Allsports

So this weekend kind of sucks if you are a sports fan. The sports news and sports on the web is pretty slim. Sure you have the Australian open for tennis going on down under but here in North America the only thing happening is what allsports calls the FLUFF events. They would be the NHL All Star Game and the NFL’s Pro Bowl. They are both marketing ploys and good for promotional purposes but as far a real game goes, they just don’t have any substance, never a shot or a hit in anger. The goalies in the NHL All Star game for example are targets because the last thing played is defense.

American Football Conference

So allsports is wondering how everyone made out with their conference final picks? Allsports did ok,  as finally the crystal ball was a little clearer and he managed to pick both games right. The games were so close that it all boiled down to pretty much one play that decided the outcome. New England did win but just by the skin of their teeth. They didn’t cover the seven point spread and allsports was sure the game was headed into overtime. All Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff had to do was kick a 32 yard field goal to send the game into overtime. Well as most of you are aware NFL kickers rarely miss from that range but Cundiff (allsports wonders if he is looking for work?) shanked the kick wide and the Patriots dodged the bullet to move on the the Super Bowl. The Ravens deserved a better fate and played a strong game but in the end it just was not to be.

The National Football Conference Logo

In the NFC the game did get to overtime, both defenses were strong throughout the game but the 49′ers special teams ended up blinking first. Poor Kyle Williams was the goat on perhaps the two biggest plays of the game. He had been pushed into the role of kick returner due to injuries and got caught with some sloppy ball handling. One thing you have to do against the Giants is take care of the ball. You can’t give them second chances and that is exactly what Williams did. First he got too close on a Giants punt, the ruling on the field was San Francisco ball. Giants coach Tom Coughlin challenged the play and ultimately the review showed that the ball had grazed Williams knee and thus was a live ball of which New York recovered on the 49′er 29 yard line. The turnover led to a 17 yard Manning touchdown to  Mario Manningham for the go ahead score. The 49′ers came back to tie things up at 17, forcing the overtime. The defenses held through the first three overtime series for each team which ended in punts. But on the Giants third punt, Devin Thomas put the Giants in position  by recovering his second fumble of the game after Jacquian Williams stripped the ball from fill-in return man Kyle Williams. The turnover was costly indeed as the recovery was deep in the 49′er zone. After a few plays to center the ball in the middle of the field. Lawrence Tynes kicked the 31 yard game winner.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy

So now the New England Patriots and the New York Giants will meet in Indianapolis to decide this years Super Bowl. At the time of this post New England seems to be favored by anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 points. Allsports would take those odds and bet on the New York Giants.

Eli Manning

Eli Manning is set to come out of the shadow of his older brother Peyton. The younger Mannings playoff numbers seem more impressive too. Eli can win his second Super Bowl next weekend and get one up on big brother. The whole Giants team is playing their best football right now, being efficient and business like in taking care of things. It is the second year in a row that the NFC Champion has come all the way on the road from the wildcard position. A good running game will make the passing game even more effective and the Giants pass rush should give Tom Brady fits.

Tom Brady

Tom Brady and his Patriot teammates have got the job done in the playoffs so far and just squeaked by the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Conference Championship. Brady has made the big play when he has needed it and managed to come out on top. Where  allsports sees the potential problem for the Patriots is on their offensive line. They are a little banged up and the question will be, can they hold off the Giants pass rush long enough for Brady to make plays. If they can’t Brady could be picking himself off the turf quite a bit. Allsports also gives a slight edge to the Giants receiving corps and thinks they could make things happen in the Patriots secondary. Eli Manning got knocked around a fare bit against the 49′ers and was sacked 6 times. He always managed to bounce back up and was cool under the pressure.

It should be a great game but allsports would take the points and go with the New York Giants to win it, following in the footsteps of what the Green Bay Packers did last year coming all the way through from the NFC Wildcard position and playing their best football when it matters most.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

Allsports here for the NFL sports news and sports on the web. The Division Championships are over and we move on to the Conference Championships. Allsports hopes the crystal ball for predicting has been cleaned up a bit and will give him a clearer picture on whats going to happen.

