Birmingham Bulls players get ready for kickoff – taken by Lawrence Vos

It’s only my second year being a dad, so to share my three favourite things on the planet on Father’s Day was a real treat.

My wife and daughter joined me for a local battle between the Birmingham Bulls and the Coventry Jets in my home town of Birmingham (UK).

It was great fun to see some live Britball, having not been to a domestic game for many many years.

The home team Bulls did not look good, with an overweight and slow quarterback, an anemic running game and a pass defense worse than my Washington Redskins.

The games opening score was around a 60 yard pass from Jets QB (#17) to wide receiver (#85). From then on until near to the half it was all Coventry.We only stayed for the first half as the 50 or so fans had to make the decision if they wanted to watch the game as it started to spit down. With a 1 year old daughter it was time to go, but to anyone who is in the UK you should check out some homegrown american football action.

Airing it out – the Jets live up to their name.

The game had no entry fee and access to get right close up to the action. Hopefully if the weather improves I will be going back with the family and will make sure there is a full picnic and foldaway chairs.

Coventry Jets had no problem scoring in the first half.

Okoye will face the toughest battle of his life to make the 49ers opening day roster

The 2013 NFL Draft is over and for those athletes who have spent the last 15 years playing different levels of American Football it maybe time to look for an office job.

For those not selected in this year’s draft there is a ‘lifeline’ in the annual scramble by NFL teams to stock up with undrafted rookie free-agents – the guys who most likely end up as camp fodder or find a home on a practice squad.

These men will hope and pray that the years of running up and down the bleachers in full uniform whilst being shouted at by their maniacal head-coach was all worth it as they strive to upset the odds and end up playing in the NFL.

For one person just signed by the San Francisco 49ers the odds have not only been defied, frankly they have been annihilated.

The man in question has not only never played a single game of competitive American Football in his life, he is in fact not even from North America, or any part of the land of the free.

Lawrence Okoye is 21, from Croydon in England and an Olympic veteran in the discus (having finished 12th in the London Olympics).

Okoye is joined by Menelik Watson, now officially the highest drafted Brit in NFL history, having been selected at 41 overall (2nd round) by the Oakland Raiders.

Watson’s story is also remarkable, considering the impoverished environment he grew up in during his childhood and early teens in Manchester. Watson originally moved to America to pursue his hoop dreams as a basketball player, but he turned to American Football and went on to star at one of college’s traditional powerhouse teams, the Florida State Seminoles (the team that gave the world Deion Sanders – or is it Leon Sandcastle?).

Having visited both Candlestick Park and the Oakland Coliseum (the names the stadiums used to be called) I know Okoye and Watson will immediately fall in love with the Californian lifestyle, the weather, the food and the people.

Watson will be expected to start as a rookie offensive tackle, maybe not for week one, but definitely by the middle of the season. For Okoye it will be a far tougher journey if he is to be wearing a golden helmet come Week 1 of the 2013 regular season.

Okoye has joined a team that had a terrific draft and was only a Michael Crabtree catch away from winning their sixth Super Bowl just two months ago.

Unrestricted free agents face adversity that drafted players do not, as they have to work twice as hard, for little guaranteed money and no guaranteed playing time. Okoye may have a famous name, sharing it with former Kansas City Chiefs running back Christian ‘the Nigerian Nightmare’ Okoye, but he has absolutely no NFL experience.

Learning behind the likes of All-Pro defensive tackle Justin Smith, Okoye has landed in a situation where he is surrounded by superstars, and one of the top coaches in the entire NFL in Jim Harbaugh, a master strategist and former NFL quarterback.

Unfortunately the 49er and the Raiders do not meet in the regular season in 2013, and the likelihood of both teams facing each other in the Super Bowl is the same odds as the Washington Redskins signing me to backup RG3.

It is an incredibly exciting time for English NFL fans, and if somehow Okoye manages to get himself a place in the 49ers 53 man roster come September he could be making one of the most high-profile returns to home any athlete has ever made.

Mark the date – October 27 2013 – San Francisco 49ers v Jacksonville Jaguars – location Wembley Stadium, London, England.

Now the cynics among you may think the NFL executives in London have tried to ‘sell-in’ signing Okoye to the four teams coming to England this year, but that collusion disappears once the signing is over and Lawrence starts going up against the likes of Joe Staley and Mike Iuapati in 49ers training camp.

If you were to have approached me 20 years ago and said that NFL teams would be playing regular season home games in London and that Brits would be either drafted in the top 50 and picked up without playing a single down I would have said put down the crack pipe.

These are extraordinary times, and I love the fact I can write about it from the comfort of my living room eating a beef burrito.

Roll on the 2013 NFL season.

My picture of former #1 overall pick Carson Palmer playing in Miami in 2012.

The last time i tried to do a Mock Draft (in 2012) I think I got about three or four picks correct and one player matched to the right team but at the wrong slot.

This time around I’m not going to make a fool of myself and hazard a big ol’ bunch of guesses, considering     the only college game I have any clear recollection of watching was the BCS title game.

To be fair to myself I have done a fair whack of reading about this year’s class of college athletes, from news sites to going on candidates college team websites.

This draft class by most estimations is a bunch of duds. That is if you believe what cynical reporters say. The fact of the matter is that they are just bitter that they cannot predict the order of who will go where, as there are no Andrew Luck or RGIII’s sitting there amongst the cream of the crop.

It’s true not many offensive linemen are used to front up national advertising campaigns, but they do something far more important, they win teams football games, and winning in January helps you get to a Super Bowl.

So what if there is not a big bunch of quarterbacks and running backs projected to go in the top ten (or even 20 to 30) teams in need of improving or even dragging themselves back from the brink need to build by getting quality offensive and defensive linemen.

This draft is rich in big bodies, newly sculpted big bodies, ones that look like walking oak trees. Bulk is on it’s way out and being replaced by athletic, toned and nimble men who eat right, train hard and are highly intelligent.

2013 may not go down as a classic for big names and big buzz, but the moves made on Thursday and Friday may be the ones that turn around the fortune of a franchise. Just ask the St Louis Rams. Their two trips to the Super Bowl may have featured a once in a lifetime group of skill players such as Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce, but without the blocking of Orlando Pace I would say that we would not have seen Dick Vermiel lift a Lombardi Trophy.

I’ll be fast asleep when round one takes place, but I do have a day off work to pour over the first round selections on Friday morning.

The first 32 picks will include plenty of twists and turns I am sure, with teams jockeying to move up and down, making any kind of predicting absolutely futile.

My advice, just sit back, crack open a beer and enjoy the draft unfolding in front of you. With all media partners agreeing to not spoil the pick announcements with ‘green room’ coverage the moment big ginger G goes to the podium will be both entertaining and surprising.

If the Redskins want to make my day they could always try and trade up into the first, but regardless it will be a fun event and   one I will watch plenty of highlights of on Friday morning.

Third time lucky for Kevin Kolb.

With the 2013 NFL Draft under a week away, as is par for the course, the talk is dominated by the projected location of rookie quarterbacks.

Unlike 2012 when you were guaranteed quarterbacks going number one and two overall the situation for this position (in terms of projected draft selection) is muddier than a Mississippi mud-pie.

The passer generating the highest volume of column inches and podcast megabytes is West Virginia’s Geno Smith.

Depending on who you read or listen to Smith could get selected as early as number one by the Kansas City Chiefs and possibly fall to the late 20′s and get scooped by a team able to trade back up into the first round.

The way I see it is the Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills are the only likely candidates for Smith. as the other 27 NFL teams either have a veteran quarterback entrenched or a young quarterback they are still testing out (or in Cleveland’s case a second year qb nearing his pension).

Whittling this down you have Kansas City (Alex Smith), Arizona (Carson Palmer) and Buffalo (Kevin Kolb) who have all invested in veteran free agents and Oakland who have also signed a veteran free agent, but a completely unproven one in Matt Flynn. This leaves the Jaguars as the team with the weakest starting quarterback in the league, Blaine Gabbert.

Alex Smith and Palmer are former number one overall picks, and by my reckoning Geno Smith will, by virtue of the value of his position either go number two to the Jaguars, or he will fall faster than Tarzan trying to swing through the trees holding a pat of butter in each hand.

It does leave teams the Bills, Chiefs, Raiders and Cardinals with something to consider as their ‘new’ veteran signal callers could find the situation they move into strictly a temporary stop if they do not perform immediately. This means playoffs immediately in 2013.

Of these four teams I find the most interesting story to be that of the Buffalo Bills and Kevin Kolb. A lot of draft experts in America think that the Bills are going to take the plunge and rise up to the waterline having netted Geno Smith, but I think Kevin Kolb has found a place where he can finally establish his career in the NFL.

Kolb has only played 21 games in six seasons, so he has the advantage of half a dozen seasons learning about schemes and studying the intricacies of the game but under 4 games a season actually playing. This lack of games played has advantages in terms of freshness, but disadvantages in terms of a proven ability to play a full season, something every coach, GM, team-mate and fan wants to see.

Kolb has been injury prone, and as a result never played more than nine games in a season, but as recently as last season he helped the Arizona Cardinals to a surprising 4-0 record. Yes Kolb’s record turned south quickly to 4-2 before the injury bug struck, but this was behind a pedestrian offensive line and a seemingly ever-changing backfield.

If Geno Smith is still on the board when the Buffalo Bills pick at number eight then he may end up getting used to the cold weather, but I will be rooting for Kevin Kolb to finally get his shot at leading a team for a whole season and beyond.

Yes there is a scenario where the Bills draft Smith and let him carry a clipboard as a rookie, but more and more the old-school scenario of letting a quarterback learn the ropes before the spotlight shines on him is becoming scarce.

Kolb himself did not throw a pass as an Eagles rookie, he just took some sacks in a blowout win over the Detroit Lions (in 2007).

Life has changed and I don’t see a happy families situation for Kolb and Smith together. Let’s hope the only time they both see the field together in 2013 is as opponents.

Unlike the debacle that is the current NCAA College football post-season, the basketball post-season is at least simple to follow. It is a simple knockout tournament. You win you stay alive. You keep winning you get to the ‘final four’ and then a chance to lift the shiny trophy.

The NFL have tried to capitalise on this wave of ‘bracketology’ discussions by launching their own knockout competition to decide the greatest ever NFL play.

With the parallel timing of the ‘final four’ NFL plays and the ‘final-four’ NCAA College Basketball games it’s all about getting to the final this weekend.

I am a little saddened that the final four NFL plays are dominated by modern-day plays; Marshawn Lynch running ‘beast-mode’ (2011); DeSean Jackson’s game winning punt-return touchdown (2010); Troy Polamalu’s ‘over-the-top’ tackle (2010). The remaining play is from 1988, Steve Young’s insane run through the entire Minnesota Vikings defense, and it is without doubt the best of the four (in my eyes).

If I had it my way I would have made the top 64 plays far more eclectic, with one play from every year over the last 64 seasons.

So where would I go with my top plays of all time? It’s a tough call and I don’t know the order quite yet, but here I go with some of my personal favourites…

• Leonard Marshall forcing a fumble by Joe Montana in the 1991 NFC Championship game. I was 17 at the time and thought Joe Montana was invincible. That single play knocked the stuffing out of ‘Joe Cool’ and it was five Giants field-goals that gave the visiting team the win.
• Darrell Green’s punt-return in the 1987 Divisional playoffs. Withe the scores tied 14-14 and a minus 10 wind-chill factor Green picked up a punt around midfield and ran it back for a score. Green had been playing cornerback all game and even tore his own rib cartilage half-way through the return after hurdling over a wannabe tackler.

