Yahoo! Sports' NFL front page after Sunday's action.
SI.com's front page after Sunday's action.
The headliners on Yahoo! Sports' front page were predictable, but not unlike many of the other national sports sites after the first slate of NFL action on Sunday. The choice to go with the Washington Redskins' Robert Griffin III with the dominant image over Peyton Manning and the New York Jets was a refreshing surprise to me. It could have gone into other hush-hush storylines like the beginning of Cam Newton's sophomore slump in Carolina or Detroit's miraculous last-second win to avoid embarrassment against St. Louis.
While Manning and Tim Tebow/Mark Sanchez were featured, the site chose to focus on the Heisman Trophy winner's debut in an upset over the New Orleans Saints. RG3 had the toughest first game among the five rookie quarterbacks starting in Sunday and was the only one to win. The lead up to Griffin's start was played out a few days earlier when Yahoo! featured Griffin in a story it picked up from the Atlanta Black Star. Griffin has been a star in college and will likely keep that going in the NFL.
When I scanned ESPN.com and SI.com to see what they decided to pick up for NFL action, I was shocked to see the exact same photo of Peyton Manning, who was making his first regular season start in over a year. Yahoo! as well as ESPN and Sports Illustrated proclaimed Manning "back." We'll see about that.
And, of course, there was coverage of the soap opera that is the New York Jets. Yes, they shredded the hapless Buffalo Bills, but only on a team with Tim Tebow would there be a mention of a BACKUP quarterback who had a whopping five carries for 11 yards when the starting quarterback threw three touchdowns and one interception.
Yahoo!'s Dan Wetzel, who I think is one of the finest football writers around, even got roped into the baggage that surrounds Tebow at every turn. His column emphasized there will be no getting around this quarterback "controversy" no matter how good Sanchez plays this year.
As a whole, I give props to Yahoo! for focusing on more than just the typical story lines on the first weekend of NFL action. It dove into an issue I didn't realize was a big deal in Washington, D.C., with Griffin acting as a potential hero in the "Chocolate City." Plenty of room for improvement, however.
While Manning and Tim Tebow/Mark Sanchez were featured, the site chose to focus on the Heisman Trophy winner's debut in an upset over the New Orleans Saints. RG3 had the toughest first game among the five rookie quarterbacks starting in Sunday and was the only one to win. The lead up to Griffin's start was played out a few days earlier when Yahoo! featured Griffin in a story it picked up from the Atlanta Black Star. Griffin has been a star in college and will likely keep that going in the NFL.
When I scanned ESPN.com and SI.com to see what they decided to pick up for NFL action, I was shocked to see the exact same photo of Peyton Manning, who was making his first regular season start in over a year. Yahoo! as well as ESPN and Sports Illustrated proclaimed Manning "back." We'll see about that.
And, of course, there was coverage of the soap opera that is the New York Jets. Yes, they shredded the hapless Buffalo Bills, but only on a team with Tim Tebow would there be a mention of a BACKUP quarterback who had a whopping five carries for 11 yards when the starting quarterback threw three touchdowns and one interception.
Yahoo!'s Dan Wetzel, who I think is one of the finest football writers around, even got roped into the baggage that surrounds Tebow at every turn. His column emphasized there will be no getting around this quarterback "controversy" no matter how good Sanchez plays this year.
As a whole, I give props to Yahoo! for focusing on more than just the typical story lines on the first weekend of NFL action. It dove into an issue I didn't realize was a big deal in Washington, D.C., with Griffin acting as a potential hero in the "Chocolate City." Plenty of room for improvement, however.
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