2006 National Football League season
AFC teams:
West,
North,
South,
East
NFC teams:
West,
North,
South,
East
The
2006 NFL season
was the 87th
regular season
of the
National Football League
(NFL). Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006.
The season began with the reigning
Super Bowl XL
champion
Pittsburgh Steelers
defeating the
Miami Dolphins
in the
NFL Kickoff Game
.
The NFL title was eventually won by the
Indianapolis Colts
, when they defeated the
Chicago Bears
in
Super Bowl XLI
at
Dolphin Stadium
at
Miami Gardens
,
Florida
on February 4, 2007.
New NFL commissioner
[
edit
]
On March 20, 2006,
Paul Tagliabue
announced his plans to retire as NFL commissioner. During an NFL meeting in
Northbrook, Illinois
, on August 8, league team owners selected
Roger Goodell
, the NFL's then-current chief operating officer, as the new commissioner. Tagliabue continued to serve as commissioner until Goodell officially replaced him on Friday September 1.
Tagliabue became NFL commissioner on October 26, 1989. During his tenure, the league added four new teams; saw four franchises move (including two franchises?the Rams and Raiders?from
Los Angeles
, the second-largest television market in the U.S.); the construction of seventeen new stadiums; began its own in-house television specialty cable network, the NFL Network; greatly increased television rights fees with its broadcasters, including the addition of the
Fox network
and
its NFL programming
; and maintained labor peace with the
players' union
.
Draft
[
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]
The
2006 NFL Draft
was held from April 29 to 30, 2006 at
New York City
's
Radio City Music Hall
. With the first pick, the
Houston Texans
selected defensive end
Mario Williams
from
North Carolina State University
.
New referees
[
edit
]
Bernie Kukar
and
Tom White
retired.
Jerome Boger
and
Gene Steratore
were promoted to referee.
Notable Retirements
[
edit
]
Major rule changes
[
edit
]
- End zone celebrations became more restricted. Players cannot celebrate by using any type of prop, or do any act in which they are on the ground. Players may still spike, spin the ball, or (until 2014), dunk it over the goal posts. Dancing in the end zone is also permitted as long as it is not a prolonged or group celebration. The
Lambeau Leap
, though, is still legal.
[1]
- Defenders were prohibited from hitting a passer in the knee or below unless they are blocked into him. This rule was enacted in response to the previous season's injuries to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback
Carson Palmer
, Pittsburgh Steelers'
Ben Roethlisberger
, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers'
Brian Griese
.
- Down-by-contact calls could now be reviewed by
instant replay
to determine if a player fumbled the ball before he was down, and who recovered it. Previously, these plays could not be reversed once officials blew the whistle.
- The "
horse-collar tackle
" rule enacted during the previous 2005 season was expanded. Players are now prohibited from tackling a ball carrier from the rear by tugging inside his jersey. Previously, it was only illegal if the tackler's hand got inside the player's shoulder pads.
- To reduce injuries, defensive players cannot line up directly over the
long snapper
during
field goal
and
extra point
attempts.
Officials' uniform makeover
[
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]
The 2006 season marked the debut of new officiating uniforms which are supposed to be more comfortable for officials to wear in extreme weather over the old
polyester
uniforms. The uniforms were designed by
Reebok
using a proprietary material technology to keep officials both warm and dry during the winter months of the season. On the shirt, the position and number are removed from the front pocket and the lettering and numbers on the back side were
black-on-white
and are smaller print and the sleeve shows the uniform number. Officials also wore full-length black pants with white stripe during the winter months to stay warm, which was criticized by media. Also, a black stripe was added to each side of the white knickers. This was the first major design overhaul since 1979, when the position name was added to the shirt, but later abbreviated in 1982.
For the first time since
Super Bowl IV
at the conclusion of the
1969 season
, the official NFL game ball was known as "The Duke" in honor of
Wellington Mara
, whose family owns the
New York Giants
. Son
John
is the current CEO of the team. The NFL first used "The Duke" ball in honor of owner
Tim Mara
(Wellington's father) made a deal with
Wilson Sporting Goods
to become the league's official supplier of game balls, a relationship that continued into its sixty-fifth year in 2006.
