As we turn to Week 4 of the 2017 season, NFL.com's network of reporters collects the hottest news and notes from across the league, including:
-- Tom Brady's approach to taking a hit at 40.
-- Eli Manning's thoughts on OBJ's celebration penalty.
-- Jamal Adams' impact on the Jets.
But first, Aditi Kinkhabwala digs into the Steelers' emotional week ...
PITTSBURGH -- There is a quiet fury lacing through the Steelers' locker room.
It was apparent in the way the always-affable Maurkice Pouncey, the center who ends nearly every sentence with a grin, spoke quickly and with purpose -- and without even a hint of a smile.
It was apparent in the way coach Mike Tomlin's eyes bulged in his once-a-week confab with the media.
It was apparent in the way guard David DeCastro's heart seemed to beat through his shirt, and it was definitely apparent when defensive end Cam Heyward, one of this team's two captains, said, "I'm angry. Very angry."
The Steelers have plenty of on-field reasons to be angry: They played flat, uninspired football Sunday in Chicago, laying truth to the popular refrain that they play down to lesser opponents (since 2014, the Steelers are 9-10 vs. sub-.500 teams). Through three weeks, their offense has yet to show much rhythm, much less the explosiveness of one featuring ostensibly the premier collection of skill-position talent in the NFL. Their defense, the stronger of the two sides of the ball in Weeks 1and 2, was singed for 222 rushing yards by the previously winless Bears.
But this anger, this nearly universal frustration, stems from what has transpired off the field. From the widespread misinterpretation of the Steelers' intent in not coming to the sideline for the national anthem in Chicago; from the rage lobbed at their organization after the mischaracterization of a day-after explanation -- for standing in sight -- by former Army Ranger and current left tackle Alejandro Villanueva; and from the division that threatens to engulf this team, a division that, last Saturday night, they thought they'd brilliantly dodged.
This is the Steelers' moment. This is their crossroads, if one can come in Week 4.
If the Steelers can harness this anger, if they can again pull the tendons taut of what they've long proclaimed is a fiercely-knit team and channel it all into what they do on the field come Sunday in Baltimore, they will be the force the entire National Football League expected this past offseason.
"All I'm worried about is sticking together," Heyward said. Heyward is playing with a game-breaking vigor this year and, at just 28, he is, in many ways, the conscience of this team. "It's such a tough situation. We're a group of people just trying to do right. I don't know if people get that. So we just have to stick together, and we have to work together."
Here are the facts:
Last Friday night, at a rally in Huntsville, Alabama, the president of the United States equated kneeling during the national anthem to disrespecting the American flag. He then referred to any player who did so as a "son of a b----" and advocated for said player's firing, generating lusty cheers when he twice called out, "He's fired!"
Fewer than 10 NFL players had demonstrated in any way (kneeling, sitting or raising a fist) during the national anthem the week before. The Steelers had never had a player who knelt or sat during the anthem and, as multiple players said this week, had never even had one consider it. But the president's words, the delivery of those words, and the crowd's seeming glee in hearing those words, created such a visceral reaction, linebacker Vince Williams said, that some players were re-thinking that agnosticism.
Sensing that, Tomlin told his players Saturday night that if they truly felt compelled to respond, then whatever they did had to be done as a team, in concert. Thus ensued a passionate players-only meeting, one that bled well past what is usually night-before-a-game bedtime. Some players wanted to kneel, as a statement against racial inequality. Others didn't want to leave those teammates kneeling alone, and said they'd kneel in solidarity. Others felt the football field was not the place to make that statement. Finally, Williams suggested the Steelers entirely take themselves out of what was clearly threatening to be a spectacle on Sunday. He reminded his teammates that before 2009, teams weren't even required to be on the field for the anthem, and that up until last year, networks didn't even show the anthem as a rule.
Williams said there was unanimous agreement to therefore not appear on the field, in the cameras' eyes, during the anthem before their game against the Bears. The next morning, before kickoff, Tomlin would explain the team's decision on camera, saying the Steelers were a football team in town to play a football game: "We're chasing something special here in 2017 and we're not going to play politics. We're football players. We're football coaches. We're not participating in the anthem today. Not to be disrespectful to the anthem, but to remove ourselves from the circumstance."
But by that morning, as NFL owners were releasing statements in support of their players and as word leaked that many of those players were planning some sort of anthem demonstration, be it in the form of locking arms or taking a knee, Villanueva's phone began blowing up with messages from veterans, Villanueva said. He approached Heyward and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger about standing at the front of the Soldier Field tunnel, next to them, as the team waited out the anthem away from cameras.
Except, in the short, narrow hallway from the visitors' locker room to the mouth of the tunnel, Villanueva was inadvertently separated by a few feet from the rest of his team. The television cameras caught him, hand over heart. They did not as clearly catch the mass of teammates standing just behind him in the tunnel. And very little has been the same since.
The voicemail attached to the Steelers' main number had more than 1,500 messages by the start of business Monday. Later in the day, the number was up to 3,500. Even as four-star general and season-ticket holder Michael Hayden, a 39-year military vet, championed his Steelers' plan, fans posted video of themselves burning Steelers gear. The language being used to describe Tomlin and his players ranged from R-rated to cringe-worthy, Roethlisberger released a standalone statement on his personal website expressing regret at not standing on the sideline and, a few hours before that, at a team meeting, president Art Rooney II had to implore his team to move forward.
By the time a clearly burdened Villanueva met with the media Monday, sincerely and emotionally saying that his intent was never to make his "teammates look bad," it only added more lighter fluid to the fire.
"I don't know why you're bothering," safety Mike Mitchell said Wednesday to someone hoping to clarify the situation. Hoping to clarify that the Steelers did not make Villanueva apologize, that Villanueva did not say he was embarrassed about standing for the anthem, but that he was embarrassed that he "unintentionally left my teammates behind." To clarify and reiterate that the whole point in the Steelers not coming out for the anthem was to avoid being dragged into the mess they clearly have been dragged into.
"These people, even if they know our intent, they're making a conscious choice to be angry," Mitchell said, speaking both globally and of the predicament the Steelers have found themselves in this week. "Fine. Be happy in your ignorance."
The 30-year-old Mitchell has set it aside. He's on to the Ravens. He has a balky hamstring he hopes shapes up, and he's telling anyone who'll listen that "there's no way the Ravens play us the way they played the Jacksonville Jaguars."
Williams, he's saying the same. "I'm done trying to explain myself to someone who doesn't know me," he said. "Screw the outside world. They're going to paint whatever picture they want to. I know what I believe."
And on it went, from Heyward to DeCastro, too, expressing a resignation that they cannot convince anyone of anything, and that the only narrative they may be able to control now, here in Western Pennsylvania, is one attached to their play.
"Things have gotten better as the week has gone on," DeCastro said. "We've realized what a distraction it is to get caught up in trying to set the record straight. Let's just get back to work. Football is hard enough without this."
And football against the rival Ravens is even harder. Which might mean this game comes at the best possible time -- for reasons both on the field and off.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE REST OF THE LEAGUE
NFL: Owners weigh anthem protests. Owners gathered in New York this week for previously scheduled committee meetings and, not surprisingly, the fallout from President Donald Trump's speech in Alabama and tweets about player protests during the national anthem was a topic of conversation.
League spokesman Joe Lockhart said there was a sentiment among owners that the attacks are unfounded and that the original issues had been obscured and distorted by those who have tried to use the protests to further their political agenda. And Lockhart said that the players' concern that Colin Kaepernick's focus on racial inequality has been lost is part of conversations league officials have had with players since Trump's statements.
Without mentioning the president's name, Lockhart also disputed statements Trump made in a Fox News interview in which he asserted that owners are "afraid" of players.
"There have been statements made in the last 12 hours or so about the league and about the owners," Lockhart said. "Let me just say that they are not accurate. They are not factual. I'm not going to get into the business of fact-checking, so I'll leave it there."
Lockhart also insisted that there is no league-wide directive for how teams should handle protests, and he said he would not forecast what teams will do this weekend and beyond. But he said some owners looked at the actions of the Cowboys (who knelt as a team before the anthem, but then stood while the song played) and Cardinals (who stood together for the anthem) as possible models for how to approach this situation going forward.
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CAROLINA PANTHERS: Team leaders, owner discuss anthem. During Cam Newton's Wednesday press conference, he was asked not a single question about the Panthers' game against the Patriots on Sunday. Instead, the quarterback fielded questions for roughly 20 minutes about protests regarding social injustice -- and the meeting team captains had with owner Jerry Richardson.
"We just wanted to meet with Mr. Richardson to discuss certain things that were on our mind and our hearts from different perspectives," Newton said. "The different people that were over there come from different backgrounds and have different views. One thing about it is that we agreed that everyone is entitled to their own thought process, so to speak. I feel as if a lot of what we talked about is confidential, but it was a very productive meeting."
Defensive back Captain Munnerlyn expressed Monday on WFNZ that players were "scared" to express themselves and were worried over how Richardson would react. However, following the meeting, Richardson made it clear that he has their backs. Munnerlyn, who was not at the meeting, said on Wednesday, "This is my job. This is the guy that writes my checks. That's how I feed my family. But at the same time, you want to be a man, you want to stand up for something. You might be a little nervous and a little scared, but at the same time, he was basically letting the guys know yesterday, you don't have to be, man. I'm behind you. If you decide to do this, I'm behind you. It was great to hear that coming from your owner."
Julius Peppers was the only Panthers player to kneel last Sunday. Will we see any Carolina players take part in demonstrations this weekend? Munnerlyn said he feels the window has closed, but when asked the question, Newton said, "I just think you have to watch and see." He emphasized that the ongoing protest was never meant "to [be] disrespectful [to] the United States flag."
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MIAMI DOLPHINS: World-weary travelers? A trip around the globe is about 25,000 miles. The Dolphins will travel 27,520 miles this season, fourth-most in the NFL, behind the Rams (32,600), Raiders (30,899) and Cardinals (30,035). But what Miami is doing to start its season is remarkable, traveling almost 13,000 miles (or 46.5 percent of the Dolphins' total travel) within the first five weeks of the season.
The Fins' Week 1 home opener was disrupted by Hurricane Irma. In Week 2, they traveled to L.A. to play the Chargers. In Week 3, they went to the northeast for the Jets, and this week, they're in London facing the Saints. For the Week 5 matchup with Tennessee, the Dolphins will go about 4,500 miles back to Miami to finally play their first home game of the season.
We'll see how Adam Gase's team responds to its plan to arrive in London on Friday morning, days behind the Saints, who arrived Monday. Playing overseas isn't anything new for the Dolphins, who will be playing in their fourth game in London as a franchise. Their last visit was in 2015, when they lost to the Jets; they're currently 1-2 all-time in the U.K.
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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Age is just a number.Tom Brady turned 40 in August -- perhaps you remember the birthday celebration, complete with live goats, at Gillette Stadium -- but you wouldn't know it by watching him play. Through Week 3, he led the league in passing yards (1,092) and touchdowns (eight) and has yet to throw an interception.
Asked Wednesday how long it takes him to recover after a game, Brady said he felt good.
"Honestly, I mean, I know you guys think I'm crazy when I say it, but probably when I was younger, it was a lot harder for me," he said. "Now, I actually feel better faster, just based on the things that I do."
That, of course, was a nod to his approach to diet and fitness, which Brady has fine-tuned in recent years. Sounds like he has tweaked his approach to taking hits on the field, too.
"You stand in the pocket," he said. "You do have to learn how to find the way down in a way that you'll be able to get up and try to play the next play, especially with your right shoulder.
"I think for me, more than anything, I try to land more on my left shoulder than my right shoulder, because you've only got one right shoulder, and I need this for a lot of throws, and the more hits you take on it, then the harder it is to take. I just do the best I can do. There's some luck involved, but let's go again, baby. Let's line them up and play."
When Brady lines up this week, he'll find himself in a familiar place: facing the NFL's No. 1 defense (this time, the Panthers) at home. Brady is 6-0 all-time at home vs. teams ranked No. 1 in total defense in Week 4 or later.
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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: Early birds in London. "There isn't a lot of time for the other English pleasantries right now," New Orleans coach Sean Payton said.
The Saints departed for the U.K. straight from their road game against the Panthers on Sunday night. Payton believes spending the entire week across the pond, just as the Saints did back in 2008, benefits his team greater than coming later in the week. The Saints' opposition -- the Dolphins -- arrived Friday.
"I think it's a more enclosed environment," Payton told me Wednesday. "They're all here, we are all here eating together 24/7. I think it is much easier, a more controlled environment than when you are at home in a more spread-out environment."
While several of his players used their early arrival to London to take in an Arsenal soccer match, Payton appears focused solely on the Dolphins and getting to 2-2.
"I have not been outside the hotel yet. We head out today (Wednesday) for practice for the first time. We're somewhere west. Western suburbs."
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NEW YORK GIANTS: Manning focused on football, not Beckham's TD celebration. In addition to the disapprovalvoiced by Giants co-owner John Mara, there has been a considerable amount of media/sports talk radio hysteria over Odell Beckham Jr.'s penalty last Sunday drawn for a touchdown celebration in which he crawled -- and lifted his leg -- like a dog. Leave it to Eli Manning to not further fan the flames.
"No, I didn't talk to him about that," Manning said. "Again, my job is to get him ready to play each week, make sure he knows his assignments, knows what he's doing, and he can go out there and get in the end zone and do a celebration, but make sure we're not penalizing the team."
Beckham is integral to everything the Giants do offensively. According to NFL Media Research, since Beckham made his debut in Week 5 of the 2014 season, he has accounted for 4,241 of Manning's 12,720 passing yards -- just over a third of that total. Manning has a 111.0 passer rating when targeting Beckham and an 83.1 rating when targeting all others.
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NEW YORK JETS: Bowles encouraged by Adams' growth. Todd Bowles and the Jets got their first win in 2017 earlier than almost anyone anticipated, especially those who thought 0-16 was conceivable. Not surprisingly, rookie safety Jamal Adams was in the middle of the action as the Jetsdefeated the Dolphins, 20-6, on Sunday.
That marked the fewest points the Jets have allowed in a game since Week 13, 2012 (a 7-6 win over the Cardinals). Adams has allowed just one completion on six defensive targets this season. That's the lowest completion percentage (16.7) allowed among 105 defenders targeted at least five times in coverage this season.
Bowles, a former safety, utilizes Adams all over the field. "He gets to play football," Bowles said. "[But] all of it is scripted."
Bowles sees Adams, drafted sixth overall, gaining more confidence. That, he said, allows the rookie to provide needed energy for a Jets team that will try to continue to surprise.
