NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

NFL teams keep strict tabs on their projected starting players’ film study, execution during practice, diets and every other nuance, paying them millions for all the hard work in the hopes that it produces a strong regular season so they can win a Super Bowl. Why risk it in meaningless exhibition games, when teams often have one of their worst games week 1 anyways?

Exhibit A: Giants CB Terrell Thomas, torn ACL, done for the season.

Exhibit B: Chiefs QB Matt Cassel, cracked rib, doubtful for week 1 vs. Bills. I’m glad the NFL doesn’t have a BCS so a few losses doesn’t end your Championship hopes, but the Chiefs could lose this game against the Bills if Cassel doesn’t start and could lose more either due to Palko continuing to play or Cassel playing hurt.

More coaches should treat their best players the way Marty Schottenheimer and Norv Turner treated Ladainian Tomlinson: don’t play them in the preseason.

That’s right folks, former Cincinnati Bengals QB Jordan Palmer played in a scrimmage with a UFL team, the Sacramento Mountain Lions.

According to people watching the Mountain Lions scrimamge, Jordan and former Georgia Bulldog and Atlanta Falcons QB D.J. Shockley have arrived in camp. More info is on the way.

The Sacramento Mountain Lions host the Las Vegas Locos on September 17th at 10:30PM ET.

By Redskins Columnist Patrick Rice

In a mere four days the Washington Redskins will take on the New York Giants. Every team has a sense of hope at this point. The storylines at this juncture are always the same…"I am confident this year and really think this is our time". Something along those lines are always blurted out of preseason camps.

For some teams they may be true, but in reality most teams have a sense of where they are going before the season even kicks off. Take the Cincinnati Bengals for instance. They are not going to challenge in the AFC north this season and perhaps may win the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. But than there are teams who surprise because you just don't know what to expect out of them. Teams like the 2011 Redskins.

In Mike Shanahan's second year, there are numerous reports and articles that discuss a more solid organization from top to bottom. How he has his players and how they are going to play hard every down. Despite this, however, the national media looks down on the Redskins because they don't have a super star on their roster. But that's what makes this team interesting.

That's why we have no idea what to expect from them this year. The optimism around the Redskins is clear and they have to feel confident heading into week 1. Now, in order to keep their confidence high they need to win. Winning a divisional game to start the year against a team that has owned the Skins would do wonders. Here are some of the keys I will be looking for in the home opener for the Burgundy and Gold:

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Tired of the same ol’ “Pick ‘Em Challenges” through the various sports sites out there? Well if you’re looking for a new and unique way of picking the weekly NFL games, we have just the challenge for you.

NFLGridironGab.com would like to present the First Annual ‘Gridiron Gab Pick ‘Em Challenge’. You’ll have the chance to compete for prizes and lay claim to the ultimate bragging rights opportunity – a one on one interview to be posted on the front page NFLGridirongab.com!

Sign-up is easy, here’s how…

To sign-up, simply email ‘GabFans@gmail.com‘ with your username and your favorite NFL team with “Gridiron Gab Pick ‘Em Challenge” in the subject title.

Deadline to sign-up will be Sunday, September 18, at 11 AM EST.

How it Works

Each week a list of five games will be posted to NFLGridirongab.com and each team’s Gab Site. Simply pick who you think the winner of the game will be, and email your picks to GabFans@gmail.com.

Scoring…

Four of the five games will be worth 20 points, with the fifth game – dubbed the “Game of the Week – will be worth 10. In total, each week will be worth 30 points.

Bonus Weeks…

Maybe your first couple weeks aren’t going so well, and despite the mass amount of knowledge you have about the NFL – you find yourself at the bottom of the standings.

Have no fear, there’s still hope. Throughout the season, there will be “Bonus Weeks” in which the less fortunate can begin to claw their way back to the top. A sixth game will be added to the picks, that will be worth 20 points. Weeks in which there are six games, the weekly total will be worth 50 points.

Playoffs

Yes, playoffs for a pick ‘em challenge is unheard of, but we’re going to do it here for ours.

In weeks 14, 15 and 16, the “Pick ‘Em Playoffs” will begin. Each week the standings will be posted. The Top 8 in the standing will be eligible for the playoffs.

Scoring will be the same, with the “Bonus Week” still a possibility. The Top 8 will compete for a team-specific prize, which has yet to be determined. (Give us a break, we’re new at this!)

In the event of a tie heading into the final week of the regular season, a final score will be asked to be provided as a tie-breaker.

Awards & Prizes

Contestants will be competing for a prize that has yet to be determined. The winner will have one week to claim their prize. Failure to do so will forfeit the prize to second place.

Just like in the NFL, there’s going to be a winner and a loser of the contest. Just like in the NFL, we’d like to interview the winner and loser!

The winner will have the opportunity to boast about his win, while the winner will have the chance to explain what went wrong for them this season.

Of course, the interview is optional, but highly encouraged as you’ll be part of our initial “Fan of the Week” spotlight.

Deadlines

Deadline to sing-up is 11 AM EST, Sunday, September 18.

Deadline for picks will be 11 AM EST on the start of the “Pick Week”.

Example: If there is a game on Thursday, weekly picks will be due at 11 AM EST on Thursday – unless that game is not used as part of the weekly picks. We all know how crazy the NFL schedule can be, especially towards the end of the season.

Deadline for results will be Noon EST, the day after the last game of the weekly picks. (If Monday Night game is included, results and standings will be updated and posted by 12 PM EST (Noon) on Tuesday. If Monday night game is not used in weekly picks, results and standings will be updated and posted by 12 PM EST on Monday)

Weekly Picks will be posted no later than Noon EST on Monday, regardless if “pick week” has concluded or not.

Rules

Just like every contest, there are rules to what you can and can not do. Failure to follow these simple rules, may result in disqualification from the contest.

- all picks must be emailed to GabFans@gmail.com, NLT 11 AM EST on the start of the “Pick Week” (‘Pick Week’ means the day of the week in which the first game included in the weekly picks is set to begin)

- picks sent in after the deadline will not be considered.

- contestants will be allowed two “Bye Weeks” (The term ‘Bye Week’ means that weekly picks were not received from a contestant.

- after the two ‘Bye Weeks’ have been used by a contestant, a third one will result in disqualification from the contest.

- only one entry per email address.

- once picks are emailed in, they are deemed final and can not be changed.

- the winner of the contest will have one week, after he or she has been deemed the winner, to claim their prize. Failure to do so will result in a forfeiture of the prize to second place.

Note: Just like anything else, rules are subject to change. It’s likely that rules will be added instead of changed, but please be patient. This is a new contest, so there’s bound to be a few things that will need to be worked out.

This weekend, teams were required to cut their rosters down to the regular season required 53 men, and the Cards wasted no time in snapping up veteran running back Chester Taylor from the Chicago Bears scrap heap. The addition of a smart player like Taylor should yield positive results, especially after the season ending injury to rookie Ryan Williams.

Taylor is entering his 10^th NFL season and has mostly played in a reserve role, whether it was with the Ravens (to whom he was drafted), Vikings, or Bears.  He has showed he is capable of being the feature back, rushing for over 1,000 yards for Minnesota during the 2006 campaign.

Taylor has always had the ability to catch passes and convert on third down, and this will likely continue to be his role in the desert. He is not the type of drastic change of pace that LaRod Stephens-Howling is form starter Beanie Wells, but adds that pass catching element that Wells has not been known for.

Click HERE to read the rest

For the first time during his seven-year NFL career, Ryan Fitzpatrick enters a season as the starting quarterback for an NFL team.

The reality is, however, it probably should've happened a year ago.  Not because Fitzpatrick was a prodigy or a star in waiting, but because for reasons that will likely remain unknown from not until kingdom come, Trent Edwards "won" the starting quarterbacking job in 2010.  My guess is head coach Chan Gailey would like to hit the re-do button on that decision.

But that was then and this is now.  This is Fitzpatrick's team from the get-go.

He was reduced to cheerleader the first two games of last season.  The Bills put their fans to sleep with an opening day 15-10 loss against Miami, then went to Green Bay and got trounced 34-7 by the eventual Super Bowl champion Packers.  Soon after, the Bills benched Edwards and released him not longer after that signaling they'd given up on him and turned the reigns over to Fitzpatrick.

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Familiarity has been something preached not just by Pete Carroll but by the majority of staffs in the NFL courtesy of the lockout.

Earlier I wrote about how they should pursue the veteran given the fact that Tarvaris Jackson is the starter. There are no reports they are showing interest, but there is some potential traction on Garrard to Seattle playing that overused familiarity card.

Quarterbacks coach Carl Smith was Garrards offensive coordinator in Jacksonville for several seasons.

How much this means remain unseen, but we have seen Seahawks assistants heavily influence their activity in the free agent market.

Four of their biggest signings from other teams came from the Vikings and the Raiders (Rice, Jackson, Miller, Gallery). Sorry I hate to put Jackson in there but he is the quarterback…

Darrell Bevell-Minnesota, Tom Cable-Oakland, it’s not too hard to connect the dots there.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Pete Carroll has already approached Carl Smith and asked him about Garrard, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Smith had some good things to say about him either.

He possesses all of the traits that Carroll likes in his quarterback, mainly mobility, and he has had far more success running the ball in the NFL than either Jackson or Whitehurst. As I pointed out earlier, Garrard netted as many rushing touchdowns last season as Jackson and Whitehurst have in their entire careers.

Carroll has also been repeatedly stating that Jackson is basically the starter until someone can prove they can play better in the offense that Jackson is supposed to know. Most Seahawks fans would argue that this has already been the case between him and Whitehurst during the pre-season; so why not bring Garrard in and coach him up until week 4-5 when if Jackson struggles?

If he doesn’t kick the tires on Garrard, it may be a sign that indeed, Carroll is looking beyond 2011 and feeling very lucky.

For more Seattle Seahawks news, rumors, and analysis visit Seahawks Gab by clicking here.

If Seattle still had Matt Hasselbeck, most would be calling for an NFC West repeat with pro bowlers Sidney Rice and Zach Miller acquired during the off season to complement pro bowl running back Marshawn Lynch.

But this is what happens when you smoke too much and go out and acquire Tarvaris Jackson and immediately install him as your starting quarterback… And your other option is Charlie Whitehurst.

Just like last season, the Seahawks are in the bottom tier of the power rankings, I recall last years original placement being 28th.

Maybe a season from now the 12th Man will be giddy that they will have first dibs on the best quarterback prospect of an era while the rest of the league sits there pissed off with envy.

I have had someone e-mail me and say, if the Seahawks aren’t going to the Super Bowl, does 2011 really matter in the long run if you can obtain Andrew Luck out of it?

That question, well, it’s tough to answer.

Looks like rookie Blaine Gabbert is taking the reigns of the Jaguars franchise, the team announced they have parted ways with incumbent starter David Garrard.

In a surprising move today the Jacksonville Jaguars have released their starting quarterback David Garrard and have handed the reigns of the offense to Luke McCown.

Given their quarterback situation, I would hope that the Seattle Seahawks would pursue the pro bowl quarterback immediately.

On paper, it’s a no brainer, Garrard out-calibers Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst in every way, shape, and form

Mobility? He definitely has that, his rushing touchdown total from last season (5) is as many rushing scored as Jackson and Whitehurst have combined in their career?

Accuracy? He’s not known as the leagues most accurate quarterback, but just last seasons split: 2,734/23/15//90.8 QBR looks much more appealing the Jacksons career stat line of: 3,984/24/22/76.6 QBR.

Arm Strength? I really want Whitehurst to start, but he hasn’t shown a poise to throw the deep ball, and when Jackson does throw it it just gets picked off, tipped, or is generally incomplete. Think I am being too harsh? Watch the pre-season over again, I think his one deep bomb dime was to Golden Tate and Tate had to turn around in an awkward position and got some YAC after as well.

In fact, the argument is that any starter in this league currently aside from Rex Grossman would represent an upgrade. Garrards arrival would come with a huge sigh of relief by the 12th Man, including me. He is a competent starter with playoff experience who unlike Jackson in Minnesota had very little to work with in Jacksonville in terms of receivers and tight ends.

It’s probably not going to happen, it really looks like Pete Carroll is eying Andrew Luck because he’s not even playing the superior of the two inferior options he currently has (Jesus!).

Continuity my a** though, it doesn’t matter if the guy knows the offense if he can’t play football. My dads best friend lives in Minneapolis and he has warned us that we are going to learn to hate the letters TJ… As if that wasn’t already known.

 Also

Seattle has over $15.5 million in cap space and that figure should have increased with the release of Colin Cole and Mike Gibson. Right now the figure has to be at least $17.5 million. They have more than enough space to pursue an actual starting quarterback. Even if it is just a bridge to the future, would you rather have David Garrard or Tarvaris Jackson?

The question kind of answers itself…

By Columnist Chris DeSantis

So if any of you are like me you love to talk smack about your team to your friends, co-workers, or whom ever. Being in the United States Air Force we have moved around quite a bit. Right now I’m smack in the middle of Buckeye Country. There are tears on everyone’s face in this part of the country. Anyway, back to NFL smack talking.

I work with mostly retired military civilians that come from all over our great country. So, I am not going to give you just the weekly predictions that many writers do week in and week out. I would like to throw a little twist into my predictions. I will give you the teams that we talk about most at our lunch table during the week. I will briefly touch on all of the other games also.

I would like to start off with Big Steve and his sad sad case of a team Cincinnati Bengals. Dude, sorry to do this. But I will have the brown bag available every Monday when you come to the lunch table. Actually, better idea. You should plan your days off accordingly!!! Browns muster up 17 to beat the Bungles. 17-3.

