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These three articles are really good.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/04/16/2013-defensive-prototypes-defensive-line/
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/04/18/2013-defensive-prototypes-linebackers/
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/04/22/2013-defensive-prototypes-secondary/

I'll post more stuff about defensive alignments as and when I find it. I'm a bit of a geek for this stuff. Schooling myself on Buddy Ryan's 5-2 these last few days.

With so many teams running read option on offense it'd be good to have a specialist QB for defense co-ordinators to work against. The problem is the whole Cirque du Tebow that comes with him. Just having him at camp would provide much more media attention and could really unsettle the current QBs. Him somewhere like Jacksonville or Tampa would be a disaster.

in the same way the 'skins brought in Pat White to mimic RG3 but Tebow just isn't worth the media shitstorm he brings and I really doubt any team is going to invite that kind of drama into the off-season.

one area I'm definetly weak on is what the fuck happens after the snap on the defensive side of the ball. To me its all still a bunch of guys running at each other, especially when I'm trying to watch a particular player on Youtube.

This 7 part series on the New York Times website is a great primer for anyone who wants to get clued up with the various defensive schemes used in the NFL, and for those who may want some historical context to the 4-3, 56 Bear, 3-3-5 nickel etc:

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/guide-to-n-f-l-defenses-part-1/
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/guide-to-n-f-l-defenses-part-2-evolution-of-4-3-front/
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/guide-to-n-f-l-defenses-part-3-the-4-3-front-continued/
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/guide-to-n-f-l-defenses-part-4-the-3-4-front/
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/10/guide-to-n-f-l-defenses-part-5-the-zone-blitz/
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/guide-to-n-f-l-defenses-part-6-the-46-defense/
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/guide-to-n-f-l-defenses-part-7-nickel-subpackages/

I love this kind of stuff too, it really enhances your enjoyment of the game, even though some of it can be a bit overwrought and impenetrable at first.

Not a euphemism.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/denver-von-miller-wants-poultry-tycoon-110440097.html#more-47249

I honestly had no idea that poultry science was a college major.

I'd like to find a similar one for offense, route concepts, like trips sets and smash routes etc, but it's a bit harder to come across all in one place

In the race to be crowned 'idiot of the offseason 2013'

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/07/titus-young-arrested-twice-in-one-day/

He's obviously got issues if he thought that was a good idea. Can't imagine another team touching him until he gets some help or counseling.

it's the easiest way to learn

I can't see any team touching him. With some of the players the Lions have taken on with questionable issues and they cut him. I don't give him a chance.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/07/ex-jet-cliff-harris-arrested-for-third-time-in-nine-days/

Most famous for being the dude who replied to cops when asked if there was any weed in the car by saying "we smoked it all"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/american-football/22480849

It's an obvious fit on paper, but would Florida's politicians really sit idly by and watch their most famous franchise switch coasts? Doubtful.

No chance the Dolphins will ever leave Miami

He eyes Cliff Harris suspiciously. Harris shuffles nervously and, keeping it close to his chest, sneaks another look at his arrest sheet.

Young sees a sign of weakness and raises Harris's 3 in 9 days to 3 in 5 days. He's all in though, as they won't release him on bail any more.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000168932/article/titus-young-arrested-for-third-time-within-past-week

3 in a week now

http://tinyurl.com/cnzdg94

Is he officially a spree now?

Seriously though, how stupid do you have to be though to throw away an NFL career on piddling shit like this? Jesus, most people would kill to have his opportunities. What a dick.

I think Jarmarcus Russell has more chance of joining a team again than him!

The Rams could see he was more than just a bit troubled as he only lasted 9 days with them

But just watching wasn't Richard Sherman enough, so he watched from aboard a jetski.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/22227384/richard-sherman-hops-on-jet-ski-and-heads-to-seahawks-rookie-camp

Get ready to cringe. http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/9261432/jets-view-stanza
(It's complete doggerel)

Rex Ryan's seat is hot
Mark's been killin' him
What hurts worse is
He makes 8 million

Andy Reis auctioned all his eagles gear for charity. Look at the pictures for a sense of the where ridiculousness of NFL merch. Eagles birdhouse! Eagles Cowboy Boots! Eagles crocs!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/andy-reid-sells-off-eagles-gear-charity-enormous-151305137.html#more-47512

Fine fine work by the young man

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000169321/article/titus-youngs-father-thats-not-my-son

According to his dad he was prescribed anti-psychotics last week and was supposed to be heading into a treatment facility yesterday had he not been arrested again. If what his dad says is true then it sounds like his crazy behaviour is due to illness rather than stupidity. Hopefully he'll get a chance to get his shit together.

If so, what made you choose that team?

Cincinnati Bengals here, because they were the team the computer chose for me the first time I played Madden. Regretted that somewhat when they went 4-12 in the first season I followed, but they've done OK since then.

Picked them because I happened to see them in a Super Bowl years ago, and needed to pick a team to support. They had England in the name. Turned out I basically picked the Man U of the NFL world, but once you've picked, you've picked.

Being a West Ham fan in real life, it does make quite a nice change supporting a team who are expected to win and are always involved at the business end of the season. Everyone else really, really hates the Patriots though, so I mostly hide behind a bush.

I followed the sport for a few years before I chose Pittsburgh. Not sure exactly what drew me to them, they'd always had a few players I was a fan of like Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis plus they're a really well run team, they've only had 3 head coaches since 1969 and always draft well.

Credit to Kissing Suzy Kolber for the spot http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2013/05/the-new-vikings-stadium-looks-like-the-sandcrawler-in-star-wars.html

Watched a full season, then had my heart taken away by a good running game, strong defence, and Rex Ryan's big mouth and even bigger gut

That stadium will be pretty incredible though although it's a bit of a shame they're not building a proper outdoor stadium. No-one wants to play outside anymore.

seahawks: called the seahawks, unnecessarily brutal defensive line
bears: my childhood bedroom still has a bears pennant on the wall
jets: adorably shit, but more sympathetic than the browns. they were on sky a lot when testaverde played for them and i had sky
raiders: dirty cunts with the best kit

Great kit. Pete Carroll. Richard Sherman. Secondary called "the legion of boom".

Perennially bad, can't draft players to save their life, change their head coach every year and their fans are the worst in the league by some distance. Plus they share their stadium with the A's so the field always looks like shit.

They'll probably improve a bit now Al Davis is gone but it will be a long time before they'll ever be a team worth supporting.

that was so brutal i just burst out laughing. he tackled the guy off the screen! before that i was merely a sympathiser, now i only want to watch their games.

He's right about that. Also the fans are full on nuts.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=fH1i1N1eENw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfH1i1N1eENw

Brandon Browner is great too, he's fucking huge for a cornerback. But crazy fast for his size.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=XYV6pFXM8XA

its that we all love Seattle.

I really hope they come to Wembley as some point so I can justify buying a Richard Sherman jersey

when i first got to america, i stayed with a couple of Saints fans in Baton Rouge, and got the whole spiel about how much they loved Reggie Bush (pre-Dolphin days, obviously). kind of started looking out for them when i got back to britain, and got more into nfl, started following them

My girlfriend's dad is Detroit born and raised so I've done it in solidarity with him. Plus I like the fact they're underdogs who come from a troubled industrial city.

you COULD save your soul...

I'm not sure why I was particularly drawn to them when I started properly getting into the sport, I think it was just a combination of the jerseys/gothic design, being the only sports team who's name is a literary reference, having just watched The Wire, and some Baltimore bands I was into at the time.

