New England Patriots

ALL
OUTSIDER

Who among us can really judge Steve McNair?

By TonyLombardi | July 8, 2009 | Ravens Roost

It's been four plus days yet seemingly months ago since Steve McNair was taken from this earth in a violent and unnecessary way. I've taken in the talk on sports radio and I've read the feedback submitted by Ravens fans and clearly the opinions vary on how McNair will be remembered. When I think back, I recall the nickname Air McNair as the former Alcorn State Brave emerged on to the NFL scene as the third overall pick by the Houston Oilers in the 1995 NFL Draft. At the time I thought the nickname was a bit unusual since his legs can be credited with most of his early success. Right around the time McNair was maturing as a professional my son Tyler, to the delight of his proud Dad began to really develop an affinity for the NFL and in large part the credit for that can be attributed...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Eddie George, Steve McNair, Tennessee Titans

RAY LEWIS ISN'T PAID TO BE A BABYSITTER

By TonyLombardi | July 8, 2009 | Ravens Roost

Whenever an NFL player becomes available who might be a match for the Ravens on the field yet is a problem off the field or in the locker room, fans inevitably look to Ray Lewis and conclude that he can be the voice of reason and stave off any potential issues. Fans think that Ray can turn a drama queen into his own little dancing queen who will march to his beat on demand. Look up babysitter in the NFL Glossary and fans expect to see the willing and smiling face of Ray Lewis. And given this widely held belief among fans, they precipitously conclude that the problem child flavor of the month can be the missing ingredient for the Ravens - particularly if the player is a wide receiver. Plaxico Burress - bring him on! Brandon Marshall - no worries, besides what has he been CONVICTED of... If either...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: baltimore Ravens, Ray Lewis

Can the Ravens surpass Steelers without No. 1 WR?

By TonyLombardi | July 8, 2009 | Ravens Roost

This article was written by Tony Lombardi of Ravens24x7.com The Ravens are just a wide receiver away from overtaking the Steelers in the AFC North. How many times have you HEARD that? If the Ravens had a true No. 1 receiver they may have advanced to and won Super Bowl XLIII. How many times have you SAID that? The Ravens would love to have a player in the mold of Larry Fitzgerald or one with the skills of Brandon Marshall. But is that the only way for the Ravens to take that next step? Can they take that next step with the wide receiver talent currently on their roster provided they improve in other areas? That's a reasonable assumption don't you think? But before we go there, let's look at the receiving talent the Ravens do have heading into the 2009 season. Derrick Mason: It's safe to say that...

Read more | 7 Comments | Tags: baltimore Ravens, Derrick Mason, Joe Flacco, Marcus Smith, Mark Clayton

NFL Outsider Season Preview 2009: Carolina Panthers

By Staff Report | July 8, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NFL Outsider is hosting a season preview of all 32 teams. The NFL regular season begins on September 10; in the meantime follow the best NFL bloggers as they analyze their teams in this 2009 season preview.Joe Coward from CatCrave.com gives insight into what to expect from this year's Carolina PanthersCarolina Panthers, 2009 Season Preview Some Negative Comments Most Carolina fans think of the horrendous playoff game Delhomme last played more often than the season opener he won for Carolina in San Diego. Some call Delhomme's extension a blessing in disguise, for salary cap room, if nothing else. In time we will sort it out and see if a contract extension for Delhomme was right or wrong. Some worry about Julius Peppers. He will have a solid season in 2009 if he wants to move elsewhere that bad in 2010. Some Positive Comments Carolina has become a force...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Carolina Panthers, NFL

NFL Outsider Season Preview 2009: Kansas City Chiefs

By Staff Report | July 7, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NFL Outsider is hosting a season preview of all 32 teams. The NFL regular season begins on September 10; in the meantime follow the best NFL bloggers as they analyze their teams in this 2009 season preview.Josh Knox from KCChiefsFootball.com shares his insight on the 2009 Kansas City Chiefs. Check in on other teams here.Chiefs 2009 NFL Season Preview Last year was a very rough year to be a Chief. One positive that can be taken from this is finishing 2-14 there is really nowhere to go but up and Chiefs seem to doing everything in their power to make the best on and off the field decisions to help their organization for both now and the future.. Let's talk about some of the key losses for the Chiefs and then we will go on and see what they added. . Key Losses: Carl Peterson, Herm Edwards, Tony Gonzalez, Donnie Edwards, Patrick Surtain If you watched...

