H2: Who's In & Who's Out

Top Quarterbacks for Blog:

·         Tom Brady***Yes

·         Peyton Manning***Yes

·         Joe Montana***Yes

·         Steve Young**

·         Terry Bradshaw**

·         Roger Staubach**Yes

·         Otto Graham**Yes

·         Warren Moon*

·         Johnny Unitas***Yes

·         John Elway**Yes

·         Dan Marino**Yes

·         Brett Favre**Yes

·         Kurt Warner*

·         Ken Stabler*

·         Troy Aikman**

·         Fran Tarkenton*

·         Jim Kelly*

·         Joe Namath*

·         Bart Starr**Yes

·         Norm Van Brocklin**

·         Bob Waterfield*

***Automatics                        **Maybe                     *Honorable Mentions

H1:Marcus Allen-The Model Raider

Marcus Allen came out of USC with a lot of publicity. In 1981 he had won the Heisman with one of the greatest college performances of all time.  In his senior season, Allen rushed for 2342 yards and 22 touchdowns. He would eventually be drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders. In his rookies season Marcus Allen won the Rookie of the Year, rushing for 697 yards and 11 touchdowns, while catching 3 touchdown passes. Allan was truly a double threat at the halfback position. At one point Al Davis wanted him switched to a wide receiver because he had such good hands. Allen could also drop back; during his career he threw six touchdowns. In 1982 Allen helped the Raiders win a super both over the favored Washington Redskins. That year Washington seemed unbeatable, they had broke the record for points scored in a season, that season the Redskins were plus 42 in the turn over differential.  Let’s just say that the Raider’s won in spectacular fashion. Allen scored a 74 yard touchdown that put the game out of reach, and the Raiders went on to win 38-9. Allen had one of the greatest Super Bowl rushing performances of all time; rushing for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns. Allen would go on to win the MVP in  1985, as he led the league with 1,759 rushing yards on 380 carries for a 4.6 yards per carry average and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 67 passes for 555 yards and scored an additional three touchdowns. There was still some dissension on the team between owner Al Davis and Marcus Allen. Davis drafted Bo Jackson, one of the finest backs to ever come from college. Allen played fullback for Bo Jackson for four years before Bo Jackson blew out his knee and never played football again. Allen would take back seat to other running backs that would come in, from Roger Craig to Erik Dickerson. At one point Allen was 4^th on the depth chart. There was a period of 4 years when Allen rarely ever saw the field. Al Davis didn’t want Allen to play because Davis said that Allen thought he was bigger than the Raiders. Allen was awarded the “Commitment to Excellence Award”, which is voted on by teammates.  At the end of the 1992 season Allen was released by the Los Angeles Raiders and he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Raider’s biggest rivals. Allen Played six season there before retiring 1997. He still had that greatness because he had not played a lot in the earlier seasons. Marcus Allen finished his NFL career with 121 rushing touchdowns most in NFL history at the time of his retirement. To this day Marcus Allen still doesn’t know why Al Davis began to hate him and Allen will probably never know. Marcus Allen may not have been the fastest person in NFL history, but on the field he looked so smooth and fluid.

G2:Luck for MVP? Why Not

As we approach the last part of the NFL Season, the decision on who wins the NFL MVP still looms at large. There are the usual’s who will be in the running for the award like Peyton Manning who is coming back from his 4^th neck surgery and Tom Brady who seems to get better every week. Adrian Peterson is also in the mix this year for the award because he is having one of his best season ever off a torn ACL and he seems to be super human because he is just picking up where he left off. This year I am throwing someone new into the mix, Andrew Luck. This man has basically turned the Colt’s fortunes this year. They have quadrupled their wins from last year, having already won 8 games before the season is over. If the season ended today the Colts would be in the 5^th seed. Last year without a quarterback of some talent they faltered and struggled only winning two games. The award MVP stands for Most Valuable Player, and Andrew Luck is the most valuable player to his team because he has helped become relevant again. Andrew Luck plays with really no run game, his main back Donald Brown can’t stay healthy. He has a very young receiving core consisting Dwayne Allen, T.Y. Hilton, and Coby Fleener who are all rookies. He also has a defense that is ranked 22^nd in the NFL. Andrew Luck does still manage to have the Colts as the 3^rd ranked offense in the NFL and luck is 4^th in passing yards as a rookie which is very stunning and proves his value. Not to mention that the offensive line is not the best in the NFL. There is no mystery that Luck is done more with less talent than his predecessor Peyton Manning. Tom Brady’s team and Peyton Manning’s team both are much more talented than Luck’s team. Peyton has a dominant pass rush, a good offensive line, and nice core of wide receivers. Tom Brady is playing with an embarrassment of riches on offense. I firmly believe that luck should win it because he is doing something that has never been done before with so much less talent.

