All of the predictions and preseason statistics are out the window now that the ball is in the air and the NFL season is underway. One of the major story lines of the preseason was the use of the replacement refs. I’ll be the first to admit I like seeing Ed “Hercules” Hochuli calling games, but realistically, the refs shouldn’t be a part of the outcome. In boxing, the saying goes “the ref did a great job if you didn’t notice him in the ring.” I feel much the same about football. With the exception of giving the Seattle Seahawks an extra time out last Sunday, I really didn’t notice the replacement refs too much. So that’s a plus for the NFL, but could be troublesome for the referees who are looking for leverage in their negotiations.

So that just leaves me with football to recap. After one week, teams that won shouldn’t get carried away and think Super Bowl, but teams that lost shouldn’t go out and burn their new Nike NFL jersey either. There is plenty of optimism for fans of the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Houston Texans and the Atlanta Falcons. Those teams won convincingly and have fans excited for the season. The next bunch of teams got the victory, but the jury is stil out. Those teams include the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccanneers, and the Denver Broncos just to name a few. Of the losers, fans of the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, and New Orleans Saints have to be scratching their heads. What went so wrong that they started off 0-1? What if they lose this weekend and start the season 0-2? Since 1990, teams that start the season 0-2 make the playoffs less than 14% of the time. That’s a massive mountain to climb, which means that there are a number of teams that will be essentially playing for their season this weekend.

Best of luck to every team this weekend. I just want to see good football (and a Bears win). Regardless of who you cheer for, we’ll keep you up to date on what’s going on this season, as well as offer you the best selection of fashionable fan gear around. If you don’t believe me, click here to shop your NFL team and see for yourself.

Here at FansEdge we consistently see many NFL jerseys go out our doors, which is why the recent article written about best selling NFL women’s jerseys came as no surprise. It is obvious that women know football and they are some of our best customers!

Leading the way in NFL Women’s Jersey sales here at FansEdge is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ strong safety Troy Polamalu. Besides his amazing skills on the playing field and the gladiator mentality he demonstrates while holding down one of the NFL’s most formidable defenses, Troy Polamalu is a likeable guy. From his flowing locks, easy going attitude and comical persona that comes across in many of his commercials (“You asked with your eyes”), it’s no wonder that Polamalu has a loyal following.

After Polamalu, quarterbacks are by far fan favorites among women’s NFL jersey sales. Aaron Rogers, the widely popular quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, has catapulted to fame by leading the Packers to the Super Bowl, as millions nationwide have been exposed to his confidence and charm. There is no word on whether dating popular actresses has helped his jersey sales however.

Other women’s’ jerseys near the top of the sales chart this month include Tom Brady, Clay Matthews and Ben Roethlisberger, and many of these NFL superstars have seen a surge in popularity since reaching the Super Bowl.

To view all of the available women’s NFL jerseys, click here.

To shop NFL jerseys for the entire family, click here.

You know the saying, “Save the best for last”?

What about the “Finish the worst first”?

No? While maybe not as catchy, it certainly applies to our first installment of FansEdge’ 2010 Major League Baseball Preview – and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sure, Pittsburgh didn’t have the worst record in baseball, (beating out the Washington Nationals by three less defeats) but they have been – by far – the worst team in MLB for nearly two decades. The last time the Pirates boasted a winning record I was studying simple addition and Barry Bonds hadn’t yet begun studying “the Clear”, allegedly.

A lot has changed since 1992 – see home run records – but one thing remains a constant: Pittsburgh finishing at or near the bottom of the National League Central Division.

But it’s 2010. New decade. New personnel. And a new era, right?

That’s what the Pirates front office hopes for, at least. Some would call 2009 a rebuilding season for the Pirates; I call it a season of purging.

2010 features yet another injection of youth, and this time they may have actually gotten it right.
Out: Nate McLouth, Freddy Sanchez, Nyjer Morgan and Jack Wilson. In: Lastings Milledge (24 years old), Ronny Cedeno (26), Andy LaRoche (26) and Andrew McCutchen (23).

Speed and defense.

That will be third-year manager John Russell’s calling card if his team takes the next step – and is actually acknowledged by the rest of its division.

And it starts in center field. McCutchen, Pittsburgh’s top prospect, lived up to the hype in his rookie season, finishing second among position players in the Rookie of the Year voting. Displaying tremendous speed (22 stolen bases) and modest power (12 home runs) in just over 400 at-bats, McCutchen has an opportunity to resurrect a once-proud franchise.

