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NFL Random Thought of the Day

The Dolphins are scheduled to interview OLB coach Ryan Slowik for DC. He has previously coached LBs with Miami and the Browns and the Cardinals, DL with the Jets, and DBs with the Cardinals, and STs and DBs in Denver.

BTW, Ryan is Bobby's brother............talented brothers on opposite sides of the OL!
 
Unsealed deposition transcripts show NFL’s lingering tension over head trauma
By Mike Florio
Published January 30, 2024 01:17 PM

More than a decade ago, the NFL agreed to settle the concussion class action in order to, among other things, avoid litigation that would have resulted in plenty of problematic documents and testimony coming to light through the discovery process.

Discovery still happened, however, in a case involving whether the NFL was entitled to insurance coverage for the concussion settlement. Deposition testimony from that case recently was unsealed.

Daniel Kaplan of FrontOfficeSports.com has posted an article with quotes from some of the unsealed depositions, led by testimony from Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The case has placed the NFL in a tough spot. On one hand, it needs to show that there is enough of a link between football and head injuries to trigger insurance coverage. On the other hand, the NFL has been wired for decades to downplay the connection.

Consider this excerpt from Goodell’s deposition, via Kaplan:

Q. “As you sit here today, sir, do you know whether there is any medical consensus regarding whether concussions result in long-term damage to NFL players who sustain concussions while playing in the NFL?”

A. “I think there’s still a great deal of uncertainty about the causation issue, if that’s what you’re referring to.”

NFL general counsel Jeff Pash provided a different answer to the same question. “I think we’ve said that there can be long-term effects,” Pash said.

Goodell repeated his past explanation that there are risks to everything, including walking down the street. He also complained about media coverage of the issue as well: “They misstate, they misrepresent things, and when they do that, they add to a narrative that I think is unfair and unfounded.”

Goodell, who testified in July 2022, also got a taste of the risks associated with trying to engage in swordplay with lawyers. At one point, Goodell was asked this question: “Did you find it an issue of concern for the NFL that multiple NFL players committed suicide and left notes indicating that they wanted their brains studied, to determine whether their injuries resulted from their play in the NFL?”

Easy answer? “Yes.”

Goodell’s answer? “I’m not sure I would agree with that entire statement. I think players who want to participate in the research necessary to advance science is a positive thing for us. Obviously, the circumstances are incredibly unfortunate.”

That’s what happens when a witness strays from answering questions to trying to make arguments. Goodell opted to try to win the question, twisting the words to find a positive in something that carries no positives.

Having another brain to study is most definitely not a positive for the NFL, if the death was both untimely and self-inflicted. More broadly, it’s never positive for Goodell or any other executive to try to exert the same control over the situation that he controls over every other situation he encounters.

That’s why the NFL constantly tries to ensure that any legal claims against it will happen in arbitration controlled by the league. The fewer times the Commissioner and/or owners are put under oath and asked tough questions by lawyers, the better off the league will be.
 
JB said:
www.espn.com

Sources: Commanders hire Quinn as new coach

The Commanders are hiring Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their head coach, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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Yes, this is an upgrade from Rivera. Yes, they are robbing a division rival. But Washington has to be somewhat disappointed in the outcome of this process. Seems like a consolation prize, at best.
 
Joint NFL/NFLPA committee finds similar injury rates on grass and turf fields in 2023
By Josh Alper
Published February 2, 2024 07:09 AM

A joint committee put together by the NFL and NFL Players Association found that the incidence of lower body injuries was about the same on turf fields as it was on grass fields during the 2023 season.

There has been a push to get rid of turf fields in recent years because of the toll they take on players, but the committee found that the rate of injuries that occur in the lower extremities without contact from another player was 0.001 higher per 100 plays on turf than it was on grass. That led NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller to say that there is a “need to look at all surfaces” in order to cut down on injuries.

