Click Here
Banner
Colts head coach Dungy will return for the 2008 season PDF Print E-mail
Written by NFL.com   
Sunday, 20 January 2008 16:50

Tony DungyIndianapolis head coach Tony Dungy will return to the helm of the Colts for the 2008 season, reports NFL Network's Adam Schefter.

The Colts have called a press conference for 4:30 p.m. ET today that will include Dungy, owner Jim Irsay, general manager Bill Polian and assistant head coach Jim Caldwell.

Dungy, the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl, pondered retirement for a third straight year before reaching his decision. The 52-year-old signed a three-year contract extension in September 2005, a deal intended to keep him with the Colts through 2009.

Dungy has said in the past he never intended to be a "lifer" in football and that he initially planned to retire by the time he was 50.

Dungy is 127-65 in 12 seasons as a head coach, finishing his six-year career in Tampa Bay as the franchise's winningest coach. He is the only Colts coach to get double-digit victory totals and earn playoff berths in six straight seasons. He led the Buccaneers to the NFC championship game in 1999 and has been to the AFC championship game twice with the Colts, following the 2003 and 2006 seasons.

In 2007, the Colts became the first team in league history to win at least 12 games in five consecutive years, and Indy has won five straight AFC South titles. Dungy also has been an assistant coach with Minnesota, Kansas City and Pittsburgh and spent three seasons in the late '70s playing for the Steelers and San Francisco 49ers.
 
Perfect Patriots, improbable Giants headed to Arizona for Super Bowl PDF Print E-mail
Written by DENNIS WASZAK Jr., AP Sports Writer   
Monday, 21 January 2008 06:46

FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 20: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates with the Lamar Hunt Trophy after defeating the San Diego Chargers by a score of 21-12 to win the AFC Championship Game on January 20, 2008 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)The New England Patriots' path to perfection has one last hurdle: a New York team of road warriors hoping for a Giant upset.

"We'll try to elevate our game for one last performance," said Tom Brady, the Patriots' dimple-chinned, record-setting quarterback with the model girlfriend.

Brady and the Patriots (18-0) will try to match the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to complete an undefeated season when they face Eli Manning and the Giants on Feb. 3 in the Super Bowl at Glendale, Ariz.

"I think you enter the season and you're hoping to put together a bunch of great wins and you realize there's challenges every step of the way," Brady said after beating San Diego 21-12 in the AFC championship game Sunday. "To not have a letdown like most teams have -- we had a few letdowns or times where we didn't play our best, but we overcame them."

Standing in the Patriots' way are the Giants (13-6) and Manning -- Peyton's little brother, whose moxie and leadership abilities no longer can be questioned.

"We haven't been given a shot, but we're here," Manning said of his Giants, who have won 10 straight on the road -- including a 23-20 overtime win at Green Bay in the NFC title game. "I think we're deserving of it."

Las Vegas oddsmakers might think differently. They installed New England as a 13 1/2 -point favorite in the big game, in which New York will get another shot at destroying the Patriots' path to perfection.
Read more...
 
Quick Take: Patriots are perfectly super PDF Print E-mail
Written by NFL.com   
Sunday, 20 January 2008 15:47

It was over when ...
Wes Welker caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady with 12:15 left in the game, giving the Patriots a 21-12 lead. The Patriots forced the Chargers to punt on the next possession and did not relinquish the ball, draining the final 9:13 off the clock. 

Chris McGrath / Getty Images
Junior Seau is going back to the Super Bowl for the first time since he played with the Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.

Game ball
The Patriots leaned on running backs Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk in the second half. Maroney had a key touchdown in the third quarter and finished with 122 rushing yards. Faulk had eight receptions for 82 yards, including a key third-down as the Patriots played keep-away in the fourth quarter. Junior Seau made a key defensive play in the third quarter when he burst through the line and stopped Michael Turner and third-and-1 inside the 10-yard line, forcing another Chargers field goal.

Key stat
The Chargers forced three turnovers and were able to drive on the Patriots. But they had to settle for four field goals, while the Patriots were able to score three touchdowns.

Noteworthy
The Patriots advance to their fourth Super Bowl in the last seven seasons, and the seventh in franchise history. ... The Patriots improved to 6-1 all-time in AFC Championship Games (3-0 at home). ... Antonio Cromartie's interception in the third quarter was the first red-zone interception Brady has thrown in two seasons, since Champ Bailey intercepted him in a Divisional Playoff game at Denver (Jan. 14, 2006 ). Brady had thrown 62 red-zone touchdowns without an interception. ... Brady has thrown three interceptions in a playoff game only twice, and both came against the Chargers. ... Maroney finished with 122 yards rushing and a touchdown for the second consecutive game, the first back-to-back 100-yard rushing games in the postseason for the Patriots since Craig James in 1985.