Happy weekend folks. My parents and I went to 5:30pm Mass tonight and then went out to dinner to a local place in Northvale, Bradys Fox Hunt Inn. Some news out of Pittsburgh tonight as long time defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has stepped down from his position. The following information is from an article from Yahoo Sports: The Pittsburgh Steelers have decided to part ways with defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, which was first reported in the Urbana Daily Citizen. “I’m resigning this position, not retiring,” LeBeau said. “I had a great run in Pittsburgh. I’m grateful for all the things that have happened to me and thankful for all the support I had in Pittsburgh.” A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player, LeBeau is regarded as one of the finest defensive minds in league history. He has served as the Steelers defensive coordinator since 2004, through two head coaches — Bill Cowher and current head coach Mike Tomlin. “It was a lot of fun,” he said. LeBeau, 77, has coached in the NFL since 1973. He won two Super Bowls with the Steelers as an assistant and was head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals for three seasons from 2000 to 2002. Hes considered the architect of the zone blitz, which is a staple in NFL defenses. Even though the Steelers have not had great defenses in recent years, this is nonetheless a stunning move. LeBeau is almost universally beloved and respected by his players, earning the nickname of Coach Dad. The Steelers went 11-5 this season and won the AFC North, but questions about LeBeau’s future with the team started to crop up. He decided to take matters into his own hands “It’s just time to make a break,” he said. It will be interesting to see what direction the Steelers go to replace LeBeau. Tomlin was immersed in the NFL in his years as an assistant coaching a Tampa-2 style of defense and could opt to shift more in that direction. NFL Divisional Playoffs are officially underway and the New England Patriots are moving on to the AFC Championship Game for 4th consecutive season with a thrilling 35-31 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Patriots become the first time ever in playoff history to rally from not one, but two 14 point deficits in the same game and win the game. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick earns his 20th career postseason victory, joining the legendary Cowboys coach Tom Landry for the most playoff wins as a coach all time. Here is a little more insight on the game from an article from Yahoo Sports: The Baltimore Ravens were brilliant on fourth downs, but the New England Patriots won the fourth quarter. In a classic game, the Ravens and Patriots traded shots all day, but in the end it was the AFC’s top-seeded Patriots who survived a pair of 14-point Ravens leads — the first team in postseason history to do so — to win 35-31. Playoff hero Joe Flacco was on fire early but was intercepted twice. He finished the game 28-of-45 passing for 292 yards and four touchdowns. Tom Brady overcame a slow start to complete 33 of 50 passes for 367 yards with three touchdowns (plus a rushing score) and an interception. But he had plenty of help, including from Julian Edelman, who threw his first career touchdown pass on a trick play. The Patriots will host the AFC championship game next week in Foxboro against the winner of the Indianapolis Colts-Denver Broncos game on Sunday. The Ravens wasted little time getting going. The Patriots sat back in zone early and were shredded by Flacco, who hit on his first eight passes (to six different receivers) and 9 of 10 with two touchdown passes. On the first surgical drive, Flacco found Kamar Aiken for a 19-yard catch and run for a fast 7-0 lead. Then, after a Patriots three-and-out, Ravens receiver Steve Smith — a longtime playoff assassin — caught three passes for 44 yards combined on the first two drives, including a 9-yard touchdown to give the Ravens a 14-0 lead. The Patriots responded quickly. Brady went to work with three big passes — two to Rob Gronkowski for first downs, and one to Julian Edelman to put the ball at the Baltimore 1. After a first-and-goal loss of 4 yards and a drop by Edelman, Brady scrambled into the end zone to cut the Ravens’ lead in half. Things got chippy after that, serving as a reminder