Pro Bowl Recap
ProBowl
In its new role as a warmup to the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl became a series of wind sprints. Long gains were the rule and hard hitting was the exception as the AFC beat the NFC 41-34 on Sunday night.Light showers fell for much of the game, stirring memories of a rainy Super Bowl in Miami three years ago. But uniforms remained mostly spotless, with more pushing and shoving than tackling. “It’s different. It was like 7 on 7,” NFC linebacker Brian Orakpo said. “Everybody came out here trying not to get hurt and give the fans a good show”
Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans threw for 189 yards and two AFC scores, and was chosen the most valuable player.
“It’s a game you watch growing up as a kid and wonder if you could ever be in,” Schaub said. “To actually be a part of it is incredible.”
Aaron Rodgers also threw two touchdown passes, and NFC teammate DeSean Jackson had two scoring catches. From the standpoint of ticket sales, this year’s new venue and slot on the league calendar was a success. The crowd of 70,697 was the largest for a Pro Bowl since.
Playoffs: AFC & NFC Championship Recap
The Championship round of the playoffs are behind us and what have we learned…Brett Favre can still play, but he can still throw an untimely interception with the best of em. Drew Brees is the leader of the feisty Saints and he showed that this past weekend. Peyton Manning really knows how to play in the second half of any ball game. Rex Ryan and his young QB have something to build on for next year.
Minnesota Vikings vs New Orlean Saints
A 40-yard field goal in overtime by a little unknown kicker could become as famous as jambalaya in these parts. The New Orleans Saints, a team with no home and an uncertain future five years ago, are heading for their first Super Bowl. By battering Brett Favre and beating the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 Sunday, they set off celebrations on Bourbon Street that locals never could have imagined in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “This is for everybody in this city,” said coach Sean Payton, the architect of the Saints’ turnaround. “This stadium used to have holes in it and used to be wet. It’s not wet anymore. This is for the city of New Orleans.”
New York Jets vs Indianapolis Colts
This is perfect for the Indianapolis Colts: They have Peyton Manning and they’re back in the Super Bowl. The four-time MVP threw three touchdown passes and the Colts rallied from an 11-point, first-half deficit to beat the New York Jets 30-17 Sunday in the AFC championship game. The Colts (16-2) are now headed back to the NFL title game for the second time in four years and their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history. Better yet, they’re heading back to their lucky city—Miami, where they’ve played all four of those games and won there twice.
Steve O’ vs the All Pro – Championship Week!!
The NFL Championship Round is here and we are down to the final four! The Colts, led by their high power offense that includes the league MVP Peyton Manning faces off against the leagues number one defense in the New York Jets. In the NFC, the Vikings and their ageless wonder Brett Favre take on Who Dat Nation the New Orleans Saints. All of these teams have one thing in common, they are all dominant at something. The Colts, Vikings and Saints it’s offense and for the Jets it’s running the football and defense. Read more
Playoffs: Divisional Recap
The playoffs are upon us and what have we learned…Brett Favre can still play showing he can throw tds and run up the stats. Peyton Manning wanted Baltimore to know one thing…the myth is sooo wrong. Rex Ryan is a prophet as he told us in the beginning of the year that the Jets are a Superbowl contender. The Saints are who we thought they were showing Arizona to the door.
Arizona Cardinals vs New Orlean Saints
Reggie Bush danced around defenders who fell over each other trying to tackle him. Drew Brees was back to passing with pinpoint accuracy, picking apart a beleaguered and depleted Arizona secondary. A little rest was all the Saints needed to shift their league-leading offense back into overdrive. That, and a visit from Arizona’s porous defense. Brees threw three touchdown passes, Bush scored on an 83-yard punt return and a spectacular 46-yard run, and New Orleans overwhelmed the defending NFC champion Cardinals 45-14 in their divisional playoff game Saturday.
Baltimore Ravens vs Indianapolis Colts
Peyton Manning beat the Ravens and buried a myth. Say goodbye to the bye-week blues. In his first game since winning an unprecedented fourth NFL MVP award, Manning threw for two touchdowns Saturday night in the Indianapolis Colts 20-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The decisive win came after a playoff bye, something that had been a plague, not a respite, for Manning and his teammates. “I don’t think it matters if you’ve had a bye or you’re playing home or away,” Manning said when asked about Indy’s previous 0-3 record after sitting out the wild-card round. “This myth that you can’t win after a bye week, I haven’t believed in it.”
New York Jets vs San Diego Chargers
The rookie coach who declared his team Super Bowl favorites after he figured out they were still in the playoffs, is just a game away from being hailed for his psychic powers. His Jets are still playing. Rookies Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene led New York to a stunning 17-14 upset of San Diego in the divisional playoffs Sunday, each providing a touchdown in the fourth quarter that marked another Chargers postseason pratfall.
Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings
For the adrenaline rush. For the in-your-face touchdown. For another shot at the Super Bowl. Brett Favre wanted all of it, and now he’s got it. Four—count ‘em, four—touchdown passes from Minnesota’s 40-year-old quarterback sent the Vikings to the NFC championship game with a determined 34-3 rout of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Cardinals vs Saints – A look at the Divisional Playoff battle!!
The NFC Divisional Round game between the Saints and the Cardinals could be viewed in many different ways. Some may say “it’s gonna be an offensive explosion” while others may feel “these two teams are headed in different directions.” While it’s true, both teams have great offenses and the Saints have looked very ordinary over the last 3 weeks of the season while the Cardinals are once again clicking when it matters, at the end of the season!
