Quotables: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder weighs in on Washington team name
United States Attorney General Eric Holder thinks the Washington NFL team nickname is offensive and should be changed, Golden Tate chose the Detroit Lions to get more passes thrown his way and more news from the NFL on Monday.
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
-Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General
Count United States Attorney General Eric Holder among those who think that the Washington NFL team nickname is offensive. On Sunday, Holder said that he is going to speak “very personally,” prior to saying that the name “ought to be changed,” according to John Keim of ESPN. He said that the Washington organization is a “great one,” with a “storied history.” But Holder says that the team would get a lot more support from fans if it did something that, from his perspective, is “so obviously right.”
Over the past year or so, the nickname has seen more opposition than ever before. At this point it seems like the name getting changed is a foregone conclusion. The U.S. Patent Office recently voted 2-1 to revoke the nickname trademark, though Washington is contesting that ruling.
“I have a chance to catch a ton more balls. I’m going to see a lot of single coverage.”
Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate wasn't motivated by money when he chose to sign with the Lions as a free agent this offseason. Tate was motivated by the fact that he'll get to play next to Calvin Johnson, the best wide receiver in the league. While Johnson will get the bulk of the looks his way, Tate will have the opportunity to be paired up with an opponent's second- or third-best corner.
Tate said that he never knew when his "next ball was going to come" in Seattle. He said that Detroit presents a better opportunity for him to "catch more balls and make Pro Bowls." He noted that he'll see a lot of single coverage playing opposite Johnson. Detroit threw the football 214 times more than the Seahawks did last season, as noted by Gillian Van Stratt of MLive.com.
"There's no doubt in my mind [Nate Chandler is] a top left tackle."
-Jackie Slater, NFL Hall of Famer
Nate Chandler was a defensive lineman just a couple years ago, and now he's competing for the starting left tackle job for the Carolina Panthers. Chandler is competing with Byron Bell for the starting job, which was vacated by Jordan Gross, who manned the position reliably for a number of years. Left tackle is a premium position, and we rarely see players succeed there who weren't dominant at the position in college.
Chandler has plenty of confidence in his abilities, and he's not the only one. Former St. Louis Rams left tackle and NFL Hall of Famer Jackie Slater said that Chandler is a "top left tackle," via ESPN. Slater is currently the offensive line coach at Azusa Pacific University, and has been working with Chandler for some time. We'll find out throughout training camp and preseason whether or not Chandler will ultimately win the left tackle job, but if he doesn't then he'll likely get the nod at right tackle.
“In some ways I feel more fresh, more physically strong. I just think you put so much hard work into your rehab process that that’s kind of what happens.”
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin thinks he’ll be back 100 percent for next season. On top of that, Maclin feels that he is even faster than before, as noted by Philly.com. Maclin points to the intense rehab to recover from his torn ACL, saying that all the hard work that goes into it naturally makes a player “more fresh,” and “more physically strong.”
Maclin had four productive seasons with the Eagles before sustaining the injury prior to the 2013 season. He was coming off a 2012 campaign in which he caught 69 passes for 857 yards and seven touchdowns. He's expected to be one of Nick Foles' top targets going forward.
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