Jody Jamieson NFC Playoff Race The FD Top 5 Everyone expects the two Wildcards to come from the NFC East, but it may not be as clear cut as it looks. Suddenly the unstoppable Beast of the East has been taken down, at least for one week. Admit it, there's no way you predicted the Redskins would lose to the Rams... ( full article )
Ben Stockwell & Paul Hopkins Four Downs with Stock & Doc On the menu in this edition: Stock and Doc ask if the Redskins are the best team in the NFC, whether after firing their coaches during their bye week Oakland or Detroit are in a bigger hole. Plus are the days of a single tailback gone for good? And in the NCAA is the Big XII now the conference to beat?... ( full article )
Jody Jamieson Quarterback Controversies The FD Top 5 In contrast to the revolving QB door during the 2007 season, this year saw untested signal callers come into the team on Opening Day hoping to make an impact. This Week on Top Fives we rate the 5 more high profile quarterback controversies and how these guys have performed 5 weeks into 2008... ( full article )
Paul Hopkins Texas v Oklahoma The Biggest Rivalry in College Football Both teams arrive with a top five ranking, undefeated records and after very impressive starts to the season and are eyeing up potential Big XII Championships and the big one – the National Championship. This figures to make Saturday's Red River Shootout the most important for years... ( full article )
Chris Brophy & Ben Stockwell NFL Weekly Forecast Week 7 I honestly still don't trust the Chargers yet but after getting over the hump of finally beating New England and seeing Denver slipping up again, the Chargers need to get on a roll. I like the direction the Bills are going but still have a sense they are overachieving... ( complete weekly forecasts )
Dean Webley NFL Weekly Review Week 5 The champs are rolling...undefeated and returning home – it looked like a promising day for the Giants. It couldn't have started any better for them; Eli Manning went deep to Dominick Hixon for a 32yd TD to give them the early lead. Orlando Mare got the Hawks on the board from 30yds out, but it was Brandon Jacobs who lit up Giants Stadium when he took the lead to 11 points... ( complete weekly reviews )
Sam Monson & James Izzard Power Rankings
The Cowboys might have lost a game, but that was always inevitable in such a tough division. Despite the loss, their offense means they're not going to stray too far from the No 1 spot in the Power Rankings. The Cowboys have also managed to avoid the crippling injuries that seem to be attacking the rest of the league's top contenders. That alone is likely to stand them in good stead over the 17 weeks of the season.
Josh Galligan Vigorish Elimination 101 Last year I finally stumbled upon the logistics of how people actually make money betting against the spread. This year, I’ve managed to create a fairly simple formula that can be applied to a given game in order to get what the actual, fair, spread should be... ( full article )
Josh Galligan Starts, Sits, and Waiver Wire Winners Week 6 Campbell has been improving week after week and has done so against some very tough defenses. This week, he’s given a break, with the minor-league team that is the St. Louis Rams next on tap. Count me in!... ( full article )
The Fantasy Maverick Ask The Maverick
Got a Fantasy dilemma? Can't decide what to do? Your toubles are over as the doctor is in session answering all your Fantasy questions... ( the maverick )
The Fantasy Maverick Fantasy Rankings
Grab a coffee, the Maverick serves up his 2008 cheat sheets, click here to expand the complete rankings...
QB
1.
Drew Brees
NO
2.
Tony Romo
Dal
3.
Eli Manning
NYG
RB
1.
LaDainian Tomlinson
SD
2.
Marion Barber III
Dal
3.
Michael Turner
Atl
WR
1.
Terrell Owens
Dal
2.
Larry Fitzgerald
Ari
3.
Brandon Marshall
Den
TE
1.
Jason Witten
Dal
2.
Antonio Gates
SD
3.
Heath Miller
Pit
PK
Sam Monson Brad Childress deals with the Devil Minnesota survived the Saints passing for over 300 yards, a pair of punt return touchdowns, Adrian Peterson being held to 32 yards on over 20 carries, and being outplayed from start to finish to win their second game of the year and stay Brad Childress' execution for a few games at least... ( full article )
Ben Stockwell & Paul Hopkins Four Downs with Stock & Doc Stock and Doc chew the fat over the surprising undefeated teams of the AFC, and whether there is a shift in the balance of power in the NFL. In the ranks of the college leagues, can Nick Saban lead the Crimson Tide all the way to the National Championship game, or will USC rebound to get all the way?... ( full article )
Jody Jamieson Most Unlikely MVP Candidates The FD Top 5 Buffalo, Tennessee and Denver lead their respective divisions, Indianapolis are under .500 and the Chargers needed a late comeback to .500. With the way the season has gone thus far, it's easy to focus on what has gone wrong thus far for those respective favourites, but Top Fives is a happy place, and this week we look at those who are outperforming their billing... ( full article )
TB Draftee JOSH JOHNSON
The Diner caught up with Josh just before the draft as he readied himself for the most important two days of his football life so far in our Exclsuive Interview
Channel 5 Presenter MIKE CARLSON
Stops by the Diner to talk about his Ivy League days, Bill Belichick, SBXLII, chicken feet & a run down on how he thinks the top 10 in the Draft will go, all in our Big Diner Interview!
