New Scheduling Format for the 17 and 18-Week NFL Season

The NFL is discussing adding an additional game or two regular season games to the schedule.

Currently in the NFL, at the conclusion of the regular season, you will know the opponents you will face the following year.

You don’t know the order in which you will play, but you can plan your rivalry parties ahead of time.

As a Steelers fan, I know that we are going to play everyone from our division twice.  Once at home, once on the road. That makes up six games. 10 to go.

As the division champion, I know we are going to play the Titans, Chargers, and Dolphins, each of the other division winners. That’s nine.

We also play the AFC West this year. I know that because we played the South last year and the East the year before. The Broncos, Raiders and Chiefs. That makes 12.

Then we have our NFC schedule. This year it is against the NFC North. The Bears, Vikings, Packers, and Lions. That makes 16.

But what formula can be used to fill out the last two games of the season? 

Some talk centers around “old” time rivalries. Like having Pittsburgh play Dallas every year. I would love that, it just isn’t going to happen.

Because every time it came the year where Pittsburgh would play the NFC East, then there would have to be a replacement.

Here is how it should work. Throw away the old way of doing it.

 

For a 17-game season

Every team plays each team from their respective division once. The Steelers would play the Browns, Bengals and Ravens only once each year. You alternate home game each year, like they do in college.

That’s three.

Then you play each team that finished in the same spot as you from the conference. If you won your division, you play the other division winners. If you came in last, you play the other last place teams.

That’s six.

Then you play the teams that finished in the same position in the other conference. So, this year Pittsburgh would play Arizona, NY Giants, Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers, because they won their division.

That’s 10.

A lot of people at this point would say this is not very fair.  You are making it WAY too hard for the division winners, and WAY to easy on the last place teams.

Every first place team will also play every last place team in both conferences. First place teams from the AFC would play all of the last place teams, and all of the second place teams would play the third place teams.

Pittsburgh would play Kansas City, Jacksonville and Buffalo. While Cleveland would have to play Tennessee, Miami, and San Diego, in the AFC.

In the NFC, Cleveland would have to play Arizona, NY Giants, and Minnesota Vikings, while Pittsburgh would play the Redskins, the Lions and the Rams.

That makes 17.

 

If the NFL decides to go to an 18 game season, it would go like this:

Every team will play the other three teams in their own division, once. That’s three games.

Every team will play every other team that finishes in the same place they did. First place will play all seven other first place teams, last place would play all of the last place teams. That’s 10 games.

Every conference first place teams will play conference last place teams. And second and third place teams will play each other. That makes 13 games.

Every AFC division will play one NFC division, currently like they do now. Having a game already scheduled against the team that finished in the same place as you, this makes 16 games.

Each team will also play one other division in the same conference. Since we already have games scheduled against two different teams from each division, this brings the total to 18 games.

Some opponents will say there are too many outside division games? There are actually three more. But this way, people are more likely to see a Steelers/Cowboys game more than once every four years.

Think it could work? Think I’m nuts? Let me know what you think every body!

Quincy Black Is Better Than Brian Urlacher (humor)

First off, apologies to Quincy Black and Tampa fans. Bobby Grendier is not supposed to be a typical Bucs fan.  This is a thinly veiled reference to those that think Peyton Manning’s only chance at being good is if Brady fails.  Think as I might I can’t think of another player like that.

Bobby Grendier was quick to point out the similarities.  “The Q-man went to New Mexico like that lesser LB Urlacher.  Both were safety/linebacker hybrids in college.”

Bobby is quick to add, “That is where the similarities end.”

“What about both having uniform numbers in the 50s?” I ask.

“I hadn’t thought of that.  I thought 54 and 58 were different enough, but maybe Urlacher should change to ninety-something to not be dwarfed in comparison,” said Bobby.

“Why do you think Urlacher is inferior to Quincy Black?” I ask.

