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ATHLETES & ACTIVISM

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DO TEAMS PRACTICE ENOUGH?

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FULL 2017 SCHEDULE

NFLPREVIEW

An edition of XXXXXXXXXXXXX

2017

TOM BRADY

Odell Beckham Jr.

TERRELLE PRYOR

WHO’S NO. 1?

PLAYERS YOU NEED MOST ON YOUR TEAM

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XXXXXday, XXXX XX, 2017

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| Friday, Aug. 25, 2017

Bennettbrothers

A3

show two sides of activism

By Master Tesfatsion The Washington Post

M

artellus Bennett didn’t protest the national anthem. The Green Bay Packers tight end stood up with the rest of his teammates, and Washington Redskins players, during the second preseason contest at FedExField on Aug. 19.

“Nah, I’m chilling,” Bennett responded when asked about it after the game.

Instead, he just chose a different medium to express his thoughts: Art. Yes, there are, in fact, multiple ways to convey a message.

While his brother, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, sat during the national anthem at Aug. 18’s preseason game for the second straight week in solidarity with those fighting for racial equality, Martellus Bennett posted a political cartoon dedicated to him “and all of the other athletes using their platform to promote change.”

The cartoon, which took two days to make, displays two black football players with a platform. One is promoting league products, and he’s being told what to say on a big stage with significant interest from the media, while the other (tagged with Michael Bennett’s Instagram account) is promoting Black Lives Matter and equality on a smaller platform, to the confusion of media members and a white football player scratching his head.

“I don’t think anything I put on the cartoon was offensive,” said Bennett, who still

received criticism in the comments section. “It was just straight to the point. There was no misinterpretation there at all. It was right there, everything you need to see.”

Bennett, who is the creative director of awesomeness at The Imagination Agency, thought studying political cartoons during history classes was “pretty awesome.” Cartoons have often been a powerful way to present a message, but it’s also been a level of imagery that has depicted racial stereotypes from as early as the 1930s to as recently as last week by the Illinois Policy Institute.

“I don’t really work with it too often, but I think for that situation, it was perfect to paint the picture that I wanted people to see because sometimes you’ve got to stand back and look at things,” Bennett said. “When you’re so focused on what guys are doing, what they’re saying, how they look, then we don’t see the full image.

I thought that was a good way to pull back and kind of frame it side by side so that you could see what we saw, or what I saw, from my perspective.

“And my perspective is not always the right one, but that’s my POV (point of view) from my experiences and what I saw. It might be totally different from what somebody else sees. But for us, and a lot of us, that’s what we see and that’s how it is for us. That’s what the biggest thing for me was.”

The cartoon is the yin to

In this June 13 photo, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett walks off the field after practice in Renton, Washington.

[AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File]

“My perspective is not always the right one, but that’s my POV from my experiences and what I saw. It might be totally different from what somebody else sees.

But for us, and a lot of us, that’s what we see and that’s how it is for us. That’s what the biggest thing for me was.”

Martellus Bennett

Michael Bennett’s yang, displaying the duality within activism. Michael Bennett is voicing the same message during NFL games that initially started a year ago with Colin Kaepernick, who became one of the most polarizing figures in this country for sitting down during the national anthem to fight racial injustice and police brutality. Martellus Bennett took it one step further, displaying on a macro level the difficulties NFL athletes face when they attempt to step outside the structure of the NFL and use the platform to promote a social good.

“When you’re fighting the war, there’s many battles,” he said. “My brother is fighting one battle, and I’m on the different end of the spectrum fighting a different battle.

But we’re in the same war.

It’s just different things that we’re doing right now.”

Martellus Bennett understands not everyone’s contribution will be the same, although protesting the national anthem has received the most recognition as a form of activism among NFL players. He believes it comes down to figuring out how to make a difference with the specific gifts each individual has to bring to the table.

For him, “art is universal.”

Bennett said everyone can understand art, and it has the ability to impact people on a broad level, whether that’s through cartoons or through his poem, “Dear Black Boy,” which he wrote after two black men were killed by

police in Louisiana and Minnesota within 48 hours of each other last summer.

