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Yahoo
a day ago
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Packers defense has a new fumble-forcing emphasis for 2025 season
The Green Bay Packers defense has a new emphasis entering the 2025 season, and early returns at training camp are good. According to Wes Hodkiewicz of Jeff Hafley's Packers defense wants to force more fumbles this season, and the group is motivated by the current NFL record for forced fumbles in a season. Through four days of training camp practices, the Packers have punched a few footballs out of the hands of ball-carriers, suggesting the emphasis is translating to the field. Last season, the Packers forced 16 fumbles. The NFL record is 34, set by the New York Giants in 2010. To reach the goal would require Hafley's defense to more than double last season's output, but as the old saying goes, you get what you emphasize at the professional level of football. The Packers were plenty good forcing fumbles last season. Twelve different players forced a fumble for the Packers in 2024, including Keisean Nixon (3), Carrington Valentine (2) and Kingsley Enagbare (2). The 14 turnovers caused off forced fumbles ranked the Packers third in the NFL. But Hafley wants more. Part of forcing fumbles is arriving violently and intentionally at a ball-carrier, using a punch technique to pry the ball loose or having multiple players rally to the ball-carrier to provide an opportunity to strip it away. But a bigger part of the forced fumble equation is the strip sack, which the 2010 Giants all but mastered. That season, Osi Umenyiora forced an NFL-best 10 fumbles, and Umenyiora and Justin Tuck combined for an incredible 15 forced fumbles on their own. The Packers will need edge rushers such as Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness to actively hunt the ball when pressuring the quarterback, and pass-rushers in general must do a better job targeting the ball when closing in on the quarterback in 2025. Training camp is providing the testing ground. "You see guys come out in practice, anytime they're close to the ball, anytime anyone's close to the ball, punching at it violently," second-year safety Evan Williams told Hodkiewicz. "We're talking about angry, violent intentions. The picks are great, obviously, but I feel like it's another thing to go get a forced fumble because no ball carrier is going to give you the ball." The Packers ranked in the top five for takeaways in Hafley's first season as defensive coordinator, thanks to a strong mix of interceptions (17) and recovered fumbles (14). Interceptions are game-changing plays, but forcing a fumble often requires a more intentional act from the defense. Can the Packers punch out more footballs, create more strip-sacks and generate even more takeaways in 2025? This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers defense has a new fumble-forcing emphasis for 2025 season
New York Times
16-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why former New York Giants star Osi Umenyiora sees a future for football in Africa
Osi Umenyiora always wanted to give back. During his time in New York, which encompassed those two Super Bowl wins by the gutsy Giants over the mighty New England Patriots, Umenyiora was a thoughtful teammate who would pass knowledge on to the next generation. The All-Pro defensive end not only shared tips on technique, but also off-field matters, too. He would cite his mistakes as examples for others to learn from and use his business administration degree from Troy to advise on financial matters. Nowadays, the man once described by a teammate as 'one of the most interesting people you could ever meet,' is trying to inspire a continent. Perhaps the clue is in his name. In the Igbo language, spoken mainly in southeastern Nigeria where the two-time Super Bowl champion spent his formative years, Ositadimma means: 'From today, things will be good.' What started as a personal passion — he began the NFL-supported African-based scouting program The Uprise in 2020 alongside former Nigeria basketball player Ejike Ugboaja — led to Umenyiora becoming the NFL's lead ambassador in Africa. Since 2022, he has attended annual camps in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana and this month heads to Egypt. Advertisement 'Realistically, it was just a recognition that I had been given this opportunity, and there were so many different talented athletes in Africa who weren't able to utilize their abilities to fulfill their potential,' the 43-year-old tells The Athletic. 'And so, rather than going there and doing the usual things that people do when they go to Africa — you know, the charity and all that type of stuff — why don't we find a way to give people the opportunity to help themselves in a way that can be helpful to other people, so everybody wins?' Traditionally a stronghold for soccer and basketball, Nigeria is seeing explosive growth in football. According to the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), Nigeria has leagues in 13 of its 36 states, with the Nigerian American Football Association aiming to increase that to 20 by 2030. 'It's wild. If you go to Nigeria now there's several flag football leagues, not just one,' Umenyiora said. 'That's the incredible thing about Africa. You show them some hope and they usually take full advantage of that. 'We're just looking to keep moving around Africa, keep giving the same opportunities to different athletes everywhere, and also grow the game of flag football, which we think is going to be the centerpiece of the evolution of the game in Africa.' During talent identification camps, participants undertake combine-style drills and flag activities. Last year, 21 athletes from 10 countries participated in the three-day camp in Accra, Ghana. Those who shine have the chance to be selected for a place at the NFL Academy in Loughborough, England, or on the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. Emmanuel Okoye was a former basketball player who was discovered in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2022 and went on to attend the NFL Academy. He is currently a defensive lineman at the University of Tennessee. Advertisement 'What we're looking for is a high level of athlete,' Umenyiora said. 