Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Its a tripleheader on Turkey Day starting on Fox at 12:30pm with Green Bay @ Detroit, followed at 4pm on CBS with Oakland @ Dallas. I don’t know this for dead certain but I assume Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will do the Fox game and that Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will do the CBS game. I am especially sure of the latter as Nantz/Simms are not on the Sunday schedule. At 8pm the NFL Network will carry NY Giants @ Denver with Bob Pappa and Matt Millen. Sunday afternoon all local CBS affiliates will show Cleveland @ Cincinnati at 1pm with Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon. Fox has the doubleheader: at 1pm all local affiliates will show Washington @ Philadelphia with Kenny Albert, Moose, and Goose and at 4:15pm show Chicago @ Minnesota with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. The Sunday Night game on NBC is Pittsburgh @ Baltimore with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth and the Monday Night game on ESPN is New England @ New Orleans with Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworksi, and Jon Gruden. As always this info courtesy of the506.com and subject to change. Enjoy the games!

All teams are now 5/8 of the way through their seasons and the playoff races are starting to take shape. Some things look reasonably clear at this point, while a number of other things are as clear as mud. Here is a quickie synopsis, starting with the AFC:

1. Indianapolis
2/3/4. New England/Cincinnati/San Diego
5. Jacksonville
6. Pittsburgh
0 games out of 6th: Denver
1 game out of 6th: Miami, Baltimore, Houston
2 games out of 6th: NY Jets, Tennessee
Planning for 2010: Kansas City, Oakland, Buffalo, Cleveland

Indianapolis seems to have a near mortal lock on the #1 seed; going 4-2 down the stretch would flat out guarantee things without looking at scenarios. In the more immediate term they can clinch the division this Sunday with a win coupled with a Jacksonville loss. Even if it doesn’t happen this weekend its a fait accompli. After that things get more interesting. New England, Cincinnati, and San Diego all lead their divisions at 7-3 and they all have 5-3 conference records at the moment. The Bengals will visit the Chargers later in the season but other than that these teams do not play each other so they have little impact on each other. Of course none of them have their divisions sewn up, though the Patriots have a two game lead, the Chargers are surging and the Broncos reeling, and the Bengals have sweeps over their pursuers. As for the wildcard picture 3 teams are currently tied at 6-4. Jacksonville is placed 5th currently with a superior conference record, then when you re-evaluate for the 6th seed the Steelers edge the Broncos on head-to-head. 3 other teams are right there at 5-5. Miami has one less conference loss than Baltimore and Houston. The Ravens have two huge games left with Pittsburgh, Miami finishes the year with the Steelers, and Houston has a remaining game with Jacksonville having lost the first meeting, so they all have some measure of control over their own destinies. Also don’t look now but the Titans have won 4 straight games after purging their curse of the Terrible Towel by donating an autographed Towel to be auctioned for charity a month ago. If they survive the next couple weeks playing the Cardinals and Colts and get to 6-6 they’ll be a legit factor. The Jets are still alive also but fading fast and I think them moving into the planning for 2010 column is a matter of time. Given that the AFC is currently +4 against the NFC I doubt 9-7 is sufficient to get in, and the teams already on 7 losses I don’t see going on 6 game winning streaks.

As for the NFC:

1. New Orleans
2. Minnesota
3. Dallas
4. Arizona
5. Philadelphia
6. Green Bay
0 games back of 6th: NY Giants
1 game back of 6th: Atlanta
2 games back of 6th: San Francisco, Carolina, Chicago
Planning for 2010: Washington, Seattle, Detroit, Tampa, St. Louis

