AROUND THE NFL
Patriots will want to make Jaguars’ Jalen eat his critical words on Sunday ... Brees could be playing mind games with the Jets ... A look at the 0-7 new coaches
News and views around the NFL, with Week 2 under way:
1. IS JALEN RAMSEY PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1 FOR THE PATRIOTS?
NEWS:
In his latest boastsand-roasts filled magazine profile, the Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback among other things slammed New England tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“I don’t think Gronk’s good,” Ramsey told ESPN The
Magazine in its 2018 NFL season preview issue. “Let me say — I don’t think Gronk is as great as people think he is … Any time Gronk has been matched up with a corner, he’s had a very bad game, and that corner has had a very good game.”
VIEW: The Patriots this Sunday visit the Jaguars, in a rematch of January’s AFC championship game that saw New England score two late touchdowns to squeeze past Jacksonville and into the Super Bowl.
Normally, you’d expect the Patriots to not even go there, when asked about inflammatory comments emanating from that week’s opponent. But if you look closely at comments this week from Gronkowski and head coach Bill Belichick, you see that Ramsey indeed has inflamed GrumpNation.
Gronkowski’s reaction? “I mean, if that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels. It’s a big game this Sunday ... I’m sure I’m going to have opportunities to go versus him. I’m sure he’s going to have opportunities to go versus me ... I’ve got to just do my job out on the field, just worry about that.”
Yeah, but do Ramsey’s shots motivate him?
“For sure. There’s always motivation you’re looking for,” Gronk said, before catching himself. “It does and it doesn’t ... You were trying to get me to say something, right? But, it does and it doesn’t.
“Because it motivates you to hear that ... If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels.”
Most interesting was Belichick’s answer, when asked what he has seen from Ramsey since he entered the NFL two seasons ago. Often if Belichick likes a player, he’ll go on and on and on. Not this time.
“Yeah, he’s done a good job. He’s on a good defence,” Belichick said. “They have a lot of good players, and he’s one of them. They’ve got a lot of them.”
Bam.
As Belichick comments go, that was nuclear — fission by omission. Especially when, minutes later, he went on and on about how great Yannick Ngakoue and the Jaguars defensive front is — 270 words worth of praise, to be precise.
Sunday’s showdown ought to be fun.
2. MAYFIELD BETTER THAN BREES EVENTUALLY?
NEWS:
New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees says Cleveland’s No. 1 overall draft pick this year, Baker Mayfield, “can be a lot better than me ... He’s got all the tools. He’s more athletic. He probably can run around better. He’s got a stronger arm.”
VIEW:
What, do the Saints play the Browns this week or something? Ha. Turns out they do. Perhaps, then, those glowing accolades from the 39-year-old Brees can be chalked up to the usual, “Boy, aren’t our opponents GREAT?!” lathering. Or, the fact that the two native Texans grew up less than half an hour’s drive from one another; Brees has known of Mayfield’s ascension for years.
Let’s briefly compare the two, though.
Body size? Practically identical — both weigh about 215 pounds, and both stand a shade under 6-foot-1. In other words, both are typically too short to succeed in the NFL.
Brees has gloriously proved otherwise. In the next few weeks he’s on pace to break NFL career records for completions and passing yards.
But if we’ve learned anything from Brees it’s that superstar NFL quarterbacking is less about what’s in your arm and legs, and more about what’s between your ears.
Can Mayfield tame his wild-stallion athleticism, tone down his outsized bravado and focus his overflowing energy into a Brees-like pro career? I’ll get back to ya in five or 10 years. First thing’s first: Unseating the uninspiring Tyrod Taylor in Cleveland.
3. NEW COACHES START OUT 0-7
NEWS:
All seven newly hired NFL head coaches lost their Week 1 opener. Are they that bad?
VIEW:
Quick answer: Of course not. Only one of the seven debuts ought to be particularly concerning: Matt Patricia’s in Detroit. More on him in a moment.
We all know Oakland’s Jon Gruden can coach. Probably it’ll take him deep into the season to catch himself up on late 2010s pro football advancements, or maybe not until he gets another off-season under his belt. But we’re probably not looking at last-decade Bill Parcells in Dallas here. He’s too motivated for that.
Pat Shurmur has a couple of head-coaching seasons under his belt from Cleveland (2011-12) to help him navigate the stormy Big Apple waters, as new head coach of the Giants. His New York team played pretty well last Sunday against the defending AFC championship-game finalist Jaguars.
Chicago’s Matt Nagy nearly pulled off a gigantic firstgame upset in Green Bay, and would have if it weren’t for that meddling Limpy McRodgers.
Tennessee’s Mike Vrabel might have an upgraded defence corps to coach up, but the Titans offence could be in trouble if QB Marcus Mariota keeps getting injured at this rate, or if his O-line can’t get healthy.
Frank Reich in Indianapolis ought to keep wringing more from Andrew Luck than we’ve seen since early in his promising career. It’s just whether his defence can stop anyone in Year 1.
Similarly, defensive-minded Steve Wilks takes over a talent-starved club in Arizona that lost soundly to a Washington team no one still thinks too much about.
Then there’s Detroit’s Patricia. How could his first game have gone worse? Or been more embarrassing? A 48-17 loss in practically every phase Monday night to a New York Jets team that won five games last year?
Patricia apparently is instituting a drastic locker-room change in Detroit — more like Capt. Bligh than the previous two Captain Nice Guys (Jims Caldwell and
Schwartz).
Patricia had better get things figured out fast if he hopes to avoid a mutiny.