• Eli Manning’s 10 yard touchdown run at Wembley in 2007. For the 81,176 fans at the first ever regular season NFL game played in England it was the realisation of the dreams of fans like myself, who fell in love with the sport at a very young age but never even imagined they could see real NFL teams in a real NFL regular-season game. Manning’s scramble and the whole game may have been soggy and scrappy, but right there and then the NFL had truly ‘touched-down’ in England. 
• Santana Moss’s 70 yard touchdown catch in 2005. Under four minutes left, down 13-0 and in Texas, Redskins wideout Moss caught not one but two bombs delivered by Mark Brunell. The second, a 70 yard catch, was the winner and helped his team to make it into the playoffs (later in the season).

More to come soon, but what do you think so far?

#83 Brandon Myers – some shrewd business for the New York Giants

With NFL Free Agency 2013 calming down somewhat (unless you are the Baltimore Ravens) it’s time to reflect on some of the key moves.

Now most pundits will focus on the impact of Wes Welker moving from the New England Patriots to the Denver Broncos or the ‘Fax-Gate’ scandal that saw the Baltimore Ravens snag Elvis Dumervil.

Myself, having played a season in England for the Crawley Raiders II as a tight-end, I want to spend some time looking at some of the Free Agency movement involving this position, and look at some very early projections for those who have moved and those who have inked deals in the past month to remain with their current team.

Before looking at some of the deck shuffling it’s worth reflecting on the rise of the importance of the tight-end.

We have witnessed the evolution of a two tight-end set from the old-school two tight-end set of five or so years ago when the Kansas City Chiefs would deploy Tony Gonzales as a real weapon and Jason Dunn as essentially a sixth offensive lineman to the almost unstoppable combination of New England Patriots duo Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez (when both are fit).

I’m unable to do more than guess here but it sure feels that proportionally the number of catches made by the tight-end position on all 32 NFL teams has risen over the past five years. The majority of NFL teams have factored in the tight-end as a core offensive weapon and not a secondary or dump-off target for a quarterback looking for a cheap completion on a busted play.

So here are my top five tight-end free agency moves (in no particular order):

#1 – Brandon Myers – Oakland Raiders to New York Giants

I had the privilege of seeing Myers play live against the Dolphins just six months ago and despite not being anywhere near a household name he was the most reliable target for Carson Palmer. Myers deserves a bigger, brighter stage and there is no better place than the Big Apple to show what you are made of. After 32 catches in his first three seasons Myers pretty much exploded onto the scene in 2012 with 79 catches for 806 yards. Big Blue fans love a hard working reliable tight-end – names like Mark Bavaro and Jeremy Shockey are pretty hard to live up to, but Myers has the skills to settle in immediately. Eli Manning will be happy that he has a safe pair of hands to throw to as he looks to get the Giants back into the postseason.

2013 prediction – 75 catches for 750 yards and 7 tds

#2 – James Casey – Houston Texans to Philadelphia Eagles

Casey was woefully misused by the Houston Texans as a hybrid fullback and despite only 66 career catches, and similar to Myers, he enters his fifth NFL season with a huge opportunity to make a big impact with his new team. That team, the Philadelphia Eagles has a new coach, a new philosophy and a quarterback who is returning for his fifth season in the home of Rocky Balboa. this equates to the ‘land of opportunity’ for Casey, much like the ‘line’ given to Rocky by that greasy haired promoter.

2013 prediction – 57 catches 520 yards and 5 tds

#3 – Delanie Walker – San Francisco 49ers to Tennessee Titans

Without doubt an unsung hero on his old team, Walker had a habit of coming up with big catches in big situations. Having spent seven seasons on the West Coast, Walker never had a real chance to shine, providing a support role to Vernon Davies over every one of the past seven seasons. With Jared Cook’s locker not even emptied Walker will be hoping to slot in as a starter. It’s quite a rare situation to be a backup tight-end for seven seasons before moving into a starting role. Walker is the kind of player you root for, but Jake Locker is a significant downgrade on Colin Kaepernick. Walker will not be going back to a Super Bowl anytime soon with the Titans, but he should have his best career statistical output in 2013.

2013 prediction – 48 catches for 580 yards and 3 tds

#4 – Dustin Keller – New York Jets to Miami Dolphins

When you are being targeted by Mark Sanchez, and have a backup who is better known for kneeling down than throwing a forward pass then being able to escape that situation must be like a breath of sweet Florida sunshine air. Talking of Florida sunshine that is exactly where Keller is now plying his trade as a Miami Dolphins starter. Keller will replace, and upgrade the play of Anthony Fasano. Now Keller was injured for half of 2012, but he is not known as injury prone. He has averaged 48 catches a season over five years, but he has been held back by average to poor quarterback play. In Miami Ryan Tannehill was the forgotten man as other 2012 rookie quarterbacks such as Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck commanded the headlines. Keller and Tannehill need to set up a strong bond in camp, and if they do it could mean very good news for Fish fans.

2013 prediction – 66 catches for 670 yards and 5 tds

#5 – Jared Cook – Tennessee Titans to St Louis Rams 

Potential is a funny old word. To me its a way of saying expectations being unfulfilled. A bit like the career so far of Jared Cook, all 6 ft 5 inches of him. Cook has again been let down by some average quarterback play and some bad play-calling. In St Louis he will need to work alongside Lance Kendricks. Both had almost identical stats in 2012, so something will have to give. I think Cook will get around 65% to 70% of the tight end targets from Sam Bradford. The Rams are going to be intriguing to watch in 2013 with a new look backfield and the marauding Cook exploiting any safety coverage mismatches.

2013 prediction – 65 catches for 740 yards and 4 touchdowns

Other notable moves include Tony Gonzales remaining at the Atlanta Falcons for one more shot at a Super Bowl, and Martellus Bennett (Giants to Chicago Bears) which could work if Jay Cutler realises that there is actually another offensive target aside Brandon Marshall.

There is also the rather low-key saga of where current Washington Redskins tight-end Fred Davis will end up in 2013 – Buffalo, New York or back in D.C being the three main contenders.

How do you rate your teams tight-end depth and would you have liked to have seen one of my top five free-agent tight-ends joining your team?

Please – no more doubt(hy) in the Redskins secondary

Drafting the saviour of your team, winning your division and having three players in the same defensive position play in the Pro Bowl, all in the same season, should be cause for celebration for Washington Redskins fans.

But scratch under the surface and you have yourself a team that has its anointed deity currently recovering from major surgery, last actually won a playoff game in 2006, and has already lost one of its Pro Bowl linebackers to Free Agency (special teams ace Lorenzo Alexander, picked up by the Arizona Cardinals).

The Redskins 10-6 record was a lot to do with leading the entire NFL in team rushing, and a lot to do with an extremely underrated offensive line, especially center Will Montgomery and Guard Kory Lichtensteiger – hardly household names, but without their consistency there is no way Alfred Morris gains a remarkable 1,613 yards as a rookie.

Robert Griffin III (RG3) – the other rookie Redskins sensation – well to put it bluntly, the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, was a complete sensation, some of his performances transcending that of any mortal NFL rookie. Problem was, after a nasty but not malicious hit by eventual Super Bowl winning Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, it turned out that Griffin’s  mythological status was not going to perpetuate into the playoffs.

Talking of playoffs if the Redskins have a post-season bogey team, well more like a mutated Fungus the Bogeyman the size of a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloon, it is the Seattle Seahawks. With only six playoff performances in the past twenty seasons, and two wins in that span, three of four Redskins post-season dismissals en-route to the big dance have been courtesy of the Seahawks.

The most recent playoff loss to the Seahawks will forever be remembered for the ‘questionable’ decision made by Redskins two-time Super Bowl winning (with the Denver Broncos) head coach Mike Shanahan to start an unhealthy RG3. The fact of the matter was that even if RG3 lasted a full 60 minutes the Washington defense would have remained porous. Conceding 380 yards of offense against a team led by another rookie quarterback (Russell Wilson) will never get you to a conference championship game.

This is where the Redskins need to draft wisely and draft defense. This is how I would like the Redskins to draft with their seven picks, minus of course a first round pick which they gave to the St Louis Rams for the honour of grabbing RG3 as the second overall pick last year.

