Rams Waive Titus Young

After being placed on waivers by the Detriot Lions because of terrible behavior, wide reciever Titus Young was then claimed by the St. Louis Rams. However, after being on the team for onlt 3 days, Young was waived by the Rams. Titus didn't seem to be a good fit in St. Louis, so who knows where he'll end up. Young did a solid job in his rookie year, catching 48 passes and 6 touchdowns, but then his attitude had to come along as he began to have some behavioral issues. Titus is probably sick and tired of people and me talking about how bad his behavior was in Detriot, but he is a great reciever. There's gonna be an option somewhere out their for Titus.

Colts Release Dwight Freeney and Austin Collie

The Indianapolis Colts have told Dwight Freeney, the team's all-time sack leader, that they won't re-sign him. Freeney, who turns 33 on Tuesday will become an unrestricted free agent, and has been in a sack drought the past 3 seasons. Freeney had anchored the Colts D ever since he was drafted in 2002, and frustrated team's LT and QB. He used the spin move technique to sack opposing QB and force turnovers. Freeney's 107.5 sacks is the most by any Colts player in Franchise History and he's the only Colts player to lead the league in sacks (16 in 2004), and went to 7 Pro Bowls. The Colts orginization, players, and fans are all going to miss Freeney's presence on defense, and giving opponents QB nightmares.

The Colts also released injury-prone wide reciever Austin Collie. Collie played only 1 game last season as he ruptured his patellar tendon in his right knee. Collie has been banged up the past 2 years as he's had 3 concussions the past 22 months.

Packers Release Charles Woodson

Defensive Back Charles Woodson's run with the Green Bay Packers would end at 7 years. After being sidelined for 9 games last season because of a broken right collerbone. Woodson had moved from cornerback to saftey this year because of his inability to cover recievers as well as he used to. Woodson was due $9M this year, but the Packers couldn't afford him because of their lingering salary cap and tough future decision making. The Packers probably want to give long term deals to wide reciever James Jones, outside linebacker Clay Matthews, and defensive tackle B.J. Raji because they could hit the free agent market next off-season. During his tenure with the Packers, Woodson became the only player in NFL History with 6 straight seasons of returning an interception for a touchdown, and leads the league with 9 touchdowns off of interceptions since 2006. Woodson was named 2009 NFL Defensive Player Of The Year, with a career high 9 interceptions, picked off 7 passes in 2011 and also helped the Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

Johnny Knox Done With Football

After taking a vicious hit from Seattle Seahawks DE Anthony Hargrove in December 2011, and having a difficult time from recovering from his injury, Chicago Bears wide receiver Johnny has announced he's done playing football. The Bears had previously terminated Knox' contract prior to saying he was done with football. He had suffered from a back injury and missed all of the 2012 NFL season because of a spinal fusion surgery. During his tenure with the Chicago Bears, Knox went to the Pro Bowl as a returner when he was a rookie in 2009.  He led the Bears with 51 catches for 960 yards, and 5 TD in 2010. During his career in Chicago, Knox exploited defenses using his speed and his ability to return kickoffs made the field position for the Bears easier.

A New Bourn Indian

After sending away outfielder Shin Shoo-Choo to the Cincinnati Reds a month ago and adding outfielder Nick Swisher, the Indians were still looking for center piece in their outfield. They signed former Atlanta Braves All-Star outfielder Michael Bourn to a 4 year $48M contract. Bourn stole 42 bases, batted .274, and drove in 57 RBI last season. Bourn's speed and ability to steal bases and make diving catches makes him a great addition to anchor the Indians outfielder. He is compared somewhat to teammate Grady Sizemore, when he was in his prime. With the addition of Michael Bourn, the Indians have found a formidable #1 batter and center fielder.

Ravens Outlast Niners In Super Bowl Shootout

It looked like a flag football game to the Baltimore Ravens after Jacouby Jones Super Bowl Record 108 yard kickoff return touchdown had put them up 28-6. Ravens QB Joe Flacco had tied a Super Bowl record with 3 first half touchdown passes as the Ravens The 49ers were in a deep a hole and a comeback was unlikley. The last time the 49ers had comeback from this kind of deficit was the 2003(2002 Season) wild card game against the New York Giants. They had won that game 39-38, but the question is would the 49ers respond? After a kickoff return by the 49ers LaMichael James, a power outage in half of the Super Dome had caused a 34 minute delay. Ironically, as soon as all the lights turned back on, the 49ers would begin their rally. First 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick hit his WR Michael Crabtree, who bounced off two tacklers for a 31 yard touchdown. On the Niners next possesion following a great 32 yard return by Ted Ginn J.R., Running Back Frank Gore pounded it on the ground, including a 6 yard touchdown run, to pull the 49ers within 8 points. A Ray Rice fumble on the 49ers 24 yard line, set up good enough yardage to kick a field goal. 49ers Kicker David Akers nailed a 34 yard field goal to put the score within 5 points. The 49ers had unbelievably had just out-scored the Ravens 17-7, which gave them a chance to win the game heading into the 4th quarter. On the ensuing drive, the Ravens drove all the way to the red zone to set up a 19 yard field goal for Rookie Kicker Justin Tucker. The Colin Kaepernick had quickly responded by running for a 15 yard touchdown run. The 49ers had went for a crutial 2 point conversion, which they failed because of an unexpecting all out Baltimore Blitz. Then the Ravens ate up 5 minutes on their next drive, that ended up with another Justin Tucker Field Goal, from 38 yards out. With 4:19, on the clock, the 49ers would need to drive about 65 yards downfield to win game. 49ers RB had set them up in the Red Zone with a 33 yard run. Then Colin Kaerpernick and the 49ers offense had failed 3 consecutive times from the 5 yard line, to score the winning touchdown. On 4th down, Kaepernick had sent WR Michael Crabtree in motion and it looked kind of obvious it was going to Crabtree, because of his height and his ability to win jump balls. However, Kaepernick had just overthrown Crabtree in the right corner of the end zone, to pretty much end their hopes of winning. Ravens Punter Sam Koch had ended the game with a saftey. A play call on special teams that hasn't been used in years, Koh just sat in the end zone, while time was ticking away.  The Final score was the Ravens winning 35-31 in one of the greatest Super Bowls played of all-time. The 49ers had just came 5 yards short of being the NFL Champions, just like the Titans, who were 1 yard short of forcing overtime in Super Bowl 33. Ravens QB Joe Flacco was named MVP and should get his contract re-constructed. Both TE Vernon Davis and WR Michael Crabtree both had over 100 yards recieving in the losing effort and Frank Gore ran for 111 yards.

My Super Bowl 47 Predictions: Ravens 20-49ers 14

My prediction of the final score of Super Bowl 47 will be Ravens 20-49ers 14.  Here are the reasons why I think the Ravens will win, the 49ers will lose, and how the game will flow.
Here's my Super Bowl MVP Prediction: Ravens QB Joe Flacco (239 pass yards, 1 TD, O INT) or
CB Cary Williams (7 tackles, 1 interception for game clinching touchdown, and 2 passes defended)
Why the Ravens Win:

• Even though running back Ray Rice won't have a huge productive day against the 49ers, he will get the yards the Ravens need in key situations, remember his 4th and 29 catch and run to a first down, he won't have that kind of play, but will help the Ravens at some point in this game. Rice will be covered, spied, hit, or every single snap, and should be a non facotr because of the third ranked 49ers defense. Look for Ahmad Brooks, Patrick Willis, or Goldson to spy on Rice
• WR Torrey Smith should get double or sometimes tripled teamed on fly or post routes because of his dangerous speed. Look for Flacco to pump fake to Smith, then find his other reciever Anquan Boldin ona big gain with only 1 CB guarding him. Boldin and Flacco will have a nice game if this what Flacco does on these types of plays.
• The Ravens will have trouble stopping the 49ers run-heavy offense, but should contain Kaepernick early and sometimes often. Look for NT Haloti Ngata to make plays for pass rusher, Paul Kruger to get after Kaeperncik and DE Ryan McBean to do the same for OLB Terrell Suggs. If this is how the Ravens game plan goes to contain the bery mobile and speedy Colin Kaepernick, the Ravens will force Kaepernick in the pocket which we know he's good in, but it's not his comfort zone. Baltimore will force 3 Kaepernick Turnovers
• QB Joe Flacco has yet to throw an interception this post-season and might not throw one tonight, if he can figure out all the Niners coverage schemes. Look for Flacco to take pactience in the game, but he almost throws a costly mistake. Flacco won't have his super-star preformance like he's done in the playoffs, but he'll do enough for the Ravens to win the game
• TE Dennis Pitta almost always gets underestimated because of his lack of speed, Pitta does run precise routes and has good hands, and is a great red zone target. Look for Flacco to find Pitta for a touchdown in the red zone early in the game. Pitta will catch 6 passes for 68 yards, and will be huge in this Raven's offense.
• CB Corey Graham will have to play big against Randy Moss and I think he will shut down Moss and get an interception of his own in either in the first or second quarter to set up a score. Moss will only catch 2 passes for 16 yards in this game, he's not the best reciever like he said he was.
• Kicker Jason Tucker will make all of his field goals. Special Team's players Brendon Aybanedejo, David Reed, and Corey Graham will do good at covering kicks and punts and one reason why sometimes the 49ers won't have good field poistion sometimes.

