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Broncos put in extra hours to learn

By Mike Klis The Denver Post August 10, 2014

Tuckered out from a summer's day of baseball, roping cows or mischief, a mayonnaise or ketchup sandwich long digested through his slight frame, young Emmanuel would stuff the old T-shirts in his pillow case and lie on the floor with the rest of Josie Sanders' grandbabies.

Most nights, the movie "8 Seconds" would play from the tape machine. It was about legendary bull-riding champion Lane Frost. Uncle Mircle Sanders, who slept on a couch, was a bull rider.

One time, a bull stepped on Uncle Mircle's face, and he lost vision in an eye and strength and feeling on his left side.

He didn't stop riding bulls. Another ride brought about another bull stomping, and this time Uncle Mircle surrendered.

He started wearing a facemask during competitions.

Young Emmanuel is all grown up now, and after every Broncos practice, he can be seen putting in more time working on his receiving skills. Not since Bradley Van Pelt and has a Broncos player stayed after practice more than Emmanuel Sanders.

Van Pelt and Tebow were athletes stubbornly trapped by a desire to play , positions they excelled at in college. Sanders works extra even though he's already a polished, highly skilled NFL receiver, the newcomer in the Broncos' high-scoring offense after receiving a three-year, $15 million contract.

"I would go back to that cowboy mentality," said Josh Bryant, Sanders' first cousin and Southern Methodist roommate who had his own shirt-stuffed pillow case on Grandma's floor. "A lot of times, we were out there on the ranch, and it was a lot of hard work.

"The thing about Emmanuel — and this has gotten stronger since SMU — he hates not knowing everything. So now that he's in a new system and he's not the one that has all the answers? That drives him crazy. If a rookie asks him a question and he doesn't know the answer, that will eat at him all night. "When you say he's staying after practice every day, that makes perfect sense to me."

Football started tough

In the first football game Sanders played, his team quit at halftime. He was 12, and his uncle Howard Bryant, Josh's father, had just started from scratch the first youth football team in Bellville, .

There were growing pains. Not only were the Bellville kids hopelessly destroyed in their debut by halftime, "the other team had a girl on it and she was tearing us up," Josh Bryant recalled. "After that Emmanuel was like, 'I don't know if I want to play football.' "

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

It was between his freshman and sophomore high school years that Sanders blossomed and football became easier. Bellville's population has remained about 3,700. Its most notable tradition is the parade of cows. When Sanders earned a football scholarship to SMU, it was viewed as a considerable accomplishment.

Then, after earning his degree in sociology and breaking all the school's receiving records while playing in June Jones' run-and-shoot offense, Sanders became a third-round pick of the .

In his rookie season of 2010, Sanders was playing in the and had two early catches.

Then football, and life, suddenly became difficult again.

"The game plan is for me to have a really good game," Sanders said. "I'm feeling good. I plant on my foot and break it."

He had surgery the next day. Two months later, tests revealed a stress fracture in his other foot. Ever try to rehab without putting weight on either foot?

"I wind up tearing my knee," Sanders said. "And the Antonio Brown era came about."

Selected by the Steelers three rounds later than Sanders in the same 2010 draft, it was Brown who replaced as 's go-to receiver.

It took Sanders a full year to recover physically, and much longer to get past the emotional loss of Uncle Mircle and his mother, Stephanie, who died in her sleep at 41 in the home where Sanders grew up. "When she passed away, she was four months away from graduating to become a registered nurse," Sanders said. "It kind of woke me up to realize that a lot of people walk around on this earth thinking tomorrow is promised. It is not promised. Even in this game, I've gone through so many obstacles. You have two broken feet and you're thinking while you're sitting out, did I take my last snap? It took a year for me to get back to myself. That whole situation made me realize to take advantage of every day."

Reason to play outdoors

Josie Sanders had nine kids, and those kids had kids, and on average, 15 of her kin and friends would sleep at her home. There was never a problem with hand-me- downs, and there was enough love to carry Texas. But there were times when three squares meant Ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There were no video games, and all those people under one roof naturally led Emmanuel and Josh to the outdoors.

Sunup to sundown.

"He was like any normal kid," Josie Sanders said of Emmanuel. "He got in his troubles. But he never got in any criminal trouble. I never knew him to steal. But he did get into mischief. He'd run to me so his mom wouldn't whup him."

It was baseball at first as Emmanuel and his cousin played a few years on a traveling select team. Burnout set in, and so did football.

Still, Grandma never saw the NFL coming.

"To me, I thought he was going to go for baseball or basketball," Josie Sanders said. "I did think he would have a career in one of those sports. But I didn't think he was big enough for football. When he got in the NFL, I was still thinking: 'They are going to break this boy in half. He is not going to make it.' He was just so skinny. But he's fooling me all the time. He's proved me wrong."

A year ago, Sanders bought his grandma a new home. It has a swimming pool, and Thursday night, when Sanders was about to make his preseason debut with the Broncos, she had at least six of her grandbabies and their friends swimming out back.

The home is nicer, but there still are 10 to 15 people sleeping over each night.

"I taught my daughters and my sons, and I teach my grandbabies: If you're ever going to have anything in life, you have to work for it," Josie Sanders said. "If you steal you're going to go to jail. I always told my daughters to be an independent woman. Work for yourselves. All my kids are working. I don't have one kid that's not working. I don't have a grandkid yet who is not working for his own."

Sanders remains driven. Injuries and deaths of loved ones made 2011 one of the most challenging years in his life. But just as Uncle Mircle kept getting back on a bull throughout his rodeo career, Sanders rebounded and became a starter last season for the Steelers. He took a 67-catch season into free agency, where he was in considerable demand. Returning to Pittsburgh was never a serious option.

"I wanted to try something different," Sanders said. "Some of these guys come from a college program where they're used to catching one or two balls and blocking. But for me, I played with June Jones. Once you get a taste of that type of offense, it's hard to go back to the pro-style offense. Playing football to me is throwing it on fourth-and-1, throwing it on third-and-1. That's playing football to me. When I became a free agent, I wanted to go to a team that was going to sling the ball around."

His new quarterback, , threw for 55 and nearly 5,500 yards last season. At Sanders' introductory news conference in March, he said he was in "receiver's heaven."

Many players say they don't take such a blessing for granted. Sanders proves it every day after practice.

"I didn't grow up in the best circumstances," he said. "That's what made me tick. Wanting to be successful, because I wanted the better things in life.

"I want to go to the . I feel like I've got the talent. I just feel like I need the right system. I've got the work ethic. I've got the drive. It's all about being patient and continuing to work hard. I just pray to God that some day a breakthrough will happen. I can't rush it. And when it happens I'm going to look back on everything and say I went through a lot. I was patient, and it paid off."

Broncos' focuses on job after losing grandmother

By Troy E. Renck The Denver Post August 11, 2014

Nine days isn't a long time. Demaryius Thomas' talent confuses the clock. On Thursday, with five fewer practices than his teammates, Thomas converted three first downs and created mismatches on every snap.

It was easy to forget that Thomas, a 6-foot-4, 223-pound hulk with a shortstop's hands and feet, buried his beloved grandmother Gladys a little more than a week earlier. Thomas continues to mourn, while not losing focus. It hasn't been easy.

"It still bothers me a bit," Thomas said. "The routine of work, of being around these teammates, these coaches, really helps."

Thomas ranks as one of the league's best receivers because he prepares like he's white-knuckling a roster spot. Against the , who spent more time Thursday taunting and pushing than mauling, Thomas excelled, catching a team- best five passes for 52 yards.

He changed the shape of the game, yet insists he's not in top condition, still playing catch-up from his absence.

"I worked out a little bit (in Georgia), but it's not the same. It's hard because I was with family most of the time," said Thomas, whose grandmother died after a brave battle with Alzheimer's disease. "In the game, I didn't know if I was ready. But I knew I was capable of going out and doing my job. I wasn't at my best. I didn't know if Peyton (Manning) was going to look my way that much. I did miss a week, and I wasn't all the way back."

Offensive coordinator Adam Gase predicted Thomas would excel. Even if Thomas was slightly compromised physically, he held a mental edge, given his knowledge of the offense.

Thomas performs his tasks as well as any Bronco, even if it's overshadowed by Manning. The Broncos think enough of him that they initiated talks on a long-term contract before camp. Thomas isn't thinking about it.

"I haven't heard anything. I don't worry about it," Thomas said. "I just want to play football and help this team win." Manning, like Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky, can turn scarecrows into Pro Bowlers. However, Thomas complements the reigning NFL MVP, providing a presence, a V8-powered bulldozer who led the league in yards after the catch last season.

"Obviously he's got great strength, great size. He's a 'hands catcher,' so even when there is tight coverage, he can go out, extend and catch it," Manning said. "He seems like he's always, kind of, going forward, too, which is good. Demaryius missed the first week of training camp, obviously, with the tragedy in his family, so it was good to get him out there and get some good game reps with him. I thought he looked really good."

For Thomas, the first game was just that — a start. He politely excused himself from Saturday night's interview after a few questions. The weight room beckoned.

"The main thing for me right now is getting in better shape. I got a little winded in that first game. I want to be able to stay on the field longer," Thomas said. "I need to get more consistent with my routes and stay in rhythm with Peyton. It can be hard at times, given what happened, but once I got back, I had a job to do."

Lots of big NFL names hoping for big comebacks By Dennis Waszak Jr. Asociated Press August 10, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Broken bones. Torn ligaments. Subpar performances.

They all combined to sideline some of the NFL's biggest stars a year ago, a lost season for several players who spent most of the year in the trainers' room.

Rob Gronkowski, , Julio Jones, Robert Griffin III and Sam Bradford know all about that. So do guys such as Arian Foster, Doug Martin, Jeremy Maclin, Reggie Wayne, Malcom Floyd, Brian Cushing and .

"I was rehabbing every day and it was miserable," said Gronkowski, the New England tight end who is still working his way back from a vicious two-year stretch in which he has had four forearm surgeries, a back injury and torn knee ligaments.

"Hopefully that never happens again," Gronkowski added. "And I don't wish anything on anyone like I had these past few years."

Harvin got a jumpstart on his comeback in February on the NFL's biggest stage. After missing most of the regular season and the playoffs with a surgically repaired hip and then a concussion, Harvin returned the opening kickoff of the second half of the Super Bowl for a in helping Seattle beat Denver.

"I don't know if any football player can say they're fully healthy playing football, but this is the best I've felt in a long, long time," Harvin said as the Seahawks opened training camp.

Philadelphia's Maclin tore a knee ligament in training camp last year and missed the entire season. But after an extensive rehabilitation process, the Eagles are counting on their speedy wide receiver to make big plays again.

"He was out there every day in the offseason program and it's just a matter of him getting his timing back," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said.

Wayne was off to a terrific start last year with 38 catches for 503 yards in seven games for Indianapolis. A torn ACL kept him out the last half of the season. Even at 35, he says he is ready to rebound.

Jones also was on his way to another Pro Bowl season with 41 catches in five games for the Falcons, but a broken right foot sent him to the sideline. He had a special cleat designed for him by Under Armour, a wider shoe that features a steel shank at the bottom for added support.

"I feel explosive, I still feel fast," he said. "I still feel like I can beat one-on-one matchups."

San Diego's Floyd missed almost all of last season after spraining his neck after making a reception at Philadelphia last Sept. 15.

Foster, one of the NFL's top running backs when healthy, considered retirement after a back injury limited him to eight games for the Texans.

"People die on the football field," Foster told ESPN. "This is a really brutal sport. Going through an injury like that, being 27 years old, I'm young, still I'm at the prime of my career. Is it worth it to try to come back?"

Martin, one of the league's rising running backs, ran for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns for Tampa Bay as a rookie in 2012. Last year, he struggled early, injured his shoulder and his sophomore season was done after just six games.

Another of the NFL's top rookies two years ago wasn't quite the same last season. After tearing his ACL in Washington's playoff loss, Griffin struggled a year ago to be the electrifying playmaker he was in his first season. With the Redskins out of the playoff hunt, then-coach Mike Shanahan ended Griffin's season and plugged in for the final three games.

"For me, personally, obviously, not having to come off of a knee surgery is a big boost for me," Griffin said, "having an opportunity to work on my craft during the offseason."

Philadelphia's could have a shot, too, after missing all last season with the Jets because of a shoulder injury — but he's Nick Foles' backup.

Griffin and St. Louis' Sam Bradford, who tore an ACL last season, might be front- runners for the AP Comeback Player of the Year award. Since it began in 1998, 11 of the winners have been — including the last six.

