The Oakland Raiders have more going on than the departure of Amy Trask. The Silver and Black have signed Josh Cribbs, giving the organization one of the most exciting players in the NFL in the former Cleveland Browns wide receiver and kick returner.

On Twitter, Mr. Cribbs, who should say “They call me Mr. Cribbs” after he scores a touchdown, sent out this tweet:

On my way!!! #raidernation @teamcribbs @jaygwallace instagram.com/p/ZWHZ5NtIqL/

— Josh Cribbs (@JoshCribbs16) May 15, 2013

Josh Cribbs’ is a scoring machine who’s move to the Raiders should send alarm bells ringing off in the AFC West. “They call me Mr. Cribbs” has eight kickoff returns for touchdowns and is tied with Leon Washington for the most in NFL history.

Note: NFL history.

“They call me Mr. Cribbs” also has three punt returns for scores.He averaged 27.4 yards on kick returns and 12 yards per punt return last season but did not have a touchdown. He also had seven receptions for 63 yards.

Lastly, “They call me Mr. Cribbs” has 107 catches for 1,161 yards and seven touchdowns, has rushed for 753 yards and two touchdowns, and he can throw – 4 of 12 over his career.

Charles Woodson To Oakland?

In other Oakland Raiders news, the team’s eyeing the possible return of legendary defensive back Charles Woodson to Oakland, and have sent a contract offer to make that happen.

Oakland’s where Charles Woodson’s NFL time began in 1998, as he was the team’s number one draft pick, and became a pillar in the community and a regular at Luka’s Taproom. I had the pleasure of presenting him with an award on behalf of Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris later in 1998.

Woodson, who was eventually traded, found a home in Green Bay and collected a Super Bowl ring. Now, he’s on an NFL free agent tour, and has not made a decision where he wants to go next.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: San Francisco Submits Super Bowl Bid To NFL

UPDATE: San Francisco, Houston, Miami Super Bowl Bid Efforts Now In NFL Owners Hands.

Dolphins Owner Steve Ross with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

Think San Francisco’s a shoe-in to win the right to host the 50th Super Bowl in NFL History? Think the Miami Dolphins Super Bowl 50 Bid is just plain dead in the water after Friday’s setback with the Florida Legislature? Anyone who’s ready to pencil in the San Francisco 49ers New Stadium in Santa Clara for the 50th Super Bowl should put down their pencil and cool their jets. The San Francisco Super Bowl Bid is far from out of the woods as of this writing.

But lets’ look back at what happened in Tallahassee Florida.

A bill that, if passed, would have given the Dolphins and the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee access to monies from a one-percent increase in the Miami Dade County hotel tax and $90 million in state tax rebates over 30 years, didn’t even make it to the floor of the Florida Assembly.

Speaker Weatherford

The bill, called CS/CS/CS/SB 306 – Economic Development and sponsored by Senator Oscar Braynon (D-Miami Gardens), was blocked by the one person Miami Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross counted on to move forward, Florida Speaker of the House Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel). If it reached the floor, the bill would have been approved and a public vote would have been held May 14th. But instead of bringing the bill forward for a House vote, Speaker Weatherford just sat on it and let it die.

And caused Mr. Ross to fume, issuing this statement:

Tonight, Speaker Weatherford did far more than just deny the people of Miami Dade the right to vote on an issue critical to the future of our local economy. The Speaker single-handedly put the future of Super Bowls and other big events at risk for Miami Dade and for all of Florida. He put politics before the people and the 4,000 jobs this project would have created for Miami-Dade and that is just wrong. I am deeply disappointed by the Speaker’s decision. The Sun Life Stadium renovation bill sought to secure roughly $3 million in sales tax refunds from the state for 30 years. It also would have allowed residents in Miami-Dade County to vote on allowing an increase in the tourism tax to help pay for the Sun Life Stadium renovations.

