Rodgers not 'an expert' of Steelers offense yet

New York Times

3 days ago

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Some words from Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers today as he continues to acclimate to his new team.
'As much as I have a good feel for the offense, I'm not what I would call an expert of the offense yet… I become an expert when you break the huddle and you can see the picture in your mind. And every now and then the picture is a little fuzzy still.' Asked how long it will take for the picture to become more clear, he said, 'I want to have it down by the end of this week.'
Rodgers also praised center Zach Frazier, saying he's 'so freaking smart' that he's making some calls for the QB early in camp. 'I said, 'Don't get used to that. At some point, I'm going to be making the calls for you.''
On working with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith: 'I like the flexibility. Arthur is not rigid. He wants to tailor the scheme to personnel.'
Perhaps this is to be expected. The Patriots have a new offensive coordinator, new offensive tackles and a new No. 1 wide receiver.
If you're an optimist, there have been enough on-the-money throws from Maye to be convinced he can be a top-10 quarterback in the NFL this season. But if you're ready to nitpick and believe the front office didn't do enough this offseason to improve the offense, there have been plenty of struggles to which you can point.
In short, the offense has been inconsistent. At times, the offensive line looks pretty shaky. At times, the bottom of the wide receiver depth chart has struggled. At times (including at Tuesday's practice), Maye's accuracy is an issue. And there have been way too many botched snaps between Maye and his centers, which can be drive-enders.
It's still early for an offense that's learning a new scheme, so it shouldn't be a surprise that consistency has been an issue. All in all, it has been an up-and-down start for the unit.
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CB Mike Jackson has a sprained toe
LB Pat Jones has an upper-respiratory illness. Getty Images
The Browns' issues at cornerback continued today with confirmation that Martin Emerson Jr. will miss the season with a torn Achilles tendon suffered in yesterday's practice. Veteran cornerback Tony Brown is not yet back in full practice due to an undisclosed injury, and second-year cornerback Anthony Kendall left today's practice with an undisclosed injury. Second-year cornerback Myles Harden was again absent from today's practice for personal reasons. Imagn Images
Browns left tackle Dawand Jones departed today's practice early with a heat-related issue.
Jones rode in the front seat of the team's medical cart from a back practice field to the team facility about halfway through practice this morning. Cornelius Lucas replaced Jones as the left tackle with the No. 1 offense for the rest of practice.
As he's done to Jones nearly every day during training camp, All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett beat Lucas for a sack in a late practice 11-on-11 drill. The Browns are hoping that Jones can lock down the left tackle job – both immediately and going forward – after he spent most of his first two seasons playing right tackle. Jones played left tackle in three games last season and for one season at Ohio State.
Jones lost a significant amount of weight in the offseason as he rehabbed from arthroscopic knee surgery and prepared for his full-time switch to the left side. He's the only one of the Browns' projected offensive line starters who's currently under contract for 2026. Getty Images
FOXBORO, Mass. – Patriots top cornerback Christian Gonzalez will miss at least the rest of this week's practices, coach Mike Vrabel said, after he appeared to pull up from Monday's practice with a left hamstring injury.
It's a tough blow to a Patriots group of cornerbacks suddenly dealing with injuries. Carlton Davis has missed five of the team's seven practices, including this morning's session.
In their absence, Vrabel shouted out the improvement of DJ James, a sixth-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2024 who didn't make their 53-man roster, then signed with the Patriots' practice squad last year.
Gonzalez's injury doesn't sound like one that could leave his status for Week 1 in jeopardy, but he'll miss multiple practices as the Pats now manage their cornerback depth.
In addition, center Garrett Bradbury suffered an apparent injury yesterday afternoon and was not present at today's session. (Getty Images)
My biggest concern for Ward throughout the draft process was him being asked to carry a bad team immediately.
However, the rebuilding Titans have given him some help. Kevin Zeitler and Dan Moore were big additions, as was Tyler Lockett. Even if Lockett can't quite give at age 32 what he had at 25, his presence will be a big deal.
Ward has to play faster in the pocket and continue to work on ball placement. He's going to struggle, especially early, but if the Titans ride with him through thick and thin, expect him to be noticeably better by January.
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League sources: Ravens TE Isaiah Likely is having surgery immediately to stabilize a fracture in his foot after being carted off the field Tuesday at the end of practice.
Baltimore's fourth-year tight end will miss training camp. Both sides are optimistic Likely could return in early September. (Getty Images)
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel announced that cornerback Kader Kohou suffered a season-ending knee injury during Saturday's practice. Imagn Images
The Carolina Panthers' quarterbacks and wide receivers were together in Minnesota this summer working out and enjoying some river time on Adam Thielen's boat. (Xavier Legette might not have enjoyed it so much.)
Meanwhile, the team's offensive linemen scattered like the wind when minicamp wrapped up in June, with several sprinting to a waiting golf cart seconds after the final practice horn blew.
'That five weeks (before training camp)? Buddy, I was out of here. I'm sure everybody else was, too,' right guard Robert Hunt said. 'I've got a little boy and all that kinda stuff. I love these guys. But we're hanging out (with family), man.'
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Top defensive end Greg Rousseau has had a great start to training camp, just as he has had for several years in a row. The biggest wonder is where the Bills could deploy him in 2025, as the team moved him around between the left and right side for much of the last two seasons due to the presence of other big-name pass rushers.
To this point in camp, Rousseau has been nearly exclusively at left defensive end, working against right tackles. That side is his most natural position of the two, and even when paired with Joey Bosa, who has had some career success rushing from the left, Rousseau has been the player on the left side of the formation. Although it's not everything, keeping him on the left could be a key in helping to unlock his pass-rushing ceiling.
The 'plan' for Bosa has been evident through the first week of camp. The Bills are being highly intentional with how much and when they are giving Bosa practice reps. He's already had a pair of days off from team drills, and he hasn't gotten a vast amount of work during 11-on-11s in the four days he was available.
The Bills are solely focused on the long game with Bosa, favoring his availability in the regular season and playoffs as opposed to what, for him, are ultimately non-impactful snaps during camp. It remains to be seen if Bosa will be a starter in 2025, and how many snaps that means each game, even if he is on the field for the first defensive snap each week.
Outside of Bosa, second-year defensive end Javon Solomon has put together another strong start to camp as a pass rusher. He earned a consistent special teams role in 2024 and needs to show more as a run defender to earn consistent playing time on defense in 2025. However, if he continues to have pass-rushing impact during practice, there is some appeal to working him in on obvious pass-rushing situations once the regular season arrives.
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What we learned at every position in the first week of Bills training camp Getty Images
For the last three days, the show has started around 10 a.m. ET, roughly a half-hour after the close of practice.
Terry McLaurin, the Commanders' star receiver who has been 'holding-in' during training camp while he seeks a new contract, has made his way down the concrete steps outside the team's training facility and headed for the swarm of fans chanting his name. He's worn the same thing — a white cutoff T-shirt, burgundy shorts and a burgundy ballcap — each day. He's heard the same proclamations — 'We love you, Terry! They need to re-sign you, Terry!' — each day. He's signed virtually the same mini footballs and helmets and posters and jerseys, in the same way, as security guards have nudged him to keep moving.
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In his annual late-July meeting with reporters on Tuesday, Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was clear that he expects better than the 3-14 season produced in 2024. He still believes the team is on the right track despite the massive failure of the Deshaun Watson experiment, which Haslam deemed 'a big swing and miss' in March.
In saying that he believes in and expects better from coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry, though, Haslam pretty much conceded that 'absolutely' includes the Browns playing at least one of their two rookie quarterbacks in 2025 as part of a full, fair and crucial evaluation of just about everything ahead of the 2026 draft, when Cleveland holds two first-round picks.
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Browns owner Jimmy Haslam says there's no panic following disappointing 2024 season Imagn Images
Jeff Stoutland gestured for his wife, Allison, to stand beside him. She's been a part of what's being celebrated, after all.
Stoutland has been coaching 43 years. Allison's been with him for 33 of them. Southern Connecticut to Cornell. Syracuse to Michigan State. Miami to Alabama. At last, Philadelphia. In the last 12 years, three offensive linemen coached by Stoutland were named All-Pros. Eight were named Pro Bowlers. Others graduated from what they still call 'Stoutland University' and established footholds in Philly or elsewhere. Some return. Matt Pryor, drafted by the Eagles in 2018, is back after spending four seasons with three different teams. He stayed in touch with Allison throughout. He calls her 'Mama Stout.'
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