After last weeks pivotal divisional loss over the Washington Redskins, the New York Giants bounced back strong, demolishing the New Orleans Saints 52-27.

Giants’ rookie running back and returner, David Wilson had a career day, single-handily becoming the Saints worse nightmare. Wilson compiled 327 all purpose yards, third-highest total for a rookie since the NFL-AFL merger.

Right after the Saints intercepted Eli Manning and went ahead 7-0, Wilson’s day started. On the ensuing kick-off Wilson jolted past the Saints special team unit and returned the the kick, 97-yards to the tie the game back up.

Wilson punched in a six yard run in the third quarter to give the Giants a 28-13 lead and then put the Saints to sleep with a career long 52 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal off the victory. Wilson averaged 7.7 yards per carry rushing for 100 yards on 13 carries, the rookie’s first 100 yard game of his career.

Manning quickly bounced back after throwing an interception on the Giants second offensive drive of the game. On the Giants’ next drive, Manning connected with tight-end Martellus Bennett on a six yard touchdown. Bennett caught five passes for 32 yards along with his touchdown.

Right before the half, Manning connected with wideout Domenik Hixon to take a 21-13 lead into the third quarter.

Manning also connected with wideout Hakeem Nicks for a 25 yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Nicks caught four passes for 67 yards along with his touchdown. Nicks has been suffering through injury all season long and after the win over the Saints was re-examined. Coach Tom Coughlin expects Nicks to continue to play however it is unlikely he will be at 100% for the rest of the year.

Manning threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game at the start of the fourth quarter to wideout Victor Cruz. Cruz led the Giants in receiving hauling in eight catches for 121 yards along with his touchdown catch.

The Giants’ defense was on point, limiting Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees. Brees completed 26-of-43 passes for 354 yards one touchdown and two interceptions.

Brees lone touchdown came towards the end of the third quarter, connecting with speedster Darren Sproles. Sproles caught four passes for 28 yards along with his touchdown reception. He also had five carries for 56 yards and punched in 13 yard run in the third quarter.

Brees was picked off twice by Giants’ safety, Stevie Brown.

With the victory, the Giants remain atop the NFC East at 8-5 with both the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins breathing down their neck at 7-6. The Giants have a tough match-up next week on the road against the NFC’s current number one seed the Atlanta Falcons. As for the Saints, who have now dropped to 5-8,  they will face NFC South division rivals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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The Green Bay Packers were able to bounce back after last weeks heart breaking loss and hold off the winless New Orleans Saints 28-27.

The Saints took over momentum in the 3rd quarter after injuring Aaron Rodgers with the Packers in the red-zone. On the following play, back up quarterback Graham Harrell tripped while handing the ball off to Benson and the Saints recovered the fumble. A few plays later, New Orleans took the lead late in the 3rd quarter when Drew Brees connected with Joseph Morgan for an 80 yard touchdown bomb. On the Packers next drive, the Saints regained possession forcing an Aaron Rodgers interception.

Two drives after throwing his lone interception, Rodgers brought Green Bay down field and connected with Jordy Nelson for the game winning touchdown. On the ensuing kick-off, Green Bay was victim of another terrible call after New Orleans kick returner Darren Sproles fumbled and the referees called he was down by contact.

With an opportunity to take the lead, Saints kicker Garrett Hartley nailed a 43 yard field goal, but it was called back because of an offensive holding. Pushing the Saints ten yards back, the Packers jumped offside to give the Saints back five yards. Finally, Hartley lined up for a 48 yard field goal, and just missed giving the Packers the ball back with 2:49 left in the game. After a three-yard Cedric Benson run, the Saints called their final timeout. On a 3rd and 3, Aaron Rodgers threw a bullet to wideout James Jones, who miraculously caught the ball for a first down. Regardless of the catch the Saints were flagged for defensive pass interference, granting the Packers a first down. Rodgers and the Packers offense kneeled their way to a much needed victory.

Rodgers led the Packers offense, completing 31-of-41 passes for 319 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. This was Rodgers 24th, 300+ yard passing game in his career. Rodgers was able to connect with eight different targets against the Saints. Packers wideout Jordy Nelson led Green Bay with eight receptions for 93 yards and one touchdown. Greg Jennings also contributed with an early touchdown catch for his only catch of the game and James Jones caught five passes for 56 yards along with two touchdowns.

Green Bay was able to successfully keep the ball on the ground against the Saints. Cedric Benson led the Packers with 18 carries for 84 yards, a season high. Benson also contributed with four catches for 22 yards. This was Benson’s second game of the year compiling a total of 100+ all purpose yards. Green Bay continues to develop a run game to become less predictable offensively.

Drew Brees entered the record book, matching Johnny Unitas throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games. Brees passed for a season high 446 yards and three touchdowns. It was also Brees’ first 400+ passing game of the season. Marques Colston led the Saints with nine receptions for 153 yards and one touchdown. The Saints were unable to run the ball against Green Bay’s defense, only compiling a total of 45 rushing yards. The winless Saints are 0-4 for the first time since the 2007 season.

Green Bay (2-2) will be on the road next week against the Indianapolis Colts as they continue to play well and look to earn another victory. As for the Saints, they will look to earn their first victory of the season at home against the San Diego Chargers.

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The annual Hall of Fame game kicked off the beginning of preseason football, featuring the New Orleans Saints defeating the Arizona Cardinals, 17-10.

The Saints have been bashed with unpleasant publicity as a result of the bounty scandal. All playerms and staff members are still facing initial penalties and suspensions. One of the biggest questions entering play will be, how will the Saints respond?

As for the Arizona Cardinals, they are hoping to finish over .500 after last season’s 8-8 record and second place NFC West finish. However, their biggest off-season concern is their quarterback battle. Kevin Kolb was Arizona’s starter last season, but he only played in 9 games because of an injury. Kolb had an 81.1 passer rating, threw for 1,955 yards, and had 9 touchdowns. Arizona is concerned with Kolb’s health and very well should be after his short first performance. Kolb’s first intended pass was intercepted by Saints’ safety, Malcolm Jenkins, and it got worse from there. Kolb only completed 1-of-4 passes for 4 yards and exited the game after suffering rib contusion when he was knocked down by Saints’ defensive tackle, Sedrick Ellis.

John Skelton took over the Cardinals’ offense once Kolb went down. Skelton has been giving Kolb a run for his money for the starting job and was impressive under center. Skelton completed 4-of-6 passes for 32 yards against the Saints first team defense.

Drew Brees played one possession for the Saints, completing 4-of-5 passes for 41 yards. However, back-up, Chase Daniel, had a stellar performance. Daniel completed 15-of-20 passes for 203 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Although Daniel will not see the playing field come regular season, he has shown the potential to step in and play if Brees were to miss some time.

Saints’, Mark Ingram, rushed 4 times for 14 yards and punched in a goal-line touchdown. Also, rookie running back, Travaris Cadet from Appalachian State hands’ shined, catching 8 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Although the Saints have deep running back depth, it should be intriguing to see if Cadet can make the roster.

Cardinal, Alfonso Smith, carried the load at running back for Arizona rushing 8 times for 46 yards and one touchdown. As for the Cardinals’ talented receiving core, rookie, Michael Floyd, caught one pass for 15 yards and veteran, Larry Fitzgerald, caught one pass for 10 yards.

However, rookie wideout, LaRon Byrd, led all Cardinal receivers with 4 receptions and 54 yards. Byrd was an undrafted free agent from the University of Miami and signed with the Cardinals in early May. Concern regarding these wideouts is essentially not reaching their full potential because of the lack of a true quarterback presence to distribute the ball.

The Saints will be back in action Thursday, August 9 against the New England Patriots. As for the Cardinals, they will be playing in Kansas City Friday, August 10. Fortunately for both the Saints and Cardinals, they will play an extra preseason game to help prepare for the upcoming season.

Click here to view the rest of the NFL’s preseason schedule.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2) welcomed the New Orleans Saints (4-1) to the Raymond James Stadium, hoping to improve their record before they jet off to London to entertain the NFL’s UK-based fans next week.

Having collected impressive victories over the likes of the Atlanta Falcons so far this season, the Bucs were keen to keep their win percentage over the 500 mark, despite having fallen to a franchise record defeat to the San Francisco 49’ers last week. Standing in their way however, was an in-form Drew Brees and his Saints were not going to be pushovers, as their impressive record so far shows.

With LeGarrette Blount sidelined through injury, the Buccaneers turned to Earnest Graham, but the running back failed to make much of an impression with his early rushes. The Bucs did however grab the lead when the Saints turned over possession, and the home side kicked a field-goal after failing to convert a 3^rd down.

The lead was to be short-lived however, with Brees finding tight end Jimmy Graham for a 16-yard gain, giving the Saints great field position, and also furthering Graham’s lead at the top of the tight end reception table in the NFL. From here, wide receiver Marques Colston collected a 38-yard TD pass from Brees, putting the visitors into the lead for the first time.

The lead changed hands again early in the 2^nd quarter however, when Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman found Arrelious Benn, who had escaped the man coverage, for a 65–yard TD pass, the longest for the Bucs since 2008.

The Bucs continued to press home their advantage, with Graham rushing for big gains consistently on a drive which culminated in a field goal, extending their lead to six points. Meanwhile, the Saints continued to struggle to get their offense going, and when the Bucs regained possession, they worked their way down the field before Freeman found Preston Parker on the slant route for a 19-yard TD pass.

The Saints came close to striking back just before the interval, having started on their own 2-yard line, but Brees passed successfully to Graham for 43 yards, and then to Colston for 37 yards, but had to settle for three points with a field goal as time ran out.

The 3^rd quarter went by fairly uneventfully for both sides, with neither side truly threatening the opposition end-zone, until the Saints moved to within 10 yards of the Bucs end-zone with just three minutes left in the quarter. Unfortunately for Sean Peyton’s side though, the Tampa Bay defense were more than a match for the New Orleans offense, and limited them to the field goal.

This did however make it a one-possession game heading into the 4^th,, until the Buccaneers struck back quickly, kicking a field goal themselves, and re-establishing the 10-point lead. The Saints soon closed the gap on the Bucs once the 4^th quarter started, driving to Tampa Bay’s 12 yard line, which then allowed explosive rookie Mark Ingram to power into the end-zone, reducing the lead to just three points.

With time running down in the 4^th, and the Bucs having added three more points to their lead, Brees was moving them Saints offense down the pitch, taking them to the Bucs 4 yard line. The usually infallible Brees then threw an interception in the Bucs end-zone, with Quincy Black picking the ball, and allowing Tampa Bay to run the ball away, with the game finishing at 26-20 to the Bucs.

Raheem Morris will be thrilled with his team’s effort and performance last night, especially that of his defense, who made life extremely difficult for Brees.

The Saints will not be entirely disheartened however, with tight end Graham collecting over 100 receiving yards for the fourth game in the row, and really establishing himself as a danger-man for the Saints, as they hope to bounce back this week, and continue their march towards the playoffs.

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With the NFL regular season set to kick off in less than two weeks, the Indianapolis Colts might have a problem. The NFL season was delayed with the lockout between the players and the owners but the Colts season could be delayed without their future Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning. This off-season Manning underwent surgery to repair a nerve in his neck.

The surgically repaired neck was said to take about 6-8 weeks to heal, well in time for the regular season, but at this time it’s not healed and coming up on three months! As you can see this isn’t an ordinary Peyton Manning type scenario where it doesn’t matter what the injury, you know Peyton would be ready for week one of the regular season.

This injury is different because it’s the neck and with this he can’t be 80 or 85%, he must be 100% to play. The neck is in the process of nerve regeneration and with Manning’s eight weeks past due it’s no telling when the neck will be fully healed.

What makes this story even more intriguing is the signing of formally retired QB Kerry Collins. The Colts signed him Wednesday August 24, which leads you to believe that the Colts are starting to have doubts about their star quarterback being back in time for week one. Kerry Collins brings a lot to the table that the backup QBs currently on the Colts roster don’t have.

