Raiders coach Jon Gruden and holdout defensive end Khalil Mack haven’t spoken. Which is fitting
Jason Spriggs Jersey , because the Raiders and Mack’s camp haven’t done much speaking, either.
Specifically, the two sides have had no contract talks since February, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
It’s hardly an encouraging sign, especially in the aftermath of Gruden’s remarks that fairly could be viewed as a slap at Mack, even if Gruden didn’t
intend them to be taken that way. (And if he didn’t intend them to be taken that
way, Gruden should be trying to undo the potential damage by setting the record
straight.)
Mack enters the final year of his rookie contract, with a fifth-year option salary of $13.846 million. By rule, he’s subject to fines of $30,000 per day
(for players under the fifth-year option, the fines are lower than the standard
$40,000), but he can be fined a regular-season game check
(
i.e.
Bradley McDougald Jersey , $814,470) for each preseason game he misses.
If the holdout lasts into the regular season, Mack will have to decide whether to show up before Week 10, which would give him credit for the final
year of his contract, or to sit out the entire year. That would toll his
contract, nudging his $13.846 million salary into 2019.
On Monday’s
PFT Live, Chris Simms predicted that Gruden, for whom Simms played in Tampa, eventually will insist on the Raiders getting the team’s
best player into camp. Gruden recently promised a gathering of fans that Mack,
the NFL’s defensive player of the year for 2016, would indeed return.
From the time James Bettcher was hired as defensive coordinator by Pat Shurmur, there
has been speculation whether the New York Giants were switching from a four-man
front to a three-man look.
After all, it's what the 39-year-old Bettcher ran with the Arizona Cardinals last season.
Bettcher dropped a hint Wednesday in his first interview since taking the job: He is not into labeling defensive schemes.
The Giants are going to use a lot of formations
Doug Baldwin Jersey , including three- and four-man fronts. Sometimes, they are going to put five up front. They are going to keep offenses guessing, and they
are going to attack.
"What it is about is playing relentless," Bettcher said. "The game is about playing hard. The game is about playing physical. The game is about playing
smart. Those are things that our guys are going to do whether we are bringing
five or six or dropping eight, whatever we are doing, whatever the field
position is. The thing our fans are going to see, they are going to see a
defense that is going to run around, that plays hard, plays fast and plays
smarts and plays physical. That's what playing defense is about."
Bettcher will start laying the foundation for his defense Monday when players show up for organized team activities. The OTAs are a time that most coaches and
coordinators begin discovering what they have, especially with a new team.
"Right now, if you asked me who we are on defense, I have no clue," Bettcher said
Thomas Morstead Jersey , adding by the end of training camp he will know.
The Giants certainly will have a different look, at least based on personnel.
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was released and fellow CB Ross
Cockrell was signed by Carolina as a free agent. The Giants added Alec Ogletree
in a trade with the Rams and signed fellow linebacker Kareem Martin as a free
agent. LB Devon Kennard signed with Detroit as a free agent, while defensive
captain Jonathan Casillas, also a linebacker, remains a free agent.
The mainstays up front will be tackles Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson along with end Olivier Vernon. Ogletree and Martin will be the core of the
linebackers, and cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Landon Collins will
anchor the secondary.
"This isn't going to be James Bettcher's defense," Bettcher said. "This is going to be our players' defense, this is going to be these assistant coaches'
defense, this is going to be our defense."
The process of putting the defense together will be done over the next five-plus months, and a version of the final product will be rolled out in early
September. Bettcher said everyone is starting with a clean slate. There are some
who need that.
There was squabbling among the defensive backs last season, and 2016 first-round draft pick Eli Apple miffed some teammates with his attitude and
play.
Defensive end Josh Mauro, who played for Bettcher in Arizona before signing with the Giants as a free agent, will sit out the first four games of the
regular season for violating the league's policy on performance enhancers.
Bettcher called Apple a very talented player who can do everything expected of a cornerback.
"He's a guy that
Marcus Cannon Jersey , I think it's a guy that has expectations for himself and that's the most important thing," Bettcher said.
In his three years as Cardinals defensive coordinator, Bettcher's unit was consistently among the NFL's best in yardage allowed and run defense. Arizona
led the league in sacks (48) in 2016, and Chandler Jones had a league-high 17
last season.
"I just love football, I love watching football, I love talking about it, I love being around it," Bettcher said. "I probably tire my wife out very much
when we watch football. We're home and it's in-season and it's a Saturday
afternoon when we have some time and we have college football in the house and
we're watching ball. So it's an exciting time."
And a time to build a defense.
Womens Chad Thomas Jersey
