Keys to Tiffany!
By Steve O’Reilly
The Super Bowl is American tradition, one that his engrained in our history and has become quite the media mayhem. Sometimes lost in the “party” of the big game is that there is actually a game to be played. In this segment I’m going to break down the most important factors to this game as I see it. The key points for each team to win the Tiffany Trophy and bring a Championship back to their respective city.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS:
First of all throw all the stats out. Forget the “31st Ranked Defense” talk! Why? Because the Patriots, like most teams with great Quarterbacks are a Defense that is built to get the ball back in his hands. When it comes to turnovers, the Patriots are 3rd in the NFL and while they do give up a ton of yards they also get the ball back and limit points in key times.
1st Key – Get turnovers
Next up is protection! The Patriots have faced elite pass rushers thus far in the Playoffs but as many NFL players are quick to remind you, you’re only as good as the Offensive Line, and so far so good. 1 sack vs great rushers like Elvis Dumervil, Von Miller, Terrell Suggs and the rest of the Ravens Defensive front. Against New York, the Giants honestly believe they are in Brady’s head. Jason Paul Pierre said this in regards to phantom pressure … “Yeah, he was. Yeah, he was reacting to pressure that didn’t exist and he was just throwing the ball places that there wasn’t a receiver there. So imagine us just getting there even faster and we’re actually doing our jobs and getting there and getting hits on him.”
2nd Key – Keep Tom Brady off the ground
Finally is execution. New England is going to be put into situations to succeed, that is a given due to their Head Coach and the time he has to prepare this team. They will get guys open in the passing game and will use the run game to keep the Giants off balance. When the opportunities to present themselves the Patriots must capitalize. That means no dropped balls, no bad passes and no penalties when you do get a big play.
3rd Key – take advantage when opportunities present themselves
NEW YORK GIANTS:
The Giants Offense begins with their running game. As much as everyone wants to talk about Eli and his great season, with due cause, but this team’s rushing attack has heated up as the team made the Playoff push. 115 vs the Jets including the Bradshaw bulldozing TD that capped the Battle of NY. Against the Cowboys they ran it 31 times for over 100 yards again and in the Postseason the Giants aren’t slowing down. The key to deep balls and big plays for the GMen is off play action so look for them to establish their ground game early. If they do New England’s Defense will that much more pressure to defend the entire field.
1st Key – run the ball!
Next up for New York is found in their Secondary. The Safeties for the Giants give New York advantages in this game and they need to make sure they capitalize on them. With Rob Gronkowski a little banged up it’s imperative that the Giants take the Tight Ends out of the game for New England. If Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle can cover the Tight Ends with little or limited help the Giants will be in a great spot to frustrate Tom Brady. However if the Giants can’t come up with a combination to slow down the Tight Ends then all the other Pats weapons become that much harder to stop.
2nd Key – Safeties need to limit the Tight End attack
Finally for the Giants is a key that is the first key for the Patriots, turnovers. The Giants have allowed 9 sacks this postseason but some of that is Eli realizing that sack won’t kill you but a Interception will. New York can not afford to give the ball back to New England, possessions are sacrosanct right now and it’s vital to make the most of every one. The GMen will look to run the clock down (so look for 03, 02, 01 on almost every snap) and will look to dictate the pace of the game. If they turn the ball over, that could be enough for Brady and Co’ to escape Indy with a win.
3rd Key – don’t give Tom Brady any more chances then he’s entitled too
In the end this should be a fantastic game. Styles make fights in the NFL and these two teams styles should mean a fantastic game. We’ve seen these Coaches face off before and the game within the game has begun to see who can hoist that Tiffany Trophy and bring to the parade next week!
NFL gets sued over “Who Dat”
The NFL settled with a Louisiana recording company over a legal dispute for the famed Saints chant “Who Dat?” The lawsuit stemmed over who owned the merchandising rights, and the company, which recorded a song in 1983 with the popular cheer, claimed that the NFL was violating its trademark of the phrase.
The company had registered Who Dat! and Who Dat? as trademarks with the Louisiana secretary of state in the 1980s. In 1983, owner Steve Monistere, his brother Sal, and Carlo Nuccio recorded a version of “The Saints Go Marching In” that employed the “who dat” chant, which had become popular at Saints games. Saints players and singer Aaron Neville also were part of the recording.
