NFL Divisional Playoffs Saturday Live Blog

It's TebowTime!  Though before we can get to TebowTime, we can watch a much more intriguing football game between the Saints and the 49ers!  If you are looking to kill time until the games start, I wrote 1,600 words on the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles season.  I don't post frequently anymore, but when I do, I make them count.  I am the most interesting blogger in the world.  Or something.

New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers  4:30 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)

Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots  8:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker)

NFL Divisional Playoffs Schedule

And you thought Tebow-mania was bad last week?  Now just wait for the hype as this weekend, and then imagine what it will be if the Broncos somehow win.  Likely the biggest blowout of the weekend aside, there are three other interesting games this weekend, including the great offense of the Saints versus the great defense of the 49ers.  This should be a fun weekend of football and live-blogging.

Saturday, January 14

#3 New Orleans Saints vs. #2 San Francisco 49ers  4:30 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
#4 Denver Broncos vs. #1 New England Patriots  8:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker)

Sunday, January 15

#3 Houston Texans vs. #2 Baltimore Ravens  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
#4 New York Giants vs. #1 Green Bay Packers  4:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)

NFL Wild Card Saturday Live Blog

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans  4:30 (NBC - Tom Hammond and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints  8:00 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG!

NFL Wild Card Weekend Schedule

The NFL Playoffs are back, and I guess it will be more relaxing because the Eagles are not playing.  Also, more depressing.  Anyway, here is the schedule with announcers.  No surprises, but I post this anyway because I like having this handy resource available.

Saturday, January 7

# 6 Cincinnati Bengals vs. #3 Houston Texans  4:30 (NBC - Tom Hammond and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)
# 6 Detroit Lions vs. #3 New Orleans Saints  8:00 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Sunday, January 8

#5 Atlanta Falcons vs. #4 New York Giants  1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)
#5 Pittsburgh Steelers vs. #4 Denver Broncos  4:30 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)

NFL Opening Night Live Blog

Football is back!  Now all I need is for my electricity to stay on and we will be all set for a fun night as I reap the benefits of living on high ground while those below me not even a mile away are being forced to evacuate their homes due near record flooding of the Susquehanna River.  Enjoy the game, but spare the people of Central Pennsylvania a few thoughts tonight.

2011 NFL Playoffs Wild Card Saturday Live Blog

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG!

Read This Post If You Want A Headache!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the scenarios for the Eagles to earn home field advantage throughout the playoffs!

Q: Can the Eagles still earn the top seed in the NFC?

A: Yes, but it's a longshot. There are two scenarios. The first one requires four things to happen:

1. Eagles beat Vikings and Cowboys.
2. Saints lose to Bucs in Week 17.
3. Falcons lose to Panthers in Week 17.
4. Bears lose to Packers in Week 17.

In this scenario, the Eagles and Falcons both finish at 12-4, and the Eagles get the tiebreak since they beat Atlanta earlier this season.

The second scenario plays out if the Bears beat the Packers and create a three-way tie of 12-4 teams (Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia). If that happens, the Eagles would FIRST need three things to happen:

1. Eagles beat Vikings and Cowboys.
2. Saints lose to Bucs in Week 17.
3. Falcons lose to Panthers in Week 17.

However, even if those three things happen, the Eagles ARE NOT guaranteed the top spot.

The head-to-head tiebreak would be irrelevant because the Falcons and Bears didn't play each other. Conference win-loss percentage is the next step, but all three teams would be 9-3 against the NFC.

Next up would be win-loss percentage in common games, but there needs to be a minimum of four common games between the three teams, which there are not.

And so it would come down to strength of victory - a tiebreak that cannot yet be determined because Week 17 has to play out. In other words, you'd take the combined win-loss records of the teams that the Eagles, Bears and Falcons each beat this season. The team with lowest opponents' win-percentage gets bounced, and the other two teams run through the set of tiebreakers again.

[...]

Basically, you want to root for teams the Eagles have beaten this season to win in Week 17. And you want to root for teams the Bears and Falcons have beaten this season to lose in Week 17.

[...]

It's important to note here that if the Saints, Falcons, Eagles and Bears all finish 12-4, the Saints get the one-seed, the Bears get the two-seed, the Eagles get the three-seed and the Falcons get the fifth-seed (as the top wild card).

I don't feel so good.

Now to the simple scenarios that my feeble human mind can wrap it's head around. There is but one scenario for the Eagles to get the #2 seed. Eagles beat Minnesota and Dallas, and Green Bay beats Chicago in Week 17. If none of these scenarios happen and the Eagles do not get a bye, they will be a #3 seed where they will face either Green Bay, New York Giants, or Tampa Bay. Want another headache? Here are the Green Bay, New York, and Tampa Bay scenarios!