That and they're always pretty entertaining to watch, even if not for the best reasons, it's pretty difficult for them to have a dull game because they're often so unorthodox and single-minded behind Joe Flacco and yet he trolled his way to a title. Also, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, and Ray Rice <3

Washington Redskins - my girlfriend's family are all fans, love the colours despite the racist/colonial overtones. RGIII.
Seattle Seahawks - same reasons listed upthread.
San Diego Chargers - love the colours, San Diego is a beautiful city, they can be the best team in the league on their day.
Green Bay Packers - because every team in professional sports could learn a thing or two from them.

I'm done for. Everyone else go on without me, save yourselves...

For one thing they haven't won a title in 8 years

In that sense no-one is the Man U of the NFL.

In the Prem only one of 3 teams can realistically win the thing any more. You will never, ever get any team in the NFL winning 13 out of 21 titles. And thank fuck for that.

I meant more in the Big Business, glory hunter attracting kind of way.

The impressive thing about New England is that they've stayed competitive for a long time. The NFL is supposed to be cyclical with the draft system of "worst team picks first" but the Patriots have stayed a quality team for more than 12 years (if you count the Spygate season). Obviously having Brady for that long is a big factor but you still need to find the players around him.

Started watching the NFL again back in 2008 and that was the first game I watched and they kicking all kinds of arse and had a last second hail mary into the end zone and won the game. Last couple of seasons have been frustrating, but still supporting them.

Was temporarily a Broncos fan during the awesome Tebow run in 2011.
Was a Dolphins fan when the NFL was first popular back in the 90s with Channel 4 coverage.

one of the reasons to like the Raiders and they will definitely improve in the next couple of season with Al Davis gone.

Rolando McClain retires from the NFL.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/15/rolando-mcclain-retires-from-nfl/

got a slight case of the old Titus Youngs he has.

started watching about 5 years ago. was watching the wire at the time. watched a few random games, turned it on one week and Ravens were playing. adopted them from the on. I like that they are a pretty young franchise. it also helps that they've been pretty successful and are always in and around the playoffs.

they went 0-16 either the 1st or 2nd year I took full interest. Liked some of their draft picks since then; Suh, Fairely, Stafford, Best. Such a shame Best is pretty much finished. and also; the MEGATRON.

Fuck knows. Disaster.

despite none of us actually supporting the Seahawks

http://tinyurl.com/bw47t84

it'll give him more time to focus on his criminal career

We could all wear bowties and annoy Darelle Revis on Twitter.

You're describing my current 9-5

Mark Sanchez's voodoo doll claims its first victim

Lance Reddick!

Just when I thought I literally couldn't love him anymore.

i guess i should avoid getting attached to the browns, i don't need another cleveland team ruining my nights.

I've never fancied the Wembely one based on the price and the mixed nature of the crowd. I dont think the atmosphere would be right. I'd love to go to a game in the US where there is a real partisan following.

as does Matt Light

I remember looking up Steelers tickets for a trip I was planning that didn't happen in the end and they were all $150+. I'd love to go to a proper game too, do the whole tailgate thing.

The Wembley games are pretty great though. The mixed support of the crowd might kill off some of the atmosphere in the stadium but it gives the stuff going on outside the stadium a weird festival vibe.

Said it was amazing. Had tinnitus for a week afterwards.

You can buy seats from existing season ticket holders I think. Cheapest seats were $120 up in the gods for the game against the Bengals this year. Worked for company who's head office was in Minnesota. A guy I worked with went out there for work and did the tailgate thing, said it was class. Its definitely high on my bucket list to get to a game in US.

but as they're coming to Wembley this year I'll be able to cross that off without getting on a plane :)

I think I'll change it to seeing the Seahawks now as they're my 2nd team, one of my mates is a big fan and I really want to visit the Pacific Northwest at some point anyway. I could definitely justify buying a Richard Sherman jersey too

Kyle Love, a DT. BELIIIIICHIIIICK!

seriously considering it...

Will admit, the atmosphere was not excellent, but it was great to see the stadium and such. I think the crowd is based upon the place you go. Like in Charlotte, their fans maybe aren't as loud or crazy, but if you went to places like Green Bay, Oakland or Seattle, it would be insane!
As for ticket prices, it was cheaper there than at Wembley, but again, it might be because Carolina isn't the most popular team, as say New England or Chicago.

One thing about going to a game in the US, is there is loads more merch you can buy. I went on the Panthers website store and bought loads of stuff before going and opted to pickup at the store. I had a big box full of stuff! If you really want a laugh, I can tell you some of the stuff I bought.

I saw the report and was like, what?! It's even type 2 which is a bit easier to deal with.

Massive fan of this stuff as evidenced by my Andy Reid post above

to decide who I should support next year. I got san diego chargers.
please school me on them :)
cheers

1*Panthers t-shirt, which I have not seen sold anywhere else and is really cool
1*training top, a Steve Smith created design. It says "You'll see me on Sunday, I'll be the one in the endzone"
2* Panthers flags, a little similar to the type of flag you get given at Wembley http://shop.panthers.com/flag3x5-1.aspx
1* Panthers football with the Panthers symbol on http://shop.panthers.com/panthersfootball-youth-sewnrubber-1.aspx

Now it gets a little silly:
1* Panthers full size helmet. Can't play in it, but it looks cool http://shop.panthers.com/full-sizereplicahelmet.aspx
1* Panthers cushion, really cool on the sofa http://shop.panthers.com/pillow.aspx
1* Panthers foam hat, quite literally an image in 3d of the Panthers Panther. It's pretty hot to wear for a long time http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035VRORS/ref=asc_df_B0035VRORS2507967?smid=A3IZE5IZMCX4VT&tag=dealtmp649307-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B0035VRORS

Lastly, the one that made my mate laugh the most, a Carolina Panthers shower curtain. I think this actually looks awesome http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W2OP8A/ref=asc_df_B004W2OP8A2515958?smid=A3A0QZ9FNO1IC9&tag=dealtmp919614-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B004W2OP8A

I was just looking through the Panthers store now and if I went back, I would come back with 2 boxes!

I've got a stupid amount of Steelers stuff too. loads of jerseys, tshirts, terrible towels etc but the most random merch I have is either this:

http://www.xboxaddict.com/images/faceplates/extras/52.jpg

or this

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ztO1dTUKL._SY300_.jpg

eric weddle
philip rivers

used to be alright when I first started watching. not so good last year.

Some real indepth analysis there^

sorry, dont really know much. i like there helmets

O line is a pile of shit, they drafted a big bruiser of an RT though.

They just lost their best pass rusher to an ACL tear too. I think they're a team who are more in transition than they'd like to admit. Still, on the way up and apparently the best tailgate parties in the league.

its more than I know currently. cheers

grammar isn't my strong point either

stick with em for a few years, then they could turn good and I can say I was there in the old days.
nice one :)

Their offensive line is awful. They have quality receivers and a decent running game but struggle tp use either because Phil Rivers spends most of the time on his back. The loss of guard Louis Vasquez certainly doesn't help either.

That said they're still better than the other AFC West also-rans (Denver are nailed on to win it for the foreseeable future) and could still sneak a wildcard slot in the AFC.

good WR prospect. massive hands. definitely stick with them, a quiz is as good a way to pick a team as any.

beautiful uniforms, beautiful city, great crowd/stadium, on their day can beat anyone, but are maddeningly inconsistent.

Could move to LA any day though, so watch out for that.

both of those and would love them in Panthers logos.

If you want the replica helmet, then buy it when they come here in September. Don't worry about the price, just do it. It's the saying I came up with when I bought all that lot.

You must be saving up now for buying all the Steelers stuff that will be available when they come to Wembley?
I know if the Panthers came, I would need to save for a year, as I would literally buy everything!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002CJM9OM?tag=cinkz-20
It helps that I live in a country that charges extra for anything that comes from America.

