NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Well, the NFL is still in lockout mode, but Tuesday night the league still went ahead and got fans excited with the annual release of the schedule. The Steelers are going to be in the prime-time spotlight quite a bit, as they will play five games at night, including three in four weeks starting with a game at the Chiefs on December 4th, and then ending at San Francisco on December 19th.

Here’s a quick rundown the schedule with some notes on the games as well.

Sunday, Sept. 11 at Baltimore – Need we say more to start the year? Always a huge game, and last year it came down to a last second play by Troy Polamalu to strip Joe Flacco and then Issac Redman’s third-down TD won the game. A blood bath that could set the tone for the AFC North early in the year. Started the 1998 season at Baltimore, winning 20-13 in a season that ended 7-9 under Bill Cowher.

Sunday, Sept. 18 SEATTLE – A Super Bowl XL rematch, and the second straight time the Hawks come to Heinz Field since the SB in Detroit back in February of 2006. The last time they played in Pittsburgh, the Steelers beat up the Hawks to the tune of 21-0 on October 7th 2007 in Mike Tomlin’s first season. Seattle won the NFC West a season ago, but won it with a mark of 7-9.

Sunday, Sept. 25 at Indianapolis – The Steelers first prime-time showdown of 2011, an 8:20 Sunday night game on NBC vs Peyton Manning and the Colts. They haven’t played since the Super Bowl season of 2008 when Manning outshined Ben Roethlisberger for a win at Heinz Field. They haven’t played in Indy since that fateful playoff game in 2006 when the Steelers upset them 21-18 enroute to Super Bowl XL. The Steelers have never played in new Lucas Oil Stadium.

Sunday, Oct. 2 at Houston – The Texans are a team that will be hailed as an up and coming squad in 2011, and the Steelers defense will be tested against Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson and Arian Foster. The Steelers opened the 2008 season vs Houston at home pounding them 38-17, and the last time they played in the Lone Star State was in week two of the 2005 season, and again it was all Steelers winning easily 27-7.

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The 2011 NFL Schedule is out, this despite there still being a lockout. Click below to see your teams slate for the season, and see all the Monday and Sunday night games along with the holiday games as well.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New York Jets
New England Patriots

AFC North

Cleveland Browns
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars

AFC West

Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland Raiders
Denver Broncos
San Diego Chargers

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys
Washington Redskins
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles

NFC North

Chicago Bears
Green Bay Packers
Detroit Lions
Minnesota Vikings

NFC South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers
St.Louis Rams
Arizona Cardinals
Seattle Seahawks

Senior writer jclombardi reviews Packers 2011 NFL schedule.

COMMENTARY: The official Packers schedule is released. On Thursday night, September 8th, the Packers are scheduled to kick off the 2011 NFL against the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field. Also, on Sunday, December 25th, the Packers are hosting the Bears on Christmas Night at 8:20 p.m. EST. BREAKDOWN: Packers would have four prime-time games, including three on NBC’s Sunday Night Football and one on ESPN’s Monday night Football, along with a fifth national time slot against Lions on Thanksgiving Day. Further, five other games are scheduled for the late-afternoon Sunday time slot. They will be the first team in NFL history to play on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The Packers would play three of their final four games at home, including a Week 16 Christmas Day game against the Bears. Mix in a Week 13 game at the Giants and a Week 15 game at Chiefs, and the final five weeks of the schedule could be in cold-weather conditions. “I think that is awesome,” McCarthy said.

The Detroit Lions are roaring back on the national radar, as they will grace the NFC North Champion Chicago Bears on MNF.

According to Mike O’Hara of FOXSportsDetroit reports the Lions are slated to host the Chicago Bears at Ford Field on Oct. 10, according to NFL sources who have been briefed on the schedule.

This will be the Lions first Monday Night Football game in 10 years.

In what could be Tim Tebow’s first game under the national spotlight, the Broncos will host the Raiders in MNF’s second game in the opener.

