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Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
New Orleans Saints vs Green Bay Packers Preview
An enormous banner not far from Lambeau Field features the last two Super Bowl MVPs -- Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.
Not too long ago, it was far from certain that this glamorous matchup of the past two Super Bowl champions would take place.
But a tumultuous offseason has finally given rise to this star-studded NFL season opener at Lambeau, with Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers taking on Brees and the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night.
"It's great to be able to celebrate the return of football. It was a rough offseason with the lockout," Rodgers said. "The fans, I'm sure, were wondering if there was going to be football."
The lockout created a mad scramble among the league's 32 teams to get ready for 2011. Those teams are all targeting Green Bay after Rodgers guided the franchise to its fourth Super Bowl title by throwing for nine touchdowns and 1,094 yards in the Packers' four-game postseason run.
"We're a confident bunch," wide receiver James Jones said. "We truly don't pay attention to who everybody gets, we truly don't care who everybody gets. We believe when we step on that field we're going to win the game, no matter who it is."
Coach Mike McCarthy is dealing with a new set of distractions for his defending champions, starting with the NFL's mammoth pregame concert with Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5 -- stars not usually associated with small-town Green Bay.
"I think it's the highest compliment to your football team and your organization (to play in this game), but after the smoke clears and the celebration stops, it's a football game," McCarthy said. "This is a celebration for our fans. That's the way I look at it.
"I look forward to playing the Saints. This is the Packers versus the Saints. We're really focused on the game."
Brees and the Saints won't be awed by the festive atmosphere. This is the third time in five years they'll be playing in the league opener, having defeated Minnesota last year in New Orleans and losing at Indianapolis in 2007.
"We've experienced that from a home aspect standpoint, we've experienced it already as an away team," said coach Sean Payton, whose contract was extended through 2015 on Monday. "That first game always has that added excitement about it."
Brees put together his third straight season with at least 33 touchdowns in 2010, leading the NFC with 4,620 passing yards and helping New Orleans go 11-5 to return to the playoffs. The Saints, however, were stunned by Seattle in their first postseason game in their bid to repeat.
They know exactly what the Packers are going through this week.
"The emotions are high, obviously," Brees said. "The NFL does a lot in and around the game with media and the entertainment and all the stuff. It's the kickoff to the season, so the fans and everybody are excited to start the season.
"(If) you're the defending Super Bowl champs, they're going to unveil the flag saying they're the champs. It's a special feeling."
Brees tried to minimize the effect of the lockout by holding players-only workouts that reportedly were the best-attended among all teams.
"We got a lot of young guys ahead of the curve during that process so that walking into camp, it's not that big of a shock to them when they get the playbook and it's that thick and they haven't had a chance to really look at it," Brees said.
"I feel like we've been together because, in reality, we were together."
He'll get a chance to hand off to former Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, drafted with the 28th overall pick. Ingram will replace another player who won the Heisman in Reggie Bush, who was traded to Miami.
The Packers went 10-6 for a wild-card berth last year, and they could be even better with some key players back healthy. Dynamic tight end Jermichael Finleyand starting running back Ryan Grant are among that group.
"The drive we've got in this locker room is amazing," Finley said. "I think this is going to be a special team right here."
It all starts with Rodgers, who finally put aside the doubts about whether he could replace Brett Favre by leading the Packers to the same amount of Super Bowl victories as the former legend.
"Whether we give or don't give different looks, Aaron Rodgers is a smart guy," Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "He'll figure it out before the end of the game."
ESPN/NFL television deal keeps MNF on network through 2021
ESPN and the NFL announced an eight-year rights extension on Thursday that will keep Monday Night Football on ESPN through 2021 and will increase the number of NFL-related shows on the network significantly.
The agreement, which begins in 2014 at the end of the current deal, also includes more broadband rights for ESPN.com and ESPN mobile platforms, increased international rights and the option to carry a wild-card playoff game on ESPN if the NFL decides to.
ESPN's weekly NFL programming lineup, thanks to a new eight-year programming deal announced Thursday:The agreement includes 17 Monday Night Football games a season through 2021, an additional 500 hours of new NFL-branded studio programming (beginning immediately), extra highlights on all platforms, coverage of the Pro Bowl and NFL draft, the ability to show Monday Night Football and NFL studio programming on the WatchESPN app, and rights for ESPN Deportes and international networks, including regular season, playoff games and the Super Bowl in 144 countries.
ESPN first agreed to a deal with the NFL in 1980 to cover the draft. It started covering regular-season games in 1987 with Sunday Night Football and moved to Monday Night Football in 2006. Eight of the top 10 programs in cable history (excluding breaking news) were NFL games on ESPN.