G1: How the Colts Got Lucky

Jim Irsay must be one of the luckiest men in football considering when he started as general manager he had the first overall pick and drafted Peyton Manning; 14 years later he gets to draft Andrew Luck. The Indianapolis Colts were a powerhouse with Manning, considering they made the playoffs from 2002-2010, a total of 9 years in a row. Manning for a long time since 2006 has had issues with his neck and that was attributed to a vicious hit he took in 2006. Since then he has had 4 neck surgeries to repair some of the nerves in his neck. He had muscle atrophy, or basically the nerves in his neck had begun to deteriorate. Manning also had a bone fusion in his neck too. That combined with a 2-14 season Manning and the Andrew Luck era had begun.

Experts say that Andrew Luck is the greatest quarterback prospect since John Elway is ’83; I have to agree with that. Andrew Luck has helped reshape an organization that looked like at the end of the season last year that would not be successful for another 2-3 years. Luck must have had a time machine because the Colts right now are 7-4 and have 3 times as many wins as last year. Luck is very good mechanically because on the field Luck as the appearance of a 5 year veteran out there because he looks so calm and fluid out there. He is a lot more mobile than people think he ran the same 40 yard dash time as Cam Newton. Luck is a physical specimen weighing in at 234 pounds and he is 6 foot 3. In 2010 when Luck was at Stanford he ran over California defender that he probably can still see in his dreams. Andrew Luck that same season destroyed a USC defender who had picked the ball up and began to run with it. Luck is probably better than a good handful of the quarterbacks in the NFL. He has really helped the Colts become relevant after a year of not being relevant. The Colts are in the playoff race this year and can make the playoffs this year after no one gave them a chance. Their season really got a jump start when Andrew Luck led the Colts to a comeback when they were down 21-3 to at the half. They won the game in honor of their head coach Chuck Pagano who was in treatment for leukemia. The Colts have done very well after that and another huge win for the Colts came on Sunday in a last second touchdown against the Detroit Lions to move them to 8-4. Andrew Luck has the most wins in one season for a first overall pick; he also has the chance to get the Colts in the playoffs, which would be one of the most improbable things to happen in the NFL I have ever seen. Andrew Luck is really making his case for rookie of the year; he remains in a close race with Washington’s electric play maker Robert Griffin III (RGIII). Andre Luck has lived up to the hype and should be a force to reckon with years to come.

F2:Tim Tebow: How He took the Nation by Storm

When Tebow came out of high school he was a highly touted player. He had actually committed to Florida over Alabama that just makes one wonder how history might be different. Tim Tebow took the college scene by storm and it wasn’t before long that Tebow became a legend down in Florida. Tebow won the Heisman in 2007 and led the Florida Gators to a National Championship. That season Tebow had one of the greatest seasons in NFL history rushing for 23 touchdowns and 895 yards. He threw for 3286 yards and 32 touchdowns that season as well. Two years later Tebow would help lead Florida to another Championship title, this time over the potent offense of the Oklahoma Sooners. Tim Tebow would end up beating the Heisman winner Sam Bradford in that game. But it wasn’t the game that was in the spotlight it was Tim Tebow’s emotional halftime speech he gave that was really the rallying cry for the Gators. Tebow would up getting drafted by the Denver Broncos. Tebow sat for much of his rookie season. The next season Tebow was jolted into the spotlight when the Broncos started off 1-4. Tebow led the Broncos on a magic carpet ride; the ride included a game against the Chiefs where he was 2 for 8 and still won the game. Against the Jets on Thursday Tebow rushed for a touchdown that Jim Leonard can still see in his dreams has Tebow juked him to get into the end zone and win the game with about a minute to play. Against the Bears Tebow beat the Bears on a touchdown pass and three field goals by Matt Prater that were all longer than 50 yards. Tebow helped the Broncos win the AFC West at 8-8 and they even won a playoff game over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tebow played great against the vaunted Steelers defense. He helped the Broncos get to overtime, where history was made. On the first play of overtime form the 20 yard line Tebow threw a slant to Demaryuis Thomas who took it the distance to score a touchdown. The next week Tebow went into New England and the Patriots found the secret for Tebow’s college style offense. Many thought Tebow would have another shot in Denver, but it turns out that John Elway the VP of Player Personnel wanted a different style of quarterback. That off season the Broncos signed the former 4 time MVP Peyton Manning. That was followed by Tebow being traded to the New York Jets. There we have just about seen everything from Tebow, he has played quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, and is even the personal protector on punt. I believe that Tebow has the ability to be a great passer in the NFL because he has determination, the work ethic and the passion to make himself into a great passer. After last season I thought that Tebow might be the chosen one for the Broncos, but John Elway thought differently, one must wonder when Tebow will be the chosen one or if he ever will be.