Redskins 2013 NFL Draft slots (as it stands March 26 2013) and positions of need

Round 2 – No. 21 – 51 overall – Cornerback or safety – a day 1 rookie starter
Round 3 – No. 32 – 85 overall – Cornerback or safety – a day 1 rookie backup
Round 4 – No. 22 – Wide receiver – a slot WR to take over from Santana Moss in 2014
Round 5 – No. 21 – Outside linebacker – special teams ace and hard hitter not necessarily a pass rusher
Round 5 – No. 29 (from New England) – tight end/h-back who could get playing time as a rookie
Round 6 – No. 23 – Cornerback prospect with return skills
Round 7 – No. 22 – Defensive lineman prospect with tentacle arms

The Skins may well bring back veteran cornerback DeAngelo Hall at a reduced salary cost, but this is only papering over the cracks. When you enter a season with safety Reed Doughty as your longest tenured defensive back (8 seasons with the team) then you know you are in big trouble.

Doughty may be a D.C fan favourite for his pluckiness, call it the Charlie Brown factor (not to be confused with former Redskins Super Bowl winning wide receiver who also went by the name Charlie Brown) but this is a player who has two career interceptions in 92 NFL games played, one every 46 games.

With Josh Wilson regularly burnt in the second half of the season the Redskins have not had anything near a defensive backfield wow factor since Sean Taylor was laying wood harder than a lumberjack on crack. Taylor (R.I.P) has been gone from the Washington secondary over five years now, but there has not been anyone to even come close to shining his shoes in terms of quality.

Yes former Redskins safety Laron Landry was a very high pick and did a decent job, but the fact of the matter was he did not make the Pro Bowl in five seasons in Washington, and he is now on his third team in three seasons, having just signed with the Indianapolis Colts. It grinds my gears to think that he somehow became a Pro Bowl player in 2012 with the New York Jets, but the validity of those selected to the Pro Bowl is a giant joke as we all know (how else is Jeff Saturday chosen).

The Redskins have had their hands tied behind their backs in 2013 Free agency because of supposedly abusing the way they managed contract signings during the ‘non-cap’ 2010 season. This is a team that has learnt that big names does not equate to big amounts of wins, but their signings so far have been primarily looking after their own (with the regretful exception of losing Lorenzo Alexander and likely Fred Davis the team’s top tight-end) and some relatively low-key pickups – Jeremy Trueblood the monster sized offensive tackle, fellow tackle Tony Pashos (a 32-year-old former Clevaland Brown – yuk) and E.J Biggers the cornerback.

At the time of writing Biggers is penciled in as a starting cornerback,  a guy who has never started more than 75% of games in his four seasons in Tampa Bay and has 0, yes 0 career interception return yards in his NFL career.

The Redskins need a corner and a safety that can start as rookies, but with no first round pick this will be a pretty steep hill to climb to make happen in 2013.

This situation with an inexperienced backfield does sound scary, but I am reminded of the 1981 San Francisco 49ers, a team that started three of four defensive backs as rookies (cornerbacks Ronnie Lott, Carlton Williamson and safety Eric Wright).

Now I am not saying the Redskins will find the next Ronnie Lott in the second or third round of the 2013 NFL draft, but any situation that removes Reed Doughty from the Washington secondary has to be a positive one.

Who do you think the Redskins should target early in the draft?

Greg is heading to Wembley in six months

Last season the Minnesota Vikings relied so heavily on Adrian Peterson their second year quarterback Christian Ponder looked like he had forgotten the art of the forward pass.

So when the Seattle Seahawks signed the Vikes best receiving weapon at the start of Free Agency, WR Mr Percy Harvin, the situation got even uglier.

I was with a sense if relief that Minnesota did find a rapid replacement in the shape of Super Bowl winning wideout Greg Jennings.

The Vikings also signed former Patriots and Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel. Hardly the headline news, but putting him and Ponder in a head to head battle will mean whoever gets the starting gig will be playing extra hard as they will want to keep that starting role.

Jennings will be familiar with the purple uniform having faced off against the Vikings twice a year for the past seven seasons during divisional game-play.

