With the Paris Olympics in full swing, the NFL is working hard at promoting flag football, which will debut as an Olympic sport in 2028 in Los Angeles.
A new ad from the NFL features Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts outside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, throwing a flaming football to light the Olympic torch.
“It’s our turn,” Hurts says to the camera.
Several NFL players have said they want to play on the Olympic flag football team, and the NFL, being gung-ho about promoting flag football, will surely encourage players to play and market the sport to the world — even as many coaches won’t want their players competing in Los Angeles as training camps are opening.
Whether coaches like it or not, however, Olympic flag football is coming, and the NFL sees it as a big opportunity to market America’s game to an international audience.
Eagles rookie guard Trevor Keegan is coming off a national championship season at Michigan last year, but he says the college atmosphere doesn’t compare to what he has already experienced in the NFL.
Keegan says the 50,000 Eagles fans who went to Lincoln Financial Field to watch a public practice on Thursday were louder than the crowds he heard at Michigan, where home games average about 110,000 fans.
“I even got a little emotional getting over to the stadium [on Thursday for the public practice]. I don’t know how many people were there, but it was louder than Michigan’s stadium. Definitely. It was rockin’. I got goosebumps,” Keegan said, via the team’s website.
A fifth-round rookie, Keegan is viewing Friday’s preseason opener at Baltimore as a major opportunity to prove himself.
“I never had a preseason game in college, but I’m making sure my body is up to steam, make sure I’m getting sleep and the food that I need to get me ready for each and every day,” he said. “I think I told Fred [Johnson] in the locker room that we play a game in five days. That’s pretty cool. I’m excited.”
It’s hard to get excited about the preseason, but Keegan is. And he’s pleased with how excited Eagles fans are as well.
Eagles first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell is continuing to make a strong impression on the team’s veteran wide receivers.
In June, A.J. Brown said it is fun practicing against a corner who talks as much as Mitchell does and said more recently, via NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com, that he likes that Mitchell “doesn’t back down” during 1-on-1 battles. Brown’s receiving partner Devonta Smith got his chance to chime in on the rookie cornerback on Sunday and had a similar take to the one that Brown shared.
“Today was the first day I went against him. I got open,” Smith said, via Zach Berman of PHLY. “And he told me my route was trash. I like it, though. He’s a great guy. I like what I’ve seen — he’s moving around a lot.”
The Eagles doubled down on corners at the top of the draft, which sent a clear sign about their belief that the team needs to improve in that area. The early returns are positive, but Mitchell will have to have the same presence against opposing teams for the pick to go down as a major success.
The NFL has not eliminated the quarterback push play, a product of the rule that allows the ball carrier to be shoved by a teammate from behind. The new 2024 rule book nevertheless takes a small chunk out of the manner in which the play is executed.
Here’s the new language, from Rule 7, Section 5 (position of players at the snap), Article 1 (offensive team), subsection (d): “No player may take a position that is neither clearly on, nor clearly off the line of scrimmage, unless he is directly behind the snapper. Only one player may be in such a position, and he must wear an eligible number, unless he has reported in accordance with Rule 5, Section 3, Article 1.”
I thought it was aimed at addressing the habit of some tackles to basically line up in the backfield. It’s not.
Some thought it was aimed at the alignment of slot receivers. It’s also not.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the league added that language at the suggestion of the referee group. The goal was to clarify that only one player — the quarterback, typically — is permitted to be in “no-man’s land” between the line of scrimmage and the backfield.
The league decided that it doesn’t want multiple players aligned in or near the “A” gap and immediately pushing on the quarterback after the snap. If they’re going to push at the snap, they need to start the play clearly in the backfield.
The language also prevents the offense from having a lineman take the snap on one play and returning to the line on the next play. While a lineman can still take the snap, he’s required to report as eligible before the play. By rule, he must remain at an eligible position until he exits the game; in other words, after taking a snap, he can’t immediately go back to his position on the line.
Some teams had tried to argue that, because the person taking the snap is neither on nor off the line of scrimmage, a lineman isn’t subject to reporting rules if he wants to take a snap and then immediately return to his ineligible position on the line without leaving the game.
Now, that argument is gone. No one, other than the person taking the snap, is permitted in “no-man’s land” at the snap. And any lineman who wants to take the snap must report as eligible and then continue to align in an eligible position until leaving the game for at least one play.
It doesn’t eliminate the quarterback push play. It does refine, and restrict, the manner in which it may be executed.
Bill Belichick won’t be coaching in the NFL this year, but he won’t be a stranger to fans who are watching the 2024 season unfold.
Underdog Fantasy announced on Wednesday that Belichick has partnered with them to create a show called Coach with Bill Belichick that will premiere during the season.
In a video discussing his involvement with the show, Belichick said that the content of the show has been designed in response to what fans have asked him about the sport. Belichick said the show will include “behind the scenes information, decision-making that goes on within the organization and a breakdown of schematics and personnel within the game.”
Belichick also has plans to appear on Inside the NFL and on the Manningcast during Monday Night Football games on ESPN. He’s also expected to make regular appearances on The Pat McAfee Show in his first year out of NFL coaching since joining the Baltimore Colts in 1975.
