1. Even with Restructured Contract, Jonathan Vilma Shouldn't Be in Saints' Plans

    Linebacker Jonathan Vilma is scheduled to make a base salary of $4.8 million in 2013 and will cost the New Orleans Saints approximately $8.68 million because of some dead money and bonuses brought forward...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 3 months ago 4,981 reads 45 comments

  2. Why Michael Turner Shouldn't Be Cut by the Atlanta Falcons to Create Cap Space

    It’s a very popular sentiment right now to cast Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner out like last night’s trash...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 3 months ago 5,520 reads 51 comments

  3. 5 Ways the Carolina Panthers Can Save Money Heading into Free Agency

    The Carolina Panthers have 31 days to make some serious decisions regarding free agency. On March 12 the Panthers have to be below the cap, which the NFL set at $121.1 million for 2013...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 3 months ago 4,894 reads 27 comments

  4. True Winner of New Orleans DC Hire Is Rob Ryan, Not Saints

    The real winner, the true benefactor of Saturday’s big defensive coordinator hire in New Orleans was not the Saints , as it should be, but Rob Ryan , who was hired. On Saturday the Saints announced two coaching hires...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 3 months ago 5,925 reads 22 comments

  5. Carolina Panthers Playing More 3-4 Scheme Is Only Realistic on Paper

    Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott stated recently on an in-house radio show produced by the Panthers’ web staff that the team might experiment more with a 3-4 defense in 2013...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 3 months ago 3,644 reads 24 comments

  6. Atlanta Falcons: Position-by-Position Breakdown Heading into the 2013 Offseason

    The Atlanta Falcons fell just 10 yards shy of a trip to the Super Bowl in 2012. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but in the NFL , you must regroup and build again every offseason to make sure that your team stays on top...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 3 months ago 7,224 reads 17 comments

  7. Why 49ers' Jim Tomsula Is Right for New Orleans Saints as Defensive Coordinator

    When the NFL agreed to let head coach Sean Payton return to the New Orleans Saints a few weeks early from his year-long suspension he didn ’t waste time making a decision to cut ties with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo ...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 7,161 reads 27 comments

  8. Why Julio Jones Is Better Than Calvin Johnson

    Even though Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson recently broke Jerry Rice’s single-season receiving record and piled on 1,964 yards this year, NFL ...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 3,998 reads 34 comments

  9. Cam Newton's Red-Hot Finish Promises Even More Fireworks in 2013

    The hype and expectations heading into the 2012 season were amazing after Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton took his own pen to the NFL record book during his rookie season...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 4,388 reads 20 comments

  10. 4 Players Who Will Shine in New Orleans New 3-4 Scheme

    The New Orleans Saints had to make the move from a 4-3 style defense to a 3-4, and the switch was only partly to get as far away from the Steve Spagnuolo regime as possible...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 5,908 reads 48 comments

  11. What's Next for Sean Payton, Saints with Bountygate in the Rearview Mirror?

    Now that Sean Payton has been reinstated by the NFL with free reign to jump in and begin his involvement in team activities, the New Orleans Saints head coach must make some very tough decisions...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 8,033 reads 79 comments

  12. Joe Vitt Will 'Never Forget' What Saints Went Through Without Sean Payton

    New Orleans Saints assistant coach Joe Vitt sounds as if he’s a ball of emotion. If this were Hollywood and not the NFL , I bet he’d be off plotting revenge...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 1,319 reads 11 comments

  13. Losing Tony Gonzalez Will Devastate the Atlanta Falcons Offense

    Tight end Tony Gonzalez is a surefire, first-ballot Hall of Famer. No tight end in the history of the NFL has caught more passes (1,242) or tallied more receiving yards (14,268) ...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 5,636 reads 58 comments

  14. 49ers vs. Falcons: Blowing Early Leads Is Something Atlanta Falcons Must Address

    The Atlanta Falcons didn’t shake a monkey off the back of the franchise with a win in the divisional round of the playoffs last week against the Seattle Seahawks . They just replaced it with a new monkey: the blown lead...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 2,634 reads 38 comments

  15. City of Atlanta Going Bonkers with NFC Championship Fever

    Since the city of Atlanta was awarded its NFL franchise in 1966, the Atlanta Falcons have made it to the NFC Championship Game just twice—in 1998 and 2004. The city has never hosted the game...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 4,307 reads 40 comments

  16. Carolina Panthers Make Easy Choice with Mike Shula for Offensive Coordinator

    The Carolina Panthers made the easy choice and the right choice for the franchise’s new offensive coordinator Friday when the Panthers announced quarterbacks coach Mike Shula was promoted to the head job with the offense...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 4,167 reads 8 comments

  17. Believe It or Not, Matt Ryan Is the NFL's Most Clutch Quarterback

    When Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan took the football with 25 seconds left to play in Sunday’s divisional-round playoff game and drove the offense 41 yards to set ...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 4,947 reads 77 comments

  18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Silly Not to Extend QB Josh Freeman

    According to ESPN ’s John Clayton, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have well over $30 million in cap space as the team enters the offseason leading up to the 2013 season...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 3,260 reads 63 comments

  19. 4.5 Plays That Changed the Direction of the Falcons Franchise

    Sunday’s win over the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs might have been one of the most important wins in the history of the Atlanta Falcons franchise...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 2,383 reads 3 comments

  20. Seahawks vs. Falcons: No More Tears for the Falcons, Except Tony Gonzalez

    Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez handed out an uncountable number of smiles and hugs, was unable to fight back tears of joy and ran off the Georgia Dome field fists pumping ...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 2,806 reads 14 comments

  21. Losing OC Rob Chudzinski a Blessing in Disguise for Carolina Panthers

    The decision-making processes that have been occurring in Charlotte, N.C. over the past few weeks in the Carolina Panthers ’ front office have been nothing short of ass-backwards...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 8,352 reads 26 comments

  22. Dave Gettleman Has Financial Mess to Clean Up as Carolina Panthers' New GM

    It’s somewhat easy to quantify the job security, and to some extent, the level of how good an NFL head coach is doing his job. It comes down to wins and losses for the most part...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 3,951 reads 43 comments

  23. Bad News, Seahawks Fans: There's No Way Brandon Browner Can Cover Julio Jones

    Batman and Robin, Wayne and Garth, and even Cliff Clavin and Norm Peterson—history is full of dynamic duos...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 7,465 reads 129 comments

  24. 8 Reasons the Atlanta Falcons Will Beat the Seattle Seahawks

    The Atlanta Falcons will host the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs Sunday, January 13 at 1 p.m. in the Georgia Dome...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 4 months ago 12,155 reads 224 comments

  25. The Atlanta Falcons Would Much Rather Face the Seattle Seahawks in the Playoffs

    Once the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-10 on Saturday in the NFC Wild Card Round of the playoffs, the pool of possible playoff opponents for the Atlanta Falcons ...

    Knox Bardeen Written by Knox Bardeen about 5 months ago 12,479 reads 64 comments