Let’s move on to my friend the Band Geek. Mr. Dirty Bone himself. My God. Dude, pretty crappy luck with your Colts this year. This one hurts. I usually have Manning pretty high on my draft board for our Fantasy League. I do think the Colts live and die by Manning. I do hope to see them stay around until he fully is healthy again. But really Mr. Irsay, owner of the Colts, it’s time to draft a QB to eventually take over for Peyton. If Peyton sits, I see the Texans winning 24-10. If Peyton plays it will be 24-17. Colts

Okay, now to Old Man Mason! I really have to say your team will be around the top 4 of the NFC South! Ya, that’s right! You can never figure out this division. Honestly dude, the only thing for sure is the Panthers will most likely have another losing season. That is only because they are going to let rookie QB Cam Newton have the reigns from game 1. Yes, the Saints are a pretty damn good team. Yes they are only 2 years removed from winning a Super Bowl. But dude, the Seahawks beat them in the playoffs. The Seahawks. I don’t know, about this team. I guess we can put a "Wait and See" tag on them for now. They travel to play the Pack on Thursday to open the season. I say the Pack take this 27-17.

Now, Mr. Clean. Time to go over the Vikings for you. This is the man who use to bust my chops about Donovan. Ha-Ha! Last laugh may be on you now! I do see this team staying in games. But you can’t get rid of Sidney Rice. What was Mr. Wilf thinking? Bad move number 1. Bad move number 2 is bringing in McNabb a year too late. Brad Childress could have been your head coached if they brought in McNabb last year, instead of flying down to Mississippi to grovel for some guy shooting Wrangler Jeans commercials. Good luck getting beat down against the reigning Super Bowl Champions, and good luck trying to stay in games against the Lions. I do not see good things in store for the Vikings this year. I would like to. But your quarterback is washed up, and your star running back has had fumbling problems in the past. He cleaned it up in 2010 with only 1. Previous to that I believe he fumbled 20 times in a 3 year span. Yikes Vikes!! They travel to San Diego to face off against the Chargers. I call it; Chargers 34, Vikings 17.

Honorable mentions will go to a Panther fan that sits at the table. They’re young. That’s the best thing about them I can say. Maybe in a few years you can start talking smack. For now continue to wear your Panthers construction helmet around the office. We can just continue to tell everyone that when you were a kid you use to lick the grape windows on the bus on the way to school. Arizona beats up on the Cats. 28-7.

One Cowboy fan sits with us. Actually his wife is a Cowboy fan. He just likes to talk about tennis. So not going to wish the Cowgirls luck! Jets beat em on Sunday Night Football; 21-17.

Finally let’s talk a little about the Eagles. Yes they are a bit hyped this year. I won’t say over-hyped. I know our QB’s have made some bold statements. I know in order to talk the talk you better walk the walk. So this year, this Eagle fan wants to see that strut that we had back in the 04-05 season when every week I felt amazing going to work and talking about my team. I believe this team can be better than that one. It may take a few weeks into the season to feel the strut coming on. I do believe we have the talent. Can we gel in time to make it happen? That is the question. Igles travel to the Gateway Arch to just make it by the Rams, 34-14.

Here are some quick thoughts on the remaining games:

Atlanta over Chicago. I believe that Atlanta, Green Bay, and Philly are the cream of the crop in the NFC.

I like the Bills this year. There is just something about their QB, Fitzpatrick I like. I have the Bills over the Chiefs.

I like the Jags over the Titans. Hasselbeck still has to get a grip on something other than a West Coast offense.

Jeez! I really hate picking the Steelers. But no Super Bowl Hangover here. I have the Steelers over the Ravens.

I really like the Lions defense this year. If their QB stays healthy, then this is a team on the cusp of the playoffs. However, week 1, I like the home team Buccaneers over the Lions.

I really think the Redskins are the Stinkos of the league this year. I really do not like what the owner has done since he has owned the team. But really I don’t care. They’re one of our rivals. Giants over the Skins.

Seattle vs. the 49ers. In my opinion, 0-0 tie. It’s a wash. The Niners are just playing so they can draft QB Andrew Luck out of Stanford. The Seahawks really need to see if they can try to trade to take Carson Palmer off the hands of The Bungles.

Monday Night Games:

Pats over the Fins

Broncos pull it out over "THE RAIDERs" (In a Chris Berman voice)

In closing, I know some of you may read this and think to yourself that this was the dumbest article you’ve ever read. But to those who shoot the bull around the water coolers, at the lunch table, or where ever you talk about the games from Sunday and talk smack. This one is for You!