Bettis voted into Hall of Fame; Show shut out

In a couple of tweets about an hour ago, Jerome Bettis, while thanking the Steelers and never mentioning the Rams organization that drafted him, announced he's been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Well, it's a well-deserved honor anyway, so congratulations to Bettis.


Bettis will not be joined by any other former Rams, as Kurt Warner and Orlando Pace were preposterously shut out. The rest of the Class of 2015:

* Tim Brown
* Charles Haley
* Junior Seau
* Will Shields
* Mick Tingelhoff (Seniors selection)
* Bill Polian (Contributors selection)
* Ron Wolf (Contributors selection)

I had predicted Warner and Pace in over Bettis and Shields but got the other 3, not that Seau was a very challenging prediction. Shields over Pace is not a complete shock, as I've mentioned in past Hall of Fame posts. He's one of the great guards of all time and played in something like 12 Pro Bowls. He had numbers on Pace. I called Brown over Marvin Harrison, even though Harrison finished higher in last year's voting.

I think this just goes to show how much the national football media is just shitting on St. Louis as a football city right now. Pace was consistently described as a first-ballot HoFer just like his contemporaries Walter Jones and Jonathan Ogden, and Warner's story alone should have landed him in Canton on the first try, let alone his Super Bowl records (the TOP THREE passing yardage games) and career stats damn similar to Troy Aikman's.

So, there goes my trip to northern Ohio this summer, and with Brett Favre an obvious induction for the 2016 class, I can already forget about getting a room for that induction in case any of the Greatest Show heroes make that class. No, seriously. Green Bay fans reportedly already have everything bought up. Thanks a lot, assholes writers.

Reports say Warner, Pace and Kevin Greene all made the top ten, along with Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison. Don Coryell, Terrell Davis, Morten Andersen, Jimmy Johnson and John Lynch finished 11th thru 15th. (I don't believe the actual order of finish is revealed, only who made the top ten.) The 6-thru-10 players OUGHT to make up most of the 2016 induction class. That will obviously have Favre, but better damn sure not have T.O. in it the first time around. If the entire Greatest Show has to wait a year, he'd better the hell have to wait. My guess for the 2016 class is the three Rams plus Favre and Dungy. Just in time to effing showcase L.A. in the Hall of Fame Game. Probably against the Packers.

-$-

OC update: Cross EVERYBODY off the list...

Seriously. The Rams currently have NO outside candidate left on their offensive coordinator wish list. The Colts turned out not to be a-holes just jerking the Rams' chain, they signed Rod Chudzinski to a multi-year deal to serve as their assistant head coach. Meanwhile, ex-Bills OC Nathaniel Hackett, who did interview with the Rams, was so impressed by the opportunity to OC here that he jumped... on the Jacksonville QB coaching job. That's probably about all we need to know about what kind of "opportunity" the rest of the league thinks the Rams' job is.

If he wasn't there already, these developments should have been more than enough to vault insiders favorite, Rams TEs coach Rob Boras, to the top of the OC list.

Fisher might have had a chance to hire former Oklahoma OC Josh Heupel (fired January 6), who's close friends with Sam Bradford, but he got an OC job at Utah State last week. I would have thought seriously about at least making Heupel the QB coach/Bradford whisperer and bumping Frank Cignetti up to OC.

I'm not sure there's a sensible name outside the organization otherwise: Fisher isn't going to sign Charlie Weis (fired by KU) or June Jones (fired by SMU).

Well, there's Mike Martz. What would be the main criticism of hiring Martz? He'll get Bradford killed? How much do you think that is going to take? I'm only a little drunk to think signing Martz as OC, with Ryan Fitzpatrick backing Bradford up (and becoming the starter by week 2) is starting to sound pretty good.

-$-

Roger Goodell comments on L.A. rumors

At the Super Bowl press conference, Jim Thomas asked Roger Goodell how committed the NFL was to keeping a franchise in St. Louis, and given that S.E. Kroenke appears more interested in building a stadium in Los Angeles, how can he (possibly) meet the league's relocation guidelines, especially that they take every possibly opportunity to stay in their own market?

STLToday

[W]e want all of our franchises to stay in their current markets. That's a shared responsibility. That's something that we all have to work together on. The league has programs, including stadium funding programs, that we make available and we will and have worked with communities, including St. Louis. We also will make sure that we're engaging the business community and the public sector in a way that can help us lead to solutions that work in those communities, in your case St. Louis. And then make sure it works for the community as well as for the the team, so our teams can be successful over the long term.

...You know [S.E.] (Kroenke) has been working on the stadium issue in St. Louis, as you know, for several years. They had a very formal process as part of their lease. That process, they went through that entire process; it did not result in a solution that works either for St. Louis or for the team. So I don't think the stadium is a surprise to anybody in any market that is having these issues. There's quite a bit of discussion about it and the St. Louis representatives seem determined to build a stadium. That's a positive development, something that we look forward to working with them (on).

Bernie Miklasz saves me a lot of work commenting Goodell's comment on the "work" Kroenke has done to keep the Rams in St. Louis:

Goodell’s comment was revealing. If Kroenke attempts to move the Rams, and submits his request to a vote of the NFL owners, we can expect Kroenke to argue that he fulfilled his obligation to find a St. Louis solution by simply entering into arbitration.

This, of course, is preposterous.

Kroenke took time to meet with the mayor of Inglewood, Calif., before ramping up plans to build a stadium complex on the old Hollywood Park grounds near Los Angeles. Kroenke, however, has refused to meet with the St. Louis stadium task force. He has refused to meet with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon. He hasn’t met with St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. Kroenke continues to ignore phone calls and requests to discuss the STL stadium.

The arbitration was settled only two years ago, and St. Louis already has cultivated a plan for a new stadium. Compare that to the San Diego Chargers, who have been trying to get a new stadium built in their market for a dozen years. Or the Oakland Raiders, who have been stuck in a terrible stadium situation for a decade.

And Kroenke will try to convince Goodell and the owners that he worked in good faith to exhaust all opportunities in St. Louis? Really? The same guy who won’t even meet with the political leaders or take their phone calls?

Waiting out a 20-year lease agreement while you get a free stadium, then complaining that St. Louis won't pay for a $700 million renovation that was completely economically and logistically (where the f*ck was the team supposed to play?) unviable is not even remotely "working" to achieve a stadium solution. The way the end of the lease played out was a legal formality that could be seen coming years in advance. To call that "working" on a stadium solution would be equivalent to calling kneeling on the ball before halftime "working" on offense. Here's all of Bernie's analysis, which I should really link to since I've pasted about half of it here. I wish this could go to court somehow and Miklasz could be a witness.

I'll also note that Goodell has repeatedly said in public the league wants its teams to stay in their current markets, and the league was pretty willing to back up that sentiment in the case of the Vikings.

Miklasz also reports that Kroenke is already working behind the scenes to get the 24 votes he could need from his fellow lying owners to get the league's blessing to move the Rams. A couple of notes there: judging from unscripted public comments in a couple of interviews already, he already has Dallas asshole owner Jerry Jones' vote. I didn't need any more reason to hate you before now, Jerry. You can stop any time. And while St. Louis very likely has San Diego's support, they might have lost a vote with the death last year of Bills owner Ralph Wilson, who never voted yes on a franchise move. It'll be too far gone for St. Louis if this gets to a vote of the owners anyway, so I won't spend a lot of time trying to count lying owner votes.

-$-

Ex-Rams comments on L.A. rumors

Yahoo!

Kurt Warner: I'm a St. Louis guy, so I want the Rams to stay there in St. Louis. That's where my heart is and I'll always think of the Rams as a part of St. Louis. But I hear the rumors and I understand the logic of the natural fit with the Rams back in L.A. But I'm a St. Louis guy, so my hope is that they stay there.




 

ESPN

Orlando Pace said St. Louis is home in spirit for all of the Greatest Show on Turf Rams.

This is where we had that success. This is where everything happened. So if the team left, it would be almost like the (football) Cardinals. They don’t feel like they have a home. We’d feel the same way. So hopefully they stay in St. Louis, where we won a championship.

Los Angeles Times (yeah, irony. I know)

Torry Holt on the LA rumors: heartbreaking. Because I know this city loves football. We saw it first-hand. There’s a lot of talk about this being a baseball town. And it is, and that’s understandable. [But] from ’99 to 2004, they loved St. Louis Rams football. It was a football town. We’ve just gotta get back to winning. Get back to winning.

 

St. Louis Rams

Danny Amendola says it would be a shame to see the Rams move from St. Louis back to Los Angeles:

I have a love for St. Louis for sure. It was my home. Ironically,  LA is a home of mine, too. Are they moving out there for sure? LA needs a team, too, but to take ’em away from St. Louis it would be sad to see ’em go.

NOLA.com

Marshall Faulk said in a recent radio interview that St. Louis didn't act quickly enough, an opinion that doesn't take a lot into account, which Bernie Miklasz addresses here and which I'm about to repeat in another post.

I think it's still worth noting when the Rams' former players in St. Louis are willing to stick up for the city in public comments.

All comments from interviews with STLToday.

-$-

2015 East-West Shrine Game wrap-up

College all-star games, we have a problem. You are as boring as hell. The East-West Shrine Game, held back on January 17, has been criminally boring every time I've watched it, never more so than this year's food coma of a 19-3 game (won by the East) that was so excitement-free they awarded the game MVP TO A KICKER. Do something about this, all-star games. The Shrine game at least had Mike Singletary and Jim Zorn coaching this year instead of Jerry F. Glanville and Leeman F. Bennett; that's a start. But do something about your on-field product. These kids are going to get blitzed the second they hit an NFL practice field; allow some kind of blitzing. That can create big plays BOTH ways. Allow receivers to go into motion. Allow DBs to press cover. The only secondary coach who's going to learn anything useful from this game is Tim Walton. But do something. Your PRACTICES should not be twice as interesting as your GAMES.

Jim Hanifan, Cal receiver (Fanbase.com)

The highlight of this game for Rams fans was the news that Jim Hanifan, who played in the 1955 East-West Shrine Game, was inducted into the game's Hall of Fame this year. Congratulations to coach Hanifan and to former Nebraska star Tommie Frazier. And no, I did not know that Hanifan once led the nation in receiving.