Green Bay clinches a playoff spot:
1) GB win
2) GB tie + NYG loss or tie + TB loss or tie
3) NYG loss + TB loss

NY Giants clinch a playoff spot:
1) NYG win + GB loss or tie
2) NYG tie + GB loss + TB loss or tie

Tampa Bay clinches a playoff spot:
1) TB win + NYG loss or tie + GB loss or tie
2) TB tie + NYG loss + GB loss

Want to avoid these feelings of nausea, headaches, and weakness? Support a 2010 AFC team.

Eagles Sure Up Their Backfield, Sign Free Agent Running Back Mike Bell

I may have something up tonight or tomorrow on what was nothing more of an abortion of a hockey game today, but I will start out my next pair of posts on a more positive note with the Eagles. The Saints had their week to match the deal the Eagles were giving Mike Bell and they have decided not to match it. Thus, the Eagles now have that veteran running back they needed behind LeSean McCoy and perhaps a 3rd back to make for a McCoy-Weaver-Bell 3-headed monster coming out of the backfield. That is, assuming that Andy Reid decided to actually run the ball.

It's a 1-year offer for Bell and while I see some potential problems for him if the Eagles do not improve their offensive line, I think this is a good move for them. Bell averaged 3.8 yards per carry last season with one of the best offensive lines in the league. I am a tad worried about what he will do with an offensive line in Philly that is nowhere near as good as the one he had in New Orleans. I know it may seem contradictory, but the Eagles needed a veteran running back and he is probably one of the top remaining backs that fit that category. Besides, I can now breath easy knowing that LaDainian Tomlinson won't be coming here.

That's all I have on this, as frankly, the NHL has me too pissed off right now. I'll have something up on that soon.

The Best Picture In The History Of The Super Bowl

Seriously. It does not get any better than a pic of 2 guys bumping dong with a guy named Gay in the background. It just doesn't. And for the second year in a row, porn has invaded the Super Bowl (at least for the folks in Arizona). Porn at the Super Bowl FTW!

(Hat to tip to Meech on Twitter who hat-tipped UniWatch on Twitter)

Super Bowl XLIV With Screaming Local Radio Announcers

Enjoy as Bob Lamey (Colts) and Jim Henderson (Saints) scream their lungs out as they watch and call the big plays for their respective teams.

The Saints Win The Super Bowl! WHO DAT!

Wow! What a game! An instant classic in Miami has given the New Orleans Saints their first Super Bowl in team history.

Take nothing away from Peyton Manning, he played a solid game, but tonight, solid was not enough for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints defense who were spectacular and out of this world. The first half definitely favored the Colts. The Saints started slow and the Colts started fast. In their first 2 drives, the Saints could only get 1 first down while the Colts got a field goal and a touchdown. It looked like it would be ugly.

But it wasn't. The Saints were able to go down the field and kick a field goal, bringing them to within 7. The Colts got the ball and back and on a key 3rd down play. Manning threw a perfect ball over the middle to a wide open Garcon. After Garcon dropped that pass, it was all Saints. From that point on, they outscored the
Colts 28-7.

But if that was the moment that stopped the Saints momentum, there would be another play that would really get the Saints believing they can win the game. That moment was the start of the 2nd half when, down 10-6, they did the unthinkable. An onsides kick.



Off the hands of Hank Baskett and recovered by the Saints! I can't help but feel bad for Kendra. Poor smokin' hot babe married a useless receiver. Hank was useless with the Eagles, and he was harmful to the Colts.

The Saints would go on to score a TD on that drive but the Colts would get the ball back and retaliate with a TD of their own, giving them a 17-13 lead.

The Saints got a FG on their next drive, got the ball back and scored what would turn out to be the game-winning TD.



The Saints would go for 2.



But it was not over. Peyton Manning had plenty of time to drive down the field and get a game-tying touchdown. Only Tracy Porter, the man who picked off Favre late in the 4th quarter of the NFC title game, would strike again. Here is the shocking clinching moment of Super Bowl XLIV.



Peyton Manning decided to make it interesting one last time, though. He drove his team inside the 10. On 3rd and goal, they ran a questionable draw that lost a couple of yards, leaving the Colts with 4th and goal from the Saints 5. A TD would force an onside kick to extend the game. A stop would ensure victory for the Saints and no worries about the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. Here is the 2nd shocking play that clinched the Super Bowl for good and sent the few parts of the city that were not into mass hysteria after the Porter INT, into mass hysteria.



