The Giants and the 49ers are meeting this Sunday in the 80th NFL-NFC championship game. The Giants who joined the NFL in 1925 are making their 19th championship game appearance; the 49ers who joined the NFL in 1950 will be playing in their 13th title game. Between them they have won twelve league championships and 8 Super Bowls, along with that rich tradition each team brings to the table Sunday, they have met each other in 7 memorable post season games, in each of the Wild Card and Divisional rounds … Continue reading →

Saturday December 25th 1971 Up to 1971 the NFL avoided playing on Christmas day. Case in point, in 1960 the championship game, which would have been played on Sunday December 25, 1960, was moved to Monday December 26 out of respect for the holiday. By the 1970’s television money ruled the NFL, and the networks felt that daytime Monday football would draw less ratings than a Christmas game, so the 1971 Divisional playoffs started on Saturday December 25th, with two more divisional playoff games to be played the next day. … Continue reading →

Green Bay at Detroit Aaron Rodgers and the defending champion Packers are 10-0 and appear to be favorites to win the NFC and defend their Super Bowl title. The surprising 49ers could get in their way as could the resurgent Detroit Lions whom the Packers meet today in Detroit. The tradition of the Lions taking the field on Thanksgiving Day dates back to 1934. Recently those games haven’t meant much but this year with the Packers being 10-0 and the Lions led by All-World WR Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford, … Continue reading →

I suppose the NFL has decided that Baltimore is all grown up. No more kids’ table for Ravens Nation. And, for a change, we don’t have to pack our side dish in the car. We’re hosting Thanksgiving.  The NFL said so. Yes, the same National Football League whose commissioner, the esteemed Paul Tagliabue, Esq., a noted Washington Redskins’ season ticket holder, encouraged Baltimore to build another museum with the money that the State of Maryland had designated for a new stadium for an NFL franchise. Yes, the same NFL that … Continue reading →

AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers vs. NFC Champion Green Bay Packers Cowboys Stadium, Arlington Texas, seats 80,000 for football Line, Packers favored by 2.5 points, Over- Under 45 The NFL/NFC have won 23 of the 44  Super Bowls….the AFC has won 5 of the last 7….this is the third Super Bowl played in the state of Texas, the first in the Dallas area… Super Bowl VIII was played in Houston at Rice Stadium, a 24-7 Miami victory over the Vikings, Super Bowl XXXVIII was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, a … Continue reading →

In this two-part article will revisit the post season matches between Pittsburgh’s and Baltimore’s sports teams. Part I, the 70’s, the Colts, Orioles, Steelers, and Pirates Part II, 1979-to January 2009, Orioles, Ravens, Pirates, and Steelers With the Ravens making NFL history by winning in the Wild Card round for the third consecutive year they now set the table for another post season trip to Pittsburgh. This will be the Ravens third trip there for a playoff game trying to win for the first time against the Steelers in the … Continue reading →

Our Ravens are Wild Card bound for the third straight year. As we all know this means taking to the road to make it back to a Super Bowl. By becoming a Wild Card for the third straight season, the Ravens join a very small club. They have become just the 4th team since the Wild Card became a football word in 1969, to make it into the playoffs as a Wild Card entry, and with a victory in Kansas City this Sunday, they would be the first team in … Continue reading →

Baltimore’s First Post Season Football Game Even though the 2010 Bills have played just 5 games, historians are already making comparisons between this team and the worst in their franchise’s history. The 2010 Bills are 0-5, have the 30th ranked offense and the 29th ranked defense that has allowed at least 34 points in each of its last 4 games. Now they come to Baltimore to face a Ravens team that is almost a 2 touchdown favorite. They have been compared to the 1-12-1 1968 Bills, a team that finished … Continue reading →

Former Commissioner Pete Rozelle the man who led the NFL to the prominent role it plays today in American society passed away in 1996. While he is not with us anymore he has to smiling down upon the state of affairs of the 2010 season. Rozelle’s dream was to create parity among his league’s teams, his catch phrase “on any given Sunday any NFL can beat another” has more truth in 2010 than it has had in any other season from my recent memory. Seventeen of the 32 teams are … Continue reading →

Kyle Orton brings the 2-2 Denver Broncos into M&T Bank Stadium to face the 3-1 Ravens Sunday. Orton beat the Titans last week with a short pass for a score to Correll Buckhalter with 1:33 remaining to pull the victory out. Orton hopes to do better than he did last year in Baltimore. Then, the Broncos were unbeaten and facing the 3-3 Ravens. Both teams were rested coming off their bye weeks and the Ravens blew the Broncos out of M&T that day 30-7. The Broncos effort was listless to … Continue reading →

The Ravens in Week 2 after an Opening Day Victory First the Good News After battling their way to a 10-9 win Monday night over the Jets, the Ravens are now 7-8 all time in their openers, and have won the last three in a row. They now prepare to meet the Bengals.  The good news is they are 4-2 in week 2 games after winning the opener. The better news is that during the John Harbaugh era the Ravens have gone on to win in both of their second … Continue reading →

The NFL has been an entity since 1920. As with any long running business or entertainment venue, fables are bound to be created.  The NFL is no exception.   In this segment of Old School we will tell the story behind 4 popular NFL fables. The truth behind three of these so called fables goes against “conventional wisdom.” One is actually true.   The Fables are:   1. “Monday Night Football”: ABC was the first major network to televise a prime time NFL regular season game on a week night, … Continue reading →

There were 2 drafts in NFL history that helped shape two of the league’s greatest dynasties – dynasties that produced the 2 best teams the NFL has seen for a single season. While no single draft was solely responsible for creating these dynasties, these 2 drafts coupled with other successful drafts and free agent pickups resulted in sustained excellence on the gridiron.   Today’s piece will be the first of a three part series. In Part I we will define what makes a great draft and look at some of … Continue reading →

As stated in part one of our article, championships define great drafts, but All Pro awards and Hall of Fame Enshrinements also count as variables. After considering all the factors the draft of the 1958 Green Bay Packers, a major building block of their great dynasty of the 1960’s rates as the second best draft in NFL history, but it was almost a toss up between them and our first place finisher.   The Green Bay Packers of the 1960’s played in six NFL championship games, won 5 of them … Continue reading →

There were 2 drafts in NFL history that helped shape two of the league’s greatest dynasties – dynasties that produced the 2 best teams the NFL has seen for a single season. While no single draft was solely responsible for creating these dynasties, these 2 drafts coupled with other successful drafts and free agent pickups resulted in sustained excellence on the gridiron.   Today’s piece will be the first of a three part series. In Part I we will define what makes a great draft and look at some of … Continue reading →

NFC Champion New Orleans Saints vs. AFC Champion Colts   Line: Colts favored by 5 points, Over/Under 57   The NFL/NFC have won 22 of the 43 Super Bowls….the AFC has won 5 of the last six….this is the tenth game to played in the Miami, South Florida area, 5 games were played at the Orange Bowl, this is the fifth being played at what was first known as Joe Robbie Stadium, now Sun Life Stadium….the regular season series between these teams dates back to 1967, the Baltimore Colts never … Continue reading →