What each team should do in the first round – ProFootballTalk

THIS IS NOT A SIMPLE PROJECT.

Did I mention that this is not a draft?

At 17 days of the project, most teams will spend this week – or the next two weeks – to finalize their projects. The director of a team told me this weekend that his team was accomplishing what, I'm sure, the others: the scouts, coaches and the most senior staff of this team. team will meet in the newsroom of their establishment today and position by position over the next. week or so, will finalize each player's scores on the board and have the final scores of all players by the middle or end of next week. The table will be stacked, 1 by the final ranked player, maybe 350 in all. Players with character problems – positive drug test or arrest – will have a red dot next to their names on the board. The risk of injury will have a different color point. Then the team will start looking at scenarios: How many of our top players should be excluded from the board for us to discuss? With which teams are we sowing seeds for downward or upward trade? Then assistant coaches and scouts call out players who may be undeveloped or unexploited, and begin to rank a list of players after the seventh round of play after the third day of the repechage. And the GM and his assistants are going to get some rough news in the last days.

The following is my attempt to help. I will do my annual draft in two weeks from today, when, I hope, I will know a little more than 1. ARIZONA: KYLER MURRAY, QB, OKLAHOMA. I will not predict what will happen in the first round here. Instead, after learning something from those who know about it in the last few days, I'll tell you what each team should do, in my opinion, when the first round of the 83rd NFL Draft starts in Nashville. April 25th.

"It's a fascinating draft," said Gil Brandt, who has worked 62 as a scout, personnel manager and analyst, over the weekend. "This is one of the most interesting projects I've seen, because there is no chalk. I think we'll have a lot of unknown until the draft day. "

The unknown is important to the league this year because a third network, ABC, will be doing the live repechage. Just as ABC would not want the result of "The Bachelor" to surface two weeks before the climax of the series, ABC will certainly not want to leak Arizona's plans for the first choice (and for quarterback Josh Rosen presumed jettison) before 8 pm ET on April 25th. We'll see if Kingsbury's Cards and coach Kliff "Done Deal" will be able to stay on course. They risk Roger Goodell's anger if they flee.

This is from my perspective of the Tempe teams in Foxboro, and what they should be targeting in the first round.

1. Arizona: Kyler Murray, Quarter, Oklahoma. I would not even consider offers, unless they are ridiculously excessive. Choosing Murray here is too logical, while Kingsbury is in love with him. GM Steve Keim must understand, If I engaged this offensive innovator as a coach and wanted Murray hard, why would not we give him what he wanted? Even with a devalued Rosen going east (Washington and the Giants being at the head of the clubhouse, as I explain below), it is a decision that Arizona must take.

2. San Francisco: Nick Bosa, Rusher, State of Ohio. Strong pressure on the Niners to finally have a player under pressure on the line, having chosen defensive linemen among their top picks in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and only hit big DeForest Buckner in ' 16. Buckner, in 2018, was the first Niner to have a double-digit bag season in six years. Bosa has been seriously injured in his last four football seasons. It is not without risk. But it's the right choice here.

3. New York Jets: Lower prices. Many teams covet Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, and if I had to bet, I would put my money on general manager Mike Maccagnan who would choose him here. This is the purest perspective of this project and I think that if the Jets sold their choice at auction, they would have three prime choices. I'd rather have three choices – maybe two of the top 45 this year and another high choice next year – to make Sam Darnold the best catcher or a tight opponent plus a leading offensive lineman (Dalton Risner?), At least, this year.

4. Oakland: Josh Allen, Rusher, Kentucky. Jon Gruden chooses Khalil Mack II, he hopes, and pays 30 cents on the Mack dollar for him. The two best players in the repechage this year should to be gone in the top four.

5. Tampa Bay: Trade down. It's a strength of general manager Jason Licht, who has done it twice in the past three years. And because they do not seem inclined to engage defensive tackle Gerald McCoy in the long run (the Bucs have ceiling problems), they could trade him for multiple picks at reasonable prices. If they could deal with a greedy QB team (Miami at age 13?), Ed Oliver of Houston or Clelin Ferrell of Clemson could reinforce a defensive front needy.

6. New York Giants: Drew Lock, Quarter, Missouri. Doubt that General Manager Dave Gettleman does it or pick a quarter here. (In fact, I constantly hear that Dwayne Haskins is sinking and perhaps the fourth smuggler chosen in this draft.) Gettleman seems more willing to set his lines in this rough draft. But a smuggler outweighs everything. Lock or Haskins should be the choice here – unless the Giants think it's a lock that Lock will be there at 17.

7. Jacksonville: Jawaan Taylor, T, Florida. "I would be shocked if the Jaguars were not going to attack here," said a respected general manager. Looks like Taylor is the most willing to make his debut in first year and he could play unanimously against Will Richardson, last year's fourth-round pick.

8. Detroit: T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa. Hmmm. Even after attacking Jesse James Steelers freelance? Yes. Hockenson is one of the best blockers / receivers – and he is passionate about gambling – to get out of college football for years. It's time for Matthew Stafford to have some easy finishes.

9. Buffalo: Jonah Williams, T, Alabama. Odd. The bills have not been the subject of a tackle in the last four drafts, and the last they defeated with a guy from Alabama, Cyrus Kouandjio's failure, five years ago at the second tower. But they solved the problem of free will (John Brown, Cole Beasley), and the long-term attack remains a major need.

10. Denver: Devin White, LB, LSU. Vic Fangio grabbed the best linebacker and a real physical tackler between Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. Keep hearing Denver and a quarterback here, but that's not what I would do this year, this record.

