Author: nfltalk

  • Dennis Allen shares Coach of the Year odds with Bill Belichick

    Dennis Allen shares Coach of the Year odds with Bill Belichick

    There’s something you don’t see very day. Dennis Allen didn’t exactly inspire confidence in his first year as New Orleans Saints head coach, though his 7-10 finish nearly matched his three-year win total with the Raiders a decade ago (8-28). Now he has the same Coach of the Year odds as three-time award winner Bill Belichick at DraftKings Sportsbook, both sitting at +2500. That means a $100 wager would return a $2,600 payout.

    That matches what you’ll see from other notable coaches around the league, like Mike Tomlin, Kevin Stefanski, Zac Taylor, Brandon Staley, Shane Steichen, and Pete Carroll. Ten coaches have better odds than this group, including ex-Saints head coach Sean Payton (who is a betting favorite at +900; a $100 slip would cash out $1,000). Why is someone with Belichick’s resume in this kind of company?

    To be frank, the New England Patriots haven’t been the same since Tom Brady left town. Belichick’s team has only posted a single winning record in the last three years and young quarterback Mac Jones hasn’t developed as hoped under his tutelage. They’re in an even more precarious position than the Saints in a tough division with little margin for error.

    Back to the Saints. Allen is facing a make-or-break scenario with New Orleans pushing all their chips in on his vision for the team. They’ve built an offense around Derek Carr and paired him with the best defense he’s ever seen in the NFL. With the rest of the NFC South actively rebuilding and not looking competitive in 2023, there won’t be any excuses if Allen posts another losing record. If he leads the Saints somewhere special, well: maybe he’ll look like a fitting recipient of that Coach of the Year award after all.

    Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see…

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  • Charles Woodson responds perfectly to Aaron Scott’s Ohio State OV tweet

    Charles Woodson responds perfectly to Aaron Scott’s Ohio State OV tweet

    Michigan football was hoping to lure an unlikely duo north to Ann Arbor after growing up in enemy territory.

    Though it lost out on Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville four-star cornerback Bryce West, who committed to Ohio State on Saturday, hope still remains for Springfield (Ohio) four-star corner Aaron Scott, who took his official visit to Columbus this past weekend, as well.

    Unlike West, Scott did not pledge to the home state Buckeyes, leaving the door open for the Wolverines. And one prominent Wolverine is letting him know where he’s wanted most.

    Charles Woodson knows a little something about growing up in Ohio and then wearing a winged helmet. He shocked the world choosing the maize and blue before coming to Ann Arbor and winning the only Heisman Trophy given to a defensive player.

    Generally, when recruits tweet, you don’t see many former players chiming in, let alone full-on legends. But when Scott tweeted his pictures from his visit to Columbus, Woodson had to have a say.

    Epic.

    No matter what one thinks of their visit, if you’re truly on the fence and you’re getting the greatest of all time chiming in to indicate what school is better, you’re probably going to listen.

    Fans certainly will hope that Scott does.

    Update: Scott acknowledged the shout out.

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    For the best local Detroit news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.

    Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire

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  • 49ers’ Brock Purdy remains on track to be ready for 2023 season after elbow surgery, per report

    49ers’ Brock Purdy remains on track to be ready for 2023 season after elbow surgery, per report

    It appears San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has reached another step in his recovery after elbow surgery. Per NFL.com, Purdy is headed to Jacksonville, Florida this week to throw with quarterbacks coach Will Hewlett and orthopedic specialist Tom Gormely. Purdy remains on track to be ready for the 2023 season, according to Tom Pelissero.   

    Purdy had his first throwing session in the last week of May. Mr. Irrelevant underwent surgery in March to repair his UCL with an internal brace after injuring his elbow during the NFC Championship game and had not thrown since the procedure. Earlier this month, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Purdy is ahead of schedule following the surgery.

    When asked about whether Purdy might participate in parts of training camp before getting fully cleared, Shanahan said “we’re taking it very slowly.”

    “It’s not like you just jump out and push stuff. You’re only supposed to throw on this date, at this percentage, this many yards. And you do a certain [amount] a couple of days later. And if you stay on track, it should heal the right way. And right now, everything is right on track.

