underdogs,” Pickett said Wednesday. “We don’t. We’re going to go in there with some confidence. We know how great we can be when we’re detailed.”
The earliest seeds of that attitude were planted in Oakhurst, N.J., where Pickett was raised on a dead-end street in a household bursting with athletes.
Kasey, his mother, played soccer at Kutztown University. Ken, his dad, was a tackling machine at linebacker for Shippensburg University, earning Division II All-American honors. And Alex, his older sister, became a four-year starter on the East Stroudsburg University soccer team.
Kenny appeared destined to follow the same trajectory from the day he enrolled at Ocean Township High, winning the JV quarterback job as a freshman and leading the Spartans to a 10-1 season. Well, if he could find a college that would take him.
“I would tell everybody that would listen what I thought Kenny was going to be at the next level,” Ocean Township football coach Donny Klein said. “Everybody would say, ‘Donny, listen, the kid’s very good. But he’s just too small.’”
Just like the maternal grandfather who passed down his size to Pickett, the quarterback was a late bloomer. Pickett stood 5-foot-9 when he won the starting varsity job as a sophomore. In the playoffs, he led an upset of the No. 1 seed (sensing a trend here?) on the road, leading the Spartans to the state semifinal. He was just 5-foot-11 his junior season when he followed the same script, rolling to a 9-2 record and another berth in the state semifinal.
Despite this success, recruiting services rated Pickett as a modest three-star prospect. Few schools took notice.
The lack of attention flummoxed Pickett and fueled his prove-you-wrong attitude. After baseball practice in the spring, he’d sneak into the high school gym to lift weights, do speed drills and throw pass patterns on his own. Days that started with class at 7 a.m. didn’t end until 10 p.m. or later.
“Kenny Pickett is obsessed with being great,” Klein said. “He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever been around.”
The ultra-competitive and self-confident Pickett took it a step further. He studied other top quarterbacks in the area to find out which schools had offered them, where they were attending camp and … how he could unseat them.
“Kenny would have me call the colleges to say, ‘Hey, I think (Quarterback X) is going to be at camp this weekend. Can you put Kenny in the same group?’” Klein said. “Kenny wanted to prove to everybody, ‘This kid’s ranked higher than me, or he’s got this offer. I want to go bury that kid at camp.’”
Pickett eventually secured a scholarship offer at Temple from now-Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule. Still, he continued to fly largely under the radar. Even Pitt wasn’t sold.
Tight ends coach Tim Salem, who was responsible for recruiting the New Jersey region, kept hearing high school coaches talk about this Pickett kid. Salem went to see the quarterback and left uninspired.
“I went back and saw him a couple months later, and it’s almost like he grew three inches,” Salem said. “Like, what the heck happened? You’re a different guy.
“Back then, he had the ‘it’ factor. He had a quarterback demeanor, quarterback mentality, anticipation, moxie. All those words you want to hear, he had it.”
Salem returned to Pittsburgh convinced the Panthers had to land Pickett. He told offensive coordinator Matt Canada — coincidentally, now the Steelers’ offensive coordinator — he had to go look for himself. Head coach Pat Narduzzi eventually swooped in to take a lead role in Pickett’s recruitment. Ultimately, Pitt narrowly beat out North Carolina for the New Jersey quarterback’s commitment.
“He and coach Narduzzi have a special relationship today,” Ken Pickett said. “He couldn’t have made a better choice.”
– – –
After earning his teammates’ respect and a statement win in his first college start, Pickett ascended to QB1 on the depth chart.
About this time, he began working with quarterback guru Tony Racioppi, a private coach based out of New Jersey who would eventually prepare Pickett for the draft.
One of the first times they met, the coach asked Pickett what his goals were. He wasn’t bashful.
“He said, ‘I want to be a first-round pick, and I want to be an NFL starting quarterback,’” Racioppi remembers. “There was such a focus and a drive and a work ethic that was elite. It was special.”
However, the path was far from linear.
