Pre-Season
Let the season commence!
Aug 19th
That’s right NFL lovers, Mac is back! We’ve all had a busy off-season and whilst the lockout was on we figured we’d take advantage of the quiet time and take some time off ourselves. That time is now at an end, and with the season only a few weeks away we’ll be back to our usually blogging selves bringing you predictions, fantasy tips, general articles on anything NFL related and of course, the Madden 12 review.
I know you’re as excited as we are 
Matt Leinart Signed
Sep 6th
Quickly after being released, the Texans have signed him to a one year contract, likely as the backup after poor showings from the incumbent backups during the pre-season. I do like to see players getting a second chance, and always want players to do well, so fingers crossed for him.
NFL International Series 2010: Wembley Watch – 8 Weeks To Go
Sep 5th
The season is so close now, I know we’re all getting excited here.
The final week of pre-season saw the second teams (and below) get their chance to shine.
Denver Broncos
Although it was hoped that Elvis Dumervil would play some part this season, it’s not to be the case as he’s been placed on Injured Reserve ahead of the final roster. LenDale White is also out for the season after an ankle injury incurred against the Vikings. Brandon Stokley joins them on IR.
Corell Buckhalter did see some playtime but Knowshon Moreno is still not back. It’s likely we’ll see some movement here before the 53 is set.
All teams suffer with injuries, but the Broncos – as we’ve said before – seem to have been affected more than most.
Tim Tebow and Brady Quinn got roughly similar playtime, but Tebow suffered early on – giving up turnovers and 10 points. But he rushed and apart from those two series, he played well. Quinn also did well, but doesn’t have the redzone options that Tebow brings so he’ll see less playing time. Kyle Orton continues as a dependable starting QB.
Matt Leinart Released
Sep 4th
The Arizona Cardinals have announced today that they’ve released QB Matt Leinart.
Well I don’t know. I’ve been away on holiday and largely out of touch for the last two weeks and this is probably the biggest piece of news that I’ve seen so far when trying to catch up with what’s been a-happening.
Leinart has struggled to impress when he’s been given the chance, and there have been well reported maturity issues but there’s also a case to be made that he’s never been given a good enough chance to impress. In either case, losing the projected started in such a key position this close to the start of the season has got to hurt.
We’ll be factoring this in when we take our Final Look and make our predictions for which teams are post-season bound.
NFL International Series 2010: Wembley Watch – 9 Weeks To Go
Aug 31st
Andrew is taking a much earned break this week, so I’ll be stepping into his flip flops. I can’t believe that we only have 9 weeks to go. The NFL coming to the UK is always exciting and Wembley holds some great memories for me since we first saw the Dolphins play the Giants there in 2007.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers edged a preseason win against the Raiders this weekend. While the Raiders seem much improved, this was the kind of game that the 49ers needed as it proved a good test and exciting stuff (including a 57 yeard field goal from the Raiders).
Back up Quarterback David Carr looked cool and calm during his time in the game and put his marker on the position. Adams also made an impressive put return to claim a touchdown.
Aubrayo Franklin has been signed as a franchise player and returned to camp after holding out for a deal. Travis LaBoy is also making great progress and could be a player worth watching this season.
NFL International Series 2010: Wembley Watch – 10 Weeks to Go
Aug 23rd
So with just under 10 weeks until we get to see if 15 Tebow is the most visible jersey at Wembley Stadium or if the NFL’s UK fans aren’t as sold on him as most of the US.
Denver Broncos
Brandon Stokley has been showing his worth as a vet. I’ve liked him since I signed him a few years ago in a Madden franchise and he was then, and remains today, a solid 3rd down receiver. But he’s not Demaryius Thomas.
Jarvis Moss should be back soon, once his hand can have its cast removed. He might be back for the Steelers this weekend.
More >
Second Look 2010… AFC
Aug 21st
It’s been a while now since we at MacTalksNFL.co.uk took our First Looks at the AFC divisions. With pre-season getting going, let’s take a look and see if there’s anything to make us re-consider our positions.
Does the road to the Superbowl go through here?
Graham is on holiday, so this is down to Andrew and Craig. Let’s start with the AFC East…
Favre Back, Harvin Out For Now
Aug 20th
We’re sure you’ve heard that Brett Favre is back, almost certainly for his final year (his words, we’re not hanging our collective hats on that bet). He joined training camp earlier this week and will be a Viking until a last minute interception puts them out of the playoffs.
More seriously, after making it back to training after condolence leave Percy Harvin left the field yesterday in an ambulance after suffering a heavy migraine. Harvin has struggled with migraines for a long time now, and it’s speculated that they have been brought on by stress but the fact is that there can be many causes that start them.
Percy Harvin is an exciting young player to watch and the Vikings and the NFL as a whole are better when he’s playing so we with wish him all the best and hope to see him back soon.
Second Look 2010… NFC
Aug 12th
It’s been a few weeks now since I made my initial predictions for the forthcoming NFL season. The pre-season is essentially underway and the teams and players have been hard at camp.
I’ll be taking a Final Look just before the regular season starts, and we’ll all be making our predictions at that time too. So with not much having happened (really) in the last two months, this is just a checkpoint to see if I want to move any teams about and to remind everyone how we see things at the moment.
NFC East
Well, this remains a hard division to call and not just as my team are here. The Cowboys were unspectacular against the Bengals in the Hall of Fame game. But it’s hard to read much into any of the early pre-season games. Things have been very quiet from the Giants, which leaves me a little nervous and the Eagles are full of themselves at the moment.
In all honesty, I get the feeling I could place these four teams in any order and it would make sense. So no movement for now.
Brett Favre… Might Be Coming Back This Time
Aug 5th
Seriously, is there anyone who is not completely fed up with him at this point?
Here at Mac, we certainly are. If he’s there on the 9th in New Orleans then great. If he’s not, then great.