Aggies in pay-for-play scandal, Dungy advises don’t bet on Eagles
Former Aggie linebacker says assistant coach gave him cash to show recruits a good time
Texas A&M apparently has a new slant on pay-for-play. Santino Marchiol, former linebacker for Texas A&M, told USA Today that an assistant coach on Jimbo Fisher’s staff gave him hundreds of dollars in cash for hosting recruits on unofficial visits. Marchiol also claimed coaches worked with players beyond the time limits imposed by NCAA rules and that he was forced to practice, in pain, for a week with a misdiagnosed ankle injury. Marchiol is seeking a waiver from the NCAA so he play this season at Arizona for former Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin. Marchiol said Fisher in his first season at A&M had the mind-set that the team was soft, so vulgar and demeaning language was directed at players. In applying at Arizona, Marchiol filled out forms that required him to explain why he’s requesting a transfer. In those documents he revealed that linebackers coach Bradley Del Peveto gave him hundreds of dollars in cash to entertain recruits. Fisher told reporters Thursday that he’s “very confident in the things we have done,” but he said he’s taking the allegations “very seriously” and “we’re open to all inquiries.” He knows there will be a posse from the NCAA.
Dear Coach: You ‘ll earn all your $75 million if you can survive the surreal expectations at Aggieland. Your blood pressure must have risen when Chancellor John (Not So) Sharp presented you with a plaque: “NCAA Division 1 National Champions 20–.”
Dungy sees Eagles as unlikely to repeat as Super Bowl champion
In this century only the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks have reached the Super Bowl in consecutive seasons. The Philadelphia Eagles are showing no signs of being one of those rare exceptions. In the 14 possessions with Nick Foles leading their first-team offense, they’ve scored no points. It was of little concern when they lost the first two preseason games, but No. 3 is the one where starters play at least half the game, expecting to rest in the preseason finale. Thursday night’s “dress rehearsal” was a resounding dud, a 5-0 loss to the forever moribund Cleveland Browns. Tony Dungy, Hall of Fame coach, sees the odds stacked against the Eagles, as they would be against any defending champ. “You play the first-place schedule, you play the prime-time games, you’re playing Monday night games on the road,” he said on NBCSN’s Pro Football Talk. “And every single team is gonna give you their best shot. If I were a betting man, I wouldn’t bet on Philadelphia, even though I love their team.” He does think the Eagles will be inspired by common support for Carson Wentz and Jason Peters, who were headed for Pro Bowl accolades before being injured last year. “Their rallying cry will be, ‘Let’s give Carson a chance to win it; let’s give Jason Peters, after the great career he’s had, a chance to play in the Super Bowl,” Dungy said. “So they’ll be motivated, but it’s still difficult.”
Between the Lines: By the law of Regression to the Norm, the Eagles’ probability of repeating with rings is a longshot. Not only did career backup Nick Foles earn Super Bowl MVP honors, they got career years – and Pro Bowl seasons — from Zach Ertz, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox and Brandon Brooks.
Buckeyes assistant Zach Smith took lewd photos at White House and coaches’ office
Before he was fired as assistant football coach at Ohio State, Zach Smith took lewd photos of himself at the White House and had sex with a university staffer in the coaches’ office in 2015, according to Buckeyes insider Brett McMurphy of WatchStadium.com. McMurphy reported that Smith’s ex-wife Courtney said the coach showed her photos of his penis that were taken at the White House when the Buckeyes were being honored for their national championship. And according to receipts obtained by McMurphy, Smith purchased $2,200 worth of sex toys and apparel in 2015. Ohio State fired Smith last month after his ex-wife filed a protective order against him and accused him of domestic violence.
Between the Lines: So there’s more disquieting news for OSU head coach Urban Meyer, who has retracted his claim that McMurphy “made up” a story about allegations of domestic violence by Smith in 2015. For his lack of oversight, Ohio State suspended Meyer for the first three games of this season.
