Bill Belichick’s impressive resume makes it easy for the five-time championship head coach to mandate that players check their egos before joining the New England Patriots.
Doug Pederson didn’t have a hard sell A.J. Green Youth Jersey , either.
The Philadelphia Eagles are an unselfish group that prioritizes winning over personal accomplishments. It’s a major reason why the Eagles (15-3) are playing the Patriots (15-3) in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
”It’s a group that doesn’t really care who gets the ball. The bottom line is trying to win the game,” Pederson said. ”I didn’t have to sell it too much.”
Pederson was 7-9 last year in his rookie season as head coach but has guided the Eagles from worst to first in search of the franchise’s first NFL title since 1960. He found a way to blend a young locker room with a mix of accomplished veterans.
The team added veteran receivers Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith, running backs LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi, defensive linemen Chris Long and Tim Jernigan and defensive backs Ronald Darby, Patrick Robinson and Corey Graham.
”I can remember this team showing up in April and talking about being at this place, talking about our dreams, aspirations and focusing on a grind,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said.
”Guys being unselfish, adding guys along the way that added to the team and continued to push, and every time we won and had some success – we even had some adversity – the team believed more and more. It’s been awesome to be a part of.”
Blount led the NFL with 18 touchdowns rushing and earned his second Super Bowl ring last season in New England. He didn’t get a carry in a loss at Kansas City in Week 2 and never complained. Same with Jeffery, who went from No. 1 receiver in Chicago to being one of the guys in Philadelphia.
”We couldn’t care less how many catches or how many carries or how many yards any one guy has Ed Dickson Color Rush Jersey ,” Blount said. ”We all have one common goal in hand. We all have one thing that we all want more than anything. You can’t be selfish when everybody has one common goal because you have to make sacrifices for the better of the team. We’ve done that and it’s gotten us this far.”
Pederson set the tone and Carson Wentz carried it out with his team-first attitude and that filtered down the roster.
”He’s the most humble guy you come across,” Pederson said. ”He’ll give it right back to the team.”
It was a smooth transition to Nick Foles after Wentz got hurt. Foles also is a respected leader who leads by example. It’s not a coincidence the Eagles sought this type of player.
”This is the most selfless team I’ve ever been around,” Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz said. ”Guys don’t care about stats. They only care about winning. Doug is the best coach I’ve been around in managing players. He lets us show our personalities and if he needs to talk to somebody, he does it quietly and in a mild-mannered way. His selfless leadership is a big reason we’re here.”
The team is one of the closest-knit groups in the league and players genuinely care about each other and spent plenty of time together.
”When you see guys hanging out with players from other position groups, it’s special,” defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said. ”I would go eat dinner with Donnie Jones. You don’t see a guy hanging out with a punter.”
If the Eagles win a few championships, perhaps the standard Pederson has set will eventually become similar to Belichick’s Patriot Way. They have to get the first win first.
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AP NFL website: Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy is building the Arizona Cardinals' offense from scratch and, big surprise, David Johnson is figuring prominently in his plays.
"David's a special back," McCoy said after the Cardinals practiced in pads in muggy weather outdoors on Tuesday.
"You see how the offensive line worked together the first day in pads (on Monday)," McCoy said. "That was a positive Youth Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys , watching those guys and the way they all work together. We've got a long ways to go still but that's what training camp is for. But we're off to a good start."
McCoy brings plenty of experience to work alongside first-year coach Steve Wilks. McCoy was head coach of the San Diego Chargers as well as two stints as offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos.
Johnson sat out minicamp in a contract dispute but came back for training camp and, as always, has impressed his coaches.
"I think everybody knows what kind of player he is," McCoy said. "The way he played in the '16 season. He can do it all."
Johnson led the NFL in yards from scrimmage in 2016 but broke his left wrist in last year's opener and missed the remainder of the season. He's fully healthy now.
McCoy said that most running backs are all right out of the backfield, "but he's special."
"He can run every route in the route tree a receiver runs," McCoy said. "Are we going to do that with him? We'll find out come the season, and you just love the way he works all the day."
At quarterback, Sam Bradford is working on chemistry with his receivers, particularly Larry Fitzgerald, who has caught at least one pass from 17 different quarterbacks in his 14-year NFL career.
Bradford and Fitzgerald both were given a veteran's day off from practice on Tuesday.
"He's looked great," McCoy said of Bradford. "He's very intelligent. He goes through the progressions. You can watch thee veterans Authentic Customized Broncos Jerseys , different from a young player, when something's not there and it breaks down, there's no hesitation of where to go with the ball. Sam's done a great job of running the show when he's in there."
Quarterback Josh Rosen, meanwhile, is going through a rookie learning curve.
"Josh is like every rookie," McCoy said. "There's the good days, there's the good plays and there's that one or two plays you look at and you say 'OK, I know this is the first time you saw blitz zero with this play or this protection scheme, but didn't we just go over it in the meeting?"
The offense will be designed to take advantage of what the players do best, McCoy said.
And it's clear that he and Wilks want a physical running game.
"That's what training camp's for, really Uchenna Nwosu Jersey Chargers , for the running game," McCoy said. "You try to become a physical football team in training camp."
The Cardinals overhauled the offensive line. D.J. Humphries remains at left tackle, Mike Iupati is still the left guard and A.Q. Shipley is still the center. But the right side is occupied by a couple of free agent signees 鈥?Justin Pugh at right guard and Andre Smith at right tackle.
Now they're strengths are being evaluated.
"Who is the best puller? Who are our best double-team guys? How do our tight ends block certain schemes?" McCoy said "So you find out a lot about your players. That's our job as coaches is to make sure to find out what they do best."
That's especially true of quarterbacks.
If a quarterback doesn't like a play that's on the call sheet, McCoy said, "Give me that red pen, we'll cross off those plays you don't like and we'll be OK if everyone believes in what we're doing."
The biggest competition on offense might be at wide receiver, where a handful of players are vying for the spots behind Fitzgerald.
That won't sort itself out, most likely, until the end of preseason.
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