Huddle Up

71 Huddle Up NFL News and Analysis with Andrew Perloff NFL News and Analysis with Andrew Perloff

82061

Andrew Perloff

3992 New York NY

550

http://img.fannation.com/images/layout/profile-headshot.gif NFL Against The Grain -- Week 6 Against The Grain -- Week 6   <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/45101/adrian-peterson.jpg" alt="Adrian-peterson" width="298" height="375" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">The Vikes nearly lost Adrian Peterson to injury Sunday.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Doug Pensinger/Getty Images</div> </div> A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. 1. Notice how all the air was sucked out of the Metrodome when Adrian Peterson went down with what looked like a potentially serious ankle injury? Peterson was fine and came back in the game later, but the scare had to remind Vikings fans that their star's physical style puts him in some risk. Peterson doesn't run like Emmitt Smith or LaDainian Tomlinson, who piled up yards (or, in L.T.'s case, still sort of pile up) without taking too many direct hits. Even though backs like Tomlinson and Smith go down a lot easier than Peterson and don't come up with the same kind of long runs, their overall stats speak for themselves. The Ravens' near-comeback shows why the Vikings can only go so far trying to rest Peterson in games that aren't yet over. His backup, 30-year-old Chester Taylor, had just 22 yards on eight carries on Sunday. Peterson has been reasonably healthy so far in his career. Will it last if he doesn't change his running style? 2. As long as I'm trying to throw a wet blanked on unbeaten teams, the Saints may actually face a stiffer challenge in Miami next week than they did this week against the Giants. New York played into New Orleans' hands and allowed the game to become a shootout. The Dolphins will try to grind out the clock, like they did in their loss to the Colts and win over the Jets. Miami's only problem is the inability to stop the big play. If Dolphins coach Tony Sparano was able to address that over their bye, the 'Fins have a chance to knock New Orleans out of the ranks of the unbeaten.     <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/45101/adrian-peterson.jpg" alt="Adrian-peterson" width="298" height="375" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">The Vikes nearly lost Adrian Peterson to injury Sunday.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Doug Pensinger/Getty Images</div> </div> A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis.   1. Notice how all the air was sucked out of the Metrodome when Adrian Peterson went down with what looked like a potentially serious ankle injury? Peterson came back in the game later, but the scare had to remind Vikings fans that their star's physical style puts him in some risk. Peterson doesn't run like Emmitt Smith or LaDainian Tomlinson, who piled up yards (or, in L.T.'s case, still sort of pile up) without taking too many direct hits. Even though backs like Tomlinson and Smith go down a lot easier than Peterson and don't come up with the same kind of long runs, their overall stats speak for themselves. The Ravens' near-comeback shows why the Vikings can only go so far trying to rest Peterson in games that aren't out of reach. His backup, 30-year-old Chester Taylor, had just 22 yards on eight carries on Sunday. Peterson has been reasonably healthy so far in his career. Will it last if he doesn't change his running style? 