“Sometimes I like to write to get a point across, and sometimes I like to design,” Bennett said. “Like Langston Hughes is just as important. The words that Martin Luther King spoke were just as important as the things that he did as well because sometimes you retain those things. Like we recite ‘I Have A Dream’ to this day.

Words are powerful. Design, there are things that you see that are powerful; whether it’s a political cartoon, whether it’s an animated series, whatever it is, there’s ways to use art to explain and get people to see things differently than they would with words.”

Bennett thought it would be more effective to fight with his creativity and imagination, the same weapons he arms kids with because he wants to teach them how to think with “design in mind so that they can have a better future for us.”

Inspired by his daughter, he said he’s motivated to inspire kids to create a better world for her and her generation.

To be the change he wants to see, Bennett said he would be a hypocrite if he didn’t express himself in his distinctive way.

He thinks people often focus too much about which athletes are standing, sitting, raising a fist or lending a hand during the national anthem rather than the message they’re getting across.

“I think guys are going to be doing a lot of different things, a lot of different battles and a lot of different things in the same war,” he said.

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Washington guard Shawn Lauvao hits a large boxing heavy bag after an afternoon practice at the Washington Redskins summer training camp in Richmond, Virginia, on Aug. 8. [Washington Post photo

by John McDonnell]

An NFL-wide question:

Are teams practicing hard enough?

By Liz Clarke and Mark Maske The Washington Post

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n the week that followed a 23-3 preseason loss to the Baltimore Ravens, an outcome that underscored how far the Washington Redskins have to go before their Week 1 opener at FedExField on Sept. 10, nothing much changed at practice.

There was a bit more urgency in coach Jay Gruden’s commands. “Let’s go, now!” the coach bellowed after the horn sounded the start of 11-on-11 drills during Aug. 17’s session. “We’re trying to win here! We’re trying to win!”

And there was a bit of gameplanning with that Saturday’s preseason opponent in mind,

as the Redskins’ first-team offense lined up against a scout team tasked with mimicking the Green Bay Packers’ defense, and the first-team defense faced scout-teamers posing as the Aaron Rodgers-led offense.

But for the most part, the Aug. 10 embarrassment at Baltimore didn’t force a major rethinking of the Redskins’ approach to practice. Rather, Gruden suggested, the defeat reflected a lack of focus and intensity that fell on him.

“We’re still preparing the same way,” Gruden said when asked what he had changed after a loss he and quarterback Kirk Cousins characterized as “a wake-up call.” “I just think everybody has to come out and understand the other team

Michael Lombardi, a former NFL personnel executive, mused on Twitter that it has gotten to the point where football fans can’t honestly judge teams until mid-October.

has an agenda, also. We didn’t match the same agenda, and that’s probably my fault.”

Heading into his fourth season in Washington, Gruden, 50, has accomplished something no coach has since Daniel Snyder bought the team in 1999 - earning a contract extension, awarded in March, for the steady progress that produced the Redskins’ first back-to-back winning seasons in 19 years.

But Gruden has yet to win a season opener. His teams have started 1-2 in each of his three seasons, forced to play from behind in what has become an annual scramble to make the playoffs. (That, too, has been a 1-2 proposition.) The pattern of slow starts raises

questions about whether the Redskins work hard enough in their three-week training camp in Richmond and in the two weeks of practice that follow at their own facility in Ashburn and whether their inability to schedule joint practices with another NFL team either of the last two years leaves them at a competitive disadvantage.

Gruden doesn’t hide from the fact that he could demand more tackling and blocking drills than he does. The balance he strikes is made with full awareness of the risk of getting players injured versus the reward of getting them ready for the hard-hitting regular season.

Throughout the NFL, it’s a calculus that all coaches are working out.

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“I paid attention to what they did,” Thompson recalls. “We had just had a full, two-hour practice, but they went and lined up and did these sprints.

It just happened! They did it and never questioned it.”

And then there’s the issue of joint practices themselves. For

FROM PAGE 5

Midway through Aug. 17’s patchy preseason tilt between Tampa Bay and Jacksonville, Michael Lombardi, a former NFL personnel executive with Cleveland, Philadelphia and Oakland and assistant to New England’s coaching staff, mused on Twitter that it has gotten to the point where football fans can’t honestly judge teams until mid-October. “So many coaches are more worried about injuries than getting their team ready,” Lombardi tweeted.

There is reason behind their thinking. It’s far more important to a team’s success (and a head coach’s job security) to have its best players healthy for the 16 games that count than risk losing them in the preseason.

Even the most hard-driving coaches are now restrained by NFL rules limiting the amount of contact in training camp. In the interest of players’ safety, teams can only hold one practice in helmets and pads daily during camp, and that session must be limited to two hours.

That’s considerably less hitting than existed in Doug Williams’ era (1978-89) and even a decade ago, when Redskins safety Will Blackmon was a young defensive back.

“I participated in two-a-day (practices) in Green Bay during camp, and I’m talking about two full practices,” recalled Blackmon, 32. Asked if it was beneficial, Blackmon didn’t hesitate. “No! It was rough! Guys were getting hurt! I feel like coaches across the league have a better understanding that if their guys aren’t healthy, you’re not gonna have a beneficial season.”

Williams, who earned Super Bowl MVP honors in the Redskins’ 42-10 rout of Denver to cap the 1987 season, declined to weigh in on the question of whether the current limitations on camp make it more difficult to prepare a team for the regular season. But he was quick to add that it’s no excuse for performing poorly in the preseason.

“The same rules apply to every team in this league, so we can’t use that as an excuse,” said

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many NFL teams, holding practice with a rival during training camp has become a key part of their preparation. The Redskins did so in 2014 and 2015 but haven’t since, finding it difficult to locate a team willing to visit their camp in Richmond without a reciprocal visit in subsequent years. The Redskins are precluded from visiting other camps under the eight-year contract they signed to hold training camp in Richmond.

The Patriots have held joint practices for the last six years. This summer, the five-time Super Bowl champions scrimmaged against two teams - hosting Jacksonville for a joint practice Aug. 7-8 then visiting Houston’s training camp in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, for a two-day scrimmage.

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Corey Grant runs through a drill during a joint football practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Aug. 15 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Bruce Lipsky/ The Florida Times-Union via AP]

Williams, the Redskins executive vice president for player personnel. “We just have got to be cognizant of it and train the guys, ‘Hey, this is what has to happen [when play begins].’”

Despite the restrictions on the physicality and duration of training camp, there are variables that can make one camp more productive than another. Among them: Maximizing the allotted time.

For the Redskins, the daily portion of practice dedicated to special-teams work is an opportunity for other players to relax. Some do just that, while others, such as wide receiver Terrelle Pryor, spend it doing drills on their own.

Running back Chris Thompson still has vivid memory of the way the Patriots ended practice when New England visited Redskins camp in Richmond for a two-day joint workout in 2014. As the Redskins trudged to the showers, Patriots players marched to an adjacent field en masse, lined up shoulder-to-shoulder on a sideline and did wind sprints.

New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan (15) leaps up over Houston Texans cornerback Kevin Johnson (30) to catch a pass during a joint NFL football practice Aug. 15 in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. [Brett Coomer/ Houston Chronicle via AP]

“The old saying goes, ‘Iron sharpens iron,’” said Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, three-time NFL defensive player of the year, when asked about the merits of scrimmaging against four-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady.

“He’s obviously one of the best quarterbacks to have ever played the game. It’s always good to go out there and get some reps against somebody of that caliber.

It’s a lot of fun. Any time you put two good teams together on the practice field and get great reps ... you’re gonna get better.”

