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NBC Sports
06-08-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Jordan Love: Matthew Golden is going to be a stud
The Packers hadn't drafted a receiver in the first round since 2002 before they selected Matthew Golden in April. It's early, but quarterback Jordan Love has been impressed with the young wideout. In an interview with ESPN's Kevin Clark for This is Football, Love called Golden the Packers' most impressive newcomer. 'Man, I think he's shown up since Day 1 and just really shown his play style, shown what he's all about,' Love said. 'He came in really polished and has been making plays since Day 1. He's got very aggressive hands, he's a smooth route runner, he's got speed. So I think for him, it's just continuing to understand the playbook and wrap his head around everything we have in. We have a very deep system. 'But you can see, when he knows what he's doing, and he's feeling confident, he's been playing lights out. He's gonna be a stud.' Golden, 22, played his first two college seasons at Houston before transferring to Texas last year. He caught 58 passes for 987 yards with nine touchdowns in 16 games for the Longhorns.
NBC Sports
31-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
John Harbaugh: Lamar Jackson is as good as any passer there's ever been
When Lamar Jackson entered the league, some questioned if he would be better off playing receiver instead of quarterback. Jackson has now proven that narrative to be ridiculous, becoming a two-time MVP and three-time first-team All-Pro QB. His 2024 season was his best yet as a passer, completing 66.7 percent of his passes to set career highs in passing yards (4,172), touchdowns (41), and a career-low in interception rate (0.8 percent). He finished the year with the league lead in yards per attempt (8.8), touchdown rate (8.6 percent), and passer rating (119.6). In an interview with Kevin Clark for ESPN's This is Football, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke particularly highly of the QB who has started 94 games for the Ravens since the club selected him at No. 32 overall in 2018. 'There's so many things, and Lamar as a person is the thing I'd say I appreciate the most — the leader, the person, the genuine human being that he is. I mean, I love him as a person,' Harbaugh said. 'But I think from a football standpoint, just go to the most basic, simple thing — Lamar as a passer. He is a historically good passer. And that's really quite a statement because of the narrative that's been surrounding him ever since the beginning. Lamar Jackson can throw the football. He can throw it every kind of way, he can make every kind of throw any way you want. He's as good as any passer that there's ever been — and I think now the numbers are proving that. 'So that's the thing I'm kind of a little bit proud of, but [I'm] also a little bit like, 'OK, here we go, what have we learned from that?' You can take any big picture — from a society standpoint, from a football standpoint — what did we learn from that? And what kinds of questions do we ask ourselves? But, Lamar Jackson as a passer is historically great.' How did he get to that point? 'I'd say the work that you do — if you're going to be good at anything, great at anything, you've got to work at it all the time,' Harbaugh said. 'I read a story just recently about a classical piano player, he's 95 years old, and he's working six to eight hours a day on playing the piano, and they ask him, 'Why do you still work six to eight hours on the piano?' And his comment was, 'I feel like I'm just starting to make some progress.' 'So, that daily, everyday working at your craft kind of thing, I think, is what Lamar does.' Jackson is entering his third season with Todd Monken as his offensive coordinator. We'll see how the quarterback's evolution continues in 2025, particularly as the Ravens continue to look for their first Super Bowl appearance with Jackson as their starting QB.
Fox Sports
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Todd Haley: Bill Parcells Had Dan Campbell Start Fight At Cowboys Practice
Detroit Lions' head coach Dan Campbell is the man in Motown, but apparently he was previously Bill Parcells' hitman on the Dallas Cowboys back in his days as a tight end. Former Cowboys wide receiver coach Todd Haley, who was with the organization from 2004 to 2006, revealed an amazing story about Parcells and Campbell, who played for the Cowboys from 2003-05. "Practice on a Wednesday was going bad. You could see Coach Parcells getting heated up. He was not happy with the way anything was going. There was no energy, and I see him call Dan over to the side and say a couple words to him. And Dan runs back into the huddle, and Parcells with his arms crossed like he always did, walked over to me, and he said, 'Watch this Todd.' A fight ensued on the next play, and Dan Campbell was in the middle of it," Haley said on the latest edition of ESPN's "This is Football" podcast. "As coaches, you got to do whatever you have to do to get things going in the right direction, and he knew that Dan was his man to get in there and stir it up, and it worked. All of a sudden, everybody is hooping and hollering, excited, and good things happened from there." Considering Campbell's "bite a kneecap off" line at his Lions introductory press conference and infectious passion on the sideline and in interviews, Haley's story is, without a doubt, believable. Campbell spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the New York Giants (1999-2002), who selected him in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M. After the three-year stint in Dallas, the tight end spent the final three seasons of his career with the Lions (2006-08). Campbell finished his career with 91 receptions, 934 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns. As a head coach, Campbell has taken the Lions from the NFL's basement to the party on the rooftop. After a 3-13-1 first season (2021), the Lions have posted 9-8, 12-5 and 15-2 campaigns under Campbell, highlighted by reaching the NFC Championship Game in 2023, winning back-to-back NFC North titles (2023-24) and earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC in 2024. As for Parcells, the Cowboys became his final NFL head-coaching stint, with the franchise going a combined 34-30 under him from 2003-06, which included making the playoffs in 2003 and 2006. Of course, the Hall of Fame head coach won two Super Bowls as head coach of the Giants (1986 and 1990 seasons), helped the New England Patriots reach Super Bowl XXXI and also helped the New York Jets reach the AFC Championship Game in the 1998 season. Meanwhile, Haley coached under Parcells on both the Jets and Cowboys and went on to have three NFL offensive coordinator gigs (Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns) and was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-11. He was most recently the head coach of the then-USFL's Memphis Showboats in 2023. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience National Football League Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
USA Today
24-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Todd Haley details Bill Parcells asking Dan Campbell to start practice fight
Todd Haley learned a lot from Bill Parcells during his time on the legendary coach's staff with the Dallas Cowboys. One of the key lessons came to him at a practice during which current Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell started a fight. Haley recalled Dallas' practice, which was ahead of a key game against the New York Giants, was not going well. Parcells was "getting heated" on the sidelines because of the Cowboys' effort. "He was not happy with the way anything was going," Haley told Kevin Clark on his "This is Football" podcast. "There was no energy." Haley witnessed Parcells call over Campbell – who was then a tight end for the Cowboys – and deliver a message. Campbell ran back to the huddle while Parcells sidled up to Haley, arms crossed. "Watch this, Todd," Parcells said, according to Haley. NFL RANKINGS: Which of league's 32 teams will be most fun in 2025? After the next play, a fight ensued. Campbell "was in the middle of it," at Parcells' request. "As coaches, you gotta do whatever you have to do to get things going in the right direction," Haley explained of the maneuver. "[Parcells] knew that Dan was his man to get in there and stir it up." Haley also detailed that the skirmish achieved Parcells' ultimate goal. "All of a sudden, practice – everybody's hooping and hollering, excited," Haley said. "And good things happen from there." Campbell has brought that same energy and feistiness to the Lions as their coach. He has a 39-28-1 record across four seasons in charge of the team, leading Detroit to an NFC championship game appearance during the 2023 NFL playoffs and the NFC's No. 1 overall seed in 2024.
USA Today
18-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Allen Robinson reveals the 1 play he wishes he had back from his Bears career
Allen Robinson reveals the 1 play he wishes he had back from his Bears career It's been over six years since the Chicago Bears experienced one of the most heartbreaking playoff losses in recent memory — the double doink, 43-yard missed field goal by Cody Parkey against the Philadelphia Eagles. Though the entire roster has turned over at this point and more backbreaking losses have occurred since then, the double doink always seems to come up in some manner every now and then. This time, it was with former Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson, who recounted how special that 2018 season was on the "This is Football" podcast with Kevin Clark. Robinson discussed how he felt the team felt confident about their chances against the Los Angeles Rams if they had advanced thanks to Vic Fangio's defense, while also going through his thoughts during the infamous missed field goal while on the sidelines. "I didn't watch the entire time; I just kind of sat there with my head down a little bit, waiting to hear the cheer from the crowd," Robinson told Clark. "I'm waiting and I'm waiting, and then you hear the thud hit the upright, then you hear the second thud when it hits the crossbar, and then you hear the sigh from the fans." Robinson said he remembered the moment like it was yesterday and wished he could go back in time to prevent the kick from needing to happen. When Clark asked Robinson if there was a play he could redo from his career, the former Pro Bowl receiver pointed to a specific instance from that game. "Now that you mentioned it, maybe a play in the game that we had the double doink," Robinson said. "There was actually a play in the game where we took a shot to the end zone. If I could have maybe communicated to Mitch [Trubisky] to maybe allow me to have that shot to the end zone and be able to come down and make a play so we aren't in that double doink situation because I thought that we would have had a historic year in Chicago if we got past that game." Though Robinson didn't dive into specifics, we know the Bears took a shot to the end zone just prior to the field goal attempt. Trubisky targeted Anthony Miller on a heave, who was blanketed in the slot and didn't have a shot at the ball. The pass fell five yards in front of Miller, while Robinson ran a curl route in single coverage. That could be the play Robinson is talking about. Another possibility posed by X user BShulkes was a play where Trubisky fired a pass to Robinson near the end of the third quarter, but he was ruled out of bounds. Had the play counted, the Bears would have had first and goal from inside the five-yard line. Instead, they had to settle for a 34-yard field goal. Who knows what happens if Robinson runs a route to the end zone in that situation. Trubisky was already under pressure and needed to rush the throw, so there was no guarantee anything would have changed. Still, it's a game that haunts Robinson to this day, and despite totaling 10 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown, he wishes he could have done more. It's another disappointing reminder of what could have been. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
