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With Benjarvus Green-Ellis leaving as a free agent to the Bengals this offseason, the Pats are left with only Stevan Ridley, Danny Woodhead and Shane Veeren as the only NFL experienced runners on the roster. Is Belichick waiting to pull a tested veteran off the free agent market to carry the load like what was attempted with Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris? If so the pickings are pretty thin unless you believe that Cedric Benson can come in behind a stellar offensive line and thrive as the main option in a Brady pass first offense.

Maybe Cadillac Williams or Ronnie Brown is the answer? Or possibly giving LaDainian Tomlinson one last shot at scoring that Super Bowl ring that has eluded him through his Hall of Fame career? With backs such as Antwain Smith and Corey Dillon wearing rings due to they’re part in keeping defenses honest against one of the most dominant passing attacks in NFL history, you have to wonder  if the Patriots might not be wearing two more rings if the Kraft-Belichick brain trust had put a little more into the ground game in past seasons.

I personally can’t imagine that this with be the running crew that the Patriots will enter the season with young, unproven runners. There must be something in the works to balance out the Patriots offense in hopes of another Super Bowl run in 2012. With all the acquisitions of wide outs this offseason, a position that already was loaded with talent, and the drafting of young hybrid defense players in the 2012 draft. One has to anticipate some sort of move at the position.

The Patriots most glaring need is at the running back position, and it’s something that needs to be attended to before September or it may just be another disappointing NFL Playoffs for New England come 2013.

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If you had asked almost any sports analyst about a month ago what team was in the best place to succeed in the future, nine out of ten would have said the Indianapolis Colts without a second thought. A month ago, the Colts also had Peyton Manning, the best QB to ever touch a football since the origination of the sport. On top of that, they were looking at drafting Stanford QB Andrew Luck with the first overall pick of the 2012 draft. Luck has received some of the highest ratings of any QB to ever come out of college football, and the kid was about to sit for a year or two and learn from one of the greats of the game (ask Aaron Rodgers how that worked out). Now let’s fast forward to today. The Colts have not Peyton Manning, and no compensation for his loss. On top of that, the Colts have gaping needs on both sides of the ball, including what could be one of the worst starting offensive lines in the history of the game. I think at this point, unless Andrew Luck is actually the second coming of Christ himself (and we all know that Tebow already has that one claimed), then the Colts are cooked for years to come, and so is Luck’s career. Maybe Luck should call Sam Bradford for some counseling after he gets pummeled? Maybe I’m a little over dramatic. If he can learn to throw a football with a dislocated shoulder like Stafford did, then he should be fine.

The Falcons Segment: Paying for Julio

In last years draft, the Falcons upper management was enamoured with the idea of a high powered, Green Bay style offense that tourched them in the playoffs. This posessed them to trade an overhaul of picks to get Alabama WR Julio Jones in the first round. Granted, Julio is a big help to the Falcons offense, but now the Falcons are left with a problem in their defensive gaps with no 2012 first round pick. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not counting on any sort of demise for the Falcons next season, especially because the NFC South is as up in the air as it’s ever been. However, the Falcons are going to have to dig deep and find some real gems in the later rounds in order to get their defense to a place where they can contend for a championship.

The Saints Situations: A Rival’s Perspective

            Before I begin this segment, I would like to first say that I do not, will not, and can not ever like or even tolerate the Saints. In fact, they may be the team that I hate the most in the NFL, outside of New England. However, I think that what Roger Goddell is doing to the Saints is a little outrageous. First of all, the Saints are not the only team that has done the bounty system, which has been confirmed by other players all over the league. Basically, someone snitched from inside the Saints organization and now the commissioner is trying to make an example of them and totally overreact to the situation (can I bring your attention to the Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson situation in baseball?) Do the Saints coaches deserve to be punished for this? Absolutely, they were warned, and a bounty system in wich money is exchanged for injuries is totally wrong. But they do not deserve to be suspended for a whole season. Goddell needs to stop trying to flex his muscles througout the leage and start addressing the issues. Football is a violent game and you’d be an idiot to not take advantage of a guy if you know he is hurting. That is the nature of the game, and if you don’t like it, then don’t play it. As far as the “damning evidence” against Gregg Williams with the tape, I think that is total crap. First of all, Williams was giving a speech to his defense to pump them up the day before the game. Second of all, all he did was tell his guys to test out the other team. If you’re on that field and you’re hurt, you’re crazy to not expect to be tested. People want to point to the concussion remark as “crossing the line” but all he told them to do was hit the guy hard. There was no specific reference to hitting him in the head, or to do anything that was considered illegal in the game of football. As far as the Frank Gore comments, that was pretty clearly a metaphor for the “head” of the offense. These idiots in the league front office and in press boxes everywhere need to stop reading into everything and look at the facts. As a diehard Falcons’ fan, I want my team to win, but there in no sense in taking away from the competition on the field in this way. If a team in going to win, they need to beat the best, and there is nobody that can tell me that the Saints are not one of the best teams in football, especially with Sean Peyton behind a headset. I’m sure this has lots of 49’ers fans riled up, but before you criticize me for my opinion, go look up what Jay Feely said on ESPN First Take about the speech.

