Newsday&#39;s in-depth look at the upcoming 2023 NFL season for the Jets and Giants, plus exclusive feature stories on Aaron Rodgers and Joe Namath and what it&#39;s like to learn an NFL playbook. On newsstands Thursday, Sept. 7, with digital stories added here between now and then.

Sports

Football

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Tom Rock

Garrett Wilson, fresh off his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign, was asked on the first day of Jets training camp this summer about the team’s obvious but suddenly overt desire to win the Super Bowl. His initial impulse was to zip around the question the way he does defensive backs without giving a direct answer. That’s how most players on most teams he’s been on have handled similar situations going all the way back to his days at Ohio State. 
 Sure, most outsiders are excited about what the Jets have done this offseason and the potential they have to win their first title since 1968. But why add to that weight as a player? Why state such lofty goals out loud? 
 Then Wilson was informed that just moments before he stepped to the microphones his new teammate and fellow wide receiver Allen Lazard had already made the audacious statement about where the Jets expected this season to end up. That gave Wilson some freedom. 
 “I love that Allen is doing that,” Wilson said. “It makes it easier on me. I didn’t want to say anything, but I’m glad Allen did it first. I’ll go next, for sure.” 
 He did. 
 “I ain’t gonna fake it,” Wilson said with his newfound vocal courage. “That’s what we play the game for. I play to win the game. I ain’t gonna beat around the bush. We want to win a Super Bowl. You don’t make moves in the offseason like we did unless you want to get there … Personally I think it’s OK to talk about that. If you want to go get that [expletive], get it. Talk about it. It’s cool.” 
 The Jet-aissance has taken some getting used to, but at this point everyone seems comfortable talking openly about the high expectations both internally and otherwise. 
 Over at Giants training camp, they were grappling with the same topic. A year after making the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season and winning a postseason game for the first time since the 2011 season, months after signing their new franchise quarterback to a $160 million contract while also securing Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas to long-term deals as well as retaining the service of Saquon Barkley for the coming season, the question about where this is all headed has popped up many times. 
 Sterling Shepard, the longest tenured of the Giants, was unapologetic when asked about the aspirations of this team. 
 “Our ultimate goal is to put a banner up here,” the wide receiver&nbsp;said, pointing to the four that hang in the Giants’ fieldhouse, one for each of the Super Bowl-winning teams. “So yeah, it was great making the playoffs. It’s been a while. It’s been since I was a rookie that we’ve made the playoffs, so it was a great accomplishment. But ultimately that’s not what we’re setting out to do when the season starts.” 
 Shepard went so far as to say that coach Brian Daboll tells them the same thing on a daily basis. 
 “Exactly what I just told you is what he tells us,” Shepard said. “That’s what our goal is. It’s not to make the playoffs, it’s to put a banner up here. Everybody knows that and that’s the reason why we play this game. It’s pretty clear.” 
 That kind of talk may fit in better in Florham Park than in East Rutherford. And Daboll, who grits his teeth to maintain a “day-to-day” narrative in his public remarks, half-jokingly (or maybe one tenth-jokingly) reprimanded Shepard about going off script, not to mention having dragged his coach into it. 
 “I’d say Shep maybe confused [the message]&nbsp;with ‘Let’s go out and have a good practice,’” Daboll said, his face red with anger. 
 Two teams. Two approaches. One goal. 
 And, for the first time in a long time, one realistic goal for both. 
 At this time last year the Jets and the Giants were tied for the worst combined record in the NFL over the previous five seasons, each 22-59. Twelve short months later they are each on the rebound and among the handful of teams with a true opportunity to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas come February. 
 Welcome to the new age of New York football. 
 The Jets aren’t only the louder of the two teams, they are probably the better of them. The addition of Aaron Rodgers and a slew of receivers who came along with him gives them what they were missing last year when they had a championship-caliber defense but chagrin-inducing quarterback play. They are a compelling story not just because of how good they can be, not just because of how quickly they have transformed themselves, but because of how finite their opportunity to capitalize on all of it appears. While Rodgers has talked openly about playing multiple seasons for the Jets, he’s still going to turn 40 years old later this season. And, lest anyone forget, despite how strong he has looked in camp practices, he is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022. 
 Yet it’s the Giants who may be closer to actually getting to a Super Bowl than the Jets. There are several reasons for that statement, key among them: Kansas City, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Baltimore. There is considerably more traffic on the road to the big game in the AFC, and that’s the avenue the Jets have to contend with. They also have a very difficult regular season schedule. While there are a handful of heavy obstacles in the NFC, including Philadelphia and San Francisco, should the Giants make the playoffs they would likely have an easier path to Vegas than any the Jets would encounter. 
 Getting to those playoffs may be tougher for the Giants, though. They are still the third best team in their division, have yet to prove they can beat the Eagles or Cowboys with any regularity, and despite a financially-affirmed belief in Jones, have put that faith in a quarterback who threw just 15 touchdown passes in 2022. Three of those came in his final two games of the regular season against the Vikings and Colts, two of the worst defenses in the NFL. Even with those performances he was a one-touchdown-a-game quarterback in a sport where the best teams get three or four from the position on a weekly basis. 
 Still, it’s hard not to sit back and enjoy what is happening here. The Jets and Giants were jokes. Now they are contenders. 
 In 2011 the Giants and Jets met in an epic Christmas Eve game at MetLife Stadium. The Jets were coming off back-to-back AFC title game appearances and the Giants were three-plus years removed from their most recent Super Bowl. Both teams needed the win to advance to the postseason. 
 It was a crossroads moment for the two franchises who headed from there in different directions. The Giants won and went on to win another championship. The Jets lost and began their quick sink to the bottom. 
 Eventually the Giants would meet the Jets in those depths of football’s dungeon and together they would flounder there for some time. 
 Now, though, they are both returned to prominence. Both are enjoying the optimism of potential. Both are within reasonable reach of another trophy for their respective cases. 
 And yes, they’ll even meet again in this regular season, facing off in late October. It could once more be a season-defining, era-defining moment for the two teams. 
 Who knows where they’ll head after that game. Perhaps, if they are both lucky, back on the path toward the same destination. Maybe even toward a rematch? 
 Vegas has a New York, New York resort on the Strip. Could it have a New York, New York Super Bowl in its future? 
 No, that’s too much to even think about, nevermind say out loud or write here with any kind of conviction. It’s a ridiculous conceit. It will never happen. 
 But just like Wilson on the first day of camp, hey, if somebody else wants to go first with that prediction, it’ll be much easier to be next.

Columnists

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Pretenders to contenders: Jets AND Giants have Super aspirations

Rock: Pretenders to contenders, Jets AND Giants have Super aspirations

Jets Giants Football

READY FOR TAKEOFF? It isn’t often that a team with the longest active playoff drought in the sport becomes the most fascinating one in the league in the span of one short offseason, but that’s what has happened to the Jets with the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers. He gives them instant credibility and a quarterback who has four MVP awards; they give him a place to play after it became clear the Packers were done with him. All eyes will certainly be on the Jets to see how this high-profile marriage works. The result figures to be spectacular, either because of success or implosion. 
 LOVE IS IN THE AIR. Speaking of Rodgers and the Packers, Green Bay is moving on to its next quarterback. The team has had an unmatched three-decade span of continuous Hall of Fame-caliber play from that position, having been led by Brett Favre and Rodgers from 1992 through 2022. Now they hope Jordan Love, who they drafted as a surprise first-round pick in 2020, is the next link in that chain. He has big cleats to fill and a city used to playing games deep into January waiting to see if he can do it. 
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 DYNASTY IN THE MAKING. No NFL team has come close to the success Kansas City has had since Patrick Mahomes took over as starting quarterback in 2018. They have won two Super Bowls, appeared in a third, and never had a season end any sooner than overtime of the AFC Championship Game. But it takes three titles to be a dynasty — sorry, we&nbsp;don’t make the rules —&nbsp;and that leaves Mahomes and his pals needing at least one more in the next year or two to find themselves among the truly elite in NFL history. 
 RETURN OF THE ROAR. Last we saw the Lions they were the darlings of the NFL, a scrappy 9-8 team that was eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season but still managed to go out and beat the Packers (and, yes, send Rodgers out of Lambeau) in a nationally-televised&nbsp;finale. Now coach Dan Campbell and his fireballs are dealing with something rare in Detroit: Expectations. Can their grittiness carry them to a first playoff berth since the 2016 season and possibly a first postseason victory since January of 1992? 
 NEXT STEPS FOR QBs. The next generation of exciting, exceptional, and, yes, well-paid quarterbacks is about to hit its prime. Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, they’re all entering their mid-20s, all on their second pro contracts, and all still looking for their first Super Bowl title. Throw in Trevor Lawrence, who is a few seasons behind them in NFL experience, not to mention the still-improving and still under-30 Mahomes, and we may be about to encounter a new Golden Age of league-wide quarterback play that could even surpass the most recent era dominated by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and others. 
 BACKS TO WORK. Front offices no longer value running backs based on how the position was treated this offseason, but coaches still know the recipe for winning includes running the ball. So, while these past few months were spent low-balling the likes of Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Joe Mixon and Miles Sanders in contract negotiations —&nbsp;along with threats to do so against Jonathan Taylor while Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook scoured Indeed.com looking for work —&nbsp;once the whistle blows they’ll all be back to being among the most important players on the field for their teams. Until next offseason anyway. 
 FIELDS OF DREAMS. After two seasons struggling as a one-man offense in Chicago, quarterback Justin Fields finally has some playmakers around him and figures to make one of the biggest single-season jumps in the league at his position. Having D.J. Moore as his primary target after the Bears traded the first overall pick to Carolina for the receiver and other considerations will undoubtedly help. Fields has spent most of his NFL career as a player who can create amazing highlights but not wins. This year, if the victories match the verve he has already shown, he could emerge as the league’s next superstar. 
 DENVER DO-OVER. The Broncos won the 2022 offseason when they acquired Russell Wilson in a trade from the Seahawks and hired Nathaniel Hackett as their new coach. Then Mile High expectations in Denver sunk to new lows. Now former Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton is back from a brief retirement in the broadcast world to try to straighten things out and get Wilson back on track. Whether he can do that with so many questions surrounding Wilson’s steeply declined play from a year ago could go a long way in determining both of their legacies. 
 YOUNG GUNS. Considering the best rookie quarterback a year ago was the one taken LAST in his entire draft class, this year’s top-heavy crew of picks turned projected starters has a lot to live up to. Three of them —&nbsp;Bryce Young in Carolina, C.J. Stroud in Houston and Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis —&nbsp;were taken with the first four selections in April and now figure to provide franchise-altering play. It’s unlikely all of them will deliver, which means they are in a three-way race to see who gets to head down the path toward Peyton Manning and who takes the road toward Ryan Leaf. 
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 KICKOFFS DIMINISHED. The exciting spectacle that was the opening kickoff to a game or a season has been reduced to near insignificance with a newly written rule that allows the receiving team to fair catch the ball anywhere inside its 25 for a touchback. It’s better for the safety of the sport but taking the thrill from a moment that used to be charged with such anticipation —&nbsp;not to mention the possibility of 90 to 100-yard scoring plays or at least momentum-shifting dashes on all the ensuing kickoffs —&nbsp;will make football a little less fun.

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Top 10 storylines for 2023 NFL season

