NFL Wild Card Saturday Live Blog

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans  4:30 (NBC - Tom Hammond and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints  8:00 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG!

NFL Wild Card Weekend Schedule

The NFL Playoffs are back, and I guess it will be more relaxing because the Eagles are not playing.  Also, more depressing.  Anyway, here is the schedule with announcers.  No surprises, but I post this anyway because I like having this handy resource available.

Saturday, January 7

# 6 Cincinnati Bengals vs. #3 Houston Texans  4:30 (NBC - Tom Hammond and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)
# 6 Detroit Lions vs. #3 New Orleans Saints  8:00 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Sunday, January 8

#5 Atlanta Falcons vs. #4 New York Giants  1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)
#5 Pittsburgh Steelers vs. #4 Denver Broncos  4:30 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)

Pre-Season Week 2 Schedule

I am going to be doing the pre-season schedule a little differently from here on out. Instead of just listing the National TV games, I will list all the games, and only mark those that will be aired live on National TV with some sort of TV station. I am aware that all these games (outside of Fox, CBS, ESPN, and NBC games) are shown on local affiliates and will be seen in the local markets, but I am too lazy to incorporate all those affiliates and announce teams. That being said, I must admit that I wonder what Tim Brando calling New Orleans Saints pre-season games sounds like. I can hear it now: "It's a Breesey night in New Orleans!"

August 19
Indianapolis Colts vs. Buffalo Bills 7:30
New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons 8:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)

August 20
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cincinnati Bengals 8:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)

August 21
Baltimore Ravens vs. Washington Redskins 7:00
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New York Giants 7:00 (NFL Network)
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7:30
Miami Dolphins vs. Jacksonville Jaguars 7:30
St. Louis Rams vs. Cleveland Browns 7:30
Houston Texans vs. New Orleans Saints 8:00
New York Jets vs. Carolina Panthers 8:00
Oakland Raiders vs. Chicago Bears 8:30
Dallas Cowboys vs. San Diego Chargers 9:00
Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos 9:00
Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks 10:00 (NFL Network)

August 22
Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers 8:00 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Andrea Kremer)

August 23
Arizona Cardinals vs. Tennessee Titans 8:00 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

Jibber Your Jabber- Sunday Night Style!

Who's up for some exhibition preseason NFL action tonight? Or maybe it's ESPN's 100th broadcast this season of Yanks/Sawx. Who does Al Michaels have tonight? Will Joe Morgan take credit for the building of New Yankee Stadium? Is Don Draper going to regret banging the new secretary? Leave comments and enjoy the mayhem!

Dallas Cowboys vs Cincinnati Bengals 8:00 (NBC- Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth SR: Andrea Kremer)

Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees 8:00 (ESPN- Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Orel Hershiser)

Eagles 2010 Pre-Season Schedule

Fresh off the presses! Just announced! It is the 2010 Philadelphia Eagles pre-season schedule. Want to know who the Eagles will in meaningless football games? See below!

Week 1: August 13: vs. Jacksonville 7:30 (ETN)
Week 2: August 20: @ Cincinnati 8:00 (Fox)
Week 3: August 27: @ Kansas City 8:00 (ETN)
Week 4: September 2: vs. New York Jets 7:30 (ETN)

Now as far who the starting QB will be in those games remains a mystery right now. As I tweeted last night, there have been almost daily rumors about Donovan McNabb getting traded. If this was all bullshit and if there really were no plans to trade McNabb, the rumors would have been shot down by now. The Eagles organization would have said something. As of now, the only thing they said on the matter were listening to offers. And as far as the crazy notion goes that this is all somehow disrespectful to Donovan McNabb? Dan Levy as you covered with the rebuttal. Basically (and I agree whole-heartedly with his assessment) none of this is at all disrespectful for McNabb. Read this write-up and listen to his 30-minute podcast on the deal as it is quite refreshing to hear someone intelligent discuss McNabb in Philly.

Wikipedia Vandalism: Shayne Graham Edition

Instead of leaving you all with a bad taste in your mouth after that Eagles post, I decided that I would share with you some quotes from Shayne Graham's Wikipedia page after he missed 2 key field goals in the Bengals loss to the Jets in the 1st playoff game of the year (click for larger and quotes listed underneath)


"On January 9, 2010, Shayne Graham attempted suicide but he couldnt kick the chair."

"On January 9, 2010, Graham missed two field goals in the AFC Wild Card playoff game against the New York Jets, the shortest which was only 24 yards away. That fucking dolt. He is a ginger without a soul."

"Graham is known for his ability to eat massive quantities of shit and is currently considered to be the undisputed field goal misser of the Cincinnati Bengals" which is a tweak of the sentence "Graham is known for his ability to eat massive quantities of food and is currently considered to be the undisputed eating champion of the Cincinnati Bengals."

