With conference schedules fully underway and the race for each conference’s six playoff spots at stake, look for games to get edgier. Each week the games gain importance. Players recognize this as do the coaches. As a result, look for coaches to lean even more on their top players and those that have carried them […]

The Minnesota Vikings are coming off of a resounding defeat in front of a national audience at Lambeau. They had little in the way of a response to the surgical offense that Aaron Rodgers led up and down the field. They are now faced with a short week, and have a much different challenge on […]

In what may be the most interesting matchup so far this season the New York Jets visit the Denver Broncos. The New York Jets know what to expect from Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos – an option-style offense that relies almost exclusively on running the ball. Yet despite running an gameplan that’s older than […]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IcjSDZNbOs0 In today’s NFL, which is a quarterback driven league, the NFC West presents it version of bizarro world. Taking a look around the league, division by division, usually two out of four and in some cases, three out of four teams have an above average or elite quarterback behind center. So why is it […]

If the NFC were being judged by a panel of figure skating judges, they’d look at the perfection of the Green Bay Packers and the nearly perfect failure of the St Louis Rams and just cancel them out. Then they’d pore their way through the rest of the field, assessing technical merit and — of […]

With each passing week, the AFC playoff picture makes less and less sense. The league’s best division might be won by the team that can’t beat any of its division mates. The team with the largest division lead just lost its starting quarterback and now turns to Matt Leinert. And I think the Pottsville Maroons […]

As the beautiful Tina Turner once sang, “You’re Simply the Best.” All that’s missing is the fat lady singing with her, because this competition is pretty much over. The Colts took a commanding two-game lead this weekend, making them the far and away favorite to land Sir Andrew Luck. The Colts had their easiest game […]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9HUfge790iM?wmode=Opaque San Francisco 27, New York Giants 20 – Hello San Francisco by Buddy Guy The 49ers are 8-1… who woulda thought! Not Joe Montana, not Steve Young either. The same old Alex Smith is the starting QB for the 49ers and yet they are 8-1! Jim Harbaugh has done one heck of a job on […]

Joe Paterno wants Andy Reid’s job security. As the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, and the only remaining “power coach” in the league with both coaching and GM duties, Reid is essentially an institution unto himself. (Officially, his title is Executive Vice President of Football Operations, but let’s not quibble.) That means that essentially only […]

Sunday’s opening action featured four upset wins, and a fifth unexpected blowout win, each one of which can be traced back to a decision made before the game started. Sure, the players have to make plays, but sometimes a single move made (or not made) by the coaching staff ends up having the biggest impact […]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZvRWo8CXTpc?wmode=Opaque Finally the bye weeks are gone, but the annual war of attrition has wreaked havoc on the teams that lined up on Week 1 of the season. Add in the maddening whims of coaches in their desperate hour, and this week’s matchups are defined by the players that won’t be in them.  Thursday: Oakland […]

So, about that contract year breakout for DeSean Jackson… it might be over before it started.  @EaglesInsider: An #Eagles source confirms the @lesbowen report that WR DeSean Jackson will be inactive for today’s game for missing a team mtg. This is stunning news for fantasy owners getting ready for the stretch drive, but fits into […]

This game is a tale of two teams heading in opposite directions. The Bucs are a respectable 4-4 on the season, but they have lost their last two games and are quickly losing ground in the competitive NFC South. The Texans on the other hand are surging, without Andre Johnson and Mario Williams no less. […]

Now that the Albert Haynesworth experiment has failed and the Ochocinco… whatever it is… is failing as well, it looks like the New England Patriots have lost their grip on not just the AFC East, but their dominance of the AFC as a whole. With a reputation for cutting ties with a player a year […]