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Leaked photos over the last few months have previewed changes to both the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers logos; with the latter being the most drastic change. A leaked photo of the new Nike Dolphins alternate jersey has had fans salivating for tomorrows unveiling.

No doubt Tim Tebow and Jets fans that weren’t able to get their hands on the short lived Reebok #15 jersey release that was halted by a U.S. District Judge at the end of March will be rushing to stores to pick up the new releases.

But with all the hype, one has to wonder if maybe the 2013 NFL season will bring exciting changes to the images of the NFL and its franchises similar to that of the University of Oregon. Would the NFL be open to such drastic changes to those images?

Rumor has it that the Seattle Seahawks will be adding feathers to they’re uniforms this year, much in the same fashion as “Swoosh University”, but what other teams could follow?  It’s not hard to imagine that teams that have been near the bottom of merchandise sales such as the Jaguars and Bengals making some waves to generate sales.

But needless to say, tomorrows Nike unveiling won’t be short on hype and should generate a pretty penny for both the NFL and its teams. I know I’ll be running to my closest Nike store to pick up a new Gronk jersey for 2012.

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Then free agency started and amazingly my Broncos were not only interested in getting him, but frontrunners for him. Thus begun the longest two weeks of my life, even longer and more frustrating than awaiting the birth of my kids.  Checking twitter every spare second. Ear buds permanently glued to my head listening to ESPN radio or our local 104.3 the Fan. Hoping to hear that one snippet that said, yes he is a Bronco.

Sitting at home one Monday afternoon, my phone made its usual bird ringtone that signifies that it is something from Twitter. Vic Lombardi, a local sports guy on one of our local station. Manning is a Bronco. And then a few days later Tebow is traded to the New York Jets.

I partially believe that the reasons the John’s, Elway and Fox, were so anxious to pour everything into getting Manning, was to help rid the Broncos of the stink of Josh McDaniel’s’ reign in Denver.  No one has really touched on this, but if you look at all of the changes to the Broncos since McDaniels left, it is quite staggering, So here is to the future of the Broncos. No 5 year plans, but hopefully a less than a year plan that brings the Lombardi trophy back to Denver again. To the 2012 season.

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By Allan Gray

It’s almost too foolish to believe, that the Jacksonville Jaguars would let 8 sold out games a year go over swapping they’re 6^th round draft pick in April’s NFL draft with the Broncos 7th and let the New York Jets acquire the former Florida Gator. Not only did they allow it to happen, but they were given a second chance to get him and failed. There HAS to be a reason that the Jaguars would keep the tarps on the empty seats at EverBank Field.

Maybe they are totally in love with what Blaine Gabbert did last year and the tremendous potential that he has to be the quarterback that leads them to the Super Bowl. Or maybe, just maybe Shahid Khan is gearing the teal and black gang for their new home in Los Angeles. You can’t justify leaving a small dedicated market when they’re packing the house 8 Sunday’s a year.

Someone is going to wind up going there, the Vikings and the state of Minnesota have come to an agreement to build a new downtown stadium in Minneapolis, so that puts them out of the running. You have two basic options at the point, the Buffalo Bills, who one would have to assume, are waiting for the league to expand to Toronto. Or the Jacksonville Jaguars, the market just isn’t big enough to support an NFL team, I know I lived there.

It was a bad idea to put a team in such a small city anyways, the only reason that the population is so large in the first place is because Jacksonville is all of Duval county. But for them not to acquire the one person who could keep the stadium packed game after game is a sure sign that Khan and company have their eyes on greener pastures, sorry North Florida.

And not to mention sorry Tim Tebow, you are going to a great media market, which will be great for endorsements, but you’ve got zero chance of taking over the Jets starting qb job and surviving the New York media with your current skill set. You also have zero chance of being able to learn from a premier passer.

I wish best of luck to Tim Tebow, by all regards a great guy and a tremendously hard worker. Best of luck to Blaine Gabbert, and best of luck to all the football fans in Jacksonville preparing yourselves  for what the Baltimore Colts fans felt in the early 80’s. It’s a coup and you just don’t know it yet.

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By Allan Gray

With the heart break of losing their second Super Bowl in the last 5 season fresh on the minds of the Patriots players and brass, are the New England Patriots setting themselves up for another record breaking offensive season in 2012?

With the two headed tight end monster coming into its own in 2011 and Wes Welker being franchised the Patriot passing game was already in very good shape heading into next season. But to that  group of receivers both Donte Stallworth and most importantly Brandon Lloyd have been added to an already strong core rounded out by the potential return of Deon Branch and quite possibly Chad Ochocinco if his contract doesn’t become an issue.

Robert Gallery was added to one of the strongest offensive line groupings in the National Football League, possibly to fill the gap left by the pending retirement of left tackle Matt Light. Rookie tackle Nate Solder proved strong at the right tackle position in his playing time there in his rookie season and is seen as the potential replacement for Lights left tackle position.

With two picks in each of the first two rounds, the Patriots are expected to focus on the weaknesses on the defensive side of the football, but with the impending departure of starting RB Benjarvus Green-Ellis, might want to address the weakness at running back if they aren’t able to nab one of the journeymen free agents available in this year’s crop.