11. Cincinnati: multiple choice. I would like to know what new coach Zac Taylor really thinks of Andy Dalton and if he thinks that one of those passersby this year is a better option. Assuming that Taylor agrees with Dalton, there is a glaring need for a tackle. I would go see Cody Ford, tackle Oklahoma. Too high for him, but the need is urgent.

12. Green Bay: D.K. Metcalf, WR, Mississippi. Pack should be able to scotch-tape in 2019 with the Jimmy Graham / Marcedes Lewis combo board, so I would go with a monster receiver Aaron Rodgers could learn to trust Davante Adams. This is not the Green Bay method: the Pack traditionally expects to be expanded. Metcalf could break this mold.

13. Miami: quarterback or rebound. Maybe the new offensive coordinator, Chad O'Shea, and the general manager, Chris Grier, fell in love with one of the passers-by. I would look this way if I were the dolphins. But the pass is a major necessity, so I could see Mount Sweat or Brian Burns too. Either would be nice here.

14. Atlanta: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston. Pair Oliver, Grady Jarrett and Dan Quinn, finally, could have the kind of domestic terrorism he had been craving since arriving in Atlanta. I understand that they are mirror players. I also understand how difficult it would be for an internal offensive line to block these two people.

15. Washington: Attack or edge or corner. Imagine being halfway through the first round and having your choice of the corner market. Washington could have that, but the corner market is deeper than the tackle, and a decent corner could be obtained on the second day. If Dillard or Ford are on the board, I would choose one or the other. Keep in mind that it's my favorite in the Washington clubhouse to deal with Josh Rosen if the Arizona QB is traded.

16. Carolina: Ride Sweat, Rusher Edge, State of Mississippi. The defensive lineman might have left, but he could lose a little because of irregular play at the university, minor heart problems and being a little stiff. But after the arrival of Julius Peppers, Carolina should win this card on the podium in Nashville if Sweat is there midway.

17. New York Giants: It depends on the first choice. If the Giants have not taken a quarter to six hours and Drew Lock is here, it's him. If this is the case, the best offensive or offensive lineman available, such as goalkeeper / center Garrett Bradbury, who could compete to play the opening day at a position where it is needed, at the center.

18. Minnesota: One of the many offensive linemen, like Dalton Risner, T, State of Kansas, or Erik McCoy, C, Texas A & M. If they do not take the best protector available, I will be stunned. The line is a major need. Coordinator John DeFilippo was fired last year.

19. Tennessee: Irv Smith Jr., TE, Alabama. Marcus Mariota needs an intermediate friend and Delanie Walker, who has just had an injury, will be 35 in August. Smith is a contributor to the opening days.

20. Pittsburgh: Devin Bush, LB, Michigan. When the Steelers lost Ryan Shazier after a spinal injury 16 months ago, they lost the heart of the defense. Bush is not Shazier, but he would give Mike Tomlin the closest thing to Shazier.

21. Seattle: Exchange. If the Seahawks hold the pick, it should be a year-old starter on the offensive line, like Bradbury, the central guard. As it stands … The team most likely to negotiate in the first round: Seattle. It is urgent to team up with the first round: Seattle. General Manager John Schneider would rather negotiate the day of the draft than breathe, and he has only two choices in the top 120: this one and the 84th overall. Above Schneider's compromise on the weekend draft: four.

22. Baltimore: Trade. In Eric DeCosta's first project as Managing Director, the safest thing to do – with only two choices in the top 100 – is what's in DeCosta's blood: trade. If that is not the case, and if a broad-out explosive such as D.K. Metcalf is gone, the smart choice would be a 10-year-old center – Erik McCoy of Texas A & M.

23. Houston: The best tackle. I do not care who it is. Texans must have two good attacks in this project. Andre Dillard, Cody Ford, Dalton Risner … we should still be here. Otherwise, the general manager Brian Gaine will have to exchange his value.

24. Oakland: Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama. It's a beautiful story, Marshawn Lynch being the poster of his hometown, Raiders. Rebellious, rebellious. Guess how many races Lynch has had in the last four seasons of the NFL? It's 408. Guess who will be 33 in two weeks? Time is running out, and a guy who has averaged 102 scopes per year in the last four years and who is old in terms of setbacks may be a complementary player this year. The raiders need a stud and hear me saying that they like Jacobs.

25. Philadelphia: Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma. It's amazing how 24 and 25 choices are similar. The Eagles are negotiating for DeSean Jackson, who turns 33 this year, and begins a second act in Philadelphia, as Lynch did in Oakland. Jackson is the same size (5-10) and six pounds higher than 175 at Brown, which should become the long-term threat for Carson Wentz.

26. Indianapolis: Best player available among the top seven. Brian Burke is still here? Well; he can learn from Justin Houston. Clelin Ferrell? Probably gone. Christian Wilkins? Excellent choice – a 315 pound space eater that could free Darius Leonard so that he can play even more coins in 2019.

27. Oakland: Nasir Adderley, S. Delaware, or Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame. I tend to think of Adderley because he is a versatile player (CB, three year old, one-year security) who could fill the void safely next to Karl Joseph or play a corner or nickel. Good weapon for defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. The luxury of additional choice could make defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons tempting. He would have been one of the top 10 picks without his torn ACL in February.

28. Los Angeles Chargers: Johnathan Abram, S, State of Mississippi. Derwin James and Abram in the back-end for the next eight years? Register me for this.

29. Kansas City: Rashan Gary, driver, Michigan or the best driver player available. The leaders got rid of their top three smugglers in the last 13 months – Tamba Hali, Justin Houston and Dee Ford. If there is one player in the running who can walk, chew gum and get around tackles at the same time, General Manager Brett Veach will catch him.