Why the 49ers Lose:

• Even though the 49ers will run all over this Baltimore defense because the have the best run-blocking in all of football, but it won't be good enough for their QB Colin Kaepernick. He's gonna get pressured from right, left and could find some trouble when their's zone and all out blitzles thrown at him. It's only his 10th start and could get a little too flashy at times, like all young QB have at one point.
• The 49ers don't have enough depth at the wide reciever postition and Kaepernick will usually either look at WR Michael Crabtree (85 catches, 1,019 recieving yards during the regular season) or TE Vernon Davis (has been very dangerous in the playoffs; 5 catches, 106 yards , 1 TD v.s Falcons last week). The Ravens will figure out who CAP will throw to a he'll get pressured a lot. He will run for 59 yards on 8 carries though, but will throw 2 costly interceptions.
• TE Vernon Davis and WR Michael Crabtree will be the only productive recivers in this game. Davis has the speed to burn the Ravens linebackers, but it won't be enough.
• Kicker David Akers will miss a key field goal and because of his lack of accurracy look for the 49ers to sometimes go for it on 4th downs like the Packers did when Crosby was struggling, but this is the Super Bowl, sometimes the 49ers will make costly mistakes in the Red Zone by going for it.
• The 49ers D will hold up against Joe Flacco, but will forget about Anquan Boldin, leaving him 1-1 with Chris Culliver. This will be dangerous and it will cost the 49ers yards that turn into points.
• Aldon Smith will pretty much be the only one harrassing Joe Flacco, but sometimes he won't get to Flacco and his other teammates will need to step up. The 49ers will blitz to left side, but the slide protection by the Ravens great blocking fullbakc Vonta Leach could cover up these blitzing holes, helping Flacco have time to find an open reciever.
• Dashon Goldson or Donte Whitner are probably gonna hit a defensless reciever too hard causing penalties, which will frustrate Jim Harbaugh, which could turn into a disastourous defensive drive for the 49ers.
• Linebacker NaVarro Bowman will be all over the field with 13 tackels, but it won't be enough to beat the Ravens. Also Patrick Willis be productive at mostly stopping Rice, but will forget about guarding TE Dennis Pitta, who will be productive for Baltimore, just like some of the Broncos LB left Pitta wide open.

Super Bowl/HarBowl 47 Preview: Ravens V.S. 49ers

Super Bowl 47 will be underway at 5:30 Central Time and should be a fun one. Brother V.S. Brother, Harbaugh V.S. Harbaugh, and two teams that pretty much have the same gameplan, this should be a great game. Last time these two teams met, Thanksgiving 2011, the Ravens beat the 49ers 16-6. Here's my Super Bowl 47 Preview:

Both the Ravens and the 49ers play offense and defense differently, but let's compare offenses first.

