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EARLY EDITION
Pick 'em: Scout.com NFL experts Randy Taylor and Adam Caplan weigh in
with their Wild Card Weekend
picks. Check 'em out and see if you agree.
Coming to your favorite team in 2007? At our Lions site, Scout.com
subscribers can take a look at Detroit's draft and free agency forecast. Stay in
the loop on who might be available to join your favorite team, like breakout
WR Mike Furrey and DT Cory Redding, by checking out this report.
Falcon hunting: Steelers offensive coordinator Ken
Whisenhunt was in Atlanta on Thursday and offensive line coach Russ Grimm is
scheduled to go there next week. Both are expected to interview for Bill
Cowher's spot after he announces his retirement on Friday. The Falcons are
interviewing Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera on Friday and are expected
to interview San Diego offensive coordinator Cam Cameron this weekend. They have
reportedly also expressed interest in talking to 49ers assistant head coach Mike
Singletary.
 | | Giants WR Plaxico Burress (Grant Halverson/Getty Images) |
Key Matchup: Chuck Hixson takes a look at the
big Sunday matchup between Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress and the Philly secondary at our Eagles site.
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is quoted
in the article as saying, "I don’t think we’ve
got anybody close to tall enough to match up with him right now. The guy is
6’6”, so it’s always going to be a little bit of a problem. I think there
are times guys just have to make sure they’ve got great position on him."
But Hixson thinks there's another solution to minimizing Burress' contribution,
and he provides his analysis in
this Scout.com subscribers feature.
Miami's search begins: According to a Fox Sports report, the Dolphins are
showing interest in former Falcons coach Jim Mora, Bears offensive coordinator
Ron Turner and defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, former Dolphins offensive
coordinator Chan Gailey (who is currently the head coach at Georgia Tech), San
Diego offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and Vikings defensive coordinator Mike
Tomlin.
Who will win? Our Chiefs and Colts sites collaborated to present
their top five reasons that their respective teams would win on Saturday. From
our Colts' site's perspective, one important point is that the return of safety
Bob Sanders is a big plus for Indy, but not just because of his tackling skills
against the run. "The return of Sanders does one other very important thing
for the Colts defense. It allows them to return former first-round pick Marlin
Jackson back to the nickel back position instead of filling in at safety as he
has during most of the second half of the season. That not only improves their
pass defense, it puts a nickel back on the field who can help against the run,
as Jackson is a hitter as well." And our Chiefs site mentions in one of
their five points that, "The Colts will be so worried about stopping [RB
Larry] Johnson, they'll forget about tight end Tony Gonzalez, who should be wide
open time and again in the middle of Indy’s Cover Two." Scout.com
subscribers can read their full analysis from an insider's perspective by
clicking here.
Back in business: Saints WR Joe Horn will be ready for next weekend's
divisional playoffs as he returned to practice on Thursday. Horn's missed the
last four weeks of the regular season with a partially torn groin muscle.
 | | Ravens OT Jonathan Ogden (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) |
The voice of experience: In addition to having at least one
home game and a bye, the Ravens have another advantage in this year's AFC
playoffs. Aaron Wilson at our Baltimore site points out that, "Twenty six
of the Ravens’ 53 active players have been in at least one playoff game. Plus,
still remaining on the team, including offensive guard Edwin Mulitalo who’s on
injured reserve, from the 2000 Super Bowl team: middle linebacker Ray Lewis,
running back Jamal Lewis, center Mike Flynn, kicker Matt Stover, cornerback
Chris McAlister, offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden and linebacker Adalius
Thomas." Scout.com
subscribers can enjoy the full article with player comments here.
Cardinals candidates: Former Packers head coach Mike Sherman
interviewed with the Cardinals on Thursday about their head coach position.
Arizona's busy interview schedule includes Steelers offensive coordinator Ken
Whisenhunt on Friday, San Diego offensive coordinator Cam Cameron on Saturday,
Colts assistant head coach Jim Caldwell on Sunday, Titans offensive coordinator
Norm Chow on Monday, and Steelers offensive line coach Russ Grim on Tuesday.
Professional wake-up call: Get a great glimpse into the real
life of an NFL player who was shocked at being released earlier this year in the
final wave of Minnesota's training camp cuts and struggled to find another
opportunity. It was a revelation for Vikings LB Rod Davis, who will be entering
free agency this offseason. "A team kind of charts who is going to be
released throughout the preseason, and I was surprised how they set up who they
were going to take off the wire," he said. "I wasn’t in nobody’s
plans because nobody thought I would be released ... teams were calling my agent
thinking there was something wrong with me, thinking I was hurt." Learn
more about the harsh realities of the business side of the NFL in
this Scout.com subscribers feature.
Giving the boot...ummm... the boot: Chargers QB Philip Rivers sprained his foot
last Sunday and wore a protective boot this week until yesterday's practice in
San Diego.
An abundance of questions: Cleveland finished the year with more
questions than answers, and at
our Browns site, you can find out more about the current state of the team
and many of the talent and coaching issues they need to address during the
offseason. In a separate article, Scout.com
subscribers can take a peek at who the experts believe the team should
select with their first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
Got something to say about today's NFL Blog? Well then hit your favorite
team's Fan Forum here at Scout.com and start up a thread on it!
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