While Alex Smith owns one of the league’s top quarterback ratings versus the blitz (behind only Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady with a 114.1), the Cardinals found a way to pressure the 49ers quarterback in their 21-19 win on Sunday.

With Reggie Bush, Michael Bush and Chris Ogbonnaya having good days, running back controversies could be brewing in a few different NFL locker rooms. That and more in the Week 11 fantasy feedback blog.

In the NFL, defensive coordinators wish stopping a team was as simple as stopping one guy.

With the first Thursday night game of the year around the corner, Jason Smith breaks down previous Thursday night games and finds one position has generally excelled above all others.

The San Francisco 49ers are running away with the NFC West this season. Hard to believe we’d be saying that halfway through the season, but then again it’s not as if the rest of the division is mounting much of a challenge. Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, is the success of 49ers QB Alex Smith, who had been written off by many critics before the season ever began.

Jason Smith takes his weekly look at fantasy quarterbacks and with Philip Rivers on a bye this week, Jason welcomes a new name into his list of the top five.

Our friends at Sports Pickle made a joke about 49ers QB Alex Smith in real-time Sunday that couldn’t be overlooked: “I bet other No. 1 overall pick QB busts think Alex Smith has become a total sellout.”

NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks got some feathers rattled recently in a column he wrote suggesting that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers shouldn’t be crowned among the league’s elite quarterbacks (Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady) yet. Some of those emotions might get stirred up again as we broached the subject in the Cover Two podcast with Brooks and NFL.com senior writer Steve Wyche.

And we’re down to No. 1. In Elliot Harrison‘s breakdown of the top 20 games of 2010, his gold medal goes to a late-season thriller between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants — that essentially ended the Giants’ playoff hopes and invigorated those of the Green Bay Packers.

If the lockout lingers into training camp, handcuffing your top running backs could become more important than ever.

Big day here at NFL.com. If you happen to run a fantasy league through this site, you likely got an email last night telling you we are officially open for business.

Greetings fantasy enthusiasts, here is what is shaking in the fantasy world on a Thursday. Starting with you, Michael Crabtree.

NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt is usually focused on personnel, but his Tuesday chat this week for some reason ended up focusing on predictions for 2011 division winners – and some of the picks may be surprising.

The reality of a condensed offseason means teams are better off looking at their own free agents — understanding their deficiencies, age or injury history — as providing the best options to win.

Tuesday might be just another day for you, but it should be quite eventful for former Titans coach
Jeff Fisher and retired players Tedy Bruschi and Chad Lewis.