By: Robert Karpeles As the last few weeks of the NFL season come to an end, it’s important to keep in mind that the most exciting football hasn’t even been played yet. Yes, the best is still to come and with good games come even better storylines.  You know, the one’s about the Jets sneaking in at the last second, quarterback controversies in San Francisco and the health of the quarterback in our nations’ capital. We live for football. But we also live for the great stories that stay with us after the games have been played. Here our nine things we hope for nine teams with playoff potential: Jets – Make the playoffs. Please, these guys just have to […]

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. It would be difficult to argue that anyone is better at remaining calm and engineering comebacks than the Giants and Eli Manning. It was the case again last week against the Redskins, it was the case against the Bucs and… oh yeah, the Super Bowl last year. No one handles adversity better, which was a topic this week as the Cowboys prepared for them. Dallas CB Brandon Carr wasn’t lying when he said, “It’s going to be another 60 minute battle.” But what the G-Men want is to be able to perform before it gets all […]

We’re just a day away from the New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game at Cowboys Stadium, as Dallas hopes to earn its first win over the G-Men at their new home stadium. Oh, and all that other stuff that’s at stake in the NFC East. “I don’t have any magical secrets,” Giants defensive lineman Justin Tuck said about his team’s streak in Cowboys Stadium. “But I hope it continues.“ Lots of questions abound about this one. Want a quick, day-before-game run-through? Let’s get to some stuff we didn’t hit on during the week… Q: How do the Giants view Cowboys WRs, especially Dez Bryant? Answer from CB Corey Webster: “I mean, I’m not sure who’s going to show up. But, we don’t […]

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. The Buccaneers have a serious challenge today in facing the Cowboys, but they will have some big-time weapons to use. One of them is blue-chip receiver Vincent Jackson, a monstrously tall former Chargers star who was the prize of this free agent class. He has nine catches for 175 yards in two games, and QB Josh Freeman seems to have already built a connection with him. As Cowboys CB Brandon Carr was telling me, Freeman is already following the lead of Chargers QB Philip Rivers. “They both have the same mentality,” Carr said. “They’re going to throw […]

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. 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 […]

As we do once a week (and in celebration of my 10-year Columbia University reunion being over), let’s take a brief swing through nine things going on around the NFL.

I was upset yesterday when I heard the news that Giants legendary LB Lawrence Taylor was selling his Super Bowl ring. We found out today that it’s really his son doing so without Taylor’s knowledge… and my outlook hasn’t changed. It still kinda sucks. Why do I care if LT sells his Super Bowl ring? I don’t know LT. Never met him, never interviewed him. I did watch him a lot as a kid growing up in New York, though, and that was fun. But he was never one of my favorite players or anything. And what he’s gone through over the past couple years off the field hasn’t done wonders for his public image. So I’ve wrestled it around […]

“Playbook” analysts Solomon Wilcots, Brian Baldinger, Joe Theismann, Sterling Sharpe,/b>, Matt Millen and Brian Billick make their picks for Super Bowl XLVI