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NFL

Luck looking forward to working with Reich

Quarterback Andrew Luck is looking forward to having a Super Bowl champion call his plays.

Luck, who missed the 2017 season after shoulder surgery, said he’s ready to work with Frank Reich, who takes over as the Indianapolis Colts’ head coach after serving as offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Andrew Luck, who missed the 2017 season with a shoulder injury, says he’s looking forward to working with new coach Frank Reich. AP Photo/Kathy Willens

Reich has promised to bring a “multiple, attack, up-tempo offense” to Indianapolis.

“That sounds great,” Luck told Colts.com. “I know all the best offenses that I’ve been a part of in my career, we’ve not been static and we’ve attacked. And I’m sure he’ll have a great flavor and we’ll involve as many people as we can, and attacking defenses is what it’s all about.”

Reich got the opportunity when New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels backed out after agreeing to terms with the Colts.

Reich, a former NFL quarterback, has previously worked with top QBs — including Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz — and Luck says that intrigues him.

“Going back to [Reich’s] playing days, he’s incredibly successful, and he’s been around some awesome quarterbacks,” Luck said. “And I hope I can learn from him and ask him how Peyton or Carson or Philip did it, and find the best way for me.

“You can learn something from everybody, and certainly our history shapes so much of how we think and [our] thought process, and I’m really excited to hear his thought process and how he did it as a player and how he’s seen other players do it, and how he’s done it as a coach. I think that could have a very positive impact on our team.”

NFL

GM Kevin Colbert sends clear message that Steelers need to improve

PITTSBURGH — General Manager Kevin Colbert was low on roster details but high in expectations in his media session Thursday.

Colbert wasn’t leaning on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 13-win season, which should reverberate through the offseason.

The Steelers weren’t necessarily better in 2017 than in 2016 because they won more regular-season games.

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert on free agency: “We won’t close the door on anybody.” AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Check out this tone-setting sampling:

On the 2017 season: “Unless we are winning a championship, no one will sit here and say we were good enough.”

On the defense: “We know we have a challenge defensively. We have to get better against the run.”

On players under contract potentially not returning: “That’s always a possibility when you’re trying to get your team better and under the cap.”

On free agency: “We won’t close the door on anybody.” However, he points out the Steelers typically prefer first-contract guys they drafted.

On the playoffs: “Jacksonville outplayed us. As plain as can be.”

On the defensive roster: “Some guys are on the upswing, some guys are in their prime and some guys are still playing and they might be on the downside. Doesn’t mean they still can’t help you. They might not be the player they were before. That group has the potential to get better just through more play and learning from their mistakes, as I know they are willing to do and they are working toward it.” This sounds like a signal to veterans with sizable cap numbers such as safety Mike Mitchell or cornerback William Gay. Perhaps the Steelers will be looking for a pay cut or two.

Overall, that’s quite the variety of heat. Add in a line about the defense being too aggressive against the pass and too passive against the run and Colbert was in midseason form, if he had one (he doesn’t talk to the media during the season). In early February, team president Art Rooney II called for improvements, but cited the team’s victory total as a positive. Colbert didn’t use that line.

His comments should be welcome to Steelers fans who watched the run defense allow 150 yards or more in three of the last six games. Colbert was even reluctant to blame that issue on the absence of Ryan Shazier, pointing to an ugly Week 3 game in Chicago in which Shazier played.

Though pressed against the cap as a financial collision with Le’Veon Bell looms, the Steelers aren’t about to make wholesale changes. But Colbert sounds like a man who’s about to make this offseason interesting.

“If we don’t change the roster we had in 2017, what reason would we think there wouldn’t be any difference in the results?” Colbert said. “We have to be ready to be better than we were last year.”

NFL

Manziel to attempt comeback at Spring League

Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel will participate in the developmental Spring League this year as part of his attempt to return to the NFL.

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The Spring League announced Wednesday that Manziel has signed a deal to play in the Elite D-League, which runs in Austin, Texas, from March 28 through April 15.

“We believe our platform is the ideal forum for Mr. Manziel to enact his NFL comeback,” league CEO Brian Woods said in a statement.

Manziel, who told ABC News on Monday that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, acknowledged in a statement that he has “made my share of mistakes” but said he is thankful for the opportunity to play in the Spring League.

“Football has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. Sometimes you take for granted how much you value something until it’s gone. My goal is to make it back to the NFL and I realize I have to earn that privilege,” Manziel said. “The Spring League has provided me with a great opportunity to play ball again, and ultimately, that is all I want to do. I miss the competition.”

Johnny Manziel last played in the NFL in 2015 with the Cleveland Browns. He told ABC News on Monday that he’s been working out and trying to convince an NFL team to give him a second chance. Scott Iskowitz/Getty Images

The Spring League consists of four teams competing in two doubleheaders, which will be played in April. According the league’s website, 10 NFL teams attended games in 2017 and 22 NFL teams requested game film from last year.

