Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers / Photo: Newscom

Well, as expected, a lot of people watched on Fox—29.8 million viewers, in fact. That made the game the most-watched program on television since the Academy Awards back on February 22 (36.3 million viewers). The Vikings-Packers viewership tops that of the season finales of popular prime time programming including American Idol, CSI, and Dancing with the Stars, as well as all regular-season and championship coverage of other sports. Pretty impressive.

Source: NFL Media

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Vikings, Packers Draw 29.8 Million Viewers

Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers / Photo: Newscom

For one rookie, he will follow the NFL path of not only his father, but also his grandfather. Linebacker Clay Matthews, a first-round Draft pick of the Green Bay Packers this year out of Southern California, is the son of former Cleveland and Atlanta linebacker Clay Matthews, Jr. And grandson of Clay Matthews, Sr., a two-way lineman with San Francisco in the early 1950s.

When Clay takes the field for the first time on Kickoff Sunday September 13, the Matthewses will become only the second family with three generations of NFL players, joining the Pyne family (George, Jr., George III and Jim).

Clay’s uncle, Bruce, a Pro Football Hall of Fame lineman for the Oilers-Titans franchise, is now in his first season as an assistant offensive coach with the Houston Texans:

“Clay did his part, without a doubt, by working hard. The kid takes care of his body, eats right, and his reputation is that no one outworks him. That was a lot like his dad. His attitude was that you may have a head start on me or you may have a little lead on me, but through time and hard work, I’m going to find a way.”

For Clay, comparisons to his father, a four-time Pro Bowl linebacker for Cleveland, will be inevitable. But he’s up to the challenge of building his own NFL legacy:

“I never felt pressure from any of them to play football. It’s not something my dad ever pushed on us. He’s not one of those fathers who ever said, ‘You need to do this or do that.’ He’s always been very supportive of our decisions and steered us in the right directions. The pressure that I feel is more from myself to be successful. Maybe some of it stems from having such a successful family, but also just from the fact that I want to be the best – not just in football, but in everything in life.”

Clay may be the latest member of the Matthews clan to achieve his NFL dream, but he’s not likely to be the last. There are already two more Matthewses in the football pipeline. Clay’s brother, Casey, is a linebacker at Oregon and Bruce’s son, Kevin, is the starting center at Texas A&M.

Seven other rookies can join the NFL fathers-sons list this year: Buffalo safety Jairus Byrd, son of former San Diego cornerback Gill, Sr.; Dallas kicker David Buehler, son of former Oakland and Cleveland guard George; Cincinnati tight end Chase Coffman, son of former Green Bay and Kansas City tight end Paul; Seattle linebacker Aaron Curry, son of former Detroit and Baltimore Colts defensive back Reggie Pinkney; Kansas City defensive back Londen Fryar, son of former New England, Miami, Philadelphia and Washington wide receiver Irving; Chicago defensive tackle Jarron Gilbert, son of former New Orleans offensive tackle Daren; and Cleveland wide receiver Brian Robiskie, son of former Oakland and Miami running back Terry, who is currently the wide receivers coach for Atlanta.

There have been 173 father-son pairs and threesomes that have played in the NFL. The list includes such names as Dorsett (Tony and Anthony); Farr (Mel, Sr.; Mel, Jr.; and Mike); Hasselbeck (Don, Matt and Tim); Kramer (Jerry and Jordan); Klecko (Joe and Dan); Manning (Archie, Peyton and Eli); Metcalf (Terry and Eric); Shula (Don, Dave and Mike); and Winslow (Kellen, Sr. and Kellen, Jr.).

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Father’s Day in September for NFL Rookies

Donald Driver, Green Bay Packers / Image: Zuma Press

I’m not sure what kind of new deal D2 is looking for, but at 34-years-old, he’s obviously trying to cash in one final time before he’s considered over-the-hill. Of course, he’s been looking to rework his contract in each of the past four offseasons, so this is nothing new. And the Packers have accommodated several times by adding days and dollars to his deal. If he’s going to get yet another reworking, I would say now had better be the time. But if history repeats itself, there’s always next year.

Source: Wisconsin State Journal

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Donald Driver Wants a New Contract Again

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Nine months ago I alerted you to a new Travel Channel show featuring Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones. Well, the time has come for that show to premiere. Dhani Tackles the Globe will make its debut tonight at 9 p.m. ET. The first episode is Muay Thai in Thailand. Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is the cultural martial art of Thailand. Its origin dates back to the 1300s. Muay Thai was developed as a form of close combat that used the entire body as a weapon. It’ll be an interesting introduction to what should be a great series.

About Dhani Tackles the Globe

Dhani Jones will need more than shoulder pads where he’s going. This NFL linebacker and Renaissance man is about to embark on a global sports odyssey that will take him anywhere with a scoreboard. By trying his hand at beloved national pastimes from around the globe, Dhani explores the way sports help to define culture. As a top athlete, Dhani will be able to demonstrate the thrills and challenges of each game by playing it himself. Off the field, Dhani immerses himself fully in each city, getting the locals’ take on the best places to eat, drink, shop and sleep. Throughout his travels, Dhani finds the love of sports to be universal, providing common ground wherever he lands.

