NFL category, Page 267
Steelers Nation shares mixed emotions about Tom Brady’s greatness
One thing we know for sure going into Super Bowl LIII: Many Steelers fans will passionately root against New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady. After all, Brady has dashed the Steelers’ championship dreams time and time again. How much heartbreak can one fan base take? Plus, he’s taking our...
The Rams just sold a year’s worth of gear in 10 days
The Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl berth has been good news for its merchandise business, with the team ringing up about $3.5 million in online sales in the 10 days after they clinched a spot in the big game. To put that number in perspective, it’s about the same amount...
Tom Brady, Jared Goff have massive age gap but same Super Bowl dreamVideo
ATLANTA — Tom Brady vividly remembers the first time he experienced all the hype, hoopla and heightened expectations of playing in the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots quarterback was just a wide-eyed yet supremely confident second-year player who was on the verge of jumpstarting what has become one of...
Super Bowl 2019: Some of the prop bets that are making the bookies nervous
At the SugarHouse Casino, they’re seeing a lot of action on C.J. Anderson scoring the first touchdown. The biggest liability for the William Hill-US bookmakers is whether James Develin will score. Most of their bettors are saying no, he will not. Some guy walked into Resorts Casino in Atlantic City...
Saints’ Payton says he ate ice cream, binge-watched Netflix after Rams loss
METAIRIE, La. — Saints coach Sean Payton turned to ice cream, binge-watching and seclusion after his team’s football season came to an excruciating end. Payton was finally ready on Wednesday to stand in front of reporters for his NFL-mandated, end-of-season media availability, some 10 days after New Orleans’ 26-23 overtime...
Super Bowl 53 on TV: A viewer’s guide to Sunday’s game
Sunday’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams marks the biggest day of sports broadcasting for networks. Here are some things to know about CBS’ coverage as well as other Super Bowl-related programming on other networks: ••• SUPER 20 FOR CBS This marks the 20th Super...
Roger Goodell admits blown call in Rams-Saints; NFL will consider replay for pass interference
ATLANTA — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that the league’s competition committee will consider the prospect of making pass interference calls subject to review by instant replay, but he stopped short of declaring that he favors such a change to the sport’s replay system. Goodell, speaking at his annual...
Rams’ Todd Gurley says he taught Patriots’ Sony Michel the basics at Georgia
ATLANTA — Todd Gurley says he often communicated with two other former Georgia running backs, Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, during the 2018 season. Now that Gurley and Michel are having a Super Bowl reunion as the leading rushers for the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots, respectively, that...
Steel Valley product Luke Getsy named Packers’ QB coach
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are bringing back Luke Getsy, this time as their quarterbacks coach to work with Aaron Rodgers. Getsy, a former Pitt quarterback and a Steel Valley product, spent four seasons on former coach Mike McCarthy’s staff before leaving to become Mississippi State’s offensive...
Old-school Rams DC Wade Phillips knows how to stop Tom Brady
ATLANTA — As Bum Phillips once said, “There’s two kinds of coaches: them that’s fired and them that’s gonna be fired.” His son, Wade Phillips, has been fired enough times to know how true that is: He has walked a broken line through the NFL with nine teams in 41...
Patriots’ Matthew Slater carries proud family football traditionVideo
ATLANTA — Matthew Slater is more than halfway to his father’s longevity as an NFL player. He doesn’t plan to equal it. The star special teamer of the New England Patriots just completed his 11th pro season, and he’s at his fifth Super Bowl, with two wins. In his dad...
Rams’ Brandin Cooks gets 2nd shot at Super Bowl after Patriots tradeVideo
ATLANTA — In the past three NFL seasons, Brandin Cooks has caught passes from Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Jared Goff while playing for Sean Payton, Bill Belichick and Sean McVay. “I guess I know how to pick ‘em, right?” Cooks asked Tuesday with a laugh. Cooks has racked up...
‘Bromance’ of Tom Brady and Julian Edelman key to Patriots success
ATLANTA — Teammates have called their relationship a “bromance.” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady himself openly uses the word love to describe his bond with Julian Edelman, a receiver he has come to depend on during his career. As the duo prepares to play in a fourth Super Bowl together, each...
Super Bowl media night more like mosh pit and Mardi Gras
ATLANTA — Super Bowl Media Night is the NFL’s version of a rock concert, with player interviews rather than music. It’s a Mardi Gras party, complete with the costumes. It’s a slow-motion stampede conducted mostly by quasi-media members or outright impostors. Some Los Angeles Rams players and coach Sean McVay...
Vinatieri, 46, signs contract to play another season in Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — Kicker Adam Vinatieri has signed a one-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts. General manager Chris Ballard announced Friday the two sides had agreed to terms on a new deal. Vinatieri made it official with his signature Monday, then told reporters he was glad the process went smoothly and...
AP analysis: NFL centers seeing shorter career longevity
ORLANDO, Fla. — Pro Bowl center Alex Mack rattled off all he does before the snap: Checks for blitzes, keeps an eye on the play clock, makes blocking adjustments and communicates all the changes to everyone else. All that happens in seconds — with 300-pound defenders a few inches away...
Offensive lines key to Super Bowl for Patriots, Rams
ATLANTA — The Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots are bringing two of the top scoring offenses in the NFL to the Super Bowl. The reason they have played so well has a lot to do with the big guys playing up front. Los Angeles had the same offensive...
AP analysis: NFL keeps going younger and cheaper
By the time NFL players reach their third and fourth years in the league, the vast majority are struggling just to hang on because of injuries or younger, faster and often cheaper rookies out for their jobs. In 2006 and 2011, the players union and the NFL tried to do...
To teammates, Patriots’ Tom Brady stands alone as he chases 6th ring
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Seventeen years ago, Tom Brady was 24 years old and in his second NFL season when he led the Patriots to a last-second victory over the St. Louis Rams for New England’s first Super Bowl title. Four rings later, Brady will arrive in Atlanta for the Patriots’...
Rams’ Todd Gurley says he doesn’t care about Super Bowl role
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Todd Gurley is a serious sports fan who loves going to the Super Bowl each winter, attending all of the decadent parties and soaking up the game-day atmosphere. The Los Angeles Rams superstar running back will miss out on most of those wild parties this year...
With 44 newcomers, Pro Bowl could be more intense than usual
ORLANDO, Fla. — Chicago Bears safety and Pro Bowl newcomer Eddie Jackson posed the same question to several veterans this week: What’s the tempo of practices and the game? “They told me, ‘If you go out there and pull a hamstring, you’re going too hard,’” Jackson said. It wasn’t exactly...
With voodoo dolls and cookies, Saints fans protest with Super Bowl boycott
NEW ORLEANS — “They reffed up” billboards, referee voodoo dolls and posters of blindfolded referees can be seen around the city of New Orleans. The city’s Saints fans are unhappy about the infamous “no-call” during the Saints-Rams championship game and have come up with some pretty creative ways to express...
Tony Romo approaches 1st Super Bowl like regular-season gameVideo
The New England Patriots’ Tom Brady and Los Angeles Rams’ Jared Goff are going into the Super Bowl with plenty of momentum, but the quarterback that might be on the biggest roll is CBS analyst Tony Romo. The former Dallas Cowboys signal-caller will call his first Super Bowl on Feb....
Rams special teams take bag of tricks to Super BowlVideo
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Johnny Hekker, Greg Zuerlein and Jake McQuaide have a ritual during the Los Angeles Rams’ flights home from road victories. While their teammates celebrate up front in the first-class section, the Rams’ punter, kicker and long snapper stay out of the way by retreating to the...
A Super Bowl shutout? Don’t bet on it
Anyone willing to wager that the high-scoring Patriots or Rams will get shut out in the Super Bowl can count on a big payday if that unlikely scenario occurs. William Hill, the nation’s largest sports book operator, released Thursday its list of more than 900 prop bets for Super Bowl...
