Dark Horse Tavern » should get a lot of credit. Our coach

Just when the NFL was enjoying a ratings rebound and an explosion of offensive firepower that has fans giddy over their favorite and/or fantasy teams Foster Moreau Jersey , the league reverted to its bumbling ways in Week 13.It began with a prime-time officiating fiasco by its most experienced crew.The poor performance by referee Walt Anderson’s crew Thursday night sullied an otherwise classic Saints-Cowboys showdown that reminded everyone defense can be sexy, too.Jaylon Smith’s helmet-to-helmet hit on Alvin Kamara was the most egregious non-call, one that Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira called “a clear example of leading with the crown of the helmet.”Just feet away from the illegal hit were field judge Terry Brown and line judge Byron Boston, both of whom kept their yellow flags tucked safely away as New Orleans coach Sean Payton went ballistic.Just under the six-minute mark came the most crucial bad call.With the Cowboys facing third-and-5 from the 50-yard line, Saints cornerback P.J. Williams tackled Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley a full yard shy of the first-down marker, but the officials said to move the chains.Out of challenges, Payton was helpless to get the call reviewed, and because it was outside of 2 minutes and not a scoring play, the league’s hands were tied, too.Payton had his own inexplicable blunder after the teams traded takeaways in the final minutes.After Dallas got the ball back at the Saints 16 with 2:08 left, Ezekiel Elliott ran for 2 yards and Payton burned his last timeout three seconds before the 2-minute warning.Had he waited, the Cowboys likely would have run twice, forcing the Saints to call their final timeout and running more time off the clock. A field goal would have left the Saints down six with about 45 seconds for Drew Brees to try to pull off some last-minute magic.But the timeout at 2:03 meant the Cowboys could throw on second down knowing the clock would stop regardless once the play was over. A pass interference call gave them a first down and they ran out the clock.The next day brought more bad news for the league when TMZ released surveillance video of Kareem Hunt shoving and kicking a woman in an altercation that ultimately led to the star running back’s release from the Kansas City Chiefs and landed Hunt on the commissioner’s exempt list.On Sunday, Hunt told ESPN that the league had never interviewed him about the matter, which prompted the NFL to release a statement defending itself .Hunt was cut the same day Washington Redskins executive Doug Williams apologized for calling linebacker Reuben Foster’s domestic violence arrest “small potatoes” compared to crimes committed by people in power.The Redskins took plenty of heat after claiming Foster off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers, who released him Tuesday, three days after he was arrested and charged with domestic violence in Tampa, Florida.Sunday’s games brought another slew of gaffes.Most notable was the Los Angeles Chargers getting away with a blatant false start on a touchdown for the second time this season.In October, Chargers right tackle Russell Okung wasn’t whistled for an obvious false start on a touchdown play against Cleveland, and shortly afterward, the NFL fired down judge Hugo Cruz for inadequate performance.On Sunday night in Pittsburgh, the Chargers did it again Joey Bosa Jersey , only this time it was right tackle Sam Tevi who clearly jumped early on Philip River’s 46-yard touchdown throw to Travis Benjamin.“We’ve seen it before and it led to a dismissal. I certainly hope that doesn’t happen again,” said Pereira, noting “that was a miss that was on the same level as the one” in October.Those seven points made all the difference in the Chargers’ 33-30 win over the Steelers, who fell to 174-1-1 when holding a 16-point lead at home.“There was no explanation other than they missed it,” coach Mike Tomlin said afterward.Tomlin cut off further questions about the officiating lest he open himself up to a fine from the league office. “I’ve sent enough money to New York,” he said.The game ended in bizarre fashion as the Steelers jumped offsides three consecutive times, first on a missed field goal, then on a blocked attempt and finally on the game winner.Pereira and fellow former NFL head of officials Dean Blandino said on Fox Sports that the crew could have awarded the Chargers the points even without the ball going through the uprights because of an obscure league rule prohibiting teams from repeatedly committing deliberate fouls to prevent a score.Blandino said he would have invoked the rule.“I think the rule book is clear. You give a warning and then after the warning, you award the score,” Blandino said.Not all the bad calls were made by the men in stripes.The New York Giants coaching staff, for example, must be regretting sending receiver Odell Beckham Jr. out on their “hands” team.After the Bears kicked a field goal with 1:13 left to pull to 27-20, they went for an onside kick, which they recovered thanks to Beckham’s business decision not to get into the scrum for the recovery .“I could dive in there and still not get the ball, so it was a very tough call,” an irritated OBJ said after the Giants pulled out the win in overtime on a day when he became the first player since 1924 to record multiple games with a TD pass and a TD catch in a single season.“Nobody should even question me on my effort and my heart,” Beckham insisted. “That’s the last thing you can do. You can question me as a person, as a man, whatever you want to do. But my heart and my effort can never be questioned. Ever.”Except when he doesn’t go for the football on the onside kick to seal the win.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots are spending the week leading up to Sunday’s AFC title game doing what they always do in the days leading up to any game.