I saw the old Fox Cletus model the last time I was there in the US and I regret not buying it, as the new design is really not that great.

but i do have this tshirt

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NFL-Larry-Fitzgerald-T-Shirt-All-Sizes-And-Colors-/120643097009?pt=US_Mens_Tshirts&var=&hash=item1c16e391b1

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Ray-Lewis-Baltimore-Ravens-T-Shirt-Old-Spice-Adult-Large-/121107325099?pt=US_Mens_Tshirts&hash=item1c328f20ab

(at a heavy price)

cheap shirt for a not so cheap player. Also you may criticise but Joe is the lame, lanky white guy in all of us, I'm just being honest.

Would be cool to see what it looks like

Even if it may be true. Actually, Flacco won a SB, so actually I don't mind it so much

:/
may have to rethink

Maybe a few years back, not so much now... Woodhead is a nice little scatback, but Ryan Matthews has pretty much been a bust, when he's not been injured that is. Ronnie Brown is an old man and Robert McClain is a classic lead blocking FB rather than a weapon in himself

and they sadly make the most sense out of any team to move, but hopefully not eh.

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=1y0g37&s=5

This is pretty shit.

Here's an article about how good he is on the field, only based on man-to-man.

http://presnapreads.com/2013/05/16/richard-sherman-the-numbers-the-tape-the-verdict/

Note on the Stevie Johnson stuff, having watched him a lot against Revis the last few years, it's fair to say he's absolutely dynamite. Ridiculously good receiver who hasn't been well served by scheme or QB play, terrifies me to think what someone like Jim Harbaugh or Bill Belichick could do with him.

I've not watched enough to pick a team as yet. Been watching games from last season on youtube and already got a Man U-esque vibe from the Patriots, so think I'll steer clear of them. My appreciation of teams so far though has mostly hinged on good quarterbacks, nice uniforms, the packers with their whole not for profit bent (although as I understand it all that means is they have a massive financial reserve and donate a tiny percentage of it to charity), New York being the only NFL city I've been to and liking the idea of New Orleans as a city.

Not yet astute enough to understand the full benefit of good players in positions that aren't qb or wr.

Also not sure I understand the artificial competitiveness of the league (draft picks/wage caps etc) and most of the games I've watched have been decided by a single score or with massive near-comebacks, like in the superbowl. Makes it seem a bit arbitrary or random and too hard to predict. But with there only being 32 teams and no promotion/relegation system I suppose they need some way of preserving any competition...or maybe not. I dunno.

The defense is up-and-coming, although they could regress a bit this year since Melvin Ingram (who was supposed to be our best pass rusher this year) tore his ACL.

As for the offense, Philip Rivers is one of the best QBs in the game, provided he has a decent offensive line. Here's the problem — his offensive line has been terrible for the past two years and will likely be terrible this year as well.

I could see them sneaking into a Wild Card spot this year, but realistically, the Chargers won't be seriously competing for another 2-3 years. :(

I'd quite like to see the same sort of analysis applied to Brandon Browner to see how they compare.

COME ON YOU CHARGERS!!!
(do they have chants/songs at NFL? other than 'defence!')

For the fight songs for each team http://philadelphia-eagles.net/fightsongs/fightsongs-index.html

there still are richer/more successful teams generally, the cowboys, steelers and packers for instance have ALWAYS been around and successful, it's just more cyclical than soccer, which is quite refreshing rather than watching the same two teams duking it out every year and everyone else being largely meaningless.

it's not too hard to predict, there are still clear favourites in most games, this is just something you pick up the more you watch, but the fact that there is generally at least a couple genuinely really thrilling games per week (of a very short season) just makes the whole thing really exciting.

There's Revis. And that's pretty much it. Peterson started doing it, Champ Bailey does it a bit. It requires a very good skill set. Especially for lining up in the slot.

The point they make at the bottom there is what's important. Seattle are knoWn for having big corners who beat you up at the mine, suggesting they play press man or cover one: actually, they use their linebackers in coverage and play a really complicated, disguised zone, almost like a shifting cover 2 or 3. Zone coverage takes a lot of smarts and requires maybe even more skill than man to man as its about recognition of several things rather than simply keying on one guy....

As it becomes too expensive to retain all your veteran players. Also prevents teams doing a Man City/Chelsea/Real and just buying all the best players. Makes it more fun, and gives younger guys a better chance to compete, especially under the new rookie wage scale. Undrafted players get a bit of a boost as well, as they are way cheaper than old warhorses.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but your post suggests that

So many typos. Excuse my touchscreen

but when it's artificially made to be like that through rewarding the worst teams and punishing the best, and when so many teams have made a superbowl over the last decade, I'm not sure about it. Anyway as Severed799 said I haven't watched it enough to know who the favourites are etc. And it is a refreshing contrast to football.

No huddle offence, two tight end sets and a defence that's flimsy enough to keep games interesting.

Also, technically speaking New York isn't *really* an NFL city.

Infact I see it as the total opposite.

Success in football for instance, is now solely dependent on the finances of the clubs owners. The Premiership dresses things up as being competitive, but in reality only very few clubs have the slightest chance of challenging, never mind winning anything. Uness a rich owner comes in eg Man City.

The NFL has perennially successful teams, but that's off their own doing (ie solid ownership, not chopping and changing regimes etc.) as opposed to some random coming in with money. My team (the browns) suck, and have done for some time, but if we get our shit together, make the right hires, draft well etc, then we have as much chance of winning as any other team. That to me isn't fake, its because its an even playing field.

I think you may be seeing the draft as rewarding the worst teams, but its not really like that. The draft is a bit off a shot in the dark tbh. All the best teams come from having a GM who consistently makes good picks, not the worst teams making 1 pick and being transformed. The worst team is normally there due to this not happening so its a bit of a vicious cycle: see the Browns.

I know this is rambling but 1) I've been drinking. 2) I think one of the best things about the NFL is it is genuinely competitive due to things like the salary cap. The Browns suck because of us and no other reason.

Having a the first pick certainly rewards the worst team, but it's rare that it makes them instantly better (with occasional Luck-shaped exceptions). For example, I think it's incredibly unlikely that the addition of a very good tackle is going to make the Jags even remotely relevant this year.

rather than the NFL being artificially competitive, I would say that the Premiership is artificially uncompetitive - several teams now have been gifted almost unlimited funds and can't possibly be beaten. Where's the fun in that?

Pittsburgh haven't had a pick in the top 10 for 13 years but have been to the Super Bowl 3 times in 6 seasons. Whereas the Browns have had 7 picks in the top 10 during this time (including 4 in the top 5) and have only made the playoffs once

It's knowing how to develop players internally and to draft the right kind of players who will response to your scheme and your coaching staff.

They nail a few starters every year. They pick up a few guys that will make the team over the next 3 years. At the end of their contracts either;
1) they haven't developed and are cut/ have developed and sign
2) they get snapped up on a big contract by another team ala Ellerbe and Kruger and we get a comp pick in the next years draft.

That comp pick allows them more chances to draft nail the draft again and the cycle continues. The front office operates on a 80/20 basis. If they can get 80% productivity out of a guy for 20% of the cost then the guy is cut. That's pretty much across the board. It's why they have no problem losing 5 or 6 starters every year.

Mike Goodson arrested for seemingly attempting to commit every single crime that NFL players usually get arrested for at the same time. DWI? Check. Gun? You betcha. Drugs? Absolutely.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-rb-goodson-arrested-weapons-drug-charges-article-1.1347027

From the article I read, he wasn't the driver, only in the passenger sit. Neither he or his friend who was the driver have admitted to owning the gun, so that's why he has got charged with that. The only thing he has definitely commited is taking marijuana and being in possession of a small amount of it. The other thing is his friend has already had been convicted of something previously.
Regardless, it doeesn't seem like the Jets tolerate this at all and he may be done already. Big shame really

expected to be out for around 6 months. Puts a slight dent in the 49ers receiving corps although I dont think they'll struggle too much. He was Kapaernicks go to guy in the end of season run. He had a QB rating of 139.4 when throwing to him or something stupid like that.

he'll definitely miss their first game and will probably only just have come back in time for the 2nd.

was a date I heard mentioned. So he will have 2 games before the 2nd meeting. I'm really looking forward to those match ups.

In the non-news section;

Mark Sanchez threw 3 interceptions in 11 passes at a Jets OTA. Thats pretty poor but i'm not sure it would news if it was any other QB or team than Sanchez or the Jets.

Andrew Luck meet and greet in London tomorrow night by the way?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/22/crabtree-injury-could-open-door-for-moss-others/

They also mention Brandon Lloyd who had 74 receptions last year but is still somehow a free agent.

I like Luck a lot, he did Alec Baldwin's podcast a couple of months ago and came across like a really nice guy.

Inevitable seeing as the Bears weren't going to bring him back, but will still be weird without him.

And he's adamant that he wants to play in Chicago. Either both sides are bluffing and planning a joyous reunion or he's done.

SF49ers - Long time ago, saw Joe Montana come back from injury to destroy Atlanta. Great atmosphere. Chargers v Raiders - one of the nearest things you'd get to a local derby. NE v Bills - pretty intense, more like a London Derby (maybe a Chelsea v Fulham rather than West Ham v Millwall). That said, been to a few college games and they have been just as good to watch, maybe even more enjoyable. Just like football here, atmosphere varies wildly from team to team. I fancy a Green Bay Chicago game at some point and would try to combine it with a college game the day before. When we went, we went phoned the ticket offices direct and explained we were big 49er / Chargers / Patriots fans and were coming over just for that game. US customer service kicked in and they sorted us out tickets.

someone tell me, what the hell does 'primary read' (ie the red routes if you look at the offensive play art) mean?

As in the option he looks too first. You'll also have a so called hot read and a check down which are for when shit breaks down

Can you explain hot read and check down? What's the difference?

And come to think of it what does hot route actually mean? Does that just mean a usered route?

Ie. he's throwing 'hot'

Check down tends to be a short route, where a running back or tight end or slot guy runs between 5-10 yards and 'sits' in the zone, giving the QB an option if everything else is covered.

I don't play Madden, these are offensive route concepts which I assume are integrated in the game...

The Q&A with Luck has raised my opinion of him completely, very decent bloke, he'd come over to watch the Champions League final as he's into his "soccer" and gave up a free evening to meet the fans, revealed got lambasted by urlacher "rookie! c'mere!" in his first game, couldn't give a toss about fantasy football, took some of the harsher questions very well and didn't rise to it, plus signed loads of people's stuff at the end. He's more of a technical player than i thought, talked through a few moves and formations and it was actually fascinating.

I almost didn't go and the place was only 3/4 full, very glad I got there!

2nd time he has had his back operated on. Might miss part of the season, will definitely miss the start of training camp.

Worrying for the Pats as he's a massive part of their offense, especially with Welker gone.
Excellent for anyone playing them early on.

past the line of scrimmage.

but specifically 'show blitz'. That's a separate option on Madden to 'blitz'.

pre-pummelling

Show blitz means a fake blitz. It's like a zone blitz in some senses, when you fake that you're bring extra rushers when in fact you're dropping more into coverage

So more than 3 or 4 defending on your defensive scheme

would the purpose be that you'd trick the qb to either throw a quick pass into that coverage or hand it off?

Sounds like he's pretty lucky to be alive

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/49ers-spelling-bee-fail-only-colin-kaepernick-spell-230326109.html#more-48222

easily one of greatest players of all time, completely changed the way defensive ends play the game.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/945137_581359481896188_168376471_n.jpg

I can't think of any other reason that a team who play 4-3 and have the best interior pass rusher in the league would sign a 35 year old 3-4 OLB.

just to learn more about their playbooks. He'd be worth signing if he helps Cinci crack LeBeau's zone blitz defense which has consistently gotten the better of Andy Dalton.

Too perfect :D

The meanest guy to ever play the game

Gabe Carimi, the Bears' first round pick in 2011 dealt to the Bucs for a 6th round pick. He was getting flak for not showing up to OTAs despite his job being under threat, and now this. Adds to an absolutely terrible record for the Bears in terms of o-lineman taken high. Kyle Long has a lot of work to do.

Oh, and TEBOW TO THE PATRIOTS WUT

holy shit

this time for punching a woman. He claims he was acting in self defence

mainly because he playfully slapped his lawyer on the butt in court and annoyed the judge by not taking things seriously. never change, 85.

I really, really, really doubt that.

which kind of seems to be the default position for you're an athlete but we don't know how to use you types

I actually meant that even in the extremely unlikely event that he makes the roster, he'll spend the entire year wearing an arse groove in the bench and praying a lot.

Maybe that's it, it's an evil Belichick trick to get God on his side.

Gronk, Hernandez + Tebow.

Good luck stopping that

"Remember when Bill Walsh added Steve Young to sit and learn behind Joe Montana? This is nothing like that"

"Tim Tebow and Rob Gronkowski will be in the same locker room. And there will be cameras there, too."

"While this is a lot of fun, we should stop for a second and remember that somewhere out there is a mildly disappointed CFL team."

"Coach, with the Super Bowl on the line, why did you have Tim Tebow covering Wes Welker in the slot?"

so why not have the most talented bench warmer

Could see him lining up in the slot, at tight end or even in the backfield. He'll probably get cut and almost definitely won't ever see a snap, Brady, Tebow and Ridley in a shotgun would really give defensive coordinators something to think about.

And a euphemism just up there^.

then, it makes sense. Otherwise, he is a 3rd stringer QB and will never see a snap. I've heard reports, that they added him to get better value of their No. 2 (whose name escapes me right now), but I can't imagine Tebow backing up Brady. Entirely different types of playing.
I really want to see Tebow playing again, he's just such an inspiration on any team.

Now would be the time to trade him seeing as Brady's restructured to keep playing until he's 40. Could probably get a few decent Jaguars picks if they trade him soon.

http://miketanier.sportsonearthblog.com/patriots-release-tim-tebow-aug-31-2013/

http://miketanier.sportsonearthblog.com/pacman-ochocinco-offenders/

Not unexpected due to their upcoming Flacco cap issues. Be interesting to see if he lands anywhere else considering just how few teams use out-and-out full backs these days.

When I first got into the sport people used to talk about Mack Strong and Lorenzo Neal being as important to the Seahawk's and Charger's running games as Shaun Alexander and LaDainian Tomlinson were. Then these guys retire and guys like Leach lose most of their value. I'd love the Steelers to pick him up and get back to a proper ground and pound run game.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1671355-jason-peters-reportedly-arrested-for-drag-racing-and-fleeing-police

as part of cam camerons offence. he would create space for ray rice with his blocking and was one of the reasons the Ravens running game was so strong.

When Jim Caldwell took over his role got diminished slightly, he didn't play many snaps at all during the superbowl. alot of ravens fans on a forum i use expected the trend to continue and paying someone about $4mill a year to not play much doesn't make sense. Drafted a FB/TE player in the 4th during the draft who looks a prospect aswell.

the cap is the main reason he has gone. slight chance we use the money to get a vet WR if one becomes available. More likely carry the cap space over as Dennis Pitta and Torrey Smth are gonna have to get paid at some point.

Worst case scenario he ends up at Steelers but your cap situation is almost as tight as ours.

