Daily Links 12-10-10

One of these men has a QB rating of 105.7 and only two INTs on the season.

A Certain Ex-Felon Leads NFL in Pro Bowl Votes
- Somewhere, Nils Lofgren weeps quietly to himself.

Peyton Manning Plays Like Peyton Manning
- No interceptions as the Colts barely overcome the Titans 30-28, despite a huge game by Chris Johnson.

Jenn Sterger: "I Won't Sue as Long as Favre is Suspended"
- Yeah, forget being tried in a court of law. Let Judge Dredd Roger Goodell punish Favre.

NFL Says Adding Two Games to Schedule is Biggest Priority
- Like it or not, this is going to happen.

Josh Freeman Fined $5,000 for Unnecessary Roughness
- The NFL really needs to protect defensive backs from these vicious hits.

Daily Links - 12-8-10

At least DC can still root for the Capitals.

Redskins Suspend Haynesworth for Remainder of Season
- I honestly had no idea he still played for them.

Broncos Fire Josh McDaniels
- They are late to the "fire your head coach midseason" party. McDaniels deserves it, too. How do you cheat against the 49ers and still lose?

Steelers Win Against Baltimore Proves Costly

- Sepulveda out for the season, Heath Miller and Flozell Adams likely out next week.

Free Agent Safety Turns Down Jets to Conduct Trains

- That's a new one. All joking aside, this is a good read. Gotta respect where this guy's head and heart are.

49ers Name Alex Smith as Starter, Citing His Experience
- 49ers will spend 1st round draft pick on a QB, citing the fact that Alex Smith is their best QB.

RIP "Dandy" Don Meredith, 1938-2010

Howard Cosell and Don Meredith

Don Meredith, the original Dallas Cowboy and one of the trailblazers of the now-phenomenal Monday Night Football, passed away Sunday after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Meredith, who played his college ball at Southern Methodist University, was signed by the Cowboys in 1959 before they had played a single game as a professional franchise. He went on to become the Cowboys' first superstar quarterback and begin a tradition of excellence that would later be carried on by the likes of Roger Staubach, Danny White and Troy Aikman.

After unexpectedly retiring at the age of 31, Meredith became a color commentator for the then-fledgling Monday Night Football alongside the legendary Howard Cosell. Meredith was well known for his humorous commentary on the show, including frequently singing "Turn out the lights, the party's over..." at the competitive conclusion of each game.

An icon of both sports and broadcasting, he is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor. Condolences and prayers go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.

Roethlisberger Needs a Nose Job

Now he can't rely on his good looks to pick up women.

Turns out Big Ben will actually need surgery on his broken nose. Am I a psychic or what? While I pretty much despise Roethlisberger the person, I have to give him props for the gutsiest performance I've seen in a long time, maybe ever. The Ravens should've put the game away a few times, but the Steelers hung around and made just enough plays to scrape by, which is all it takes.

Alright, that's enough praise for the Steelers. I'm beginning to feel ill.

Daily Links - 12-6-10

Peyton's doing his best Eli impression this year, with 11 picks in three games.

What the hell happened to Peyton Manning?

- Sure, it's probably just a temporary lull, but Peyton Manning is playing the worst football of his career.

NFLPA tells players to prepare for lockout
- A good scout is always prepared. Mostly just posturing by the NFLPA, but there's a bit of legitimate concern as well. If they actually do go into lockout, players should be prepared.

Dez Bryant breaks ankle and refuses to talk to media
- Why does this happen to one of the Cowboys I actually respect?

Steelers prevail over Ravens in a bloody affair
- This game was even more brutal than most people imagined it would have been.

Jets and Patriots to take center stage tonight
- Should be a good game. I'm taking the Patriots in this one.

Roethlisberger's Gift From Haloti Ngata

Daily Links 12-4-2010

Jets Safety Jim Leonhard Placed on IR With Leg Injury
- This is a big blow to the Jets at the worst possible time, with an upcoming divisional matchup against the Patriots.

Why the NFL Should Switch to Outer Padded Helmets
- This is a really good article from October detailing how a simple switch could really show how dedicated the NFL is to player safety.

Nils Lofgren writes an open letter to "the men and women of the sports reporting community"
- "Who is Nils Lofgren?" becomes the most popular search term on Google for a day. I'll write about this later.