Great call by Nantz and congrats to the Saints on winning the Super Bowl!

The goat, if you are going to name one, is Jim Caldwell. With 4th and 11 at the Saints 34 yard line up by 1, he had a choice to make. He could have chanced 42-year old Matt Stover kicking a 51-yarder field goal in the biggest pressure situation of his life, gone for it (including a possible fake) and if you fail, it saves the additional 7 yards of the missed field goal, or he could have just punted it. Caldwell went with the least wise option and trotted out Stover. He predictably missed. Then, with the Colts driving on their last ditch attempt down by 2 TDs, on 3rd and goal from the 3, he inexplicably calls a draw. Why not throw it with one of the greatest QBs of all time? Instead, he gave it to an awful running back who was having a good game. But Addai was true to his usual form in that situation and lost 2 yards. 4th and goal followed and that was instantly followed by the Saints taking 2 knees to celebrate their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

I'll have the NFL highlight package video with local radio announcers up later tonight or tomorrow.

Congrats to the Saints on winning an instant classic of a Super Bowl and congrats to Jahri Evans for being the first Bloomsburg University student to win a Super Bowl ring!

Super Bowl XLIV Live Blog

is over at Keith's Sports Journal. Don't be a troll!

JFein's Final Super Bowl Prediction

After 2 weeks of Archie Manning, the city of New Orleans, Dwight Freeney's "injury", and other fun stories, it is coming to that time to make any and all final predictions.

So here it is.

Frankly, this game proves a really interesting match-up and I am not sure how it is going to go. The Saints are a completely different team than the Jets, but at the same time, I can sort of see this game going the same way as that game did.

The Colts are mechanical on offense. They can do it against any defense any time. The Saints are explosive on offense. They can do it against any defense any time.

So who has the advantage? The answer will likely come down to which defense steps up and makes the most big plays. The Colts may or may not be with Dwight Freeney and honestly, I see that playing a huge factor. If Freeney is in the game, the Colts will have a lot easier time getting pressure on Drew Brees and forcing him into throws he does not want to make. Even if they are not knocking him around, Drew Brees did not have a great game when facing a tough Minnesota D-Line. It certainly was not the Vikings' secondary stifling Brees as they are an average secondary at best. If the Colts can get pressure on Brees, they will own a huge advantage in this game.

On the other side it is the Saints defense and their knack for forcing turnovers. What is lost about the Vikings 5 turnovers against the Saints is that the Saints were causing those by punching the ball out and being in the right place at the right time to pick off bad passes by a QB. And let's not forget that the Saints were able to cause 3 other fumbles that the Vikings got back on top of. This team is good at forcing turnovers, but the question becomes can the Saints force Peyton Manning into mistakes? If they can pick Manning off and force Addai to fumble the ball, the Saints will own a huge advantage in this game.

Before we get to my final prediction in this game, I'd like to report that Super Bowl XLIV has already had its first wardrobe malfunction. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Merril Hoge in a thong at a celebrity beach volleyball tournament!

Scorched into my retina forever.

And now, moving on back to my final prediction. It will be close through 3, but in the end, I just don't see Peyton Manning losing a Super Bowl. Colts 30-20

A Look At The Super Bowl Today

With all of the hype around the Super Bowl, it always demands a huge pre-game show with lots of coverage and tossing around the same stories and storylines over and over and over again. Well, this year, CBS is making sure to be no different. If you are like me and spend every waking moment of Super Bowl Sunday watching their Super Bowl coverage, this is what you will be in for. They've got stories on New Orleans, an interview with the President, Drew Brees' philanthropy, the required Peyton Manning interview, Daughtry performing, and a whole lot more. How much else more? Here is their full press release on the show.

CBS Sports' coverage of Super Bowl XLIV continues with THE SUPER BOWL TODAY, the Network’s pre-game studio show (2-6 p.m., ET) with host James Brown along with analysts Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher, as well as NFL TODAY “General Manager” Charley Casserly, reporters Lesley Visser, Sam Ryan, Steve Tasker, Solomon Wilcots and contributor Dick Enberg.

Katie Couric, anchor of THE CBS EVENING NEWS, serves as a special contributor and will also provide a special live interview with President of the United States Barack Obama during the pre-game show.

Sean McManus is President, CBS News and Sports and serves as executive producer for the Network’s coverage of the NFL and Super Bowl XLIV. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

Eric Mann is senior producer and Bob Matina is director of THE SUPER BOWL TODAY.

