National Football League (NFL)
The National Football League, or NFL, was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association. The name was changed to the National Football League in 1922. Throughout the 1920s the number of teams in the league varied and the NFL was not considered a major sport. It was actually not until after World War II that the NFL started to rival college football in popularity.
In 1966, the NFL merged with the American Football League (AFL) and in 1970 the leagues were fully merged under the NFL and two conferences were created - the AFC (American Football Conference) and the NFC (National Football Conference).
The NFL is synonymous with American football. It is one of the five most watched sports leagues in the world. The NFL has the highest per-game attendance of any US professional sports league in the world (source: Wikipedia).
The NFL fields 32 teams in two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) which consists of 16 teams organized into four divisions (the East, North, South, and West), and the National Football Conference (NFC), which consists of 16 teams also organized into four divisions (the East, North, South, and West).
NFL At-A-Glance
- Season: 16 games (17 weeks regular season starting in early September. The playoffs extend into January/February with the Super Bowl)
- Teams: 32 (16 AFC, 16 NFC)
- Events:
- Annual draft of college players which was first held in 1936
- Pre-season (August - early September)
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Game - a preseason exhibition game held on the Football Hall of Fame induction weekend
- American Bowl - a preseason exhibition game held outside of the United States
- Pro Bowl (played after the Super Bowl) - AFC/NFC All star game played annually in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Championship: The Super Bowl
- In the period 1920-1966 the NFL crowned an NFL Champion either by winning percentage (1920-1932) or in the NFL Championship Game (1933-1965)
- In the period 1960-1965 the AFL also crowned an AFL Champion in an AFL Championship Game
- Most recent champion: 2010 - The New Orleans Saints (NFC)
- League web site: http://www.nfl.com
NFL Championships
The NFL has a four tier 1-game elimination championship format, organized as follows:
- Wild Card Round - 6 teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs - the 4 division champions and 2 wild card teams. In the wild card round, the 3rd seeded team plays the 6th seeded team for the same conference, and the 4 and 5 seeds play each other. The 1 and 2 seeds for each conference get a bye into the next round, the Divisional Round.
- Divisional Round - In the Divisional Round, the two winners of the Wild Card Round face the 1 and 2 seeds from their conference. The team with the highest seed plays the team with the lowest seed, and the remaining two teams play each other.
- Conference Championships - The 2 remaining AFC teams meet to determine the AFC Champion, and the 2 remaining NFC teams meet to determine the NFC Champion in the Conference Championships.
- The Super Bowl - The Conference Champions meet in the Super Bowl to determine the NFL champion.
In the playoffs, the highest seeded team in any game gets the home field advantage. The Super Bowl is played in a predetermined "neutral" location with the highest seed acting as the home team.
NFL Teams
Following are all of the National Football League teams in both the AFC and the NFC with links to the team web sites.
AFC
- AFC-East
- Buffalo Bills - Buffalo, New York
- Miami Dolphins - Miami, Florida
- New York Jets - East Rutherford, New Jersey
- New England Patriots - Foxboro, Massachusetts
- AFC-North
- Baltimore Ravens - Baltimore, Maryland
- Cincinnati Bengals - Cincinnati, Ohio
- Cleveland Browns - Cleveland, Ohio
- Pittsburgh Steelers - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- AFC-South
- Houston Texans - Houston, Texas
- Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis, Indiana
- Jacksonville Jaguars - Jacksonville, Florida
- Tennessee Titans - Nashville, Tennessee
- West
- Denver Broncos - Denver, Colorado
- Kansas City Chiefs - Kansas City, Missouri
- Oakland Raiders - Oakland, California
- San Diego Chargers - San Diego, California
NFC
- NFC-East
- Dallas Cowboys - Dallas, Texas
- New York Giants - New York, New York
- Philadelphia Eagles - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Washington Redskins - Washington DC
- NFC-North
- Chicago Bears - Chicago, Illinois
- Detroit Lions - Detroit, Michigan
- Green Bay Packers - Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Minnesota Vikings - Minneapolis, Minnesota
- NFC-South
- Atlanta Falcons - Atlanta, Georgia
- Carolina Panthers - Charlotte, North Carolina
- New Orleans Saints - New Orleans, Louisiana
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Tampa Bay, Florida
- NFC-West
- Arizona Cardinals - Glendale (near Phoenix), Arizona
- San Francisco 49ers - San Francisco, California
- Seattle Seahawks - Seattle, Washington
- St. Louis Rams - St. Louis, Missouri
NFL News
| Yahoo! Sports - NFL News |
| Attorney: Cops were with Big Ben at club (AP)
Two off-duty Pennsylvania law enforcement officers were with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the Georgia nightclub where a woman accused him of sexual assault, and the two men didn't see anything inappropriate, an attorney for one of them said Wednesday. Anthony Barravecchio, an officer on the force in the Pittsburgh suburb of Coraopolis, and Pennsylvania Trooper Ed... |
| Tomlinson to visit Vikings on Thursday (AP) LaDainian Tomlinson is coming to Minnesota for a visit, and the Vikings believe he could be a good fit. Tomlinson is scheduled to meet with coach Brad Childress and other members of the organization on Thursday. The 2006 NFL MVP was released by the San Diego Chargers last month after the least-productive season of his prolific nine-year career. |
| Ravens to re-sign WR Mason for 2 years (AP) After twice reaching outside the organization to enhance their wide receiving corps, the Baltimore Ravens secured one of their own Wednesday night: two-time Pro Bowl player Derrick Mason. Mason, an unrestricted free agent, agreed to a two-year deal with the team he joined in 2005. Mason's future with the Ravens appeared unclear after the Ravens obtained free agent wideout Donte' Stallworth... |
| QB Anderson apologizes for remarks (AP) Like one of his errant passes, quarterback Derek Anderson sent a rocket at Browns fans he wishes he could take back. Anderson apologized to Cleveland fans Wednesday after calling them "ruthless" and adding they "don't deserve a winner" following his release by the team. Anderson was let go by the Browns on Tuesday, ending an uneven five-year stint. |
| Eagles sign former Colts DB Jackson (AP) Marlin Jackson's surgically repaired knees didn't scare off the Philadelphia Eagles. Still looking to replace Brian Dawkins, the Eagles are taking a chance on Jackson. They signed the free agent defensive back to a two-year contract on Wednesday. A 2005 first-round draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts, Jackson is coming off a pair of season-ending knee injuries. |
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