The point spread, e.g. NFL point spread, also goes by the names of the spread and the line. It is used by books to handicap the favorite team. The person setting the initial odds (the opening line) predicts that a team will win by a certain number of points. The corresponding number of points is the point spread of the opening line.
The favorite team is denoted by a minus sign (e.g. -3.5). Conversely the underdog is denoted by a plus sign (e.g. +3.5).
In order to win when you bet on the favorite team, that team has to win and it has to do so by more points than the point spread. Should you decide to bet on the underdog, the way you win is if the underdog wins, ties or loses by less points than the point spread.
Even if you don’t bet, knowing how to read NFL odds and spreads is useful during and leading up to the season, especially when picking your players for fantasy football.
Fun Fact: When the Jets acquired Bret Favre, their super bowl odds went from 80/1 to 40/1!
Former Green Bay Packers quaterback Brett Favre, who announced retirement at the end of the 2007 NFL season, wants to give it another go on the field.
After 16 seasons in the NFL and capped by losing to the New York Giants in the 2007 Conference Championship, we believed Favre’s football career was over. He held a retirement press conference stating that he was indeed retiring and knew that he could play a couple more seasons, but just doesn’t want to. The Packers named Aaron Rodgers the starting quarterback when Favre retired.
Well, when summer came and NFL camps began, rumors abounded saying Favre wanted to come back and play, and that his family wanted him to play another season, too. Favre denied the rumors, saying he was retired and finished playing.
Later in the summer, Favre wanted to play, he was getting the urge to play again, but the Packers didn’t want him back. That Packers already named Rodgers as the starting quarterback, and if Favre was to ever go back to the Packers, he would be a backup for Rodgers. A long-suspenseful conflict between the Packers and Favre began.
Many Green Bay fans wanted Favre back more than ever; they didn’t think Rodgers was ready to start yet, and they wanted to see the man that was on their television screens for 16 years back on those screens for another year or two. Other than Packers fans, NFL fans everywhere had to be thinking about this situation. Nobody knew what exactly was going on, and there were questions that needed answers.
Nobody knew exactly if Favre was going to be on the Packers, another team, or remain retired. Everyday you’d hear something about Favre and his situation, either on the radio, ESPN, NFL Total Access, NFL.com, or anything about sports. Favre was eventually back on the Packers, but the Packers still wanted to trade him.
Finally, the day came, Favre was traded to the New York Jets on Aug. 6 for a conditional draft pick—depending on how many snaps Brett Favre takes this season, and if the Jets go to the Super Bowl, that will determine whether the Packers get a first-, second-, third- or fourth-round draft pick.
After Favre’s first practice with the Jets, he was named starter in the upcoming preseason game, hosting the Washington Redskins. Favre did run a penalty lap for fumbling a snap at practice, and he’s saying that his arm is getting tired, but only time will tell if he can get the job done in his 17th NFL season.
The New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 on Sunday to advance to the NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers - one step away from the Super Bowl.
The Giants turned away a last, desperate drive by top-seeded Dallas when defensive back R.W. McQuarters intercepted Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo’s fourth-down pass in the endzone intended for Terry Glenn with nine seconds left.
That was the only turnover of the game and it gave the Giants a ticket to Green Bay for a Sunday showdown against the Packers, who advanced with a 42-20 divisional playoff win over the Seattle Seahawks a day earlier.
The AFC title match pits unbeaten New England Patriots against the San Diego Chargers, who upset last year’s Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts 28-24 on Sunday. The Pats advanced with a 31-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Next week’s winners will meet in the Super Bowl in Arizona on Feb. 3.
New York (12-6), who had lost twice in the regular season to NFC East rival Cowboys (13-4), took an early 7-0 lead on a 52-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning to Amani Toomer but Dallas surged back with two long touchdown drives.
The Cowboys travelled 96 yards on their first long march that ended with a five-yard fade pattern to Terrell Owens, returning to action after being sidelined with a high ankle sprain.
Dallas went on another brilliant second-quarter drive that covered 90 yards on 20 plays and ate up 10 minutes, 28 seconds ending on one-yard plunge by Marion Barber, who rumbled to 101 yards in the first half.
The marathon drive left only 53 seconds on the clock before the intermission but that was enough time for the Giants.
New York pushed the ball swiftly downfield with Manning connecting twice with rookie receiver Steve Smith before hitting Toomer with a four-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds left on the clock for a 14-14 tie.
A 34-yard third-quarter field goal by Nick Folk pushed Dallas back in front 17-14 before a 25-yard punt return by McQuarters started the Giants on a go-ahead drive that ended with a one-yard, fourth-quarter plunge by Brandon Jacobs for a 21-17 lead.
The Giants defense, which led the NFL this season in sacks, then turned up the pressure on Romo and preserved the lead.
“It was a great team performance,” Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who completed 12-of-18 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, told reporters.
“We had great belief coming in. We made plays, we made some big time plays.”
The NFL playoffs are here, after a historic regular season that was full of record-breaking performances, as well as a little controversy.
The most obvious storyline this season was the AFC’s New England Patriots and their mission for the first undefeated season since ‘72. Pats’ coach Bill Belichick was put under the microscope after the week one “Videogate” scandal, where the team was found taping the opposing team’s play calls. In the off-season, the Pats managed to build a “dream team” and never looked back, running up the score of every game en route to a perfect season. Odds makers unanimously pick the Patriots as the Super Bowl XLII favorites.
Contending Super Bowl champions, the Indianapolis Colts, turned in another great season going 13-3 and claiming the 2nd seed in the AFC. Peyton Manning and the Colts are quietly biding their time for a second shot at the Patriots after a close loss to the team during the season. The Colts seem to have improved, mainly on defense, despite losing several players from last season’s winning team.
In the NFC, quarterback Tony Romo and the Cowboys stumbled a bit to end the season, but still finished with a 13-3 record, locking up home field advantage throughout the playoffs. With the retirement of Bill Parcells at the end of last season, coaches Wade Phillips and Jason Garret inherited a team loaded with talent.
Outspoken wide receiver Terrell Owens had a terrific season as Romo shined in his first year as the full-time starter, even with girlfriend Jessica Simpson cheering from the stands.
Brett Farve pushed off retirement for yet another season and found the fountain of youth. The 38-year old led the Packers to a 2nd seed and a first round playoff bye. The aging gunslinger became the record holder for most career touchdown passes as he passed former NFL great Dan Marino for number one on the list.
Farve accomplished all this with a void at the running back position behind him for much of the season. It wasn’t until Green Bay turned to rookie Ryan Grant that the team was able to find an adequate runner to stop defenses from loading up against the pass on every down.
The first round of the playoffs began this past weekend with Washington versus Seattle. The Redskins overcame the devastating news of Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor’s death and united together as a team to win their last four games to secure a wild card spot in the playoffs. The team unfortunately was slated to play the NFC West division winners, the Seattle Seahawks, and fell 35-14. The Seahawks capitalized on two Todd Collins miscues by returning both interceptions for touchdowns to seal the victory. The Seahawks will now take on the Packers for the right to return to the NFC Championship.
The New York Giants have been on a hot streak of late, almost upending the Patriots and their perfect season in the last game of the season. While they struggled out of the gate early against the Tampa Bay Bucs, this momentum carried over to the whole game. The Giants, led by a resurgent Eli Manning, upset the Bucs 24-14. Manning completed 20-of-27 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants must now travel to Dallas to challenge the top-seeded Cowboys.
The Jacksonville Jaguars had the task of playing the Pittsburg Steelers in the wild card weekend match up. The Jaguars saw their 28-10 third quarter lead evaporate before their eyes and needed a last-second field goal to pull out a 31-29 win.
The Jack Del Rio-led team seems to have constructed the perfect playoff team. They boast one of the best rushing attacks in the league, have one of the most consistent quarterbacks in David Garrard and can shut down opposing rushing attacks with a dominate defensive front seven. The Jaguars will battle Goliath next and the team must find a weak link in the Patriots’ armor to advance to their third ever AFC championship game.
In the final game of the first round, the San Diego Chargers and Philip Rivers came alive in the second half to hold off the Tennessee Titans 17-6. Rivers sealed the deal on his first playoff victory leading the team to 17 points in the second half, totaling 292 total yards and one passing touchdown. The Chargers are now headed to the RCA Dome to take on Manning and the defending Superbowl champs.
If the season is any indication, this weekend’s divisional round of the playoffs will definitely showcase some of the best match-ups of the year and maybe even a few upsets.
Bill Walsh was remembered today as a man who forever changed the 49ers, the NFL and anyone else who met him or participated vicariously in his lifetime of dramatic victories. Walsh, 75, who died of leukemia 10 days ago, transcended sports to touch all segments of society.
The Washington Redskins’ LaRon Landry is a 6 feet 2, 205 pounds of 4.37-second 40-yard dash sledgehammer according to the washingtonpost.com article I read.
The Redskins were at a disadvantage before the draft even started because due to previous deals they only had one pick in the first four rounds, which was #6 overall. Still, considering what they had to work with Washington actually did okay and probably came through with a better effort than some teams with twice as many picks
Since they wouldn’t be picking again for a very long time the Redskins needed to make their first choice count. Even though they had one of the worst pass rushes in the league last year Washington ignored their troubles up front and grabbed a defensive back with their first and only choice on Day One. L.S.U. safety LaRon Landry was a star since his true freshman year in college but it wasn’t until he blazed a 4.35 at the Scouting Combine that teams finally began to recognize him as the Top 10 prospect he was. Able to play both the run and pass effectively, some had Landry rated as the best defensive player available this year and had Washington not taken him at #6 Minnesota or Atlanta certainly would have at #7 or #8. The Redskins now have a ton of money and resources invested in the safeties but they showed last year how much they valued the position when they gave Adam Archuletta a huge free agent contract. Even though Archuletta was a major disappointment and has already been sent packing the Skins still boast one of the best starting tandems in the league with Landry and former #5 overall pick Sean Taylor. You have to wonder if they would’ve been better off taking Jamaal Anderson or Amobi Okoye to address that dreadful pass rush but I guess if teams are going to have all day to throw the ball you had better get some guys who can cover.
The NFL preseason has already started and already has been dogged by controversy. With the NBA betting scandal also in the news it brings a bad light to American sports in general.
I read an article in the Washington Post called ‘When the Fix Is In, You Can’t Believe It‘. It made a few good points about mistrust in sports today. From baseball, to cycling to wrestling, it seems the whole sports world has gone mad.
Ah, for the sounds of the American summer. Not the sweet crack of a baseball bat launching a home run, or the gasp of admiration of a missile from Tiger Woods as it bisects a fairway 300 yards away - but the whimpers of bloodied and dying dogs, the relentless booing of a suspect superstar, and the thud of criminal indictments dropping onto a lawyer’s desk.
For sports fans in the US, this is the summer of scandal. Baseball, football and basketball: all are in the mire. A steroid-tainted Barry Bonds labours towards the most hallowed record in baseball when half of those who follow the sport wish he would simply disappear into a hole in the ground. Michael Vick, the thrilling quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, is charged with running a dogfighting ring that inflicts unspeakable cruelty on the poor animals bred to take part. And now a top basketball referee is accused of links with the mob and of betting on games in which he took part.
ESPN, the sports cable TV, has even run a poll to determine which of the scandals its viewers find most disturbing. Its findings are instructive.
Bonds’ transgressions come a distant third, at just 15 per cent. Vick, somewhat surprisingly, manages only second place, despite the public outrage and revulsion at the criminal activity with which he is linked. Judged worst of the three, by no less than 45 per cent of respondents, is the gambling of which Tim Donaghy, who has been officiating at NBA games for 13 years, is soon to be charged by the FBI.
On reflection, however, judged through a purely sporting prism, the outcome makes good sense. The allegations against Bonds, as he approaches Hank Aaron’s career home run record of 755, have been around for three years or more. Vick’s extracurricular pursuits, however repulsive, do not affect his on-field performance. But news last week of Donaghy’s betting was not only a bolt from the blue. It calls into question the basic assumption without which competitive sport is meaningless: that the game you are watching is a genuine contest. Instead a terrible suspicion surrounds the sport graced by Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan: has the fix been in all along?
Yes, you could say the same of drugs in baseball, America’s answer to the Tour de France and the scandal that - at least until Vick - had made Bonds America’s most hated sports star. The joyful climate in which the nation awaits his feat may be divined from a recent exchange with the media pack that trails his every step. “You all hate me anyway. I don’t know why you’re here - most of you say whatever nasty things you say about me anyway. And if you really believe all the things you write, why are you talking to me?”
The mood has not been improved by word that the federal grand jury investigating the player for tax evasion and perjury over his steroid denials has just had its mandate extended for six months and a report in at least one US newspaper that prosecutors now believe they have enough evidence to secure an indictment.
Vickhas already been indicted. On Thursday, a Virginia court set a trial date of 26 November, as the player pleaded not guilty to charges that carry a possible six-year jail sentence and a $350,000 (£171,500) fine.
The 18-page indictment sets out in nauseating detail how Vick was present as dogs that didn’t measure up were dealt with - drowned, smashed into the ground, or in one case doused with water and electrocuted. Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, has told Vick to stay away from pre-season training with the Atlanta Falcons, while a former deputy US Attorney General is helping the League decide how to deal with the case. Whatever happens, however, the career of one of the NFL’s most glittering stars - think Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard for a Premiership comparison - is in jeopardy.
