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NFL

Expect Falcons' defense to reflect Marquand Manuel's no-nonsense approach

Don’t mess with Marquand Manuel during pregame warm-ups. You’re liable to catch some heat.

On any given game day, you’ll see the 37-year-old with his headphones on, drowning out the noise as he bobs his head to the beat. He’ll run a few laps around the stadium with a menacing stare on his face, like an assassin fixated on his next victim.

Folks unfamiliar with the Atlanta Falcons likely would mistake Manuel for a player. His players view him as a guy who will cuss anybody out, make no mistake about it. That’s part of the reason why Manuel commands respect as he makes the leap from secondary coach to defensive coordinator, a move made official Friday.

“M, he’s a perfectionist,” free safety Ricardo Allen said of Manuel. “He knows the ins and outs of every player. He does the studying. He has the passion to lead. He’s a natural leader. And people are willing to follow him.”

Falcons coach Dan Quinn promoted longtime colleague Marquand Manuel, right, to defensive coordinator. Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire

Manuel is a coach willing to put on cleats, line up opposite his defensive backs and get physical with them off the line. His hands-on approach and aggressive style just might be the added push the Falcons need to elevate an improving defense to yet another level.

Falcons coach Dan Quinn relieved former defensive coordinator Richard Smith of his duties earlier in the week, with Smith now reportedly interviewing to be linebackers coach for the Los Angeles Chargers. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Quinn took over playcalling duties from Smith late in the regular season, during a Dec. 4 game against Kansas City. It was about that time Atlanta’s defense started to show remarkable improvement, surrendering 21.4 points per game over the final seven, including the playoffs, after allowing 27.6 over the first 12.

Manuel had a hand in the improvement, too. According to multiple sources, Manuel was involved in playcalling involving nickel situations. Maybe it was an audition. Maybe it was just a matter of getting a different coaching perspective. Whatever the case, there’s confidence in Manuel’s ability to make the defensive calls, even if Quinn, the former defensive coordinator in Seattle, has a heavy hand in it moving forward.

Quinn no doubt will refer to it as a collaborative effort, but Manuel will get ample opportunity to run the defensive show despite no prior coordinating experience. He knows the defense thoroughly, having previously served as the assistant defensive-backs coach under Quinn in Seattle.

Allen wisely declined to discuss anything related to playcalling, but he certainly backed Manuel as his defensive coordinator.

“The players are going to be pushed by him daily, and he’s going to push us to another level to be great,” Allen said. “I think he’s a good person for the job because he’ll put the work in.”

Manuel will have to deal with scrutiny, of course, but expect him to be unfazed. Folks will bring up the story of him asking then-draft prospect Eli Apple, now with New York Giants, if he liked men during an interview at the NFL combine. Manuel was publicly reprimanded by the organization and required to go through sensitivity training; he apologized for the embarrassment he caused.

If Manuel’s defense falters in matchups against Drew Brees, Jameis Winston and Cam Newton next season, he’ll certainly hear criticism. But again, it’s not his personality to be rattled, no matter the situation.

As with the rest of the Falcons, Manuel will enter the 2017 season with a bad taste in his mouth from the Super Bowl LI implosion in which Atlanta blew a 28-3 lead in a crushing, 34-28 overtime loss to the New England Patriots. But at least Manuel knows he’ll have a talented group around him that in 2016 featured NFL sacks leader Vic Beasley Jr., emerging nose tackle Grady Jarrett, rookie standouts Deion Jones and Keanu Neal and Pro Bowl cornerback Desmond Trufant, who will return after missing the season’s second half following pectoral surgery. The improved speed on defense, coupled with the presence of Trufant as a shutdown corner, will allow the Falcons to continue the trend of playing more man-to-man defense, as they did successfully later in the season.

Manuel’s ability to get the best out of his players was evident in the way cornerback Jalen Collins made a dramatic leap in his second season as a replacement for Trufant; in the way cornerback Robert Alford shook off problems with penalties to become a playmaker; in the way Brian Poole went from being undrafted to evolving into a reliable nickelback; and in the way Neal and Allen were able to work in unison at the safety spots.

Again, Manuel is all about an aggressive, attacking style. It’s in his nature as a former NFL strong safety. That’s the mentality and approach you see from him every day in practice. And that’s the look you’ll see in his eyes every game day.

Soccer

Angolan president wants answers after at least 17 die in stadium stampede

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has expressed his sadness and called for an investigation after Friday’s stadium tragedy in the northern city of Uige took the lives of at least 17 people, according to Reuters.

Those among the dead include children, according to Portuguese reports obtained by the Associated Press, with dozens of people at the venue suffering injuries.

The Girabola meeting between Santa Rita de Cassia and Recreativo do Libolo attracted fans which exceeded the ground’s 8,000 capacity, with the disaster apparently occurring when hundreds of supporters stormed the gates in a bid to gain entry.

A medical official told the BBC that “some of those who fell became trapped and suffocated at the venue” due to the ensuing stampede.