30. Green Bay: Noah Fant, TE, Iowa or the best offensive lineman available. Keep hearing that Fant was a distant second behind Hockenson among Iowa footballers, which could give the Packers a break. They need an end in a row in the long run, and that might be a good point to get one.

31. Los Angeles Rams: Best offensive lineman available … Chris Lindstrom, G, Boston College, or Elgton Jenkins, C, State of Mississippi. The Rams have major long-term problems on their offensive line. Beginning center-left players in 2018 – John Sullivan, Rodger Saffold and Andrew Whitworth – will probably all be away from here on the 2020 opening day. Reinforcements must come.

32. New England: Best Corner, Top Player or Receiver. I would take Greedy Williams, the corner of LSU. Top 10 seriously in October, and nothing has overturned it except the fact that so many turns are close to him. The caresses can plunge into the deep markets of the enlarged / tight markets at 56, 64 or 73 in total, or with an exchange. Jace Sternberger, of Texas A & M, is the most comfortable coach, though the Patriots think he can pretty much block his plan. He can stretch a defense.

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The only tendency I hear, talking to people in the league, confirms what Gil Brandt said at the top of this column: There is no chalk. Teams will understand that the rebound force is very early, the strength at the tackle is 7 to 30, the strength at the corner and at the receiver is 25 to 70, the force at quarter after Kyler Murray is at the eye of the spectator , And so on. this will affect when teams with major needs at these locations will choose their guys.

I can see once-loved players such as Noah Fant, wide receiver A.J. Brown, defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons, Crusaders Byron Murphy and DeAndre Baker, and defenseman Jachai Polite move to the second round. I hear that Dwayne Haskins could collapse, but it could also be a late preparation.

It's gonna be fun. I say it every year: the NFL is doing a good job creating the suspense leading up to the repechage and the NFL is not helping the teams prepare for the season. There are 115 days between the last day of the regular season and the first day of the repechage. There is 90 days left between the end of the repechage and the start of most team training camps. The NFL could easily remove three to four weeks of preliminary preparation (which is an extra preparation) and give the teams more time for their preliminary choices, thus helping them prepare for the season. But you know why the league does that. Everything is about the hype machine. With the ABC, ESPN and NFL Network projects live this year, networks are paying for programming. Programming well put forward, with a certain mystique. And that's what they will get.

The last time the NFL contract with officials was under negotiation, in 2012, you may remember some of the calls for break-up during the first three weeks of the NFL season, when substitute officials were often ridiculed for lousy calls. The next contract could not come at a worse time for the league. The league's agreement with the Officials Union will expire next March. So this is the last year – and a very big one – for this contract. But the expiration of the deal could force the NFL to do what it should have done before the current arbitration issues were a problem for it in the last 14 months: consider make all referees full-time officials and compensate them with richer and multi-year offers to compete with the television channels that hire them outside the league.

Last week, NFL referee, John Parry, retired to hold a position at ESPN, which is passing through former NFL referees for the studio. and the Monday night games at an alarming rate. (2017: Gerry Austin, 2018: Jeff Triplette, 2019: Parry.)

There are 17 referees in the NFL, led by 17 teams of officials. And the turnover among the officials is alarming:

• In the last 13 months, seven of the 17 referees in the league have left. Last year, four referees (Ed Hochuli, Terry McAulay, Gene Steratore and Jeff Triplette) retired. This year, three more (Walt Coleman, Pete Morelli, Parry) resigned.

• Referees who receive the annual Super Bowl assignment are considered to be the best in the league this season. Referees from 10 of the last 16 Super Bowls have left the field. If they had all aged, that would be one thing. But referees from six of those games (McAulay competed in three Super Bowls, two at Parry and one at Steratore) all left the game in their fifties, a decade considered the best time for refereeing. Traditionally, the retirement age for good officials is somewhere in the mid-sixties.

• Two other referees, Tony Corrente and Walt Anderson, are both over 66 and probably one or two years older on the field.

So if the NFL is to replace eight or nine of the 17 referees over three seasons, while arbitration is under more scrutiny than ever before, you now see why the game is on a very slippery track in 2019. The news replay rules covering passes Interference calls, which is a good idea overall, will require significant management and adjustment. Add that already to the demanding calls menu and add the focus on the officials today, then add seven neophyte referees spread over two seasons at the top of the crews and you will see the risk of problems for the crews. Arbitration in the coming year. Major problems.

Network TV is part of the problem. FOX has recruited two respected men, Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino, who have led the NFL officials department for 13 of the last 18 seasons of the NFL, and made them official television analysts. ESPN removed Triplette and Parry from the field for several years in a row. In 2018, NBC hired McAulay and CBS, Steratore.

Part of the reason is money. Networks will pay more than the NFL. By examining the estimate of what a 20-year-old NFL official who has reached the referee can win during a football season, according to an NFL source:

Game wages: $ 190,000.
Referee allowance (awarded to each of the 17 referees / crew leaders): $ 16,500.
Playoff share (given to all non-rookie officials): $ 25,000
Off-season pay (visits to NFL camps, referee meetings): $ 23,100 (approximate estimate)
Total salary of the NFL: $ 254,600.

(Officials working in the post-season games earn $ 14,250 for the Super Bowl and $ 8,250 per game for all other playoff games.)

Off-season pay is tricky, as officials earn $ 2,100 a day when they visit referral clinics run by the league, or when they work in NFL mini-camps or in the US. practices of training camps. I used 11 days of off-season work as a rough estimate.