The Eagles are bringing in an offensive lineman with a lot of experience in the NFC East.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Eagles are set to sign Nick Gates to their 90-man roster. Gates spent last season with the Commanders and he played for the Giants in his first four seasons.
Gates started 10 of the 13 games that he played in Washington and he started 29 of 44 games while with the Giants, but missed extended time after breaking his leg in 2021. He has played at all positions on the line at various points in his career.
The Eagles have been using Mekhi Becton at right guard this week with Tyler Steen sidelined by an ankle injury. Gates could find his way into that mix or compete for a depth role once he’s up and running in Philly.
Everything keeps coming up Kelce.
The wildly popular podcast hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce is sufficiently wildly popular to justify a quest for nine-figure.
According to Anne Steele of the Wall Street Journal, via Sports Business Journal, the Kelces seek a deal in the range of nine figures for the New Heights podcast.
$100 million, for a once-per-week show. Not. Too. Shabby.
The term of the deal they’re seeking isn’t clear. That will obviously be a major factor. Five years? Ten? One?
Regardless, it shows the power of the podcast, if the podcast is a podcast that lots of people listen to. And lots of people are listening to podcasts. Lots of them are listening to the Kelce brothers podcast. And someone is making the money generated by the show.
It might as well go to the guys who are creating the thing.
The next chapter of Mekhi Becton’s NFL career may take place at a new position.
Becton was working at right guard with the starting offense at Monday’s practice. Tyler Steen had been getting those reps, but he injured his ankle and Becton, who played both tackle spots with the Jets, will now get a chance to show what he can do at the only open starting spot on the offensive line in Philadelphia.
“Yeah, he’s going to get some work in there today,” head coach Nick Sirianni said, via a transcript from the team. “I’m looking forward to that. Mekhi has had a good camp so far and looking forward to getting him some work next to Lane [Johnson] and continuing to work forward with that. As bummed as we are that Steen is going to be out for a little bit and not giving the timeline there. It shouldn’t be something that’s long — give other people opportunities to work, and Mekhi is going to be one of those guys.”
Becton had a solid rookie year for the Jets after being taken in the first round in 2020, but he was limited to one game over the next two seasons due to injury. He signed with the Eagles this offseason and will now get a shot to show that he’s worthy of a starting spot with his new team.
After a poor finish in 2023, the Eagles are looking for a rebound season in 2024 — and that will start with their quarterback.
Head coach Nick Sirianni said in his Monday press conference that so far, things have been going well for Jalen Hurts in this year’s training camp.
“Yeah, I think he’s looked really sharp,” Sirianni said. “He’s been in complete command of the offense. I’ve really liked that some of the plays that he has where it’s not the — obviously you’ve seen him on the deep ball, the intermediate, the short passes — but some of the ones that I really like is if there’s a little bit of a pressure he slides his feet, and he hits Saquon [Barkley] on a check down or Kenny [Gainwell] on a check down.
“I think he’s had a really good camp so far. I’m really excited for him to continue that. There’s ebbs and flows in camp and he’s been on the high end for the last four days, so really excited about him and how he’s looked so far.”
Last year, Hurts finished with a 65.4 percent completion rate, throwing for 3,858 yards with 23 touchdowns and 15 interceptions — good for an 89.1 passer rating. He also rushed for 605 yards with 15 touchdowns.
But in the last six games, Hurts completed just 61.1 percent of his throws for 1,161 yards with five touchdowns and five picks. He also lost a fumble.
As part of the changes after last year’s poor finish, the Eagles hired Kellen Moore to be their offensive coordinator, replacing Brian Johnson.
In a press conference over the weekend, Moore noted that quarterback Jalen Hurts has been “really smooth” in operating the offense early on in training camp.
“You can just tell he’s in command, he’s in control. He’s doing an excellent job at the line of scrimmage with the little nuances, little adjustments that he has at his disposal, and so it’s been really good,” Moore said.
Moore is now Hurts’ third OC in the last three years, following now Colts head coach Shane Steichen and Johnson. Moore called plays for Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert in that same span and said it’s been a “great process” tailoring the scheme to Hurts’ skillset.
Hurts has been a “huge part” of that process, Moore said.
“I think his experience over the course of the last few years, all the things he’s been able to accomplish, we want to build on those things,” Moore said. “When there’s a comfort level with a certain concept or scheme, we want to make sure we emphasize that, continue to build off it.
“OK, now if this is a core play that we feel really great about, how can we compliment that play? How can we protect it with a different presentation, a different look? Those are the fun conversations we get to have because we’re continuing to build this thing each and every day.”
Included in that is Hurts as a runner. The quarterback’s rushing numbers were down in 2023, as he tallied 605 yards after going for 784 in 2021 and 760 in 2022. But he did have a career-high 15 rushing touchdowns with several coming from the team’s “Brotherly shove” play.
“Yeah, certainly it’s been an excellent factor that Jalen has been able to utilize just being an extra guy in the run game. Certainly, something we want to continue to build off of,” Moore said. “I think there is an element of just finding the games, finding the situations that are right to best suit when we utilize that.
“But it’s a great strength of Jalen. He does an excellent job and he’s a really smart runner. I think that’s a critical factor to that, that he’s smart with the ball, he’s smart with when to make those decisions, and I think he protects himself pretty well.”
Hurts completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 3,858 yards with 23 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 2023.