HeadtoHeadFootball -
  • Home
  • NFL
  • NFL STANDINGS
  • STATISTICS
  • Soccer
  • Place Bet
  • Contact Us
HeadtoHeadFootball -
Home
NFL
NFL STANDINGS
STATISTICS
Soccer
Place Bet
Contact Us
  • Home
  • NFL
  • NFL STANDINGS
  • STATISTICS
  • Soccer
  • Place Bet
  • Contact Us
NFL

Trip to Super Bowl LI for Cowboys' Dak Prescott adds to his motivation

FRISCO, Texas — A few days before Super Bowl LI, Dak Prescott found himself in Houston’s NRG Stadium at an event for Pepsi.

He looked around, taking mental notes, thinking one day he would be in a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys.

“It just ignites a little fire in me and makes me want to get back to work faster,” Prescott said.

Dak Prescott said his touchdown pass to Jason Witten to beat the Eagles in overtime on Oct. 30, was his favorite moment of the 2016 season. Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Fifty weeks ago, the Cowboys introduced themselves to Prescott for the first time at the Senior Bowl. He was one of the South team’s quarterbacks. The Cowboys’ staff was coaching the North. As much as the coaches liked Prescott, he was still their seventh-rated quarterback in the draft.

They tried to trade back into the first round to take Paxton Lynch. They traded to move up to take Connor Cook earlier in the fourth round. With their first of two fourth-round picks, they took Charles Tapper. They didn’t take Prescott until the 135th overall pick, a compensatory selection in the fourth round.

As he accepted the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year Award this past Saturday, he thanked 31 other teams for passing on him. Later as he met the media, he amended the statement.

“Actually 32 teams passed up on me three times, so the Cowboys just … they got lucky,” Prescott joked.

But that Prescott went late in the fourth round was more of a motivator than he let on during the season.

The quarterback that won Super Bowl LI a few days after Prescott stepped on NRG Stadium’s field, Tom Brady, has carried his draft-day scars with him since 2000. Even with his fifth Super Bowl win, “The Brady 6,” still drives him.

In 2000, there were six quarterbacks selected before the Patriots took Brady with the 199th selection: Chad Pennington (No. 18, Jets), Giovanni Carmazzi (65, 49ers), Chris Redman (75, Ravens), Tee Martin (163, Steelers), Marc Bulger (168, Saints) and Spergon Wynn (183, Browns).

“The Brady 6” became noteworthy because of Brady’s Super Bowl success.

One day, perhaps “The Prescott 7” — Jared Goff (No. 1, Rams), Carson Wentz (No. 2, Eagles), Lynch (No. 26, Broncos), Christian Hackenberg (No. 51, Jets), Jacoby Brissett (No. 91, Patriots), Cody Kessler (No. 93, Browns) and Cook (No. 100, Raiders) — will be as noteworthy.

Being selected with the 135th pick, “just allowed the chip to grow,” Prescott said. “It’s hard for me to say there’s 134 people better than me in this [draft]. It’s hard for me to say seven other quarterbacks that are better than me. So you just sit down, watch that, expecting to go a lot higher than I did, which allowed the chip on my shoulder to grow. I go out there each and every day remembering that, trying to prove my worth in practice, in the weight room and in the games on Sunday.”

As has been chronicled over and over, Prescott’s rookie season was nothing short of phenomenal. His Rookie of the Year Award speaks to the recognition of his 23 touchdown passes and just four interceptions and most importantly, the Cowboys’ 13-3 record.

“I can’t say it’s unbelievable just for the simple fact that I have confidence in myself,” Prescott said. “I have high expectations for myself. I believe in myself, I think, when no one else does. It’s just hard work paying off and having faith in myself, faith in my teammates, coaches, the guys that gave me that opportunity.”

When he was asked about his favorite moment from his rookie season, he picked what was arguably his worst game. He completed just 48.7 percent of his passes in the Oct. 30 meeting against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was intercepted once and sacked twice. He was off for most of the game.

But when it mattered most, late in the fourth quarter, he found his rhythm and carried that to overtime in which he scrambled out of trouble and found Jason Witten for a winning touchdown.

“I hadn’t thrown Witten a touchdown all year long,” Prescott said. “That was the game he broke the record for starters. To get that touchdown to Witten, a guy I respect so much, that’s made me a better player; that was a special moment for me.”