He is joined by a number of disappointing prospects intent on fulfilling their potential with a new team. Former cast-offs like Milledge, Cededno and LaRoche have been given another chance to resurrect their still young careers in a more relaxed environment.

Unfortunately, you’re not going anywhere in baseball without pitching…and there’s a reason I’ve waited this long to address the rotation situation. The Pirates are anchored by Zack Duke and Paul Maholm, and boast a band of young talent. Sound familiar?

But youthful exuberance rarely beats good hitting, and with 11 victories leading the staff last season, someone needs to grasp the “Ace” title for this team to have any chance of competing with the likes of the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

Predictions:

Team MVP: Andrew McCutchen. Who else? The Pirates’ best prospect since Barry Bonds had a tremendous rookie campaign, highlighted by a 3-HR game. With a full season ahead, I expect a similar batting average with improved power and speed numbers: .280/19 HRs/71 RBIs/29 SBs

X-Factor: Pedro Alvarez. You may not have heard of him…but you will. The only Pirate with more potential than McCutchen may be Alvarez. The 2nd pick of the 2008 MLB Draft, Alvarez packs tremendous power at the plate, hitting 27 HRs in the minors last season. Just 22, expect him to amass even greater power and anticipate a September call-up, at the latest.

Bottom Line: Pittsburgh will improve…but don’t expect to be singing “We are family” just yet. They are still 2-3 seasons away from making any real noise – assuming they can hold on to everyone.

W-L: 71-91.

Hey…there’s always Steelers offseason.

Little Things from the NFL’s 2009 Season:

88 players in the NFL had at least one carry of 25 yards or more, including New York Jets punter Steve Weatherford. Not among the 88: Philadelphia Eagles RB Brian Westbrook and Indianapolis Colts RB Joseph Addai.

Eight RB’s finished with at least 1250 rushing yards, including the St. Louis Rams Steven Jackson, who was 2nd in the NFL in rushing yards despite being on a 1-15 team.

Two Carolina Panthers RB’s, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart rushed for at least 1100 yards.

Jerome Harrison of the Cleveland Browns averaged 143 yards rushing in the four games in which he carried the ball more than 16 times, including 286 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15.

Adrian Peterson finished 5th in the league in rushing yards with 1383, despite only topping 100 yards in a game three times during the season.

Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans topped 2000 yards rushing on the year; he is only the 6th RB in NFL history to do so.

Johnson averaged 5.6 yards per rushing attempt on the season. Jamaal Charles averaged 5.9.

LaDainian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson both averaged 3.3 yards per attempt.

Reggie Wayne caught 100 passes on the year. 73 of them were for first downs.

The Top 21 players in the NFL in receiving yards include three tight ends: Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark, and Jason Witten. All 21 had at least 11 receptions of 20 yards or more, except Wes Welker, who led the league in catches, 123, and was second in yards, 1348. He had eight plays for more than 20 yards.

The Blind Side book/movie subject Michael Oher, rookie RT for the Baltimore Ravens, had the fewest yards receiving in the NFL in 2009 with -8.

Oakland Raiders rookie WR Darius Heyward-Bey, 7th pick overall, played in 11 games, caught 9 passes for 124 yards and scored one TD.

San Francisco 49ers rookie WR Michael Crabtree, 10th pick overall, held out until after Week 5, then played in 11 games, caught 48 passes for 625 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Austin Collie, 4th round pick of the Colts, and Percy Harvin, 1st round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, led all rookie WR’s in receptions with 60. Harvin and New York Giants WR Hakeem Nicks led rookies in receiving yards with 790.

Ten QB’s threw for over 4000 yards this season. Seven of them are in the playoffs. Kurt Warner, the 8th playoff QB, threw for 3753 yards.

41 QB’s completed at least one pass of more than 45 yards. Kurt Warner did not.

155 players in the NFL caught a pass of at least 35 yards. Larry Fitzgerald did not.

14 QB’s threw at least 500 passes. Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler led them (and all other QB’s) in interceptions with 26. Peyton Manning was 2nd with 16. Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers had the fewest at 7.

Jon Ryan, punter of the Seattle Seahawks, completed the longest pass by a non-QB, 42 yards. He finished the year with a 118.8 QB rating.

The Cleveland Browns won four games in a row after going 1-11 in their first twelve.

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost five games in a row after winning five in a row.

The Denver Broncos won six in a row to start the year and lost four in a row to end the year to finish 8-8.

The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints started the season 14-0 and 13-0, respectively. The Colts lost their last two and the Saints lost their last three.

The San Diego Chargers started the year 2-3 and then won their last 11.

The Tennessee Titans went 0-6 to start the year. They went 8-2 after that to finish 8-8.

BLACK MONDAY

Coaches are cleaning out their lockers today. So far Jim Zorn, who was for all intent and purposes relieved of his duties with the Washington Redskins somewhere around Week 6 or so, and the remainder of the Buffalo Bills coaching staff and have been told their services are no longer needed, wanted, or welcomed.

There is talk that Wade Phillips needs to win a playoff game to keep his job. Apparently an 11-5 season, the third playoff seed, a home playoff game, and a shutout to win the division in the season’s last game is not enough in Dallas to feel any sense of job security.

The expectations are different for Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers. In Houston, Gary Kubiak will retain his position after the organizations first winning season, going 9-7 and being a loss by either the Ravens or Jets on the season’s final day away from making the playoffs. Plus Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson led the league in yards at their respective positions.

The Carolina Panthers are keeping John Fox around… maybe? Because in Carolina, a winning season every other year is good enough. I think it is probably safe to say though that the John Fox-Jake Delhomme duo has reached its end. Delhomme threw for 8 TD’s and was picked off 18 times on the season, while backup Matt Moore started the last five games for the Panthers and threw for 8 TD’s and only 1 interception.

There are a lot of rumors flying around about Raheem Morris losing his job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay was horrible, but Morris is a first year coach brought in to turn around a terrible team. You have to give the guy more than a year or two to do his job – unless of course you have Bill Cowher, his chin, and his mustache on the radar.

Maybe one case where it makes sense to fire a first year coach is in Oakland, where ironically nothing makes sense. Tom Cable allegedly hit a co-worker. That behavior is generally frowned upon. And Al Davis is Al Davis, so he may bring in a shuffleboard buddy of his who won a fantasy football league last season to coach the team.

PLAYOFFS

The Dallas Cowboys threw a donut at the Philadelphia Eagles to win the NFC East. With a win, the Eagles would have had a first round bye and a home playoff game. With the loss, they’ll travel to Dallas and play the Cowboys again this weekend. Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson and Tony Romo to Miles Austin are two of the more dangerous big play QB to WR combos in the league.

And speaking dangerous QB to WR combos, Chad Ochocinco/Johnson would like me to mention his and Carson Palmer’s names right now, but if I’m playing the Cincinnati Bengals I’m more concerned about Cedric Benson. Maybe the New York Jets backed into a playoff spot and maybe they didn’t, but Mark Sanchez is in the post-season and will do a very nice job of handing the ball off until he is absolutely required to throw it. Thomas Jones, get ready to see nine guys in the box against Cincinnati this weekend. Jets fans can mail cards to the Colts and Bengals thanking them for mailing it in in Weeks 16 and 17.

Following Philly/Dallas and New York/Cincy, the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers will square off in the third rematch of a Week 17 game this weekend. The Packers rolled over the Cardinals who had nothing to play for and did most of the rolling over all by themselves. There are some health concerns for Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, Anquan Boldin, and Charles Woodson going into this game.

Baltimore travels to New England to play the Wes Welker-less Patriots. Welker tore up most of the _CL’s in his knee on Sunday. Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Ray Lewis and company will look to put to rest Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and the Pats. Should that happen, the media will surely spark up the “Has Belichick lost it?” debate. For that reason alone, I’ll root for the Pats.

Brett Favre may or may not be on a tractor in Kiln, Mississippi this week. The Vikings can thank the Cowboys for beating the Eagles and getting them a first round bye. Favre loved Sidney Rice this season to the tune of 1312 yards and 8 TD’s. I don’t know what that tune sounds like, but it works for the Minnesota offense.

The New Orleans Saints are also waiting around for somebody to play football against. Drew Brees and his band of guys who can run fast and catch the ball will not have won in nearly a month when they take the field next.

The Colts are planning a really intense bye week in Indy. Somewhere Jim Caldwell is sitting with no expression on his face. The San Diego Chargers are taking it easy in a sunnier place where Philip Rivers can frolic on the beach and wait around for somebody to fly west to play a game.

THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC

The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in OT at Fenway Park in the NHL’s 2010 Winter Classic. Check out all our Winter Classic gear in this week’s items of the week!