American Football Conference

I did get it right in the AFC  by picking Baltimore to beat Houston and for the New England Patriots to put away Tim Tebow and the Bronco’s. The Ravens did take out the Texans by a converted touchdown, not quite covering the spread but Brady and company laid a good old beat down on the Bronco’s 45-10. It was 14-0 Patriots after one quarter and it only got worse from there.The Ravens travel to New England for the AFC Championship game and allsports would welcome a Ravens victory so Ray Lewis could finally get to a Super Bowl but my head is telling me different. Maybe if the game was in Baltimore I would like their chances a little better.

Tom Brady

Tom Brady is the Ravens problem though. Always cool as a cucumber under pressure and he just does not turn the ball over. The Patriots coaching staff puts a good game plan together too, just ask the Bronco’s who they destroyed last week. If the Ravens can run the ball effectively they have a chance because the ball will stay out of Brady’s hands and the stingy Ravens defense needs a great game with a lot of 3 and outs so they can remain fresh. Pressure on Brady is also a must, the Patriots O-line is a little banged up. If Brady puts together long drives and Baltimore can’t run the ball it will be a long afternoon for Baltimore. The Patriots are favored by 7 points. It could be a little tight for beating the odds but allsports thinks they will win the game. Pick New England.

The NFC prediction department was where allsports really crashed and burned. Both of my picks to win shot themselves in the foot. The Saints had three turnovers in the first quarter and 5 on the game, while the Green Bay receivers could not catch a cold and frustrated the life out of Aaron Rogers. It does not matter how good you are at getting the ball delivered if it gets dropped anyway. All you can say is the two best offenses and Quarterbacks during the regular season choked and will be wondering on what could have been while they watch from home.

Eli Manninghe most erro

The Giants are on their way to the west coast for a date with the San Francisco 49′ers. To be honest the Giants seem to be peaking at the right time as far as allsports is concerned. In essence they have been playing playoff football for a few weeks now and had to buckle down just to get out of a very tough NFC East division. Of all the teams left they are playing the most error free football of any team. The running game is going and everyone knows Manning does not beat himself. The 49′ers have a great defense and will give Manning and company quite a test. The 49′ers did get past the Saints but it was close and the Saints were brutal in the first quarter but were still allowed to hang around. The Giants defense is gelling at the right time too and have played very well in New York’s wins. Allsports knows the Giants will have a good pass rush but can they stop the the 49′ers running game? That is the big question. If they can I like the Giants chances. New Yorks running game has been good too and the Giants receiving corps gets the edge from allsports way of thinking. This game will be won in the trenches though and could get ugly. San Fran is favored by two and a half points so the spread is no big deal. Allsports would like to see San Francisco get back to the dance after so many years in the NFL wilderness, problem is I don’t see it happening. The Giants are just playing too well as a team right now. Pick New York.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy

So there it is Allsports is picking the New England Patriots and the New York Giants to meet for the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis on February 5th.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

So wildcard weekend of the NFL for the sports news and sports on the web went pretty much as allsports had thought other than the one glaring surprise.

National Football League team Logos

Tim Tebow and the Denver Bronco’s were the surprise and spoiled allsports predictions by taking out the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime. It was actually the first play from scrimmage in overtime and the touchdown pass became the second highest subject for tweeting ever. There were 9,420 tweets per second on the Bronco’s upset of the Steelers with most of the themes talked about being Tebow’s unorthodox style, his belief in Christianity and the Steeler’s fans disbelief that they lost to the Bronco’s. Allsports was surprised as well that the Bronco’s won and it was the only blemish  on my predictions for the wildcard weekend. I had said that Tebow would need help from the big guy upstairs to win this game and well maybe he did help but the fact is the Steelers fell apart in the second quarter when the Bronco’s scored 20 unanswered points. A very immobile Big  Ben Roethlisberger did not help but he did manage to rally the troops to tie the game up and send it to overtime where the much heralded one play from scrimmage ended the proceedings. Coincidence? Tebow passed for 316 yards in the game and his favorite passage in the bible is John 3:16 . But allsports tends to think more along the lines that Pittsburgh got caught up in their own hype and did not use their experience in the big game well. They also looked very OLD out there on defense with slow reaction timing. Now the Bronco’s will go to New England for a date with Tom Brady and the Patriots.

