ARGOMENTO: from Preston, so there’s still a long way I’ve got

Halftimes in the NFL are typically a 12-minute sprint. Players rush back to the locker room www.seahawkscheapshops.com/cheap-authent...arquise-blair-jersey , maybe take a bathroom break, get a few words of advice from their coaches and head back out for the second half.

That pacing completely changes at the Super Bowl when the elaborate halftime shows lead to a 30-minute break that leads to more time for adjustments, distractions and the need to stay loose.

”You have to waste time,” said Philadelphia receiver Torrey Smith, who played in the 2013 game with Baltimore.

”There’s only so much you can really do. We have a plan to stay warm and things to stay active.”

Eagles coach Doug Pederson is aware of the change that he even staged a 30-minute break during practice on Wednesday to get his players acclimated to the rare downtime.

The second part of practice was not nearly as crisp, which Pederson hopes will be a lesson for his players on how to handle it on Sunday against the more experienced Patriots.

”That’s why I did the break, was to put us in that situation, now we understand it,” he said. ”It was a very teachable moment for our guys, our coaches and how to prepare for the second half of a football game.”

Smith said after the adjustments that are made, players might spend the time listening to music, watching film on their iPads or even playing games on their phones.

Players might even be able to hear Justin Timberlake’s halftime show in the background as the fans enjoy a concert while the players get ready for the final 30 minutes of the biggest game of their lives.

”You’re so focused that you don’t worry about all that,” said Eagles linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, who also played on the Ravens in the Super Bowl. ”But we did want to see Beyonce.”

Former Colts receiver Reggie Wayne remembers listening to Prince perform in 2007 in Miami, thinking he’d love to be able to watch if he didn’t have a football game to focus on.

Three years later when Indianapolis played New Orleans, Wayne believes the long halftime played a role in the Saints victory. New Orleans started the second half with a surprise onside kick and took its first lead of the game on a TD pass from Drew Brees to Pierre Thomas.

”It can take the air out of the balloon of the winning team,” Wayne said. ”If it was a shorter halftime they might not have had enough time to ramp that up. We may not have been lackadaisical. It can get catch you off-guard. You come back out there and you might have had momentum but you no longer have it.”

The longer halftime also provides the chance for more adjustments, which can be hard to do in the regular season with so little time. Teams are able to see what worked well in the first half D.K. Metcalf Jersey , what didn’t and even hold back some plays that can be utilized in the second half just to keep the opponent off-guard.

”It’s definitely something we don’t do except for once a year if we’re lucky enough to be in this game,” said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who will make his eighth Super Bowl start.

”Just try to deal with what we got. Obviously there’s time to make corrections, time to just regroup depending on how the first half went. It’s a good opportunity for you to really understand where you’re at what you need to do and how you need to approach the second half.”

That proved crucial last year in New England’s comeback win over Atlanta when the Patriots trailed 21-3 at the half before rallying for a 34-28 overtime victory.

Brady exploited one-on-one matchups on the outside in the second half after realizing Atlanta was taking away the middle of the field and the Patriots defense played more aggressively.

The Eagles are prepared for more of that this year against coach Bill Belichick’s team.

”Did you see the Patriots last year? Do you think they made a lot of adjustments at halftime. You definitely can make a lot of adjustments,” said Eagles defensive back Corey Graham.

”When you play like a guy like Belichick, who’s so smart in making adjustments and things like that, if you give him an extra 20 minutes, can you imagine the adjustments he’ll make.”

—

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — In Baltimore, Za’Darius Smith played second fiddle to Terrell Suggs.In Washington, Preston Smith was the trusty sidekick to Ryan Kerrigan.With Green Bay, Kyler Fackrell toiled behind veteran starters Clay Matthews and Nick Perry.In a sweeping revamp of the outside linebacker group, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst signed the Smiths to massive free-agent contracts, released Perry, allowed Matthews to sign with the Rams, and used a first-round draft pick on Rashan Gary.The Packers are betting on the new starting tandem of Smith and Smith to give the pass rush a much-needed lift. It could hardly be worse. Matthews got only 3 1-2 sacks,the fourth consecutive season with less than eight sacks for the six-time Pro Bowler. Perry had 1 1-2 sacks in an injury-plagued 2018 season, a far cry from his career-high 11 in 2016.The Smiths www.seahawkscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-cody-barton-jersey , however, never were the best pass rushers on their former teams. Za’Darius Smith had a career-high 8 1-2 sacks for the Ravens last season, giving him a total of 18 1-2 in four seasons. Preston Smith had a career-low four sacks for the Redskins last season, giving him a total of 24 1-2 in his four seasons.Nonetheless, with a four-year, $66 million contract for Za’Darius Smith and a four-year, $52 million contract for Preston Smith, the Packers’ new outside linebacker tandem should be tone setters on defense.“You said ‘should be?'” Za’Darius Smith said after Wednesday’s organized team activity. “We are. They brought us here for a reason.”The reason is to get after the quarterback. While the Packers ranked seventh in sack percentage, their pass rush on a play-to-play basis was lacking. With the additions of the Smiths and Gary, plus the return of Fackrell, who had a career-high 10 1-2 sacks last season, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine hopes he can get more pressure through personnel rather than scheme.Yet, their skill sets will allow Pettine to be creative. With the Ravens, Za’Darius Smith lined up at outside linebacker on some plays, but moved to defensive tackle in passing situations. Gary is viewed as having the same skills. Preston Smith is more of a traditional outside linebacker. Fackrell had a big season as a pass rusher but is comfortable dropping into coverage.“What I like about the room is that it’s not all the same guy,” Pettine said last week. “I think in every position room you need to have that variation in skill set so that way you can do some different things with different guys and move them around. We’re obviously very encouraged about that room and what they’re going to be able to do for us.”With Za’Darius Smith and Gary having the size to rush from the interior, outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said the Packers will use the Smiths, Gary and Fackrell as a foursome in some passing situations.“It really challenges you if you want a certain protection scheme and you have no idea where he’s going to line up. It’s hard to do that because some of the protections are totally dictated upon how you call a concept Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey ,” first-year coach Matt LaFleur said.The key for the Packers will be turning potential into defense-changing production. Neither of the Smiths has reached double-digit sacks in a season. Fackrell’s breakout season came on the heels of a total of five sacks his first two seasons. Gary, the 12th overall selection in last month’s draft, had only 9 1-2 QB traps in three seasons at Michigan.Nonetheless, Mike Smith last week said he rated Gary the best outside linebacker prospect in the draft – even ahead of Ohio State’s Nick Bosa, who went No. 2 overall to San Francisco. While the Smiths are embracing their new opportunities, Gary is embracing the high expectations.“I don’t put nobody in front of me,” Gary said. “I feel like I’m the best at what I do and now that I’m here I’m still working for that. I learn from Z, I learn from Preston, so there’s still a long way I’ve got to go, but I never put nobody in front of me.”Notes: Five players did not practice Wednesday. S Josh Jones continues to skip the voluntary offseason workouts as he pushes for a trade, and center Corey Linsley was a late arrival due to travel issues. DT Mike Daniels and rookie LBs Ty Summers and Greg Roberts were present but recovering from injuries. . WR Davante Adams, who did not practice in front of reporters last week, was on the field. “It’s good to be out there with the team, getting some reps in, working with the new offense,” he said. . Incumbent K Mason Crosby went 4 of 5 on field goals while challenger Sam Ficken made all five attempts.