The award usually goes to a player who has overcome an injury, but San Diego's bucked that trend last year when he won it for bouncing back from a season in which he didn't play up to par. There are a few quarterbacks other than Griffin who could fit that description this year: Baltimore's , the Giants' , Oakland's and the Jets' Michael Vick — already a previous winner — if he overtakes Geno Smith for the job. A few defensive players could be in the running, too. Cincinnati's Atkins (torn ACL) and Leon Hall (torn Achilles tendon), Houston's Cushing (broken leg, torn ligament) and Denver's Demarcus Ware (career-low six sacks) are all contenders.

Then, there's also Ware's new Broncos teammate , who was suspended six games for a drug violation and then lost after nine games with a torn ACL that caused him to miss Denver's Super Bowl run.

"I feel like I've been ready mentally back when the Super Bowl was here," Miller said. "But the competitor in me is definitely ready to go."

Broncos still face tough roster decisions

By Jeff Legwold ESPN.com August 10, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The continue to grind through their preseason work, and as they get set to roll through their third week with Monday morning's practice, here’s are some things to consider:

Nate Irving has shown the coaches he intends to be the team’s middle , and it would take some unexpected events at this point for Irving not to be the guy in the middle of the base defense when the season opens. Now, that is certainly a specialty package of sorts given that the Broncos line up in the nickel more than twice as often as they do in base these days, but Irving has done everything the team wants him to do. And more importantly for him, he has improved his game since the last time they tried him in the middle before eventually moving him out of the job. So far he has been consistent in his run fits, quick to the ball and a reliable finisher as a tackler.

The Broncos are a deep team, one that’s finished 13-3 in back-to-back seasons and still retained a fairly youthful roster overall while doing it. With that said, there aren’t all that many roster spots in play for this team. Still, two players who arrived a bit under the mainstream radar are making pushes to star. Rookie running back , if he maintains his current momentum, is a viable option to get snaps in the offense with the proficiency he’s shown in pass protection and the athleticism running the ball. Toss in his special-teams abilities and he should make it. The tougher question will be fifth-year wide receiver . Norwood, who has started just four games in his previous four NFL seasons combined, has shown he fits the offense and could contribute as a receiver -- there are several rosters in the league he could make -- so if he can win the punt returner job, the Broncos will have to make room for him.

Rookie Michael Schofield didn’t get a snap on offense in the preseason opener -- he did play six snaps on special teams -- but in looking at practice it’s clear the kid still deserves a chance at the right tackle spot. Sure, he’s going to make a mistake or two, but he looks to have the goods and will bear watching in next Sunday’s preseason game in San Francisco.

One of the best things the Broncos did in the preseason opener was to give backup quarterback a chance to rebound from an . He’s in his third season of one of the more odd apprenticeships the league has to offer. He knows the playbook, but he still needs to play. And if that means he gets more snaps than the usual No. 2 in a preseason, so be it. But the fact the Broncos let him play through three quarters last Thursday night is time well invested. Osweiler rebounded from his mistake to later make a touchdown throw -- a 34-yard rocket to Norwood down the hash -- that showed why he clearly has starter potential. Plenty of surviving as a quarterback in the league is bouncing back from the tough stuff to still play with some confidence. The Broncos need to know Osweiler can do that, and the only way to find out is to give him those snaps in the preseason games.

It will be a surprise if the Broncos don’t consistently create pressure on opposing passers. Their specialty packages -- nickel and dime -- will be intriguing once they unveil what they will do in the regular season. But having Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware,Quanterus Smith and Malik Jackson all in some kind of a front-seven mix gives plenty of options.

Smith, McCray earn second chances

By Jeff Legwold ESPN.com August, 10, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – They were a part of the Denver Broncos’ rookie class last season, butQuanterus Smith and Lerentee McCray didn't get to run in the offense, as did, or start on defense, as Sylvester Williams did. Smith and McCray were relegated to interested bystander status as the team went about the business of a Super Bowl trip, spending the season on injured reserve.

But the Broncos believed time would heal the two, and in a defensive makeover where Smith and McCray aren’t often listed as two of the “new" faces, they have each shown they’ll make some impact in the defense as the Broncos try to add a little production on that side of the ball.

“You hope so," McCray said. “I just know it feels great to be out there, try to show what I can do."

Smith tore an ACL in the 11th game of his senior season at Western Kentucky. He was leading the nation in sacks at the time with 12.5, including three sacks against an Alabama offensive line that was stocked with NFL draft picks.

The Broncos saw enough to take him with the first of their fifth-round picks in the 2013 draft, and even as Smith kept saying he would “be full go" by the time the 2013 regular season rolled around, the Broncos weren’t convinced. After watching Smith work through training camp and the preseason last year, the place him on injured reserve when they cut the roster to 53 players.

“He just needed more time," said Broncos executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway. “You could kind of see that as he went through camp and as we’ve gone through offseason, you can see it helped him."

For his part McCray, who had been signed as an undrafted rookie following the 2013 draft, was on track to make the roster and keep a decade-long streak of at least one undrafted rookie advancing past the final cut. Then he suffered a season- ending ankle injury in the preseason finale against the .

“Not being out there last year, it just hurt me," McCray said. “So I bring that energy and that attitude and that emotion out there to the field when I go play.”

And while Elway’s high-profile maneuvers to repair the team’s defense – signing DeMarcus Ware, and T.J. Ward in free agency – have led most any discussion about the team’s makeover on that side of the ball. The Broncos also want, and need, some of the other “additions" to work out as well.

Those include the five starters who finished the season on injured reserve in 2013, players such as Chris Harris Jr., and linebacker Von Miller, as well as fit-and-play players such as Smith and McCray.

Smith, who has spent training camp as Ware’s backup, played 31 plays against the Seahawks on Thursday and consistently forced the issue in the pass rush. McCray, who has played with the starting defense at strong-side linebacker as Miller continues to work back from ACL surgery, finished out with 32 plays in the preseason opener.

McCray had a tackle for loss against the Seahawks.

“It felt good to be out there," Smith said. “ … I just want to keep building on it, learn from DeMarcus and produce whenever they put me out there."

McCray has similar motivation.

“I’ve just grown as a better player, just a better football player overall — special teams to defense, anything I’m asked to do," McCray said. “I have an understanding of what I have to do to get my job done and all I have to do is go out there and get it done. Not being out last year, it just hurt me. So I bring that energy and that attitude and that emotion out there to the field when I go play.”

Officials show that they're serious

By John Clayton ESPN.com August, 10, 2014

In the first 17 preseason games, there were 53 defensive holdings, 27 illegal contacts and 15 pass interference calls. That's almost six pass-defense penalties a game. The plan is for officials to use the preseason to call these penalties often enough to force defenders to make adjustments.

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Naturally, the first week of the preseason isn't conducive to drawing conclusions about the calls' impact on scoring and offense. Starters go maybe a series or two, leaving backups in for more than three quarters. Scoring was at 37.8 points a game, compared to 48 a game last season. Those numbers should pick up slightly next week and will increase more when starters play most of the game in two weeks.

Here are five observations from the first full week of preseason games:

1. The Johnny Football hype is officially underway: labeled his debut a good start, but is he good enough to start in the regular season? Some excited people in the Browns' organization apparently think so. He thrilled the crowd with his six runs. He was efficient with his short passing game, completing seven of 11 passes for 63 yards. Basically, he's running the same type of offense Robert Griffin III ran for new Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan when they were together with the Washington Redskins. Here are my concerns: Most of Manziel's 25 plays were from the pistol formation. While he is quick enough with his runs to extend possessions and get first downs, I wonder if he can generate enough big pass plays and score points. His longest completion was for 15 yards. He generated only a of scoring, and that was on a drive that started on the Detroit 49- yard line. What became clear is that Manziel will be starting sooner rather than later.

2. Other rookie quarterbacks: The best-looking rookie quarterback was the one who is expected to sit for his rookie season. of theJacksonville Jaguars had the same throwing numbers as Manziel -- 7-for-11 -- but he got the ball downfield better, gaining 117 yards in the air. The Jags have yet to make any philosophical changes. is expected to start while Bortles sits and learns. of theMinnesota Vikings looked like a rookie with his 6-for-13 performance against the Oakland Raiders. He netted only 33 passing yards, thanks in part to two sacks for 16 yards. Matt Cassel moved the ball smoothly with only one incompletion, solidifying his lead for the Vikings' starting quarterback job. Oakland's Derek Carr didn't successfully get the ball downfield in his debut. Even though Matt Schaub also struggled, he appears to be a lock to start for the Raiders.

3. The good: Picking up Bill Lazor's offense, looked great completing all six of his passes in a 10-play touchdown drive for the . ... The 73-yard run by halfback Rashad Jennings offers plenty of hope for a running attack that lost former first-round choice David Wilson. ... was very efficient for the Arizona Cardinals, while rookie wide receiver John Brown continues to look like one of the steals of the draft. He caught five passes for 87 yards while showing great downfield speed. ... Going 7-for-7 in his brief outing, Matt Ryan looks as though he's set to revive the ' offense.

4. The bad: The have to be concerned about their defensive line. They were down to only four healthy linemen after two suffered minor injuries in a 23-3 loss to Baltimore. Fortunately, some of their recent draft choices along the line showed some promise. ...Blaine Gabbert looked really bad as a potential backup quarterback for the 49ers. He completed three of 11 passes for 20 yards and was sacked once. ... It was a bad weekend for ACL and Achilles tendon tears. cornerbackDexter McDougle became the fifth player since last Wednesday to blow out an ACL when he did it in Sunday's practice. Since the start of camp, nine players have torn ACLs. If you add the four from the OTAs and minicamp, the count is 13. There have been 10 torn Achilles tendons, seven since the opening of training camps.

5. The ugly: The ' pass defense could actually be worse than last year. TheSan Diego Chargers completed 14 of 16 passes for 243 yards, a ridiculous 15.2 yards per attempt. The first incompletion for the Chargers was two plays into the fourth quarter. ... Guard play for the was so bad that they might be considering a trade to acquire 49ers holdout Alex Boone. ... As an innocent bystander at a Minneapolis bar, Vikings defensive tackle was shot in the calf. Though the injury isn't considered serious, Joseph will miss practice time. He should be ready for the regular season. ... Facing some of the best quarterbacks in football in the first half of the season, the New York Jets' secondary is in for big trouble. Cornerback Dimitri Patterson didn't look great against the Colts, McDougle is done for the season and Dee Milliner suffered a minor leg injury Sunday in practice.

From the inbox

Q: We've seen teams with a great defense run amok in the playoffs. Bears. Bucs. Steelers. Let's ask about the flip side. At this point, the Cowboys' D appears poised on the brink of woefulness, but being optimists, fans still envision playoffs. Historically, what playoff team has fielded the worst defense? Just how bad was that D? And how far did that particular team advance?

Alan in Lubbock, Texas

SHORT TAKES

Michael in Detroit doesn't understand why his Lions didn't draft to help the defense instead of taking for the offense in the first round. After watching the Seahawks, he believes defense wins championships. Michael, the Lions recently used three first-rounders on defensive linemen. Ebron is a rare talent, but I get your point. They need to do something in the draft for their secondary. ... Sal in Roanoke, Virginia, looks at the deal and wonders what the Steelers will do for Ben Roethlisberger next year. You have to think he's going to get more than $20 million a year. ... Clayton in Thorold, Ontario, doesn't agree with my idea of giving a -type contract to . He says Harbaugh took over a team stacked with talent. True, the 49ers were talented, but Harbaugh elevated the level of play to take them to three consecutive conference championship games.

A: One of the great stats from 1983 to 2005 is that the Super Bowl winner each year was a team that had a top 10 scoring defense. That changed in 2006 when the Indianapolis Coltswon the Super Bowl. Since then, defenses haven't had to be as fearsome. That Colts team ranked No. 23 for scoring and No. 21 in yards allowed. The 2011 champion Giants' defense ranked No. 25 for points allowed and No. 27 for yards. The 2009 champion New Orleans Saintswere No. 20 and No. 25 in those categories. You get the idea. The Seattle Seahawks reminded everyone the value of defense. And what happened? The NFL put a point of emphasis on limiting contact by defensive backs. Teams with great defenses have decent chances of winning a Super Bowl, but a great quarterback can do it with a substandard defense.

Q: How does the NFL determine bye weeks? Having byes in Week 4 (or 5 or 6, for that matter) puts teams at a huge disadvantage. Why doesn't the league use the middle four weeks, 7-10 or 8-11, and put two divisions, one from each conference on byes each week. Rotate it through, so say the AFC North and NFC North are on byes in Week 8 in 2014 and then are on byes in Week 9 in 2015. Most teams would benefit from a midseason break. Getting all teams healthy again in the midseason would help for better late-season games, especially with division games and playoff pushes at season's end.