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1. Kansas City: Patrick Mahomes capped last season raising the Lombardi Trophy. Since then no other team has done anything to wrest it from his hands and usurp Kansas City as the team to beat. That doesn’t mean a third Super Bowl title in five years is automatic, but having the best QB in the game along with a strong veteran core, an injection of youth, and a Hall of Fame coach sure makes it feel close to inevitable. Kansas City won’t crumble, it’ll need to be toppled. 
 2. Cincinnati: A calf hasn’t held this much symbolism since Moses’ days on Mount Sinai, but it feels as if the entire hierarchy of the NFL is hinging on the health of Joe Burrow’s lower leg. The moment he went limping off the practice field in July nearly doomed the Bengals to a lost season. Assuming he’s back and, at some point soon, fully healthy, he and Ja’Marr Chase should make another run at a title. 
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 3. San Francisco: No team has spent the last six months wondering &quot;What if?&quot; more than the 49ers, who lost in the NFC Championship Game after playing most of it without a functioning, healthy quarterback. Now they have a couple&nbsp;of them (Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold) to go with dynamic playmakers on offense. But the heart of this team is still its suffocating defense led by reigning player of the year Nick Bosa. 
 4. Philadelphia: After losing last year’s Super Bowl, the Eagles are running it back with pretty much the same team —&nbsp;minus its two coordinators — that shocked a lot of folks in 2022. There won’t be any surprises this time around. Jalen Hurts, who feels like he is in a perpetual state of having to prove himself, may have to be even better to get Philly back to the big game. Will the core veterans and elders on this team who seemed to be giving it one last heave-ho for the title a year ago have enough left to do it again? 
 5. Buffalo: This feels like a win-or-get-off-the-pot season for the crew from Western New York. Recent playoff disappointments have put much more pressure on the shoulders of Josh Allen, Sean McDermott and the rest of the Bills, so expect big changes if they come up short. Yes, they’re still the class of the AFC East, but not by as large a gap as they once seemed to be, so not even the postseason is assured for them. If they do get in, the conference is loaded with other contenders. They have the talent to navigate through all of that. Now it’s just a metter of seeing if they will. 
 6. <a href="http://newsday.com/jets">Jets</a>: The fuse has been lit on the Aaron Rodgers Experiment and it will either change a half-century of Jets futility or blow the franchise to smithereens. 
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 7. Miami: The quirky head coach/QB combo in South Florida can work but they have to fight through the toughest division in football. 
 8. L.A. Chargers: Justin Herbert got the contract of a perennial playoff QB. Now he has to go out and become one. 
 9. Detroit: It’ll be tough to match the intensity from this team of 53 feisty Dan Campbell clones each week. 
 10. Dallas: Time and patience are running out for Dak Prescott to fulfill his Cowboys destiny. 
 11. Jacksonville: A lot of talent —&nbsp;on the field and in the coaching ranks —&nbsp;surrounds Trevor Lawrence as he preps for the Year Three Jump. 
 12. Seattle: A playoff team that very quietly got deeper and better on both sides of the ball, but was 2022 a breakout or a blip from Geno Smith? 
 13. Baltimore: It may take some time for Lamar Jackson to adjust to having so many passing options, but he should get there eventually. 
 14. <a href="http://newsday.com/giants">Giants</a>:&nbsp;This team won't be taken seriously until they show they can beat the Eagles and Cowboys in their own division. 
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 15. Chicago: Did Justin Fields and D.J. Moore&nbsp;just become best friends? Yep. 
 16. Pittsburgh: Never put a Mike Tomlin-led team below the midline in these things. Remarkably, he's never had a losing season in&nbsp;16 seasons leading the Steelers. 
 17. Cleveland: The roster is thick with talent but will the Browns finally get the Deshaun Watson they thought they were acquiring? 
 18. Minnesota: They won all 11 of their 2022 regular-season games decided by 8 points or fewer. It’ll be hard to replicate that again. 
 19. Tennessee: One last shot at a title run for the Titans with Derrick Henry carrying them. 
 20. New Orleans: Derek Carr goes from the third- or fourth-best QB in his former division to the top one in his new home. 
 21. Green Bay: Jordan Love has a good running game so he won’t have to be Aaron Rodgers … but it’d help if he was close. 
 22. Carolina: A really good defense might be enough to cover the inevitable mishaps as a rookie QB takes over. 
 23. New England: An actual offensive coach in his ear should help Mac Jones, but the QB and his team still feel limited. 
 24. Atlanta: Two of the most exciting young non-QBs in the league —&nbsp;RB Bijan Robinson and TE Kyle Pitts — leave it up to the revamped defense to make the Falcons soar. 
 25. Denver: Is ‘It can’t get worse than last year’ a viable team motto? 
 26. Washington: New ownership may spend the next few months wondering what exactly they got for their $6 billion. 
 27. L.A. Rams: Let this franchise be a warning to all others who sell their futures for a Super Bowl title. 
 28. Las Vegas: Hosting the Super Bowl on The Strip will be as close as this team gets to the postseason. 
 29. Tampa Bay: The Bucs after Tom Brady will look a lot like the Jets before Aaron Rodgers. Blech. 
 30. Indianapolis: Getting Anthony Richardson’s rookie lumps out of the way will be painful but should help the Colts down the road. 
 31. Houston: C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans will eventually prevail, just not this season. 
 32. Arizona: How many days until next April’s draft?

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Newsday's NFL power rankings to start the 2023 season

Newsday's NFL Power Rankings to kick off 2023

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Bob Glauber

&nbsp; 
 Joe Namath considers himself a diehard Jets fan, so it’s no wonder he had the same reaction as millions of other loyal supporters when word came down that Aaron Rodgers would be traded from the Packers.&nbsp; 
 “Like every Jets fan, I was thrilled to see that he was even considering coming to the team,” Namath told Newsday. “Then to see that they got the deal done? Wow. We know we have a shot. We’ve got a legitimate guy.”&nbsp; 
 But Namath relates to the Rodgers acquisition more personally than most, and not just because he is the only quarterback to author a Super Bowl victory for the Jets. Namath knows just how challenging it can be for Rodgers because Broadway Joe experienced what it was like to leave the team where he created unforgettable memories and play somewhere else late in his career.&nbsp; 
 Namath’s time with the Jets had come to an end after the 1976 season, &nbsp;just as the team was ready to turn the page with another Alabama first-round quarterback in Richard Todd. Not content to finish his career at age 34, yet not wanting to stand in the way of Todd, whom he had befriended when the two worked out in the offseason at Alabama when Todd played for the Crimson Tide, Namath got one more shot.&nbsp; 
 Fate would not be kind, however, as Namath lasted just four games with the Los Angeles Rams before taking a vicious hit to the sternum in a Week 4 game against the Bears. It would be the final game for the future Hall of Famer.&nbsp; 
 But it would also signal an eventual trend for older quarterbacks to play elsewhere late in their careers, with Rodgers being the latest to switch teams after a long run with his original club. The trend has even accelerated in recent years, and with great success. Consider: In 2020, Tom Brady left the Patriots after 20 seasons and won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. The next year, Matthew Stafford was traded from the Lions to the Rams, and he, too, won a Super Bowl in his first year in Los Angeles.&nbsp; 
 Now it’s the Jets’ turn to see if they can enjoy a similar renaissance with Rodgers, who was dealt by the Packers after they decided to move forward&nbsp;with former first-round pick Jordan Love. It was a remarkably similar scenario to the Jets’ trade for Brett Favre in 2008, with Rodgers being the young quarterback to nudge the team into parting ways with Favre.&nbsp; 
 The Jets hope it will be a far better experience than the one Namath endured in his short-lived time with the Rams.&nbsp; 
 Just seeing Namath in a Rams uniform never felt quite right, and Namath himself admitted it was a “clumsy” and uncomfortable experience. Even if it started with plenty of enthusiasm and optimism on his part, despite suffering from chronic knee problems he’d dealt with in New York.&nbsp; 
 “[Rams coach]&nbsp;Chuck Knox talked with me and got me to come out there, and I was thrilled,” Namath said. “The main thing to me was [the Jets]&nbsp;had a rookie quarterback who needed to play, and that was Richard Todd. It’s not the same as Aaron —&nbsp;he knows he can still play —&nbsp;but the love up there with Green Bay was similar to what we had with the Jets. Of course, Aaron&nbsp;had some disagreements with the Packers before he left, but the transition to Los Angeles for me was clumsy. It was all on me. I’m the one that didn’t adjust well.” 
 Things started out well enough on the field, as Namath won two of his first three starts and had three touchdown passes and an interception. But he took a beating against the Bears, and after throwing four interceptions, he was replaced by Pat Haden.&nbsp; 
 That was the tipping point for Knox, who stuck with Haden, but even before the injury, things weren’t quite what Namath had imagined. Especially the part about being told by his coaches to stop patting the ball just before he released his passes —&nbsp;a trademark of Namath’s throughout his entire football career.&nbsp; 
 “I tried too hard to do what they wanted,” Namath said, confiding publicly for the first time about the issue of not patting the ball. “I didn’t want to be like a big shot and doing it my way, but one of the things, it was a technical thing. They didn’t like me tapping the ball before I threw it, thought it was a waste of time. So I tried to learn to throw in my 14th year of professional football with a different style.” 
 But there was an unintended consequence to the change, as Namath soon discovered.&nbsp; 
 “I didn’t coil my left shoulder as much,” he said. “I stressed so much not touching that ball once I got it up there by my ear that I wasn’t coiling my body to give me the strength and velocity on the ball. That’s one of the things that caused me not to play well. It was stupid, but I was trying to do it the way it was coached. I didn’t want to be like, ‘You can’t change me.’ But if you watch a lot of quarterbacks, you’ll see that he taps the ball before he throws. It gets your upper body coiled, because you’re throwing with your legs, your hips and your upper body.” 
 Asked why he had never mentioned this before, Namath simply said, “It sounds like an excuse, and I don’t make excuses.” 
 Looking back, though, he knew it was an ill-conceived idea to adjust his throwing motion.&nbsp; 
 “Who am I to change a style that’s worked since junior high?” he said with sarcasm. “But it was how much I was putting on my brain. I didn’t want to ruffle feathers.” 
 Haden led the Rams to a 10-4 record and a playoff berth, but they were eliminated by the Vikings at home, 14-7, in the divisional round. Near the end of the game, with the Rams’ offense floundering and Haden throwing three interceptions, Knox looked at Namath. 
 “So we’re standing on the sidelines in the fourth quarter,&quot; Namath said, &quot;and Chuck looks at me, and I didn’t give him back a look of enthusiasm. He was looking to put me in, and if I’d have given him the right look, he might have put me in the game.”&nbsp; 
 Namath wanted no part of it, not after sitting on the bench since early in the season.&nbsp; 
 “It still impacts me,” Namath said. “I felt awful. I knew I couldn’t play. I felt like I let Chuck Knox down.” 
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<h3> ARCHIE AND PEYTON&nbsp; </h3> 
 Archie Manning has seen the good and the bad of quarterbacks adjusting to new locales late in their careers. He experienced the bad himself. He&nbsp;experienced the good as the father of former Colts and Broncos great Peyton Manning.&nbsp; 
 The longtime Saints quarterback, whose individual brilliance couldn’t overcome chronic deficiencies elsewhere on the New Orleans roster, was forced to adjust to new circumstances after 11 seasons. Drafted second overall in 1971, Manning was traded to the Houston Oilers in the strike-shortened 1982 season.&nbsp; 
 “You lose a little of your comfort zone,” Manning said. “It wasn’t easy for me. I was at a point where I had kids, but I didn’t take my family and I was living in an apartment, and that was different. It really made me stay at the facility more. I had nothing to go home to.”&nbsp; 
 The Oilers wanted Manning to start right away. He was astonished.&nbsp; 
 “I get traded on a Friday afternoon, and (offensive coordinator]&nbsp;Jim Shofner says he’ll meet me at the Marriott for breakfast,” Manning said. “He said, ‘Archie, I’m in the twilight of a pretty mediocre coaching career, but [head coach] Eddie Biles wants you to start tomorrow.” 
 “He wants to start ME?” Manning said. “I don’t know one single play.” 
 Manning made his first start for the Oilers two months later, in the second game back from the strike.&nbsp; 
 “We practiced on a Thursday, and I started in New England on a Sunday,” Manning said. “I remember telling [tight end]&nbsp;Dave Casper, I said, ‘Ghost [Casper’s nickname], there’s no way with two days of practice I can comprehend and do what I need to do, but if you’re open in the middle of the field, I’ll find you. It was truly sandlot football. And it worked. I threw him a jump pass in that game. That was crazy for me.” 
 The Oilers lost the game, 29-21, and Manning, who had Earl Campbell in his backfield, wound up losing all five of his starts.&nbsp; 
 “They were killing Earl on first and second down, and they were killing me on third down,” Manning said.&nbsp; 
 As challenging as it was for Archie as a player, it was much more satisfying as a parent to watch Peyton navigate the experience of playing for a new team late in his career. After a neck injury led to the Colts parting ways with Manning in 2011, he settled on the Broncos after an exhaustive deliberation in free agency. Having a former quarterback like John Elway running the Broncos’ football operation was a deciding factor.&nbsp; 
 “They listened to Peyton,” Archie said. “They let him have a voice. The main thing he would tell you is that he had some damn good people to throw to.” 
 Peyton Manning wound up winning a second Super Bowl in the 2015 season, a remarkable finishing touch to a Hall of Fame career.&nbsp; 
 “[The Broncos]&nbsp;were the only team that really just understood what I was going through emotionally, physically, and a lot of that was Elway,” Manning said in a 2021 interview. ‘They were the only team that said, ‘Hey, Peyton, give us your Indianapolis playbook and we will form this hybrid offense with the plays we like in Denver that will help you at this point in your career.’ Not every team did that.”&nbsp; 
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<h3> BRADY THE BUC </h3> 
 It was a similarly comfortable fit for Brady when he went to the Buccaneers. Coach Bruce Arians knew enough not to mess with Brady’s head by demanding he run a different system than the one he thrived in with the Patriots. Bringing in All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski was the kind of move that lent itself to Brady’s success. That’s a similar dynamic the Jets are now using with Rodgers after acquiring former Packers receivers Alan Lazard and Randall Cobb, as well as former Vikings running back Dalvin Cook.&nbsp; 
 “There were a lot of things that were really intriguing to me about the [Buccaneers]&nbsp;organization, the players, the coaches and the willingness of everyone to try to accomplish what the goal of playing football is, which is to win,&quot; Brady said in an interview shortly after signing with Tampa Bay in 2020.&nbsp; 
 Brady enjoyed one of his best seasons in leading the Bucs to a Super Bowl that year, and while he didn’t get back to the big game over his final two seasons, it was nevertheless a remarkable late-career transition that allowed him to go out on his own terms.&nbsp; 
 But teams that do invest in an older quarterback need to make a calculated decision about how it will pan out. And there is sometimes no easy answer.&nbsp; 
 “To me, that’s a very interesting aspect of the game,” Packers Hall of Fame general manager Ron Wolf told Newsday. “At what point is it over? You can’t be emotional here. It didn’t work out for Joe Namath when he went to the Rams. Look at John Unitas. That didn’t work out too well after he left Baltimore for San Diego.” 
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<h3> 'UNITAS WE STAND' </h3> 
 Unitas is perhaps the ultimate example of a player who played longer than he should have. After a Hall of Fame career with the Colts, he played just four games with the Chargers at age 40.&nbsp; 
 “To see John get benched in Baltimore was heartbreaking,” former Colts, Browns and Giants GM Ernie Accorsi told Newsday.&nbsp; 
 A clearly fading Unitas was benched early in the 1972 season in favor of Marty Domres, and in the team’s final game at Memorial Stadium that year, with fans clamoring for Unitas to play one more time, Domres went out with an injury late in the game. Unitas threw only one pass, but it went for a touchdown. The crowd went crazy.&nbsp; 
 “They had a plane fly over the stadium carrying a banner that said, ‘Unitas We Stand,’ ” Accorsi recalled. &nbsp;&quot;John comes in, throws a floater to Eddie Hinton, who grabs it and goes for a long touchdown.” 
 Accorsi said Unitas specifically told Domres not to fake an injury so he could go into the game, and Domres insisted he was truly hurt. Accorsi eventually found out otherwise.&nbsp; 
 “Would you tell me before one of us dies?” Accorsi told Domres. “He admitted it to me 25 years later he wasn’t hurt.”&nbsp; 
 The next year in San Diego, Unitas was a shell of his former self.&nbsp; 
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<h3> REGRET FOR MONTANA </h3> 
 Joe Montana had a solid run as Kansas City’s quarterback after being traded by the 49ers in 1993, once the team decided on Steve Young as its full-time starter. He went 17-8 over two years, getting Kansas City to the AFC Championship Game his first season. But injuries prompted him to retire with one year left on his contract, something Montana regretted.&nbsp; 
 “I quit because of the injuries, and I wanted to be able to play with my kids,” he said during an ESPN interview in 2021. “Still, the first two, three years, I didn’t want to watch [games]. I was still mad I retired. I still could have kept playing. I made that decision, and I regretted it.”&nbsp; 
<h3> NAMATH: RODGERS NO. 1 </h3> 
 Now it is Rodgers’ turn to see if he can squeeze more elite play out of his career and help resurrect the Jets’ fortunes in the process. And one man who believes that’s exactly what will happen is the only man to have won a Super Bowl for the Jets.&nbsp; 
 On Jan. 12, 1969, after guaranteeing a win during the week before Super Bowl III against the Colts, Namath ran off the Orange Bowl field wagging his index finger skyward after a monumental 16-7 upset victory. Namath now desperately hopes Rodgers can lead the Jets to their next championship.&nbsp; 
 In fact, he believes the Jets have the most talented quarterback who has ever played the game.&nbsp; 
 “I have never seen anyone play better than him,” Namath said. “We had Peyton Manning, who was great, and Unitas, of course. And Tom Brady with those seven championships, he’s at the top of everything. He answered the challenge every time. But I’m talking about the way [Rodgers]&nbsp;moves, his agility, his throwing, the brains.” 
 Namath is as hopeful as he’s ever been since winning it all so long ago. 
 “Honest to God, I wish we’d already won another championship, or even several,” Namath said. “There is some serious enthusiasm, and it’s going to be so much fun watching. I can’t wait to see what happens.”

