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Indianapolis Colts to win Super Bowl 44

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:04:30 +0000

Are you ready for the big game?

In case you’ve been living under a rock lately, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints will collide this Sunday in Miami, Florida where we’ll see which of these two teams will be crowned the Super Bowl XLIV champions.

Who will take the big one? Let’s look at the Indianapolis Colts, who have already recorded their most single-season wins in franchise history with 16. The quest will be a second Super Bowl title in a four-year span and since they’ll be playing in their fourth Super Bowl appearance in Miami, it seems the stage is set for the Colts to win their second Super Bowl title.

You see the last time Peyton Manning and his Colts were in Miami playing for the Super Bowl, they defeated the Chicago Bears 20-17. Manning was also the league MVP that season, the same as he is now coming to Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, Florida.

That’s why the Colts should take this one easy.

Sure, the New Orleans Saints are as good as the Colts this season with both teams flirting with perfection all year to post the best win-loss record of their respective conferences. Both the Colts and the Saints also have Pro Bowl quarterbacks in Peyton Manning and Drew Brees respectively. That’s probably why Super Bowl XLIV will prove to be a high scoring affair.

However, while Drew Brees have become one of the most explosive quarterbacks to ever play football, he ain’t no Peyton Manning. Manning has been here before, leading the Colts to the playoffs every year since 2002 that includes a Super Bowl season back in 2007. A win in Miami Sunday will further solidify Manning as the very best to ever play quarterback in the NFL. Brees is good but Manning is simply just a notch better.

Manning was openly criticized for never...

Can the Saints win it for New Orleans?

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:02:29 +0000

Let me just get this out of the way, if the Saints win the Super Bowl, then the celebration that’ll come after will be bigger than Mardi Gras.

And since Super Bowl XLIV will be their first ever trip to the Super Bowl for the New Orleans Saints, anything they celebrate from this point forward will be nothing compared to the way this city will celebrate if the Saints win the big game.

In case you didn’t get that, the New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. Hosting their first NFC championship game, the Saints defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 to earn a trip to Miami.

They will play the Indianapolis Colts, a team that has a knack for playing and winning Super Bowl championships in Miami. Of course, for a city that has been able to overcome adversity, don’t expect the Colts’ history in Miami faze these Saints fans one bit.

Especially Drew Brees.

”Four years ago, they were hosing this roof,” as Saints coach Sean Payton put it, referring to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. ”This is pretty special for this city.”

The Saints went 20 years before they had their first winning season, and 33 years before winning a playoff game. Only the Detroit Lions, at 44 consecutive years, have missed more Super Bowls than the Saints.

Against the Vikings, it did look like the Saints were about to miss another trip too.

Faced with fourth and 1 from the Minnesota 43 in overtime, New Orleans opted to go for the first down. Tailback Pierre Thomas took the handoff and leapt into the air, not knowing where the Saints season might land.

When referees spotted the ball, the Saints...

Betting on the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl?

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:04:54 +0000

For the first time since 1980, the Pro Bowl will be played somewhere other than Honolulu.

That’s right, the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl between the AFC’s and NFC’s best will take place Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, at Dolphin Stadium in South Florida. It will feature some intriguing match ups too. Nowhere will that be more evident than when the NFC wide receivers try to shed the AFC’s starting cornerbacks.

With the Jets’ Darrelle Revis and the Raiders’ Nnamdi Asomugha pestering and shadowing DeSean Jackson, Miles Austin, and Sidney Rice, the NFC may find it difficult to get any sort of big play in the passing game. Throw in Ed Reed at free safety and Brian Dawkins at strong safety, and the NFC’s offensive coordinator Jason Garrett may want to consider calling Barry Switzer to get some quick pointers on the wishbone.

On the contrary, you have to like the NFC stable of quarterbacks over what the AFC is running out there. Matt Schaub will start for the AFC and will be backed up and at some point, replaced by Vince Young and David Garrard.

Meanwhile, the NFC is running Aaron Rodgers onto the field first, and then Donovan McNabb, and eventually Tony Romo. The NFC quarterbacks should be able to carry the day, providing they have any open receivers.

The running back duel will be the other place of greatest intrigue. The AFC’s Chris Johnson, the guy who makes greased lightning look like a lumbering lineman, was the first back in the NFL to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season since Terrell Davis in 1998. Let a linebacker take a play off to see if he can tell whether his wife and girlfriend are sitting too close together in the stands, and we may be watching a new Pro Bowl record for longest run from scrimmage.

The NFC quarterbacks will be sticking the ball into the gut of the man who was the greatest running back in the league until Johnson came along, the one they call All-Day. Adrian Peterson may be running angry, which will be nothing new, but would be an anomaly for a Pro Bowl. He will still be sore about losing to the Saints. He will still be a little embarrassed about putting the ball on the ground three times in the NFC championship game. And he will be in no mood to be outshone by some kid from Tennessee.

With the substandard quarterback situation on...

Super Bowl XLIV Betting Propositions

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:02:57 +0000

It’s that time of the year when bettors go ga-ga over one huge football game, betting on everything from coin tosses to who among the Colts will wear panties.

Well, maybe not that last one. (I hope…) Seriously, Super Bowl XLIV should once again generate all kinds of betting propositions since this is only the biggest sporting event of the year other than the World Cup and it will be the last time we’ll ever get to enjoy football until we hit August again later this year.

Get ready, because here they come again, Super Bowl prop bets. Every year, a part of the media coverage around the big game focuses on the astounding number of proposition betting options that online sportsbooks roll out.

These prop bets range from the obvious (correct score of the game) to the unique (the Over/Under on the length of the national anthem). Over the next week and a half, we’ll look at some of the Super Bowl prop betting options offered and where the betting public are putting their money.

On that note, SPORTSBETTING.com has hundreds and hundreds of props listed and some of the most innovative options you’ll find anywhere.

Let’s get the popular coin toss one out of the way at the start here. The prop bet ”will the opening coin toss be heads or tails?” is currently listed at -115 for both options (I don’t really see this line moving due to heavy one-sided action…)

The Total for the Super Bowl is at 56 and of course there are numerous props related to the Over/Under. For example, one betting option is, ”what will the actual total score of the game be? An even number (-110) or an odd number (-120)?” See how crazy that is? Not even Peyton Manning can figure that one out.

There is also a proposition on the...

The Best of the Best in 2010 Pro Bowl

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:25:57 +0000

For the first time ever, the Pro Bowl will come a week before THE big game, as this year’s Pro Bowl kicks off Super Bowl week with a bang.

Yes, the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl will now come before the Super Bowl and this year, the best players from both the AFC and the NFC will play at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida for this year’s annual showcase of the league’s premiere talent.

This way, football fans will be able to further build their anticipation heading to Super Bowl XLIV and as far as this year’s Pro Bowl starters are concerned, both teams’ rosters have some familiar faces.

Leading the pack for the AFC squad is Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Other selections include Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson and Colts teammate Reggie Wayne.

Dallas Clark, who also plays for the Indianapolis Colts, was also voted in for the Pro Bowl to play tight end, starting tackles will be the Dolphins’ Jake Long and the Broncos’ Ryan Clady. Starting guards for the AFC will be the Patriots’ Logan Mankins and Alan Faneca of the New York Jets.

Faneca’s teammate Nick Mangold will be the AFC’s starting center.

Over on the NFC side of things, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, and wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald of Arizona and DeSean Jackson of Philadelphia, were voted in by fans to play for the conference.

This year, the Minnesota Vikings have the most players on the 2010 Pro Bowl with eight total players that include five starters on offense and defense. Philadelphia, Dallas, and Indianapolis followed them up with six players. The New Orleans Saints, the San Diego Chargers, and the Baltimore Ravens each have five players of their own on the team.