Let’s look at some interesting facts about these two teams as they get ready to do battle to move on the the NFC Championship game. The Kurt Warner led Cardinals are 6-1 on the road this year, 6-2 without him. The Cardinals also should be looking to shore up a defense that was torched against the Packers in the WildCard round. The Cards Defense is more improved than a year ago, giving up only 20.3 ppg as opposed to the 26.6 from last season.
Deuce is back and will lead the team onto the field!
The Saints defense finished ranked 25th overall and 20th in scoring. They were however able to score themselves quite a bit with 8 TD’s, Darren Sharper led that charge with 3. The Saints Offense finished ranked 1st in the NFL and this is an interesting tid bit of information – the Saints have re-signed Deuce McCallister and he will be leading the team out of the tunnel! That could be an emotional boost for the Saints and will definitely fire up the home crowd into a wave of emotion.
Here are some things that we see troublesome. Can you turn it back up once you’ve shut it down? The Saints, back when they faced the Patriots on Monday Night Football, looked like the best team in the league. They were clicking and they were unstoppable. Since then however they have shut it down a bit. Rested some players and set the cruise control button. Can they get it jumpstarted enough to face a team that did the same thing last year that they are trying to do this year – get hot at the right time and ride that momentum all the way to Super Bowl XLIV.
With Boldin sidelined, the Cards are gonna have to lean on Ducet once again!
In the end this game will come down to defense and who can stop who enough. Both teams are going to get their points but the question will be who can get the key turnover, who can get the key 3rd down stop and who will play with the least amount of mistakes. We know the Cardinals are ready but are the Saints? We will soon find out!
Steve O’ vs the All Pro – Divisional Round!!
The NFL Divisional Round has started and now as they say, it gets serious! It can mean only one thing, you are that much closer to the Super Bowl. La’Roi Glover is holding a slight 2 game lead over Steve O’ and now every game is vital to decide who wins the battle! First let’s look at the matchups… Read more
Colts vs Ravens – A look at the Divisional Round Playoff battle
By Contributing Author
Michelle Jarvis
The Indianapolis Colts are no stranger to the pursuit of perfection. Closing out the 2009 regular season with a 14-2 record was the second time in recent franchise history it had been done, most recently in 2005. Their AFC South crown was their 6th in 7 years. The Peyton Manning lead Colts haven’t had a losing season since 2001, when they finished 6-10. Since then the team holds an impressive 73-29 regular season record. Following their recent impressive season, Manning found himself celebrating his 4th MVP award. Aside from Manning, Indy’s prized team’s roster is sprinkled with Pro Bowlers. Reggie Wayne (WR) and Dallas Clark (TE) continue to be frequently mentioned as one of the best at their positions offensively. Opposing offenses spend a good amount of time studying film and preparing for Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis (both DE). Freeney is coming off a statically impressive year; recording 13.5 sacks. Read more
Wildcard Playoff Recap
Green Bay Packers vs Arizona Cardinals
Old master Kurt Warner and playoff newcomer Aaron Rodgers staged a passing duel to rival any the NFL has seen. And when the highest-scoring postseason game in league history ended abruptly in overtime, Rodgers flung his helmet to the sideline in disgust. He can blame the Arizona defense for his misery. Karlos Dansby returned Rodgers’ fumble 17 yards for a touchdown to give the Cardinals a 51-45 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots
In a matter of minutes,Tom Brady and his New England Patriots went from being the team of the last decade to looking old, overmatched and, oddly, inept. Fans sat in frozen silence. Barely into their seats, they saw the shocking truth on the scoreboard. Five minutes into the game, New England trailed the Baltimore Ravens 14-0. Just one minute later the crowd came to life, booing Brady and his teammates who hadn’t lost a playoff game at Gillette Stadium. Until Baltimore’s 33-14 win Sunday in the AFC playoffs.
New York Jets vs Cincinnati Bengals
One playoff game into his career, Mark Sanchez is giving a pretty good off-Broadway performance. So are the rest of the New York Jets, who are no longer an overlooked team after dismantling the AFC North champions twice within a week. Any more doubters? With their rookie quarterback playing mistake-free, the Jets turned their surprising playoff appearance into a long-running production Saturday. Sanchez threw a touchdown pass, and the NFL’s top running game took it from there, setting up a 24-14 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys
Jerry Jones exclaimed, “demons are GONE!” Keith Brooking pretended to pull a monkey off coach Wade Phillips’ back. And Tony Romo waxed poetic about the process, about getting better every game and hoping for a reward at the end. In a way, each of their reactions was pretty appropriate considering all the ramifications of the Dallas Cowboys’ 34-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night. The Cowboys won their first playoff game since Dec. 28, 1996, ending a 4,760-day drought, easily the longest in the club’s proud history. The skid included six losses; a seventh would’ve set an NFL futility record.
Steve O’ vs the All Pro!!
The final Week of the Regular Season is upon us. Some teams are playing for their Playoff lives and others playing for nothing at all, here is how we see it shaking out. Heading into the final Week, La’Roi holds a 2 game advantage so this is a make it or break it Week heading into the Playoffs! Here is how we see it playing out! Read more
Weekly Recap – Week 16
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Week 16 is in the books and what have we learned? The Colts took a Big L and Colts nation is shakin and stirred…Are the Saints who we thought they were? The Cowboys show the world that they can win in December. The wildcard race in the AFC just got a little bit more interesting with a Denver Broncos loss. Lets go around the league and give you the highlights of all this weeks games! Read more