New York Jets

SPFBRODGERS230907_Y0C_ULM

Aaron Rodgers isn't the first QB to call audible late in their career; Joe Namath knows all about it

Aaron Rodgers isn't first QB to call audible late in career

Vikings Rams Football

Al Iannazzone

Aaron Rodgers remembers popping in old VHS tapes and watching the story of Joe Namath guaranteeing a win and leading the Jets to their only championship. 
 That Vince Lombardi Trophy from Super Bowl III sits in a mostly empty case inside the Jets 'facility. Rodgers took note of how “lonely” it looked when the Jets acquired him in April. 
 “It’s been a while since then,” Rodgers said. “It’s time for this team to be back where it needs to be and that’s competing for championships.” 
 Ever since then, Rodgers has been working to change that. The most anticipated Jets’ season is about to begin. 
 The hype for the Jets is at an all-time high. They&nbsp;were featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” They have six primetime games, including their season opener on Monday night against the Bills.&nbsp; 
 Expectations are also at an all-time high. After not qualifying for the playoffs for 12 straight years, the Jets could be a Super Bowl contender. It’s all because of 12 letters:&nbsp; 
 A-A-R-O-N R-O-D-G-E-R-S. 
 “He’s the best leader that I’ve been around,” cornerback D.J. Reed said. 
 The 39-year-old Rodgers is already one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. He led the iconic Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl. If Rodgers can do that for the Jets — a first since the 1968 season — his legacy would be Broadway Joe-esque. 
 “I don’t really know about the historical standing in the sport,” Rodgers said. “I think more from this organization standpoint, it would be really special.” 
 The Jets seemed to be building something before Rodgers arrived. They started 7-4 last year and had one of the best defenses in the NFL. But they lost their final six games, with quarterback play a major culprit.&nbsp; 
 Now the Jets have Rodgers leading them and his sole objective, especially at this stage of his career, is playing for trophies. 
 “We almost went to the playoffs last year,” Reed said. “I’m not saying it’s a given because nothing’s a given, but we’re very confident.” 
 Rodgers has lifted the entire organization. He’s helped preach the message of Robert Saleh and the rest of the coaches&nbsp;by getting his teammates to focus on the details and that every rep matters. 
 In past years, the Jets talked about the goal being to win the division and make the playoffs and contend for a Super Bowl. Every team says it.&nbsp;This year, so much is different: the tone, the urgency, the confidence. The Jets believe they are a title contender.&nbsp;Legitimately. 
 “It’s definitely different,” All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams said. “People are different. It’s not the same team when I came in. I just feel like everything is emphasized when it comes down to being the best you can be.” 
 Center Connor McGovern said, “I’ve been here when we only won two games [in 2020] and I’ve seen the transition. I definitely want to be here more than ever when we make that Super Bowl run.” 
 General manager Joe Douglas has built a complete,&nbsp;win-now team. 
 A top-4&nbsp;defense last year, the Jets are shooting to be the No. 1 group this season. Williams, linebacker C.J. Mosley and cornerback Sauce Gardner —&nbsp;all three All-Pros last year&nbsp;—&nbsp;lead this defense again. 
 The defensive line is one of the deepest and best in the NFL. It could be more dominant with the emergence of second-year end Jermaine Johnson and the signing of 6-3, 330-pound tackle/run stopper Al Woods. 
 Gardner —&nbsp;the Defensive Rookie of the Year last season —&nbsp;Reed and nickelback Michael Carter II comprise arguably the NFL’s best cornerback group. The Jets gave up the third fewest passing yards and least passing touchdowns last year. 
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 The offense will look very different and should give defenses fits because of how explosive it can be with Rodgers directing everything. 
 The Jets have a new coordinator (Nathaniel Hackett) and passing game coordinator (Todd Downing). 
 They signed receivers Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman Jr. and Randall Cobb to join second-year star Garrett Wilson, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year. 
 In the backfield, the fast and elusive Breece Hall is healthy after missing 10 games last year with a torn ACL and the Jets signed four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook. That’s an impressive 1-2 punch. 
 The Jets are also deep and talented in the tight end room with Tyler Conklin, C.J. Uzomah and Jeremy Ruckert. If the offensive line can protect Rodgers, the Jets could live up to the hype. 
 “I feel really good about this team,” Conklin said. “I think it’s a really special team with the talent we brought in this year&nbsp;… From a talent standpoint, a piece standpoint we have everything we need.” 
 The Jets have been very careful not to pound their chests too much. Saleh reminds them often that expectations mean nothing if they don’t back it up with their work in practice and meetings, and then on game day. 
 “When you go to climb Mount&nbsp;Everest, you do a lot of traveling just to get to the base camp,” Saleh said. “It's a very easy road just to get to base camp before you go straight vertical. Well, that’s where we are. We haven't done anything. We're going to face adversity. The road is going to get really freakin' hard from here on out. Just the mindset to fight through all that, stay together and keep that positive mindset, that’s going to be the key.” 
 The climb starts now.

SPFBJETS230907

Great Jets-pectations: Aaron Rodgers, elite defense make them title contender

Great Jets-pectations for Aaron Rodgers, elite defense

Kimberly Jones

&nbsp; 
 As the Giants cleaned out their lockers a day after their 2022 season ended, Xavier McKinney surveyed his team’s future.&nbsp; 
 “I think we got a lot to look forward to,” the safety said after a38-7&nbsp;loss at Philadelphia&nbsp;in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.&nbsp;“I thought we had a great year. I thought we improved a lot, especially just thinking back from where we came from the last two years, last three years. It’s been a major improvement.”&nbsp; 
 McKinney was right, of course. Books have been written about lesser achievements.&nbsp; 
 “I think we got a lot of things to be happy about,” McKinney continued. “We shouldn’t be complacent; I don’t think we are. We still are going to be hungry for more, a lot hungrier. Now we just got to look to continue to build off what we’ve already built. We just got to continue to try to improve so we can be back in this situation next year.”&nbsp; 
 Next year is now. 
 The Giants had a productive offseason, continuing&nbsp; to build on what they’d already developed &nbsp;in the first year of the coach Brian Daboll/general manager Joe Schoen regime.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The trade for Darren Waller was proof of that.&nbsp; 
 And it seemed to set the tone for the rest of an active offseason.&nbsp; 
 To land Waller, Schoen traded the No. 100 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, which was acquired in the Kadarius Toney trade to Kansas City.&nbsp; 
 Fresh off his honeymoon with his&nbsp;wife Kelsey Plum, a star in the WNBA, Waller was dealt to the Giants on March 15.&nbsp;So far, it’s been a beautiful union.&nbsp; 
 Since the day he entered the Giants' building, coaches and teammates have raved about Waller’s professionalism. And since the Giants got on the practice field this spring and summer, the 6-6 tight end who plays like a wide receiver has&nbsp;dominated. There were times Daniel Jones and Waller appeared to be playing catch. And that was with the Giants' defense on the field.&nbsp; 
 Waller forged an early connection with Jones.&nbsp; 
 “I just like his even-keeled nature,” Waller said of his new quarterback. “First and foremost, he just has a calm spirit about him. It's not too high or too low, it’s staying in the middle. You can tell by the way that he’s navigated so many adversities in the noise of his career, that that's something he's focused on, and it's paying dividends for him now.”&nbsp; 
 At training camp, it was newsworthy whenever a completion to Waller wasn’t made.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The enormous reaction to the spectacular interception by the up-and-coming safety Jason Pinnock in late July&nbsp; — on a ball bound for Waller —&nbsp;spoke volumes. Even Daboll, not prone to exaggeration, called it&nbsp;“pretty impressive” and said he watched it back on tape multiple times.&nbsp; 
 This summer, it was much more common to see Waller making every play that came his way. And there were a lot of them.&nbsp; 
 “He pretty much can do everything,&quot; McKinney said. “Being as big as he is, you don't see guys that big that can move like that. So, it makes him real special. It makes him a tough cover every time.”&nbsp; 
 Said receiver Darius Slayton: “Darren's a locomotive rolling real fast. Ain’t nobody tackling that.”&nbsp; 
 “It’s crazy,” said receiver Parris Campbell, also entering his first year with the Giants.&nbsp;“Teams are going to try to double-team him. He’s just a freak of an athlete. He can line up anywhere. He’s going to be able to open things up for everyone.”&nbsp; 
 That, of course, was the Giants’ goal when they acquired Waller.&nbsp; 
 In the category of explosive plays, defined as pass plays of at least 20 yards, the Giants finished last in the league in 2022. Waller will be a big part of why that will almost certainly change.&nbsp; 
 Waller, 30, played in just nine games last season after appearing in 11 in 2021. The two seasons before that is where he became a star, producing&nbsp;back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020, the latter including nine touchdowns.&nbsp;He played in all 16 games both those seasons, catching 90 and 107 passes, respectively.&nbsp; 
 He's a big focal point of the Giants' offense now, but he&nbsp;won’t have to go it alone.&nbsp;The roster, top to bottom, is certainly better and deeper than last year’s, which won a playoff game for the first time since the Super Bowl XLVI victory in 2012.&nbsp; 
 After exceeding expectations last season,&nbsp;the Giants are setting their sights higher.&nbsp; 
 In the second year of the partnership between former Buffalo colleagues Schoen and Daboll, almost anything seems possible.&nbsp; 
 Is this a playoff team again?&nbsp;Giants fans will be disappointed if it is not. And for good reason. 
 Since the 2022 Giants played their last game, there’s been a considerable makeover in East Rutherford.&nbsp; 
 Jones&nbsp;was rewarded for his strong 2022 season. The quarterback not only received a new contract but he was surrounded by a&nbsp;plethora of weapons.&nbsp;Then Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas got their&nbsp;big-money extensions.&nbsp; 
 That Saquon Barkley had an “epiphany,” as he described it, that led him to report on time for training camp, was a bonus after the running back hinted that he might not play on the franchise tag.&nbsp; 
 On defense, the Giants signed linebacker Bobby Okereke. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is fond of saying that if you have a slow middle linebacker, you have a slow defense.&nbsp;Okereke is not slow.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The former Colt will also be supported by a defensive line that is led by Lawrence and Leonard Williams and&nbsp;will benefit from Azeez Ojulari being healthy and Kayvon Thibodeaux not being a rookie anymore.&nbsp; 
 On paper, these Giants are better than last year’s team.&nbsp; 
 Giants fans can dream again. Of winning big games. Of a return trip to the playoffs. 
 A significant question: Can they catch the Eagles?&nbsp;That might be the hardest part.&nbsp; 
 But as this season begins for these Giants, truly anything seems possible.&nbsp;