The NFLPA gave a statement to ESPN saying that the 2023 data did not change its belief that grass surfaces are better for players than turf.
“As we have said repeatedly, injury data in a one-year time capsule does not account for what we have known since we started tracking these injuries: that a well-maintained, consistent grass surface is still simply safer for players than any synthetic field,” the statement said. “The story of last year’s injury data is that, unfortunately, injury rates on grass have increased from last year. The data cannot, however, account for what players have shared with the NFL for years: that we feel much worse after playing on synthetic surfaces and overwhelmingly prefer consistent, high-quality grass fields. This year’s injury data also does not explain how quick they are to flip NFL stadium surfaces from bad synthetic to better grass for international soccer friendlies and tournaments.”

There was an overall drop in missed games due to injury of about 700 from 2022 to 2023 and the league’s numbers say that’s largely due to a drop in lower-extremity injuries across the board. Credit for that drop was given to changes in the way teams work in the spring and during training camp, but they are unlikely to put an end to debate about the best playing surfaces for NFL games moving forward.
 
JB said:
www.espn.com

Lamar to get bigger role in planning, coach says

After an MVP-caliber season in which he set career highs in passing yards and completion rate, Lamar Jackson is set to get an even bigger role in organizing the Ravens' offense next season, according to coach John Harbaugh.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Click to expand...
Good idea. Let the guy throwing picks in the end zone make the game plans. What could go any more wrong than it has been?
 
Lucky said:
Good idea. Let the guy throwing picks in the end zone make the game plans. What could go any more wrong than it has been?
Click to expand...

Triple coverage too.

I mean there are bad throws.

Then there are the throws into triple coverage.

giphy.gif
 
Lucky said:
Yes, this is an upgrade from Rivera. Yes, they are robbing a division rival. But Washington has to be somewhat disappointed in the outcome of this process. Seems like a consolation prize, at best.
Click to expand...
You Know after I read the DC team hired Quinn I wondered why they didn't go after the GOAT instead, then I did little checking,
and found Quinn is "only" 53 which makes him a full couple decades younger than Belichick.
I'd always thought Quinn was older, seems he's been around awhile as he's also had a HC gig or a few years, but he's so much younger than the old geezer from Boston I get it now.
 
IDEXAN said:
You Know after I read the DC team hired Quinn I wondered why they didn't go after the GOAT instead, then I did little checking,
and found Quinn is "only" 53 which makes him a full couple decades younger than Belichick.
I'd always thought Quinn was older, seems he's been around awhile as he's also had a HC gig or a few years, but he's so much younger than the old geezer from Boston I get it now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, anybody hiring Belichick has got to know they’ll be hiring again in a couple of years at least. He’s certainly not a long term answer, especially to a rebuilding team and would just be in it to try and get Shula’s record.

Unless Jerry Jones says come on down, I’m not real sure Belichick coaches again.
 
I expect the Bills to come crashing down this upcoming season. You got Diggs with his usual diva antics and the fact they have lost to the Chiefs in the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years. Fired their OC midseason and DC left the team last year before the season started citing personal reasons.

I expect Mcdermott might be in danger of losing the locker room not being able to get past the divisional round. If this were Philly he would’ve been fired at the end of this season.

Bills WR Stefon Diggs unsure of future in Buffalo after down 2023 season

www.nfl.com
 
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Reactions: JB
TheRealJoker said:
I expect the Bills to come crashing down this upcoming season. You got Diggs with his usual diva antics and the fact they have lost to the Chiefs in the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years. Fired their OC midseason and DC left the team last year before the season started citing personal reasons.

I expect Mcdermott might be in danger of losing the locker room not being able to get past the divisional round. If this were Philly he would’ve been fired at the end of this season.

Bills WR Stefon Diggs unsure of future in Buffalo after down 2023 season

www.nfl.com
Click to expand...

Philly just saw an epic collapse and kept their HC. I think the Philly comparison is off.

But I am just being that annoying internet person that picks out that one sentence to argue about.

So I got that going for me on a Saturday.
 
TheRealJoker said:
I expect the Bills to come crashing down this upcoming season. You got Diggs with his usual diva antics and the fact they have lost to the Chiefs in the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years. Fired their OC midseason and DC left the team last year before the season started citing personal reasons.

I expect Mcdermott might be in danger of losing the locker room not being able to get past the divisional round. If this were Philly he would’ve been fired at the end of this season.

