Hall of Football

🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 Editor’s note: Inside Linebackers are in the spotlight for this week’s updated release for paid subscribers, with analysis on more than 1,250 players rated for the 2027 NFL Draft. We offer a peek at the top inside linebackers and NFL defensive trends. We dig deep into our scouting report on a player we think is underrated so far. We even give an insider look at how EA’s College 27 ratings are being criticized. Hall of Football is not affiliated with the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 As chess matches go, TCU vs. North Carolina in Saturday’s Week Zero spotlight carries an intriguing resemblance to Bobby Fischer vs. Donald Byrne, the 1956 match remembered as “The Game of the Century.” Fischer was a 13-year-old newcomer. Byrne, an International Master, was twice his age. Saturday in Dublin, the football chess match pits 22-year-old TCU quarterback Jaden Craig against 74-year-old North Carolina coach Bill Belichick.

🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 This is a bonus addition to our series on the 1976 Raiders: 50th anniversary of winning Super Bowl XI. This is also the 50th anniversary of the retirement of George Blanda and we were right there. With co-producer Phil Villapiano, we will reconvene telling tales from inside training camp in ensuing episodes. 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 Fifty years ago today, Aug. 26, George Blanda stormed out of Raiders training camp in Santa Rosa, ending the longest career in NFL history.

๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ With the roster reduction clock ticking toward next Sunday (Aug. 30) when all teams must have no more than 53 active players, there is a category of 40 injured players where decisions have to be made that day. Those are guys that failed physicals when training camps opened and were placed on one of three lists: active/physically unable to perform (PUP) and active/non-football injury (NFI) or active non-football illness.

🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 This is a bonus addition to our series on the 1976 Raiders: 50th anniversary of winning Super Bowl XI. This is also the tenth anniversary of Ken Stabler’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. With co-producer Phil Villapiano, we will reconvene telling tales from inside training camp in ensuing episodes. 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 During a recent visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s induction of the 2026 Class, I met briefly with Joe Montana. The Canton visit brought back a flood of memories.

🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 Check out more than 1,200 draft prospects, rated by NFL Draft Scout 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 Every so often, a draft class arrives with a storyline that overshadows the rest of the field. This year, it’s Arch Manning who commands the spotlight—football royalty, consensus top pick, and the center of every early draft headline. Whether it’s whispers of another Manning power play or visions of draft-day drama, Arch’s every move will define the run-up to April. But after Arch, it’s anyone’s guess.

Oregon DT AMauri Washington ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿˆ Editorโ€™s note: Defensive tackles are in the spotlight for this weekโ€™s updated release for paid subscribers, with analysis on more than 1,250 players rated for the 2027 NFL Draft. We offer a peek at the top Defensive Tackles in free chart. Hall of Football is not affiliated with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Opinions are those of Hall of Football or the author.

Brian Mitchell, forgotten superstar 🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 Monday marked another birthday for Brian Mitchell — his 58th — and please forgive the slightly belated best-wishes because they are appropriate. After all, the football world is lagging overall in giving Mitchell the recognition he deserves, including at least a healthy conversation about his credentials for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Coach John Madden (L) and linebacker Phil Villapiano. (Editor’s Note: See preview. This is part five in a series tracking the Oakland Raiders through a dramatic 1976 season to their first Super Bowl Championship, No. XI — 50 years ago. Frank Cooney was with the team every day and linebacker Phil Villapiano, a key in the team’s change to a 3-4 defense, relive that adventure week by week.

🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈 Editor’s note: Interior offensive linemen are in the spotlight for this week’s updated release for paid subscribers, with analysis on more than 1,200 players rated for the 2027 NFL Draft. We offer a free peek at the top IOL and parse out centers and guards. Hall of Football is not affiliated with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Opinions are those of Hall of Football or the author.