The Cowboys’ loss to the Green Bay Packers still hurts Prescott. He and Ezekiel Elliott, as well as the offensive line and some other offensive players, made a postseason trip to Las Vegas. The week in Houston for the Super Bowl was another chance to unwind. He said he will take a couple of weeks off before getting back to work at the end of the month.

He will head down to Orlando, Florida, to train, like he did for the scouting combine, and then begin taking part in the optional workouts at The Star in March.

His time inside NRG Stadium will serve as motivation.

“It allows the chip to grow again,” he said.

NFL

$200 sleepwear? Brady's TB12 brand comes at hefty price

Tom Brady hasn’t talked much about his business plans for after he leaves the game, but filings to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in the past seven months made by his representation suggest that the five-time Super Bowl champion is going all-in on the health, nutrition and physical fitness space.

Yee & Dubin Sports has filed for 23 trademarks — 22 attached to a variety of products and services for Brady’s TB12 brand and one for the motto of his TB12 Center, “Sustained Peak Performance.”

  • While serving his Deflategate suspension, Patriots QB Tom Brady filmed a TV commercial showing him with a fifth Super Bowl ring — one he didn’t win until Sunday.

One by one, Brady’s website has started selling items for which trademarks have been filed.

A protein powder. A cookbook. Exercise mats. A weighted vest. A medicine ball.

Then there’s performance sleepwear, which Under Armour recently started selling with the TB12 brand for $200 for top and bottom.

The TB12 Sports Therapy Center in Patriot Place near Gillette Stadium serves as the hub for Brady’s business operations.

Based on the idea that everyone could benefit from how Tom Brady has trained, the business charges $250 for an initial 90-minute evaluation. Customers get their food diaries analyzed and their therapy/body work customized.

They are given a body coach, who interacts with them in person for $200 a session. It includes servicing over the phone for additional exercises and needs.

This hat will cost you $30 on Tom Brady’s website. AP Photo/Steven Senne

It’s expected that in order to make an impact that is meaningful to Brady’s coffers, the model would be replicated in places across the country. But being branded by one of the greatest players of all time isn’t enough.

The cookbook, which Brady calls a nutrition manual, has sold out at $200 a pop several times, but quantities were never revealed. The protein business, for example, is very brand-loyal, and the Brady premium is hefty.

BiPro, which makes Brady’s protein powder, sells a pound of its own Whey Protein for $36, while Brady’s retails for $54.

Then there’s the question about what type of role model Brady is himself and whether the man behind his routines is even credible.

His personal chef, Allan Campbell, told The Boston Globe that the quarterback only eats organic, eats no white sugar or white flour, has no coffee, caffeine or dairy, and doesn’t eat tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms or eggplants. He also doesn’t eat fruit.

New York-based registered dietitian Lauren Harris-Pincus recently told the New York Post that many of Brady’s reasons for avoiding these foods are “sketchy” and some claims made by Campbell have been debunked.

There’s also Brady’s association with Alex Guerrero, who is the mastermind behind Brady’s training and the performance center. Two of Guerrero’s products have come under scrutiny by the FTC — one called Supreme Greens, which claimed to help cancer and diabetes patients, and another called Neurosafe, a drink that was marketed as preventing the effects of head trauma.

Aside from workouts, Brady preaches pliability, which he says is meant to “keep your muscles long and soft.” Brady has marketed the method he and Guerrero use as being more effective than traditional physical therapy. If Brady can ever get insurance companies to pay for it in the way they pay for physical therapy, it’d be a huge cash cow.

On Sunday, Brady did his part and added another legendary performance to his lore. But it’s still unknown whether the masses will buy the classic marketing pitch: What made him could help make you, too — especially because really turning it into a robust business means selling it outside of New England.

NFL

Rams to keep season tickets same price in 2017

LOS ANGELES — The Rams, coming off a 4-12 season and suddenly facing competition in the market by the newly named Los Angeles Chargers, will not raise season-ticket prices for the 2017 season.

In an email to season-ticket holders that was sent on Wednesday, the Rams informed fans that 2017 season-ticket prices would remain flat. The note also informed fans that those who renew for 2017 will have priority to choose seats for the $2.6 billion stadium in Inglewood, California, which will open in 2019.

The Rams haven’t made the playoffs since 2004 and haven’t finished with a winning record since 2003.

  • New Rams coach Sean McVay is expected to hire Falcons QBs coach Matt LaFleur as his new offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

  • Veteran NFL coach Wade Phillips has joined the Rams as the team’s defensive coordinator.

  • The Rams have hired Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay as their head coach, making him the youngest head coach in modern NFL history at age 30.

2 Related

Their first season back in L.A. began with much fanfare, with nearly 90,000 fans migrating to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first preseason game. But the Rams followed a 3-1 start to the regular season by losing 11 of 12 games, including each of their last seven. Their offense finished last in the NFL in yards for the second straight season and Jeff Fisher was fired as head coach in the middle of December.

The Rams have since replaced Fisher with Sean McVay, who, at 31, is the youngest head coach in the NFL’s modern era. McVay’s entire coaching staff was announced on Wednesday, with Wade Phillips serving as defensive coordinator and Matt LaFleur being brought in as offensive coordinator.

Last year, the Rams established an eight-tier pricing system for season tickets, with seats ranging from $360 to $2,025.

They sold out in six hours, but interest has probably waned since then.

The Rams will play only seven regular-season games at the Coliseum, against the Seahawks, 49ers, Eagles, Redskins, Texans, Colts and Saints. Another home game will once again take place at Twickenham Stadium in London, this time against the division-rival Cardinals.

NFL

Future is now for Packers CBs Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers’ oldest cornerback is 24 years old. In fact, they’re all 24 years old.

And none of them has more than two seasons of NFL experience.

Unless you’re counting Demetri Goodson, a 27-year-old with three years of experience who probably won’t be ready for the start of the regular season because of an ACL and MCL tear in November.

That’s where the Packers are after they released Sam Shields on Wednesday. Shields’ release did not come as a surprise, and it was the only move the Packers could make with a veteran player who was scheduled to make $9 million this coming season yet had played in only two of the past 23 games, including playoffs, because of concussions.

Damarious Randall recorded three interceptions in 2016 despite missing six games because of groin surgery. Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports

But it’s a reminder of just what the Packers are facing at cornerback. And why they finished 31st in the NFL in passing yards allowed last season.

They have six corners on the roster who are under contract for next season — LaDarius Gunter, Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins, Josh Hawkins, Herb Waters and Makinton Dorleant.

Gunter, Randall and Rollins were all part of the 2015 rookie class, while Dorelant, Hawkins and Waters were in the 2016 class. All but Randall and Rollins were undrafted.

The Packers probably got as much out of Gunter as could have been expected last season given his relative inexperience. He played just 10 snaps on defense as a rookie in 2015 only to become their No. 1 cornerback — by default — this past season. He led the cornerback position in playing time in 2016 with more than 1,000 snaps. And there’s always the chance he could develop into the next Shields or Tramon Williams — both undrafted players who became standout starters.

But the Packers drafted Randall and Rollins in the first and second rounds, respectively, in 2015 to be their cornerbacks of the future. And, barring an unexpected marquee veteran signing in free agency, the future is now. Both battled injuries last season but even before Randall and Rollins got banged up, they were inconsistent at best.

“I think when you look at the young men that you just referred to, they did a lot of good things in their first year,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said shortly after the season. “We have a long history here in the last 11 years of first-year players making a big jump in their second year, so you have to factor that into those types of decisions. And those guys, both Randall and Q. Rollins, had multiple injuries to deal with, too. It was a tough go at the cornerback position. I thought [cornerbacks coach] Joe Whitt did a tremendous job getting those guys ready. We just really never had any consistency as far as who we were playing with in multiple weeks. Obviously Gunter gave us the most consistent play in his time, and he deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Randall recorded three interceptions in 10 regular-season games; he missed six others because of groin surgery. But he also saw his playing time reduced at points during the season even when available.

Rollins was fortunate to avoid a major injury when he landed on his head and sustained a neck injury plus a concussion in the regular-season finale.

“I think both those guys will definitely grow for their experience this year,” McCarthy said, “because they both had a lot of adversity that they had to deal with.”

Page 347 of 380« First...102030«346347348349»350360370...Last »

“If you think about it, I've never held a job in my life. I went from being an NFL player to a coach to a broadcaster. I haven't worked a day in my life.”
-John Madden


© 2020 Copyright . All rights reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy policy