nder was Rob

In Arizona, the Cardinals lose Tyrann Mathieu for the year with a ACL and LCL knee injury. Michael Irvin Authentic Jersey . In Carolina, the Panthers lose Jonathan Stewart with an MCL knee injury. But the most devastating season-ender was Rob Gronkowski and his ACL and MCL knee injury with the New England Patriots. The Patriots will rebound somehow to remain competitive but being competitive and winning in the playoffs are two different tests. Players get injured but for Gronkowski, this is difficult to comprehend and accept. On the positive side, he is a young, fourth-year player and youth and the ability to heal effectively do go together. On the negative, for a young player, Gronkowski has an old body of football battles. Two back surgeries at the University of Arizona, missing his senior year, three arm surgeries over three years with New England and now a major knee surgery that, as we have learned by watching RG3, takes more than six months to recover from. His biggest battle to get back will be that he has to do this on his own and often all alone. Football rehabilitation is not a team sport, it is an individual challenge that you have to look at as a job at which to excel and a time commitment that ends an off-season of enjoyment. Every now and then, I get a streak of jealousy over the amount of money pro football players make and how fast, but then I lose that when I consider how short of a career it is and how fast the injuries can compound. In Cleveland, the most talked about player this week will be Browns defensive back TJ Ward because he is the weapon that took out Gronkowski. Yes, he could have make the tackle higher around the hips but would have probably bounced off the hips and Gronkowski would have made another five yards. Or he could tackled him around the shoulders and been taken for 10 yards trying to wrestle the 66" 260 lbs tight end to the ground. Ward is listed at 510" and 200lbs so it was his only choice to take the legs. If he didnt, he would have been criticized and graded down the next morning in the review of the game. The more negative grades you have, the less significance you have in value. No choice for Ward at that moment in time. Pivotal Discussion I dont know who the best quarterback is in NFL football but of the top four that have won Super Bowls, here is what I think. Tom Brady is the best pressure quarterback in football and has exceptional leadership qualities. What he has been able to do with extreme limitations of time is second to none. With two minutes to go on your own 20-yard line and needing a touchdown, Tom Brady is the best. Peyton Manning is #1 in terms of preparation and in-game adjustment. So many times the best offensive possession for Denver is the first one as that becomes the first points scored in the game. Then as the game moves on, Manning figures it out. What he figures out I am not sure but so many times, the second half is dominated by Denver no matter what has happened in the first half. Nobody can run their offence like Manning. Drew Brees has the best footwork and awareness. Cris Collinsworth showed on Sunday Night Football how Brees goes from one opportunity to another downfield, not only in the game but in the pre-game. Later, it was visually demonstrated how polished and precise his footwork and throwing motion work together. Pocket awareness is having the ability to feel a pass rush but not see it. Some quarterbacks never get it; Brees has mastered it. No one has a better arm or a more relaxed demeanor on the field than Aaron Rodgers. If there is anxiety inside Rodgers in the middle of a game, I dont see it. It amazes me how composed and relaxed he remains from play to play. Confidence yes, ability yes but also a gift of knowing or having the skill to focus on what is important and dismiss what is not in any given moment. And with that gift, he has the most accurate and velocity intense arm. If ARodgers comes back for the Dallas game, everything will change for the Packers. Overall, I pick Aaron Rodgers as my number 1 quarterback. Capital Demise In Washington, you can see the end coming. I dont think players give up on a team, coach or year. The competition for an NFL job is too heavy and everything is on video to be re-evaluated all off-season over and over and over. But I do think players play with different intensity levels depending on weather, opposition, one-on-one competition and free agency. When you give up a run for a touchdown, a pass for a touchdown, a punt for a touchdown and a kick return for a touchdown, there is something deeply wrong. The value of a coach is how the players respond and the Washington Redskins did not. You cant fire 53 players, only the boss. Time To Sit In Denver, I hope the Broncos sit Wes Welker until the playoffs. Within one month, he has been diagnosed with two concussions and both on the same type of pattern, a crossing route in between the hash marks about 10 yards downfield. Thats linebacker territory. Also, I guess the conversation about Peyton Mannings ability to play effectively is cold weather is over. Four touchdowns and 397 yards answered that question against Tennessee . Tough To Watch Finally, the Monday Night Football game was painful to watch for two reasons. First, it was brutally cold and by the fourth quarter, everybody was ready to go home; in the stands, on the field, everybody. Secondly, it was tough to watch the slow but consistent disintegration of the Dallas defence. Salary cap limitations have been a good thing for football as it forces competitive balance but when mismanaged, you see weakness in personnel that is normally depth players who will never be starters. That has caught up to the Cowboys. They can still win the NFC East when they face the Eagles in Philadelphia on December 29, but by no means is it a sure thing based on Monday night. Tony Romo Authentic Jersey .Va. -- Drew Brees stood on the sideline throughout the Saints first scrimmage of training camp on Saturday, resting