One shocking revelation was that the...

Pierre Garcon wins it for Colts and Haiti

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:42:07 +0000

It was an emotional finish to an emotional night.

The Indianapolis Colts return to Miami, Florida to face the New Orleans Saints for Super Bowl XLIV after beating the New York Jets 30-17. It was just three years ago when the Colts were in Miami for Super Bowl XLI, playing against Rex Grossman and the Chicago Bears. This time, they have Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, who are making their franchise’s very first trip to the big dance.

Isn’t it a little odd that the Indianapolis Colts found a way to return to Miami for another shot at the Super Bowl title the same time the Super Bowl was scheduled to return to Miami? Maybe there’s something about Miami that the Colts like so much.

A return trip to Miami for the Colts wasn’t even looking good during the first two quarters of the 2010 AFC championship game as the New York Jets, up 17-6 with two minutes remaining before halftime, were looking to shock the rest of the world for the third straight week.

Unfortunately for them, Peyton Manning found his groove back during the last two minutes of the first half as the reigning league MVP found Austin Collie in the endzone with 1:13 remaining to cut into the Jets’ lead, 17-13.

THAT was the momentum shifter of the game, so to speak, and the New York Jets never got back into the game in the second half.

Peyton Manning found Pierre Garcon for a four-yard TD pass to take the lead 20-17 before finding Dallas Clark for a 15-yard touchdown play in the fourth quarter to finally put the Jets away. The Jets never got out of the locker room and the Colts, led by this season’s MVP, took advantage.

”The guys have always been a very confident bunch and they do a great job of hanging in there,” Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. ”Peyton had just an outstanding game. He’s one of those guys that can adjust to different situations. A real champion.”

The Colts now return to the very city where...

Will Brett Favre finally retire?

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:31:49 +0000

Probably, but knowing Favre, he’ll probably retire for the third time only to come back two weeks after his retirement speech.

In case you missed it, the New Orleans Saints probably convinced Brett Favre to finally call it quits with the way they’ve been putting the guy on the ground all game long en route to their 31-28 win in overtime to earn the trip to Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, Florida.

Yep, the New Orleans Saints put the hurt on Brett Favre alright, as the Vikings quarterback NEVER felt comfortable inside the pocket all day long. To make matters worse, the way the Vikings have been turning the ball over didn’t help.

The Minnesota Vikings turned the ball over FIVE TIMES. FIVE. You can’t do that when you’re up against a team like the New Orleans Saints who are just dying to have the ball back on offense and in a game like this with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake.

Nobody told the Vikings. Nobody told Brett Favre.

The Vikings had the perfect opportunity to salvage the game and win it in regulation. They WERE in field goal range with 19 seconds remaining in the game. Unfortunately, they had 12 guys in the huddle as the Vikes were penalized for five yards, taking the field goal attempt out of the question.

They still had a shot at getting back inside field goal range if they just took care of the football and advanced it for a couple more yards. Unfortunately, Brett Favre decided to throw the football… TO THE OTHER TEAM… missing out on beating the Saints in regulation as Drew Brees and company forced overtime.

People say that coin tosses in overtime...

Jets V Chargers in AFC Divisonal Game

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:02:53 +0000

The hottest team in the playoffs meet the hottest team of the season.

That’s exactly what we’ll be having in this AFC divisional match-up of the 2010 NFL playoffs as the New York Jets, became the hottest team of the playoffs after shocking the Bengals last week, face the San Diego Chargers, the hottest team of the season after winning a freakish 11 straight games.

Yup, the San Diego Chargers sure look unbeatable at this point of the year but after the New York Jets ”weaseled” their way to a wild card playoff spot before shocking the Cincinnati Bengals last week, it’s clear the Jets have the momentum.

The New York Jets, coming off a remarkable 24-14 victory in Cincinnati, were great against the pass allowing just 110 passing yards. Their defense did break down against the run last week allowing the Bengals to gain 171 rushing yards on 21 attempts.

But since the Bengals had no other choice but to run with the football, thanks primarily to the outstanding performance of Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis when he virtually shut Chad Ochocinco down, the Jets are probably better off letting the opposing team run with the football and just take the passing game completely out of the equation.

The Jets are the number one ranked pass defense in the NFL, allowing just 150 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks complete just 51.5 percent of their passes against the Jets.

On the offensive side of the football, Mark Sanchez completed over 80 percent of his passes to help the Jets beat the Bengals and join only a select few who have won their first playoff game as a rookie quarterback.

The San Diego Chargers, on the other hand...

Can Ravens take the Colts out too?

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:04:08 +0000

After they took down Tom Brady and the mighty Patriots last weekend, you can no longer question what these guys can do anymore.

The 2010 NFL playoffs continue with a huge AFC divisional playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts. The Ravens are fresh from eliminating NFL Comeback Player of the Year Tom Brady and his Patriots, this time they are looking to take out the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player of the Year Peyton Manning and his Indianapolis Colts.

A tall order? I’d definitely say so. I mean, Peyton Manning just won his fourth league MVP trophy, his second in a row. And as long as Manning is leading the offense, the Colts can score with the best in the league. But if there’s a team that can come up with an upset win at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, it’s the Ravens.

Fresh from their 33-14 win over the New England Patriots, the Baltimore Ravens offense will once again rely on their running game led by their three-headed monster of Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain.

Rice had a huge game last week with 159 yards and two touchdowns on 22 rushing attempts against the Patriots. The Ravens are hoping for the same against the Indianapolis Colts this weekend. Rice has produced 5.3 yards a carry this season. Willis McGahee on the other hand rushed for a 5.0 yards a carry.

The Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens met way back on November 22nd with the Colts pulling out a 17-15 victory as a 1-point road favorite. The Colts were very sloppy in that game and were just fortunate to win despite committing three turnovers with Peyton Manning throwing two interceptions.

Despite the poor outing against Ray Lewis and the rest of the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis will still rely on Peyton Manning this weekend. After all, he did have an MVP season for the Colts. He hit 68 percent of his passes with 33 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, once again getting great protection from his offensive line with just 10 sacks.

Manning probably hopes his line will be able to...

Patriots take on Ravens without Welker

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:02:55 +0000

Can the Patriots win without Wes Welker?

That’s right, the 2010 NFL playoffs continue this Sunday with a huge AFC wild card round match between the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots. In case you didn’t know, the Patriots lost Wes Welker for the playoffs last week, setting the stage for the Ravens D to take advantage.

This playoff matchup between the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens is the only playoff game that won’t be a rematch of last week as the Jets and the Bengals, the Eagles and the Cowboys and the Packers and the Cardinals have all played each other last Sunday heading to their wild card matchup.

The first meeting between the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens back in Week 4 was as exciting as ever as the Patriots barely edged Baltimore, 27-21. That game left both teams at 3-1 and provided an exciting quarterback battle that might have gone the other way had Derrick Mason not dropped a pass that would have led to a fourth-down conversion.

Joe Flacco threw for 264 yards, but needed nearly 50 completions to get there, numbers indicative of Baltimore’s mark of 7.1 yards per completion. Ray Rice eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground in just 11 carries, a number that helped bolster an impressive rushing mark of nearly five yards per carry.

The Ravens will likely have to use that ground game against a defense that gives up just 7.0 yards per pass attempt.

The Patriots boast one of the NFL’s best passing offenses, but lost a key cog in the final week when receiver Wes Welker went down with a knee injury. Quarterback Tom Brady threw for just 258 yards and one touchdown in the Week 4 win, but also ran for another. Now he’ll have to try and tame the Ravens with a depleted receiving corps and most likely not a ton of help on the ground against of the league’s best run defenses.

Can the Patriots overcome with one...