Andy Reid wants protection for Michael Vick
- No, wait. That's the sensationalist headline. All he asked for was the same treatment other QBs receive after the hit behind the line of scrimmage.

NFL executive VP Anderson - ""We have no higher priority than player safety,"
- Except for unfairly penalizing the Steelers, right? RIGHT? YOU'RE TARGETING THEM! STOP IT!!

Agent suspended for role in UNC recruiting scandal 
- It's a slow news day, what can I say?

Groundhog Day: Favre Insists This Season Is His Last

This time he means it. Seriously. For real real. Not for play play.

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Brett Favre is calling it a career, telling reporters earlier this week "I'm done."

Don't get too excited - Favre says he will finish the season for the Vikings, lost though it may be. Making such an announcement midseason is a big departure from past Favre retirements, which typically involved an offseason-long standoff, ridiculous amounts of flip-flopping, and/or a convoy of teammates being sent to his house to recruit him back to his own team. Is it really a surprise, though? Favre is 41 years old, nursing a myriad of injuries and health problems (the latest of which is apparently malaria, of all things) and playing quite poorly for an awful team. It's no wonder he wants to retire now.

However, I think we all know what will happen come this offseason. Certain networks , and particularly a certain mustachioed reporter for whom certain totally awesome websites are named, will camp out in Hattiesburg, watch a grandfather throw passes to high school kids, and the non-answers about "the itch to play" will flow into non-news stories for months. And not until next August, the month when Favre's season traditionally has begun the last couple of years, will we truly know for sure if he plans to continue playing or not.

Even at 41, history tells us we can't rule it out.

ESPN's Sports Science - NFL Helmets

This clip from ESPN demonstrates just how dangerous NFL helmets are. Brutal.

Daily Links 12-3-2010

I bet you'd like to have that one back, huh?

Antrel Rolle compares booing football players to booing American soldiers
- His back-pedaling skills should prove mighty handy here.

Art Rooney thinks the Steelers are being targeted
- In this organization, whining starts at the top.

Sam Bradford is beasting the NFC West
- Congrats to the Rams on winning the division for (at least) the next 5 years.

LA Entertains Thoughts of Building a Stadium, Scares Chargers and Vikings Fans
- If the Chargers skipped town, San Diego would have nothing going for it.

Eagles prevent Texans comeback hopes
- Eagles should just hope Asante Samuel is back in time for the Cowboys.

Asante Samuel close to returning versus Cowboys
- Hey, what do you know!?

Heavyweight Fight - 5 Reasons Steelers at Ravens is Game of the Year Material

These teams can't wait to kill each other.

The NFL loves making a big deal about rivalry games, but let's be honest, many of them just fall flat. Take Monday night's debacle on ESPN, for example. Was anyone really on the edge of their seats, waiting for the knock down, drag out rivalry of Cardinals/49ers to enter its next brutal chapter? Not so much. Many NFL rivalries are manufactured, contrived, and carry all the actual heat and malice of an annoyed upstairs neighbor.

This is not one of those rivalries.

Hines Ward's Complaints Make No Sense

Hines, your tears sustain me.

Recently, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward spoke out against the NFL and their stance on player safety, calling the league "hypocrites". He said:

"The league doesn't care about us anyway. They don't care about the safety of the game. If the league was so concerned about the safety, why are you adding two more games on? You talk about you don't want players to drink ... and all you see is beer commercials. You don't want us to gamble, but then there are [NFL-endorsed lottery scratch-off games]... It's going to change the outcome; somebody's going to lose a game because of it,"

Let's dissect his complaints.

Daily Links 12-2-2010

There's no point in adding a caption to this photo.

Gruden not interested in coaching Miami

- He's holding out for an NFL job. Preferably, one where he can inherit an amazing roster after a hall of fame coach skips town.

Hines Ward blasts the NFL

- Anyone else sick of the Steelers whining yet? If you want your teammates to stop getting penalized, tell them to STOP COMMITTING PENALTIES. Seriously, someone should teach James Harrison how to tackle properly.

DeSean Jackson's "problems" are because of Drew Rosenhaus
- Wow, I didn't realize he was having problems. He didn't have a great game against the Bears, but nobody for the Eagles did.