The Weekly Skinny – Championship Round
The Skinny Post Crew breaks down the Championship Round of the NFL Playoffs and much more!!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Eli Manning- Among the Elite?
By Ben Heck
For years Peyton Manning’s little brother Eli has been battling doubters and critics alike. Is he an elite quarterback? Can he lead his team to a Super Bowl victory? Does he have the intangibles to consistently put up Peyton-like numbers year-in and year-out? Read more
Jim Harbaugh: The greatest 1st Year Coach in NFL history.
By Barry Bach
South Florida. January 3, 2011.
Jim Harbaugh had just coached his Stanford Cardinal to an impressive victory of the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Discovery Orange Bowl. Wait, impressive? Dominant is the better word. A 28 point victory of a Virginia Tech team with a highly touted defense. His Cardinal team would have a great chance at becoming National Champions the following season but it would never matriculate. Read more
Tebow to Thomas for the OT winner!!
2011 Associated Press All-Pro Team
This year’s cream of the crop has been announced. This is quiet an honor and is held in higher regards to some than Pro Bowls.
Note worthy – 16 players from the NFC and 12 from the AFC were named.
2011 Associated Press ALL PRO Team
QB – Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers
RB – Maurice Jones-Drew - Jacksonville Jaguars
RB – LeSean McCoy – Philadelphia Eagles
FB – Vonta Leach – Baltimore Ravens
TE – Rob Gronkowski – New England Patriots
C – Maurkice Pouncey – Pittsburgh Steelers
OG – Carl Nicks – New Orleans Saints
OG – Jahri Evans – New Orleans Saints
OT- Jason Peters – Philadelphia Eagles
OT -Joe Thomas – Cleveland Browns
WR – Calvin Johnson - Detroit Lions
DE- Jared Allen – Minnesota Vikings
DE- Jason Pierre-Paul - New York Giants
DE – Haloti Ngata- Baltimore Ravens
DE – Justin Smith – San Francisco 49ers
OLB – Terrell Suggs - Baltimore Ravens
OLB – DeMarcus Ware – Dallas Cowboys
MLB – Patrick Willis - San Francisco 49ers
ILB – NaVorro Bowman - San Francisco 49ers
ILB – Derrick Johnson - Kansas City Chiefs
CB- Darrelle Revis – New York Jets
CB – Charles Woodson – Green Bay Packers
S – Troy Polamalu – Pittsburgh Steelers
FS – Eric Weddle – San Diego Chargers
K- David Akers – San Francisco 49ers
P – Andy Lee - San Francisco 49ers
KR – Patrick Peterson – Arizona Cardinals
NFL TV Deals Will Bring In 24 Billion Dollars
By Gayle Saunders
Follow Him on Twitter
Your favorite sports league, the NFL, is set to make some serious money as they’re about to renew television deals, with rights fee increased at over 60 percent.
Those who will be paying are CBS, Fox and NBC. In a 8 year deal they’re looking at paying an annual average of at least $1 billion to broadcast NFL games. The total amount from the three channels will probably be worth more than $24 billion in a 8 year period.
This month, its expected that the deals will be finalized and will be extended through the 2021 season. The NFL will be able to use their leverage for their Thursday Night games earlier in the season with the new deal in place, which means they can hold back games from CBS and Fox.
ESPN has already paid the NFL for their rights to “Monday Night Football” and they were also hit with a 63 percent increase.
NFL programming has become some of the highest rated shows on television and is only getting stronger. As soon as next season you will probably see NFL games via tablets and more games on Mobile. As fans buy into the TV Everywhere idea, companies will adapt to that concept by offering games in various mediums.
As we speak the NFL is negotiating deals for Spanish-language rights. With ESPN Deportes bringing “Monday Night Football” and Telemundo carrying “Sunday Night Football” games the NFL will dive deeper into the market to increase viewership.
Verizon paid 720 million dollars last year for exclusive mobile rights to NFL games. They currently have exclusive rights that keeps any of the networks from streaming games to mobile phones.
Right now the NFL brand is stronger than ever, and it shows. That is probably why my addiction for football won’t be going away anytime soon.