“It is painfully obvious when you look at it,” said Bobby.  “Urlacher has missed several tackles that the Q-man would’ve made.  Heck, in 2007 Tom Brady, the self admitted slowest player in the league, juked Urlacher out of his shoes.  If it was the Q-man we’d never hear of Bernard Pollard.”

“And if we look at special teams play it is no contest.  The Bears do not even trust Urlacher to take the field.”

I asked why he thought denigrating Urlacher made Quincy Black look better.

Bobby snorted.  “You think I’m just a homer.  It’s OK.  You’ve been blinded from the truth by the media.”

“Don’t you think that Quincy Black should stand on his own?”

“Yes,” he said, “unfortunately it is all Urlacher in the media.  Want to see my analysis that proves Ray Lewis is better than him?”

“No thanks,” I said.

“How about my round table discussion on how James Farrior is better than Brian Urlacher?”

“You are comparing a middle linebacker with an inside linebackers,” I said as I left.

I realized I found the one player (Besides Peyton Manning, of course) whose perception of success depends on another player’s failures.

This is satire.  Bobby Grendier does not exist, as far as I know.

It’ll be tagged for Quincy Black if his tag exists and Brian Urlacher because fans of those players might want to call me names.  It really is not a Bucs or Bears article.  This is a Patriots-Colts article.  I’ll leave the Colts tag off because 90% of Colts fans are sane and do not need this crap.  I will tag it for Peyton Manning and Tom Brady because they really are what this article is about.

I recommend keeping your edits out of the tags.

State of the League: Houston Texans

I want to root for the Texans so badly.  I have a soft spot in my heart for expansion teams. I know they aren’t an expansion team any more, but they just have such a good work ethic and I just want to see them in the playoffs sooo badly. 

I will admit that I know very little about the Texans; I haven’t seen a game in awhile, but I will do my best to do the rundown.

So far they haven’t lost anyone of caliber and have actually added to their depth, but on the flip side they haven’t really added anyone, either.  They did grab Orlovsky from Detroit, but really how good of a call was that?  Detroit is another team I really know nothing about. 

The do have Steve Slaton, who had a damn good rookie season taking almost 1,300 yards for nine TDs.  They had a weird season; they lost to the Raiders and beat the Titans.  They did start the season 0-4, only to finish 8-8, which was better than I expected.

The question is: “What is wrong with the Texans”?

Is it the QB? I say, not a chance.  Shaub threw for over 3,000 yards and 15 TDs.
 
Is it the O-Line? Once again, I say no.  Shaub was only sacked 23 times and Slaton ran for over a thousand.

Is it the WR corps? Not sure…I know they have Andre Johnson, but is Kevin Walters with his 900 yards any good?  I need you Texans fans to inform me on his actual skill.
 
Is it the defense?  Ding Ding!  The defense allowed 24.6 points per game.  You can’t be better until you shave that down to under 17.

So what do they do about the defense?  I don’t know.  It seems neither do they.  They haven’t made any moves on any free agents on defense, including their own. But I don’t know enough about them to say for sure. 

Let me know what you think…I know you will.

State Of The League: New York Jets

Oh what a disappointing season Brett Favre gave Jets fans. Does everyone remember the Jets fans with their signs asking for Favre?  I do.  I also remember them bashing him (as well they should have) when he began to, well, play like Favre.

Being an old Packers fan, deep deep deep deep down inside I wanna still like him. I want to think that if you were to get a jackhammer and spend a couple days hammering the douche off of him, there is a decent guy in there somewhere.

I think Favre heard my yearnings, and decided to spend his last two years showing me, I was wrong. He is an older more refined T.O, causing problems with management, ownership, and the locker room, thinking he was too good to be second best.

He finally has hung up the cleats and I’m glad the football world can finally put the Favre pseudo-legacy behind us. The Jets taking Favre wasn’t the worst idea in the world.  Favre looked like he was going through a resurgence to finish his career on top.

Meanwhile, Chad Pennington was sitting on his hands, to get the stranger affect in between plays. Oh how the tides turned. Pennington went on to have a GREAT season while Favre did what Favre does best, not Finish. 

Poor Mangini didn’t have a chance. He got fired for the poor performance of Favre. Management should have known going in that you don’t coach Favre, he plays the way he wants.

The new coach, ex-Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, has been busy this offseason.

With only six of 19 free agents not signed somewhere, and the addition of ILB Bart Scott, also from the Ravens, they look like a team that could contend.

Oh, wait, they don’t have a QB.

Can you count on Kellen Clemens? NOOOOOOOO!!!!! 

What the hell are you waiting for? Favre’s decision (by the way, he made it)? 

Get the load out, pick up a free agent or do you try your luck in the draft?

Free Agent QB’s available (of note) are: Byron Leftwich, Joey Harrington, and Jeff Garcia.

There are a lot more that you’ve heard of, but they all are really bad, so I won’t mention them. 

They already lost three starters, TE Chris Baker to the Pats, ILB Eric Barton to the Browns, and WR Laverneous Coles to the Bengals. 

I have no idea how deep the Jets are, but I have this feeling they aren’t gonna have a great season.  

New coach, no QB, loss of some key players, doesn’t really add up to great season. We will soon see I guess.

Is the NFL “America’s Game?”

For years, baseball was considered as America’s favorite pastime. I think though, that through the years the passion has shifted. Football has taken the lime-light. Every year, starting in April, with the draft, football fans from every walk of life come together to cheer for their respective teams.

When the NFL began the first time back in 1902, the Pittsburgh Stars claimed the first ever championship. Then, there was no forward passing and no one was complaining about their contract. They were just happy to be part of a movement to revolutionize a sport.

Soon after, they continued to revolutionize the game by legalizing the forward pass in 1906.

Then in 1920, it was decided that organization was more key and the “modern” football age was born in Canton, OH. Since then, there have been ups and downs.

Now, the NFL is the most profitable sports league in the world. With overall profit’s of almost $1 Billion. The following is just as staggering, with fan loyalty that continues no matter where a person lives or what they do. 

The sport does, like all sports, have their problem children and financial woes. Players like T.O., Pacman Jones, and Bill Romanowski have shown that the NFL is not above other leagues with bad attitudes. 

Also, the looming end of the CBA and the cap-less season could spell financial disaster to the league that we all love so much.  The behind the scenes stuff that most of us fans will never know about is what keeps everything running. 

Roger Goodell and his cronies should do whatever they can to get a new Bargaining agreement in place before the end of the current one, or I fear it could spell the beginning of the end of the sport we all know and love. 

Football will live on regardless of what happens with the CBA, but the face of the game could be changed forever. For better or for worse? That is your decision.

This Draft Is All About Mark Sanchez

In Raiders land there seems to be a consensus that they should trade out of the No. 7 slot and collect additional picks. This also seems to be fanned by the hometown desire for the Raiders to drop into a spot where drafting Alex Mack makes more sense.

The focus of many Raiders blog sites and Raiders fans sites appear to be the Philadelphia Eagles, who happen to have two first round selections towards the back (No. 21 and No. 28).

However, there seems to be little desire on the part of Eagles, and any other teams in the NFL, to move towards the top of the draft.

Moving out of a top 10 draft slot is easier said then done in today’s NFL. Most teams see the financial risk of signing a top 10 pick as greater then the reward.

The exception, however, may be when a “franchise quarterback” is available.

Conventional wisdom going into next month’s draft appears to indicate that there are two quarterback prospects available that have the franchise tag on them.

Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez, in my estimations, are fairly evenly rated on most draft boards, and certainly worth top 10 picks.

Stafford has the bigger arm, but Sanchez can make every throw that Stafford can, plus he has the pedigree of the USC football factory oozing from every pore.

Sanchez just looks the part of the “face of the franchise for a decade.”

I am certain Detroit will take a quarterback. If they do not there will be a riot outside the offices of the Lions. They simply have to start pretending to be a professional NFL franchise and get a quarterback to build around for the future.

If conventional wisdom holds, the Lions will take Stafford.

Conventional wisdom also holds that St. Louis (not entirely sure why not?), Kansas City, Seattle, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Oakland do not need a quarterback.

Now, Jacksonville at No. 8, San Francisco at No. 10, and Washington at No. 13 are all in the market for Sanchez. Because the Raiders sit at the pivot point of the Sanchez derby, just in front of Jacksonville, they may be able to use the No. 7 to collect a number of picks later in the draft from either their neighbors from across the Bay, or the Washington Redskins and their impetuous owner.

This trade day scenario hinges on two uncertainties.

First, despite the noises coming out of St. Louis, and conventional wisdom, I am not convinced they will skip Mark Sanchez with the No. 2 pick.

Second, Al Davis loathes trading down. Unlike other owners, Davis doesn’t mind spending money for the opportunity to get first choice at premium talent.

However, this might be the year Davis is willing to move down.

There are only four or five prospects that truly merit a top 10 pick, including Stafford and Sanchez, followed by a bunch of prospects who are essentially equal in ability.

The odds are very high that the cream of the prospects will be gone when the Raiders pick. 

If Sanchez isn’t selected by the Rams at No. 2, then the best possible scenario will see the Raiders trade down, with the Jags, Niners, and Redskins vying for their attention and the No. 7 choice in the draft.

An Email to the NFL from Roger Goodell

RE: More New Rules???

As the owners of the 32 NFL teams, I understand how you may feel that we as the Administration of the NFL are “toning down the game.” But you’ve got to take into consideration the players safety on this matter.

As the NFL has evolved, many rule changes have been put into place. Be it the requirement of pads and helmets, or the rule where if a play is a fumble, but the team is named the Patriots after a great American tragedy, it is automatically ruled a fumble, we do this for the betterment of the NFL.

You see, as the NFL players get bigger, stronger, and faster, we’ve noticed a recurring theme. The harder the players are hit, the more injuries (boo-boos) sustained.

In our ever constant attempt to make the Pittsburgh Steelers not play football so physically (after all, we’re only playing for fun, right?) we are going to keep the two rules and hopefully by the start of the season, we come up with better names for the rules instead of using “The Hines Ward” and “The Ryan Clark” rules.

We also would rather not see too many last minute heroics on the field, so we’re going to make it impossible to recover an onside kick if you’re the kicking team, because if you can’t win it before then, then you don’t deserve to win it at all.

Onto the tackling of other players by a player on the defense, we need to tighten these up. If you, as a defender, are planning on tackling an offensive player with the ball there are some things you’ll have to do in preparation.

Every player has received the “Request for tackle” form in their in-boxes. I ask that these detailed forms are filled out in triplicate at least three days prior to said tackle taking place.

The players will have to fill out a varied questionnaire on these forms, including but not limited to: Exact yard line of tackle, duration of tackle, and exact force of the tackle (for a list of factors that may affect this, please refer to Appendix A of your new NFL rule book).

In an effort to protect the stars of the NFL, the quarterbacks, we’re going to remove all pads from these players and replace them with a flag football belt and pillows held in place by duct tape. To sack a quarterback one must have no fewer than two hands on the player and must clearly declare “You’re down!”

Failure to abide by these rules will result in a fine of no less than $15,000 and players will undergo a review period, facing a possibly suspension from the NFL.

I know that quite a few of you will be upset with me over this but you have to realize that player safety is our number one concern, I beseech you to take that into consideration when filing grievances, as always my in-box is open for you, except for on Tuesdays between 2 and 4 PM, that’s “Roger Time.”

Good luck with the 2009-2010 season!

-Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the National Football League

2009 Fantasy Football’s Rankings: Running Backs (April Update)

Welcome to our 2009 edition of Fantasy Football’s Running Back Rankings. UPDATED as of Mar. 30, ’09.

 

Nothing extraordinary happened in the running backs’ market this offseason, except for Derrick Ward moving from the New York Giants to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving a RBBC situation with a good OL to another one with a lesser OL.

Fred Taylor went to the Patriots, leaving Maurice Jones-Drew as the new feature back in Jacksonville.

The Denver Broncos monopolized the other available RBs of note by adding J.J. Arrington, Correll Buckhalter, and LaMont Jordan to their already numerous stable of runners.

Even with Mike Shanahan gone, fantasy owners are left wondering who their starting RB will be next season.

The San Diego Chargers, looking to avoid having another one of their backups flourish in greener pastures ala Michael Turner, franchised Darren Sproles and restructured the last two years of LaDainian Tomlinson contract.

Knowing that L.T. will still be a Charger, how does that affect his value? Will he still be a top-10 pick?Which players moved up from our last rankings, and which ones moved down?

Did we rank Larry Johnson? With Deuce McAllister out of New Orleans, is Pierre Thomas finally a top-10 selection? Did we clear the position’s logjam in Baltimore?

 

1) Adrian Peterson (Vikings) – The most talented running back in the NFL that made the “Sophomore Jinx’s believers look like they live in a fantasy world, deserves the No. 1 spot in the rankings.

How much did he improve from a standout first season where he posted 1,341 yards, 12 TDs, six 100-yard games, and an average of 95.8 Ypg?

In his second season, only the TDs total slipped from 12 to 10, but his yards (1,760), 100-yard games (10), and YPG (110) improved considerably playing in all 16 games.

He will still continue to run behind a great offensive line in 2009 that provides him with holes bigger than the “Grand Canyon,” and will count on the front office to provide him with a respectable passing game this offseason.

 

2) Michael Turner (Falcons) – Turner exceeded expectations in 2008 by amassing 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns. With a young QB in Matt Ryan that is getting better by the minute, he’s the real deal and should dominate fantasy leagues again in 2009.

 

3) DeAngelo Williams (Panthers) – Jonathan Stewart splitting time with him scares us a little bit, as he had 184 carries for 836 yards and 10 touchdowns last year. That didn’t stop Williams from topping 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns. This guy’s for real.

 

4) Matt Forte (Bears) – The good news is that he is the only real weapon on his offense and that will warrant him a ton of touches. The bad news is he is the only real weapon on his offense and defenses will stack eight in the box to stop him…

Full rankings >>>

The Seahawks’ Shouldn’t and Will Not Draft and OT with the Fourth Overall Pick

A lot of people have said that the Seahawks should draft an OT like Jason Smith from Baylor or Eugene Monroe from Virginia. Honestly there isn’t a reason why they should draft any OT with the fourth overall pick.

 

They still have future HOF Walter Jones who people make it out to be that he’s retiring tomorrow, but he’s better than any rookie they could but in his place. They also have Sean Locklear who they put a lot of money into last offseason so they aren’t going to draft an OT and put him at RT until Jones retires. Not only that but they just resigned T Ray Willits who they really like and honestly could replace Jones when he retires.

 

If the Seahawks drafted an OT with the fourth overall pick, you’re going to give a huge amount of money to someone who is going to basically wait until Jones retires. Now some people can say “o well he can learn from Jones and then take over.” Ok well Ray Willits can do the same exact thing and would come much cheaper than a top rookie tackle.

 

If the Seahawks wanted to draft an OT of the future to replace Jones they can draft OT Alex Boone from Ohio State in the second or third round and have him learn and it wouldn’t cost as much.

 

What it will come down to is Stafford vs Aaron Curry. Because we all know that the Seahawks will not be drafting this high for a long time and yes you can say next year’s draft will be loaded with good QB’s. That being Bradford, Tebow, Snead, and McCoy. Well Bradford, Snead, and most likely McCoy will be gone before the Seahawks draft next year (I’m guessing they should draft around 25-32, hopefully 32) and they won’t be around by then. Tebow doesn’t fit the Seahawks offence at all.

 

So it makes sense for the Seahawks to draft Stafford with the fourth overall pick so that he can learn behind Hasselbeck when he’s done which I think will be in one to two years. If you ask people in the Seahawks organization or Steve Raible on NFL Network said the Seahawks are looking at Stafford for the fourth overall pick along with a few other players. Next year they can draft an OT like Texas’ Adam Ulatoski or BYU’s  Matt Reynolds to replace Jones.

 

Yes I said the article about drafting basically all Georgia players I was joking about, but I wasn’t joking about drafting Stafford. Also if Hasselbeck gets injured like Brady did this season Stafford takes over and he’s off.

2009 Fantasy Football’s Rankings: Quarterbacks (April Update)

UPDATED as of Mar. 29, 2009:

(These rankings are of the seasonal/redraft leagues variety.)

Questions abounded when we first released our 2009 Fantasy Football Quarterbacks’ rankings in January, and rightfully so.

Tom Brady, the projected No. 1 fantasy QB last year, had missed all but 13 minutes of the 2008 season.

Kurt Warner, who took the Arizona Cardinals to an unprecedented Super Bowl appearance while throwing career second-bests 4,583 yards and 30 TDs, was set to become a free agent and possibly switch uniforms in 2009.

Matt Cassel made it hard for the Patriots to relegate him back to holding a clipboard for Brady with his outstanding season of 3,693 yards and 21 TDs, and the annual questions surrounding the uncertainty of Brett Favre’s retirement and the possibility for Donovan McNabb leaving the Eagles inevitably clouded our ranking process.

After a few months of wheeling and dealing, and with the bulk of the free agency period in the books, we have some answers that will certainly make the 2009 QB’s landscape more transparent.

Tom Brady is still the undisputed starter in New England after the team traded Matt Cassel to the Chiefs. Kurt Warner signed a new two-year deal to finish his career in Arizona, Donovan McNabb seems to be going nowhere, and Brett Favre appears to have retired permanently this time.

However, another question arose in the rankings that will be answered in our next update by the Jay Cutler and Josh McDaniels’ saga in Denver.

Therefore, is Tom Brady our new No. 1 QB for 2009? Where does Cassel rank now? What about 2008 NFL’s MVP Peyton Manning: Is he ready to reclaim his throne? Or will Kurt Warner hold the distinction of occupying the top spot as if it were the early 2000’s?

We will stick with an emerging young signal caller, which we had ranked No. 1 in our original release.

 

1) Phillip Rivers (Chargers) – He was the best fantasy mix in the NFL in 2008 tying Drew Brees for the NFL lead with 34 touchdowns. He had the best QB rating, completing 65.3 percent of his passes. Rivers passed for over 4,000 yards while throwing only 11 picks.

Unlike past years, LaDainian Tomlinson was not a major force in 2008 and his role should continue to diminish. That seems evident seeing that he had to renegotiate his contract just to stay there.

Rivers is everything you want in a fantasy quarterback and he is going to be only 28-years old towards the end of next season, Dec. 8. He should keep getting better under QBs guru Norv Turner. 

2) Drew Brees (Saints) – Finished only 15 yards short of Marino’s 1984 mark of 5,084 passing yards and tied Rivers for 34 touchdowns. We list him below Rivers because of his higher number of picks (17) in 2008 and he is a little streakier.

He started 2007 with one touchdown and nine INTs killing many fantasy owners’ season right out of the gate. In 2008, he had six games under a 70.00 rating while Rivers had only two such games. Rivers looks to be the emerging star with more upside and consistency, so we gave him the slight nod…

Full rankings >>>

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