The Super Bowl

This week in the NFL is the Super Bowl. This year the Super Bowl is being held in MetLife Stadium in New York, home of the New York Jets. It is Super Bowl XLVIII. In this Super Bowl The Seattle Seahawks will host the Denver Broncos. Even though the Seahawks aren't playing in CenturyLink Field they get to host the Broncos. This means that the Denver Broncos will call heads or tails on the coin toss.

The Teams

The Broncos are primarily a passing team but have had some success with the run due to threat of the pass. Peyton Manning has thrown the ball well as he has had a lot of threats in the air with WR Eric Decker, WR Demaryius Thomas, WR Wes Welker and TE Julius Thomas. The Seahawks defence are the number one pass defence giving up an average of 172 passing yards a game and an average of 16.3 points per game. The Seahawks are the best pass defence in the league but have consistently struggled against the run. With Seattle'sstruggles against the run, Denver would do well to run draw plays to fool the defence into thinking that the play is a pass bit instead hand it to the RB. This would do well because Seattle would struggle against the run after thinking it was a pass.
The Broncos defence is a good defending the run but Marshawn Lynch (a.k.a. The Beast) is prised for a big game despite the Denver defence. Russel Wilson is also set to have a great game as he is at the peak of his season with several fourth quarter comebacks and some great games.

The Odds

The Broncos are no more or less likely to win even though Manning has a good streak coming up to the Super Bowl and the two weeks off will help him connect with his receivers better and for Denver to consolidate the run. It also provides the defence to get familiar with the RB who is Marshawn Lynch. "Pot Roast" the DT who is unbelievable at sacking the QB but he will have trouble getting to Russel Wilson who is quick on the ground but is ready to go after him after many training sprints. Another thing that doesn't help Denver is that WR Percy Harvin is ready to play in the Super Bowl for Seattle but is not fully fit to play.

The Seahawks are not backing down to the challenge as Russel Wilson is set to have a big game despite not having Percy Harvin at full fitness but he has found connections in WR Golden Tate and RB Marshawn Lynch. He is also great at breaking down defences with his ability to run as well as pass. Marshawn Lynch is set to go into "Beast mode" as better defences have not stopped him so far and Denver is neither good nor bad. The Seahawks are on a great roll after beating the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints who are great at the pass and have a similar gameplan to the Broncos and Seattle stopped them time and time again and Russel Wilson is on the hottest streak in his career. It doesn't hurt that Knowshon Moreno is currently on a limited practice status and is unclear whether he will start over Montee Ball.
This game will be tight as both QB's are poised and ready to go as are their defences. Enjoy Watching!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLVIII

Check Out This Funny Video Of Lip Reading In The NFL Part 2

Sourced from YouTube Channel - BidLipReading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRqKYXcL-2U

Check Out This Funny Video Of Lip Reading In The NFL

Sourced from YouTube Channel - BadLipReading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zce-QT7MGSE

The Pro Bowl - Deoin Sanders Team

Team Sanders

Coach: Chuck Pagano - Indianapolis Colts

QB - Nick Foles- Philadelphia Eagles, Andrew Luck - Indianapolis Colts, Cam Newton - Carolina Panthers.

RB - Jamaal Charles - Kansas City Chiefs, Eddie Lacy - Green Bay Packers, Alfred Morris - Washington Redskins.

FB - Marcel Reece - Oakland Raiders
WR - Antonio Brown - Pittsburgh Steelers,  Dez Bryant - Dallas Cowboys,  A.J. Green - Cincinnati Bengals, DeSean Jackson - Philadelphia Eagles.

TE - Jordan Cameron - Cleveland Browns, Jason Witten - Dallas Cowboys.

C - Alex Mack - Cleveland Browns, Mike Pouncey - Miami Dolphins.

OG - Kyle Long - Chicago Bears, Logan Mankins - New England Patriots,  Marshal Yanda, Ravens.

OT - Branden Albert -  Chiefs, Trent Williams - Washington Redskins, Duane Brown - Houston Texans.

DT - Gerald McCoy - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dontari Poe - Kansas City Chiefs, Ndamukong Suh, Lions.

DE - Greg Hardy - Carolina Panthers, J.J. Watt - Houston Texans, Mario Williams - Buffalo Bills.

