Blog

  • Big Ten football transfers: Iowa, Wisconsin QBs among key players ready to make instant impact in 2023 season

    Big Ten football transfers: Iowa, Wisconsin QBs among key players ready to make instant impact in 2023 season

    The NCAA transfer portal is more important than ever in college football, which doesn’t mean a whole lot considering it hasn’t been around very long. Still, you know how prevalent it is since coaches are complaining about it louder than before, and there is a strong correlation between the volume of complaints and how often the portal is being utilized by said complainers. 

    The more they use something, the more they hate it. So they’ll be complaining about other schools tampering with their players while one of their assistants is, at that very moment, likely sliding into the DMs of a player on another team.

    They do it out of necessity. In this day and age of ridiculous salaries, expectations are even more unrealistic and patience is at an all-time low. The transfer portal may not contain players with higher ceilings than the 17-year-old high schooler you’ve been texting relentlessly, but the floor is high and you know the player can step in and fill the hole on your roster much quicker.

    We will hear more complaints about the portal as the years go on, yet every year we’ll see more coaches diving into the portal for key pieces that can yield immediate dividends. The Big Ten is no different, and these transfers should have the most significant impacts in 2023 for their new teams.

    There isn’t a team in the Big Ten serving as a better example of how the transfer portal is changing the sport than Iowa. Last year, the Hawkeyes had one incoming transfer — a blocking tight end. This year, the Hawkeyes are overhauling their entire offense through the portal. While players like tight end Erick All and receiver Kaleb Brown will shine, it’s All’s former teammate at Michigan that will have the biggest impact.

    Cade McNamara helped lead Michigan to…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • Lions OC Ben Johnson expects another ‘huge step forward’ in 2023 from a rising offense

    Lions OC Ben Johnson expects another ‘huge step forward’ in 2023 from a rising offense

    Last season, the Detroit Lions were one of the NFL’s most unexpected success stories. The Lions didn’t make the playoffs, but they were in contention until the final week of the season, largely on the strength of their explosive and efficient offense. 

    The Lions finished the season fourth in yards, fifth in points, fifth in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA, and third in Tru Media’s version of EPA per play. With one of the league’s top offensive lines protecting him, Jared Goff had his best season in years, and players like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jamaal Williams, D’Andre Swift, D.J. Chark, and more played significant roles in elevating the team’s performance. 

    Also key to the evolution was offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who became a hot name on the coaching circuit this offseason but decided to pull his name from consideration for several jobs and return to Detroit for at least another year. And Johnson sees big things coming for his offense this season. 

    “I personally expect a huge step forward in terms of the growth and knowledge base of our players the experience they have under their belt,” Johnson said this week, per the team’s official website. “That’s why the emphasis has been on the basics. Let’s get really good at the fundamentals because that’s what helped us win games at the end of last year.”

    As for where the team can get better, Johnson doesn’t think the Lions need to do anything new. They just need to do what they need to do what they already did, better. 

    “When we look back at what we did in self scout all of our plays from last year I came away from it personally that even if we didn’t run one new play this year, if we ran all the same plays that we ran last year, that we would be a better offense because we have to execute better than we did,” Johnson said. “We did a lot of nice things a year ago, but it really means nothing going forward to this year. We have to…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • 247Sports forecasts brutal SEC slate for Auburn in 2024

    247Sports forecasts brutal SEC slate for Auburn in 2024

    The long-awaited decision regarding conference scheduling within the SEC was officially made on June 1 when the conference announced that it will keep its traditional eight-game model, but will eliminate divisions beginning in 2024.

    There is not a set structure regarding permanent opponents and rotations, however, as the eight-game model will be evaluated after the 2024 season. After facing the likes of Alabama and LSU in the western division every season since 1992, will Auburn catch a break with the SEC’s new division-less system? Brad Crawford of 247Sports does not see that happening.

    Following the announcement from the SEC, Crawford took time to predict Auburn’s 2024 SEC slate, and it is anything but easy. Crawford projects the Tigers to get its usual dose of Alabama, Georgia, and LSU, followed by four teams that reached bowl games during the 2022 season.

    Here’s how Crawford predicts Auburn’s “nightmare” conference slate to appear:

    This prediction, if true, will be “business as usual” for Auburn, as the Tigers have grown accustomed to facing Alabama, Georgia, and LSU every season. Mixing in teams that have built a reputation for consistent bowl play in Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Kentucky, and Hugh Freeze will have quite the challenge as he works to rebuild the program. Welcoming SEC newcomer, Texas, to Jordan-Hare Stadium will be a nice touch, as the Longhorns have not visited the Plains since 1987.

    Auburn, as well as the rest of the SEC, will learn about its 2024 opponents on Wednesday, June 14.

    Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

    More Football!

    Auburn DL target Sean Sevillano Jr. announces commitment

    Should the ‘Deep South’s Oldest…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • Could Giants be an ideal landing spot for this veteran edge rusher?

    Could Giants be an ideal landing spot for this veteran edge rusher?

    New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen addressed many of the team’s personnel deficiencies this offseason but a few remain. Among them is depth along the edge, where Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari serve as the 1-2 punch.

    Behind Thibodeaux and Ojulari there is very little. The Giants re-signed Oshane Ximines this offseason and he has flashed a time or two but hasn’t fully realized his potential. They also have Elerson Smith, who has been plagued by injury during his young career, and Tomon Fox, who was an undrafted free agent a year ago.

    They also re-signed veteran Jihad Ward, but he’s more of a run-stopper than a pass rusher.

    With that edge depth lacking, ESPN has listed the Giants as an ideal landing spot for free agent linebacker Justin Houston.

    Houston could fit with multiple teams in search of a veteran pass-rusher, but let’s get him back under former Baltimore defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who joined New York in 2022. Houston, who has 14 sacks over the past two seasons, played for Martindale in 2021, posting 4.5 sacks and 35 pressures. And we know the fit works for a Giants defense that can use him as a situational pass-rusher in pressure fronts.

    Martindale’s defense led the NFL last season with a blitz rate of 42%, which will create more one-on-ones for Houston with schemes that manipulate protection counts.

    The 34-year-old Houston may be on the downside of this career but could fill a role as an experience edge rush option. At the very least, he could join the team’s rotation, allowing Thibodeaux and Ojulari to cut back on their snap counts a bit.

    The Giants are tight on cap, so if they were to sign Houston, it would have to come on a deal near the veteran minimum.

    Related

    CBS Sports believes Giants could miss the playoffs in 2023

    Giants’ Isaiah Hodgins named one of NFL’s most unappreciated players

    Giants’ Daniel Jones ranks highly in Chris Simms’ top 40 QB countdown

    Follow the Giants Wire Podcast:
    Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • SEC appears poised to stick with eight-game league schedule amid ongoing concerns about payments, playoff

    SEC appears poised to stick with eight-game league schedule amid ongoing concerns about payments, playoff

    DESTIN, Fla. — Among the certainties this time of year in the Florida Gulf are seafood, surf and a passing rain shower each afternoon. At least there are some guarantees this week at the 2023 SEC spring meetings.

    Just don’t ask about the biggest debate at Hilton Sandestin Beach Resort this side of grouper or sea bass for dinner.

    SEC officials are inching closer to doing essentially nothing when it comes to deciding whether to start playing nine conference games beginning in 2024. For reasons large and small, SEC presidents are likely to stay at eight games Thursday when the issue is scheduled to be voted upon, CBS Sports has learned.

    The SEC will most likely decide on a temporarily stay at eight games before reconsidering its options in a year or two.

    It appears only five schools of the SEC’s 14 current members support a nine-game league slate: Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri and Texas A&M. A simple majority of eight schools is needed for a deciding vote in either direction.

    Chief among the obstacles of adding an additional conference matchup is uncertainty whether ESPN will pay for a total of eight extra games in 2024, once Texas and Oklahoma join the league. Also being considered are the additional game’s impact on College Football Playoff contention, bowl eligibility and the bottom line.

    Some schools would make eight figures in additional ticket revenue by playing an extra home game every other year as part of that nine-game schedule. Despite that windfall, a majority of programs question the benefit of playing a ninth game.

    “The one that hit me: [The system is] not broke,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “Georgia has won it the last two years. Alabama before that.”

    And LSU before that. In fact, the SEC has won 13 of the…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • Ranking the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates: Bijan Robinson and QBs at the top

    Ranking the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates: Bijan Robinson and QBs at the top

    In one of the closest races, with one of the most obscure finishes in NFL history, Jets wideout Garrett Wilson won Offensive Rookie of the Year over Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker in 2022 despite the Seattle ball-carrier receiving more first-place votes than the Gang Green pass-catcher. 