Some of the on-field standouts from St. Petersburg this year:

* Dominique Brown, RB, Louisville: had my MVP vote, with 70 yards and a TD on 19 carries. He's a very big (6'2” 240), very upright runner, but did a good job running through and after contact while also showing speed to get around end. Good middle runner and a good cutback runner.

* Jamon Brown, RT, Louisville: “Brown” and “Louisville” will be early themes here. Brown blocked his butt off in this game. On many pass plays, his opponent didn't even get penetration across the line; in the run game, he had some bulldozing middle blocks and some good seal blocks on draw plays. Even if you weren't paying the strictest attention, it was noticeable how much better the East team looked with Brown in the game, and it looked like Singletary made it a point to have him in the game at the end to grind out the clock.

* John Miller, RG, Louisville: Miller and J. Brown were really strong on their side. Miller showed a lot of strength and power. Strong drive blocking blew open holes on a couple of good runs, and he showed the upper body strength to lock opponents up 1-on-1. On a D. Brown draw in the 3^rd, Miller opened up the hole AND picked off a LB at the 2^nd level to clear out a 6-yard gain. He bulldozed holes for D. Brown all game, including on the 1-yard TD run, and Mike Mayock ranked him as a 3rd-round prospect. If he's on the board when the Rams pick in the 3^rd, he should be coming here.

* Jermauria Rasco, DE, LSU: Enough Louisville talk; let's talk about some pass rushers with awesome freaking names. Rasco is more likely to be a 3-4 OLB at his size. He also would have been an excellent pick for MVP of the game. I scored him for a minimum of six pressures and a sack, and he also blew up several running plays. He's impressively quick off the line but understands the value of containing the QB in the pocket, too. He opened the 2^nd half by blowing up a naked bootleg play; DEs aren't supposed to be able to do that! And he wasn't just a speed guy; he got a sack in the 2^nd half using an inside move.

* Anthony Chickillo, DE, The U: See what I mean about awesome names? I score Chickillo with five pressures and a sack. He showed superior quickness off the snap and good in-line pursuit to break up run plays. Pretty relentless player who consistently got past his blocker's outside shoulder.

* Za'Darius Smith, DE, Kentucky: Again, an awesome name. We'll hear from Smith again at the Senior Bowl as well. I have him for a sack, two hits and three pressures. One of the hits set up an interception and one of the pressures set up Chickillo's sack. On his sack, Smith was initially ridden to the back of the pocket but recovered and dropped Taylor Kelly (Arizona State) from behind. Relentless, quick off the line, quick off the edge.

* Leterrius Walton, DT, Central Michigan: Very disruptive in bursts. Got off the ball and penetrated the backfield like a poor man's Aaron Donald. Flashed a very good swim move.

* Deiontrez Mount, LB, guess where, Louisville: Did everything you want to see out of a LB. Stayed with TEs off the line and covered tightly downfield. Tackled well, stuffed the run and set a good edge. I'll also mention Benjamin Heeney (Kansas) here, a safety-sized LB who will probably be a special-teams dynamo for somebody. He's all over the place and made but also missed a lot of tackles. Can't leave your feet on EVERY hit, kid.

* Andre Davis, WR, South Florida: Reminded me a ton of Brian Quick, which isn't meant to be criticism. He's a big 6'2” 210, was very reliable on big-man routes like quick slants and drags and ran effectively after the catch. Still looked a little raw, but the tools are there. Similarly-sized Austin Hill (Arizona) was also pretty effective, with four catches and a ton of targets from the West QBs.

* Josh Shaw, CB, USC: had an end zone interception and also blanketed Deon Long (Maryland) on a deep route. Bryce Callahan (Rice) had perfect coverage on a deep ball for Tre McBride (William & Mary). Long and McBride are both very much pro-quality receivers, so those were significant plays. Cam Thomas (Western Kentucky) had another of the game's better pass breakups.

* Hutson Mason, QB, Georgia: My favorite QB of the all-star season so far, in a runaway. The stats bear me out; he was 7-for-8 for 71 yards, best passer in the game by far. His second play, he pump-faked and threw a beautiful 40-yard ball with just a flick of his wrist. Besides that arm strength, he showed the overall strength to hang in against the rush and then fight his way out of the pocket to make completions or scramble. He threw a perfectly-timed 20-yard slant to Davis in the 4^th and was right on with all of his quick throws. If I was a 3-QB team, I would not mind drafting Mason at all as a developmental prospect. Size (6'2” 210) shouldn't be an issue for him, and he was a breath of fresh air in a field of spectacularly unimpressive QBs this month. Anthony Boone (Duke) at least looked capable of running a pro offense, but he also appeared to bobble every snap. He was still way off the pace of being a goat of the game, but I'm afraid it's time to start herding those:

* Cody Fajardo, QB, Nevada: 2-for-6 for 5 yards. His first series, he threw a loopy screen to a flanker, threw an incomplete and wobbly dumpoff pass – I never knew a pass so short could actually wobble – and badly underthrew a pass for one of Damian (Chicken) Parms' (Florida Atlantic) two picks. If that wasn't a receiver not running a comeback route he was supposed to, Fajardo underthrew it by five yards. Poor pass protection and receiver screwups even beyond that pick play made it a very difficult day for Fajardo.

* Dylan Thompson, QB, South Carolina: ONE-for-6 for 5 yards. Thompson was the worst player in this game. His first pass (again, this may have been a receiver screwup) looked like a quick out, but the receiver ran a quick hitch. Thompson looked pretty clueless in the pocket, which was a very bad thing considering the East's pass rush. He got sacked by Chickillo almost immediately in the 2^nd. He re-entered in the 4^th and instantly threw about the dumbest pass you will ever see, going deep for a man who was blanketed 1-on-1 and having no idea that the safety, Parms, was even over there. As easy and as dumb an interception as there can be. I don't know who's the bigger goat, Thompson or the official who invited him to this game. He didn't belong.

* Mickey Baucus (Arizona) and Cameron Clemmons (Western Kentucky) stood out as offensive linemen who need a ton of work. Clemmons repeatedly got beaten right off the snap and struggled with speed and quickness all game. Baucus basically unraveled, struggling with quickness both outside and inside, failing to pick up stunts and false-starting twice. I'd also avoid B.J. Finney (Kansas State), of the Scott Wells School of Spray-Snapping, and Terry Poole (San Diego State), who struggled nearly as much as his aforementioned teammates at tackle.

Shockingly, Steve Loney was an offensive line coach in this game, but for the East, the GOOD offensive line. It's a shame some of the West kids didn't have a needed chance to have coach Hanifan in their ears a little bit.

What this game lacked in interesting play, it didn't lack in interesting players. As a Rams fan, I'd gladly welcome either of those Louisville offensive linemen. Big D. Brown should be a very useful RB for somebody. He'd be a perfect backup to Le'Veon Bell in Pittsburgh, for instance. Mount merits a good look from a Rams team that is probably looking to upgrade at SLB. D-linemen were coming out of the woodwork here, not that I expect the Rams to draft one, and if Mason's still on the draft board at the right time, I'd be as willing to fight for drafting him as I was for Austin Davis a couple of years ago.

I'll have to put off the Senior Bowl writeup till probably next weekend...

-$-

OC update, 1/25

* Any job-hunters out there? Have you considered a career as an NFL offensive coordinator? Recent moves at the positions around the league have established a seller's market, and a pretty soft one, at that:

Proving the good ol' boys network is still in full effect all these years, we had Marc Trestman get re-cycled from Chicago (HC) to Baltimore (OC); Gary Kubiak re-cycled from Baltimore (OC) to Denver (HC); John Fox re-cycled from Denver (HC) to Chicago (HC), and Adam Gase also re-cycled from Denver (OC) to Chicago (OC). The Rams apparently would have interviewed Gase if he had not signed with Chicago.

Other new OCs turning up around the league like bad pennies: Greg Olson in Jacksonville; Chan F. Gailey with the Jets; Bill Musgrave in Oakland. INNOVATIVE HIRINGS! Not that RamView was against re-cycling, since I was looking to get Dirk Koetter, who's on I believe his third team now in Tampa.

Jeff Fisher also is not against re-cycling. The Rams were interested in Greg Roman, but he went from San Francisco to Buffalo. They were also interested in Kyle Shanahan, but he is expected to take the OC job in Atlanta, who are expected to hire Seattle DC Dan Quinn as their HC after the Super Bowl (distracted coordinator - another reason to pick the Patriots?).

That's a LOT of people failing, most in multiple places, at an elite job and STILL finding new positions at that same level. Cleveland at least broke the mold when they signed Oakland QB coach John DeFilippo to call their plays. He's 36, and the first play he calls in the NFL will be his first one anywhere, besides possibly Madden Football. And Oakland had the worst passing offense in the league last year. Well, at least it's a creative hire.

Rams fans have also been spared a couple of potential horror-show hirings, with Tony Soprano joining the 49ers to coach tight ends, former Jets OC Marty Mornhinweg joining Baltimore to coach QBs and Bill Callahan joining the Redskins to coach o-line. Again, though, repeated failures maintaining elite-level positions. Still in the recycle bin: Al Saunders and Jim Fassel, who's reportedly interested in coaching for UNLV.

St. Louis Rams

And with all this dancing going on, Fisher is still pretty much leaning on the wall and staring at his shoetips. The only Rams OC interview that's been reported was with former Buffalo OC Nathaniel Hackett on Thursday. Hackett checks off a lot of boxes for Fisher. Son of a former NFL coach? Check (Paul Hackett). Fans of his last team disliked his playcalling and thought he ran an uncreative offense? Check. Running game and offensive game plans that don't play to the players' strengths? Check. OC who will stifle all creativity in favor of whatever boring power offense his control-freak head coach tells him to run? Check, check, check. Hackett will be perfect for Fisher, and it'll be like Schotty never left. Might as well hire him right now.

The Rams had a couple of other candidates, but the Packers refused their request to interview QBs coach Alex Van Pelt, and even though he was only under contract for another week at the time, the Colts refused a request to interview Rod Chudzinski. So, A) the Colts are assholes, and B) Fisher may yet interview Chudzinski, but is expected to have competition from the 49ers.

