It’s that time of year again. No, not the time when pads start smashing together or play action fakes are pulled off with seamless ease, but the time when contract holdouts become more of a conversation point than the actual action on the field. Teams will be anxiously trying to ink their first round draft choices to multi-million dollar contracts with training camps looming around the league even though none of them have played a single snap in the NFL. Until a rookie wage scale is put into effect via a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) however, teams will just have to bite the bullet and hand the cash over willingly. More »

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As a master of its domain in the sports entertainment industry, the business that is the NFL is looking to push its boundaries even further with the continued discussion of regular season expansion. Reports have long been suggested that the league may look to add two regular season contests for what the NFL claims is in the best interest of its fans. The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is set to expire in March of 2011 and that predicament could lead to a work stoppage if there is no progress between the NFL players union and the owners on several fronts. More »

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New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss made some headlines recently with the firing of his long time agent Tom DiPiero. Speculations were rampant that Moss was going to retire with just one year remaining on his current contract in New England and the Patriots likely not looking to re-sign the aging veteran after his deal expires. Although this would have made for a juicy story across the league, Moss cleared up those misconceptions when speaking to the Boston Herald telling the paper that he was simply setting himself up for a new chapter in his career which will likely take place in a different city after the 2010 season. More »

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The inevitable has finally turned into reality as the Oakland Raiders decided to officially cut ties with their former bust, errr 1st overall pick Jamarcus Russell on Thursday. Much of Russell’s pre-draft hype was a result of his phenomenal workout during which he threw a 60 yard pass from his knees and made the ball whistle through sound barriers. Raiders owner Al Davis has long been known as a sucker for the workout warriors and Russell won the heart of the old softee with his cannon arm and imposing physique.

Things really got off to a rocky start in Oakland for the number one overall selection as he held out for all of training camp and the opening weekend of the season after failing to reach a contract agreement with the team. His rookie campaign was brief considering he got little work with the team, but even years two and three were nothing to write home about as the strong armed signal caller has completed just 52.1 percent of his passes during his career. What has often been the most criticized aspect of the promising young player is his work ethic (or lack thereof) as Russell often arrived at camp out of shape and not at all ready to work on his craft.

There have been quarterbacks with difficult first chapters to their careers only to bounce back after a change of scenery and perhaps that can happen for Russell. At only 24 years of age, some team is going to take a chance on signing him to a league minimum deal and get him into camp for competition. One potential fit is with the Arizona Cardinals where the team is not sold on former 1st round selection Matt Leinart and the Derek Anderson signing certainly isn’t a long-term solution either. Many have also floated out the possibility of a landing with the Washington Redskins where there new head coach Mike Shanahan has done wonders with different quarterbacks in the past and could reinvigorate Russell’s work ethic learning behind Donovan McNabb for a year or two. Even the New England Patriots have been discussed as potential suitors where Bill Belichick is no stranger to reclamation projects and learning behind one of league’s best in Tom Brady could be a humbling experience for an athlete with tremendous potential.

All of there stops of possibilities, but none of them will be willing to bring Russell into the fold unless he shows some sense of understanding his past mistakes and willingness to correct those shortcomings. It will be a long road back to what was expected of him just three short years ago as the number one overall pick, but stranger things have happened. There is a ton of football left in Russell’s future if he chooses to rededicate himself and shows a selfless love for the game again as a competitor.

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Over the years, there have been 43 Super Bowls. Some of them have been blowouts, and some of them have been nail-biters. In those nail-biters, there is usually that one play that you can point to and say, “that was the game-changer!” With that being said, I thought it would be interesting to go through some of the top game-changing plays in Super Bowl history. Here are my top 5: More »

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Unlike franchise quarterbacks such as Joe Montana and more recently Brett Favre, it would be difficult to picture Indianapolis Colts elite signal caller Peyton Manning ever putting on a different colored jersey. According to many sources around the Super Bowl, the potential of that ever taking place is to be put out of the realm of possibility after the season concludes as the two sides will sit down and negotiate an extension for Manning’s contract. More »

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After what can only be described as an eventful rookie season, New York Jets signal caller Mark Sanchez has made the decision to undergo some offseason surgery on his left knee to repair an injury that occurred during his time with the USC Trojans. It was determined that the Sanchise would not need any procedures on his right knee in which he suffered a PCL sprain early in this past season. That knee was made famous by the Rex Ryan outburst about his quarterback taking sliding lessons from New York Yankees star Derek Jeter in order to avoid such issues in the future. More »

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The NFL has been trying for years to sell the importance of an exhibition all-star game to its players from a marketing standpoint, yet now that the AFC quarterback roster consists of Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans, David Garrard of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans, it doesn’t appear they are buying in; at all. With the withdrawals of both Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers and Tom Brady from the New England Patriots shortly after their respective teams were eliminated from the postseason and Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts having an obvious schedule confliction, the Pro Bowl has become more of a 2nd team event. More »

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I admit, using the word HATE is a little strong. I just think the way the NFL does the Pro Bowl is wrong. This year, as we know, the Pro Bowl is being held the weekend before the Super Bowl. Great for ratings, but bad for players. No players from either of the Super Bowl teams will participate, so no Manning, Brees, Wayne, Brackett, you get the idea (sorry to pick Colts and Saints players, but those are my picks so I have to stick to them). Therefore you have to pick alternates, then you have the babies like Tom Brady and Randy Moss who are too injured to play. Too injured? You just played in the playoffs and all 16 games, are you really too injured or are you sore losers who just don’t feel like playing? More alternates. Now we have Matt Schaub, who had a great year, but didn’t get picked for the Pro Bowl. Because of alternates and players not playing, he is considered a Pro Bowl player, even though he didn’t get voted there. The whole system seems wrong. More »

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So the Patriots and Ravens will meet again for another match up and this time it’s in the playoffs. These two teams have had their share of controversial games and have established quite a rivalry heading into Sunday’s game. The Ravens have on a number of occasions been one or two plays short of beating the Patriots over the past 2 years. I believe this game will be another tough hard fought match up and the Ravens have just as much if not a better shot of beating a Patriots team that is no longer who they used to be. More »

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