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FORT WORTH, Texas — Rich McKay, Atlanta Falcons president and co-chair of the NFL Competition Committee, said Wednesday at the league’s owners meeting that he would like to see playoff teams re-seeded, with division winners not necessarily granted a home game.

McKay said that in the past, similar proposals have received upwards of 18 votes, but not the 24 needed by owners to pass a measure.

When asked if he believed the possibility of a .500 or worse team winning a division would lead to future consideration of altering playoff seeding, McKay said: “I hope so. I’ve brought it up twice and never had real success getting it passed. I think it is something we should consider.”

McKay said he has always supported re-seeding spots 4 through 6 based on record, but he realizes not all share his views. Several owners I’ve spoken to in the past about this issue believe there should be a significant reward for winning one’s division, with that belief grounded in the traditions of the game and a desire to keep a focus on divisional rivalries.

“I don’t disagree with that,” McKay said, “but re-seeding is something we should keep talking about.”

What do you think?  Should things stay the way they are, granting the division winners home-field throughout, or should the NFL continue to deviate from football tradition, and shake things up?

With the hard hits that took place in week 6, including two by Pittsburgh Steelers‘ linebacker James Harrison, one by New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather and one by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson. All three players were fined, with Harrison receiving a $75k fine and the other two being hit with a $50k fine each. The hits prompted the NFL to meet immediately, and create rules to prevent players leading with the head, helmet to helmet contact, and other hits deemed “flagrant” or intended to cause injury to another player.

The news has fans, and some players, in an uproar. Football has always been a dangerous – and violent – contact sport. While most agree that “dirty play” should be handled on a case-by-case basis, taking the hits and hard play out of the game will only result in the decline of its popularity.

So we want to know what YOU think. Would a “Steel Curtain” defense be the same, if the players aren’t allowed to hit in the same way they have for more than 75 years? Would the game be the same if a linebacker can’t go at a running back, for fear he will be suspended?

Speak your mind, football fans!

With week 3 in the books, there are some movers and shakers in the collective power ranking pool. The Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers have soared to the top, while pre-season analysis said the Bears were laden with trouble, and the Steelers would be lucky to go 2-2 without Big Ben for the first four games.  The New York Jets had – hands down – the best defense in the NFL.

What we find most interesting, though, is the way the Pittsburgh Steelers have rallied around adversity, touted as a team that is too old, and riddled with problems.  Not even making the post-season last year, the Steelers were – and are – determined to prove everyone wrong.  So far undefeated without their two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, the Steelers defense has done an amazing job.  And the offense has allowed Charlie Batch to make plays. Entering week 4 of the 2010 NFL season, the Steelers have defeated the Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Not too long ago, Sports Illustrated columnist, Peter King, chose the Steelers to beat the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV. People joked.  They laughed.  They wanted to know what King was smoking when he made that prediction…  But the actions on the field do speak for themselves, don’t they?

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With week one of the 2010 NFL regular season on the horizon, roster cuts are being made, and trade rumors abound. Whether players like the Cardinal’s Matt Leinart lost their starting positions to other players for the sub par performance, or holdouts like the Jets’ Darrelle Revis just became too much of a pain; teams are slowly but surely trimming their rosters to the required 53.

There are several teams in the market for quarterbacks, including the New York Giants and the Arizona Cardinals. Those who are rumored to be available shortly include current Cardinal’s QB Matt Leinart, Steeler’s QB Charlie Batch, and Viking’s QB Sage Rosenfels. The rumor mill churns that the Steelers may release Batch – an old, yet effective backup – and Arizona will scoop him up.

The New York Jets have been at a stalemate with CB Darrelle Revis, and it appears that, while unlikely, there is the possibility the Jets have tired of the holdout and could trade him over the weekend.

The talented, but injury prone, Marshawn Lynch may be bidding the Buffalo Bills a farewell this weekend. With the Bills having Fred Jackson and first round pick C.J. Spiller, Lynch may be with a new team soon.

Willis McGahee may well be on his way out of Baltimore Ravens, with the Ravens finding great success in Ray Rice. A trade may be in the works over the weekend, and Baltimore may be shipping McGahee off to the Denver Broncos – a team in need of some depth at the running back position.

While the rumor mill churns, fans (and teams) most likely won’t have any definitive answers to who is staying, who is going, or who is playing in week one until the weekend is over.

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New York Giants | Eli Manning received 12 stitches in his head, after being lambasted by Jets’ linebacker Calvin Pace, losing his helmet, and having his head get a personal introduction to Jim Leonhard’s facemask.  A concussion was ruled out, but the Giants may be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend without Manning.

Undrafted rookie free agent, Victor Cruz, made his Monday night football debut with significantly better results.  In addition the Giants’ unknown, undrafted wide receiver caught three touchdowns, with one of them being a literal one-handed grab resulting in a 64-yard run for the TD.

Pittsburgh Steelers | With Roethlisberger likely to start for the Steelers against the New York Giants at the New Meadowlands Stadium, there are still several questions regarding who the starting QB will be during Roethlisberger’s four to six game suspension.  It appeared as though Byron Leftwich had the job, but Dennis Dixon played well enough to keep the final decision under wraps.

Additionally, first-round draft pick, Maurkice Pouncey, was all but relegated to playing his first year as a guard now has Tomlin considering throwing him in the mix for the starting (if not rotating) position of center for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Having six seemingly good receivers has also put the future of Stefan Logan in jeopardy, and his performance against the Giants this weekend – or lack thereof – could be a determining factor in the Steelers’ decision.

San Francisco 49ers | Free agent running back, Brian Westbrook, signed a one-year contract with the  49ers.  Westbrook played with the Philadelphia Eagles for eight seasons.

Stay tuned for more information, and get your NFL tickets early!

During these early games, we fans may believe that early loses are natural, and that they give their favorite team a chance to reevaluate, regroup, and refocus their energies on the tasks ahead. For coaches, players, and owners, however, the preseason games were supposed to do that, and these first games tend to be indicative of what’s to come over the remainder of the season. They are the ones out there, so they have to be pessimistic in order to spark a reversal of old habits and self-defeating attitudes. OK, so the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were taken by the Dallas Cowboys at a score of 37-21. What went wrong?

In all actuality, the game was a good one, and if anyone seemed to be slow at the start of it, it would have to be the Cowboys. Romo wound up with 353 passing yards, teaming up most often with Patrick Crayton who caught 4 passes for 135 yards. Roy Williams, formerly of the Detroit Lions, earned praise for his steady effort and opportunistic play, earning a 66 yard touchdown for the Cowboys after slipping through the Bucs secondary and streaking it home.

The Buccaneers head coach sufficed it to say that he and his team knew the Cowboys were play makers before they got into the game, and that they failed to capitalize on many opportunities to both shut down the Cowboys’ offense and turn on their own scoring line. Leftwich gained an honest and hard-fought 276 passing yards for his Bucs, completing 27 of 41 passes, but the end zone so rarely seemed within reach, even after a 16 play offensive drive during the 3rd quarter. For accurate and update information on your favorite sports, events, and shows, as well as Dallas Cowboys tickets, please visit StubPass.com.

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