Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans title chances now.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
APIn case you haven't noticed, the three-year blueprint has become passé in the NFL. Teams now have moved into the quick-fix phase. And thanks to what Tony Sparano, Mike Smith and John Harbaugh did last year, the bar has been raised even higher.
Those first-year coaches came in and gave their teams instant facelifts. Sparano took a Dolphins team that went 1-15 in 2007 and molded it into an 11-5 club in 2008; under Smith, the Falcons improved from 4-12 to 11-5; and Harbaugh helped the Ravens flip-flop from 5-11 to 11-5. All three teams made the playoffs.
"You have to admire the jobs that were done in Miami, Atlanta and Baltimore last year," former Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist said.
Other GMs admired those situations, all right. They also wondered why their teams couldn't undergo similar reversals of fortune. Fair or not, what Sparano, Smith and Harbaugh did last season has raised the expectations for new coaches taking over losing teams.
"I guess everyone is looking for that from 1-15 to 11-5 Miami Dolphin kind of deal," CBS analyst Randy Cross said.
Nine teams will have new coaches in 2009 (we're excluding the 49ers and Raiders, whose coaches took over during the 2008 season): Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, the New York Jets, St. Louis, Seattle and Tampa Bay.
Five of those teams — the Browns, Chiefs, Lions, Rams and Seahawks — had losing records last season.
Don't expect to see a triple turnaround a la the Dolphins, Falcons and Ravens in 2009, but these three first-year coaches have the best chance of producing quantum leaps.
Jim Mora, Seahawks
Mora already has head-coaching experience, having guided the Falcons to a 26-22 mark in three seasons (2004-06). In 2004, he became the eighth rookie coach to win 11 games as Atlanta finished first in the AFC South and advanced to the NFC championship game.
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Matt Hasselbeck may not be a premier quarterback, but more than half of the teams in the NFL wish they had him. Veteran wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and rookie linebacker Aaron Curry were key additions. If the Seahawks can avoid injuries—a major problem last season—Mora has the best chance of the new coaches to make a turnaround.
"Of that group, he's got the closest to a playoff type team—if they stay healthy," Cross said.
Steve Spagnuolo, Rams
He has built a reputation as a defensive guru, having been an assistant under Jim Johnson in Philadelphia and then becoming the coordinator in New York, where his masterful game plan helped the Giants upset the perfect Patriots in Super Bowl 42.
Although the Rams' wide receivers are young and inexperienced, the offense has two potent weapons in Steven Jackson, the best all-around running back in the league if he can stay healthy, and Marc Bulger, an effective quarterback if he can stay protected.
"Bulger has the capability of not necessarily putting the team on his shoulders," Sundquist said, "but not making a multitude of mistakes that will put them in bad situations."
The defense doesn't scare anyone yet, but it appears to be cultivating potential playmakers in linemen Chris Long and Adam Carriker and safety Oshiomogho Atogwe.
Eric Mangini, Browns
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The Browns have two young quarterbacks in Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. The question is: Who will emerge to be the consistent leader the offense needs? On defense, nose tackle Shaun Rogers is a load.
"There are coaches who have waited entire careers to have a guy in the middle who can do the things Shaun Rogers can do," Cross said.
If Mangini can get his players to buy into his demanding management style quickly, they have a chance to be better in 2009. But with the Steelers and Ravens in the same division, it will be a challenge to improve by much.
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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Previewing the 2009 season Ten teams who will rebound from 2008, our All-Pros, players ready to star and more. |
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 | Super Bowl XLVI shots See the best moments before, during and after the Giants' win over the Patriots more photos |
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Kobe Bryant as the New York Knicks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.