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NFL Sch

www.pixabay.com All times Eastern (x-Subject to change)

WEEK 1

Thursday, Sept. 7 Kansas City Chiefs at New England, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Sunday, Sept. 10 New York Jets at Buffalo, 1 p.m. (CBS) Atlanta at Chicago, 1 p.m. (FOX) Baltimore at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. (CBS) Pittsburgh at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (CBS) Arizona at Detroit, 1 p.m. (FOX) Jacksonville at Houston, 1 p.m. (CBS) Tampa Bay at Miami, 1 p.m. (FOX) Oakland at Tennessee, 1 p.m. (CBS) Philadelphia at Washington, 1 p.m. (FOX) Indianapolis at Los Angeles Rams, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Seattle at Green Bay, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) Carolina at San Francisco, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) New York Giants at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Sept. 11 New Orleans at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m. (ESPN) Los Angeles Chargers at Denver, 10:20 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 2

Thursday, Sept. 14 Houston at Cincinnati, 8:25 p.m. (NFLN)

WEEK 3

Thursday, Sept. 21 Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco, 8:25 p.m. (NFLN) Sunday, Sept. 24 Baltimore vs. Jacksonville at London, 9:30 a.m. (TBD) Denver at Buffalo, 1 p.m. (CBS) New Orleans at Carolina, 1 p.m. (FOX) Pittsburgh at Chicago, 1 p.m. (CBS) Atlanta at Detroit, 1 p.m. (FOX) Cleveland at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. (CBS) Tampa Bay at Minnesota, 1 p.m. (FOX) Houston at New England, 1 p.m. (CBS) Miami at New York Jets, 1 p.m. (CBS) New York Giants at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (FOX) Seattle at Tennessee, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Cincinnati at Green Bay, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) Kansas City at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:25 p.m.

(CBS) Oakland at Washington, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Sept. 25 Dallas at Arizona, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 4

Thursday, Sept. 28 Chicago at Green Bay, 8:25 p.m. (CBS/NFLN/ Amazon)

Sunday, Sept. 17 Cleveland at Baltimore, 1 p.m. (CBS) Buffalo at Carolina, 1 p.m. (CBS) Arizona at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. (FOX) Tennessee at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (CBS) Philadelphia at Kansas City, 1 p.m. (FOX) New England at New Orleans, 1 p.m. (CBS) Minnesota at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. (FOX) Chicago at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. (FOX) Miami at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) New York Jets at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Dallas at Denver, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) Washington at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) San Francisco at Seattle, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) Green Bay at Atlanta, 8:30 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, Oct. 1 New Orleans vs. Miami at London, 9:30 a.m. (FOX) Buffalo at Atlanta, 1 p.m. (CBS) Pittsburgh at Baltimore, 1 p.m. (CBS) Cincinnati at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (CBS) Los Angeles Rams at Dallas, 1 p.m. (FOX) Tennessee at Houston, 1 p.m. (CBS) Detroit at Minnesota, 1 p.m. (FOX) Carolina at New England, 1 p.m. (FOX) Jacksonville at New York Jets, 1 p.m. (CBS) San Francisco at Arizona, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Philadelphia at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m.

(FOX) New York Giants at Tampa Bay, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Oakland at Denver, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) Indianapolis at Seattle, 8:30 p.m. (NBC)

Monday, Sept. 18 Detroit at New York Giants, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Monday, Oct. 2 Washington at Kansas City, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 5

Byes: Atlanta, Denver, New Orleans, Washington

Thursday, Oct. 5 New England at Tampa Bay, 8:25 p.m. (CBS/NFLN/ Amazon) Sunday, Oct. 8 Buffalo at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. (CBS) New York Jets at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (FOX) Carolina at Detroit, 1 p.m. (FOX) San Francisco at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. (FOX) Tennessee at Miami, 1 p.m. (CBS) Los Angeles Chargers at New York Giants, 1 p.m.

(CBS) Arizona at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (FOX) Jacksonville at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. (CBS) Seattle at Los Angeles Rams, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Baltimore at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Green Bay at Dallas, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) x-Kansas City at Houston, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Oct. 9 Minnesota at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 6

Byes: Buffalo, Cincinnati, Dallas, Seattle Thursday, Oct. 12 Philadelphia at Carolina, 8:25 p.m. (CBS/NFLN/ Amazon) Sunday, Oct. 15 Miami at Atlanta, 1 p.m. (CBS) Chicago at Baltimore, 1 p.m. (FOX) Cleveland at Houston, 1 p.m. (CBS) Green Bay at Minnesota, 1 p.m. (FOX) Detroit at New Orleans, 1 p.m. (FOX) New England at New York Jets, 1 p.m. (CBS) San Francisco at Washington, 1 p.m. (FOX) Tampa Bay at Arizona, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Los Angeles Rams at Jacksonville, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Pittsburgh at Kansas City, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) Los Angeles Chargers at Oakland, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) x-New York Giants at Denver, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Oct. 16 Indianapolis at Tennessee, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 7

Sunday, Oct. 22 Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 1 p.m. (FOX) Carolina at Chicago, 1 p.m. (FOX) Tennessee at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (CBS) New Orleans at Green Bay, 1 p.m. (FOX) Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. (CBS) Arizona vs. Los Angeles Rams at London, 1 p.m.

