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Philadelphia Eagles star Lane Johnson has spent a long time anchoring the right side of one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. Johnson was the No. 4 overall pick back in 2013, and he immediately slotted in across from Jason Peters up front for Philadelphia. There was at one point a plan to eventually kick Johnson over to the left side of the line, but he was so good, so quickly on the right that he just stayed there, and he developed into one of the very best right tackles in football.

During his decade in the NFL, Johnson has obviously had the opportunity to spar with many of the league’s best pass rushers. In an appearance on “The Richard Sherman Podcast,” Johnson revealed who the toughest players have been for him to block. Some of the names are pretty obvious, but one, in particular, was at least a bit surprising. 

“I would say Myles [Garrett]. I’ll tell you, Maxx Crosby is a really good player. T.J. Watt. Those guys, man… Obviously, they’re skilled, but those players, they’re so smart, So, those three. Micah [Parsons]. I had some really battles with Demarcus [Lawrence],” Johnson said. “I’ll tell you one guy who people don’t know. You could ask Trent [Williams], you could ask Tyron [Smith], Olivier Vernon might have been the hardest player for a lot of guys to block.”

Why was Vernon so difficult to block? “He’s just a weird built dude,” Johnson said. “He’s like 6-1, 6-2, wears like a size 17, 18 shoe. Just weird built, almost like you remember how Elvis Dumervil was so special. Because he was like 5-11, 6-foot, but he had 33, 34-inch arms. So as he got that leverage under you, he would just forklift you and do whatever he wanted to you.”

Here’s the clip, via Volume Sports: 

Johnson has gotten to face Lawrence and Parsons twice a year during their careers, but he’s never actually played against Garrett (Garrett missed Cleveland’s one game against Philadelphia during his…

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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.

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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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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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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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