Q&A: Broncos' Lloyd too valuable to let go - The Denver Post
A look at the Broncos' roster, as well as discussions with several personnel people around the league, quickly shows Denver's strongest areas in the eyes of its peers are at wide receiver and quarterback. The Broncos are considered thin at most every other position. So, if they do make a trade, those two positions would be the most likely ones other teams would be looking at when considering the Broncos' roster.
Fox and Fisher: A Comparison " MaxDenver
Yet by tangible measurements, Fox is at least the equal of Fisher, and by some measurements has had the better career, with as much playoff success in only nine seasons as Fisher had in 16 full years at the helm of the Oilers/Titans franchise. [Ed.Note- Quality work by Mase. -satisfied styg]
NFL NEWS
NFL Should Look To Hockey, Soccer on Flagrant Fouls -- NFL FanHouse
The solution could come from hockey, which forces penalized teams to play shorthanded for two minutes for minor penalties or five minutes for major penalties, and soccer, which forces a team to play the rest of the game a man short if a player is ejected with a red card. [Ed.Note- I have been thinking about this a lot lately, and this type of penalty feeds directly into the tactical nature of the game of football, which is something it shares in common with soccer. The red card system could definitely work. -strategic styg]
Super Bowl Has Transformed From Humble to Huge - NYTimes.com
Hunt decided that pro football's Championship Game should be re-named the Super Bowl, the moniker winning out over then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle's suggestion of The Big One.
NFL Riding Remarkable TV Ratings Into Super Bowl - NYTimes.com
"The secret weapon is Howard Katz, the NFL's scheduler," Hill said. "If you're not getting the right matchups in the right markets, then you are not putting the most appealing thing in front of people. If you look at the matchups he's put together week in and week out and year in and year out, his hard work is shining."
Ravens Insider: Source: Ravens unhappy with Zorn's teaching methods - Baltimore Ravens news, schedule, analysis and opinion - baltimoresun.com
One of the main reasons why the Ravens fired quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn was his teaching methods, according to a league source. Ravens coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron spent all day Tuesday questioning Zorn about how he was coaching quarterback Joe Flacco and were concerned about Zorn being insubordinate, the source added.
N.F.L. Linemen Tip the Scales - NYTimes.com
"I just can’t see how they can be healthy," said Dr. Charles Yesalis, an epidemiologist and professor emeritus of health and human development at Penn State. "Yes, some may be 280 pounds of muscle, but then they carry 40 pounds of fat. It just overworks your heart.
Pro Football Tackles The Event Hospitality Business - NYTimes.com
Corporate customers make up between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of the clients for the Super Bowl, while the reverse is true for the other properties, Wintergrass said.
Social media: Maurice Jones-Drew, Will Hill show why social media like Twitter is evil - OrlandoSentinel.com
And now that athletes have their own media — social media — with complete editorial control, sports fans are seeing many of them for what they truly are: Fools.
On Language - Pigskin Parlance - NYTimes.com
It makes perfect sense, for instance, that football would give rise to the peculiar verb out-physical as a counterpart to outsmart. (John McKay, longtime coach at U.S.C., popularized the word in the mid-’60s, when after a loss he would say, "We were just plain out-physicaled.") And as I observed in a column last September, it was in football that man up evolved from a phrase for playing man-to-man defense to a more general macho incitement.
Report: Dallas faces stripper shortage before Super Bowl XLV - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN
Walsh said the 60 or so Dallas-area strip clubs will require approximately 10,000 strippers combined. [Ed. Note- By their math, every guest needs approximately 30 strippers... -sexy styg]
Jeff Fisher: 'It's time, I need a break' | National Football Post
If Fisher wants to, he can coach immediately. According to FOX Sports, he'll be paid $8 million under the terms of his settlement.
Nepotism may have greased the skids for Fisher’s exit | ProFootballTalk
Fisher, who had complete control over coaching staff moves, revealed to management this week that he had signed about a dozen of his assistants, including Cecil, to one-year contract extensions in mid-December. That led to a series of meetings and the decision that it would be best to part ways. [Ed.Note- So the two longest tenured coaches in recent memory, Shanny and Fisher, both seem to have been done in by the new NFL aristocracy of "coaching castles," basically staffs bloated with nepotism and favoritism. -skeptical styg]
PodCenter " ESPN Radio
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter explains what happened behind the scenes that led to Jeff Fisher's dismissal in Tennessee.
NFL.com news: Report: Eagles request interview with Packers assistant
The Philadelphia Eagles are pursuing Green Bay Packers safeties coach Darren Perry for their open defensive coordinator position reported the Journal Sentinel on Friday, citing a league source. [Ed.Note- So the Allen hire by the Broncos, in light of Trgovac's unlikely departure from GB and LeBeau's unlikeliness to coach anywhere but PIT, seems to have been properly bumped ahead on the priority list, essentially skunking both PHI and ARI - stealthy styg]
Andy Reid Should Take Keen Notice of Suddenly Available Jeff Fisher -- NFL FanHouse
How lucky would the Eagles be if Jeff Fisher just landed in their laps? Still without a defensive coordinator two weeks after firing Sean McDermott and having seen both top in-house candidate Dick Jauron and the only coach to interview for the position, Dennis Allen, both take coordinator jobs elsewhere, Philadelphia seemed to be waiting to hire a position coach from one of the two Super Bowl teams. Of those men, only Green Bay defensive line coach Mike Trgovac has ever been an NFL coordinator. [Ed.Note-...on the other hand, this would make a great consolation prize. -surprised styg]
Steve Spagnuolo Slowly Prepares to Seek Out Rams' Next Quarterbacks Coach -- NFL FanHouse
"I have some names,'' Spagnuolo said when talking about the open position. "We'll probably start having to bring some people into St. Louis. But we're in no real rush. We want to get the right guy, and I want Josh to feel good about him, too, and the rest of the staff.'' [Ed.Note- AHHH! When will McD's mad, mad, mad NFL power-grab come to an end! -sarcastic styg]
Gridiron Girls - NYTimes.com
The crude archetypes of female fandom — the clueless girlfriend who asks if LeBron scored the touchdown, or the mom who waits for a pivotal moment to express her wish that they wouldn’t spit tobacco like that — manage to endure because everyone has watched a game with one of those types. But to assume that most women would take one look at the league’s violence and sexual mayhem and slowly walk away betrays a misunderstanding of football’s place in our culture, and also of women.
Catherine Conti wants to be the NFL's first female referee - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN
This is not some 34-year-old woman dreaming big dreams rooted only in fantasy. This is a goal that could very well happen. "At her age and positioning, she’s at a perfect place," said Mike Pereira, the former senior director of NFL officiating who now works for FOX as rules analyst. "And patience is an absolute virtue. And with the people now behind her, she’s got a heckuva chance to get there."
NFL DRAFT
ProFootballWeekly.com - Miller has look of elite sack artist
An experienced, rush linebacker who was hobbled by an ankle injury early as a senior, Miller finished the season very strong and showed he could dominate and take over games in critical situations. Has the bend, burst and explosion to become an elite sack artist.
Senior Bowl notes | National Football Post
Phil Taylor – DT -- Baylor: When was the last time you talked about two Baylor linemen in the same draft? For such a big man (6-3, 337 pounds) he moves really well. Looks like a pure nose tackle in a 3-4 but because of his quickness he should be able to play defensive tackle in a 4-3. Consistently got penetration in the pass rush drills. Interesting guy.
Five players that stood out at the Senior Bowl | National Football Post
Cameron Jordan, DL, Cal: He’s explosive off of the line of scrimmage and unlike Miami’s Allen Bailey (a straight line pass rusher), Jordan had enough counter moves in his game to consistently win at the point of attack. Everyday when I watched one-on-ones and team drills, Jordan stood out
ProFootballWeekly.com - Tight ends in Mobile hope to emulate 2010 rookie class
The guy here who has the most versatility is Tennessee TE Luke Stocker, the highest-rated senior tight end. Stocker says he is focusing on the pass-catching part of his game this week.Stocker has really impressed this week and is the best tight end in Mobile. He made a highlight-reel, one-handed grab in Wednesday's practice. He understands that as a tight end, he can prove valuable to an NFL team.
Five-star recruit Ray Drew commits to Georgia | National Football Post
The 6-5, 243-pounder from Thomas County Central (Thomasville, Ga.) — and the No. 1-ranked weakside defensive end in the country — chose to play for Mark Richt over Auburn, LSU and Miami.
ROCKOUT WITH YOUR MOCKOUT LOCKOUT
As significant actions go, Goodell's a dollar short - NFL - CBSSports.com Football
Truth is, these are interesting times because Goodell and Pash have to figure a way to hose the players out of so much money that they can convince the low-revenue owners to soft-pedal their demands for universal revenue-sharing for the high-revenue owners. That's what's at play here, and anyone who tells you otherwise works for a dollar. The small-revenue owners need their metric ton of flesh, and if the players can't provide it, their partners damned well better.
It’s time for real bargaining, NFL - BostonHerald.com
The problems now threatening an owner-caused work stoppage first began several years ago in Dallas when then commissioner Paul Tagliabue pushed through an extension of the CBA without the owners having worked out expanded revenue sharing among themselves.
NFL Lockout: Ownership and players are working, but apparently not on issues that could cause work stoppage - ESPN
Now, after two years of intense preparations for a lockout that included a failed attempt to change the law in the U.S. Supreme Court and the inclusion of lockout clauses in coaches' and television contracts to avoid making payments during a work stoppage, the owners appear to be ready for hard bargaining. In anticipation of last-minute developments, Goodell has arranged owners meetings on Feb. 15 in Philadelphia and from March 1-3 in Fort Lauderdale for a possible final lockout vote. The contract is set to expire on March 3.
Herm Edwards: Making sense of the NFL lockout - MontereyHerald.com :
The sticking point seems to be an 18-game schedule. In the strike I was involved in, we went from 14 to 16 games and no one asked us or paid us any more. Two more games provides NFL owners with an additional $500 million. That's a lot of money. That's the bargaining chip that gets this going. Someone has to give in to something.
Possible lockout worries many in NFL - The Denver Post
Beyond the legitimate grievances the players and owners have in their wrestling over a new collective bargaining agreement, there are a slew of scouts, assistants and even some personnel executives who are nervous — very nervous — about the impending lockout. [Ed.Note- Some Senior Bowl notes in here as well. -sneaky styg]
NFLPA releases 60-second commercial | National Football Post
Opening with a padlock and then using the backdrop of an empty football stadium for the first 15 seconds, the NFLPA has released a 60-second commercial using its recent message: "Let us play."
With NFL lockout looming, time for a little perspective
In 1987, the NFL tried replacement players. A kid from my high school got to impersonate a Kansas City Chiefs running back. Also stuck in my mind from that year is the image of linebacker Jack Del Rio, now the Jacksonville Jaguars coach, wielding a shotgun on the picket line.
Union recommends execution of "financial emergency plans" | ProFootballTalk
"Make a list of everyone who owes you money," the e-mail to all players recommends. "Turn up the heat and call in all those IOUs now so you can add to the balance in your lockout preparedness fund."