'They usually come from a sporting background — basketball, soccer, whatever it is. Then we bring them together and we run them through tests, not really football specific, just see how fast they are, how high they can jump, their movement abilities, their ability to retain information. 'We look for people or traits that there's just not a whole lot of — and that usually comes in the form of size, and the ability to move with that size. 'Whoever the best ones are, whoever puts up the best numbers, whoever shows the best attitude, and whoever we think will have the opportunity to make an impact, whether that's at the NFL Academy in the UK or over at the NFL IPP program, that's who gets selected.' On June 20 and 21, the inaugural IFAF African Flag Football Continental Championships take place in Cairo, Egypt. The sport makes its debut at the 2028 Olympics, with NFL players eligible to compete in Los Angeles following a vote by owners last month. At 32, Cameroon is the highest-ranked African nation, according to IFAF. 'It's still a long way to go before then,' Umenyiora said, referring to the Olympics. 'There's so many different steps that need to be taken before a team can come into the Olympics, but, quite frankly, we're hoping that a team from Africa can make it. I'm pretty sure that one will.' In 2024, more than 130 players of African descent competed in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns were the first NFL team to obtain international marketing rights in Nigeria; the Philadelphia Eagles likewise in Ghana. With the likes of Browns tight end David Njoku regularly traveling to Africa in the offseason, the needle is moving. Meet the newest @Browns fans in Nigeria! They'll keep working on their chants 😂😉@David_Njoku80 🇳🇬 — NFL Africa (@NFLAfrica) June 19, 2024 When the Detroit Lions drafted edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein in the sixth round out of Boise State in April, it marked another significant moment for the continent as the 22-year-old became the first Egyptian player selected in the draft. Hassanein was born in Anaheim, Calif., but moved to Cairo at 6. He has already endeared himself to Lions fans with his story and engaging social media presence. 'Incredible. We're really excited about him. Usually, the northern part of Africa doesn't produce those kind of players. It just coincided with the fact that we're going to Egypt in June, so it couldn't have worked out better for everybody involved,' said Umenyiora, who during Super Bowl LVIII starred in a two-and-a-half minute advertisement for the IPP program filmed in Accra. Advertisement 'Egypt are very serious about American football, they have the biggest flag football federation, the biggest flag football league and their federation EFAF (Egyptian Federation of American Football) has been very serious about football for quite a while now. 'There's a lot of things going on outside of America with the game of football that a lot of people just don't know. So the more we're able to expose that and bring that to people's attention, I think the better off the game is gonna be.' After all, who knows who could follow Umenyiora's path to the NFL, which was not a traditional one. Born in Golders Green, north London, he moved to Nigeria at 7 and then to the U.S. four years later, first playing football in the 11th grade. 'I was playing basketball a lot with some older guys and they were like, 'Man, you should play football. You look like a football player.' And, eventually, I took them up on it,' Umenyiora said. 'I was blessed with the natural side. I was like 6 feet, 3 inches, 200-and-something pounds when I was in high school. And I had the speed, I was always fast. Everything just took off from there. But if you have the physical capabilities, then everything else is just like a mental game, right? 'And there was no real other alternative for me. Once I found out, 'Hey, I could go to school,' which was what I was sent to America to do, and I'm like, 'Hey, these guys will give me a scholarship to play this game. Are you kidding me?' Yeah, I'm gonna play it. 'I kept on playing, and each step, it just kept on rewarding me. When I was in school, I was getting my degree and I didn't really know until my senior year in college that I could go to the NFL. And they're like, 'Yeah, well. You can get drafted.' 'And I'm like, 'I'm gonna get a business degree and go into the NFL, are you kidding me?' Like, what kind of American wonder is this, right? So, I just kept on doing it! 'And so, understanding that and knowing that it is possible, I can do the exact same thing for other people with the help of the NFL. It was just the ultimate dream for me.' Umenyiora is an engaging interviewee. He is sharp, shares stories and has the grace to laugh heartily when it is suggested that many cards fell into place for him. But what luck came his way was accompanied by a fierce work ethic. 'The thing about football, honestly, is, as good as you are, I think that there's some things that people don't truly understand about the game,' Umenyiora said. 'If I hadn't gone to the New York Giants with Michael Strahan, I wouldn't have been the player that I was. He taught me so much about football that coaches just can't teach you. Advertisement 'There's so many things you learn about the game just by watching other people who are at that level. And so me going into that locker room and seeing Strahan, and seeing some of the things that he was doing, I just couldn't wrap my head around how good he was. And so I had to learn. 'And he taught me and then I took so many things from his game and implemented them into my game, and that's what took my game to the next level. 'I reflect on that a lot. … A lot of things fell into place for me, right? Knowing that all those things had to happen for me, but I still had to do the work and I had the ability. It's just a matter of recognizing that talent. 'And so, hey, if I could do the same thing for other people, and put them in the same position that I was put in, then we can actually replicate the exact same thing that happened to me. 'I don't think I was anything special. I knew many better athletes than I was when I was in Nigeria, who just never got the chance. So, if they had been given those opportunities, they could have done the exact same thing that I did, maybe even more. 'So why not give them those chances?' (Top image: / NFL)