Not saying anything negative about the opposition.

That’s the Patriots way — don’t give the other guys anything to put up on their bulletin boards.

So, when someone like Jacksonville’s Jalen Ramsey predicts his Jaguars will unseat the defending Super Bowl champs in Sunday’s game, the Patriots take the high road and talk about how tough the other guys are to deal with.

Reacting to Ramsey’s boast Tony Pollard Jersey , quarterback Tom Brady, on his weekly WEEI appearance, said, “I think what I have learned for a long time is — it’s how you play, it’s not what you say. Everyone has different ways of handling things — players do, coaches do. We do what works for us, other players do what works for them. The game is going to be decided by who plays the best, not who hypes the best or speaks the best.

“He’s a really good player. I have watched a ton of film on him,” Brady said of Ramsey. “He has a lot of strengths. He’s obviously very confident. That is reflected in how he plays. I am more concerned about how he plays (as) opposed to what he says.”

Brady, headed for his seventh straight AFC title game and 12th overall, also called the upstart Jaguars “the toughest” team the top-seeded Patriots have faced all season — something that didn’t sit too well with Jacksonville.

Jacksonville’s Telvin Smith called Brady out on Twitter, saying, “Bruh this the oldest trick…pump us up in the media but in the buildin I kno what’s really bein said. Respect.”

Brady, who has had his shares of bumps and bruises in this, his 40-year-old season, skipped his Wednesday media session as he met with team medical personnel over a right hand injury. He then was held out of practice on Thursday because of the injury, calling into question how effective he would be if he plays Sunday.

He is still expected to play Sunday.

He captured his 26th postseason victory, recorded his 13th 300-yard postseason passing game — extending his NFL record for both — and also broke a tie with Joe Montana to become the all-time leader with 10 three-TD playoff games.

The Patriots, seeking the sixth Super Bowl crown of the Brady/Bill Belichick Era, hammered the Tennessee Titans 35-14 in the divisional round, while the third-seeded Jaguars stunned the Steelers 45-42 in Pittsburgh and come into this game filled with confidence — and toughness.

Asked Wednesday what it will be like facing the NFL’s No. 1 defense, New England tight end Rob Gronkowski Noah Fant Jersey , active this time around after missing last year’s title run, said, “That is a big challenge. They have very talented players on both sides of the ball. Especially on defense, they have many, many great players. It is going to be a big challenge.

“It is the best team we are facing all year coming up in the AFC Championship Game this weekend. We have to be ready. We have to be prepared. It is going to be a big, tough challenge, for sure.”

The Jags are trying to become only the third team — and first since the 1985 Chicago Bears — to lead the league in rushing and win the championship.

“It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a great challenge for us,” Jacksonville coach Doug Marrone told the New England media via conference call Wednesday. “We understand how great of a team New England is and how much of a challenge all three phases are going to be faced with. It’s going to be difficult and we understand that.”

These teams practiced together prior to the first preseason game back in August, and Patriots players said they saw back then things would be different with a team that won three games last season.

Now, they meet for the AFC title.

The Patriots have gone 3-3 in the six straight title game appearances, losing twice to the Denver Broncos and once to the Baltimore Ravens. Most people expected a battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week but the Jags flipped the script and come into this game as decided underdogs.

A big change beside the coach was the return of Tom Coughlin to the organization he helped build — as the first coach of the expansion team in 1995.

Jacksonville’s vice president of football operations, Coughlin coached the New York Giants to a pair of Super Bowl wins over the Patriots, and one would have to think he can be of some help this week — as he has the entire season.

Asked if Coughlin might be getting too much credit when he, Marrone, is the coach, Marrone said, “He should get a lot of credit. (Jaguars general manager) Dave Caldwell should get a lot of credit. Our coaches should get a hell of a lot of credit and our players deserve the most credit.

“So I think everyone is trying to pull in the same direction. I just think that those people getting the credit, they deserve it. As long as we win I don’t really care who gets the credit. So I have no problem with that at all.”