Rams TEs coach Rob Boras and I assume Cignetti may yet be candidates for in-house promotion. Ray Sherman is apparently a candidate only in my own imagination, though he has NFL OC experience.

Beyond that, Fisher is either going to have to really scrape the barrel or get really, really creative. I mean, he can't even get fired Jagwires OC Jedd Fisch (QBs coach, Michigan) or Bears failure Aaron Kromer (Buffalo, o-line) at this point. Or his former Tennessee QBs coach Dowell Loggains (QBs, Chicago).

It looks like it's Hackett, Chudzinski or bust. Or maybe let fans call the plays from the stands? I might renew my season tickets to see that. Or Mike Martz.

-$-

Transactions, 1/25

STLToday

* Fair warning to whomever the Rams' 3rd and 4th-string QBs will be this summer: NFL.com reports the Rams (may) have signed tackle Sean Hooey to a futures contract. That would reunite him and Mitchell Van Dyk and re-create one of the worst third-string offensive lines in preseason history. Well, at least the Rams finally cut the prices of preseason games. This would be Sean's third, and I assume final, chance to make the main roster. Seems like a good enough fellow, so good luck to him wherever he does wind up.

* Fair warning also that, since this was NFL.com reporting, IT MAY BE COMPLETELY WRONG. For instance, they reported Jorgen Hus signed with the Rams earlier this month, when he didn't. Hus signed with the Chiefs. Thanks, NFL; it's not like I would ever expect THE LEAGUE ITSELF to accurately report its own transactions.

* So, in summary, Sean Hooey probably signed with an NFL team, and it might have been the Rams.

* Current Rams tracker:
Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald were both picked to play for the Cowboys, ER, Michael Irvin's team, in Sunday's Pro Bowl (ESPN, 7 pm Central). Irvin picked ALL seven Cowboys players sent to the game for his team, which is coached by Jason Garrett. Irvin also picked former Cowboy Demarcus Ware; I think the only former Cowboy he missed out on was Martellus Bennett. Lots of pass-rushing power on this team, which also has Clay Matthews, Von Miller, Elvis Dumervil, Sheldon Richardson, Geno Atkins and Cameron Wake.

* Former Rams tracker:
- More ex-Rams coaches on the move:
  - Greg Olson joins the Jagwires as offensive coordinator;
  - Bill Kollar joins the Broncos as their defensive line coach;
  - Derius Swinton joins the Bears as assistant special teams coach.

Former Rams head coach Mike Martz and current QB coach Frank Cignetti both interviewed for the offensive coordinator position in Cleveland, but lost out to a 36-year-old who has never called plays at any level and guided Derek Carr to a whopping 5.5-yards-per-attempt passing average last year, the worst in the league. So, Jeff Fisher probably can't make the most questionable OC hire of the offseason, though there's still plenty of time.

-$-

2015 Senior Bowl practice wrap-up

Day 2 of Senior Bowl practice coverage provided another look at the North team in action and a briefer look at some of the South team’s drills. Day 3 didn't provide much of a look at anything. South coverage was almost all red zone drills. North coverage was pushed back 45 minutes because the Patriots are a bunch of freaking cheaters, not exactly a TiVo-friendly move, so RamView's scouting was limited to, well, nothing. Some last observations and players to watch from this untrained eye before Saturday's game:

* QB: The Rams picked the wrong year to be QB hunting in the draft; it looks like a crapshoot after the first two picks. Emphasis on the first syllable. So many QBs this all-star season, including Bryce Petty (Baylor) a couple of times here, blow the exchange from center because they’re spread system QBs who never lined up under center. Sean Mannion (Oregon State) has thrown a lot of bad sideline passes. At best, you’d have to call him inconsistent. He threw a pretty deep corner to Nick Boyle (Delaware) in 11-on-11, but other times, he’ll throw an awful wobbler on just a 10-yard out route. I’m not sure he’s comfortable throwing on the move. And I’ll have to question Blake Sims’ (Alabama) deep ball; early on, he had a receiver open on a deep post route for a 40-yard TD but underthrew him by about 10 feet. Garrett Grayson (Colorado State) is the QB I have my eye on for now; threw a nice and consistent deep ball.

* LB: Not that most of the South TEs and RBs looked like very good receivers, but most of the South LBs looked like they had no business even trying to cover routes. In their defense, a couple of those guys – Lyndon Trail (Norfolk State), Lorenzo Mauldin (Louisville) - were probably dropping back in coverage for the first time in their lives. Clemson LB Stephone Anthony toyed with this drill, though, displaying excellent “length” and mobility. Trail may be drafted as an athlete as much as anything. He has lined up at LB, DE AND tight end.

* Clive Walford, TE, The U: Walford also toyed with this drill, against LBs and even corners. He has a ridiculous number of moves and could get major separation on some of these guys in just a couple of yards. He also has plenty of speed to get separation downfield and should pretty easily be the first TE off the board this year. He also has to lead this draft class in trash-talking, though so far, he is backing it up.

* Tyler Lockett, WR, Kansas State: Like the North with Jamison Crowder (Duke), it looks like the South’s best receiver is a small guy. Lockett brings a lot to the field, though: good hands, very good route-running and he’s also impressively strong. On one rep, he ran a slant and didn’t get knocked off his route despite a lot of contact. He had a couple of deep TDs and showed good long speed. On one, he impressively fought off the press at the line and contact downfield to make the long TD catch. He got open for an easy red zone TD day 3 with an absolutely sick shimmy. If he's got the competitive fire, he can be another Steve Smith.

* Sammy Coates, WR, Auburn: A big WR who plays like it. Has that “my ball” attitude and won every contested ball. Good hands and was reliable on short routes. Looks like he was born to catch end zone fade routes. I like his pro prospects a lot, and he’s a big receiver, from AUBURN; the Rams will be taking a good, long look.

* Ty Montgomery, WR, Stanford: nice bounceback day for the Stanford wideout. Caught everything and caught a deep TD with Josh Shaw (USC) blanketing him.

* Kevin White, CB, TCU: Seems to have everything a corner needs to succeed: excellent feet, nice backpedal, quick reaction to break well on throws in front of him, and superior closing speed he used to catch up on one deep throw and make a pretty breakup. Also picked off Grayson day 3. What bothers me is the times he got burned downfield. Closing speed’s not always going to be enough, and the Rams already have enough corners who are good at getting burned deep, but keep an eye on White. 

* Ladarius Gunter, CB, The U: Strong competitor for best cornerback in Mobile. Defended every red zone pass perfectly, with 3 or 4 very nice pass breakups, including one on a slant route for Lockett. Only Sammie Coates beat him, and Gunter was on Coates like a second skin that rep.

* Also at DB: Adrian Amos (Penn State) continues to look good; cut off a double-move route perfectly in 1-on-1. Damarious Randall (Arizona State) still looks like the best cover safety there, and I still can’t believe he’s not a corner. He was perfect on a rep against Crowder, blanketing him off the line, keeping him within arm’s length on his cutback and then jumping his out route for an INT. Textbook.

* D-line: Local accounts say Marcus Golden (DE, Mizzou) has been killing it. I only saw one rep, where his short reach really hurt him. He reached out to punch the OT in 1-on-1, whiffed and nearly fell over. Danny Shelton (DT, Washington) continued to prove impossible to move in the middle on run plays. The Iowa DTs – Carl Davis and Louis Trinca-Pasat - are both strong and can really truck blockers backwards. Davis is no Aaron Donald but looks like the quickest DT there. Henry Anderson (listed as a DE, btw, not DT) continues to be quick off the ball and showed some strength winning reps with his punch and some very good handwork. Za’Darius Smith (Kentucky) has picked up his tempo, winning a couple of reps with spin moves and inside moves.

* O-line stock up: Guards Laken Tomlinson (Duke) and Max Garcia (Florida) continued to hold their own pretty well against Shelton in 1-on-1 pass pro. Both are strong and tough to move. Tomlinson made an impressive pull block in 11-on-11 to spring a long run. La'el Collins (LSU) will likely kick inside in the pros and looks comfortable there. Very strong, can “anchor”, gets people off balance and flattens them. Though no Eric Fisher, Donovan Smith (Penn State) continues to look like the best tackle there. He made a play in 11-on-11 I’m always going to like, mauling the DE on a run and then getting downfield to maul a LB. Robert Myers (Tennessee State) laid out Marcus Hardison (Arizona State) THREE different times in the North 1-on-1 drills. Rob Havenstein (Wisconsin) looks a lot more comfortable at right tackle than left. He goes to his left much better than to his right, so at RT, he’s not as susceptible to inside moves. Shaq Mason (Georgia Tech) was mainly a run-blocker in college. Grady Jarrett (Clemson) beat him once 1-on-1 clean past his right shoulder at RG. The second time, though, Mason drove Jarrett down the line clear over to left tackle. There's some power to be harnessed.

* There is coaching going on at these practices. Arie Kouandjio (Alabama) struggled with speed throughout 1-on-1 early on, but Mike Mayock said the coaches cleaned up his technique throughout the week. They had him using his arm length advantage to make up for his slower feet, and he stopped getting beaten immediately off the whistle. Giving him that extra second let him anchor and made him pretty immovable. And he's already a classic run mauler, as he showed multiple times in 11-on-11. Any chance the Rams could get Jagwires assistant o-line coach Luke Butkus to work with Joseph Barksdale?

* Maybe not enough coaching, though. A team that needs a center and whose front office loves everyone who has ever played for Auburn is likely to look hard at Reese Dismukes, but so far, I've only seen him get trucked back to the QB or beaten immediately off the snap by Jarrett. I haven't seen any power out of Dismukes at all. The Rams are already too light in their spikes in the middle. Austin Shepherd (Alabama) has been getting beaten at tackle all week. Trey Flowers (Arkansas) got him with quickness in 11-on-11; Preston Smith (Mississippi State) bull-rushed him 1-on-1; Lorenzo Mauldin (Louisville) beat him with spin moves 1-on-1. 

* I think I’ve seen all of T.J. Clemmings (Pitt) I need to see. He looks like a hot mess and I don’t even think he’s a first round pick. He gets repeatedly whipped by inside moves because of bad footwork and balance. I gave up on him when Nate Orchard (Utah) beat him in a rep that was all hand fighting and did not live to regret that decision when Orchard bull rushed him like a little, um, girl the next rep. Clemmings’ footwork, balance, positioning are all terrible, to the point I don’t understand any of the fuss about him. The team that drafts him better not do so thinking they can play him right away.