It's cruel and it's mean, but really even in my shame and embarrassment of that Eagles loss, I still find this hilarious.

Aspeaking of the Eagles loss, the more I think about it, the more I want to borrow Mookie's sharp objects and find the nearest bridge.

NFL Playoffs Day 1 Live Blog

Playoffs? PLAYOFFS!?!?

I'll only be around for the first half of Jets-Bengals and not much else, but the rest of the regular crew should be here so kick back, relax, and enjoy the first day of the playoffs. I'll be back here after the Eagles-Cowboys game to give you my thoughts and analysis of the game, win or lose. Here is your schedule and broadcast information for today's games.

#5 New York Jets @ #4 Cincinnati Bengals 4:30 (NBC - Tom Hammond, Joe Theismann, and Joe Gibbs, SR: Tiki Barber)
#6 Philadelphia Eagles @ #3 Dallas Cowboys 8:00 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Andrea Kremer)

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!

Wildcard Preview Podcast

I have taken the liberties of setting up a podcast that went much longer than I thought it would previewing this weekend's wildcard games as well as a look ahead to who I think has the best chance of making the Super Bowl. There are some sound difficulties and odd sounds in parts so please just bare with them and don't get too frightened. My family was sleeping as I did this so even though I am alone with in my room with my door closed, sound waves carry in this house so I ended up whispering a bit and thus at times it is difficult to discern what I am saying.

Enjoy it anyway! And given the surprisingly strong built-in microphone in my computer and the fact that after all these years I have finally gotten a 21st century cell phone, maybe next time I can call some of you and get your thoughts via phone. It would work. After all, I'm pretty sure every twitch I had in the past 20 minutes got picked up.

So sit back, relax, bare through the random sounds, especially at the beginning when it sounds like I'm drowning in a toilet, and enjoy JFein's exclusive wildcard preview podcast!

Episode 4

JFein's Wildcard Preview Podcast

Were Rich Gannon And Donovan McNabb Ever Roommates?

Man, as time goes by, Donovan McNabb is looking better and better about not knowing that an NFL game ended in a tie. This time, however, it was Rich Gannon who pulled a McNabb, if you will. A big difference though was that Gannon was in the booth at the time. Via Shutdown Corner

One year after McNabb infamously expressed surprise that professional games could end deadlocked, Gannon, the former Raiders quarterback-turned-CBS analyst, made a similar slip-up at the end of the Cincinnati Bengals-Cleveland Browns game, in which he was providing color commentary.

With seven seconds left in overtime, the Bengals called a timeout to prepare for the potential game-winning field goal, to be kicked by Shayne Graham(notes). It was an easy decision for head coach Marvin Lewis: Since the clock was running, calling a timeout allowed Graham and the field goal team to take their time instead of having to rush the kick. Gannon, though, took exception.

Why, you ask? Did he think a miss would give the Browns too much time to run a Hail Mary? Was it his belief that the timeout could unintentionally lead to a self-inflicted icing of Graham? Nope. Both those things would be somewhat reasonable (if still misguided).

No, Gannon didn't like the timeout because he thought that if Graham hit the field goal, it would leave too much time for dangerous Cleveland return man Joshua Cribbs(notes) to take back the subsequent kickoff for a touchdown. You know, that dreaded post-score overtime kickoff that has felled so many teams throughout history.

Gannon's partner in the booth, Ian Eagle, quickly and politely informed Gannon that the game would be over if Graham successfully converted the field goal, since NFL overtime is sudden death. Gannon laughed and apologized for his mistake. Awesomely, Eagle then asked if McNabb had infiltrated the broadcast booth. Nah, Ian, if that were true, Gannon would have vomited when the game got down to crunch time. (Rimshot!)

Wow. I understand that not many NFL games go into overtime, let alone end in ties, but you would think that at the very least that everyone in the booth would know the very simple rule that if tied at the end of the game, all NFL games will play 1 (and only 1) 15-minute period of sudden death overtime. I have to agree with a point AA made in that McNabb's ignorance is a little more excusable in that the Eagles under McNabb-Reid have played in few OT games (I don't have these numbers handy, but I would be shocked if the Eagles are not below average in the number of OT games played since 1999), whereas not only as Gannon played in many, but he is in the booth informing the general public on all of the rules and intracisies of football. I would expect him to be familiar with rare rules hardly come up at all, let alone the simple basic timing rules and procedures for an event that occurs 10-15 times a year.

NFL's overtime rules continue to confuse (Awful Announcing)

Chad Ochocinco Does The Lambeau Leap; Packer Fans Think He's Number 1

He said he would do the Lambeau Leap if he got a touchdown, and he delivered on that promise. And as you can see from the above pic, Packer fans think it's the best damn Lambeau Leap they've ever seen in their lives.