The Saints and Vikings both look good for winning their divisions and for getting the conference’s bye seeds. Indeed, New Orleans can clinch their division this weekend though it would involve Atlanta losing to Tampa and the Saints beating New England Monday Night. I currently score Dallas ahead of Arizona for 3rd and 4th though they have the same number of conference losses the ‘Boys have one more win. Arizona is virtually certain to win the West but Dallas is still in a legit 3 team race for the East. The wildcard realistically is 4 teams (2 East teams, Green Bay, and Atlanta) with the Falcons 1 game behind the rest after losing to the Giants Sunday. Philadelphia currently leads a division tie with the Giants having won their first matchup and gets the 5th seed on a better conference record than the Packers (2 vs 3 losses). Then the Packers get the 6th seed over the Giants (both have 3 conference losses but Green Bay one more win right now). Like I said Atlanta is one game back and very much alive but can’t afford much more losing. With 6 losses the Bears, Panthers, and 49ers are still alive but all 3 took huge losses this past weekend and are in big trouble. Being -4 to the AFC it is mathematically more likely on current trends that 9-7 works for an NFC team in a multi-way tie situation but I feel confident in saying neither the ‘Skins nor Seahawks will run the table and at 9-7 either of them would have 6-6 conference records that probably wouldn’t get the tiebreaking job done anyhow.

Between this weekend and next weekend there are a total of 4 games whose start times have been “flexed” from the original schedule. On 11/29 the Bears @ Vikings and Cardinals @ Titans games have been moved from 1pm to 4:15pm in order to comprise the Fox doubleheader schedule. And on 12/6 in a somewhat interesting move Patriots @ Dolphins has been demoted from Sunday Night Football to 1pm and Vikings @ Cardinals promoted from late afternoon to NBC. I guess Favre out-ratings Brady and Fox still has Cowboys @ Giants they can feature nationally.

The action starts on Thursday night at about 8:20pm on the NFL Network with Miami @ Carolina with Bob Pappa and Matt Millen on the call. Sunday afternoon CBS has the doubleheader and all local affiliates are scheduled to show Pittsburgh @ Kansas City with Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon. Note this means that WKBN Youngstown is NOT showing the Browns game at Detroit which is on at the same time also on CBS. Youngstown is a secondary market of both Cleveland and Pittsburgh, but when there is a direct conflict WKBN usually goes with the in-state Browns. However it appears they have abandoned the floundering Browns in favor of the Steelers for the duration of 2009 but I will keep you updated if that changes. On Fox the Youngstown and Wheeling areas will get the primary game at 1pm which is Washington @ Dallas with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. So as to avoid being opposite the Steelers game Fox Pittsburgh will wait until 4:05pm to show Arizona @ St. Louis with Ron Pitts and John Lynch. At 4:15 none of the local affiliates are currently scheduled to show the primary doubleheader game of Jets/Patriots. Pittsburgh is slated to show San Diego @ Denver with Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts while Youngstown and Wheeling show Cincinnati @ Oakland with Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcotts. I am not sold this will happen as Pittsburgh and Huntsville, Alabama are the only two markets east of the Mississippi slated to show the Denver game. Maybe KDKA figures Steeler fans are willing to concede the division and see the game with a primary impact on who the Steelers are contending with for a wildcard spot? I frankly almost assume this will flip to either show the main network doubleheader game or to join the entire rest of the Ohio River watershed in showing the Bengals game (even the Johnstown/Altoona/State College corridor is slated for the Cincy game). Not that I am complaining as I would like to see the Denver game as perhaps being more competitive than the other two late games. Stay tuned. Either way the NFL Red Zone Channel will offer its customary continuous whip around the league all afternoon Sunday. The Sunday Night game on NBC is Philadelphia @ Chicago with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth and the Monday Night game on ESPN is Tennessee @ Houston with Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden. As always this info courtesy of the506.com and subject to change. Enjoy the games!