But basketball potentially faces the most damage. NFL players, alas, have long been no strangers to police charge sheets, while a cloud has hung over Bonds ever since the Balco drugs scandal broke in 2003. And not only that: the fans may dislike Bonds the man, but they are ambivalent about steroids.
The home run slugger, even with chemical assistance, is still the sport’s biggest draw. The crisis casts doubt on baseball’s most sacred records - but not on its competitive credibility.
Its most enduring disgrace is not drug use, but the Chicago “Black Sox” and the thrown World Series of 1919, when its showcase event was rigged by the gamblers. Baseball will countenance anything, except the merest whiff of betting. It is why Pete Rose has been banned from the sport for life and barred from the Hall of Fame, even though he is the all-time leader in hits. Rose’s sin was to bet on the Cincinnati Reds while he first played for and then managed them in the 1970s and 1980s, even though there is no evidence he manipulated results to line his, or anyone else’s pocket.
Now a similar nightmare faces the NBA. Sports betting in the US - whether in its legal form in Las Vegas and Atlantic City or illegally elsewhere (including, since 2006, the Internet) - is a multibillion dollar business.
Some sports, like boxing, have long been tainted by ties with gambling and organised crime. But since 1919, the “big three” have been clean. Or have they? Every sign is that, as it has struggled to recapture the glories (and the TV ratings) of the Jordan era, basketball has been looking in the wrong direction. Its focus has been on improving the on- and off-court conduct of its players. The NBA might have been better running a rule on the people who run its games.
Donaghy, according to David Stern, the NBA’s commissioner, is a one-off, “an isolated case”. But the normally sublimely self-confident Stern cut a chastened and sombre figure at a press conference this week. It was, he confessed “the most serious situation and the worst situation” in his 23 years in charge of the league. “I can’t believe this is happening to us.” No charges have yet been filed. But matters may get worse when the former referee turns himself in to the federal authorities, probably early next week, and if, as seems likely, he agrees to cooperate with FBI investigators.
As for motive, one can only speculate. Envy perhaps? Though Donaghy was paid $260,000 (£127,000) last year, that sum is barely a week’s wages for some of the petulant stars he manages on court. Or was he simply a compulsive gambler - who had in fact been seen placing bets at an Atlantic City casino back in 2005, in violation of NBA rules?
The real question, though, is not so much whether he gambled. Did he actually fix games, for the benefit of himself or gambling syndicates? A referee certainly has plenty of scope to do so. The most common basketball bet is for or against a “line” set by bookmakers for a game - that one team will win by a certain number of points. “Bulls -5″, for instance, means that the Chicago Bulls (Jordan’s old team) are favoured by five points. Bet on the Bulls and they have to win by more than that for you to win as well. If a flood of bets comes in on one side, the line will be adjusted accordingly.
Another frequent wager is an “over-under” bet; that the combined points total for a quarter, a half, or a whole game will be above or below a predetermined figure. Again, a tide of bets either over or under will cause oddsmakers to shift that figure.
A referee can easily manipulate scores by calling dubious fouls, forcing a team to bench its best players, and allowing the other team extra free-throw scoring opportunities. At least a dozen Donaghy games are under scrutiny, and some possible anomalies have already been noted. Over the past two seasons, he awarded more free throws than any other NBA referee.
According to the sports betting website Pregame.com, the first 15 games of the 2006-2007 season refereed by Donaghy that drew enough bets to move the line 1.5 points or more “were perfect against Las Vegas - meaning the big-money gamblers won 15 times out of 15 on his games”. Although there is no suggestion of wrongdoing, the odds against that happening, claims Pregame.com, are 32,768-1.
For others however, the evidence is less conclusive. Had the discrepancies been that glaring and that frequent, someone would surely have raised a red flag. After all, the NBA monitors every game minutely to make sure fouls have been called correctly. Ultimately, without details only Donaghy and/or any accomplices can provide, nothing is provable in law.
But in terms of faith dented, suspicions aroused and reputations unjustly tarred, Stern is right to talk of “a betrayal of the most sacred trust in professional sports.” After Donaghy, basketball fans will wonder darkly about every referee and every questionable foul call. As for the players, Shaquille O’Neal - center for the Miami Heat and one of the most dominant players of his era - summed up their feelings to the Washington Post last weekend. “How many games did he throw that I played in?” Even if Donaghy is a single rotten apple, and no game-fixing is proved, the damage to basketball will not be quickly undone.
But Stern is not the only major league sports boss who must do some soul-searching. As he wonders whether and how enthusiastically to attend the games at which Bonds might equal and break Aaron’s record (he is two behind on 753 at the time of writing), the baseball commissioner Bud Selig should ask himself how his sport for so long turned a blind eye to steroids. Bond’s late-career power surge was only the culmination of the freakish home run explosion of the late 1990s, which won back fans disgusted by the players’ strike of 1994-1995. The suspicions were glaring. But until Balco left it no choice, baseball’s high command did nothing.
And what of Roger Goodell at the NFL? There had been talk for years that some players were linked to dogfighting, a felony in 48 of the 50 states. How come this was missed amid the disciplinary clampdown on errant NFL players that has already seen one suspended for the entire 2007 season?
But that is just one question unanswered in this amazing summer of sporting scandal.
The 2007 NFL preseason kicks off at Pro Football Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium. The venue is home to the annual AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game with this year’s contest being played on August 5.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints will kick off the 2007 preseason schedule in the annual AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game in Canton on Sunday August 5. NFL Network will televise the preseason classic. It marks the first time that NFL Network will carry the game.
The game announcement came during the press conference on February 3, 2007 revealing the Class of 2007. The Hall of the Fame’s Board of Selectors elected Gene Hickerson, Michael Irvin, Bruce Matthews, Charlie Sanders, Thurman Thomas, and Roger Wehrli. The class will be formally enshrined during ceremonies at Fawcett Stadium in Canton on Saturday August 4th. The NFL Network and ESPN will also broadcast the enshrinement.
Tickets for the game, which went on sale May 2, are sold out.
Hall of Fame Game Series: The Hall of Fame Game series began in 1962, one year before the museum opened. A National Football League preseason game has been played at Fawcett Stadium each year but one since that inaugural game. No game was played in 1966 as the preseason schedule was not set in time to include Canton for a neutral site game.
Beginning in 1971, following the AFL-NFL merger, an AFC vs. NFC format was adopted for the Hall of Fame series. Preset schedules were created that called for each team to make a visit to Canton over 14- and 15-year periods through 1994. In 1995, the NFL selected the Hall of Fame Game to showcase the debut of the league’s newest expansion teams – the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars. Since that time, the NFL designates the teams for the Hall of Fame Game on a season-by-season basis. The game normally includes teams with significant milestones (such as the return of the Cleveland Browns in 1999 and the Houston Texans inaugural game in 2002) or a connection to the Hall’s most recent class.
In 2006, the Hall of Fame Game returned to Sunday. The Hall of Fame games were played on Sunday afternoons from 1963 to 1965. The inaugural game and those played from 1967 through 1997 were played on Saturday afternoons. Then, in 1998, the Hall of Fame game was switched to primetime with kickoff moved to Saturday evening. One year later, the game moved to Monday night.
The Hall of Fame Game was televised nationally by ABC from 1971-2005 and broadcast by NBC in 2006. NFL Network will televise the 2007 AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game as the Pittsburgh Steelers kick off their 75th anniversary season against the New Orleans Saints.
Eli Manning, Tony Romo and Rex Grossman must work to prove they are up to the challenge of redeeming themselves after last season.
While federal investigators hone in on Michael Vick’s alleged role in an illegal dogfighting operation and watchdog groups stand guard to ensure the NFL and Atlanta Falcons are ready to get tough with one of their stars, other more typical dramas are percolating throughout the league.
And, as teams open training camp this week, most of them even involve football.
In particular, three young quarterbacks will be operating under a microscope as they work to salvage their reputations and careers.
Whether it’s that other Manning in New York, Eli, trying to escape his Super Bowl-winning brother’s shadow; Tony Romo in Dallas, rebounding from fumbling away his team’s playoff chances; or Rex Grossman in Chicago, who botched the Bears’ Super Bowl hopes, pressure is pressure and possible redemption is but a few weeks of practice away.
This should be considered a make-or-break season for Eli Manning, who no longer has running back Tiki Barber in the same Giants backfield, and whose brother Peyton further fueled expectations by directing Indianapolis to a Super Bowl victory.
It’s now up to Eli, in his third full season as a starter, to show why he was a No. 1 overall pick.
“I think you always look to find the right magic button that’s going to get him to play the way we think he can play,” Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said recently. “Whether it’s an adjustment to the way you communicate, whether it’s an adjustment to the drills that you use, whether it’s an adjustment to your approach in the meeting room.
“Whatever it is, as long as it works, that’s the only thing that matters.”
The Giants might be searching for that magic button, but they aren’t alone. Among the other players — and coaches — on this summer’s PUP (People Under Pressure) list:
• Romo — He went 5-1 in his first six starts last season, wobbled like a two-legged stool as the season wore on, then crash-landed in a playoff game in Seattle when he bobbled the snap on the potential winning field goal. The Cowboys thought enough of him, though, to pass over Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn in the draft. Despite his inconsistencies on the field, Romo is among the league’s most marketable players. Now the Cowboys are looking for him to play that way.
• Grossman — The Bears quarterback was wildly erratic during the season and just plain lousy in the Super Bowl, yet his coaches and teammates are standing behind him. Well, sort of. While playing in Donovan McNabb’s golf tournament this off-season, Chicago defensive tackle Tommie Harris said of the Eagles quarterback: “If he comes to Chicago, we’ll definitely win the Super Bowl.” Harris later said he was joking and didn’t mean it as a knock on Grossman. What’s that old saying: The truest things are said in jest?
• Tony Ugoh, Indianapolis — With the sudden retirement of Pro Bowl left tackle Tarik Glenn, Peyton Manning’s blind-side bodyguard, things just got a lot more challenging for Ugoh, a 6-foot-5, 301-pound rookie from Arkansas. The initial plan was to try him at guard before moving him to tackle in 2008. It looks as if the Colts will have to tear up that blueprint and put him in the line of fire right away.
• Joey Harrington, Atlanta — Now that it appears Vick is out of the picture in Atlanta, Harrington has another chance to prove he can win games. His supporting cast with the Falcons is much better than the one he had in Detroit. And, hey, this could be his summer for a stirring comeback. Just look what his cousin, Padraig Harrington, did in the British Open.
• Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay — Once the league’s preeminent offensive whiz kid, Gruden has slipped to being just another coach scrambling to stay employed. His Buccaneers were 4-12 last season, bringing Gruden’s post-Super Bowl record to 27-37. Maybe the addition of quarterback Jeff Garcia will help turn things around. For Gruden’s sake, it better.
• Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh — He got off to a 13-0 record as a rookie starter, and in his second season became the youngest starting quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl. Then came the motorcycle accident, a string of uninspired performances last season, and now a mother load of expectations. Roethlisberger and Bruce Arians, the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator, have designed a package that includes more use of no-huddle offense, and more use of three and four receivers on first and second down.
• Randy Moss, New England — If he’s still among the NFL’s elite receivers — maybe the best? — Moss is in an ideal position to prove it. He’s got a premier quarterback in Tom Brady, and won’t be smothered by defenders when new teammates Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker are on the field. Corey Dillon rescued his career with the Patriots. Moss could do the same.
• Norv Turner, San Diego — Will Turner’s third head-coaching stint be the charm? He was a combined 58-82-1 in his previous top jobs, with Washington and Oakland. This time, he’s coaching a group that includes LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, Philip Rivers, Shawne Merriman, Jamal Williams, Luis Castillo…. In short, no team is better equipped to make a Super Bowl run.
• Mario Williams, Houston — Had he merely been a first-round pick — and not the player selected No. 1, ahead of Reggie Bush — Williams’ rookie season would not have been scrutinized so thoroughly. But Williams’ 4 1/2 sacks, coupled with his various injuries, had to make the Texans gulp. After all, they’re paying him $26.5 million over the first two years of his deal.
• Ted Ginn Jr., Miami — With quarterback Quinn waiting in the Radio City green room and expecting to be picked, the Dolphins instead used the No. 9 selection on Ginn, a speedy receiver/returner from Ohio State. That was much higher than many predicted the injury-prone Ginn to go. If Ginn pans out, and Quinn struggles in Cleveland, new Dolphins Coach Cam Cameron will look awfully smart.
Former Green Bay Packers quaterback Brett Favre, who announced retirement at the end of the 2007 NFL season, wants to give it another go on the field.
The most obvious storyline this season was the AFC’s New England Patriots and their mission for the first undefeated season since ‘72. Pats’ coach Bill Belichick was put under the microscope after the week one “Videogate” scandal, where the team was found taping the opposing team’s play calls. In the off-season, the Pats managed to build a “dream team” and never looked back, running up the score of every game en route to a perfect season. Odds makers unanimously pick the Patriots as the Super Bowl XLII favorites.
