Week Two is often seen as a “correction” week in the NFL, when week one’s surprise teams get their comeuppance and struggling playoff contenders get a chance to right their course. It’s also a chance to see if the hidden trends that emerged in Week One continue to play out and define the story of […]

This much is true: at least one of the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, and Cincinnati Bengals will be 2-0 at the end of this weekend. I can be confident in that statement because the Bills and Raiders face each other in an all-underdog undercard. Barring a tie, one of these teams will officially become one […]

There’s an odd thing about the NFL schedule this week: there’s not a single divisional game on the schedule. Odds-makers and bettors love the wealth of history that exists in divisional games. A three-year trend can be built on six games’ worth of data — more if they’ve met in the playoffs as well. But […]

Michael Vick, now happily ensconced as quarterback for the Super Bowl-ready Philadelphia Eagles, told the Atlanta media yesterday that “the Georgia Dome is Matt Ryan’s house now.” An impartial accounting of the number of #7 jerseys still in the Dome on game-days might say otherwise. In his brief, incendiary time in a Falcons uniform, Michael […]

Let’s imagine a nightmare draft strategy, playing out in Week 1. You get a top-five pick and are ecstatic when Chris Johnson falls to you. Coming back around, you pair the speedster with a classic power back in LeGarrette Blount, then debate between going RB-heavy in the third round, or taking your first receiver. You […]

  I’m an unfortunate soul when it comes to football fandom. I was raised in Tampa Bay Buccaneers country during the original creamsicle era, and had to unlearn multiple curse words as a toddler before being allowed into polite company. (I still vividly remember those heady days when everyone believed that Vinny Testaverde was going […]

The end of a typical football game looks a lot like a wrap party at the end of four-act play. The actors who were mortal enemies acting out generations-old grudges with murderous passion for the last three hours take off the helmets, hug, slap hands, and make plans to meet up later. For these professionals, […]

Let’s consider washing your socks on a Saturday morning. Not exactly unpleasant, but something you have to do, and can just get done without worrying your hangover by thinking too hard. Just like drafting one of the stalwart big-name tight ends, Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark, or Jason Witten, used to be in fantasy football. The […]