Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Sunday he’s happy cornerback Denzel Ward avoided a major back injury but that the first-round draft pick’s poor tackling technique is the reason he got hurt.
Ward, the No. 4 overall draft pick, suffered a back injury in a preseason game Thursday night when he got twisted making a tackle on Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz. He underwent an MRI, which revealed no structural damage. He officially has been diagnosed with back spasms.
“It is good. I do not worry about those things, but I was glad to hear that. Maybe he will finally listen to me and stop doing those stupid things the ways he is trying to tackle and maybe tackle the way I tell him to tackle and he will not get hurt,” Williams said.
Asked for specifics on how he is telling Ward to tackle, Williams said, “You are going to have to ask Denzel.”
Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward twisted his back making a tackle of the Eagles’ Zach Ertz last Thursday night. Jason Miller/Getty Images
However, later when asked about the difficulty in teaching defensive backs to use their arms and wrap up when tackling opponents, Williams discussed Ward’s technique on the tackle of Ertz.
“It depends on the size of the person. Also, I am not worried as much about the wrap-up part of it as it is about getting the guy to the ground. What you do is you cut the guy. He should have cut the guy that time right there instead of a 290-pound man running over his face,” he said.
Williams credited Ward, too, saying he “has come a long way” but added that “he just needs to stay healthy. He needs to tackle the way that I tell him to tackle.”
“At this level, you have to stay healthy every day. As a pro, you have to understand that there are so many things that you have to do in a 24-hour day, and that it is you have to stay healthy. I tell him all of the time, there are two words that begin with the letter ‘A’ that you have to own to be a professional football player — one is accountable, and the next one is available. When you are not available, you are working on your training room internships,” he said.
On Saturday, Browns head coach Hue Jackson said there was “no doubt” Ward would be able to play in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
HOUSTON — What started as a simple message turned into $37 million.
“I’m sitting here watching the news and checking the Internet and seeing everything that’s going on with Hurricane Harvey and the damage it’s causing back home,” Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt said in a video he posted to Instagram on Aug. 27, 2017, from his hotel room in Dallas. “It’s very difficult.
“That’s our city. It’s very tough to watch your city get hit by such a bad storm and not be there to help. Not be there to help with the recovery. Not be there to help with the process. It’s very tough.”
So he made a request.
“So what I do want to do is I want to start a fundraiser. Because I know that these recovery efforts are going to be massive. I know that there’s going to be a whole bunch of people that we need to help get back on their feet.
J.J. Watt during a visit to the Covenant House in December 2017. “He’s really just a genuine person, and that comes out very much when you first meet him,” Covenant House’s executive director Leslie Bourne said. Courtesy Americares
“Whatever you can donate, please donate to help these people out.”
Watt set up a page on YouCaring.com, donating $100,000 of his own money and setting the goal at $200,000. He raised that in two hours.
For the next three weeks, the online fundraiser continued to grow. A year later, the money distributed by Watt to help the relief efforts has made a huge impact on the lives of those who received help.
“We go to some of the areas where we’ve rebuilt houses and we go and visit a house and I talked to one family, and I was looking at the houses around them that were still pretty beaten up,” Watt said. “They were like, ‘We haven’t seen those people since.’ A lot of people literally abandoned their house, whether they went somewhere else or — so, I think that while if you look at everyday life for most people, you may say, ‘Yeah, they’re in working, regular order,’ but I think there’s still a lot of people going through a lot of stuff.”
More than $30 million of the money was split up to benefit four organizations — Americares, Feeding America, SBP and Save the Children — and was designated to be spent over the next 18 to 24 months. Watt spoke with people who handled donations after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans to see what they did well and what mistakes they made and said he made it his mission “to ensure this money makes as large of an impact as possible” and that “the entirety of the funds would be utilized here in Houston and the surrounding areas for those who were affected most by Hurricane Harvey.”
‘Oh my gosh, this is J.J. Watt’
Watt arrived at Covenant House on a Tuesday in December, alone. As he got out of his truck and walked into the space used to house homeless youth, he was quickly spotted.
“It took [the youth] just a few seconds to go, ‘Oh my gosh, this is J.J. Watt that just walked in,'” Covenant House’s executive director Leslie Bourne said. “And they were overjoyed with him. He spent so much time individually in talking with a lot of the youth. He’s really just a genuine person, and that comes out very much when you first meet him.”
Covenant House, which is just one of the organizations funded by the money given by Americares as part of what was raised by Watt last year, is in its 36th year serving as a shelter and a comprehensive provider of services for homeless youth (ages 18-24) and their children.
Watt stayed for more than an hour, talking to the young adults, taking photos, and seeing the damage that had been done by Harvey. He stood by what had been a nursery, which had an exterior wall that had to be replaced because of storm damage. And he toured a wing of the Crisis Center that had been quickly repaired, in part because of the money he raised.
“It was just a big boost to the kids,” Bourne said. “Their lives already are filled with trauma, and then the ones that are here because they lost everything due to Harvey … it was just a big bonus and a big plus to their lives to have someone show up who genuinely cared about their stories and genuinely cared what they were going through.”
The money Watt raised has had a lasting effect on Houston and the surrounding areas affected by the storm, which was the deadliest hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Harvey flooded more than 300,000 structures and was directly responsible for at least 68 deaths.
Shelter from the storm
More than $30 million of the money J.J. Watt raised after Hurricane Harvey was split up to benefit four organizations — Americares, Feeding America, SBP and Save the Children. Courtesy Americares
One of the people aided by the money donated to Covenant House through Americares is Eric, a then-19-year-old father of two living in Sugar Land, Texas, when the hurricane hit. As the water rose, Eric, his girlfriend and her kids, ages 1 and 2, had to be evacuated by the Coast Guard on a large military vehicle to a shelter at Fulshear High School, more than 20 miles from Sugar Land.
Eric and his family stayed in the shelter for two weeks. After that, they became nomads, paying for hotels or rooms wherever they could find somewhere to stay. It was at one of these stops that Eric was robbed. Without any money to pay for a hotel, he turned to Covenant House.
“Especially when you’re a young parent, having to relocate, find shelter … it’s a heavy weight on your shoulders to do that all by yourself,” Eric said. “They really accepted me and my family with open arms. I really can’t even thank them enough.
“They sheltered us from the storm. Not Hurricane Harvey the storm, but the storm of everyday life. When you don’t have anybody to depend on, I knew I could depend on them here.”
In part because of the funding raised by Watt, Eric had a safe place for his children.
“Without that I probably wouldn’t be here, and I feel like I’m making a step in a positive direction from that. I couldn’t thank him enough,” Eric said. “I can nurture them here. We can color, read books and everything. It’s a surreal feeling actually just being here, knowing that this is a place for my kids … to love on them.”
‘A place to call home’
John, 21, found his way to Covenant House immediately after Harvey struck. The morning after the storm first hit, he went to the nearest freeway to get as high up as he could. John had stayed at Covenant House before, and after losing everything during Harvey, he knew where he could turn for help.
“Covenant House has given me a place to call home and basically a family to call family,” John said. “Coming back to Covenant House, everything was better. We’re a family here, so basically having family around makes me feel like everything will get better.”
Along with housing, Covenant House offers services to help youth get back on their feet with education and career planning.
“[Covenant House made me] a better person,” John said. “It’s like Covenant House made me a [more] mature person than I was back then. I’m going to work, I’m focused at school. I want to become a pharmacy tech.
“At first I didn’t take life seriously, but Covenant House has prepared me to be out on my own and get my own place and keep my job.”
Covenant House kept its doors open during the storm, offering shelter to anyone who needed it. Immediately after Harvey hit, the shelter saw almost a 20 percent increase in homeless youth seeking assistance. The shelter serves an average of 90 young people every night on its Houston campus, located in the Montrose neighborhood, and has a strong street outreach program that has been directly impacted by the money Watt raised.
“There’s still homeless [people] out there,” Bourne said. “We see them on our street outreach program. I think we found 18 of them in July. As people are trying to get back in their homes or they’re still waiting on repair money for their homes, there’s still fallout a lot of times for that older youth that hasn’t transitioned out of the family. So we’re still prepared to take them in for the next year or so.
“Some people are starting to move into their homes, but it’s still not over. So we’re still expecting youth needing our services from the hurricane.”
Rebuilding homes and lives
At the end of November, Watt had the chance to see some of the work being done in person with the money that was raised. It was the first time he was able to get to a site after spending the previous month and a half recovering from surgery after he broke his leg during Houston’s Week 5 game.
“I went and saw a few of the homes that are being rebuilt by SBP after being completely gutted from floor to ceiling [and even the roof],” Watt wrote on Instagram. “The people and their stories were both heartbreaking and uplifting all at the same time. … Each of these families went through so much devastation and heartbreak, yet remain so positive and energetic, it was truly inspiring to spend time with them today.
“The work that SBP is doing in rebuilding these houses and helping to get people back in their homes is incredible, and thanks to your donations they will be building hundreds of homes over the next two years, each with a story like those great folks and each eager to get back into the comfort and safety of their own home.”
SBP was founded in 2006 by by Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney, who were living in Washington, D.C., at the time but volunteered at St. Bernard’s Parish in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. They started SBP six months after Katrina hit Louisiana. Since then, the organization has rebuilt more than 1,500 homes, and it opened an office in Houston in September 2017 to help people get back in their houses after Harvey.
The grant Watt provided SBP was for $8.5 million. According to Cli Roberts, the executive director of SBP Houston, each house costs about $35,000 to repair, so $3.5 million is going toward rebuilding the first 100 homes in 2018. The other $5 million has been granted to other organizations that are also rebuilding houses across areas impacted by Harvey.
“It was incredible to see what J.J. Watt did by raising all of that money,” Roberts said. “So many people believed in him and donated, and that was incredible for SBP to be a part of it and to be trusted with that money and be able to go out and rebuild homes. One of the biggest barriers to recovery is funding, so knowing that we have this funding through Year 1 was just really relieving, knowing that we can move over 100 families home this year.”
SBP relies on volunteers to help rebuild homes. Colby Williams joined SBP because he has been here before. In 2005, he was living with his mother on Mandeville Street in Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina hit. Their home was too short, so they had to evacuate to his grandparents’ house and use a sledgehammer to break into the attic, where he said they spent “hours on hours” waiting to be rescued.
“Ever since I was involved in the storm, I had gotten help from other people, and I just wanted to fill that role,” Williams said. “I’ve always felt the need to help other people. And to be that support, that pillar for them to lean on.”
Williams said he has always been a football fan and “a huge fan of J.J. Watt,” but after seeing the time and effort Watt put into raising the money for those affected by Harvey, “it meant a lot.”
“We were able to get new tools and we were able to fund a hundred homes because of the J.J. Watt funds,” Williams said. “And now we have a fully stocked warehouse.”
Much more to be done
Watt has been an important part of this Houston community since he was drafted No. 11 overall in 2011. His list of donations and charitable contributions is long and admirable, but there is no doubt — even with the Hall of Fame-level of success he has had on the field — that what he did in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey a year ago will be his legacy in Houston.
Despite all of the work that has been done to restore Houston, a drive around the city reveals that there’s much more to be done.
“I think J.J. put it the best when he said last year: ‘It’s not going to take like a month. It might take a year, it might take two years, it might take three years,'” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said.
Although rebuilding Houston will take more time, there are tangible improvements and impacted lives that show exactly what the money Watt raised has done — and will continue to do — for Houston.
“The city’s been extremely resilient,” Watt said. “People have done a lot of work to get back to working order, I guess, but I think there’s also tons more work to be done. I think that it’s been out of the headlines for a long time and there’s been not a lot of, obviously, attention on it for a long time, but I think there’s still so many people that need a lot of help.”
CLEVELAND — The Browns escaped a preseason quarterback swap.
Tyrod Taylor isn’t expected to miss any time — and is still in line to start the Sept. 9 season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers — after dislocating his left pinky and bruising his hand in Thursday’s 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Taylor’s injury initially appeared serious after he awkwardly landed on his non-throwing hand and wrist while bracing his fall after firing an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal.
Tyrod Taylor is set to be the Browns’ starting quarterback to open the season. AP Photo/Ron Schwane
Taylor immediately grabbed his hand and ran to the sideline before being taken to the locker room for treatment and evaluation. He returned and played in three more series.
“Tyrod had a dislocated pinky, but obviously, they were able to get that back in place real quickly,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said on a conference call Friday. “It takes 15 seconds to do that. He has a bruised hand. He’s sore. But he’s going to be fine.”
Jackson said Taylor will practice and there’s a chance he and the first-team offense will play in next week’s exhibition finale at the Detroit Lions. Jackson wants his starters to get as much time together as possible and is still considering playing them against the Lions.
Jackson said wide receiver Josh Gordon will participate in walk-throughs over the weekend, and it’s possible he’ll practice.
The former Pro Bowl receiver has only been allowed to attend meetings, work on the side with trainers and watch since returning from a self-imposed absence in training camp. Gordon, who was on the sideline Thursday night, has played in only 10 games over the past four seasons because of suspensions from drug violations.
The 29-year-old Taylor is in his first season with the Browns, who acquired him from the Buffalo Bills in a trade in March to stabilize a problematic position. Taylor will start until top overall pick Baker Mayfield is ready, and the Browns will gladly put that off until next season.
Taylor has been a model mentor to Mayfield so far, and the eight-year veteran has impressed everyone with his work ethic and attitude.
The Browns seemed caught off guard that Taylor, who stayed in the locker room for the second half on Thursday, left FirstEnergy Stadium before speaking with reporters.
Taylor did post a thank you to Cleveland fans for their prayers on Twitter and said he was “doing well.”
Jackson said there was relief that Taylor wasn’t more seriously hurt.
“Well, I definitely got the final thought that he was going to be fine when we decided to put him back in,” Jackson said. “Obviously, when [head trainer] Joe Sheehan came back, he said, ‘Everything is fine. There are no issues. He can go back in.’ Obviously, the player was very excited to go back in the game. Again, I felt he needed to, because our offensive football team at that time needed to play together.
“They needed his leadership. He needed to be out there playing with them. I think it is important for them to develop that chemistry, so I felt comfortable that when we put him back out there, things were OK. Obviously, when he was not there and he was inside before he came back, all kinds of thoughts go through your head. But I feel good about where he is and what he will be able to do in the future.”
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Odell Beckham Jr. just might have that financial security he so desperately desires before the start of the regular season.
The New York Giants and Beckham have made progress on what is expected to be a record-breaking contract for a wide receiver, sources told ESPN, and there is reasonable optimism from both sides that a deal could get done by the start of the season.
The Giants open against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 9 at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants running back flashed his potential on his first carry of the preseason, and his hamstring injury hasn’t been the source of any panic.
Beckham, 25, has been looking for a new contract as 10 of the other 12 receivers selected in the first two rounds of the 2014 draft have received new deals within the past year.
The Giants wanted to see that Beckham had bought into their new regime and that the ankle he broke last October was healed.
After a rocky start to the year, the Giants listened to trade offers for their star receiver. He has done everything they’ve asked since.
It has been an especially successful summer on all fronts. Beckham has worked out at full speed in live drills and even participated in joint practices last week against the Detroit Lions. He has looked like his old self. He also has forged a strong relationship with new head coach Pat Shurmur, and it appears they have been on the same page this preseason.
Beckham was dreaming big last summer when he declared a desire to be the highest-paid player in football. But he seems to understand the market for wide receivers makes that impossible at this time.
The benchmarks for wide receivers are Antonio Brown’s $17 million per year with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Evans’ $55 million in total guarantees with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Beckham should be in line to top both. He’s a three-time Pro Bowl receiver who hasn’t reached his prime and is already one of the league’s biggest stars.
“Realistically, you just got to be realistic with yourself,” Beckham said earlier this summer. “You see what happened over the offseason. I can’t really worry about anybody else, just let them figure it out and whenever it happens, it’ll happen.”
Negotiations on a long-term deal began late last month. Beckham hasn’t said much about the contract since reporting to training camp. He has left the contract in the hands of his agent, Zeke Sandhu, and has been focused on getting back into playing shape after missing most of last season because of a broken ankle.
“I definitely think it’s going to work itself out,” Beckham said last week. “When is it going to happen? You don’t know. That is the business side that is new to me in a sense. This is the first time I’ve ever had to deal with this or go through any of this.
“I believe it will work itself out. It’s a matter of time. Just like everything in life, it’s timing.”
Beckham hasn’t played in the Giants’ first two preseason games. Still without a new contract, he might not be willing to play until a deal is done.
But that is increasingly looking as if it might not be a problem come Week 1 against the Jaguars.