[2]
"The Duke" ball was discontinued after the 1970
AFL?NFL merger
, and the merged league began using a different standardized ball made by Wilson. The only other time that "The Duke" ball name was used was during the two
"Thanksgiving Classic"
games in
2004
.
One side of the new 2006 "Duke" football featured the NFL shield logo in gold, the words "The Duke", and the NFL commissioner's signature. The obverse side has a small NFL logo above the needle bladder hole, the conference names between the hole, and the words "National Football League" in gold. As per the custom, specially branded balls were used for the first week of the 2006 season (the "Opening Kickoff") as well as for the
Thanksgiving Day
, conference championships, Super Bowl XLI and Pro Bowl games.
2006 deaths
[
edit
]
Death of Lamar Hunt
[
edit
]
Lamar Hunt
died in
Dallas
,
Texas
on December 13 from complications from
prostate cancer
at the age of 74. He is credited with challenging the NFL with the formation of the
American Football League
, which led to the subsequent
merger of the two leagues
.
Death of two Broncos
[
edit
]
At 3 a.m. on January 1, 2007,
Denver Broncos
cornerback
Darrent Williams
was shot and killed in Denver, within hours after the last regular season game against the San Francisco 49ers. Less than two months after, on February 24, 2007, Broncos running back
Damien Nash
collapsed and died after a charity basketball game at a high school. Both players died at the age of 24.
Regular season
[
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]
Schedule formula
[
edit
]
Based on the
NFL's scheduling formula
, the intraconference and interconference matchups for 2006 were:
Intraconference
Interconference
Flexible scheduling added to regular season
[
edit
]
This was the first season that the NFL used a "flexible-scheduling" for the last few weeks of the season, allowing the league flexibility in selecting games to air on Sunday night, in order to feature the current hottest, streaking teams. This was implemented to prevent games featuring losing teams from airing during primetime late in the season, while at the same time allowing NBC to rake in more money off the higher ratings from surprise, playoff-potential teams that more fans would enjoy watching.
Under the flexible-scheduling system, all Sunday games in the affected weeks tentatively had the start times of 1:00 p.m.
ET
/10:00 a.m.
PT
, except those played in the Pacific or Mountain time zones, which will have a tentative start time of 4:05 p.m. ET/1:05 p.m. PT (or 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT if it is on the doubleheader network). On the Tuesday 12 days before the games, the league moved one game to the
Sunday Night Football
slot, and possibly one or more 1 p.m. slotted games to the 4:05/4:15 p.m. slots. During the last week of the season, the league could reschedule games as late as six days before the contests so that all of the television networks will be able to broadcast a game that has playoff implications.
Week 10:
The
Chicago
?
New York Giants
game was flexed into
Sunday Night Football
at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC and the
New Orleans
?
Pittsburgh
game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on
Fox
.
Week 11:
The
San Diego
?
Denver
game was flexed into
SNF
and the
Indianapolis
?
Dallas
game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on
CBS
.
Week 12:
Week 13:
- The
Seattle
?Denver game was flexed into
SNF
.
- The
Jacksonville
?
Miami
game was flexed to 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS.
- The Dallas?New York Giants and
Tampa Bay
?Pittsburgh games were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.
Week 14:
The New Orleans?Dallas game was flexed into
SNF
and the
Buffalo
?
New York Jets
game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS.
Week 15:
The
Kansas City
?San Diego game was flexed into
SNF
and the Philadelphia?New York Giants game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.
Week 17:
- The
Green Bay
?Chicago game was flexed into NBC Sunday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET.
- The Buffalo?
Baltimore
and Miami?Indianapolis games were flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on CBS
- The
Atlanta
?Philadelphia game was flexed to 4:15 p.m. ET on Fox.
Regular season standings
[
edit
]
Division
[
edit
]
Conference
[
edit
]
|
#
|
Team
|
Division
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
PCT
|
DIV
|
CONF
|
SOS
|
SOV
|
STK
|
Division leaders
|
1
|
San Diego Chargers
|
West
|
14
|
2
|
0
|
.875
|
5?1
|
10?2
|
.457
|
.424
|
W10
|
2
|
Baltimore Ravens
|
North
|
13
|
3
|
0
|
.813
|
5?1
|
10?2
|
.461
|
.447
|
W4
|
3
[a]
|
Indianapolis Colts
|
South
|
12
|
4
|
0
|
.750
|
3?3
|
9?3
|
.500
|
.505
|
W1
|
4
[a]
|
New England Patriots
|
East
|
12
|
4
|
0
|
.750
|
4?2
|
8?4
|
.496
|
.469
|
W3
|
Wild cards
|
5
|
New York Jets
|
East
|
10
|
6
|
0
|
.625
|
4?2
|
7?5
|
.469
|
.400
|
W3
|
6
[b]
|
Kansas City Chiefs
|
West
|
9
|
7
|
0
|
.563
|
4?2
|
5?7
|
.492
|
.444
|
W2
|
Did not qualify for the postseason
|
7
[b]
|
Denver Broncos
|
West
|
9
|
7
|
0
|
.563
|
3?3
|
8?4
|
.531
|
.438
|
L1
|
8
[c]
[d]
|
Cincinnati Bengals
|
North
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.563
|
4?2
|
6?6
|
.535
|
.453
|
L3
|
9
[c]
[e]
[f]
|
Tennessee Titans
|
South
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.500
|
4?2
|
5?7
|
.570
|
.484
|
L1
|
10
[f]
[g]
|
Jacksonville Jaguars
|
South
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.500
|
2?4
|
5?7
|
.531
|
.555
|
L3
|
11
[d]
[g]
|
Pittsburgh Steelers
|
North
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.500
|
3?3
|
5?7
|
.496
|
.414
|
W1
|
12
|
Buffalo Bills
|
East
|
7
|
9
|
0
|
.438
|
3?3
|
5?7
|
.574
|
.446
|
L2
|
13
[h]
|
Houston Texans
|
South
|
6
|
10
|
0
|
.375
|
3?3
|
6?6
|
.504
|
.417
|
W2
|
14
[h]
|
Miami Dolphins
|
East
|
6
|
10
|
0
|
.375
|
1?5
|
3?9
|
.543
|
.531
|
L3
|
15
|
Cleveland Browns
|
North
|
4
|
12
|
0
|
.250
|
0?6
|
3?9
|
.535
|
.438
|
L4
|
16
|
Oakland Raiders
|
West
|
2
|
14
|
0
|
.125
|
0?6
|
1?11
|
.555
|
.406
|
L9
|
Tiebreakers
[i]
|
- ^
a
b
Indianapolis finished ahead of New England based on head-to-head victory.
- ^
a
b
Kansas City finished ahead of Denver based on division record.
- ^
a
b
Cincinnati finished ahead of Tennessee based on conference record. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Pittsburgh (see below).
- ^
a
b
Cincinnati finished ahead of Pittsburgh based on division record.
- ^
Tennessee finished ahead of Pittsburgh based on strength of victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Jacksonville (see below).
- ^
a
b
Tennessee finished ahead of Jacksonville based on division record.
- ^
a
b
Jacksonville finished ahead of Pittsburgh based on head-to-head victory.
- ^
a
b
Houston finished ahead of Miami based on head-to-head victory.
- ^
When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.
|
|
|
#
|
Team
|
Division
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
PCT
|
DIV
|
CONF
|
SOS
|
SOV
|
STK
|
Division leaders
|
1
|
Chicago Bears
|
North
|
13
|
3
|
0
|
.813
|
5?1
|
11?1
|
.430
|
.404
|
L1
|
2
[a]
|
New Orleans Saints
|
South
|
10
|
6
|
0
|
.625
|
4?2
|
9?3
|
.461
|
.425
|
L1
|
3
[a]
|
Philadelphia Eagles
|
East
|
10
|
6
|
0
|
.625
|
5?1
|
9?3
|
.477
|
.450
|
W5
|
4
|
Seattle Seahawks
|
West
|
9
|
7
|
0
|
.563
|
3?3
|
7?5
|
.453
|
.382
|
W1
|
Wild cards
|
5
|
Dallas Cowboys
|
East
|
9
|
7
|
0
|
.563
|
2?4
|
6?6
|
.457
|
.438
|
L2
|
6
[b]
[c]
|
New York Giants
|
East
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.500
|
4?2
|
7?5
|
.520
|
.422
|
W1
|
Did not qualify for the postseason
|
7
[b]
[c]
|
Green Bay Packers
|
North
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.500
|
5?1
|
7?5
|
.500
|
.383
|
W4
|
8
[c]
[d]
|
Carolina Panthers
|
South
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.500
|
5?1
|
6?6
|
.473
|
.469
|
W2
|
9
[c]
[d]
|
St. Louis Rams
|
West
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.500
|
2?4
|
6?6
|
.465
|
.352
|
W3
|
10
[e]
|
San Francisco 49ers
|
West
|
7
|
9
|
0
|
.438
|
3?3
|
5?7
|
.500
|
.411
|
W1
|
11
[e]
|
Atlanta Falcons
|
South
|
7
|
9
|
0
|
.438
|
3?3
|
5?7
|
.457
|
.375
|
L3
|
12
|
Minnesota Vikings
|
North
|
6
|
10
|
0
|
.375
|
2?4
|
6?6
|
.488
|
.344
|
L3
|
13
[f]
|
Arizona Cardinals
|
West
|
5
|
11
|
0
|
.313
|
4?2
|
5?7
|
.500
|
.425
|
L1
|
14
[f]
|
Washington Redskins
|
East
|
5
|
11
|
0
|
.313
|
1?5
|
3?9
|
.512
|
.513
|
L2
|
15
|
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
|
South
|
4
|
12
|
0
|
.250
|
0?6
|
2?10
|
.535
|
.422
|
L1
|
16
|
Detroit Lions
|
North
|
3
|
13
|
0
|
.188
|
0?6
|
2?10
|
.523
|
.479
|
W1
|
Tiebreakers
[g]
|
- ^
a
b
New Orleans finished ahead of Philadelphia based on head-to-head victory.
- ^
a
b
NY Giants finished ahead of Green Bay based on strength of victory.
- ^
a
b
c
d
NY Giants and Green Bay finish ahead of Carolina and St. Louis based on conference records.
- ^
a
b
Carolina finished ahead of St. Louis based on head-to-head victory.
- ^
a
b
San Francisco finished ahead of Atlanta based on strength of victory.
- ^
a
b
Arizona finished ahead of Washington based on conference record.
- ^
When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.
|
|
Playoffs
[
edit
]
Within each conference, the four division winners and the top two
non-division winners with the best overall regular season records)
qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are
seeded
1?4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5?6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the
wild-card playoffs
or
wild-card weekend
, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth-seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference received a
first-round bye
. In the second round, the
divisional playoffs
, the number 1 seed hosts the worst-surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games met in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the
Super Bowl
, the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.