Bills WR Stefon Diggs unsure of future in Buffalo after down 2023 season

www.nfl.com
Click to expand...
Sounds like getting rid of Diggs may be the answer to the issues.
 
Idiots for thinking they could get away with this!

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Man who posed as Jeff Pash and others gets 12 years for a medical billing scheme
Published February 3, 2024 07:02 PM

A man who posed as NFL general counsel Jeff Pash and others will be spending 12 years in the custody of the federal government.

Via the Associated Press, Matthew James was sentenced on Friday after a July 2022 conviction for using fraud and identity theft to get “hundreds of millions of dollars” from insurance providers.

James, 54, ran medical billing companies. He harangued insurance companies to pay, by pretending to be a patient or policyholder who was trying to get reimbursement.

James also pretended to be NBA player Marcus Smart.

Pash’s wife was treated for an injury that happened while running in 2018. At trial, prosecutors played a recording of James, pretending to be pash, yelling and swearing at a customer service representative on an insurance company’s dedicated line for NFL players.

“These are people that work for the NFL, and I would hate to have them think that was me on that call,” Pash testified at the trial.

The numbers involved are staggering. From the press release announcing the sentence, James was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $336,996,416.85 and to forfeit $63,382,049.02.
 
Bill Belichick thanks Patriots fans with full-page ad in Boston Globe
By Mike Florio
Published February 4, 2024 09:20 AM

More than three weeks ago, the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick parted ways. Today, the first Sunday without NFL football since the Sunday after Labor Day, Belichick issued an official “thank you” to Patriots fans.

In a full-page letter appearing on A3 of the Boston Globe, Belichick acknowledged those who supported the team through his 24 years on the job.

“Nowhere in America are pro sports fans as passionate as in New England and for 24 years, I was blessed to feel your passion and power,” Belichick says. “The Patriots are the only NFL team representing SIX states but in reality, Patriots Nation knows no borders.

“You were undaunted by weather, attended scorching hot training camp practices and braved Foxborough’s coldest, wettest, snowiest, and windiest days.

“Your thoughtful letters offered support, critique, and creative play suggestions. You watched on TV, the internet, and from your stadium seats.
“You traveled from coast to coast and internationally. Numerous times, you overtook opposing stadiums and were the last fans standing. We loved it! You gave your precious time, resources, and energy to our team. We appreciated it!

“Six times, you packed Boston by the million for parades that were truly a two-way expression of gratitude and love. The images from those days are burned in my memory.

“You may even have enjoyed my fashion sense and press conferences, or maybe you just tolerated them.

“I loved coaching here and, together, we experienced some amazing moments.

“THANK YOU ALL.”

The letter was printed just days after the 2024 hiring cycle concluded with Belichick getting none of the seven open jobs. He was interviewed only for one of them, in Atlanta. Others (the Commanders) reportedly considered pursuing him. Still others (reportedly the Eagles, possibly the Cowboys) considered hiring him if they had fired their current coaches.

Nothing about Belichick is non-strategic. The thank-you letter was likely timed to come after it was known where he would, or wouldn’t, be coaching next year. Given that he will now be relegated to waiting until 2025 to resume his quest for Don Shula’s all-time wins record, Belichick needs to close the book on New England in a way that will make another team more likely to open its doors to him.

It’s smart to show love to the fans. The fans will be skeptical of Belichick, given his recent track record. He needs to be able to win the fans in order to win the job — especially since people in any given NFL organization who already have jobs in football operations will be squeamish about the prospect of Belichick showing up and taking over, whether due to his job title or his usual way of doing things.

The next step for Belichick will be finding a way to stay in the game for 2024. He will have plenty of opportunities in media. He will need to choose strategically. How can he reach the most people? How can he make the best impression? How can he reverse the narrative that he has “horrible” interpersonal skills and that his “military system” of coaching doesn’t work anymore? How can he create a sense not of possibility but inevitability that he will get one of the jobs that will be open after the 2024 season?

That’s his challenge for the remaining 11 months of 2024. His mission. His only path to get back to doing the thing has been doing for nearly five full decades.
 
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