The Ravens scored a total of 1 more point than the 49ers did this season, with 398 total points scored. The 49ers scored a total of 397 total points and averaged 24.8 points per game, while the Ravens scored 398 total points and a 24.9 average per game. The 49ers did average more offensive yards per game with 361.8 (11th in the NFL), while Baltimore averaged 352.5 yards per game (16th in the NFL). The 49ers did rank 4th in the NFL with 155.8 rushing yards per game, which was half of their offense. The Ravens though, were more of a balanced attack with 233 through the air and 118 on the ground. Both have two expectional running backs in Ray Rice (Ravens) and Frank Gore (49ers) and two good backup backs in Bernard Pierce (Ravens) and LaMichael James (49ers). We'll also see two new faces in the super bowl this year with Joe Flacco (Ravens) and Colin Kaepernick (49ers). Flacco has great deep ball arm, but Kaepernick, who had once was drafted by the Chiacgo Cubs, with a flame throwing 94 MPH fastball can get the ball where it needs to be in his recievers hands. He can also run and showed he can be a pocket passer last week against Atlanta too. However the same thing between the two is their offensive line. These two teams arguably have the 2 best offensive lines in this game, which will make the running game a huge factor. They both have a premier guard in Mike Upitai (49ers) and Marshal Yanda (Ravens) and two good left tackles in Bryant McKinnie (Ravens) and Joe Staley (49ers). The key in this game is who will have more success at running the football and which QB can stick to his game.

Let's compare defenses now:

Defensivley these two teams might look different stasticially, but they both run the 3-4defense expectionally well. The Ravens did get banged up this season on defense when they lost Ray Lewis and their best cornerback Ladarius Webb (out for season). They still played the same though, but without Webb their pass defense struggled a little more. The Ravens allowed an average of 350 yards per game (17th in the NFL) and did allow 122.8 rushing yards per game (20th in the NFL). Their struggles playing against the run will be a key factor in this one, but can they step up? They still have a great, massive NT in Haloti Ngata, have two good edge rushers in Paul Kruger and Terrell Suggs (Suggs isn't the defensive player he was, but still does a good job chasing down QB), and they have Ray Lewis. The secondary has been woeful though without Ladarius Webb though. However, Former Chicago Bear Special Team Star Corey Graham filled in the spot that Webb was in and has done a decent job. They still do allow big plays down the field becuase they ranked 17th in the NFL in passing defense. If Baltimore wants to win this game, they will need to hold Frank Gore, Colin Kaepernick and LaMichael James from getting open running room in open field. The Ravens also have difficulty playing against TE this season, as their one of the league's worst at doing this. They play a great, speedy TE in Vernon Davis, who could cause trouble for the Ravens secondary. Their LB's aren't fast enough to catch up with Vernon and could have a tough time playing 1-1 against him. On the other hand the 49ers are known for the defense. They ranked 3rd in the NFL allowing 294.4 yards per game, they ranked 3rd in scoring defense (273 allowed total, 17.1 allowed per game), and each ranked 4th in pass defense (200.2 yards per game allowed), and rusing defense (allowed 94.2 rushing yards per game). Run-stopping NT Justin Smith and speedy edge rusher OLB Aldon Smith aren't playing at 100% tonight and could be slown down by the Ravens offensive line. However If Aldon and Justin play like they did in the regular season, they will stop the Ravens rushing attack and force Joe Flacco out of his rythem. The 49ers ILB are key to this defense with Patrick Willis and NaVarro Bowman (2nd in NFL in tackles with 149), leading the charge. If Bowman and Willis stiffle the Ravens TE Dennis Pitta and Joe Flacco from completing passes in the middle of the field, and overpursue Ray Rice and the Ravens running game, 49ers have the edge. Safties Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner are arguably two of the hardest hitting safties of all of football and could put a beating on Raven Recivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin, and tight end Dennis Pitta. They have the speed and awareness to catch up with running backs and recievers and usually don't allow deep balls when helping out their CB's Carlos Rodgers and Chris Culliver. Fortunalletly, niether Rodgers or Culliver have the size to shut down Anquan Boldin, but CB like Charles Tillman have showed how to play against big recievers like Calvin Johnso. Boldin could win a jump ball in the red zone, on single coverage, so Culliver/Rodgers need to play on him like glue. The question is how will both teams recivers do against the opponents okay/decent CB and how will the running game play in this game. Which front 7 will play better? We'll Find out tonight.