Like last year, nobody, though some will say Shelton, really stepped forward as the dominant player of the week. But Ziggy Ansah was the star of the game two years ago even though he looked terrible in practice, so maybe Clemmings is on his way to a big game. The WRs and DBs look like the best units there, but the passing games are usually so awful in these all-star games, I don’t have a lot of faith in them getting the spotlight Saturday. For the Rams, unexciting as it may be, keep an eye on the guards and the safeties.

-$-

2015 Senior Bowl practice notes, day 1

As they have done every year for a while now, NFL Network started broadcasting this year's Senior Bowl practices Tuesday with coverage of the North team practice. Some high points, low points and players to watch...

* Jeff Luc, LB, Cincinnati: the guy goes 260 but can stay with RBs on deep routes. For that alone, I think he bears watching, though I doubt the Rams have a place for him.

* Jamison Crowder, WR, Duke. The best route-runner on the show today, and he did a great job getting off the line against press coverage. They can't press you if they can't touch you. He's teeny, though: 5'8" 174.

* Danny Shelton, DT, Washington. He's being called the best player in Mobile and a likely top ten pick, and early on in 1-on-1s, he was just tossing guys around. Really got gassed at the end, though, despite Mike Mayock's insistence that he's a 3-down player. Definitely earns the comparisons to Haloti Ngata, though.

* Nick Boyle, TE, Delaware. As a receiver, showed nice hands and won fights for the ball; also made a big block to blow open a big run 11-on-11.

* Justin Hardy, WR, East Carolina. Not big at 5'10" 190, but showed nice hands, caught well outside his frame, and beat Josh Shaw, who played well at the East-West Shrine Game, for a deep ball.

* Henry Anderson, DT, Stanford. Looks much too tall and skinny for the position, but he is quick off the snap and gets really good leverage.

* DBs: Damarious Randall (Arizona State) looked like the best DB there to me, to the point I was surprised to see him listed as a safety. Didn't get fooled once and showed little problem handling speed. Kurtis Drummond (Michigan State), another safety, didn't impress me in coverage but really shined in 11-on-11. Looks like he'll be a good in-the-box safety, he was all over sweeps and short passes. Adrian Amos (Penn State) usually had tight coverage and showed good anticipation. Finally, a couple of corners: I really liked Eric Rowe (Utah). Ideal size, smart player, plays the ball well, doesn't commit earlier than he should. Steven Nelson (Oregon State) I didn't like as much because I thought he held on every rep. But the NFL Network guys loved him, very reminiscent of Desmond Trufant last year. So keep an eye on Nelson.

* T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pitt. Some mock drafts have the Rams drafting Clemmings at #10. Right now, I'd have to say I hope not. The Rams already have one raw tackle who's still figuring out what he's doing. They don't need two. Clemmings has only two years' experience on the offensive line, and it showed here. He reaches too much, gets too off-balance and is very susceptible to counter moves. The comparisons to Tyron Smith look valid some reps. Other reps, he looks like Joseph Barksdale. No sale so far.

* O-linemen I did like: Donovan Smith, T, Penn State absolutely stoned defenders at times, including Za'Darius Smith, who is coming off an impressive East-West Shrine Game. Guards Laken Tomlinson (Duke) and Max Garcia (Florida) were rock-solid on most reps and held their own against Shelton.

* Hayes Pullard, LB, USC. I thought his lateral movement was awful. Any time a back juked him during drills they'd get open by two yards. He did show good deep speed.

* Ty Montgomery, WR, Stanford: they went deep for him three times during 1-on-1 drills, he was open on all three, and didn't make a single catch. Didn't even touch the ball. And these weren't overthrown balls. Can he even track a deep ball?


Still waiting to see a player I'd want the Rams to spend pick #10 on. We'll have to see how the rest of the week develops.

-$-

AFC Championship:: New England 45, Indianapolis 7

ESPN.com / Getty

And now for the rest of today's bad gambling advice. Are the Colts a team of destiny? Was that a changing of the guard we saw last week in Denver, with Andrew Luck winning and Peyton Manning humbled? Are we in for another today? I can't rule it out. New England's supposed to be able to run on the Colts, but Indy hasn't been run on this postseason. If the Colt secondary can shut down Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders, they can sure shut down Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Brandon LaFell. That leaves Tom Brady looking around hoping to find Gronk or a receiver out of the backfield. But I will say this, those are much more viable options for Brady than Manning had last week. Peyton has no backs to throw to, and I assume Julius Thomas was never 100% going back to his original ankle injury here in St. Louis. That may be enough to get Brady by. Luck still seems good for a couple of dumb turnovers tonight and the Colt running game still fails to impress me. However, I think T.Y. Hilton presents the Patriots a serious challenge. Revis Island was not a very impressive destination last week. The Colt offensive line is playing as well as it has in a couple of years. The pieces are falling into place for a Colts return to the Super Bowl.

I just feel like they're still missing a piece, and it will probably still have to do with establishing the run or defending the run. It'll be closer than the 7-point spread, but Brady will find a way. And, yes, reverse psychology, Brady vs. Luck OBVIOUSLY means to play the under (51.5), right? Indy was under in their two playoff games so far. Patriots 24, Colts 20 Once again, bet accordingly. Actually, never bet on football.

Nantz and Simms announcing for CBS with Walt Anderson as flagmaster of ceremonies.


FIRST QUARTER
Oh man, am I drained from that first game (and starting this game about two hours late). Not to encourage Goodell or anything, but what would be wrong with putting these conference championship games on different days? Just a thought. I need the rest!

Hokey smokes, is the rain ever coming down in Foxborough. The national anthem is performed by Pat Monahan, who should be brought up for crimes against humanity for a couple of Train's annoying songs. Arthur Jones is bawling like a baby on the sideline just thinking about "Hey S*** S******".

I assume the Colts won the toss and start at their 21. Andrew Luck does not start sharp, missing Dwayne Allen on an out with an A-gap blitz coming at him and missing Reggie Wayne very badly under pressure on a slant to the sideline.

Julian Edelman gets a HUGE block from Darius Fleming, who knocked a Colt flying, and returns the punt 21 yards to the NE44. The Colts look about as ready for this game as the Seahawks did for the first game. Shane Vereen empties the backfield on first down and curls in for a 6-yard catch. Jerrell Freeman and Josh Chapman stuff LeGarrette Blount on 2nd. Tom Brady has Edelman wide open up the seam on 3rd-and-3 but overthrows him. Well, the under's looking good so far.

NOPE, it's MORE SPECIAL TEAMS HIJINKS, from an unexpected source, as veteran Josh Cribbs lets a poor, short punt clang off his face. Fleming is on the spot again for the recovery and his second big special teams play, a daily double, if you will.

Patriots at the IND26 now. Quick out to Edelman for 5. Blount makes a nifty cut a 250-pound man shouldn't be able to make and runs through arm tackles for 9. After a 2nd down quick out to Edelman leaves 3rd-and-inches at the 3, I appreciate Nantz and Simms trying to stay on top of Belichick possibly benefiting from poor calls as they suggest the spot of the ball is off a couple of yards, but they're completely wrong. Based on the position of the ball when Edelman's knee was down, the crew pretty much nailed the spot. All I know for sure is, DON'T ASK MIKE CAREY. One play later, they try to give Blount a TD on a play where he is CLEARLY down inside the 1. It'll be first-and-goal once they get this whole mess cleared up. Which they do, then Blount drives in for the TD the next play. Patriots 7, Colts 0

Hee, New England has already outrushed their total from last week. Boom Herron takes a pitch left for 12 off good blocks from Allen and Anthony Castonzo. Jamie Collins fights off an Allen block to lower the Boom for 1 the next play, then Rod Ninkovich gets Luck scrambling for about 6. Darrelle Revis has to come out after the play with a knee injury, which bears watching. His backfield partner Brandon Browner holds on 3rd down to give the Colts a freebie. Indy picks up a blitz as Luck hits Allen for 6. Jack Mewhort and Khaled Holmes give Herron a nice line to cut into for a first down across midfield. Herron up the middle for 5 more; Lance Louis opened up a big hole. The Colts aren't supposed to be able to do this, are they? So, of course, Indy stops running and Ninkovich tips away a bootleg pass. Ninkovich makes Luck step up on 3rd-and-5, but he hits Coby Fleener at the NE33. "Hands of Stone" Herron drops a short pass on 1st down and blows another on a deep route where he would have beaten Collins for a TD. Wayne can't get turned for a throw behind him on 3rd down, sending in He Who Shall Not Be Named. His kick is so not good at all that I'm pretty sure the man in the middle got a hand on it.

Jet sweep to Edelman gets 11 across midfield and a couple more when he fumbles forward out of bounds. Now it's the infamous 4-lineman formation, with what I'll have to call quads left and Indy not guarding Hoomanawanui in the right slot because they know he's ineligible. Talk about much ado about nothing. Gronk motions over to lead a bubble screen to LaFell with Illini Mike, but LaFell blows the catch. I guess you don't have to announce an ineligible receiver; Anderson didn't do it here, just like Bill Vinovich last week. (A big reason to doubt Vinovich made a mistake there: he has been assigned to work the Super Bowl.) 2nd-10, Shane Vereen splits wide left, beats Freeman down the sideline decisively, gets run over by Freeman thanks to a bad Brady underthrow, and still makes the catch inside the 20. That should have been a TD, though, Brady. Don't know how no flag there, but it hardly matters. Montori Hughes and Ricky Jean-Francois stuff Blount up the middle. Then, a RamView favorite, Indy blowing a T.O. on defense. A slant pass for Edelman goes off his hands inside the 10.  Indy then leaves him wide open in the middle of the field on 3rd-and-9, and he wriggles down inside the 5 to make it 1st-and-goal. Blount powers down to the 1 behind Josh Kline and Dan Connelly. The Patriots distract the Colts (and me) on 2nd-and-goal by motioning the blocking TE, then leak out fullback James F. Develin, who ran through D'Qwell Jackson for a 1-yard TD catch. Patriots 14-0

The Colts are off to the same start as Seattle today, but I suspect a similar comeback will be a lot harder on the road. While the vomit rises in my throat, I'll have to opine that Josh McDaniels has them completely off balance right now in what's been an advanced offensive clinic, with ridiculous amounts of motion and misdirection.

