Gridiron

Gridiron is a UK-based magazine that takes its readers inside America’s game. We bring you exclusive interviews with players and coaches, sharing the thoughts and opinions from all of your favourite pundits and keeping you up-to-date with all the latest news from the NFL, college football and Britain’s domestic American football scene.

THE. SEASON. STARTS. HERE.

EDITOR’S NOTES

Gridiron

GRIDIRON TIMES • Football. Focused.

CLAUSE. OUT.

DENVER SELLS, BUT COWBOYS STILL #1

WATSON’S SUSPENSION

FLAGGING FOR IT! • It is 90 years since football last appeared in the Olympic Games, but the NFL is now throwing its considerable might behind a west coast return

WHAT IS FLAG FOOTBALL?

PRESEASON NOTEBOOK • Fresh from his summer tour of training camps across the NFL, Neil Reynolds unloads his notebook from conversations with Aaron Rodgers, Robert Saleh, Trevor Lawrence and more.

WHY THE NFL SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT AN AUSTRALIAN CONCUSSION CRISIS • A scandal in Australia threatens to upend the league’s protocol – is the NFL prepared?

THE YEAR OF TREY LANCE BEGINS NOW! • Trey Lance was drafted third overall for this specific moment, to solve a specific schematic dilemma. After sitting behind Jimmy Garoppolo for a year, he now holds the keys to the Niners franchise. Drafting Lance was a gamble, but the Niners are ready to embrace the uncertainty.

ROOKIES NOT ALL ROSY

WHY ARE NFL BROADCASTS SO STALE? • The NFL is moving into a new digital frontier. It’s targeting ‘more’ and ‘better’ broadcasts. Networks are paying their talent record-breaking sums. So why does it all feel so unimaginative?

STALEY’S COMET • Can head coach Brandon Staley’s fourth-down audacity turn the L.A. Chargers into the NFL’s next shooting star?

AFTERLIFE BACKFIELD TO BOX OFFICE • Thomas Jones is one of the NFL’s all-time leading rushers. Now, he is a working actor. He sat down with Melissa Jacobs exclusively for Gridiron to discuss his foray into acting, reflections on his playing career and the impact of all those rushing yards on his body.

MONEYBALL BIG UGLY NUMBERS • When most of us watch the NFL, we tend to focus on the skill positions and the ball. A few of us love defense. A smaller number really follow and love offensive line play.

THE NFL’S MOST IMPORTANT INNOVATORS • THE PLAYERS WHO HAVE MADE THE NFL WHAT IT IS – AND THOSE WHO WILL LEAD IT INTO THE FUTURE

CARLSON’S GOATS The Innovative Undertaker • Clark Shaughnessy is often called “the father of the T formation,” a man who changed the way football is played — both offensively and defensively. Gridiron’s resident football guru, Mike Carlson, guides us through Shaughnessy’s illustrious career.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END? • The move by USC and UCLA to leave the Pac-12 and join the Big 10 from 2024, coupled with a new seven-year media rights agreement with Fox, CBS and NBC that’s set to bring in more than $7 billion to one of the nation’s most powerful athletic conferences, has changed the face of college football forever, ripping up decades of tradition. Simon Clancy looks at the fallout from the sports’ biggest ever game-changer.