a strained abdominal muscle on his left side and likely watching with envy as his backups cashed in on the big-play potential of rookie receiver Brandin Cooks. Troy Aikman Jersey . Booth, 28, has missed the last four games with a lower body injury and has appeared in 11 of 16 games for the Canucks this season, recording one goal and two assists.VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks are looking forward to staying on the West Coast in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Starting Wednesday, the Canucks will renew their post-season rivalry with the Los Angeles Kings in Vancouver. Game two goes Friday at Rogers Arena while the third and fourth games of the best-of-seven series will be held April 15 and 18 in Los Angeles. If necessary, the fifth game will occur in Vancouver on April 22; the sixth will take place in Los Angeles on April 24; and the series will close out in Vancouver on April 26. The Canucks will have short flights, a potentially key factor in the likely event that the series extends beyond the minimum four games and the teams have only a one-day break before each of the last three games. "Every team in our conference is going to be a battle, so its good that were staying in the same time zone," said Vancouver defenceman Alex Edler. "It cant hurt." The Canucks meet the Kings in the opening round for the second time in three years. In the 2009-10 post-season, Vancouver prevailed over Los Angeles in six games. For the second straight season, the Canucks finished first in the Western Conference and overall in the NHL, posting a 51-22-9 record. The Kings drew Vancouver after battling just to get into the playoffs and finishing in eighth place in the West with a 40-28-14 mark. "We know for sure we get home-ice advantage (in every round), so thats a big thing," said Edler. "Its a great accomplishment to win the whole league. But now is when it starts. (Finishing first overall) doesnt mean anything if you dont get it done in the playoffs." The Canucks enter the playoffs on a roll, having won eight of their past nine games, including seven straight at home. All of the wins have come without injured scoring star Daniel Sedin (concussion). "Weve been playing the way we want lately, using our system," said Edler. "There are a lot of good players on this team. Obviously, with a loss like Daniel, its good to see that other guys are stepping up and doing a good job." They clinched first place in the West and overall with a resounding 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. The Kings, on the other hand, are a modest 6-3-2 in their past 11. They drew the Canucks after losing their regular-season finale to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Had the Sharks lost, they would have played Vancouver. Although the Kings uniforms are the same from two seasons ago when the clubs last met in the playoffs, many of the faces are different. The most significant change is behind the bench, where Darryl Sutter took over from the fired Terry Murray earlier this season. Other notable additions include forwards Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, who formeerly played together in Philadelphia. Emmitt Smith Authentic Jersey. . But Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa expects emotions to flare like the last time the teams met in the playoffs. This season, the teams split their four games. One of Vancouvers two losses came in overtime and three of the contests were decided by one goal. "Weve had a little bit of a rivalry with them the past two years," said Bieksa. "We beat them in the playoffs a couple years ago. It kind of started from there. Its probably one of the teams weve had the most scrums with throughout the season. "(They are) very deep, I think, up front and really strong on the blue-line and probably (have) one of the best goaltenders in the game. So pick your poison." Kings starting netminder Jonathan Quick finished with the NHLs second-best goals-against average (1.95) while allowing only 133 goals. Only the St. Louis Blues (163) gave up fewer goals than Los Angeles (179). But Vancouver, on the basis of its record this season, is the clear favourite. Now, its a question of how well the Canucks can handle that label and take advantage of reduced travel time. Last spring, while making long trips from the West Coast to the U.S. Midwest, the Canucks had difficulty in the first round against Chicago and needed an overtime goal from Alex Burrows in the seventh game to push themselves through. Bieksa said Vancouver has prepared the right way for the post-season, despite placing first overall and in the West by a closer margin than last year. (The Canucks took No. 1 overall after the Rangers lost Saturday, and were able to claim first in the West after St. Louis lost a night earlier.) The Canucks are also a different club than the one a year ago that fell to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals in seven games. "Were smarter, for sure," said Bieksa. "Obviously, we havent been pacing ourselves, but weve been cautious. Coaches and management have done a great job of spreading ice time out down the stretch and giving days off when need be. Were taking good care of ourselves. Were doing the right workouts going down (the stretch), so everythings geared towards Game 1 and round one." Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said his team is also more mature. Aside from a few minor alterations, the current Vancouver squad is similar to the one that ousted the Kings two springs ago. "This group is different than last year," he said. "As soon as you change an element, its a different team. Weve changed a few elements, but our core has stayed the same. The core in our team is focused, is motivated, and theyre ready for this opportunity." Accordingly, the Canucks dont care who they play in the first round. Centre Ryan Kesler said the club must simply get ready and cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '