Monday, December 31, 2012

Cowboys Pick at #18; Broncos McCoy draws interest; Rams to Move?; 2013 Opponents


Cowboys to Pick at No. 18

Brandon George of Sports Day DFW reports that the Dallas Cowboys will pick with the No. 18 pick in the NFL Draft in April. The Cowboys have several holes they need to fill including their offensive line and some pass rush. Quarterback Tony Romo was running for his life all season and the Cowboys could never get a good run game going with second-year back Demarco Murray. A lineman may be more important offensively than the speculation of another pass rusher.

Broncos Offensive Coordinator McCoy to Interview This Week

The Denver Post reports that Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy is set to interview with the Chicago Bears fired their head coach Lovie Smith. Mike McCoy interviewed for jobs last season but ended up staying in Denver and working with quarterback Peyton Manning. McCoy has been receiving high praise for his work with Tim Tebow last season in changing the offense from a conventional offense to a read-option style of offense.

Rams Could Move if Stadium isn’t Upgraded

Heartlandconnection.com reports that the St. Louis Rams could move if their stadium isn’t upgraded next season.

“The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, which runs the dome, and the Rams are at odds over bringing the dome up to top-tier status among the 31 NFL stadiums. Otherwise, the Rams could break their lease and potentially move after the 2014 season.”

This is very interesting as the city of Los Angeles is looking for an NFL team to move their as the Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, and San Diego Chargers have all been named as a possibility to relocate to LA. The Rams and Chargers both have been in Los Angeles at one point in their franchise histories.

2013 Opponents

While the NFL Schedule will not be released until mid-to-late April, every NFL team knows their opponents. Michael David Smith ofprofootballtalk.com brings us the formula and a link to every team’s opponents.

“That’s because the NFL uses this formula to determine each team’s opponents:
1. Six games consist of home and away against three division opponents.
2. Four games are played against teams from another division within the conference on a rotating three-year cycle.
3. Four games are played against teams from another division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle.
4. Two interconference games are based on the prior year’s standings. So that the first-place teams play each other, the second-place teams play each other, the third-place teams play each other and the last-place teams play each other.”
And here is the link to the list of opponents: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/31/2013-opponents-determined-for-every-nfl-team/

Monday, December 24, 2012

Vick Expected to Start vs. Giants; Tebow Upset; Broncos No. 1l;

Michael Vick Expected to Start vs. Giants
(Image from CSMonitor.com)
Michael Vick may get one more chance for redemption to make his case to start either for Philadelphia or another team in the NFL. Rookie QB Nick Foles suffered a broken hand yesterday against the Redskins and will miss the showdown against the Giants. According to Michael David Smith of profootballtalk.com, Eagles head coach Andy Reid is leaning towards Vick over the team's other quarterback, Trent Edwards.

Tebow Upset About Not Starting
(Image from bleachereport.com)
Tim Tebow is finally showing some unsettled feelings about not getting the opportunity to start this season. Michael David Smith of profootballtalk.com reports that Tebow told ESPN's Adam Schefter that he is "more determined than ever to dedicate my entire off-season to becoming the best quarterback I can be next season." Tebow also expressed his unhappiness with Jets head coach Rex Ryan when he was told that second-year QB Greg McElroy would start in place of the incumbent Mark Sanchez and Tebow. Schefter also reports that Tebow told Ryan that he was willing to do whatever it took to help the team win. Smith brings up a good point about Tim Tebow. Smith says that if Tebow had to reassure the coach he would do what he could to help the team win, there are character questions to surface. Regardless of whether or not there are character concerns, Tebow is looking to start somewhere in the NFL and there is a good chance that Jacksonville is the only place that will take him, and it will be more to sell tickets and they don't have a good quarterback. (Sorry Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne)

Broncos No. 1
The Broncos have reached no. 1 on ESPN's Power Rankings after winning their tenth straight game on Sunday. Some changes happened from 2-10 though, most notably the Houston Texans who dropped four spots after losing to Minnesota yesterday, their second loss in three weeks. The Top 10 are 1. Denver Broncos 2. Atlanta Falcons 3. San Francisco 49ers 4. Green Bay Packers 5. New England Patriots 6. Seattle Seahawks 7. Houston Texans 8. Indianapolis Colts 9. Washington Redskins 10. Baltimore Ravens.
All ten of those teams would make for a great playoff field.