As the statement was being released, Ross, who had NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell with him as the Commish helped with lobbying legislators, wasn’t done unwinding his coiled emotions, calling the situation “dysfunction in Tallahassee” and saying that Speaker Weatherford went back on his word that he supported the bill. Indeed, considering that it sailed through five committees without a single “no” vote, it was certain to pass the House.

Here’s the bill’s description:

General Bill by Appropriations and Rules and Appropriations and Braynon (CO-SPONSORS) Abruzzo

Economic Development: Providing that tourist development tax revenues may also be used to pay the debt service on bonds that finance the renovation of a professional sports facility that is publicly owned, or that is on publicly owned land, and that is publicly operated or operated by the owner of a professional sports franchise or other lessee; requiring a majority plus one vote of the membership of the board of county commissioners to levy a tax for renovation of a sports franchise facility after approval by a majority of the electors voting in a referendum to approve the proposed use of the tax revenues; providing that the Department of Economic Opportunity shall screen applicants for state funding for sports development, etc.

Effective Date: Upon becoming a law.
Last Event: Amendment 557295 filed on Thursday, May 02, 2013 12:42 PM

The bill’s last minute amendment was reportedly to accommodate the $350 million renovation of Sun-Lite Stadium, a key part of the South Florida Super Bowl Bid.

But the overall problem was the perception that Stephen Ross, a billionaire NFL team owner, was proposing the use of a type of corporate welfare to fix the run-down facility. Ross didn’t present the Super Bowl Bid as a way to help leverage more money for Florida’s cash strapped service system, which he could have done by focusing on how Super Bowls can and do raise money for local charities and needs.

The Florida politics around the request for public money and the attachment of a gift of a Super Bowl Bid, are the most complex I’ve seen since, well, when I led the 2000 bid for Oakland to host the 2005 Super Bowl.

Florida Speaker Will Weatherford Meet Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid

In my case, Oakland Councilmember, and friend, Larry Reid (District Seven) was the swing vote when he was on the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority Board on October 26, 2000. The decision was simple: to allow the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and the Oakland Alameda County Sports Commission (which I created from scratch and on a bet with Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb) to sign a contract turning over use of the Coliseum and the Arena to the National Football League.

Larry abstained from voting, thus deadlocking the panel into a tie, and effectively killing the contract with the NFL, and with that, it seemed, our Super Bowl Bid.

Prior to the vote, as I stood at the podium explaining our innovative Super Bowl Sponsorship Plan (which allowed the branding of various parts of the Coliseum’s East Side luxury box building using a cover in the logo of the corporation or firms that purchased up to $30 million of space), then-Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente (District Five) said “We’ve met with a group of CEOs and we don’t see how this sponsorship plan can work.” This, as Michael Lynch, then head of Global Sponsorships for VISA openly said my approach was workable and innovative.

But the news that stung was they were meeting behind my back.

By the time the vote came down, I was already so pissed I was one step from a transformation into The Hulk. Instead, after the vote, reporters came to be and asked what I was going to do. I said that, as Captain Kirk once said ‘They said no, so we’re going anyway,’ and I proceeded to work on the bid, and still with the idea that we could win it all.

It almost happened.

The competition  for the 2005 Super Bowl then was Miami, Jacksonville, and Oakland. Miami was the establishment candidate, Jacksonville, the hyper-aggressive new bid kid, and Oakland the undersized worker bee – the product of the work of a handful of dedicated people fighting giant odds, from the Raiders lawsuit against the NFL, to Oakland’s own chronic insecurity problem.

After the vote, I was pissed, went home, had a good glass or three of wine, and then wrote an email from hell where I accused then-Mayor Jerry Brown of being racist because he did not work directly with me, even as he had a phalanx of young white staffers and interns who came into his office, and regularly met with him and blasted two other board members who seemed to be instrumental in not keeping Mayor Brown engaged with me. Yet, here I was, working on what would be Oakland’s largest economic development project at that time, and I couldn’t even get time with him.

I recalled one time on April 21st 1999 at 4:21 PM at a reception in a place called ‘The Dalziel Building’ when Jerry, standing with his then close-friend and confidant Jacques Barzaghi, openly told me “I don’t have time for you,” in response to my request to meet with him on Oakland’s Super Bowl Bid.

Then there was the time, May 5th 2000, when we were in New York at NFL Headquarters for a pivotal 2 PM meeting with then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Jerry Brown arrived with Oakland Developer and friend Phil Tagami (who was on my Super Bowl: Oakland Committee) a good 15 minutes late to our presentation, and then left with another hour to spare.

In a meeting that included Commissioner Goodell, who was then NFL EVP for Football Operations, Now-Governor Brown gave Commissioner Tagliabue every sign that he didn’t take the Oakland Super Bowl Bid seriously – asking me questions regarding the Oakland bid as if he were an observer and not a champion, and he was the Mayor of Oakland.

It was a moment in my life I’ll never forget, particularly because it was left to me and to then-Oakland Tribune Publisher Scott McKibben to rescue the meeting. We did.

I spent a lot of time trying to explain to then-Mayor Brown how the NFL Super Bowl Bid Process worked, and how we could leverage it to get more money for Oakland’s constantly embattled school system.

It wasn’t until we were at the 2000 Atlanta Fall NFL Owners Meeting for the final vote, and the media pressure had come to bear on Oakland, that Jerry finally got it. But even then, as he was finally working with me (I had my first meeting with him on the week before I left for Atlanta), I also knew he was trying to plot a way to replace me behind my back, thanks to a number of friends in the NFL. The trouble was, no one in Oakland knew the complexities of the NFL requirements like I did – I memorized 300 pages of requirements, wrote a book on how Oakland would respond to them, and could recite them, chapter and verse.

I wanted to win.

As it turned out, so did Jerry, once he realized the press was watching.

Jerry Brown walked in with our delegation, and even though little things went wrong, like us standing in the wrong place because some of the team members skipped the rehersal meeting I’d planned (including Jerry), now-Governor Brown gave a speech that brought the NFL Owners Meeting to a stand-still. It was powerful. It was effective. It was awesome. It was, what Jerry Brown said it was. It was one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard a politician give in my life.

Brown ended the speech by saying “Here’s my Hail Mary pass, catch it.”

The power of that speech caused Oakland to be so well-considered by the NFL Owners that instead of getting bounced out on the first ballot, it took three votes before all was said and done.

We came to within eight NFL owner votes of actually landing the thing.

Eight.

We had supporters, and to a large degree, that fact alone made up for how terrible the City of Oakland had treated me prior to that time.

After the vote, I came back, but Jerry asked Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb to fire me over the whole deal of me calling him racist. I told Robert, or “Mr. Bobb,” “You can’t fire me, because I quit.” (I didn’t even bother to mention to Bobb that Oakland’s then-Economic Development Head Bill Claggett had set aside $80,000 for the Sports Commission I’d started as a kind of reward for my job-well-done.)

Then to make it all good, I put out a press release, and the news was on the front page of all three major Bay Area newspapers of the day – Chronicle, Mercury News, and Oakland Tribune.

So I understand how Stephen Ross is feeling right now – mad enough to chew nails, throw cars, and perhaps the Speaker of The Florida House. But the difference is that he’s an NFL owner and in the best position to salvage something from this political set back. At the end of the day, his is a stadium financing problem, and thus there is a solution, he just has to find it, and fast because the Boston Super Bowl Bid vote is May 22nd.

San Francisco Has One Large Problem

San Francisco does not have the clear advantage the media thinks it has. The SF / Santa Clara bid is about 75 percent of the way, and arguably it added eight percent with the Florida political issue. But the problem is the stadium’s brand new, and hasn’t hosted an event like the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl is a unique event planning animal because its requirements really are, well, super. You have to have larger than normal walk ways and throughways for the stages used for the Super Bowl Halftime show. The TV network wants almost double the normal light candlepower used at a typical NFL game. Seats have to be in the right positions and sellable – something not an issue at the 49ers new stadium.

It’s the other matters with electrics and lighting, energy, and access, and storage, and other matters, that add up to a less than 100 percent score, right now. Thankfully, the hotel room contract situation, where the NFL wants 24,000 hotel rooms blocked off at “top-quality” hotels within an hour of the stadium, is not much of a problem at all.

And on the stadium matter, the San Francisco Super Bowl Bid Committee Members have been very aggressive in meeting with the league on a regular basis to work through these issues. But if they’re not done by the time Boston comes, San Francisco could still lose the Super Bowl 50 bid to Miami.

But that assumes Stephen Ross fashions a workable backup financing plan for Sun-Light Stadium. Don’t bet against him yet, because his back’s against the wall and he feels he has to save Miami’s bid. He’s a caged animal about now and could propose, or just plain do anything. And the real wild card will be in what kind of deals he cuts with each NFL Owner.

This is where the game’s really fun to watch. NFL politics at its best.

But if Ross doesn’t come up with something, San Francisco could wind up the winner, being the host of Super Bowl 50, and for the first time since 1984.

And then there’s Houston, and the equally determined Houston Texans Owner Bob McNair, and the excellent members of the Harris County Administrator’s Office. Many say they’re a lock to host Super Bowl 51, over San Francisco or Miami.

Stay tuned.

New York, NY – The NFL Draft, or what’s called the “NFL’s Annual Player Selection Meeting” is about to get under way later today in New York City. The general consensus is that this draft’s not as “sexy” as the ones in 2012 and in 2011, but that’s basically the fault of the NFL.

(Note, follow Zennie62 on Twitter for NFL Draft updates and more here and at Zennie62.com.)

From the looks of the 2013 NFL Draft, from this blogger’s perspective, there are a lot of great players and there’s a case to be made that this draft class of quarterbacks and offensive line people will be the best and most effective in NFL Draft history.

Why do I say that: my interview with Luke Joeckel:

Luke Joeckel’s the top-rated offensive tackle from Texas A&M and from just listening to the video, an obvious technician. But he’s something more than that: Luke Joeckel’s a representative of a new breed of player that came up in something called The Airraid Offense. The offense, an evolution of the passing system created by LaVel Edwards when he was the BYU Head Coach during the 70s and 80s, is now used at West Virginia and at Texas A&M and at Clemson, and is being installed at Cal-Berkeley.

Players who come out of the Airraid Offense are used to up-tempo, high-technique, high-impact offensive approaches. And most important, that, combined with the now-vast-number of passing schemes at play in college football, and which have been adopted at the high school level, means that this year’s NFL Draft player in better educated in the operation of a pro-style system than even most NFL coaches.

Here’s Geno Smith, West Virginia’s standout quarterback:

The issue with the NFL Draft today can be encapsulated in one talk I had with a former NFL Head Coach who’s past work I admire: asked about the Airraid Offense and the use of what are called Vertical Set Blocking Techniques that are apparent in this video from Cal Football Spring Practice…

…the coach said “I have to be honest, I don’t know about it.”

He’s not alone, and indeed shows how little current NFL Head Coaches know about many innovations that have started at the college and high school level, and came up to the league via the players drafted.

It’s because of that dynamic that this blogger asserts the state of evaluation of players for the NFL is the worst its ever been. Because of that, it has to be said that we can’t expect any of their prediction and rankings of players to hold.

Stay tuned for more on this issue.

Off to the NFL Draft.

NASHVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 23: Darius Reynaud #25 of the Tennessee Titans returns a kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the game at LP Field on September 23, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans won 44-41 in overtime. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer
Southeast Region
September 26, 2012

Tennessee 44 Detroit 41

Well, this was a game for the ages, as they say in sports. The Titans came into this game knowing it was a must win situation. They had been blown out in the first two weeks of the season and needed some kind of spark. What they did was blow the joint up in one of the craziest games LP Field has ever witnessed. Shades of big games past, an amazing catch and a finish the Kentucky Derby would be envious of.

After two games Jake Locker was under the gun. Was he the right choice? Should the team have gone with Matt Hasselbeck? These were some of the questions being thrown around this organization and fan base. The team and fans had hopes for this year, but a 0-3 start would basically doom the season.

Well, Locker came out and shut the critics up, at least for a week. He was simply marvelous and showed what this team may have in their young star. In his first NFL win he went 29-42 for 378 yards and two touchdowns. He had no turnovers and ran for 35 yards on four carries. One of those runs was a beauty of 31 yards that showed his speed and grit. He took off after scanning the field and did not even hesitate to take on a tackler before going down. Sure, he had a fumble early, but he showed that he can bounce right back after a mistake. When he hit TE Jared Cook for a 61-yard touchdown pass he ran full speed so he could celebrate in the end zone too. It was a big game for the second year pro that should fill him with the confidence he needs to become a star in this league.

There were a host of other big plays as well. The Titans became the first team in NFL history to score five touchdowns of at least 60 yards. It started in the first quarter with the Titans down 6-3. Detroit punted the ball to the right of them and the ball landed in the hands of Darius Reynaud. He immediately turned to his right, and left handed, he tossed the ball in the air into the open arms of Tommie Campbell. Campbell possesses great speed and showed it as he ran right down the sidelines for a 65-yard touchdown. The play was reminiscent to the famous Music City Miracle play in 1999. Reynaud would be involved in the next one when he took a kickoff five yards deep and ran it back 105 yards for a touchdown. On the play, converted TE Taylor Thompson had a crushing block to clear the way for Reynaud. Nate Washington wanted some to be part of the highlights and grabbed a pass behind the back of his defender. That should have been where he fell down, but not Washington. He would acrobatically catch the ball on the defenders back and never break stride on his way to a spectacular 71-yard score. Later, Detroit QB Matthew Stafford threw a pass to TE Brandon Pettigrew and he was stripped of the ball by Alterraun Verner and he ran 72 yards to make it 41-27 with 1:16 to go. Game and match for Tennessee and it was on to Houston with the crucial win. Well, maybe not just yet.

With 1:16 to go, the Lions took possession at their own 20. They proceeded to drive the length of the field in 58 seconds to make it 41-34 with only 18 seconds to go. All Tennessee had to go was execute normal onside kick coverage. That did not go well and the Lions had a shot. Stafford lugged a long deep pass that LB Akeem Ayers tipped back into the field of play. Titus Young caught it and it was a tie game.

The Titans would eventually drive down the field by some good Locker play. Rob Bironas would kick the game winner and the Titans are now 1-2 instead of 0-3.

The win did not mask the problems that still plague this team. Running back Chris Johnson is just not getting it done. After three games he has 45 yards and a growing list negative carries. He showed a glimpse and then faded away. The defense gave up 583 yards to the Lions. If they come close to this performance this Sunday, Houston will blow them out of the building. It may be a glimmer of hope, but if you are a fan, don’t get too excited yet.

Other scores:

Jacksonville 22 Indianapolis 17
Houston 31 Denver 25

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

By Rafael Garcia

Sr. Contributing Writer

Southeast Region

January 9, 2012

Houston 31 Cincinnati 10

A little more than 15 years ago the city of Houston woke to find themselves without and NFL team to call their own anymore. They had just lost the Oilers, who were moving to their new home in Nashville Tn. The wait lasted five years until they got their team back. They would have to wait to make the playoffs for a bit longer than that. Their wait was finally over this year as the team went 10-6 and won the AFC South for the first time. The only thing better at this point would be their first playoff win in franchise history.

It was the first game in NFL history that had two rookies start at quarterback, as well as the first in Reliant Stadium. They had some veterans that had been through all the losing and a head coach that was on the hot seat when the year began. What they got was the biggest win the team has ever had and now they will look to beat the Ravens of Baltimore next week.

T.J. Yates came in after taking over for an injured Matt Leinart. He put up some decent numbers but struggles to end the season. His stats would not tell the whole story as he went 11-20 for 159 yards and a 40-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson. Johnson had been hurt most of the year and was looking to have a big game. He ended up with five catches for 90 yards and that huge catch. Arian Foster remembers when he was told that he would not make it in this league. He showed how wrong they were since he came into the league. On this day he would carry his team with 24 carries for 153 yards, including the back breaker 42-yard score late in the fourth.

The Texans defense has been big all year with Wade Phillips running the show. They improved drastically this year and looked the part against the Bengals and their rookie signal caller Andy Dalton. They rushed and harassed him all day to force three picks. One of those was returned 29 yards by another rookie JJ Watt and that changed the momentum of the game. Dalton, the other rookie QB, was 27-42 for 257 yards but threw the picks that cost his team the game.

Now, it’s off to Baltimore and a game that Houston has a great chance to win. They will need to rely on Foster to set the tone for the game. If he can get off and move the ball it will give Yates time to throw. If the defense can get to Joe Flacco and keep Ray Rice in check they will move on to the AFC championship game. It has been one heck of a season when they needed it, but it gets harder from here on out. The Ravens will not go easy and if the Texans can pull that one off they will see who they play for the right to go to the big game.

FOR USE AS DESIRED

http://twitter.com/NFLFootballInfo

WHAT TO LOOK FOR – WEEK 8

2011 GAMES ARE THISCLOSE: Seven games in Week 7 were decided by seven points or fewer, four of which featured pivotal scores in the game’s waning moments. Thus far in 2011, 54 games have been decided by seven points or fewer, tied for the second-most such contests ever through the first seven weeks.

The most games decided by seven or fewer points through Week 7 and Week 8:

– NFL –

MORE SCORES: There have been 4,629 points scored in 2011, the most through seven weeks in NFL history. The 44.9 points per game average is the highest through seven weeks since 1970.

Nine teams in 2011 are averaging at least 25 points per game, on pace to tie 2008 for the highest number of teams to average 25+ points per game in NFL history.

– NFL –

HOME IS WHERE THE START IS: The Buffalo Bills will play a regular-season home game at the Rogers Centre in Toronto for the fourth consecutive year when they host the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Buffalo has won its first three home games this season, bettering or matching its home win total of each of the past three seasons. With a victory in Toronto, Buffalo would become theeighth team in NFL history to win its first four home games after starting the previous season 0-4 at home.

– NFL –

ONES VS. ONES: In Week 8, the NFL’s top passing and rushing attacks will face their defensive counterparts.

Division leaders New England and Pittsburgh own the best passing offense (NE, 350.4 net pass yards per game) and passing defense (Pit., 171.9 net pass yards allowed per game), respectively, and meet this Sunday at Heinz Field.

In Week 14 of 2007, the Patriots and Steelers ranked first in the same categories entering their matchup, a game that resulted in a 34-13 Patriots’ home victory.

Sunday Night Football features an NFC East tilt between Philadelphia’s top-rated rush offense (170 yards per game) and Dallas’ top-ranked rush defense (69.7 yards allowed per game).

– NFL –

GIVE ME FIVE: Minnesota Vikings running back ADRIAN PETERSON leads the league in rushing yards (712) and rushing touchdowns (8) this season. Peterson, who has been selected to the Pro Bowl the past three years (2008-2010), needs 38 rushing yards this weekend at Carolina to register his fifth consecutive season with at least 750 rush yards and eight touchdowns.

Peterson can join Pro Football Hall of Famers JIM BROWN and EMMITT SMITH and LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON as the only running backs to register 750 rushing yards and eight touchdowns or more in five consecutive seasons to start a career.

– NFL –

CAM CAN: 2011 first-round draft choices CAM NEWTON (No. 1, Carolina) and CHRISTIAN PONDER (No. 12, Minnesota) will start at quarterback in the Vikings-Panthers game. Newton, who started opposite of rookie quarterback BLAINE GABBERT (No. 10, Jacksonville) in Week 3, will become the first rookie quarterback selected in the first round to start against two first-round quarterbacks from his class since the advent of the common draft in 1967.

Last week, Newton passed for 256 yards with one touchdown to record his fourth 250-yard passing game. If he passes for at least 250 yards against Minnesota, Newton will become the fourth quarterback since 1960 to reach 250 passing yards in five games during his rookie campaign.

– NFL –

CHIEF CHANGE: The Kansas City Chiefs started the season 0-3 and have won their past three games. With a win on Monday Night Football against AFC West rival San Diego, Kansas City can become the first team since the 2000 Pittsburgh Steelers to start a season 0-3 and win its next four games.

FOR USE AS DESIRED

October 19, 2011

http://twitter.com/nflfootballinfo

WHAT TO LOOK FOR – WEEK 7

NO LEAD IS SAFE: Last week, the San Francisco 49ers overcame a 10-0 deficit to defeat the Detroit Lions 25-19.  With that result, there have now been 19 games in which a team trailed by at least 10 points and came back to win – the most through Week 6 in NFL history.

The 19 double-digit comebacks are already the second-most through the first seven weeks of a season all-time.

                                                                *Through Week 6

– NFL –

CLOSE GAMES: Entering Week 7, 52.2 percent of NFL games (47 of 90) have been decided by seven points or fewer.  At this pace, the league will play the highest percentage of seven-point games since 1970 (1994, 115 of 224, 51.3 percent).

– NFL –

LONDON CALLING: The NFL International Series returns to London’s Wembley Stadium this Sunday when the Chicago Bears face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bears and Buccaneers have played three consecutive games against each other decided by three points or fewer, tying for the longest current streak in the league.

The past two meetings between Chicago and Tampa Bay have been decided in overtime, most recently in Week 3 of the 2008 season (Buccaneers 27, Bears 24).  Since overtime was instituted in 1974, there have been three instances of teams playing three consecutive overtime games against each other.

*Current streak

The contest will be the ninth international regular-season game in NFL history and the fifth played in the United Kingdom.

The regular-season games played in the United Kingdom:

– NFL –

WINNING WAYS: The defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers are 6-0 – the last remaining undefeated team in the NFL this season.  The 6-0 start is their first since 1965 and gives the teams 12 consecutive victories including the postseason, tying a franchise record.

The Packers currently hold a 699-540-36 all-time record, including the postseason.  With a win over Minnesota on Sunday, Green Bay would become just the second franchise in NFL history to reach 700 total wins.  Including the postseason, the Chicago Bears have a record of 724-533-42.

Last week, Green Bay became the seventh defending Super Bowl champion to start a season 6-0. All six of those teams won at least 10 games and advanced to the playoffs, and two of them repeated as Super Bowl champions – the 1998 Denver Broncos and 2004 New England Patriots.

With a victory this Sunday, the Packers would become just the fourth defending Super Bowl champion to start a season 7-0. Most recently, the Super Bowl XLI Champion Indianapolis Colts began the 2007 season at 7-0.

– NFL –

MOVIN’ ON UP: Atlanta Falcons tight end TONY GONZALEZ has 30 receptions for 318 yards and four touchdowns this season.  For his career, Gonzalez has now recorded 1,099 receptions, already fourth-most all-time.

With four catches this weekend against Detroit, Gonzalez would surpass CRIS CARTER (1,101) and MARVIN HARRISON (1,102) for the second-most receptions in NFL history.  Pro Football Hall of Famer JERRY RICE holds the record with 1,549.

The players with the most receptions in NFL history:

*Active