Peter King expects Donald’s holdout to extend into first week of regular season
Peter King, the most trusted name in pro football reporting, does not expect Aaron Donald to play in the season opener at Oakland Sept. 10. Speaking from Rams camp in Irvine, Calif., the NBC reporter pointed out that the 2017 NFL Defensive Player of the Year is in the final year of his rookie contract and “is due to make $6.8 million this season. It’s hard to imagine he will step onto the field making that money this year and risking injury. This is a little different situation from Kahlil Mack with Oakland. If he misses a week, he’s missing $1 million a game, because his franchise number is about $16 million. A new deal will have to be done before Donald takes the field for the Rams. . . . I don’t think he wants an incremental increase over Von Miller.” However, the Rams can choose to franchise-tag Donald for two more seasons and are reluctant to commit to the $40 million deal the player reportedly is seeking. King said the deal “will get done,” but probably not before Labor Day.
Between the Lines: Last year Donald missed the first week of the season with his contract holdout. He showed rustiness for at least two weeks upon rejoining the team. If King is correct, Donald will be of little use in games 3 and 4 against the LA Chargers and Minnesota Vikings.
Belichick says new helmet rule ‘is not a change for us’
While many NFL players are complaining of the new rule banning the lowering of the helmet to initiate contact, the most successful coach in the league, New England’s Bill Belichick, has no problem with it. “It’s not a change for us,” he insisted. “We’ve never taught tackling with the crown of our helmet, putting our head down. I don’t think fundamentally that’s a good position to be in; it’s not effective. There’s a lot of things that can go wrong, besides getting hurt, and that’s an important one. We’ve always tackled and blocked with our head back so we can see what we hit.”
But Green Bay’s Randall Cobb, one the NFL’s most respected slot receivers, doesn’t know how to obey the new rule. Speaking on NBCSN’s Pro Football Talk, Cobb said: “Guys will do everything they can to hit in the strike zone and not lead with the helmet, but when you lead with your shoulder the head comes with your shoulder.” He said the teams are conducting tackling drills with the new legislation in mind. “Guys are gonna try to keep their head out of the hit, but it’s gonna be a judgment call.”
Between the Lines: The NFL office is warning teams that replay officials in New York will look for illegal helmet action and assess fines for violations. They’re likely to be more strict than on-field refs once the regular season begins.
All-Pro defensive back Ramsey talks trash about NFL quarterbacks
Jalen Ramsey, All-Pro cornerback of the Jacksonville Jaguars, told GQ magazine that his team lost to New England in the AFC Championship because of “complacent and conservative” coaching, grounding themselves to Leonard Fournette — “running Leonard to death.” Coach Doug Marrone did no favors for the maligned QB Blake Bortles by “running it on first and second down and passing it on third every single time we were out there, and the Patriots caught onto that.” Ramsey provides the low-down, cutting very low, on NFL QBs, including his own. Bortles doesn’t practice against the Jags’ first-string defense or it “will hurt his confidence.” Ben Roethlisberger is “decent at best. . . . He just slings it, and his receivers go get it. He has a strong arm, but he ain’t all that.” Ramsey did something almost nobody does, calling out an opponent he will face in a few weeks. Intradivision rival Andrew Luck “isn’t that good.” The Jags open the season with a visit to the New York Giants, whose QB, Eli Manning, is boosted by elite receiver Odell Beckham Jr. “I won’t say Eli’s good. I’ll say Odell’s good.” Buffalo’s first-round QB Josh Allen “is trash. . . . That’s a stupid draft pick to me. . . . Against big schools it was always interceptions, turnovers. . . . We play them this year, and I’m excited as hell. I hope he’s their starting quarterback.” Matthew Stafford draws grudging praise from Ramsey, who in his rookie season ended a game in tears when the Detroit QB rallied with a 10-point fourth quarter. “Not the best quarterback out there, but he do what he gotta do.”
CLICK HERE for NBCSN video/audio of Detroit’s Golden Tate answering Jalen Ramsey.