Sources: Travel Channel, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bengals.com

Dhani Tackles the Globe Episode Two Preview – Schwingen
Dhani Tackles the Globe Episode Three Preview – Rugby
EMQB Interview: Dhani Jones

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Dhani Tackles the Globe: Episode One

Congratulations to Jim Millheim from Cape Coral, Florida. He was the winner of the No Fear “Earn Some Cred” Prize Pack. I fired up the random number generator at 12:01 this morning and selected Jim’s comment. Thanks to everyone who participated. There were 276 entrants in the contest.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

No Fear Prize Pack Winner

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Now that Terrell Owens has been released by the Dallas Cowboys, he’s free to play for any team in the National Football League that wants him. But does any team want him? You can be sure there are at least a few. And in a text message today, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed that interest:

“There are several teams that are interested in signing Terrell. I have been in negotiations with these teams. I will not identify these teams at this time. Terrell and I expect to have a deal in place by the end of next week, if not sooner.”

Whoa, Drew is right on top of this situation. Or so he says. I wouldn’t want T.O. on my team. Besides his selfish, me-first attitude, he’s 35-years-old and second in the NFL (behind only Cleveland Browns receiver Braylon Edwards) in dropped passes last season. Obviously, neither works in his favor. I’m not saying Terrell can’t play anymore. And I’m not saying he can’t be productive. But he’s certainly not the game-breaking receiver he once was. And for all the whining and complaining he does, I don’t think he’s worth the headache. One team after another is expressing their disinterest (or they’re just trying to get his price down before making an offer), but there has to be at least a couple teams (like Drew says) that will be willing to take that chance. Sure, I’ll throw out a few names like everyone else. The Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans or New England Patriots? I guess we’ll find out by the end of next week, if not sooner.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Who Wants Terrell Owens?

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Since Super Bowl XLIII ended, most of the National Football League discussion has been surrounding franchise tags, contract extensions and pink slips. Combined, they lead to the always intriguing and entertaining NFL free agency signing period, which begins a week from today for the 2009 season. Players like Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth are sure to test the market and cash-in — whether in Tennessee or elsewhere. Here are some of the more popular questions and answers regarding free agency. The questions are in bold, the answers are not. You know how it goes:

When can players start being signed in the 2009 National Football League free agency signing period? Beginning at 12:01 AM ET on Friday, February 27. What are the categories of free agency? Players are either “restricted” or “unrestricted” free agents. Within the categories are also “transition” and “franchise” players. What is the time period for free agency signings this year? For restricted free agents, from February 27 to April 17; for unrestricted free agents, from February 27 to July 22 (or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later); and for franchise players, from February 27 until the Tuesday after the 10th week of the season (November 17). What is the difference between a restricted free agent and an unrestricted free agent? Players become restricted free agents when they complete three accrued seasons and their contract expires. Unrestricted free agents have completed four or more accrued seasons with an expired contract. What constitutes an “accrued season?” Six or more regular-season games on a club’s active/inactive, reserved-injured or “physically unable to perform” lists. Other than accrued seasons, what determines a restricted free agent? He has received a “qualifying” offer (a salary level predetermined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and its players) from his old club. He can negotiate with any club through April 17. If the restricted free agent accepts an offer sheet from a new club, his old club can match the offer and retain him because it has the “right of first refusal.” If the old club does not match the offer, it can possibly receive draft-choice compensation depending on the amount of its qualifying offer. If an offer sheet is not executed, the player’s rights revert exclusively to his old club after April 17. What determines an unrestricted free agent? A player with four or more accrued seasons whose contract has expired. He is free to sign with any club, with no compensation owed to his old club, through July 22 (or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later). On July 23, his rights revert to his old club if it made a “tender” offer (110 percent of last year’s salary) to him by June 1. His old club then has until the Tuesday after the 10th week of the season (November 17) to sign him. If he does not sign by November 17, he must sit out the season. If no tender is offered by June 1, the player can be signed by any club at any time throughout the season. What determines a transition player? A club can designate one transition player (or one franchise player) in any given year. The player’s club must offer a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries of last season at the player’s position or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater. A transition player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match within seven days an offer sheet given to the player by another club after his contract expires. If the club matches, it retains the player. If it does not match, it receives no compensation. What determines a franchise player? A club can designate one franchise player (or one transition player) in any given year. The salary level offer by a player’s club determines what type of franchise player he is. An “exclusive” franchise player — not free to sign with another club — is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position for the current year as of April 17, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, or the average of the top five salaries at his position as of the end of last season — whichever of the three is greater. If the player is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries of last season at his position, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, he becomes a “non-exclusive” franchise player and can negotiate with other clubs. His old club can match a new club’s offer, or receive two first-round draft choices if it decides not to match. Can a club decide to withdraw its franchise or transition designations on a player? If so, can it then use them on other players? A club can withdraw its franchise or transition designations and the player then automatically becomes an unrestricted free agent either immediately or when his contract expires. The club cannot name a new franchise or transition player that year. It can name a new franchise or transition player the next year. What is the salary cap for 2009? The salary cap is $123 million per club.

