Playoffs.
49ers: Ryan next after Wilson, Brady, Brees - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The San Francisco 49ers face one of the NFL's top quarterbacks, Matt Ryan, on the road in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. They know what they are getting into.
49ers' statement on Crabtree investigation - NFC West Blog - ESPN
San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke released the following statement Friday night regarding a sexual-assault investigation involving top receiver Michael Crabtree: "We are aware of the allegation against Michael and understand that he has fully cooperated with authorities. The 49ers take such matters very seriously. We will have no further comment at this time as the legal process is ongoing. Additional requests for comment should be directed to Michael's attorney."
2013 NFL Calendar | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
Here’s a list of important dates for the 2013 NFL calendar.
17 Power, A Seattle Seahawks Blog: Why I'm Rooting for a 49ers-Ravens Super Bowl
Yeah, I said it. I hope the 49ers win in Atlanta. In fact, I hope they leave the Falcons bruised and groaning on the field on their way to face the Ravens, who have just gotten done doing the same thing to Tom Brady.
The Shutdown Corner Conference Championship Preview Podcast with Greg Cosell | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
It's time to gear up for this Sunday's conference championship games with analysis from the best in the business -- Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN's "NFL Matchup." Greg gives you a sense of the week's upcoming games you won't get anywhere else, based on his conversations with players and coaches past and present, and his OCD-level evaluation of coach's tape. We start with the San Francisco 49ers at the Atlanta Falcons, and finish off with the Baltimore Ravens at the New England Patriots. Who will make it to the Super Bowl? Here are the matchups.
Seventy-three players granted special eligibility for NFL draft - NFL.com
The National Football League announced Saturday the names of 73 players who have been granted special eligibility for the 2013 NFL Draft on April 25-27 in New York.
NFP Previews Six Defensive Players in the Senior Bowl. | National Football Post
Russ Lande breaksdown six defensive prospects at the Senior Bowl.
Checkdowns: Pre-Conference Championship Sunday Weighted SRS Ratings
Presented without comment, the most current Simple Ratings, weighted for recency:
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | NFC Championship Game Preview
In the lead up to this game, much has been made of the fact that, at +4.5 points (or +4 in some places), the Falcons are the largest underdog of any No. 1 seed in any round since the 1978 playoff expansion. DVOA doesn't go back to 1978 yet, but we can tell you a couple of things about how this mismatch ranks over the past 22 seasons.
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | AFC Championship Game Preview
As they say every week on the NFL Matchup show, "Football is a game of matchups." No matter how successful an NFL team is, its personnel will match up better with some opponents and not as well with others. But how do you measure this? In a season that consists of only 16 games, how can you tell how much of a loss can be blamed on random chance and how much can be blamed on the fact that your personnel just doesn't match up well with the other team's personnel? Does it help to look at games against the past opponent in recent years, even if many of the players on the field have changed? And regardless of matchup, how much does last week's game tell us about a team's current status, compared to their record from the entire season to date?
AFC/NFC title games: Need-to-know info - Stats & Info Blog - ESPN
Looking back at the Stats and Info Blog's coverage leading up to the AFC and NFC Championships on Sunday afternoon.
Jaguars hire Bob Babich, Jedd Fisch as coordinators | ProFootballTalk
Two days after being hired as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Gus Bradley has filled both coordinator positions on his coaching staff.
Crabtree’s lawyer expresses "confidence" in process | ProFootballTalk
Rarely if ever (but for Al Pacino in And Justice For All) does a lawyer proclaim to the world that his client is guilty. So it is with that grain of salted truth that we should regard any and all comments ever made by a lawyer about his client.
Plenty of underclassmen won’t be drafted at all | ProFootballTalk
With a record 73 underclassmen certified to enter the 2013 draft, an obvious question arises: How many will be drafted? Here’s an obvious answer: Not all of them.
Advanced NFL Stats: Against Colin Kaepernick, Pick Your Running Poison
Questions about Colin Kaepernick's ability to lead the 49ers in the playoffs were brushed aside with alacrity in last Saturday's emphatic victory over Green Bay. Kaepernick dominated the game from start to finish, landing blow after blow with his legs until a 56-yard touchdown run sent the Packers packing back to Wisconsin and broke the quarterback playoff rushing record in the process.
Smith hints at possible link between concussions and painkillers | ProFootballTalk
As the dangers of concussions have become more and more clear, many quietly have speculated on the potential impact of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs on the cumulative impact of repetitive brain trauma.
Moore, Joeckel, Mingo, Jones among top NFL draft early entries | ProFootballTalk
The full list of early entries in the 2013 NFL draft is out, and here are a few things about it that caught our eye:
The Tape Never Lies: How does the Patriots’ offense change without Gronkowski? | 100 Yards and Running | Blogs | theScore.com
After only a handful of snaps, Rob Gronkowski’s forearm snapped — again. He was done for the game against the Texans, and four days later, done for the year after being put on injured reserve. Typically, when a star tight end goes out due to injury, it’s a crushing blow to his team’s offense because of the sheer amount of production that must be replaced. But that’s not the case with the Patriots, who are the modern day masters at adjusting on the fly and working with the pieces they have on the field.