2. As long as I'm trying to throw a wet blanked on unbeaten teams, the Saints may actually face a stiffer challenge in Miami next week than they did this week against the Giants. New York played into New Orleans' hands and allowed the game to become a shootout. The Dolphins will try to grind out the clock, like they did in their loss to the Colts and win over the Jets. Miami's only problem is the inability to stop the big play. If Dolphins coach Tony Sparano was able to address that over their bye, the 'Fins have a chance to knock New Orleans out of the ranks of the unbeaten. 3. Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner passed the 30,000-yard mark Sunday. That number sounds impressive, but it's really not when you consider it's 8,000 less than Kerry Collins' career total. That's a result of Warner's backup time in New York. Nevertheless, Warner is a 100 percent, surefire lock for the Hall of Fame, no matter what the number-crunchers say. When his presenter stands up before the Hall election committee and re-tells the bagging groceries stories, every voter is going to melt and give him the nod. 4. We may all be a bit surprised if Redskins owner Daniel Snyder doesn't fire Jim Zorn. Here's a few theories as to why he may keep the embattled head coach: a. Snyder knows we thinks he will and doesn't want to give us the satisfaction. b. Snyder doesn't want to look bad for hiring Zorn in the first place. c. No one on the staff wants the head coaching job. d. Snyder knows he can't get an A-list coach until after the season and doesn't want to risk an interim coach getting on a roll. 5. Not a great day for the Wildcat. The Browns started to look like they were rolling with direct snaps to Josh Cribbs, until the former college quarterback threw a pick. The Eagles ran one Wildcat play with Michael Vick in their loss to the Raiders - a run that lost yards. The only other time Vick was on the field, quarterback Donovan McNabb got confused and called a timeout even though the Eagles didn't have any. But the trendy alignment probably isn't dead. Judging by some of the bad quarterback play around the NFL, the Wildcat may be the only way to get the ball in the hands of the playmakers. 6. Too many people continue to discount the Steelers. With Troy Polamalu on the field, they could have a nice run against 6-0 Minnesota, 5-0 Denver and 4-2 Cincinnati. Last season, we learned the Steelers like to elevate their game to match their competition. 7. The Giants and the Bengals aren't great at covering tight ends. They're still 100 times better than the Eagles. After Tampa Bay's Kellen Winslow surpassed the century mark last week, Oakland's Zach Miller torched them for 139 yards on Sunday. That can't bode well for Philly as it enters its tight end-rich NFC East schedule. 8. What happened to the old axiom about running the ball in cold weather? The Patriots threw for 380 yards and six touchdowns in the snow, and cold-weather teams like Chicago and Pittsburgh have become pass-crazy. Just another by-product of rule changes that protect receivers from physical play. 9. It's time we all forget the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl within the last five years. Even though they have the same quarterback, this is a totally different team and has to be thrown in with the other rebuilding projects. 10. Got a lot of e-mail in the offseason for leaving Texas quarterback Colt McCoy out of my way-early <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/andrew_perloff/04/28/2010/index.html" target="_blank">2010 mock draft</a>'s first round. McCoy folded against Oklahoma's pressure on Saturday, completing 21-of-39 for just 127 yards. Quarterbacks can overcome the stigma of not playing in a pro style in college, but it helps if they're big, strong-armed guys like Sam Bradford, who I still think will go high despite his shoulder injury. McCoy doesn't appear to fall into that category right now. You can debate football with Andrew every day at <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/" target="_blank">DanPatrick.com</a>.