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Chiefs, Kansas City Chiefs, Matt Cassel, Scott Pioli

The Effects of Loosing Pace...

By Ronnie Shumake | July 6, 2009 | The Cockpit

As of late last week, the NFL has suspended Calvin Pace for the first four games of this season without pay for violation of the NFL Policy on Performing Enhancing Substances. This is the chance for last year's number one pick Vernon Gholston to make a name and perhaps a career for himself. Taken number six overall last year, Gholston played little and made even less of an impact. He missed most of the early team activities in June and many feel that hampered his development. He is a player with a tremendous upside and the entire staff feels that he will be a breakout star in the league. This year, he has spent almost as much time around the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center as the very walls of the facility. He has shown an incredible amount of dedication to extra weight and film sessions while many others are away until training...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: AFC East, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, NFL

NFL Outsider Season Preview 2009: Pittsburgh Steelers

By Staff Report | July 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NFL Outsider is hosting a season preview of all 32 teams. The NFL regular season begins on September 10; in the meantime follow the best NFL bloggers as they analyze their teams in this 2009 season preview.Donald from Steelerstoday.com gives insight into what to expect from this year's Pittsburgh Steelers.2008 regular season record: 12-42009 predicted record: 13-3Predicted finish in AFC North: 1st The Pittsburgh Steelers ended 2008 by taking home their sixth Lombardi Trophy. However, repeating in 2009 is not going to be an easy task. Steeler Nation is not going to like hearing me say this, but I don't think the Steelers were the best team in the NFL last season. However, the Steelers got hot at the right time, and had a few breaks go their way. Next thing you know, they're throwing a parade in Pittsburgh. Key Weaknesses:If the Steelers hope to repeat, they are going to have...

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers

NFL Outsider Season Preview 2009: Carolina Panthers

By Staff Report | July 8, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Carolina Panthers, NFL

NFL Outsider Season Preview 2009: Kansas City Chiefs

By Staff Report | July 7, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NFL Outsider is hosting a season preview of all 32 teams. The NFL regular season begins on September 10; in the meantime follow the best NFL bloggers as they analyze their teams in this 2009 season preview.Josh Knox from KCChiefsFootball.com shares his insight on the 2009 Kansas City Chiefs. Check in on other teams here.Chiefs 2009 NFL Season Preview Last year was a very rough year to be a Chief. One positive that can be taken from this is finishing 2-14 there is really nowhere to go but up and Chiefs seem to doing everything in their power to make the best on and off the field decisions to help their organization for both now and the future.. Let's talk about some of the key losses for the Chiefs and then we will go on and see what they added. . Key Losses: Carl Peterson, Herm Edwards, Tony Gonzalez, Donnie Edwards, Patrick Surtain If you watched...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Chiefs, Kansas City Chiefs, Matt Cassel, Scott Pioli

NFL Outsider Season Preview 2009: Pittsburgh Steelers

By Staff Report | July 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NFL Outsider is hosting a season preview of all 32 teams. The NFL regular season begins on September 10; in the meantime follow the best NFL bloggers as they analyze their teams in this 2009 season preview.Donald from Steelerstoday.com gives insight into what to expect from this year's Pittsburgh Steelers.2008 regular season record: 12-42009 predicted record: 13-3Predicted finish in AFC North: 1st The Pittsburgh Steelers ended 2008 by taking home their sixth Lombardi Trophy. However, repeating in 2009 is not going to be an easy task. Steeler Nation is not going to like hearing me say this, but I don't think the Steelers were the best team in the NFL last season. However, the Steelers got hot at the right time, and had a few breaks go their way. Next thing you know, they're throwing a parade in Pittsburgh. Key Weaknesses:If the Steelers hope to repeat, they are going to have...Read more