Tim Tebow

Detroit actually had their chances to win the game in New Orleans against the Saints but Brees and the Saints offense had the ball for long periods of time and wore out the Lions defense. If  the Detroit defensive secondary had made some plays when they had the chance it could have been a different story but alas they had hands of stone. Much like the regular season game between these teams they had interceptions in their hands but failed to make the play. The missed turnovers lead directly to Saints points. You just have to have those against Brees because if he gets the second chance he will burn you, and he did. Saints won the game 45-28 and now the Saints will travel across the country to face the San Francisco 49′ers.

Drew Brees

The Houston Texans put the running game into effect with Arian Foster running the ball down the Bengals throat and scoring two touchdowns in the process. No real surprises in this game as Houston won it 31-10. The Texans will head north to take on the Baltimore Ravens.

Matt Ryan

As predicted the Giants defense made Matt Ryan’s life miserable and the Falcons could only score 2 points in the whole game. Those came when Manning was charged for intentional grounding in his end zone and Atlanta was awarded a safety. Manning as usual, made plays when he had to and the Giants took the game 24-2. But the game clearly belonged to the Giants defense. New York now travels to Green Bay to play the Packers. They battled them close during the regular season and this should be another good one.

American Football Conference

So now we are down to eight teams left in the NFL playoff run. In the AFC Texas will play Baltimore while Denver goes to New England. Texas played well but now they are up against the Baltimore Ravens who are a much better all round team than the Bengals. Look for the Ravens to stop the Houston running game and bring one of their own. Joe Flacco will mix it up just enough with the run and the pass to keep the Houston defense off balance. Baltimore is favored by 9 points so far, allsports thinks they will win it but I am not sure if they will cover and win by 10. Take the Ravens.

Bill Belichick

Denver comes into New England and you can be sure that Bill Belicheck will have Tom Brady and company well prepared for what Tim Tebow and the Bronco’s will be up to. Tebow is hard to figure out because his style is so unorthodox but if anyone can do it Belicheck can. The game might be close at the half but New England and their coaching staff are famous for making the adjustments at half time to get the job done.  New England is a 13 point favorite so far and again that might be just too many points to win by. Then again I bet against Tebow and the Bronco’s last weekend and look what happened there. This year though the Patriots have been the class of the AFC and should move on. Take New England

The National Football Conference Logo

With the win a home last week now New Orleans travels across the country to face the San Francisco 49′ers. Both teams finished 13-3 in the regular season and the game pits the leagues best offense in the Saints against the 49′ers and about the best defense in the league. It should be interesting to see how things go. Remember the Steelers had about the best defense rating going into last weekend and look where it got them. Look for Brees and company to control the ball and keep it away for the 49′ers offense. Wearing out their defense in the process because it is much less tiring acting than reacting on defense. The Saints are favored by 3 points and allsports thinks they will score enough to cover. Take the Saints.