The accomplished Veteran brings leadership as well as experience. Another thing he brings that Curtis Painter and Dan Orlosky don’t have…is a win. A combined zero career win for the Colts backup QB duo compared to Kerry Collins who brought a team to the Super Bowl.

Also Kerry Collins played for the Tennessee Titans last year, so he knows the division well and week one the Colts face off against division rival the Houston Texans. So in a lot of ways this move makes sense. The negative of this signing is that he’ll have less than two weeks to prepare to start week one and learn the offense of the Colts. We’ll also see if this move sits well with the Colts locker room that has trust in the QBs who are already in place.

What’s on the line for Peyton Manning? Just his active streak of a whooping 208 consecutive starts since his rookie season. Nine years in a row the Colts have one double digit games with Manning at the helm but the longer he’s out, the slimmer those chances of winning at least 10 games get.

Manning is currently on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list but there is still optimism that he very well could be ready for week one. After all it is the former Super Bowl Champion Peyton Manning. My guess is, he’ll be starting under center and he keeps the streak alive.

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No division is more stacked with young proven talent then the NFC south.  A division that saw two teams make the playoffs and a 3^rd barely missing a playoff berth with a 10-6 record.  These teams will only get better and this division might see a new team on top of the wins column at season’s end.

The NFC South is home to the Atlanta Falcons who finished 13-3 this past season and although their record might not improve this upcoming season, the team along with its young quarterback most certainly will. At 26, young Ryan or Matty Ice as he has been called due to his cool calm demeanor in crunch time has had his best year in a very short career and look for that to improve.

Management and his coaches have drafted him a young, potentially great receiver in Julio Jones to go along with his many other weapons which will undoubtedly improve the offense that faltered in the playoffs.  Of course they will need to improve a poor pass defense that couldn’t stop anyone last season, but as the draft has shown us, they will be trying to outscore everyone and hope it is enough.  I see them coming 2^nd in the division at 11-5 this upcoming season.

Carolina Panthers finished 2-14 last season which got them the number one pick for their troubles…with that pick, the Panthers drafted a franchise quarterback or at least one who has the potential to be in Cam Newton.  They were the worst passing team in the league last season but the bright spot remains the running game.  That running game might suffer if they don’t sign Deangelo Williams this off season and improve that horrendous line.

It’s still a question who will start and what exactly they will do with Jimmy Clausen, the quarterback they drafted last season.  There are no real weapons on this team besides an old Steve Smith and the running game; so I don’t expect much on the offensive end of the ball.  At best, the Panthers will finish 5-11 this season… if we ever play and Newton will play by week 7.

New Orleans has been the class of this division for the last couple years but look for things to change a bit this season…not a big drop off in terms of wins but it won’t be as easy as it was at one point in this division.  The Saints finished 11-5 last season in an improved division that will only get better, but they are getting older while the division gets younger.

The offense will be there as long as the weapons stay healthy and Drew Brees remains at the helm, the running game needs help of course… which is why they drafted the Heisman winner Ingram- I wonder what that means for Bush who has had his fair share of problems along with USC lately.  The defense was good protecting against the pass but age is catching up to them quickly.  They didn’t do much to address that but we will see how that affects them in this division.  10-6, therefore finishing 3^rd in the NFC South.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the hand are young and on the rise in terms of power teams in the NFL.  What we saw last season was a glimpse of what was to come for this team and this quarterback Josh Freeman who I didn’t expect this much from at this stage in his career.

They finished 10-6 last season, it is quite obvious at this point that this team is much more than just a good young signal caller; although we can’t over state how good he proved to be.  The defense is young and fast, they will need to improve the rush defense…hopefully their two young D-Ends will help the defense as soon as possible.  Clayborn and Bowers are both beast on the line and will push each other; we will have to wait and see what they will get from Bowers whom every team passed on time and time again. I see big things for these two players and this team, the defense will need their troubled cornerback Aqib Talib to dominate this cover 2 in order for things work… if he even plays.

I’m picking the Buccaneers to come out of the NFC South and the play for the NFC title this season.  At 12-4, they will be the class of the NFC for a while.

