Seattle’s Russell Wilson on Cover of ESPN The Magazine’s NFL Preview

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Seattle’s Russell Wilson on Cover of ESPN The Magazine’s NFL Preview

What would Vince Lombardi make of Seattle, which has turned to meditation to nurture the well-being of its players? Or Jacksonville, which has embraced hard-core analytics to find that increasingly elusive edge? Or RG3 and the read-option; or Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ new aerial ways; or another certain Lambeau Legend, who by the end of his sixth season as starter, will have thrown the ball more times than Bart Starr did in his 16-year career? Maybe Lombardi would curse up one of his famous storms over a league that’s been renovated beyond his recognition. Or maybe not. After all, quitters never win, and winner never fail to install a no-huddle, quintuple read-option, wild Tebow offense – if it works.

ESPN The Magazine’s NFL Preview on newsstands Friday, August 23, will tackle a variety of issues surrounding the NFL with features such as:

Lotus pose on two

Meditation? Yoga? No yelling or swearing?  The Mag’s Alyssa Roenigk writes that Russell Wilson and the Seahawks believe their kinder, gentler philosophy is the future of football.

Go to http://es.pn/16cqrSo for a photo gallery from Russell Wilson’s cover shoot and http://es.pn/16w3SvI for behind-the-scenes video where he discusses the upcoming season, the importance of being a Seattle Seahawk, and his motivation as a quarterback

Every day is Tuesday

For Derrick Mason, being retired from the NFL isn’t about battling Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy(CTE) or dealing with bad investments. He’s just a man struggling to fill his days. By Tim Struby

The geeks shall inherit the turf

The Jacksonville Jaguars are leading an analytics boom in the NFL with a new head coach who finally takes the number crunchers seriously. By David Fleming

Joe Flacco thinks you’re boring

Fiery. Outspoken. Innovative. The Ravens QB knows he’s none of these things. But what makes him seem ordinary actually makes him special. By Kevin Van Valkenburg

And the server says …

This time of year, everyone has a theory—about the players who’ll matter most, the games that’ll go to the wire and the team that’ll exit New Jersey with the Lombardi Trophy. So Football Outsiders mined its 22 seasons of data to forecast each team’s offensive and defensive performance. Pro-Football Reference used its Approximate Value metric to highlight a non-QB MVP, while our resident Football Scientist, KC Joyner, studied the bad decisions of each signal-caller. Finally, Pro Football Focus performed its algorithmic gymnastics to predict the scores of all 256 regular-season games and our playoff bracket. The only theory left to test: Does champagne taste sweeter at Mile High or the Meadowlands?

Beyond the NFL

Also in the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine is Howard Bryant’s column on the Bryan Brothers, and as they reach for history at the US Open the twins will make you forget all about the sorry state of American men’s tennis. Also in this issue, senior writer Wright Thompson explores wrestling’s most famous winner in “The losses of Dan Gable,” and how after a lifetime of battles, he takes on a final struggle: To save his sport.

 

Dave Nagle

As I write this on 11-11-21, it's now 35 years for me at ESPN, the only real job I’ve ever had. I joined merely to help with the upcoming America’s Cup in Australia. I was told it would be for three months at all of $5.50 per hour. I like to say I simply kept showing up. I’ve worked on almost every sport, plus answered viewer calls and letters (people used to write!), given tours, written the company newsletter and once drove NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon to the local airport. My travels have been varied…I’ve been to Martinsville, Darlington, Indy and Super Bowls; the America’s Cup (all 3) in San Diego and College GameDay in the sport’s meccas such as Eugene, Auburn, Lubbock, Stillwater and more; the NBA Finals, Wimbledon (16 times and counting) and the “other Bristol,” the one with a race track in Tennessee. These days, my main areas are tennis, UFC, boxing, network-wide ratings (by month/quarter/year), and corporate communications documents, including fact sheets, chronologies, lists and nearly 35 of the Year in Review press releases. UPDATE EXACTLY ONE YEAR LATER: Today, November 11, 2022, I am retiring from ESPN -- 36 years to the day I began. As I ride off into the sunset – top down and E Street Radio blaring – I do so with so many wonderful memories, proud of my contributions and a heart full of gratitude for the opportunity. 
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