My Many Musings on the Manning Maneuver posted by Joe Anello

The cloud that’s hung over the NFL for months ended today when the story broke that Peyton Manning would be signing with the Denver Broncos. The ramifications are not just limited to the Broncos however. They are far-reaching across the NFL landscape. Here are my thoughts on the biggest free agent signing in NFL history.

The Broncos are still a massive rebuilding project away from legitimately contending in the AFC. Even if they bring in ALL of Peyton’s fellow aging ex-Colt teammates, their best hope is to win the AFC West. Beating the likes of Pittsburgh, New England, and Baltimore is going to take more than slapping the 2007 Colts back on top of an already shaky offense.

Former Colt center Jeff Saturday is already scheduled to visit Denver this weekend, starting the process of bringing Manning’s buddies to town. Dallas Clark will probably be next on the list to make a stop in the Mile-High City, ensuring that John Elway will do anything for his new legend. Even if they do make a push to bring in Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace, the Broncos are supposed to be a run-first team under John Fox. This system will need to undergo an overhaul now that Denver has an actual quarterback. He can’t run this offense like Kyle Orton or Tim Tebow ran it. (Nor should he.)

It means they’re still a playoff team. Beyond that, they’re good for another couple wins thanks to Manning’s presence. The offense will be improved by leaps and bounds, which will hopefully be enough to take the pressure of a defense that carried the team too often last year. No more will the Broncos be forced to win 15-12 skirmishes. I’m not convinced they’ll have even a top five offense with the pieces that have currently in place, but perhaps a shrewd maneuver or two will lean me in their direction.

The Final Drive: 2012 Conference Championship Sunday posted by Joe Anello

How many of you had to get an oxygen tank at some point today? These playoffs are been thrilling down to the wire in almost every game, and Conference Championship Sunday lived up to expectations. Both games went down to the wire and left us with two worthy Super Bowl contestants. Let’s break them down in The Final Drive!

They may have had their issues, but the New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl after the dramatic finish at the end of regulation. In the first half the Patriots traded scores with their opponents, as Baltimore matched them point for point thanks to early mistakes. Brady led his unit down for a 29 yard Gostkowski field goal so Flacco came back to set up a 20 yarder for Billy Cundiff. BenJarvus Green-Ellis punched it in from seven yards out, so Flacco tosses it six yards to Dennis Pitta. At 10-10, the Patriots broke the pattern by kicking a field goal late in the second and keeping the Ravens off the board before they got the ball to start the second half.

On their opening drive in the third quarter, one of Brady’s trademark QB sneaks (off the tackle no less) ended in a first down and some trash-talking from Brady to Ray Lewis. This was easily my favorite moment of the day, I don’t care if it was a 2-yard run. Lewis looked awful in coverage today against Hernandez and I'm glad someone gave him a taste of his own BS.

The Opening Drive: 2012 NFC Championship posted by Joe Anello

With the AFC spot in the Super Bowl currently being decided, the possible NFC participants are anxiously awaiting their turn in the national spotlight. And by national spotlight, of course I mean The Opening Drive!

Yet again Tom Coughlin’s Giants have heated up late and have ridden that momentum all the way through the playoffs. Now his elite quarterback named Manning must overcome a much better defense than the Packers’ unit he faced the week before. The Niners can rush the passer with Aldon and Justin Smith coming off the edges and their run defense is outstanding. Where they really shone last week was in their secondary. Apparently Donte Whitner is still an absolute ball-hawk and head-hunter in the defensive backfield. Carlos Rogers was a great offseason pick-up but proved his worth last week with some key deflections in coverage against the Saints receivers. This week expect him to be on Hakeem Nicks or Victor Cruz all day. The Niners don’t have enough depth to cover all of Manning’s targets, but maybe they can take one out of the action. Though knowing Tom Coughlin, we’re going to see plenty of hand-offs to Bradshaw and Jacobs, if only to keep the Niners honest. Bradshaw should get the bulk of the carries though, as I’m pretty sure Jacobs can’t knock around the Niners. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman will put him down.

The Final Drive: 2012 Divisional Round posted by Joe Anello

I have to say, I was skeptical that these four games could live up to the hype, especially after last weekend. But I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. I even gave myself a cushy lead for later poor postseason predictions. But I’ll tell you about that later. Right now it’s time for The Final Drive of the Divisional Round!