(FOX) New York Jets at Miami, 1 p.m. (FOX) Baltimore at Minnesota, 1 p.m. (CBS) Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. (CBS) Dallas at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Denver at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) Seattle at New York Giants, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) x-Atlanta at New England, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Oct. 23 Washington at Philadelphia, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 8

Byes: Arizona, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, Tennessee Thursday, Oct. 26 Miami at Baltimore, 8:25 p.m. (CBS/NFLN/Amazon) Sunday, Oct. 29 Minnesota vs. Cleveland at London, 9:30 a.m. (NFLN) Oakland at Buffalo, 1 p.m. (CBS) Indianapolis at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. (CBS) Los Angeles Chargers at New England, 1 p.m. (CBS) Chicago at New Orleans, 1 p.m. (FOX) Atlanta at New York Jets, 1 p.m. (FOX) San Francisco at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (FOX) Carolina at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. (FOX) Houston at Seattle, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Dallas at Washington, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) x-Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Oct. 30 Denver at Kansas City, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 9

Byes: Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota, New England, Pittsburgh

Byes: Detroit, Houston

Thursday, Nov. 2 Buffalo at New York Jets, 8:25 p.m. (NFLN)

Thursday, Oct. 19 Kansas City at Oakland, 8:25 p.m. (CBS/NFLN/ Amazon)

Sunday, Nov. 5 Atlanta at Carolina, 1 p.m. (FOX) Indianapolis at Houston, 1 p.m. (CBS)

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hedule Cincinnati at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (CBS) Tampa Bay at New Orleans, 1 p.m. (FOX) Los Angeles Rams at New York Giants, 1 p.m. (FOX) Denver at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (CBS) Baltimore at Tennessee, 1 p.m. (CBS) Arizona at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Washington at Seattle, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Kansas City at Dallas, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) x-Oakland at Miami, 8:30 p.m. (NBC)

Buffalo at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Cincinnati at Denver, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) New England vs. Oakland at Mexico City, 4:25 p.m.

(CBS) x-Philadelphia at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. (NBC)

Monday, Nov. 6 Detroit at Green Bay, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Thursday, Nov. 23 Minnesota at Detroit, 12:30 p.m. (FOX) Los Angeles Chargers at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. (CBS) New York Giants at Washington, 8:30 p.m. (NBC)

WEEK 10

Byes: Baltimore, Kansas City, Oakland, Philadelphia Thursday, Nov. 9 Seattle at Arizona, 8:25 p.m. (NBC/NFLN/Amazon) Sunday, Nov. 12 New Orleans at Buffalo, 1 p.m. (FOX) Green Bay at Chicago, 1 p.m. (FOX) Cleveland at Detroit, 1 p.m. (CBS) Pittsburgh at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. (CBS) Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (CBS) New York Jets at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. (CBS) Cincinnati at Tennessee, 1 p.m. (FOX) Minnesota at Washington, 1 p.m. (FOX) Houston at Los Angeles Rams, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Dallas at Atlanta, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) New York Giants at San Francisco, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) x-New England at Denver, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Nov. 13 Miami at Carolina, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 11

Byes: Carolina, Indianapolis, Miami, New York Jets, San Francisco, Tampa Bay Thursday, Nov. 16 Tennessee at Pittsburgh, 8:25 p.m. (NBC/NFLN/ Amazon) Sunday, Nov. 19 Detroit at Chicago, 1 p.m. (FOX) Jacksonville at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (CBS) Baltimore at Green Bay, 1 p.m. (CBS) Arizona at Houston, 1 p.m. (FOX) Los Angeles Rams at Minnesota, 1 p.m. (FOX) Washington at New Orleans, 1 p.m. (FOX) Kansas City at New York Giants, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Monday, Nov. 20 Atlanta at Seattle, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 12

Sunday, Nov. 26 Tampa Bay at Atlanta, 1 p.m. (FOX) Cleveland at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. (CBS) Tennessee at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. (CBS) Buffalo at Kansas City, 1 p.m. (CBS) Miami at New England, 1 p.m. (CBS) Carolina at New York Jets, 1 p.m. (FOX) Chicago at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (FOX) New Orleans at Los Angeles Rams, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Seattle at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) Jacksonville at Arizona, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) Denver at Oakland, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) x-Green Bay at Pittsburgh, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Nov. 27 Houston at Baltimore, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 13

Thursday, Nov. 30 Washington at Dallas, 8:25 p.m. (NBC/NFLN/ Amazon) Sunday, Dec. 3 Minnesota at Atlanta, 1 p.m. (FOX) Detroit at Baltimore, 1 p.m. (FOX) New England at Buffalo, 1 p.m. (CBS) San Francisco at Chicago, 1 p.m. (CBS) Tampa Bay at Green Bay, 1 p.m. (FOX) Indianapolis at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (CBS) Denver at Miami, 1 p.m. (CBS) Carolina at New Orleans, 1 p.m. (FOX) Kansas City at New York Jets, 1 p.m. (CBS) Houston at Tennessee, 1 p.m. (CBS) Cleveland at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Los Angeles Rams at Arizona, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) New York Giants at Oakland, 4:25 p.m. (FOX)

x-Philadelphia at Seattle, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Dec. 4 Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 14

Thursday, Dec. 7 New Orleans at Atlanta, 8:25 p.m. (NBC/NFLN/ Amazon) Sunday, Dec. 10 Indianapolis at Buffalo, 1 p.m. (CBS) Minnesota at Carolina, 1 p.m. (CBS) Chicago at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. (FOX) Green Bay at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (FOX) San Francisco at Houston, 1 p.m. (FOX) Seattle at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (FOX) Oakland at Kansas City, 1 p.m. (CBS) Detroit at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. (FOX) Tennessee at Arizona, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) New York Jets at Denver, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Washington at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m.

(CBS) Philadelphia at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) Dallas at New York Giants, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) x-Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Dec. 11 New England at Miami, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 15

Thursday, Dec. 14 Denver at Indianapolis, 8:25 p.m. (NBC/NFLN/ Amazon) Saturday, Dec. 16 Chicago at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. (NFLN) Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City, 8:25 p.m.

(NFLN) Sunday, Dec. 17 Miami at Buffalo, 1 p.m. (CBS) Green Bay at Carolina, 1 p.m. (FOX) Baltimore at Cleveland, 1 p.m. (CBS) Houston at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (CBS) Cincinnati at Minnesota, 1 p.m. (CBS) New York Jets at New Orleans, 1 p.m. (CBS) Philadelphia at New York Giants, 1 p.m. (FOX) Arizona at Washington, 1 p.m. (FOX) Los Angeles Rams at Seattle, 4:05 p.m. (FOX) New England at Pittsburgh, 4:25 p.m. (CBS)

Tennessee at San Francisco, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) x-Dallas at Oakland, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Monday, Dec. 18 Atlanta at Tampa Bay, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 16

Saturday, Dec. 23 Indianapolis at Baltimore, 4:30 p.m. (NFLN) Minnesota at Green Bay, 8:30 p.m. (NBC) Sunday, Dec. 24 Tampa Bay at Carolina, 1 p.m. (FOX) Cleveland at Chicago, 1 p.m. (CBS) Detroit at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. (FOX) Miami at Kansas City, 1 p.m. (CBS) Buffalo at New England, 1 p.m. (CBS) Atlanta at New Orleans, 1 p.m. (FOX) Los Angeles Chargers at New York Jets, 1 p.m.

(CBS) Los Angeles Rams at Tennessee, 1 p.m. (FOX) Denver at Washington, 1 p.m. (CBS) Jacksonville at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m. (CBS) New York Giants at Arizona, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) Seattle at Dallas, 4:25 p.m. (FOX) Monday, Dec. 25 Pittsburgh at Houston, 4:30 p.m. (NBC/NFLN/ Amazon) Oakland at Philadelphia, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

WEEK 17

Sunday, Dec. 31 Carolina at Atlanta, 1 p.m. (FOX) Cincinnati at Baltimore, 1 p.m. (CBS) Green Bay at Detroit, 1 p.m. (FOX) Houston at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. (CBS) Buffalo at Miami, 1 p.m. (CBS) Chicago at Minnesota, 1 p.m. (FOX) New York Jets at New England, 1 p.m. (CBS) Washington at New York Giants, 1 p.m. (FOX) Dallas at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (FOX) Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. (CBS) New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. (FOX) Jacksonville at Tennessee, 1 p.m. (CBS) Kansas City at Denver, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) Oakland at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:25 p.m.

(CBS) San Francisco at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m.

(FOX) Arizona at Seattle, 4:25 p.m. (FOX)

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FA N TA S Y

Waiting on QB still the best strategy

O

ne key to drafting a winning fantasy football team is to construct a roster with as much depth as possible at almost every position.

To accomplish this goal, you need to have a firm grasp of the talent at each position relative to the other positions across the entire player pool. People new to fantasy football often think that because there are so few elite quarterbacks, and they are among the highest scoring players in the fantasy game, that they need to pick a top quarterback early in their draft to build a strong foundation for the rest of the team.

Experienced fantasy owners know that you can wait until later in the draft to pick a quarterback. Most leagues require just one starting quarterback, and the majority award just 4 points for a touchdown pass. Meanwhile, you typically start two or three running backs and an equal number of wide receivers — and those positions are awarded 6 points for each touchdown reception or run. Therefore, wide receivers and running backs are chosen earlier, the pool of available players shrinks much faster at those positions and there are enough viable starting quarterbacks available even if you wait until later into the draft to choose one.

Quarterbacks will dominate the overall scoring one way or another, but it really isn’t about getting the most points out of the position.

This approach changes slightly in leagues that award 6 points for a touchdown pass. You’ll need to adjust your draft strategy to take quarterbacks just a bit earlier. However, in leagues that require two

starting quarterbacks, you must change your approach to draft your quarterbacks much earlier, ideally to have both safely squared away by the end of the fourth round. You’ll need to do that because the demand for talent will be that much higher with the available pool being much smaller.

Some fantasy owners like the security that comes with owning a bona fide veteran quarterback with an extensive track record of elite production. If you still want to target Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees, widely thought of as the elite tier of the

If you still want to target Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees, widely thought of as the elite tier of the current QB pool, you should be prepared to draft them within the first three or four rounds.

current QB pool, you should be prepared to draft them within the first three or four rounds. An aggressive move like that will also require you to be prepared to find hidden talent deeper in the player pool at wide receiver and running back. Just remember that every draft is different, so you’ll need to be flexible and adjust on the fly depending on how things unfold.

The next tier of quarterback talent can be found a bit later in the single-digit draft rounds. Matt Ryan, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson could yield near-elite production, but the players aren’t quite as secure as the elite for one

PHOTOS: AP

By TIM McCULLOUGH Fantasy Sports Network

Tom Brady

Drew Brees

Aaron Rodgers

reason or another. For instance, Ryan is coming off a career year, something he may have difficulty repeating. Wilson still has a porous offensive line that allowed too many sacks. Luck had some incredibly poor pass pass-blocking that left him scrambling and diving for cover.

Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins and Cam Newton also fit in just after these players in average draft positions (ADP) on most sites.

Other talents that can be found in the double-digit rounds include Derek Carr, a top 10 QB available in approximately the 10th round. Then there’s Marcus Mariota, whose new weapons could help him step forward in his development this year. A little closer to Rounds 11 and 12 are Matthew Stafford or Jameis Winston. Philip Rivers has a current ADP in the 14th round. Drafting him there could leave you the collateral to take some very talented receivers who would love to snag one of his 33 TD strikes.

There is still some very talented QB depth to be found in the mid-teen rounds. Tyrod Taylor beats defenses with his feet as well as his arm, running for 580 yards last season.

And don’t forget Eli Manning, who could be in line for a bounce-back season, and Carson Wentz, who has an improved receiving group.

Carson Palmer still has excellent receivers and he appears primed to go out with a bang in what could be his final season.

This column was provided to The Associated Press by the Fantasy Sports Network, http://FNTSY.com

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| Friday, Aug. 25, 2017

FA N TA S Y

Wide receivers more important as

game shifts

that he’s dynamic and a highlight reel waiting to happen, he has only eclipsed 100 receptions once in his career (101 last season) and the addition of Brandon Marshall hen it comes to fantasy football we all will give Eli Manning another true receiving threat. hear several pieces of advice. Don’t Mike Evans, Julio Jones, and A.J. Green are also sure draft quarterbacks early, as that posito go in the first round of your fantasy draft. Some tion is deep. Make sure to get at least fantasy owners may wonder if the additions of DeSean one top running back in the first couple of rounds, Jackson and O.J. Howard will take away targets from as that pool will dry up quickly. Don’t ever take Evans. Sure, that could happen, but Jackson will also a kicker or defense/special teams until the last take away opposing safeties from latching onto to Evans few rounds. What about wide receivers? as they will have to respect his ability to blow the top It’s no secret that the NFL is a passing league. It off the defense. We all love Jones, but those nagging seems every rule change over the past 5-10 years has foot injuries are a concern. Green is also a step below been geared toward the benefit of throwing the ball the others as he plays with the least accomplished QB and putting points on the board with quick, exciting and there is also some concern as to whether or not plays. In fantasy, we are slowly but the offensive line in Cincinnati will give steadily seeing a switch to point per Andy Dalton enough time to look deep. reception (PPR) leagues. This Jordy Nelson, Michael Thomas, Brandin Antonio Brown will puts further emphasis on pass Cooks, Doug Baldwin, T.Y. Hilton, Amari more than likely be catchers early in our drafts.

Cooper, and Dez Bryant finish up the top the first WR taken Some also view receivers as 12. Thomas is a top talent, but still needs in your league, as he safer picks early in drafts to show whether he can become a true No. is about as steady because they don’t take 1 WR. Hilton’s value could go up or down as they come. There the hits that running depending upon the health of Andrew Luck. was a time when backs do and thus Two receivers who were taken in the first catching more than have a better chance round of a majority of leagues this year have 100 balls in a season at staying healthy fallen out of favor this season. DeAndre would raise everyover a long season.

Hopkins and Allen Robinson are still loaded one’s eyebrows. Well, Throw in the fact that with talent but questionable quarterback Brown has averin most leagues you play has seen their draft stock take a tumble. aged more than 120 will start three WRs Several top 25 receivers have also receptions over the and a possible fourth changed teams, which is not always a past four seasons. in the flex position good thing. Terrelle Pryor, Alshon Jefand we can start to fery, Sammy Watkins, and Brandon understand why the Marshall have changed addresses. Trust and chemposition is so important. istry issues — not to mention knowledge of the playAntonio Brown will more than likely be the book — can be issues when receivers change teams. first WR taken in your league, as he is about While there is sure to be one or two rookie WRs that as steady as they come. There was a time stand out this season, let’s remember that you need to when catching more than 100 balls in a proceed with caution when drafting one. Not only do season would raise everyone’s eyebrows. they have the same issues as free agents who changed Well, Brown has averaged more than 120 teams, they also may not be trusted with running receptions over the past four seasons. every route or they may not be a true red zone threat.

That’s just incredible when you throw Davante Adams and Cooks should be other in that over that span he also averaged names that go early, and Golden Tate and Jar11 touchdowns and 1,579 yards. Some vis Landry are prime PPR second fantasy WRs. might want to debate that Odell Beckham Jr. should be picked first overall but This column was provided to The Associated Press that seems like a reach. While it’s true by the Fantasy Sports Network, http://FNTSY.com.

By GEORGE KURTZ Fantasy Sports Network

Odell Beckham Jr.

PHOTOS: AP

DeSean Jackson

Antonio Brown

W

A13

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