Gruden apparently willing to interview for NFL jobs

ESPN analyst Jon Gruden has publicly proclaimed his intention to stay in the television booth.
But he’s telling teams who are about to have head coaching vacancies something different.
According to Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com, Gruden’s representatives have told teams he will be willing to interview for their jobs once the season ended, even as soon as today.
Of course, Gruden’s representatives seem to love nothing better than seeing their guy’s name in the papers (see the never-made-sense rumors regarding the University of Tennessee job).
Freeman mentioned openings in San Diego and Philadelphia in particular.
Speculation linking Gruden with jobs is nothing new, but now that there are some official openings, there might be some fire to go with the perpetual smoke.


Source: PFT.com
Author: Darin Gantt

Report: Gronkowski will return against Dolphins

Tom Curran of Comcast SportsNet New England reports that Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is expected to return from his fractured left forearm in Week Seventeen against the Dolphins. Per Curran, Gronkowski will be “suited up” and available for “at least a limited role,” likely in a playoff-tuneup capacity.
Gronkowski has been out since Week Eleven, when he fractured the arm blocking on special teams in the fourth quarter of a 59-24 blowout win over the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots have scored at least 34 points in three of the ensuing five games, but Gronkowski is their best skill-position player aside from quarterback Tom Brady and will give an already lethal offense a major postseason boost.
Gronkowski has been particularly dominant as a run blocker when healthy this season. Still just 23 years old, he is the premier tight end in all of football.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Evan Silva
Photo: Getty Images

Terrelle Pryor to start for Raiders on Sunday

Matt Leinart believes he deserves to be the Raiders’ starting quarterback on Sunday. Raiders coach Dennis Allen disagrees.
“I’ve decided to go with Terrelle Pryor as our quarterback,” Allen said after practice today. “He’ll play in the game and we’ll see how the game goes. He’s the starter, and we’re going to go into it as we would any other game.”
Allen said he informed both Pryor and Leinart earlier this week that he was leaning toward Pryor, and that Leinart “didn’t like” Allen’s decision. But Allen liked Pryor’s response.
“I wanted to see how each player responded,’’ Allen said. “I thought Terrelle responded well. I think he gives us a unique element of athleticism at the quarterback position and I think he deserves to get an opportunity to get out there and see what he can do. I’m anxious to see him play. I want to see him get out there and relax, play the game of football the way it’s supposed to be played. I want to see him take command of the huddle. I want to see us get in and out of the huddle and the operation be smooth. I want to see him protect the football, make sure he makes good decisions.”
The Raiders used their third-round pick in this year’s draft to acquire Pryor in last year’s supplemental draft. He has barely played in his two seasons in Oakland, but with Carson Palmer out after suffering a rib injury, it’s time to see what Pryor can do.


Source: PFT.com
Author: Michael David Smith
Photo: Jeremy Brevard, USA TODAY Sports

Week 16 Football ERA Cumulative Results

Weekly 2012 Cumulative Football ERA Formula results are published below with the usual cautionary disclaimer that these are NOT Power Rankings. To analyze these results, we primarily have to look at how teams change within the Rankings rather than looking at the Rankings as raw stand-alone data. Position is neither the best nor the sole criteria of analyzing the list as much as is observing change in the list (first derivative). In other words, how teams rise and fall from week to week during the long season is more of a primary criteria for evaluating performance.

-------------------------------------

Hou	…	28759
Den	…	24484
NE	…	23872
SF	…	23075
Sea	…	22680
GB	…	18632
Was	…	18560
Chi	…	18409
Cin	…	16764
Pit	…	16700
Det	…	16653
Mia	…	15125
Car	…	14652
KC	…	14605
Atl	…	13974
Min	…	13949
Ind	…	13258
SD	…	12641
Phi	…	12616
NYG	…	11787
NYJ	…	11338
Dal	…	11314
TB	…	10462
Bal	…	9697
StL	…	9365
Buf	…	8495
Oak	…	6712
NO	…	6261
Arz	…	4529
Cle	…	4241
Ten	…	1074
Jax	…	-5270

AP Photo, Morry Gash from ValleyMorningStar.com

Week Sixteen Football ERA Composite Scores

The Football ERA Formula outputs a result that runs on a scale from approximately 4000 points to -4000 with losing teams that are dominated getting pushed into the negative numbers by their victors.  Defensive Elements of the Formula contribute to this negative score in games constituting blowouts.  A few years back, RealFootballAnalysis.com developed a formula that translates the Final Game Results of The Football ERA into Composite Scores that resemble football scores as much as possible.  Here are this week's Composite Scores:

---------------------------------------

GB	…	66
Tenn	…	9
Bal	…	58
NYG	…	11
Minn	…	57
Hou	…	14
KC	…	54
Ind	…	18
Den	…	50
Cleve	…	18
NO	…	49
Dall	…	17
Chi	…	46
Arz	…	21
Sea	…	46
SF	…	18
Pitt	…	45
Cinn	…	29
SD	…	42
NYJ	…	36
Car	…	40
Oak	…	27
Mia	…	39
Buff	…	28
Det	…	37
Atl	…	28
TB	…	37
StL	…	33
Jax	…	37
NE	…	33
Phi	…	35
Was	…	34

Photo: Rob Carr Getty Images from Yahoo Sports.com