Basisphilosophie » Even as Ted Ginn Jr. enters his 13th NFL season

METAIRIE http://www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jawaan-taylor-jersey , La. (AP) —the 34-year-old Saints receiver still considers his foot speed his most distinguishing asset.New Orleans hopes the former Ohio State football and track star can live up to the hype he himself has promulgated this offseason — namely by publicly inviting anyone to race him for $10,000 and by entering the “40 Yards of Gold” competition that purportedly will determine the NFL’s fastest player.“When you think about speed, and you come to the New Orleans Saints, you think about one guy,” Ginn said. “We’ve all got our labels of who we are. We’ve all just got to go out and man up to it.”Whether Ginn’s outward confidence is genuine or a means of self-motivation is difficult to discern.He is less than a year removed from arthroscopic knee surgery that wiped out most of his 2018 season. He said the experience caused him at one point to view retirement as a “50-50” proposition.“Going through the different things I went through and seeing the different doctors made me a little scared,” Ginn said.The Saints designated Ginn to return from injured reserve late last season and the move quickly paid dividends when he caught a late, 25-yard pass that helped the Saints defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16. He added six receptions for 102 yards in two playoff games, including a 43-yarder in the NFC title game.Ginn said he has not been formally timed in a 40-yard dash in “a long time” but suggests that he can still sprint that distance in 4.38 seconds or faster.He said his training and diet regimens have evolved as he has gotten older. He is less focused on weight training now and spent part of this offseason on what he calls the “Alvin Kamara plan,” working in Miami with the Saints’ third-year star running back on drills designed to optimize agility, balance and explosiveness. He has given up eating meat, opting for more of a fish-focused, “pescatarian” diet.“I’m just taking different precautions to try and stick in this league,” Ginn said. “When you get to an older age, I pay attention to the young guys around me and their different little things. Weights are great, but they’re kind of going out of style right now. When I was young, I’d do weights a lot.“Certain stuff works for certain people; that’s what I’ve figured out in this league,” Ginn continued. “You just try to go out and figure out what’s good for your body. Once you do that, you try to maintain that.”Ginn played in only five regular season games last season Josh Oliver Jersey , catching 17 passed for 209 yards and two touchdowns.His first season with the Saints — in 2017 — was among the best of his career: 53 catches, 787 yards and four TDs in 15 regular season games, followed by 12 catches for 187 yards and one TD in two playoff games.The Saints will be hoping Ginn rediscovers his 2017 form this season. While New Orleans added receiving tight end Jared Cook in free agency, the club stood pat with its receiver corps headlined by Michael Thomas and Ginn.“They believe in us,” Ginn said. “They believe in what they have.”Ginn’s enduring speed was evident in a 20-yard end around for a touchdown during 11-on-11 drills this week in one of the Saints’ last voluntary, unpadded practices of the offseason.The pads go back on during minicamp next week. The tournament-style, 40-yard competition featuring Ginn among two dozen NFL players is scheduled June 29. Competitors include Kamara, although Ginn suspects he’d outrun his teammate as easily as Kamara outperforms him during balance beam drills.“That’s what he’s good at,” Ginn said with a laugh. “Let’s let people stick to what they’re good at.”Ginn said he has not scheduled any one-on-one races for $10,000. He said his mention of doing so was more of a light-hearted, off-the-cuff public relations ploy to bring attention to his Pop Warner football program in his native Cleveland called Ginn Elite.“It came to be a huge deal, and now the whole world is all over it,” Ginn said. “But everything you try to do in life, you try to win. You try to do your best at all times. Just go out and do your deal, and whatever happens, happens.” NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee linebacker Brian Orakpo has made it very clear to the rest of the Titans that their postseason already is underway.Yes, two weeks early.“That’s the mindset we have to have going into this game, and I believe the Rams are going to have the same mindset http://www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-quincy-williams-ii-jersey , as well, trying to win that division,” Orakpo said. “It’s going to be a great game.”The Los Angeles Rams (10-4) need a win or a Seattle loss Sunday to clinch their first NFC West title since 2003 and cap their amazing turnaround under coach Sean McVay in his first season. The Rams are coming off a 42-7 thumping of the Seahawks in Seattle for their third win in four games.“We don’t shy away from the opportunity to go in a tough atmosphere, try to come away with our 11th win,” McVay said. “And we know that if we’re able to accomplish that — that means a division championship as well. So it’s a great opportunity.”The Titans (8-6) are home after back-to-back losses, the last one being 25-23 to San Francisco, cost them the AFC South lead.Still, a win and losses by Buffalo and Baltimore would clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2008 before hosting division rival Jacksonville in the regular-season finale. The Titans are at home, where they have won nine of their past 10.“Guys understand the situation,” Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota said. “When it comes down to it, we messed up. We didn’t play well, we obviously didn’t accomplish what we wanted to do on our road trip. That’s in the past, you can’t change it, you can’t fix it. All you can do is look forward to the next one, and kind of right the ship and get it going.”Here are some things to know about the Rams and Titans:HEY YOU: The No. 1 pick in 2016 that the Rams used to select quarterback Jared Goff came in a trade with the Titans two weeks before the draft.Now, Goff finally gets to face the team that didn’t need a quarterback because the Titans already have Mariota, the No. 2 pick overall in 2015.Goff has been so very good on the road this season, throwing for 1,547 yards with 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions with a 108.1 passer rating. He has been sacked only nine times away from home.Goff said he hadn’t thought of his Tennessee connection until asked. His take: “Awesome.”SLOW DOWN GURLEY: Pro Bowl running back Todd Gurley leads the NFL with 17 total touchdowns and ranks second with 1 Ryquell Armstead Jersey ,817 yards from scrimmage. He’s also coming off a game in which he scored four touchdowns. The Titans rank third against the run in the NFL, allowing only 87.2 yards rushing per game.WATCH OUT: This game features two of the NFL’s top-five defenses at sacking quarterbacks. The Rams, led by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Aaron Donald, rank second with 47 sacks, with four having at least five apiece. The Titans now rank fifth with 40 sacks, thanks to piling up 26 in the past five games.Linebacker Derrick Morgan has a team-high 7 sacks despite missing the past two games with an injured knee, and he’s one of four Titans with at least five sacks each. Jacksonville, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are the only other teams in the league featuring four players with at least five sacks.ROOKIE RECEIVERS: The Titans took the first receiver in this year’s draft, selecting Corey Davis from Western Michigan at No. 5 overall. The Rams selected Cooper Kupp in the third round out of Eastern Washington.Los Angeles got the much better deal — at least based on the early results. Davis missed most of the preseason with a hamstring injury that also cost him five of the first seven games this season. Davis still is looking for his first NFL touchdown after fumbling at the goal-line in November.Kupp has started only five games, but he leads the Rams with 58 catches and 804 yards receiving. He also leads all rookies in yards receiving, and no rookie receiver has as many catches.NEW KICKER: The Rams will have a healthy kicker, but not their Pro Bowler and the NFL’s leading scorer in Greg Zuerlein , who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday before surgery to repair a herniated disc.The Rams signed Sam Ficken, an undrafted free agent from Penn State, after working out kickers. Ficken has been in camp with the Jaguars and Chiefs, but his first field goal attempt Sunday will be his first in the regular season.