Checking in on the Cincinnati Bengals

By Sonja Greenfield //@Mom23RN

We don’t talk nearly enough about the Bengals here at OurTurf, so I figured I’d reach out to the experts. In my search, I came across Ace Boogie on Twitter. He’s a Bengals analyst and host of New Stripe City on YouTube. The perfect person to talk to! I asked him 5 questions to get the lowdown on Bengals Nation.

*Bengals Analyst and host of New Stripe City on YouTube AceBoogie (@NewStripeCity)*

Me: How did the Bengals do in the draft?

Ace: I think the sense around the NFL is that the Bengals did great. I’d have to agree with this because they really attacked fixing one of their biggest weaknesses by drafting [tackle] Jonah Williams. [Tight end] Drew Sample was a bit of a head scratcher, but overall I think they did great. They were able to fill needs, add depth, and add character. One thing that changed was that they didn’t target any players with off-field issues and went after team captains.

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NFL says goodbye to legendary quarterback Bart Starr

By Kate Arhar // @ClvlndK8

The NFL community lost a legend this past weekend with the passing of Hall of Fame quarterback Bryan Bartlett “Bart” Starr.

Credited with being the foundation of the Green Bay Packers dynasty, Starr lead them to five NFL championships and two Super Bowl victories. While many credit head coach Vince Lombardi with turning the Packers into champions, we all know how important finding the right QB is and Star was most definitely one of the greats.

Born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1934, he considered both the University of Kentucky and Auburn for his collegiate career. Luckily for Alabama fans, he chose to stay closer to home. Fun fact: he eloped with his high school sweetheart, Cherry Morton, in 1954 and they kept the marriage a secret because at that time, college’s could rescind an athlete’s scholarship if he was married.

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Doomed first year head coaches?

By Lisa Johnson // @LJ1303

As we prepare for the new 2019 NFL season, 8 teams have new head coaches, with 6 of them being first-time head coaches.: Cardinals, Bengals, Browns, Packers, Dolphins, Broncos.

The Jets and Bucs have hired coaches with previous head coaching experience.

As we prepare for mini camps, voluntary and mandatory, the media is in full force with its cycle of praise and criticism, almost seemly setting some up for instant success or in other cases instance failure.

This leaves many fans questioning how their favorite teams could make such a questionable hire.

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The conversation between the NFL and NFLPA begins

By Dayna O’Gorman // @DaynaOG

It’s something that almost every football fan I’ve talked to agreed on. There was a very good chance that there wouldn’t be football played in 2021. The Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire at the end of the 2020 season, and it looked like the two sides were gearing up for a long fight. However, signs this week are positive, with both sides playing nice.

The NFL and NFLPA started talking this week, and according to NFL.com reporter, Ian Rapoport, the negotiations started out quite well. He reported that things were “amicable and cordial”, but it’s still early.

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Taking pain management in the NFL seriously

By Sonja Greenfield //@Mom23RN

A new day is coming in the NFL. Probably sooner, rather than later. Kate wrote about this yesterday

The NFL and the NFLPA are going to start taking pain management seriously. And part of taking pain management seriously means that the NFL will potentially have to address the marijuana issue.

Many former players have embraced and endorsed using marijuana for pain relief. It’s been known to be just as effective, if not more so than regular prescription opioids and other medications that the NFL has routinely used.

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NFL and NFLPA adding health resources for players

By Kate Arhar // @ClvlndK8

Injuries have been a huge part of life for NFL players. Whether they occur as a result of on- or off-the-field activites, they impact the sport we all love.

In recent years, we’ve seen how these injuries not only impact current seasons, but how these players face life-long issues or disabilities as a result of they playing days.

On Monday, the NFL and NFL Players Association announced two joint agreements that will support further resources directed to address pain management and behavioral health.

The first agreement on focuses on prescription medication and pain management. It addresses the challenges of pain management for current players and works to advance and understand the science in this area to improve potential treatments.

The second agreement builds on the ever increasing reports of player behavioral and mental health issues by providing care resources with additional programs directed toward education, prevention, and overall behavioral health throughout the league.

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Yes, its too early but…2019 Season Playoff Predictions

By Marquita Quinones //@LatinLove729

Yes, it’s only May and yes experts are already weighing in on the 2019 NFL Season, so I thought I’d join in. As a NY Giants fan, I will admit I’m a little apprehensive about some of the moves they have made this offseason, but I want to keep my feelings positive. Although, certain actions made in this offseason has not been a beacon of success to me, but what do I know.

Let’s take a look at a few of my WAY too early predictions for this upcoming year.

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Turmoil for the New York Jets

By Lisa Johnson //@LJ1303

As I was strolling through NFL news last week, one thing that really caught my attention, was news of the Jets firing general manager Mike Maccagnan. They then turned around and named head coach Adam Gase as interim General Manager. All this coming off a March owner meetings where team CEO Christopher Johnson, praised Maccagnan and his working relationship with Gase.

ESPN staff writer Rich Cimini reported internal discord within the Jets organization. ESPN first reported that during the draft, friction had developed between Maccagnan and Gase because of disagreements over personnel during free agency.

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Checking in on the Dallas Cowboys

By Dayna O’Gorman // @DaynaOG

Its not something we are used to. Traditionally using the word quiet and Jerry Jones in the same thought isn’t something you do. However, from the outside looking in, this off-season seems to have been somewhat quiet for the Dallas Cowboys. I decided to check in with David Howman, writer for bloggingtheboys.com, to see what was going on in Jerry’s world.

Talking about the off-season, David agreed that, from the outside, it may look like there hasn’t been much going on in Dallas. However, they have been busy.

“It was a very productive offseason for the Cowboys but not in the way most expect. They have a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore who should be upping the creativity and they added some low risk, high reward free agents while focusing on giving their own star players contract extensions.”

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Remembering Gunther Cunningham

By Sonja Greenfield // @Mom23RN

On May 13th it was announced that former Kansas City Chiefs head coach, and former Chiefs, Raiders, and Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham had passed over the weekend.

For the Lions, he served as both a defensive coordinator under former head coach Jim Schwartz and then a defensive analyst for the Lions when he retired.

Born in Germany, he came to the United States as a child, shortly after World War II ended. At the time, he didn’t speak English but used football to help get acclimated to America. He ended up having college coaching stints at Oregon, California, Stanford and Arkansas.

After his college career, he spent some time in Canada in the CFL. In 1982, he came back to the States and began his NFL Coaching career; first with the Colts, then moving on to Kansas City.

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Month: May 2019