So what would happen if the NFL started offering referees $ 1.5 million over three years to work full time in the league? And when I say full-time, I mean that officials will still be able to do ancillary work outside the NFL, as long as they dedicate the full-time hours required to the league's work. I think that's the number that would start to drive the Steratores and Parrys and McAulays to question their choice to go on television. Money is not the only problem, though. The officials with whom I have spoken over the last two years admit that the pressure and attention have increased. Some do not like the current vice president of Al Riveron officials. However, to be honest, Riveron has one of the toughest jobs in the game and simply can not please everyone. And it's obviously less intense work than sitting in a studio or TV booth while games are playing and analyzing idle games – instead of being in real time, when coaches and the players shout at them.

There is no easy answer to that. But the league can not afford to lose quality officials. Intelligent and simple referees and respected team leaders like Clete Blakeman, Jerome Boger and Bill Vinovich could be next at the television negotiating table. The NFL often tries to solve problems by injecting money into problems. It seems to me that money and guaranteed contracts would be a good starting point to put an end to the flow of referees.

Looking for the league in recent days, I found two favorite teams to make quarterback Josh Rosen, the 10th pick in the NFL draft in 2018, if Arizona chooses to recruit Kyler Murray and " 39, exchange Rosen. I think if that happens, Washington is best placed to close the deal. One might wonder if Washington is willing to give a second round choice instead of the third, obviously preferring to trade for Rosen.

Where I think Rosen could probably go:

1. Washington – Choice among the top 100 positions: 15, 46, 76, 96. Rosen would be a great stratagem for coach Jay Gruden and offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell. Gruden liked Rosen out of UCLA, as did O'Connell. It is a heavy team of action game that likes to throw in the pocket – the two assets of Rosen – and who also loves throwing to the end. It's in Rosen's alley. This seems to be the best compromise between need and availability. Interesting thing about potential compensation. I doubt that the Cardinals have an offer of a choice among the top 50 in 2019 for Rosen; so close to the repechage, the teams hate to separate with high choices. Mike Lombardi, former head of the front office with several teams, told me the other day that the first round choices are like new cars: once you've got possession of it and you're in possession of it. are the owner, even for a short time, it's almost worthless. when you bought it. That's why I think Washington could try to hold and pay Arizona the 76th choice instead of the 46th.

2. Giants of New York – Choice among the top 100: 6, 17, 37, 95. CEO Dave Gettleman is unlikely to make the 37th choice for Rosen, partly for value reasons and partly because the Giants really do not know if all the noise is that Rosen is difficult to a merit. But the Giants are an option because coach Pat Shurmur is an adept of the action game and likes his quarterback playing with time and pace. This is Rosen's game. Having Eli Manning for an extra season would allow Rosen to learn behind an excellent coach and a very smart player. So, how can the Giants reach an agreement like this, with no choice between the start of the second round and very late the third? (I would be very surprised if Arizona would consider Rosen as the 95th choice.) Well, the Giants could come up with a second-round pick in 2020, or try to treat the 17th overall pick in a package with second and third places up. choice of terrain. Doing business for Rosen could allow the Giants to use three choices in the top 40 this year to do what Gettleman really wants to do: continue building both lines while addressing the post-Eli QB life.

3. Denver: choice among the top 100: 10, 41, 71. Unlikely. But as the Broncos will take a young quarterback this year or next year, you can not dismiss them from consideration.

4. Miami – Choice among the top 100 positions: 13, 48, 78. The quarterback plans of the Dolphins are shrouded in secrecy; Brian Flores and offensive coordinator Chad O'Shea have learned from Bill Belichick. But I am told that the only way for dolphins to be a quarterback is to be convinced that it will be the solution for the next 10 years. It's hard to imagine that after watching Rosen last year – certainly under constant stress behind a bad offensive line in Arizona.

I would suppress New England; just do not feel the interest there. I would eliminate almost all chargers; Philip Rivers seems ready to play at least two more years and has just given Tyrod Taylor $ 6 million guaranteed over the next two years.

Washington has the most meaning. We will see if the old partners of the NFC East can get there.

It's been a while since I've seen a contract as logical as the $ 105 million five-year contract signed by DeMarcus Lawrence with Dallas on Friday. Like most people, I imagined that Lawrence would play for the second year in a row on the franchise brand after seeing the pessimist David Canter, Lawrence's agent, at the combine; a deal seemed miles. C & # 39; was. But then, Canter suggested to Lawrence last week to abandon their six-year proposal to a more user-friendly five-year period, and advised Lawrence to speak to Dallas president and negotiator Stephen Jones. This call finally took place on Thursday.

Sometimes it is good for the team to hear an important player in the negotiations; all too often, the two parties do not talk to each other. In this case, it really helped. Lawrence told Jones, indeed, I did everything I could for the Cowboys. I played badly, I have a one year contract. I like this organization. I love everything your family has done for me. I want to retire from a cowboy. I really want that to happen.

In the following 28 hours, Dallas recorded an annual average of $ 21 million ($ 2 million on Von Miller, $ 1.5 million on Aaron Donald, $ 2.5 million on Khalil Mack) and $ 48 million fully guaranteed (17 millions USD supplémentaires garantis). la troisième année, s'il figure sur la liste en mars 2020 (ce qui est très probable), rien n'est garanti au-delà de la troisième année. Lawrence, avec 25 sacs du quart au cours des deux dernières années, est un leader clé du Dallas D, et jouera probablement au-delà de trois ans là-bas. Mais rien au-delà de 30 ans n’est un verrou dans la NFL.

