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Look Who’s Talking Now
If you like “A 6-5, 230 pound quarterback, with a laser rocket arm” maybe Peyton Manning isn’t for you…
Football scenery in Indianapolis has shifted into the apocalyptic over the past two year. The Indianapolis Colts finished the NFL season with an overall 2-14 record; giving them the proud ownership of the 1st overall pick in the NFL Draft. And it just so happens that Andrew Luck, college football’s most highly touted quarterback prospect since (Indy’s own) QB Peyton Manning, will be foregoing his senior season at Stanford, and entering the 2012 draft.
This unique situation wouldn’t be tracking proverbial substance across the ground if Manning hadn’t sustained a severe neck injury that caused him to miss the entire 2011-2012 season, and is currently putting the future of his playing career in doubt. A $28 million contract option bonus due from the Colts to Manning on March 8th would give the Colts financial justification to part ways with the QB. And the strategic advantage of drafting the young Andrew Luck could make the ”rebuilding” phase of the talent-ridden franchise all the more smooth. (Let’s be honest, all the prime-time Colt’s games last year we’re not fun to watch). Read More >>
The Visible Spectrum
… Another year, another championship featuring a team from New York or Boston. Some years, if we’re lucky though, us spectators get the special benefit of watching two of America’s largest sport markets duke it out in the same championship game. When the right side of this coin flips, this media Supernova can leave us sport’s fans outside the market left behind in the massive glare of the oncoming media onslaught. Outside of the happenings of Upper East Side of the United States, time begins to crawl, in a unobservable manner where our attention slowly, but forcibly, approaches the day of the game. Minor news regarding team’s organizations, player’s injuries, fan reaction and strategic speculation may seem to stretch on for days. From their perspective, everything outside of their market’s big game comes to a stand-still, no passing news surrounding buzzer beaters, college upsets and player trades and signings can penetrate through the realms of their metropolitan pride. When these media Supernovas happen, we’re all subject to a cosmic censorship of the sport. Read More >>
NFL’s Con-fessional Bowl
Let me give you a scenario, and you can tell me if it seems like something you’d enjoy watching. The scenario involves a group of athletes voted to play in an all-star game. Fans have a certain number of votes per each position, and may cast an unlimited number of ballots - representing what is supposed to be 1/3 of the total vote for athletes. These athletes that eventually get voted in get to travel, usually with their family’s, to Honolulu, HI a week before the all-star game. Keep in mind these athletes are still recovering from a full 16 game season of hitting, tackling, lifting and rehabbing. The athletes will get to lounge around in 80-90 degree weather, practice a little bit with their fellow conference all-stars, play pranks on each other, converse, surf, and talk about who is going to win their sport’s champ
ionship the next week. Doesn’t sound half bad for the athletes, does it?
This scenario I’m describing is the NFL Pro Bowl, a game held (as of the past few years) a week before the Super Bowl. It is the only major sports all-star game that garners lower T.V. ratings than its regular season games. Players are voted in based on what could essentially be equated to a popularity contest. Coaches for each conference are automatically selected from the teams that lost the NFC and AFC title games, coaching teams, with usually, a good percentage of players opting out of the game for various reason, some related to injuries sustained during the regular season, some because their respective team is the one playing in the Super Bowl the following week… And if you’re Randy Moss, back before the game was held after the Super Bowl, you’ll opt out of playing, cause the week before your New England Patriots ended up losing the Super Bowl. Hawaii was just not motivating enough.
Worst Jersey Ever..? Do You Think You Could Do Better?
To be honest, when I think of the pioneering of sports jersey’s, I don’t think of the 500 different helmet, jersey and pants bottom combinations Nike has branded against Oregon Ducks. I do though get mixed feelings when I see the throwback uniforms the Memphis Grizzlies sported against the Clippers last Thursday (pictured on the right). 
The Grizzlies’ retro jersey’s, and the game against the Clippers, was to be a sentiment to the old American Basketball Assosiation, 1967-1976, a “lively” league famous for its prominent red, white and blue basketball, entertaining (.. although unconventional) half-time promotions and the adoption of a three-point shot; advertised as the “home run” of basketball. If you’ve ever seen the movie, Semi-Pro, then know Will Ferrell and the Flint Michigan Tropics weren’t far from what the ABA was at the time. The league was successful enough though that Four of ABA teams eventually were adopted into the NBA: the Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and New Jersey Nets. Thursday was to be allusion to a rematch of the old Los Angeles Stars and Memphis Pros/Tams/Sounds; and yes, Memphis did change their team name 3 times in 5 years. Read More >>
Peyton Manning in Seattle?
The rebuilding of the Indianapolis Colts’ franchise is well under way, but one question persists: Will it involve the NFL franchise’s very foundation?
As the Colts move from what was to what will be, the future of quarterback Peyton Manning remains uncertain. Owner Jim Irsay holds Manning’s fate with the Colts in his hands and will make the call by March 8 when a $28 million option bonus is due.
In an exclusive interview with Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz, the NFL‘s only four-time MVP touched on several topics, including how things have changed at the team complex. That, by the way, is where he continues to rehab from Sept. 8 neck surgery that forced him to miss the 2011 season.
“I’m not in a very good place for healing, let’s just say that,” Manning said. “Everybody’s walking around on eggshells. I don’t recognize our building right now. There’s such complete and total change.”
The day after the Colts ended the season 2-14, Irsay fired vice chairman Bill Polian and vice president/general manager Chris Polian. He replaced them with general manager Ryan Grigson.
On Jan. 17, Irsay and Grigson fired coach Jim Caldwell and most of his coaching staff.
So many individuals key to the Colts’ long run of success—115 wins from 2000-09, a league record for a decade; a league record-tying nine consecutive playoff appearances; two trips to the Super Bowl, including a win over Chicago in Super Bowl XLI—no longer are around.
Super Bowl Sunday!!!
It’s 2007 all over again. As with that year, the New York Giants and New England Patriots will meet for the NFL championship. To start the two weeks of preparation, start with comparisons of the team. And then find out who we see winning the title game.
A head-to-head breakdown of NFL Super Bowl XLVI, to be played Feb. 5 at Indianapolis:
Offenses
The Patriots were second in total offense at 428 yards per game and third in scoring offense (at 32.1 points per game. The Giants weren’t too shabby either, finishing eighth (385.1) and ninth (24.6) in those categories, respectively. Tom Brady maintained his status as an elite passer, and his counterpart, Eli Manning joined him in that echelon with his best career season.
Each QB has two prolific targets. Brady’s steady playmakers work the inside, tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Wes Welker. Manning relies on starting wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz to stretch the field and make big gains.
The difference comes in the supporting cast.
College Players On Display For NFL
The East-West Shrine College Game, which kicks off Saturday, marks the beginning of spring scouting travels. Every year a few players greatly improve their draft status in this showcase with a strong week.
Examples? The St. Louis Rams’ Rodger Saffold, the first pick of the second round in 2010, and Mike Kafka, a 2010 fourth-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles, enhanced their profiles for NFL scouts last year.
After evaluating players on film and talking to scouts, we compiled a list of 10 College players NFL teams are interested to see this week.
In projected draft order:
Micah Pellerin, CB, Hampton, 6-0, 185 pounds
Despite his height, Pellerin has the foot quickness and smooth speed to stay with any receiver he faced. Now he must prove he can handle the speed of professionals. Pellerin is raw and must improve his backpedal and transition. This week will be a good test to see if he has the burst needed to catch up a receiver gets separation. If Pellerin shines, he could get a last-minute invitation to the Senior Bowl. PROJECTED: Late first round.
Matt Reynolds, T/G, BYU, 6-4, 310 pounds
NFC Checkdown
Congratulations to the NFL teams that survived the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs this weekend. Their reward, however, is a much tougher opponent on the road in the divisional round.
The New Orleans Saints were joined on Sunday by the New York Giants, who stopped the Atlanta Falcons cold for a 24-2 victory.
So there’s little time to celebrate what went right, because it’s now time to quickly right everything they did wrong for a different matchup in the next NFL round.
Although the forecast seems cloudy against a well-rested, well-prepared higher seed, here’s a look at what the Giants and Saints need to do to spoil the sunny outlook of the bye teams:
New York Giants
Chances of winning at Green Bay: 40 percent.
What they need to keep doing: Run the ball effectively. The Giants rediscovered their dormant running game—which was dead last in the NFL during the regular season—with an ideal combination to keep their offense balanced.
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw both had 14 carries in the win over Atlanta and combined for 155 yards rushing. But now they need to bottle that Thunder and Lightning and take it with them to Lambeau Field. The Packers’ run defense has shown some cracks of late, so New York should look to keep its backs busy.
Playoff Picks
Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos’ offense have lost their mojo. They struggled mightily the past three NFL weeks against the 3-4 defenses of the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. Now he faces the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have a much better version of the alignment with the league’s top-ranked defense.
Does Tebow have a chance for more unlikely magic? Or does he face Mile High odds to win a NFL playoff game? The NFL playoffs begin Saturday and wrap up Sunday. Click here for the full schedule. Additional preview information and Fantasy Source matchups can be found on Sporting News’ NFL scoreboard. All times are ET.
AFC Game of the Week Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos, 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Steelers like to be aggressive with their zone-blitz schemes under Dick LeBeau, but look for them to hold back a bit here. What has been working against Tebow is working to keep him in the pocket and locking up on his two outside receivers man-on-man. That leaves five to six defenders in the middle to stop the run and control shorter routes.
You can bet the Steelers will lean a lot on strong safety Troy Polamalu here. He will fill hard against the run, which the Broncos must do often. On the few occasions Denver will trust Tebow to drop back, Polamalu will be ready to either trick him into throwing an interception or fly upfield to limit his scrambling.
This is a pretty bad matchup for Tebow, because when he tries to throw to his wide receivers, he’ll see them struggle to gain separation against the Steelers’ physical cornerbacks. The Steelers will be without starting free safety Ryan Clark for this game and feature back Rashard Mendenhall in the playoffs. Mendenhall’s loss because of a knee injury might be a factor down the line, but not here. Read More >>
Playoff Story Lines
Twelve NFL teams are thinking postseason. For everyone else, the offseason has begun. Here are 10 story lines to ponder heading into the NFL playoffs:
Postseason
Without Rashard Mendenhall, the Steelers might be able to make a Super Bowl run. (AP Photo)
• Every playoff team looks vulnerable in some way. The Green Bay Packers were last in the NFL in total defense. The Patriots were last in the AFC. And those are the two No. 1 seeds.
Those defensive numbers are slightly misleading, because both the Packers and Patriots often built huge leads and gave up meaningless yards. The point is this: Good offensive teams move the ball against both Green Bay and New England.
Go ahead and make the Packers (15-1) the team to beat as the defending Super Bowl champs with the best record in football. But the New Orleans Saints touched the Packers for 34 points in Week 1. The New York Giants scored 35 against Green Bay in Week 13. Meanwhile, the Patriots lost their past three playoff games, including the past two at home.
Both Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady must bring their A games throughout the postseason. If not, their teams could get knocked off.
• The New York Giants were 9-7 and the last team to make the playoffs, but could be dangerous. They are coming off two impressive victories in pressure-packed situations. For them, the playoffs have already started and they have responded.
The return of Osi Umenyiora, added to Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck, gives the Giants three elite rushers to attack quarterbacks. Plus the Giants have a quarterback, Eli Manning, and a coach, Tom Coughlin, who already have Super Bowl rings. The Giants believe they can make a championship run like they did in 2007.
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