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Spooflé News Feed
Giants: The Reins Are Off Manning
Coughlin: Now We Can’t Find Him
New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin last night told the assembled Manhattan media: “The reins are off Eli.”
But journalists were advised the coach was in no way being metaphorical.
“Meta-what? You idiots, I’m serious! We tied him up to the goal post in his training walker and somehow he just slipped out of there. We’ve plain lost him” ( full article )
Michael E Lawrence
Super Bowl XLII:
 A Giant Step for Eli
Recapping the disbelief and awe of the result that was never meant to be… ( full article )
Michael E Lawrence
Super Bowl XLII:
Polling the Pundits and Players
 With Maurice Jones-Drew, Antoine Bethea, Nick Halling and Kevin Cadle
Think the New England Patriots are undoubted Super Bowl XLII favourites? The way a panel of pundits and players we consulted call it, you’re half right… ( full forecast )
Michael E Lawrence
NFLUK and Sky TV Diary
 NFLUK Top Brass & TV Pundit Neil Reynolds opens up his diary revealing exactly what goes on behind the scenes at NFLUK and Sky, exclusive to Football Diner… ( full article )
Archive:
Notes From A Keeper 10/12/07
Notes From A Keeper 5/12/07
Notes From A Keeper 27/11/07
Just extrapolate baby!
Notes From A Keeper 15/11/07
Notes From A Keeper 6/11/07
Armageddon Time
Fish Fans Out Of Water
Notes From A Keeper 22/10/07
Notes From A Keeper 15/10/07
A Super Bowl in October
Notes From A Keeper 10/10/07
Notes From A Keeper 30/09/07
Reggie Bush: Bust
Notes From A Keeper 10/09/07
O Brother Where Art Thou? Uh, on IR
Notes From A Keeper 01/09/07
Skill Position Special: Set to Bust Out
Notes From A Keeper 10/08/07
Notes From A Keeper 13/07/07
Notes From A Keeper 17/06/07
Draft Roundup: sound bites from day 1
Notes From A Keeper 20/05/07
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Jody Jamieson
Bold Predictions For ’09
The FD Top 5
 The NFL is a wild and unpredictable beast. Whether it be of injury or parity there are always huge stories you may never have dreamed of. The Diner’s Top 5 Maestro takes his yearly crystal ball out of the cupboard behind the coffee machine, just next to the napkins, dusts it off and takes a shot at what we just might not expect in 2009 … ( full article )
Jody Jamieson
What’s he got to be depressed about?
 It can be difficult to comprehend what makes some people in the public spotlight, much less NFL players, suffer from depression. They’re playing a wonderful game for millions of dollars. They are admired and loved by the people who would play this game for free. But in the last 12 months we’ve seen depression rear its ugly head in two big name players in the NFL … ( full article )
Jody Jamieson
Set To Surprise In ’09
The FD Top 5
 You may still struggle to believe that not only did the Arizona Cardinals win the NFC but they were one defensive stop away from winning football’s biggest prize. Now as we count down the days to another 5 months of Sunday nights in front of the box we will take a closer look at the teams who may surprise everyone in 2009 … ( full article )
Archive:
Keys to Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl Pub Quiz
Return To The Super Bowl
Best Games of 08
Christmas Gifts
Mouthwatering Matchups
Head Coach Shoogly Pegs
Player Awards: a sneak peak
Eagles Shake Up
The Imperfect Season
Head Coach Meltdowns
AFC Playoff Race
NFC Playoff Race
Quarterback Controversies
Most Unlikely MVP Candidates
Biggest Disasters of 2008
Disappointing 2008 Starts
Week 1 Rookie Performers
It’s Football Time
Making An Exhibition
The Curse Of Bobby Layne
A Premiership Waste
A Look Into The Crystal Ball
Is DeSean Jackson the next Mojo?