2009-10-18T23:49:19-04:00

2009-10-20T12:49:19-04:00

80841

The SI Staff

21244 New York City NY

http://img.fannation.com/images/layout/profile-headshot.gif NFL Against The Grain -- Week 5 Against The Grain -- Week 5 <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/44441/tom-brady.jpg" alt="Tom-brady" width="300" height="400" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Tom Brady's '09 numbers haven't mirrored his '07 results.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Rich Gabrielson/Icon SMI</div> </div> <div> A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. PHILADELPHIA -- Thoughts from a half-empty press box at the Eagles-Bucs game ...   1. When the Patriots got the ball back with 2:27 left in regulation, did anyone really have faith that Tom Brady was going to lead them to victory? The Broncos, who beat New England 20-17 Sunday in overtime, followed the Jets' formula of getting in Brady's face, just like the Giants did in the Super Bowl. Brady may never get back to his 2007 form - not because of his health, but because of defensive adjustments. That being said, if the Pats played Denver in Foxborough, Mass., they would have won by two touchdowns. 2. The NFL appears to have gotten a jump on plans to reconfigure the preseason by adding a week of exhibition games in the middle of the season. That's the only explanation for the lack of real competition in New York, Philly, Seattle and San Francisco and the Division I-AA battle in Buffalo. Lots of bad, bad teams this season. The league should try to not put too many good teams on a bye at once. 3. The NFL information men are hot on the trail of finding out where former Super Bowl-winning coaches like Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren and Bill Cowher will end up. But shouldn't we be asking ourselves if those coaches are the right hires for franchises like Washington, Dallas and Carolina? A retread coach with a ring is still just a retread. Duplicating that kind of success is still a longshot in the NFL. Some of the organization problems within those teams would cause just as big a headache for a proven winner. </div> </div>   <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/44441/tom-brady.jpg" alt="Tom-brady" width="300" height="400" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Tom Brady's '09 numbers haven't mirrored his '07 results.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Rich Gabrielson/Icon SMI</div> </div>   <div> A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. PHILADELPHIA -- Thoughts from a half-empty press box at the Eagles-Bucs game ...   1. When the Patriots got the ball back with 2:27 left in regulation, did anyone really have faith that Tom Brady was going to lead them to victory? The Broncos, who beat New England 20-17 Sunday in overtime, followed the Jets' formula of getting in Brady's face, just like the Giants did in the Super Bowl. Brady may never get back to his 2007 form - not because of his health, but because of defensive adjustments. That being said, if the Pats played Denver in Foxborough, Mass., they would have won by two touchdowns. 2. The NFL appears to have gotten a jump on plans to reconfigure the preseason by adding a week of exhibition games in the middle of the season. That's the only explanation for the lack of real competition in New York, Philly, Seattle and San Francisco and the Division I-AA battle in Buffalo. Lots of bad, bad teams this season. The league should try to not put too many good teams on a bye at once. 3. The NFL information men are hot on the trail of finding out where former Super Bowl-winning coaches like Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren and Bill Cowher will end up. But shouldn't we be asking ourselves if those coaches are the right hires for franchises like Washington, Dallas and Carolina? A retread coach with a ring is still just a retread. Duplicating that kind of success is still a longshot in the NFL. Some of the organization problems within those teams would cause just as big a headache for a proven winner. 4. Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb put it best after Philly beat the Bucs 33-14 to improve to 3-1: "I've been in this game for a while where you've seen a lot of teams come out hot, and everybody's saying they're the best team in the league, and all of sudden they don't make the playoffs and things don't really don't work out well for them." The Eagles and the rest of the NFC East are way past their skis right because the schedule-makers put all their AFC West and NFC South contests early in the season. 5. The Giants are probably feeling great after beating the Raiders 44-7. They should throw out the film from that game and work on getting some depth at quarterback. David Carr won't get it done if Eli Manning goes down. They at least need to bring in a veteran third-string quarterback like Jeff Garcia. 6. The Eagles' Michael Vick again implied he expects to be a starting quarterback some time in the future after his lackluster performance against the Bucs. If you have any doubt that's going to happen, peruse the QB stat lines around the NFL. Vick could start for one-third of the league today, and even more teams as he gets his legs underneath him. Vick almost connected with Jeremy Maclin on a bomb that would have been his first big highlight since his return. 7. Tony Romo has always gotten too much credit for the Cowboys' success and too much blame for their struggles. Dallas has lots of real problems. Romo is sometimes one of them. That's it. This whole thing should never come down on his head. 8. Five undefeated teams remain. One will lose or tie next week for sure since the Giants play the Saints. The Broncos visit the Chargers and the Vikings host the Ravens. Indy should make the longest run undefeated since it has an easy ride until Week 10, when it faces the Patriots. But if the Colts win that game, they could fall the following week against the Ravens. 9. Quarterbacks have to stop trying to block. With spread offenses and coaches trying to get the ball in the hands of their speedy playmakers, QBs seem to be getting out ahead of running plays more often. And they're trying to "man up" like Brett Favre and hit a defender. It never works. At best, they'll be thrown to the ground like a rag doll like Denver's Kyle Orton. At worst, the quarterback or the defender will get hurt. 10. Weird, where did all the Favre-bashers from August go? </div>   </div>

