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: 2008 - The New York Giants (NFC)
- 2007 NFL Playoffs
- 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 |
| Report: QB Cassel to get franchise tag (AP) The New England Patriots plan to put the franchise tag on quarterback Matt Cassel, according to a published report. Cassel's future hinges heavily on Tom Brady's recovery from a season-ending knee injury in the first game this season. Franchising Cassel would keep him from becoming an unrestricted free agent and give the Patriots an option if they feel Brady might not be ready for the start of the... |
| Tomlinson could be sidelined Sunday (AP) There was the strained groin in 2004, the lingering rib injury in 2005, a jaw injury in 2006, the knee injury in last year's playoffs and then his jammed right big toe earlier this season. Now there's the groin injury that's dogging LaDainian Tomlinson to the point that he might have to sit out the San Diego Chargers' playoff game at Pittsburgh on Sunday. |
| Harrison named AP's top defensive player (AP)
Kent State once sent a linebacker to the Pittsburgh Steelers who epitomized everything the Steel Curtain was about. That was Jack Lambert. The current version of the hard-hitting, versatile and dynamic former Kent Stater in Steel City is James Harrison, The Associated Press 2008 Defensive Player of the Year. |
| Cards WR Boldin uncertain vs. Panthers (AP) Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin has a strained left hamstring and his status is uncertain for Saturday night's NFC divisional playoff game at Carolina. "We'll see how it goes this week," coach Ken Whisenhunt said at his Monday news conference. Boldin was injured on a 71-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner in the second quarter of Arizona's 30-24 wild-card playoff victory over the Atlanta... |
| Sources: KC talking to Pioli for GM job (AP) Scott Pioli, who helped build the New England Patriots' dynasty, may have a second suitor among teams looking for general managers. Pioli, 43, was scheduled to meet with Kansas City Chiefs owner and board chairman Clark Hunt, possibly Monday, persons with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press. |
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