Dos Santos said in a statement:

I express my solidarity with the families of the deceased and have instructed the Provincial Government of Uige to provide all necessary assistance to the injured and have given guidance to the competent authorities to open an inquiry that will establish the cause of this serious incident.

Five of those injured are reported to be in a serious condition.

“Some people had to walk on top of other people. There were 76 casualties, of whom 17 died,” Ernesto Luis, director general of the local hospital, said.

State news agency Angop understands the Ministry of Sports has also called for the local football association and provincial authorities to launch an investigation into the cause of the incident.

NFL

Grades, draft needs, offseason questions for every NFL team

NFL Nation reporters grade every team’s 2016 regular season, assess what position each should target in the 2017 draft and look ahead to a few looming offseason questions. Click the links after each team to view the full posts.

Arizona Cardinals: After losing in the NFC Championship Game last season, the Cardinals were the chic pick to win Super Bowl LI. Arizona faltered from the start, however. Read more.

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons exceeded expectations this season after entering the season with the NFL’s toughest schedule. Atlanta is primed to make another Super Bowl run in 2017. Read more.

Baltimore Ravens: The reasons the Ravens failed to make the playoffs were Joe Flacco’s inconsistency, a disappearing pass rush and a lack of killer instinct. Read more.

Buffalo Bills: Like in 2015, the Bills had the top-level talent to make a playoff run. However, injuries, a lack of depth and questionable coaching all eventually doomed the team. Read more.

Carolina Panthers: Carolina simply lost the swagger that enabled it to win close games during its Super Bowl run last season. It lost five of its first 11 games by a field goal or less. Read more.

Chicago Bears: The Bears regressed in Year 2 under coach John Fox. Nineteen players landed on injured reserve, but the club looked bad even when the roster was healthy. Read more.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals underachieved in almost every way in 2016. Offensive line struggles, kicking problems and inconsistency on both sides doomed this team. Read more.

Cleveland Browns: One win avoids an “F,” but this season was one to forget. The Browns are no closer to finding a quarterback, and there are still many holes to fill on the roster. Read more.

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys couldn’t get back to the Super Bowl, but they laid the foundation for years to come with the arrival of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Will Tony Romo return in 2017? Read more.

Denver Broncos: This season never quite came together for the defending Super Bowl champs. Bottom line: This season’s Broncos never had the single-minded purpose of the 2015 team. Read more.

Detroit Lions: This is a very tough season to judge. The Lions weren’t expected to be in the playoff hunt, yet Detroit had a two-game division lead with three weeks left in the regular season. Read more.

Green Bay Packers: The Packers proved they’re contenders again. Two years after losing in the NFC title game in a heartbreaker at Seattle, they were back within an eyelash of the Super Bowl. Read more.

Houston Texans: The Texans did not live up to the high expectations they had entering the season, and they came up short again after losing to the Patriots. Read more.

Indianapolis Colts: Disappointing. Underachieving. Embarrassing. The list of adjectives can go on and on to describe the second straight season in which the Colts missed the playoffs. Read more.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars set a franchise record for most consecutive losses in a single season (nine) and again finished in the AFC South cellar. Read more.

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs couldn’t get any closer to the Super Bowl this season, but they did win the AFC West for the first time since 2010. They’ll face some difficult roster decisions this offseason. Read more.

Los Angeles Rams: The Rams’ first season back in L.A. began with promise, but the offense was dreadful from start to finish, which put too much pressure on a talented defense that lacked depth. Read more.

Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins exceeded everyone’s expectations this season by winning 10 games and advancing to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Read more.

Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings started 5-0, and they had Super Bowl hopes. But injuries along an already-suspect offensive line proved to be too much to overcome. Read more.

New England Patriots: The bar has been raised high in New England under Bill Belichick, as seasons are defined by whether Super Bowl hopes were realized. And the 2016 season certainly qualifies as a success. Read more.

New Orleans Saints: In some ways, it was “Groundhog” season for the Saints, who finished 7-9 for the third straight year, squandering another 5,000 yards by Drew Brees and the NFL’s No. 1-ranked offense. Read more.

New York Giants: Despite falling short after losing to the Packers on the road in the wild-card round, this was a building-block season for the Giants. Read more.

New York Jets: Even by Jets’ standards, this was an all-time stinker. They expected a playoff run in Year 2 of the Bowles/Maccagnan regime, but they were doomed by a flawed roster. Read more.

Oakland Raiders: On one hand, improving from 3-13 to 7-9 to 12-4 should be cause for celebration. On the other, what had the makings of a magical season took a depressing detour in Week 15. Read more.

Philadelphia Eagles: Rookie Carson Wentz provided hope and a few highlights, but some fatal flaws ultimately did the Eagles in. It isn’t hard to see why the Eagles stumbled after starting the season 3-0. Read more.

Pittsburgh Steelers: A nine-game winning streak to spark a division title and AFC Championship Game appearance was a brilliant turnaround from a 4-5 start. Read more.

San Diego Chargers: Injuries and up-and-down play led to the Chargers’ last-place finish, but San Diego’s poor showing really boils down to coach Mike McCoy’s failings in the fourth quarter. Read more.