Tony Kornheiser says Andre Johnson not suspended because of ratings

- I think he's onto something. Just look at the dozens of other players who commit penalties and aren't suspended each week.

The NFC West is atrocious

- Just in case you lack the most basic observational skills.

Singletary forecasts "Thunder and Lightning"

- Wait, you mean Brian Westbrook isn't going to get me 25 fantasy points per week?!

Daily Links 12-2-2010

Man arrested for kicking police horse after Texans game
- Sources say the Cowboys and Jets have brought him in for tryouts.

Derek Anderson gets fed up after MNF

- To be fair, the reporter was being kind of a douche. Still funny though.

Frank Gore breaks hip

- Luckily, he was wearing his Life Alert bracelet.

Fan falls to death at Eagles - Bears game

- Condolences to his friends and family following this tragedy.

Stevie Johnson becomes first player in NFL to blame God for misgivings
- Reminds me of a bit by comedian Jeff Stilson:

I don't watch football anymore, I gave that up. I got tired of the interviews after the games, because the winning players always give credit to God, and the losers blame themselves. You know, just once I'd like to hear a player say, 'Yeah, we were in the game, until Jesus made me fumble. He hates our team.'

Q & A: Goodell on Finnegan, Seymour: "A punch to the head poses no danger."

Goodell was staring at my rack the whole time.

Recently, Ed Werder's Mustache was able to sit down for a Q & A session with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Our questions focused mainly on the precautions the league is taking to ensure player safety. The following is a transcript of the conversation.

EA SPORTS Active NFL Training Camp Review

EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp is a game for the Wii that combines exercise and video games in a brand new way by allowing players to train like the pros from the comfort of their living room.

Gameplay

How does it work? The game includes motion sensors, resistance bands, and a heart rate monitor. These tools allow the game to monitor how well you do and gauge how much progress you make over time.

The programmers at EA Sports worked with NFL conditioning coaches to develop the drills that went into the game, and it shows. When you start out, you choose your favorite team. Then, you practice alongside players from your team in your team's stadium. This is just the beginning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This man loves food and
football more than anyone.

Oh, yes, it is Thanksgiving Day. Time to celebrate some great things many of us take for granted in America: football and an abundance of food. I don't think we have to worry about a shortage of food come 2011, but there's a very real possibility of a lockout next year due to the collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

Luckily, negotiations are still in order, and some progress is being made, even if it's not coming as fast as we may like. There's about 3 months left until the current CBA expires, so we may be heading for scary territory soon.

There's a lot of negotiating left, with an 18 game schedule, a rookie pay scale, roster expansion, practice squad rosters, preseason workout rules being the main topics of discussion. That's a lot at stake for both sides. So far, it looks as though the biggest proposed change, the 18 game schedule, will be happening.

However, we have three games lined up today to be thankful for. The Patriots play the Lions in Detroit, the Saints play the Cowboys in Dallas, and the Bengals play the Jets in New York Jersey. None of these matchups are particularly interesting on paper, but we could be in line for an upset or two today.

Mustache Monday - Brad Childress Done Got Himself Fired Edition

At least you can always take solace in your killer 'stache, Chilly.

Earlier today, the great Brad Childress was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Sources close to the situation believe it's because he's horrible at his job. Vikings have named Leslie Frazier interim head coach.

Funny Fake Percy Harvin Reactions

Somebody took the liberty of creating a fake Twitter account impersonating Percy Harvin following the firing of Vikings head coach Brad Childress.

Fake Percy Harvin (via a retweet from Adam Schefter):

RT @PERCY__HARVIN: Just another week to me... I just wanna play football.

Real Percy Harvin (via Twitter):

Who Eva is out there tryna be me u real gay.... Who tries to be another man .... Where they do that at

Oh, Percy. Tell us what you really think.

Richard Seymour does the world a favor, punches Ben Roethlisberger in the throat.

I would like to take this time to thank Richard Seymour for punching Ben Roethlisberger in the throat during the Steelers 35-3 victory over the Raiders this weekend. I truly believe the world would be a better place if this happened more often. Unfortunately, due to the unfair nature of the NFL, he will be unjustly fined for his heroic actions.