Quotables: Josh Gordon to appeal drug test Friday
Josh Gordon will appeal to Harold Henderson to try to reduce his one-year suspension for a failed drug test. He’ll claim it was due to secondhand smoke, which may not fly with Henderson.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
-Mary Kay Cabot, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon is scheduled to make his appeal on Friday. Gordon was suspended for a year due to a failed drug test, but will make the argument that secondhand smoke is the cause of said positive test. Unfortunately for Gordon, he'll be appealing to Harold Henderson, who apparently will not accept a secondhand smoke argument, according to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The reason many think Gordon might have a chance with that particular argument is the fact that, of his two samples tested, one was barely over the threshold and the other was just under it. It’s also notable that the NFL has an incredibly strict policy with a lower threshold than organizations such as WADA, which oversees the drug testing for the Olympics.
"It's natural for [Carlos Hyde] to understand the game, similar to Frank Gore."
-Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers head coach
With Kendall Hunter out for the season with an ACL injury and LaMichael James sidelined with a dislocated elbow, the San Francisco 49ers are having to dig deep and actually use the depth at the running back position. That starts with rookie second-round pick Carlos Hyde, who runs an awful lot like Frank Gore, a player who has carried the load in San Francisco for some time now.
Hyde is likely going to earn plenty of playing time in his rookie season with Hunter out of the way. If he develops into something that’s not entirely unlike Gore, then the 49ers would obviously be happy. Head coach Jim Harbaugh told CSN Bay Area that “Carlos gets football, understands football,” and that it’s “natural for him to understand the game, similar to Frank Gore.” Such a comparison obviously bodes well for the young runner.
"I really don't know what happened and why [Donte Whitner] came at me like that."
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins drew the ire of Cleveland Browns safety Donte Whitner recently, and a few days later, he’s still not sure why. Watkins was talking about opponents and naming good players on those teams, and Whitner wasn’t mentioned for Cleveland. Whitner took to the offensive, telling Watkins to be quiet, and implying that he was going to be hit hard on game day.
Watkins, to his credit, is still saying he has no idea what’s going on. “I really don’t know what happened and why he came at me like that. I was in Cleveland for the symposium and someone asked me about the team,” he said, via Tom Reed of Cleveland.com. Whatever the case, Whitner is well-known as a hard hitter, so Watkins should definitely keep an eye out for him when the two teams meet.
“I’m always ready to get weird.”
-Rob Ryan, New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator
New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan employed more than a few unorthodox schemes last season. When multiple linebackers sustained injuries, the Saints played three and sometimes even four safeties on the field at once. We could be seeing more stuff like that this year, as Ryan is “quietly crafting an unorthodox defense,” according to Kevin Clark of The Wall Street Journal.
Ryan also said that he's "always ready to get weird," which out of context would be a horrible, horrible statement. Whatever the case, Ryan says the Saints have "five really talented safeties on the roster," and that they plan on using them all. Kenny Vaccaro, a second-year safety, played a lot of snaps up closer to the line of scrimmage. He looked more like a linebacker than a safety at times, which is probably what Ryan envisioned all along.
“I haven’t had any problems. Nothing out of the norm.”
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne has bounced back rather quickly from his ACL injury. Wayne has looked good at training camp, and is eyeing another strong season with Andrew Luck throwing him passes. On Thursday, after impressing once again at camp, Wayne said that he hasn't had any problems with the injury thus far.
He said that he has suffered no setbacks, and that he’s simply aiming to “go out there and be the Reggie of old,” according to Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star. Wayne had just 503 receiving yards last year, but that was through seven games. The year before, he had 1,355 yards and is hoping to put up similar numbers this year.
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