I wish I could have written Saturday about how Alabama receiver Julio Jones, who has struggled to break free all season, caught a 2-yard pass in the fourth quarter and turned it into a 73-yard touchdown. I wish I could have written about the grin on Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy's face when he said "I've never seen anybody run that fast."
Iowa had overcome seemingly every manner of adversity en route to its 9-0 start -- last-second deficits, four-interception quarters, season-ending injuries to two running backs -- but Saturday against Northwestern, the Hawkeyes finally suffered a setback they couldn't overcome: Losing their starting quarterback.
The 10 storylines to watch this Saturday:
It's all about him now. Whether Dan Snyder secretly wanted this when he bought the Washington Redskins a decade ago is less intriguing a question than why it took so long to become clear, but then, there were so many distractions along the way. There was so much free-agent cash thrown about, year after year, and the rise and fall of Steve Spurrier, and the return of Joe Gibbs, and the slew of forgettable quarterbacks, and the strange hiring of Jim Zorn -- so many high-drama ideas gone wrong -- that it was hard to cut through and see that maybe this was the real plan all along.
Three things on my mind entering the line-of-demarcation week of the 2009 NFL season:
The NFL is cautiously optimistic a deal is within reach in the coming days between it and the eight major college football conferences that have so far refused to release digitized versions of their 2009 game tapes for scouting and evaluation purposes, league sources told SI.com Friday.
My weekly look at key matchups and storylines to watch in one game at each time slot. (All times Eastern).
Breaking down Sunday's Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles game (8:20 p.m., NBC)...
Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner, under fire after parting ways with general manager George Kokinis midway through his first season as GM, denied today that Kokinis had been fired and said he hoped to find a veteran NFL general manager-type like Ernie Accorsi or Mike Holmgren to help shape the organization and help embattled coach Eric Mangini.
By now, I imagine your typical Cleveland Browns fan has started to look back on 1996-98, the three seasons they had no NFL team to follow, with a mixture of nostalgia and fondness. Given the almost constant state of despair Browns fans have resided in since the franchise was re-born as an expansion entry in 1999, who could blame them for remembering those days as relatively pain-free compared to the misery to come?
I wish I could have written Saturday about how Alabama receiver Julio Jones, who has struggled to break free all season, caught a 2-yard pass in the fourth quarter and turned it into a 73-yard touchdown. I wish I could have written about the grin on Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy's face when he said "I've never seen anybody run that fast."
Iowa had overcome seemingly every manner of adversity en route to its 9-0 start -- last-second deficits, four-interception quarters, season-ending injuries to two running backs -- but Saturday against Northwestern, the Hawkeyes finally suffered a setback they couldn't overcome: Losing their starting quarterback.
The 10 storylines to watch this Saturday:
It's all about him now. Whether Dan Snyder secretly wanted this when he bought the Washington Redskins a decade ago is less intriguing a question than why it took so long to become clear, but then, there were so many distractions along the way. There was so much free-agent cash thrown about, year after year, and the rise and fall of Steve Spurrier, and the return of Joe Gibbs, and the slew of forgettable quarterbacks, and the strange hiring of Jim Zorn -- so many high-drama ideas gone wrong -- that it was hard to cut through and see that maybe this was the real plan all along.
Three things on my mind entering the line-of-demarcation week of the 2009 NFL season:
The NFL is cautiously optimistic a deal is within reach in the coming days between it and the eight major college football conferences that have so far refused to release digitized versions of their 2009 game tapes for scouting and evaluation purposes, league sources told SI.com Friday.
My weekly look at key matchups and storylines to watch in one game at each time slot. (All times Eastern).
Breaking down Sunday's Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles game (8:20 p.m., NBC)...
Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner, under fire after parting ways with general manager George Kokinis midway through his first season as GM, denied today that Kokinis had been fired and said he hoped to find a veteran NFL general manager-type like Ernie Accorsi or Mike Holmgren to help shape the organization and help embattled coach Eric Mangini.
By now, I imagine your typical Cleveland Browns fan has started to look back on 1996-98, the three seasons they had no NFL team to follow, with a mixture of nostalgia and fondness. Given the almost constant state of despair Browns fans have resided in since the franchise was re-born as an expansion entry in 1999, who could blame them for remembering those days as relatively pain-free compared to the misery to come?
If you watched the Vikings' two wins over the Packers this season, specifically Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen introducing himself to Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers 7.5 times, you might think the sack is alive and well in the NFL.
About 20 players gathered behind Mickey Andrews as he faced the media on Tuesday night. A few hours earlier, a simple press release had gone out informing the college football world of what everyone had long suspected: This will be the final season for Florida State's longtime defensive coordinator.
Hines Ward is the dirtiest player in the NFL, according to a Sports Illustrated poll of 296 players released this week.
Lost amid the drama of Brett Favre's return to Lambeau Field on Sunday was that a very important game in the NFC North was lost almost exclusively because of poor coaching and game-planning by the Packers. The failure to have a better plan in place to help out young offensive tackles was inexcusable. Perhaps worse was the decision to continue kicking deep to Vikings return man Percy Harvin.
Football Insiders:Check out Stewart Mandel's College Football Overtime column.
Football Insiders: Check out Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback.
Each week SI.com's Richard Deitsch will report on newsmakers from the world of TV, radio and the Web.
There's a widely accepted axiom in the NFL that you are what your record says you are. The Chicago Bears hit November with a 4-3 mark, same as last year's after seven games. If they're running in place, it's viewed as regression because of the wild-eyed expectations generated by Jay Cutler's arrival from Denver in an uncharacteristically bold trade made last April.
The Browns are a certifiable train wreck now. That much we know, in the wake of the departure of general manager George Kokinis from the organization. I've heard the ESPN report that the Browns are investigating firing Kokinis "for cause,'' which means he may have done something untoward to get him canned. And let me say that in conversations with three front-office people in the league who know Kokinis well, I could hear their jaws drop when that nugget was relayed. I know Kokinis, but I'm not close to him. Those who are describe him the way you'd describe a trusted friend and honest to a fault. So we'll see where this leads.
Things we learned from the Saints' 35-27 win over the Falcons Monday night at the Superdome ...
After undergoing successful surgery on his throwing shoulder last week, Sam Bradford is likely to enter next April's draft. If so, it remains to be seen where he will land. The recovery time for his surgery is predicted to be four to six months, meaning there's a real possibility he will not throw for scouts prior to April's draft.
Football Insiders: Check out Stewart Mandel's College Football Overtime column.
GREEN Bay, Wis. -- Musings, observations and the occasional insight as a rather unconventional but fascinating homecoming weekend here in Titletown wrapped up with the Vikings' 38-26 win over the Packers ...
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Now that it's over, and the circus portion of the Minnesota Vikings schedule has concluded with smiles and vindication all around, where do Brett Favre and his latest (and, according to him, greatest) team go from here?
The general consensus among fans in our nation's capital is that Jim Zorn is not the problem. It's not that they think he's a good head coach, because they don't. It's more that firing Zorn is like putting a band-aid over a gunshot wound. It may cover up the hole momentarily, but the problem is still there. Namely in team owner Daniel Snyder.
EUGENE, Ore. -- In the stands above the Oregon end zone, a lone Ducks fan held up a yellow posterboard sign that perfectly summed up what took place here Saturday night. "Welcome," it said, "To the Fall of Troy."
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Georgia made a fashion statement Saturday. Florida just made a statement.
Was it really only a year ago the college football world centered around the Big 12 Conference?
Breaking down Sunday's Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens game (1 p.m., CBS)...
My weekly look at key matchups and storylines to watch in one game at each time slot. (All times Eastern).
Brett Favre's pretty much gone underground this week, except for his regular Wednesday press conference, Thursday's NFL Network interview with Steve Mariucci and a one-on-one with Terry Bradshaw, which will air on the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show. It's not a week for him to be out there very much. It's a week to shut up and play. So what's going through his mind right now, on the verge of the strangest game of his career?
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Linda Lewis steps inside her dining room, opens a drawer and shuffles through six DVD cases. It's shortly after 7 p.m. on a recent weeknight and she offers one disclaimer before slipping a shiny disc labeled The Nightmare: Part II into the player. "My husband and I usually only play it to entertain visitors during halftime," she said. "I'm not a fan of some of the songs' words."
If he cares to, when Alex Smith looks across the field Sunday in Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Stadium, he'll see a fellow No. 1 overall draft pick who has been everything at the quarterback position he has not: Productive from day one, durable to the point of almost freakishness, and fortunate enough to be with a winning franchise and in an offensive system known for its pursuit of continuity and consistency.
The Cincinnati Bengals are the halfway house of the NFL, the Grand Central Waystation for second chancers, last dancers and chronic screwups. The owner, Mike Brown, believes in extending lifelines, partly because they don't cost much, but also because he has a bit of savior in him. Brown once referred to himself as a "redeemer.''
Are professional football players at greater risk of dementia and other neurological problems?
Though it threatens to become as over-played as the no-respect angle, did you notice how the revenge factor was all the rage in the NFL on Sunday?
Seems to me we have nine bad teams in football right now. For all of you in Buffalo, Chicago and Seattle who want me to include your team in this grouping, sorry. You've show too many signs of life to make the Bottom Nine.
College football's regular season heads down the stretch, as teams battle for a coveted shot at the national title. Several draft-eligible players continue to impress NFL scouts and are watching their stock rise. For some well-named prospects, time is running out and they must quickly turn their games around. Here are the risers and sliders after Week 8 of the season.
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