Football Plays and Drills Extras

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

The 2006 NFL season is about to get underway tomorrow. Yes, the Steelers and Dolphins got things started on Thursday night, but on Sunday the whole league will be "abuzz" with excitement as most teams plays their first game.

To backtrack, the Pittsburgh/Miami game was a great way to begin the season. It was a seasaw battle until the Steelers proved why they're the Super Bowl champs with a dominating fourth quarter.

From the looks of it, this will be an exciting NFL season. Tomorrow's highlights, in my opinion, will be the Atlanta/Carolina, Kansas City/Cincinnati, and Dallas/Jacksonville matchups.

Then, of course, we get to enjoy the Manning brothers duking it out in the Sunday night matchup with the Colts and Giants going against each other. This game is sure to be a fan pleaser.

Monday night is no slouch either. First we get the 'Skins and Vikes, then the Chargers/Raiders rivalry, which always seems to produce some great games to watch.

All in all, it's just good to see the National Footbal League back in action.

See ya next week!

September 11, 2006 22:48 - Week One of NFL Season a Lot of Fun to Watch

Pretty interesting opening National Football League weekend. It's pretty rare when three teams get shutout in the same week, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers, and Oakland Raiders all managed to go scoreless.

Also, a whopping eleven home teams lost. Eleven! And New England came very close to losing and making it twelve home teams to lose. So much for home field advantage, although I'm sure that'll all even out as the season continues.

Teams that I thought looked good: Pittsburgh, San Diego, Jacksonville, Baltimore, and Cincinnati, with the Detroit Lions impressing in their near upset of the Seahawks.

Teams that looked somewhere between putrid and awful: Green Bay, Oakland, Tampa Bay, and surprisingly, Seattle. I guess Denver should be added here, too.

Most entertaining games: 49ers/Cardinals, Colts/Giants, Vikings/Redskins on Monday night, and the 4th quarter of the Titans/Jets matchup. (Thank God for NFL Sunday Ticket!).

Oh yeah, Reggie Bush looked pretty good while LaDainian Tomlinson shredded the Raiders in the first half on Monday night. I'm also surprised at how good Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, Daunte Culpepper and Chad Pennington looked in coming back after their injuries.

Looking forward to Week 2 and also seeing what kind of difference Deion Branch makes for the Seahawks.

September 14, 2006 23:30 - Willie Roaf, 11-time Pro Bowler Says Once & For All That He's Done

Willie Roaf's press conference yesterday shows how tough it can be for National Football Players to call it quits and retire.

From his statements, it's clear that the 36-year old Roaf still wants to play the game he loves. It's just that his body is not agreeing. His body has broken down after 14 years of great NFL play.

"I often took my body for granted and played without thinking about tomorrow," Roaf said, reading from a statement. "I played hard and played only as if I was in the NFL for a couple of seasons. And 14 years later I stand beside you and realize I will no longer play football."

It's always hard to watch great NFL players retire when it's clear that they want to continue. Some players are able to go out on their own terms when they're mentally ready to leave the game. But, so many others are forced to retire simply because their bodies finally give out on them.

"As a young player my body would heal much faster," said Roaf, who turned 36 on April 16. "Following a Sunday game I would feel good by Monday. Last year my body never felt good. For the first time in my career, I really believed my talents were declining."

It was obviously hard for Roaf to admit that his body has declined. For his sake, let's hope he doesn't end up in a miserable existence over the next few years like so many ex-NFL players do.

Many times, we complain about how much money these NFL guys make. However, when you consider that many of them end up feeling washed up in their mid-30's, it all makes sense. I'd rather make the little I make and be happy for years to come.