    Either way, both were the most dynamic first-year pros in football a season ago. 

    Ja’Marr Chase ran away with Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2021. Justin Herbert and Justin Jefferson battled for the NFL OROY in 2020, with the electric Chargers passer ultimately winning in large part because he set the NFL record for touchdown passes thrown by a rookie.

    Let’s rank the likely Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates for the 2023 season. 

    Before I begin, I felt compelled to make the proclamation that I’ve smartened up with these rankings. Only five of the last 21 Offensive Rookie of the Year winners were not picked in the first round of the draft. It’s been six consecutive years in which the OROY was a first-round pick. Before that, Alvin Kamara and Dak Prescott — who were selected in third and fourth rounds, respectively — took home the trophy in back-to-back seasons (2016 and 2017). Also, neither an offensive lineman nor a tight end has ever won the award.

    While a small, average athlete, Addison does have uncanny ability to get open at all levels of the field — particularly underneath and at the intermediate level — and he’s rather nifty after the catch. He won the Biletnikoff as a 19-year-old in 2021 when he caught 100 passes for nearly 1,600 yards from Kenny Pickett at Pitt. In 2020, I was far, far too low on Justin Jefferson. For as much I learned my lesson on his exquisitely complete game, his superstar presence is the reason Addison is lower on the list than you probably expected. 

    Jefferson saw 184 targets and led the NFL in catches and receiving yards in 2022. Of course,…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • How getting cut by eight teams made Eagles’ Alex Tanney a better QB coach

    How getting cut by eight teams made Eagles’ Alex Tanney a better QB coach

    How getting cut by eight teams made Tanney a better coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

    If he hadn’t been released by the Chiefs, he never would have landed in Dallas and worked with Wade Wilson. And if he hadn’t been cut by the Cowboys, he never would have landed in Cleveland and gotten to work with Shane Steichen. And if the Browns didn’t release him, he never would have found himself in Tampa with Josh McCown.

    And on and on.

    And then off to Tennessee with offensive coordinator Jason Michael and quarterback Marcus Mariota and then to Buffalo with Greg Roman and then over to Indy with Andrew Luck and Matt Hasselbeck and then to the Giants with Pat Shurmur and Mike Shula and Eli Manning.

    Every stop was a crash course in how to be a quarterback. Every city was an opportunity to learn a new scheme and a new way of looking at offensive football. Every coach and every quarterback he met along the way was a sounding board, someone to learn from.

    And there were a lot of them.

    Add it all up? And you have the Eagles’ new quarterbacks coach.

    “I was with eight teams in nine years,” Alex Tanney said. “Twelve head coaches, 12 offensive coordinators, so just a little bit different perspective than some coaches. So many different philosophies, and seeing things in a different lens than others and just trying to share that experience with the guys in our room.”

    Tanney’s playing career was long but uneventful. By the time he retired after nine seasons, he had thrown 15 passes, completing 11 for 100 yards and a touchdown to Dorial Green-Beckham of all people for the Titans against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on the final day of the 2016 season.

    But while he was bouncing around from team to team, the seeds were being planted for a much more impactful career.

    He knew quickly his true calling was…

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More

  • Former Rams special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis hired by Texas Longhorns

    Former Rams special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis hired by Texas Longhorns

    Joe DeCamillis was one of the many assistant coaches the Rams did not bring back this offseason, making big changes to Sean McVay’s staff before the 2023 campaign. He was their special teams coordinator for the last two years after spending four years with the Jaguars, his second stint in Jacksonville.

    DeCamillis wasn’t hired by another team but he did just land a new job at the college level. According to Chip Brown of Horns247, the Texas Longhorns are hiring DeCamillis. He’ll join the staff as a special assistant to the head coach.

    This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.

    Update your settings here to see it.

    DeCamillis leaves the Rams with a Super Bowl ring on his finger, helping them win a championship in his first season in 2021. This will be his first job at the collegiate level after coaching in the NFL since 1991.

    More Latest Rams news!

    Desjuan Johnson embracing title of Mr. Irrelevant, ready to prove himself in NFL

    Watch highlights from Rams’ first week of OTAs

    2023 NFL Draft: Consensus grades from best to worst for all 32 teams

    Story originally appeared on Rams Wire

    ..

    [ad_2]

    Read More