Pourquoi les deux côtés ont gagné:

• le côté Lawrence: Assez simple. Lawrence ira se faire opérer du labrum cette semaine et pourrait être absent pendant quatre à six mois. Il a également subi une opération au pied, au pouce, deux interventions au dos et une suspension de quatre matchs. Donc, avoir un pourcentage de son marché plus élevé que celui de Mack, Donald ou Miller ou totalement garanti est très bien, vu les circonstances. Il ne paiera également aucun impôt sur le revenu de l'État au Texas. Mack paiera un impôt sur le revenu de 4,95% dans l'Illinois.

• Le côté Cowboys: Lawrence est un joueur de base qui n'a raté qu'un match au cours des deux dernières années. C'est un joueur avancé dans la défense de Dallas, rapide et physique, et attribuer une moyenne d'environ 10% de la cap-space à l'un des postes les plus importants sur le terrain est un accord que Dallas était prêt à signer, plutôt que d'aller l'année prochaine. année et risquer qu'un joueur amer soit une distraction. Et maintenant, les Cowboys ont le noyau d'un septième pour les trois prochaines années – Lawrence, Jaylon Smith et Leighton Vander Esch – qui, à leur avis, sont compétitifs avec tous les sept premiers du NFC.

La semaine prochaine, je parlerai un peu de la situation de Russell Wilson.

I

«Les hommes courent le monde. Les hommes ont le pouvoir. Les hommes prennent les décisions. C’est toujours le [man] qui est le plus fort. Et quand ces filles sortent, qui cherchent-elles à leur dire que ce n'est pas comme ça que ça doit être? Et quoi de mieux que dans le sport? Toutes ces millions de filles qui pratiquent un sport à travers le pays… ne serait-il pas formidable de leur apprendre à diriger les femmes? "

– L’entraîneure de basketball féminin de Notre Dame, Muffet McGraw, lors de la finale féminine.

Énorme. Tout simplement formidable. Voici comment elle poursuivit cette pensée:

«À l'heure actuelle, moins de 5% des femmes sont des PDG de sociétés du classement Fortune 500. Quand vous regardez le basketball masculin et que 99% des emplois vont à des hommes, pourquoi 100 ou 99% des emplois du basket féminin ne devraient-ils pas aller à des femmes? C’est peut-être parce que 10% des directeurs sportifs sont des femmes de la division I de la NCAA.

«Les gens embauchent des gens qui leur ressemblent. Et c’est le problème.

II

"Je ne dis pas que je suis nécessairement moralement pour parier, mais nous devons avoir la possibilité de fournir [the] agrément pour nos fans. Et nous devrions être les seuls à pouvoir bénéficier de cette opportunité, car c’est notre jeu. "

– Le copropriétaire des factures, Kim Pegula, à Tim O’Shei du Buffalo News, explique le désir de l’équipe d’explorer des paris sportifs dans son stade.

III

«Colleen de New York. Première fois depuis longtemps.

—Colleen McMahon, le juge fédéral qui a condamné vendredi à une peine de trois ans et demi le célèbre animateur du débat sportif à New York, Craig Carton, a commencé sa décision de condamnation avec un abstention classique du talk-show devant un tribunal fédéral.

IV

"Alors que nous soutenons avec enthousiasme le football de pointe pour les groupes plus âgés, nous accordons une grande importance au football drapeau pour les jeunes filles et les garçons."

—Randy Ambrosie, commissaire de la Ligue canadienne de football, sur l'avenir du football junior au Canada, dans un article d'actualité de Ken Belson du New York Times.

V

«J'ai trouvé quelque chose qui m'importe moins que l'AAF. C’est le pliage AAF. "

– Greg Giannotti, animateur du matin sur le réseau WFAN à New York.

VI

“TUN GRATUIT BECKY! GRATUIT TUNIS BECKY! "

—Le chant de quelques fans de Lori Laughlin devant une salle d'audience mercredi à Boston, alors que Laughlin, qui joue le rôle de tante Becky dans l'émission télévisée «Fuller House», semblait faire face à des accusations selon lesquelles son mari et elle auraient versé des sommes démesurées pour l'admission de leurs deux filles. à USC. Ce sont deux des suspects dans le scandale des admissions dans les collèges nationaux.

Michael MacCambridge, auteur d’excellents livres sur le football, «Chuck Noll: le travail de sa vie» et «America’s Game: l’histoire épique de la façon dont le football professionnel a été capturé par une nation», partage mon sentiment sur la règle des heures supplémentaires de la NFL. Si une équipe remporte le tirage au sort, choisit de recevoir et marque un touché lors de la première possession d'OT, le jeu est terminé. La Nouvelle-Angleterre l’a fait dans le Super Bowl 51 contre Atlanta, ainsi que lors du match de championnat AFC de cette saison à Kansas City. MacCambridge a grandi principalement à Kansas City et était dans les tribunes à ce match. Il partage ce qu'il a appris et ce qu'il ressent à propos de la règle des heures supplémentaires:

«La règle doit changer éventuellement. Cela va simplement dépendre du nombre de matches de séries éliminatoires que les gens veulent voir dans lesquels un excellent quart ne peut jamais toucher le ballon. Depuis que la règle a été changée en 2011, Aaron Rodgers et deux fois, Ben Roethlisberger et Matt Ryan au Super Bowl, et maintenant Patrick Mahomes, sont passés par là.

«Je comprends la mentalité de la vieille école qui dit que si vous voulez gagner le match, arrêtez simplement l’autre équipe. Mais ce n’est pas si simple. l'offensive est en hausse, les touchés sont en hausse, les nombres de verges par jeu sont en hausse. Et tard dans un match éliminatoire, où les quarts sont généralement meilleurs, il est plus difficile de les arrêter.

«C'est pourquoi, depuis que la règle a été modifiée en 2011, la majorité des matchs en prolongation d'après-saison se sont terminés dès le tout premier entraînement. I don’t think that’s equitable, or the ideal way to settle a postseason game. (And I didn’t think it was equitable even before my favorite team got eliminated on the first drive of overtime.) The 2011 rule was a half-measure. Eventually the league will take the logical next step—each team is guaranteed one possession.”

I

Aaron Rodgers has started 54 games for the Packers since Oct. 1, 2015. Guess how many of those game Green Bay has won.

Twenty-seven. Exactly half.

II

Washington owner Daniel Snyder has an IMAX theater on his yacht.

You may have noticed I advised Buffalo GM Brendan Beane to pick Alabama tackle Jonah Williams in the first round of the draft.

Could history prompt Beane to ignore that sage counsel?

In the last 30 years, Buffalo has drafted three players from Alabama. (Amazing. In the last nine years, the Bills have drafted six Clemson Tigers.) Let’s recount the stories of those Crimson Tide players who went to Buffalo, all in the top 50 of the last eight drafts:

2011, round one, third overall pick: Marcell Dareus, defensive tackle. Twice benched for violating team rules, twice suspended for NFL substance-abuse violations, charged with reckless driving after being caught drag-racing and hitting a tree, sent home from a preseason game for violating a team rule. Dareus had a heck of a run in Buffalo. He even found time to play a few football games.

2014, round two, 44th overall pick: Cyrus Kouandjio, tackle. Seven starts in three years with the Bills. Just not a good player.

2016, round two, 41st overall pick: Reggie Ragland, linebacker. Bills traded a second-round and two fourth-round picks to move up to get Ragland, and he never played a snap for them. He tore his ACL in August 2016, then was traded to Kansas City the next summer.

I don’t want to be dramatic here, and I don’t mean to say that because three Alabama players were, collectively, abject disasters for the Bills that they shouldn’t take Crimson Tide players. But I’d quadruple-check them if I were Beane.

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One thing about my FMIA job that I’m grateful for is the opportunity to comb through Tweets to find smart and cool ones like this.

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Send your questions or comments to me at [email protected].

John wants the sky judge. From John R.: “You mention [in the April 1 FMIA] that the coaches originally wanted the sky booth official. I’m unclear why it was not approved. Why was the league steadfastly against the sky judge? The concept of it being superfluous, as you wrote, is puzzling. Something is needed.”

There is a replay official upstairs already. That official in the last two minutes of each half is essentially a sky judge. I would assume maybe some of those would be considered to be sky judges. But there are 17 officiating crews, so an extra official on every crew would mean 17 new officials would need to be found and trained to do a job that currently does not exist in the NFL officiating annals. Now it could be that eventually if more major calls get missed, the league will propose that the replay official become a sky judge-type of official; nothing in officiating is set in stone. But I haven’t seen evidence that a sky judge would improve officiating enough to add that extra layer to the game.

What happened to Mike McGuire? From Tom R.: “You often wrote about an Army staff sergeant you met [on your travels]. Do you still keep in touch? I always enjoyed those interactions.”

You’re right. I wrote a lot about Mike McGuire, who did three tours in the Middle East with the Army, working mostly to dismantle improvised explosive devices so our troops wouldn’t get blown up. I met him at a St. Louis Cardinals game and we corresponded for quite a few years, and he helped facilitate the “Five For Fighting” campaign we did to raise money for recreation equipment for the troops in Afghanistan. I hadn’t been in touch for a couple of years when, last year, I tried to re-connect when I was leaving Sports Illustrated for NBC. I’m pretty sure I had a correct address, email and phone for him, and tried all three, and didn’t get a response. I still would love to reach him, and if anyone knows how I might try, please reach out. But I don’t want to pester Mike. Sometimes, people just move on. He’s a great man, as you probably could tell from our interactions.

Robert Kraft supporter (I guess) checks in. From Walter, of Franklin, Mass. “When Bob Klemko [of The MMQB] had [arrested] for playing Grand Theft Auto with a cab and cab driver did you tell him to just take the punishment? How about the time you and [Jenny] Vrentas decided you needed to use the bike lane to get to a football game on time? Had you been pulled over, would you have told Jenny just to take the fine and the insurance surcharge that goes with it? …What if the Coast Guard had decided they wanted to board your boat when you and your grandson were both not wearing life jackets? Would you have just accepted the fine?”

Walter, this is quite an inside-baseball kind of email, but you asked, so I’ll answer. You’re referring to my note last week, when I said it made no sense for New England owner Robert Kraft to apologize for something, then to fight to prove his innocence in the same case. Klemko was involved in a he-said/he-said with a cabbie in Chicago with some extenuating circumstances; it was not an open-and-shut case. I did something stupid in the San Diego bike-lane incident, apologized for it, and would have deserved whatever punishment came of it. (There was none.) Re the life-jacket thing last summer, I had no idea wearing life jackets on board a boat was mandatory, but if there was a sanction, I’d have paid my price without complaint.

Regarding Kraft: He said, “I am truly sorry. I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard.” And in the 15 days since he made that statement, he pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial; his lawyers alleged an illegal search; his lawyers moved to suppress video evidence in the case; and he rejected an offer to take a plea deal. Well, what exactly did he publicly apologize for then? And why did he apologize if he was then going to allow his lawyers to argue for his innocence?

