$.06 After Super Bowl XLVI
Why Justin Tuck was the real MVP, how Tom Brady's struggles have been lost, the possibly of Tom Coughlin winning another one, the best ads and more.
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Super Bowl Forecast
The Giants have more ways to overcome mistakes than New England and their defensive front should be able to protect a lead.
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Senior Bowl Notes: Wednesday's South Practice
After focusing most of Tuesday on the skill positions, Jeff Risdon shifted to the linemen.
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Senior Bowl Notes: Tuesday's South Practice
Reporting from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, notes on Sean Spence, Zach Brown, Chris Rainey, Brandon Weeden, Ryan Lindley, Nick Foles and Juron Criner.
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Senior Bowl Notes: Tuesday's South Practice
Reporting from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, notes on Sean Spence, Zach Brown, Chris Rainey, Brandon Weeden, Ryan Lindley, Nick Foles and Juron Criner.
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Senior Bowl Notes: Monday's North Practice
Reporting from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, notes on Russell Wilson, Kellen Moore, Kirk Cousins, Devier Posey, Marvin Jones, Leonard Johnson, George Iloka and more.
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$.05 After Divisional Weekend
How the Giants, 49ers, Patriots and Ravens advanced, plus what the losses mean for the Saints, Packers, Texans and Broncos.
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$.10 After Wild Card Weekend
Thoughts on the four Wild Card games, the decision of Jeff Fisher, the future of the Chargers, and several notes on the underclassmen declaring for the 2012 NFL Draft.
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$.10 After Week 17
On the crossroads for Mark Sanchez with the Jets, Matt Flynn potentially getting franchised, where we are with Tebow, awards, draft thoughts and more.
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$.08 After Week 16
On the Lions in the playoffs, Battle of New Jersey, Bengals control final Wild Card spot, several draft notes & more.
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$.08 After Week 15
It was truly an “any given Sunday” weekend of football, with some major upsets, some tight finishes, and some strange off-field happenings.
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$.10 For Week 14
Tim Tebow.. again, Ben Roethlisberger, why Aaron Rodgers is the best player on the planet, Giants/Cowboys, a lot of draft coverage and more.
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$.10 For Week 13
Andy Reid should stay but some players need to go, Tim Tebow is getting out of hand, the Giants following a similar path and some NCAA notes.
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$.10 For Week 12
On QBs in Houston, Chicago, DEN/SD, the demise of Andy Reid, Cam Newton vs. Andrew Luck, and the missed opportunity for the NBA, among other stuff.
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$.10 After Week 11
What the Jay Cutler injury means, poor officiating in Baltimore, the Giants are suddenly being doubted and the Texans will be fine without Matt Schaub.
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$.10 After Week 10
On the legitimacy of the 49ers, Mike Smith, Steelers/Bengals, Bears and Lions in opposite directions, Tebow keeps winning, BCS, the 09 draft class QBs and more.
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$.10 After Week 9
Before getting to Joe Flacco, the Green Bay defense, the inability of Brady to beat Eli, Rex Ryan, Tim Tebow and the Dolphins, we look at the repugnant situation in Happy Valley.
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$.10 For Halloween (After Week 8)
The best team in the AFC, the awakening of the Eagles, Bengals continue to look scary, the fingerprints of Bill Parcells on the nightmare Miami season and everything you need to know about college quarterbacks.
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$.10 After Week 7
You win NFL games with a good quarterback and lose with a bad one. How do Tim Tebow, Christian Ponder, Carson Palmer, Cam Newton and Philip Rivers fall into that equation?
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Rules of Thumb, Trade Deadline Edition
On the Carson Palmer trade, the excellent future of the Bengals the unfortunate future of Jason Campbell, Brandon Lloyd and the anatomy of an ESPN rumor.
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Football Meteorology For Week 6
Big games this week between Eagles/Redskins, Lions/49ers, Giants/Bills, Ravens/Texans and Patriots/Cowboys.