I’m not sure I can put into words how freaking EPIC this game was. It was such a fantastic start to the weekend’s action. The Saints came out embarrassingly flat, with three turnovers early, including a horrendous pick over the middle from Drew Brees, who never saw the safety coming. The Niners turned those possessions into points, notching 17 with not even a minute gone by into the second quarter. Brees fought back as you knew he would, finding his big targets Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston on consecutive drives to pull within three at the break. It was hard to say the Niners had the momentum though. I mean, when the other team turns it over four times in a half and you’re only up a field goal? That’s a problem. San Fran’s special teams even got another turnover from Darren Sproles early in the third, but they could only manage to put up a field goal. Eventually that was going to come back to bite them. San Francisco wasn’t even trying to run the ball for the first three quarters, an offensive plan that befuddled me, to say the least. Alex Smith was getting all sorts of pressure from the Saints, who were simply sending more rushers than the Niners had blockers. (Just math, really.)

The Opening Drive: 2012 Divisional Saturday posted by Joe Anello

After six long days of waiting, the NFL playoffs are back today with a great match-up in the NFC and a highly publicized showdown between Jesus and Satan in the AFC. It’s a great day for some football. That means it’s a great day for The Opening Drive!

(13-4) New Orleans Saints at
(13-3) San Francisco 49ers
4:30 PM ET, FOX

Off for a week, it’s easy to have forgotten about the Niners and their tremendous regular season which earned them that rest. Alex Smith had a solid year (finally), but he hasn’t been all that impressive to me when I’ve gotten the chance to see him. He has a few decent weapons, but the Saints’ focus should be on running back Frank Gore and tight end Vernon Davis, Smith’s main outlets. ‘Frisco’s offensive line is underrated and should have the clear advantage in the running game, but how are they going to put up points? Michael Crabtree is (sorta) good, but he’s not dangerous enough to put up a monster game and abuse the Saints secondary all day. If they’re going to win, Jim Harbaugh’s defense will have to contain this next man.

Drew Brees is pretty freaking good. However, he still has the ability to toss an interception or two while trying to get the big play deep. If he can avoid those turnovers against the Niners, he’ll keep his Saints on top. He’ll have a lot of resistance on the front though, as San Fran can get up the field and rush the passer. Definitely keep your eyes on the two Smith’s, Justin and Aldon, who can both get pressure on the outside where the Saints’ line is weakest. Where the Niners are going to have issues defensively is in the secondary, Carlos Rogers has had a great year, but he doesn’t have as much support at corner. That’s not a recipe for success against Brees, who has Robert Meachem, Marques Colston and Devery Henderson. Still, that’s not even the Niners’ biggest problem. They like to keep linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman in the game as much as possible, which is going to create ugly match-ups with Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles. I think the Saints win those battles more often than not.

The Final Drive: Week 16, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

It was a Christmas Eve of meaningful NFL action as all the remaining playoff spots were nearly filled and draft orders are beginning to finalize. Miss any of the action? No need to worry, because the Final Drive starts right now!

Indy… what are you doing??? After all the speculation, you could single-handedly win yourself out of a franchise quarterback. Knock it off. (Or play more scrubs.) To Houston, I say congratulations. You’re in the playoffs. Now get ready to go home before anyone else.

This was about as disappointing a loss as you could find on Sunday. For a division-leader that could have locked up their playoff berth to lay down to a team that had nothing to play for is unacceptable. The Teebs magic was all used up apparently as Timmy tossed four interceptions, two of which were boomerangs. I wish I had been able to watch this one. It would have felt SO good.

It was looking awkward when the ‘Phins were up 17-0 at halftime, but Brady rallied and made sure his team clinched a first-round bye. I’m expecting the Patriots to take the number one seed in the AFC, but I don’t feel very confident about their postseason chances.

PFFT. I’m glad this turned out to be less of a game, because if it had been overly dramatic I wouldn’t stop hearing about it all week. And the rumors that the Jets aren’t completely sold on Sanchez for next year? Frosting on the cake baby. And this picture of Jacobs and Ryan jawing afterward? Weird.

The Final Drive: Week 15, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

I’m not sure what else you could have wanted from week 15 in the NFL. Two impressive streaks ended, the “Trap of the Week” proved to be true once again and one win never mattered as much as it did for Indianapolis. (And Candlestick Park was sans light… for a few second before auxiliary lighting come on. Not as much drama.) Many a-loser won on this day. Oddsmakers be damned! Get ready for The Final Drive!