[4]
Bracket
[
edit
]
- *
Indicates OT victory
Pro Bowl
[
edit
]
Milestones
[
edit
]
The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the regular season:
Record
|
Player/team
|
Date/opponent
|
Previous record holder
[5]
|
Most points scored, career
|
Morten Andersen
, Atlanta
|
December 16 vs. Dallas
|
Gary Anderson
, 1982?2004 (2,434)
|
Most field goals, career
|
Morten Andersen, Atlanta
|
December 24 vs. Carolina
|
Gary Anderson, 1982?2004 (538)
|
Most passes completed, career
|
Brett Favre
, Green Bay
|
December 17 vs. Detroit
|
Dan Marino
, 1983?1999 (4,967)
|
Most touchdowns, season
|
LaDainian Tomlinson
, San Diego (31)
|
December 10 vs. Denver
|
Shaun Alexander
, Seattle, 2005 (28)
|
Most rushing touchdowns, season
|
LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (28)
|
December 10 vs. Denver
|
Shaun Alexander, 2005
Priest Holmes
, 2003 (27)
|
Most points scored, season
|
LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (186)
|
December 17 vs. Kansas City
|
Paul Hornung
, 1960 (176)
|
Most rushing attempts, season
|
Larry Johnson
, Kansas City (416)
|
December 31 vs. Jacksonville
|
Jamal Anderson
, Atlanta, 1998 (410)
|
Most kick returns for a touchdown, season
|
Devin Hester
, Chicago (5; 3 punts and 2 kickoffs)
|
December 11 at St. Louis
|
Tied by 9 players (4)
|
Regular season statistical leaders
[
edit
]
Team
[
edit
]
Points scored
|
San Diego Chargers (492)
|
Total yards gained
|
New Orleans Saints (6,264)
|
Yards rushing
|
Atlanta Falcons (2,939)
|
Yards passing
|
New Orleans Saints (4,503)
|
Fewest points allowed
|
Baltimore Ravens (201)
|
Fewest total yards allowed
|
Baltimore Ravens (4,225)
|
Fewest rushing yards allowed
|
Minnesota Vikings (985)
|
Fewest passing yards allowed
|
Oakland Raiders (2,413)
|
Individual
[
edit
]
Scoring
|
LaDainian Tomlinson
, San Diego (186 points)
|
Touchdowns
|
LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (31 TDs)
|
Most field goals made
|
Robbie Gould
, Chicago and
Jeff Wilkins
, St. Louis (32 FGs)
|
Rushing
|
LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (1,815 yards)
|
Passer rating
|
Peyton Manning
, Indianapolis (101.0 rating)
|
Passing touchdowns
|
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis (31 TDs)
|
Passing yards
|
Drew Brees
, New Orleans (4,418 yards)
|
Pass receptions
|
Andre Johnson
, Houston (103 catches)
|
Pass receiving yards
|
Chad Johnson
, Cincinnati (1,369 yards)
|
Punt returns
|
Adam "Pacman" Jones
, Tennessee (12.9 average yards)
|
Kickoff returns
|
Justin Miller
, New York Jets (28.3 average yards)
|
Interceptions
|
Asante Samuel
, New England and
Champ Bailey
, Denver (10)
|
Punting
|
Mat McBriar
, Dallas (48.2 average yards)
|
Sacks
|
Shawne Merriman
, San Diego (17)
|
Awards
[
edit
]
Most Valuable Player
|
LaDainian Tomlinson
, running back,
San Diego Chargers
|
Coach of the Year
|
Sean Payton
,
New Orleans Saints
|
Offensive Player of the Year
|
LaDainian Tomlinson
, running back, San Diego Chargers
|
Defensive Player of the Year
|
Jason Taylor
, defensive end,
Miami Dolphins
|
Offensive Rookie of the Year
|
Vince Young
, quarterback,
Tennessee Titans
|
Defensive Rookie of the Year
|
DeMeco Ryans
, linebacker,
Houston Texans
|
NFL Comeback Player of the Year
|
Chad Pennington
, quarterback,
New York Jets
|
Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year
|
LaDainian Tomlinson, running back, San Diego Chargers and
|
Drew Brees
, quarterback,
New Orleans Saints
|
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
|
Peyton Manning
, quarterback,
Indianapolis Colts
|
- All-Pro Team
Offense
|
Quarterback
|
Drew Brees
, New Orleans
|
Running back
|
LaDainian Tomlinson
, San Diego
Larry Johnson
, Kansas City
|
Fullback
|
Lorenzo Neal
, San Diego
|
Wide receiver
|
Marvin Harrison
, Indianapolis
Chad Johnson
, Cincinnati
|
Tight end
|
Antonio Gates
, San Diego
|
Offensive tackle
|
Willie Anderson
, Cincinnati
Jammal Brown
, New Orleans
|