That certainly gave me a good laugh after seeing Kolb and the offense play decent while special teams and defense completely crapped the bed all the way around. I'm hoping that things will change next week against Kansas City, a much weaker foe than the Saints. Unless McNabb is healthy and ready to go, Kolb will most likely get the start in this one. The play-calling was quite creative. Joe Buck said it best when he compared Reid's play-calling to Boise State's, something that while it was not overly effective, it did not really backfire on them either. The big mistakes did not come on the trick plays, but at the same time, no trick play was broken for a big gain. The one difference for the Eagles next Sunday will be the addition of Michael Vick, something that I can't wait to see.

Brandon Stokley And Gus Johnson Are Each The Recipient Of A Miracle

22 hours later and I still can't believe this play. And I also can't believe that Gus Johnson is still alive. Check out the video with the GuJo audio.



What a play. And what a call by Johnson. It was a bit over-the-top, yes, but that's not really a bad thing. I greatly enjoy his enthusiasm, even if it his over-the-top. And if Brandon Stokley's catch is any indication as to how the Broncos's season is going to go and/or is a momentum and confidence booster to them, then I'm pretty sure Seattle fans everywhere are feeling a dagger in their hearts despite shutting the Rams out 28-0.

2009 NFL Preview: Cincinnati Bengals

By JFein:

The Cincinnati Bengals are quite an enigma. They have a really good QB, one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, and yet, no one is thinking that this team has a chance in hell of coming close to competing in the AFC North. And even though they are my 3rd favorite NFL team (Eagles #1, Chargers #2), I agree with those critics. So without further ado, here is your 2009 NFL Preview of the Cincinnati Bengals!

Heeeerrrrrre's Carson: Carson Palmer used to be one of the best QBs in the NFL. But then he played a playoff game against Pittsburgh. Since then, his entire career has gone straight down hill. Whether it's his inconsistency, the Bengals as a team relying too much on the pass due to a lack of running game, or injuries, since that ill-fated home playoff game, it seems like everything has unraveled for the Bengals and Palmer and if one of those problems was not present, you can be sure that another one of them was. It also does not help that the Bengals have no defense whatsoever to rely on when Palmer is struggling or injured, but that's another story.

Chad OchoCinco: Next to T.O., perhaps the most controversial wide receiver is none other than Chad OchoCinco (seriously, which is it? Ochocinco, OchoCinco, or Ocho Cinco?) of the Cincinnati Bengals. Make no mistake about it, the man is talented, but his ego is just way too big for him to ever be a great receiver. The constant unnecessary celebration penalties that he gets is enough to bury a team for when you kickoff at your own 15 yard line, the opposing team gets great field position and is more likely than not to come away with points on the following drive especially taking into the fact of the Bengals defense (more on that below). And just as an aside, "ocho cinco" does not mean "eighty-five" but rather "eight five". Eighty-five in Spanish is "ochenta y cinco". You can thank online translators for that one....

The Bengals defense: Oy ve. What good is it when you're offense scores 45 points only to see the defense give up 48 points. That is the Bengals defense in a nutshell. You have to give credit where credit is due, though. They did try to remedy that by drafting Ray Maualuga out of USC. And they also now have Roy Williams the Safety. But will that be enough for the Bengals? To be frank, I would be shocked if it was. Then again, anything is an improvement over what they had.

Schedule: While the Bengals are one of the 13 lucky ones to play the Detroit Lions this year, the rest of their schedule is not so glamorous, including back-to-back-to-back games against Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Baltimore Weeks 3-5 with the latter 2 being on the road. They have some winnable games this year, but the division that they compete in is way too much for them. If they were in a weaker division, I'd give them a fighters chance at possibly making the playoffs, but not in one of the best divisions in football. No way.

Video: A look at the Bengals rookies this year with Disturbed in the background.



Prediction 6-10, 4th place AFC North. I said it before, if their division was different, then maybe, just maybe, they would have an outside chance of making it this year. But 2 games against the Ravens, Steelers, and Browns is just too much for this team. I only say the Browns because let's just say that the style of games that they play absolutely works against the Bengals defense.

Meet The Bengals Newest Field Goal Kicker

Oh man. We're never gonna hear the end of this one, now are we. With Shane Graham out with an injury, the Bengals needed someone to kick field goals and extra points. The good news is that this service was only needed once. The bad news is that this service was needed once. So who was Shane Graham's replacement in the pre-season game against the Patriots worthy of all this fuss. In case you have not heard, it was Chad OchoCinco, of course! Here's the video and all I'll say is that the results are......surprising.



Damn. He made it. And not only did he make it, he killed that one. OchoCinco is never going to let himself or anyone else forget this one, now is he?