Paul Gutierrez of CSNCalifornia reports the Raiders will open the season at Denver in a Monday Night Football game, according to a source.

It looks like the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers will get the New Orleans Saints to start things off, rather than the the team they defeated in the NFC Championship Game, the Chicago Bears.

Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Green Bay Packers are scheduled to kick off the 2011 National Football League against the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field, a front-office source with one of the two teams told the Journal Sentinel this afternoon.

Pending labor negotiations of a new collective bargaining agreement, the game will be played the night of Thursday, Sept. 8.

As for the New York Giants, they will open up against their division rival Washington Redskins on the road, in the Nation’s Capital.

The New York Giants season will begin on Sunday September 11th against the Redskins in Landover, Md. according to Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star Ledger.  It will be played to commemorate 10 years since the 9/11 attacks and, unlike the Giants-Jets game everyone imagined, it will pay tribute to those who lost their lives at the Pentagon that day. The game will kick off at 4:15 p.m.

Kansas City Chiefs

Ryan Sims was drafted sixth overall out of UNC in 2002. Too bad they weren’t fortunate enough to land his Tar Heel teammate second that year; Julius Peppers. Sims never lived up to the hype or expectations like his former defensive line partner, as he lasted just five seasons in Kansas City. At least he was consistent, giving the Chiefs an average of one sack per year. It’s a shame he never performed as a Top-10 choice because Dick Vermeil had the offense to hoist the Vince Lombardi during Sims’ stay at Arrowhead. John Henderson and Albert Haynesworth would have been better alternatives.

Russ Loede – Columnist ChiefsGab.com

Oakland Raiders

In 2007, the Oakland Raiders drafted with the first pick of the draft, out of Louisiana State University, QB JaMarcus Russell. Touted by many due to his arm strength and size, Russell was drafted as the Raider's future QB. Things turned ugly quickly between Oakland and Russell.. After failing to reach a contract agreement with the Raiders, Russell held out through training camp and into the first week of the 07 season, until September 12, when he signed a six-year contract worth up to $68 million, with $31.5 million guaranteed.

His play with the Raiders his rookie season was not what the Raiders expected from their#1 pick. Russell finished with 36 completed passes on 66 attempts, 373 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. At the end of the 07 season, Oakland Coach Lane Kiffin named Russell the started for the 2008 season. His play was erratic at best, finishing that season playing 15 games, completing 198 of 368 passes for 2423 yards. Russell threw for 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He was sacked 31 times and lost 7 of 12 fumbles.. Still, at the end of the 08 season, Russell was again named starter for the 09 season.

Following a loss to the Chiefs on November 15, Russell was benched indefinitely by coach Tom Cable due to mediocre play in favor of Bruce Gradkowski. Gradkowski led two fourth quarter comebacks and upset the Bengals and Steelers in the following two weeks, throwing 5 touchdown passes . After Gradkoswki was injured against the Redskins, Russell finished the game for the Raiders, which resulted in a loss. After the game, coach Cable decided to start backup Charlie Frye rather than Russell, which moved Russell down to #3 on the depth chart. When Frye was injured against the Broncos, Russell played near the end of the game. The game resulted in a win, however, this was Russell's final game as a Raider. For his millions of dollars, Russell finished his career withOakland as 7-18 as a starter in his 3 seasons with 18 TD's, 23 INT's for 4083 yards.

Mike Loede – Co-Editor RaidersGab.com

San Diego Chargers

Ryan Leaf is possibly the most notable NFL draft bust of all-time. If there was a bracket, undoubtedly, he would be seeded #1. Surely, Leaf would end up in the Final Four. He will infamously be remembered for post-game outrages, effortless interceptions, and being the guy drafted after Peyton Manning. San Diego would’ve been better off selecting Leaf’s counterpart in the Rose Bowl that year, Brian Griese, who was drafted late in the 3rd round in ’98. Matt Hasselbeck was picked late in the 6th round, too.