Luck, in need of some, starts out at his 20. Read-option-looking handoff to Herron for 4. Herron catches another one out of the backfield for 9. Ninkovich bats down a pass, nearly picked it off. Luck well overthrows Hakeem Nicks deep to end what has felt like a very long (sorry) first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER
Luck gets pressure off both edges on 3rd-and-10 and throws well behind Hilton to send the punter back in. Castonzo is not matching his previous excellent play so far this preseason at all.


Oof, Luck has started 3-for-12. From his 30, Brady misses Gronk between 3 Colts, flirting with a turnover. DANNY AMENDOLA weaves for 8 off a quick hitch. Brady beats a heavy blitz on 3rd down with a 4-yard quick out to Edelman. Blount cuts back twice, embarrassing Shaun Phillips and then Darius Butler, for 10 across midfield. He's 50 lbs. too big for those kind of moves! He then runs up Ryan Wendell's back but pushes off through a big hole made by Connolly for 8 more. Another cutback, another 4 yards, another first down. Four more up the middle, exactly the way a lot of us last week thought the Patriots would take it to the Colts. Illini Mike catches a comeback at the IND29, leaving 3rd-and-1. After a Patriot timeout, Blount runs into Jean-Francois behind the line, but cuts back yet again, gets stopped a second time but keeps driving for about 3. Should the Colts really need to be reminded to play to the whistle in a conference championship game?

D'Qwell Jackson doesn't; he covers Gronk nicely and reacts even more nicely to a poor Brady throw behind Gronk, picking it off and returning it to the Colt 7. The weather's not favorable, but Brady's downfield throws haven't looked like much of anything so far and the Colts need to leverage that.

Luck hits Allen for 9, but a dumpoff to Jack Doyle loses 5, but Vince Wilfork earns a 15-yard penalty for going to Doyle's head late. Colts to their 31. Luck is still way off; he gets time on 1st down and misses Hilton badly on an intermediate route. Hilton responds with an impressive catch on 3rd down, half-diving, half-kneeling his way out of bounds and keeping his feet in on a 38-yard corner route. Luck scrambles for 3, then Devin McCourty breaks up a deep middle pass for Hilton. Jamie Collins hands them a first down with an illegal contact flag. An A-gap blitz by Collins forces a poor throw from Luck for an open Zurlon Tipton. Ninkovich beats RT Joe Reitz for the millionth time tonight, but Luck scrambles away and hits Fleener at the 12. New England next rushes TWO and delay blitzes Ninkovich, too cute by half as Luck hits Fleener uncovered over the middle and down inside the 1. Yep, 8 in coverage and they still left a man wide open. Ball came out as he reached for the goal line, but his knee was already down. That would have been a TD anyway for breaking the plane, Pats fans. The Colts rush the next play and Tipton burrows off an Allen block on the right end for their first score. Patriots 14, Colts 7 Aaaand the field mike picks up Luck dropping a huge F-bomb on national TV, hee.

Pats at their 32 with 4:48 left in the half. Brady beats a 3rd-and-6 blitz with a pass to Edelman on a drag route out to midfield. Blount breezes for 5 off a Develin block. He fakes out two Colts with a cutback and runs through another two for 8 more, and this is just getting silly. Another 9 through another huge hole behind Develin. Pats are in makeable FG range at the 2:00 warning. Brady gets a Bush Push from Develin for 2 and a 1st down at the IND27. Freeman blitzes and hits Brady, lowering his head and hitting him in the chest, which Mike Carey assures us is a penalty every time. God has the NFL gotten soft. Now at the 13, Arthur Jones stops Blount cold, and we have a soccer game breaking out now, as Jones flops like a very large fish after Blount takes a gratuitous shot at him. No flag for roughing or a yellow card for simulation. Brady goes for Gronk in the back of the end zone with 1:00 to go but Gronk can't keep both feet in. The Colts use their 2nd timeout at 0:53 due to defensive confusion. Brady steps up from rare pressure on 3rd-10 and scrambles, but careens down a little short of the first down at the 4. Sebastian Vollmer went down on the play like he'd been shot. I think Develin hammered him in the ribs trying to help out on pass pro. Also, Edelman is barking at the referee about the spot on the play in a manner that should get him unsportsmanlike conduct.

On 4th-and-about-two-inches, proving he's no Mike McCarthy (McCarthy would need to be an inch and three-quarters closer), Belichick goes for it. No, he takes a timeout to think about it. Don't be a McCarthyite, Bill.

He isn't. Brady is stopped a yard behind the line on a sneak attempt but gets another Bush Push from Develin down to the 3. 0:23 to go. The Pats use their last timeout, then Butler probably interferes with a classic Amendola out route at the goal line, but gets away with it. Vontae Davis makes a very nice play at the goal line to break up a slant to Gronk. A lot of contact there, too. The Pacers now use their last timeout and the Celtic will have to throw it back in from under their own basket. Whahuh? This isn't an NBA game? Freeman makes Indy's 3rd straight clutch pass defense by breaking up an out route for Vereen at the goal line. New England settles for 3 from Stephen Gostkowski. Patriots 17-7

HALFTIME SHOW

Patriots.com

Oh no, I think I have to agree with Phil Simms. New England has dominated this game so far and it feels like the Colts should be down farther than they are. They're putting little pressure on Brady and getting gouged in the running game; I think they have to load the box in the 2nd half, trust the secondary that had such an excellent game last week and make Brady prove he can beat them with his deep ball. Gronk would logically be a big part of New England's answer to that, pretty crazy he hasn't been very involved yet.

The Colt offense better figure out a way to stop Rod Ninkovich before the end of halftime. They may need to start giving Castonzo some help over there. They're not showing very good tempo on offense, either, and their WRs are barely even involved in the offense. OK, coverage is likely a lot of that, but especially with Hilton's speed, they need to get the ball into his hands. Let's run more quick-hitting stuff in the 2nd half instead of going for so much downfield.

Huh, that sounds something like the adjustments I told Seattle to make at halftime today. Worked for them!

THIRD QUARTER
Amendola gets swamped at the 13 with the return to open the half. Edelman gets them out of trouble with a 23-yard catch on 3rd-and-2, embarrassing Greg Toler with a juke to get about half of it. We now return you to your regularly-scheduled program - The LeGarrette Blount Show. He gets 9 on two carries and then blasts for another 22 off blocks by Nate Solder and Cameron Fleming, who I think was the jumbo tight end. And another 9 down to the Colt 16, a patient run off a Gronk block. Blount gets stuffed on 2nd down, and then on 3rd down, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. Yes, it's a TD pass from Brady to... NATE SOLDER. More alignment chicanery turns Solder into an eligible receiver - we hear no announcement of this at home, but he's eligible because both wideouts are offset a yard back, and the Colts have no idea. He releases the DE, rolls a yard off the line, plucks Brady's pass outside his frame like he's been doing it his whole life, puts the ball away, takes off and runs over Toler at the goal line. An athletic Big Guy play to make all Big Guys proud. And set up a Super Bowl From Hell for Rams fans. Patriots 24-7

Simms says, of course Solder reported eligible, and the Colt defense was informed about it. B.S. How does he know? We got no announcement of it over the P.A. and on the play, the Colts sure didn't act like they knew Solder was eligible. I'm not accusing New England of cheating here, even though it is an important part of their recent history; they didn't, but I sure need a hell of a lot more proof that the Colts knew what was going on than Simms' word.

Anyway, the Colt defense has failed to adjust to getting run over all the first half; now the offense has failed to adjust to slow down Ninkovich, who hits Luck as he throws to force an incomplete. What were you clown coaches doing at halftime, playing Twister? OK, now Nantz insists Solder was announced as eligible. Why the hell aren't we hearing these announcements on TV?

More fun, that's two TDs by offensive linemen so far today vs. two by wide receivers. Less fun, Luck can't find anything open at all on 3rd-and-8 and throws out of bounds in Hilton's general vicinity. Pep Hamilton's made Brian Schottenheimer-quality adjustments here in the 2nd half.

Brady to a wide-open Gronkowski across midfield for 16 and surprisingly his first catch. And maybe we've heard the last from the f*cking 4-lineman formation as Cory Redding beats it and sacks Brady. If so, I nominate Redding for a Nobel Prize. It's now raining Wildcats and red dogs but Brady still hits LaFell for 9. 3rd-7, Gronk gets under zone coverage for the first down. Nantz now says that Anderson announced Fleming an eligible receiver. We didn't hear a thing on TV. Edelman slips out of the left slot all alone, with LaRon Landry biting horribly on play-action, to catch a Brady lob at the 14; 22 yards. I throw up in my mouth yet again and say that Josh McDaniels is putting on a show here tonight. The Colt defense simply doesn't have a clue. Blount all but skips for another 9 behind Wendell and Connolly. Brady then sneaks it all the way down to the 1. Huh, Anderson flagged Solder for not reporting eligible. Back to the 10, Blount hammers out another 5. Brady sneak again? No, he stays in shotgun and fires a slant to Gronk for a TD, beating Toler. Pretty much time to start hitting fast-forward, gang. Patriots 31-7

Indy has to try to make their comeback while it's raining in sheets. Quick slant from Luck to Nicks for 15 anyway. Another 4 to Allen with a delay blitz coming. Looked like Nicks dropped the 2nd-down pass on about a 25-yard corner route.


And, good night, everybody. The Stupid Luck Turnover we were probably overdue for hits here as he underthrows Hilton slanting toward the sideline. Revis had gotten caught up in the double rub routes that got Hilton open in the first place, but got clear in time for a leaping catch and return inside the 15. Super Bowl XHELLIX is on the way.

Blount scores from the 13 with little resistance; thanks for packing it in early, Indy. Patriots 38-7 The Colts, and especially their coaching staff, shot their wad beating Denver last week.

A DPI gets Indy one first down, but Revis defends a long first down pass, Collins flushes Luck to force a throwaway and Ninkovich burns Reitz with a spin move to rush a bad screen pass from Luck. It's between Revis, Ninkovich and Blount for POTG at this point, ASSUMING THE THIRD QUARTER EVER ENDS.

Edelman fields the punt at his 9, gets a MASSIVE block from Brandon Bolden at the 20 and motors upfield to the IND45. Second time tonight a Patriot has sent a Colt flying while blocking a kick return. Turns out that Studebakers can fly, and Andy Studebaker stayed down after that blast. A couple of short plays grind out a third quarter that feels like it took all night!

FOURTH QUARTER
Gronk drops a wide open quick slant on 3rd-and-4, and of course the classy Belichick is going for it up 38-7, and Edelman beats Jackson for 7 yards. Blount up the middle - nothing fancy here - for 7 behind Kline. Completions to LaFell and Edelman get New England inside the 5, and Blount surges in pretty easily from there. Screw you, Patriots, screw you, Colts, there goes the under. By a HALF FREAKING POINT. RamView loses 2 out of 3 bets on this game. Patriots 45-7

Oh well, at least I guessed the Colts would have trouble stopping the run. I just expected a lot better from Greg Manusky than we got. The Colts drive back across midfield before we do in fact get our second Dumb Luck Play, an interception in the flat essentially thrown right to Collins. Could it be Jimmy Garoppalo time?

No, of course Belichick leaves Brady in, though Blount is out in favor of Jonas Gray. AND OF COURSE classy Belichick has Brady going deep on 3rd-and-9. Which he badly underthrows. SEE, COLTS? I TOLD YOU! MAKE HIM BEAT YOU DEEP! Good on Redding for going at Brady's knees after the throw. Pats punt it back with 5:45 to go.

The Colts just try to chew clock with two handoffs and a screen and can only gain 4 yards doing that. Well, they worked off two minutes.

And here's Brady again, for one handoff and then a curtain call. Allow me to also draw the curtain on this ludicrous spectacle.

POSTGAME SHOW

ESPN.com / Getty

 I think he only had half the fantasy points he did in New England's last playoff romp over the Colts, but Blount still takes home the POTG: 148 and 3 TDs on 30 carries. Honorable mentions to the Patriot offensive line just bullying the Colts up front all night, Revis and Kyle Arrington for shutdown work on Hilton and Wayne, and (retch) Josh (hack) McDaniels (heave) for a masterful attack (BARF SPEW PROJECTILE VOMIT).

I've already complained about my 1-for-3 gambling game. Thanks for keeping it close, Indy! I'll still take the winning weekend and my legend status for nailing the NFC game.

The Colts were the stereotype of a dome team outdoors in the playoffs, weren't they? Nowhere near tough enough to hang with a punishing ground game. There will be good RBs available for them to take late in the 1st round of the draft; after that, every pick should probably just be the biggest defensive tackle they can find, or offensive line depth.

The line I saw on the Super Bowl was Seattle by 1, but it's wavering back and forth. As am I. Last year I was too foolish to remember defense wins championships and made a foolish pick. Russell Wilson is famously 10-0 now against Super Bowl-winning QBs, which is very hard to bet against. I expect a tight game all the way because every one of New England's Super Bowls has come down to the wire. If I put any bet on the game, it would be on an RB to be the game MVP. Warning to all that I believe the over (48.5) is 4-0 this postseason in Seattle and New England games. I can't see Seattle winning from behind like they have been, especially when I think their o-line is at least a level below New England's. While Richard Sherman's elbow replaces Aaron Rodgers' calf as America's most talked-about body part for two weeks, I also see Revis dying of boredom toying with Seahawk receivers for whom "pedestrian" status might as well be "Usain Bolt". I guess I'll go with the stupid Pats. The upside is that if (when) I'm wrong, they're the team I'd rather see lose. Pats go into the 4th up 24-10, Seattle ties it late with another Russell Rally but gives Brady too much time to set up Gostkowski for the winner, and oh crap, that sounds a lot like the end of SB XXXVI. RETCH BARF PROJECTILE VOMIT HEAVE MORE PROJECTIVE VOMIT

Programming note that I still don't live-blog the Super Bowl. I know as Rams fans watching the Patriots and Seahawks in Arizona's stadium, we'd just as soon see a Superdome-style blackout, all the grass dying and all the toilets backing up. Enjoy the party, try to enjoy the game, and please don't be a corporate tool and pay undying attention to the damn commercials.

-$-

NFC Championship: Seattle 28, Green Bay 22 (OT)

ESPN.com / Getty

Today's bad gambling advice: I ultimately don't like Aaron Rodgers' chances if he can't move, not with Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril coming after him. The Packer offense labored against Dallas last week with Jordy Nelson contributing very little. Now they're on the road, against a tougher defense, and assuming Nelson draws Richard Sherman in coverage all day, I wouldn't count on much from him, either. The Packers do have the weapons to get it done. Carolina ran on Seattle last week, so Eddie Lacy sure can. Randall Cobb and Davante Adams will have to be key contributors again. Seattle dominated the first meeting back on opening night, but I don't expect the same thing here. For one, you can remove 100 yards of Percy Harvin total offense from the first meeting. The Packer offensive line should be more settled than it was opening night, though the 12th Man will surely make it hard to run their offense. And, for world champs, the Seahawks will let you stay in a game, at least until the 4th quarter. The 12th Man was booing their team early in last week's game.

My script has the Packers carrying a surprising lead into the 4th until Russell Wilson bails Seattle out with another legendary comeback. No Fail Mary this time, though, please. Seattle wins, Green Bay covers the silly-high 8.5, and I'm finally resorting to reverse psychology and going with the over (45) despite Seattle's defensive reputation. Place your bets accordingly. Seattle 28, Green Bay 24

Joe and Troy calling the game for Fox, with Tony Corrente officiating a conference championship for the second straight year.

FIRST QUARTER
Seahawks won the toss and deferred. We appear to have a little rain and gusting winds as Aaron Rodgers pilots the Packers from their 20. Michael Bennett nearly gets to him on first down - and Rodgers is rooted in the pocket like a post - and Rodgers settles for a 3-yard pass to John KUUUHN outside. Kevin Williams stuffs Eddie Lacy on 2nd down. 3rd-7, Bennett jumps offside. Lacy converts 3rd down easily, going off the left side for 13 while Bruce Irvin brutally overshoots the play. Lacy goes left again for a couple. Hurry-up offense for Green Bay caught an extra Seahawk on the field. Put the Packers at midfield. Nice catch by Davante Adams on a quick slant for 6 and a 1st. Rodgers threw that way behind him. Randall Cobb gets 13 out of a quick out from the slot. Corrente calls hands to the face on Cliff Avril, which gets a HUGE negative reaction from the home crowd. I have no idea why. Maybe they were expecting a pick call, but there was no pick. Packers at the SEA30. Rodgers goes after Richard Sherman with a quick slant to Adams, threw it away, and Sherman of course makes sure to let the world hear about it. Byron Maxwell is in the lineup this week, which I find out when he blankets Nelson on a long sideline streak. 3rd-10. Irvin almost gets there on a 3-man rush. Rodgers looks pretty nimble in the pocket, maybe not as much mentally, though, as he goes after Sherman in the end zone, but Sherman undercuts Adams' route perfectly and picks it off. And the asshole makes sure to yell in Adams' earhole about THAT. How 'bout a taunting penalty for some of this B.S.? Great play by Sherman, dumb play by Rodgers to end a promising drive. Don't know if they would have tried for a 47-yard FG; Fox needs to give us a better idea about the wind conditions.

From the 20, Marshawn Lynch, offset right, gains a couple. Seattle tries a tricky screen on 2nd down but Clay Matthews covers Lynch perfectly and forces Russell Wilson to chuck it out of bounds.

And, on 3rd, down, HA-HA! A perfect slant pass goes off Jermaine Kearse's hands, bounces high and goes into Hasean Clinton-Dix's for a near-pick-six. The Packers will take over inside the Seattle five. Woof about that, Sherman.

Oh, BULLSHIT. A Packer d-lineman got into a Seattle o-lineman's face out of bounds after the play, and NOW the ref is throwing taunting flags. You could have flagged Sherman twice already. You should have flagged Sherman twice already. The Packers are playing 11-on-18.

The Packers start at the Seattle 19 by... calling timeout. Quick pass to Richard Rodgers, wide open over the middle, gets them to the 7. Aikman takes the words out of my mouth about Seattle giving up plays to tight ends. Lacy cuts back and churns down to the 1. Green Bay goes jumbo and sends KUUUHN right up the middle. It's initially called a TD, but he got undercut and Bobby Wagner stopped him inside the 1. Corrente changes the call and it's 3rd-and-goal. And, wow. Lacy appears to have a big hole off the left side, but somebody called Brock Coyle fired in and put a shoulder on him, along with Earl Thomas. That play lost yardage. Green Bay meekly brings in the field goal unit after letting Brock F. Coyle stop them on the goal line. That's not exactly Seattle beating you with their best guy, you know. 3-0 Packers I'll call it now; congratulations to the Seahawks on their second straight Super Bowl trip.

OR NOT. Doug Baldwin returns the kick from deep in his end zone and Brad Jones knocks it out of his hand across the 20. GREEN BAY BALL. Worth noting that Paul Richardson, the regular KR, tore his ACL last week.

Seattle has almost as many turnovers right now as offensive plays. Lacy can't find running room right until Corey Linsley opens up a big hole with a late push, and ends up getting 7. Linsley and Josh Sitton open up a big hole on the left side to get Lacy another 9, down to the 7. Tony McDaniel stuffs Lacy up the middle on 1st-goal. Nelson gets open on an out route in the end zone but can only get one hand on a barely-overthrown pass. 3rd-goal. Quick slant to Cobb is stopped by Sherman and Cobb at the 2, and of course, this is MUCH FARTHER OUT than the last 4th down, so here comes Mason Crosby again. 6-0 Packers The Seahawks are behind 6 points, getting dominated, are treating the ball like it's a takeout container and they still have to feel like they're winning.

Lynch cuts back left for 3 on 1st down, but Julius Peppers tosses the right tackle like he's, well, a takeout container, and sacks Wilson for a small loss. Who is Alvin Bailey, and what is he doing at RT in the NFC Championship? NOW I see that Justin Britt is inactive with a knee injury, sorry. Um, Green Bay's going to win that matchup every play. Bailey gets chip block help from Luke Willson on 3rd down, but Wilson well overthrows Willson on the leakout. 123-kick, with a sack, two turnovers, not exactly an inspiring start by the favorites. Two straight plays, Julius Peppers, who turns 35 today, put a Seahawk lineman on his back.