1. I think my biggest takeaway from Tyler Dunne’s excellent unpacking of the Packers/Rodgers/McCarthy/Thompson story is this: Mike McCarthy is going to have work hard, and repair his tarnished image significantly in the next nine months, to have a real shot at a head-coaching job in 2020. With the broadsides he’s taken since getting fired by the Packers late last season, McCarthy has a chance to be Brian Billick—a Super Bowl-winning coach damaged so much late in his tenure that he never got a chance to coach another team.

2. I think there’s a journalism tale in Dunne’s story too. He got significant parties to the story—most notably Ryan Grant, Jermichael Finley and Greg Jennings—to go on the record about a very sensitive topic involving one of the great players in recent history on a storied franchise. A franchise, I should add, that has been excellent at keeping dirty laundry in-house. What Dunne did is penetrate the bubble, and in today’s NFL, with so many filters between the media and the players, that’s an incredibly hard thing to do.

In today’s media, what’s also hard, and what Bleacher Report deserves credit for, is giving a writer four months to work on a story. I talked to Dunne on Friday (he’ll join me on my podcast dropping Wednesday), and he started reporting this story in early December. He talked to more than 50 people for it. Kudos to Dunne, and to his bosses, for realizing what a gold mine the story was, and taking the needed time that so few media entities allow today.

3. I think Matt LaFleur had to be quaking reading that story. Here’s LaFleur, four years older than Rodgers, never been a head coach, never been in charge of a veteran, star quarterback, and now he’s got to run a team after reading a story that portrays Rodgers as a vindictive, you-better-do-it-my-way guy. LaFleur’s never had to walk in front of a room of 90 guys and command them, which is a daunting enough task. Reading Dunne, LaFleur has got to worry about what kind of partner he’ll have in Rodgers. I hope Packers president Mark Murphy, in the search process, saw enough signs in LaFleur that he’ll be able to handle a quarterback like Rodgers and be able to lead a team.

4. I think, come to think of it, that Dunne probably just helped Aaron Rodgers prepare to be great again in 2019. Rodgers will understand that many now will view him as a controlling home-wrecker, and he’s be supremely motivated to show what a team guy, and a winning guy, he is. He’s not going to want to be known as the 800-pound gorilla. He’s going to want to be known as a great leader and winning player. That’s my guess anyway.

5. I think someone from the Alliance of American Football, co-founder Charlie Ebersol or chairman Tom Dundon, owes eight cities and players and coaches an explanation about the league folding in the middle of its first season. Someone needs to step up and explain why the league, which was talking about a multi-year gestation period, died after eight weeks. I have known Ebersol for years, and my experience is that he is a good person. I’m going to hear his explanation first before passing judgment on anything other than my first point: The players and coaches and employees of the AAF deserve to hear what happened, and soon. But I want to take you back to a conversation I had a year ago with Ebersol, when I asked him about how he could be so sure this league would make it when the sporting road is littered with disastrous minor football leagues. Ebersol made three points:

• He was building for the long term. Ebersol said, “The most important thing of all the previous attempts of spring football—football—was not the core focus. There was razzmatazz, there was marketing, there was excitement, but never before did you have national champion coaches, you didn’t have Super Bowl coaches, you didn’t have Bill Polian and you definitely didn’t have a reimagining of the structure of a league that empowered the players to be taken care of … Me, my investors, my partners, Bill [Polian] my co-founder, and the people involved, are all looking at a seven to 10-year business model as a starting point of what we are trying to build.”

• He said he had partners willing to be patient. “Amazon didn’t make its first dollar of profit for 23 years,” Ebersol said. “We’re not a business based on one or two billionaires pouring money in and hoping for the best on the promise of 80,000 people in the stadiums and a massive TV deal. No, this is a very sober business model.”

• He said the returns in early years would be insignificant. “The type of money that we raised is from institutions that do not look at first and second-year returns. They look at seven.”

Ebersol has not spoken publicly since the death of the AAF. But a few things are clear. The AAF trusted an early $170-million investment from a former investor with the Vikings, Reggie Fowler, and had his money vetted through league investigators. It’s unclear how or why this money turned out to be an issue during the first year of the AAF, but when the league needed Fowler’s money in year one, it had a problem accessing all of it. That led to needing immediate help early in this season—and, clearly, Ebersol should not have relied on one investor to this extent, to the extent that his efficacy threatened the entire league—and so the league turned to Dundon. But Dundon, who saved the league early with a cash infusion, clashed with Ebersol and Polian over the direction of the league.

6. I think Ebersol is going to have to explain why he wasn’t willing to see the league through the last month of the first season. Did Fowler or Dundon, or both, view the AAF as a steppingstone to NFL ownership, and were their initial investments shows of faith to NFL owners that they should be considered for future franchises? We don’t know. But questions like those hang over the death of another minor league that had grandiose visions and not enough money to support them.

7. I think the other thing people who build spring football league have to ask is whether we really want football in the spring. I have little interest in it, and I didn’t have one email, tweet or text in the last two months asking me if I’d be covering the AAF, or criticizing my lack of attention to it. From mid-February to late April, the time of AAF games, I believe my readers/experiencers care about the combine, free agency and the draft. Not that it’s impossible for the AAF or another minor league to exist, but it should exist as a minor league, without all the bells and whistles (an extra official known as a Sky Judge, coach-to-QB communication, and so many of the other pricy toys that you just don’t need to run a sports league). This was Triple-A football, and should have been financially managed as such.