that these two teams aren’t exactly on the friendliest terms. Ravens receiver Torrey Smith was flagged for an after-the-play unsportsmanlike conduct flag, and then Patriots special teamer Chris White followed that with an equally boneheaded taunting call a few plays later. The Patriots chipped away with short, rhythm passes on their next drive, surviving shaky blocking up front and the loss of center Bryan Stork with a knee injury. During the drive, Brady set a new NFL record for career postseason pass yards, and he capped it off with a TD pass to Danny Amendola, who made Ravens safety Matt Elam miss a tackle en route to the end zone. With the game tied, the Ravens lost momentum. On a curious 3rd-and-1 call, the Ravens were stopped short of a first down when they forwent a handoff to Justin Forsett, who had rushed 10 times for 78 yards to that point, for an end around to rookie wide receiver Michael Campanaro, who was cut down for no gain. Brady got the ball back and had a chance to do what he has done so well most of the season: lead a two-minute scoring drive. But after connecting on a few passes, Brady threw a bad interception — his eighth in four playoff games against the Ravens — to Ravens linebacker Daryl Smith. Then Patriots corner Darrelle Revis was flagged for a huge pass interference — the first against him all season — while covering Steve Smith, who got the better of Revis on this day, setting up the Ravens in business with the 20-yard call. Flacco got hot again, finally connecting with Owen Daniels for a back-shoulder pass to the seam in the back of the end zone for a brilliant score and a 21-14 Ravens lead with 10 seconds remaining in the half. The Patriots took a knee, leaving the field to boos at the half. They got the ball first to start the second half but were stopped; a missed pass-interference call against Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley, who clearly grabbed Gronkowski early, didn’t help matters. The Ravens went to work quickly. Michael Campanaro caught a 14-yard pass, helped by a huge Steve Smith block on Patriots corner Kyle Arrington. Then the Ravens — after a wasted timeout — went for it on 4th and 6 from the New England 36. It turned out to be a great call. Torrey Smith caught a fade pass on the 1-yard line, despite being interfered with by Brandon Browner. Smith’s 15-yard taunting penalty moved the ball back from the doorstep of the end zone, but a swing pass to a wide-open Justin Forsett — Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins was the guilty defender — allowed him to walk into the end zone, stunning the Gillette Stadium crowd with the score 28-14 Ravens. With the Patriots’ offensive line looking vulnerable, the Patriots went into a quick passing game and essentially using four offensive linemen and tight end Michael Hoomanawanui on the line with success. John Harbaugh ran on the field to protest a catch by Hoomanawanui in the red zone because he had lined up at left tackle. But what Harbaugh — who was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for his protest — didn’t realize was that Shane Vereen lined up on the line but declared himself ineligible. Brilliant coaching here from Bill Belichick. A nine-play drive — all throws — ended in Gronkowski barreling in for a 5-yard score and the Ravens’ lead cut to 28-21. Gronkowski would finish with seven catches for 108 yards — his second career postseason 100-yard game. After a Ravens three-and-out, Edelman unleashed his first career NFL pass — a 51-yard score and a stunning play that would tie the game. Flacco then was picked off by Patriots safety Devin McCourty three plays later, ending his interception-less streak at 197 passes — the second-longest in NFL history behind Drew Brees’ 226. The Patriots couldn’t capitalize on the momentum, however. They went three-and-out on the ensuing possession but appeared to make another game-changing play on defense, as Flacco took a coverage sack and fumbled backward, which was recovered by Jamie Collins at the Baltimore 4-yard line. That stunning play, however, was wiped out because Revis again was penalized against Steve Smith — for defensive holding, which was a backbreaking call but a good one. The Ravens took advantage, engineering a systematic, 16-play drive covering 73 yards and ending in a Justin Tucker 25-yard field goal