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19 Articles

THE. SEASON. STARTS. HERE.

Aaron Rodgers showed up for the start of Green Bay’s mandatory pre-season camp in full Con Air-era Nicolas Cage mode, playing nothing close to the vest ahead of a 2022 NFL campaign that sees the Packers shorn of all-star wideout Davante Adams. A quarter-century on from the film’s release, and facing competition from the likes of Tampa Bay and the reigning champion L.A. Rams, will Rodgers have the conviction that his new-look offense can break out and take flight behind RB Aaron Jones, veteran receivers Allen Lazard and Sammy Watkins, and rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs? He needs to as it would be criminal not to see Green Bay in the post-season.…

THE. SEASON. STARTS. HERE.

EDITOR’S NOTES

MANAGING EDITOR @OllieConnolly The NFL is a league of innovation. And that innovation flows in a cycle: Offenses innovate; defenses counter. In Issue 71 of Gridiron, we’re celebrating all things innovation. You will read all about the players who have shaped the game we watch today – and those who will push us into the future. You will read about advancements in schemes, broadcasting, and the medical field, all of which will change the way we view the sport over the next 12 months. We also have Neil Reynolds’ preseason notebook, with the Sky Sports NFL presenter taking stock of all he absorbed from his tour across NFL training camps this summer. Melissa Jacobs sits down with Thomas Jones, a star running back turned actor, about the triumphs and regrets…

TAMPER NAY, DOLPHINS The Miami Dolphins’ bid to land a top tier quarterback in next year’s NFL Draft (if indeed the plan is to move on from Tua Tagovailoa) took a hit in the wake of sanctions following former head coach Brian Flores’ acrimonious exit last season. While the team was cleared of the HC’s headline accusations — that team owner Stephen Ross had offered inducements to intentionally lose games — they were docked two draft picks, including its 2023 first-rounder (not that acquired from a 49ers front office hell-bent on selecting Trey Lance in 2021), after being found guilty of hinted-at tampering violations ‘of unprecedented scope and severity’ in pursuit of Tom Brady and Sean Payton. Fines and suspensions were also levied against Ross ($1.5m) and vice-chairman Bruce Beal…

The next QB in line for a contract extension will no doubt be glad to see the end of the long-running saga of Kyler Murray’s future with the Arizona Cardinals — even if it came with a couple of late twists. After months of posturing, including the inevitable removal of all team references from his social media accounts, the diminutive QB agreed a massive contract extension equivalent to Deshaun Watson’s landmark $230m deal with Cleveland. However, it initially came with an unusual — and somewhat damning — clause requiring him to study game film, independently, for four hours a week. Murray called the tacit criticism of his work ethic ‘disrespectful’, citing his commitment to playing two sports to a pro-ready level at Oklahoma University, but had already done himself few…

DENVER SELLS, BUT COWBOYS STILL #1

They may not have won a Super Bowl for a quarter-century, but the Dallas Cowboys can be relied upon to come out on top elsewhere, most notably when it comes to financial valuations. Even as the Denver Broncos were being acquired by a new ownership group, led by Walmart heir Rob Walton and including both Condoleezza Rice and Lewis Hamilton, for a league record $4.65bn, Jerry Jones’ operation once again topped Sportico’s list of most valuable U.S. sports franchises, with a comfortable advantage over Legends hospitality partner, the New York Yankees. Five NFL teams made the top ten for 2022, and all 32 franchises feature in the top 50, with the ‘least valuable’ Cincinnati Bengals 44th overall at $2.84bn. MOST VALUABLE FRANCHISES 2022 ALL U.S SPORTS NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE…

DENVER SELLS, BUT COWBOYS STILL #1

WATSON’S SUSPENSION

Deshaun Watson will sit out the first 11 games of the new NFL season after the league and its players’ association reached a settlement over multiple accusations of sexual misconduct NFL-appointed disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson had initially — and controversially — ruled on a six-game suspension, in line with previous league punishments, despite acknowledging that “Watson violated the (league’s personal-conduct) policy … by engaging in sexual assault (and) conduct that poses a genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person”. The former Clemson standout faced 24 accusations of misconduct while at self-arranged massage therapy sessions, but has since reached settlements with 23 of the complainants — despite twice being acquitted by criminal courts. “I’ve always stood on my innocence, always said I’ve never assaulted anyone or disrespected…

WATSON’S SUSPENSION

FLAGGING FOR IT!

Picture the scene. SoFi Stadium, packed to its oculus, greets yet another Olympic gold for Team USA as 15 individuals climb onto the top step of the podium, elated and exhausted in equal measure. Prior to taking the acclaim of the crowd, the same group might have witnessed the sun dipping down behind the San Gabriel Mountains from inside the Rose Bowl, played in the warming shadow of the Olympic torch at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum or followed in the footsteps of the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in SoFi itself. Regardless of the venue, they are now Olympic champions — in American football! Football was included as a demonstration sport, involving all-star players from colleges on both coasts, at both the 1904 and 1932 Summer Olympic Games,…

FLAGGING FOR IT!