ILB - Luke Kuechly - Carolina Panthers, Paul Posluszny - Jacksonville Jaguars.

OLB - Tamba Hali - Kansas City Chiefs, Brian Orakpo - Washington Redskins, Terrell Suggs - Baltimore Ravens.

S - Eric Berry - Kansas City Chiefs, T.J. Ward - Cleveland Browns, Eric Weddle - San Diego Chargers

CB - Brent Grimes Miami Dolphins, Tim Jennings - Chicago Bears, Patrick Peterson -Arizona Cardinals, Darrelle Revis - Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

PR - Cordarrelle Patterson - Minnesota Vikings.

ST - Matthew Slater - New England Patriots
K - Justin Tucker - Baltimore Ravens

P - Brandon Fields - Miami Dolphins

LS - J.J. Jansen - Carolina Panthers

The Pro Bowl - Jerry Rice Team

The new Pro Bowl is a fanstasy style draft beacuse there are two pickers and a bunch of players. The first pick this year was QB Andrew Luck who plays for the Indinapolis Colts.
On Wednesday, it was the rest of the rosters. Below are the results:

Team Rice

Coach: Ron Rivera - Carolina Panthers
QB - Drew Brees - New Orleans Saints, Philip Rivers - San Diego Chargers, Alex Smith - Kansas City Chiefs
WR Josh Gordon - Cleveland Browns, Alshon Jeffery - Chicago Bears, Brandon Marshall - Chicago Bears, Larry Fitzgerald - Arizona Cardinals
TE Jimmy Graham - New Orleans Saints, Tony Gonzalez - Atlanta Falcons
RB LeSean McCoy - Philadelphia Eagles, DeMarco Murray - Dallas Cowboys, Matt Forte - Chicago Bears
FB Mike Tolbert - Carolina Panthers
T Joe Thomas - Cleveland Browns, Tyron Smith - Dallas Cowboys, Jordan Gross - Carolina Panthers
G Jahri Evans - New Orleans Saints, Ben Grubbs - New Orleans Saints, Evan Mathis - Philadelphia Eagles
C Ryan Kalil - Carolina Panthers, Nick Mangold - New York Jets
DE Robert Quinn - St. Louis Rams, Cameron Jordan - New Orleans Saints, Cameron Wake - Miami Dolphins
DT Jason Hatcher - Dallas Cowboys, Marcell Dareus - Buffalo Bills, Kyle Williams - Buffalo Bills
OLB Justin Houston - Kansas City Chiefs, Robert Mathis - Indianapolis Colts, John Abraham - Arizona Cardinals
ILB Vontaze Burfict - Cincinnati Bengals, Derrick Johnson - Kansas City Chiefs
CB Joe Haden - Cleveland Browns, Brandon Flower - Kansas City Chiefs, Antonio Cromartie - New York Jets, Alterraun Verner - Tennessee Titans
S - Eric Reid - San Francisco 49ers, Jairus Byrd - Buffalo Bills, Antrel Rolle - New York Giants
ST - Justin Bethel - Arizona Cardinals
PR - Dexter McCluster - Kansas City Chiefs
K - Stephen Gostkowski - New England Patriots
P - Johnny Hekker - St.Louis Rams
LS - Matt Overton - Indianapolis Colts

Apologies for the long post but bear with me

The Pro Bowl Past and Present

This week in the NFL is the Pro Bowl which is held in the state of Hawaii. This year the Pro Bowl voting rules have changed.

Past:

 Previously the teams where the NFC vs the AFC. Players were voted onto the teams by fans. For example people would vote for the player ineach  position who they think is the best. For example my vote is for Tom Brady from Michigan University who plays in the AFC for the New England Patriots who needs to get enough votes to be voted into one of the top 3 spots in the QB position for him to play in the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Present:

The new rules are similar but different. Players are still voted in to the Pro Bowl but the AFC and NFC teams are no longer there because now there are two legends of football who picks teams. Deoin Sanders, FS (the hardest hitting safety of all time) who played for the Detroit Lions and Joe Montana, QB ( arguably the best) who played for the San Francisco 49ers. 

To put the rules into context for you to understand easier here is an example. In the old rules 3 RB's were picked from each conference even though one conference could have terrible players and the other one great players. In the new rules the best running backs are voted in no matter which conference. This means all the RB's could be from the same conference. After players are voted in the Legends then pick teams and play. Though this is a match, it is a friendly match so don't expect massive hits or insane catches because players don't want to get hurt so they only joke around. However the greatest of the league are playing so Enjoy Watching!

The NFC Conference Championship Review

The NFC

The San Francisco 49ers were on the road in Seattle at the CenturyLink Field where they met a tragic end to their season whereas the Seattle Seahawks continue their season to the Super Bowl where they meet the winner of the AFC Championship game.

The Game

The Seahawks started off with the ball only to fumble and turn it over one play later. The 49ers were inefficient on their drive as they put 3 points on the board even though they started 15 yards out. The Seahawks were ineffective on their next drive. The 49ers went up 10 points with a one yard touchdown run by Anthony Dixon. Seahawks went 10-3 down with a field goal by Stephen Hauschka for Seattle

Second Half

Seattle leveled the score with a 40 yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch and Russel Wilson's habit of not losing at home seemed to be coming true. Less than three minutes later in the third quarter Kaepernick threw a 26 yard touchdown to Anquan Boldin. It seemed that last years Super Bowl losers seemed to give it another go. But Russel didn't listen as he drove down the field in less than 3 minutes to set up a field goal for Hauschka. San Francisco turned the ball over in a three and out and Russel Wilson responded with a touchdown to Jermaine Kearse and soon after drove down the field to get a field goal.However Kaepernick refused to give up as he drive down the field in three minutes to lead his team to Seattle's 5 yard line but being the best pass defence Richard Sherman makes and incredible pass deflect despite being off balance and 2 yards away from his man which resulted in an interception by Smith to send Seattle to the Super Bowl for the second time. They one of four teams to not win the Super Bowl but this year might be it. Enjoy Watching!

The AFC Conference Championship Review

This week in the NFL was the Conference Championships. This is basically the semi-finals. The match-ups were the New England Patriots on the road against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship and the Seattle Seahawks who hosted the San Fransico 49ers.

The AFC

The New England Patriots were on the road in Denver at the Sports Authority at Mile High Field where they met a tragic end to their season whereas the Denver Broncos continue their season to the Super Bowl where they meet the winner of the NFC Championship game.

The Game

The Patriots started off with the ball only to turn it over three plays later. The Broncos were efficient on their drive as they put 3 points on the board courtesy of Matt Prater. The Patriots were ineffective on their next drive. Their running game was in pieces with one yard from three runs. The Broncos went up 10 points with a one yard touchdown from Jacob Tamme thrown by Peyton Manning. Denver went 13-3 up with a another field goal from Matt Prater and a field goal by Stephen Gostkowski for New England.

Second Half

Denver went 20-3 up with a 3 yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas and New England's hopes of New York seemed to be fading. Ten minutes later in the fourth quarter Matt Prater kicked another field goal and Denver seemed to be heading for the Super Bowl. But Tom didn't get that memo as he drove down the field in less than 3 minutes to bring the Patriots back. Denver responded with a field goal but Tom refused to give up as Tom ran in for the touchdown to bring it with 2 scores. However Peyton Manning refused to lose to Tom agiai this season and held out ti win to send the Denver Broncos to Super Bowl XLVIII. Enjoy Watching!

The Conference Championships

This week it is the Conference Championships. In the AFC it is the New England Patriots against the Denver Broncos. In the NFC it's the Seattle Seahawks against the San Francisco 49ers.

The AFC

The Broncos will play host to the Patriots at the Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver. The New England Patriots are considered underdogs for the matchup in Denver. The QB Tom Brady from Michigan University has a 2-6 record playing in Mile High however has a 2-1 record against Peyton Manning in the post season. He considers the team to be the underdogs going into the match even though he has a winning record against the Denver QB Peyton Manning.

The Teams

The Broncos have a great pass defence but Brady maintains that the Patriots are a running team and the Broncos have struggled against the run but have started to come on recently but have lost MLB Von Miller who is a monster for the Denver defence. Despite the great pass defense the game is set to be a shoot-out even with Legarrette Blount out of the University of Oregon who rushed for four touchdowns and 166 yards in Foxborough, Massachusetts and Stevan Ridley out of the University of Cincinnati for New England Patriots and Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball out of the University of Wisconsin

The NFC

The Seattle Seahawks host San Francisco 49ers in CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. In the regular season San Francisco lost 29-3 in Seattle  but won at home 19-17. San Francisco are considered underdogs as the Seattle QB Russel Wilson has not lost a home game (apart from one this season) since high school.

The Teams

The Seahawks have lost their number one WR Percy Harvin but are deadly on the ground with RB Marshawn Lynch out of the University of California. The Seahawks defence is the best at passing but have struggled against the run. They are the best passing defence because they have CB Richard Sherman out of Texas A&M University. Sherman can play man to man better than anyone else. The game will be tight as the 49ers are a running team but their RB Frank Gore is in a slump while their mobile QB Colin Kaepernick is on a roll however he will need to throw as Seattle will most likely create a shoot-out game. This week will be tight so Enjoy Watching!

The Divisonals

This week in The NFL is the divisional playoffs where the teams who had the first round byes now play against the teams who won the wildcard matches.

The AFC

The New England Patriots were seeded at the number two spot so they host the Indianapolis Colts who were seeded at the number four spot. The Patriots are favourites to win as they play at home in The Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Indianapolis Colts are 5-3 on the road and the New England Patriots are 8-0 at home.

The second divisional match-up is the Denver Broncos who are seeded at number one so they host the San Diego Chargers who are seeded at number six. They play in Denver at the Sport Authority Stadium at Mile High Stadium in Colorado. The Broncos are favourites to win but there was a mix up during the regular as the Chargers came from behind to win. The Chargers are on a five game winning streak and are likely to do what the Colts did in their wildcard game - come back from 28 points down.

The NFC

The Seattle Seahawks seeded number one host the sixth seeded New Orleans Saints. The Seahawks play in Washington in The Century Link Field. The Saints from New Orleans play in the Super Dome where last year's Super Bowl was played. The Seattle Seahawks are favourites to win in the rainy weather.

The second divisional match-up is the second seeded Carolina Panthers who host the fifth seeded San Francisco 49ers. The Panthers will host the 49ers in North Carolina at the Bank Of America Stadium. This is will most likely be the game of the week as both offenses have mobile quarterbacks and have very good defences. The Panthers are favourtites as they beat the 49ers in the regular season on the road in San Francisco 10-9. This week on the NFL will be very exciting. Enjoy Watching!



Understanding The Playoffs

This week in the NFL (American Football) the wildcard games will be played. Wildcard teams are teams that come 5th and 6th overall in the conferences.

How the Playoffs Work

The NFL is split into two conferences, the AFC (American Football Conference) & the NFC (National Football Conference). To make this easier to understand I will explain one conference.

The AFC

Each conference contains four divisions. AFC East, AFC West, AFC North and AFC South. These teams were orgianally in the AFL until it merged with the NFL. The teams in the AFC East are Buffalo Bills of Orchard Park, Miami Dolphins of Miami Gardens, New England Patriots of Foxborough, and New York Jets of Florham Park. AFC West are In each division there are four teams. These four teams play each other twice and and 10 other teams. Teams wins and losses (records) are used to determine where they are placed in the conference, however the winners of the divisions are placed in positions 1-4 based on their records. 1st and 2nd seed teams gain a first round bye. 3rd and 4th placed teams are scheduled to play against 5th and 6th placed teams. 3rd vs 6th and 4th vs 5th. The winner of these two match ups play against 1st and 2nd seeded teams. For example the number one seeded team plays against the lower seeded team and 2nd plays the higher seeded team.

The Playoffs

This year in the next round the Denver Broncos play the San Diego Chargers, the New England Patriots play the Indianapolis Colts, the Seattle Seahawks play the New Orleans Saints, the Carolina Panthers play the San Francisco 49ers. Enjoy Watching!

Welcome to Inside The Huddle

Hi my name is Stephen and I will be posting in depth analysis on NFL matchups and I will also be reviewing games and which teams are more likely to win the Super Bowl. Enjoy Watching!