Behind The Star: The Latest on the Dallas Cowboys
May 18, 2013 By George Kurtz Leave a Comment
It certainly has been an interesting off-season for the Cowboys. We have already discussed the coaching changes and wondered how those changes will affect the defense. The Cowboys have done little to upgrade the defense but are counting on the injuries that ravaged the D last year not to happen again. Not the best plan [...]
Righting the Ship
April 29, 2013 By David Boyce Leave a Comment
Well, the 2013 draft is now complete and it is time to take a look at each and every player that Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie drafted. With the departures of defensive tackles Desmond Bryant, Tommy Kelly and Richard Seymour, the consensus for the first round pick would to be to address the pass rush. [...]
Draft Night: Going Long
April 26, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
The Chicago Bears selected Oregon offensive guard Kyle Long with their first pick in the NFL draft, 20th overall, and the first words out of Mr. Long’s mouth when speaking to the Chicago media were that he didn’t expect to be taken so high. And those were also among the first words out of the [...]
The Slowly Approaching Good Days
April 19, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
The NFL has released its 2013 schedule, officially providing Jon Gruden with a five-month countdown to calm down to the point of broadcast coherency. The Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens will play the season opener on Thursday, September 5th, in Denver against the Broncos, whom the Ravens outdueled in an epic double-overtime divisional playoff game [...]
Pat Summerall, 1930-2013
April 17, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
“Phil Pozderac.” “Vernon Dean.” If mere mortals speak these names of mere mortal players they sound dull. Maybe even squeaky. But when Pat Summerall uttered the name of a Dallas Cowboys lineman or a Washington Redskins cornerback those players assumed the majesty of noble warriors. They became gentlemen of the gridiron. In his 40 years [...]
Jack Pardee, Harlon Hill
April 2, 2013 By Terry Keshner 1 Comment
A week before Christmas in 1977 the Chicago Bears went to New Jersey and, on a very cold, snowy day, rode the legs of Walter Payton and the foot of Bob Thomas who kicked a 28-yard field goal in overtime as the Bears beat the New York Giants, 12-9. That victory earned the Bears a [...]
Goodbye, Brian
March 21, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
After they shot the sheriff the deputy didn’t have much of a chance. Two and-a-half months after firing head coach Lovie Smith, the Chicago Bears announced on Wednesday that the team was unable to agree on a new deal with All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher and thus, after 13 seasons, #54 has been told to clean [...]
Good New Bears
March 13, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
Super Bowls aren’t won on the first day of free agency but bad memories can, temporarily at least, be pushed from a row boat with a cinderblock tied to their neck. The Chicago Bears are wearing out the Blu-ray of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and trying to write a sequel called The Solved [...]
African-Americans in Pro Football, 1897-1946
February 19, 2013 By Neal Rozendaal Leave a Comment
The National Football League was founded in 1920, but before that, several professional football teams were formed. Without the benefit of an organized league, these teams nevertheless found competition with other nearby squads, and many played very respectable schedules. I mentioned in my profile on Frank Holbrook that he played in a semi-pro game in 1897. [...]
A Democracy of Champions
February 15, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
The Baltimore Ravens hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy as Super Bowl Champions having won the National Football League crown for the second time in 13 seasons. Since Baltimore’s last Super Bowl triumph 12 years ago the Super Bowl winners have been New England, Tampa Bay, New England, New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, the New York Giants, [...]
Pro
Righting the Ship
April 29, 2013 By David Boyce Leave a Comment
Well, the 2013 draft is now complete and it is time to take a look at each and every player that Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie drafted. With the departures of defensive tackles Desmond Bryant, Tommy Kelly and Richard Seymour, the consensus for the first round pick would to be to address the pass rush. [...]
Draft Night: Going Long
April 26, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
The Chicago Bears selected Oregon offensive guard Kyle Long with their first pick in the NFL draft, 20th overall, and the first words out of Mr. Long’s mouth when speaking to the Chicago media were that he didn’t expect to be taken so high. And those were also among the first words out of the [...]
The Slowly Approaching Good Days
April 19, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
The NFL has released its 2013 schedule, officially providing Jon Gruden with a five-month countdown to calm down to the point of broadcast coherency. The Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens will play the season opener on Thursday, September 5th, in Denver against the Broncos, whom the Ravens outdueled in an epic double-overtime divisional playoff game [...]
Pat Summerall, 1930-2013
April 17, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
“Phil Pozderac.” “Vernon Dean.” If mere mortals speak these names of mere mortal players they sound dull. Maybe even squeaky. But when Pat Summerall uttered the name of a Dallas Cowboys lineman or a Washington Redskins cornerback those players assumed the majesty of noble warriors. They became gentlemen of the gridiron. In his 40 years [...]
Jack Pardee, Harlon Hill
April 2, 2013 By Terry Keshner 1 Comment
A week before Christmas in 1977 the Chicago Bears went to New Jersey and, on a very cold, snowy day, rode the legs of Walter Payton and the foot of Bob Thomas who kicked a 28-yard field goal in overtime as the Bears beat the New York Giants, 12-9. That victory earned the Bears a [...]
Goodbye, Brian
March 21, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
After they shot the sheriff the deputy didn’t have much of a chance. Two and-a-half months after firing head coach Lovie Smith, the Chicago Bears announced on Wednesday that the team was unable to agree on a new deal with All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher and thus, after 13 seasons, #54 has been told to clean [...]
Good New Bears
March 13, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
Super Bowls aren’t won on the first day of free agency but bad memories can, temporarily at least, be pushed from a row boat with a cinderblock tied to their neck. The Chicago Bears are wearing out the Blu-ray of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and trying to write a sequel called The Solved [...]
African-Americans in Pro Football, 1897-1946
February 19, 2013 By Neal Rozendaal Leave a Comment
The National Football League was founded in 1920, but before that, several professional football teams were formed. Without the benefit of an organized league, these teams nevertheless found competition with other nearby squads, and many played very respectable schedules. I mentioned in my profile on Frank Holbrook that he played in a semi-pro game in 1897. [...]
A Democracy of Champions
February 15, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
The Baltimore Ravens hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy as Super Bowl Champions having won the National Football League crown for the second time in 13 seasons. Since Baltimore’s last Super Bowl triumph 12 years ago the Super Bowl winners have been New England, Tampa Bay, New England, New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, the New York Giants, [...]
Stellar Performances and Records in the 2013 Postseason
February 7, 2013 By Daniel Durany Leave a Comment
The Baltimore Ravens are Super Bowl XLVII Champions after enduring a 35-minute power outage in their 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday. There were many stellar performances and records broken during the NFL playoffs, including several of them during Super Bowl XLVII. The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers received outstanding performances from several players. Baltimore’s Jacoby [...]
Super Bowl XLVII
February 4, 2013 By David Boyce 1 Comment
This year, the Super Bowl matched up the AFC champion Baltimore Ravens against the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. It was the first time in Super Bowl history that brothers (John and Jim Harbaugh) were coaching the teams and it was being billed as the “Har-Bowl” or the “Super-Bro.” So, after two weeks of hype, [...]
Pro Bowl Postmortem
January 28, 2013 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
Like wearing pointy shoes to church or kissing your cousin on the mouth, there are certain things that are fun but just don’t feel right. Put the Pro Bowl in that category. The NFC prevailed over the AFC, 62-35, in the NFL’s annual All-Star exhibition in Hawaii in a game that, thankfully, had a lot more [...]
College
The Other Art Howe
February 13, 2013 By Terry Keshner 1 Comment
Many will recall Art Howe as a major league baseball player and manager for several teams including the Oakland A’s whom he guided to the playoffs in 2000, 2001 and 2002. But long before Mr. Howe’s emergence there was another Art Howe who made his bones on the football field. This other Art Howe is [...]
Alabama Repeats and Finishes #1 in the Leatherheads Top 16
January 12, 2013 By Joe Williams Leave a Comment
Alabama took care of business and beat an undefeated team for the second year in a row to claim college football’s crystal ball. Bama came out of the starting gate at top speed and took control of the game, ultimately winning 42-14. The matchup was over by the second quarter and the Fighting Irish showed no fight. Heisman Trophy [...]
Leatherheads Heisman Poll for 2012
December 8, 2012 By Joe Williams 1 Comment
Tonight, the 78th Heisman Trophy winner will be announced on ESPN with three finalists waiting in the audience. The three finalists are Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, Texas A&M quaterback Johnny Manziel and Notre Dame middle linebacker Manti Te’o. In anticipation of tonight’s announcement, Leatherheads of the Gridiron polled 18 of its contributors to see who we think will be the [...]
SEC Champion Alabama Will Play Undefeated Notre Dame in the BCS Championship Game and for the #1 Spot in the Top 16
December 8, 2012 By Joe Williams Leave a Comment
The SEC Championship Game last Saturday was great one. Alabama barely beat a Georgia team that had a chance to win in the closing moments. Georgia sophomore Chris Conley caught a ball and fell on the 5-yard line to end the game. Instincts are to catch what is thrown to you but in this case he should [...]
Manti Te’o: A Mantle of Greatness
December 5, 2012 By Jim Lefebvre Leave a Comment
Following an afternoon of steady showers, the skies had opened into an all-out downpour on rain-soaked Notre Dame Stadium. Students romped with student-athletes, celebrating a dramatic goal-line stand that ended a classic, overtime victory against fellow heavyweight Stanford. Manti Te’o stood with his arm around his coach, Brian Kelly, explaining for a national audience what [...]
Mount Union Accomplishes a Scoring First
December 1, 2012 By Tex Noel Leave a Comment
Mount Union, the most prolific scoring team in college football history (on all levels), has accomplished another scoring first. The Purple Raiders scored 517 points in 10 regular season games. With a 72-14 win in the opening round of the NCAA III Playoffs, the team from Alliance, Ohio increased its season total to 589. In its next [...]
Notre Dame and Ohio State Complete Undefeated Regular Seasons, But With Decidedly Different Outlooks
November 29, 2012 By Dan McCloskey 1 Comment
Notre Dame virtually assured they will remain the #1 team in the Leatherheads College Football Top 16 when the regular season comes to a close this weekend (well, not counting Army-Navy). Their fourth quarter goal-line stand versus the disappointing USC Trojans secured a 22-13 victory, their 12th against zero losses, and a spot in the [...]
The Fighting Irish Are #1, But Luck Is On Alabama’s Side Too
November 22, 2012 By Joe Williams Leave a Comment
Today is Thanksgiving. On this day, we are usually thankful for all that life has given us. For most of us, we are thankful for our family, friends and the other blessings we have received along the way. For the fans, players, coaches, students, administrators and communities of both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and [...]
The Getting Bigger Ten
November 22, 2012 By Terry Keshner Leave a Comment
Thanksgiving should be about being appreciative of family, friends and freedom. Instead, it’s more about food and football. That’s perfectly fine, not just because “f” is everyone’s favorite letter, but also due to the fact that the Big Ten epitomizes the modern spirit by gorging itself on ripe little football schools that, to most observers, [...]
Bama Gets Manzieled as the Wildcats and Ducks Tie For #1
November 13, 2012 By Joe Williams Leave a Comment
Earlier in the month, South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier stated that Alabama could beat a few NFL teams. Perhaps, that could be true or not (most likely NOT). However, Texas A&M is not an NFL team and they beat the Crimson Tide on Saturday. America was entertained by the Johnny Manziel Show. I know I was, [...]
McCarron Channels His Inner Eli To Lead Bama’s Comeback Against LSU
November 8, 2012 By Joe Williams Leave a Comment
Wow! Who was thinking Alabama was going down against LSU last Saturday? I did. The Crimson Tide could not do anything offensively in the second half. Then all of a sudden, A.J. McCarron leads his team downfield to a score and a victory, while preserving the #1 ranking in the Leatherheads College Football Top 16! As a New York [...]
Happy Birthday, College Football!
November 6, 2012 By Tex Noel Leave a Comment
After a very humble beginning on a cold and windy November 6th day (143 years ago today), the sport of college football has seen changes upon changes—some for the good and others maybe for the not so good. Just 100 or so fans turned out to witness history being made on that blustery day—though few, if any, realized the [...]