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Son of Two-Time Super Bowl Champion Commits to Michigan State
Son of Two-Time Super Bowl Champion Commits to Michigan State originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Quinn Buckey was a recent addition to the Michigan State Spartans' class of 2026 recruitment crew. His father, Jeff Buckey, played as an offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers. Advertisement Now the Spartans' latest commitment, a cornerback from Blessed Trinity Catholic High School, will have a lot in common with the class of 2026 offensive tackle. Michigan State Spartans head coach Jonathan King/Lansing State Journal/USA Today Network TJ Umenyiora out of Roswell, Ga. is a 3-star recruit listed at No. 87 overall in cornerbacks in the country. He received 29 offers and narrowed his list down to two: Michigan State and Auburn. But the SEC school couldn't keep Umenyiora in Alabama as the cornerback declared his commitment to the Spartans. Michigan State also had to go up against SEC's Mississippi State and the Big Ten's Northwestern, who he had official visits with alongside his top two. Advertisement Umenyiora's father, Osi, was a defensive end for the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons after playing for the Troy trojans in college. He was selected by the Giants in the 2003 NFL Draft in the second round. Osi, who played in the league for 11 years, is credited as a two-time Super Bowl champion and All-Pro defensive end. Umenyiora visited East Lansing on June 6 and followed his official visit with a post on X, saying "Go Green?" He is the ninth commitment in the past two weeks for head coach Jonathan Smith. Currently the Spartans have 13 total commits. Umenyiora joins a full list of 3-stars heading to East Lansing, including cornerback KJ Deriso, defensive lineman Christopher Knauls, safeties Eliyjah Caldwell-Hardy and Brayden Thomas, and edge rusher Cory House. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Reuters
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Exclusive: Football-IFAF expands flag championships to Africa ahead of LA28
NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - IFAF will hold its first African Flag Football Championships in June, executives have told Reuters, expanding the continental championships at a critical moment ahead of the sport's Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The competition from June 20-21 in Cairo, Egypt, joins existing events in the Americas, Europe and Asia Oceania, as the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and the NFL look to build the sport's reputation as a global phenomenon. The competition will operate as a pathway to qualification for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships. "As a sport, you can't say you are a global sport and you exclude Africa. It's impossible," said NFL Africa Lead Osi Umenyiora, a British Nigerian former defensive end who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants. "That's what, in conjunction with IFAF, we're really trying to build here: A truly global sport." IFAF President Pierre Trochet said the championships would create opportunities for new players as the sport is determined not to become a "one-and-done" Olympic entrant. "LA is the beginning of the story for us and a commitment that is shared with IFAF and the entire team of the NFL to look for a future edition - '32 and beyond - and it's just as a result that those continental competitions are growing so fast," said Trochet. "It's a consequence of our common goal to stay in the Olympic programme on the long term." CLEARER PATHWAY The NFL has ramped up its promotion of flag football since the sport was announced as part of the Los Angeles 2028 programme, with the non-contact format that emphasises speed and agility offering a clearer pathway for women to compete. Played without the expensive helmets and pads used in gridiron football, some also see the sport as more accessible to newcomers, with a lower chance of injury than in the bone-crunching world of the tackle game. The NFL will co-host youth football development events in conjunction with the championships, expanding the NFL Africa programme to Egypt for the first time, as the U.S. league continues its push toward internationalisation. Umenyiora, who moved to the United States when he was 15, got his start in flag and touch football and said the sport once seen as the sole domain of North America was quickly knocking down those barriers. "(You) add in the Olympics. You add in the national team. You add in the IFAF competitions, the continental competitions that are going to be taking place hopefully for us on a yearly basis, and I think the idea of the NFL globally is not that far-fetched," he said. The league announced ahead of the Super Bowl that it would play its first-ever regular season games in Dublin and Australia in 2025 and 2026, respectively, and last month said it was exploring the possibility of a game in the United Arab Emirates. In the 2023 season, 88 foreign-born players participated in at least one regular-season game, with Nigeria accounting for the second-largest group of international players behind Canada. With 12 teams - six men's and six women's - expected in Los Angeles, Trochet said each continent will have "an equal chance to access the qualification pathway. "If an African team is fortunate enough to get in in 28, one is going to win," said Umenyiora.