WHAT IS FLAG FOOTBALL?

• Porter Wilson, early 1940s • 4-9 player variations • Stadiums, indoor arenas, temporary sports parks • Non-contact football where defenses must remove a flag from ball-carrier’s belt to end down • Kicking game often eliminated or modified • Rules governing blocking, the roles of linemen and QB vary by organisation • Mixed or single gender • IFAF programmes in more than 100 countries • NFL Flag involves 1,600 local leagues and over 500,000 players aged between 5-17 • Predominant format is 5V5, aligning with current IFAF regulations • The National Flag Football League comprises 40 mixed-gender teams playing between April-August • National Finals feature both Championship and Plate brackets, along with promotion and relegation play-offs • NFL supported schools competition involves 20,000 children from 300 primary schools, with winners…

WHAT IS FLAG FOOTBALL?

PRESEASON NOTEBOOK

As I settle back into a routine that does not involve six-hour drives or yet another flight at the end of the working day, I have some time to reflect on a 16-day trip to the United States which saw me spend time in 10 of the country’s 50 states. I spent the first nine days driving more than 2,000 miles as my quarterback son, George, competed at college football camps at Robert Morris, Monmouth, Buffalo, Penn State and Virginia Tech. That, as they say, is a story for another day. And then I hooked up with my Sky Sports NFL filming crew and visited the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers. We filmed each day and travelled every evening,…

PRESEASON NOTEBOOK

WHY THE NFL SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT AN AUSTRALIAN CONCUSSION CRISIS

@rachhearn11 To the NFL’s way of thinking, it is a singular organisation. It stands alone — for better and worse — from the rest of sports. It is too big, too powerful. It leads; others follow. That’s about to change. Is the NFL keeping tabs on Australia? It should be. Trouble stirring in the research community is likely to soon lap upon the league’s shores — and it will face a dilemma in how it should respond. The first alarm bell: Paul McCrory, a leading concussion expert in the field of sports medicine and the former Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, was accused of plagiarism. The coverage of such disruptive events was muted. It came and quickly went. Steve Haake, the author who presented the first claim…

WHY THE NFL SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT AN AUSTRALIAN CONCUSSION CRISIS

THE YEAR OF TREY LANCE BEGINS NOW!

@OllieConnolly Everybody loves the idea of a rookie quarterback sitting, watching and learning. It makes sense. The step-up from college football to the NFL is dramatic. They are not two strands of the same game. They are two different worlds. In the span of six months, a player goes from juggling athletics and biology to being a full-paid professional majoring in football-ology. Some of the greatest to ever do it have benefited from sitting behind a talented starter and learning their craft before being chucked into the deep end. Tom Brady sat. Aaron Rodgers sat. Patrick Mahomes sat. It’s through that prism that the San Francisco 49ers sat Trey Lance during his rookie season. While the Jets, Bears, Patriots and Jaguars threw Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, Mac Jones and Trevor…

THE YEAR OF TREY LANCE BEGINS NOW!

ROOKIES NOT ALL ROSY

Not every quarterback selected in the first round who sat for at least 14 regular season games during their rookie season was for an intentional ‘redshirt’. Some just stank! JAKE LOCKER, TENNESSEE TITANS Career numbers: 30 games, 9-14, 57.5% completion percentage, 27 TDs, 22 INTs, 79.0 passer rating Legacy: Oof. JOHNNY MANZIEL, CLEVELAND BROWNS Career numbers: 14 games, 2-6, 57% completion percentage, 7 TDs, 7 INTs, 74.4 passer rating Legacy: Yikes. PAXTON LYNCH, DENVER BRONCOS Career numbers: 5 games, 1-3, 61.7% completion percentage, 4 TDs, 4 INTs, 76.7 passer rating Legacy: What were they thinking? PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS Career numbers: 63 games, 50-13, 66.1% completion percentage, 151 TDs, 37 INTs, 105.8 passer rating, one MVP award, one Super Bowl title Legacy: The best of his generation JORDAN LOVE,…

ROOKIES NOT ALL ROSY

WHY ARE NFL BROADCASTS SO STALE?

@OllieConnolly Prior to the start of training camp, the NFL’s media czar, Brian Rolapp, went on a press tour. Woven into a manifesto on the future of the league’s TV rights, Rolapp announced *deep breath* an increase in flexible scheduling, more double-headers, a new rollout of NFL Sunday Ticket, an update to the league’s GamePass offering overseas, and NFL+, a direct-to-consumer streaming service… a re-skin of GamePass… which already existed. Wondering what the difference is between NFL+ and the stuff the league already offers through its partners? So is everyone else. By the year 2045, the league will be swamped in standalone products. There will likely be team-owned, individual packages — a ‘virtual’ season ticket, if you will. Those could give you digital access to stream games, practices, press conferences,…

WHY ARE NFL BROADCASTS SO STALE?

STALEY’S COMET

The Chargers have found their quarterback. They think, hope, trust they have found the head coach the head coach to guide him to stardom. With Brandon Staley comes a modernised ‘punch you in the mouth’ philosophy. He ignores the tired tropes – the Oklahoma drills and rallying cries promoting work ethic – and instead works with calculated, instinctive hutzpah. He is quietly fearless, unapologetic, unwavering. He is an analytics advocate as well as a champion for gut feeling. He is the latest coaching software update with not only the brainy gizmos, but the ability to engage and inspire with the depth at which he thinks and the delicacy with which he articulates. Where Justin Herbert brandishes personalised rah-rah through arm talent, Staley does so with late down bravery that has…

AFTERLIFE BACKFIELD TO BOX OFFICE

@TheFootballGirl The average career length of an NFL player hovers around 3.3 years. NFL running backs, with all their slashing and pounding, last just 2.57 years on average. Former NFL rusher Thomas Jones was an anomaly, racking up a whopping 12 seasons and 10,591 career rushing yards. Jones, a product of the University of Virginia where he graduated a year early, was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the seventh overall pick in the 2000 draft. He went on to a storied career that included stops in Tampa, Chicago, the New York Jets and Kansas City. Fuelled by a stringent offseason programme in the gym and the kitchen and pure grit, Jones was named to the Pro Bowl (2008), played in a Super Bowl (2006) and is a two-time nominee…

AFTERLIFE BACKFIELD TO BOX OFFICE

MONEYBALL BIG UGLY NUMBERS

@TomKislingbury For most of us average-sized human beings, it’s just so far from our experiences and realities that it’s hard to get our heads around. And yet off-ball blocking is in many ways the key differentiator between the NFL and many other oval-ball sports. It fundamentally changes the game, and analytics have shown us in recent years that blocking determines much about the rushing and passing games that we used to think were down to the brilliance of ball-carriers. In this column, we wanted to highlight a few trends in the blocking world, so that the black box of dark arts is a little less impenetrable as you watch the 2022 season unfold. The first chart shows total pass block snaps vs pressures allowed in the 2021 regular season. PASS…

MONEYBALL BIG UGLY NUMBERS

THE NFL’S MOST IMPORTANT INNOVATORS

@NicholasMcGee24 The NFL has been defined, throughout its history, by perpetual evolution. Coaches, coordinators, and GMs are constantly innovating in the pursuit of finding a competitive advantage. Sometimes innovation requires a creative mind; sometimes it requires an otherworldly athlete… paired with a coach willing to paint outside the traditional lines. Nicholas McGee looks at three players who’ve led the way to the league we see today and three who will push the sport into the future. There are a litany of players who deserve credit for their impact in transforming the NFL into the intricate chess match it is today. Three such players whose primes have come in relatively recent memory standout, while it does not require too deep of an examination of the NFL heading into its 2022 campaign…

THE NFL’S MOST IMPORTANT INNOVATORS

CARLSON’S GOATS The Innovative Undertaker

While I was thinking about the NFL’s greatest innovators for this column, the re-naming of Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium to Paycor Stadium became official. The motivation behind erasing the name of the founder and first coach of the Bengals lies in the first syllable of the sponsor’s name: Pay. Bengals’ president Mike Brown, the 87-year-old son of Paul, said “this is a move I think my father would have agreed to”, which he would say, but which reminds of me of Brown’s ‘agreeing’ to being forced out of the first team he founded, the Cleveland Browns, then of the AAFC back in 1946. When Art Modell, who’d bought into the club, got rid of Brown, it didn’t take long for him to get another franchise of his own from the…

CARLSON’S GOATS The Innovative Undertaker

THE BEGINNING OF THE END?

@SiClancy Every year around this time, I reach for a hardback picture book that has a special place on my bookshelf: Every Saturday In Autumn. It’s a reminder of everything that makes college football so special: the traditions, the pageantry, the rivalries, the blind passion, the atmosphere, and the idea that across America on the first day of every weekend in the fall, generations of people across America come together because they’re bonded by those ties that bind. Walk into a campus town on a Friday night and it’s like nowhere else on earth. If you’re lucky enough to have been to a game you’ll know what I’m talking about. As the book says: “equal parts festival, celebration, party and religious experience, there is no-more deeply rooted piece of Americana…

THE BEGINNING OF THE END?

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