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Football Meteorology For Week 5
Either Alex Smith or Josh Freeman will be QB of a 4-1 team after Week 5, while Jets/Pats, Steelers/Titans and Lions/Bears serve as compelling matchups.
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Football Meteorology For Week 4
The AFC features big matchups between the Jets/Ravens and Raiders/Patriots, while the Lions face a road test at Dallas.
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Football Meteorology For Week 3
As Autumn begins, this week features an inordinate amount of road favorites and Week 3 is when we begin to see a wider disparity between good teams and bad teams.
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Top 103 Players In The NFL Today
Who are the 103 most valuable players in the NFL today? Factoring in the ability to be the best in the coming season, we have comprised a definitive list.
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Free Agent Feeding Frenzy, Offense Edition
Here are the top talents available at each position, paired with teams that are expected to have interest in their services and even bold stabs as to their ultimate destinations.
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Final Draft Impressions, Part II
From the Jacksonville Jaguars and their selection of Blaine Gabbert to Daniel Snyder and the Washington Redskins changing their typical draft strategies.
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Likes And Dislikes Of Friday's Draft Day
The Giants, Jets, Packers and Titans receive kudos for their picks on Friday, while New England, Cleveland and Detroit made a few questionable decisions.
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An Interactive 2011 NFL Mock Draft
An AFC scout sat down with RealGM to offer his mock draft selections and provide commentary on every player projected in the first round.
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$.02 On The Breakdown Of Labor Talks
How does the NFL's decision to risk 10% of their customer base because of how to split up less than 1% of its total business make sense?
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Early Combine Observations
Thoughts on Jake Locker, Tyron Smith, Gabe Carimi, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Ryan Mallett, Jonathan Baldwin, Christian Ponder and more.
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Senior Bowl Week: Final Impressions
More than in the past, there is a huge disparity of opinions between the scouts who have been closely following these players for months and the blank slate opinions of coaches.
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Senior Bowl Notebook: Wednesday South Practice
We currently have QB Christian Ponder slated as the 43rd overall pick to Oakland, but here is why he has raised a lot of flags this week.
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Senior Bowl Notebook: Tuesday South Practice
Linebacker Von Miller, who is currently projected as the fifth overall pick by Arizona, is the marquee attraction for the South.
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Monday's Senior Bowl Notes
Notes on Colin Kaepernick, Noel Devine, local favorite Courtney Smith, as well as Jay Cutler, Carson Palmer and more.
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Senior Bowl Preview
The draft season begins in earnest with the annual Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama this week.
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Divisional Deductions
None of the four remaining quarterbacks were named to the Pro Bowl, but all of them have a specific commonality.
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Football Meteorology, Wild Card Weekend
Why the Packers, Colts, Saints and Chiefs will advance this weekend, plus quick thoughts on Andrew Luck's decision and a sober opinion on Jim Harbaugh.
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Football Meteorology For Week 17
The 2011 regular season flew by and we still have playoff bids, seeding and the draft order to sort out with Week 17's games.
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Surprises And Disappointments
Through six weeks of the NFL season, the phrase ?on any given Sunday? has never been more true.
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Father?s Day Football Joy
Even though football isn't necessarily associated with Father's Day, it is in the Risdon househould.
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Spoiled Rotten
There?s a difference between a favorite and a lock. When up against a team with playoff-level talent, it?s rare that the team with the better record ever appears in the second category.
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With One Yard To Go
There are (at least!) three proven methods for scoring in goal line situations. At least one would probably have been worth a try at least once out of the two plays for Dallas.
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Jay Cutler, Man Alone
Aside from his horrifying interception stats, Jay Cutler hasn?t been an issue for the Bears. Here's why.
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Coaches Make Snap Decisions
Vince Young and Alex Smith have been moved up the depth chart. How long will it be before we see more changes at quarterback?
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A Tight Value For TEs
When should teams consider tight end prospects in the draft in order to get the maximum value for the selection?
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Super Bore Headlines
There are a number of storylines that will be exhausted this weekend in the hours and hours of Super Bowl XLIII coverage.
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Cards Trick
The perceived weakest team in the playoffs before the tournament began is now one step away from reaching Super Bowl XLIII.
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What If The NFL Lacked A Playoff Format?
What would have happened in the NFL this season if the Super Bowl matchup was determined by the same people and computers as the BCS Championship Game?
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Tales Of A Disparate League
Playoff-bound teams and impersonators alike were able to pad their records at an astounding rate this season against the likes of Detroit, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
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Saving The NFL's Economy
What could help save the NFL's struggling economy -- how about canceling the Pro Bowl, the Lions' final game and combining all pre-Draft workouts into a single combine?
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The Wildcat: The NFL's Latest Fad
Gadget plays will only work until teams figure out a solution for them, but that won?t stop teams from trying it out for themselves.
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Redskins On The Rise
This season, the Redskins take it slow, build from within direction they took while led by Joe Gibbs is taking the next step.
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Breakout Players Of 2008
Among Marshawn Lynch, Calvin Johnson, LaRon Landry and Thomas Howard, there are no shortage of young players that are poised to explode this season.
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March Madness: NFL Free Agency
Okay, babeee!!! It?s March Madness time!!! Except, the madness is the NFL free agency period, not college hoops. NFL teams have been making big name cuts and signing free agents to big, BIG contracts.
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Panic At The Disco: Fantasy Rankings For Week 2
It is true, 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' and I know a lot of you are panicking about the Week 1 you had, so let's see the top-10's for Week 2 because 'The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage.' You don't have to have these players to win this week, 'But it's Better if you do."
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Blitzkrieg Bop: Fantasy Rankings For Week 1
You have been stressing over the selections of your 2006 Fantasy Football team since New Year's and now that you have your roster set, why stop stressing? If you would like to stop stressing on who to play, check out our new weekly feature where we project the match-ups your players will face.
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Dayne's Turn To Run In Denver
For 11 seasons the Denver Broncos have been transforming unheralded running backs into NFL stars. Now after a year of waiting and watching it seems to be former Heisman Winner Ron Dayne?s turn.
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Post-Draft Analysis: A Gamble On Daunte And A Reach
How often can you essentially get a Pro Bowl-caliber player in the 2nd round? This is what Nick Saban and the Dolphins managed to accomplish and though he may never be 100% healthy ever again, he'll give their offense some legitimacy. The Jason Allen pick in the first round was suspect though.
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Post-Draft Analysis: The Hawk Of The Frozen Tundra
The Packers started out the day with a bang by getting a guy in Hawk that will be their defensive quarterback for a decade. Past Hawk, the Packers got some other nice pieces, but overall the rest of the two days was inconsistent.
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Predicting Reggie Bush's Career
People argue that since Reggie didn?t get a lot of carries at USC that he wouldn?t be able to handle a large load in the NFL, yet what people forget to factor in are all of his catches, and his kick returns, on top of just running the ball. There is a golden history of multi-purpose backs that Reggie Bush is bound to join.
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Post-Draft Analysis: Finding Denver's Next Gunslinger
Maybe you look at Denver?s draft and don?t think much of it, but if that?s your reaction you?re probably forgetting that they traded a second round pick to Green Bay for wide out Javon Walker.
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The Last Mock Draft
It?s the morning of the NFL Draft and news came recently that Mario Williams has signed with the Houston Texans making him the top overall selection. As I said in a prior article, this changes everything. The top 10 is reshaped by this blunder by the Texans. Watch at noon as madness ensues. RealGM will tweak their mock draft accordingly in a last ditch effort to get it right.
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The Not-So Jeff Risdon Mock Draft
ESPN has Mel Kiper Jr. to cover the NFL Draft for them. RealGM has Jeff Risdon. For years this is the way things have been. Each major sports organization has an expert on the inside. Today we?re not here to debate whether Kiper is equivalent to Risdon, just to bring up that I am not. Yet it would seem such a shame to have but one educated person predicting the draft for RealGM and that is where I come in.
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An Offseason In Indy
Things were looking a little bleak for the Colts after the smoke cleared from the opening salvos of the free agent signing period. Edgerrin James, the greatest back to wear a Colts uniform in the Indianapolis era, was headed to sunny Arizona. David Thornton, the 4th round pick made good and a leader on the revitalized defense of a year ago, was gone to the division rival Titans. Larry Tripplett had packed his bags and jetted north to ply his trade for the Bills.
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Who?s Crazy Now?
The crazy quarterback or the egomaniacal head coach? That?s the question, Minnesota Vikings fans were wrestling with in the last week. Of course, in the end -- The fans had nothing to do with the outcome and, for that matter, neither did Brad Childress.
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Week 15 Fantasy Outlook
With week fifteen now upon us, it?s finally getting down to fantasy crunch time, and if you?re still reading this column, you?re probably still somewhere near the top of your fantasy football league. So how will you get that extra added boost to put your squad over the top to earn your league?s highly-coveted fantasy championship? Read on.
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Week 14 Fantasy Outlook
With the NFL playoffs looming large on the horizon, the performance of individual players may start to depend less and less on the defenses they are facing and more and more on how badly their team needs the game in order to make the postseason. In must-win games, elite players are able to elevate their performance and consequently, starting players with their backs up to the wall can often net major fantasy success.
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Week Thirteen Fantasy Outlook
As regular seasons begin to draw to a close in the coming weeks, the significance of decisions on who to start, sit, pick up, or drop begins to increase exponentially. One wrong move could cost the few points that make the difference between advancing on to the fantasy playoffs or going home empty handed.
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Week Twelve Fantasy Outlook
With two scintillating fantasy match-ups on Thanksgiving Day, I got to wondering which would be worse, burning the bird or forgetting to set your line-up before the Thursday games?
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Week Eleven Fantasy Outlook
Well we?re entering the homestretch of the fantasy football regular season, and with the playoffs just around the corner, week eleven means two things: no more bye weeks to worry about, and just a few more weeks left to position yourself for fantasy postseason success.
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Week Ten Fantasy Outlook
Just ten months after they met in Super Bowl XXXIX, both the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. After being stomped by the Colts on Monday Night, New England (4-4) holds a tedious one-game lead over Miami and Buffalo. The Eagles have also struggled to reach .500 and should continue to do so without the cornerstone of their league-best passing attack.
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Week Nine Fantasy Outlook
Well we?ve reached the midway point of the 2005 regular season and as the league standings continue to stretch themselves out, we?re finally beginning to figure out which of the early-season fantasy studs were for real (Eli Manning) and which were pretending (cough, Cadillac Williams). We?re also beginning to see some of the slow starters, i.e. Jake Plummer and Tony Gonzalez, finally let the experts breathe a sigh of relief as they start to live up to preseason expectations.
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Week Eight Fantasy Outlook
As any coach or manager would gladly tell you, sometimes you?ve got to shake things up a bit before an underachieving team starts to get the ball rolling. Not surprisingly, the same principle applies to fantasy football ? in many cases, a few decisive adds and drops can inject new life into a stagnant squad and give them the push they need to start climbing up your league standings.
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Week Seven Fantasy Outlook
Though last week?s column may have underscored the role of luck in fantasy football, it goes without saying that an extensive knowledge of players, teams, and statistics is the most important ingredient in the recipe for fantasy success. Owners that are able to sift through and process mountains of statistical data will obviously fare much better than your average pick-and-click fantasy footballer. Luck helps, but stat-crunching wins.
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Week Six Fantasy Outlook
Fantasy expert Martin Barna outlines some of the fantasy implications of the midseason injury epidemic in his weekly fantasy football outlook. Sure, you can play the percentages, stalk the waiver wire, and finagle your roster all you want, but if your top draft pick comes up lame with a season-ending injury, there?s usually not a whole lot that you can do. Sometimes, a little luck can make all the difference.
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Training Camp Fly-By: AFC East Division Preview
The winner of the Super Bowl has come from the AFC East three out of the last four seasons. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Jets and Bills, the winner has been the Patriots. Can they three-peat?
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