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On the heels of our very own MDS reporting from Super Bowl week that the entire NFL is mock-drafting Matthew Stafford to the Lions comes word from Detroit that new offensive coordinator Scott Linehan is already planning to use the entire preseason before naming a starting quarterback.

Linehan said he’s talked to Daunte Culpepper, Jon Kitna and Drew Stanton, and he made it clear the Lions don’t have a frontrunner for the starting job. Not yet. … Linehan, who said he’s still in the process of evaluating the quarterbacks, brought up the fact that Atlanta held an open quarterback competition in preseason before choosing Matt Ryan, who went on to be the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Anquan Boldin’s current contract doesn’t expire until after next season, but ever since Larry Fitzgerald signed a four-year, $40 million deal, he’s been unhappy.

This past offseason, he continually pressed the organization for a raise. When that didn’t work, he pushed them to pursue a trade. The Cardinals held steadfast in their position that they really didn’t have to do anything, and Boldin eventually fell in line.

In anticipation of Cardinals-Steelers, FanHouse takes a look back at some forgotten storylines from past Super Bowls.

The Game: Up until the Giants stunned New England last season, Super Bowl XXIII was arguably the most exciting Super Bowl ever played – some would argue that it still is.

Cincinnati led San Francisco 16-13 in the game’s final moments. Everyone knows what happened next: Montana, with the 49ers down to their last chance, led his team 92 yards in 11 plays, then found John Taylor in the end zone with 34 seconds left for a dramatic 20-16 Niners victory.

What Might Have Been: Montana’s last drive was the stuff of legends – his team’s collective back against the wall, on the game’s biggest stage, all the future Hall of Famer did was hit eight-of-nine passes (not counting a completion negated by a SF penalty) in a game-winning drive.

Watching battles among schools for the top high school prospects is never boring. But watching the battles among schools for the remaining players with little more than a week left until National Signing Day can be downright fascinating.

Bryce Brown is expected to be on vacation through signing day.

Six of the nation’s top 10 prospects remain up for grabs, and the jockeying, scrambling and final pushes before the dead period is in full swing. A minute doesn’t go by where there’s a rumor started about where some of the top players in the nation will end up.

At the top of the speculation list is the nation’s No. 1 player, running back Bryce Brown of Wichita (Kan.) East. Brown remains committed to Miami, but he currently is with his uncle on vacation in Nebraska until Feb. 7. There has been rampant speculation that Brown will take an official visit to Auburn this weekend, but neither Brown nor his mentor Brian Butler have confirmed the visit.

It’s believed Brown will come back the weekend after Signing Day and look at what players landed where and then decide on two official visits to either Auburn, Miami, Tennessee or USC.

Then there is wide receiver Rueben Randle, the nation’s No. 2 player, from Bastrop (La.) High. He has shifted his focus to three schools . LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma. But Randle said he intends to take one final official visit this weekend, to Auburn, before making up his mind.

“As of right now, I am taking my visit to Auburn,” Randle said. “I’ll then come back and figure out when I’ll make my decision.”

St. Louis Gateway defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, the nation’s No. 4 player, has been a long-time Missouri commitment, but he said he is still considering an official visit to Miami on Friday.

“They are still recruiting me, so we’ll see,” he said. “I’m down to two . Miami and Missouri. I said I was done for a minute, and then I saw they’re still coming after me. We’ll see if I visit. I’m talking to my father about that. We’ll see.”

A minute doesn’t go by where there’s a rumor about the nation’s No. 6 prospect, Pensacola (Fla.) Escambia running back Trent Richardson. His college choice was the center of rampant Internet rumors Monday night, with most speculating he had officially de-committed from Alabama and was heading to LSU. People close to Richardson denied the speculation, but the gossip won’t stop until Richardson signs.

Linebacker Vontaze Burfict of Corona (Calif.) Centennial, the nation’s No. 9 prospect, pledged to USC on Feb. 26, 2008. But he visited Arizona State on Jan. 16. Burfict did visit USC this past weekend and all indications are the visit went well, but he’s not spoken publicly about his status since that trip.

Then there is linebacker Jelani Jenkins of Olney (Md.) Our Lady of Good Counsel, the nation’s No. 10 player. He will wait until NSD to announce his decision on one of the ESPN network channels.

“It’s down to Florida, Penn State, Notre Dame, Stanford and Southern Cal,” said his dad, Maurice. “We saw Southern Cal and Stanford when we went on a West Coast trip last spring, and we went to Notre Dame as well. And last weekend we were at Penn State, so Jelani is done with official visits. He has a ton of stuff to do over the next few weekends as far as awards dinners and such, so we won’t be able to get any more in.”

RACE TIGHTENS UP

	A commitment from Rueben Randle could help keep LSU’s recruiting class at No. 1.

The race for the nation’s top class is nowhere near over. LSU has had a stranglehold on the top spot for several months now over Ohio State, but there are several teams with enough players left on their boards to push the Tigers for the top spot.

LSU also has plenty left on its board, especially if it can reel in Randle and Richardson and/or pull another surprise or two. That might be enough to keep the Tigers at No. 1.

Ohio State and Texas are virtually done, especially now that Devon Kennard is off the board for the Longhorns. That leaves Alabama, USC and Florida as the biggest threats to make a run at No. 1.

The Trojans surely will get a bounce after adding Kennard on Tuesday, and they could get another huge bump if five-star linebacker Manti Te’o comes aboard. The Trojans also are still involved with Jarvis Jones, Jawanza Starling, Orson Charles and Frankie Telfort.

Florida still is in the mix for Jenkins, Jones, Telfort, Charles, Denard Robinson, Joshua Evans and Marlon Brown. Alabama still has big-timers such as Randle, Reid, Eddie Lacy, Bobby Massie, Barkevious Mingo, Brandon Moore, Kendall Kelly, Dre Kirkpatrick and Darren Myles on its board.

LOGJAM AT TOP OF MOUNTAIN WEST

While most of the nation’s focus has been on the intense recruiting battles going on in the SEC, one of tightest races is at the top of the Mountain West Conference. Right now, there is not a huge separation among Utah, TCU and BYU for the top three spots in the conference.

Utah is on top now with a class that includes defensive end James Aiono . the nation’s No. 1 junior college player . two four-star prospects and 13 three-star recruits. TCU has four four-star pledges and 11 three-star commitments. BYU also has a great group coming in, with two four-star commitments and 14 three-star players.

Overall, Utah is ranked No. 39 in the nation, ahead of “Big Six” programs such as Wisconsin, Colorado, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech. TCU checks in at No. 43 and BYU at No. 49. Utah is in position to strengthen its hold of the top spot in the conference if it’s able to reel in Rivals100 offensive lineman Xavier Su’a Filo of Provo (Utah) Timpview.

TAMPA, Fla. — In talking to a cross-section of the National Football League intelligentsia over the last couple of days, one thing is clear: Almost everyone believes the Detroit Lions are planning to select Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first pick in the NFL draft.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen – remember when everyone thought the Texans would draft Reggie Bush? – but it does mean that other teams are getting prepared for the draft with the thought that the only way they can get Stafford is by trading up for the Lions’ pick, something that few teams seem inclined to do.

In early 2004, the Cardinals were fresh off another disappointing season. Journeyman quarterback Jeff Blake had proven to be nothing more than that, Marcel Shipp wasn’t even a replacement-level running back, and a rookie wideout named Anquan Boldin was about the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal situation.

Denny Green was hired to fix all that. So it was with some surprise that the Cardinals, a team with needs at every position except wide receiver — and particularly at quarterback — would use the third-overall pick to select Larry Fitzgerald.

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: AZ Cardinals, NFL Playoffs

The Arizona Cardinals shocked the NFC by advancing to Super Bowl XLIII. It’s an incredible accomplishment for two reasons: 1) They’re the Arizona Cardinals, a team that has forever been synonymous with losing and 2) They were a 9-7 team in the regular season, losing four of their final six regular season games, some in embarrassing fashion. And here they are in the biggest game of the season, playing for all the marbles.

The Cardinals’ meteoric rise to the spotlight has prompted some discussion as to how fair the NFL’s one-and-done playoff system is compared to the BCS, and if the Cardinals are “bad for the NFL” — including this article by Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated. Naturally, the NFL FanHouse crew had some opinions on the matter.

‘House Roundtable: Super Bowl vs. BCS originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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by Chris Burke

Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Steelers, AFC North, NFC West, NFL Playoffs

Fred Jackson, Ernest Graham, Fred Taylor, Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes. Those are the five running backs that finished No. 37-41 in rushing yards during the NFL’s regular season – all ahead of the league’s 42nd-leading rusher, Arizona’s Edgerrin James.

Here’s the list of guys with more postseason rushing yards than James: No one.

Back From the Edge: Renewed Trust in James Fueling Arizona’s Offense originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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by Ryan Wilson

Filed under: Patriots, Steelers, AFC East, AFC North, NFL Fans, NFL Playoffs

Whatever happens Sunday, the Patriots will undoubtedly be the team to beat come September — at least according to the predictably sycophantic media who assume that, as long as Bill Belichick is breathing and Tom Brady is walking, New England is winning.

There are still concerns about Brady’s reconstructed left knee, but if he’s fully operational by training camp, the prognosticating bobbleheads should take great comfort in anointing the Patriots as favorites to win their fourth Super Bowl this decade. It’s the same banal “analysis” that fans have been beaten about the head with since New England won its last championship four years ago.

Steelers Could (Should?) Surpass Patriots as NFL’s Best Team originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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by Ryan Wilson

Filed under: Titans, AFC South, NFL Fans, NFL Media Watch, NFL Free Agency, NFL Rumors

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen might not always get the facts right, but he is persistent. After reporting that the Chiefs were in talks with Mike Shanahan about the head coaching vacancy, Mortensen later backed off the story after NFL Network’s Adam Schefter kindly set him straight.

But you can’t keep Mort down for long. Today one of his sources (hopefully not the same one who fed him the Shanahan-to-the-Chiefs scoop) spills the beans on Kerry Collins‘ future: Titans head coach Jeff Fisher wants Collins back as the team’s starting quarterback in 2009.

Caveat Emptor: Chris Mortensen Says Titans Want Kerry Collins to Start in 2009 originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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