The Greatest Drafts of All Time
Offensive Players Looking To Make a Big Impact
Defensive Players Looking To Make a Big Impact
When Free Agency Attacks
Top Day 2 Rookie Performers
Strategies For Coping With The Offseason
Key Moments That Won NY The SB
FD How To Guide: NYG SB Game Plan
Biggest Disappointments of 2008
FD How To Guide: Why SD Can Win
FD How To Guide: Ways to beat NE
2007’s Most Memorable Games
Father Jamieson Delivers Festive Gifts
Defensive FAs On The Move In 2008
Offensive FAs On The Move In 2008
Records That Could Yet Fall
Big Surprises of 2007
NFC Post Season Primer
AFC Post Season Primer
Patriots will run the table this season
The Only Sheriff In Town
The NFL Season So Far
5 From The Draft
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Brian Davis & Paul Hopkins
Four Downs
with Dang & Doc
 This week Dang and Doc look at the resurgent Cincinnati Bengals and ask whether it can last? As the bye weeks are now a coming, who needs this weekend off more than the others? In college football, Dez Bryant’s been suspended, possibly over just having lunch, and with the season now in full swing, who has impressed the guys enough to make it to the National Championship? … ( full article )
Brian Davis & Paul Hopkins
Four Downs
with Dang & Doc
 Week 4 is in the can and two familiar names grab all the headlines. Is Peyton the best ever? And can this version of Brett Favre last the whole season? Elsewhere, Denver rolls on and remains undefeated, but are they for real? And the boys evaluate the coaches who aren’t performing, which leads to an all too familiar rant from one of the guysand the guys cover the wide-receiver merry-go-round that broke late this week … ( full article )
Brian Davis & Paul Hopkins
Four Downs
with Dang & Doc
 This week it’s all about the losing in Four Downs as Dang and Doc dissect the latest NCAA and NFL goings on. With injury ruling out Chad Pennington for the rest of the season as the Dolphins crashed to 0-3 have we seen the last of him? Elsewhere its worse for Eric Mangini, who is having a disaster in Cleveland. Has he already bombed himself out of work? The Raiders continue to lose and questions persist over JaMarcus Russell. Did they make a mistake in letting Jeff Garcia walk? Finally, another week brings more teams dropping from the ranks of the undefeated in CFB; are we looking at no-one making it through 2009 unbeaten? … ( full article )
Four Downs Archive:
Four Downs 25th Sept
Four Downs 18th Sept
Four Downs 12th Sept
Four Downs 10th Sept
Four Downs 9th Sept
Four Downs 3rd Sept
Four Downs 2nd Sept
Four Downs 21st August
Four Downs 20th August
Four Downs 12th August
Four Downs 6th August
Four Downs 1st August
Four Downs 24th July
Four Downs 23rd July
Four Downs 17th July
Four Downs 10th July
Four Downs 9th July
Four Downs 20th June
Four Downs 11th June
Four Downs 4th June
Four Downs 30th May
Four Downs 23rd May
Four Downs 16th May
Four Downs 1st May
Four Downs 23rd April
Four Downs 4th April
Four Downs 26th March
Four Downs 20th March
Four Downs 13th March
Four Downs 7th March
Four Downs 28th February
Four Downs 20th February
Four Downs 13th February
Four Downs 6th February
Four Downs 50th Edition Special
Four Downs 29th January
Four Downs 23rd January
Four Downs 16th January
Four Downs 7th January
Four Downs 3rd January
Four Downs 20th December
Four Downs 12th December
Four Downs 6th December
Four Downs 28th November
Four Downs 22nd November
Four Downs 14th November
Four Downs 6th November
Four Downs 31st October
Four Downs 25th October
Four Downs 17th October
Four Downs 10th October
Four Downs 3rd October
Four Downs 26th September
Four Downs 18th September
Four Downs 11th September
Four Downs 3rd September
Four Downs College Preview
Four Downs 21st August
Four Downs 16th August
Four Downs 8th August
Four Downs 31st July
Four Downs 26th July
Four Downs 17th July
Four Downs 11th July
Four Downs 2nd July
Four Downs 26th June
Four Downs 21st June
Four Downs 12th June
Four Downs 5th June
Four Downs 29th May
Four Downs 22nd May
Four Downs 15th May
Four Downs 10th May
Four Downs 1st May
Four Downs 23rd April
Four Downs 17th April
Four Downs 12th April
Four Downs 7th April
Four Downs 28th Mar
Four Downs Brett Favre Special
Four Downs 5th Mar
Four Downs 27th Feb
Four Downs 21st Feb
Four Downs 14th Feb
Four Downs SB XLII Aftermath
Four Downs SB XLII Special
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Mark Lyne-Austen
A Long Way From Lambeau
 Crash Of The Titans
Tennessee is in trouble. The Titans were not expected to match their AFC best 13-3 record from last season but to be 0-5 is a remarkable decline. Next up on the schedule are the New England Patriots and the top ranked team in the conference last season could be looking at an 0-6 record heading into the bye week. It does not get much easier after the break and the turnaround from championship contenders could realistically be a dip from 13-3 to a 3-13 record this term … ( full article )
Mark Lyne-Austen
A Long Way From Lambeau
 St. Louis Ramshackle
Pro football is a deliciously brutal world and injuries are part of it. Injuries are not evenly distributed around the league and luck has little if anything to do with that. The Week 3 game between the Green Bay Packers and the St. Louis Rams is a case in point. The Packers are not known as one of the NFL’s most physical teams yet they put a toll on St Louis that saw QB Bulger, WRs Laurent Robinson and Donnie Avery, and Safety James Butler all withdrawn from the action … ( full article )
Mark Lyne-Austen
A Long Way From Lambeau
 Iron Man
So many players are written off before their career has even started and Trent was one of them. Quarterbacks are judged more harshly than most and as an 8th round pick in 1993, Trent Green did not make it the first time round even the Canadian Football League did not think Green good enough. It took Green until 1998 before he finally got his break … ( full article )
Archive:
Monarchs Mk.2
First Round, Super Bowl Bound
Free Agents By Force
Rules Of Engagement
Play To Your Strengths
Pay Lewis Day
Brett Favre: Eulogy
The Road Ahead
Welcome To The Party
By The Time I Get To Arizona
Giant Contract Too Small
Mean Streaks Through The NFL
Out With The Old, In With The New
Welcome To The Beginning
The Good Enough Club
Seconds Out, Round One
Long Road Likely for #1 Selection
NFL Rules OK!
