Football

The Dallas Cowboys decline to comment on speculation about whether the team is considering a move from its long-time home at Valley Ranch in Irving.

Neighbors shared mixed reviews on the new Vikings stadium design, but welcomed its neighborhood impact.

Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch recently landed on NFL Network’s Top 100 list.  Four spots higher than Darrelle Revis. Which prompted a candid reaction from MDS. And so Tulloch has found a way to find extra motivation, based on the response to his placement ahead of Revis. “Trust me, I’ve been [a] fourth-round pick, undersized, this…

By Alan Robinson, Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewIn late December, the Steelers infrequently find themselves out of the playoffs — as they did last season. In mid-May, however, they’re almost always considered ...

I know, Jordan Gross and DeAngelo Williams re-did their contracts to create room. I also have the feeling that the Panthers will release some other guys after June 1 to create still more room for this year but will primarily carry over to next year (remember that James Anderson was designated as a June 1 release but still freed $1.4 million for this year) so after their rookies sign they will have a good bit of room. A good bit of room that they should not use. The reality is that even though they are doing pretty good right now, the real cap troubles are going to be in the next 1-3 years when several productive players - including Cam Newton and Greg Hardy - will get substantial increases over their rookie deals. Even better: pretty much every Panther contract at WR and DB expires before 2015. (Yes, Steve Smith's deal runs through 2015, but no Smitty won't be getting that $7 million balloon payment hat season.) But wait: there's more. Godfrey's contract is through 2016, but base salary jumps from $1.6 million to $5 million after this season so barring a massive paycut this is his last year as a Panther. And how long are Thomas Davis, Jon Beason, Jordan Gross and Ryan Kalil going to stick around? Gross will be an UFA after this season, and the other 3 will be making $5 million a year or more in 2015. Are there guys who can help the Panthers on the market? This list says yes, but that is not the point. The point is that because the Panthers have so few good players - and so many of those have contracts that are big, expiring or both - the Panthers cannot add more guys on the wrong side of 30 with 3-4 year contracts at $4 million - $5 million a year. If we are talking about adding a 26-28 year old guy just coming off his rookie deal and will still be in his prime at the end of that contract, fine. But adding a guy on the downside of his productivity with a deal like that will simply mean cutting him in 2015, eating his signing bonus that year and still having to fill his roster spot. So yes, the Panthers could sign Brandon Moore and Eric Winston, have one of the best OLs in the NFL and make the playoffs in 2013. Or they could sign Kerry Rhodes and Daryl Smith, have a tremendous defense (at every position except CB) and make the playoffs in 2013 for the same reason. Good deal. But the price of that would mean not making the playoffs in 2014-2016. The reason is that they are losing far more guys starting next offseason than they can possibly replace in the draft. During that stretch, they are going to need multiple prudent midlevel free agent type deals just to fill holes. Giving Rhodes, Winston, etc. the deals that they want now will prevent them from doing that in the future.Example: look at the depth chart at WR. Of those 4 guys, Steve Smith is the only one under contract after this season, and he may well retire. You fans of David Gettis and Brandon LaFell? Both guys are UFAs this season right along with 1 year stopgaps Hixon and Ginn, Jr. So if LaFell and Gettis were to break out this year, not being able to retain them because the 4 year, $20 million deals to keep them in Charlotte are being taken up by Daryl Smith and Kerry Rhodes would be very counterproductive.Bad example? Well here's another scenario. The Rams gave for Jake Long 4 years, $34 million, $16 million guaranteed for a player that Dolphins fans aren't even upset about losing. Don't expect Gettleman to go the same route. He will either retain Jordan Gross for a reasonable amount next year or take his replacement with the #1 pick. Giving Eric Winston - who likely doesn't even fit the blocking scheme that the Panthers will run anyway - the money that he wants will make retaining Gross almost impossible. And as it is easier to find a RT in the 2nd round than an LT in the first so why give that sort of money to Winston anyway? And the same can be said about Kerry Rhodes. Giving him the $4.5 million a year that he wants will only block the Panthers from signing a

Dolphins players floated out from Miami Beach to try and land the biggest catch – and a nice jackpot for the local community.

Dee Milliner, the ninth overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, signed with a new agency Saturday. The New York Jets cornerback fired his previous agency on May 10.

Got Falcons-related news and ideas on your mind? Here's where you can discuss them!

You may have already read dozens and dozens of power rankings already this offseason and although my rankings are bound to be wrong and will barely have any meaning, it is still a fun thing to do. 1. DENVER BRONCOS- This team is so stacked and they (somehow) got better in the offseason. Peyton Manning has Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas, (and now) Wes Welker, Jacob Tamme. Highly praised Louis Vasquez joined an already solid oline too, which gives defenses even more stress. Yes, the loss of Dumervil hurts...but the leader of the defense has been Von Miller. 2. SAN FRANCISCO- These guys have perhaps the best front 7 in football I have ever seen (i'm 23, so I wasn't around for the terrific 80's 46 Bears defense or the Steel Curtain Steeler's D, which I have heard is quite outstanding). The O-line and the rest of the offense too is outstanding. DB's are a concern and I don't think Ashmoghua will make as much of a positive impact as they would like. Frank Gore is now 30- a deadly age for RBs. But with a promising young QB, good receivers, terrific oline and an exceptional front seven, I rank these guys #2. 3. GREEN BAY PACKERS- There are so many things I love about Aaron Rodgers' play. He is the king of QB's at the moment. The loss of the old Greg Jennings wont harm them at all. Eddie Lacy could be the RB they need. They hope the addition of Datone Jones shores up their run D which struggled last year and it could work. Even though the defense is only average, Rodgers elevates this team's play and makes them a serious threat. 4. ATLANTA FALCONS- This is Matt Ryan's year. He has the talent, he has the tools (Gonzalez, White, Jones) to do win it all. 5. BALTIMORE RAVENS- This team lost the core of their defense. But they have the best front office in football. They have an outstanding coach. They have a QB that knows how to win playoff games (what an outstanding playoff run in 2012). They still have do it all back Ray Rice. They won without their top CB in 2012. They added Elvis Dumervil. They had a strong draft. They shrewdly let Ellerbe and Kruger walk for big bucks- this team knows how to declare "NEXT MAN UP". 6. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- They are not the lethal, scary team they once were. I don't think they get past the Divisional Round this year and the loss of Welker and the potential loss of Rob Gronkowski is serious. I don't like the receivers Tom Brady has to work with. But it is Tom Brady we're talking here. Bill Bellichick will still be the mastermind in NE, thus they are contenders. 7. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS- These guys are borderline elite. I'm not sold on them like most people are. Richard Sherman is a stud and Bobby Wagner has it all, but with Bruce Irvin and Chris Clemons missing for some time (whom of which combined for 20 sacks), the defense pass rush will struggle, especially in that important week 2 clash with San Francisco. Russell Wilson will have to utilize Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice and Marshawn Lynch to perfection and cannot afford to start off slowly, given their defensive setbacks this offseason. A good team- their road struggles too setback this team and I'm not as high on these guys as most experts are. 8. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS- I'm so impressed with Andrew Luck's rookie season. I questioned some Free Agent and Draft additions, but all the additions were upgrades (except Walden). The core of this team's skilled players was set up in last year's draft. This offseason saw the trenches improve immensely (on paper)- which was a necessity given last year's struggles. I'm looking forward to 2013. 9. HOUSTON TEXANS- Two reasons why I don't rate these guys higher: Reason 1) the offseason has been a setback for them- They don't have a receiving threat outside Andre Johnson (although the addition of De'Andre Hopkins may relieve coverage off him, he is still unproven and he is still a rookie). The addition of Ed Reed for Clover Quinn is a downgrade. He may be a big name, but he had serious issues in 2012

Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports Going back over the 2012 NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have multiple spots where they can improve for the upcoming season. From a schematic point of view, both sides of the football need to make changes in the play-calling  But let’s talk a little about what happened last season in terms of the defensive play-calling, and what needs to happen in 2013 if they want to improve on last season’s 8-8 record. If you only looked at the stats, you might think that the Steelers defense played really well. They ranked no. 1 in yards allowed and no. 6 in points allowed, both of which are excellent numbers. But, some of the numbers were well below average, and attributed greatly to this team losing eight games. The numbers I am thinking about related to sacks and turnovers. In 2012, the Steelers only forced 20 total turnovers including 10 interceptions. When you consider that half of those interceptions came from inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons and backup cornerback Cortez Allen, you understand that there are problems. You add in 37 sacks, which ranked the Steelers 15th in the NFL las year, and it’s pretty clear that what the Steelers have traditionally done well, they did very poorly in 2012. Not getting timely sacks or turnovers meant teams were able to keep drives allowed, and when the Steelers offense couldn’t score, it didn’t take much for other teams to come out on top. How it is to be fixed? Well, drafting linebacker Jarvis Jones in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft is a start. But beyond that, this team has to get back to a more aggressive stance. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is the architect of one of the most original and creative defensive systems in football, but in 2012 it looked like a shell of its former self. The zone blitzes, exotic pressures and making teams never know where the extra rushers are coming from was almost non-existent last year. I understand there were injuries and that impacted what the staff could do, but this year, there are no excuses. The offense struggled last season, and that put more pressure on the defense and to be frank, they fell flat. I want to see more aggressive play-calling and more chances being taken in 2013.  It’s time for the return of the Steel Curtain. Curt covers the Pittsburgh Steelers, the NFL draft, and college football for Rant Sports. Connect with Curt on Twitter @nfldraftboard.