F1:Brett Favre-The Gunslinger

Brett Favre was one of the greatest players to ever step on the a NFL field. He wowed fans and spectators like no other player could. When Favre was drafted in the 1991 draft in the second round, they actually said that they drafted the wrong player. Favre’s first pass ever with the Falcons was an interception for a touchdown. After one year of with the Falcons, he was cut by the Falcons and he ended up signing with the Packers. The Packers starting quarterback, Don Majkowski, had the misfortune of being the stepping stone for Brett’s career. On one particular play Don ended up tearing his ankle, thus ending his season, and beginning Favre’s. In 1993 Reggie White signed with the Green Bay Packers, and together they propelled the Packers out of obscurity. Brett ended up leading the Packers to two Super Bowls and winning one of them against Drew Bledsoe’s Patriots. In 1995, 1996, 1997 Brett Favre had won 3 consecutive MVPs a feat that had never been achieved by any player. Favre was the face of the Packers for 11 more years. In the 2007 NFC Championship, in Green Bay, Favre had helped the Packers reach overtime in frigid temperatures. Favre ended up throwing an interception in overtime that ultimately coasted the Packers the game. Favre later retired in an emotional press conference. Favre later had the itch to play again. He wanted to come back, but the Packers had already chosen Rodgers as the starter, the Packers ended up trading him to New York. There Favre had achieved a feat that he had never achieved before, by throwing 6 touchdowns in a game. Favre had the Jets at an 8-3 record, but the Jest ended up going 1-4 down the stretch and failed to make the playoffs. One of the reasons for the failure down the stretch was due to the fact that Favre partially tore his rotator cuff and was not really capable to make all the throws. Favre then retired again, but wanted to play again, but the Jets had cut him and he ended up signing with the Minnesota Vikings. That season Favre and Vikings were fun to watch. The combination of him, Adrian Peterson, Sidney Rice, and Percy Harvin had the Vikings heading for the playoffs. That season on a when Favre had faced the Packers on Monday Night, it became the most watched Monday Night Football game ever. Favre got the better of Rodgers and Packers that night and later in the season when Favre beat his old team at Lambeau, where he was booed from the opening kickoff. Favre ended up leading the Vikings to a 12-4 record when they beat the Cowboys at home. The next game was against the Saints, in what I consider one of the most exciting games I had ever seen. Favre was beaten consistently by the Saint’s defense, but somehow he got the Vikings into a chance to win the game. In typical Favre fashion he rolled out and threw an interception, back across his body. The Vikings lost the game, and Favre retired again and decided to come back, but the Vikings never got back the same momentum from the season. Favre suffered injuries and his streak of 298 games came to an end when Arthur Moats hit him from behind, injuring Favre’s shoulder. Favre’s last game came against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night at Home, but because of the roof cave in the game had to be played outside in the cold at the University of Minnesota’s stadium. Favre took a hit from Corey Wootton of the Chicago Bears, who drilled him to the turf. Favre relied motionless, because Favre was knocked out with a concussion. Favre would retire at the end of the 2010 season. Favre finished his career with at the top of the list in Completions, Attempts, Yards, Touchdowns, Games Started, times sacked, and interceptions. When I look back at Brett Favre’s career, I think only he could do that, and he honestly was one of the most exciting players I have ever seen. He was so fun to watch because of the way he was on the field. Even at the age of 40 he was still jumping around, having laughs, and having fun even at 40 years old. There may be never another player like Brett ever again.

