Some stunning news came from the Cleveland Browns Wednesday morning: Linebacker Mychal Kendricks was charged with insider trading: BREAKING: Statement from former Eagle Mychal Kendricks, now with Browns, after feds charged him today with insider trading in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/bX6fzBjLKP — Jeremy Roebuck (@jeremyrroebuck) August 29, 2018 Our statement on LB Mychal Kendricks: pic.twitter.com/SJT4RPdo0o — Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 29, 2018 That news ignited Twitter, with lots of people citing the first episode of Hard Knocks, in which Kendricks’ teammate Carl Nassib doled out financial advice: Here are a few of the observations: I can't wait to hear Carl Nassib break down Mychal Kendricks insider trading scheme on next week's Hard Knocks. — Ron Schiltz (@RonPCSchiltz) August 29, 2018 Can’t wait to see what Carl Nassib has to say about that. — Frank Czerwien (@FCxHammer) August 29, 2018 This must be how Carl Nassib is getting that 10% annual returnhttps://t.co/vXWAQnbfqE — Dan Card (@cardofdoom) August 29, 2018 Carl Nassib teaching his teammates about insider trading on next week's episode of Hard Knocks pic.twitter.com/n0fxQURaMv — Jordie 🔵 (@BarstoolJordie) August 29, 2018 Excited for Carl Nassib to tell Mychal Kendricks where he went wrong with the insider trading on the next hard knocks — Digs (@Digz) August 29, 2018 I cannot wait to watch Carl Nassib attempt to explain insider trading to Brogan Roback — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) August 29, 2018 This is what happens when Carl Nassib tells you you need a portfolio that earns 10% a year. https://t.co/CyfX2DsiNg — Jack Dickey (@jackdickey) August 29, 2018 Financial advisor and sometimes football player Carl Nassib finding out about Mychael Kendricks pic.twitter.com/utfewnKBZf — Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) August 29, 2018 Carl Nassib live look pic.twitter.com/nZNKmSi8Yg — Zev Rosenbaum (@JohnnyFrusc) August 29, 2018 See what happens when you take financial advice from Carl Nassib https://t.co/L1xtltjtfV — Cleveland Sportsline (@CLEsportsline) August 29, 2018<doc-sep>“I apologize. Four years ago, I participated in insider trading, and I deeply regret it,” Kendricks said in the statement. “I invested money with a former friend of mine who I thought I could trust and who I greatly admired. His background as a Harvard graduate and an employee of Goldman Sachs gave me a false sense of confidence. To that point, I had worked my tail off since I was 5 years old to become the football player that I am today. I was drawn in by the allure of being more than just a football player. While I didn’t fully understand all of the details of the illegal trades, I knew it was wrong, and I wholeheartedly regret my actions. “Since the beginning of the investigation, I have fully cooperated with all of the authorities and will continue to do so. I accept full responsibility for my actions. Although I did not take any of the profits for myself, I am committed to repaying all of the funds gained illegally and accept the consequences of my actions. “I sincerely apologize to my coaches, the owners, and my teammates on the Eagles and the Browns, the NFL, and the magnificent fans to whom I owe my career. I also apologize to my family, who I have failed in this. You all deserve better, and I will work my hardest to re-earn your trust and respect, serve as an advocate to educate others, and show you that I will never be involved in anything like this again. Thank you for your time and hopefully your forgiveness.”<doc-sep>During Tuesday night's episode of HBO's "Hard Knocks," we were taken into the defensive meeting room of the Cleveland Browns before they faced the Eagles in the third preseason game. In the clip, former Eagle Mychal Kendricks talked about Nick Foles, Zach Ertz and Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams gave Kendricks the floor to give his new teammates some tips about defending his old ones. Here's what he said: OK, let's start with Nick Foles. Going against Nick Foles, I realized on his long balls, his deep balls, he has like a teardrop effect. He's tall and he likes to drop that literally from the sky. So corners, the timing's just a little slower on that ball coming in. This isn't terrible advice. We have kind of seen this from Foles over the years. He does like to drop in those deep balls, but it's a lot harder to defend than just knowing the timing is slow. The Browns, of course, did a pretty good job against Foles. The Super Bowl MVP started to get a rhythm at times, but wasn't able to put up any points against the Browns. Eighty-six, I think, is the best receiver on the team. Notice I said receiver. When it comes to blocking, you f------ hit his a-- over and over and over, he doesn't want any smoke. This is the closest thing that can be considered a "shot" in Kendricks' advice to his team. I guess it's not entirely without merit. If a team is looking for a weak spot in Ertz's game, it's still his blocking. But he's come so far in that regard that this advice isn't anywhere near as relevant as it would have been a few years ago. And Ertz has had his toughness questioned before, but I think he's overcome that. It is a little surprising that Kendricks seems to take a shot at that toughness here. You might even remember that in 2016 against the Browns, Ertz suffered a first-rib displacement and actually finished the game. And he also caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LII as he dove into the end zone. Big V … Vaitai. He's so big that his size allows him to do what he does, you see. But he doesn't have the quickest feet and he's not the strongest. He doesn't trust his feet at all. You get on him, he doesn't trust his confidence at all. This is honestly a pretty fair assessment of Big V, especially the part about his confidence. That's the scoop on Vaitai: that once he loses his confidence, he struggles to get it back. That's why his NFL debut in 2016 was such a disaster; he lost confidence and never got it back. It isn't uncommon for a guy on a new team to give his new teammates the scoop on his former teammates. It's just unique that we get to see it thanks to the "Hard Knocks" cameras. Aside from what might have been an unwarranted shot at Ertz, Kendricks wasn't off that much. Have fun in Cleveland, Mychal. More on the Eagles<doc-sep>
Before Mychal Kendricks was charged with insider trading, he sold out his ex-Philadelphia Eagles teammates to the Browns ... giving a full scouting report on the guys he played with last year. It was all captured on HBO's "Hard Knocks" -- when defensive coordinator asked the linebacker to come up with a list of weaknesses he learned about his teammates during his time in Philly. Kendricks didn't even hesitate -- putting together a Eagles cheat sheet like a double agent ... and then presented all of his info during a team meeting before they clashed in last week's preseason game. Mychal Kendricks scouting report on Zach Ertz and Big V from Hard Knocks On Zach “When it comes to blocking, you f------ hit his a-- over and over and over, he doesn’t want any smoke” pic.twitter.com/aeP3Cm3Mtv @JClarkNBCS Here's the info ... "Uh, let's start with Nick Foles. Playing with Nick Foles, I realized on his long balls, his deep balls, he has like a teardrop effect. He's tall and he likes to drop that literally from the sky. So corners, and the timing's just a little slower on that ball coming in." "86 [Zach Ertz], I think, is the best receiver on the team. Notice I said 'receiver.' When it comes to blocking, you f*cking hit his ass over and over, he doesn't want any smoke." "Big V, Vaitai. He's so big that his size allows him to do what he does. You see, but he doesn't have the quickest feet and he's not the strongest. He doesn't trust his feet at all. You get on him, his confidence will go down." Look, we get it ... sometimes teams will bring in players for their knowledge about their former team -- but this one felt especially snitchy.