San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers followed a blueprint similar to 2015 by offering a promising blowout victory in Week 1, only to follow it up with a series of missteps while losing 13 straight games. Read more.

Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks went into the season hoping to return to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years. But in the end, they had too many obstacles to overcome to make a run. Read more.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs went from starting the season 1-3 and 3-5 to putting together an impressive five-game win streak that nearly culminated in a playoff berth. Read more.

Tennessee Titans: It’s going to be hard to forget the Christmas Eve debacle in Jacksonville, which caused the Titans to lose control of the division title after they’d done such good work to have a chance at it. Read more.

Washington Redskins: The Redskins blew a chance to make the postseason for a second consecutive season but instead will reflect on a handful of games, including the finale, that will haunt them all offseason. Read more.

NFL

As Ryan Fitzpatrick's contract voids, the Jets can reflect on a painful lesson

To say it’s the end of an era is a bit much, but it’s definitely the end of something.

Something that was wonderful for a year, but went horribly wrong after that.

Per the terms of his agreement with the New York Jets, Ryan Fitzpatrick’s contract automatically voids five days after the Super Bowl … and that means Friday. Fitzpatrick’s two-year run with the team is over and, as the quarterback acknowledged late in the season, there’s virtually no chance of him re-signing.

So what’s the major takeaway from Fitzpatrick’s time with the Jets? First and foremost, you’d like to think the team learned a hard lesson about negotiations and the importance of team-building in the offseason.

After a career season in 2015, Ryan Fitzpatrick never rediscovered that form in 2016 following a contract battle. William Hauser/USA TODAY Sports

The Jets weren’t wrong for wanting to re-sign Fitzpatrick, a free agent after the 2015 season. After all, he won 10 games in 2015 and set the franchise record with 31 touchdown passes in his first season with the team. No, their mistake was how they handled the negotiations.

Instead of drawing a line in the sand, giving him a take-it-or-leave-it offer, the Jets let it drag out through free agency … through the draft … through minicamp … all the way to the eve of training camp. It bordered on ridiculous because the Jets wanted him, he wanted them and there was no third-party threat — i.e., a team interested in Fitzpatrick or another quarterback that interested the Jets.

Fitzpatrick versus the Jets became a huge distraction, one of the biggest stories in the NFL. It swallowed up the team, causing unrest in the locker room. At one point, receivers Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall reportedly skipped a few voluntary workouts as a show of support for Fitzpatrick.

The offseason matters, even for an old pro like Fitzpatrick. It’s all about building chemistry in the locker room, in the weight room and on the field.

I remember something Bill Parcells said back in 1999. Vinny Testaverde was coming off after a brilliant year and was planning to spend the offseason at his home in Tampa, Florida, where he trained in a state-of-the-art fitness room on his property. Parcells demanded that he work out with the team, claiming it was important for the Jets’ leader to be among his teammates. The quarterback relented. As it turned out, Testaverde, the part-owner of an aviation company, used a private jet to commute twice a week to Long Island. But he participated with his teammates.

Fitzpatrick, unhappy with the Jets’ low-ball offer (three years, $24 million), stayed away. The Jets went through the entire offseason without their leader. They could’ve ended it in March by offering the same deal he wound up taking in July — one year, $12 million — but they let it turn into a battle of egos.

I think coach Todd Bowles, a big believer in team chemistry, underestimated the impact of not having Fitzpatrick around. (Full disclosure: I did, but I don’t get paid to run the team.) It also created an awkward dynamic. For five months, the Jets pretended Geno Smith was their starter, only to “demote” him the minute Fitzpatrick walked through the door on the eve of training camp. It was unfair to Smith.

The Jets let one player become bigger than the team. Do you think Parcells, or even Bill Belichick, would’ve allowed that to happen? No way. They would’ve told Fitzpatrick to take a hike in April, turning to Plan B. In this case, it might have been someone like Brian Hoyer.

Presumably, general manager Mike Maccagnan learned something from the drawn-out soap opera: Don’t let yourself be held hostage by a player.

Was the contract stalemate the reason for Fitzpatrick’s terrible season? It’s impossible to say, but it created a weird vibe around the team. When he started throwing interceptions, it put the team in a tough spot. A quick hook would’ve sent a mixed message, considering they held his spot for the entire offseason. As it turned out, he threw the Jets out of the season, with 17 interceptions in 11 starts.

Fitzpatrick finished with a 69.6 passer rating, 18 points below the NFL average. Based on that premise, it was the fourth-worst quarterback season in team history (post-merger). A diminished Joe Namath was 23.7 below the average in 1976; Kellen Clemens was 20 below in 2007; and Mark Sanchez was 18.2 below in 2009. Clemens and Sanchez had an excuse; they were first-time starters.

Fitzpatrick did a lot of good things. He galvanized the team in the aftermath of the Smith/IK Enemkpali fiasco; he energized the fan base in 2015 and provided more leadership than people outside the locker room can appreciate. But his legacy will be the contract dispute, which hurt him and his team.

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