Could definitely see him going to the Browns, if they want to build that team around a solid run game then Leach could definitely get Trent Richardson into that elite category as he did for Foster and Rice.

a notch and has got himself involved in both a homicide and a completely separate shooting incident.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/pats-hernandez-faced-shooting-lawsuit-murder-probe-article-1.1377251

now is definitely the time for Tebow to learn how to play TE

But he's getting sued for shooting someone IN THE FACE?

but yes, there is no mention of the police from what i've read.

to Tebow/Amendola. nice

now he's claiming that Hernandez and him were rowing after a night out, he pulled out a gun and it went off hitting him in the arm and eye. Seems strange this would lead to a civil suit before a criminal investigation. I guess people getting shot in the face just isn't a big deal in the US.

sounds like he's in some serious shit

I'm going to reactivate the DiS league soon

I've done a couple of mock drafts. Don't have a clue what I'm doing really, but I'll give the DIS league a go.

Demand for places is extremely high. Even if you don't get in though, definitely join another one, even if it's just with 9 other randoms. It's just a ludicrous amount of fun. And the draft is more fun than can possibly be healthy.

Why can't there just be an extra space?

maybe me and OBT will start our own league

that's 3 of us

already organising one with my mates this year. but if there is space yeah, i'll give it a go.

What site do you use? im setting mine up on fleaflicker.

Yahoo's the only other one I've used and I prefer the NFL one. Would be good if we could have two leagues going, shame we can't have a DiS bowl at the end of the season between the two.

I'd never heard of it and he'd done some reading and it came quite highly recommended. It has a good layout and seems easy to use. can't wait to draft!

Is there any interest in starting a keeper league this season? I remember few people last year saying they'd be up for it but it never materialised. I'd be happy to set it up and that - I'm sure there are functions on NFL.com for keepers.

but we could possibly make a two tiered league i.e. start a new league for those not part of the existing league, and have promoted/relegated teams after each season across both leagues (maybe two go down, two go up)? Would mean that there's some form of connection between the two leagues.

seeing as there's already 5 interested.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/england-patriots-tight-end-aaron-hernandez-arrested-home-125936475.html

Shame I was a big fan of Hernandez, he seemed a bit smarter and more entertaining than Gronk. Clearly I was wrong

I know NFL players seem to get an easy time of it with the law, but it's hard to see how he'll get out of this. Could mean the Patriots top 3 receivers from last year will start the new season in Denver, hospital and jail respectively.

as the released Brandon Lloyd and Woodhead went to the Chargers.

But, will we also have a regular league that is just standard as well?

NFL.com definitely can do keeper leagues as I am in one on there at the moment. How many keepers would you think of going with and would you keep it to the normal offensive positions that we had last year?

or just the obstruction of justice charge they were threatening him with last week.

Oh well, at least they've still got Julian Edelman.

Wouldn't be much fun if you had to slog through year after year with someone like Darren McFadden.

They're gonna have to depend on WRs more next season and he had 74 receptions last year

It doesn't look good, but still, innocent until proven guilty.

So, who is still left in their WR and TE cupboard? I know this will be thrown around a lot by the media, but we know Gronk is most likely not available for week 1 and if Hernandez is out as well, what do you think is the likelyhood that they try playing Tebow at TE?

Don't draft Darren McFadden. I have no idea how he was so long considered a round 1 draft pick. He is amazing yes, but this guy cannot seriously stay on the field.

I think most leagues have 3 keepers a season. I've never done one before so I don't know the standard number, will have to do some research. Depending on on the opinions of others i guess it would be best to keep the squads as standard (1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 flex, 1 TE, D/ST, K and bench spots).

but desperate times call for desperate measures

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9416013/aaron-hernandez-death-odin-lloyd

is that this seems to have a degree of premeditation about it, which should be more worrying for AHern. They knew the guy, they were all together earlier in the evening, they "allegedly" destroyed evidence together.

Rays crew were on the lash and got caught in a street fight that got out of hand.

it must surely be for homicide, they've had the evidence to charge him with obstruction of justice for a week or so now. probably been building the murder case til today.

Oh, for just offensive leagues, I do not know. The one I am includes defensive players.
It's entirely up to you, how many to keep, as it's an option for the league manager to set. If you want to make it into a dynasty league then we could go with a low number first and then build up the number of keepers each season, till it's the whole squad as keepers

They still have Ballard and Hoomanawanui plus there's still a couple of decent older TEs in free agency (Chris Cooley,Dallas Clark). Tebow still thinks he can be a QB and I imagine McDaniels probably agrees.

and pretty much what they designed their offence around, gonna struggle to replicate it with anyone.

Any good as receiving TE's though? Not sure Cooley is viable, that dude get's injured loads, even the Redskins didn't want to keep him.
As for Tebow, I think he has already proved he will do what is good for the team and what the team needs. So, if they want him to try at TE, I think he will do it. As for McDaniels, if both Gronk and Hernandez are not available, then his hands might be tied into trying Tebow as a TE.

Which is why asking Tebow to play like Hernandez isn't gonna happen.

Maybe they should bring back Randy and try to replicate their '07 style with Amendola playing the Welker role. Maybe not Moss but another deep threat guy. And I'm sure they'll be bringing back Lloyd

don't know so much about Hoomanawanui. Cooley is a bit injury prone these days but that wasn't why he left D.C, it was more about the emergence of Fred Davis; as soon as Davis went down they brought Cooley back.

Dallas Clark would probably be the better option, he quietly had a decent season at TB last year and that was with Josh Freeman throwing him the ball.

Yeah, I remember about Cooley going back, but he didn't look like the same player.

You're right that Clark looks like the better option. With Brady throwing the ball, he should be better.

the pats have released Hernandez. They don't hang do they...

Either that or he was due a big chunk of money soon

"the move prevents the Patriots from ever recovering a penny of the $12.5 million signing bonus from his 2012 contract extension worth a total of $39 million."

That basically says that he is guilty and is being charged with manslaughter/murder

but is going to have to pay it back:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2013/06/21/aaron-hernandez-salary-recoup-cba-homicide-investigation/2447171/

It will have an impact on how the Pats replace him though as his salary will still count against the cap as dead money in some form or other. I dont really know much about the complexities of that situation though.

who knows..

or over estimating Tebows ability to play there. I dont think you can just plug a guy in and expect him to play a postion he's not familiar with. Maybe on the D when people go from DE to OLB etc. but to go QB to TE, a skill position, I dont think thats easy.

Please stay with the NFL one. I've used the Yahoo one before for NFL and NHL and hated both. It seems a mess and the NFL one is soo much better and easier to understand.

but he has been given some experience blocking when with the Jets special teams. Not saying it's easy or will be up to the level that Gronk or Hernandez are at.

some of the top coming out of college guys struggle with it. It is totally different to the read option/ rushing stuff he will have done as a QB.

I was really only asking what were the possibilities of the Pats trying to use him at TE, rather than saying he should definitely be a TE

I've seen loads of people talking about it, i just think the chances are slim

Tebow time cometh.

Suspect they must know he's hosed.

Also, looking forward to all the articles warning about how Hernandez was a character risk coming out of Miami. Sure, because being busted a few times for smoking weed and involvement in a homicide are exactly on the same scale

I think everybody just wants Tebow time again, me included

lot of TE depth on that roster, including Jake Ballard who keyed the Giants Superbowl win

I dont think they are saying he's guilty, I think they are saying we want fuck all to do with this shit full stop.

and this?

who could forget that one

Robert Rozier (google him, pretty terrifying stuff).

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/26/bizarre-sanchez-video-appears-online/

Count me in as one of them. I need more fantasy teams.

So I guess today's NFL lesson is that murder is a sackable offense, who knew? obviously not the Ravens 13 years ago ;)

Was really hoping the Hernandez stuff was just sensationalism. He was one of my favourite players of the last 2 years. Why can't NFL players just not spend the entire offseason fucking up?

that Ray the Knife was cleared of all related charges ;)

I really dont like the Pats but the Brady to Gronk/Hernandez combo was great to watch

and I am a Pats fan, so I'm pretty irked by this entire offseason so far.

