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Josina Anderson of ESPN says source told her 49ers will give Ford a contract in the range of 5 yrs $87.5 mil. Not sure how much of that is guaranteed but sounds like he will be richly rewarded for the trade.

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New England would be a great landing spot for Jarrett. 

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1 hour ago, Auburn Kev said:

 

What a story. My dude will finish his career having made probably $5 million or more exclusively playing special teams. He's going to have a nest egg and he's probably going to leave the game with enough tread left on the tires to enjoy it. Very happy for him!

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NFL 2019: Can Lions' run-oriented offense be successful enough to save Matt Patricia's job?

Quote

Can building an NFL offense around the run game -- and staying dedicated to it -- work well against smaller defensive fronts recently constructed to defend the pass? 

The Detroit Lions want to find out. 

Detroit has made its offensive priority abundantly clear this offseason, and they hired long-time Vikings and Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to steer the run-oriented ship in 2019. 

Let's examine whether or not this counter idea could actually be successful in Detroit this season. 

Lions head coach Matt Patricia spent nearly two decades watching Tom Brady dice secondaries through the air, but even the casual football fan knows how rare Brady is as a quarterback. Can't bank on Brady-type production in the passing game without Brady. 

Patricia was also around for New England's quietly awesome run game, an easy-to-overlook team strength the Patriots have been able to lean on, especially in the past 5-10 years and occasionally in the playoffs. 

And Bevell, who was out of football in 2018, is the ideal coordinator to deploy an effective run-heavy offense. Let's compare the ground-attack efficiency of the Seahawks under Bevell, the Patriots when Patricia was there, and the Lions, starting in 2011, Bevell's first season as Seattle's offensive coordinator, using Football Outsiders' Run Offense DVOA Rank:

  2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Lions

16th

12th

27th

29th

27th

25th

30th

Patriots

4th

4th

6th

14th

12th

15th

4th

Seahawks

14th

1st

7th

1st

3rd

22nd

23rd

At the Seahawks' peak, while not discussed nearly as much as the Legion of Boom, Seattle's Beast Mode-led run game had quite an impressive stretch of its own from 2012 to 2015 as the team when 48-12 in the regular season, advanced to a pair of Super Bowls and won a title. 

During that sparkling, four-year reign as an elite rushing unit, Seattle's offensive line received a grand total of three Pro Bowl nods (Max Unger, 2012 and 2013, and Russell Okung, 2012) and one All-Pro distinction (Unger, 2012). So it's not as if Marshawn Lynch and Co. ran behind a blocking unit loaded with tremendous talents. 

As for the Patriots, well, I told you. Sure, the threat of Brady throwing the football likely helped New England's run game, but Patricia saw an assortment of early picks, mid-round selections, and UDFA blockers come in and out of Foxboro over that span. Didn't matter though. The Patriots always ran it well. 

As for the Lions. Woof. Matthew Stafford pieced together a run of seven-consecutive 4,200-plus yard passing seasons from 2011 to 2017, which included a 5,000-yard, 40-plus touchdown campaign in 2011, but altogether, Detroit could not run the football. Over that span, the Lions went 57-55, made the playoffs three times but never won in the postseason. 

You're starting to see how this run-happy idea could've been sparked in the minds of Patricia and Bevell, right? 

The caveat

In simplest terms, running is not as efficient as passing; that is, unless your team has a horrendously inefficient quarterback and an outstanding running game. But in general, when it comes to gaining yards, passing gets the job done more efficiently, and that's not up for argument. 

Last year, net yards per attempt (NYPA) for quarterbacks -- yards per attempt with sacks and sack yards factored in -- ranged from 4.47 yards (Josh Rosen) all the way up to 8.80 yards (Ryan Fitzpatrick). The average NYPA among qualifying quarterbacks was 6.54 yards. Meanwhile, team rushing offenses ranged from 3.8 yards per carry (Cardinals) to 5.1 yards (Panthers). 

Those are all important reminders before I go any further. 

At a macro level, the Lions' idea is foolish. 

Then again, being a run-heavy doesn't necessarily -- nor is likely to -- mean Detroit wants to or will pass more than it throws. Nor does it mean Patricia wants an offense than averages more yards per carry than Stafford's net yards per pass attempt. 

It's just an offensive mindset, an identity, the core element of the 2019 Lions that Patricia probably wants to be able to rely on in any situation, in any stadium, at any time, in any weather, against any defense.

Detroit's personnel

Even with a run-minded head coach and a coordinator with a rather impressive run-game resume, does Detroit have the horsepower (pun intended) to actually field the stellar rushing attack that's eluded the team for a while?

