Week 5 was another strange week in the NFL. Graham Gano kicked a game winning 63 yard field goal, Greg Joseph kicked the ugliest game winning field goal in recent memory, and one of the NFL’s best kickers, Mason Crosby, missed 5 kicks against the Lions. The Jets running game rose from the ashes, the…
Ryan Fitzpatrick will return, at least for now, to his slumber under the surface. Four of the five rookie quarterbacks taken in 2018 NFL Draft have assumed starting responsibilities for their respective teams. Julian Edelman and Mark Ingram are set to return from their suspensions. The Tennessee Titans beat the defending Super Bowl Champions despite…
Before I start writing and you start reading, let us try to take a moment to process the featured image above. Specifically: is this the greatest thing ever to happen or a sign the excesses of Western Civilization have finally gotten completely out of control? I wonder . . . Okay, so now that we…
“Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science – in all of biology” – Bill Nye And especially in the game of football. Yet unlike nature, where changes can be gradual and take life cycles, evolution in football must be swift, must be effective, and preferably must be trailblazing lest ye be left…
A little over two years ago, I wrote a piece called “Five Lessons on Hiring Head Coaches,” looking at trends and results from head coaching hires since 2000. With 13 of the league’s 32 teams making changes at the top since then, it seemed like a good time to see if the hiring practices and…
At Inside The Pylon, we get a little obsessed with the NFL Draft. Our team of 50 scouts wrote nearly 1,000 reports about more than 550 draft prospects, and we turned that into our ITP Draft Guide, which we feel is the premier product on the market. But we recognize that not everyone is as obsessed as…
Each year the NFL scouting community engages in a shuffle, as both personnel and scouts move between organizations. Sometimes these are individual movements and promotions from team to team, but other times these moves indicate a new front office that is looking to make a shift in the team’s philosophy. This tracker I have put together…
Finding the quarterback to lead your franchise isn’t an easy task for any NFL executive. For most teams, franchise quarterbacks are acquired by miserably finishing with the league’s worst record. Others are fortunate enough to fill the position by hitting on the rare 3rd or 4th round pick. Yet, for the unlucky teams that find…
The New York Giants made some noise in the week prior to free agency when they acquired Los Angeles Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree and a 2019 7th round pick, for 4th and 6th round selections in the upcoming NFL Draft. The position was criminally overlooked through the Jerry Reese tenure and new general manager Dave…
Giants Nation, our minds ache as our soul’s search for a remedy from the albatross we witnessed this past season. Unrealistic expectations and a lack of communication, execution, and an all around massive implosion surrounded the 2017 New York Football Giants, but we must put this harrowing experience behind us and hope the remedy lies…
There are three core positions in football. Quarterback, meaning someone who can throw the ball downfield. Offensive tackle, meaning someone to protect that quarterback. And an edge pass rusher, meaning someone to disrupt the opponent’s quarterback. The next in line after this trio would be the field-tilting cornerback. For everything you have up front, under…
The Philadelphia Eagles’ red zone offense has been on a tear for the entire 2017 campaign. Entering Week 16 of the 2017 NFL season, they rank 1st in the league in converting visits to the red area into touchdowns (67.31%) which has lead to them scoring a robust 31.3 points per game. Even with franchise…
If the NFL season ended today, the AFC and NFC playoff picture would look like this: Steelers 1. Eagles Patriots 2. Vikings Chiefs 3. Rams Titans 4. Saints Bills …
The Houston Texans offense has undergone a substantial shift after the first two weeks of the season. They’ve begun to heavily incorporate play action concepts to help rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson adjust to the NFL. Watson has been about as impressive as a rookie QB can be, and Mark Schofield broke down his eyes through…
The Miami Dolphins followed a disastrous trip to London with an uninspiring 16-10 victory over the Matt Cassel-led Tennessee Titans in Week 5. Over those two weeks quarterback Jay Cutler struggled at the quarterback position. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 164 yards and an interception against the Saints at Wembley Stadium, then followed…
After two weeks of the NFL season, the Tennessee Titans‘ option game really caught Matty Brown’s eye. In this video he breaks down four different option plays from the Titans offense. They keep defenses honest and exploit teams straying from their assignments in a keenness to make a play. The option game forms an exciting…