A deeper look at the Schedule:

Week 1:   AT

Jacksonville Jaguars AT Tennessee Titans:
Opening day starts just like last season, except it's in Tennessee's home turf.  Last year we looked horrible against the Titans but put together a solid season nonetheless.  Winning our division starts winning on the road, opening the season 1-0 and the division 1-0 is very important.  No room for excuses here, the Jaguars must come out hot.  read more »

Giants 17, Patriots 14

The difference in the game
In my opinion, the difference in this game was each team's ability to rush the passer and protect the quarterback.

The New York defensive line dominated the game. Individual players like Justin Tuck, Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Jay Alford kept making outstanding individual plays. Tom Brady had a record setting season in part because the New England offensive line consistently gave him time to throw; when given a chance to scan the field, Tom Brady will shred any defense. But the Giant pass rush consistently got to Brady, sacking him, knocking him down, putting him off rhythm. We haven't been used to seeing Brady knocked around, but that's what the Giants did.  read more »

The 2008 NFL Draft Winners and Losers: THE AFC DRAFT REVIEW By Rick Weaver : Carolina Panthers NFL Columnist KANSAS CITY CHIEFS "A+" WINNER The Kansas City Chiefs had multiple needs going into draft day and they had 13 picks to work with. Thanks to a deal with the Minnesota Vikings the Chiefs traded away pro-bowl defensive end Jared Allen and received the Vikings 1st round, 17th pick overall and they got both of the Vikings 3rd round picks, plus the teams swapped their draft positions in the 6th round. Allen was statistically the best defensive end in the NFL last year with 15 1/2 sacks while playing in only 14 games. Allen was one of the bright spots on a team that was reportedly "rebuilding" last season.  read more »

I've never understood how the Sports Emmys actually work and now I think we officially know that these nominators don't watch the same shows and people us Sports Fans do. The simple fact that the Pam Ward Chronicle's First Winner is nominated should make them lose all credibility.

Not all of the nominees are terrible and I would like to highlight those people here. Mainly because they have no chance of winning a Sports Emmy with the impressive list of ass-kissers they're up against. Ernie Johnson, Mike Emrick, Jay Bilas, and Marv Albert. Now you can say that they have won in the past, but when you're going up against Mainstream Favorites like Bob Costas, Bryant Gumbel, Joe Buck, and Tim McCarver.....they're not going to win again.  read more »

The sports world has no greater spectacle than the Pro Bowl. Therefore, we dispatched Zach Everson to write about the Pro Bowl for us. He's out in Hawaii. Jerk. Here's his final dispatch.

Having witnessed the depressing display of humanity that was Kick-off and Fan Fest, Friday I addressed my melancholia in a manner befitting what I learned in college.

I went on a bender (albeit a tropical bender).

 read more »

Welcome to another installment of Football University

Today we take a look at the next evolution in football, which is the emergence of the TE, the elimination of the FB, and the coming of the feared 3 TE systems and formations.

Last week we discussed the 3 major steps in the progression of football.

1. The forward pass (a play innovation)
   
2. Allowing OL to extend hands and arms (a rule change)
   
3. The West Coast Offense and the Cover-2 counters (systems)

Step number four in the march of football ideas may very well be a change in positions.  Just as the flankers and wings of yesteryear vanished, and the original FB became a QB, the change in the future will be dramatic.  The FB will vanish, WRs will ba halved in numbers, and the TEs will become the center of the game.  read more »

by Thermocaster, The Meaningful Collateral

It's always dangerous to do too much projection and/or pontification regarding sporting events in the days that immediately follow. We get in a rush to place ourselves on one side or the other of an event, and we end up making foolish, foolish statements.  read more »

Bloggers Blacked Out by NFL
Record Media Credentials Do Not Include Little Guys

Tucked within an Associated Press Super Bowl notes compilation:

The sports world has no greater spectacle than the Pro Bowl. Therefore, we dispatched Zach Everson to write about the Pro Bowl for us. He's out in Hawaii. Jerk. Here's his first dispatch; he'll file again for Monday.

The Super Bowl gets covered by Will and Daulerio; the Pro Bowl gets covered by some guy who contributes to another Gawker site and just happens to be in Honolulu when the game's being played. Consider me Deadspin's Don Criqui.

Originally I had no intention of going to the Pro Bowl. I watched two downs of it on TV last year.

The MLB All-Star game is a classic that's significant because of baseball's history. The NBA All-Star game is, as Simmons puts it, the black Super Bowl. And it's important because this one time, Magic had The HIV, but played in the game anyway and people touched him and they didn't die (even though it was before anti-bac).  read more »