Stafford's NYPA was 5.91 last season. As a team, the Lions averaged 4.1 yards per rush, so they have a ways to go in terms of boosting their run-game efficiency. 

Up front, the offensive line is set to feature four of the same five starters from the beginning of the 2018 campaign, so there will be continuity. Last year's first-round pick Frank Ragnow moving to center, his collegiate position in which he was a human steamroller at Arkansas, will help the blocking efforts. Graham Glasgow emerged as a top-end road-grader last season on the interior. Both tackles, Taylor Decker and Ricky Wagner, are more known for their pass blocking, but certainly play with noticeable mean streaks and can consistently move people on running plays. 

It seems like a middle-of-the-pack group that, when it perfect rhythm, and with Bevell's guidance, could play as a top-third unit. 

Kerryon Johnson is the bell cow. And a very talented one at that. Before getting drafted by the Lions in the second round of the 2018 Draft, I compared him to Carlos Hyde and wrote the following summary about his game: 

The balance Johnson displayed during his brief time in the SEC was extremely impressive, and Hyde can stay on his feet while absorbing hits unlike the vast majority of the bigger backs in the NFL. Neither is a home-run hitter. Both get stronger as the game progresses as their strong-willed running style seems to wear down opposing defenses.

Johnson ran for nearly 1,400 yards at a 4.9 yards-per-carry clip in the SEC as a 20 year old in 2017 at Auburn and was averaging a hefty 5.4 yards per rush on 118 attempts last season for the Lions before a knee sprain ended his rookie year after 10 games. 

A vertical jump in the 93rd percentile at the position, and a broad jump in the 91st percentile indicate, the 5-foot-11, 206-pound runner is very explosive. 

He has the talent to be a legit star in the backfield, and the Lions clearly want to give him the football often. Probably a good value pick in fantasy drafts this summer, he just needs to prove he can stay healthy.

After Johnson, Detroit is surprisingly thin at running back position in terms of established contributors. Zach Zenner's long been a fan favorite and after averaging under 4.0 yards per carry in each of his first three seasons in Motown, his average jumped to 4.8 in 2018. In May, I listed Ty Johnson, the Lions' 2019 sixth-round selection, as a Day 3 pick who can be an instant impact player mostly due to his ridiculous acceleration and blistering long speed. He averaged 7.6 yards per carry on 348 career rushes at Maryland. 

The tight ends

The largest splash the Lions made on offense in free agency was the acquisition of former Steelers tight end Jesse James, a reliable short-to-intermediate level receiver, who, at 6-7 and 260-ish pounds, can hold his own in-line as a blocker. 

That signing didn't stop Detroit from picking tight end T.J. Hockenson at No. 8 overall in the draft, someone I called a "destroyer of worlds" pre-draft because of his blocking prowess. He's a gifted receiver thanks to a large catch radius and the ability to separate. 

Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press noted some three tight end looks at minicamp, and even under the safe assumption that two tight end sets will be more frequent, the Lions have significantly more top-end talent at the position than they did in 2018.

Per Sports Info Solutions, the Lions carried the football 119 times for 359 yards (3.01 yards per) when in a two tight end set last season, the sixth-lowest average in the NFL.

Now, with Hockenson and James in the fold, the run-game efficiency from two tight end looks should improve. Given the receiving steadiness of James and the explosive skills of Hockenson, that formation has the makings of a versatile personnel grouping that keeps defenses guessing all season. 

Conclusion

In theory, the Lions should focus on sharpening the passing game -- Stafford's 6.8 yards-per-attempt average in 2018 was his lowest since 2018. 

However, with a solid offensive line, a young, skilled runner, two capable blockers at the tight end position, and Bevell as the offensive coordinator, this year's iteration of the Lions has the makeup to run the football more effectively than they have in a long time. 

 

Edited by Auburn Kev
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PAUL KASABIAN

Former NFL cornerback Carlos Rogersis suing ex-NFL quarterback Rodney Peete after alleging Peete failed to pay him back $350,000 in an investment scam involving efforts to keep the Raiders in Oakland.

TMZ Sports obtained court documents and reported Rogers' claims. Of note, Rogers said Peete brought him on board "to invest in a group that would provide financing for football facilities" that would prevent a Raiders move.

Rogers gave Peete $350,000 as part of the investment and said Peete promised that he would be reimbursed if the Raiders left town.

The Silver and Black are headed to Las Vegas in 2020, but Rogers claimed he was not paid back. He's suing for his original investment plus an additional $100,000 in punitive damages.

Rogers is alleging fraud on Peete's part and says that he "repeatedly stalled and came up with excuses" when pressed about his initial investment, per TMZ Sports.

The cornerback played one season in Oakland, suiting up seven times for the Raiders in 2014 before capping off a 10-year career with the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers as well. He made one Pro Bowl.

Peete, who was in the NFL for 16 years, played one season in Oakland (2001). He was the Heisman Trophy runner-up behind Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders in 1988. The two became teammates for the Detroit Lions from 1989-1993.

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Darius Slayton is Giants' most intriguing project player

New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton, a fifth-round pick out of Auburn, experienced the extreme highs and lows of the NFL over the course of his first-ever offseason.

Giants head coach Pat Shurmur labeled Slayton as the team’s most improved player this offseason — rightfully so — and now Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report has his pegged as the team’s most intriguing project player.

The composition of the New York Giants wide receiver corps is quite odd.

Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard are the team’s top two options, but both are more effective working out of the slot than they are outside the numbers. Furthermore, tight end Evan Engram is basically an oversized slot receiver.

The Giants must find a target who consistently threatens defenses on the outside as a vertical threat. This year’s second fifth-round draft selection, Darius Slayton, has the size (6’1″, 190 lbs) and speed (4.39-second 40-yard dash) to serve as the unit’s X-receiver. Slayton already earned first-team reps during organized team activities.

“He’s done a really good job,” head coach Pat Shurmur told reporters. “I think we were all here during rookie minicamp when he had the yips, drops and whatnot. He’s really smoothed it out and has been making plays.”

Slayton provides another option to a group that’s still trying to define its roles.

The analysis on Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard and the “oversized slot receiver” Evan Engram aside, there’s little doubt that Slayton is the Giants’ most intriguing project player.

The rookie could very well play a substantial role for the Giants in 2019, and how he performs in training camp will go a long way in determining the back-end of the team’s receiver corps.

Edited by Auburn Kev
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11 hours ago, Auburn Kev said:

Darius Slayton is Giants' most intriguing project player

 

 

Glad he finally remembered all the skills he acquired at WRU! 

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Andrew Walker

COLTS.COM WRITER

INDIANAPOLIS — Morocco Brown had an inkling that Braden Smith could be a solid NFL tackle before he ever became a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

Five weeks into the 2018 regular season, Brown — the Colts’ Director of College Scouting — was proven right.

A second-round pick in last year’s draft out of Auburn, the initial plan was to give Smith an opportunity to develop behind veteran Matt Slauson as the Colts’ right guard of the future, but circumstances would lead to Smith getting the start at right tackle Week 5 against the New England Patriots.

And he hasn’t budged from that spot ever since.

A people-mover in the run game who continued to show great strides in pass protection, Smith now is enjoying an entire offseason of work at the right tackle position, where he can settle in and really start to fine-tune his craft heading into his second NFL season in 2019.

“(I just have) a good understanding of the offense now,” Smith said. “Instead of focusing on the big picture, you can focus on the finer details now with more technique and smaller things.”

Smith excelled at the right guard position at Auburn, where he appeared in 54 games with 41 consecutive starts from 2014-17. He was an AP/CBS/SB Nation First-Team All-American in 2017, and winner of the SEC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy.

Though he did have some experience sliding over to tackle early in his college career, the 6-foot-6, 315-pound Smith was viewed as a promising guard prospect in the NFL by Colts general manager Chris Ballard, despite the fact Brown was constantly in his ear about Smith’s possibilities as a tackle. Indy would select Smith with the 37th-overall pick in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

“During the draft process Morocco Brown kept (saying), ‘Man, I’m telling you this guy can be a tackle. He can absolutely be a tackle,’” Ballard recalled earlier this year. “‘Rock, no man. He’s a guard. This guy is going to be a great guard.’”

But then, Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, starting right tackle J’Marcus Webb went down with a season-ending hamstring injury.

Two weeks later, Joe Haeg, who had taken over at right tackle, suffered an ankle injury and was placed on injured reserve.

A little more than a week after that, Denzelle Good, the Colts’ third starter at right tackle in four weeks, was excused from the team to be with his family after the tragic shooting death of his brother, Overton, in South Carolina.

Now facing a short week and going on the road to take on the defending AFC champion New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football, the Colts finally turned to Smith to take over at right tackle.

In 83 snaps that night, Smith would allow just one quarterback pressure; his 80.1 Pro Football Focus grade that night was Indy’s second best offensive mark, and tops among all offensive linemen.