Pickett endured an up-and-down sophomore campaign in 2018. The Panthers surged midway through the season, leaning on a run-heavy offense to win four consecutive games and clinch the ACC Coastal Division at 7-4. But the wheels came off almost as soon as the division was captured.
Pitt imploded, losing the last three games. The low-water mark of Pickett’s career came in the ACC title game, in driving rain against a dominant Clemson defensive front that featured several future NFL draft picks. Pickett completed just 4 of 16 passes for a total of 8 yards and an interception (by future first-round pick A.J. Terrell). The Tigers trounced the Panthers 42-10.
“When things don’t go well, who gets blamed the most? The quarterback, right,” Racioppi said. “That was kind of a tough time for him. … The Pittsburgh media and the fan base turned on him a little bit. (He was feeling like), ‘I worked so hard at this. Why do I feel like everybody hates me?’”
Through those inconsistencies, Pickett remained resolute. The same kid who snuck into the gym after baseball practice in high school leaned on his work ethic to reaffirm his faith in himself. The swagger never left.
“Going through that at an early age at Pitt, I think it’s only helped him because he developed this thick skin,” Racioppi said. “He’s not perfect, and there’s going to be some failure from time to time. He’s prepared to work through it and not lose confidence.”
After managing the game behind a run-heavy offense early in his career, Pickett’s evolution took another step in 2019. The Panthers brought in Mark Whipple, who coached quarterbacks for the Steelers from 2004 to 2006 as the offensive coordinator. His pro-style offense and West Coast philosophies highlighted the quarterback’s skill set.
Whipple was also at least partially responsible for sparking Pickett’s signature look: the two gloves.
On a brisk mid-November day in Pittsburgh, Pickett lit it up against North Carolina, throwing for 359 yards, including a 74-yard score, while keeping his hands toasty.
Pickett remembers Whipple saying, “You know, it doesn’t have to be cold to rock the gloves.”
– – –
When his draft-day call came, Pickett couldn’t contain the emotion.
Surrounded by about 200 family members and friends, and flanked by his parents and Amy Paternoster, his fiancée, Pickett buried his head in his hands and wept tears of joy.
On the other end of the phone, coach Mike Tomlin informed the Pitt product he’d be staying in the Steel City as the 20th selection in the first round. The gamble to return for another season at Pitt had paid off. Friends busted out Terrible Towels and started the black-and-gold celebration.
“When he dropped to the Steelers, it was perfect,” Ken Pickett said. “It was meant to be. Pittsburgh was definitely our No. 1 choice.”
Continuing the next chapter of his career in Pittsburgh is the kind of thing that’s written in a storybook. But Kenny Pickett, proud and confident, also paid attention to the other things written and said about him during the draft process.
Talent evaluators tried to poke holes in Pickett’s game. Some said at almost 24 years old, he was already approaching his ceiling. Others focused on his hand size — an ironic criticism for the kid everyone overlooked in high school because he was too small.
The Pickett family believes the Colts, whose highest pick entering the draft was No. 42, considered trading into the first round to nab Kenny. The Lions (who held picks 2, 32 and 34) and the Saints (who had picks 16 and 19) felt like options in the middle of the first round. And Pickett’s ties to Rhule made Carolina (which held the No. 6 pick) another potential destination. But none pulled the trigger.
“All those guys that passed on him? I can tell you one thing: It definitely is in the back of his mind,” Ken Pickett said. “That adds to his fuel.”
Tomlin said he got to know Pickett in a “neighborly” way through the draft process. That’s not one of his Tomlinisms. It’s literal in this case. The Steelers and Pitt split their Southside facility. When you enter through the parking lot, you’re greeted by two doors: Pitt on the right, Steelers on the left.
“Every time I’d walk into the Pitt side, I’d always glance over at the left and kind of envision one day walking over to my left, through the other door,” Pickett said. “Now, that’s happening. It’s pretty awesome.”
During his first tour of the Steelers’ side, he was led upstairs. As Pickett walked through history, looking at the franchise’s six Lombardi Trophies, he once again imagined the future.
“When he got the tour of Pittsburgh and got to see those Super Bowl trophies, the next thing he said to me is, ‘I’m gonna bring a Super Bowl back to Pittsburgh. I’m gonna win a championship,’” Ken Pickett said. “I don’t have any doubts. And I’ll tell anybody. Let him write his story because anyone who’s ever doubted him has seen that they’ve made a mistake.” |
| AFC SOUTH |
|
INDIANAPOLIS
The DB will be heading directly to his Fantasy Football lineup after finishing this item. Stephen Holder of ESPN.com:
Colts All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor will miss the first game of his college or pro career due to injury after being ruled out for Thursday night’s road contest against the Denver Broncos.
Taylor suffered a badly twisted ankle late in the Colts’ 24-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans Sunday and did not return to the game. He had been undergoing constant rehab since in an effort to make it back for Thursday night, even suggesting on Tuesday that a decision on his availability might come shortly before kickoff.
But, in the end, the third-year back was unable to overcome the injury.
“I definitely do plan to play, but if you can’t go you can’t go,” Taylor said Tuesday. “That’s why you have to get as much treatment as you can.”
Taylor had missed just one game in his professional career, during his rookie season in 2020 when he was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The Colts have been struggling to |
| AFC EAST |
|
MIAMI
QB TUA TAGOVIALOA has spoken to NFL/NFLPA investigators and a report and findings are near as to why he was able to play. Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.comtweets:
@Marcel_LJ
Multiple sources tell me the review into Tua Tagovailoa’s handling following his Sept. 25 concussion evaluation could be finished as early as Thursday
The NFL wants to get it done before Colts-Broncos kickoff — still hurdles to cross before it’s resolved but league is pushing
Mike Florio on the urgency:
It makes sense. If, as believed, the concussion protocol will be revised, it makes sense to implement the changes before any Week Five games are played.
The new protocol is expected to eliminate any exceptions when it comes to a player who exhibits “gross motor stability.” Whatever the reason, a player with that kind of impairment will be removed from play for the rest of the game.
It remains to be seen whether the league and the union find fault as it relates to the implementation of the current protocol. Already, the NFLPA has terminated the Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant involved in the case. Others could face consequences, depending on the outcome of the investigation.
The league has vowed to be transparent regarding the findings of the investigation. Then again, the league was transparent about the Cameron Brate situation from Sunday night. Transparent, but grossly inaccurate. |
|
THIS AND THAT |
|
EARLY LOOK AT NFL SEASON AWARDS
Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com tells us who deserves the NFL’s major awards after four weeks (edited):
Let’s pick quarter-season NFL awards for the 2022 campaign. It’s ridiculous to hand out awards for four weeks of football — and with 17 regular-season games now, we’re not officially quite at the 25% mark — but it’s also a good time to take hold of what has happened across the league over the first month of the season and have a historical document for what we felt at the time.
Remember: This time a year ago, Sam Darnold was a Comeback Player of the Year favorite, and Kyler Murray looked like an MVP contender. A lot can change in three months.
This time, I’ll pick my three early favorites for seven awards: Coach of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, and MVP.
These are my picks for who I think deserves to win over the first month of the season, not who I think will win at the end of the campaign. I’ll generally abide by the rules and preferences we’ve seen from Associated Press voters in the past, although I’ll make one notable exception when we get to Offensive Player of the Year. Let’s start on defense:
Defensive Rookie of the Year
This award is typically dominated by young pass-rushers, but it hasn’t been a great start for edge defenders this season. Aidan Hutchinson (Lions) is the only rookie with more than two sacks, but his three all came in one game against the Commanders, who hand out free sacks like they’re candy on Halloween. Hutchinson ranks 54th out of 58 qualifying edge defenders in pass rush win rate, and it isn’t as if the Lions have stopped anybody on defense through three games. No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker (Jaguars) has been promising, but he hasn’t even been the best rookie first-rounder on the Jaguars.
Instead, we’re blessed with a group of first-year cornerbacks competing for this award. Most rookie cornerbacks aren’t playable on an every-down basis as they adjust to the speed of the NFL, so seeing as many as eight rookie corners with 150-plus defensive snaps through four weeks is a rare treat.
The two biggest names at the position were top-five picks Derek Stingley Jr. (Texans) and Sauce Gardner (Jets); they’ve had their moments so far. But two corners taken later in the draft have made a bigger impact for their teams.
3. Jaylen Watson, CB, Chiefs
Stepping in as a starter when first-round pick Trent McDuffie went down with a hamstring injury in the opener, Watson might not be giving back the right cornerback job once McDuffie is ready to return. Watson, a seventh-round pick, was not supposed to be covering the opposing team’s top wide receiver, but because the Chiefs keep him one side of the field, he has gotten a disproportionate percentage of his targets against stars such as Mike Evans, Michael Pittman Jr. and Mike Williams.
2. Tariq Woolen, CB, Seahawks
Pete Carroll rightfully has been regarded as a coach who can draft and develop cornerbacks as well as anybody. Remember that the corners in the Legion of Boom didn’t enter the league as stars: Richard Sherman was a fifth-round pick, Byron Maxwell was a sixth-rounder and Brandon Browner was undrafted and playing in the CFL. Carroll targeted big, toolsy cornerbacks and helped mold them into superstars.
A decade later, Carroll might have found his next standout in Woolen, a fifth-round pick who entered the league with 99th-percentile height and 40-yard dash time. He is a converted receiver who had only two years of cornerback experience before entering the league; the expectation was that Woolen would need some time before stepping into the Seahawks’ lineup.
Scratch that. The 6-foot-4 Woolen has played 93% of Seattle’s snaps, and the early returns are stunning. There’s superstar upside here.
1. Devin Lloyd, LB, Jaguars
The most visible defensive rookie through three games is the guy manning the middle for the Jags. Organizations don’t really value inside linebackers at the top of the first round, so we’ve seen players such as Luke Kuechly and C.J. Mosley fall further than they should. Lloyd, who fell all the way to No. 27, might be the next player on that list.
With six pass breakups and two interceptions through four games, Lloyd already looks like a seasoned pro in pass coverage. To put that in context, no linebacker had more than Kyle Van Noy’s 10 pass breakups for the entire 2021 season, regardless of how experienced they were. Lloyd has done that as a rookie in four weeks. No other linebacker has broken up more than three passes in four weeks, and the guy who did was Devin White, an All-Pro-caliber defender.
The interceptions are actually the least impressive of Lloyd’s breakups, because they were both tip-drill plays in which Lloyd happened to be nearby. His work disrupting passes that fell incomplete has been far more entertaining to watch. Lloyd was able to run upfield with Gerald Everett, one of the league’s speedier tight ends, and break up a seam route in man coverage. He stole a touchdown away from Matt Ryan on a scramble drill with a spectacularly acrobatic play. Watch Lloyd take away a dig route from Herbert when Herbert works through his progression:
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Amid one of the most defense-heavy first rounds in recent memory, the two offensive positions teams targeted were tackle and wide receiver. The former is off to a slow start. Evan Neal (Giants) and Ikem Ekwonu (Panthers) have struggled, while Trevor Penning (Saints) has been out injured. Charles Cross (Seahawks) has been impressive, while interior linemen Tyler Linderbaum (Ravens) and Cole Strange (Patriots) continue to grow more comfortable each week.
The wide receivers have been more explosive, and they’re featured in this top three. We’ve seen flashes from George Pickens (Steelers) and Jahan Dotson (Commanders), while Romeo Doubs arguably has been the Packers’ best wide receiver since assuming a larger role in Week 3. Drake London (Falcons) only has run about 22 routes per game, which hurts his candidacy, since he is garnering targets on a whopping 37.7% of his routes, more than any wide receiver so far.
3. Dameon Pierce, RB, Texans
Pierce is the rare case of a midround pick who attracted hype after the draft in April, won the job in camp and emerged quickly as a valuable contributor. The Texans used Pierce behind Rex Burkhead in Week 1, but Pierce has been their primary back since, and the results have been promising.
Over the past three weeks, Pierce is fourth in the league in rushing yards and tied for sixth in first downs. He took a 75-yarder to the house against the Chargers last week, leaving Los Angeles safety Nasir Adderley in his wake after an open-field cut.
2. Garrett Wilson, WR, Jets
1. Chris Olave, WR, Saints
These two wideouts are in a tier of their own, and the race between them is incredibly close. I wouldn’t blame anyone for picking Wilson, and I’ll make a case for him here as we discuss both. His 16 catches and 203 receiving yards rank second among rookies.
The argument for Wilson is that his production has directly led to wins. His best game was the eight-catch, 102-yard, two-score performance he had against the Browns in Week 2, when he torched cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. at the line for one score and caught the game-winning touchdown on a post route with 25 seconds to go. Wilson also had a 35-yard catch in the fourth quarter on Sunday to help set up their comeback win over the Steelers.
Olave has more catches (18) and receiving yards (294) on an identical 103 routes, but much of his work has come with the Saints trailing in the fourth quarter and Jameis Winston chucking the ball downfield out of hope. Olave has 163 receiving yards on plays in which his team started the snap with no more than a 10% chance of winning, which is second in the NFL among all receivers behind Terry McLaurin. Olave also lost a fumble after a 51-yard catch against the Bucs, albeit at the end of a spectacular play.
At the same time, Olave’s efficiency can’t be written off.
Rank them however you want. I lean ever so slightly toward Olave’s efficiency and penchant for the spectacular.
Coach of the Year
This is normally the award for the coach whose team blows away its preseason over-under in Las Vegas. The voters typically favor first-year coaches who turn around their teams immediately, but last year was an exception, with Mike Vrabel taking home the nod for his top-seeded Titans. You could make a case that veteran coaches such as Mike Tomlin (Steelers), Andy Reid (Chiefs) and Bill Belichick (Patriots) should be competing for this award every season.
This season has plenty of candidates for the first-year turnaround, with three debuting coaches taking their teams to 3-1 to begin the season. Doug Pederson (Jaguars) might be doing the best job of them all, given that Jacksonville nearly has as many wins in 2022 (two) as it did in all of 2021 (three). Needing to leave one out for the top three, I’ll pick Brian Daboll (Giants), whose great job has been partially aided by a schedule including Chicago and Carolina.
3. Kevin O’Connell, Vikings
Sitting in first place in the NFC North, the Vikings hold a crucial tiebreaker by virtue of their most impressive win of the season. Minnesota blew out Green Bay in Week 1 in a 23-7 victory fueled more by Ed Donatell’s defense than O’Connell’s offense. That one week stands as the exception, as Minnesota heads into Week 5 ranked 13th in offensive DVOA and 26th defensively, owing primarily to an injury-hit secondary.
The good news for a team that already had to face the Eagles and Packers is that things should get easier as it grows more comfortable in the offense; Kirk Cousins & Co. have faced the league’s fifth-toughest slate of opponents so far, per Football Outsiders, but they have the third-easiest schedule moving forward.
2. Mike McDaniel, Dolphins
The Dolphins are a more extreme version of the Vikings, as they rank second in the league in offensive DVOA and 28th against the pass. McDaniel’s offense has been an instant hit, most memorably in the Fins’ dramatic comeback victory against Baltimore. Miami ranks third in the league in EPA per play and rate of plays producing 20 or more yards. It also has beaten impressive competition in the Bills, Patriots and Ravens.
The disastrous mishandling of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion check against the Bills and Tagovailoa’s subsequent injury against the Bengals colors what had been an exciting start.
1. Nick Sirianni, Eagles
Outside of Matt LaFleur in Green Bay and Reid in Kansas City, has anybody so obviously and dramatically improved his team quicker than Sirianni.
Don’t anticipate this changing anytime soon, either. The Eagles have one of the easiest projected schedules over the remainder of the season. They don’t play any more games against teams that won a playoff game last season.
The only worrying thing for the Eagles might be injuries; they expect to miss left tackle Jordan Mailata for a stretch after a shoulder injury against the Jaguars, but they still are relatively healthy compared to their competition. Sirianni leads the unquestioned best team in football right now, and many of the Eagles’ players have gotten noticeably better since his arrival.
Comeback Player of the Year
This award almost always goes to players coming back from serious injuries, with rare exceptions for veterans who return to their prior form after years of seemingly fading into the sunset. This year, I landed on two players from the former category and one from the latter.
It feels a little strange leaving out quarterback Geno Smith (Seahawks), but I’m not sure we can even qualify what he has done as a comeback as opposed to a breakout at age 31.
3. Jeff Okudah, CB, Lions
Life hasn’t gone exactly as planned for Okudah since entering the league as the No. 3 overall pick in 2020. He struggled badly in his debut season under Matt Patricia, who drafted the 6-foot-1 corner to be his version of Stephon Gilmore. After Patricia was fired after that season, Okudah tore his left Achilles in the 2021 season opener. There were serious questions about whether the Lions would pick up Okudah’s fifth-year option without a significant improvement in 2022.
So far, so good.
2. Khalil Mack, EDGE, Chargers
One of the few Los Angeles stars left standing after a rash of injuries, Mack has been the best of the Chargers’ additions this offseason
1. Saquon Barkley, RB, Giants
Let’s be real: This one has to be Barkley, who looks like the guy we saw during his 2018 rookie season. In some ways, he’s even better.
Defensive Player of the Year
This one is going to be a slugfest. I started listing names and got to 10 before I even considered Aaron Donald (Rams), who probably should win this award every season, and Micah Parsons (Cowboys), who single-handedly has taken over games for stretches this season. They’re not on this list, and I don’t blame you for getting mad.
There are so many candidates playing in secondaries. You could name either of Eagles cornerbacks James Bradberry and Darius Slay, who have been the best one-two punch at the position this season. Talanoa Hufanga (49ers) has come out of nowhere to be one of the league’s best safeties and had his national coming-out party with a pick-six against the Rams on Monday night. Chidobe Awuzie, part of the Bengals’ franchise-altering free agent class of 2021, continues to get better and has held opposing quarterbacks to 5.0 yards per target.
Eventually, I had to narrow it down to three. Two were easy and had to be on there. The third was tougher. In a group of four edge rushers, I had to leave out three. Josh Allen (Jaguars) is off to a resurgent start, leading the league in hurries and is third in pressures, per NFL Next Gen Stats. The other Josh Allen is getting plenty of help from Von Miller (Bills), who is second in pressures. Rashan Gary (Packers) is in the top 15 in both pass rush and run stop win rate and has sacks in each of his first four games. He’s quickly becoming unblockable.
Any of those guys wouldn’t elicit any arguments, but I couldn’t keep out another player who continues to improve.
3. Maxx Crosby, EDGE, Raiders
The best thing Jon Gruden did during his time with the Raiders was use a fourth-round pick on Crosby, who might be the most explosive rusher in the league in terms of creating plays in the backfield. Crosby has “only” four sacks this season, but his eight tackles for loss lead the NFL. He is tied with Washington’s Jonathan Allen with nine stuffs, per NFL Next Gen Stats, which shows how effective Crosby is at creating havoc and negative plays.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Steelers
I’m not sure anybody has single-handedly done more to push his team toward winning on the defensive side of the ball than Fitzpatrick, who came within a foot out of bounds on Sunday against the Jets of his second touchdown of the season. A second score would have meant he had more touchdowns than any runner or receiver on the Steelers’ offense, which would have told you how great he has been and what a mess the Pittsburgh playmakers looked like with Mitch Trubisky at quarterback.
1. Nick Bosa, EDGE, 49ers
I just don’t know that it’s quite as special as what Bosa is doing. He has been extraordinary through the first four games. He leads the league in most pass-rushing categories, and while his six sacks are just narrowly ahead of Alex Highsmith’s 5.5 and the five racked up by Gary and Mack, he dominates in the secondary categories and advanced statistics we have to estimate pass-rushing performance.
In terms of quarterback hits, the league leaders in the non-Bosa category are Allen and Parsons, who each have nine. Bosa has 16. The only player I can recall being more dominant in terms of quarterback knockdowns relative to the rest of the league is peak J.J. Watt, who had 51 in 2014 when nobody else had more than 28. Bosa has 22 quarterback pressures per NFL Next Gen Stats; nobody else tops 16 so far.
Offensive Player of the Year
Here’s where I make the exception I mentioned above. With quarterbacks locking down 14 of the past 15 MVP awards, this nod seems a little anachronistic. It’s difficult to figure how a quarterback can be Most Valuable Player and not simultaneously the league’s best offensive player. This award occasionally has gone to a running back or to a different quarterback, and that doesn’t make any sense, either.
Let’s just codify this award differently. I’m giving this to the best non-quarterback on offense. I would be willing to nominate individual offensive linemen, although no one is dominating at such a level that we can give them a vote here.
3. Nick Chubb, RB, Browns
No player is more consistent than Chubb, who consistently posts numbers that place him as one of the league’s top two or three runners, regardless of what’s around him.
2. Stefon Diggs, WR, Bills
The difference between the 2020, 2021 and 2022 versions of Diggs comes down to catch rate.
What makes this even more impressive to me is that he simply has to be the guy for the Bills right now. In 2020, Diggs was playing alongside Cole Beasley, who came close to topping 1,000 yards. The Bills had John Brown for nine games, one year removed from a 1,060-yard season. The guys who were tertiary pieces on that team — Devin Singletary, Gabe Davis, Isaiah McKenzie and Dawson Knox — are now Buffalo’s primary options beyond Diggs. Davis and Knox have been slowed by injuries, putting a huge workload on the former Vikings standout. Diggs has lived up to the task.
1. Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins
Hill was supposed to struggle without Patrick Mahomes, but the 28-year-old had other ideas. He leads the league with 477 receiving yards, 71 more than any other player. He’s averaging an out-of-this-world 3.8 yards per route run. Going back through 2007, there are only six players who have topped that through the first four weeks of the season, led by Randy Moss in his legendary 2007 season with the Patriots. DeSean Jackson, Wes Welker, Justin Jefferson, A.J. Green and Deebo Samuel are the only other players ahead of what Hill has done on a per-route basis over the first month of this season.
About the only blemishes on Hill’s 2022 season are a drop (on a pass thrown behind him by Tagovailoa) and a fumble, which went out of bounds. He does get to play with Jaylen Waddle, which takes some of the coverage pressure off him, but Hill now is doing this with a quarterback whom nobody had among the NFL’s elite heading into the season.
Hill might suffer by the arrival of Bridgewater, who doesn’t have a track record of feeding downfield threats, but he has been everything the Dolphins could have hoped for and more through four games.
Most Valuable Player
And then, there’s the MVP award. It takes something truly special for a non-quarterback to even be in the discussion for votes, let alone make his way into the top three
Geno Smith (Seahawks) deserves to be in this conversation. He leads the league in just about every accuracy-related metric, including completion percentage (77.3%), completion percentage over expectation (10%), off-target rate (8.5%) and adjusted completion percentage (81.0%). Let’s throw a blind comparison out there:
Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins) has the league’s second-highest QBR (77.8). He ranks second in yards per attempt behind Jalen Hurts (Eagles), averaging an even 9.0 yards per throw. By expected points added, Tagovailoa is averaging 0.3 EPA per dropback, which is narrowly ahead of Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) for the best mark in football. And we know Tagovailoa’s production has come in meaningful moments, given how he led that dramatic comeback against the Ravens.
There are four top-tier candidates for three spots, so one has to miss out. Eagles fans are going to be furious, but Hurts is fourth for me. If it sounds like I’m dismissing Hurts, I’m not. He has been awesome and done everything the Eagles have asked him to do. I just think the three quarterbacks ahead of him have either done more or been more efficient doing the same things. Hurts’ 60.7 Total QBR, which factors in his rushing performance, is well behind the Total QBR of the three quarterbacks remaining on this list, too.
3. Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens
What Jackson has done as a runner this season has been absolutely absurd. He has generated 175 rush yards over expectation on 30 carries. (He has 37 attempts, but six of those runs are kneels, while a seventh wasn’t trackable by the RYOE formula.) He’s generating nearly six more rushing yards than an average player would with the same blocking against the same defenses in the same situations.
To put that in context, Jonathan Taylor generated about 1.5 rush yards over expectation per carry as the best running back in football a year ago. During his MVP season in 2019, Jackson generated 4.2 rush yards over expectations per carry, and he has been even more ruthlessly efficient this season.
This 2022 campaign is evoking his MVP run of 2019 in another way as well. During that fateful season, Jackson threw touchdown passes on 9.0% of his dropbacks, which was the third-highest touchdown rate for a quarterback since the merger. (Aaron Rodgers has since topped it.) It was tough to sustain that over the ensuing two years, but he has thrown touchdown passes on 9.4% of his attempts to start 2022. If he can keep that up, he will be an MVP candidate again when this season is over.
There are two factors holding back Jackson. One is passing volume; his 29.3 pass attempts per game are well below the top two guys. He also has thrown four interceptions, which is a rate well below league average. Remember that he threw only six interceptions during his 2019 MVP campaign. As good as he has been, I have to leave him at No. 3.
2. Josh Allen, QB, Bills
You’ve seen Allen play, so you don’t need me to describe what he’s capable of doing. He is the single greatest force of nature in the league, seemingly capable of doing just about anything as a passer or runner. Amid a frustrating game as a passer against the Ravens last week, he brought back the Bills as a runner, picking up 70 yards and five first downs on 11 carries. There have been stretches in which he has been nearly flawless as a passer, including the entirety of the revenge victory over the Titans in Week 2. At his best, he is the league’s No. 1 player.
He’s not No. 1 here, so you know there’s a “but” coming. As a passer, Allen has combined league-best volume (168 attempts) with just solid efficiency. He’s completing more than 67% of his passes, but operating out of quick game and facing plenty of two-high looks, he’s averaging only 7.3 yards per attempt, which ranks 15th. For a guy with arguably the league’s strongest arm, his average pass travels only 6.5 yards in the air, which is 27th. His CPOE is actually slightly negative, at minus-0.1%, although that’s likely because his drop rate is above league average.
The real difference-maker has come on turnovers. Allen’s three interceptions on nearly 170 attempts are no problem, but one of those handed the Ravens a possession on the Buffalo 8-yard line. One of the interceptions wasn’t his fault whatsoever, but he also has gotten away with a few near picks, most notably in the Ravens game. Fumbles have been an issue too; he has fumbled four times to start the season, one of which was a strip sack that handed the Dolphins a possession on the Buffalo 6-yard line.
Allen has been incredible, but the turnovers are just enough to push him to No. 2.
1. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs
Mahomes doesn’t have the rushing volume we’ve seen from the guys below him on this list, but he makes up for it by being the league’s best passer. He generates 0.30 EPA per pass play, and he does it over a larger volume than anybody else in the top seven besides Allen, who hasn’t been as effective on a snap-by-snap basis.
The explosive, touchdown-from-anywhere offense the Chiefs ran during Mahomes’ MVP campaign in 2018 probably isn’t coming back anytime soon. What has replaced it is ruthless efficiency. Mahomes turns just under 43% of his pass attempts into first downs. The only other player above 40% is Tagovailoa, who doesn’t throw as often. Mahomes’ interception and sack rates are among the best in the NFL, and he has only one fumble, so he almost never produces negative plays.
Allen would be a fair pick, given how much ground he makes up on Mahomes with his rushing performance. Hurts is playing wonderful football for the best team in the league. Jackson is carrying the Ravens seemingly single-handedly at times. We’re blessed to live in a time with so many exciting young quarterbacks. As much as we take his performance for granted, though, Mahomes has still been the best of the bunch through four weeks. |
|