Aaron Rogers

The New York Giants come into Lambeau Field and take on the Packers. They played Green Bay tough at home this year, loosing by 3 points late in the game but playing on the Packers turf could be a different story. The Giants Defense played great against the Falcons and was dominate but that was the Atlanta offense and not the reining Super Bowl Champions. Drew Brees had a season for the ages for the Saints and normally would be a shoe in for the MVP but there is one guy in his way and that is Aaron Rogers. He has played great football this year and overcome his defense when it has faltered to get the win. Rogers is allsports pick as the best Quarterback in the game. You never see him panic or make bad plays. He only had about 5 interceptions all year and just does not turn the ball over. Green Bays defense is a little banged up right now but if last year proved anything it was that the team has depth. Green Bay is favored by 9 points and allsports thinks they will cover. Take Green Bay

So there you have it, the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots in the AFC and the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers in the NFC.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

Allsports

So the World Junior Hockey Championship got put to bed last night and allsports was happy that Sweden finally broke through for the gold medal after 31 years of drought. They truly were the better team and were all over the Russians for the whole game. The only thing that kept the Russians in it was their goaltending which was great throughout the tournament. The scary thing is both of Russia’s goalies are still eligible for next year. The Canadian team beat Finland 4-0, for the Bronze medal which gave Canada 14 straight years of winning some sort of hardware.

National Football League team Logos

So to that end the big sports news and sports on the web now in the first weekend in January is Wildcard Weekend in the NFL. As I said in an earlier post, my Chicago Bears did not make the dance and their GM paid for it with his job. You just can’t be that thin on the depth charts that two or three injuries will torpedo your season. So da Bears management has some work to do.

NFL Cheerleaders

So now on to the games  this weekend in the the wildcard playoffs of the NFL. Two games Saturday and two again on Sunday. On Saturday Cincinnati travels to Houston and Detroit goes to New Orleans. What do you think on the spread, can the underdogs beat it? Houston celebrates their first playoff appearance and the Bengals come in trying to spoil the party. Cincinnati  at 9-7 only beat one team with a winning record all season and the Texans have a pretty good running game. Allsports thinks the party in Houston will carry on for at least one more week. Take Houston.

American Football Conference

In the other Saturday match up the Detroit Lions head down to the big easy and tangle with the Saints and Drew Brees. Brees has had a season for the ages  breaking the single season record for passing yards with 5,476. Detroit is making their first playoff appearance in like forever and although allsports would like to see the Lions get another playoff game he does not think it will happen. The Saints can score lots of points and their defense is pretty dam good too. In fact allsports thinks other than the Green Bay Packers, the Saints are right up there as the best team in the NFL. An all round good team, the Lions will be going home after the game. Pick the Saints and I am hoping it can stay close.

Drew Brees

On Sunday the Atlanta Falcons travel to the Meadowlands to take on the Giants and the Steelers go into Mile High Stadium to play the Bronco’s. The Falcons had a decent record this year but they were in a weak division with no competition other than the Saints. The Giants came out of the NFC East on the last game of the season in what was arguably the toughest division in the NFL. Allsports does not think the Falcons will be able to deal with the pass rush of the Giants and sees a long afternoon for Matt Ryan. His ass will be on the grass quite a few times throughout the day and Eli Manning is well, Eli Manning who will do just enough for the Giants to move on. Take the Giants.

Matt Ryan

The Steelers have if not the best than pretty dam close to the best defense in the NFL and the team is loaded with veterans that have been there before. You can guess where allsports is going here. Thats right, there will be no Tebow time here unless his faith can get the big guy upstairs to win the game for him and something tells allsports that he has better things to do. To top it off Tebow is brutal at passing out of the pocket and misses his receivers on a regular basis. Denver won a very weak division and will be out classed by a Pittsburgh team that has to play the wildcard game for the simple reason that they sucked against Baltimore this year, loosing twice but still finishing at 12-4. Yes you guessed it take the Steelers to move on.

The National Football Conference Logo

So there you have it, allsports thinks the four teams that will remain standing once the dust settles on Wildcard Weekend will be the New Orleans Saints and the New York Giants in the NFC and the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans in the AFC. So get the beer, put on the chilly, put the car keys away and settle in for some good football.