GM Food For Thought
Thank You, and Goodnight
The High Risk – High Reward NFL
Questioning The Combine
The Difficult Business of Free Agency
The NFL’s UK Commitment
Near Perfection, As Close As It May Get
Parity & the Super Bowl
Playing Hurt Means Playing Weak
Sub-Plots of the 2007 NFL Season
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Rob Staton
NFC West 2009, deja vu?
 The Arizona Cardinals will begin favorites as defending champions Super Bowl XLIII runners-up. However, there’s cause for optimism amongst the other three teams hoping to hit back from a disappointing 2008. Is it possible we could see a three way battle for division title? We may have seen it before in the AFC East … ( full article )
Rob Staton
Still the NFC Worst?
 For years the NFC West has affectionately been renamed the ‘NFC Worst’ complete with under performing teams regularly picking in the top ten in the NFL draft. Many pundits will tell you it’s the worst division in football. So why is it the only division in the NFC to have Super Bowl representation twice in the last five years?… ( full article )
Rob Staton
Change for the better?
 As eight teams fight it out for a place in the Superbowl, others are working hard behind the scenes with the aim of being amongst the league’s elite next year. Coaches are being poached, recycled and fired all around the league as franchises scramble to interview candidates and shape their staff… ( full article )
Archive:
Coach of the Year
Ravens Show The Way For 2008 Flops
Ugly Oakland On A Road To Nowhere
Beast vs. Worst
There’s only one Ronnie Brown
Great Expectations
Opening Weekend Massacre
Injuries Threaten AFC Hierarchy
What We Learnt From Pre-Season
Shock To The System Perfect For Saints
Jaguars To Become Extinct?
Welcome To The New Season NFC
Welcome To The New Season AFC
The Calm After The Storm
MVP to Bargain Bin
With The 1st Overall Pick The Miami Dolphins Select Nobody
The $42 Million Bargain
We Need a Kicker!
Trust in Troy
The ‘Qwest’ To See Favre
Un-bear-able
The Diner Division Focus: NFC East
Lawrence Tynes: Carry on Kicking
The Diner Division Focus: AFC North
Drafting Smart: Secret of NYG Success
SB Bingo and Bootgate – Part Deux
Coughlin Enjoys Sun, Bootgate & More
Panto-Villain Looking To Upstage Stars
Home and Away in the NFC
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Khaled Elsayed
Making Sense Of The Richard Seymour Trade
 It’s very rare in the modern game that we see such a huge trade go through completely out of the blue. But on the 6th September 2009 the New England Patriots traded away one of their most recognisable (and productive) players in Richard Seymour. For a SuperBowl contender to give up one of its prized possessions and get nothing in return for 2 years is somewhat shocking. It’s understandable and there’s a perfect logic to it, but who (if anyone) won? … ( full article )
Khaled Elsayed
The Playoffs Are Not Enough
 Ever feel that your time is running out? Much like Robert Carlyle’s Renard character in the World Is Not Enough as he attempts to take over the world, San Diego are running out of time in their effort to win a SuperBowl. Only instead of a bullet slowly making its way to the cerebral cortex, the Chargers could be about to see an exodus and demise of one of the most talented rosters in recent NFL memory … ( full article )
Khaled Elsayed
Diner’s Diary Definites
 Everyone will be looking forward to games involving their own team, but there’s so much more to the NFL than just following your own team and there are some intriguing match ups that every NFL fan should be looking forward to … ( full article )
Archive:
Forgetting Philadelphia
A Cinderella Story
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Where’s My Promotion?
He Broke My Heart
What If…
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Chris Brophy
Triggermen in the Firing Line
 The NFL is a quarterback hungry league and recent history shows teams will pay through the nose to get a guy that they hope can be their franchise QB for the long term future. The truth is though, the percentages are low. Many attempts to upgrade fail whilst many maintain the status quo just with a different name throwing the passes. The Diner takes a look at five quarterbacks entering pivotal seasons for themselves and their teams … ( full article )
Chris Brophy
Who Will Take The Michael?
 Which team will take the chance? Which team will risk the fan backlash? Which front office will put their reputation on the line in order to see if Michael Vick still has the athletic ability that has put the fear of god into NFL defenses in the past? All these questions need to be considered but as well as teams considering Vick, Vick has to consider what he is prepared to do and accept … ( full article )
Chris Brophy
Power Ranking The Decade:
 The Update
Last season the Diner offered a power ranking of the decade so far and with another season gone by it’s time for an update. Who has climbed? Who has dropped like a stone?… ( full article )
Archive:
Annual All-Deserving Team
Half Term All Pro Team: Defense
Half Term All Pro Team: Offense
(Passing) Records Are Made To Be Broken
Power Ranking The Decade # 10-1
Power Ranking The Decade # 20-11
Power Ranking The Decade # 32-21
Off-Season Fantasy Football
Marquee 2008 Free Agents Pt.2
I’m Feeling Zorny!
The FD All-Deserving Team
A Short Career Full Of Good Memories: Sean Taylor
The Wide Open MVP Award Race
Truth, Lies And Statistics
Giant(s) Turnaround
Football, Lies and Videotape
The Sudden Death Debate
I Remember You
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Sam Monson
Opening Weekend
 On Friday, September 9, 1960, the Denver Broncos defeated the Boston Patriots 13-10 on the back of the first ever AFL touchdown, a 59-yard scoring pass from quarterback Frank Tripucka to receiver Al Carmichael. This was Genesis for the AFL, a league founded by a group of businessmen dubbed ‘the Foolish Club’ by the established league that had snubbed them … ( full article )
Sam Monson
Eugene Parker Nemesis
 With the Collective Bargaining Agreement in chaos and the NFL’s salary cap in jeopardy, Eugene Parker senses a unique opportunity to torpedo the slotting system that has worked for years, and get his client a deal way out of proportion with the rest of the draft class … ( full article )
Sam Monson
Eli Manning’s New Deal
 So Eli Manning just got paid. $97m over 6 years makes him the NFL’s highest earner based on average salary, he’s not quite in the $100m club, but I’m guessing that’s not eating away at him. But here’s the problem. Eli Manning has in fact been a very average QB since coming into the league. Most people who recognise this will be ripping the Giants for making such a massive investment in a QB who has played at the level Eli has over the last few years. But the Diner isn’t quite so quick to jump all over them … ( full article )
Archive:
The Spread in the NFL
Mike Smith? FD Digs Deeper
The Diner ‘Experiences’ Buffalo
Fines Getting Out Of Hand?
Brad Childress deals with the Devil
Rookie Diary #11
Culpepper Retires – But Why?
Eli Manning Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?
53 Man Deadline
Derrick Harvey finally signs
Joe Flacco When to Start?
Favre Resolved
Favre to Minnesota: The Perfect Fit, Right?
Adam’s Football Trip
Rookie Diary #10
Rookie Diary #9
Rookie Diary #8
Rookie Diary #7
Funny Business
Who needs a RB?
Football vs Rugby: Which is Rougher?
Rookie Diary #6
Teams Eyeing 2009?
Rookie Diary #5
Loading Up
Think You Know The NFL Draft?
Rookie Diary #4
Rookie Diary #3
Rookie Diary #2
Rookie Diary #1
Eugene Parker is a Genius
Marquee 2008 Free Agents
The Forgotten Manning
2008 Hall of Fame Inshrinement
100% Cheese Free
Sam Monson’s Midseason All XI
Adrian Peterson: Rookie Of The Year
Mewelde Moore: Forgotten Man
QB Woes in Minnesota?
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Paul Hopkins
London or Bust?
 It worked for the Boston Celtics and somehow, it also worked for the New York Giants.
When this year’s International Series match at Wembley was announced as being between the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, the buzz of anticipation and expectancy of the game itself was high. Very high and rightly so… ( complete preview )
Paul Hopkins
Texas v Oklahoma
The Biggest Rivalry in College Football
 Both teams arrive with a top five ranking, undefeated records and after very impressive starts to the season and are eyeing up potential Big XII Championships and the big one the National Championship. This figures to make Saturday’s Red River Shootout the most important for years… ( full article )
Paul Hopkins
Doctor’s Therapy:
The Life of Brian
 In the next instalment of the column which takes a look at the range of characters and personalities around the NFL, we stay within the AFC North and consider the career and future prospects of Brian Billick, a man self-admittedly at a crossroads in his life… ( full article )
Paul Hopkins
Bill Cowher One Town Man?
 He left the Pittsburgh Steelers, the only team he has ever coached, a year after finally leading them to the Superbowl on the back of one of the most remarkable runs in living memory… ( full article )
Paul Hopkins Archive:
Adam Jones: Last Chance Saloon
Bill Belichick Through the Lens
The Trouble with Terrell
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