2009-10-11T23:30:01-04:00

2009-10-13T12:44:32-04:00

80521

Dominic Bonvissuto

3983 Brooklyn NY

http://img.fannation.com/images/layout/profile-headshot.gif NFL Against The Grain: Disproving wide receiver myths Braylon Edwards and Michael Crabtree dominated the NFL news this week. Neither player will be able to match all this hype with actual production on the field. Both are joining… <div class="photo_container image_right" style="width: 300px;"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/44301/michael-crabtree.jpg" alt="Michael-crabtree" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Michael Crabtree :: AP </div> </div> Braylon Edwards and Michael Crabtree dominated the NFL news this week. Neither player will be able to match all this hype with actual production on the field. Both are joining teams that don't like to pass the ball and have quarterbacks with little proven success finding receivers downfield.   But that's almost always the case with wide receivers: The expectation of this always fascinating position rarely matches reality. Here's my take on some of the biggest myths surrounding the position. 1. Teams need a tall, fast wide receiver. Only a handful of teams have a 6-foot-4 receiver with speed. That model of the dominant No. 1 receiver is outdated as the rules continue to change and receivers don't need to be as physical. This season, the NFL's emphasis on protecting defenseless receivers will help the little guys even more. It will change even more as college spread offenses trickles upward and players like Percy Harvin and DeSean Jackson become the focal point of offenses. 2. A talented wide receiver will find a way to make plays. No position is more dependent on the system than receiver. Just look at T.O. in Buffalo. Even a guy who thrived in a system can find himself boxed out by the defense or a slight tweak, like Larry Fitzgerald so far this season. Meanwhile, Indianapolis' offense is turning nobodies like Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie into fantasy stars. 3. Numbers tell the story. Lynn Swann was a controversial Hall of Fame pick because he ranks 181st all time with 5,462 receiving yards. That's less than Larry Fitzgerald, who is only 26 years old. But Swann was always a factor for opposing defenses and stretched the field for the Steelers offense. "Many of the voters who saw Swann play didn't care so much about the numbers," Hall of Fame Vice President Joe Horrigan said. "Whenever there's a big debate on receivers, it's dangerous to look at the statistics too much because they're not always a perfect indicator of what that player did for the team. The guys who supported Swann made it clear that the Steelers offense wouldn't be the same without him." 4. Great receivers win Super Bowls. That might be true for quarterbacks, but not receivers. Amongst active players, the only two sure-fire Hall of Fame receivers -- Randy Moss and Terrell Owens -- have zero Super Bowl rings. A few borderline-to-probable Canton guys have won Super Bowls -- Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Hines Ward -- but their teams probably could have captured titles without them. The only virutal sure-thing Hall of Fame receiver to win a Super Bowl this decade was the Colts' Marvin Harrison in 2007. 5. Wide receivers have to be team-first players. When Fitzgerald's brother Marcus was Tweeting about the Cardinals not getting him the ball, the receiver denied he was upset. But c'mon, what star receiver doesn't want the ball? The ultimate player at the position of all time is Jerry Rice, and you can bet he was just as concerned about getting his touches as any receiver. A great receiver needs to have that kind of confidence in his own skills. A few quick slants on receivers: • Drops are a bit overrated. Obviously they're not good, but if guys like Edwards and Owens get open and don't haul it in, it still makes the defense adjust and creates opportunities for others. • The Patriots are 18-0 in the regular season when Tom Brady and Wes Welker on the field together. That's better than the Brady-Moss combo. • Everyone said the Giants lost last year's Super Bowl because they lost Plaxico Burress. Has anyone considered they were not a dominant Super Bowl champ in the first place? They were a wild-card team who beat the Patriots on a miracle catch. They were never a dynasty to start with, so pointing to one player as the reason they didn't repeat seems far-fetched. • Everyone talks about how the spread offense in college makes evaluating quarterbacks difficult. Don't forget how deceiving receivers' production in college is these days as well. And don't even bother scouting spread offense tight ends. braylon edwards, michael crabtree

2009-10-08T15:24:53-04:00

2009-10-12T18:06:05-04:00

79701

Andrew Perloff

3992 New York NY

550

http://img.fannation.com/images/layout/profile-headshot.gif NFL Against The Grain -- Week 4 Against The Grain -- Week 4 1. Congrats to the Broncos for the 4-0 start. And condolences in advance for your 4-4 record at the midway point (Their next games are New England, at San Diego, at Baltimore and Pittsburgh). A home win over the Cowboys is supposed to be the crowning win that convinces us all they're for real? 2. The five best losses in Week 4: a. Jets proved their defense is for real despite losing 24-10 to the Saints. New York's defense may have six (Kris Jenkins, David Harris, Bart Scott, Darrelle Revis, Kerry Rhodes, Jim Leonhard) potential Pro Bowlers. b. The Lions' Matthew Stafford got into some impressive grooves in a 48-24 loss to the Lions. c. Browns should have settled their quarterback debate in their 23-20 overtime loss to the Bengals. d. The Ravens have to think they can beat the Patriots regardless of their 27-21 loss. They'll see each other again in AFC divisional playoffs. e. After falling 16-13 to the 'Skins, the Bucs have to think Josh Johnson and Cadillac Williams can probably lead them to at least one victory this season. 3. Too bad there are so few midseason trades in the NFL. There are about 15 teams that need wide receiver Terrell Owens more than the Bills, starting with the Chicago Bears. 4. Do you get the feeling the Titans would rather go 3-13 with Kerry Collins than have Vince Young succeed? This would be a great draft to start over at quarterback, and they don't need the PR mess of cutting V.Y. if he is an improvement over Collins. 5. From a marketing standpoint, do you think the Jags are nervous that David Garrard is starting to put up great numbers again? Or will he just be a stop-gap until Tim Tebow learns to throw like a pro quarterback? 6. The last two seasons the division that faced the woeful AFC West has produced teams that were overrated heading into the playoffs. The 2007 Packers went 4-0 against the AFC West and finished 13-3 before losing in the playoffs. Last season, the Panthers swept the AFC West and dropped their first postseason game. This year, the Giants have to be considered favorite to have the best record in the NFC since they face the AFC West. But will they be overrated because of it like the Panthers and Packers were? In fact, the whole NFC East is in danger of being highly overrated. The AFC West will also help Washington's Jim Zorn keep his job for a few more weeks, take the heat off Tony Romo in Dallas and make Michael Vick look good in Philly. 7. The Ravens haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 39 games. That ends Week 6 in Minnesota when Adrian Peterson reaches the century mark against Baltimore -- it will be the only time someone does. 8. The Browns probably chose Brady Quinn to start this season because he was a first-round pick, even though Derek Anderson looks like a much better quarterback. Now they have to turn their eyes toward Braylon Edwards. Would he be on the field if he wasn't a high first-round pick? 9. Here's a solution for everyone who was is bored watching the Chiefs, Rams and Raiders lose without a fight: Relegation. Like the English Premier League and many other international sports bodies, the bottom two teams could be sent down to a new minor league for football. You'd eliminate some of the embarrassing blowouts and add some intrigue for teams that are already out of it. Can you imagine how much harder the bottom-feeding teams would play if they thought they were going to be kicked out of the NFL? 10. Despite the criticism, the NFL isn't going to back off its aggressive enforcement of personal fouls against the quarterback and defenseless receivers. Not with growing evidence of problems with head injuries. I'm surprised the NFL can't do more with technology to help players, like NASCAR did to protect its drivers after Dale Earnhardt died or MLB is doing by requiring the oversized helmets for minor leaguers. With all the money flying around the NFL, they can't do anything to help quarterbacks' helmets? They'd hate it, but it would let the defense play at full speed.