TEAM STANDINGS
| National Football Conference | ||||||||||||
| NFC EAST | W | L | T | PCT | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK |
| Dallas | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 5-2-0 | 3-4-0 | 2-2-0 | 6-4-0 | 348 | 296 | +52 | Won 1 |
| NY Giants | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3-4-0 | 4-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 4-7-0 | 334 | 372 | -38 | Lost 1 |
| Philadelphia | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 1-5-0 | 4-3-0 | 3-1-0 | 4-6-0 | 297 | 292 | +5 | Won 1 |
| Washington | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2-5-0 | 3-4-0 | 2-3-0 | 5-5-0 | 252 | 300 | -48 | Won 1 |
| NFC NORTH | W | L | T | PCT | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK |
| z – Green Bay | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 6-0-0 | 7-0-0 | 4-0-0 | 10-0-0 | 466 | 278 | +188 | Won 13 |
| Detroit | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | 4-3-0 | 4-2-0 | 3-2-0 | 6-5-0 | 367 | 305 | +62 | Won 1 |
| Chicago | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 5-2-0 | 2-4-0 | 2-2-0 | 6-3-0 | 301 | 255 | +46 | Lost 3 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 11 | 0 | .154 | 1-5-0 | 1-6-0 | 0-5-0 | 2-7-0 | 274 | 364 | -90 | Lost 5 |
| NFC SOUTH | W | L | T | PCT | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK |
| x – New Orleans | 10 | 3 | 0 | .769 | 6-0-0 | 4-3-0 | 3-1-0 | 6-3-0 | 415 | 286 | +129 | Won 5 |
| Atlanta | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 5-2-0 | 4-3-0 | 2-2-0 | 6-4-0 | 341 | 281 | +60 | Won 2 |
| Carolina | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2-5-0 | 3-4-0 | 1-3-0 | 2-8-0 | 341 | 368 | -27 | Won 1 |
| Tampa Bay | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3-5-0 | 1-5-0 | 2-2-0 | 3-7-0 | 247 | 401 | -154 | Lost 8 |
| NFC WEST | W | L | T | PCT | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK |
| z – San Francisco | 10 | 3 | 0 | .769 | 6-1-0 | 4-2-0 | 3-1-0 | 8-2-0 | 307 | 182 | +125 | Lost 1 |
| Seattle | 6 | 7 | 0 | .462 | 4-3-0 | 2-4-0 | 3-1-0 | 5-4-0 | 246 | 259 | -13 | Won 2 |
| Arizona | 6 | 7 | 0 | .462 | 4-2-0 | 2-5-0 | 3-2-0 | 6-5-0 | 253 | 288 | -35 | Won 3 |
| St. Louis | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1-6-0 | 1-6-0 | 0-5-0 | 1-10-0 | 166 | 346 | -180 | Lost 5 |
| American Football Conference | ||||||||||||
| AFC EAST | W | L | T | PCT | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK |
| New England | 10 | 3 | 0 | .769 | 5-1-0 | 5-2-0 | 3-1-0 | 7-2-0 | 396 | 274 | +122 | Won 5 |
| NY Jets | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | 6-1-0 | 2-4-0 | 3-2-0 | 6-5-0 | 327 | 270 | +57 | Won 3 |
| Buffalo | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 4-2-0 | 1-6-0 | 1-3-0 | 3-6-0 | 288 | 341 | -53 | Lost 6 |
| Miami | 4 | 9 | 0 | .308 | 3-4-0 | 1-5-0 | 1-2-0 | 3-6-0 | 256 | 246 | +10 | Lost 1 |
| AFC NORTH | W | L | T | PCT | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK |
| Baltimore | 10 | 3 | 0 | .769 | 7-0-0 | 3-3-0 | 4-0-0 | 7-2-0 | 320 | 202 | +118 | Won 4 |
| Pittsburgh | 10 | 3 | 0 | .769 | 6-1-0 | 4-2-0 | 3-2-0 | 8-3-0 | 282 | 198 | +84 | Won 4 |
| Cincinnati | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 3-3-0 | 5-3-0 | 2-3-0 | 6-5-0 | 305 | 283 | +22 | Won 1 |
| Cleveland | 4 | 9 | 0 | .308 | 3-4-0 | 1-5-0 | 0-4-0 | 3-7-0 | 178 | 254 | -76 | Lost 3 |
| AFC SOUTH | W | L | T | PCT | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK |
| z – Houston | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5-2-0 | 5-2-0 | 4-0-0 | 8-2-0 | 343 | 236 | +107 | Lost 1 |
| Tennessee | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 4-3-0 | 3-3-0 | 1-2-0 | 5-4-0 | 266 | 251 | +15 | Lost 1 |
| Jacksonville | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3-4-0 | 1-6-0 | 2-2-0 | 3-7-0 | 207 | 293 | -86 | Lost 1 |
| Indianapolis | 0 | 13 | 0 | .000 | 0-6-0 | 0-7-0 | 0-3-0 | 0-9-0 | 184 | 382 | -198 | Lost 13 |
| AFC WEST | W | L | T | PCT | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK |
| Denver | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | 3-3-0 | 5-2-0 | 3-2-0 | 6-3-0 | 269 | 302 | -33 | Won 6 |
| Oakland | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 3-3-0 | 4-3-0 | 2-2-0 | 5-5-0 | 290 | 354 | -64 | Lost 2 |
| San Diego | 6 | 7 | 0 | .462 | 4-3-0 | 2-4-0 | 2-3-0 | 5-5-0 | 324 | 299 | +25 | Won 2 |
| Kansas City | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 2-4-0 | 3-4-0 | 2-2-0 | 3-7-0 | 173 | 305 | -132 | Lost 1 |
Targets for Week 2
Targets for Week 2
1. Vincent Jackson (15)
2. Miles Austin (15)
3. Jeremy Maclin (15)
4. Steve Johnson (14)
5. A.J. Green (14)
6. Steve Smith (13)
7. Kenny Britt (13)
8. David Nelson (13)
9. Wes Welker (11)
t-10. Nate Washington (11)
t-10. Brandon Marshall (11)
Whats the Skinny: After a Slow start in week 1 Jeremy Maclin is back on the map being targeted 15 times means he’s back to being healthy. The rook A.J. Green had 10 grabs for 124 yards and a score. Look for Dalton to keep looking his way with Jordan Shipley going down. David who? David Nelson had 13 targets with 10 catches for 83 yards and a score.
12. Deion Branch (10)
13. Austin Collie (10)
14. Mike Thomas (10)
15. Santana Moss (9)
16. Andre Johnson (9)
17. Nate Burleson (9)
18. Larry Fitzgerald (9)
19. Devin Hester (9)
20. Jerome Simpson (9)
21. Mike Wallace (9)
22. Eric Decker (9)
Whats the Skinny: Buy Branch Sell Ocho. Deion Branch and Brady still have chemistry after all these years…which equals 10 targets and decent numbers for the second straight week. Austin Collie is back on the map with 10 targets who knew he’d still get those looks without Peyton? Another surprising name to this list maybe Nate Burleson. Dont get it twisted Burleson is a reliable threat with Megatron playing opposite of him.
23. Reggie Wayne (8)
24. Jabar Gaffney (8)
25. Greg Jennings (8)
26. Derek Hagan (8)
27. Dwayne Bowe (8)
28. Percy Harvin (8)
29. Julio Jones (8)
30. Denarius Moore (8)
31. Anquan Boldin (7)
32. Calvin Johnson (7)
33. Ted Ginn (7)
34. Legedu Naanee (7)
35. Brian Hartline (7)
36. Andre Roberts (7)
37. Preston Parker (7)
38. Titus Young (7)
39. Dane Sanzenbacher (7)
Whats the Skinny: Interesting notes here with Detroits Titus Young getting the same amount of looks as Calvin Johnson. Denarious Moore another young talent getting looks while Jacoby Ford and Louis Murphy out, he stepped up big time keep an eye out for him
40. Hines Ward (6)
41. Antonio Brown (6)
42. Ben Obomanu (6)
43. Early Doucet (6)
44. Mohamed Massaquoi (6)
45. Johnny Knox (6)
46. Donald Jones (6)
47. Lee Evans (5)
48. Josh Morgan (5)
49. Pierre Garcon (5)
50. Brandon LaFell (5)
51. Greg Little (5)
52. Davone Bess (5)
53. Dexter McCluster (5)
54. Donte’ Stallworth (5)
Whats the Skinny:
With Jamaal Charles going down Dexter McCluster has to be on your watch list. He could double his targets by next week. Young guys such as Greg Little and Brandon Lafell have potential to make some noise. Keep your eye out on these young pups.