Sheesh, people are so quick to judge. Firm handshake, everything's forgotten.

Along with 5 other gun related charges. Pleaded not guilty. Sounds like he's screwed.

https://twitter.com/wesleylowery/status/349962774476095488

What a stupid fuck. I have no idea why these guys think they can do stuff like this and be above the law

They must be pretty damn sure they've got their man.

It's just incredible. You can play the game you love for a living and be richer than you possibly need to be - as long as you don't murder anyone. That's a pretty low bar he's (allegedly) failed to get over.

Are we counting players who were murdered?

http://au.businessinsider.com/nfl-players-arrested-2013-super-bowl-2013-6

Just posting this as another excuse for you all to look at the Bryant mug shot really.

the perfect crime

that they have no release for without sport. Steroid crimes.

or something? Is that possible?

i'd totally like to join a league. Is there a link to the/a DiS league?

cast of 2012 http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/the-30-arrests-of-the-nfl-off-season

Ah actually, that list could be 29, as Mr Titus Young had 3 arrests.
That mug shot of Desmond Bryant has to be one of the worst/funniest around.

You could show a film on his neck.

Namely, Jason Peters getting done for street racing and high speed pursuit.

And Bryant getting drunk and trying to break someone's door down.

Tempted to say that pacman jones is funny too, but punching a woman, as ridiculous as it is, should never be funny

trying to break his own car out from the tow yard. Still makes me lol.

That case got dropped though, sadly. The Lions have had an unusually quiet year so far.

12 team leagues are the standard as it means there are enough elite players to go round but you still need to find a few sleepers to have a complete roster.

I think we should be able to fill two 12 team leagues with the people on here no problem. I like the idea of having promotion/relegation between the two as well.

And even then on bye weeks you end up having to start Jonathan Fucking Dwyer and Jackie Fucking Battle at running back.

ESPN's decent

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/27/report-hernandez-is-being-investigated-for-july-2012-double-murder/

"The guy leaves more clues than Hansel and Gretel!"

"If anybody out here in cyber-space thinks Arron Hernandez will spend one second in prison for these crimes, other than while he’s fighting for his bail, think again. Let me say two words; Ray Lewis! If Ray Lewis can kill two people in a night club with hundreds of witnesses and get away with it, then A. Hernandez certainly can and will."

amazing comment, he's totally made all the details up himself.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2013/06/27/cowboys-josh-brent/2465299/

do you think you would drop your allegiance to your current team and start supporting them?

I think I would follow them and look for them to do well in the same way I as I do for the Lions, but I think I am far to entrenched to give up the Ravens.

Probably not, no.

he watched every game last season. they are woeful

I'd hope they do well obviously and would probably go to a few games depending on cost etc but I've been a Steelers fan for too long to give that up. To be honest I think a London franchise is a bad idea, if anything they should bring back NFL Europe with a more developed format to keep it worthwhile.

But them at the Texans was one of the best games of last season. It says a lot about Blaine Gabbert that they looked so much better with Chad Henne under centre.

http://imgur.com/a/n7yg7

Detroit aren't as high as I thought they'd be; Vikes and Bengals leading the way

he said he is truley awful. They have a two fairly decent WR's I think aswell. Blackmon has a lot of potential. there main problem last season was Maurice Jones-Drew was injured, hes like top 10 RB probs.

Considering how high he was drafted in one of the strongest offensive draft classes in years. Their offense is going to be horrible if MJD misses the start of the season as well.

but he was a rookie with the worst QB in the NFL throwing to him at one of the worst franchises. his numbers were okay, but i think they were skewed by that game he had against hte texans when he got 230+ of his 850 odd yards. I'm sure he's kicks himself that he was drafted by the jags every day.

but it'll keep things ticking over until someone invades Mexico or something.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000215489/article/joe-lefeged-of-colts-arrested-on-multiple-gun-charges

and i actually wouldn't want to see them do well. It's a US sport keep it there. Such a disadvantage for anyone playing them, whilst none of the players would want to play here.

Silly idea. move on. oh and take the international series with it too.

http://top100.nfl.com/tracker

JJ Watt should be at least 2 places higher. Geno Atkins isn't even on there.

given how clueless he was at the AFC Divisional game. He has had a terrific year but he also lost his nerve when it counted

he's 38 places lower than Andrew Luck. He's won 2 Super Bowls and is below 2 rookies

this is the real list by the way, that one is a comparison thing: http://www.nfl.com/top100/2013#video=0ap2000000215204

completed 63% of his passes, 26 TDs and 8 INTS.

Luck broke the rookie yardage record but only because he threw more than most rookies, his completion % was amongst the lowest of starting QBs (even Sanchez's was better) and his QB rating for 2012 was 76.5 to Ben's 97.0.

ben had as poor a year as I've seen him have, as reflected by the stoolers in general

http://tinyurl.com/q6gmo5d

but American football is always quarterback driven isn't it (unless you're the Vikings)? There probably isn't a position in any team sport which is as important.

Sorry OBT and co. it'd be cool to have more people but >12 is too many.

like it the game's early days right up until you get guys like montana and bradshaw, the game was played much more through running backs, but yes, since then it has been QB-driven that's always going to be the case so it's a bit of an empty statement now

I think it's about the team. You need a good quarterback, yes, but you need to be able to run the ball (hello; packers) and defend (hello; saints and patriots)

I have no idea why Arian Foster is so high. He wasn't great this year, just coasted behind the best run blocking o-line in football.

JJ Watt should be number 2, Tom Brady is way too high... my problems with the list go on. Patrick Peterson should never be the toprated cornerback

apparently most of the players don't vote and those who do don't take it very seriously.

In part this is due to rule changes that mean quarterbacks and wide receivers get a lot more protection than they used to which means gaining massive yardage by passing is much easier than it used to be. That's why pretty much every passing record has been broken in the past 10 years, and if it weren't for the fact that Jerry Rice was an utter freak of nature every receiving record probably would have been too. The new tuck rule is probably going make teams pass even more as it further reduces the amount of protection RBs get.

It's also a more practical concern, as it's easier to build a team around a star QB than it as a star RB. Teams will look to get 15 seasons out of a franchise QB compared to maybe 7 or 8 out of a good running back because the position is so much more physically demanding.

It's not impossible to have success without a top quality QB (see the Vikings last year) and as lbc rightly pointed out strong running and defensive games are still hugely important, but it's no coincidence that, with the exception of the Lions, none of the teams with the top 10 draft picks in 2013 had what you'd call a franchise quarterback.

Story of the century so far, not even exaggerating.

Unbelievable story though. Really hope he makes their 53 and sees some game time.

when he signed for the Falcons. I can see him making the cut with the amount of dedication he has. Probably more dedication than over half of the roster. (I'm not saying that Falcon's players aren't dedicated, but this guy really wants to play football)

Good luck to him.

If Banks ends up starting it'll be hard to root against the Falcons.

http://i.imgur.com/NwN0SG6.jpg

http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/social/4432794

with him telling the story in his own words - do it. I was on the verge of tears throughout.

Falcons are a 4-3 team

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?n=scott-e-entsminger&pid=165695591#fbLoggedOut

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/07/rex-ryan-ran-with-the-bulls-in-pamplona/

We're really at the lowest point of the off-season now. Only 3 and a half weeks til pre-season starts though at least.

But I agree, it's slim pickings at the moment. Doesn't help that all the Bengals columnists have been in full "OMG HARD KNOCKS!!1!" mode for the past fortnight.

And good for Rex, a couple of seasons ago that bull would've caught him no trouble.

I'm tempted to watch Hard Knox this year, I think they might feature #92 too much for my liking though.

