The NFL Draft is only 4 days away!
One of the negative sides to being a hardcore NFL faniac is the outrageously long off season. But we do get a small fix around draft day. For those of you who don’t know what the draft is, here is a quick guide:
One of the negative sides to being a hardcore NFL faniac is the outrageously long off season. But we do get a small fix around draft day. For those of you who don’t know what the draft is, here is a quick guide:
After much deliberation Peyton Manning ended his free agent frenzy by joining the Denver Broncos, leaving fans in Tennessee and Miami with disappointed faces. It was largely felt that Tennessee had the advantage, given that it was were Manning played ball during his college career. However the 35 year old chose the Broncos, where he will surely write another chapter in the story of the historic franchise.
What are his options? Would any team actually wan’t Tim Tebow as a starter? He can’t pass the ball, he reads defenses poorly and he’s always in danger of being injured because of running the ball all the time. Besides, a quarterback shouldn’t take that many hits in every game.
Again the NFL brought us a great game of football last night as the New York Giants beat the New England Patroits in a close Super Bowl game in Indianapolis. As a Steelers fan with no ties to either team, it was a great night and I enjoyed myself immensely. In the end the score read 21 – 17.
Eli Manning was voted the league’s MVP in a game where he threw 30 out of 40 for 296 yards and 1 td. Basically he didn’t make any mistakes. That, and the fact that pretty much every single 50/50 situation in the game went Giants way. Let me recap.
Rewind back to February 2008. Eli Manning drove the Giants over 80 yards down field culminating in Plaxico Burress’ winning touchdown. It was the result no one expected. The Giants had battled through from the Wild Card Round whereas Tom Brady and the Patriots were one match away from a perfect season. Fast forward to February 2011 and there are some striking similarities in the rematch between the Giants and the Pats in Indianapolis.
The Giants have hit top gear at the perfect time, dispatching No. 1 seeds Green Bay and No.2 seeds San Francisco along with the Atlanta Falcons. The trio of Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora have been colossal in the post season and are the foundation of a formidable defense. However they are up against Tom Brady who can do just about anything with a football in his hands…..even taking a punt against the Broncos.
In a little less than a week the New England Patriots squares off against the New York Giants in the biggest sporting event of the year – Super Bowl XLVI (46) in Indianapolis.
Two of the games best quarterbacks against two of the worst passing defenses. We should se a high scoring game, but since it’s a championship game, it might look a little different. Nerves, pressure, the general hype and stress from media day and the expectations these players are exposed to might keep the scores low. That being said I hope for a shoot out!
New England Patriots may be the slight favourites for Super Bowl XLVI, but I wouldn’t advise going out and placing $5 million on them to win!
And no I haven’t plucked that figure from nowhere. Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman has backed the Patriots to the tune of $5 million, citing two main reasons for his confidence.
1) He won a cool $1 million betting on the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV
That’s how close it was last night in the two NFL conference finals. In the end Patriots and the Giants won their games, but it was by no means because they outplayed the Ravens and the 49′ers.
Two players especially are going to have some trouble sleeping for the next 7 months until the new season starts. Ravens Kicker Billy Cundiff missed a relatively simple short field goal in the dying seconds of the game that could have given the Ravens a chance to win it in overtime. He’ll probably be looking at a pink slip. Getting a new job as the kicker who shanked the easy, but very important field goal, in the AFC conference final is not the best reference.
Let’s call them what they are: The NFL semifinals.
Yeah yeah I know there are trophies to be had for the Conference winners, but the ultimate goal has to be the Super Bowl. That being said, we’re looking at two very interesting games this weekend.
In the AFC final, the New England Patriots host The Baltimore Ravens at the Gillette Stadium. In the past we’ve seen some memorable playoff games in crazy snowy conditions here. Sunday is projected to be above freezing and sunny so we should see a great game.
If the season ended today, I’d be a happy and fullfilled NFL fan.
Yesterday in San Fransisco, the 49′ers and the Saints played out a fantastic game of football. In the end the score read 36-32 in favor of the 49′ers. It was a game that had it all. Huge hits, gutsy playcalling, and the birth of a soon to be San Fransisco legend.
Quarterback Alex Smith threw 24 of 42 for 299 yards, 3 td’s and 0 interceptions. Also at the most pivotal point in the game, he shifted the momentum the 49′ers way by running 26 yards to touchdown, thus taking the lead with only 2 minutes left in the game. When, as many times before, Drew Brees responded and scored just 34 seconds later, some quarterbacks might have folded.
Tebow mania was effectively ended last night. Tom Brady showed the Broncos players and fans what a superb quarterback actually can do. In the first half alone, Brady threw 5 touchdowns (6 in the game giving him the post season record) which allowed the Patriots to cruise through a second half that finished 45-10.
The “Gronk” (tight end Rob Gronkowski) caught 3 td’s and cemented his position as the league’s best at his position. With targets including Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez, I wouldn’t be surprised if they go all the way this year.
Tebow Mania might continue for some time, but the divisional playoffs might be the end of the line for Tim Tebow and the Broncos. In tonight’s late game they square off against the Patriots, led by Tom Brady who’ll attempt to slice open the Broncos defense with passes mostly going to Wes Welker and the two gigantic tight ends; Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Tom Brady hasn’t won a playoff game since 2007 and The Patriots will be hungry for the win. Earlier this season, the Patriots beat the Broncos 41-23 in a game that was far more even than the score suggests.
The first game tonight features the 49′ers hosting The New Orleans Saints. The 49′ers might have the better record this season but the question is, if they are able to dent a seemingly unstoppable Saints Offense, led by a record breaking Drew Brees. The 49′ers Defense will certainly give them a run for their money, having had an extra week to get healthly in the wildcard weekend. Expect a lot of short dump offs to Sproles who’s having a great season catching the ball.
Halfway into the Wild Card round of the Play Offs and everything seems to be going according to plan for the Saints, after they defeated the Lions 45-28 last night. The Lions knew they would have to dig deep to rout the Saints, but as some of us expected, they ultimately fell short. It seems that if you wanna beat the Saints, you’ll have to simply outscore them, since their offense looks pretty much unstoppable right now.
Bengals young guns led by QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J Green, who made the Wild Card round despite only placing third in the AFC North, faced up to the Texans with a third string QB T.J.Yates. This came after serious injuries to Schaub and Leinert, which have brought a premature end to both of their season’s. Bengals started the game well, took an early lead, and looked like a possible winner for most of the first half. In the second though, Dalton threw 3 interceptions and the Bengals scored zero points, ending the game 10-31.