When Philadelphia traded Kevin Kolb for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, backup quarterback Vince Young anointed the Eagles as the “Dream Team” for 2011. But the season quickly turned into a nightmare, as the team crawled out to a 1-4 start. The Eagles rebounded at the end of the season to finish 8-8, but by that point chances of making the playoffs were lost and Philadelphia had...

Few teams have been harder to figure out in recent years than the Dallas Cowboys. The team often has tons of talent on the field only to self-destruct in strange ways and the 2011 season was no different. After 11 games, Tony Romo was clicking and DeMarco Murray was running hard. Then Dallas lost two heartbreakers to Arizona and the New York Giants late and the Cowboys were on their...

Well, the 2012 season is over. By and large the Twittersphere would seem to indicate that people are reasonably satisfied with the Super Bowl they just finished watching. New York and New England put on quite a show again as Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning once again edged out Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in an exciting game that came down to the last play. That result seemed more satisfying...

The Pro Football Hall of Fame's 50th class was announced. Five players got in as modern-era candidates, plus one senior nominee.

Announcement day has arrived, we’re less than 12 hours from knowing who has made the cut. I’m not sure if we’ll find out which of the 15 finalists make the cut to 10 in advance of the 5:30 announcement show or not, but hopefully you’ll check back with us here for more discussion around this year’s class. And, of course, our Class of 2013 predictions...

You are what you are in the NFL and the Arizona Cardinals were an 8-8 team in 2011. But the Cardinals, more than most teams, have reason to saying “what if” right about now. Arizona started 1-6, but lost four of those games by four points or less. That dug a hole from which the team could not emerge. But closing 7-2 on the strength of a mostly strong defensive performance...

Hunter Goodwin’s NFL career was not glamorous. He caught just 37 passes and two touchdowns while playing eight seasons as a tight end for Minnesota and Miami. But he stayed in the league for eight years by focusing on being a team player and doing the important, often-unrecognized dirty work in the trenches that made his team’s offense better. He gained so much respect...

When the 2011 season started, I expected to hear a lot of talk about Seattle competing for the rights to draft Andrew Luck. As the season wore on, the Seahawks did get more and more media attention, but it was for the strong play of Marshawn Lynch and a resurgent second half of the season, not for a push toward futility. There are a number of areas where the Seahawks still have room...

I’ve been on a brutal stretch dating back to the last week of the regular season. I managed to get just one of four bets correct on Championship weekend and that dropped my postseason picks to 4-8 overall. So perhaps it’s for the best that the season ends Sunday. The New York Giants and New England engage in their rematch. Tell you what — I thought I had a pretty...

The Kansas City Chiefs won 10 games in total between 2007 and 2009 before shocking the world with a 10-win, division championship season in 2010. The Chiefs came back to Earth in 2011, however, as injuries combined with a tougher schedule to ruin expectations, ultimately costing Todd Haley his head coaching position. It’s an important off-season, with several important players...

Well, here it is, folks. It’s Super Bowl week. Depending on how you look at it, this week is either the ultimate finale to the football season … or the beginning of a depressing several-month stretch during which there will be no football on television (though that actually started this weekend, unless you count the glorified touch football game that is the Pro Bowl)...

Ryan Fitzpatrick got off to a hot start in 2011 and, in following his lead, so did the Buffalo Bills. Seven games in, the Bills sat at 5-2 and looked to be a real playoff contender. Then Fitzpatrick cooled and the team ran off seven losses in a row. So who are the real Bills? Does Chan Gailey have this team on the right track? Or will Buffalo and the team’s fans struggle to...

We’re getting close to learning who the 2012 inductees will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this August. Much of the discussion on one of our other Hall of Fame posts revolves around which of the three wide receiver finalists — or whether any of them — will get chosen for the honor this season. Four-time finalist Andre Reed seems to have gained the most momentum...

The Miami Dolphins got off to a dreadful start in 2011. Seven losses to start the campaign sparked a 6-10 season. The results cost Coach Tony Sparano his job. But there was reason for optimism. Of the 10 losses, three were by a field goal and two were by a single point. And despite the early-season struggles, Miami had the best defense in terms of points allowed in the AFC East....

Few 6-10 teams will finish a season with as much enthusiasm and excitement for the future as the Carolina Panthers. That’s because few teams have Cam Newton. The consensus 2011 Rookie of the Year threw for 4,000 yards and ran for 14 touchdowns during a season where he silenced doubters and burst upon the scene. The six win season is a four game improvement over 2010. And the...

Interesting post from ProFootballTalk this morning regarding NFL apparel–apparently Nike is taking over production of NFL jerseys & apparel starting in April 2012.  As such, they have promised they “plan on changing the NFL jersey dramatically just like we’ve done with the college programs, using new thinking and the greatest technology available,” according...

While there wasn’t a lot for fans to cheer about on the field in 2011, the Jacksonville Jaguars did usher in a new era as the team introduced to its fans a new owner and a new quarterback. Change has continued into the early offseason with Mike Mularkey being named the Jags’ new head coach. There’s even a new era at the Jaguars fan blog Black and Teal, where Luke Sims recently...

It’s been nearly 30 years since the Cleveland Browns were playoff contenders on a regular basis and now a decade since the last postseason appearance. But the new Cleveland Browns might not be that far from a return to relevance. The defense stepped it up big time in 2011. And despite a 4-12 record, the team was in a majority of its games until the very end. They need a dramatic...

The games have gotten tougher and tougher to pick over the last few weeks and that just continues getting truer this weekend. And it’s not like I’m coming in on a hot streak either. I improved on my 1-3 wild card weekend picks, hitting two of the four predictions I made during the divisional round. But 3-5 isn’t going to win you anything in Las Vegas except maybe a couple broken...

The Washington Redskins are 15-33 in the three seasons since Jim Zorn led the team to an 8-8 record in 2008. So it’s been awhile since Washington has been a huge factor in the playoffs. But there are reasons for hope. The defensive line has improved and the team has a stable of running backs who should be able to help move the offense forward for the next few years. With a...

Buoyed by predicting a Giants’ upset over Green Bay, Tony finished 3-1 in predicting the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, which gave him a 5-3 overall record in the postseason. I didn’t see the Giants’ win coming, so I split. That puts me at a pathetic 3-5 in the playoffs. So with that as context, here are our picks for Championship Sunday.Andy: Baltimore at...

It was an ugly and disappointing season in Tampa Bay, where the Buccaneers got off to a slow start and then completely collapsed, largely throwing in the towels late in the year. But the cupboard is not completely bare. With Josh Freeman and several skill position players to build around on offense, this team could rebound in 2012 with the right new coach and some defensive pieces...

After the San Francisco 49ers went 6-10 during the 2010 season, firing Coach Mike Singletary along the way, Alex Smith was clearly ready to move on. The 2005 first-overall pick was talking in the locker room with a reporter from the San Jose Mercury News who asked him if he could see himself coming back for a seventh season in San Francisco. His response, according to this story...

Many people thought the Minnesota Vikings were in for a tough 2011 season long before it kicked off in September against San Diego. But not quite so many saw the bottom completely falling out from underneath a team that was seconds away from going to the Super Bowl just two years ago. The challenges get bigger in 2012, as well, with Adrian Peterson recuperating from an ACL tear and...

Last week’s games did not go the way Tony and I saw them turning out. Tony split, hitting on New Orleans and Houston while missing on Denver and the New York Giants. I got only the Saints game right. So of course you are waiting on the edge of your seats to see who we’re going to pick this week, right? Suckers. Here goes: Andy’s Take Denver at New England – This can’t possibly...