The 2012 regular season has come to a close and what a year it was. Here’s a look at the most Unexpected (and expected) outcomes of the year. ————————————————————————————————————————————– Week 1: Tim Tebow starts ————————————————————————————————————————————– When the New York Jets took the field for their first play of the season, Tim Tebow was out on the field with the starters. Well, it’s not what you think. Tebow lined up as a receiver for the Jets’ first offensive play, but starting quarterback Mark Sanchez didn’t look his way. Tebow later joked, “I felt like I was open too.” All in all, Tebow appeared in only nine offensive plays and didn’t account for much. Oh, and he was booed off the field, […]

As we do every week, let’s take a swing around the NFL, looking at a bunch of random things… 1. The Cowboys play the Giants on Wednesday, the high-profile season opener for the entire league and a rematch of the 2011 finale that kick-started the G-Men on their run to the Super Bowl. It will also be the debut of the Cowboys defense that has looked really stout in the preseason under second-year coordinator Rob Ryan. Most of it came without pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware, who had 19.5 sacks last year. As a precaution, he sat out three preseason games, even though he said after the second one that if there was a real game, he’d have played. Yet if Ware is worried […]

As we do every week, let’s take a swing around the NFL, looking at a bunch of random things … So, what’s been up? 1. Is there a better place to start than the New York Jets? Oh, and for a spoiler alert, we’re not talking about Tim Tebow right off the bat. So… you might not be interested. But anyway, we’ll talk about the Jets issues at right tackle. What a mess. Wayne Hunter, who the coaches praised all offseason, was benched after two horrific performances in preseason games. Duh. Even he said, “I was waiting for it.” I imagine this makes for a bit of an awkward time for OL coach Dave DeGuglielmo, who said this spring that until they […]

As we do every week, let’s take a swing around the NFL, looking at a bunch of random things … So, what’s been up? 1. I cued up my Game Pass yesterday and checked out the Jaguars/Saints game… and I almost couldn’t believe what I saw. Where in the world did this guy still called Blaine Gabbert come from? Last year, the former first-rounder was a mess. Just scared and shaky, looking unprepared and fidgety in the pocket with no recognition skills. I didn’t shy away from criticizing him, wondering if it was all a big mistake. Meanwhile, Jaguars fans pointed out what a similar disasterbacle Eli Manning was a rookie … and that turned out fine. Based on Friday […]

Hello from St. Joseph, a little town in Missouri that houses the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp. Today, it’s also home to a joint practice between the Chiefs and the Arizona Cardinals at 3 p.m. central. A cool deal. I love these things. So… what will we see? As KC coach Romeo Crennel explained, the teams will start out on separate fields, doing their stretching and individual drills. Then, they’ll start drills and the defenses will travel to the other field, offenses will stay where they are. At that point, they’ll start drills, 1-on-1s, 7-on-7, and some two-minute drills. The teams won’t tackle to the ground, and it won’t be completely live. But it’ll be a chance for both coaches […]

Ian Rapoport‘s weekly report is back after a brief hiatus. This Sunday his nine notes begin with a conversation with Falcons coach Mike Smith, who is sticking to his fourth-down strategy.

Linebacker Joey Porter played for three teams over the course of a 13-year career. Porter knows which organization he wants to end with. Porter told me today that he plans to retire as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Specifically, Porter said he would be honored to do so. “That’s where I started at,” Porter told me on the driving range before a practice round of the American Century Celebrity Golf Classic in South Lake Tahoe. “It’ll be an honor to go out there and retire as a Steeler. Started there, end there. Thirteen years. I never thought I’d play that long when I first started.” The four-time Pro Bowler finishes with 170 starts, 503 tackles and 98 sacks. He […]

Cardinals DE Darnell Dockett flew home from Indianapolis on Sunday morning to get ready for what sounds like a pretty epic Super Bowl XLVI Party.

Even though Cardinals DE Darnell Dockett went to the ESPN and NFLPA parties on Friday night, the highlight of his week was doing the NFL’s Play 60 with the kids.