Once again the New York Jets are heavy underdogs, and their overweight coach, Rex Ryan, is running his big mouth.
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Matt Youmans
It was going to be different this time. No way the hottest team in the NFL, a team led by quarterback Philip Rivers, a fierce competitor and proven winner, would be a one-and-done bust.
At this point, Brett Favre’s second return-from-retirement act qualifies as a big hit. Favre has made the Minnesota Vikings better, and his presence makes the NFL more interesting.
So do you praise Kurt Warner for his passing efficiency or rip the Green Bay Packers for their defensive deficiencies?
An injury to Texas quarterback Colt McCoy seemed to drain most of the drama from the Bowl Championship Series national championship game. Without their senior star, the Longhorns were little more than a long shot.
Some underdogs play dead and are riddled with fleas, and the NFL has seen more than a few of those this season. But the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers qualify as bloodhounds going into a wide-open playoff race.
Apparently, it’s business as usual for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. This is no time to sleep on the job, no time to close shop for the holidays and act as if nothing matters.
Twenty-four hours is about all it took for Urban Meyer to come out of retirement. He fine-tuned his health, spent some quality time with family and was back to being Florida’s football coach just like that.
Maybe pulling Peyton Manning in the third quarter was the right thing to do for the Indianapolis Colts. It can be argued that maybe it was the correct move.
It might not be a unanimous vote, and a few other players certainly are worthy of consideration, but there is no doubt Peyton Manning is the Most Valuable Player in the NFL this season.
With defenders in hot pursuit of Ben Roethlisberger and a coroner standing by on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ sideline, the big quarterback rifled a pass to the end zone.
Anticipating a trip to Las Vegas excites most people. Oregon State football coach Mike Riley might be an exception.
A quarterback who was anointed a star too soon was on display and further exposed Sunday. But Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers weren’t the frauds.
It’s the middle of December, the month when the Dallas Cowboys typically go into deep freeze and quarterback Tony Romo and coach Wade Phillips try to ignore the questions about their failures.