Blue forty-two, hutt hutt!
August 21, 2010 2:56 PM Subscribe
I want to be an NFL football fan again. What should I be reading?
University has kept me busy for the last few years and my love of pro football had to take a backseat. Now that I am done with school, I want to get back on board with the NFL, specifically the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. Other than watching the games, I want to know what I should be reading to keep me informed of the latest team news/controversies.
Can anyone suggest particular sports writers I should be following? Or perhaps particular bloggers that are well written and focus on my team? (
(I'd really like something more journalistic and more professional than sports talk radio, which I am not a big fan of)
University has kept me busy for the last few years and my love of pro football had to take a backseat. Now that I am done with school, I want to get back on board with the NFL, specifically the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. Other than watching the games, I want to know what I should be reading to keep me informed of the latest team news/controversies.
Can anyone suggest particular sports writers I should be following? Or perhaps particular bloggers that are well written and focus on my team? (
(I'd really like something more journalistic and more professional than sports talk radio, which I am not a big fan of)
I agree with the above (minus the Bears pollyannaness :) ). Football Outsiders do a great job and their book is amazing. Buy the book, read the whole thing, you'll be ready.
That's what I do anyway. Most of the ESPN type stuff is manufactured controversy bullshit anyway.
posted by selfnoise at 3:30 PM on August 21, 2010
That's what I do anyway. Most of the ESPN type stuff is manufactured controversy bullshit anyway.
posted by selfnoise at 3:30 PM on August 21, 2010
Bulgaroktones-
Everyone who follows the NFC North knows the Lions are in prime position to take the Lombardi trophy home with them.
OP- Kevin Seifert, a blogger over at ESPN.com, does a decent job of up to date news. He's pretty biased towards the Viks though.
posted by WhiteWhale at 4:11 PM on August 21, 2010
Everyone who follows the NFC North knows the Lions are in prime position to take the Lombardi trophy home with them.
OP- Kevin Seifert, a blogger over at ESPN.com, does a decent job of up to date news. He's pretty biased towards the Viks though.
posted by WhiteWhale at 4:11 PM on August 21, 2010
Hmmm.... Packers and Vikings you say? Here's your headsuit.
posted by carmicha at 7:32 PM on August 21, 2010
posted by carmicha at 7:32 PM on August 21, 2010
You might also check out Shutdown Corner from the Yahoo sports blog world. It's edited by the Mighty MJD who, sadly, since joining a 'family friendly' blog has had to drop a lot of the stuff that made his earlier work great, but he's still pretty insightful, and the other bloggers aren't bad.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:15 PM on August 21, 2010
posted by Ghidorah at 8:15 PM on August 21, 2010
Peter King's nearly novel length Monday Morning Quarterback columns during the regular season will definitely keep you on top of things.
posted by The Gooch at 8:16 PM on August 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by The Gooch at 8:16 PM on August 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
Not a football myself, and this is a radio recommendation, but I think you might get a kick out of the "well-listened-to" Dan Patrick Show. If it's not on in your area, there's podcasts available, and they're on DirecTV.
They cover all sports, but this time of year, football is king. But Dan and his staff try to take a more laid-back approach, and even mock the media (and his old boss, ESPN) for their overly obsessive analysis, such as breaking down the defensive lines of the AFC East. And they'll often talk about things other than sports, which can either be frustrating, or hilarious.
And they have regular guests, like the aforementioned Peter King. Although, one of the funny things is that ESPN won't allow most of their talent to appear on Patrick's show, much to his chagrin.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 8:47 PM on August 21, 2010
They cover all sports, but this time of year, football is king. But Dan and his staff try to take a more laid-back approach, and even mock the media (and his old boss, ESPN) for their overly obsessive analysis, such as breaking down the defensive lines of the AFC East. And they'll often talk about things other than sports, which can either be frustrating, or hilarious.
And they have regular guests, like the aforementioned Peter King. Although, one of the funny things is that ESPN won't allow most of their talent to appear on Patrick's show, much to his chagrin.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 8:47 PM on August 21, 2010
I love Gregg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback on ESPN.com. It's posted, as you might imagine, every Tuesday during the season.
posted by SisterHavana at 9:43 PM on August 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by SisterHavana at 9:43 PM on August 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Daily Norseman is a good Vikings blog. Acme Packing Company for the Packers. (They're both from SB Nation, and corporate-sponsored, but the Daily Norseman at least is good.)
The New York Times' Fifth Down blog is good. Obviously they focus on the Giants and Jets, but they post on NFL-wide topics pretty often. (And seconding Tuesday Morning Quarterback.)
posted by kirkaracha at 10:54 PM on August 21, 2010
The New York Times' Fifth Down blog is good. Obviously they focus on the Giants and Jets, but they post on NFL-wide topics pretty often. (And seconding Tuesday Morning Quarterback.)
posted by kirkaracha at 10:54 PM on August 21, 2010
Other than watching the games, I want to know what I should be reading to keep me informed of the latest team news/controversies.
The best answer to this is Pro Football Talk. It is notorious for having stories stolen from them numerous times, by the likes of ESPN/SI etc. It's definitely the best place for news/rumors.
For team talk, I second the SB Nation recommendation. For analysis, I second the Football Outsiders recommendations. Shutdown Corner is good as well.
posted by demagogue at 8:29 AM on August 22, 2010
The best answer to this is Pro Football Talk. It is notorious for having stories stolen from them numerous times, by the likes of ESPN/SI etc. It's definitely the best place for news/rumors.
For team talk, I second the SB Nation recommendation. For analysis, I second the Football Outsiders recommendations. Shutdown Corner is good as well.
posted by demagogue at 8:29 AM on August 22, 2010
It terms of podcasts, you might check out Slate's Hang up and Listen which is a weekly (comes out late Monday afternoon), intelligent conversation on sports. During the season, 1/3 to 1/2 of each show is about the NFL.
posted by mmascolino at 11:37 AM on August 22, 2010
posted by mmascolino at 11:37 AM on August 22, 2010
Follow the twitter feeds of sports journalists like Peter King and Rich Eisen. They'll be providing you with constant information as well as links to their in-depth articles. As stated up-thread, King has a really long column every Monday morning as well as a follow-up Tuesday mornings. King isn't perfect, but he travels a lot, lives and breathes football, and shares information whenever he's awake.
Get the Redzone Channel if you're willing to drop $50 on a season's worth of live scoring. The "NFL Season Ticket" (all games, live) is for fanatics only (requires both DirecTV and $300/year)
Bookmark the NFL sections on the ESPN and SI websites.
The Vikings and Packers are constantly in the news thanks to Favre, so I don't think you need to follow anything specific to the teams to stay in the loop.
posted by L. Ron McKenzie at 7:02 PM on August 22, 2010
Get the Redzone Channel if you're willing to drop $50 on a season's worth of live scoring. The "NFL Season Ticket" (all games, live) is for fanatics only (requires both DirecTV and $300/year)
Bookmark the NFL sections on the ESPN and SI websites.
The Vikings and Packers are constantly in the news thanks to Favre, so I don't think you need to follow anything specific to the teams to stay in the loop.
posted by L. Ron McKenzie at 7:02 PM on August 22, 2010
Thirding Tuesday Morning Quarterback. He does tend to veer a little more into non-football stuff than I'd generally prefer, but not as badly as say, Bill Simmons. Plus he's wicked smaht.
posted by SpiffyRob at 6:43 AM on August 24, 2010
posted by SpiffyRob at 6:43 AM on August 24, 2010
It tends toward the hyper-technical and also spends as much time on college football as the NFL, but Smart Football is generally worth keeping up with.
posted by Copronymus at 1:03 PM on August 26, 2010
posted by Copronymus at 1:03 PM on August 26, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, why would you want to start following the Packers and Vikings in a year where the Bears are clearly going to sweep the division on their way to the Super Bowl? Won't that be depressing?
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 3:14 PM on August 21, 2010 [2 favorites]