Here are the updated standings at the 9/16 pole, starting in the AFC (please note that teams are ranked in at least approximate correct order 1-16 in both conferences):

1. Indianapolis
2. Cincinnati
3. Denver
4. New England
5. Pittsburgh
6. San Diego
1 game out of 6th: Jacksonville, Baltimore, Houston
2 games out of 6th: Miami, NY Jets
3 games out of 6th: Tennessee, Buffalo
planning for 2010: Kansas City, Oakland, Cleveland

At this point the Colts have a near mortal lock on a bye seed being 4 games up in their own division and 3 games over a New England team they just beat and Denver/San Diego. After last Sunday night’s win they seem well on their way to getting the top conference seed locked up. The Bengals and Patriots look real good for winning their division. Cincinnati already has series sweeps over Pittsburgh and Baltimore and will therefor win any divisional ties, and their remaining schedule is almost all games they’ll be favored in. New England has to avoid going into a funk after the way the Indianapolis game played out but the rest of the division is pretty mediocre. Denver is currently scored the leader in the West but that will change if the Chargers beat them this coming Sunday which I think will happen. I can see Denver falling out of the playoff picture if someone currently on the outside gets hot. The Steelers will need luck to win the North but should be okay for making the playoffs if they avoid getting swept by Baltimore (and maybe even if then), as the other remaining schedule includes Kansas City, Cleveland, and Oakland along with Green Bay at home and finishing at Miami. Of the teams currently on the outside the Ravens are obviously the team to keep an eye on, but I wouldn’t sleep on Houston or Miami. Its not an easy schedule for the Dolphins but their style of play usually means they are in the game and they are due a couple good bounces. I am less sold on Jacksonville and the Jets seem to be in free fall. Tennessee winning out to 10-6 I would consider more likely than a Jets resurrection.

NFC:

1. New Orleans
2. Minnesota
3. Dallas
4. Arizona
5. Philadelphia
6. Atlanta/Green Bay
0 games back of 6th: Green Bay/Atlanta, NY Giants
1 game back of 6th: San Francisco, Carolina, Chicago
2 games back of 6th: Washington, Seattle
Planning for 2010: Tampa, St. Louis, Detroit

New Orleans, Minnesota, and Arizona all seem to have clear leads in their divisions while the NFC East is a legit 3 team race. Philadelphia and New York actually have one more division win than Dallas but a 1 game worse overall record at this juncture. The wildcard picture is a jumble with 6 teams currently either 5-4 or 4-5. I put Atlanta and Green Bay tied for 6th as they both have 4-3 conference records, but even this is splitting hairs as no one at 5-4 has a wonderful or lousy conference record. An important thing to keep in mind as the season progresses is that division ties are broken first and the 4 2nd place teams are considered for the 5th seed, and those teams only. Then the 3 remaining 2nd place teams and the 3rd place from the 5th seed division are considered for 6th. So while Atlanta is currently 2nd in the South, Carolina has stormed back to within one game of them and could overtake them if the Falcons lose another division game down the stretch. I ranked Seattle and Washington as still being alive (6 degrees of Jim Zorn?) but I think that is likely just a formality until they take more losses.

Anyhow, my plan is to continue to update this every Tuesday the rest of the season. Enjoy the games!

He has signed a multi-year contract with the folks in Bristol, CT:

http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2009/11/jon-gruden-not-so-interested-in.html

I would assume he does have a coaching gig out clause, but that he signed this probably implies he is at least taking himself out of the impending January 2010 coaching sweepstakes. He of course should do what he wants, but I for one would welcome him staying in the Monday Night Football booth. I have been a big fan of his work so far and can see the parallels between him and John Madden if he wants to stick with his 2nd career.

Involving Cleveland Browns wide receiver/kick returner Josh Cribbs:

http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/70113032.html

And done all class, as signified by the fact he was introduced as “brother Josh” and not “family friend Josh Cribbs” so as to not create a total distracting mob scene. Also this was October 30th and it took over 2 weeks be become widespread public knowledge what even happened.

