Denver doesn’t have a prayer against New England.
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Tag Archives: Tom Brady
Peyton Manning, Colts Continue Talks
INDIANAPOLIS — Talks between the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning are ongoing and Bill Polian said progress is being made.
But that doesn’t mean a deal will get done soon.
“I would say we are simply moving ahead at a steady pace, but nothing is imminent,” Polian, who recently finished his 13th season as the Colts’ president, told Mike Marot of the Associated Press.
Jim Irsay, Colts owner and chief executive officer, said recently he offered Manning a deal worth more than that of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, currently the NFL‘s highest-paid player. Brady signed a four-year, $72 million contract in September.
Packers Get Bargains: Ted Thompson for $2.5M, Mike McCarthy for $5M
Filed under: Packers, NFC North
The Green Bay Packers have announced a new contract for general manager Ted Thompson, who built their Super Bowl-winning roster, and they’re close to a new deal with head coach Mike McCarthy, who guided that team to the title.
According to Bob McGinn of the Journal Sentinel, Thompson will make about $2.5 million a year, and McCarthy about $5 million. That makes them an absolute bargain.
Think about this for a moment, in the context of the multibillion-dollar industry that the NFL is. There are dozens of NFL players who made more than $7.5 million in 2010. How many of those players are more valuable to a franchise than a coach and general manager who can put together a Super Bowl-winning team? Would you rather have a great franchise quarterback like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning than Thompson or McCarthy? Maybe. But almost any other player in football would be less valuable to a franchise than a GM like Thompson or a coach like McCarthy.
LeBron Is Peerless, and Not Just in NBA
Filed under: Heat
OK. So LeBron James occasionally has flashed signs this season of having flesh and blood like the rest of us.
Just occasionally, though.
There was Sunday in Boston, for instance, where LeBron wasn’t his clutch self down the stretch at the foul line. Plus, he was hounded into an average scoring game by the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo.
Not only that, courtesy of an 85-82 loss, the Miami Heat continued to show that LeBron and the rest of their Big Two and a Half (Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) remain a work in progress by losing for the fourth time in five games against one of the NBA’s top teams.
Still, nobody tops LeBron as the Most Valuable Player.
I’m talking about the NBA, of course. But I’m also talking about LeBron as the undisputed MVP among players throughout the four major sports leagues in North America. He still has to find a way to win it all, but that’s a different column. As for this one, nobody is a more significant force for any team in any of those leagues than this defensive end of a basketball player who is transforming the Heat into a championship-caliber bunch for the first time in five years.
Steelers’ 2011 Schedule: Pittsburgh Could be in Driver’s Seat Again
Filed under: Steelers, AFC North
Last season, the Steelers wasn’t expected to be as productive, due to the four-game suspension of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. But after making the Super Bowl, the 2010 AFC North champs will not be slept on in 2011.
Thanks to their philosophy of tough, physical play and the leadership of head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers perhaps are the only team in the NFL that the league and football fans don’t have to spend time wondering whether they’ll be competitive. Despite aging veterans, Pittsburgh is a superior squad compared to the majority of the teams in the NFL and after reviewing the team’s schedule, most of their opponents outside of the AFC North don’t pose a major threat.
Tom Brady Wins NFL MVP
Filed under: Patriots
DALLAS (AP) — Here’s a Brady Bunch for NFL fans: Tom Brady got all 50 votes for MVP.
The New England Patriots quarterback on Sunday became the first unanimous choice for The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award since the AP began using a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league.
He surpassed himself, too: In 2007, when Brady won his first MVP, he got 49 votes; one voter went for Brett Favre.
“It is always flattering to be chosen for such a prestigious award,” Brady said. “But I also look at it as a team award, as nothing in football gets accomplished without the mental toughness and determination of every player and coach associated with that team.
“I am very humbled to be a part of an organization where winning comes first, and our goals are based around the success of the team.”
Those successes, including three Super Bowl titles in the last 10 years, are in great part due to Brady’s excellence.
Although he didn’t set nearly as many passing marks as in ’07, Brady by far was the league’s top performer in leading New England to a 14-2 record, best in the NFL. He had a record streak of 355 throws without being intercepted, and passed for 36 touchdowns with only four picks.
Not that the 33-year-old Brady would compare this season’s Patriots to any others.
“Every team every year is different,” he said, “and over the course of 100 practices and many games a team establishes its identity. Players change, schemes change, opponents change, which is why the game is so exciting year in and year out.
“The fact that 32 teams start out each year with the same goal is why the popularity of the sport is at an all-time high. The great part about our sport is that nothing comes easy, and wherever you stand at the end of the year is the exact place that you deserve to be.”
Individually, Brady stands above all others. The only Patriot to win the award, he and Peyton Manning, his rival for the NFL’s best quarterback, have split the last four MVPs.
Brady followed his previous MVP trophy with a lost season, tearing left knee ligaments in the first half of the 2008 opener. His return in 2009 was solid, although hand and rib injuries slowed him.
This year, even with a sore right foot that required postseason surgery, Brady was simply dynamic. He twice threw for four touchdowns in a game and four times had three. Twelve times, he had a passer rating of at least 100.
And he guided a young team in transition to 14 victories.
“Brady is so special because he’s such a great leader and all the players can relate to him,” team owner Robert Kraft said. “These kids (rookies) who come in live in awe of him, but the nice thing is he treats them well.
“He works very hard, he studies very hard,” Kraft added. “Being a great quarterback isn’t just being very skilled. It’s being able to process information quickly, to make the adjustments, and I think he’s fabulous at that.”
As fabulous as he might have been, Brady, not surprisingly, has some regrets about 2010.
“When the season is over, 31 teams are disappointed about the outcome,” he said. “There is only one champion, and nobody plays this game for second place. The desire and hunger is about winning, which to me never gets old. The motivation to get up and work every day for that goal is something that challenges us all.
“Our team has very high expectations, and our team will come back this year with the same purpose,” he said. “Whether or not that leads to a championship season will be determined by the commitment each player makes to do their job as best as they possibly can.”
The way Brady does.
Tom Brady Named Offensive Player of Year
Filed under: Patriots, AFC East
When you put together the kind of season quarterback Tom Brady did for the New England Patriots, you better expect your fair share of postseason accolades. And Brady added another one to his mantle on Tuesday — Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year.
The three-time Super Bowl winner was the epitome of efficiency in 2010, throwing 36 touchdown passes while only being intercepted four times for a ridiculous touchdown-to-interception ratio of 9-to-1. His string of 339 consecutive pass attempts without an interception is a new NFL record and he also threw for 3,900 yards while completing 66 percent of his passes.
Brady was the unanimous winner, receiving 21 votes from the 50-member panel to finish 10 votes ahead of second-place Michael Vick (11 votes). Houston Texans running back Arian Foster finished third with seven votes, followed by San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers with five and Atlanta Falcons receiver Roddy White, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson two apiece.
Ben Roethlisberger Proves Once Again He’s the Total Package at Quarterback
Filed under: Jets, Steelers, AFC East, AFC North
He’s not the best looking, GQ magazine cover guy like Tom Brady nor is he the funny and clean cut face of the league like Peyton Manning. But Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is all-football player who gets it done, like a trusty ol’ truck.
The NFL prefers to have their champion look and perform like a Ferrari or a Porsche. But this is the NFL where plays and conditions break down, in relation to speed bumps, potholes and terrible road conditions can damage these high-price vehicles. What teams need in this league is a truck, whether a pickup or a powerful 4×4, that can perform in any conditions and Big Ben has proven to be the prime example.
“I’ve seen him play better, but he played extremely poised,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. “I thought Ben played extremely well, especially knowing when to run, when to pull it down and go get first downs. He was a better running back, maybe, than a passer at times.”
Throughout the remarkable run of the Jets this postseason, they pressured Manning and Brady in the pocket to either force a sack or a bad throw, knowing that they were not going to scramble. But just in case, a Jet would spy on them.
With Roethlisberger, defenses must continue to attack because one man rarely brings him down. Furthermore, the secondary must keep track of the Steelers’ receivers because of Roethlisberger’s ability to extend plays with his feet and allow his receivers to improvise routes to get open.
Aaron Rodgers’ Great Game Against Falcons Means Little This Week
Filed under: Packers, NFL Analysis
Aaron Rodgers is clearly the hottest quarterback left in the playoffs. His 31-for-36, 366-yard, three-touchdown dissection of the Falcons’ defense was nearly perfect. Rodgers’ 136.8 quarterback rating against the Falcons is the 10th best in the playoffs since 2000.
And as you’ve likely heard all week, Rodgers’ outstanding play is what makes the Packers the Vegas favorite to win the Super Bowl. It’s easy to get fixated on Rodgers’ outstanding game and conclude that he’s just as likely to carve up the Bears, but looking at recent playoff history tells a different story.
In looking back over the past 10 years, 13 quarterbacks have posted a 130-plus quarterback rating with 20 or more attempts in a playoff game. The names are just as illustrious as you would expect: Peyton Manning (three times), Kurt Warner (twice), Tom Brady (twice) and Brett Favre (twice) are the only quarterbacks to post more than one 130-plus playoff game over the past decade.
As you would expect, those teams were 13-0 in those games — it’s hard to lose if your quarterback is nearly flawless. But the hot hand didn’t usually carry over until the next week. Those same quarterbacks went 3-9 the following week. And in many cases, it was their poor play that was at least in part to blame.
Tom Brady’s Foot Injury Only Adds to His 2010 Season Mystique
Filed under: Patriots, AFC East
Very few people have questioned the toughness of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, but he took that reputation to another level at the end of the 2010 season and into the playoffs after it was revealed that he was playing on a severely injured right foot.
Brady confirmed to the Boston media on Thursday that he had undergone a surgical procedure to repair a stress fracture, one that required a screw to be inserted into the navicular bone of his right arch. What he didn’t reveal was how long he played through the pain, and a medical expert told Tim Graham of ESPN.com just how difficult that had to be after getting all the details of the injury and the surgery.
“The concern with a stress fracture in that navicular bone is a lot of stress with weight transfer,” Stephania Bell said. “That’s Brady’s plant foot, so it really does make his season that much more impressive. Every time he has to plant and throw, you’re transferring weight through that foot, transferring weight through a fracture. There’s no doubt he was playing through pain. Yet he still was remarkably effective.”