Rick in Boise, Idaho A: If you do that, you deplete the Sunday afternoon schedule too much. CBS and Fox would suffer a ratings dip if you took eight teams and four games out of the inventory. In the weeks in which six teams have bye weeks, you have some weak Sunday schedules. There are 16 games a week, and three are taken away by night games. If you take away eight teams, you leave Fox and CBS with only nine games to put over two time slots -- 1 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. ET. The networks didn't each pay more than $1 billion a year for that.

Q: I know that the Ray Rice controversy has been discussed from seemingly every angle, but all that most of us can do is complain about things outside of our control. It may seem a trivial or insignificant response, but the owners in my fantasy football league have all agreed that Ray Rice will be effectively suspended from our league this year. We all understand that this accomplishes next to nothing in the real world and still isn't the appropriate punishment that this situation warrants, but at the very least we can all unite and show our mutual disdain and lessened respect toward both Rice and the reaction from the NFL. Imagine the statement it would make if thousands of fantasy leagues and owners all decided that Ray Rice is not welcome on their rosters this year. At least we'd all be standing together for something.

Jacob in Southington, Connecticut

A: That would be an interesting statement, but I don't know what it accomplishes. To mix political correctness with fantasy football would seem to be too much. This is fantasy football. Enjoy. Don't worry about making statements. Find the best players to fit your teams and try to win your league. I have no problem with everyone criticizing the NFL for giving Rice only a two-game suspension. Let's not extend the protest too far.

Q: I've seen a lot of talk about Carlos Hydetaking Kendall Hunter's role as the RB to spellFrank Gore and keep him fresh. Why Hyde over Marcus Lattimore?

Lucas in Las Vegas

A: That answer is pretty simple. Lattimore hasn't shown that he is over the knee injury. He's not practicing and when he was working in the OTAs, he seemed to be tentative. Hyde outperformed him. The 49ers were at least five-deep for quality running backs. They have to be cautious, and they shouldn't play Gore in the preseason. Hunter is gone, LaMichael James is out a month and Lattimore is a question mark. They need Hyde to be the backup until Lattimore gets better.

Q: The problem with the Ray Rice suspension isn't the duration, it is that (a) there is no language in the CBA about this type of crime, and (b) Roger Goodell passed on a prime opportunity to show that the NFLPA is willing to defend a player who acts in this manner. I read somewhere that Goodell chose two games because the NFLPA would appeal anything longer. Let them appeal an eight-game ban! That way the NFL shows that this type of behavior is unacceptable and Goodell has everyone behind him to get the CBA changed.

Demitri in Seattle

A: I don't think the commissioner was afraid of the NFLPA. Plus, you can't specify every crime or offense in a CBA. This was a hard deal between the NFL and the players when they put it together during the summer of 2011. Both sides can't get the HGH program going. They aren't in agreement on a lot of things. With a commissioner making the judgments on penalties, there are always going to be differences of opinion. The only way to fix it is work out an agreement with the union. Unfortunately, that won't happen soon.

Q: Could you please explain to me why former Seahawks [and now Browns] offensive lineman Michael Bowie had to be placed on waivers when he was considered lost for the season due to injury as opposed to other players with season-ending injuries simply being placed on IR? And what is the rationale for that rule?

Tom in West Richland, Washington

A: There are two reasons. First, he was 20 pounds overweight. Second, he has a shoulder injury that the team believes is going to need a surgery that could sideline him a couple of months. After Bowie played more than 50 percent of the snaps last year, he must have disappointed management. With those two things going against him, the team decided to move on, which surprised everyone.

Broncos: All of the penalty flags are a good thing

By Paul Klee Colorado Springs Gazette August 10, 2014

Here a flag, there a flag. Everywhere a flag.

(Broncos) orange and (Seahawks) lime clashed again. Yellow won. In a game that lasted almost four hours — what is this, Major League Baseball? — the officials assessed 25 penalties against Denver and Seattle. Flags flew until players were red in the face.

Outrage ensued: They’re ruining the game! Let ’em play! Football is a physical game! Come on, refs!

We’ve seen this song and dance before. It happened in another sport, just last year. When the NCAA introduced its points of emphasis for the college basketball season, whistles ruled. At least for a short while, there was no more hand-checking, no more assaulting the ballhandler, no more mucking up the game until it was played at a snail’s pace. College basketball needed to be cleaned up. Unfortunately, the points of emphasis lasted only so long, and, by the time the NCAA tournament rolled around, we were back to the clutch-and-grab style of play that has made college basketball largely unwatchable in recent years.

The NCAA had a good idea, while it lasted. The NFL does, too.

Here’s hoping the NFL sticks to its points of emphasis — mainly, illegal contact and defensive holding. and safeties got away with way too much contact last season. They bullied wideouts beyond what the rules should allow.

Much like the college basketball example, I expect the flags will fade. By Week 4 or 5 or 6, the league probably will bend to the outrage and we’ll go back to the handsy, offense-crippling style of defense that rewards illegal contact from cornerbacks on wide receivers and tight ends. But if the NFL enforces the rules, it will make for a more entertaining game. I prefer final scores of 30-27 over 10-7. Don’t you?

These aren’t new rules. They are simply the enforcement of rules that have been in place, but ignored. If they lead to cleaning up the game, flags are good. Let ‘em fly.

Rex Ryan on illegal contact point of emphasis: 'Let guys play'

By Ryan Wilson CBSSports.com August 10, 2014

If you've watched any preseason games you've no doubt noticed all the penalties, most of the "defensive holding" or "illegal contact" variety. Reinforcing those rules was a point of emphasis heading into the season and officials have been vigilant about throwing flags.

The reason is obvious: Keep defenders from holding beyond five yards and, ultimately, open up offenses. So how bad has it been?

At least one defensive-minded coach wants to make sure the officials don't go overboard on throwing flags.

"Let guys play,” said Jets coach Rex Ryan, who was the Ravens' defensive coordinator before coming to New York (via PFT). “If it's a penalty, then call it. If it's not, then let them [play]. Guys should be able to compete for the football and things like that down the field. The game is great as it is, but if it's in the rules then you've got to play within the confinements of the rules and I have no problem with that.”

The rule is a direct result of the Seahawks' secondary manhandling opponents with great success last season. Their thinking: Yes, technically, what they were doing qualified as illegal contact but there was no way officials would throw a flag on every play.

That's changed. But it's not the first time we've seen this.

Back in 2004, after the Patriots mauled Colts receivers in the 2003 AFC Championship Game, the league made illegal contact a point of emphasis. The results: Those penalties increased from 79 to 191, according to former VP of officials .

Why did Houston pass on the chance to sign Manning in 2012?

YahooSports.com August 10, 2014

No matter who quarterback Peyton Manning chose to sign with in spring of 2012, it was going to change NFL history. And create a set of "what if?" questions for a few franchises.

Multiple teams courted Manning before he signed with the Broncos. Manning finished second for the 2012 NFL MVP and won the award in 2013. He has led the Broncos to the top seed in the AFC two straight years and the Super Bowl last year.

And the never tried to get him, because they would have had to jettison two or three good players to fit him under the salary cap. More here.

In a quote at the end of Tania Ganguli's story on ESPN.com about J.J. Watt's future in Houston, Texans owner Bob McNair brought up Manning and his free agency in 2012.

"Some people said, why didn't you sign Peyton Manning?" McNair said. "Well, we just couldn't do it. We would have had to let go of two or three of our outstanding players to create enough room in the salary cap to do something with him. Those are the decisions you have to make as you go forward. You hope you make the right decision."

OC History: AFC West

By Chet Gresham Rotoworld/YahooSports.com August 10, 2014

For this set of articles I’ll be looking at NFL teams, their offensive coordinators and how their coordinating has or might impact their team’s offense and in turn our fantasy expectations. I’ll be using the offensive coordinator info compiled by Mr. Jeff Brubach, which tries to look at the last three seasons of a coordinator’s offensive output.

Denver Broncos

Adam Gase and John Fox put together the best offense we’ve seen since the 2007 Patriots asPeyton Manning set the record for most passing yards and passing touchdowns. Gase was promoted from quarterbacks coach after Mike McCoy left and was given the reins to an even better team after the Broncos acquired Wes Welker and tight end Julius Thomas stepped into a star role to go along with Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. They upped their total number of plays and ramped up the passing game from 55% to 59% of their total plays and accumulated 7,317 yards and 71 touchdowns. Suffice it to say these Broncos were unstoppable during the regular season.

So what can we expect this season? There have been a few personnel changes with Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno heading to New York and Miami, but the top talent remains and may be somewhat bolstered by Montee Ball and the combination of Emmanuel Sanders and at wide receiver. There’s no reason to think we won’t once again see a 59% pass to 41% run ratio. The Denver defense wasn’t elite, but those passing numbers aren’t due to the Broncos being behind.

Knowshon Moreno had a great season as the lead back last season, accumulating 241 rushing attempts and 60 receptions. As a team the Broncos were second in pass attempts and 11th in rushing attempts. That shows you just how up-tempo their offense is, which means that the running game can still produce plenty of fantasy points. And even though they passed the ball more in ‘13 than they did in ’12, they still managed 15 rushing touchdowns compared to just nine in ‘12. They actually led the league in rushing attempts inside the opponent’s five-yard line with 25. So continue to count on Broncos’ running backs in fantasy. That means Montee Ball and whoever turns out to be his backup are must owns this year.

Last season the Broncos were able to make fantasy stars out of every offensive skill position. QB1, RB5, WR2, WR8, WR21 and TE3. And that WR21 was Wes Welker who missed three games due to a concussion. The question is, can we count on these insane numbers once again this season? Of course not, record-breaking numbers are record breaking for a reason, but barring injuries you can count on another high volume fantasy season out of the Broncos’ skill positions.

San Diego Chargers

Last season was coach was Mike McCoy’s first with the Chargers and he took a declining Philip Rivers and really turned his game around with his best touchdown output since 2008 and easily his most completions and best completion percentage ever.

On the whole the Chargers ran the ball 47% of the time and passed it 53%. In today’s NFL that’s a run heavy offense, the 7th most percentage-wise and 6th most total attempt-wise. That allowed bothRyan Mathews and Danny Woodhead to put up decent fantasy numbers even though they were splitting work. Mathews ended the season with 311 touches and Woodhead with 182, with 76 being receptions. The rest of the running backs had 66. The question this season is whether or not Donald Brown will cut into those touches for Mathews. It’s possible, but with Mathews still the lead back on a run heavy offense you can’t knock him too far down.

Rookie Keenan Allen led the wide receivers for the Chargers while Malcom Floyd was injured and Eddie Royal and Vincent Brown provided non-starter talent, but did accumulate decent numbers as they combined for 88 receptions, 1,103 yards and nine touchdowns. At least some of those touchdowns and yards should be available for Floyd this season.

The tight ends are extremely interesting in San Diego with future hall of famer Antonio Gates and young phenom Ladarius Green vying for snaps and targets. Between the two of them last year they had 94 receptions, 1,248 yards and 7 touchdowns. Amazingly Green only had 17 of those receptions, but 376 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged a whopping 22.1 yards per reception. So there are plenty of targets for tight ends in this offense. They ranked 4th in the league with 148 tight end targets. If Green could see 80-90 targets his ability would put him as a top ten tight end. His 30 from last year aren’t going to cut it though. It’s obvious that Gates has slowed way down and Green is the better offensive weapon at this point, but it will be a transition as the baton is handed off.

Philip Rivers has thrived in this offense so far and with Malcom Floyd back and Ladarius Green most likely taking a step forward in usage this season, it’s not inconceivable that he would put up similar numbers as last year when he finished as the sixth best fantasy quarterback. The offense doesn’t lend itself to huge passing numbers, but is extremely efficient and safe and should remain that way again this year.

Kansas City Chiefs

Last season was the first one for Andy Reid as Kansas City’s new head coach and he decided to make his new team The Jamaal Charles show. As a team, Kansas City had a total of 5,396 yards and 430 points. 1980 of those yards and 114 points came from Mr. Charles. So 37% of their yards and 27% of their points came from Charles. Those are both highs for any one player last season. The big change for Charles was his usage around the goal line and in the passing game. His 70 receptions were an all-time high for him and his 12 rushing touchdowns eclipsed his high of seven. Of course the big question for his fantasy production is if he can come close to his total of 19 touchdowns again.

Kansas City didn’t run the ball quite as much as you would think because they used Charles so often in the pass game. Of the 308 completions by , 70 or 21% of those went to Charles. Charles average 9.9 yards per reception while Smith averaged 10.8 yards per completion. Dwayne Bowe averaged his worst yards per reception ever with 11.8. I think we can feel pretty certain that KC won’t be airing it out with Smith anytime soon. But they did get to the playoffs last year with defense and Charles and with the players they have I don’t see why they wouldn’t take the same approach as last season and run with JC, throw screens to JC, get JC the ball near the goal line and JC some more JC.

They didn’t add any impact offensive players this off-season, but they did get tight end Travis Kelce healthy after a lost rookie year. He has the ability to be a true asset to this offense. Most of last year their tight ends were injured and/or fodder. This season Kelce could bring a much-needed boost to the offense, playing a position that Alex Smith can work with in the short to mid-range passing game.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders were all kinds of bad last year winning just four games, but their run game was not horrible as they ranked 11th in total rushing yards, 7th in rushing touchdowns and sixth in yards per carry. That is something to build from and with a roster of four decent to good running backs, I believe they will once again try to run the ball to take pressure off their not-great passing game.

Last season was overmatched as a passer so they went and signed Matt Schaub, who had a horrible 2013, but does have a much better body of work than any other quarterback they might have been able to find on the market. A more reliable quarterback and run game should keep the Raiders in more games this season.

Offensive coordinator Greg Olson’s track record is not great. His best finish in total points scored was 15th in 2010 with Tampa Bay. So it’s difficult to see a strong pattern of hope from Olson. And when we look at the personnel for the Raiders, there is some reason for hope, but for the most part there are too many question marks, especially in fantasy, to really get a good gauge on one position or player to excel this year.

The Raiders wide receivers have shown ability in short stretches for the last few years, but haven’t been able to put together whole seasons of above-average play. Denarius Moore has been making some outstanding plays over the last couple years and is now on the roster bubble. Their quarterback changes every season, along with their coaches and OCs. Continuity is not in the Raiders vocabulary yet.

My biggest fantasy hope for them is to find one running back and one receiver that they can count on as go-to players. We can guess at Maurice-Jones Drew and Andre Holmes being those players this season, but the odds are slim that they both will remain consistent all season.

Johnny Preseason By Peter King The MMQB/SI.com August 11, 2014

DETROIT — At his locker in the visitors’ quarters Saturday night, not long before the clock struck midnight at Ford Field, stood safety Donte Whitner, the ebullient Cleveland Brown. Not a lot of people would be thrilled to be a Brown. But Whitner, born in Cleveland and educated at Glenville High on 113th Street in the city and then at Ohio State, had to soak it all in Saturday in the bowels of this stadium. For eight years he’d played professionally in Buffalo and then San Francisco, and tonight he’d finally put on the white jersey with brown numbers of his hometown team. “I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom for 10 minutes, just staring,” Whitner said. “So strange. Like, I’m a Brown. My heart’s been here, and now I’m here.”

I figured Whitner would be the best man in the room to ask about the quarterback—the phenom, Johnny Manziel, versus the unproven but decidedly more even-keeled vet, . Whitner knows what Cleveland the city wants. Whitner has played in a Super Bowl and was the leader of a Niners secondary that held up its end for three straight playoff seasons. Whitner said all the right things about the competition between Hoyer and Manziel, which does appear close in the wake of Saturday’s preseason opener here. Close, with Manziel gaining fast on the turn into home … which no one expected a month ago. This looked clearly to be Hoyer’s gig, at least to start the season. Not anymore. The gap has closed significantly, and Saturday night was Exhibit A why.

“It’s been fierce,” Whitner said. “Two guys fighting for their lives. It’s close. I’d say [the locker room] is split about 50-50. We know they both can play.”

Manziel outplayed Hoyer in the 13-12 loss to Detroit, but the rookie (seven of 11 for 64 yards and no touchdowns or picks, six carries for 27 yards) was a B and the vet a C or C-plus. Not enough to tip the scales, yet. But from the first throw of the two quarters he played—a lasered eight-yard out route to Anthony Armstrong— Manziel was the player he’d been at Texas A&M in terms of confidence and running the game his way. That helped on a couple of throws, and on a 16-yard scramble that parted the Red Sea on the Detroit line. But it hurt him on a fourth-and-short when he rolled right and ran for the sticks, bypassing what would have been a medium- to big-gain throw to fullback Ray Agnew; Manziel barely made the necessary yard for a first down. That was a clear case of Manziel playing the way he did at Texas A&M, taking the offense into his own hands and saying, I’ll get the first down. Everyone stand clear. That’s not a smart way in the NFL because it’s just going to get him hit more. And at his size, the object is to let the other offensive guys get hit, not him.

This looked clearly to be Hoyer’s gig, at least to start the season. Not anymore. The gap has closed significantly, and Saturday night was Exhibit A why.

The fact that Manziel is close heading into one of the last tests Monday night against Washington (Browns coach Mike Pettine ideally would like to name a starter by game three of the preseason) is surprising. When Hoyer and Manziel left Cleveland in mid-June for their pre-camp break, Hoyer had a comfortable lead over the rookie. Manziel wasn’t entirely sure of himself, and he was making a few mental errors and not playing with his usual confidence in practice. The Browns wondered if he’d come back in top mental and physical shape. He did, despite his Vegas dalliances. It’s probably true that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan would prefer playing the veteran, at least early. But how much difference is Hoyer’s experience, really? He’s thrown 193 NFL passes and started four games. This isn’t the Arizona Kurt Warner we’re talking about.

One more “but” for Manziel: He can’t be running at Saturday’s rate—six times in six series—and survive. Which he knows. “Obviously,” he said, “that’s not the plan, for me to get that many carries every week. The better I get at progressions, the more I get comfortable with the play calls and the scheme and what we’re trying to do and pre-snap looks, the more and more I continue to get better over time. And less and less running. Hopefully that will weed out.”

I asked Whitner what he thought of Manziel after being around the celeb quarterback for a couple of months now.

“Very quiet,” Whitner said. “Very respectful. He’s earning his keep so far. He’s not asking for any privileges. He’s just a rookie, and he’s acting like one. When we have the rookie show, he’ll sing just like the rest of them. As far as football goes, I’m seeing him put the ball on the money like a veteran. Sometimes the receiver drops it. Sometimes the receiver isn’t even looking for the ball and it bounces off him. He’s got the confidence a quarterback has to have.”

Too much confidence? I saw the right amount on the field, and, for what it’s worth, humility off it. On the field, he was the spitting image of the Texas A&M Manziel, throwing BBs and running when he wanted. I thought he’d be a bit tentative and not as decisive as, say, he was against Alabama in his defining college games. Not at all. He was who the Browns drafted.

When he finished showering and dressing (white button-down Oxford shirt, dress jeans) after the game, he stood at his locker and quietly talked on his phone or talked to a couple of the team PR guys softly. In front of the press, it was all about the team, and about progress. “For me,” he said, “it’s all about getting better. At the end of the day, what I want is what’s best for the . Whichever quarterback that is, whichever way I can help this team, that’s what I’m about. I need to soak in this game tonight, learn from the film, and things will work out the way they’re supposed to.”

That’s the press-conference Johnny. That’s fine for the fifth quarter—the post-game message-sending—but for the first four quarters, Whitner and his mates want a different Johnny.

“We need him to be Johnny Football,” Whitner said.

St. Louis: has to beat out two other contenders to make the Rams.

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Michael Sam has been one of the most famous people in America over the past six months, since he announced he would try to become the first openly gay player to win a spot on an NFL team. The Rams picked him in the seventh round of the May draft, and now, to win that spot, he’ll have to beat out two green defensive ends who are not household names in their own households: Sammy Brown, a second-year undrafted player from the University of Houston; and undrafted rookie from West Texas A&M.

That’s the football news of St. Louis on Sam. The social news is better than I thought it would be. Far better. Sam’s been like wallpaper. Unnoticed, fits in well. He’s said no to every national interview request—Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper, everyone—and will continue to do so, I’m told. “The only time we talk about the story,’’ said, “is when someone from the media comes in and asks about it. I can’t emphasize enough how smooth and uneventful it’s been. Mike has been great.”

“I think some people on the outside look at him like he’s some kind of alien,” Sam Bradford told me. “He’s fit in so well. He’s just a guy trying to make a football team.”

He’s managed to be one of the guys, I’m told, by not being overly sensitive. “What he’s doing,’’ said former NFL player Wade Davis, who came out as gay after his short pro career, ‘is saying, ‘Everyone knows I’m gay, and let’s not make it the secret no one talks about.’ It’s Michael Sam fitting in. I give the team lots of credit too. When I went there after the draft to talk to the team, one player raised his hand and asked me, ‘How do we make Michael Sam comfortable on this team?’ That tells me the Rams were ready, and the league was too.’’

“I told the team if anyone wanted to talk about it, anything about it, come talk to me,’’ Fisher said. “No one has.” The Rams made no special accommodations for Sam, and he asked for none. He has spoken to the local and national press once this summer, in a group, and then again after Friday’s game against the Saints. The most impressive of the three marginal competitors in the loss to New Orleans was the aforementioned Westbrooks, who had three tackles and two quarterback hits. Sam: one tackle, one quarterback hit, one pressure. Sam played 33 snaps and seemed to tire near the end of the game. But he had two strong rushes, one on a fast outside move—he dropped 13 pounds to 257 in the month before camp. He needed to be faster, he thought, and so he lost weight and got a smidge quicker.

When Sam’s first game was over, he found a group of friends in the rotunda outside the Rams’ locker room—two were wearing his No. 96—and embraced them and howled, “This is the REAL DEAL!” Then, he repeated it at least four times. It was the raw excitement of a rookie who had just gotten his first taste of real, live pro football. The fact that he had just made history, as the first openly gay player in the league, was secondary in his mind all night. “I was focusing on the guy in front of me,” he said. After the game, he was running through his mind two plays on which he thought he should have had sacks. One: He chased down New Orleans quarterback Ryan Griffin outside the pocket and got a hit on him, and another when he pulled up too soon, thinking it was a screen. Sam’s NFL debut began with about five minutes left in the first quarter, during the Rams’ second defensive series, giving him plenty of chances to prove he belongs. The first time Sam’s name was announced over the Edward Jones Dome PA system came late in the first quarter— “Under pressure from No. 96, Michael Sam”—and a cheer rose from the crowd. Trailblazers draw more attention than your standard seventh-round pick: Sam’s jersey was the sixth-best selling in the NFL since April, and when he got off the rookie bus three hours before kickoff Friday night, he was met by a security guard and filmed by a cameraman. But his takeaway from his first NFL game was exactly what every late-round rookie is trying to prove: “I can play in this league,” he said.

Barring injury, eight St. Louis defensive linemen (Robert Quinn, Chris Long, Williams Hayes and Eugene Sims at end, , Kendall Langford, and Alex Carrington at tackle) are likely to make the team. Jeff Fisher is likely to keep nine defensive linemen, though depending on special-teams contributions from other spots he could keep as few as eight or as many as 10. Say it’s nine. That means Brown, the versatile Westbrooks and Sam are probably fighting for one spot on the 53-man roster. There is the eight-man practice squad that Sam could make as well, if he doesn’t earn a spot on the 53-man roster. I’d be surprised if he didn’t at least make that.

If Sam doesn’t make the practice squad, you’ll know he had a poor camp and was a non-factor on special teams. As of now, he’s slated to play one kicking team—as a wedge blocker (one of the two interior blockers) on the kickoff-return team, and he debuted there against the Saints. The fact that he lost 13 pounds to, in part, be faster for special-teams play was not lost on Rams GM or Fisher.

Sam’s doing everything right. Now he needs a big hit on a quarterback in the final three games, or a few pressures from his lighter weight making him faster. Said Rams VP of football operations Kevin Demoff last week: “He’s got four games to prove he belongs.” Three now. Every snap’s an opportunity. Every snap for his competition is an opportunity too.

ST. LOUIS CAMP REPORT: Progress could be overshadowed by schedule

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Stories of the weekend…

Flagville. Good work by John Clayton, adding up the illegal contact and defensive holding penalties from the first 17 preseason games. The league wants defensive players to have hands off after the five-yard bump zone at the line of scrimmage, and to not hold or grab at all. Rest assured it won’t be called as closely in week one of the regular season as it was over the weekend; the theory is players will get used to the new strictures and will stop all the clutching and grabbing mostly naturally. Back to the numbers: There were 37 illegal contact penalties all of last regular season; there have been 27 in the first 17 preseason games. There were 171 defensive holds calls. So far this preseason, 53 defensive holds have been whistled. The Bills have their defenders practicing with boxing gloves; St. Louis defensive backs take the field in scrimmage holding tennis balls, so they’re tempted to not grab. I’m told the league plans to officiate tight in the preseason, but I cannot imagine the same ticky-tack stuff being called once the regular games start. We’ll see.