“Honestly, I felt pretty comfortable at it, surprisingly,” Smith said of his first regular-season action at right tackle last year. “I mean, the first New England game, the first game I really played a full game, that was the Thursday night game, so hadn’t quite had any live practice; it was all walkthroughs. So I was kind of like, ‘Alright, let’s see what happens.’ And then you get those first few plays down and then you’re like, ‘Alright. I’m good to go.’”

The Colts’ offensive line — and the offense in general — really started to click the following week, as starting left tackle Anthony Castonzo returned after missing the first five games of the season with a hamstring injury.

With a lineup primarily consisting of Castonzo, left guard Quenton Nelson, center Ryan Kelly, right guard Mark Glowinski (who took over for an injured Slauson) and Smith, the Colts by the end of the season had one of the best offensive lines in football, having allowed just 18 sacks, the fewest in the NFL. Indy also had back-to-back 200-yard rushing performances in Weeks 7 and 8, while running back Marlon Mack ran for a franchise playoff record 148 yards in the team’s Divisional Round victory over the Houston Texans.

Smith continued to improve with each week. By the end of the regular season, he was rated by PFF as the second-best rookie offensive tackle, as he allowed just 28 pressures over 520 pass protection snaps. He was named to the Pro Football Writers of America, PFF and NFL.com All-Rookie Teams.

With Nelson earning First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors over at left guard, head coach Frank Reich said Smith was “the best-kept secret in the NFL” last season.

“This guy – rightly so Quenton has gotten a lot of attention — (but) Braden has played lights out,” Reich said. “When we moved him we knew we had a great run blocker. I mean, you just watch his college tape, you knew he was a great run blocker. When he got here you knew the pass blocking needed some work, but he worked hard at that. So that was going to be the big question moving him out to right tackle, ‘How would he handle it?’ He’s just continued to get better and better.”

"As the season went on he just kept getting better," Ballard said of Smith. "I kind of giggle — I love Quenton and Quenton knows I love him — but the world was ignoring Braden Smith. Quenton Nelson is playing his tail off, but Braden Smith is playing good football, too."

With all five starters along the offensive line returning in 2019, Smith can now focus solely on the right tackle position. He has new offensive line coaches in Chris Strausser and Klayton Adams — as well as the legendary Howard Mudd, who has returned to be the Colts’ senior offensive assistant — working with him every day on refining his techniques so that he can be even stronger moving forward.

“You can tell in Braden’s demeanor, the confidence that he has,” Reich said. “The whole beginning of the year last year he had to be … questioning, ‘Can I really do this? Can I play this position at this level?’ I think what he did last year just really set him and us up where we got the confidence in him, he has got the confidence in himself. He works extremely hard and I just think is going to continue to get better.”

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I always thought Smith had the body type for a tackle, and didn't understand why he wasn't groomed that way at Auburn. I felt he could have been a first rounder if he had learned his craft as a tackle in college....

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Davis figures to have a great shot at a 53-man roster spot.

By Jason Marcum@marcum89  
 
 

Linebacker remains the Bengals’ biggest question mark, which is great news for Deshaun Davis.

The former Auburn Tigers linebacker was selected in the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft in hopes of bolstering a dangerously thin linebacker group in Cincinnati. Last season, Davis led the Tigers in tackles (116) en route to First-Team All-SEC honors.

Now, Davis will look to fight for one of the final linebacker spots on the Bengals’ 53-man roster.

According to Over The Cap, Davis’ deal is for a total of $2,647,840 over four years.

 

davis.jpg

If the Bengals wind up cutting Davis, they will owe him almost $130K this year. If he plays all four years in Cincinnati, he’ll make a little under $800K in his final season before hitting free agency.

While Davis was picked in Round 6, where players are far from assured of a 53-man roster spot, he’s got a good chance of making it just because the Bengals are still thin at the position. He’ll probably end up fighting Hardy Nickerson, Chris Worley and Malik Jefferson for the final linebacker spots.

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  • 2 weeks later...

OUR GUY!!!WOOOO!!!! WAR DAMN JAMEL DEAN!!

 

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1 hour ago, GwillMac6 said:

OUR GUY!!!WOOOO!!!! WAR DAMN JAMEL DEAN!!

 

Happy for Dean but damn if the Bucs and Panthers don't get a lot of AU guys while the Falcons get none. Well, except for a long snapper and the occasional cameo from Therezie for a minute there. 

At least the Aints aren't snatching our guys up. 

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