National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
I received several questions about the seemingly backwards starting times for this weekend’s AFC and NFC Championship games. The Philadelphia Eagles are playing out west at Arizona in the “early” game against the Cardinals at 3 p.m. ET while the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens on the east coast in the “late” game starting at 6:30 p.m. It’s determined by yearly rotation. CBS gets the prime-time game one year, and FOX gets it the next. CBS broadcasts the AFC game and FOX broadcasts the NFC game. Location matters not.

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
The Tennessee Titans lost this afternoon’s AFC Divisional Playoff game (13-10) more than the Baltimore Ravens won it. I’m not taking anything away from the Ravens. They did plenty of things well. But look at the stats. Tennessee held onto the ball longer (34:07 to 25:53), gained more yards (391 to 211) and had more first downs (21 to 9). Those totals really aren’t even close. What you can’t do is end up minus three in the turnover differential and expect to win any game in the National Football League, let alone a playoff game. …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year yesterday by the Associated Press. I think Falcons owner Arthur Blank had hoped for Matt to have a shot at the starting quarterback position this season when the team drafted him third overall back in April. But I’m sure he didn’t expect this kind of success this soon — not for Matt and not for the Falcons as a team as the prepare to play the NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals Saturday in a Wild Card Playoff game. As one would …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
I’ll be speaking with Miami Dolphins center Samson Satele for a Wild Card weekend EMQB Interview on New Year’s Day. If you would like to ask Samson a specific question about his career or the Dolphins’ remarkable season as AFC East champs, leave a comment on this post or send me an email before midnight on Wednesday, December 31 and I’ll do my best to ask him for you. Please include your first name, city and state along with your question.
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