First of all there will be a game Thursday night on the NFL Network consisting of Chicago @ San Francisco with Bob Pappa and Matt Millen on the call. As for Sunday afternoon the CBS game in the local area will be at 1pm with Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. Despite it being a Fox doubleheader weekend the Pittsburgh affiliate due to NFL rules will not have a 1pm game because the Steelers are at home on the other network. Keep in mind however that Fox 53 will be permitted to come on the air at 4pm sharp to pick up the end of whichever game the network deems appropriate. Youngstown will show Detroit @ Minnesota with Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan while Wheeling shows Atlanta @ Carolina with Kenny Albert, Moose, and Goose. At 4:15 all local affiliates will show Philadelphia @ San Diego with Thom Brenneman and Brian Billick. This is not the game being featured nationally (Green Bay @ Dallas). It probably is the most compelling game locally speaking but a switch to the featured game, especially in the Youngstown market, would not shock me. And of course the NFL Red Zone Channel will offer its customary continuous live whip around the league. The Sunday Night game on NBC is New England @ Indianapolis with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth and the Monday Night game on ESPN is Baltimore @ Cleveland with Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworksi, and Jon Gruden. Last I knew the game was not yet officially sold out, but so far as I know the Youngstown area would not be affected by any blackout of the Cleveland area. I will update if I learn different. As usual this info is courtesy of the506.com and subject to change. Enjoy the games!

***UPDATE*** There will be no blackout of the Ravens/Browns Monday Night game: http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/2009/11/blackout-averted/

***UPDATE 2*** Wheeling is now slated to show Detroit @ Minnesota also at 1pm on Fox

Perhaps a bit premature, but here are the conference rankings at the midway point (everyone has played 8 games except the Texans and Giants who will take their byes this coming week) starting with the AFC:

1. Indianapolis
2. Denver
3/4. Cincinnati/New England*
5. Pittsburgh
6. San Diego
1/2 game out of 6th: Houston**
1 game out of 6th: NY Jets, Baltimore, Jacksonville
2 games out of 6th: Miami, Buffalo
3 games out of 6th: Tennessee, Oakland
Planning for 2010: Cleveland, Kansas City

And in the NFC:

1. New Orleans
2. Minnesota
3. Dallas
4. Arizona
5/6. Philadelphia/Atlanta*
1/2 game out of 6th: NY Giants**
1 game out of 6th: Green Bay, Chicago
2 games out of 6th: Carolina, San Francisco, Seattle
3 games out of 6th: Washington
Planning for 2010: Detroit, Tampa, St. Louis

* In the case of Cincy/New England and Philly/Atlanta the teams have not played each other (Eagles and Falcons will later in the year) they have identical conference records, and its too early to parse out the tiebreakers further down the list

** I did not bother placing tied teams outside playoff position in “correct” order.

Week 11 (the games centered around Sunday November 22nd) are the first subject to the NFL’s flexible scheduling system. With the exception of Week 17 the schedule will be finalized 12 days in advance wrt the start times for the Sunday games. The NFL announced today that none of the start times for November 22nd have been altered from what was originally announced in April.

All local affiliates will show a Fox game in the 1pm window. Pittsburgh and Youngstown will carry Arizona @ Chicago with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman while Wheeling will show Washington @ Atlanta with Kenny Albert, Moose, and Goose. At 1pm all local CBS affiliates will show Baltimore @ Cincinnati with Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts. At 4:15pm all local CBS affiliates, along with the vast majority of the country, will show San Diego @ NY Giants Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. Of course the NFL Red Zone Channel will do its usual continuous whip around the league commercial free all afternoon. The Sunday Night game on NBC is Dallas @ Philadelphia with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth and the Monday Night game on ESPN is Pittsburgh @ Denver with Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden. As usual this info courtesy of the506.com and subject to change. Enjoy the games!

CBS has only one game this coming Sunday and all local markets will show a 1pm game. Pittsburgh will carry Denver @ Baltimore with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf while Youngstown and Wheeling will show Cleveland @ Chicago with Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots. At 1pm all area Fox affiliates will show San Francisco @ Indianapolis with Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan. At 4:15pm all local Fox affiliates, along with the vast majority of the country, will get Minnesota @ Green Bay (or as the506 lists it in a rare moment of casual “Favre New Team @ Favre Old Team”) with Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman. And, as usual, the NFL Red Zone Channel will be on air all afternoon with its continuous live whip around the league. Due to the World Series (of which Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday) there is no Sunday Night game on NBC. There is however a Monday Night game on ESPN and its Atlanta @ New Orleans with Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden. As always this info courtesy of the506.com and subject to change. Enjoy the games!