Source: NFL Media, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

2009 NFL Free Agency Q&A

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

The AFC and NFC teams had their first practices today for Sunday’s annual Pro Bowl. This is the 30th straight time the game will be played in Honolulu, but the Pro Bowl will not return to Hawaii in 2010. Next year the game moves to the weekend before the Super Bowl in Miami. Here’s what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had to say about it at his Super Bowl XLIII presser last week:

“The entire premise of shifting the Pro Bowl was to make our event bigger and better than it is right now. We’ve had a great experience in Hawaii. We expect to continue to be in Hawaii. We expect it will be in the rotation. What we thought, though, would be a very interesting alternative would be to play the game as part of the lead up to the Super Bowl. So we’ll be playing it on Sunday night in Miami in advance of the Super Bowl. That will bring more interest, clearly. It will bring more exposure for our great players, and we think be a positive. In addition, we think that while we’ll miss the Super Bowl guys, it really puts an emphasis on team accomplishment. Make it to the Super Bowl: that’s the crowning achievement. But if you get the opportunity to play in the Pro Bowl, it’s a great opportunity and it’s something that you deserve as an individual player, those accolades, and we’d like to put you on the biggest stage, and we believe the biggest stage is prior to the Super Bowl. But we do continue and hope to be in Hawaii.”

I think this is a great decision. As much as I love Hawaii (OK, I’ve never been there but I’ve heard really good things), this game after the Super Bowl is anti-climatic. Kicking off Super Bowl week with the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl game seems like a no-brainer. If it’s successful (and why wouldn’t it be?), I don’t see the Pro Bowl returning to Hawaii anytime in the near future.

Source: NFL Media, Photo: Newscom

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AFC-NFC Pro Bowl Practices Begin

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was presented with the 2008 Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year award today. Joe was one of five finalists for the honor — running back Matt Forte (Bears), running back Chris Johnson (Titans), quarterback Matt Ryan (Falcons) and running back Steve Slaton (Texans).

You might recall that Matt Ryan won the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. So here’s how this thing works. The five finalists were selected because of their outstanding performances throughout the 2008 NFL season. Each week, five nominees were chosen for the Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL fans voted for the winner on NFL.com and via Sprint wireless. Those results were used to help determine the finalists. This was an excellent class of rookies and any one of the five could’ve won. In the end, Joe was nominated for 10 Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week awards and won twice. A record 1,002,500 fan votes were submitted.

Joe deserves this. (I really feel he and Matt Ryan were the front runners for this award because of the difficulty of the position they play.) He finished the season with 2,971 yards passing and 16 touchdowns (14 throwing and two rushing). But his steady improvement and leadership are what I believed really sealed his successful rookie season. In his final 11 games, Joe guided the Ravens into the playoffs with a 9-2 record. And he had a very impressive 90.2 passer rating during that time. I’m more than optimistic about his chances for success next season and beyond.

Note: A bunch of the NFL’s “sponsored” awards were handed out today. I wrote about this one because I was personally invited to it. Of course, it was kind of hard to attend without actually being in Tampa and all. But I appreciated the offer. The other awards handed out today were the Motorola NFL Coach of the Year (Mike Tomlin), FedEx Air (Drew Brees) and Ground (Adrian Peterson) NFL Players of the Year, and the GMC Sierra Defensive Player of the Year (James Harrison). Congrats to all the winners.

Source: NFL.com/rookie, Photo: Newscom

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Joe Flacco: Diet Pepsi NFL ROY

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Here’s an NFL rarity. Green Bay Packers receiver Greg Jennings won’t discuss a potential new contract until after the season is over. He doesn’t want to be a distraction to his teammates. Not even after quarterback Aaron Rodgers got his new deal this afternoon. Greg’s deal is not set to expire until after the 2009 season, but Monday is the deadline for NFL teams to apply any increase in a player’s base salary to the 2008 salary cap. This allows teams to use up any available room they have now. Well, the Packers have (ok, had) more than $20 million of salary cap space to burn and they could use up a good chunk of it to offer someone like Greg an extension. You know he would certainly appreciate it now, but he’s willing to keep things quiet and put the team first:

“I don’t want to be a distraction. I’m not trying to make a big deal out of anything that would take away from the team. I don’t want to do any of that. If there is something going on, I don’t even want to know about it.”

What a class act, especially considering that Greg (statistically) is one of the best receivers in the NFL right now (second in receiving yards and tied for 16th in receptions). All that while making a base salary of $445,000 this year. Give that man a new contract. But do it quietly.

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Photo: Newscom

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Greg Jennings Needs a New Contract