Fan abuse continues. Fans in Washington (average ticket price: $218) didn’t see healthy scratch when the Patriots came to town Thursday. Fans in Tennessee (average ticket price: $113) didn’t see healthy scratches or Jordy Nelson Saturday night. Fans in Detroit (average ticket price: $153) didn’t see healthy scratch on Saturday night.

Extra points from the 15. Two got missed in 16 games over the weekend. Good. The extra point should be harder, and I don’t consider kicking from the 33 much of a hardship. “Listen,’’ said Sean Payton after Saints kicker Shayne Graham missed a PAT Friday night, “we’re not talking about hitting a 50-yard field goal here.” Right on. Discussing it Sunday at Vikes camp with Minnesota kicker Blair Walsh, a charter member of the Kickers United Party, he said, “I understand the Competition Committee wants to make it more of a challenging play, but especially if they move it out to the 43, like they have been talking about, you definitely will have game decided by a made or missed extra point. I’m not sure that’s what the Competition Committee intended.’’ Yes it is. The Competition Committee wants it to be a play that matters, with something on the line—not a 99.6 percent sure thing, which it is now.

What a night for the Cardinals. The first-team offense had two drives. Carson Palmer (five of five, TD pass) led one, (four of four, TD pass) the other. Arizona skunked Houston 32-0. That’s a garish-enough score, but just think of the way the Cards’ offense went through a team with pretty good defensive talent. Said in some form for the 949th time summer (and it’s only Aug. 11), “The NFC West could be all-time great.”

The honeymoon is on for Baltimore offensive coordinator . He likes the screen game! He likes to play smashmouth! Three screens (according to Pro Football Focus) Thursday night against the Niners, all complete, for 33 yards. And the Ravens rushed for 237 yards, lots against backups, but the will was there. Kubiak’s more the kind of play-caller and offensive philosopher to fit John Harbaugh’s style of play.

Revelations: Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, a burner, sprinted 69 yards with a touchdown pass, leaving Bengals in the dust … Just saw a few Giants’ highlights, and Jason Pierre-Paul was the beast the Giants need so badly in the pass-rush game … Mark “Contract Year” Ingram steamrolled some Rams. Looked terrific … Dri Archer, the Steelers’ rookie version of Darren Sproles, wowed the Giants.

Matthew Stafford had better stay healthy. I can’t imagine the Lions doing anything but mailing in the rest of the season if Dan Orlovsky, a heck of a nice guy, had to play. He just can’t do it, as Saturday night’s performance at Ford Field illustrated.

Tennessee: Fixing Jake.

Completion percentages, by season, in Jake Locker’s college (Washington) and NFL (Tennessee) career:

Year Team Pct. Attempts

2007 Washington .473 155

2008 Washington .538 93

2009 Washington .584 394

2010 Washington .554 332 College total .540 1,147

2011 Tennessee .515 66

2012 Tennessee .564 314

2013 Tennessee .607 183

NFL total .572 563

Average completion percentage in the NFL last year: .612. In six college and pro seasons, Locker has never reached it.

“His stats are what he is,’’ said new coach Ken Whisenhunt. “But that doesn’t mean he can’t change.”

Whisenhunt has participated in career upturns of Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner and Philip Rivers. In his office one recent day before practice, he got up from his chair and demonstrated one of the off-season lessons for Locker: widening his stance before throwing, and shortening his stride. “Jake was here,’’ Whisenhunt said, with his feet close together, “and when he threw with that long stride, I think it caused him to overthrow. I don’t want that giant stride. He’s fixed that … We’ve asked him to do a lot out of his comfort zone this offseason, and he has responded well. When he works hard and pays attention to his in-the-pocket mechanics, they’re really good. And that has a lot to do with your accuracy.’’

“Do you think Jake’s your quarterback of the future?” I said.

“I hope so,’’ Whisenhunt said. “I feel good about what I see out here. But you’re not getting hit out here either. The question is, can you do all the right things when you’re about to get hit?”

I saw the Titans scrimmage inside their stadium when I was in Nashville, and Locker’s improvement showed some—but as Whisenhunt pointed out, the quarterbacks wore the red, don’t-hit-me jerseys. He hit two nice out routes to Nate Washington, and a longer seam throw to Washington up the left side. Two zits: At the line of scrimmage before one snap, safety Bernard Pollard yelled out to corner Jason McCourty, “Watch the double move!!” Immediately, Locker straightened up and called time. Not good. He’s got to process information quicker—defenders are going to be doing things like that every play during the season. And in the red zone, he threw a pass that was picked by linebacker Wesley Woodyard at the goal line, an awful throw that looked like it was intended for Woodyard. He completed six of seven on the drive, but that seventh throw, in a game, would have been a dagger.

Make no mistake: This is a proving year for Locker. He’s got this year, his fourth in Tennessee, to convince Whisenhunt and GM Ruston Webster he’s the quarterback for the long haul. He’s going to have to stay healthy—injuries have curtailed both of his last two seasons—and show Whisenhunt that he can move the chains with accuracy and intelligence. “I have tremendous confidence in what we’re doing, and I think if you throw the ball with conviction you’re going to be a more accurate thrower,’’ Locker said.

Whisenhunt inherited Locker. Over the next five months, Locker will show the Titans whether they’ll need to be in the 2015 quarterback market. His history shows it’s going to be a tough task, but certainly not impossible. He’s a mobile player and good leader, and if he takes coaching well, he’s got a chance to stay.

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Kansas City: You had to see this to believe it.

Moment of the week on The MMQB Training Camp Tour, Thursday night, as The MMQB team stood on the sidelines late in the fourth quarter of Bengals-Chiefs:

The Kansas City quarterbacks witness Bengal quarterback Matt Scott puke through his facemask. Taking a shotgun snap, he pukes again.

“The dude’s projectile-vomiting!” quarterback Tyler Bray said.

Timeout, Cincinnati, Fifty-three seconds left. Scott goes to the sidelines. Look out below! Another stream of vomit. Trainers hover, concerned. Scott wipes his mouth and heads back to the field. Third-and-one. Bengals down 10. Scott, in the shotgun, takes the snap, and fires a line drive to the gut of post-running wideout Conner Vernon, a Chiefs’ corner draped on him. Touchdown. Good catch. Better throw. Bengals go for two. Scott takes the snap, looks to throw, sees an opening, sprints up the middle. Conversion good.

Who throws up for three times in a few minutes, comes back on the field, makes a perfect throw on the next play, then runs in the two-point conversion?

“I did it before,” said Scott, the former Arizona Wildcat, still energized, walking off the field a little wobbly after the game. “Against USC. I got hit hard, puked, and threw a touchdown pass on the next play. Then they took me out.” Turns out he shouldn’t have been in the game after the hit. He’d been concussed. I asked him what happened tonight. “Been sick all week,” he said. “Some kind of virus, some sinus thing. I’ve been taking antibiotics. Felt awful all week. But there’s no way I wasn’t playing tonight. No time to be sick.”

In the Kansas City locker room, the quarterbacks couldn’t believe what they’d seen. Much respect to the vomitous Bengal.

“Really impressive,” said Alex Smith. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

Tyler Bray said: “He projectile-vomited, and he threw a dime. Who does that?”

Fast-forward two days. Tough business, the NFL. Scott is already number four on the Bengal QB depth chart, and Cincinnati signed another passer, Tyler Wilson, for camp competition on Saturday.

KANSAS CITY CAMP REPORT: Chiefs pick up where they started

* * *

It’s a good day when Football Outsiders Almanac comes out.

CAMP EPICENTER

Get team-by-team previews and camp reports, along with other features and analysis from The MMQB's writers, in the 2014 Training Camp Hub.

The usual good job has been done by editor Aaron Schatz and his Football Outsiders crew (Mike Tanier, Doug Farrar, Jason Lisk, Christopher Price, Chase Stuart) on “Football Outsiders Alamanac 2014.’’ Some prime tidbits:

FO project college receivers to the NFL with a system called Playmaker Score. In general, the mark of a really good prospect is a Playmaker Score above 80 percent. This year, 13 different rookie receivers hit this mark. FO’s database goes back to 1996, and there had never been a season with more than eight such players. FO actually project , not Sammy Watkins, as the top prospect among this year’s wide receivers. (The highest Playmaker Score ever belonged to .)

The had the worst offense on second-and-short (1-2 yards to go) of any offense in FO’s play-by-play database, going back to 1989. Yes, they did this despite having Adrian Peterson. Yes, this is an indicator of likely improvement in 2014. Yes, it’s particularly an indicator of likely improvement because it’s the kind of problem that a new offensive coordinator would likely attack first.

My favorite of their 2014 stats: Arizona used shotgun formations (including pistol) on 38 percent of offensive plays, less than any other team. To show you how much the NFL has changed, that would have LED THE LEAGUE just ten years prior. (Indianapolis used shotgun on a league-leading 32 percent of plays in 2003.) Philadelphia used shotgun or pistol on 86 percent of plays, the highest rate in NFL history.

Speaking of Chip Kelly’s influence, the Eagles averaged 6.6 yards after catch, the highest figure since FO started tracking YAC in 2005. Particularly impressive was their average of 12.1 yards after catch on passes thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage (NFL average: 8.9 YAC). However, the Eagles weren’t just about the short pass. They threw 28 percent of passes deep (at least 15 yards past the line of scrimmage). No other offense was above 24 percent.

Chicago used six offensive linemen on 16 percent of plays last year—no other NFL team was above 10 percent—and they were excellent on these plays. In general, teams pass about one-fourth of the time when using an extra lineman, but the Bears passed on 47 percent of these plays. The Bears averaged 6.2 yards per play; of the 10 teams to use an extra lineman most often, the closest in yards per play was Atlanta at 5.0.

Andy Reid Self-Parody Department: Pre-Reid, Kansas City ranked first in the league, running on 50 percent of first downs in 2012. That plummeted to 33 percent (30th) last season, Reid’s rookie Chiefs’ year.

Patriots receivers dropped 38 passes, more than any team except Detroit. But the Patriots’ defense benefited from 40 opponent drops, more than any defense except Green Bay.

You can buy a PDF version of the Almanac or a hard copy. My advice to you: Don’t start the season without it.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

I “Scholarships are enough, bro!”

—Leatherlunged fan at a Vikings’ practice in Mankato, Minn., to free-agent wide receiver Kain Colter of Northwestern. Colter is the lead player in an attempt by college athletes to unionize, the theory being, of course, that scholarships are not enough compensation for players who are the employees in a multi-million-dollar college sports business.

II “I thought we’d come out and be sharper than that and execute better than that. Disappointed in the way that we played.”

—Oakland coach Dennis Allen, after Matt Schaub’s three series in the first preseason game at Minnesota ended in punt, punt, punt … and without a first down.

I wonder if Dennis Allen ever wakes up in a cold sweat and says, “Mark Davis is going to fire me after three years and I never had a quarterback who gave me a chance to win.”

III

“We don’t have any glaring holes. We do have a glaring lack of experience.”

—Les Snead, the general manager of the Rams, to me. St. Louis had the youngest roster in the NFL last season, and likely will again this year.

IV

“When you go out there—and I would just encourage people, the politicians that have fun with our football team’s name—I would encourage them to go out there and learn and listen to really what’s happening in Indian Country so they can help Indian Country. This is not PR. We do not have PR people doing this stuff. This is really genuine.”

—Washington owner Dan Snyder, talking to former tight end and current radio voice Chris Cooley on the team’s flagship radio station, on the charitable efforts of a foundation started by the team to help some needy Native American causes around the country.

STATS OF THE WEEK

I

Interceptions thrown by Nick Foles:

Time span

44 regular-season quarters, 2013 2

1 preseason quarter, 2014 2

II St. Louis is finished spending its draft choices from the Robert Griffin III trade with Washington, so now some other team, or teams, will be dominant in the 2015 draft.

Cleveland is the obvious one. The Browns have their seven picks intact plus:

Buffalo’s first-round pick, from the 2014 trade that allowed the Bills to take Sammy Watkins.

Buffalo’s fourth-round pick, from the same trade.

Baltimore’s sixth-round pick, from Cleveland sending its seventh-rounder in 2014 to the Ravens.

That leaves Cleveland with this lineup of picks:

First round: 2 Second round: 1 Third round: 1 Fourth round: 2 Fifth round: 1 Sixth round: 2 Seventh round: 1 Total (tentatively): 10.

But do not forget Kansas City, which had its veteran roster pillaged in free-agency. The Chiefs could collect as many as five compensatory picks from lost 2014 free- agents. Nothing is set in stone till the off-season, because the compensatory formula relies on how free-agents play and how much they play, as well as the amount of money they signed for. But here’s guessing what the Chiefs will get as compensatory picks in what could be a very rich 2015 draft for them:

Lost player Contract terms Estimated 2015 comp. pick

T Branden Albert 5 years, $47 million 3

DE Tyson Jackson 5 years, $25 million 5

G Jon Asomoah 5 years, $22.5 million 5

G Geoff Schwartz 4 years, $16.8 million 6

RB Dexter McCluster 3 years, $11 million 7

Look for Kansas City GM John Dorsey to push one of his tight ends (the Giants need one) and a kicker (either reliable vet Ryan Succop or strong rookie Cairo Santos) for a low-round pick sometime before the final cutdown. He won’t get anything better than a sixth-, and probably just a seventh-, if he’s able to make a deal.

If the compensatory numbers pan out—and again, they are best estimates—here would be the Chiefs’ standing in the 2015 draft:

First round: 1 Second round: 1 Third round: 2 Fourth round: 1 Fifth round: 3 Sixth round: 2 Seventh round: 2 Total (tentatively): 12.

III

Much debate about the value of the Andy Dalton contract in Cincinnati, but let’s look at what he’ll get in the first three years, if he quarterbacks the Bengals and wins a Wild Card game this season. If that’s the only playoff game he wins in the first three years of the contract, here’s the essence of what Dalton will earn in each of the six years of the deal:

Earnings by year Total as of each year

Year 1: $17.99 million $17.99M

Year 2: $8.0 million $25.99M

Year 3: $11.7 million $37.69M

Year 4: $14.3 million $51.99M

Year 5: $17.2 million $69.19M

Year 6: $18.7 million $87.89M

Note: The Bengals can cut Dalton after the fifth year of the contract and have no cap debt. So, more accurately, if Dalton wins one Wild Card game this year and no more playoff games in his first five seasons of the deal, it’s a five-year, $69-million deal ($13.8-million a year) with no cap hit should the Bengals release him then. There are other bonuses if he wins more playoff games. And if he never wins a playoff game, you can lower the years 2 through 6 totals by $1 million each year. I just did it this way to show you a realistic look of what the contract could be over the next few years if he wins one playoff game. As coach Marvin Lewis told me, “We hope he makes every dime of the deal at the top end—that’ll mean we’re winning a lot.”

CHIP KELLY WISDOM OF THE WEEK

I started this last week, and I’ll use something from the Eagles coach every week he’s got some wisdom to dispense. This week, Kelly on preseason depth charts:

“Seriously, the depth chart, I don’t care. I think [Eagles director of public relations] Derek [Boyko] did it. I mean, it’s absolutely nothing. I know we’re going to get questions on it, and I’ll be honest with you, I do not care how that’s listed. I said a long time ago, it’s written in sand, it’s written in water, it can be written in anything. That depth chart means absolutely nothing. The only reason we make one is because they [NFL officials] tell us to make one.’’

FACTOIDS OF THE WEEK THAT MAY INTEREST ONLY ME

I

Label this the Remarkably Coincidental Factoid of the Week:

Kansas City coach Andy Reid has always been an offensive-line-lover, and so it was with a bit of a heavy heart that after last season he and GM John Dorsey allowed tackle Branden Albert and guard Jon Asomoah to walk in free-agency—Albert to Miami and Asomoah to Atlanta.

In March, Reid and wife Tammy planned a trip to Turks and Caicos for a short vacation. They were in the airport in Miami, ready to board a short flight to the Caribbean island, when Reid spied Albert—who, incredibly, was on the same flight as the Reids to the island. Even stranger, Reid sat down on the plane and right next to him, across the aisle, was Albert.

On the return flight to Kansas City, the Reids had to change planes in Atlanta. On his way to the gate for the KC leg of the trip, he saw a familiar face, and body. It was Asomoah, leaving his new home as a Falcon to return to Kansas City for a few days. Reid couldn’t believe it. But that’s not the end of the story.

Reid boarded the plane and sat down. Asomoah boarded the plane and sat down. Asomoah was seated across the aisle, right next to Reid. II

The man battling Michael Sam for a roster spot in St. Louis, West Texas A&M defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks, has a tattoo next to his left eye. It says, “Laugh now, Cry later,’’ and has a small happy face and small sad face there, tattooed forever on his face.

MR. STARWOOD PREFERRED MEMBER TRAVEL NOTE OF THE WEEK

Just one personal note as we reach the three-week mark of The MMQB’s training camp trip: I have turned the television on in my room once as we move from camp to camp. That was the night of the baseball trading deadline, and I watched ESPN’s coverage for about 45 minutes late that evening. Otherwise, zippo TV. I have to say I like the quiet a lot.

One note on the tour, as we darted 718 miles from Detroit (post-game Saturday night) to Mankato, Minn., for a Sunday practice: We earned tickets in two different states—a real ticket for something called “misuse of lanes” in Coral Township, Ill., at 3:53 a.m. Sunday, and a warning ticket for driving 13 miles over the speed limit at 7:58 a.m. in Hamilton, Wis. Quite an accomplishment, two tickets in four hours.

Now a staff note: It has been interesting to have Andy Benoit of The MMQB on our trip for a few days. Andy has been mostly a stay-at-home, game- and tape-watcher and writer as an NFL analyst, and I wanted him to get out and meet some of the people he’s seen only on tape and watched only on TV. It will be interesting to read some of his analysis this week on the site. He’s going to have some good interpretive stuff from talks with Kansas City safety and running back Matt Forte.

But Andy is an engaging fellow to travel with. We’ve kept track of his best quotes as we’ve rolled from Cincinnati to Indianapolis to St. Louis to Kansas City to Chicago to Detroit and, Sunday, to Mankato, Minn., to see the Vikings.

Benoit on milk: “I used to drink five gallons of milk a week until my girlfriend made me stop. I figured, milk’s healthy … I assured my family now I would drink only two gallons a week.’’

Benoit on struggling to kick the milk addiction: “Monday, after we saw the Colts, it was maybe 9:45 at night, and I went to a supermarket and purchased a half-quart of milk and drank it in the parking lot. I felt like an alcoholic.’’

Benoit on a favorite of The MMQB road crew, Corn Nuts: “Corn Nuts aren’t something you can force. It takes maybe 10 or 12 nuts before you can really like them.” MORE ANDY

His personality is quirky and his writing is insightful. See what Andy Benoit has been filing this summer for The MMQB. FULL ARCHIVE

Benoit on snacks: “If anyone is hungry, I have a pear in my bag.”

Benoit on his two cats, Mr. Fizzles and Othercat: “Mr. Fizzles is out of shape. His stomach sways back and forth when he walks. Othercat has come into this preseason in the best shape of its life.”

Benoit, who likes to eat every two hours, at about midnight Thursday: “What time are we going to stop for lunch tomorrow?”

Benoit on Taylor Swift: “No one has mastered the art of vengeance better than Taylor Swift.”

Benoit on a certain West Coast rapper: “I met Snoop Dogg five years ago, and I still work that into every conversation I can.’’

Benoit, who is woefully uneducated when it comes to rock music, on Springsteen: “I just heard ‘Born to Run’ for the first time.”

TWEETS OF THE WEEK

I

The Jags beat man for the Florida Times Union, on Jacksonville GM Dave Caldwell’s trade of the seemingly hapless Blaine Gabbert to the 49ers in the off-season for a sixth-round draft pick.

Gabbert’s 49er debut at Baltimore Thursday night: 3 of 11, 20 yards, no touchdowns, one pick, a of 1.7.

Yes: 1.7.

II

The ex-linebacker played 16 years for St. Louis, Buffalo and Washington before retiring after the 2013 season. On Saturday, Fletcher could root for the Browns for the first time since he was a John Carroll linebacker in the mid-90s, cheering on Bill Belichick’s old Browns.

III The Bears beat man during the first quarter of Philadelphia-Chicago. Flags flew inordinately (17 in the first half of Eagles-Bears) on the first full weekend of football everywhere because of new points of emphasis.

IV

Sorry if you don’t get it. If you go to Mendy’s and get the soup, you will understand.

V

The Oklahoma City Thunder basketball player, before Johnny Manziel made his NFL debut Saturday night in Detroit.

Everyone’s an expert. Everyone’s a media expert. I do believe, Kevin, that there won’t be much of finality judged after a first preseason game.

TEN THINGS I THINK I THINK

1. I think the eye-opening story of the week was CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora reporting several team officials were upsetthat NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino was captured by TMZ getting off a Dallas Cowboys luxury bus in Los Angeles recently while the Cowboys were in Southern California for training camp. The problem, LaCanfora reported, is that Blandino, who is obviously supposed to be wholly impartial, should not be on a Cowboys party bus. I am told this is the story Blandino (whose honor I’ve never heard questioned inside the league or by any club officials) was telling in the wake of the TMZ footage: He met Stephen Jones, a member of the league’s Competition Committee, for dinner in Los Angeles. After dinner, Jones suggested they get a drink. Blandino accepted. They went to a bar and had a drink. From there, Blandino parted ways with Jones and others in his party. TMZ got some shots of several people, including women, through the windows of the Cowboys bus, but Blandino was not among the group at that time. He was gone. On Friday morning, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported the league had received no complaints from any club officials about the alleged impropriety. On Saturday afternoon, I checked with two league officials, who confirmed Florio’s report and said in the day-and-a-half since it appeared there were still no complaints about Blandino’s behavior.

I’m fine with Blandino dining (and wining, to some degree) with key team officials; it’s part of the job. But I’d draw the line at late-night beering or club-hopping. This doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it does these anonymous people quoted by LaCanfora, because officiating czars are going to pal around with significant league and team officials. But if I’m Roger Goodell, I’m telling Blandino: Dinner fine, revelry beyond that not so fine. 2. I think these three things struck me about the Washington-New England joint practices last week:

Crowds of more than 20,000 two days in a row? In Richmond, Va.? That’s the power of the NFL, and of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and the Washington brand in Virginia. Startling still, though.

Some great observations by my buddy Don Banks of SI.com from the scene: “Nothing prepared me for the frenzied scene at Washington’s Bon Secours Training Center early last Monday morning. The Patriots were in town for the first of their three days of joint workouts with Washington, and to say the presence of Bill Belichick and his perennial AFC powerhouse had created a bit of a buzz qualified as massive understatement. The front page of Sunday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch had heralded the impending arrival of Tom Brady and the Patriots like visiting royalty, and thousands of fans lined up hours before the 8:35 a.m. workout started. Everywhere you looked there were cars circling the area and vying for parking spaces that now seemed non-existent. Washington’s burgundy and gold was in no short supply, but you could say the same thing about the sea of Patriots’ red, white and blue, with maybe four of out every 10 fans sporting the enemy colors of the visiting New Englanders. Through five-plus hours of practices Monday and Tuesday, a gaggle of media members from New England, Washington, Richmond and plenty of national outlets were there to cover every last snap of it, and I’ve never seen a training camp setting where the reporters had to fight for space like it was Super Bowl media day. My favorite snapshot? The sight of about 50 reporters/cameramen huddled tightly in a horseshoe configuration around one goal post, waiting for Brady to climb into the middle of all that for his post-practice press conference on Tuesday. I watched Brady survey the mob scene as he approached, then slowly shake his head and laugh … I’ve been to dozens of preseason games, and even some meaningless regular season affairs, that lacked the excitement and energy of these joint workouts. The Patriots consistently got the better of Washington during the workouts, with Brady slicing up Jim Haslett’s defense in the two-minute drills, and New England’s much-improved cornerback tandem of Darrelle Revis and keeping Robert Griffin III and Washington’s receivers largely under wraps. But that’s about what you’d expect from the teams that finished first in the AFC East and last in the NFC East. The real winners seemed to be the city of Richmond and all those people who were more than ready for some football.”

Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston isn’t just good on the Patriots. He’s strong on the ancillary things. Such as this, after the Patriots’ trip to Richmond: “One of my biggest takeaways from Patriots-Redskins joint practices was surprise that Robert Griffin III didn’t look like the best quarterback on his own team. In fact, I thought Kirk Cousins was better than him, from the perspective of running the offense, fine-tuned mechanics and how decisively the ball came out of his hand. I wondered if I was alone, and then heard the same sentiment echoed by some others in the Patriots organization.”

To me, Cousins is worth a second-round pick from a quarterback-needy team.

3. I think you could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard the Scott Mitchell news the other day. NBC announced that the former backup and free-agent millionaire (five years, $25 million) Detroit quarterback Scott Mitchell will be a contestant on “The Biggest Loser” show. Mitchell is 6-foot-6. He weighed 238 pounds as a player. He weighs 366 now. That’s a 128-pound inflation. Twenty years ago this season, Mitchell signed a five-year, $25-million contract with the Lions. I covered his free-agent search for , and I remember he was the hot guy in free agency that year. And look at this season he had in 1995 with the Lions:

Team W-L Pct. Yards TD Int Rating

Detroit 10-6 .593 4,338 32 12 92.3

That year, Mitchell outdueled on a Monday night in the Silverdome. He threw three touchdown passes to beat and the Packers. He beat Warren Moon and the Vikings with a 410-yard, four-touchdown afternoon. Two years later, in the midst of Green Bay’s 13-3 NFC Championship season, Mitchell and the Lions were one of the three blips on the Packer record with a 26-15 win. In a dramatic Sunday-nighter in Miami, Mitchell had a memorable duel with his Miami mentor, Marino. The situation: With five minutes left, Miami had a 30-22 lead. Detroit was backed up on its four-yard line. Mitchell led Detroit on a 13-play, 96-yard drive, finishing with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Herman Moore with 1:14 left. Then he threw a two-point conversion pass to Moore to tie. Marino came right back and led a winning field goal drive. The final: Miami 33, Detroit 30. I mean, for a while, Scott Mitchell was a player. Thus the triple-take when you hear, “Scott Mitchell weighs 366 and will be on ‘The Biggest Loser’ this season.”

4. I think it’s early (about three months early) to start talking about 2015 head- coaching candidates, but I hope Kansas City special-teams coordinator Dave Toub gets a legitimate chance next year. You never know if a special-teams guy can follow in John Harbaugh’s footsteps, but Toub’s such an impressive coach and person. In the first quarter of a new preseason Thursday night, his kick-return team had a 65-yard return, and his punt-return unit had an 80-yard touchdown return. Not surprising Toub would have his guys ready, even after just two weeks of the preseason. And that De’Anthony Thomas, the rookie from Oregon … that was his 80-yarder, and it was a thing of return beauty. He bounced off one tackler immediately, and used a ridiculous burst to the outside to run past Cincinnati’s entire team.

5. I think I learned one thing on this trip that’s yet another reason why so many football people are against a permanent team in London. Last year, when the Jaguars were in London, GM David Caldwell was looking at the waiver wire and saw a linebacker, Martez Wilson, he liked on waivers. It was Thursday of a game week. Caldwell, number one, didn’t want to cut a player on his roster in London and unceremoniously ship him home from Europe before the game. Number two, he didn’t know what kind of game-shape or mental shape with the Jags’ playbook Wilson would be if he arrived, let’s say, on Friday evening in London. So Caldwell passed on the waiver claim (and because the Jags had waiver priority with the worst record in football, they would have gotten Wilson). Wilson was then claimed by the Raiders. Wasted chance. So I wonder how often a competitive issue like that would come into play if a London team was trying to do business in competition with the other NFL teams on this side of the Atlantic.

6. I think this is what I was talking about all along with the Jets’ quarterback situation: We’ll see what happens in the preseason. That’s the only way you’ll tell who is better, and who wins the job. And in Mike Vick’s only drive with the first team, he led a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Geno Smith didn’t hurt his case Thursday. But Vick excelled.

7. I think I’m not sure which quote I hear more from players of these two:

“I am in the best shape of my life at this training camp.”

“I learned that a supplement I took caused the positive test. I deeply regret not investigating the supplement.” (Miami safety Reshad Jones said that Friday afternoon, when the league suspended him for the first four games of the season for a positive PED test.)

8. I think I’m long past questioning the intelligence—or the honesty—of these players who test positive for banned substances. I question the intelligence of someone who innocently says, “I want to take this over-the-counter product to get me in better shape even thought I’m not sure if it will trigger a positive PED test.” I question the honesty of players who want us to believe it was an innocent mistake. Sometimes, clearly, it was an honest mistake. But not every time.

9. I think I won’t be shocked if the Patriots cut Ryan Mallett … or get a seventh- round pick for him from someone.

10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week: a. Good for federal judge Claudia Wilken, for ruling major- and basketball players should get at least $5,000 per year in compensation for the millions of dollars the players earn for lucrative college sports teams. In my opinion, it’s not enough to give semi-pro players full scholarships to school, not when they’re raising the amounts of money they are for the schools. b. Get to know Indians pitcher Corey Kluber. c. Clayton Kershaw’s last nine starts: 8.0 innings per start, nine earned runs allowed. d. Corey Kluber’s last nine starts: 7.2 innings per start, nine earned runs allowed. e. Felix Hernandez’s last nine starts: 7.2 innings per start, 10 earned runs allowed. f. I screened “When the Game Stands Tall,” the movie about California high school football coach Bob Ladouceur and his impact on the players he coached, based on the book by Neil Hayes. I liked it. Really good lessons in it for players and coaches in team sports, and for their parents. If I’m a high school coach of any sport, I’d take my team to it. g. Coffeenerdness: Raise your coffee game, Marriott Towne Place Suites. h. Beernerdness: Good to see so many parts of this country we’d never see if we flew over it. Case in point: The Bell’s Brewery restaurant and garden in Kalamazoo, where we had lunch on our way to see the Lions-Browns Saturday. If there’s a better brew on draft than Bell’s Oberon, I haven’t tasted it—at least this summer. Great place and food and beer in the place of Derek Jeter’s youth. i. Went to my first funeral with full military honors, for my uncle, Andy Keir, an Army veteran, in Enfield, Conn., last week. Hadn’t heard the Star-Spangled Banner in a church before, and had never seen the flag being handed to the widow, and had never heard graveside taps at a funeral. I have to say, I loved it all. Very moving, particularly the taps. Uncle Andy would have loved it. j. A note on the discourse in this country, and on social media, in the wake of my column last week. I accept the fact that some people won’t agree with what I write, or find ulterior motives about why I wrote about an olive branch Newton offered to me. But can we disagree and be critical without telling me to go bleep myself 19 different ways? k. Finally, here’s the good of social media: Donations to ALS research have jumped significantly with the Ice Bucket Challenge, thanks to stars like , Sidney Crosby, Matt Lauer, much of the Boston Bruins team and, seemingly, half of New England dumping ice water over their heads and challenging three friends/peers to do the same; if the friends/peers do or do not, it’s strongly suggested they donate to ALS research. l. So, prodded by buddy Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated, I did it Sunday at Vikings camp. It was cold, and it was not pretty.

.

THE ADIEU HAIKU

Strongest candidate to lose QB job pre-Sept? Money’s on Matt Schaub.

Juwan Thompson, Jordan Norwood Turning Heads In Training Camp

Denver.localCBS.com August 10, 2014

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) – It happens every summer — unheralded rookies or free agents become training camp darlings. It definitely happened to two Denver Broncos hopefuls in Thursday’s opener with the Seattle Seahawks — running back Juwan Thompson and receiver/returner Jordan Norwood.

For superstars like Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas, preseason is all about fine-tuning what they’ve done so well, so long. But for the young players, particularly the free agents, preseason is all about survival.

Thompson made a great first impression against the Seahawks. The rookie from Duke refused to go down, averaging nearly 10 yards per carry. He caught everybody’s eye, including his teammates’.

“We watched the film and we saw the defensive players getting hyped over it and the veterans getting hyped, so … it was a great feeling to see and a lot of guys just supporting me and just telling me to keep grinding,” Thompson said. “I just want to stay consistent and keep pushing, but overall it was a good feeling. Ten yards a carry is always good.”

Thompson loves running the ball, but he also loves to block and play special teams.

“My coach wanted me to take over the special teams and try to help guys learn because he knew that I’m a better athlete overall. I play offense, defense, special teams; so he was like, ‘You will be the special teams captain,’ “ Thompson said. “Sometimes I play three special teams, sometimes I play four. I was on five, but at the same time it was like, ‘Just get it done for us.’

“I learned that special teams is a big part and I really didn’t notice that too much until I actually became part of it my senior year.”

Norwood has known for years how important special teams are. He’s trying to prove to the Broncos how valuable he can be as a return man. He’s been trying to prove to everyone how good he is as long as he can remember.

“When I was in ninth grade a lot of guys out here played varsity football. I played ninth grade, B team, second string – on that team, so I feel like (an underdog),” Norwood said. “Sure, I certainly feel that way.” Preseason is Norwood’s chance to prove that he can play with the big boys, and that’s just what he did in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks. He caught the game-winning pass, which surprised just about everybody – except Norwood.

“It was four verticals, so it was just kind of Brock’s (Osweiler) choice,” Norwood said. “I usually try my best to get open and me and Brock have had a decent connection in this camp so far.”

So far, so good for both Norwood and Thompson, but both young players know it’s just a start. They both understand they still have a long, long way to go.

“Seattle is in the back with us. It’s a new week, new game, new team; a whole different mindset,” Thompson said. “We might have a different scheme. We don’t know how everything is going to turn out, but at the end of the day all I can do is do my job.”

“You have no choice but to do better the next time no matter what you did last game or last practice or last rep,” Norwood said. “That has to be my belief.”

Thompson and Norwood both get it. They’ve opened some eyes but both still have a long way to go and a lot of plays to make before they earn spots on the 2014 Broncos.

Former Bronco uses football to help military kids

By Vida Urbonas KUSA.com August 10, 2014

DENVER - Former Bronco Ed McCaffrey knows the power of football.

That's why he partnered with Helping Hands for Freedom this summer to share an incredible camp with military children.

The camp featured more than five former NFL athletes and elite Colorado high school coaches.

All-Pro Tight End, Julius Thomas of the Denver Broncos even stopped by and signed autographs.

There were 323 participants between the morning and afternoon sessions that were put to the test of a challenging four day "hard-working" program.

One of their main focuses is building a national mentorship program designed to serve military children of all branches of our armed forces.

Their mission is to support military families facing injury, loss and deployment and improving children's lives through mentorship and leadership programs.

Storytellers Vida Urbonas and Photojournalist Chris Cheline have more from the Valor High School football field. Watch video above.

For more about how you can support "Helping Hands for Freedom", go to:http://helpinghandsforfreedom.org

Tennessee pays tribute to Peyton Manning in a big way

By Matt Maddux AL.com August 10, 2014

The Tennessee Volunteers' football facilities are not only some of the nicest in the country, but they also serve as a tribute to former players and coaches.

It's not uncommon for programs like Tennessee to have these shrines throughout their facilities, but the Volunteers take it to a whole new level.

Peyton Manning, arguably the Volunteers' most notable alumnus, is considered a legend in Knoxville. So it's only fitting that Tennessee have a room completely dedicated to him.

For more of our comprehensive coverage of the SEC, go to our SEC page.

The room, covered wall-to-wall in Manning memorabilia, overlooks the Vols' practice field. It has a flat-screen TV, lounge chairs and a balcony for Manning to observe practice when he is on campus.

It is important for teams to show appreciation for their former players, especially those that serve as great ambassadors of the program.

John Elway Elected To New York Penn League's Hall of Fame

Vavel.com August 11, 2014 John Elway won two Super Bowls, was Super Bowl XXXIII MVP, 1987 NFL MVP, inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2004, and is currently the Executive Vice President/General Manager of the AFC Champion Denver Broncos. With all of the success in the NFL that Elway has had, people forget that he was also a pretty good baseball player.

Elway's brief, but successful minor league baseball career has led the New York Penn League to vote Elway into it's hall of fame along with former Major League pitcher Randy Johnson and minor league statistician Charlie Wride.

A year before Elway became the first pick of the 1983 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts , then refusing to play for the Colts and demanding a trade that eventually landed him in Denver, he was a promising Yankees prospect playing right field for the Class A Oneonta Yankees of the New York Penn League.

Gary Hughes of the New York Yankees scouted Elway at Stanford University, stating that "the sky was the limit" as far as his future was concerned in Major League Baseball. This high opinion of the Cardinals outfielder and pitcher led the Yankees to make Elway their first pick of the 1981 amateur draft.

Following the selection of Elway, the late Yankees owner George Steinbrennerhosted his new prospect along with his parents at Yankees Stadium. It was there that Steinbrenner persuaded the college football star to pursue a professional baseball career. Elway signed a $140,000 contract and was assigned to the short season team in Oneonta where he would play the 1982 season.

Elway started the season slow as he became mired in a 1-for-22 slump. Doubts began to seep into the minds of some about the two sport "Golden Boy" from California. Elway eventually broke out of the slump to post a .318 batting average, hitting four homers and driving in 25 runs while also stealing 13 bases.

Elway played in 45 games that summer before returning to Stanford for his senior year. Steinbrenner was so impressed by Elway that he had him penciled in to the Major League club's starting lineup for the 1985 season along with another Yankee prospect, first baseman Don Mattingly. Steinbrenner was often quoted in articles describing Elway as "an all-American kid with a big smile, like a modern-day Frank Merriwell or Jack Armstrong." In an 1982 article by Rich Cimini, current NFL writer for ESPN, Steinbrenner said, "He will be a great outfielder for me, one in the great Yankee tradition of Mantle, Maris, DiMaggioand all the others . . . including Reggie (Jackson)."

It was due to his performance at Oneonta and the admiration of Steinbrenner that Elway was able to hang a baseball career with the Yankees over the Colts and force owner Robert Irsay to make the famous trade with the Broncos, forever changing the future of both franchises.

Elway has always said that football was the right choice for him and the results of that choice can't be debated. Still, it will always be interesting to wonder what could have been had the Colts not traded Elway to the Broncos and he ended up as the starting right fielder for the Yankees.

Upon Further Review: Brock Osweiler, Marvin Austin, Mitch Unrein and Proper Pressure

By Andrew Mason DenverBroncos.com August 10, 2014

DENVER -- Beyond the scoreboard result, there was plenty about which Broncos coaches could be satisfied in Thursday's 21-16 win over Seattle: the aggressive, but smart pass rush, power running, and overall resilience.

A few other aspects of the game jumped out, and in this week's edition of Upon Further Review, we'll dissect them.

1. In a way, the game-winning, fourth-quarter touchdown drive was the most important of Brock Osweiler's development to date. It came on the heels of an underthrown deep pass that was intercepted. If Osweiler's night had ended there, the taste in his mouth would have been bitter. Instead, he did what you expect quarterbacks as leaders to do: he shook it off, rallied the offense and made things right on the next series.

Three offensive snaps later -- and one play after pressure forced a quick incompletion -- Osweiler connected with tight end Cameron Morrah for a 14-yard gain on third-and-6. The Seahawks rushed five men, and the offensive line held its ground. Morrah cut inside, but Seattle safety Terrance Parks closed, and by the time the ball was on its way, was step for step with Morrah.

Osweiler has made this type of throw more in practice this year than in previous years. It makes him much less likely to hold on to the football. And it also reveals a growing confidence that is unaffected by a bad throw; he's still going to push the pass to a narrow window, and trust his ability to deliver an accurate pass with the zip to arrive before the defense reacts. He's not at a Peyton Manning level yet, but he's much farther along than at any point to date.

The other play that stood out from Osweiler -- besides the obvious, his 34-yard, in- stride touchdown pass toJordan Norwood -- was his third-and-14 scramble. Osweiler has noted that he's able to process the chaos of a play faster, and can diagnose the defense's intent and react.

In this case, he adjusted his plans in a split-second. He adjusted his setting in the pocket to react to Cassius Marsh blowing past Ben Garland. As he eluded Marsh, he maintained his glance downfield and noticed the dropping deep into coverage, opening the underneath area. Osweiler had speed to spare to run for 15 yards, resuscitated the possession, and set up a touchdown one snap later.

2. Marvin Austin has been a revelation in training camp, as his health now allows him to be the defensive tackle he always had the potential to be. But the Broncos' excellent depth at the position is bolstered by the veteran presence of Mitch Unrein, who is listed on the third team now but has value in excess of that status.

On Austin's third-quarter sack Unrein reads the situation perfectly. Before the snap, he lets Austin know of a change in plans.

"Mitch called out the protection and he actually switched it because I was going to be the penetrator and he was going to be the looper," Austin explained. "When he switched it, we just worked through it together and I came free, looked at the quarterback and was like, 'You're not going to throw the ball?' And I got the sack. It was pretty much Mitch."

Unrein's pentetration allows Austin to set up guard , who is completely out of position and has no chance once he's spinning around and out of position. Austin's acceleration is key to the sack, but it doesn't happen without Unrein crashing through from his right defensive tackle position, clearing a path for Austin to bring down .

3. The progress of Quanterus Smith and continued. For Smith, the preseason was old hat, even though he was not as healthy for last year's warm-up slate as he was Thursday. But Anunike had a different kind of experience: for the first time as a pro, the rookie faced quarterbacks as likely to beat you with their legs as their arms.

What was most encouraging about the young defenders' ability to contain Seattle's quarterbacks was their lack of offseason work against passers who use their mobility as often as , Tarvaris Jackson and Terrelle Pryor. The challenge of Pryor was particularly keen for the reserves, since Pryor started nine games last year and averaged 6.9 yards on his 83 carries.

"It's a lot different than what I'm used to," Anunike admitted. "The speed, and obviously, the adrenaline is running, you're trying to make sure you know your assignment."

One example of this came on a play that proved vital toward the final result: a third-and-2 from the Denver 4-yard-line. Pryor takes the snap in front of an I- formation. Fullback and running back Demitrius Bronson to the right -- in Anunike's direction. As they do. Pryor rolls to the right. Anunike has to navigate between the fullback and the tailback, while not over-pursuing. If he attacks Pryor too fast, the quarterback can sprint around the right side for a first down or even a touchdown.

When Anunike does begin striking, he's already a step outside of Pryor. Bronson chips him -- a common tactic against Anunike on Thursday -- but he is speedy enough to keep his balance.

Anunike takes an angle that guides Pryor outside. By the time Pryor is closer to the sideline than the defensive end, he's back at the 10-yard-line, eight yards from the line to gain, and Tony Carter is in position at the 3-yard-line to the outside of Pryor.

At this point, the play is dead; the quarterback is contained, and the Seahawks settle for no gain and a field goal.

Anunike's discipline serves him well against mobile quarterbacks, which enhances his skill set at this level, given the evolution of signal-callers. If he can avoid a recurrence of the injuries that nearly derailed his college career, his future in the NFL appears bright.

Q&A with Secondary Coach Cory Undlin

By Lauren Giudice DenverBroncos.com August 10, 2014

How is working with Jack Del Rio with both the and the Broncos an advantage?

“Familiarity. I was with him as a head coach and now as a coordinator. I understand what he wants, which is probably the biggest thing. I know what he expects of me and I know what he expects of the players so I do my best to do exactly what he’s asking me to do. But it’s great when you’ve been around him for so long because of the system, I know the entire defense. Since we’ve been together it hasn’t changed that much so it makes it great to be around.”

What coaching path led you to the Broncos?

“I was coaching at my alma mater, Cal Lutheran University, it’s a Division III school in California and then I took a GA job at Fresno State and then worked for , who was the head coach at Fresno State. Then Pat Hill introduced me to Bill Belichick, who he worked with at the Cleveland Browns. I ended up getting hired in New England. I was there for one year when we won the Super Bowl, which was Super Bowl XXXIX and then I was in Cleveland, I was there for four years, and then Jack Del Rio hired me in Jacksonville in 2009. I was with Jack there for three years and then Jack ended up getting hired by [John] Fox here and then was fortunate enough to be hired here.”

Does having one Super Bowl win under your belt make you hungrier for a second ring?

“Absolutely. It makes you more motivated. Obviously to have the opportunity to go there and win it and then be in the same situation again, obviously the result was not what we wanted. But it absolutely, once you’re there, motivates you to get back again.”

Is it a challenge preparing this secondary for the season with so many personnel changes?

“First of all, when the changes are T.J. Ward, Aqib Talib and then even the young kids that we got with [Bradley] Roby and then our two undrafted free agents, the whole group has been awesome. The guys that are already in there were already obviously good players and good guys, they know the system and then to have the opportunity to be around T.J. and Aqib who are completely professional players, they know how to work, how to study. Their communication skills are excellent. It was actually pretty easy. You have to teach them so they know what the system is. But when you have guys like that in your room and you can tell them one time and they understand how to do it, it’s very fortunate.”

How has rookie developed since he was drafted?

“Roby’s doing good things, obviously that’s why we drafted him, he’s a good player. I think he’s still in the learning process at this point, trying to get completely comfortable with everything we’ve got. I would say that every day he’s been here he’s gotten better and better. That’s all you can ask from a rookie. Eliminate the mistakes and try to get him to play with technique on every snap. He is completely capable of that and if he can do that and keep going forward, he will be a big asset for not only for the defense, but this entire football team.”

Q&A with Bradley Roby

By Lauren Giudice DenverBroncos.com August 10, 2014

What was your reaction when the Broncos drafted you?

“Just a sigh of relief because I was sitting there at the table for a while. I didn’t think I would drop that far in the draft but as soon as I saw the Colorado area code calling my phone, I was excited because I knew immediately that I was in a great position. Watching the Super Bowl, I was thinking ‘Man, they need some extra DB help,’ so I knew if I could get there that I would be in a great position but I didn’t think I would be there. But the fact that I was and that I’m here now is a blessing by God because I really feel like this is a perfect position for me. I have great coaches, I have great older players to mentor me. It’s a championship team. I’m going against great receivers every day so I’m going to push myself. We have one of the best quarterbacks of all time, going against him. All of his throws are perfect so just going against that every day is going to get me prepared for the season and I’m going to be ahead of the other rookies in this same position as me because who I’m facing.”

Who was on the phone and what did they say?

“It was either John Elway or Coach Fox but they just told me that they were going to draft me and that they were excited that I was still there and they wanted me to come and compete right away so that’s what I was looking forward to. Then John Elway got on the phone. He was like ‘Hey, it’s John Elway’ and I was like ‘Man, it’s great talking to you. I’m excited and appreciate the opportunity and let’s get to work.’”

How excited were you to join a team like the Broncos?

“Very excited. It’s a team with great tradition, great winning tradition. I went to a school that had great winning tradition in Ohio State so just to be at another team with that same caliber was great for me because I could have got drafted anywhere where it was kind of poor, I’m not going to name any teams but there are definitely some organizations out there. The fact that I’m in this position, it’s just a blessing. A lot of things happened to me throughout that draft process but at the end of the day I think it worked out for my best interest, I just had to keep faith and know that it will work out.”

How do you think your transition from college to the NFL is going? “It’s going alright. On a mental standpoint, you’re going to have to catch up to all the little things. For corners, it’s all about the little things, paying attention to the little things. At first it can be kind of fast and you’re going against great receivers every play and you can get mad at yourself and give up a catch here and there but you just have to brush it off and see what you did wrong and just continue to work on the small things.”

How big of a jump is it from the college playing level to the NFL? “I think it’s a big jump. It depends on what school you went to. Practice-wise, Coach [Urban] Meyer, he practices us like crazy so the practice tempo is not the big thing. It’s just that every time you line up, you’re going against a guy that can beat you on your A game. That’s something that’s the biggest thing in the NFL that I see. If I’m not on my ‘A’ game and slacking for one play, it can be bad for me. It’s just that consistent attention to detail every play is going to take you far.”

What did you think when you were drafted with a fellow Big 10 player in Cody Latimer [Indiana]?

“I was happy for him because he was there [New York] also but he didn’t get picked in the first day. I kind of felt for him because I was almost in the same position. I had known him before and played against him a few times, we know common people and the fact that he’s on my team now is good. He’s a big guy so going against him is going to help me go against the bigger receivers in the NFL. Going against Cody is helping me a lot, we push each other to get better and I think right now he’s winning the battle, I can’t lie. But I’ll win in the long run.”

How have your teammates helped you during your transition from college to the NFL?

“I can’t even point out one single person because everybody is helping me. If they see me struggling, they’ll help me. Aqib [Talib], as a veteran, he helps me. Chris [Harris] helps me. Even Kayvon [Webster], he’s a second year player but he knows what I’m going through right now so he’s helping me. Cory [Nelson], my coach, Jack Del Rio, he helps me. Rod Woodson, we’ve got Rod Woodson, a Hall of Famer on the sidelines, I go to him all the time. All those guys, they see me as a young guy coming in and they know how it is. It’s tough for a DB to come in as a rookie and they’re helping me every day.”

What is the biggest change for you?

“The biggest adjustment is just the attention to detail on every play. I think that’s something that’s still something a great thing I possess yet. I think it’s something that got me in trouble in college. I’m still working every day to fix it but just that attention to detail, because like I said, you’re going against great receivers every play so if you’re slacking in your area it’s going to be exposed, especially with one of the greatest quarterbacks, he’s going to go find that matchup immediately so I think that’s the biggest thing but it’s a learning process. I’m going to get it down, I’m working on it. I can feel myself getting better, it’s all about momentum. As long as you have that good momentum, it doesn’t matter how you are in June or July, it matters how you are when the season starts. By that first game I definitely feel like I’ll be playing my ‘A’ game.”