Special Teams doesn't seem important to some people, but in this game it could be the difference. Their is a huge difference between the Ravens rookie kicker Justin Tucker and the 49ers veteran kicker David Akers, accuaracy. Tucker has a 94.9% of making a field goal (meaning how accuarate he is of making a field goal), while David Akers has a lowly 67.6%. The Dome shouldn't affet their kicking, but even Akers couldn't make a 42 yarder in a Dome, I know I couldn't, but that should be a chip shot for him. If Akers makes one bad mark in the Niners scoreboard, they could be screwed. Tuckers is very accurate though making him having the edge over Akers. Punters Sam Koch Ravens) and Andy Lee (49ers) have been excellent when pinning their opponents deep inside the 20 yard line. Lee averages 48 yards per punt and Koch averages 47.8, so it's evenly matched between two great punters. Lee or Koch could make a big play that could affect the Niners or Ravens field position. The return game is also huge in this game. Ravens KR Jacouby Jones averaged 30.7 yards per kick return and returned 2 for touchdowns. Jones will be the one helping the Ravens get the good field position and could take one to the house when in open space. The 49ers KR LaMichael James hasn't had as many chances as Jones to return kickoffs, but has been doing a heck of a job, averaging 25 yards per return. James will also be the reasons why the 49ers get good field position. Koch, Lee, Tucker, Akers, Jones, and James will all play a factor in Super Bowl 47.

Adrian Peterson Cruises to NFL MVP

Vikings RB Adrian Peterson had been out for about 6 months with a torn ACL back in 2011, but that never slowed him down his ability to run over defenses. Following one of the greatest comeback seasons of all time, Adrian Peterson is your 2012 NFL MVP. In the final week of the regular season not only did Adrian Peterson become 9 yards shy of the NFL rushing record (1984 Eric Dickerson: 2,105 rushing yards is record), but he helped his team get passed the Packers and earn a playoff berth. Throughout the season, A.P. shedded tacklers, ran all over defenses, had great instincts, and had one of the most impressive seasons following a tear to the anterior cruciate and medical collateral ligaments in his knee, which is known to rob players of quickness and burts that's neccessary to play at a high level. Peterson finished with 2,097 rushing yards, a 6.0 average yards per carry, 13 total touchdowns, and most of all, he pretty much carried his own team, the Minesota Vikings, on his back. Congragulations Adrian Peterson on winning the NFL MVP Award and having a phenominal comeback season.

Watt Wins Defensive Player Of The Year

Texans Defensive End J.J. Watt ended a remarkable defensive season by winning the Defensive Player Of The Year Award. Watt anchored a Texans defensive line that ranked 7th in the NFL allowing 97.5 rushing yards per game. Overall the Texans were 7th in the NFL in total defense. The main reason why, J.J. Watt. Although their was other players that helped Watt out like RE Antonio Smith, CB Jonathan Jospeh, Safties Daniel Manning and Glover Quinn, and OLB Connor Barwin, Watt was the enforcer of this entire defense. His 20.5 sacks led the NFL, but his ability to knock down and deflect passes had a huge impact on QB. Watt had been getting double team usually to pressure or take down the opposing QB, but has still got their because of his durable strength. Cogragulations J.J. on Winning Defensive Player Of The Year Award.

Arians Named Coach Of The Year

Following a 1-15 season and the process of rebuilding the Indianapolis Colts didn't expect the unexpected. Drafting Luck was to be built around in the next two seasons at least, but that didn't take long. Fellow Rookies Vick Ballard, T.Y. Hilton, Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, LaVon Brazil, veteran Reggie Wayne, an okay wide reciever Donnie Avery, and Donald Brown would be the building blocks to help Luck out. The Colts must of devolped Luck well, Coach Bruce Arians was the one for the most responsibility of that except the QB Coach. Arians had filled in for Coach Chuck Pagano because Pagan was undergoing Luekimia surgery. Arians took charge as he led the Colts to a 9-3 record and a playoff berth. He'd guided the Colts to an 11-5 season, 10 wins more than last season. His loyalty to the team was a reason for his success. Also playing their hearts out for Chuck Pagano was another reason, but that's a different story. Arians had devolped this Colts offense into a mahcine and it seemed like some fans forgot about Peyton Manning leaving to the Broncos. Congradulations Chuck on winning Coach Of The Year.

Luke Kuechley Takes Home Defensive Rookie Of The Year Award

For the second straight year, a Carolina Panthers rookie has one a rookie of the year award. Carolina Panthers Linebacker Luke Kuechley was named the 2012 NFL Defensive Rookie Of The Year Award Honors after leading the NFL with 164 tackles. Kuechley deserves this award after being a phenominal player as a rookie with a struggling Panthers team. His 164 tackles were one reason why the Panthers did better at stopping the run down the strech of the season. His intelligence and insticts on the field make him a great player. Congragulations Luke on winning the Defensive Rookie Of The Year Award.