Sports: Raven's Suggs: Cusses out Patriots who lost to upsurging Baltimore Ravens 28-13

What a Super Bowl this year!  Head coaches of the Ravens and the 49ers are brothers.  Baltimore Ravens champs the American Football Conference coached by John Harbaugh vs San Fransisco 49ers champs of the National Football Conference coached by Jim Harbaugh.

I've interspersed some critical comments into my composite blog-entry below and a quote from another article by the CBS Sports folks.

-- Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist

CBS Connecticut/AP (Jan22,2k13))

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A fired-up Terrell Suggs ripped the New England Patriots following the Baltimore Ravens 28-13 AFC Championship win.

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel, the Ravens linebacker had a few expletive-laden words directed at Bill Belichick and company.

“Tell them to have fun at the Pro Bowl. Arrogant f******,” Suggs said in the locker room.

He then suggested the Patriots’ arrogance has hurt the organization.

[What coud have got under Suggs' skin so?  The answer may be found in another CBS Connecticut news story,

Shannon Sharpe blasted New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick for refusing to do an interview with CBS Sports following their loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The Hall of Fame tight end and analyst for “The NFL Today” called Belichick’s behavior “unacceptable” after the Patriots lost the AFC Championship game to the Ravens 28-13.
“Bill Belichick makes it real easy for you to root against the Patriots,” Sharpe said to CBS. “You can’t be a poor sport all the time. You’re not going to win all the time and he does this every time he loses.”

Clearly, it seems to refWrite's Sportikos, that CBS Sports honcho Sharpe has a grudge against the Pats leadership who may indeed by the worst f's and p's in pro football today, for all I know; and CBS or Yahoo Sports journo Dan Wetzel seems to have provoked an unguarded Suggs into letting loose with the same sentiment as runs the show at CBS.  This sports-journo technique, where the journo virtually puts words in the player's mouth to rip into the coach and player-leadership of the other team, is quite bad sports-journo practice.  Actually, the interview-avoiding Patriots coach  actually said elsewhere, “That was a disappointing end to an overall pretty positive season,” Belichick said. “Tonight we just didn’t do enough things well enough to win. Give the Ravens credit, they’re a good football team, they just outplayed us and outcoached us tonight. They just made more plays than we did and that’s pretty much the story.”  So Shannon Sharpe's blast at Pats coach Belichick is thick with spoil-sport, and it throws into sharp relief the unnecessary quotation of Raven's Suggs fs and ps, a dirty game by CBS. But the Suggs story isn't even signed!  Quote a man's expletives and then you don't even sign your f***ing name? -- Sportikos]

“These are the most arrogant p***** in the world, starting with Belichick on down,” Suggs exclaimed.

The riled player did, though, give credit to the Patriots for their season.

“With how the game last year ended, and who (No.) 12 is [QB Tom Brady, folks], and who their head coach is, and who their owner is … you won’t get another battle like this between two AFC opponents,” Suggs said. “We have the utmost respect for them.”

The Ravens reached their first Super Bowl in 12 years, thanks to three touchdown passes from Joe Flacco and a defense led by Ray Lewis that made Tom Brady look downright ordinary.

Next up for Harbaugh and the Ravens is younger brother Jim and the San Francisco 49ers, who beat Atlanta 28-24 earlier in the day for the NFC title.

Sports: Football (pro): NFC San Fran 49ers 28 over Atlanta Falcons 24

And a tite and lively game was had by all.  It's official:  49ers 38, Falcons 24.  And the San Fransisco team heads to the Super Bowl as champs of the National Football Conference, where they'll face New England or Baltimore.

-- Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist

National Football League (Jan20,2k13)

Coach Jim Harbaugh loses 

his cool in 

San Francisco 49ers' win

• 
• 

  
• By Gregg Rosenthal
• Around The League Editor
• Published: Jan. 20, 2013 at 06:33 p.m.
• Updated: Jan. 20, 2013 at 07:13 p.m.

See Rosenthal's post-game write-up with video here.
See Charles Odum's take on the game for AP, with video of Kaepernick post-game wrap-up.

With the NFC Championship Game winding down, you want your leaders showing coolness under pressure.

Relive every game this season online and on-demand with enhanced viewing features, including the "All-22" coaches film. Get NFL Game Rewind.

Still, watching San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh absolutely freaking out always makes for great television.

We present Harbaugh, whose reaction after a catch by Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas was upheld after an official review. Two-year olds everywhere admire the coach's form.

Harbaugh will get a chance to work on his form for a few more weeks, because he's headed to the Super Bowl following the 49ers' 28-24 victory Sunday.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/0ap2000000128705/Harbaugh-goes-crazy-after-Douglas-catch

Sports: On the way to the Super Bowl: San Fransisco 49ers vs Atlanta Falcons

Well, I went for Simon Evans' preview of today's game, and he was focussed on Colin Kaepernick of the Atlanta Falcons, but by the time I got to Craig Ballard's pick for the X-factor on San Fran's 49ers, I wasn't so sure.  This is gonna' be a great game, tho it's hard to end up "neutral," so I'm gonna' go with the 49ers.

— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist

RantSports (Jan20,2k13)

San Francisco 49ers vs. Atlanta Falcons: 

NFC Championship Game X-Factors
 
by Craig Ballard

We are getting closer and closer to seeing who will compete in Super Bowl XLVII and this article is a look at a few potential X-factors for the NFC Championship tilt between the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons. As the 2013 NFL Playoffs Insider for Rant Sports, I have a detailed game preview RIGHT HERE.

For the visiting 49ers I will pick rookie LaMichael James as their X-factor. The former Oregon Ducks star has only been active for a month, but he is a guy who can contribute in a few different ways on Sunday.

Read more ...

Sports: FootballUSA pro: San Fran 49ers vs Atlanta Falcons + Colin Kaepernick

Reuters football journo, Simon Evans, reads fast and well, covering all the combos the Atlanta Falcons have to offer around there quirky star Colin Kaepernick.  I, for one, can't help go into viewing this game without rooting for the Falcons against the intrepid San Fransisco 49ers.  But, heck, I'll take anything as it comes along if the game is as lively and engaging as Evans' write-up suggests it will be.

— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist

Reuters (Jan20,2k13)
All eyes are on Colin Kaepernick 
in National Football Conference title game

by Simon Evans

Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:42pm EST

(Reuters) - The Atlanta Falcons are one game from finally turning their Super Bowl potential into reality but while their presence in the NFC Championship game is no shock, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is certainly a surprise element.

Sunday's game in the Georgia Dome will arguably come down to whether Atlanta's defense, which has struggled against mobile quarterbacks this season, will be able to cope with the fast read-option plays of the thrillingly unpredictable Kaepernick.

Atlanta have everything else in place.

Read more ...

Sports: Professional football American style: This a rematch to make up for a Wild Card game earlier in the NFL season

In 20 minutes, one of the great game's of the season in professional football USA, will be telecast coast-to-coast.  And I've got no TV this round.  Maybe I can find something on the Internet.  Is Turner Sports Network on the Internet?  Free?

— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports newspotter, analyst, columnist

Houston Texans (12-4) #3

at New England Patriots (12-4) #2

   Sunday, January 13 - 4pm et/1pm pt on TSN

TSN (Jan13,2k13)

Stakes raised between Patriots and Texans

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)-- Vince Wilfork was a champion as a rookie with the New England Patriots. So, he wondered, how hard could it be to win the Super Bowl every year?

After the past seven seasons without another title, he has his answer.

"Winning one early in my career, you kind of get the sense that it happens like this all the time, but it doesn't," the defensive tackle said. "It's very, very hard to win at this level, at any level."

His college teammate at Miami, Andre Johnson, never reached the playoffs in his first eight seasons with the Houston Texans. He finally got there last year. On Sunday, he faces Wilfork and the Patriots in a divisional-round game.

Watch the game live on TSN at 4pm et/1pm pt.

More Texans vs Patriots News

Pats' Lloyd excited for playoff debut

Texans defence healthy and ready

Brady nearing playoff record

Texans down Bengals in Wild Card

Patriots rout Texans in Week 14

"It means a lot," the wide receiver said. "It makes you appreciate all the tough times you went through to get to this point."

The Patriots (12-4) have a rich tradition of three titles in four years before the current championship drought. They won nine of their last 10 games, are coming off a bye and are heavily favoured, having routed Houston 42-14 on Dec. 10.

The Texans (13-4) have a poor history with just two post-season wins in 11 years of existence. They lost three of their last four regular-season games, then edged the Cincinnati Bengals 19-13 last Saturday in the wild-card round.

Those differences aside, both teams are hungry to keep the season going -- all the way to a Super Bowl triumph.

New England nearly won it last season, falling to the New York Giants 21-17 on a last-minute touchdown. That was a huge disappointment for special teams captain Matthew Slater, a rookie in 2008 who wasn't part of any of the championships. He didn't even win a playoff game in his first three seasons.

"To be able to come as close as we did last year and have past failures in my previous seasons here, it just drives you and motivates you more," he said. "We don't feel like we've accomplished anything. We don't feel like we've arrived at all because it's all for naught unless you do something in the post-season. We're very driven, very motivated, very focused."

Focused on the future.

The past -- that 28-point romp last month -- has no bearing on the rematch today, coaches and players from both teams insist.

"I think it's a bunch of garbage," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "The game will have its own elements and it will write its own story."

Previous Matchups
Dec. 10, 2012	HOU 14 @ DEN 42
Jan. 3, 2010	NE 27 @ HOU 34
Dec. 17, 2006	HOU 7 @ NE 40

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is tired of all the talk about that beating his team took.

"Obviously, we didn't play good last time we were up there," he said. "I don't think we need to keep rehashing it. I think we just need to play our style of football."

That style depends on Arian Foster running the ball. Do that well and the Texans can maintain possession and keep Tom Brady and the Patriots' league-best offence on the sideline.

It worked last Saturday against much weaker competition. The Texans outgained the Bengals 420 yards to 198 and held the ball for 38:49 compared to 21:11 for Cincinnati. Foster ran 32 times and caught eight passes, a total of 40 plays. The Bengals had just 48 plays all game.

And Foster's 140 yards rushing made him the only player with at least 100 in each of first three playoff games.

"There's nothing he can't do," Texans offensive co-ordinator Rick Dennison said. "He catches the ball extremely well. He blocks very well. The little things, as far as seeing somebody, it's almost like a chess move. He knows a couple moves ahead when a guy is coming so he doesn't take a solid shot."

The weak link could be quarterback Matt Schaub. He threw for more than 4,000 yards for the third time in four years, but in his last five games has just one touchdown pass and four interceptions. His passer rating against the Patriots of 68.8 was his third lowest of the season.

But now that he's gotten past the first post-season game of his career, he expects a much better performance.

"We go up with a lot of confidence," Schaub said. "If you want to move on, you've got to bring a sense of nastiness and attitude with you to go out and dominate your opponent on every play."

That's impossible, of course, especially against the Patriots' offence.

Brady's next post-season win will be his 17th, breaking a tie with Joe Montana for the most by any quarterback. He'll get a boost from having tight ends Rob Gronkowski, sidelined for the first game against Houston, andAaron Hernandez on the field together for only the sixth time this season after both dealt with injuries.

"It's all about our execution," Brady said. "They were out there a lot together last year and when we executed well it looked good, and when we didn't it looked bad."

Another performance against Watt like the last one would help. The NFL sacks leader with 20 1-2, plus 16 passes defenced, had none of either in the previous meeting.

"I got quite a few hits on Brady, but, obviously, the ball was gone every time," Watt said. "That's why you get another shot, and this is the playoffs and I'm going to bring everything that I have."

The Patriots plan to do the same. Only two of their players, Brady and Wilfork, remain from the last Super Bowl-winning team in the 2004 season.

"We all play this game for one goal: to be champions," Wilfork said. "You can't take a situation and overlook it. And the situation for us is the Houston Texans. We can't overlook this team. We have to go in and play good football. If we play well, we'll be OK, but if we don't, we'll be in trouble."

And then that one-sided win just a month ago really would mean nothing.

"People have their own opinions about it, but we know what kind of football team we are," Johnson said. "We know if we go out and play well, we're capable of beating anybody."

Players To Watch
		Owen Daniels - Tight End The focal point of the Texans attack is running back Arian Foster but Houston will need to establish the passing game as well if they are to knock off the Patriots. With the Patriots defensive keying on Andre Johnson, Daniels should see plenty of targets from Schaub and will need to make the most of his opportunities.
		Brandon Lloyd - Wide Receiver Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have the red zone covered, Wes Welker has the underneath stuff covered. With the Patriots depth in the passing game, Lloyd sees lots of single coverage and he and Brady can make defences pay on deep balls.

HOUSTON TEXANS ROSTER
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ROSTER