Green Bay tries to muff the punt away but keeps it at their 44. Rodgers hits Nelson on the sideline for 15, but Nelson drops a comeback the next play. Maxwell should have gotten any number of penalties that play: facemask, illegal hands to face, illegal contact... got nothing. Lacy pounds out 9, though, behind strong downblocking and Kam Chancellor whiffing. 3rd-and-a-half-yard, so the Packers will have to gain at least a foot for Mike McCarthy to even consider going for it. KUUUHN gets the 1st down up the middle on an inside handoff. Rodgers-to-Rodgers beats a blitz for another 11 up the middle. Lacy does well to get 5 on a draw Demarcus Dobbs had pretty clogged up.

On the last play of the quarter, O'Brien Schofield jumped offside, and Rodgers pounced on the free play opportunity for a 13-yard TD in the back of the end zone to Cobb. Sherman may be good, but he can't cover two guys; crossing routes got two DBs to run into each other at the goal line to free Cobb up. Packers 13-0

After one, Green Bay has held the ball roughly 13 minutes to Seattle's two, outgained them roughly 120 yards to 3, and Rodgers' calf injury is barely slowing him at all this week. I still say Seattle's not dead until the 4th quarter, but they'd better get on the stick a little here.

SECOND QUARTER
Hey, now Sherman's yelling at his own guys on the sideline. There's karma for ya. And now Seattle false starts. Lynch gets out on the left wing but Micah Hyde makes an open-field stop for 4. Lynch cuts back for another 4; Packers appeared to have a blitz on. Seattle HAD to have this 3rd-and-7, but he throws too high for Baldwin on the sideline and they're 1-2-3-kicking again, to a smattering of BOOS from those great, loyal, not at all front-runner bandwagon fans at Randomly-Named Telecommunications Company Field.

Hyde returns a bad Jon Ryan punt 30 yards with almost no resistance, and we're looking at a serious beating. I'm talking Mike Tyson vs. Stephen Hawking. Seattle has flatout not shown up for the biggest game of their season in any phase of the game.

Packers at the SEA33. Rodgers gets FOREVER off play-action but Lacy drops a goofy 2-foot dumpoff attempt. Now it's McDaniel jumping offside. This is a very Sack City game Seattle is having. Michael Bennett jumps a handoff to Lacy for a big loss, though. 3rd-8, Brian Bulaga false starts. 3rd-13, Rodgers again gets all day, bypasses Lacy all alone in the flat but gets Cobb all alone over the middle inside the 20. Except he drops it. Except Cliff Avril gets his SECOND illegal hands flag for forearming Bulaga in the throat. First down, Packers. Seattle may have more penalties than total yards. They do hold Lacy on 3rd-and-2 to send Crosby back out. 16-0 Packers It's going to be time to quit wondering if it's hurting Green Bay to settle for all these FGs soon.

Wilson still looking for his first 1st down. The sun has come out; is that a good omen for Seattle?

HA-HA! NO! Wilson throws a simply dumb deep ball - his receiver was double-covered and not remotely open - and Clinton-Dix makes a one-handed over-the-shoulder catch for Seattle's THIRD turnover. Wilson took a pretty good knock during the return, too.

Packers at the SEA33 AGAIN. No, the GB44. Somehow I saw only the first part of the hit on Wilson and not the part where Clay Matthews drilled him helmet-to-helmet. Also, Earl Thomas is out of the game at last word. Other than all that, the Seahawks are having a great game!

Russell Wilson is 0-for-5 for 0 yards with 2 interceptions. Does the NFL give out negative QB ratings?

Slant to Nelson for 23 puts the ball, guess where, the SEA33. Now it's raining pretty good, and maybe that's the omen Rain City needed. Rodgers and Nelson don't appear to be on the same page the next play and Rodgers throws right to Maxwell for an INT.

Lynch bangs for 4 on an handoff Wilson barely got off. He's lucky to get another 4 up the middle after Datone Jones blew up the pocket initially. And, ALERT THE MEDIA! FIRST DOWN SEATTLE! Lynch cruises for 14 off Russell Okung's block at LT. Ball at the GB38. Another sloppy handoff, but Robert Turbin gets 5 after surviving a bobble. Ricardo Lockette gets 4 on an end-around that Matthews should have stopped for a ten-yard loss. Another terrible snap and near-blown handoff don't stop Lynch from grinding out a yard for another 1st. The rain is gone, but Earl Thomas is back. Another incomplete makes Wilson 0-for-6, then Turbin goes left for 3. I have no clue why Green Bay's blitzing on 3rd-down, but Wilson hits Lockette at the GB20 for his FIRST completion. Wilson scrambles for a couple. Lynch up the middle, but Josh Boyd and Mike Daniels are having none of it. 3rd-and-long for Seattle at the 2:00 warning.

Everyone please go vote for Philip Rivers for the Never Say Never Moment of the Year. Damned if I want the Rams giving that one up.

Wilson needs a Never Say Never Moment, but after the warning, it's another Never Do That, Moron, Moment, a throw for Kearse at the pylon when he's completely blanketed by Sam Shields, who plays it like a back-shoulder throw better than Kearse for Green Bay's THIRD INT of Wilson. So that's one completion for Wilson to his own guys, three to the other guys. I think that just broke the NFL passer rating calculator. I'm scoring Wilson a negative NaN for the first half. Might be nice, of course, if Wilson had a better main target than Jermaine F. Kearse, but Wilson'd also better double-check that lucky horseshoe up his butt at halftime. May be time for a new one.

Neither team does much with their final possession before the half.

HALFTIME SHOW

Needless to say, this game's off to a dream start for the Packers. They're moving well on the ground and through the air and Rodgers is showing no sign of his much-discussed calf injury. I'd say a balanced, take-care-of-the-ball attack is all they need to go to the Super Bowl from here, but I'd actually like to see Rodgers come out of halftime throwing, going for the kill. If Seattle's going to survive that, they'd better find some pass rush (and quit jumping offside); Green Bay's offensive line is quietly playing an MVP game in front of the very likely league MVP. Seattle started to blitz more before halftime, and I think they're going to have to keep bringing it, though that's exactly where Rodgers wants them.

The Seattle offense has been a shocking cluster, um, bomb to make Shaun Hill look like Peyton Manning in comparison. They are getting nothing open downfield. Kearse is about the only guy Wilson is throwing to, and he hasn't been open on any of those throws. Justin Britt is like Ryan Tucker was to the 2001 Rams. He's no Pro Bowler, but you really miss him when he can't be there for the big game. Seattle's only adjustment can be to throw quick stuff, and of course, the Packer secondary will be all over that. Let's keep banging Lynch, which isn't going too poorly, and try to use that to set up quick slants and screens to the backs. Use that screen play from a few weeks ago where Lynch was split wide. And please find Luke Willson, who really should be Wilson's go-to guy.

If Seattle can survive the 3rd quarter no worse than where they are right now, I will give Wilson a respectable chance at making a miracle comeback. But the champs are very close to teetering off the edge.

THIRD QUARTER
Interesting suggestion by the Fox crew at halftime that Wilson has been feeling the effects of that shot by Matthews on the pick. That may have knocked that lucky horseshoe loose.

Seattle went to Lynch three straight times out of the break, which I think was the right call, but he came up barely short on 3rd-and-3 to send out the punting unit. UNDERSTATEMENT ALERT: they needed a better start than that.

Green Bay also starts with a 3-and-out, though, opening with two Lacy runs and not coming out as aggressive as I'd thought they might. I get that, but you may not want to let Wilson hang around too much longer.

My eternal thanks to my browser for trashing my work and forcing me to re-recap this drive. It's a doozy. Wilson throws a lob to Will Tukuafu - called it! - for 8. Lynch crashes for 11 off the left side. Fox has made great points several times about the absence of read option from Seattle's game plan today. It's not as if Green Bay has a really great record stopping that. Quick hitch to Baldwin for 7 - called that. J.R. Sweezy and Bailey unleash the Beast for another 14. He also ran through Daniels at the line. So what does Seattle do next? Try a pass, and Matthews whips Okung with an inside swim move and sacks Wilson for a SIXTEEN yard loss. I think we have a POTG candidate. Except on 3rd-and-19, Green Bay rushes only three, giving Wilson EIGHT seconds to throw and find Baldwin, somehow left wide open anyway at the 20. Nick Perry makes two big plays to stuff Lynch there, though, and though Wilson drops a lob down the sideline right into Lynch's breadbasket - called that, too - Sam Barrington prevents the catch to send in the field goal team.

I'm honestly wondering how good a move that is with less than 20 minutes left to play when Pete Carroll unleashed his inner Jeff Fisher. They fake the kick, Ryan the holder sprints left and flicks a floater into the end zone, and...

IT'S

not Terry, but Garry Gilliam, tackle eligible, catching the holy grail for what is assuredly his first career TD. Packers 16, Seahawks 7 The most valuable person of Seattle's postseason run may yet be Rams special teams coach John Fassel.

And, what did I say? Green Bay's letting Seattle back into it. They've passed on stepping on their necks on a number of occasions; time to find that killer instinct and put them away. Also, my apologies to Jon Ryan for calling him "Pat" earlier. You're still no Johnny Hekker, though.

Rodgers hits Nelson over the middle for 12, but two plays later, his calf injury appears to re-aggravate on a blown 2nd-and-long screen to Lacy. Rodgers went down untouched.  He then looks slow trying to get away from a stunting Avril, who chops him down for a sack. Seattle gets the ball at their 34 after the punt, with momentum swinging like it's Leonardo diCaprio.

Wilson bungles a shotgun snap and loses 5 when Morgan Burnett gets to him. When did Seattle trade for Scott Wells, btw? A majority of their snaps today have been off. About a 3-yard quick slant to Baldwin and a dropped quick out by Willson that would have gotten two at most ship the ball back to the Packers.

#12 at his 13. KUUUHN opens up a big hole for Lacy for 5. Bennett misses Lacy in the backfield and lets him get away for 7.

But, the 4th quarter is here, and I know two things. I'm going to lose yet another f*cking over/under bet, and Seattle has us all right where they want us. The fourth quarter is usually theirs.

FOURTH QUARTER
Holy crap, what a start to this quarter. James Starks (!) takes off for 32 yards on his first touch of the game, cutting back crossfield and running through a couple of tackles. Not only that, but Sherman is down after colliding with Chancellor at the end of the play. The replay has me thinking possible hyperextended elbow. Sherman runs back out to play one-armed. He's a jackass, but he's a tough jackass. Rodgers tweaked his ankle earlier, not his calf. Richard Rodgers makes another key catch over the middle for a first down. Certain teams with Gronkowskis on their rosters might be thinking ahead and hoping the Seahawks make a comeback. Starks beat K.J. Wright down the sideline for a possible TD, but Rodgers overthrew him on the move. 3rd-7, Rodgers has to ditch it out of bounds under pressure from Bennett. Crosby squeezes it in from 48, despite a high snap, for three big Packer points. 19-7 Packers

Baldwin continues to fail to distinguish himself as a kick returner by getting swarmed at the 13. Willson muffs a catch on a crossing route. Wilson hits him in the flat for only 3 on 2nd down. Lockette makes a BIG play to catch a poorly-thrown slant route and gain 12. Seattle went 5-wide, trips left, but threw away from it. Mike Neal whiffs at the line and lets the Beast loose for 12 more. Wilson actually runs now, scrambling for 4. That was not a designed run. Baldwin drops a screen pass that probably would have gotten the 1st, but who needs that when you have Beast Mode? Inside handoff to Lynch on 3rd-and-6, he runs through Neal again, gets to the marker, pushes a 3-man gang tackle back, and then the cavalry arrives to push the scrum forward another 5 across midfield. So, Seattle's stupidly throwing the next play, a blitz doesn't get there, Wilson gets forever to throw and STILL eats the ball when Burnett the blitzer and Perry finally get to him for a 4-yard loss. Clinton-Dix breaks up a pass over the middle that should have been his third pick. Right through his hands. Wilson's hit as he throws on 3rd down and he overthrows Baldwin. They still need two scores with 7:00 left.

The Packers are at their 13 again with the rain back in a big way. They three-and-out. Lacy stayed on the bench while Starks got a couple of carries for 5, and Wright broke up a 3rd-down quick hitch to Andrew Quarless. The punt return leaves Seattle near midfield and with life with 5:13 left.

AND THAT SHOULD DO IT. Perfectly good pass by Wilson goes off Kearse's useless hands and pops to Burnett for an INT. Kearse's second muff for an INT of the game! We have a LVP, that is for sure.

Seattle starts burning timeouts after Bennett blows up the backfield for a 4-yard Lacy loss. Deja vu as Bennett does it again. Should Green Bay really be trying to block him with a TE at this stage of the game? Lacy gets only a couple more, and Seattle gets the ball back at their 31 after a pretty lousy punt with 3:51 left.

Now or never, Russell. Lynch rumbles off left guard for 14. Baldwin's open for 13 and gets another 7 after Casey Heyward falls. That's already FG position for Steven Hauschka. Wilson goes deep for Kearse but Tramon Williams has him blanketed perfectly. Should have been OPI on Kearse, even.

AND NOW THE WHEEL ROUTE. Lynch, well, wheels out of the backfield on 2nd-10, Barrington loses him immediately, and Sam Shields appears to make a big mistake not picking him up. Wilson rainbows a ball to him at the 10, and Lynch runs through Burnett and a late-arriving Barrington to do the rest. Those last two may have let up thinking Lynch stepped out of bounds. They thought right. It's originally called a TD but should come back out to the 12. Looked like even Lynch suspected it during the play.

Still 26 yards. Ball at the GB9 with 2:57 to go. Peppers grabs Lynch but he still grinds down to the 5. Wilson makes a good decision to run on 2nd-goal but Clinton-Dix stops him at the 1, along with Barrington. Wilson then runs a perfect fake to Lynch, letting Clinton-Dix blindly chase him into the right A gap while keeping the ball himself for a 1-yard TD. Was that the first read-option run of the game? Green Bay 19, Seattle 14

2:10 to play, so if the onside kick fails, Seattle should still be able to stop the clock twice.

SEATTLE GETS THE ONSIDE KICK! Brandon Bostick blows his attempt to high-point the high bounce at the 45, but somebody named Chris Matthews is playing hardball, and he grabs the carom at midfield to electrify the home crowd. Bostick whiffed on the ball and it hit him in the face. Then his coach screamed at him on the sideline on national TV. Bad day to be Brandon Bostick. Hang in there, kid.

Here comes Russell. What did I say, what did I say?  Wilson takes off for 15 on a keeper, and the 2:00 warning can not come soon enough for Green Bay. Lynch bounces to the GB32 as we reach the warning. Seattle even still has a T.O. left.

Wilson hits Willson between two Packers, whom the TE runs over for a first down at the 24. Then, HOLY CATS. Lynch goes off LT, where Okung mauls Perry, James Carpenter gets a perfect interior seal, Baldwin picks off Hyde, and the Beast skittles his way for a 24-yard TD. Seattle has their first lead of the game with 1:25 to play - did they leave Rodgers too much time? - and will go for two.

Which they get, after Wilson weaves around drunkenly under heavy pressure to his right and then blindly flings a ridiculous lob to the other side of the field, and Clinton-Dix makes a Rodney McLeod-worthy play to let Willson in front of him at the goal line for the 2-point fair catch. That was such a smart play by Wilson - just chuck it! There's no downside like an INT on a 2-point try. Seahawks 22-19

Here we go. Green Bay at their 22, 1:19 left. They're going to need 45 yards to get Crosby in decent FG range. Packers also have all three timeouts. Skinny post to Nelson, beating Maxwell at the GB36. Cobb over the middle to the SEA48 - boy, that was quick - with Seattle once again getting little pressure on Rodgers. I'm a little surprised no timeout here. Avril flushes Rodgers but he "scrambles" slowly down to the SEA37. So there's 40 yards. 35 seconds to go. Yes, Seattle left Rodgers too much time. Nothing open the next play for Rodgers, and Lacy turned and went just as Rodgers tried to dump off to him. Incomplete at 0:30. Anybody for a reverse Fail Mary? Seattle blitzes and R.Rodgers can't get turned on a sideline streak. 3rd-10 at 0:26. Gotta look for something short for Cobb here, don't you? Seattle blitzes again - these are some ballsy calls by Dan Quinn - and while Sitton gets away with a blatant hold that kept Rodgers from getting sacked, the QB stepped up and hit Nelson at the 31 on an out route. Short of the first but within FG range. One-armed tackle by Sherman on the play, btw. He's earned the goofy Willis Reed tribute Buck tried to bestow on Rodgers last week. Crosby comes on for a 48-yard attempt with 0:18 to play. He hits it. 22-22 Over bettors (45) celebrate everywhere! Game can't end in a tie!

I really, really hope my TiVo has enough room to record the AFC game. It may not, which could make that recap pretty, um, interesting. Seattle kneels out regulation. Matt Hasselbeck will take the ball, and he's going to score! Dammit, Fox beat me to it!

OVERTIME
Seattle does win the toss and takes the ball. Baldwin's terrible return day continues as Chris Banjo strums him at the SEA13. Lynch up the middle for 3. Lob to Baldwin off a read option for 10. Packers showing some weakness to that play. 4 for Lynch heading left off a read option. So Carroll was saving it for overtime? Nothing open for Wilson off play-action; Peppers stops his scramble for no gain. 3rd-6. Baldwin beats Heyward downfield out of trips right formation and Wilson lobs him a 35-yard bomb down the sideline. Seattle's in FG range at the GB35.

AND THEY'RE IN SUPER BOWL RANGE WITH A GAME WINNING OVERTIME TD. Wilson gets the most solid pocket he's gotten all day. Kearse immediately beats Tramon Williams off the line with inside leverage and is running to the post. Heyward does not drop back in coverage until very, very late; he either blew the coverage or his assignment on the play was to spy Wilson. That leaves the middle of the field wide open, Wilson's pass is perfect, and Kearse pulls it in over his shoulder to go from goat of the game to permanent Seattle sports legend.

That was Kearse's first catch of the game.

Final score: Seattle 28, Green Bay 22 (OT)

POSTGAME SHOW

ESPN.com / Getty

With respect to another insane comeback by Russell Wilson, the new Captain Comeback, and Richard Sherman not only having the impressive guts to play through an painful elbow injury, but to make a one-armed tackle to force Green Bay to settle for a FG late in regulation, The Beast is RamView's obvious POTG winner. He put the Seahawks on his back in the second half and ended up with 157 yards and a TD on 25 carries. His only reception, for 26 yards, set up Seattle's other 4th-quarter TD. Full credit to Darrell Bevell to have the smarts to keep putting the load on Lynch's back in the 2nd half, and to Pete Carroll and special teams coach Brian Schneider for pulling off that fake FG.

Speaking (ahem) of legends: (Ctrl-C) My script has the Packers carrying a surprising lead into the 4th until Russell Wilson bails Seattle out with another legendary comeback. No Fail Mary this time, though, please. Seattle wins, Green Bay covers the silly-high 8.5, and I'm finally resorting to reverse psychology and going with the over (45) despite Seattle's defensive reputation. Place your bets accordingly. Seattle 28, Green Bay 24 (Ctrl-V) I hit the trifecta for this game and am officially a gambling god.

I also freaking nailed Seattle's halftime adjustments. Packers fans can spend a bitter offseason blaming Brandon Bostick for muffing an onside kick, but the real culprit today was Mike McCarthy, who showed the killer instinct of Mister Rogers, and if I can see what's coming in the second half and a professional football coaching staff doesn't, it doesn't say a whole lot for them. This offseason I'd advise the Packers to beef up the lines. Peppers had a pretty quiet second half, and they need more out of their pass rush than just Matthews. On the o-line, Bulaga is always an injury waiting to happen, and they obviously need to place high priority on keeping Rodgers upright.

Phew. Super Bowl speculation after the second game, if I'm even getting it, and at this rate, it'll probably be about 2 in the morning when I get there. Games like this remind me why I love football, though.

-$-