LINEUP

FEATURES

BASEBALL

38 THE EPIC RED SOX FAIL

A year ago Boston was MLB's model franchise. Now? A disaster

BY TOM VERDUCCI

PRO FOOTBALL

44 IT'S ALL ON THE LINE

The key to your team's high-priced QB? The blockers who protect him

BY MATT GAGNE

TENNIS

48 SPIRIT OF THE OPEN

Beneath the corporate glitz, New York's Grand Slam jewel still has soul

BY S.L. PRICE

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

54 THE PAIN OF THE PLACEKICKER

Inside the fraternity of kickers, outsiders in their own game

BY LEE JENKINS

PRO FOOTBALL

60 HIDDEN TOLL OF CONCUSSIONS

The women behind suffering ex-players carry a heavy burden

BY MELISSA SEGURA

DEPARTMENTS

3 Leading Off

12 SI Digital

14 The Mail

16 Editor's Letter

19 Scorecard

The NFL's home-fan advantage

26 Faces in the Crowd

28 Just My Type

Russell Wilson, little big man

BY DAN PATRICK

30 Inside ...

College Football

NASCAR

MLB

Boxing

68 Point After

A sound-bite Rosetta Stone

BY PHIL TAYLOR

SI HAS TWO COVERS THIS WEEK

TO SEE THE FULL SCREEN VERSION OF EACH COVER, DOWNLOAD THE SI TABLET APP, FREE TO ALL SUBSCRIBERS

ON THE COVERS: PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT BECK

TWO PHOTOS