No Guts No Glory

Walt Webb

Allsports

Well allsports was going to talk about the womens lacrosse provincials last weekend in Whitby Ontario but when you are relying on your 16 year old daughter to download the pictures for you sometimes you just have to wait.   Its a very busy life don’t you know and what dad wants seems to take a back seat to other more pressing issues. The camera with the pictures needed disappeared for the weekend and ended up at the Britney Spears concert last night. She went there with her half sister and by all accounts they had a good time. Problem is that it does not help me with the lacrosse post.

Britney Spears in Toronto

So with that said Allsports thought he would talk  little about sports in General for sports on the web.

Brampton Excelsiors logo

Brooklin Redmen

The Brampton Excelsiors lead the Brooklin Redmen three games to two after a 10-8 overtime win in Brooklin last Thursday night. Brampton can put the Redmen away with a win at home tonight. This is some of the best sports entertainment you will find and the cost is only about $10. If Brampton moves on they will play the winner of the Peterborough Lakers, Six Nation Chiefs series which the lakers also lead 3-2 and can wrap up tonight as well.

National Football League team Logos

Well it was good to see that the NFL owners and players finally gave their heads a shake and averted a strike. There is plenty of money to go around in the NFL and it would have been foolish of either party to force a lock out. You can’t blame the players on this one because their careers could be cut short by injury at any time. All it takes is one play and a player could be done. Greed was what was fueling the owners fire and sorry but you can’t have it all. Allsports was not completely sure what all of the fuss was about but I still find it amazing that the NFL owners can get away with un-guaranteed contracts to the players. They are the only professional sport that gets away with it. Who knows maybe that was one of the issues the players were bitching about. I know I would be if I was a players union rep, Careers can be quite fleeting in this league. So now everyone can rest easy with the bets and pools.

Bautista Beaned

I could not believe that the Toronto Blue Jays did not retaliate against the Orioles when their starting pitcher Jake Arrieta beaned Jose Bautista in the head a couple of weeks back. It was an accident but still the Blue jays should have hit one of the Orioles batters in the ribs with a good fastball just to let them know you don’t screw around with our star player. That in a nut shell is why the Jays are going no where again this year, get tough out there boys and don’t take any shit. Do you think the Red Sox or the Yankees would take that crap, not in your life. That’s why the Jays are 13 games behind the Red Sox with no hope of getting back in the race. Boston does not loose to often to the weak sisters in the league while the Jays always have trouble with the bottom feeders, enough said.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

National Football League team Logos

As the NFL bids adieu to the sports news and sports on the web for another season, allsports has to pose the question, is it time for NFL Referee’s to become a full time vocation? You would think that with the money being made by the league that they could afford to have professional Referee’s, Lines men, umpires etc. to call the games properly.

NFL Ref in harms way

I don’t have the numbers on how many plays from scrimmage were called poorly or incorrectly during the season but it seemed that almost every game had some sort of controversy involving the officiating crew. You would think that with the money at stake and the importance of each game in a short 16 game season, the NFL would want to get the games done right.

As it stands now the salary for an NFL official is anywhere from USD 25,000 to USD 70,000 per season i.e. a season with 16 games with one-week intervals. Surely the NFL can afford to pay the people that control the game more than that. The NFL officials average annual income of USD 27,000 is by far the lowest of all the major sports and the job does come with the hazards of staying out of the way of 200 plus pound human projectiles.

By comparison NBA officials earn about USD 128,000 per annum, the NHL officials earn USD139, 000 per annum and the major-league baseball officials earn about USD 141, 000 per annum. As it stands now these officials are busier doing their job than NFL officials. Many more games means much more travel and time consumption. Allsports believes there could be ways to fill the void in NFL officiating that would add up to a better product on the field.

NFL Referee

First pay them like a professional official, lord knows the NFL can afford it, it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the revenue generated. Then they can concentrate on their craft instead of worrying about other things to keep house and home. But with the money and full time employment comes responsibility and accountability. During the downtime between games they can study their craft with game films and the rule book to ensure they are prepared for any situation. They would also be required to get and stay in top physical condition to stay with the play and keep out of the way. Look no further than an NHL linesman, they are usually the best and fastest skaters on the ice and have the endurance to go for the whole game.

Until the NFL addresses the issue on their referee’s allsports thinks the game calling will only get worse, reviews will increase consuming time and the product will suffer. Having part timers running your sport is not very professional and in some ways is quite bush league.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

The Vince Lombardi Trophy

Unless you are stranded on a desert island or have taken up residence under a rock, you will be ware by now that the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday in Super Bowl 45. The game was the major story in the sports news and sports on the web this past week.

Green Bay Packers

Green Bay did to Pittsburgh as they had done to all of their competition in these playoffs and that was to jump on them early and get off to a good start. They did that getting ahead 14-0 after the first quarter and never relinquishing the lead. Neither team could put together much of a running game  but Rashard Mendenhall did have a costly fumble that turned into 7 Packer points. The Packers fumbled once also but did manage to recover it. That proved to be the difference in the 31-25 Packers win.

Greg Jennings

The bottom line is Aaron Rogers and the rest of the Packers took better care of the football. Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted twice while Rogers was not. Big Ben’s interceptions stopped threatening drives by the Steelers where they were looking to put points on the board. Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings were Aaron Rogers favorite targets on the day and seemed to make the big catch just when the Packers needed it to sustain an offensive drive.

Charles Woodson

As the Packers have done all year they had to overcome another significant injury to get the job done. They lost arguably their best defensive player when corner back Charles Woodson went done with a shoulder injury just before half time. Woodson was their captain on defense but the team depth came through again and they managed to hold off the Steelers.

Aaron Rogers

Aaron Rogers was voted the NFL Player of the Year and deserved full marks for the honor. Rodgers is the NFL’s all-time career leader in passer rating during both the regular season (98.4), and in the post-season (112.6) – among passers with at least 1,500 and 150 pass attempts respectively.  He also owns the league’s lowest career pass interception percentage for quarterbacks during the regular season (1.99%).

Some other facts about Aaron Rogers.

• Became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter.

• Has ranked fourth in the league in passing yards and touchdowns in each of the last two seasons.

• In 32 regular-season starts, has posted nine 300-yard passing games, 19 games without an interception and 18 with a 100-plus passer rating.

• In 2009, nearly broke the franchise’s single-season record with 4,434 passing yards, falling just short of Lynn Dickey’s 1984 mark of 4,458. Did set Green Bay’s single-game postseason record with 423 yards passing in NFC Wild Card playoff at Arizona.

Super Bowl 45 did receive a bit of a black eye though. Some fans were upset with their treatment  and filed suit against the NFL, the Cowboys and Jerry Jones over seating. Christina Aguilera took some heat for botching the National Anthem and the half time show by the Black Eyed Peas had mixed reviews. Some thought it was great while others thought it was terrible. It just goes to show that you can’t please everyone.

“No Gut No Glory”

Walt Webb

P.S Allsports would like to apologize for the tardiness of the Super Bowl article. It has been a very hectic week on the job that brings home the bacon. 

The Vince Lombardi Trophy

So it is almost that time again when NFL football takes center stage for the sports news and sports on the web. Hockey, Lacrosse and all other sports take a back seat in the sports news in North America when the Super Bowl hits the calender.

Aaron Rogers

If you check back to allsports previous post on the game you will see that I am hoping Green Bay will win. Allsports thought he would explain a little on why and what Green Bay has to do to be successful.

Ben Roethlisberger

First off the betting line on the game still has the Packers favored by 2.5 points with the over / under set at 44.5 points. Seems the odds makers are looking for the two great defenses to do their jobs and allsports can’t argue with that.

Clay Mathew

First and foremost, Clay Mathews and the rest of the Packers Defense have to make Big Ben Roethlisberger very uncomfortable in the pocket and force him out of it, moving his big frame, then they have to get him to the ground and not let him break tackles cause he is as strong as a bull. Minimize the Steelers ground game and force third and long passing downs.

Troy Polamalu

The two main reasons why allsports is picking the Green Bay Packers are that he likes Aaron Rogers as a quarterback, he thinks the game well and does not panic under pressure. A good student of the game who see’s the field well and can think on his feet to decipher what defensive alignments are going to do. With that allsports thinks the receiving corps of the Packers is about the best in the league and should get open for Rogers. Personally I like that the Packers are community owned too which makes allsports want to root for them. But that being said the Packers still have to execute and do the things that they have to prevent the Steelers from doing. Its a simple game really, run the ball so the passing game opens up and keep the defense off balance and on the field. It is more tiring to play defense than offense for the simple reason that it takes more energy to react than to act. Either way you look at it, or what team you are rooting for? It should be a hell of a game with two very worthy opponents.

This should be a great game and the entertainment very good. There will be some eye candy even though there are no cheerleaders, Christina Aguilera will sing the National Anthem with Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas doing the halftime show.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

National Football League team Logos

So then there were two teams left in the NFL sports news and sports on the web. The Conference Championships took place last weekend to decide who would get the right to go to Arlington Texas and battle for the 2011 Super Bowl. The winner getting their name on the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Green Bay Packers in the NFC and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC are packing their bags and heading for a show down in Arlington’s, Cowboys Stadium on February 6th 2011. Both teams have a great defense and that was the main reason why they are in the Championship game. The Steelers were ranked number one overall while the Green Bay Packers came in at number three. The Green Bay Packers by the way, are the only community owned franchise in the NFL and for that reason if no other, allsports will be hoping for a Packers victory on February 6th.

The National Football Conference Logo

Green Bay came into Chicago and put there foot on the gas pedal to start the game against the Bears. The Bears looked a little disorganized on the Packers first possession and before they knew it they were behind 7-0. The Bears offense and Jay Cutler were not effective at all and had to keep punting the ball away. Aaron Rogers brought the Packers down for a 2nd major score near the beginning of the 2nd quarter and lead 14-0 at the half. Speaking of Rogers, he came into the game as the highest rated Quarterback in the history of the NFL, both in these playoffs and the regular season.

Jay Cutler

Jay Cutler came out to start  the second half but could not carry on due to a knee injury. The football community was abusing him for not playing with the injury and some Bears fans burned his jersey in discussed. They only found out the next day that the knee injury was pretty bad and that he had sprained the MCL in it. So it was no wonder that he could not continue. He would have had little or no mobility and would have been a sitting duck for the Packers defense. Todd Collins came on in relief for Cutler and was brutal on two possessions. almost getting intercepted twice. Free agent signing Caleb Hanie then relieved Collins and moved the ball for the Bears first touchdown. Green Bay got the ball back but were three and out. Packers punter, Tim Masthay pinned the Bears deep in their own zone which he had done all day with some great punts. Hanie tried a pass but it was picked off by B.J. Raji and he rumbled and allsports really means rumbled, 18 yards for the touchdown which proved to be the winner. Hanie hooked up with Bennett for a quick strike 81 seconds later with 4:43 on the clock and the Packers were 3 and out on their next set of downs. Hanie came back on and was moving the sticks with some time left but was picked off again and the Packers could run out the clock for a Green Bay 21-14 victory.

Caleb Hanie

Hanie did pretty well going 12 of 16 and two touchdowns, the problem was he threw two interceptions as well. It was not really his fault though because the Green Bay defense knew he had to pass and did not have to watch for the run. So the Packers offense gets a couple early and then rides the defense for the win. It was the first time the 6th seed in the NFC has gone to the Super Bowl.

American Football Conference

The New York Jets were in Pittsburgh to fight it out with the Steelers and the way the game started it was looking like no contest. The Steelers marched the ball down field on their opening drive eating up just over nine minutes off the clock in doing so to go up 7-0.  Rashard Mendenhall seemed to be able to run the ball at will and the Jets could not stop the Steelers pounding ground game. Mendenhall was tearing up the Jets Defense and had 85 yards on the ground half way through the 2nd quarter. Mark Sanchez got smoked and fumbled the ball, leading to another Steelers touchdown. Pittsburgh scored two touchdowns in 47 seconds and the Jets had a total of 12 yards with one minute left in the half. In the last minute the Jets did manage to move the ball but had to settle for a field goal when Pittsburgh put up a great goal line stand. The Jets went into the locker room trailing 24-3 at the half.

Ben Roethlisberger

In the second half it was like two completely different games. Rex Ryan and the Jets coaching staff deserve a lot of credit because they made some adjustments at half time and started to bring it to the Steelers. They scored a major and then pinned Roethlisberger for a safety to get the score to 24-12. The Jets defense held the Steelers to no points in the second half and did manage to score another touchdown to make the final score 24-19 for Pittsburgh. The way the Jets were playing, allsports thought if there had  been five more minutes on the clock, the Jets would have been going to the Super Bowl. But that was not the case, despite a valiant comeback effort the  score the Steelers had run up in the first half was just to large for the Jets to overcome.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy

So Green Bay and Pittsburgh are off to the Super Bowl. We will have about a week of the talking heads analyzing everything from soup to nuts about the game but when it does arrive it should be a real knock down, drag out affair. Neither team has a cheer leading squad (I thought that was a prerequisite for an NFL team, lol) so there will be no “Eye Candy” for the viewers, too bad. Green Bay was the early favorite by 2.5 points I think but that will likely be changing all week. Green Bay has not been to the Super Bowl since they won it in 1998 with Brett Farve at the helm. Allsports likes Aaron Rogers as a Quarterback and thinks the Packers are destined this year considering the injuries they had to overcome to get to where they are now. So Allsports is picking a Green Bay Packers Super Bowl victory.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

National Football League team Logos

So we are getting down to the short strokes for the NFL football sports news and sports on the web. Four teams remain standing to fight for the 2011 Super Bowl. The game is slated for February 6th 2011 and will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Now all that has to be decided is who from each conference will earn the right to go to Arlington

The National Football Conference Logo

The NFC Championship game will feature two of the oldest teams in the NFL, dating back to 1920. The Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears have had a long and fierce rivalry but they have not met in a playoff game since the 1940′s (1941 I think but don’t hold me to it). That game was won by the Bears and allsports is hoping that history repeats itself because the Bears are his team. The Packers come to Chicago for a 3:30 PM kickoff. The temperature at game time will be about -10 degrees Celsius which for allsports American friends is 14 degrees Fahrenheit. There is no advantage for either team in the cold because they are both good cold weather teams.

Jay Cutler

Both teams are playing their best football right now and it should be old time smash mouth football at Soldier Field. Aaron Rogers has been as hot as a pistol so can defensive end, Julius Peppers and company run Rogers down and cool him off. Can the Bears offensive line give Cutler the time to make plays this week like they did last week against the Seahawks. Either way the game should be a tough hard fought contest that goes right down to the wire. Allsports actually had to bet against the Bears with a buddy who is a Packers fan. His reasoning is that he never wins bets and is hoping to give the Bears the old jinx by betting on them. Here though allsports is predicting a Bears victory simply because they are his team  and they are at home. If the Packers do pull it off allsports won’t be too upset because I like the Packers too, there just not the Bears.

American Football Conference

The surprising New York Jets are in Pittsburgh to play the late game against the Steelers on Sunday and they will need another great game out of their defense to win it. Pittsburgh boasts the number one rated defense in the NFL and will make life miserable for the Jets Quarterback, Mark Sanchez. All Ben Roethlisberger does is win with very little flash and he is a big body to try and bring down. Allsports thinks that Big Ben will score just enough points to win and the Steelers defense will hold off the Jets. This one should be close too but allsports predicts another Steelers appearance in the Super Bowl.

Ben Roethlisberger

So there you have it, allsports is predicting a Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers 2011 Super Bowl in Arlington Texas.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb