At 43, Baylor coach Matt Rhule is far removed from a playing career.

EAST HANOVER B.J. Goodson Color Rush Jersey , N.J. (AP) — That doesn't mean he won't run the gauntlet with his guys to prove a point.When Rhule was helping turn around the program at Temple, he already had many of his players outfitted with XTECH shoulder pads, a revolutionary protective device that is gaining traction on all levels of football."I even wore the XTECH pads and went through bull-in-the-ring while I was at Temple," he recalls, "and I can tell you that the next day I felt less sore than I should have felt." That's the refrain from many a player, including NFL stars such as Khalil Mack, Matt Ryan, Odell Beckham Jr., and Andrew Luck — who missed an entire season because of shoulder issues."I had a unique history after being at the New York Giants where several players wore the XTECH pads ," says Rhule, who left Temple for Baylor in 2016. "Then Muhammad Wilkerson, who played for me at Temple, was a proponent of the pads. I had a chance to see them work firsthand. When we went to Temple, we put them on several guys, and they all had positive reviews. Shoulder injuries went down. Upon coming to Baylor, we had a chance to implement the same thing. We've watched our occurrence of injuries and postseason surgeries come down subsequently."The pads have been shown to work at a high level, and we have had tremendous personal success with them. The vast majority of our players have enjoyed the pads and appreciated the commitment to their health and welfare. I've even had other coaches reach out to me over the years to ask about them."That seems to be the reaction from high schools — famed Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California, originally bought three sets and now the entire team is wearing XTECH — to college, where company co-founder Bob Broderick says close to 500 schools across all levels have players suiting up in the pads, with virtually the entire Washington State roster using them.Dozens of players at the likes of Michigan, Penn State, Syracuse, Mississippi and Notre Dame use the pads.As for the pros — the NFL does not survey shoulder pads as it does helmets — Patriots running back James White, in the midst of the finest season of his five-year career, says: "I like that the pads are light and give me a lot of range to move my arms. But at the same time, they give me all the protection my shoulders need. I've always given thought to my shoulder pads because as a person who runs and catches the football, I feel like you should have the right pads to help you get your job done."XTECH has been on the job for six years, though the work staff is small: 11 full-timers, seven part-timers. That could be increased as Broderick and co-founder Ted Monica break into the European market; there are distribution deals in place for January to expand in Germany Odell Beckham Jr Color Rush Jersey , Switzerland and the UK. Also next year, XTECH will make available its first five-padded girdle; most states require all high school football players to wear a five-padded girdle.Their Cover-2 Program works with NFL teams, current and former coaches and players to buy pads and donate them back to their high schools. Zach Ertz, Melvin Gordon and the McCourty brothers have done so, and the Giants donated equipment to the New York Police Department's football squad.Monica has worked in the football equipment world for nearly 38 years. He custom designs every pad, which Broderick says are the only pads made entirely in the United States.What makes those pads stand out?The patented design features the only dual-cantilever system on the market, an adjustable three-piece body system that allows each pad to fit the player's body at the proper angle while creating a natural channel for the AC joint to sit in. On the performance side, a three-point swivel system allows for enhanced range of motion, and air flow occurs into the front and back to work in conjunction with uniforms, allowing for maximum ventilation.Additionally, XTECH uses XRD Technology, which is well known in the military space and is the foam XTECH uses in the entire pad. XRD, a division of Rogers Corporation, has a multi-year exclusive partnership with XTECH for American football. Monica calls it "smart foam," which is water resistant as well as highly protective and durable.The majority of the shoulder pad industry uses foam from China and an "air management" system which was developed in the 1970s. Think of a pillow and every time you hit it air goes out the side, and it compresses down and is therefore less protective for the subsequent hit.According to many of the players using XTech's pads, that's never been a concern.Recent company addition Brooks Barnard is the vice president of sales and left Under Armour after 12 years overseeing its high school properties to join XTECH. He was attracted by XTech's implementing "an idea that was disruptive and challenged a predictable way of thinking.""As I spent time in locker rooms across the country, I noticed the XTECH brand growing in popularity with elite athletes as their choice of pads to wear on Friday nights," he says. "The design of XTECH naturally captures your attention and automatically engages any football mind. It was evident that XTECH was sought by top players at the NFL and NCAA level and a groundswell was happening at the high school level. Several of the nationally ranked