Today, the Philadelphia Eagles announced that Sean McDermott was given the interim defensive coordinator label.  While the move was widely expected, it still comes as a tremendous blow to the team, especially the defense, and to the city as well.  The Eagles are a team that expect to challenge for the Super Bowl this coming year, and the loss of Jim Johnson is one that cannot easily be overstated.

A hallmark of the Eagles has been Johnson patrolling the sidelines, calling pressure defense after pressure defense.  He devises new wrinkles all of the time, and seems to have an uncanny knack for knowing exactly when to call a pressure scheme, and what scheme to use.  There are usually two or three defensive coordinators that get any substantial press as being the best in

In the era of the salary cap and parity, it seems that every year one team makes a huge leap forward and earns a playoff spot (or at least some serious cred) where most observersed believed the team was closer to dead than anything else.  Last year, we had three such teams: the Arizona Cardinals, the Miami Dolphins and the Atlanta Falcons. 

This year, all 3 of those teams are getting much closer inspection.  The Cards have endured a pretty rough off-season and with the turnover in the coaching staff and player animosity, things are poised for the Cards to tumble.  The Falcons improved by adding TE Tony Gonzales - a mid-range passing weapon was really the only thing Ryan lacked last year.  The Dolphins should continue to be a good team, but the reality they face

The Packers are making a defensive switch from the 4-3 scheme to the more challenging and sophisticated 3-4.  Their linebackers are going to be put under enormous pressure this year, and with some of the offenses in the NFC North, this makes the Green Bay Packers' defense one to watch in 2009.

Being a Steeler fan means that I've watched the 3-4 defense since Cowher was named the head coach in 1991.  We've been blessed here with great linebackers for virtually that entire time, but since the philosophy has never wavered, the Steelers have always been able to draft their type of guys that fit the scheme.  The first year of any kind of major philosophical switch is a key one, but this one might be the most challenging of them all.

In 2008, the Packers fell back into the pack

The list of ex-coaches sitting on the sidelines this year is awfully long, awfully talented, and will likely cast a lengthy shadow upon the entire NFL this year and into the next off-season.  It's generally accepted any more that there will be signficant coach turnover in the NFL.  Every year, websites and bloggers discuss which coaches are on the 'hot seat' and speculate that without a stellar season, that coach will lose his job.  With the cadre of talent on the sidelines, I would think that some owners will look long and hard at the talent patrolling the sidelines of his (losing) team, and the list of coaches waiting for a call, and pick up the phone - both to fire the current guy and inquire about the other guy.

Mike Shanahan.  In what was perhaps the most surprising

I hate July - I really do (in one way, at least).  The start of football season, training cams, and all that is SO close you feel like you can reach out and touch it.  Fans like myself just can't wait to get things going.  Granted, all of August is pretty boring, too, because you're looking at training camps, scrimmages, practices and wondering how good or bad your team will be in the coming year.  You're hoping that major injuries are avoided, and you watch usually bad pre-season games because it's football.  Let's face it - there's no good reason to watch a pre-season game, especially the first one.  The starters play for a series, or two at the most.  The offensive sets are pure vanilla.  The defensive sets are all the base sets - the ones that

Pro Football Talk (.com) is reporting that during a recent OTA, coach Mike Singletary almost made first round draft choice Michael Crabtree cry.  The report centered on Crabtree's broken foot, and how he was out jogging.  Singletary reportedly had a "discussion" with Crabtree about this, and according to the report, Crabtree grew "teary-eyed" because he wanted to practice.  Hmmm.

Singletary is rapidly becoming known as a coach who's more in your face than any other in the NFL.  It matches his playing style - that constant intensity.  The constant NFL Films picture of Singletary's face when he's readying himself for a play, and the blazing look in his eyes, ought to be a good predictor for what Singletary is like patrolling the sidelines.  Can that hyper-intensity

The "sudden" retirement of Derrick Mason from the Baltimore Ravens may prove to be a very painful blow to that team.  Mason has long been Baltimore's best wide out, and he developed a solid chemistry with rookie QB Joe Flacco last year.  Mason is the one player on the Ravens offense capable of stretching defenses; without him, that Ravens offense looks very pedestrian.

The Ravens have followed a very basic formula with varying degrees of success this decade.  They play stellar, opportunistic and physical defense first and foremost.  With players like Lewis and Reed, it's virtually impossible not to have a great defense.  On offense, they've gone through a litany of average or worse quarterbacks, and as a result their offense has been average to pathetic since 2000

Once again, a "startup" professional football league hits the sports world.  This time, however, there's very little fanfare, and almost no publicity.  You have to look pretty long and hard to get any information regarding this little league.  It does have, however, a television contract with the cable channel Versus, and some ideas that may allow it to be a successful league.  The league's entire premise is an interesting one - essentially it will be a "minor league" football league.  That by itself may make allow it to succeed where other leagues have failed miserably.

The only league that successfully challenged the NFL was the AFL.  But, drawing parallels between that war won't work here.  The AFL was an 8-team league starting in major cities, and

Let's take a look at the Steelers 2009 schedule.

First off, the AFC North is slated to play the AFC West and NFC North this year.  They get a reasonably easy draw because the AFC West is definitely a down division.  The NFC North is respectable, Detroit notwithstanding.  Since the Steelers won their division in 2008, they also play the 2008 divison winners in the AFC East and South, meaning they get the Dolphins and Titans respectively.

As usual, the NFL likes to kick off its schedule with a prime-time special game.  In what will be a highly anticipated game, the Steelers play host to the Tennessee Titans in their season opener.  This ought to be an interesting game for both teams, as obviously both are going to want to start hot and stay that way, and so this