Press hasn't said what for yet but heavy speculation is that it's for performance enhancing drugs:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/22/report-von-miller-tested-positive-for-amphetamines-marijuana-in-2011/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23408643

My brother was actually almost arrested for the same thing. He has learning disabilities, so nothing happened in the end, but he'd been at a Cardiff game with my dad and was a bit high on adrenaline, and when they came out past a police horse and dog my brother apparently started woofing in a friendly manner at the dog - the copper thought he was taking the piss and threatened to nab him before my dad apologised quickly and dragged him away.

"Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports that Miller has violated both policies. Per Klis, Miller tested positive for amphetamines and marijuana in 2011. The former, which is the active ingredient in Adderall and other related substances, would trigger an automatic four-game suspension under the PED policy. The latter would require at least three violations before a suspension arises."

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/25/darnell-dockett-has-a-pet-tiger-tried-to-spend-30000-on-a-monkey/

'Dockett said he believes the fans would really get behind him if he had a pet monkey'. Fantastic.

"After the game, the fans see me with the monkey, ticket sales go up, Dockett jersey sales go up. Why? Because they all want to see me with the monkey.”

“Could you picture that on game days? I’m coming to the game, I have my monkey with me, he has my jersey on,” Dockett said. “Think about it. After the game, the fans see me with the monkey, ticket sales go up, Dockett jersey sales go up. Why? Because they all want to see me with the monkey.”

I'm not sure if this is really funny, really cool or just a bit mental.

The Arizona Cardinals vs the Tennessee Titans

.............featuring............

Crazy Darnell Dockett's Inappropriate Pet Circus

I'm starting to think he's a bit of a genius.

Dennis Pitta and Jeremy Maclin both out for the season with injuries at camp.

Also 360 degree "matrix style" replays on Sunday Night Football:
http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/tca-touchdown-neo-sunday-night-football-plans-matrix-style-replays-106441

the Steelers would more than likely have won the division and from there, who knows? Despite the fact their running game was utterly tragic.

His fitness is a massive concern. The Steelers will be there or thereabouts if he stays injury free even in an ultra competitive division.

and your tailgate entertainment

was thinking of signing up for the forthcoming season. Only £18 for 12 months...

It is great. Everything Khaled and Sam write is brilliant, the stats are great and it really helps with understanding the game/gives you and advantage in fantasy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dEQxO8Yuas

Quite amazing he hasn't been cut for this.

Firstly, it's a sport full of multi-cultural people and a lot of the people who play it are what he is calling out here. So, how he expects to be taken back/accepted into that locker room is beyond me. Even if he was cut, what team would take him now?

Secondly, is he saying something that some of the players think and quite a lot of Americans do as well? Is this something that is a problem in the country? I don't know what my point is really.

If I was Chip Kelly I'd get rid of him, he's definitely replaceable and frankly you shouldn't want a guy who listens to country music on your roster.

This sort of thing never gets forgotten. It'll be used as a stick to beat him with for the rest of his career (whatever he can salvage of it), and serves him right really.

Agree with Smyth2, if Maclin was still there he'd be dusting off his interview suit as we speak. As it is, he'll have to walk back in there and look the likes of his probable starting QB in the eye. That'll be a fun day for him.

I bet his agent is well impressed too.

yes, it does still happen. I know that book is over 20 years old now but in certain regions people still use the word nigger pretty liberally and have no qualms with it

while he finds counseling: http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Statements-From-Eagles-And-Riley-Cooper/dddc5349-e433-4296-9031-fd62b27f9cd3

Can't understand that at all, there will be a lot of players on that team that will never forgive him for this. Why invite that sort of disruption to the team for a guy that had 23 receptions last year?

Threatens to hit one of his own players with a 2x4. Rex Ryan/Mike Tomlin levels of quotability

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000227334/article/marvin-lewis-furious-at-burfict-for-fighting-falcons-jackson

Preseason last night! football's (sort of) back...Peyton Manning lined up in the pistol apparently. Can't wait for this season.

Hopefully Vontaze has got his insanity out of his system nice and early this year. What with James Harrison being old and Rey Maualuga being awful we've got a lot riding on him this year.

They're only about halfway through this year's, but still some good ones - compiled from fans own reasons for hating their teams, and general banter:

http://deadspin.com/tag/why-your-team-sucks-2013

Last year they did a round up of all the hate mail to find the worst fans too.

I love mouthy coaches. Tomlin quotes from training camp practices are amazing, he properly trash talks his own players

With pre-season now fully underway in all its mediocre glory how is your team shaping up?

It looks like the Bengals are in very good shape. The team is still largely intact (Dan Skuta is the only player they would have wanted to keep but haven't and he wasn't even a starter) which has meant they've been able to draft without the constraints of having to replace outgoing players. Giovani Bernard should bring a lot more to the running game and Tyler Eifert looks like he could be a real star. Offensively a lot depends on Andy Dalton continuing to progress, but I don't really buy it when people say he's not up to the task. He's thrown two consecutive 20+ TD seasons in his first 2 years (something only Dan Marino and Peyton Manning have accomplished) and rushed for 4 TDs last year, so he's no slouch. He's not elite and probably won't ever be, but as Joe Flacco showed last year he doesn't really need to be.

Defensively things are looking great. I think the d-line is probably the strongest in the league, and Burfict and Harrison at LB should compensate if Maualuga has another awful season. Dre Kirkpatrick and Brandon Ghee could contribute in the secondary at long last and Leon Hall and Reggie Nelson are sorely underrated at CB and FS respectively. Free safety is a bit of a question mark, George Iloka is currently top of the depth chart but Shawn Williams and Taylor Mays are both in contention. Other than that the defense looks incredibly solid.

Overall I think 10-6 is a reasonable expectation. All the AFC North teams have a tough schedule this year but the Steelers and the Ravens have both gone backwards and the Browns are improving but not quickly enough. Would prefer to avoid the wildcard round and another probably dismal defeat to Houston, but I'd characterise my mood about the upcoming season as "cautiously optimistic".

www.gridiron-magazine.com

Digital only as of yet.

I like to just pick up a magazine, take it with me somewhere, without having to try and mess around stroking at my tiny phone to read it. A shame, but I think it may struggle to take off.

I agree that it's a better option than a pdf version, you can register interest for this on their site I think

there's been ALOT of upheaval this offseason, but was to be expected considering the number of high profile free agents we had. Couple that with a Super Bowl win and naturally players expect inflated salaries. In terms of players lost:

Ray Lewis - Cannot quantify his importance as a team leader and ability to read offenses, but he clearly lost a step last season, dropping into pass coverage was a clear problem for him.
Ed Reed - Another member of the old guard lost, but didn't make as many of his big trademarks plays and missed way too many tackles. Wasn't worth the money he wanted, and now he might not even start the season with Houston.
Dannell Ellerbe - Has started around 20 or so NFL games, was good but not great. Miami overpaid for him.
Paul Kruger - Could see him flopping at Cleveland. Only fired up when Suggs came back from injury and begun to draw double teams.
Cary Williams - his boom and bust style could be a real liability at times, tries too much to be a Charles Tillman-esque player.
Bernard Pollard - Was poor in pass coverage at times, and was probably too outspoken for Harbaugh's liking.
Anquan Boldin - This is a big loss and the only one I worry over. Has one of the surest pair of hands in the league, was a comfort blanket for Flacco all season long.

Looking at the squad now, offensively it's a bit up in the air. our interior o-line is strong - Yanda is the best RG in the league and Osemele has pro bowl potential. Our tackles are worrisome, what with McKinnie's weight problems and Oher's poor 2012 season. Flacco is way overpaid but I'm happy with him. Have one of the best running back tandems in Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce (Pierce is probably good enough to start on some teams). Outside of Torrey Smith the receiving corps are filling me with trepidation. Jacoby Jones was servicable as a change of pace guy in nickel packages, but is not a no. 2 wideout. Tandon Doss, Deonte Thompson et al haven't set training camp on fire, and all these wideouts are too similar (speedy deep threats, which is suits Flacco's strong arm but is a bit one note).brandon Stokely should be solid between the hashes. Denis Pitta's injury is a massive blow, but a committee comprised of Dickson, Clark and Shiancoe should do the trick.

Defense is where I'm most excited. Chris Canty is a superb addition at Defensive End, which allows Ngata to move into his favoured 3 tech nose tackle position. Daryl Smith should excel as our new mike linebacker, has flown under the radar somehow. Could be a huge steal, classic Ozzie pick up. Rookie Arthur Brown has all the fundamentals to start from the get go, and with these guys flanked by a healthy Suggs and Elvis Dumervil (a huge upgrade on Kruger) this front seven can be a super strong unit.

Ladarius Webb will hopefully be fit for the start of the season, and after missing most of 2012 this will pretty much be like gaining a new cornerback, and one that easily ranks in the top 5 in the league. Jimmy Smith and Corey Graham will compete for the 2nd spot. Neither were great in coverage last year but age is on their side. Reed and Pollard have been replaced by Michael Huff, a former first round pick who should be a sound player, and Matt Elam, our rookie safety I'm very excited about.

I can see anywhere between a 9-7 and 12-4 season for us. We're scheduled against the AFC East (fairly easy) and the NFC North (not so easy) and have a very favourable road schedule so I'm fairly optimistic about our chances. I think we'll sneak the division ahead of the Bengals, who I'm pretty high on this season. Don't think much of the Steelers and the Browns are talented but still have many spots to fill.

http://youtu.be/cIbQ6UC8euM?t=37m8s

This is absolute gold - a side of James Harrison I thought didn't exist...

But a lot depends on how quickly Arthur Brown and Michael Huff/Matt Elam (who I'm a big fan of, second best safety in the draft after Vaccaro IMO) can step into Lewis and Reed's shoes. While both players were clearly on the downward slope last year their leadership and game-reading can't be understated as you say.

Boldin and Pitta are big losses too, and if Jacoby Jones goes down injured (very possible if he's still returning punts) that receiving corps is going to look very thin very quickly.

They clearly have the strongest roster and I think Dalton is good enough for them to take the division. Having said that I can see them being a one and done team in the playoffs though.

As far as the Steelers go I certainly wouldn't say we've gone backwards. We only lost two players in the off-season that we're really gonna miss; Mike Wallace who obviously offers a deep threat like few others but probably more damaging is Keenan Lewis going to New Orleans. He was starting to look like a pretty great CB and I'm not sure if Cortez Allen can fill his shoes quickly enough.

The other criticisms being leveled at Pittsburgh are the usual age related stuff about the defense which I've never taken too seriously. It was the same this time last year and we still finished as the #1 D in the league. Harrison leaving won't affect us as much as people think, I'm hopeful Jason Worilds will surprise some people (I even named my fantasy team after him) and Lamarr Woodley can't afford to have another year like the last. A lot of that was playing him in coverage too much so hopefully he'll be back to his sack happy ways in '13.

Offensively I think Ben is starting to adapt to Todd Haley's system more than a year ago and the word from camp is that it all looks good. I think Antonio Brown should be fine without Wallace taking the double coverages and Emmanuel Sanders will pick up the slack. I like the rookies on offense a lot, Leveon Bell was announced as the co-starter at RB with Redman and I think by mid-season he'll be the #1 and Markus Wheaton should get more opportunities to impress at WR with Plaxico out of action.

Overall I think we'll be challenging for a wildcard spot which will make the two Ravens games as epic as usual even though I don't think either team will be competing for the division.

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/article/media_slots/photos/001/018/685/AntonioSmith_original.gif?1376998771

It's basically touch football these days

http://i.imgur.com/UfwuLIm.gif

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/20/albert-haynesworth-if-i-have-haters-im-doing-something-right/

Last night I found out that, since the thinly-veiled's friend is pals with the Atlanta GM, I will have passes to the Falcons sideline during the game.
I'm pretty excited!

that will be amazing.

Hoping I can take plenty of photos without having Roger Goodell come and throw me out for not wearing transparent clothes or something.

Jesus Christ, I can't watch this season.

Massive Lola at the cowboys. the jerrydome strikes again.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1749256-kevin-kolb-injury-updates-on-bills-qbs-head-potential-return-date?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

That is an awesome opportunity and will be such a great time. Once in a lifetime experiece. Try and get loads of signatures

Is turning into a who can play on week 1, rather than who is better.
Really sorry but, I have the Jets down to draft No. 1 after this season. They really don't seem to have anyone on offense. It reminds me of the Panthers, the season before we got rid of John Fox. We got rid of all the vets and went totally young and we had a 2-14 season and drafted first.

5 years, $55m. Absolute steal.

RESTORE THE ROAR!

Might pull a sickie on Friday so I can watch the Broncos Ravens game live.

http://i.imgur.com/cEojeBn.jpg

A lot of safe picks, although I'm not sure I agree with Miami taking the AFC East unless they're anticipating Brady getting injured. The Chiefs taking a wildcard spot could definitely happen; there aren't many weak links in that team these days.

Hmm.

unless the Bronco's lose to the Texans but still go through and the Seahawks lose to the Packers but still go through as well.

AFC:

North: Bengals
East: Patriots
South: Colts
West: Broncos

Wildcards: Texans, Steelers

NFC:

North: Packers
East: Redskins
South: Falcons
West: 49ers

Wildcards: Seahawks, Saints

AFC wise I think it'll be six from the six above plus the Ravens. I think the Chiefs will do well to go .500 for the season, despite all the new players and the miserable state of the AFC West. The Dolphins could also challenge, but I'm still not convinced by Tannehill or Miller and it's hard to really believe in a team who have spent that much in free agency.

The NFC is a much different story. There are probably only a couple of teams (Lions, Cardinals) who have absolutely no chance of reaching the play-offs. Anyone could feasibly emerge from East or South, and the Rams have strengthened an already strong roster but are still lagging behind the Seattle and San Francisco. Can't be bothered with a full bracket, but I'd probably go for a 49ers v Broncos Superbowl, to be won by the 49ers.

Except I'm leaning towards believing Seattle can take the West from S.F and I think K.C will be strong this year(and not just because I'm banking both my fantasy teams on Jamaal Charles).

No idea what Miami are going to do, they could definitely surprise people especially if they can establish a decent run game to make Tannehill's/Wallace's life easier but I think they're more likely to do a Philly and not live up to the hype of their offseason.

As above, when a team goes on a trolley dash in free agency it usually isn't a great sign. I think Jamaal Charles can be an absolute monster if used properly, but after Andy Reid's bewildering treatment of LeSean McCoy last year there's no guarantee he'll do that. Alex Smith is a hugely underrated addition though considering they made do with Brady Quinn and Matt Cassell last year.

AFC
North: Ravens
East: Patriots
South: Texans
West: Broncos

Wildcards: Colts, Bengals

NFC
North: Packers
East: Redskins
South: Falcons
West: Seahawks

Wildcards: 49ers, Saints

and my wild pin stab in the dark for Superbowl is: Broncos - Falcons with Broncos to win

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2013/09/all-32-quarterbacks-as-their-team-name.html

you should be pleased with that (it hopefully won't happen)

Despite being fresh from a Superbowl win they haven't improved as much as other teams in the division. They could go 8-8 and win another Superbowl or they could go 8-8 and not even make the play-offs.

but it's the same logic we face every year, just love that winning a Super Bowl still isn't enough for anyone to rate us, not that I think we'll win the superbowl again but still, I think us last year proves that you can't ever predict NFL so easily which is its magic