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What a mess!  This sums up nicely the almost two months since the most-watched Super Bowl as well as the most-watched program of any kind in American television history was held. This past Super Bowl being played in the new Dallas Cowboys stadium between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the previous record of 106.5 million viewers which was the record for last year’s Super Bowl.

While the NFL Lockout just began on March 11, this Lockout has been in the making for over two years, going back to 2008 when the NFL opted out of renewing the now recently expired collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association.  Owners claimed the reason for not renewing their agreement was because costs were too high and the owners would need givebacks of some monetary amount from their players in order to make it worth there wild and to keep operating under what is now the former Collective Bargaining Agreement. Besides this small story in the news, we haven’t really seen the impact over the years until now.

A lot of major events have happened since the Super Bowl which have shaped the heated and messy landscape that the owners, players, and fans have been exposed too and endured this New Year. A time line of events hopefully will help to clarify the current state of the NFL as we see it today.

Before the Super Bowl on January 18, the NFL Players Association, here after called the Union, filed a collusion claim against owners regarding lack of movement of restricted free agents.  On February 6, the day before the Super Bowl, both sides met for a brief negotiations session where nothing was accomplished.  Then, Happy Valentine’s Day to you too sweetheart, the NFL filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board on February 14th for not bargaining in good faith because the Union had plans of decertifying for a long time now.  Soon after on February 18^th, renowned federal mediator George Cohen began working with the two sides in Washington to see if some type of agreement or extension could be reached.

Cohen actually fared better than most experts thought, given an almost impossible task; he was able to keep the two sides at the negotiations table for over two weeks. An impressive feat for how far apart the sides were at the start and considering how much they distrusted each other.  Then on March 1^st, U.S. District Judge David Doty, who was a major player in the Labor disputes between the NFL and NFLPA before in 1993, ruled against the NFL, claiming they violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement when they sought for a 4 billion dollar TV revenue profit guarantee even if no games were played in the 2011 season due to a lockout.

This was considered “Lockout Insurance” to Doty who implied in his judicial opinion that if there was indeed a lockout and the players brought an Anti-Trust suit claim against the owners, that he would rule in the favor of the NFLPA once again.  This ruling was seen as a huge victory to the players and blow to the negotiation strategy of the owners.  Then, potentially because of this ruling, the two parties on March 3^rd, just before the official Collective Bargaining Agreement would expire, decided to extend the deadline one more day to continue talks.

The following day, the two sides then agreed on March 4^th to extend the deadline for an entire week, in order to continue negotiations.  Sadly, to football fans across America, the following Friday, after rejecting the owner’s proposal, the NFLPA decertified giving up its right to represent the players.  Later that night, at approximately midnight, the NFL led by Commissioner Roger Goodell imposed a lockout of the players once the Collective Bargaining Agreement expired.

Now having proceeded to what can be described as an ugly divorce, headed by Demaurice Smith as the Union leader and Commissioner Roger Goodell for the NFL and its owners, 10 players filed an antitrust lawsuit and injunctive request in the federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 11th.  This is the same court that Judge David Doty resides.

To try to clarify, an antitrust case is a legal action brought against a party or parties who are being charged with limiting free competition in the marketplace.  The players are essentially claiming that the league and its owners by locking out the players from all football activities have limited the players’ ability to market their services to any employer of their choice, which includes price fixing of the amounts that would be paid to the players.

In this proceeding, the alleged anti-competitive actions that have generally taken place include a lockout to prevent free-agency and by boycotting rookie players through efforts to force their salaries to be lower then what they actually would be in a free market.  This claim is seen through the proposal to implement a rookie wage scale and cap to how much rookies can make.  The suit, which seeks to end the lockout against the players, names Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees as its lead plaintiffs along with other current NFL players

In addition to current players, the league in its effort to show uniformity included one of the incoming top rookie prospects, Von Miller of Texas A&M.  Then, surprising to the union, it is U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson and not Judge Doty who has scheduled a hearing for April 6^th.  Additionally, while some people have expressed curiosity as to why such a high profile case, would take almost a month to have a hearing, this month turnaround is actually fairly quick for cases in the legal world.

While this waiting period has been going on, a lot of interesting events have still taken place, either feeding football fans appetite for news on their beloved sport, or just angering them.  With the lockout taking place, all football operations and activities are suspended.  Essentially current NFL players are “locked out” of the facilities and are unable to communicate with coaches and other personnel.  So even though there is not scheduled to be any OTAs, minicamps, or even film study sessions at team facilities at this time with the players, one event is guaranteed to happen, the 2011 NFL Draft held in New York City.

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The NFL officially has a work stoppage. As of 12:00 a.m. March 12, 2011 the NFL owners imposed a lockout, disallowing any players from entering the teams’ facilities. This came just hours after the NFLPA’s union dissolved itself, and just as the current CBA expired.

There seemed to be some light at the end of the tunnel, as the CBA kept being extended and the two sides continued to meet for 16 days of face-to-face mediation in front of a federal mediator. Now NFL fans should be worried. The NFL has become incredibly popular to a level unprecedented. The last two Super Bowls have ranked as the highest watched programs in U.S. television history.

So the big question now is what happens next? Now that there are chains locking players out, negotiations will head to the courts. A number of NFL players have filed a lawsuit to try to block the owners’ lockout. These players include some of the league’s biggest stars, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees. The antitrust suit attacks the NFL’s policies on several key issues including the draft, salary cap and free-agent restrictions such as franchise tags.

Who knows how long things could drag out in the courts. The key figures, DeMaurice Smith and Roger Goodell now take a back seat to relevancy as judges and lawyers become the role players for now. Goodell even reduced his salary to $1 during the lockout, a symbolic gesture, but also to belittle his role from here on out.

Clearly the biggest loser in this whole ordeal is the fans. The draft becomes less exciting because draft-day-trades can only include picks for picks and not player swaps. No players that are drafted can be signed until an agreement is reached, leaving new players and old players in a sort of limbo, not knowing when and where their futures lie. Fans usually excited about the draft and impending free-agency, or prepping their fantasy teams, will be left hoping for a season at all. What good is a fall Sunday on the couch with no football? What else is exciting about a Monday night?

Not all is doom and gloom for fans though. College football isn’t going anywhere, and although the sanction-ridden league constantly has problems, nothing will ever stop the games from being played. Players that might jump to the NFL early will stick around, and NFL coaches that are out of jobs could jump into the college game, making the product on the field that much better. With the added attention to the college game, perhaps something will be done about the awful BCS system and the lack of playoffs.

Television networks could also capitalize on a lack of football, putting premier shows on Sunday or Monday nights, or trying out some new pilots for the future.

The last time there was serious labor problems in the NFL was 1987 when there was a player strike, and the NFL brought in replacement players. They could attempt the same thing this year, but the lack of star power would make it a tough product to sell.

Another interesting idea that has been out there is the players creating their own league to force the owners’ hands. Former and current players would simply create and run their own league, or could even join the UFL, making it relevant and sliding around the NFL’s demands. Several networks would rush to pick up TV contracts, and there are plenty of stadiums around the country that would fill up to see an NFL game, minus the NFL tag. This would give the players all the power, forcing the NFL to make concessions, or disappear forever. Imagine Jerry Jones with his billion-dollar stadium, and a Dallas Cowboys team that no longer exists.

This is just one proposed idea of many but hopefully the two sides don’t allow things to get that far. The selfishness and greed needs to end and an agreement on how to split billions of dollars from TV contracts, ticket and merchandise sales, sponsorships, etc. needs to be compromised.

Reports stated that the NFL and union were still about $185 million apart when talks broke down on Friday, which is progress, but there were still so many other issues involving free-agency, pensions, safety, the number of games, and rookie salaries that the two sides could not agree on.

The union also had a problem with NFL owners not opening their books to prove that they needed the money they were claiming, citing a problem of trust and transparency.

So although it may be a tough pill to swallow for fans out there. Don’t give up. Things will work out in some way, and regardless, there will be good TV in the fall NFL or not. The “fat cats” in this issue will not come out on top, and hopefully in the end the game will once again be the most important aspect, the game for the fans.

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