Greg, a former Western Michigan Bronco, is one of only ten football players from that college to be drafted into the NFL in the past 20 years. Other Broncos to gain some degree of fame in the NFL include tight-end Tony Scheffler (also drafted in 2006) and Jason Babin the defensive end (selected in the first round in 2004).

Jennings had 17 100+ games in college, second all time on his college team to NFL 2012 draft pick Jordan White (21 games).

Jennings becomes the biggest named wideout in Minnesota since Randy Moss. He will be hoping to get back on track with a 1000+ yard season, following an injury filled 2012 in Green Bay, where he has his worst output both by catches and yardage.

The two time Pr0-Bowler has already registered three 1100+seasons and two 900+ seasons, along with three 100+ yard playoff games and a two-touchdown performance in helping the Packers to win Super Bowl XLV against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It will be the Steelers that Jennings will face again when the Vikings travel to London in September as part of the NFL’s first ever double dose of regular season football outside of America.

Of the two London games (Steelers @ Vikings and San Francisco 49ers @ Jacksonville Jaguars) on paper the Vikings game looks to be the most competitive, and was quicker to sell out.

Fans like myself (thanks to a Christmas gift from my beautiful wife) will be chomping at the bit to see the likes of Peterson and now Greg Jennings as they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, the only team to win six Super bowls.

Both the Vikings and the Steelers will be hoping for string drafts, with some rookies that can make an immediate impact. Both teams need to improve their secondary, especially at cornerback. The Steelers lost the under-rated Keenan Lewis and the Vikings let veteran Antoine Winfield go.

With Greg Jennings looking to become not only a leader on the field, but also in the locker room, it will be fascinating to see what other pieces of the jigsaw the Vikings pick up en-route to the start of the 2013 season.

What other needs do YOU think are the most pressing for the Vikings?

S-Jax – will he be be the man to finally get the Falcons back to the Super Bowl?

It’s been a crazily busy week as 2013 Free Agency in the NFL has been in full effect.

Starting with some big wide-receiver moves, including Wes Welker (going from catching bass from one Hall of Fame quarterback to another) and Mike Wallace moving to the Florida sunshine, its been tough keeping up with all the moves.

One team that I think has been a big winner is the Atlanta Falcons.

The NFC Championship losers just two months ago, they grabbed the best free-agent running back on the market in the form of veteran punisher Steven Jackson.

Jackson has been a loyal servant to the St Louis Rams, whilst the talent around him has been pretty atrocious over the past decade.

Jackson came into a Rams team that was fresh from two Super Bowl appearances, but has been about as competitive as Mother Teresa in the time he has been there.

Like Barry Sanders, Jackson was the brightest shining star on a team of grubby meteors (always descending), so to be picked up by a team that was less than a touchdown from the Super Bowl will be one almighty relief for him. S-Jax will be a significant upgrade on the chunky thighed plodder Michael Turner, and he will provide a formidable backfield partner to third-year back  Jacquizz Rodgers.

Rodgers has not had the chance to prove himself as a three-down back, and wont get the chance now Jackson is signed, but he is a great receiver in the backfield with 74 catches in his first two seasons in the NFL.

In addition the Falcons persuaded future Hall of Fame enshrinee Tony Gonzales to come back for one more season.

There are some excellent tight-ends available in the 2013 NFL Draft, and the Falcons may pick one up as the heir-apparent in Round Two or beyond, but to have Gonzo back, with his 70-90 catches is going to have Matt Ryan smiling.

Atlanta have also re-signed safety William Moore and offensive linemen Garrett Reynolds and Sam Baker. No superstar names here, but keeping your own garden tidy is always important if you want to grow sweet smelling roses.

With the free-agency market showing  few signs of slowing down we can expect more movement this weekend, and I will be spending time reviewing every move.

A few of the quieter free-agency moves, beyond those taking place in Georgia, that have caught my eye  include:

• Lorenzo Alexander (LB) Washington to Arizona – Alexander is not a household name, nor a starter even, but he went to the 2013 Pro Bowl as a demon special teams tackler. The Redskins could not afford him because of salary cap penalties, but they will miss him for sure. In Arizona he will get the chance to start at outside linebacker, but I doubt he will become a Pro Bowler again in the desert.
• James Casey (TE/FB/HB) Houston to Philadelphia – Casey moves from a Texans team where he should have featured as a 50-60 catch tight-end, but instead was used as a fullback. In Philly he should be moved all over the field and could have a huge 2013 being the safety blanket for Michael Vick in new head coach Chip Kelly’s explosive offensive scheme.

More free-agency commentary to come, after I get a decent coffee.

Time to get NFL ‘App’y

I stand corrected, the NFL offseason is not a deadzone as I reported in my last post, its full of thrills and spills of drafting, free-agency and the underwear Olympics.

For those of you who actually miss NFL games as opposed to watching men running around the RCA Dome in spandex, hotly pursued by a Prada suit wearing Rich Eisen, then for those of you with smart-phones I have some trivial relief.

Like many millions of people around the globe I find it hard to live without an iPod, and only recently I actually got my first iPhone.

I waited until the monthly bill was well under £30 before I took the plunge (thanks to Carphone Warehouse in Solihull) and got an iPhone.

I do have quite a tight grip on app spending, and have to admit I haven’t paid for an app for about two years. I love to check the Free app charts each week, and I download whatever is gratis, give it a try and then keep or delete depending if I see any value.

Bearing in mind I tend to play on apps on the bus or train too and from work it has been great to finally be able to play web-based apps whilst commuting now I have an iPhone.

So to anyone new to an iPhone and wondering what I have downloaded, here are some of my favourite apps that have direct or indirect NFL association.

My most used app – Tune in Radio (cost of download FREE)

As a Redskins fan nothing beats listening live to ESPN 980 – the home of Redskins radio. Having an app where I can listen to any sports talk radio station in America is pretty damn cool. Every weekend in fact I get up early with our 16 month old daughter so that my wife gets a well deserved lie-in. After watching some CBeebies I take my daughter to the kitchen for breakfast and we listen to ‘The Sporting Life’ on ESPN 980, which is a national ESPN radio networked show. There is normally a tear-jerking feature about an athlete who has suffered either injury, adversity, or a death to a close family member or friend. It gets me weeping into the Rice Krispies every time.

My favourite apps of the new year so far – NFL All-Stars Collection, NFL Shuffle and NFL Matchups (all FREE to download)

I love collecting NFL trading cards and first fell in love with collecting cards when I was a teenager in the 1990s. I was then introduced to the world of Ebay in about 2002, and I won my first NFL card auction soon after, a rookie card featuring 2001 Heisman Trophy winning QB Eric Crouch which had a piece of leather football built into the card.

My card collecting has been put on hold with a new addition to the family in 2011, so I was very happy to find three different NFL card collecting games all available as free apps. NFL All-Stars Collection, NFL Shuffle and NFL Matchups are all similar in nature. You get a free card or cards every day you log-in, you get bonuses for consecutive days logging in and you build up your team by developing the players that are the rarest or most valuable. You can of course pay real money to get prime time player packs in all of the games, but so far I have resisted spending any money on any of the three apps apart from my wi-fi connection. I would say download all three and give them a try, you will likely find one you bond with. My favourite of the three is NFL Matchups as I love to see a player ‘evolve’, which is where you combine two of the same cards to build a better version of the player, depicted by a dual image card.

Best NFL app during the season – ESPN Score Centre (FREE to download)

This is great on an iPod, but absolutely fantastic on an iPad, as you get an image of the two players if there is a passing play, and the stats and drive information are just superior to anything offered by NFL.com. The whole interface is slicker than a greased hog at the Texas State Fair, and the bonus is you can follow all the American sports you love. Being able to slide between games on a touch screen is very satisfying and also a great way to track your fantasy team players as they either light it up for three scores or have a 15 carry for 27 yards and a fumble kind of day.

More app musings to come soon. What NFL/American Football based apps do you recommend – either free or paid for?