New York Giants

SPFBGIANTS230907

Darren Waller gives 'O' new dimension as Giants eye return to playoffs

Waller gives 'O' new dimension as Giants eye return to playoffs

spGIANTS230816

Garrett Wilson made it look so easy. 
 He got open in the back of the end zone. Aaron Rodgers, scrambling right, threw a laser to Wilson. The second-year receiver leaped and made a ridiculous fingertip catch with his back to Rodgers. Wilson came down and toe-tapped both feet inbounds&nbsp;before falling out of bounds. 
 It was the&nbsp;play of training camp for the Jets. The video of it went viral and caught Davante Adams’ attention. 
 Adams, Rodgers’ former top target with Green Bay, posted video of the play on Instagram and wrote, “These 2 bouta act up this year” with a crying laughing emoji. 
 The Jets hope Rodgers-Wilson can be an equally lethal connection as Rodgers-Adams. It’s quite possible. Wilson patterned his game after Adams when he was younger —&nbsp;he wears the same jersey number —&nbsp;and has drawn comparisons to one of the NFL’s best receivers. 
 “Davante is in a category by himself,” Rodgers said, “but this 17 reminds me of the other 17, as far as his ability of getting out of breaks and his quick twitch at the line of scrimmage, for sure.” 
 Wilson is a rising star and should benefit most from Rodgers becoming a Jet. Wilson set franchise rookie records with 83 catches for 1,103 yards last year and won Offensive Rookie of the Year. 
 He remarkably did that with uninspiring quarterback play and four different men throwing him the football: Joe Flacco, Zach Wilson, Mike White and Chris Streveler. 
 Imagine what Wilson can do with an all-time great like Rodgers as his quarterback. 
 “That’s nothing I’m worried about right now,” Wilson said. “If we’re playing good ball, I feel like I’ll handle my business. If we’re winning games, if we’re moving the ball on offense, it will come naturally. 
 “I have expectations for myself, but at the end of the day those come second to everything that we want to do here. I’ve always been a believer if I go about things the right way, do everything for my team, it will take care of itself.” 
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 Expectations are high for the Jets and for Wilson, the No. 10 pick out of Ohio State. Wilson showed the kind of receiver he could be in his return to Ohio in Week 2. 
 He caught eight passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns in the Jets’ improbable 31-30 win over the Browns. The Jets came back from 13 down with 1:55 left. Wilson caught the game-deciding touchdown from Flacco with 22 seconds to go. 
 Wilson planted his flag as the Jets’ No. 1 receiver. 
 “We knew he was going to be special, and he just keeps elevating the bar,” Saleh said. 
 Rodgers also has used the word “special” to describe Wilson. 
 The 6-foot Wilson is a great route runner, has incredible hands and he knows how to create separation from his defender. Throughout training camp, Wilson was always open. ALWAYS. Even with Sauce Gardner on him, Wilson got open. 
 “Garrett’s incredible,” said receiver Allen Lazard, another ex-Packer. “I see a lot of resemblance as far as Davante. To me, Davante’s the best in the league, hands down. But there’s a lot of things that they do, mannerisms, personalities, abilities that resemble each other. 
 “I was able to join the team when Davante was really taking that next step in his career, kind of solidifying himself as a top receiver. I’m seeing a lot of those attributes in Year 2 of Garrett.” 
 Wilson appreciates that and it only pushes him to work harder. 
 “He was my favorite receiver growing up,” Wilson said. “I was always someone that loved watching the game and I tried to take a lot of things from what he did well. Man, he’s special. You can see the lab work that he puts in throughout the offseason and all through this time. It’s special to watch. I got a long way to go before I get to that point.” 
 Wilson is off to a fast start. He could get there even quicker playing with Rodgers.

SPFBJOFF230907

Jets' Garrett Wilson being compared to Davante Adams

spJETS

&nbsp; 
 For Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones, this season could represent a whole new Giants experience.&nbsp; 
 There is no shortage of talent for an offense that now has&nbsp;a multitude of weapons.&nbsp; These Giants are better, deeper and faster this season, and that will benefit Barkley and Jones. 
 Asked what he expects from himself this season, Barkley said, “What I expect from myself is to continue to rise. To continue to grow. To expand on what I did last season and to be in whatever role I can be in that best helps the team win.”&nbsp; 
 Barkley did not play a down in preseason games. That was the plan after he signed the franchise tag, ensuring his presence on the roster this season.&nbsp; 
 Barkley and Jones, through all the change this offseason, still are the team’s standard bearers.&nbsp; 
 “For me,” Barkley said, “I’m just happy to be back with my guys and I can’t wait to be out there on Sundays.”&nbsp; 
 Jones liked what he saw from Barkley at training camp.&nbsp; 
 “I think he's done a great job,” Jones said. “He’s been impressive in all the ways he usually is on the field with his ability, and he's been impressive just with his demeanor, his leadership, his attitude. I think he's been big in the passing game for us in space and running routes, getting open, making explosive plays that way, too. He’s had a great camp.”&nbsp; 
 The addition of tight end Darren Waller could be franchise-changing and surely is roster-changing.&nbsp; 
 At 6-6, 238 pounds, he is a dominant target in the passing game that the Giants have lacked.&nbsp; 
 The Giants have composed a roster that includes receivers who complement Waller’s abilities.&nbsp; 
 Rookie Jalin Hyatt can fly. Veteran receivers Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton and Isaiah Hodgins return. Parris Campbell signed in free agency. Second-year tight end Daniel Bellinger will still have a role even with Waller’s presence.&nbsp; 
 “Yeah, I think it’s important that we got a variety of guys who do different things,” Jones said. “And I think [coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka]&nbsp;and our whole offensive staff do a really good job of building what we're doing to our guys’ skill set and what they're good at. We did that last year and we've done that this year as well so far. I think that's important.”&nbsp; 
 For Barkley, this Giants roster represents a whole new world.&nbsp; 
 “With Daniel, you got to see it in preseason,” Barkley said. “He’s got a new weapon in Darren who is special. Darren is one of the best [targets]&nbsp;that Daniel could ask for. And with the wide receivers, with Shep and Slayton and Hodgins and all of our guys, our offense could be special. I see it kind of like our playoff game against Minnesota, Daniel able to let loose, and now he’ll be throwing the ball around to all of our playmakers and giving guys a chance to make plays.”&nbsp; 
 Asked if he’s been thinking about the opening game of the 2023 season&nbsp;against the Cowboys at home,&nbsp;Barkley laughed.&nbsp; 
 “Knowing I wouldn’t be playing at all in preseason, my focus has been on the Cowboys for a while,” he said. “I couldn’t help but to think about them.”&nbsp; 
 For Barkley, Jones and the Giants' revamped offense,&nbsp;the Cowboys are now on the horizon.&nbsp; 
 And so is the promise of a new season.&nbsp;

SPFBGOFF230907

Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley will benefit from Giants' additions on offense

Jones, Barkley will benefit from Giants adding more playmakers

spGIANTS230804

Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner share a common bond. They’re never satisfied. They always want more. 
 Being First-Team All-Pro and making the Pro Bowl —&nbsp;as each did last year — were steps for them. Not the end game. 
 Williams wants to be the NFL’s best defensive tackle. Gardner wants to be the best cornerback. And they want to help the Jets win a Super Bowl. 
 “He wants to be the best,” Gardner said of Williams. “I ain’t going to mention names, but you got those guys, people from the outside looking in, saying Quinnen’s No. 4 because of this, these people and what they did . . .&nbsp;He wants to be THAT guy. That’s how I am. I want to be that guy as well. Who said we can’t be No. 1?” 
 The Jets have a lot of talented, hungry players on defense. But Williams, up front, and Gardner, in the back end, are the faces of a defense that believes it can be the No. 1 unit this season. 
 Williams is 25 and Gardner 23. They should be the faces of the Jets’ defense&nbsp;for a long time. 
 “Internally-driven players have no ceiling,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “They’re not satisfied with being an inch in front of the guy behind them. They want to be in front of everybody by a mile. That’s what those two guys are. They’re elite competitors. 
 “I think when you have that type of mindset, there’s no ceiling to what you’re able to achieve. You mix that in with their confidence and their skill set . . . when they say they want to be the best, I believe them.” 
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 Williams, the No. 3 overall pick from Alabama in 2019, broke out last season. He wreaked havoc on offensive linemen and quarterbacks. His 12 sacks were second to Kansas City’s Chris Jones (15.5) among defensive tackles. 
 The Jets gave Williams a four-year, $96 million extension just before training camp started. They believe Williams may be even more driven after getting the big deal. 
 “I don’t know if he could be more hungry than he was, but I feel that from him,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “He really wants to be considered the best tackle in this league and I think he has an opportunity to do that.” 
 Cornerback D.J Reed called Williams “a generational talent.” 
 Aaron Donald and Jones usually are mentioned ahead of Williams. But he is coming and closing in like he does on a quarterback. That’s what Williams cares about, not the money. 
 “I don’t play football for money,” Williams said. “I play football to be the best. I play football because it’s fun. I play football to be a part of this group. I hold us accountable, hold my teammates accountable and I want them to hold me accountable as well because I want to win the Super Bowl. 
 “I want to win. I came from ‘Bama winning, I want to win. My whole buildup is about competing and winning. My mama always told me to finish, to give it my all in whatever I do or don’t do it at all. That’s why I walk on the field with my mindset every single down.” 
 Gardner has the same mindset. 
 The No. 4 pick out of Cincinnati, Gardner had a spectacular rookie season. He led the NFL with 20 passes defended. He had a measly 53.9 passer rating allowed. Gardner was the runaway winner for Defensive Rookie of the Year. 
 He already is considered one of the best corners, and talked about in the same class as Jaire Alexander, Patrick Surtain II, Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay. 
 Gardner’s goal is to be the NFL MVP this year. It’s unlikely, but it says so much about his drive. Being the best at his position is certainly within reach for Gardner, though. 
 “It don’t matter what the age is, how many years somebody got in — you can be the best,” Gardner said. “I take that in everything I do.”

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Jets' Quinnen Williams, Sauce Gardner make 'No. 1' priority

Quinnen Williams, Sauce Gardner make 'No. 1' priority

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Azeez Ojulari’s potential is off the charts.&nbsp; 
 He can rush the passer. He can disrupt an opposing offense. &nbsp;He can be one of the most vital defensive players for the Giants.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As long as he stays healthy.&nbsp; 
 In his two years in the NFL, Ojulari has been extremely productive despite being slowed by injuries last season.&nbsp; 
 “He played in, what, five or six games [in 2022]?” defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. “I think he averaged a sack a game, so that’s the layup. He’s a pure pash rusher. He’s fun to watch.”&nbsp; 
 Ojulari played in seven&nbsp;games last season. He had 5.5 sacks.&nbsp; 
 Martindale considers Ojulari the Giants' “most natural pass rusher.”&nbsp; 
 Did the defense miss Ojulari during his stop-and-start, injury-marred season last year? That answer undoubtedly is yes.&nbsp; 
 Injuries to his hamstring, both calves and an ankle caused him to miss 10 regular-season games. In the Giants' victorious postgame locker room after defeating the Vikings in the playoffs, Ojulari wondered aloud: “I’m so frustrated. Why can't I ever finish a game?”&nbsp; 
 That day, a&nbsp;thigh bruise had forced his early exit in the wild-card game. The following week, when the Giants were ousted by the Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs, Ojulari was credited with just an assisted tackle.&nbsp; 
 This season, it’s imperative to the defense —&nbsp;even a defense that has been bolstered by other additions since last season —&nbsp;that Ojulari stays on the field.&nbsp; 
 And he knows it.&nbsp; 
 Ojulari said after talking to teammates, he added more stretching and yoga into to his routine.&nbsp; 
 “I just wanted better for myself,” he said. “I just want to do whatever I can to help myself and my team.”&nbsp; 
 So far, so good during preseason.&nbsp; 
 “It's very exciting to be out here and practice with my teammates and just be available for my team,” Ojulari said. “I’m ready to work this year. I’m ready to go.”&nbsp; 
 Martindale is looking forward to having Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the field together much more often this season.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 “It’s going to be exciting,” Thibodeaux said. “For [Ojulari]&nbsp;on paper, you know how many sacks he had [compared to]&nbsp;how many plays he had. Knowing that, I mean, if you can get him 17 games, who knows how many sacks you’ll get? So yeah, I'm excited to really get it going.”&nbsp; 
 The great Giants linebacker Carl Banks said recently that he believes a goal of 15 sacks this season is realistic for Ojulari. (Only five NFL players recorded 15 sacks last season.)&nbsp; 
 To that, Ojulari said: “I'm just trying to do what I can for the team or whatever I can, no matter what it is, to just help the team win. However, I can be productive for the team, I’m just trying to do the best I can.”&nbsp; 
 For Ojulari, that means staying on the field. Which is exactly where he aims to be.&nbsp;

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Azeez Ojulari's to-do list: Sack QB, stay on the field

Ojulari's to-do list: Sack QB, stay on the field

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<h3> 3 reasons the Jets will contend </h3> 
 1. Aaron Rodgers. 
 The Jets have a generational quarterback leading them and his sole mission is to win the Super Bowl. Rodgers will elevate everyone’s play and attention to detail — on both sides of the football. There’s a much different standard with Rodgers. It’s been a long while since the Jets have had a quarterback who can lift the franchise. 
 2. The defense. 
 They ranked fourth last year and return all their stars and playmakers. The D-line is stacked. They may have the NFL’s No. 1 cornerback group. Tackle Quinnen Williams and cornerback Sauce Gardner are driven to be the best at their positions. For many, it’s Year Three in the system. This group could dominate. 
 3. Weapons galore. 
 Garrett Wilson is a rising star. So is Breece Hall, returning from ACL surgery. Add in Pro Bowl back Dalvin Cook, receivers Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman, tight ends Tyler Conklin, C.J. Uzomah and Jeremy Ruckert and Rodgers’ ability to get the ball to his playmakers, and the Jets will be very difficult to defend. 
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<h3> 3 reasons why the Jets&nbsp;may disappoint this season </h3> 
 1. The O-line. 
 Protecting Aaron Rodgers is everything. The strength and health of the offensive line has been an ongoing topic. If Mekhi Becton (knee surgery) and Duane Brown (shoulder surgery) stay healthy, the Jets could be in good shape up front. 
 2. Health. 
 The Jets can’t afford injuries to key players&nbsp;if they are to be serious contenders. Rodgers tops the list. Zach Wilson has improved, but there will be a major drop-off if he’s under center.&nbsp; 
 3. Overconfidence. 
 The Jets lead the NFL in hype. Teams will try to knock them down a peg. Rodgers is used to having a target on his back, but the younger players aren’t. If they don’t handle adversity, the hype train could get derailed.

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Jets in 2023: Will they match the hype?

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<h3> 3 reasons the Giants will contend </h3> 
 1. Saquon Barkley will be on a mission 
 Barkley’s pride isn’t an out-of-control pride. But he knows his worth. With the playmakers around him, will defenses still make their No. 1 priority mission to stop the Giants running back? For first time in Barkley’s career with the Giants, he has playmakers – plural – around him. 
 2. Inventive coaching from Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka 
 Offensive playmakers win games in this league and the Giants, for the first time in a long time, have a group of players who can win in various ways. The coach and OC will make the most of this. 
 3. Darren Waller stays healthy 
 That means he will be productive. He’s scored only five touchdowns in the last two seasons, playing in a total of 20 games after back-to-back 16-game campaigns. With the offensive firepower the Giants have added since last season, defenses will have to make choices, and doubling Waller could be costly.&nbsp; 
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<h3> 3 reasons why the Giants may disappoint this season </h3> 
 1. If the offensive line doesn’t hold up. 
 Andrew Thomas can anchor only one spot. Under offensive line coach Bobby Johnson’s tutelage, the unit has improved. Evan Neal should take a step forward. And if there are growing pains for rookie center John Michael Schmitz, the Giants will hope they can be fixed promptly. 
 2. The Eagles and Cowboys. 
 The Giants went 0-3 against Philadelphia last year, and in the two games the starters played, they were thrashed by a combined score of 86-29. They lost a pair of one-score games to Dallas. It’ll be tough sledding if the Giants can’t make inroads in the division. 
 3. If Darren Waller doesn’t stay healthy. 
 In only two of his seven seasons has he played in every game, and those were his breakout years. Judging by training camp, he’ll be as important as any skill player on the Giants. He’s a pass-catching unicorn. But can he stay on the field?

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Giants in 2023: Will they soar or sink?

NFL Top 5 RBs Football

Will McDonald IV, defensive end 
 His speed off the line, bend and overall freakish athleticism make McDonald a unique edge rusher and someone who should have an impact on what is already one of the deepest lines in the NFL. 
 McDonald, the 15th overall pick, used to jump over cars. Now he plans to jump over offensive tackles. 
 He can give offensive linemen trouble with his fast get-off and quick spin move, which was effective in college and the preseason. The Jets can turn McDonald loose against a big tackle in passing downs that could lead to free runs at the quarterback and splash plays. 
 The Jets are so loaded up front that McDonald could play limited snaps, but he should have some opportunities to show why the Jets were so high on the Iowa State product. Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will find ways to utilize McDonald and his strengths. 
 The Jets want to use their depth on the line by coming at teams in waves. McDonald could give the Jets a change of pace and frustrate offensive linemen who have been physically worn down the more powerful players that the Jets have up front. Tired O-linemen may not be able to keep up with McDonald. 
 He could be fun to watch.

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Jets' rookie to watch: Will McDonald IV

Jets Panthers Football

Jalin Hyatt, WR 
 Who else? Forget concerns about the route tree. The Giants absolutely, positively love Hyatt, and why shouldn’t they? He has speed to spare in a league where that quality can be the defining quality. Catch him if you can. He’s won over veterans with his desire to learn and his willingness to accept corrections. He has done everything asked of him by wide receivers coach Mike Groh. In the preseason game against the Panthers, Hyatt faked the post and got behind veteran safety Eric Rowe on a corner route. Touchdown. At this point, it’s fair to wonder why he was there for the Giants in the third round of the draft.&nbsp; 
 Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown recently shed light on that idea, suggesting that Hyatt was limited in what he was asked to do at the University of Tennessee. (There has to be some reason that he was the 10th&nbsp;receiver taken in the 2023 draft. Tenth!)&nbsp; 
 Said Brown:&nbsp;“I think with Jalin, it’s (about) knowing what their system called for (from him). Because what he's doing for us, he has more talent in his body than the role he was asked to play at Tennessee.”&nbsp;

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Giants rookie to watch: WR Jalin Hyatt

Michael Carter II, CB 
 The third-year slot corner gets overlooked because he plays in the shadows of Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, but Carter is an integral piece of the Jets’ secondary and defense. He’s underrated and undeterred in his pursuit to prove he’s one of the NFL’s best nickelbacks. 
 A fifth-round pick out of Duke, Carter wants to be mentioned in the same sentence as some of the NFL's top slot corners: the Colts’ Kenny Moore, Denver’s K’Wuan Williams and Cincinnati’s Mike Hilton. Carter rated higher than all of them last season by Pro Football Focus. 
 “I want to be a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro and really be considered —&nbsp;widely —&nbsp;that guy in the nickel spot,” Carter said. “I want to be in that conversation.” 
 Carter's versatility allows him to fill some gaps in the run game like a linebacker and also cover receivers. He got stronger in the offseason, worked on his man and zone coverage skills and pored over film of receivers. 
 Aaron Rodgers said when the Packers played the Jets last season, they went at Carter more than Gardner and Reed. After the game, Rodgers said the Packers realized that Carter is “pretty damn good player.” 
 Carter is a big reason that the Jets have arguably the NFL’s best cornerback group,&nbsp;even though he doesn’t get the recognition. Carter is looking to change that.

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Jets' under-the-radar player to watch: Michael Carter II

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Isaiah Hodgins&nbsp;arrived to &nbsp;the Giants last November, claimed off waivers from the Bills. And all he did was play a key role in the Giants winning a playoff game. 
 Since then, the Giants have added plenty of firepower on offense, but it would be a mistake to discount Hodgins, who has championship bloodlines. (His dad, James, was the fullback on the Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf Super Bowl XXXIV team.) 
 Hodgins — who had eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown in the Giants’ playoff win at Minnesota last season — is &nbsp;respected in the locker room as someone who is always willing to help younger players who aren’t as familiar with the offense. 
 For the sixth-round pick out of Oregon State in 2020, those days of wondering&nbsp; about his future in Buffalo are long gone. Hodgins is now among the trusted targets of quarterback Daniel Jones.

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Under-The-Radar Giant To Watch: WR Isaiah Hodgins

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With Aaron Rodgers under center, expectations are sky high as the Jets open the season against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. NewsdayTV&#39;s Al Iannazzone reports.

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High expectations for Jets as Aaron Rodgers era begins 

New Jersey

Newsday

High expectations for Jets as Rodgers era begins

The Giants open the 2023 NFL season on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys. NewsdayTV&#39;s Kim Jones reports on some of the important parts of the team to help drive success.

SPGIANTS2023_video

Two keys to the Giants' success this season

Jones: Waller, rookie CBs are key to Giants' success

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Neil Best

Aaron Rodgers’ success with the Jets —&nbsp;or lack thereof —&nbsp;will be determined on the field. But it is likely he will excel in at least one visible off-field task. 
 The notion that he will be intimidated by the New York-area media after 18 years in tiny Green Bay is, in a word, laughable. 
 In fact, that is exactly what Rodgers himself said when asked during training camp whether the media spotlight gave him pause before he signed with the Jets. 
 “I’m aware of the New York media,” he said. “They’re phenomenal. They can be tough. But I laughed at certain individuals in the media who would say, ‘He can’t handle the New York media.’ ” 
 Then he smirked&nbsp;and&nbsp;said, “OK,” making it clear that he is eager for the challenge. 
 “I look forward to tough questions,” he said. “I’d rather have tough questions than softballs. I’d rather have to think up here than be able to spout off some rhetoric on autopilot. It’s just not my personality.” 
 He added, “There’s going to be some tough times during the season and some times where people are loving us up. I enjoy the entire trek up the mountain.” 
 It was vintage Rodgers, who in his early interactions with journalists has turned on the charm and given long, thoughtful answers to a wide variety of questions. 
 He is smart, he knows it, and he is not shy about wanting to show it off. 
 Preseason is the easy part, though. Rodgers is undefeated as a Jet and is viewed by many fans as a franchise savior. What’s not to like? 
 But what happens if the team is 2-4 going into Giants Week? Reporters who have known him for years say he likely will handle tough times deftly, too. 
 Tom Silverstein, who covered Rodgers’ entire career for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Rob Demovsky, who did the same for the Green Bay Press-Gazette and ESPN, praised Rodgers for his willingness to talk football even in down times. 
 As for other subjects, that can get complicated. 
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 “I made the joke when this first went down that there’s no Page Six in the Green Bay Press-Gazette,” Demovsky said. “Well, there is page six. It just has the farm reports and fishing reports on it. It doesn't have Aaron Rodgers sighted at this place with this person.” 
 In his early months in New York, Rodgers did embrace coverage even of his off-field adventures as he got to know the city, but that all was in good fun. 
 Demovsky once made the mistake of wondering whether something happening in Rodgers’ personal life might be affecting his play. 
 “That did not go over too well,” the reporter said. 
 The Jets expect Rodgers to speak to reporters primarily on Wednesdays and after games, as he did in Green Bay. 
 Tuesdays are reserved for “The Pat McAfee Show,” now an ESPN property, his preferred venue for breaking news. 
 Demovsky said that when Rodgers first began appearing with McAfee, he would listen casually while running errands or working out at the gym. 
 “Once topics started to get a little bit more serious from him, like being unhappy here to the COVID stuff, the vaccination stuff, then it became mandatory,” Demovksy said. “Like: I have to sit at my computer, record this and write a story about it.” 
 Said Silverstein, “Anything he's going to say controversial he's going to do there, where he's not challenged on any of it. He's not going to bring that to a place where he is going to be challenged. He's smart that way.” 
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 But when it came to day-to-day news about games and strategy and such, Rodgers would stand by his locker for a half-hour or more on Wednesdays, happy to engage. 
 He knew reporters’ names and even some of their personal details, something that began creeping into his interactions with New York reporters by mid-summer. 
 Demovsky and Silverstein said the trickiest thing about covering Rodgers is that he is so savvy one often must interpret what he is getting at. 
 “If it doesn't go well, you'll have to get an Aaron Rodgers Cryptic Criticism Dictionary,” Demovsky said, “because he will find ways to criticize everything from the play-calling to route running to officiating, and sometimes it's reading between the lines. But it's there.” 
 Said Silverstein, “He will send out a lot of messages you have to read between the lines. And as a journalist it kind of handcuffs you, because he's not really saying it directly. He’s implying it.” 
 While the back page headlines in New York might be harsher than anything in Wisconsin media, Rodgers will not be surprised by the volume of journalists around him. 
 If anything, there will be fewer than with the Packers, who draw every local television station and newspaper outlet from three different markets. 
 Again, the real test will come if things go wrong on the field. But Rodgers has been there before, even in a career with more ups than downs. 
 “He will not go into it without thinking through whatever it is he wants to say or figuring out exactly what it is he's going to be asked,” Silverstein said. “He's an extremely intelligent guy. 
 “He spends a lot of time thinking about what he's going to say and what he wants to get across. I think he will view it as a challenge, as putting up his intelligence and ability to dissect things in life up against anybody. I really think that that he has that kind of confidence.” 
 Covering Rodgers always has offered “edge-of-your-seat stuff to write about,” Demovsky said. “I think good, bad or whatever, it'll be an interesting ride.”

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How will Aaron Rodgers fare vs. NY media? Two Packers reporters offer insight

Aaron Rodgers vs. NY media: Two Packers reporters on what to expect

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It was as surreal a moment as you could imagine after the shocking trade from the Packers brought Brett Favre to a windowless room in the ground floor of Cleveland Stadium on Aug. 7, 2008.&nbsp; 
 With team officials scrambling to put up a Jets’ banner in the background, Favre sat between team owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum for his introductory news&nbsp;conference just minutes before a preseason game against the Browns.&nbsp; 
 It was weird for everyone, especially for Favre, whose emotional and dramatic split from the Packers brought him to a Jets’ team that desperately wanted him to revive the team’s fortunes under third-year coach Eric Mangini.&nbsp; 
 “This is unique,” Favre&nbsp;said.“I haven’t faced anything like this. I don’t know anyone in this locker room. To a certain degree, I don’t know what I’m getting into.” 
 Making things even more uncomfortable: On the same day the Jets announced they had released longtime quarterback Chad Pennington, who quickly signed a two-year deal with AFC East rival Miami. In fact, Johnson and Tannenbaum spent more time thanking Pennington for his service than extolling Favre’s virtues before introducing Favre.&nbsp; 
 “We’re happy, we’re excited, we’re really glad he’s a member of this team,” said Tannenbaum, who outbid the Buccaneers for Favre’s services, even though the quarterback had expressed a preference for either staying with the Packers or playing for the Vikings.&nbsp; 
 Favre drew heavy crowds when he made his first practice appearance at the Jets’ Hofstra University-based training camp, and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer put him through quite an extended workout for a player so new to the team. Afterward, a fatigued Favre met with reporters and said, “I feel rough.” 
 But as clumsy as the introduction and early days had been, Favre settled into a routine, and he looked more like the quarterback who had led the Packers to Super Bowl glory in the 1990’s. Johnson’s gamble appeared to be paying off, and it looked as if Mangini, who’d made the playoffs in his first season but had quickly worn out his welcome the following year, might save his job and get the Jets back to the postseason.&nbsp; 
 The season started off with a promising win over the Dolphins and Pennington in Miami, and after back-to-back losses to the Patriots and Chargers, the Jets won seven of their next eight games. The run included a thrilling overtime win in New England followed by a 34-13 thumping of the 10-0 Titans in Tennessee.&nbsp; 
 At 8-3, there was talk of the Jets being legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Even though Favre tried to temper those expectations.&nbsp; 
 “I’m not going to sit here and say we’ve established ourselves as the best team in football,” he said afterward. “All it says is we beat the best team in football today.” 
 Unfortunately for Favre and the Jets, it went downhill from there.&nbsp; 
 Straight downhill.&nbsp; 
 Favre’s performance tailed off dramatically with just two touchdown passes and nine interceptions the rest of the way, and the Jets won just once down the stretch to finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs. Favre had complained of soreness in his throwing arm, and it was revealed late in the season that he was playing with a torn biceps that required offseason surgery.&nbsp; 
 And that was that. Favre, who simply never seemed fully comfortable being in a Jets’ uniform, had offseason surgery to correct the problem and then asked the Jets to trade him to his preferred destination in Minnesota, where he could face the Packers twice a year.&nbsp; 
 In New York, the fallout was massive. Mangini was fired, and the Jets hired Rex Ryan, who would get the Jets into the AFC Championship Game his first two seasons with quarterback Mark Sanchez.&nbsp; 
 Though there are plenty of similarities with the Aaron Rodgers trade to the Jets —&nbsp;almost eerily similar, considering Rodgers replaced Favre, grew disaffected with Green Bay because a younger quarterback, Jordan Love, was ready to replace him —&nbsp;this simply does not feel the same.&nbsp; 
 Unlike Favre, Rodgers has embraced New York, has adjusted his contract to help with the Jets’ salary cap situation&nbsp;and is eager to face the challenge ahead. And not just in the short term.&nbsp; 
 “There is a lot of positivity around here, which I think is a good thing,” Rodgers said during training camp. “When you have so many great players on rookie deals, it’s exciting knowing you can do something, that you’ve got a good window.” 
 And unlike Favre, who never truly embraced his short time with the Jets, Rodgers seems quite content being here.&nbsp; 
 “It’s not just a one-year thing where you can be competitive, which is fun,” he said. “There’s a lot of fun things that have come along with this time in my life, and I’m just enjoying every minute of it.” 
 Bob Glauber, who retired in 2022 after 30 seasons as Newsday’s NFL columnist, covered the Jets’ one season with Brett Favre in 2008.

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Packers QB to Jets? Why this experiment (with Brett Favre) didn't work the first time

Packers QB to Jets? Why experiment (with Brett Favre) didn't work first time

C1NFAVRE22

Darius Slayton is entering his fifth NFL season. He’s spent all of them with Daniel Jones as his quarterback;&nbsp;they came to the Giants together as draft picks in 2019. This is Jones' second year running the offense that Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka imported, the one that basically extended Slayton’s stay with the team. 
 If there is anybody on the field who knows exactly what he’s doing at all times, it should be Slayton. 
 “But every blue moon, DJ gets in there and says something and I’m like, ‘Hoo, boy!’ &quot; Slayton told Newsday. “If it’s something we haven’t called in a long time, it can be like, ‘Oh, man, I have to really rack my brain.’ ” 
 When that happens, he usually bides his time in the huddle to see where everyone else goes and then tries to figure out where he’s supposed to line up based on the vacancies. Then he’ll start looking around for other context clues and go through a long process of elimination. 
 “I’m thinking, ‘OK, it can’t be a dig, can’t be a slant, can’t be a go,’ ” he said. “And then I usually land on the right one.” 
 It’s an illustration of just how deep, complex and confusing an NFL playbook can be these days, and there are as many methods for memorizing it as there are players in the league. Everyone, it seems, has his&nbsp;own technique, ranging from mnemonic (memory) devices to checkerboards to a sort of immersive virtual reality.&nbsp;As players enter the NFL, they have to figure out what works best for them. 
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<h3> TECHNOLOGY SURE HELPS </h3> 
 Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert said he stole a study habit from quarterback Chris Streveler, who was with the team earlier this summer before suffering a hand injury. 
 “He had a good method where he speaks the plays into his phone off the paper and he’ll play the video back and kind of quiz himself,” Ruckert said. “I started to do that too. I know a lot of other young guys did that. We use that, flash cards, everything. It’s kind of like schoolwork, but this is your job now, so it’s a lot more fun.” 
 The concept of a playbook as a book of plays is one of football’s many anachronisms, right along with watching film (no one has used actual celluloid for decades)&nbsp;and calling the football&nbsp;a pigskin (Wilson makes the official NFL footballs out of cowhide and has since 1941). Gone, for the most part, are the three-ring binders filled with X’s-and-O’s and squiggly lines telling players where to go. Now just about every playbook is an e-book on an iPad or other tablet along with a link to actual video of the play being run properly —&nbsp;although as recently as two years ago under Joe Judge and Jason Garrett, the Giants were working off printed pages. It turns out it wasn’t just their philosophies that were out-of-date. 
 These days, even the Giants have joined the league in the 21st century, and there are a number of ways they embrace technology in teaching the more than&nbsp;250 offensive plays with more than&nbsp;500 words of vocabulary to their “students.” 
 “We do a lot of ‘walk meetings,’ ” said Kafka, the Giants' offensive coordinator. 
 Those consist of the players standing inside a large tent in the corner of the team’s fieldhouse with a large projection of the play and its name on the canvas in front of them. They are able to line up, hear the call, see the words, visualize their responsibilities&nbsp;and then go through their maneuvers as best they can in the 10-or-so yards of space they have. 
 “They’re not running it, they’re not jogging it even, they’re just walking in their spot,” Kafka said. “What you are learning is a lot of these guys from college are coming up and their offense was basically one-worders or they had a signal-caller on the sideline, so the playbooks, you have to formulate around that a little bit. Maybe go with less words and more concepts. But this way you can put them in spots and they can visualize it. The play and the big picture is on the screen. They can see it here and they can run their route.” 
 Defenses do the same. 
 “Matt Eberflus, when he was my coach in Indy, he always said: It’s not necessarily the what, it’s the how,’ ” Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke said. “So first of all, you are figuring out the what. Like what’s my job? What’s my responsibility? But then it’s how to do it. The intensity to play with, the physicality to play with. It’s combining both. So yeah, you can learn what you have to do in X’s-and-O’s, but then you have to go execute it violently on the football field. It takes a little while for that to click in. And vice versa. You can’t just be running around like a maniac. You have to be disciplined.” 
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<h3> ALL DAY, EVERY DAY </h3> 
 That’s how they learn as a group. Individually, it’s up to them to figure things out. And the majority of their days are spent doing just that. 
 “We have meetings&nbsp;until 6 and walk-through after that until about 7:15. It’s all ball all day,” Ruckert said. “Then you have to get home and make sure you are eating and be sure you are getting picked up because the alarm comes pretty quick the next morning. But you have to put those hours in afterward. It’s just all day. You don’t want to get behind, you want to get on top of your plays so you can go out there and not think about it.” 
 Jets rookie offensive lineman Joe Tippmann is finding that out this summer. 
 “It’s definitely an ongoing process,” he said. “Maybe some people can just remember it all on the first try, but I like to dig into the playbook first, go through the whole thing&nbsp;and figure out the areas that don’t stick as well. Then I’ll either make flash cards, and if I can, I’ll watch tape of people actually executing what is in the playbook. Then I’ll go from there . . . &nbsp;The last thing I do before I go to bed is look back through the day, through the playbook, and kind of find the areas where I struggled and places where I might need to step it up.” 
 Even veterans have to cram. Defensive lineman Al Woods is in his 14th season, but it's his first in the scheme the Jets are using in which he has to attack more than react. He said because he is a visual learner, he tries to do more walk-throughs than rote memorizations. 
 “It’s making sure I know what’s going on, even what’s going on if a play breaks down,” he said. “Emergency situations, emergency calls. ‘Oh, [expletive]!&nbsp;What do we do now?’ type of situations . . .&nbsp;&nbsp;I’ve just had to kind of empty my brain of 13 years of one thing, but it’s been fun.” 
<h3> PIECES TO PUZZLE </h3> 
 Sometimes, though, old-fashioned studying is what is required, even if it comes with a clever twist. 
 “It’s got to be non-stop repetitive memorization and quizzing yourself,” Giants receiver Isaiah Hodgins said. “I’m a big note-card guy. I get a lot of note cards. My wideout coach in Buffalo taught me to draw the whole play in black and then the position you want to learn in red so you can say, ‘If they call this, I got this route.’ But there are so many different methods. Josh Allen used to teach me ways of getting checker or chess pieces and making a whole offense out of them. You’d flip over a note card for the play and see how fast you could move all the pieces where everyone had to go.” 
 It’s fun to picture bishops running slants, knights running outs, rooks running go routes. 
 “I would have my wife call out the play and I would pretend there was an O-line in the living room and go walk to my spot and do my route,” Hodgins said. “There are so many ways, but it has to be an every-day, non-stop thing.” 
 Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas said he and many of his linemates used the app Quizlet, the same one thousands of school students around the country use to pepper themselves with facts for Earth Science, French or Social Studies tests. It’s basically a digital flashcard that shows a term and then with the flick of a wrist, it shows the definition. If you get it right, you move on from it. If you don’t, it goes back in the pile and comes around again at some point. 
 Those apps have their perils, however, as NFL paranoia runs deep. 
 “They took it down now because they didn’t want it to get out,” Thomas said. “We had a code and everything, but they didn’t want to do it. When I was learning it, though, I had access to it. That helped me for sure.” 
 The good thing is that most times, besides the quarterback, not everyone needs to understand every part of every play call (although it certainly helps if they do). 
 “It’s impossible —&nbsp;I shouldn’t say that, it is possible —&nbsp;but memorizing every single play for me is not ideal,” Slayton said. “I like to know what the concept is and then if I end up on the field, I know like, ‘OK, if I end up this far outside the numbers, I can’t have certain routes.’ So some of them are eliminated in my head. That helps me keep it all together.” 
 Kafka said when he was a quarterback in the NFL, and now that he is a coordinator and on the in-game headset, he likes to visualize building a play the way a kid might stack Legos, snapping the rectangular pieces together one by one to create a whole new design. 
 “So if I call ‘Doe strike 92, Z cross, X pressure,’ that would be a two-by-two set,” he said of a play that has two receivers on each side of the offensive linemen. Each piece of the play call is a segment that tells one group of players what they need to do. “But I want to know who is my chipper, which way is the back going, where are my X and Z, who is on the Z cross, who is on the X pressure. You are building that play out. Then you flip it over and you know from the left hash, I want to call it the other way around. It’s just creating a muscle memory so whenever you get that play called in your headset, you’ve already built it and you know what it is. You are breaking it up into sections for yourself so you can build that play.” 
<h3> IMPROV NO JOKE </h3> 
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 Not every play comes from the playbook, of&nbsp;course, and that’s even more of a reality for the Jets, who will rely on the improvisational skills of their quarterback to lift them above the two-dimensional drawings on the pages of their tablets. 
 “It’s the Aaron Rodgers offense,” said wide receiver Allen Lazard, who played with Rodgers in Green Bay and joins him &nbsp;with the Jets this season. “He plays in the state of flow and just letting the game happen. When you have 11 guys who are able to play like that, that’s when beautiful plays are able to happen. Magic is able to happen on the field.” 
 That was evidenced early on this summer. At the first walk-through on the afternoon of the day the players reported to training camp, Rodgers &nbsp;already was flashing hand signals, tweaking routes and adjusting the details on plays that he hadn’t even gone over with the rest of the team in meetings. It was up to them to keep up. 
 That kind of second-level on-the-field learning continued, even for the veterans. Tight end C.J. Uzomah is entering his ninth season in the NFL, and when he started practicing in late July after starting camp on PUP, the first pass he caught in team drills from Rodgers was a no-look throw that came his way. 
 “Those are crazy,&quot; he said. &quot;I’ll let you know right now, you don’t get used to those. Even just in group install stuff, you better have your eyes on the quarterback at any given time. It’s messing with the defense, and as long as we are on the same page with him, we’re good, but it creeps up on you.” 
 Uzomah said those have been the most challenging parts of learning this new system, going beyond the book. They’ve also been the most fun parts. 
 “It’s such a free-flowing [offense],” he said. “Within the confinements of the play, within the confinements of the drop, within the confinements of the coverage, there is a little more freedom. It’s not running a straight line. If he has a seven-step drop, I know I have to be in this area and he’ll find us in that area, as opposed to having to run 12 yards and cut in and do this and do that. It’s different. It’s usually you have to get to the 12-yard mark and then break, but he’s like, no, if you get 10 yards, if you get 9, if you get around that area, he is going to find you. It’s an adjustment because it’s what you want to do while playing, but you are always like, ‘Nah, Coach said to do 12 yards so I’m gonna do 12 yards.’ That is a little bit of an adjustment, but it’s great.” 
<h3> STUDY, STUDY, STUDY </h3> 
 Teams typically install their schemes in chunks of six to 10 plays a day. They’ll go through the whole book once in spring workouts, again in minicamp&nbsp;and then at the start of training camp, so by the time they start the regular season, they have been taught it three times. Of course, each day those plays stack up, so while learning the new ones, they have to remain masters of the previous calls. 
 When players arrive off waivers or in the middle of the season, they typically get a crash course in the game plan and not the whole playbook. They may just learn a handful of words and schemes to get them through the upcoming game. 
 But how long does it take to learn the whole playbook? 
 “It depends on your dedication to it,” Hodgins said. “If you are a guy who is going to study for three days and take two off, it’s going to take you a while. But if you are every day no matter what, I am looking at these before I go to sleep, before practice, after practice, all that, I mean, you can get it in a couple months if you really, really try. It’s based on your discipline and your habits.” 
 Apps, flash cards, chess pieces, tablets, audio files, even educated guessing. 
 When it comes to learning the playbook, there are no wrong answers . . . &nbsp;just as long as they help the player eventually arrive at the right one when it counts.

SPFBPLAYBOOK230907

X's-&-O's of NFL: Many routes to learning a playbook

1624067343

As they took turns hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy on a confetti-strewn field at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, their place secure in Super Bowl history, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick reveled in a feat that had never before been accomplished.&nbsp; 
 Nor did it seem even remotely possible that it would ever be done again — at least not in the foreseeable future.&nbsp; 
 The Patriots had just won their sixth title on&nbsp;Feb.&nbsp;3, 2019, setting a record for the most Super Bowl championships by a single franchise. Their dynasty was the most prolific and long-lasting of any team, built over a span of 18 seasons by the most accomplished quarterback and coach in NFL history.&nbsp; 
 It simply can’t happen again, not in a parity-driven league built to make it harder for the champions to keep winning. There’s no way the Patriots can be challenged again, at least not for a generation.&nbsp; 
 Right?&nbsp; 
 Well . . . &nbsp;Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid might have something to say about it. 
 Incredible as it may&nbsp;seem, especially given the fact that it has&nbsp;been less than five years since the Patriots last won the Super Bowl, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that Kansas City will become&nbsp;the NFL’s next dynasty.&nbsp; 
 Mahomes and Reid can become the first quarterback-coach tandem to win back-to-back Super Bowls since Brady and Belichick accomplished that feat in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.Kansas City is in position to win its third Super Bowl title in five years. At the start of the Patriots’ championship run, they won three Lombardi Trophies in four years.&nbsp; 
 We can tap the brakes —&nbsp;for now, anyway —&nbsp;on the notion that Kansas City can get to six Super Bowl titles to match the Patriots. In fact, Mahomes is the first to warn that they simply can’t get ahead of themselves.&nbsp; 
 “I think the thing this year is how can we keep building?” he told reporters toward the beginning of training camp, as he, Travis Kelce —&nbsp;still the best tight end in the game —&nbsp;and a strong mix of veteran players and rising stars started to get ready to defend their title.&nbsp;“Obviously, we won the Super Bowl last year, and it was amazing. But we still have a lot of young guys&nbsp;and we want to continue to get better and better.” 
 Mahomes&nbsp;also is quick to point out that Kansas City plays in a loaded conference&nbsp;with legitimate Super Bowl contenders in Cincinnati, Buffalo, Miami, the Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore, Jacksonville&nbsp;and possibly even the Jets with Aaron Rodgers.&nbsp; 
 “You look around the AFC, everyone has gotten better,” he said. “So you want to continue to build and not be satisfied with what we did last year and see if we can take that next step.” 
 Rest assured that Reid, who has blossomed into a lock as a Hall of Fame coach with two championships and a combined four Super Bowl appearances, will make sure&nbsp;&nbsp;Kansas City doesn’t experience a sense of complacency. Even Mahomes knows that&nbsp;despite all he has&nbsp;accomplished by age 27, there is more room to grow.&nbsp; 
 “He never lets you be satisfied with where you’re at,” Mahomes said. “He has a way of challenging me, it seems like every day.” 
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 It’s a similar dynamic that powered the Patriots’ dynasty, with Belichick and Brady combining forces to create the longest-lasting reign of supremacy in NFL history, and perhaps even the history of all team sports. The coach and the quarterback were the indispensable pieces, just as Reid and Mahomes are in Kansas City.&nbsp; 
 And history says that with those two ingredients —&nbsp;a Hall of Fame-caliber coach and quarterback —&nbsp;dynasties&nbsp;certainly are possible. Consider: 
 • The great Packers teams of the 1960s were led by Lombardi and Bart Starr.&nbsp; 
 • The Steelers’ dynasty of the 1970s had Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw, along with one of the great defenses of all time.&nbsp; 
 • The 49ers won three Super Bowl titles in the 1980s with Bill Walsh and Joe Montana, and another with Montana and Walsh successor George Seifert.&nbsp; 
 • The Cowboys had Jimmy Johnson and Troy Aikman — along with Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin — as the central figures in a run of three titles in four years, the last with coach Barry Switzer after Johnson split with team owner Jerry Jones.&nbsp; 
 • The Browns were virtually unbeatable in their four championship seasons in the All-America Football Conference, and coach Paul Brown and quarterback Otto Graham proved they were the best in all of football by winning three titles after the Browns merged with the NFL in 1950.&nbsp; 
 The only exception to the coach-quarterback axiom: Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, who led Washington to three titles from 1982-91 with three different quarterbacks, none of whom was Hall of Fame-worthy.&nbsp; 
 Despite not having an elite quarterback, Gibbs still laments the potential titles that got away. Not long ago, he looked at a picture of himself, Walsh and Bill Parcells and shook his head.&nbsp; 
 “I look at those two guys, and man, if they didn’t keep me from winning more,” Gibbs told Newsday.&nbsp;“I look at the NFC East in those days. Did we have to have all those great coaches and great owners? It was just so competitive, and you throw the 49ers and Bears in there, and it was, my gosh, there are so many great teams and great players.” 
 Hard-fought competition in the NFL is as old as the league itself, and teams that consistently stand above the rest are more the exception than the rule. Translation: It’s hard enough to win a championship in this league; it’s much, much&nbsp;harder to do it over and over again.&nbsp; 
<h3> 'SO MUCH HAS TO GO RIGHT' </h3> 
 Phil Villapiano knows firsthand how that goes. An All-Pro linebacker with the great Raiders teams of the 1970s under Hall of Fame coach John Madden, Villapiano went to the playoffs five straight years from 1972-76&nbsp;but won only&nbsp;one Super Bowl. As fate would have it, the Raiders played in the same conference as two of the decade’s other legendary teams: the Dolphins and Steelers.&nbsp; 
 “Getting to the Super Bowl is not easy, and you look back and you say, ‘Oh, my God, everything just went perfect that year,’ ” Villapiano told Newsday of the 1976 championship run. “That’s why it’s so hard to repeat. Everything just has to be working perfectly. And you have to be lucky.&nbsp; 
 “Our Super Bowl year, we were 13-1, but we almost got beat about five times,” he said. “Everything went just great. You’re having fun, your fans are all excited, then you win a Super Bowl. But to do it over again, so much has to go right.&quot; 
 Injuries are a factor every year in the NFL, and if key players from a championship team are lost for a period of time —&nbsp;or the entire season —&nbsp;it can make all the difference. Off-field problems are another source of potential trouble. Look no further than Plaxico Burress’ self-shooting late in the 2008 season, when the Giants were in position to repeat as champions. The Giants were 10-1 when Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg at a New York nightclub. They beat Washington two days later&nbsp;but lost three of their final four games and were beaten in a home playoff game by the Eagles.&nbsp; 
 Also working against championship teams: unrestricted free agency, combined with salary cap constraints that limit how many essential players can be kept&nbsp;under contract. It has never been easier for weaker teams to get better in a hurry by signing quality free agents, which makes it even more imperative for winning teams to draft well and thus have quality players working on their rookie deals.&nbsp; 
 The end result is enhanced parity, which has been the lifeblood of the NFL's “any given Sunday” mantra of hope for all teams. And the stat that perhaps best exemplifies how even bad teams have hope: In 18 of the past 20 seasons, at least one team has gone from worst to first, winning its respective division after finishing last the year before. The 2022 Jaguars are the latest team to achieve the feat.&nbsp; 
 “This league is hard,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said as his team was&nbsp;making an unexpected playoff push last season. “It’s something we’ve preached since Day One. It’s not always going to be perfect. There will be a lot of people down on you, and you might be down on yourself, wish you could do better. But you keep on getting back up, you keep on swinging, keep on competing, regardless of the score or the situation of the game.” 
<h3> PATS: GOLD STANDARD&nbsp; </h3> 
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 Given all the challenges facing teams, especially winning teams, the Patriots’ remarkable consistency is what set them apart from every other championship team. And we are still close to a decade away from finding out whether Kansas City can come close to New England's remarkable run.&nbsp; 
 The Patriots went to the Super Bowl a combined nine times, with Brady (41) becoming the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl (a record he eclipsed with the Buccaneers at age 43), and Belichick (66) the oldest coach to win a Lombardi Trophy. Belichick joined George Halas and Curly Lambeau as the only NFL head coaches with six championships since the league started postseason play in 1933.&nbsp; 
 “I’m just so blessed to play with the best teammates through the years from our ’01 team and all the way through now,” Brady said after his final title run in New England. “I love all those guys. That’s what makes this special, man. It’s a brotherhood. All those relationships are so important in my life, and I can’t cherish it enough.” 
 An ebullient Belichick expressed profound gratitude to his players.&nbsp; 
 “In the biggest moments when we had to play our best football and compete the hardest,” he said, “they did it.” 
 Now it’s time for Reid and Mahomes to see if they can come become the next dynasty. Even if Reid, 65, is more the type to think about the next practice, not the next championship. But he does revel in the moment, and age is not a factor.&nbsp; 
 “I look in the mirror and I’m old,” he said after last year’s 38-35 Super Bowl win over the Eagles. “My heart, though, is young. I still enjoy doing what I’m doing.” 
 As does Mahomes, who is in his NFL prime and continues to have his sights set on another title run. 
 &quot;I’m always confident we have a chance to get to the Super Bowl,” said Mahomes, who has played in five straight AFC title games, all at&nbsp;home.&nbsp;“I think we have a lot of motivated guys that want to continue to build this thing. We want to have a special group that can carry out a legacy. I think we have the right guys. Now&nbsp;let’s just go out there and do it.” 
 Who are we to say they can’t?

SPFBDYNASTY230907_JQE

NFL's next dynasty? Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City knocking on door to exclusive club

Mahomes, Kansas City on verge of being NFL's next dynasty

1465434853

1. The Jets and the Giants both in the playoffs at the same time. That’s only happened five times in their combined histories, the last time at the end of the 2006 season. After this baseball season, New York deserves it! 
 2. A fully healthy, fully happy, fully committed Odell Beckham Jr. playing for the Ravens. We haven’t seen that in a long time and even though he will be turning 31 and coming back from multiple knee surgeries, it’d be nice to get just a few more glimpses of his unique aerobatics on the football field. 
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 3. Someone breaking Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record of 22.5 which has now stood for… about 22.5&nbsp;years. Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, Matthew Judon, Maxx Crosby, even Von Miller … let’s get this done! 
 4.&nbsp;Damar Hamlin playing in all 17 games. 
 5.&nbsp;Even more in-season trades. They used to be extremely rare in the sport but this new generation of general managers&nbsp;grew up playing fantasy football and has no problem swapping personnel. Christian McCaffrey, Kadarius Toney, Robert Quinn and T.J. Hockenson all switched teams mid-season last year and made impacts for playoff teams. 
 6. More scoring on special teams. Only 0.6% of NFL kickoffs (6 out of 1,013) and&nbsp;0.3%&nbsp;of punts (3 out of 952) were returned for touchdowns during the 2022 regular season. 
 7. An emergency third quarterback who comes into a game and leads his team to a comeback win. The NFL brought back the rule that allows teams to carry that third QB after last year’s 49ers debacle in the NFC Championship Game.&nbsp; 
 8. The fun gimmicks Kansas City will inevitably come up with on offense. It’ll be hard to top last year’s “snowglobe” formation, but if anyone can do so it’s Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. 
 9. A 2,000-yard receiver. The NFL has never had one, but given the proliferation of passing in the league and the 17-game schedule these days it’s about time someone cracks the 2K&nbsp;barrier.&nbsp;The race is on between Justin Jefferon, Ja’Marr Chase, Tyreek Hill and others. 
 10. Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley besting all of the statistical over/under prop bets that the NFL-sanctioned gambling sites set for him a year after he was suspended by the same league for betting on sports. 
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SPFBWANT230907