"Today, we've secured cable's most valuable television franchise, along with an enhanced international package of year-round multimedia rights," said ESPN/ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer. "It will help grow our business well into the next decade. No one has the breadth of worldwide media assets or the ability to monetize a property the way ESPN can, particularly with Monday Night Football and our complete NFL coverage."
Among the immediate additional NFL offerings on ESPN will be an extra hour of Sunday NFL Countdown, beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Sept. 11. In addition, NFL Live will expand to an hour each day throughout the year, beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
A new daily show -- "NFL 32" -- debuts on Tuesday, Sept. 13 on ESPN2. Suzy Kolber and Chris Mortensen, along with other analysts, will dissect the biggest topics of the day from all 32 NFL teams.
"NFL Kickoff" begins on Friday, Sept. 16 on ESPN2, and will help set up the weekend with a look at every matchup.
"Audibles," which debuted on a limited-run basis last year, will be a Thursday night staple on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET and will feature new ESPN NFL analyst Jerry Rice along with Steve Young, Keyshawn Johnson, Herm Edwards and Trent Dilfer.
There will be additional NFL highlights on nearly 30 additional ESPN shows, plus ESPN.com and Mobile ESPN.com.
"We are proud to extend our three-decade partnership with ESPN," said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "We have come a long way together since ESPN first televised the NFL draft in 1980. With this new agreement we are excited about the opportunity to take the NFL-ESPN partnership to innovative new heights in serving the most passionate fans in sports."
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Ask Amile : Redskins & Raider Fan Talk PLUS...The Art of Tackling
From the inbox
Q. Why are so many people writing off the Redskins so quickly? In my opinion their season is very unpredictable. Their defense looks very good on paper and has the potential to be great. Their offense has had reasonable upgrades at key positions, and they have great depth at tight end. As for the quarterback issue, I don't see a huge issue. Rex Grossman did lead a team to the Super Bowl and John Beck hasn't had a chance to prove anyone wrong or right, so it's wrong to write him off. Do you think that the Redskins have the potential to go .500 or have a wild card spot this year?
Robert from Leesburg, Va.
A. "Potential" is a dirty word in the NFL, and I think most of the doubt relating to the Redskins revolves around their QB situation because their run game has looked stellar thus far in the preseason. No matter who starts for the Skins, he clearly will be the least accomplished passer in a very tough division, and therein lies the problem. Although I think we know what Grossman is as a quarterback, I believe the jury is still out on Beck. I don't know how people can have such definitive opinions after four starts as a rookie for a horrendous Dolphins team. He might be terrible, or he could end up being great or something in between, but how does anyone know at this point? They don't. The Shanahans are staking their reputation on him, which means either way it will be very interesting.
Q. Do you think that tackling is a lost art in the NFL? It seems that so many players go for that "Big Hit" that there are far too many missed tackles. I'm not trying to take anything away from the RBs, WRs etc., breaking tackles, but defenders seem to look for the highlight reel hit or the "Ole!" arm-tackle."Your thoughts?
Pat from Indianapolis
A. I'm not surprised to get this email from Indy, given how poorly the Colts' defense has tackled thus far this preseason. As far as overall tackling, this is something that I hear all the time. Most people just accept it as fact, but I am not convinced. I'd love to see some sort of metrics that support the thesis that tackling is a lot worse now than it used to be. Sometimes I think it is kind of like the "when I was your age, I used to walk five miles to school uphill barefoot in the snow" thought process. There are plenty of players who are very sure tacklers. Maybe those who aren't shouldn't be on the field.
Q. As a Raider fan it is hard to become excited about this upcoming season, so is there anything that the Raider Nation and I should pay attention to in order to stay interested in our team?
Brian from Rubidoux, Calif.
A. I share your concern about the Raiders this year and am very disappointed by their offseason. The Raiders have an awesome fan base, and the league is more interesting when they are good. I fear they are going in the wrong direction this year. They won more than five games for the first time since 2002, going a respectable 8-8 last season, yet they fired their head coach and lost their best offensive player (Zach Miller), defensive player (Nnamdi Asomugha) and offensive lineman (Robert Gallery) in free agency. That's not good. Seems to me that with the exorbitant contracts that they gave to Michael Huff, Kamerion Wimbley and Stanford Routt, the Raiders paid the wrong guys. When you talk with other executives around the league, it always seems as though the Raiders are negotiating with themselves. No other team would have given contracts even close to the amount that the Raiders gave those three good but not elite players.
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