* * * * *

Following are the scheduled features on THE SUPER BOWL TODAY (subject to change):

♦James Brown, Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher welcome viewers with some pre-game analysis and highlights from the NFL Tailgate party set, while Lesley Visser and Sam Ryan report on each team.

♦THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS: James Brown; Producer – Joseph E. Zappulla
James Brown takes a look at New Orleans four-and-a-half years after one of the nation's worst natural catastrophes, Hurricane Katrina, devastated the town. Brown looks at how the rise of the beloved Saints has once again given the city of Jazz and Blues hope and a premier spot on the front page of the nation's conscience. The feature also will examine the unique bond between the city's residents and the never-say-die football team with interviews of Saints Head Coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees, running back Reggie Bush, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, several prominent citizens/advocates of the city, long-time New Orleans area residents (and current Colts) Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne, plus inhabitants of the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the areas hardest hit by the deadly storm.

♦PLAXICO BURRESS: Bill Cowher; Producer – Charlie Bloom
Plaxico Burress sits down for his first interview since being sent to jail in September of 2009. Bill Cowher, his former coach, visits with Burress inside the Oneida Correctional Facility in upstate New York. It was exactly two years ago when Plaxico Burress made the game-winning catch in Super Bowl XLII. On November 28, 2008, Plaxico’s world turned upside down when he accidentally shot himself at a night club in New York. On August 20, 2009, Burress accepted a plea deal that would put him in prison for two years with an additional two years of supervised release. Burress talks openly about his emotions in prison. He talks with Cowher about his daily life, about seeing and holding his newborn daughter for the first time just weeks ago and if his future plans will include a return to the NFL?

♦DREW BREES: Katie Couric; Producer – Charlie Bloom
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees signed as a free agent with the Saints four years ago. Since then, he has led New Orleans to two NFC Championship Game appearances and now the first Super Bowl in franchise history. Brees also has had a major impact in the community. CBS News’ Katie Couric takes a journey with Drew and his wife Brittany through the streets of New Orleans and looks at how these two philanthropists are giving the city much more to cheer about beyond the football field. The couple explains how this city was meant to be their home and why they feel obligated to help New Orleans at the grass-roots level.

♦REGGIE BUSH: Shannon Sharpe; Producer – Deb Gelman
Reggie Bush was the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner and the second overall pick in the 2006 Draft. While his numbers have been up and down, as he’s battled injuries throughout his career, it has been his performance in this year’s postseason that may finally prove his critics and doubters wrong. Shannon Sharpe visits with Bush and finds that he has been very active in the New Orleans community including visiting St. Jude Children's Hospital where he be-friended a 5-year-old leukemia patient who has become an inspiration in his life.

♦NEW ORLEANS DEFENSE: Lesley Visser; Producer – Deb Gelman
First it was Kurt Warner. Then it was Brett Favre. Now it’s Peyton Manning. The Super Bowl will be the third straight game that the New Orleans defense will be going up against a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Lesley Visser sits down with Darren Sharper, Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith as they prepare to face the Colts high octane offense. Amidst their interesting revelations, they will break down what they must do to achieve winning the Super Bowl.

♦PEYTON MANNING: Dan Marino; Producer – Jeff St. Arromand
Since entering the NFL in 1998, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has never missed a start, won one Super Bowl, and a record four MVPs. Dan Marino visits with him and talks about Manning’s first Super Bowl win three years ago in Miami, the Colts’ decision not to go for a perfect season, and facing the team that his father Archie played for, the New Orleans Saints. Manning also reflects on his hometown of New Orleans.

♦DWIGHT FREENEY AND ROBERT MATHIS: Boomer Esiason; Producer – Jeff St. Arromand
Colts Pro Bowl Defensive Ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are a quarterback’s worst nightmare. With a combined 147 sacks, Freeney (84) and Mathis (63) are the top two sack leaders in Colts history and have combined for 23 sacks this season. Boomer Esiason sits down with Freeney and Mathis as they get ready to take on Drew Brees and the Saints. Will Freeney be ready to play despite an ankle injury?

♦INDIANAPOLIS RECEIVING CORPS: Sam Ryan; Producer – Mark Burghart
Peyton Manning has enjoyed his best statistical season since 2004. The reason: veterans Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, plus the emergence of Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon. During the season, Clark and Wayne each had 100 receptions and Collie and Garcon emerged as key receivers in the offense. All four have been instrumental in the Colts successful season and their run to capture their second Super Bowl title in four years. Sam Ryan visits with the Colts’ receiving corps and discusses the role Peyton Manning has played in the quartet’s success.