Either way, the Chargers and Leaf are a home run, an absolute no-brainer. Maybe the scouting department should have been paying closer attention to that Rose Bowl game between Washington State and Michigan in Pasadena; as Charles Woodson (4th overall) was making his name known in that contest along with Griese. Ryan Leaf’s career NFL stats include a QB rating of 50, a completion percentage under 50, and a TD:INT ratio of 14:36. Peyton threw for more yards in his rookie season than Leaf did during his tenure at the professional level.

Russ Loede – Columnist ChargersGab.com

Denver Broncos

Jarvis Moss was a guy who took advantage of a great showing in the National Championship Game playing for Florida, which caused his stock in the 2007 NFL Draft to skyrocket. The Broncos fell into the hype, picking him with the 17th overall pick that year, and needless to say, he was terrible. Moss was a tweener in the NFL, as he wasn’t strong enough to play the DE spot, but not fast enough to go at outside LB.

The Broncos also killed themselves with the pick as they gave up two additional picks to trade with the Jaguars, moving up from #21 to #17. The Broncos gave the Jags the #86(3rd Round) and #198(5th Round) to move up, giving the Broncos just 4 picks in the 2007 Draft. Moss played in 34 games for the Broncos during his four seasons, but put up just 23 tackles and 3.5 sacks, and was known for walking out on the team in training camp in 2009.

He was released in November 2010 before being picked up by the Raiders.

Matt Loede – Columnist BroncosGab.com

22nd Pick: Offensive Tackle Derek Sherrod?

Both sides of the Colts line need to be addressed.  Will the team go offense or defense first?  Will the team draft a "three-technique" defensive tackle or go a different route with an "anchor" to plug up the middle?

Catch Colts Gab 2011 Draft Coverage on "The Johnny Ballgame Show" LIVE at 6:45 p.m. ET tonight.

Click HERE for the live show link.

Check out the site HERE.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News has reported that the New York Jets will host the Dallas Cowboys to debut Sunday Night Football in 2011. This means that the two quarterbacks with the most media scrutiny will face off while Rex Ryan’s twin brother will make his coordinating debut under new head coach Jason Garrett against Rex himself.

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The NFLShop.com released their list of top selling jerseys for the last year and Troy Polamalu came out on the top of the list.

Polamalu, the Steelers fearless safety, who flies around the field throwing his body at opposing teams with his long thick mane of hair flowing out from under his helmet, topped all jersey sales for the last year. Polamalu has grown even more famous for his Head and Shoulders ad campaign that is wildly successful.

The Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers was number 2 on the list. The Saints quarterback Drew Brees came in at number 3. The Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was at number 4 and the Broncos back up quarterback and media hyped player of the decade probably, Tim Tebow rounded out the top 5.

Last year's number one seller, the Vikings former quarterback Brett Favre, fell to number 14 on the list.

Polamalu has become ever more popular since his Head and Shoulders ad campaign debuted. The ads now include athletes from other sports like the Twins Joe Mauer who are showing making fun of Polamalu's commercial acting. He is as famous for his play and his commercials as he is for his hair, which has a life of it's own.

Polamalu gets the news about his top selling jersey on this his 30th birthday.

There have been whispers for certain portions of this offseason linking current Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb with the Minnesota Vikings, and those whispers only seem to be getting louder as we approach next week's NFL draft.

According to The Washington Post:

The Vikings are indeed one of the teams interested in McNabb, according to two people with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity. But obviously, no deal could be made until there is a new collective bargaining agreement.

One league source said none of the teams interested in McNabb is expected to want to offer much for the 34-year-old quarterback, not because they doubt his skills but because the Redskins already tipped their hand that McNabb doesn't have a future in Washington.

One thing does remain certain: a "divorce" between McNabb and the Shanahan's (Mike and Kyle) is all but inevitable, despite the protest of a large portion of Redskins fans.

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