Offensive guard
|
Alan Faneca
, Pittsburgh
Shawn Andrews
, Philadelphia
|
Center
|
Olin Kreutz
, Chicago
|
Defense
|
Defensive end
|
Jason Taylor
, Miami
Julius Peppers
, Carolina
|
Defensive tackle
|
Jamal Williams
, San Diego
Kevin Williams
, Minnesota
|
Outside linebacker
|
Shawne Merriman
, San Diego
Adalius Thomas
, Baltimore
|
Inside linebacker
|
Brian Urlacher
, Chicago
Zach Thomas
, Miami
|
Cornerback
|
Champ Bailey
, Denver
Rashean Mathis
, Jacksonville
|
Safety
|
Brian Dawkins
, Philadelphia
Ed Reed
, Baltimore
|
Team superlatives
[
edit
]
Offense
[
edit
]
- Most points scored:
San Diego
, 492
- Fewest points scored:
Oakland
, 168
- Most total offensive yards:
New Orleans
, 6,264
- Fewest total offensive yards: Oakland, 3,939
- Most total passing yards: New Orleans, 4,503
- Fewest total passing yards:
Atlanta
, 2,371
- Most rushing yards: Atlanta, 2,939
- Fewest rushing yards:
Detroit
, 1,129
[6]
Defense
[
edit
]
- Fewest points allowed:
Baltimore
, 201
- Most points allowed:
San Francisco
, 412
- Fewest total yards allowed: Baltimore, 4,225
- Most total yards allowed:
Tennessee
, 5,915
- Fewest passing yards allowed:
Oakland
, 2,413
- Most passing yards allowed:
Cincinnati
/
Minnesota
(tie), 3,818
- Fewest rushing yards allowed: Minnesota, 985
- Most rushing yards allowed:
Indianapolis
, 2,768
[7]
Coaching changes
[
edit
]
Stadium changes
[
edit
]
Uniform changes
[
edit
]
- The
Minnesota Vikings
added trim lines to the outside shoulders and sleeves, and the jersey sides and pants. The horn on the helmet was also modified to be slightly more defined. Purple pants were also worn at selected games.
- The
New Orleans Saints
began wearing black pants at selected games.
Ticket sellouts
[
edit
]
Through week 11 of the season, all NFL games had been sold out, and for the 24th time, all blackout restrictions had been lifted.
[8]
The streak was ended by the Jacksonville at Buffalo game in Week 12.
[9]
Television
[
edit
]
This was the first season that
NBC
held the rights to televise
Sunday Night Football
, becoming the beneficiaries by negotiating the new flexible-scheduling system (it also marked the network's return to carrying NFL games since the end of the 1997 season).
[10]
ESPN became the new home of
Monday Night Football
.
[10]
Disney
-owned corporate sibling
ABC
had lost millions of dollars on televising
MNF
during the late 1990s and 2000s despite generating high ratings, and with the NFL wanting Sunday night to be the new night for its marquee game, ABC preferred to protect its
Desperate Housewives
franchise rather than move the
comedy-drama
show to another night.
[11]
[12]
By September 2006, ABC began using the
ESPN on ABC
brand after ABC Sports was fully integrated into ESPN (ABC would not air NFL games again, whether exclusive or a simulcast from ESPN, until they began simulcasting a Wild Card playoff game in 2016, and began simulcasting select
MNF
games in 2020).
[13]
Meanwhile,
CBS
and
Fox
renewed their television contracts to the AFC and the NFC packages, respectively.
[14]
ESPN's new deal was for eight seasons through 2013, while the new agreements with NBC, CBS, and Fox were initially for six seasons through 2011.
[10]
[14]
Initially, NBC was able to hire color commentator
John Madden
,
MNF
lead producer Fred Gaudelli, and
MNF
director Drew Esocoff from ABC. However, play-by-play announcer
Al Michaels
remained under contract with ABC/ESPN, and plans were originally for him to be teamed with
Joe Theismann
, who would be coming over from
ESPN Sunday Night Football
.
[15]
In February 2006, the two networks' parent companies,
The Walt Disney Company
and
NBCUniversal
, agreed to a multi-asset trade that, among others, allowed Michaels to sign with NBC, while Disney took ownership of the intellectual property of
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
(a cartoon character developed by
Walt Disney
himself in the 1920s) from NBCUniversal.
[16]
ESPN then opted to go with
Mike Tirico
on play-by-play, and Theismann and
Tony Kornheiser
as analysts.
[17]
For its new pregame show
Football Night in America
, NBC gained the exclusive rights from ESPN's
NFL Primetime
to show extensive highlights of Sunday afternoon games prior to
Sunday Night Football
. ESPN responded by moving its show to Mondays.
Bob Costas
became the host of
Football Night in America
, while
Cris Collinsworth
,
Jerome Bettis
, and
Sterling Sharpe
became its studio analysts.
The league-owned
NFL Network
was given an eight-game package, consisting of five
Thursday Night Football
games and three Saturday game that began airing from Thanksgiving to the end of the regular season. The NFL Network hired
HBO Sports
'
Bryant Gumbel
as play-by-play announcer, NBC's Collinsworth as the color commentator for the Thursday telecasts, and
Dick Vermeil
replacing Collinsworth for Saturday telecasts.
James Brown
moved from Fox to CBS, replacing
Greg Gumbel
as host of
The NFL Today
. Gumbel then replaced
Dick Enberg
as the network's #2 play-by-play announcer, and Enberg was demoted to #3.
Fox announced that
Joe Buck
would replace Brown as lead host on
Fox NFL Sunday
. Because Buck was already serving as Fox's lead play-by-play announcer, the pregame show was primarily broadcast from the site where Buck was calling the game, and
Curt Menefee
hosted the halftime and postgame segments. Menefee substituted for Buck as the full-time host when Buck was calling the
Major League Baseball
playoffs.
Beginning this season and continuing until
2012
; CBS would not use sideline reporters for regular season coverage.
External links
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Expert: Simple celebration rule ? stay on your feet ? NFL ? MSNBC.com
- ^
"Michael Eisen ? Story ? 3.27 "The Duke" is Back ? Giants.com"
. Archived from
the original
on October 21, 2006
. Retrieved
April 1,
2006
.
- ^
a
b
"2006 Conference Standings"
. NFL.com
. Retrieved
February 7,
2024
.
- ^
"NFL Playoff Procedures and Tiebreakers"
. Yahoo! Sports. December 31, 2006. Archived from
the original
on January 1, 2010.
- ^
"NFL.com ? NFL Record and Fact Book"
.
Archived
from the original on December 27, 2007
. Retrieved
December 18,
2007
.
- ^
Pro-Football-Reference.com: 2006 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
- ^
Pro-Football-Reference.com: 2006 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
- ^
"All games sold out for 11th consecutive week"
. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006
. Retrieved
2006-11-17
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
"In depth: Frustration in Buffalo shows how NFL's television policies irking fan base"
.
USA Today
. November 26, 2006
. Retrieved
November 27,
2006
.
- ^
a
b
c
"NFL announces new prime-time TV packages"
.
NFL.com
. Archived from
the original
on November 30, 2005
. Retrieved
December 13,
2005
.
- ^
Leonard Shapiro; Mark Maske (April 19, 2005).
"
'Monday Night Football' Changes the Channel"
.
The Washington Post
. p. A1. Archived from
the original
on September 22, 2018.
- ^
Miller, Shales, James Andrew, Tom.
Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN
(PDF)
. p. 547.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Miller, Shales, James Andrew, Tom.
Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN
(PDF)
. p. 562.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
a
b
"NFL to remain on broadcast TV"
.
NFL.com
.
Archived
from the original on December 4, 2005
. Retrieved
December 13,
2005
.
- ^
"Michaels, Theismann, Kolber, Tafoya to crew MNF"
. ESPN. July 26, 2005. Archived from
the original
on January 15, 2007.
- ^
"NBC acquires Michaels for cartoon bunny, golf"
. Associated Press. February 13, 2006. Archived from
the original
on February 22, 2006.
- ^
"ESPN names new MNF team; Breen to call NBA games"
. ESPN. February 10, 2006. Archived from
the original
on November 7, 2011.
|
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Early era
(1920?1969)
| |
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Modern era
(1970?present)
| |
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Italics
indicate future seasons
|