ESPN Writer DAVID FLEMING Following on from the Diner's piece on the Pottsville Maroons, the author of Breaker Boys stopped by the Diner to tell us the full story
NFL Greats Dining In The 80's: A Line That Didn't Hog The Limelight The fact is whilst "The Hogs" got the press there was another line in Washington that was just as in strumental in winning the team's three Super Bowl titles. It too had its share of personalities and rags to riches stories – the defensive line... ( full article )
Dining In The 80's: Mardi Gras Finally Arrives In New Orleans Until 1987 the Saints were as bad as it gets. Entering their 20th season in 1986 under new Head Coach Jim Mora the team had only ever managed to go .500 once in their entire existence; and of the remaining 19 seasons had managed to post nine double digit loss records. The post season was a myth in New Orleans... ( full article )
Dining In The 80's: Defending The Airwaves The need for speed via the air was often to be found in the old AFC West, where attacking through the skies was the favoured option. If it wasn't the rocket arm of John Elway and his Three Amigos (Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson and Ricky Nattiel) flying through the thin vapour of Mile High Stadium it was the Raiders - whether they had the personnel or not - throwing bombs... ( full article )
The Football Diner 2008 All-Time Draft What's It All About?
The annual collegiate draft is the NFL's great leveller, the mechanism by which the last can be first and the first can be last. We all know what happened in this year's 2008 selection meeting but imagine if your favourite NFL team could take part in another, one-off supplemental draft that would let them pick any player from their past to plug into their current roster. This is your chance to cure your team's blues...( full article )
Football Diner 2008 All-Time Draft Pick #7 - 49ers Pick number 7 comes around for the 49ers, and this is one of the easier picks, right? The 49ers brass have a simple coin flip to decide between Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young. The only problem with that is that the 49ers might have the league's worst O-line to go along with those quarterbacks...( full article )
Get Involved ! Have Your Say ! !
Want to be a guest columnist? Got something to say? Your chance to get involved!... ( submit an article ! )
Matthew Nuttall College Preview The 2008 College Football season promises so much, as questions are beginning to be asked; who will win the SEC? Which at-large team will make a BCS appearance? Can Tim Tebow retain his Heisman trophy and will Notre Dame get back into the national spotlight?... ( full article )
2008 Draft Archive
Dan Shonka 2008 Draft Recap General Manager & National Scout of the draft expert Ourlads' Scouting Services LLC Dan Shonka stopped by the Diner to give his unique gradings on this year's draft.What Dan doesn't know about the draft isn't worth mopping up with your napkin, so grab a coffee and a danish and take note... ( full article )
Sam Monson Undrafted Free Agency Winners and Losers One week after the NFL Draft, the majority of the undrafted free agents have found themselves a home. They have either been signed and invited to camps by NFL teams, or they're trying to walk on to an NFL team, turning up as UFAs hoping they can show enough to earn another crack... ( full article )
News NFL Makes UK Commitment NFL fans in the UK have never had it so good.
Following the success of the first regular season game to be played on these shores, a commitment has been made to play matches in the UK for three more years... ( full article )
Wembley 2008 After the success of last year's pioneering NFL match in London, the much anticipated follow up game has now been announced:
SD Chargers vs NO Saints
26th October 2008
... ( further details )
Archive Wembley 2007
It was the biggest weekend in history for UK NFL fans:
Jody Jamieson
Everyone expects the two Wildcards to come from the NFC East, but it may not be as clear cut as it looks. Suddenly the unstoppable Beast of the East has been taken down, at least for one week. Admit it, there's no way you predicted the Redskins would lose to the Rams... ( 
On the menu in this edition: Stock and Doc ask if the Redskins are the best team in the NFC, whether after firing their coaches during their bye week Oakland or Detroit are in a bigger hole. Plus are the days of a single tailback gone for good? And in the NCAA is the Big XII now the conference to beat?... ( 
In contrast to the revolving QB door during the 2007 season, this year saw untested signal callers come into the team on Opening Day hoping to make an impact. This Week on Top Fives we rate the 5 more high profile quarterback controversies and how these guys have performed 5 weeks into 2008... ( 
Both teams arrive with a top five ranking, undefeated records and after very impressive starts to the season and are eyeing up potential Big XII Championships and the big one – the National Championship. This figures to make Saturday's Red River Shootout the most important for years... ( 
I honestly still don't trust the Chargers yet but after getting over the hump of finally beating New England and seeing Denver slipping up again, the Chargers need to get on a roll. I like the direction the Bills are going but still have a sense they are overachieving... ( 
The champs are rolling...undefeated and returning home – it looked like a promising day for the Giants. It couldn't have started any better for them; Eli Manning went deep to Dominick Hixon for a 32yd TD to give them the early lead. Orlando Mare got the Hawks on the board from 30yds out, but it was Brandon Jacobs who lit up Giants Stadium when he took the lead to 11 points... ( 
4. Bills
Last year I finally stumbled upon the logistics of how people actually make money betting against the spread. This year, I’ve managed to create a fairly simple formula that can be applied to a given game in order to get what the actual, fair, spread should be... ( 
Campbell has been improving week after week and has done so against some very tough defenses. This week, he’s given a break, with the minor-league team that is the St. Louis Rams next on tap. Count me in!... ( 
Minnesota survived the Saints passing for over 300 yards, a pair of punt return touchdowns, Adrian Peterson being held to 32 yards on over 20 carries, and being outplayed from start to finish to win their second game of the year and stay Brad Childress' execution for a few games at least... ( 
Stock and Doc chew the fat over the surprising undefeated teams of the AFC, and whether there is a shift in the balance of power in the NFL. In the ranks of the college leagues, can Nick Saban lead the Crimson Tide all the way to the National Championship game, or will USC rebound to get all the way?... ( 
Buffalo, Tennessee and Denver lead their respective divisions, Indianapolis are under .500 and the Chargers needed a late comeback to .500. With the way the season has gone thus far, it's easy to focus on what has gone wrong thus far for those respective favourites, but Top Fives is a happy place, and this week we look at those who are outperforming their billing... ( 
The fact is whilst "The Hogs" got the press there was another line in Washington that was just as in strumental in winning the team's three Super Bowl titles. It too had its share of personalities and rags to riches stories – the defensive line... ( 
Until 1987 the Saints were as bad as it gets. Entering their 20th season in 1986 under new Head Coach Jim Mora the team had only ever managed to go .500 once in their entire existence; and of the remaining 19 seasons had managed to post nine double digit loss records. The post season was a myth in New Orleans... ( 
The need for speed via the air was often to be found in the old AFC West, where attacking through the skies was the favoured option. If it wasn't the rocket arm of John Elway and his Three Amigos (Vance Johnson, Mark Jackson and Ricky Nattiel) flying through the thin vapour of Mile High Stadium it was the Raiders - whether they had the personnel or not - throwing bombs... ( 
What's It All About?
Pick number 7 comes around for the 49ers, and this is one of the easier picks, right? The 49ers brass have a simple coin flip to decide between Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young. The only problem with that is that the 49ers might have the league's worst O-line to go along with those quarterbacks...( 
The 2008 College Football season promises so much, as questions are beginning to be asked; who will win the SEC? Which at-large team will make a BCS appearance? Can Tim Tebow retain his Heisman trophy and will Notre Dame get back into the national spotlight?... ( 
General Manager & National Scout of the draft expert Ourlads' Scouting Services LLC Dan Shonka stopped by the Diner to give his unique gradings on this year's draft.What Dan doesn't know about the draft isn't worth mopping up with your napkin, so grab a coffee and a danish and take note... ( 
One week after the NFL Draft, the majority of the undrafted free agents have found themselves a home. They have either been signed and invited to camps by NFL teams, or they're trying to walk on to an NFL team, turning up as UFAs hoping they can show enough to earn another crack... ( 
NFL fans in the UK have never had it so good.
After the success of last year's pioneering NFL match in London, the much anticipated follow up game has now been announced:
Wembley 2007
Football Diner was there every step of the way from team Practises to Press Conferences. Re-live the historic weekend with our Archice Articles: