“I think that there’s still some dust on that ’76 Mustang that we need to work out, but the car runs beautifully.” – Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. on his readiness to play this season
“I look at guys like MJ (Michael Jordan) and Kobe (Bryant) and how they diagnose their game. Obviously two different sports, but trying to get better at my strengths and then turning my weaknesses into my strengths.” – Eagles QB Jalen Hurts on his offseason focus
“Mike (McDaniel) allows me just to play quarterback. I don’t have to be anyone other than Tua.” – Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa on playing for head coach Mike McDaniel
“There will not be a more diverse, harder-to-defend offense in the NFC this year than coach Arthur Smith’s team.” – King on the Falcons’ offense
STAMFORD, Conn. – August 7, 2023 – Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young speak with Peter King as his 2023 Training Camp Tour continues with trips to the Dolphins, Ravens, Panthers, Eagles, and Falcons in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also discusses Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s relationship with his team, Ravens rookie WR Zay Flowers, and more.
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The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
DOLPHINS
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa to Peter King on his new QB-specific helmet designed to add more protection: “They were talking about that it’s 1 percent better than the helmet that I’m in. Now OK, you look at 1 percent. That’s not a drastic change from the helmet that I’m in. But then you look at playing on the field, and I figure that’s 1 percent better that you got on this play or that play, and eventually it ends up adding up.”
Tagovailoa on learning how to fall more safely during this offseason: “I went on YouTube. Searched ‘jiu jitsu falling.’ When you think of falling, you just fall. You don’t think there’s a way how to fall in weird, awkward positions, but it really does help.”
Tagovailoa on his experience playing for Nick Saban at Alabama: “With Nick, I was able to be myself. Nick was tailored more towards the defense. When we would practice at Alabama, it would be a bad practice if the offense did really good and it would be a great practice if the defense killed the offense. When we made a big play against the defense, we understood how much it would piss him off. It would be like a win for us offensively. We loved it.”
Tagovailoa on playing for Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel: “Mike allows me just to play quarterback. I don’t have to be anyone other than Tua.”
McDaniel on saying random things to his players during games to help them calm down: “Levity within the chaos can kind of calm people. I say random stuff to people all the time just to get the human element, to get them loose and concentrated on the right stuff because the pressure could encapsulate them, but it doesn’t have to.”
RAVENS
Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. on starting a new chapter of his career in Baltimore: “In my career, even when I was the young guy, I was always looked [at] as an older guy because of what I accomplished early in my career. I feel that part of the reason why I was brought here was to be that person for those younger guys.”
Beckham Jr. reflecting on his career: “If I could go back, would I like to have a career where the first three years of my career could have been repeated? Yeah, of course. I’d be sitting here, 30 years old, with 100 touchdowns and 14,000 yards. I wish I could’ve never been injured, never shattered my ankle or came back too early from a high ankle sprain. But those are things I now have to live with. I can’t live in regret for the rest of my life.”
Beckham Jr. on what his performance in Super Bowl LVI with the Rams could have been had he not torn his ACL in the second quarter: “People have no idea what I was actually gonna do that day. It was gonna be the day where I catch 15 balls, maybe 250 yards. The gameplan was for me. We would’ve beat ‘em 42-17.”
Beckham Jr. on his readiness to play this season: “I think that there’s still some dust on that ’76 Mustang that we need to work out, but the car runs beautifully.”
Peter King on Ravens rookie WR Zay Flowers: “(He’s) the best rookie I’ve seen in nine camps so far … (He’s) going to be a problem for corners.”
PANTHERS
Panthers rookie QB Bryce Young on his height in the NFL: “Everyone is taller than me, but it’s been like that. Height-wise I haven’t seen anything [different].”
Panthers head coach Frank Reich on how Young did when running an entire meeting by himself: “Phenomenal. Flawless. He knew everything. It was a pretty amazing night.”
Panthers WR Adam Thielen on Young’s performance in training camp so far: “Somehow he’s been able to be on the same page with a lot of new receivers without having many reps together. I think he does an unbelievable job of making the ball friendly and catchable.”
EAGLES
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts on what he’s been trying to improve this offseason: “I think just the overall development. Every time you go into an offseason, for me at least, I look at guys like MJ (Michael Jordan) and Kobe (Bryant) and how they diagnose their game. Obviously two different sports, but trying to get better at my strengths and then turning my weaknesses into my strengths.”
King on Hurts: “To have a player who finished last season as a top-five quarterback, at 24, and played the best game of his life in the biggest game of his life…it’s daunting to think the Eagles got him with the 53rd pick in a draft.”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni on Hurts’ mentality: “When I worked with Frank Reich in Indianapolis, I remember him saying, ‘No man suddenly becomes different than his cherished thoughts and habits.’ That’s Jalen. It’s like when he signed the deal and I congratulated him. I don’t remember his exact words but it was something like, ‘Great. Let’s get to work.’ That’s what’s important to him – the work.”
FALCONS
King on the Falcons’ offense: “There will not be a more diverse, harder-to-defend offense in the NFC this year than coach Arthur Smith’s team.”
NEWS & NOTES
King on Bengals LB Logan Wilson’s new contract: “I think the underrated contract note of the week was linebacker Logan Wilson signing a four-year deal to stay a Bengal. He’s one of the five most important players on that team.”
Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.
The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:
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- ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
- NBC Sports EDGE’s Rotoworld Football Show continues the NFL discussion and Bet The Edge Podcast provides daily betting insights.
- The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe
A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
—NBC SPORTS—
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