Icege

I can understand folks being upset over the theoretical value of where Brooks was taken, but it sounds like he fit the type of player that Morgan is looking for. Couple that with the Giants likely taking him to replace Saquon if the Panthers hadn't jumped ahead of him, and I get why he was taken where he was. Glad to hear reports about his recovery from the ACL going well also.

DJ Johnson the second player being interviewed Trying to live up to the expectations as a run stopper by attacking the weight room and scheme. Overall working to get more comfortable playing football at the NFL-level in both the run and pass game. Getting a season under his belt and being around guys like Clowney to see how they work help a lot. Always happy to hear good praise and trying to live up to it. Just keeping his head down and working hard. Starting job isn't something he thinks about. That's the coaches' job. His job is to be the best that he has to be. Super helpful to have a year of exp, especially not having to relearn the defense. Just has to tighten up on the details and being able to understand the defense + DC. Asked about the difficulty of converting to TE since he had to do so before. It's tough, especially when it's something somebody has been doing their whole life. Remember what you learn from the other side of the ball and embrace the roll opposite in order to transition better. Have grown closer thanks to more time and getting more time on the field in their defense. Trying to find some anime guys. His favorite right now is Overlord. One of the tackles is a big anime fan and just came back from a Japan trip. Wants to take a trip out there.

TMo the first player up Bantering about staying cool in the heat. Talked up the new cooling room. Feels like the peppermint patty commercials where you bite one and end up on a mountain top. Smells sometimes. Even on vet days they're not "off." Gets mental reps in, visualizes techniques, helps younger guys. Has to find a way to get 1% better on those vet days. Hunt's been great, loves working with him and thinks he's a tremendous football player. Building chemistry and excited to start games. Clowney is a great player and Moton is getting better by playing against him. Appreciates him because the harder the practices are the easier Sundays will be. Great guy and it's a pleasure getting to know him. Hopes that he's helping Clowney get better. David Newton asked who he compares to, TMo responds that he's one of a kind. Has to anchor down for the bull rush, be ready for the finesse rush, etc. Loves to see the growth with Bryce day in and day out. Says he's a tremendous leader that is stepping into the role, and TMo wants to help him + the OL so that they can help the team win. Bryce is making sure that everyone is focused and brings the energy up when it's low like he did today. It's different when it's from QB1, so he's happy to work with him. Corbett is very smart and stepped "great" into the center position. Knows him pretty well and they call each other Salt and Pepper ("you can figure out why"). Message from DB + BY was to rock today and bring better energy. Can't afford to take days off and that was the biggest message because the first preseason game will be here before you know it and then the first regular season will be here before you know it. Can't take for granted an opportunity to get better at playing professional football like they dreamed of when they were kids. Thinks the OL is coming along great. TMo is the type of guy that is never satisfied. If it's good, great. Let's build it to elite. "Rome wasn't build in a day." Probably the biggest OL he's played on. Added about 10 - 15 pounds. "Enough to anchor on these bull rushes!" Seen a lot of growth and development with Icky. He comes in with the right mindset and has been a pleasure to work with. Excited to see him turn into the best version of himself. Appreciates the OL coach's attention to detail. First time he's had a tackle-specifically coach. Appreciates the helping dialing in on the details. Loves running the rock. Like practices, can't take opportunities to run the ball for granted. Want to make people pay up front in the run game play in and play out. Whatever play is called, have to execute to the best of his ability. David Newton again. Asked to compare running to the ball to past years. TMo parried and said he was excited at the end of the day with whatever play is call and knows it's important to run the ball.

Canales' update Really excited about Peppers' induction into the HoF. FanFest was fantastic. Had about 2h45m on the bus back communicating about the film. Penalties were bad for him, but mental errors were low on both sides of the ball. Energy was great, fans added to that. Today's challenge is coming off an off day and getting that focus back. Started a little flat, but BY + DB talked to the guys and the team responded with good energy. The way this team responds is a big part of its character. Tremble is about a week out with the hamstring, just trying to get him to full health. Thomas has a calf that's going to take him right up to week 1. Instead of forcing them back, feel really good about getting them back out. Lewis' shoulder was "stoved up" but he's getting auxiliary work, and Shaq caught a hamstring but it was early so they're just working on his conditioning. Just being smart with every one. Great opportunities for JT, JMatt, and Franks. Practicing with three TEs is really iffy, so they're doing their due diligence to try and bring in another guy. Need to practice with a strong group and need to be able to show multiple TE sets. JT is showing exponential growth. As they stack up technique and reps whether it's in the run game, pass game, or protection unit he's Sanders take a big leap in technique (which you see with young guys), and then you want to get them to a point where it's consistent and with incremental growth. Mentioned the TD at the end of Fan Fest as well as making a few catches today. Showing his dependability. Definitely bringing a QB in. Working on that with their roster numbers because they have to create spots as people get banged up. Have to look at how they create the number to bring in the QB (coach speak for "we gotta figure out how to cut" it sounds). Evaluating young guys and vets. Looking for somebody that can function in a pro offense, so maybe somebody with pro experience that's used to being under center. That will allow them to better evaluate the rest of their guys down roster at the end of these preseason games. Have to be able to still function and get plays off to do that. Brooks will not play preseason. Has been doing great, was running out during practice. Progressing and getting stronger everyday. Is also mentally there, attentive in the classroom and during practice as others are getting their reps. Want to be smart with when they bring him back in. Coming into the spring they new the timeline + progression of where he was at and that he wouldn't be ready for preseason. Even if he was ready, they'd still ramp him up little by little to make sure he's ready to go. Would be great for him to return week 3 - 4. There's a chance that DJ Wonnum might start on the PUP. Taking it week by week and trusting the info from the training staff. Dalton's about 2 - 3 weeks out. Again, gotta be smart. He's important to us. DJ Johnson is doing great and could run with the 1s. Played very physical against the run at Fan Fest which impressed. Not concerned about Shaq's injury due to the nature of when and how they caught it. Thinks he's just a couple of weeks being away. Is a hamstring, unrelated to the ankle from last year. Linear cuts, change of direction, going over bags, etc all have to be right for Brooks. How he's able to do that will determine when he's able to come back but they're thinking conservatively.

Hell yea Pep!

In addition to the previously mentioned position groups, I also like to focus on a specific prospect for each position. This year... QB: Quinn Ewers (Texas) RB: Omarion Hampton (UNC) WR: Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona) TE: Luke Lachey (Iowa) OT: Will Campbell (LSU) iOL: Cooper Mays (Tennessee) DL: Deone Walker (Kentucky) EDGE: Abdul Carter (Penn State) LB: Barrett Carter (Clemson) CB: Travis Hunter (Colorado) S: Malaki Starks (Georgia) My follow list from 2023 ended up being a lot of fun

I'd be okay with rolling into the season with Christensen, Nijman, Mays, and Zavala as the back-ups (unless somebody outperforms Zavala in camp, of course). Christensen and Nijman can both play RT, and I think Mays even had some exp in college (though that would be less than ideal at the pro level imo).

Damn, rough break for any TE on the roster to be injured with how open the position is. ngl, I'm hoping that it gives JMatt a better chance at making the roster now

but with* stuff its* I think three cups of coffee might have been too much this morning.

It was a little confusing hearing them talk about how limited his ceiling is only to then turn around and go, "What is his ceiling, really?" before discussing how this year will be the first year they can genuinely evaluate him. Reminds me of every thread breaking down on the Huddle where folks came in and enthusiastically declared "He will die in the NFL going up against grown men." Then when that didn't happen, the narrative changed to, "He's too small to throw the ball fast and/or deep." That's probably where some folks are getting that this was anti-Bryce. It does it's best to remain neutral, but when stuff like, "He has a ceiling... but we don't know he has a ceiling" comes across as just someone trying to hedge their bets so that they can't be told they were wrong later.

Damien Lewis and Taylor Moton were both out.

Good design and execution on the TD to Thielen. Using Mingo to set the rub and free up Thielen off of PA. Can see the team doing that with Mingo, XL, and Coker if he makes the roster.

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