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NFL General

The Men Are Black

Lovie & Dungy Make NFL and Black History

There was an old proverb that I once saw on a wall at one of my local bakeries that read, “If it ain’t white, it ain’t right.”  Now of course they were referring to bread, but that really struck a nerve with me.  One, because I was there to buy a loaf of rye, and two, it made me think about the number of African-American coaches in the NFL.  I have been watching NFL football for a substantial amount of years and that statement really hit home and made me rethink my views about the coaching position in the NFL.  Now with the success of Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears, both Black men and head coaches, leading their teams to the Super Bowl; maybe its time to say “If it ain’t white, that’s alright.”

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NFL General

The Road to Super Bowl XLI: In-Depth Analysis

By David J. Cohen

The playoffs have a different feel this year than in recent years. In those years there were clearly defined contenders and pretenders for the championship. However, this year the playoffs seem truly wide open. This year the playoffs are centered on three inexperienced quarterbacks: Tony Romo of the Cowboys, Rex Grossman of the Bears, and Philip Rivers of the Chargers. If they can rise to the occasion their teams will make the runs expected of them. If they falter, proven veterans will seize the day.

The NFC is the perfect example of what parity has done to the league. It has made teams competitive which have been awful the year before. With parity, you can go through Hurricane Katrina one year and earn a bye the next. Parity has also made mediocrity a premium. The 8-8 Giants are in the playoffs, and teams like Green Bay were still in it going into the last week of the regular season. The playoff picture in the NFC is murky, with no clear cut choice. With that said, here is how it should play out.