and a 31-28 edge early in the fourth quarter. The Patriots were not done. They survived a Shane Vereen fumble (which was overturned properly on replay), used a Brady sneak to convert a first down (their first run of the second half after more than 20 straight pass plays) and converted a huge third down when Amendola reached past the sticks on a catch and run. The drive ended when Brady threw a gorgeous fade pass to Brandon LaFell from 23 yards out — the Patriots’ first lead of the game — with 5:13 remaining in the game. With that pass, Brady passed his boyhood idol Joe Montana for the all-time lead with 46 postseason touchdown passes. That put the game in the hands of the Patriots’ defense, which — despite a few big plays — had come up mostly small to this point. Flacco faced a 4th and 3 with 2:14 left, and after a timeout to get the play call in order, he hit Daniels on a thread for 17 massive yards. In a game in which the Ravens were a mere 1-for-9 on third down, they were a miraculous 3-for-3 on fourth downs. But just when it looked like Flacco and the Ravens might sink the Patriots, he was intercepted on a deep shot into the end zone when it looked like Torrey Smith gave up on a ball that ended up in the hands of Patriots safety Duron Harmon. After the Ravens stopped the clock and got the ball back one more time, their final gasp — a Flacco heave into the end zone — fell incomplete as Steve Smith couldn’t come up with the game-ending pass. Game Scoring: 1st Quarter Scoring: 12:18- Joe Flacco 19 yard touchdown pass to Kamar Aiken- Ravens 7 Patriots 0 4:44- Joe Flacco 9 yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith Sr.- Ravens 14 Patriots 0 0:48- Tom Brady 4 yard touchdown run- Ravens 14 Patriots 7 2nd Quarter Scoring: 3:37- Tom Brady 15 yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola- Ravens 14 Patriots 14 0:10- Joe Flacco 11 yard touchdown pass to Owen Daniels- Ravens 21 Patriots 14 3rd Quarter Scoring: 10:22- Joe Flacco 16 yard touchdown pass to Justin Forsett- Ravens 28 Patriots 14 6:48- Tom Brady 5 yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski- Ravens 28 Patriots 21 This stat is not a typo, this is a first for a Patriots wide receiver. 4:20- Julian Edelman 51 yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola- Ravens 28 Patriots 28 4th Quarter Scoring: 10:17- Justin Tucker 25 yard field goal- Ravens 31 Patriots 28 5:13- Tom Brady 23 yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell- Patriots 35 Ravens 31 With 1:39 left in the game, Ravens faced 2nd down and 5 from the Patriots 36 yard line. Patriots defense would make a game changing play. Duron Harmon intercepted Joe Flacco in the end zone to turn the Ravens away. With 0:04 left in the game Ravens had one last chance from their own 48 yard line. Joe Flacco throws a Hail Mary pass into the end zone and it falls incomplete. Patriots erase 3 separate deficits in the game to comeback and win a thriller 35-31 over the Ravens. We now know that the Winner of the Colts at Broncos game tomorrow will travel to Foxboro Massachusetts to face the Patriots in New England in AFC Championship game next weekend. NFC Divisional: Seattle Seahawks 14 Carolina Panthers 7- 4:54 2nd Quarter 1st Quarter Scoring: With 6:59 left in the quarter, Seahawks defense makes a big play. Panthers faced 3rd down and 4 from their own 19 yard line. Richard Sherman intercepted Cam Newton. With 2:22 left in the quarter, Panthers made another mistake Panthers faced 2nd down and 10 from their own 31 yard line. Cam Newton rushed up the middle for no gain, Cam Newton fumbled, Tony McDaniel recovered fumble for Seahawks. 0:56- Russell Wilson 16 yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin- Seahawks 7 Panthers 0 2nd Quarter Scoring: 7:44- Cam Newton 7 yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin- Panthers 7 Seahawks 7 4:54- Cam Newton 63 yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse- Seahawks 14 Panthers 7 Sunday Divisional Playoff Games: NFC Divisional: (3)Dallas Cowboys 12-4, 1-0 playoffs at (2)Green Bay Packers 12-4 1:05pm FOX AFC Divisional: (4)Indianapolis Colts 11-5, 1-0 playoffs at (2)Denver Broncos 12-4 4:40pm CBS Things are getting real fun and interesting now in the NFL.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 02:17:06 +0000
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