♦WYNTON MARSALIS: Producer -- Sarah Rinaldi
Jazz impresario Wynton Marsalis pays a special tribute with music and words to his beloved city of New Orleans. Marsalis, a life-long Saints fan, gathered several jazz musicians and captures the spirit of New Orleans and the true meaning of the Saints to the city.

In addition, live elements of THE SUPER BOWL TODAY will include an interview by CBS News Anchor of THE CBS EVENING NEWS, Katie Couric, with President of the United States Barack Obama.

Live musical performances throughout the day during THE SUPER BOWL TODAY will include Grammy Award-winning recording artist Steve Winwood, as well as Grammy Award-nominated group Daughtry. The Food Network’s Guy Fieri also will prepare the “perfect tailgate food.

Frankly, it does not seem like they are dong anything that original. They are going to shove the big stories down our throat, spend way too much time talking about "the perfect tailgate party" (of which this will be the umpteenth different one), have a band perform, run pieces on the big name players in the game, and the network news anchor is interviewing the President.

But what looks meh on paper can be quite good if executed properly. NBC was (miraculously) able to hold its own last year and CBS will have a difficult task given nothing on paper looks enthralling, but I'll be watching....and I'll be commenting on it.

What Exactly Will The Super Bowl Do For The City Of New Orleans?

Aside from Archie Bowl, without a doubt the biggest story of this Super Bowl is the city of New Orleans and the fact that it has been four and a half years since Hurricane Katrina left that city in ruins. The Saints are representing a city that has been devastated and they have a chance to help the city heal and to further aid in re-building it.

Wait.........WHAT?

Help re-build it? Let's get realistic about this Super Bowl is and is not for the city of New Orleans.

Will a win put a smile on Saints fans and the people of New Orleans? Yes. Will it give them something to be proud of? Yes. Will it give them a reason to party for a few nights? Yes.

Will it solve the real problems this city currently faces? No.

Will it remove the corrupt politicians that need to be removed? No.

Will it rebuild the houses that need to be rebuilt? No.

Will it put people back in homes they have not seen in four and a half years? No.

Will all of New Orleans' problems be gone with this Super Bowl win? No.

If you paid attention to some of the media for the past week-and-a-half, you would think that if the Saints win New Orleans will finally get it's fairy tale end that it has so long deserved after Hurricane Katrina. No! No it won't be. This would not be the ending, it would just be a meager footnote in a story that started on August 23, 2005 when Katrina first formed over the Bahamas.

Win or lose on Sunday night, the city of New Orleans won't be in any better a condition than it will be. Drew Brees raising a Super Bowl trophy is not going to construct a house. It's not going to re-unite people with their loved one dead from the storm. It's not going to give them their lives back. It's not going to change any of that. It's just going to put a smile on their face and give them the false belief that everything in their city will be all right when in reality, money will go to funding a parade instead of fixing real problems.

A Saints win would make the people in New Orleans and Saints fans perhaps the happiest they have been in 4 and a half years, but give me a break! Let's call a football game a cotdamn football game and not something larger than life that can magically repair the infrastructure of a city so corrupt and so much in need and so devastated that 4-and-a-half years after a hurricane destroyed the city there is still no end in sight.

A Closer Look: Jahri Evans

I talked about this ad nauseum during the live blog last night and even mentioned it in my after-game post, but the Pro Bowl offensive lineman is the 1st person out of the college that I go to, Bloomsburg University, to go to the Super Bowl.

The Pro Bowl right guard has been fantastic for the Saints, and while I was mistaken in that he was a multi-time Pro Bowler (this year was his first time voted, although I could have sworn he got in last year, but whatever), the Saints uncovered a gem in this 4th round draft pick. And because I get such the proverbial hard-on for local products that end up successful on the big stage, I figured I would share this story with you by Jeff McLane about Evans in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer.

Growing up in North Philadelphia, the New Orleans Saints guard had "four moms" - his mother, Katreen Hopkins, and his three older sisters, Carmela, Geana, and Cheryl. They are the reason he is playing in tonight's NFC championship game against Minnesota, the 26-year-old Evans said.

"My mother was strict, but not overly strict," said Jahri (pronounced Jah-ree). "Because having three older sisters was kind of like having four moms at the same time. They were a lot older than me. My younger sister is 20 years older.

"But they were very influential on my life. Growing up in the neighborhood, it was kind of hard with only women around you. But I think, looking back, that it helped me out a lot."