8. I think I don’t give the XFL much a chance either. I’ve heard people in the last few days say things like, “Great for the XFL—now the competition is out of the way!” But how is the XFL not going to bleed money the way the AAF did, even if Vince McMahon has all that wrestling dough to throw into this?

9. I think I speak for everyone who has covered football or had any association with the Chargers over the years when I say how sad it was Friday to learn of the death of Ramona Johnston, the wife of former Chargers PR czar Bill Johnston, from Huntington’s Disease. She was 60, and had battled the cruel disease for the final third of her life. When the Chargers moved north to Orange County—soon they’ll be playing in Los Angeles—two years ago, Bill Johnston decided to remain in San Diego rather than move with the team. He didn’t want to move Ramona from her full-time care facility in San Diego. Over the years, Bill raised in the neighborhood of $3 million for the Huntington’s cause, running marathons with his daughter Hayley and setting up galas to fund research for one of the most debilitating diseases known to man. Best wishes to Bill, a true gentleman and wonderful husband, and his family.

10. I think these are my other thoughts of the week:

at. Anyone in December have a Texas Tech-Virginia national championship game? Bueller? Bueller?

b. Football Story of the Week: Dunne’s, of course.

c. Football Story of the Week 2: Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, on an AAF linebacker who broke his forearm in two places on the last AAF weekend, and what his fate is.

d. “I haven’t heard anything. Who’s going to do my therapy? Who’s going to pay for this? I got nowhere to stay. It’s a s— show,” said Gionni Paul of the Salt Lake Stallions.

e. Newspaper Feature of the Week: Corey Kilgallon of the New York Times on the Bayonne Bleeder, Chuck Wepner, finally getting a statue in his beloved hometown of Bayonne, N.J.

f. Wepner begat “Rocky.” True story.

g. Wepner wrestled Victor the Bear—a bear, a real 400-pound declawed brown bear—twice. The bear’s reward after one of the bouts with Wepner was a bottle of Coca-Cola. Also: Wepner got thrown out of the ring in a wrestling match with Andre the Giant.

h. You have got to look at the photo down toward the bottom of the story, the image of Wepner stalking Muhammad Ali after knocking him down in the ninth round of their heavyweight title fight in 1975 at the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Richfield, Ohio. Ali got up, and registered a TKO of the bloody Wepner in the 15th round. Wepner, truly, is a living legend.

i. Officiating Story of the Week: by Josh Lewis, for Football Zebras, the officiating site, on Amanda Sauer-Cook, the first openly gay official working pro football (she worked AAF games).

j. Why, Antonio Brown? Why? Why go on social media and blame Ju Ju Smith-Schuster for the Steelers not making the playoffs? Bush league.

k. United States Infrastructure Story of the Week: Samantha Rafelson of NPR on the imminent structural danger of 47,000 bridges in this country.

l. Uh, this just in: It will take 80 years to get those bridges back up to proper specifications, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association says. Perhaps we should get to work on that. Americans, who cross those bridges 187 million times a day per the NPR report, seem to be playing Russian roulette when they cross them.

m. Story on Something I Didn’t Know of the Week: a radio story from Alice Driver for the “Reveal” show, from the Center for Investigative Reporting. It’s a case study of a central American person applying for and receiving asylum in the United States. (Starts at the 18:10 mark of the hour-long show.) Excellent, you-are-there look at the forces driving immigration and asylum-seeking.

not. I simply cannot believe the amount of time, energy, web space and media coverage devoted to the unveiling of the New York Jets new uniforms Thursday night. They’re actually nice—the white shirts, in particular, are lovely. But holy cow. The coverage was exorbitant.

o. Man, I am so old.

p. Odd, also, is the fact that “NEW YORK” appears above the numbers on the front of the Jets jerseys, even though the team practices in New Jersey (33 miles from New York), has its offices in New Jersey (33 miles from New York), plays in New Jersey (nine miles from New York). Almost all Jets players reside in New Jersey. I guess when you lived in Jersey for 23 years, as I did, you notice slights like that.

q. Coffeenerdness: I’ll say this about Brooklyn: Incredible coffee culture there. So many good local coffee shops. Manhattan is Starbucks. Brooklyn is craft coffee.

r. Beernerdness: A leftover from my league meetings trip recently: Huss Brewing Co. (Tempe, Ariz.) has a great hot-weather beer, a Kolsch called Scottsdale Blonde. Had one at a spring-training game, and it was crisp, ice cold, and just right.

s. What political brainiac told Bill de Blasio it’d be a good idea for him to run for president? Selina Meyer?

t. You’re off to a great start, “Veep.”

u. More Jonah Ryan, please.

v. Probably not a popular opinion—Woj, put me in my place here—but the Basketball Hall of Fame seems like the Basketball Hall of Very Good to me.

w. Bumpy/rocky/pathetic start to the season (all road games) for the world champ Red Sox. But this is why Alex Cora’s a good manager, IMO. Asked whether opening with an 11-game road trip is part of the reason for the awful start, Cora said, via Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe: “This is the big leagues. We don’t travel in middle seats and we don’t stay in motels. The way they treat us in the clubhouse is five-star. … We’re not making excuses.” Good for him.

x. Best to you, Kelly Stafford, in your surgery and recovery from a brain tumor. Matthew and Kelly Stafford do such good work in metro Detroit, and there’s been an outpouring of good wishes and prayers for her in her fight.

y. Good on the Dolphins, who continue to run one of the best charitable events in the NFL, the Dolphins Cancer Challenge, which in nine years has raised $32 million for research at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. This was the weekend of the event, and several players and owner Stephen Ross biked 14 miles for the cause.

Josh Rosen might be
smart to look at condos in
northern Virginia.