E1:Midseason Review

With the end of Week Eight of the NFL season coming to an end some notes should be made on the first half thoughts. The NFL every year is full of surprises and disappointments, this season is no subject. I have to say one of the teams that I am very surprised with is the Atlanta Falcons. I saw them as a good team already, but I didn’t see them as an undefeated 8-0 team. They have a very explosive team, with Matt Ryan leading the way at quarterback who is also an MVP candidate, Michael Turner leading the ground attack, and of course Julio Jones, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, and the underrated Harry Douglas. Some other teams that are very surprising is the Minnesota Vikings who are 5-3 in the “Black and Blue” division, the NFC North. They led by second year quarterback Christian Ponder who has really come around this year, as well as a resurgence of Adrian Peterson who tore his ACL in week 16. AP is leading the NFL in rushing and is a NFL Comeback Player of the Year nominee. Percy Harvin is really taking the NFL by storm because he is Minnesota’s Swiss army knife, because he does it all, he catches passes, returns kicks and punts, and even runs the ball a little. Harvin is also a midseason MVP candidate. Two other teams that are helping their cause include the Indianapolis Colts, who have doubled their win total win total from last year, with the help of Andrew Luck and veteran receiver Reggie Wayne, with four, and are in the early playoff picture. The team that joins them in that category as most improved includes the Miami Dolphins who have four wins this year too, which come on the shoulders of Reggie Bush, rookie Ryan Tannehill, and a solid defense. With the many surprises come the disappointments of the season so far. One team that has disappointed me and many other people is the Carolina Panthers. Last year they were one of the leaders in explosive plays and were led by rookie phenom. Cam Newton, but this year they have a total of one win. Their defense has been not great to say the least, they lost one of their best players, Jon Beason to a season ending injury. Cam Newton has already thrown 8 ints on the season. Another team that has been disappointing to watch was the Buffalo Bills. They spent a lot of money on defense, which includes Mario Williams, Mark Anderson, and Stephan Gilmore, and their defense is ranked 31^st in the NFL, although they are 4^th in the NFL in rushing. The Bills are just 3-5 and are on the verge of not being in playoff contention. Maybe t6he most disappointing team from the first half is the Philadelphia Eagles. They are loaded on talent and speed. They have Mike Vick, Lesean McCoy, Desean Jackson, and Jeremy Maclin. On defense they have Jason Babin, Trent Cole, Demeco Ryans, and Nnamdi Asomugha. They suffer from turnovers, and an offense that can’t score points. Their o-line has not protected well and their stats show it. The Eagles at the end of the season last year won 4 straight games and many thought they would be a favorite this year, but they have not lived up to expectations. My midseason awards go out to:

MVP: Peyton Manning-Not only has Peyton Manning came back from 4 neck surgeries; he has come back with a vengeance. He has one of the best passer ratings in the NFL, with 109.0 passer rating. He has 17 touchdowns and only 4 ints. He also has the Broncos in the top 5 for offense, which is new territory from last year because the Broncos ran a wildcat/option/spread system. At this rate Manning could pass for 39 touchdowns.

Offensive Player of the Year: Percy Harvin-Harvin has done everything for the Minnesota Vikings. This year he leads the Vikings as well as the NFL in receptions. He will sometimes go into the game as a running back and carry the ball. Percy Harvin is also a deadly kick returner with a touchdown on the season for the Vikings. Harvin may be the next installment of “Slash”, (a.k.a Kordell Stewart), who played running back, wide receiver, quarterback, and returned kicks for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Jennings-Many people believe that J.J. Watt would win the Defensive Player of the Year because of how many pass deflections he has and that he has 9.5 sacks, but I believe that the award will go to Tim Jennings. Tim Jennings, cornerback for the Chicago Bears has picked off 6 passes and has returned one of them for a touchdown. He has helped solidify a good Chicago defense.

Head Coach of the Year: Bruce Arians/Chuck Pagano-At the end of last year the Colts were regarded as one of the worst teams ever. They had no defense, and really no offense. It really showed how Manning was the glue to the team. The team cut Peyton Manning and started over by drafting Andrew Luck. The Colts were seen as a team that would not be very good this year. It was later known that Chuck Pagano had leukemia. An emotional Week 7 win against the Packers really got them going. The Colts overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit to win the game. Bruce Arians/Chuck Pagano has the Colts sitting at 5-3.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Andrew Luck-The Colts rookie quarterback has helped the Colts get to a 5-3 record. In a week 9 game against the Dolphins, Andrew Luck broke a rookie record of 432 yards in a game that was previously set by Cam Newton. Luck has demonstrated a pocket presence and has showed the tools to win in this league. He also has made Colts fans forget that the Colts cut Peyton Manning in the offseason. If Luck can get the Colts into the playoffs you can guarantee Luck that award.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Chandler Jones-This Syracuse Alumni has given the Patriots a pass rusher that they have missed since the departure of Richard Seymour. Jones has 6 sacks on the season and his far and ahead of all rookies in this category and his a favorite for the award.