Manziel last played in the NFL in 2015 with the Cleveland Browns, who selected him 22nd overall in the 2014 draft. As a Texas A&M freshman, Manziel won the Heisman Trophy in 2012.

NFL

Combine workouts are no joke, especially for a 39-year-old Giants reporter

MANALAPAN, N.J. — With the 2017 NFL season officially over, our attention shifted last week to other things, including the draft. Except with the New York Giants’ season a train wreck and long over, I did that weeks ago.

I’m not alone. NFL combine prep has been going on for weeks, months even. College players are scattered at facilities across the country, training for the draft. This year, I decided to join them.

It is more than football. With the process comes the calisthenics and track-and-field portion of the proceedings. Yes, they train and run drills they likely will never have to do again after this is over.

ESPN reporter Jordan Raanan gets a first-hand look at an NFL draft preparation program at Parabolic Performance & Rehabilitation in New Jersey. Kris Enslen/Parabolic Performance & Rehabilitation

The people at Parabolic Performance & Rehabilitation were nice enough to let me join their group of NFL prospects in New Jersey. Whenever possible for several months — remember, I still have a job as the Giants reporter that involves, you know, work — they’re allowing me to train alongside players from schools that range from Pittsburgh and Syracuse to Monmouth and Youngstown State to Wyoming, Wagner and Southern Connecticut on a regular basis. Performance coaches Justin Moore and Kris Enslen have welcomed me into the group with open arms, even if my body has sometimes rejected the invitation.

It’s carte blanche access. I’m experiencing everything as one of the players, whether it’s on-field or weight room training, classroom work, nutrition and even yoga. When all is said and done, we’re going to see just how beneficial these combine/pro day preparatory programs (which traditionally last six weeks or more depending on the individual) can be, even for a middle-aged graybeard.

Baseline testing has already been done. (Hint: Not good.) We’re in the process of setting up my own personal combine/pro day some time next month.

The drills being tested are the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, three-cone drill (or L drill) and shuttle (5-10-5). The goal is to see how much improvement can be made by a near-40-year-old average Joe, non-professional athlete partaking in the intense program.

A recap of the first three weeks:

    • Baseline testing: Let’s just say I’m slower and fatter and don’t jump nearly as high as my ego or brain anticipated. Heading into the initial testing, the thinking was about 5.80 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 30 inches in the vertical. The logic was that once upon a time there was a relatively decent athlete inside this 5-foot-11, 190-pound frame who was somewhat normal-human fast (remember, these guys you see on TV are mutants, the 1 percenters of society) and capable of hanging from the basketball rim. Well, the 5.80 seconds was close. My baseline 40 time was 5.84. The 30-inch vertical was me in la-la land. More like 20 inches. I jumped 19.5. Overall, not completely embarrassing. My expectations were low entering this experiment, and I ate the heck out of everything (even bought Snowballs one day at the convenience store) the previous month or so knowing this would help get me back in reasonable shape. Better to set the bar low was the thinking.

  • Initial shock: First, let me explain that it is somewhat humiliating to see a 350-pound lineman such as Pitt’s Alex Officer run faster and move better than you. But it’s reality. You realize these guys, even the linemen, are athletes. They’re all more athletic than me at my current age (39 on Thursday). My body after the first few workouts felt like death. No, really, my limbs would barely bend. This is unlike anything that constitutes a typical average Joe workout. This is sprinting, starting and stopping, and jumping — all explosive movements that you don’t do at a normal day at the gym. Let’s just say my body is better suited for the treadmill. After the first few workouts, I couldn’t stand, walk, get out of bed or eat a cookie without pain. It took me at least two weeks before my 6-year-old daughter could jump on my back without it feeling as though Giants defensive tackle Damon Harrison was punching that body part.

  • Position drills: OK, this was a complete debacle trying to run position drills, particularly when my body felt awful and didn’t want to sync with the brain. When was the last time I ran any sort of football drill? Twenty-plus years ago? It is much harder than it looks. Current Giant Devon Kennard runs the linebackers through field drills some days. He saw firsthand the stiffness in my hips (man, were they killing me), or my whole body, to be more precise. I felt especially awful after that day of work.

  • Physical toll: The work these prospective NFL players are putting in every day is no joke. The training they are getting is staggering. Most are there six days a week from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., working on everything from the track-and-field drills that are commonplace at the combine and pro days to specific positional drills to weight training to nutrition. It’s quite a commitment. It’s also quite a physical grind. They still manage to make it look relatively easy. Even their recovery days by most standards wouldn’t be considered light workouts. I’m trying to hang. Key word: trying. And there has been progress. In a few weeks, the program allowed me to cut off more than one-tenth of a second off my first 10 yards. I’m confident after experiencing it firsthand for almost a month that the program will allow me to improve my times and jumps significantly. Now if only my hamstrings (note: plural) hold up. Good thing there are physical therapists such as Dr. Jeremy Paster there to get me through the program. At least the hope is for me to make it out alive and greatly improved.

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