programs in the country already had players in XTECH and I witnessed first-hand what top recruits were saying about the pad."If anyone needs a reliable shoulder pad, naturally it is Luck. The first overall selection in the 2012 draft and the Colts‘ franchise QB since then never suited up in 2017. He's back now and having a strong season despite a general dearth of talent around him.Luck is intrigued by technology, but his reasons for switching to XTECH appear simpler."Just a little lighter," Luck says. "Been wearing the same shoulder pads and thought I'd try a new one out. It didn't come from a place that I need something different, I need more protection. It was just some new technology that our equipment managers came to me about and it's worked well so far." EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans and New York Giants aren’t paying much attention to playoff scenarios.They are on the outside looking in at the postseason heading into their game Sunday at MetLife Stadium, and their best chance to make the playoffs is to win their three remaining games.The road for the Titans (7-6) is not as complicated as for the Giants (5-8).Tennessee has won two in a row and it needs to win out against the Giants, Washington and Indianapolis, while Baltimore and Miami each lose once.Despite winning four of five since the bye week, the Giants need a miracle to get to the postseason. It would involve winning their final three (Indianapolis and Dallas after Tennessee) and getting a ton of help. The oddsmakers have given them a less than one percent chance of success.The bottom line is Eli Manning, Saquon Barkley and company are playing well and they will be a major challenge for the Titans, who have been inconsistent since the start of October.“The only thing that can really keep us focused on the task at hand is knowing that we have to win out to pretty much put ourselves in a good position to make the playoffs. For us to be looking at different scenarios and all those things right now is kind of pointless because you can see in the NFL you can’t judge, you can’t pencil nobody in at this point Olivier Vernon Color Rush Jersey ,” Titans safety Kevin Byard said. “We have to control what we can control, and that’s beating the Giants.”The Giants are coming off their best game in years. Playing without star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (quadriceps), they beat the Washington Redskins 40-16 in a game in which Manning threw three touchdowns and turned things over to rookie Kyle Lauletta at the start of the fourth quarter with a 40-0 lead.“We have so many weapons on this team, and we’re still figuring it out,” said Barkley, who ran for a career-best 170 yards and scored on a 78-yard run. “Right now, when you got Eli throwing for three touchdowns and we’re rushing for over 200 yards as a team, special teams is playing great, defense is giving us great field position with the help of special teams, our defense is making plays. That’s what coach has been saying, teams beat teams. Players don’t beat teams. We’ve been playing at a high level as a team. We got to keep it up down the stretch, and it starts with the Titans.”Five things to watch Sunday:SACK ATTACKThe sacks are finally coming in bunches for the Giants. After getting 14 in the first 11 games, the defense has had five each in the last two games. Linebacker Olivier Vernon, who was under the microscope after getting one in six games in an injury-plagued season, has 3½ in the last two games. Rookie tackle B.J. Hill had three against the Bears.RUN DERRICK RUNDerrick Henry just posted the first 100-yard rushing performance this season for Tennessee with his franchise-record 238 yards in the Titans’ rout of Jacksonville. Now the question is whether he can follow that up. The TItans haven’t had back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances since DeMarco Murray in October 2016.RUN SAQUON. CATCH SAQUON.Barkley has rushed for at least 100 yards in four straight games and is third in the NFL with 1,124 yards rushing. His 5.4-yard average is the team’s highest since Brandon Jacobs averaged 5.6 in 2006. The rookie also is second in the league with 1,753 yards from scrimmage, 11 yards behind Ezekiel Elliott of Dallas. Barkley leads the Giants with 78 catches, one more than Beckham. He needs 11 receptions in the final three games to break Reggie Bush’s 2006 record of 88 by a rookie running back.PICK HAPPYThe Giants have 11 interceptions since their bye week, linebacker Alec Ogletree leading the way with four in the last four games, including two touchdown returns. Safety Curtis Riley got New York on the scoreboard against Washington last weekend with a 9-yard return for a touchdown. This is the first season the Giants have scored three touchdowns on interception runbacks since 2007. Ogletree leads NFL linebackers with five interceptions, and he has tied the single-season team record for interceptions by a linebacker, set by Jerry Hillebrand in 1963.THE REPLACEMENTSThe Titans lost a pair of starters to injured reserve earlier this week with tight end Jonnu Smith, a replacement for three-time Pro Bowler Delanie Walker, and right tackle Jack Conklin because of knee injuries. Anthony Firkser, who came into the NFL in 2017 as an undrafted player out of Harvard, is expected to get more work with Smith out. Veteran Dennis Kelly, who already has started a pair of games this season, is expected to replace Conklin.