But with Brady coming of yet another stellar season, a strong front line, a strengthened receiving core the Patriots could fill the need at running back with something they haven’t had since they last won a Super Bowl, a successful and consistent runner. Making basically every offensive position strong and setting themselves up for what could be a tremendously potent offensive attack.

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How washed down has football become with all these rules and regulations to protect the players?  There are coaches out there now getting in trouble for putting bounties out for knocking people out of the game!  Is that even necessary? Isn’t that what the players get paid millions of dollars to do? Are we going to be watching Flag Football games here in the near future? I personally think this has gotten out of hand and is ridiculous!

Tony Dorsett, a former Dallas Cowboys running back has came out and said that he worries that all the hard hits he has taken will cause him dementia or Alzheimer’s. Would Tony Dorsett have stopped playing the sport that he loved and not accepted all the millions of dollars if he was more educated on the situation? Probably not! I wouldn’t. Now Roger Goodell says he has to impose fines and sanctions similar to the Spygate incident with the Patriots, to the coaching staff of the Saints.  They were simply motivating their players, not that they should need to. Think about it like this, if you work at a job and you’re every work habits get you by on a day to day basis, then what’s the need to work any harder right? If you are able to work harder but don’t earn any extra for it, then why work harder? Now if you were to get a personal bonus if you show that you can work harder than your fellow employees, then you will probably put out that extra effort.

Football is a physical sport and there are always going to be concussions, broken bones, torn ligaments, bumps and bruises.  If you don’t like it then stop playing the game, because people are always going to be trying to knock your head off. If a coach wants to give a little bit of motivation to his players, then so be it. All the players from the 80’s and 90’s had to deal with it, so why are the players of this day and age so special? Maybe there will be a day when NASCAR racers are only allowed to go 55mph, or what if boxers were only allowed to hit in the chest and stomach because hitting in the head can cause concussions. Let these guys play the game of football where hitting is allowed! Qb’s should not be allowed to whine when they get touched, and have an instant first down if they get pushed to the ground. I love football for the game that it used to be and not what it is becoming. All these rule changes to protect these players who know what they are getting into when entering the sport, and are getting paid millions to play the game that they love, are going to ruin the game of football.

Football is not a sissy lala sport, football is a brutal sport that is filled with a lot of strategy and a lot of hard hits! Can we just let boy’s be boy’s so that us, as fans, can continue to enjoy the game we love so much?

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What a great game! From college all the way to the NFL, it is all so much fun to watch, and I sure do miss it! Reading about the upcoming season just isn’t as much fun as if we were able to read it and get to watch what we read about that very next Saturday and Sunday. Only 5.5  Months away. This is the waiting period where fans wait anxiously to see the  what their team is capable of next season, because we all know that we are all huge fans of only one team, and that we hope that our team is the team that makes it all the way next year. We all want to be champions and ride on the coattails of our teams at the end of the season. Sadly, as a fan of the Mighty Seminoles of Florida St, and being that one person waiting the last 12 years for my team to get over that hump, that wait can be a long one for some of us, but when the time comes, it will all be worth it

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By Michelle Zehr

Michelle is a contributing writer with Gold Star Games, your tailgating games company.

It happens every year; there are a number of solid teams in the NFL who do not make the playoffs. With some divisions tougher than others and simply just not enough playoff spots to accommodate all teams that may be worthy of a playoff spot, some teams were forced to watch the 2012 NFL playoff run from their couches much earlier than other teams. Now that the Super Bowl is over, many of these teams that hardly missed the playoffs can find consolation in the fact that all teams have a clean slate.

Some teams suffered a number of close losses while others were plagued with injuries. For whatever the reason, here are five teams we can expect to make a strong comeback and perhaps even an appearance in the 2013 playoffs.

1. Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were expected to go deep into the 2012 NFL playoffs, but only finished with a disappointing record of 8-8. The Eagles lost five games that they easily could have won.  The Eagles have a talented team and will be out for revenge next season. Look for Jason Babin, LeSean McCoy and Michael Vick to take center stage.
2. San Diego Chargers. Every year the NFL has a team that you could consider the underachievers of the League. This year that award goes to the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers started out strong, but only finished 8-8. The Chargers have the talent, Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson. Look for San Diego to put this talent to good use next season.
3. New York Jets. The Jets are another team with plenty of talent that went to waste in the 2011 NFL season and another team that finished with a record of just 8-8. Look for Mark Sanchez to get his stuff together. With a quarterback, who is on top of his game, and a strong offense, the Jets could mean trouble for all of their division rivals – including the New England Patriots.
4. Indianapolis Colts. The Colts were one of the worst teams in the NFL with a record of 2-14. If the Colts get their quarterback situation back on track (either Andrew Lick or Peyton Manning), they could easily be back on track to the team we all used to know.
5. Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys lost four of their last five games in the 2011, which pushed them out of playoff contention. Look for the Cowboys to address issues with their defensive backfield and strengthen their offensive line. With a few improvements, the Cowboys could be back on track in 2012.
   

   Put up or shut up time for Tony Romo

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