10 things we want to see happen in the 2023 NFL season

10 things we want to see happen this NFL season

Bills Hamlin Football

Nick Klopsis

This time last year, you could have drafted the eventual fantasy QB3 somewhere around the 63rd overall pick in an ESPN league. This, of course, after having taken the eventual RB1 in standard leagues (or RB3 in PPR, if that’s your style) a few picks earlier at 57th overall. 
 Yes, if you had Jalen Hurts and Josh Jacobs on your team last year, there’s a decent chance you won your league’s title —&nbsp;18% of ESPN fantasy championship teams had Hurts, while 15.5% had Jacobs. There were other players who appeared more often on championship rosters, but with much higher average draft positions (translation: early-round studs who were expected to put up big numbers). These two, on the other hand, were true hidden gems. 
 Here are 10 players who could be this year’s Hurts or Jacobs — guys drafted in the mid-to-late rounds who could become breakout fantasy stars. (ADPs are based on PPR leagues via Fantasypros.com as of Aug. 23). 
 Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys 
 ADP: 87.5 
 Overshadowed a bit by bigger names, Prescott averaged 238 yards per game last season and threw 23 touchdowns despite missing five games with a fractured thumb. The Cowboys also gave him some help this offseason: they added Brandin Cooks in free agency, and coach Mike McCarthy is taking over as play-caller. 
 Daniel Jones, QB, Giants 
 ADP: 120.5 
 Fresh off a season that saw him finish as QB9 in fantasy points, Jones enters 2023 with job security, a bunch of new targets — including tight end Darren Waller — and extra familiarity with Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka’s offensive scheme, one that helped him cut down on turnovers (1.1% interception rate) and incorporated his threat as a runner (708 yards, 7 TDs). 
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 Samaje Perine, RB, Broncos 
 ADP: 116 
 Technically, Perine is RB2 behind Javonte Williams, but he should see lots of carries early in the season as Williams recovers from a torn ACL. In addition, Broncos coach Sean Payton has experience managing two-headed backfields from his time with New Orleans (Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles; Mark ingram and Alvin Kamara; Kamara and Latavius Murray). 
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 Miles Sanders, RB, Panthers 
 ADP: 50.0 
 Sanders enjoyed a career year with the Eagles last season (1,269 rushing yards, 11 TDs). Now in Carolina, he’s expected to help take the pressure off rookie QB Bryce Young. If he’s asked to return to his pass-catching ways — his catches have decreased each year he’s been in the league, from 50 in 2019 to 20 last season — he could be an RB1 at an RB2 draft value. 
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 Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers 
 ADP: 66.0 
 Opportunity knocks for the second-year back out of Arizona State. Gone is Leonard Fournette, and there’s not much competition behind White (Chase Edmonds, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Patrick Laird and undrafted rookie Sean Tucker). He showed some versatility as a rookie (129 carries and 50 catches for 771 total scrimmage yards), giving him some extra play in PPR leagues. 
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 Christian Watson, WR, Packers 
 ADP: 56.5 
 Watson had one of the wildest four-game stretches in fantasy history last season when he had 15 catches for 313 yards and seven touchdowns from Weeks 10-13. Let’s rephrase that: Nearly half of his catches during that span went for a touchdown. Now the No. 1 receiver in Green Bay, look for him to become a favorite target of Jordan Love. 
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 Jordan Addison, WR, Vikings 
 ADP: 96.5 
 Addison landed in one the best spots possible when he went 23rd overall to the Vikings in April’s NFL Draft. He’ll slide in immediately as the No. 2 receiver opposite Justin Jefferson, and with his smooth route-running ability, it’s easy to see him take most — if not all — of the 107 targets left behind by Adam Thielen’s departure. 
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 Elijah Moore, WR, Browns 
 ADP: 149.0 
 The former Jet was traded to Cleveland and reportedly developed a quick rapport with Deshaun Watson during OTAs. The Browns appear intent on making him a big part of their passing game due to his versatility, making him an appealing bounce-back option. 
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 Kyle Pitts, TE, Falcons 
 ADP: 61.8 
 Pitts is coming off a down year (and a torn MCL) in a Falcons offense that was very run-centric in 2022 and will have a young, relatively unproven quarterback in Desmond Ridder this season. So why is he here? In a word: Upside. Ridder should pass more than Marcus Mariota did last year, and Pitts still is a physical freak (6-6, 246 pounds) who had a 1,000-yard season as a rookie in 2021. 
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 Chigoziem Okonkwo, TE, Titans 
 ADP: 147.3 
 Okonkwo had 24 of his 32 catches, 278 of his 450 yards and two of his three touchdowns after Week 12 of last season. Even as the Titans’ third receiving option behind DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks, and whether it’s Ryan Tannehill or rookie Will Levis under center, he’ll likely improve on his 46 targets from last season. 
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Fantasy football 2023: 10 mid-to-late round players who could become league-winning stars

10 mid-to-late round players who could become fantasy league-winners

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What if you had the first pick in your fantasy draft … at every position? 
 Let’s say you could take whichever player you wanted at each position and build the perfect lineup — one that, by the end of the season, would have the top scorers at each spot. Would you go Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen at quarterback? Who would round out your skill-position players? What about the often-overlooked defense and kicker spots? 
 Here are Newsday’s picks for this season’s top point-getters — a “fantasy” fantasy team, if you will. 
 QB: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City 
 Last year’s MVP is averaging 303 passing yards and 2.4 touchdowns in 80 career regular-season games. 
 RB: Christian McCaffrey, 49ers 
 Finally healthy last year, McCaffrey put up monster numbers after being traded to San Francisco. His receiving ability gives him a higher floor than most running backs. 
 RB: Austin Ekeler, L.A. Chargers 
 Like McCaffrey, Ekeler’s versatility gives him extra value — he led all running backs and was tied for fifth overall in the league with 107 catches last year. 
 WR: Justin Jefferson, Vikings 
 Jefferson led all receivers last year in fantasy points, despite only scoring eight touchdowns. 
 WR: Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals 
 Chase played in just 12 games last season, but he still scored nine TDs and averaged 7.25 receptions and 87.2 receiving yards per game. 
 TE: Travis Kelce, Kansas City 
 Yes, he’ll be 34 in October, and playing tight end takes its toll. Still, Kelce has consistently proven to be a near-unguardable seam threat in the NFL’s most potent offense. 
 Flex: Tyreek Hill, Dolphins WR 
 Hill set career-highs in catches (119) and yards (1,710) last year in his first season in Miami. Look for him to continue to put up big numbers as Tua Tagovailoa’s top target. 
 Defense/Special Teams: 49ers 
 The 49ers led the NFL in yards allowed per game (300.5) and were tied for the lead in interceptions (20), then added DT Javon Hargrave and CB Isaiah Oliver in free agency. 
 K: Justin Tucker, Ravens 
 Tucker’s big leg (57 of 80 from 50+ yards in his career) and accuracy (90.5 FG%, 98.8 PAT%) make him the perennial No. 1 kicker each season.

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Fantasy football 2023: Predictions for the top scorers at each position

What would a 'fantasy' fantasy football team in 2023 look like?

Green Bay Packers v Minnesota Vikings

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Joe Manniello

DETROIT (O/U 9.5 WINS) 
 I'm all-in on this Lions team, which, outside of Kansas City, had the best ending to the 2022-23 season. That Week 18 win at Green Bay on Sunday night, the one that kept Aaron Rodgers and the Packers out of the playoffs, is the kind of win that even an eight-month layoff can't slow its impact. If Detroit had made the playoffs last year, it would've been one of those dangerous teams no one wanted to play. It will be the top dog in a Bizarro World NFC North (Lions, Bears trending up; Packers, Vikings trending down). Dan Campbell gets the most out of his players, and now the Lions have the talent to match the heart and grit. Jared Goff had a strong season last year, throwing to game-changing receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Detroit improved on both sides of the ball. Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs, the 12th pick out of Alabama, is going to be a star, and former Bears back David Montgomery makes this an exciting backfield. Last year's knock on Detroit was its defense, especially the secondary, and that was addressed, too. These aren't your father's Lions. Expect to see them atop the NFC North and playing deep into the winter. 
 PREDICTION: 13-4 
 GIANTS (O/U 7.5 WINS) 
 I'm a big believer in Brian Daboll and his coaching staff, who did wonders last year in leading the Giants to a road playoff win. Some may expect a step back with a tougher schedule in Year Two, but Big Blue added playmakers and Daniel Jones is poised to take an even bigger step after signing his four-year, $160M deal. Darren Waller,&nbsp;Parris Campbell and Jalin Hyatt&nbsp;are going to make this offense a lot faster, and the defense is improved, too. The oddsmakers don't agree, which makes this over/under a steal.&nbsp; 
 PREDICTION: 12-5 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/YmM2NjE2NzItZTFiYi00" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/YmM2NjE2NzItZTFiYi00', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/YmM2NjE2NzItZTFiYi00">STORYWIDGET: stn-nfl-player2</a> 
 SEATTLE (O/U 8.5 WINS) 
 Like the Giants, Seattle isn't getting enough respect. Geno Smith earned it last year, and now the Seahawks should challenge San Francisco for the NFC West title. Smith already had one of the best 1-2 receiving punches in the league with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and then Seattle drafted Ohio State star Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first round. Second-round pick Zach Charbonnet, the running back out of UCLA, will form another strong 1-2 punch with Kenneth Walker III. Pete Carroll's defense is fast and improving, and the NFL's most energetic septuagenarian should have another fun season bouncing up and down the sideline. 
 PREDICTION: 12-5 
 BALTIMORE (O/U 10.5 WINS) 
 That noise you heard in the offseason was Ravens fans breathing a sigh of relief that Lamar Jackson and the team resolved their issues and he signed a big deal to stay. A happy and healthy Jackson could return to his 2019 MVP form, and the belief here is he will win that award again. After Baltimore signed Odell Beckham Jr. and drafted speedster Zay Flowers out of Boston College, Jackson said he wants to throw for 6,000 yards with all of these weapons. With RB J.K. Dobbins healthy, this could be the NFL’s most exciting offense. 
 PREDICTION: 12-5 
 CHICAGO&nbsp;(O/U 7.5 WINS) 
 Was this the best offseason in the Bears' 103-year history? Hyperbole, sure, but a refresher: They fleeced Carolina by trading away the No. 1 overall pick for a haul that included receiver D.J. Moore, giving Justin Fields a much-needed weapon in the passing game. They also added RB D'onta Foreman, TE Robert Tonyan,&nbsp;improved both lines and best of all, landed the most-coveted linebacker in free agency in Tremaine Edmunds.&nbsp;But biggest of all, they bid farewell to their &quot;owner,&quot; Aaron Rodgers (24-5 all-time vs. Chicago). That alone was the franchise's biggest win in years. Look for Fields to have a breakout year with an improved roster and don't be surprised if Chicago is the NFC's final wild-card team. 
 PREDICTION: 10-7

SPFBOVER230907

5 NFL teams that will overachieve this season

Lions Panthers Football

GREEN BAY (O/U 7.5 WINS) 
 If Aaron Rodgers and the Jets are&nbsp;the most enticing storyline entering the 2023 season, Jordan Love and the Packers are&nbsp;a good backup. Now that he's starter, let's see what he and this Green Bay team can do. The Packers again made head-scratching draft decisions (why not take a receiver in the first round for Love?) and lack the starpower they've had for the last couple of decades. It's going to be a long season at Lambeau. 
 PREDICTION: 6-11 
 L.A. RAMS (O/U 6.5 WINS) 
 The Rams' gamble paid off two seasons ago when they traded away all those draft picks and parlayed it into a Super Bowl in their home stadium. After last year's 5-12 setback, expect another long season even with Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp returning from injuries.&nbsp; 
 PREDICTION: 6-11 
 TENNESSEE (O/U 7.5 WINS) 
 When we look back on the Titans' 2023 season, the thing we'll remember most is . . . the social media team's incredible schedule release video. If you haven't seen it, go find it on Twitter, er, X, and thank me later. Mike Vrabel is one of the best coaches, and adding DeAndre Hopkins was a great move,&nbsp;but I'm not sure this roster has eight wins in it.&nbsp; 
 PREDICTION: 7-10 
 CINCINNATI (O/U 11.5 WINS) 
 I was on the Bengals' bandwagon in January, picking them to win the Super Bowl before the playoffs started. They were super close to making it back to the big game for a second year in a row, but let's face it, they never had a chance after those &quot;Burrowhead&quot; comments. Can they win 12 games? Sure. But in one of the NFL's toughest divisions, and after Joe Burrow's painful summer, play the odds and take the under. 
 PREDICTION: 10-7 
 TAMPA BAY (O/U 6.5 WINS) 
 Life after Tom Brady ain't easy. Just ask the Patriots. Tampa Bay was one of the most underachieving teams last season, making the playoffs with an 8-9 record. That included a couple of out-of-nowhere, last-second rallies orchestrated by Brady. Baker Mayfield is a gamer, and the NFC South is one of the weaker divisions in the NFL, but I'll still take my chances. 
 PREDICTION: 5-12

SPFBUNDER230907

5 NFL teams that will underachieve this season

Ravens Buccaneers Football

Newsday's 2023 NFL season preview

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