Evans, who is now 6-foot-4 and 318 pounds, grew up in Nicetown and went to Frankford High School. The sense of purpose developed at home served him well. He will start his 68th consecutive game tonight and was named to his first Pro Bowl. The journey, however, has been anything but smooth.

Forget for a second that he was raised in a neighborhood that even its residents would have difficulty describing as "nice."

"It was pretty rough," said Evans, who relocated his mother to Glenside after his second season in the pros. "Growing up there, you're used to it. It's your environment. But at a certain point in time you've got to go, 'I'm going this way even though my friends are going that way.' "

There were other roadblocks.

The summer before his senior year at Frankford, Evans broke a kneecap in two places in a pickup basketball game, wiping out his final scholastic season. Whatever nibbles he had drawn from Division I programs disappeared.

He ended up at Division II Bloomsburg. The Huskies weren't exactly known for producing NFL talent, but off he went. Then, after a redshirt freshman year, Evans suffered a broken ankle during his sophomore season.

Still, he kept his eyes on the prize.

"I never looked at it as if, 'I don't have a chance,' " Evans said Friday. "Even playing at Division II, even going through the injuries, there was never a moment where I thought, 'Man, I don't think I'm going to make it.'

"I knew that if there was going to be that chance, I didn't want it to slip past. I didn't want it to be my fault for not making it."

Starts at home

How does a player make the jump from low-level college football to the pros? It doesn't happen often.

"I would have said you were dreaming," said Tom Mullineaux, Evans' coach at Frankford. "But he always did well in high school and he always had that stick-to-itiveness that not many people have. He's just that type of person."

Evans credits his family. That upbringing helped most, perhaps, after his knee injury. He was always a good student, but with football on the shelf he delved into the books - with some prodding.

"His mother pushed him," Mullineaux said. "I just remember her being one of the more involved parents. I don't think she took a lot of nonsense. There were never any teachers in school that ever had a problem with Jahri, and that's not the way it always is, unfortunately."

Still, Mullineaux could see how much Evans wanted to play his senior season. He attended every practice and game.

"You could see something," Mullineaux said. "You just wanted to get this kid into college, maybe play some football, and graduate, and get a job. You wanted him to be a productive person in society."

Bloomsburg was recruiting other players when Mullineaux brought up Evans. There were no athletic scholarships left, but Evans' grades and SAT score earned him an academic free ride.

After the ankle injury and slow start, Evans eventually became the best lineman at his level. Following his junior and senior seasons, he was a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award, given to the Division II offensive or defensive lineman of the year. The pros were a possibility, but a team had to be willing to take a chance.

On the bayou

Evans was among a handful of Division II players invited to the NFL's scouting combine in Indianapolis before the 2006 draft. He worked out for several teams, including the Eagles.

In the fourth round, the Eagles wanted a certain guard, but it wasn't the Philly native. So they swapped picks with the Saints, threw in defensive tackle Hollis Thomas, and moved up and took Max Jean-Gilles with the 99th selection. Nine picks later, New Orleans grabbed a project in Evans.

"A whole bunch of GMs are kicking themselves now," Saints fullback Heath Evans said.

Jahri Evans started his first game as a rookie. It wasn't supposed to be that way. He was supposed to bide his time behind Jermane Mayberry, the former Eagles Pro Bowler who had left Philadelphia two years earlier. But Mayberry, a Division II standout at Texas A&I, hurt his shoulder in training camp and soon retired.

"He helped me out a lot," Evans said. "He told me when I got the job, 'Hey, man, don't let nobody take this spot from you. It's yours now.' "

If his rookie season was occasionally rocky, Evans was much more consistent the following season. By his third season, those around the team thought that he had played at an all-pro level, although the recognition wasn't there.

"Call it arrogant, call it whatever, but guys say, 'OK, this is a D-II guy, why was he there?' " Heath Evans said.

But you can ignore the obvious for only so long. This season, the Saints had the NFL's top-ranked offense. Quarterback Drew Brees was sacked just 20 times, and New Orleans' three-pronged ground game counterbalanced an explosive passing attack.

"It may be a year later than he deserves to go to the Pro Bowl," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "A lot of times a player will get that on the back end. He'll play in that game a year longer than he should."

Evans said he used the slight as motivation. But when hasn't he had something to spur him on?

"I've had some adversity and some ups and downs, but I fought through it," Evans said. "I knew that if I kept a positive mind-set and just kept going, that, hopefully, things would work out. . . . And they have."

Really? The Eagles passed on Jahri Evans to draft Max Jean-Gilles? Are you shitting me? So this is what hell is like I guess......but I digress.....to show you the kind of impact he had on the game, here is Jahri Evans making Benny Sapp shit his pants on the key block that sprung Reggie Bush for the Saints first touchdown (the replay does not show it so as you watch it live, pay attention to Evans, who is #73 and starts out in his usual spot at right guard).



Best of luck in the Super Bowl, Jahri! Make Bloomsburg proud!

Your 2010 NFC Championship In Funny Announcing Calls

Because what good is a close OT title game if you don't get to hear all of the funny moments from the TV and radio booths!

I know I will take a lot of heat for saying this, but personally, I don't mind Joe Buck. In fact there are times that I quite like him. Talk to any fan anywhere and they will say that he hates their team. Isn't that the mark of a fair announcer? Regardless, while I thought that his dramatic calls of the game (Favre's final INT, Hartley's game-winning FG) were spot on, he did have his moments of slurping Favre. So much so that perhaps it gave us the biggest announcer jinx of the game. We all caught this during the live blog and I even put up an audio of it there that was quickly found, but here it is one for time for shits and giggles.



Yeah, I don't think that Favre was too giddy after that play. And as Dan Levy pointed it out in his column today, how on earth did Buck even know that Favre was smiling then? Did they have a secret Favre Cam just for him?

However, that was not the best of the best. Here are the Vikings radio announcers mourning the interception of Favre. Note the agony.



Whoa! That got a little intense at the end, didn't it?

I have to disagree with Paul, while the throw and the ultimate decision from Favre was curious, the Saints just stuffed you twice running the ball, if you go back to that and go nowhere for the 3rd straight play, Brad Childress is once again an idiot. That 12-man in the huddle penalty certainly put the Vikings in a no win situation where the play call would be criticized no matter went if the play went wrong, and it certainly did there and that is what is happening the day after. But hindsight is 50-50 here people, the best thing to do would have been to try the draw on 1st down, run some sort of quick slant or screen pass on 2nd down, a run on 3rd down to control the clock and kick the FG with as little time left on the clock as possible (Saints had no timeouts in the last minute).

However, we are not done. Here are Saints announcers Jim Henderson and Hokie Gajon calling Favre's 3rd down the same INT you just heard Paul Allen call along with all of the big plays in overtime that led to the Saints beating the Vikings and advancing to the Super Bowl. Prepare for what has to be without a doubt the single greatest call in the history of New Orleans sports.



"Pigs have flown. Hell has frozen over. The Saints are on their way to the Super Bowl!" - Jim Henderson

I couldn't have said it better myself...

Your Super Bowl XLIV Schedule

I know that everyone reading here knows that the Super Bowl is on CBS and the game is being called by Nantz and Simms, however, I want to get all the pre-game stuff on here as well that day as well as the quirt of a second sideline reporter, and you all need to know the Pro Bowl announcers once they get released, right?

CBS is keeping with the tradition of a 4-hour pre-game show, but they are not going too overboard on their pre pre-game stuff as NBC did last year (2 hours of the Today Show at the Super Bowl starting at 9 AM), instead they are just going to go on the air at noon with The Road to the Super Bowl, followed by Phil Simms' All-Iron Team and then, to the Super Bowl Today and the Super Bowl we will go! (all times PM eastern)

Pro Bowl
NFC vs. AFC 7:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

Super Bowl Sunday on CBS

12:00 - 1:00: The Road to the Super Bowl
1:00 - 2:00: Phil Simms All-Iron Team: Super Bowl Edition
2:00 - 6:00: The Super Bowl Today
6:00 - 6:25: Super Bowl Kickoff Show

And once all that is out of the way......

Super Bowl XLIV: New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts 6:25 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker and Solomon Wilcots)

When CBS starts releasing more about what they are going to do for The Super Bowl Today and who will be involved and what not, I'll be putting up additional posts on it, but for now, here is an early look at what we can expect from CBS during the Super Bowl.

The New York Jets-Indianapolis Colts matchup will serve as an “in-between,” as Barrow calls it, that will allow the CBS Sports team to segue from a typical NFL broadcast into the epic production that will be Super Bowl XLIV. This Sunday, CBS will build on its already heightened coverage of the Divisional Playoffs, which featured 22 cameras, 14 playback devices, and two graphics machines at both games, as well as prep for the Super Bowl grand finale that will feature 50 total cameras, 22 playback devices, and three graphics machines.

However, Barrow warns that an influx of equipment will not change the way he runs the broadcast. “When the game starts, as [director] Mike Arnold will tell you, you’re really waiting for it to come to you,” he says. “You can’t always be trying to invent something by showing this special camera that you added for the Championship game or the Super Bowl, because you might not have anything on that camera to show.”

In addition to more total equipment, the telecast will add Steve Tasker as a sideline reporter, marking the first time all season that a CBS NFL broadcast has featured a reporter on the field. Solomon Wilcots will join Tasker as a sideline reporter for the Super Bowl on Feb. 7.

“During the regular season, we’ve de-emphasized the role [of sideline reporter] and allowed Jim [Nantz] and Phil [Simms] to provide those stories. We still talk to the PR guys, and, if there’s an injury, then we have Jim give updates,” says Harold Bryant, VP of production for CBS. “As the games get bigger, though, we want someone down there in case there’s a big injury or something that happens where we need someone to actually go back into the locker room and be a reporter and get that information.”

When the final second ticks off Sunday, it will be on to Miami, where Barrow will produce his first Super Bowl since 2007, when the Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI.

“Everybody in our crew did the Super Bowl three years ago and has done football together for nearly six years,” says Barrow. “So we all know what our tendencies are and the things that we need to get done.”

I make little secret that of the 4 major networks sports brands that, in my opinion, CBS always has the best production, so I certainly look forward to everything they have in store for this in 13 days in Miami.

CBS caught a rough break the last time they did a Super Bowl (coincidentally also featuring the Colts in Miami) in that it poured nonstop all game. However, Dolphin Sun Life Stadium has been a stadium whose lighting has been pleasing to look at, so with the top-notch production that you know you are getting from CBS, if the weather improves in just the slightest than the last go round, it could easily be up there with one of the best produced Super Bowls with several memorable images.

We are 13 days from the Super Bowl. Are you ready?

The Legend Of Brett Favre Drew Brees, Garrett Hartley, And The New Orleans Saints

What. A. Game.

That may have been one of the most thrilling championship games I have ever seen. From the "Legend of Brett Favre" to the Legend of New Orleans and what that city has been through for the past 4 and a half years after Hurricane Katrina, this game had all the drama you could ever ask for. And oh yeah, the game itself was a mistake-laden thriller. My heart was in my throat for a good part of that 4th quarter and all of OT. It was that good.

So what went down? The Vikings had a chance. Brett Favre. The 2-minute drill. He has made his career of being a hero during this part of the game. But in the 2008 NFC title game, he threw an INT that cost himself the game. Surely with this chance, he would get the job done, right?

It started out right. The Vikes got to the Saints 33 with the Saints out of timeouts and a minute on the clock. Inexplicably they called not one but 2 running plays that went absolutely nowhere. Followed that up with a 5-yard, too many men in the huddle penalty, and all of a sudden, they were out of Longwell's range. With no choice but to throw it on 3rd and long just to get back to field goal range and 18 seconds left on the clock, the unthinkable happened.



Picked off! Are you kidding me?? Brett Favre did it again!

But that only sent the game into OT. The Vikings were idiots and called heads, which allowed the Saints to receive the ball and after several somewhat controversial replays and a bad pass interference call, it all came down to Garrett Hartley. Historically snakebitten football team. The Aints. Hurricane Katrina. Here's the payoff:



Right down the middle! The New Orleans Saints are going to Super Bowl XLIV.

And as a result, for the first time ever, a former Bloomsburg University Husky will be playing in the Super Bowl. Congratulations Jahri Evans, Pro Bowl right guard for the New Orleans Saints! I will have a lot more on that tomorrow, as will I also have a breakdown of scheduling for the next couple of weeks.

As far as the Saints opponent goes, it is the Indianapolis Colts who took care of the Jets 30-17 in what was a very good game for 3 quarters. But the loss of Donald Strickland early and Shonn Greene at the start of the 2nd half proved too much for the Jets to overcome and the Colts put the final clamp down in the 4th quarter. The Jets hung in there and gave it a heck of a ride for 45 minutes, but the team that kept it up for 60 minutes, the Colts, earned the trip back to Miami where they will play in their 4th ever Super Bowl, all of which just so happened to be played in Miami (Super Bowls III, V, XLI, and XLIV all in Miami).

My way too early prognostication is the Colts will take it in a high scoring game, but before I make a final prediction I want time for the stories to start unfolding, injuries becoming more clear, and more time for match-ups to develop.

Today proved once again why the Conference Championships are my favorite day of the NFL, now let's hope we cap it off with a fun Super Bowl! Manning vs. Brees. Colts vs. Saints. In Miami, trick.

Conference Championship Games Live Blog

Is over at Keith's Sports Journal. See you there and don't be a troll!