    “So we don’t go any — I don’t ask three weeks ahead. You just keep trying to stay on that trajectory.”

    After Purdy’s first throwing session in late May, general manager John Lynch gave an update on the session, saying they are happy with how it went and see it as a positive for things to come. Lynch said the progress is a testament to Purdy’s work ethic. 

    “He’s just had one session thus far, but we’re incredibly encouraged by that,” Lynch said (via NFL.com). “He’s hitting all his markers and it doesn’t surprise us, because he’s putting in the work.”

    “As for best-case scenario, we’re just gonna kinda take it as it comes,” Lynch added. “The hope is he’s ready for training camp. The hope is he’s ready for the regular season.”

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  • Broncos coach Sean Payton appreciates Vance Joseph’s calm, professional approach

    Broncos coach Sean Payton appreciates Vance Joseph’s calm, professional approach

    After being hired by the Denver Broncos earlier this year as head coach, Sean Payton made big changes to the team’s coaching staff.

    Payton brought back just four coaches from the former staff. One of the new coaches he brought in is defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who served as the team’s head coach from 2017-2018.

    Fans in Denver might not have fond memories of Joseph because of his losing record as a head coach (11-21), but Payton appreciates Joseph’s coaching style, and he believes he’s a good fit to run the defense.

    “Well, there’s a calmness to him and professionalism to him that I appreciate,” Payton said on June 14. “We always found a way to shake each other’s hand after a game or talk to each other. I just think that there’s a poise and a credibility when he presents that’s impressive. I think he’s an extremely good communicator, and I think he’s an extremely good leader.

    “It never gets mentioned but dating back to even 2006 when I first became a head coach, it’s understanding the importance of hiring the right staff. I think we’ve been able to do that. We have guys that are teachers. We’ve got young, and we’ve got old — a lot of different former and experienced [coaches]. I think with Vance, there’s that calmness with him, and I think he’s a good communicator.”

    Joseph, 50, has been coaching in the NFL since 2005. He worked his way up from a defensive backs coach to a defensive coordinator and ultimately to head coach before returning to a coordinator role. Payton seems confident that Joseph’s second stint in Denver will go better than the first.

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  • Deion Sanders recovering after successful emergency surgery to repair blood clots in legs

    Deion Sanders recovering after successful emergency surgery to repair blood clots in legs

    Colorado football coach Deion Sanders is recovering after emergency surgery to treat persistent blood clots in his legs he announced in a video posted Saturday. The procedure was to correct blood-flow issues that have plagued Sanders dating back to his days coaching at Jackson State. 

    In the Instagram video, Sanders told his sons he expects to be released on Sunday, just two days after Friday’s procedure. 

    “I had a big blood clot in my thigh that they got out, and I had some below my knee that they got out,” Sanders said from his hospital bed. “Then I’ve got one in the right leg that they’re going to get soon.”

    News of the impending surgery first surfaced from Adam “Pacman” Jones, who updated Sanders’ condition during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” 

    “Now this is what happened. I went to the doctors the other day to check myself out and I have two clots in my leg. One in my right leg, one in my left leg in my thigh,” Sanders said prior to the surgery. “Now I have a procedure tomorrow to try and get those clots so I can have proper blood flow through the leg so I can fix the toes.”

    Sanders additionally said it is unlikely he’ll have to amputate his left foot due to the same blood clot issues, which was the topic in a recent episode of “The Pregame Show,” a YouTube channel documenting the Buffaloes football program. In the episode, it was revealed Sanders could lose his left foot if he were to undergo another surgery. University of Colorado vascular surgeons Dr. Donald Jacobs and Dr. Max Wohlauer told Sanders that in that clip if the current pain in a dislocated toe isn’t dealt with soon it could lead to a more serious condition that will result in the amputation.

    “There’s no talk of amputation or any of that whatsoever,”…

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  • LOOK: Giants’ Daniel Jones gets on stage during Zach Bryan concert, shows off singing chops

    LOOK: Giants’ Daniel Jones gets on stage during Zach Bryan concert, shows off singing chops

    USATSI

    This offseason, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones signed a four-year $160 million extension and has been getting ready for another year in New York. He has clearly also been working on his vocal abilities, which were on display at a Zach Bryan concert in Queens, New York over the weekend.

    The country singer brought Jones up on stage and the quarterback looked like a natural in front of the microphone. Jones did not hold back in front of the Forest Hills Stadium crowd.

    Here is a look at Jones’ show stopping performance:

    The 26-year-old seemed to be having the time of his life. I don’t think Jones’ is scheduled to make any more appearances during Bryan’s shows, but he is clearly ready to take on the music industry if his name is called.

    Bryan was very welcoming to the Giants’ quarterback, but as an Eagles fan, the singer still had to include some Philadelphia fandom.

    While Jones was on stage, Bryan snuck in a “Go Birds,” giving a shoutout to the quarterback’s division rival.

    The Giants and Eagles will first meet this season on Christmas Day and will play a second time in the regular season on Jan. 7. Despite their apparent friendship, clearly Bryan will be rooting for the Birds during those matchups.

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  • Oklahoma’s defensive line needs to make a significant jump in 2023

    Oklahoma’s defensive line needs to make a significant jump in 2023

    It’s no secret a big reason the Oklahoma Sooners didn’t achieve what they wanted to last year was because of the defense. The Sooners finished 106th in run defense, 119th in pass defense, and 122nd in total defense.

    A big reason why those numbers were so horrific was because of how poor the defensive line was last season. They couldn’t generate a pass rush, and they struggled to get off blocks and make stops in the run game.

    It’s clear the staff recognized the issues from last year and attacked the transfer portal, hoping to improve their defensive front. The big priority over the last few recruiting classes has been to add blue-chip defensive linemen.

    The Sooners added six players from the transfer portal in Jacob Lacey, Trace Ford, Davon Sears, Rondell Bothroyd, Da’Jon Terry, and Phillip Paea. Throw in Dasan McCullough who played edge for Indiana in 2022 and the Sooners made a concerted effort to add players that can affect the running game and get to the quarterback.

    Each of those additions should contribute this year, and a few might even start. The transfer portal is not the only place where they added talent, as they added five-star P.J. Adebawore.

    He might not be a starter immediately, but he has the potential to start by the season’s end. The team also returns starters Isaiah Coe, Ethan Downs, and Reggie Grimes.

    A guy that played quite a bit last season as a true freshman and is poised for a breakout season is R Mason Thomas. He’s added weight and appears to have kept his speed and twitch.

    The starting defensive line could be Thomas, Coe, Terry, and Bothroyd when they deploy four-man fronts. When they go with a three-man front, it could be Thomas or Downs, Terry and Bothroyd until Adebawore becomes more comfortable.

    There’s no doubt the Sooners needed to upgrade the defensive line. Now we’ll see…

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  • Julian Edelman calls former teammate’s Rob Gronkowski story fake

    Julian Edelman calls former teammate’s Rob Gronkowski story fake

    Former legendary New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman has seemingly had enough of the epic stories depicting a drunken Rob Gronkowski partying himself unconscious before football games.

    A recent story from Edelman’s former teammate Jake Bequette claimed Gronkowski would get wasted before games and have his crew drop him off at the Patriots’ facility, where he’d crash for the night on one of the training tables.

    “So then, like an hour or two later, when the trainers would come in to start their workday, they’d come in there and see Gronk just sprawled out on the training table, just fast asleep,” said Bequette, when appearing on “Primetime with Alex Stein”, via Fox News. “They would go over there, they wouldn’t wake him up, they would roll up one of his sleeves and, you know, stick an IV in his arm. After a couple hours, he would just wake up like Frankenstein revived and go out there and just kick ass.”

    That’s a story that would have taken the drunken Gronkowski tales to another level, but according to Edelman, it isn’t true.

    “Story is BS. Everyone wants to paint Gronk as a party animal. When in reality he was one of the most dedicated teammates I had,” Edelman posted on social media.

    It’s clear Gronkowski had to put in the work to finish his career as the greatest tight end in NFL history.

    Not only did he show up to work every day, but he also earned the trust of the greatest quarterback that ever lived, Tom Brady, on route to winning four Super Bowls in his career.

    We can all admit that would be tough to achieve as a Frankenstein version of himself.

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