Nfl

Thirty players from the area will be on NFL rosters when the season opens tomorrow. Fifteen players from South Jersey high schools and 15 from Southeastern Pennsylvania high schools will be listed. Sixteen NFL teams have at least one former high school player from the area. That means that 2.27 percent of the 1,316 players listed on the 47-man rosters will come from the area. Pennsauken High leads the way with four NFL players: wide receiver John Taylor of the San Francisco 49ers and his brother, Keith Taylor, a defensive back for the New Orleans Saints; linebacker Dave Griggs, who re-signed Thursday with the Miami Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs running back Todd McNair.

NEW ORLEANS - Drew Brees threw for 307 yards to set a new NFL single-season record for yards passing with 5,087, and completed four touchdown passes to lift the New Orleans Saints to a 45-16 division-clinching win over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. Brees entered the fourth quarter needing only 30 yards to break Dan Marino's 1984 record of 5,084 yards. His four touchdowns gave him 276 for his career, moving him one ahead of Vinny Testeverde for ninth all time. He is the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for over 5,000 yards twice - he had 5,069 in 2008.

NOBODY REALLY knew what would happen in the NFL's first official "pre-free-agency" negotiating period. Turned out, not much did. Everyone was clear that deals couldn't be announced before the official start of free agency, Tuesday at 4 p.m. But agents had hoped to get some numbers from teams, starting at midnight Friday, and they'd figured they might even strike unofficial bargains. The NFL put an abrupt end to those hopes Friday with a memo warning about investigations for "tampering," should anyone enter into even agreements in principle.

The Baltimore Ravens signed veteran running back Ricky Williams to replace Willis McGahee, who was released before training camp. Williams agreed to a two-year deal, the team announced on Monday in Owings Mills, Md. Williams, who played last season with the Miami Dolphins, will work in tandem with Ray Rice. Last season, Williams, 34, averaged 4.2 yards per carry for Miami. He gained 673 yards and scored two touchdowns, splitting time with Ronnie Brown, who signed with the Eagles last week.

CBS Sports president Sean McManus's back must be stinging from all the pats he received Monday following the $4 billion, eight-year agreement to televise NFL games. McManus, the son of veteran ABC sportscaster Jim McKay, was named president of CBS Sports in November 1996 for the explicit purpose of getting the network back into the NFL. He accomplished the task with the negotiations to televise the AFC package, formerly held by NBC. "To know that we're back in the NFL is a real relief," said McManus, whose network fell to No. 3 after losing the NFL to Fox four years ago. McManus insisted the network will not be at a financial loss despite the billion-dollar figure.

The list of former NFL players or their relatives in a lawsuit accusing the league of concealing the long-term dangers of concussions has topped 4,200, and keeps growing. But the case must clear major legal obstacles before ever getting a chance at trial. The first looms this week in a Philadelphia courtroom. On Tuesday, NFL lawyers will plead with U.S. District Judge Anita Brody to dismiss the suit. They contend it does not belong in court because player grievances have long been covered by the union contracts that govern disputes between players and the league.

A COUPLE of months after he made the college-to-pro head-coaching leap from the University of Florida to the Washington Redskins in 2002, Steve Spurrier was asked how much tougher he thought it would be to win in the NFL than it was in the Southeastern Conference. Spurrier, who never has been on a first-name basis with humility, responded by saying that conquering the NFC East would be a piece of cake compared with the challenge of the SEC. "Gosh," the ol' ball coach said, "we only have to beat three teams.

After a stellar junior football season at Temple University, Keith Gloster, a 1984 graduate of Edgewood High, was prepared for a banner senior year. As a junior, Gloster teamed with Willie Marshall - the former Northern Burlington star who spent last season on the Green Bay Packers' injured- reserve list - to give Temple one of the most formidable pairs of wide receivers in the country. "My junior year, defensive backs didn't know what to do," Gloster said. "They ended going crazy trying to cover both of us. " During his injury-plagued senior season, Gloster could relate to the frustration those defensive backs felt.

The first day of the NFL playoffs drew the best preliminary television ratings in a decade. The Cowboys' 34-14 win over the Eagles on NBC on Saturday night earned a 19.6 overnight rating and 32 share, the highest for a first-round game since the 1999 season. The Jets' 24-14 win over the Bengals drew a 16.9/31, the best for the early game in 10 years. The average for the two games was up 12 percent from last season. Ratings represent the percentage of all households with televisions tuned into a program, and shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time.

One of the first questions Oregon coach Chip Kelly - perhaps the front-runner to take over as coach of the Eagles - was asked after arriving in Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl was about the possibility of coaching in the NFL. The are-you-going-to-the-NFL questions haven't let up in the five days since, and only figure to pick up after seven coaches were fired Monday. Deflection has been Kelly's defense since the rumors started and it was no different after all those NFL openings cropped up. "I've got a game to play," Kelly said during the Fiesta Bowl's media day Monday.