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers

NFL Top 10: Best Storylines heading into 2009

By Greg Trippiedi | June 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

I really love spending hours putting together the research for a long-winded heavy analytical post, but sometimes, a fan needs to appreciate the game from a different perspective. This isn't going to provide any insight into why teams will win and lose this year, but because it's June, and we're two months from training camp, I'll forgive myself.Today, NFL Top 10 takes a look at the best storylines entering 2009, as well as those potential developing storylines that could shape the upcoming NFL season.10. Ray Lewis, Rex Ryan, and defense in the AFCIf the Baltimore Ravens are going to make good on my super bowl appearance prediction, they can't allow the media to even speculate that they might be missing Rex Ryan. The effect of defensive coordinator on a team's defense has certainly been overstated throughout the years, so we'll never know if the Ravens are actually missing Rex Ryan. ...Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins

NFL Great Debates: What to Do with Michael Vick?

By Staff Report | May 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NFL Outsider's Greg Trippiedi and Anthony Brown debate the issue: Which team is the best spot for Michael Vick if he overcomes the enormous hurdles necessary to get on the field this year?Greg Trippiedi says Vick shouldn't be a starting quarterback:It's pretty clear that Michael Vick is not going to have a job waiting for him when he gets back. He's 29 years old -- too old and too young in different ways. Vick's open field running abilities were already in decline when we last saw him, and that was in 2006. But that doesn't mean he won't stick somewhere. He's still got a good five or six seasons ahead of him as an effective athlete. The question though remains: Where will Michael Vick fit in, and who will take a chance on him? I don't think Vick is a good fit on a team with a clear need...Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: NFL

NFL Power Rankings: Looking at the 10 Teams with the Brightest 2009 Prospectus

By Greg Trippiedi | May 3, 2009 | MVN Outsider

The coming and passing of the NFL Draft allows prognosticators such as myself to lock in our predictions for the coming season. There will be no more phases of the NFL off-season that can result in wide-spread player movement. To the critics who will point out, "there's no way you can call the season in May," I say: there's no point to trying to call it in August either. I'm just beating you to the punch.In this exercise, I'm going to pick 5 teams from each conference to fill out my top ten teams in the power rankings. Essentially, I'm not trying to pick the ten best teams in the NFL right now as much as I'm trying to pick the ten teams most likely to win the Super Bowl. By spreading out the picks evenly by conference, I maximize the chances that two of my preseason picks play in...Read more

Read more | 7 Comments | Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins

NFL Outsider's Draft Winners and Losers

By Greg Trippiedi | April 27, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at process points to see who had the best draft objectively. Right now, I'm just going to give some off the cuff reaction on some teams that did really well and others who did not so well.Winners1. Arizona CardinalsI was amazed with the quality of player drafted by the Cardinals. They never moved up or down in the draft, but still managed to have great draft position to land great values at positions of need in every single round. Every one of their draft picks, except for RB LaRod Stephens-Howling, an intriguing prospect, was on the MVN Top 150 big board. There should be between 5-6 full time starters in this draft, and the Cardinals figure to be the class of their division in the next few seasons.2. Cleveland BrownsConversely, the Browns traded down three times in round one, and ended up picking four times...Read more

Read more | 3 Comments | Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, NFL, NFL Draft, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins

Derrick Williams, Jarron Gilbert, Jared Cook Lead Round 3 Recap

By Greg Trippiedi | April 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Process points become negligible after the first day, so lets look at round three and the players that each team got in the middle of the draft.65. New York Jets -- Shonn Green, RB, IowaThe Jets traded up for this pick, so the Green pick was really disappointing. I didn't think he was anywhere near the best available, and with this being the first pick of the day, I expected a great pick here.66. St. Louis Rams -- Bradley Fletcher, CB, Iowa67. Kansas City Chiefs -- Alex Magee, DE, PurdueThe Chiefs pick their second 3-4 DE of the draft. So what does this mean for Glenn Dorsey? Will he split time with Magee and Tyson Jackson, or is he already on his way out?68. Chicago Bears -- Jarron Gilbert, DE, San Jose StateChicago moves forward looking for best player available, while making sure to add a defensive lineman every year. ...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: NFL, NFL Draft

MVN: Most Valuable Network