2009-10-05T00:02:25-04:00

2009-10-20T00:15:50-04:00

79681

Andrew Perloff

3992 New York NY

550

http://img.fannation.com/images/layout/profile-headshot.gif NFL Against The Grain -- Week 4 Against The Grain -- Week 4 <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/43641/moreno-knowshon.jpg" alt="Moreno-knowshon" width="300" height="400" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Things may not be looking up for Knowshon Moreno and the Broncos. AP</div> </div> A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. 1. Congrats to the Broncos for the 4-0 start. And condolences in advance for your 4-4 record at the midway point (Their next games are New England, at San Diego, at Baltimore and Pittsburgh). A home win over the Cowboys is supposed to be the crowning win that convinces us all they're for real? 2. The five best losses in Week 4 belong to the Jets, Lions, Brown, Ravens and Bucs.   <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/43641/moreno-knowshon.jpg" alt="Moreno-knowshon" width="300" height="400" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Look for Knowshon Moreno and the Broncos to falter soon. AP</div> </div> A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. 1. Congrats to the Broncos for the 4-0 start. And condolences in advance to Denver fans for your team's 4-4 record at the midway point (Their next games are New England, at San Diego, at Baltimore and Pittsburgh). A home win over the Cowboys is supposed to be the crowning win that convinces us all they're for real? 2. The five best losses in Week 4: a. Jets proved their defense is for real despite losing 24-10 to the Saints. New York's defense may have six (Kris Jenkins, David Harris, Bart Scott, Darrelle Revis, Kerry Rhodes, Jim Leonhard) potential Pro Bowlers. b. The Lions' Matthew Stafford got into some impressive grooves in a 48-24 loss to the Lions. c. Browns should have settled their quarterback debate in their 23-20 overtime loss to the Bengals. d. The Ravens have to think they can beat the Patriots regardless of their 27-21 loss. They'll see each other again in AFC divisional playoffs. e. After falling 16-13 to the 'Skins, the Bucs have to think Josh Johnson and Cadillac Williams can probably lead them to at least one victory this season. 3. Too bad there are so few midseason trades in the NFL. There are about 15 teams that need wide receiver Terrell Owens more than the Bills, starting with the Chicago Bears. 4. Do you get the feeling the Titans would rather go 3-13 with Kerry Collins than have Vince Young succeed? This would be a great draft to start over at quarterback, and they don't need the PR mess of cutting V.Y. if he is an improvement over Collins. 5. From a marketing standpoint, do you think the Jags are nervous that David Garrard is starting to put up great numbers again? Or will he just be a stop-gap until Tim Tebow learns to throw like a pro quarterback? 6. The last two seasons the division that faced the woeful AFC West has produced teams that were overrated heading into the playoffs. The 2007 Packers went 4-0 against the AFC West and finished 13-3 before losing in the playoffs. Last season, the Panthers swept the AFC West and dropped their first postseason game. This year, the Giants have to be considered favorite to have the best record in the NFC since they face the AFC West. But will they be overrated because of it like the Panthers and Packers were? In fact, the whole NFC East is in danger of being highly overrated. The AFC West will also help Washington's Jim Zorn keep his job for a few more weeks, take the heat off Tony Romo in Dallas and make Michael Vick look good in Philly. 7. The Ravens haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 39 games. That ends Week 6 in Minnesota when Adrian Peterson reaches the century mark against Baltimore -- it will be the only time someone does. 8. The Browns probably chose Brady Quinn to start this season because he was a first-round pick, even though Derek Anderson looks like a much better quarterback. Now they have to turn their eyes toward another position. Would Braylon Edwards be on the field if he wasn't a high first-round pick? 9. Here's a solution for everyone who was is bored watching the Chiefs, Rams and Raiders lose without a fight: Relegation. Like the English Premier League and many other international sports bodies, the bottom two teams could be sent down to a new minor league for football. You'd eliminate some of the embarrassing blowouts and add some intrigue for teams that are already out of it. Can you imagine how much harder the bottom-feeding teams would play if they thought they were going to be kicked out of the NFL? 10. Despite the criticism, the NFL isn't going to back off its aggressive enforcement of personal fouls against the quarterback and defenseless receivers. Not with growing evidence of problems with head injuries. I'm surprised the NFL can't do more with technology to help players, like NASCAR did to protect its drivers after Dale Earnhardt died or MLB is doing by requiring the oversized helmets for minor leaguers. With all the money flying around the NFL, they can't do anything to help quarterbacks' helmets? They'd hate it, but it would let the defense play at full speed.

2009-10-05T00:02:24-04:00

2009-10-08T11:39:04-04:00

109