Oh Tennessee. How could you? You somehow managed to give their first lowly Colts a victory whilst in the midst of your own playoff hunt. For shame. While it’s nice to get a win (I’m sure), Jim Caldwell should still get effing fired.

Another streak brought to a necessary conclusion! Honestly, as much as we generally thought the Packers COULD do it, it’s probably better that they didn’t. Injuries to their offensive line killed them yesterday against the Chief pass rush, just one facet of a defense that made it difficult on Aaron Rodgers. Well done Romeo Crennel. Oh yeah, and the Chiefs can somehow still get into the playoffs.

BOOM! You got TRAPPED Eli! This was such an obvious upset to pick, even in a day that ended up with a metric ton of stunning results. How the Giants could come out and lay an egg like this when they had a chance to put some distance in front of the Cowboys is appalling. (And hilarious.)

The Final Drive: Week 14, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Heart attacks were felt across the nation on Sunday (especially by me), leading to plenty of hospitalizations. While you’re incapacitated, why not get the full scoop on week 14’s heart-stopping action?

So maybe the Texans aren’t absolutely screwed with T.J. Yates at quarterback. Who knew? They probably won’t make a lot of noise in the playoffs depending on the seeding, but they should stay competitive. Unfortunately for Cincy, there may be too many “respectable losses” on their record.

If the Titans weren’t in the middle of a playoff chase, I’d say it was time to start Jake Locker. Though with Hasselbeck’s injury, it might happen anyway. Kudos to the Saints for not falling into the “Trap of the Week.”

Oh Tony Sparano, we hardly knew ye. Wait, I did. You were a mediocre coach. Its obvious management was waiting for him to lose just ONE more game after that streak of wins they went on. Dropping one to the Eagles wasn’t going to cut it.

Sparano wasn’t the only coach let go today, as Todd Haley was relieved of his duties in Arizona following this shellacking. When you make Mark Sanchez look good… nothing good can follow. The Jets inch closer to the playoffs with a surprisingly lop-sided win.

Joe's 2011 Thanksgiving Day Preview posted by Joe Anello

It happens every year. Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, football and food comas. Unfortunately, you’ll want to pay attention to all three games today as they all feature teams with something to prove. It’s time for a breakdown of the holiday’s action!

(10-0) Green Bay Packers at
(7-3) Detroit Lions

Hey, remember when this looked like it could be a match-up between two undefeated teams? …That would have been AWESOME. Despite Detroit’s faltering along the way, this is still shaping up to be a tremendous game, with lots and LOTS of scoring. Green Bay has no need to run the ball and Detroit doesn’t have the ability to run, so expect 40 passes on the day for each quarterback. It’ll be a shoot-out to start the day.

(3-7) Miami Dolphins at
(6-4) Dallas Cowboys

Turkey Day Trap! Miami’s won three in a row and get to play on the road… where they’re actually better off. Dallas is coming off a dramatic but emotionally taxing win over the Redskins in overtime, so they might be taking these formerly 0-7 ‘Phins lightly. It won’t light up the scoreboard as much as our early game, but it could go right down to the wire.

The Opening Drive: Week 10, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Week ten in this still-evolving NFL season gives us several division contests that will give the winner a hold on first place and several games pitting garbage on garbage. Let’s run through what to expect from the weekend’s slew of games!

(6-3) New Orleans Saints at
(5-3) Atlanta Falcons

It seems like we get a match-up with the NFC South lead on the line every other week. Atlanta’s been charging up the standings as of late, putting pressure on the less-than perfect Saints. Falcons at home? I like ‘em.

It’s put-up or shut-up time for the Bengals, who after getting a favorable schedule in the first half of the season have four games against their divisional rival Ravens and Steelers. (Two each.) If they’re going to catch the Steelers napping… it probably won’t be this week. After losing to the Ravens last week, the Steelers will be out for orange-hued blood.

(1-7) St. Louis Rams at
(3-5) Cleveland Browns

In a week that is full of crap-on-crap and top-on-top match-ups, this game earns a very weak “Trap of the Week” status. At home welcoming a one-win team should be a recipe for success, but the Browns are absolutely woeful on offense.

Moss focused on first day with 49ers

Randy Moss looked every bit a team player as he demonstrated acut and quick feet for his fellow wide receivers, who listenedintently and observed while the veteran impressed in his firstformal practice with the San Francisco 49ers. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for NFL

Moss looks focused on first day with 49ers (The Associated Press)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) Randy Moss looked every bit a team player as he demonstrated a cut and quick feet for his fellow wide receivers, who listened intently and observed while the veteran impressed in his first formal practice with the San Francisco 49ers. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Moss looks focused on first day with 49ers (Yahoo! Sports)

[read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Vegas sportsbooks release NFL spreads for every game through Week 16 (Shutdown Corner)

If you're the type of person who's already interested in the line for the Week 8 game between the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers -- and, let's face it; you're on Shutdown Corner on a Wednesday afternoon four months from the start of the season, so we know the answer -- then you may want to clear the next 20 minutes. Cantor Gaming, a company that runs a number of Las Vegas sportsbooks, has released lines for every NFL game through Week 16 of the 2012 NFL season. Want to bet on the Lions-49ers rematch? Hoping to get on the RGIII bandwagon early? Eager to throw some money on your favorite team to win after their bye week? Desperate to find another way to lose your paycheck in Vegas? You're in luck, my degenerate friends. What do the odds show? Vegas loves the Philadelphia Eagles, has no idea what to do with Peyton Manning's Denver Broncos, wavers on the decimated New Orleans Saints and is fairly certain how Mike Mularkey's first season in Jacksonville is going to go. The season spreads contain few surprises -- the Indianapolis Colts are expected to be bad, the Green Bay Packers are expected to be good -- but are a good way to kill some time during the NFL's May doldrums. A week-by-week selection of the most interesting lines (via Covers.com ): Week 2 Detroit Lions (+3.5) at San Francisco 49ers Week 3 New York Giants (PK) at Carolina Panthers Week 4 New York Giants (+4) at Philadelphia Eagles Week 5 Green Bay Packers (+9.5) at Indianapolis Colts [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Trades and surprises define the first round (Shutdown Corner)

Given that 2012 marked the first season with the combination of a rookie wage scale and the absence of a lockout, speculation was high that teams would be trading around the first round with a frequency rarely seen. Little did we know. There were three trades among NFL teams with the first 10 picks alone, starting with the Cleveland Browns, who moved up from the fourth overall pick to the third in order to grab Alabama running back Trent Richardson. That move took the Minnesota Vikings from the third pick to Cleveland's fourth, and added a fourth, fifth, and seventh-round picks to an already stacked Vikings pick list -- they now have 13 picks overall in this year's draft, and they got their much-needed elite pass protector in USC's Matt Kalil. The Vikings later made a deal with the Baltimore Ravens to move down again in the first round. The Jacksonville Jaguars then moved up to the fifth pick by trading their seventh overall selection and an extra fourth-round pick for the privilege of taking Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon. The Bucs may have been in the hunt for Richardson, but the move down still netted them Alabama safety Mark Barron, one of the safest and most versatile players in this draft class. The big traders in that top 10 were the Dallas Cowboys, who took their 14th overall pick and their second-rounder and gave it to the St. Louis Rams to move up to St. Louis' sixth-overall selection. From there, they took LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne and left the Rams with even more chips in the later rounds. You'll be hearing from them a lot on Friday and Saturday. Later in the first round, the New England Patriots proved once again that they see no fixed positions in any draft by trading up twice for two much-needed additions to their front seven -- linebacker Dont'a Hightower and Syracuse pass rusher Chandler Jones. Not bad for a couple of fourth-round picks. The Bucs and Denver Broncos, who were also part of one of the Patriots' trades finished things off by switching picks in the 30s so that Tampa Bay could grab Boise State running back Doug Martin. But the most surprising trade, at least when it came to the final result, happened when the Seattle Seahawks took their twelfth overall pick and dropped with Philadelphia's 15th. The Eagles selected Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, which seems a great value pick, as many mocks had Cox going as early at 6 overall to the Rams. The Seahawks confounded most observers by taking West Virginia's Bruce Irvin while some impressive and much-needed talent -- including Stanford guard David DeCastro, South Carolina end Melvin Ingram, and Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw -- were still on the board. Irvin is a speed pass rusher who reminds some of an embryonic Von Miller, but few expected him to go in the first round at all. Seattle knew better, or at least they thought they did. Sources said that the San Francisco 49ers had basically guaranteed Irvin a pick at 30th overall if he fell that far, and the Seahawks already felt they had their man. Brushing the naysayers aside, head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider seemed thrilled to come out of the first round with Irvin and two more picks. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports