49ers
George Kittle is entering his first season without Deebo Samuel since before the receiver was drafted by the 49ers. Kittle is glad to see Samuel get a “fresh start” with the Commanders.
“I’m happy for him that he went to Washington,” Kittle said, via 49ersWebZone. “Guys need a fresh start sometimes, and he wanted a fresh start, and so, I’m very happy for him. I’m sad that I don’t have him on my team anymore because I just loved having him around the locker room and stuff like that. But I’m happy for him.”
Kittle also mentioned Washington GM Adam Peters was great while in San Francisco.
“I’m happy he went to Washington because Adam Peters is there, our old assistant GM, and he’s the man,” Kittle said. “And then, also, they’re pretty good at football, too.”
Kittle called Trent Williams the “most talented player” he’s ever had.
“No, Trent Williams, I think, is probably the most talented player I’ve ever played with,” Kittle said.
Cardinals
Ohio State OC Brian Hartline is expecting that Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison will show big improvement in his second professional season.
“Marv’s just got to keep being Marv,” Hartline told Eric Williams of Fox Sports. “Whatever the success, or lack thereof, that people think he had, it probably was not because of Marv’s process or how he operates. I’m sure there were some other variables involved that he can’t control. Marv’s got to be Marv. He will do that. I’m excited to see what he does in Year 2. Most guys make that jump in Year 2, and I know without a doubt Marv will.”
Harrison had numbers that were eerily similar to his father, who is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Maserati Marv totaled 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns, while his dad had 64 catches, 836 yards, and eight touchdowns during his rookie season with the Colts in 1996.
However, another legend and future Hall of Famer WR Larry Fitzgerald has his eye on Harrison, who surpassed his 58 catches and 780 yards as a rookie.
“He’s a tremendous young player,” Fitzgerald said about Harrison. “He had a really nice rookie season. He made a lot of plays. And it looks like he’s gotten a lot stronger physically. So, to be able to get off press [coverage] and be able to have the physicality in the running game and the things he needs to do, it’s going to be a huge benefit to him. I also think in Year 2 the game just naturally slows down. You know the system better. You know the flow of the season and the schedule. There’s not as many mysteries going in. You’ve done it already. You’ve played. … You know the hand signals. You know the adjustments. You know two-minute and the situational football. All of those things get significantly easier for you going into Year 2. It definitely did for me.”
“Football is a physical game,” Harrison noted. “You have a lot of contested-catch situations, run after catch and things like that. We’ll see how things play out. Just going out there and competing, completing passes, and getting our timing down on routes that we maybe worked on last year, or that are new this year. So, just us being able to go out there and kind of just being able to do things with our eyes closed, so that it happens naturally.”
Seahawks
Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald has high praise for DB Coby Bryant, who came on in the middle of the season and proved he could make an impact.
“Man,” Macdonald pondered, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “How can I compliment Coby the best?…. What stuck out to me was just his intentionality, and he cared about the minor details all the time even though his role wasn’t a starter [from the] get-go. So he has that chip on his shoulder naturally because he’s just a great competitor, but those are the type of guys we want. … When he finally got his opportunity, he knocked it out of the park, and he’s earned himself a great role on our football team.””He’s in a great position,” Macdonald said. “I know he’s playing really confident right now, and you feel him out there. So we’re excited for Coby. I’m not surprised…Again, this guy just keeps playing at a high level. … He just sees how plays progress. He just seems like he’s in the right spot all the time on these overthrows and patrolling the deep area of the field.”
The post NFC Notes: Marvin Harrison, George Kittle, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.