The AFC
The Buddy Nix
Matt Rich Warren of Buffalo Rumblings: "GM Buddy Nix refutes claim of Bills not spending: 'I am not going to get into this, but I will try to clear that up,' he said. 'It's the other way around; I talk him out of going after high-dollar guys that you see on TV and ESPN. That has happened more than once. It's me talking him out of it.'"
The Jeff Ireland
The Phinsider: "The 2010 Dolphins averaged almost 28 rushing attempts per game. They had 445 total attempts for the year. Reggie Bush has never had more than 157 rushing attempts, during 12 games in '07, for a season."
The Jonathan Kraft
Ron Borges of The Boston Herald: "They are players everywhere they go yet seem to be guys trapped by the expectations and faint hopes of others. People look and see what they are but keep looking for what they are not, sometimes undervaluing the former because of the latter. What allowed BenJarvius Green-Ellis to not only survive this for so long but to prosper despite it are two things. First, he worries only about himself. Second, he doesn't seem able to say three sentences without two words appearing. 'Hard work' should be his alias."
The Mike Tannenbaum
Hank Gola of The New York Daily News: "It wasn't so much what the Jets did in the wake of 9/11. Like every New York-area pro team, they rushed to help rescue workers and aid in the recovery at the World Trade Center. It was, instead, what they refused to do: They were not going to play football that second week of the 2001 season."
The Ozzie Newsome
Bruce Raffel of Baltimore Beat Down: "The Jacksonville Jaguars made a last-minute roster move, dropping QB David Garrard and will start veteran Luke McCown, with #1 draft pick Blaine Gabbert waiting in the wings to take over shortly. Could Garrard be on the Baltimore Ravens radar as a veteran backup to QB Joe Flacco, with the uncertainly over rookie Tyrod Taylor's recent injury?"
The Mike Brown
Jason Garrison of Cincy Jungle: "Congratulations to ESPN -- they have demonstrated their ability to put the Cincinnati Bengals in their crosshairs and pull off miraculous head shots over and over and over again. They have once again placed the Bengals on the chopping block and brought down the axe, this time by placing the Bengals in last place on the season's first power rankings list."
The Tom Heckert
Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature: "If there are going to be any changes to the starting lineup against the Cincinnati Bengals, Pat Shurmur isn't giving them away just yet. In the team's first depth chart of the regular season, pretty much everyone fell in place with expectations."
The Kevin Colbert
Behind The Steel Curtain: "One of the most important things to decide is what music to listen to in order to get psyched up for the big game, and this must be considered with the appropriate amount of gravity ... So I sat down and came up with my Top Ten Steeler Pre-Game Songs."
The Rick Smith
John McClain of The Houston Chronicle: "In their statement released [Tuesday], the Colts say Peyton Manning is doubtful against the Texans on Sunday. That means Kerry Collins is the likely starter. When he played at Tennessee, Collins was 3-2 as a starter against the Texans. But Collins is 0-7 against Wade Phillips as a defensive coordinator and 1-8 overall."
The Chris Polian
Stampede Blue: "We're going to see a lot of this over the course of the entire season, and by 'this' I mean people we all like and trust picking against the Colts in 2011. The reasons are obvious: No Peyton Manning, no playoffs. Of course, in an NFL season, anything can happen. It is certainly possible that Kerry Collins can step in and guide this team to wins."
The Gene Smith
Alfie Crow of Big Cat Country: "Realistically, the only surprise in the move that the Jacksonville Jaguars made to release former starting quarterback David Garrard was the timing of it. I was half waiting for a press conference to be announced on Saturday afternoon, but didn't think the team had the guts to pull the plug again, like they did prior to the 2007."
The Mike Reinfeldt
Music City Miracles: "So there has been a lot of talk this week about how much of the load Chris Johnson should carry on Sunday since he hasn't practiced before this week. Mike Munchak was asked about it Monday at his press conference"
The Brian Xanders
Jeff Legwold of The Denver Post: "Broncos vice president John Elway talked to Denver Post reporter Jeff Legwold and ranked the four most important positions when building an NFL team."
The Scott Pioli
Joel Thorman of Arrowhead Pride: "On second thought, maybe QB Matt Cassel missing Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills wouldn't be such a bad thing ... Tyler Palko was the quarterback and Steve Breaston was a receiver in a Pennslyvania 2002 high school football all-star game. Palko's numbers: 3-of-7 for 172 yards. All three completions went to Breaston which included 66-yard and 70-yard touchdown receptions. They were named to various player of the year lists for that season in Pennsylvania."
The Al Davis
San Francisco Chronicle: "Sunday Night Football announcer Al Michaels had some fun at owner Al Davis' expense after dinner the other night, chatting with a TMZ cameraman."
The Dean Spanos
Chris Jenkins of The San Diego Union-Tribune: "For four straight years, the Chargers could proclaim themselves as reigning AFC West champions from Day One of the following season, a streak that ended with a most bizarre campaign and 9-7 record in 2010."
The NFC
The Stephen Jones
Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News: "Before the interview was over, [Rex Ryan] added one more thought about the Week 1 game against the visiting Cowboys. 'You're going against one of the best offenses in football and one of the most talented defenses in football, so we're going to have our work cut out for us," Rex said. "But I think we'll be up to the task.'"
The Jerry Reese
Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News: "Late last week, Tom Coughlin left open the possibility that DE Osi Umenyiora would be ready to play in the Giants' regular-season opener. Don't count on it."
The Howie Roseman
Bleeding Green Nation: "If you were making odds for which Eagle would get a contract extension this week, my guess is that Akeem Jordan would not have been among the favorites. However, he is the guy who got a new deal."
The Bruce Allen
Mike Jones of The Washington Post: "Redskins strong safety LaRon Landry sent a second cryptic message Tuesday afternoon on Twitter that appeared to suggest he blames the team for his delayed return to action."
The Jerry Angelo
Mike Mulligan of The Chicago Tribune: "The disturbing trend is the age of the key players on defense. No fewer than six starters are on the wrong side of 30, including perhaps the top five players on the defense: Julius Peppers, Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, Charles Tillman and Israel Idonije. Defensive tackle Anthony Adams fills out the list. Age may be nothing but a number for some NFL defenses, but it's emblematic of a larger issue for the Bears."
The Martin Mayhew
Ty of MLive.com: "Drew Stanton has always wanted to be a member of the Detroit Lions, but he didn't always think that the feeling was mutual."
The Mark Murphy
Tyler Dunne of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "If there's one aspect of his game [Aaron] Rodgers could not always simulate as [Brett] Favre's backup it was reacting to the blitz. That sixth sense only came with more experience. In year one, he often held the ball too long. In year three, he whipped the Atlanta Falcons for a 31-of-36 night full of improvisation. Thursday, this maturation will come in handy.The New Orleans Saints blitz early and often."
The Mark Wilf
Mark Craig of The Star Tribune: "For a team with two new faces at the top two QB positions, the Vikings have a shocking lack of controversy or buzz surrounding the game's most important position. Donovan McNabb has looked surprisingly comfortable and is unchallenged as the starter."
The Thomas Dimitroff
Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "While the Falcons hope to limit opposing returners, they may be hurt by the new kickoff rule themselves. Eric Weems made the Pro Bowl last season on special teams."
The Marty Hurney
Joseph Person of The Charlotte Obsever: "The Panthers have claimed third-year cornerback Darius Butler, who was waived by New England. The Panthers will have the first waiver claim for the first three weeks of the season because of their NFL-worst 2-14 finish in 2010."
The Mickey Loomis
Ralph Malbrough of WWLTV: "This is the last year America will think the Saints are warm and cuddly. Everybody loved the Saints in 2009. It was a feel good caramel sundae filled with the post Katrina rebirth of New Orleans, Drew Brees, The Ying-Yang twins and rooting for the perennial underdog. America loves underdogs but they hate dynasties."
The Mark Dominik
Anwar Richardson of The Tampa Tribune: "A radio show host and three local rappers teamed together to make a song titled "Football's Back" in honor of Raheem Morris and the Bucs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris has several goals this season."
The Rod Graves
Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic: "On the current 53-man roster, there are 19 players in their first seasons with the team. Here is how the current roster was built."
The Billy Devaney
Jim Thomas of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Wide receiver Mark Clayton is sporting a new look — a Mohawk haircut. The reason? He finally has a right knee that feels as good as new."
The Trent Baalke
Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area: "Jim Harbaugh was the marquee offseason acquisition for the 49ers, who lured him away from Stanford just four days after the Cardinal's 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. The 49ers signed Harbaugh to a five-year, $25 million contract."
The John Schneider
Riley Moore of 12th Man Rising: "Unfortunately for [John] Carlson and Hawks fans, the truth of this season will never be known. During Training camp Carlson suffered a torn labrum and was placed on injured reserve thus ending his season and most likely his career with the Seahawks."