Schatzinsel » playoffs. Within one month, he has been diagnose

Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - No legacy really needed to be stamped for the greatest coach/quarterback duo in NFL history but for all the naysayers who wanted validation, it was a little known cornerback from the University of West Alabama who affirmed it all. Malcolm Butlers interception at the goal line in the waning seconds preserved New Englands 28-24 win over Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX, the fourth championship in the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era and the first in a decade. Its been a long journey, Brady said. Its just a great win. We left it all on the field. Brady did his part, setting a new Super Bowl completion record and throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman to put the Patriots on top with 2:02 remaining, but it Butlers pick with 20 seconds left that sealed things. Brady, who finished 37-of-50 for 328 yards and was named Super Bowl MVP, threw two of his four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to bring New England back from a 24-14 deficit against the NFLs best defense. Seattle, vying to become the first repeat Super Bowl winner since the Pats accomplished the feat following the 2003 and 2004 seasons, moved down to the Pats 5-yard line in the final seconds, however, after Jermaine Kearse came down with a miraculous 33-yard catch, reminiscent of David Tyree in Super Bowls past against New England. It looked a fait accompli that the Seahawks would earn their second straight Lombardi Trophy after Marshawn Lynch bulled just short of the goal line on the ensuing play, but inexplicably Seattle went to the air instead of letting Beast Mode finish the Patriots off. We sent in our personnel, they sent in goal line, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. Its not the right matchup to run the football. Instead, Russell Wilson threw an ill-conceived slant pass toward Ricardo Lockette that Butler jumped and snared to secure the contest and Bradys fourth Super Bowl title as New Englands quarterback, matching his boyhood idol Joe Montana as well as Terry Bradshaw for the most in NFL history. I just had a vision that I was gonna make a big play and it came true, Butler said to NBC Sports just after the game. Carroll, meanwhile, was left to defend some tortured logic. On second down we throw the ball really to kind of waste the play, Carroll said. If we score, we do, if we dont then well run it on third and fourth down. Unfortunately Seattle never go that opportunity. The guy (Butler) makes a great play and jumps in front of the route and makes an incredible play that nobody would ever think he could do and that changes the whole outcome, Carroll said. Theres really nobody to blame but me. Perhaps, but in a nip-and-tuck game where one play was going to decide it, the difference was that the Patriots backup cornerback, Butler, was better than Seattles reserve option, Tharold Simon. Seahawks nickel corner Jeremy Lane tried to send a message late in the first quarter when he intercepted a Brady pass intended for Edelman at Seattles own goal line but when trying to return it, Lane suffered a gruesome right wrist and arm injury that ended his night. The domino effect was startling as Brady, one of the smartest signal callers to ever play the game, targeted the overmatched Simon early and often. Simon simply couldnt handle the short-area quickness of Edelman or the Pats complicated combo routes. It was Simon who got beaten badly on back-to-back plays that resulted in the Patriots first TD, an 11-yard Brady strike to Brandon LaFell, and it was Simon who was victimized again on what turned out to be Edelmans game-winner. Conversely, after falling behind 14-7 Seattle probably never would have gotten back into the game if not for little-known wide receiver Chris Matthews having his way with Pats CB Kyle Arrington. With Darrelle Revis glued to Doug Baldwin, Kearse wearing Brandon Browner like a glove, Percy Harvin long gone and Paul Richardson convalescing with a torn ACL, Wilson was unable to complete a pass until 19 1/2 minutes of game time elapsed. Its almost as if Carroll looked around and said What the hell, lets try that tall kid over there. And the 6-foot-5 Matthews, an ex-CFL player who was working at Foot Locker before the Seahawks reached out to him in December, kept catching 50-50 balls over the overmatched Arrington. Matthews, who didnt catch one pass in the regular season, snared four balls for 109 yards and an 11-yard TD. He also set up Lynchs 3-yard run in the second quarter with a 44-yard gain. For a while it looked like Matthews would join ex-Redskins running back Timmy Smith as one of the most unlikely Super Bowl heroes. That is until Belichick made his own adjustment, a seemingly innocuous tweak which changed history and made Butler the most popular man in New England. I just knew they were going to throw, Butler said. My instincts, I just went with it, just went with my mind and made the play. I just didnt want to be the reason we lost the game. I just went out there and played football, played the best I could to help my team. Darren Woodson Womens Jersey . A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press the Steelers will part ways with the former Pro Bowler, a move that hardly serves as a surprise after fifth-year linebacker Jason Worilds agreed to accept a "transition player" tag last week. Charles Haley Youth Jersey . Betancourt was 2-5 with a 4.08 ERA and 16 saves for the Rockies last season before tearing a ligament in his pitching elbow. He considered undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy to fix his arm, but announced in August his decision to have Tommy John surgery. http://www.cowboysrookieproshop.com/Cowboys-Darren-Woodson-Jersey/ . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the body short side. Connor McGovern Youth Jersey . Today, well look at five frontcourt players today, here from the Bay Area. 1. AMIR JOHNSON (Raptors): I cant figure out what the issue or problem is, but based upon what Im seeing, hes not right. Emmitt Smith Jersey . - Because they didnt go into Beast Mode, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves in Spin Mode.In Arizona, the Cardinals lose Tyrann Mathieu for the year with a ACL and LCL knee injury. In Carolina, the Panthers lose Jonathan Stewart with an MCL knee injury. But the most devastating season-ender was Rob Gronkowski and his ACL and MCL knee injury with the New England Patriots. The Patriots will rebound somehow to remain competitive but being competitive and winning in the playoffs are two different tests. Players get injured but for Gronkowski, this is difficult to comprehend and accept. On the positive side, he is a young, fourth-year player and youth and the ability to heal effectively do go together. On the negative, for a young player, Gronkowski has an old body of football battles. Two back surgeries at the University of Arizona, missing his senior year, three arm surgeries over three years with New England and now a major knee surgery that, as we have learned by watching RG3, takes more than six months to recover from. His biggest battle to get back will be that he has to do this on his own and often all alone. Football rehabilitation is not a team sport, it is an individual challenge that you have to look at as a job at which to excel and a time commitment that ends an off-season of enjoyment. Every now and then, I get a streak of jealousy over the amount of money pro football players make and how fast, but then I lose that when I consider how short of a career it is and how fast the injuries can compound. In Cleveland, the most talked about player this week will be Browns defensive back TJ Ward because he is the weapon that took out Gronkowski. Yes, he could have make the tackle higher around the hips but would have probably bounced off the hips and Gronkowski would have made another five yards. Or he could tackled him around the shoulders and been taken for 10 yards trying to wrestle the 66" 260 lbs tight end to the ground. Ward is listed at 510" and 200lbs so it was his only choice to take the legs. If he didnt, he would have been criticized and graded down the next morning in the review of the game. The more negative grades you have, the less significance you have in value. No choice for Ward at that moment in time. Pivotal Discussion I dont know who the best quarterback is in NFL football but of the top four that have won Super Bowls, here is what I think. Tom Brady is the best pressure quarterback in football and has exceptional leadership qualities. What he has been able to do with extreme limitations of time is second to none. With two minutes to go on your own 20-yard line and needing a touchdown, Tom Brady is the best. Peyton Manning is #1 in terms of preparation and in-game adjustment. So many times the best offensive possession for Denver is the first one as that becomes the first points scored in the game. Then as the game moves on, Manning figures it out. What he figures out I am not sure but so many times, the second half is dominated by Denver no mattter what has happened in the first half.dddddddddddd Nobody can run their offence like Manning. Drew Brees has the best footwork and awareness. Cris Collinsworth showed on Sunday Night Football how Brees goes from one opportunity to another downfield, not only in the game but in the pre-game. Later, it was visually demonstrated how polished and precise his footwork and throwing motion work together. Pocket awareness is having the ability to feel a pass rush but not see it. Some quarterbacks never get it; Brees has mastered it. No one has a better arm or a more relaxed demeanor on the field than Aaron Rodgers. If there is anxiety inside Rodgers in the middle of a game, I dont see it. It amazes me how composed and relaxed he remains from play to play. Confidence yes, ability yes but also a gift of knowing or having the skill to focus on what is important and dismiss what is not in any given moment. And with that gift, he has the most accurate and velocity intense arm. If ARodgers comes back for the Dallas game, everything will change for the Packers. Overall, I pick Aaron Rodgers as my number 1 quarterback. Capital Demise In Washington, you can see the end coming. I dont think players give up on a team, coach or year. The competition for an NFL job is too heavy and everything is on video to be re-evaluated all off-season over and over and over. But I do think players play with different intensity levels depending on weather, opposition, one-on-one competition and free agency. When you give up a run for a touchdown, a pass for a touchdown, a punt for a touchdown and a kick return for a touchdown, there is something deeply wrong. The value of a coach is how the players respond and the Washington Redskins did not. You cant fire 53 players, only the boss. Time To Sit In Denver, I hope the Broncos sit Wes Welker until the playoffs. Within one month, he has been diagnosed with two concussions and both on the same type of pattern, a crossing route in between the hash marks about 10 yards downfield. Thats linebacker territory. Also, I guess the conversation about Peyton Mannings ability to play effectively is cold weather is over. Four touchdowns and 397 yards answered that question against Tennessee . Tough To Watch Finally, the Monday Night Football game was painful to watch for two reasons. First, it was brutally cold and by the fourth quarter, everybody was ready to go home; in the stands, on the field, everybody. Secondly, it was tough to watch the slow but consistent disintegration of the Dallas defence. Salary cap limitations have been a good thing for football as it forces competitive balance but when mismanaged, you see weakness in personnel that is normally depth players who will never be starters. That has caught up to the Cowboys. They can still win the NFC East when they face the Eagles in Philadelphia on December 29, but by no means is it a sure thing based on Monday night. ' ' '