Editor’s Note: DenverBroncos.com’s Stuart Zaas is in Indianapolis working for the NFL during Super Bowl week. He will check in from time to time with updates leading up to the game on Sunday.
INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time this week, both the Patriots and Giants practiced on Wednesday. New England had practiced in full pads on Monday, but today marked the first practice in Indianapolis for New York.
“We are excited about getting on the football field,” Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. “It’s been a couple of days now, and guys are starting to chomp at the bit. We’re ready to get back to preparing to win a game on Sunday. A lot of us wish we could play it today, but we’ve got to wait until Sunday. Today will be the next step toward getting ready for the game.”
The Giants installed most of their game plan last week in New Jersey, but will make some small adjustments as the week goes on.
“All the work has been done,” Giants quarterback Eli Manning said. “Now it’s just a matter of continuing to run the plays and get more reps at them, and prepare for a few different looks that New England does.”
Heading into their first practice of the week, Manning said the team’s goal is to be just as sharp and focused as they would at home during a typical game week.
“We just want to have a great practice,” he said. “When you get here, you want things to be crisp. Get on the field, run around, have smooth practices and just get ready to play.”
HERZLICH’S COMEBACK
When Giants Linebacker Mark Herzlich was diagnosed with cancer nearly three years ago, many people around him weren’t even considering the possibility that he’d play football again.
Now, here he is in Indianapolis preparing to play in Super Bowl.
“I looked at my dad and said, ‘Dad, we are going to beat this and I’m going to play again,’” Herzlich said of his initial conversation after his diagnosis. “He looked at me and he believed me. He was probably the only one that believed me at the time, but we did it together.”
Herzlich’s inspiring story has been one of the major non-football stories during Super Bowl week, kick-started from a tweet the linebacker sent out as he walked off the Giants’ charter flight upon the team’s arrival on Monday.
“Two years ago I was told I might never walk again. Just WALKED off plane in Indy to play in the Super Bowl. Take that cancer,” Herzlich tweeted.
“It was a tweet that I just thought of at the time and said, ‘Hey, this is pretty cool how far I have come,’” he said regarding the tweet. “It was really kind of something i just felt. I was walking off the plane and said, ‘This is awesome.’ I’ve come so far and our team has really come so far.”
Herzlich has made it a goal of his to help inspire others through his story, and was happy to see the overwhelming positive response to his message.
“I’m very pleased and very happy that so many people got to see it, because that is a part of what my goal and mission is. This week is all about football and all about playing, but there are people out there who are going through cancer right now who see that and say, ‘Hey, if he is doing it, I can do it.’”
PATRIOTS GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS
New England arrived in Indianapolis on Sunday and used Monday to get in a padded practice. On Wednesday, they returned to the practice field, as they would during a typical week.
“We are looking forward to getting back out on the field today and cleaning some things up from Monday,” Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick said before today’s practice. “Moving the week along, this will be a regular Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for us from here on out. Hopefully we can take those days of preparation and be ready to go.”
Despite all the off-the-field elements that come with Super Bowl Week, the Patriots are doing their best to keep the focus on Sunday’s game.
“You have to save your energy and excitement for after the game,” safety Patrick Chung said. “We’re on a business trip. The first couple of days you have fun, go out and do what you need to do. When business time comes around it’s time to go. (Now) it’s back to business.”
OFFICIALS NAMED
The NFL released the officiating crew for Sunday’s game with referee John Parry leading the seven-man crew. This game will mark the 12th-year official’s 10th playoff game and his second Super Bowl. It will be his first as a referee after he served as the side judge for Super Bowl XLI.
The rest of the crew consists of Carl Paganelli (umpire), Tom Stabile (head linesman), Gary Arthur (line judge), Gary Cavaletto (field judge), Laird Hayes (side judge) and Tony Steratore (back judge). Larry Nemmers will be the replay assistant for the game and Lou Nazzaro will work as the video operator. As a group, the crew has 94 years of NFL officiating experience and 69 playoff game assignments.
The Super Bowl crew is chosen using the league’s officiating evaluation system with the highest-rated eligible officials at each position earning the right to work in the Super Bowl. Officials must have at least five years of NFL experience and at least one previous playoff assignment to be eligible to work the Super Bowl.
-Stuart Zaas
Tags: Super Bowl XLVI
Who cares!!!
Lol! Who Cares!………Broncos Jealousy lol
Dove Valley must be taking this week 0off since all we have to report and talk about is the Super Bowl teams. YUK!!!!!!!!!!
That doesn’t sound so great for Peyton, LOL:
Colts new OC Bruce Arians: “Hopefully Peyton can come back and get ready to go. But, there will be a new quarterback and a new beginning.”
NFL never short on ways to make money:
Osi fined $20,000 for not participating in today’s media session according to NFL
Is it too much to ask for the SB to be a little less about money and more about the game…..
Slow day on the blog….
I heard Robert Kraft (Patriots owner) interviewed today, and he gave two players the lions share of the credit for coming to an agreement and avoiding missing any games this year: Jeff Saturday, and Dominick Foxworth…
Bay – you weren’t kidding when you said the blog slows down during the offseason…. That’s a major understatement……..
Slow news day at NFL.com too apparently-
Tim Tebow has canceled an appearance at a revival organized by a controversial Ohio preacher, a spokesman for the star athlete said Wednesday.
The Denver Broncos quarterback and dedicated Christian had been scheduled to speak at a three-day Columbus event in March led by televangelist Rod Parsley.
Tebow’s brother Robbie said in a phone interview that he was canceling the talk. Robbie Tebow said his brother’s speakers’ bureau hadn’t researched the event before saying yes to the invitation.
“I know for a fact that Tim is not going to be a part of it,” Robbie Tebow said. “That’s being resolved.”
Parsley teaches that God wants the faithful to be rich. Last year, he asked followers to donate more than $1 million to ward off satanic attacks. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican Sen. John McCain disowned an endorsement from Parsley after learning the pastor called Islam an “anti-Christ” religion.
Parsley’s gathering is called “Contending for the Faith Weekend.” Texas televangelist Kenneth Copeland, who also preaches the prosperity gospel, is another featured speaker, according to the event website.
Mark Youngkin, a spokesman for Parsley, said the quarterback has a contract with the event organizers, who have asked Tebow to reconsider. Youngkin said national advertising for the event had just been approved Tuesday.
“The ball’s in their court at this point,” Youngkin said.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
I loved the Von interview when he said “I am not a hater but I have seen enough of the Patriots” when asked for a SB prediction.
Yes, a slow news day (for us anyways). This blog is as dead as I’ve seen it in as long as I can remember.
Shaztah-
I thought that was cool too. Thanks to McHoodie I’ve had enough of the Pats to last three lifetimes. For anyone who didn’t see Miller’s interview here is the link.
http://bleacherreport.com/tb/bdKx2?utm_source=&utm_medium=newsletter
Go Broncos 2012!
Has anyone seen the new article about Tebow yet. Its not really a big deal but the comments other people are leaving about Tebow is ridiculous..
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82682ce0/article/tebow-cancels-scheduled-talk-with-ohio-prosperity-pastor?module=HP11_headline_stack
I am hoping the patriots win.
I always look at it like, If we are gonna be eliminated from the playoffs, it better be the champs that knocked us off.
Plus I just hate the giants ….
So go …. patriots?
For anyone interested…….
http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/tim-tebow-2-1-12/1382576
John Legend performed a song called “Extra-Ordinary Tebow” on First Take today, with the words imploring show host Skip Bayless to not talk about Tebow on every show with the line: “Skip won’t you let it go?”
Maybe that can apply to half of the world out here too, LOL.
Kiz and Ellis dreaming:
Bring the Super Bowl to Denver.
“We are a city worthy of hosting the Super Bowl,” Broncos president Joe Ellis said Wednesday. “It’s definitely something we’re looking at.”
“The climate is an issue,” Ellis said, talking to me as he traveled down the highway to Denver International Airport, with a view of snow on Mount Evans over his left shoulder.
“How the league would feel about a Super Bowl played in a driving blizzard when fans are paying thousands of dollars to attend the game remains to be seen,” said Ellis, aware that if the big game were in Denver this week, New England coach Bill Belichick might be scowling at a winter storm warning in the forecast.
Super Bowl sites are evaluated by a six-person committee that currently includes Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, the host of this year’s event, as well as representatives from the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills. Hey, it snows in all those cities, doesn’t it?
It’s clear the Broncos believe they could make a compelling sales pitch. But putting together a bid would not be taken lightly.
“There’s a lot of money invested on the come to bid on this game and not win it,” Ellis said. “I know our fans are more interested in the team spending money to acquire good players for the Broncos rather than spending money to acquire the Super Bowl for Denver. And we agree.”
“Who wouldn’t want the Super Bowl?” Ellis said. “I think it would be great for Denver, and our city deserves an event like that.”
Keep on dreaming on, that’s how the world goes forward.
Klis please tell me this is b.s., but I know it’s not:
INDIANAPOLIS —
At the NFL Experience at the hub of the downtown Super Bowl festivities here, there is a makeshift locker room.
Fans walk through the locker room and gawk at the lockers with nameplates of the game’s most famous players.
One of the lockers has a long line of people waiting to have their picture taken next to it. The locker belongs to Tim Tebow, and the people wait so they can be photographed “Tebowing” in front of his locker, for posterity’s sake.
How much does the NFL charge per picture?
It’s simply degrading to see where the league has gone.
Woody asking himself:
The Chinese calendar states that 2014 will be the Year of the Horse. Does that mean the Super Bowl in 2014 or the regular season of 2014?
Either way looks like this year isn’t it, LOL.
That song was performed yesterday, but as long as Tebow is a quarterback in the NFL, he will continue to be talked about, good or bad. Might as well get used to it.
And today I get to read about one of my all time favorite, Randy Gradishar, love it (answering DP readers questions):
In your opinion, which offensive player you faced in your career really stands out as somebody who does not get the recognition they deserve?
- Jeremey, Anchorage
Gradishar: I’m not sure this is the answer you are looking for, but I would have to say that (offensive lineman) John Hannah was the best I went up against. He’s in the Pro football Hall of Fame and he was one of the best of all time.
We met back in college through the all-American awards and celebrations and then I played against him for my whole career when he was with the Patriots. He could do it all well. It didn’t matter if he was run blocking, pass protecting or pulling, he did it correctly every time. He was a complete offensive player.
Etched in my memory is a frozen moment of you, well above the line of scrimmage, on fourth-and-inches, when you hit the Lions’ Billy Sims and caused him to fumble on October 11, 1981. How did you get that high off the ground, time your jump, know where he was going to be and cause the fumble? I watch a lot of football, but I can’t say I’ve seen a defensive play like that recently. How has the game changed that we don’t see that kind of stop anymore?
- Bruce, Elizabeth
Gradishar: The reason why you don’t see it any more is that they don’t run that kind of defense anymore. And on our defense, that play was called particularly for me. I would line up in the defensive backfield and almost everybody else was on the line.
We practiced for that fourth-and-short play almost every day in practice. The key was our down linemen always getting lower then the offensive guys. That kept the line of scrimmage low and enabled me to read the play and meet the ball carrier in the air.
Except for our defensive backs, I was the only one in the defensive backfield. The other linebackers — Tommy Jackson, Bob Swenson, Joe Rizzo, were all on the line.
(Defensive coordinator) Joe Collier started me out lining up about 3 yards behind the line. Then I started moving 5 yards back instead. That scared (DB) Steve Foley. He thought I was back too far. He’d yell, “Randy, get up there, you’re too deep!”
But I liked the way it worked. It let me see the offensive set and read the play. Sometimes it was a matter of the right timing, some of it was luck, and some of it was the experience of knowing what play they were going to run and who they were going to give the ball to.
For a linebacker, making a fourth-down stop was kind of like a quarterback throwing a touchdown pass. For the Orange Crush, playing in front of those great crowds Mile High, it was part of our signature.
Like I said, the key was for guys like (Lyle) Alzado and (Barney) Chavous, and (Rubin) Carter and T.J. to keep low and stay low. That gave me the opportunity to launch myself at the ball carrier. I guessed right a lot of times, but sometimes they switched it up and ran to the outside and I would leap into the pile and fall over. All I could do was laugh.
Now that’s way too much fun to read….
Being an usher in section 104 of the old Mile High Stadium in the middle ’70s I got to witness first hand the power of the “Crush.” Randy, is there a particular career tackle, hit, or interception in your memory that stands out above all the rest and what was it?
– Roland, Boise, Idaho
Gradishar: I will broaden that question a little bit. My favorite game was at Mile High Stadium on New Year’s Day in 1978 when we won the AFC championship game. We beat our rivals, the Raiders, with Kenny Stabler and Dave Casper and Fred Biletnikoff. No one but Red Miller and our team thought we could win that particular game, with the championship on the line, against the Raiders. But we did, in front of that home crowd.
For me, the one play I most remember was in 1980 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. That’s when I ran back a 93-yard interception for a touchdown — which is still the longest in Broncos history.
T.J. came in on a blitz on Browns quarterback Brian Sipe. I blocked his pass and it bounced off of Tommy’s leg or back, and I caught it and ran. I called that play a game-changer, and since I grew up in the area (Warren, Ohio) it was special for me.
Really, nobody knew what happened, but the referee was literally less than 3 feet away from the play. I was running down the sidelines waving at the Browns’ bench as I went by.
I had never run 93 yards before, so I was gassed. I usually went in for point-after team, but I was too tired.
Absolutely correct, that 77 AFC championship was our first greatest moment and no one who got to experience it will ever forget it, thanks for the memories Randy. I got a DVD copy of that great game btw and love to watch it with a good brewski now and then. Goose bumps time!
What former Bronco that you played with from the 1977 Orange Crush do you think desires at least Ring of Fame honors?
- Jim, Thornton
Gradishar: Without thinking about it too much, I would have to say Rick Upchurch. He set a lot of NFL records for kick and punt returns. He was a good wide receiver, too. He would be one of the guys that would be considered some day and should actually get in.
In the dictionary, the definition of electrifying is Upchurch, never saw anyone giving me that feeling quite like that ever again. And Gradishar you know everything about being overlooked, you should of been elected into the HOF eions ago, I feel real bad for you, life is unfair, specially in the NFL.
Which brings us to the last question:
Why did you retire after 10 years knowing that by extending your career your shot at the Hall of Fame would have been very likely?
– Mark, Cape Coral, Fla.
Gradishar: I retired on my own terms. I wanted to cal the shots. I wanted to make my own decision and retire at the peak of my career instead of losing my step and having someone tell me it was time.
I talked to a lot of people and I had been praying about the decision.
I guess that’s kind of a broad answer, but I wanted to make that decision on my own. Maybe if I played a few years more I could have been with Karl (Mecklenburg) and John (Elway) for that next Super Bowl (following the 1986 season). But I don’t know if playing a few more years would qualify me or give me Hall of Fame credentials. And when I retired, I wasn’t even thinking about the Hall of Fame.
But I have never looked back. That’s a common question I get, but I was at peace with the decision. I felt great about it and felt that it was a blessing for me to leave the game at my peak and according to my own personal philosophy. I asked The Lord to help direct me and I prayed about it and I had great confirmation about my decision.
Elway, Gradishar, maybe Dawk can retire on his own terms too and everybody be fine with it.
Man, that was great! Thanks again Randy for everything!
Read more: Randy Gradishar: Talking Hall of Fame, Tebow and goal-line stands – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/fanmail/ci_19862611#ixzz1lEgSqMdR
Read The Denver Post’s Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
Sorry, forgot to delete the bottom link, hence the moderation process…
“Randy Gradishar and Dick Butkus are the two best linebackers I’ve seen,” 1977 Broncos coach Red Miller once said. “Randy could beat the blocker, get to the ball carrier and put the nail in the coffin.”
Amen.
Here is a little take on Manning from Klis…
Growing sentiment that Peyton won’t play again
Posted: 02/02/2012 01:00:00 AM MST
Updated: 02/02/2012 02:00:30 AM MST
By Mike Klis
INDIANAPOLIS — There is a chance Peyton Manning leaves the Indianapolis Colts for free agency.
There is a slim chance the Colts keep Manning and draft Andrew Luck with the No. 1 draft pick. And there is the growing sentiment here during Super Bowl week that Manning may never play again, period.
“I don’t think he’ll ever play again,” said Gil Brandt, the longtime Dallas Cowboys’ scout who now works for the NFL. “It’s a shame. I don’t think he’ll pass the physical.”
This is something few have considered — even if Manning wants to play despite his damaged neck, what doctor would risk his practice by clearing him to play?
“I hope he comes back,” Brandt said.
I guess it really may not matter what Peyton Manning has to say about playing again (by Klis):
INDIANAPOLIS — There is a chance Peyton Manning leaves the Indianapolis Colts for free agency.
There is a slim chance the Colts keep Manning and draft Andrew Luck with the No. 1 draft pick. And there is the growing sentiment here during Super Bowl week that Manning may never play again, period.
“I don’t think he’ll ever play again,” said Gil Brandt, the longtime Dallas Cowboys’ scout who now works for the NFL. “It’s a shame. I don’t think he’ll pass the physical.”
This is something few have considered — even if Manning wants to play despite his damaged neck, what doctor would risk his practice by clearing him to play?
“I hope he comes back,” Brandt said.
For instance, here’s a nice article about our quarterback, for a change…….
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6264363/34665125
Haha.
ooops, we double posted. Sorry guys!
There is obviously an echo in here, LOL.
Haha… you guys are funny… I knew this was the place to go for the morning Repeat, but this is getting a little out of hand…
Hope Gronk can play this weekend… I’m not excited about the game but I want him to play just because it will make the game better…
B-R-O-N-C-O-S BRONCOS BRONCOS BRONCOS!!!
Weird that it takes this SB to have Damien come back to mind:
Indianapolis — New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said his former junior college teammate Damien Nash still pops through his mind.
“I think about him all the time,” Jacobs said. “I’m talking about a talented guy who had it all.”
Jacobs and Nash shared the same backfield at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. Nash was a Broncos backup running back in 2006 but he collapsed of a fatal heart attack on Feb. 24, 2007 following a charity basketball game he organized to raise funds for his brother, who was waiting for a heart transplant. (From Klis)
And I hear that Gronk’s foot is feeling much better since the boot came off and that barring unusual circumstances he’ll play.
VON TEBOW FOOTBALL!!!! 2012
BRING ON THE BEEEEEEF!!!!!
So you don’t care to clarify your stance yesterday for TRB and sndvl’s benefit? LOL.
I think it’s funny that the cow man keeps chanting bring on the beef, haha.
Could, but it would take a couple hours a day for the next month or so… I write books on the topic, which I limit to 25k words each…
I simpy think it is a joke, for any intelligent person to base the success or value of their existence on this planet around something as imaginery as a ‘Dollar’…
Money and Modern Religions are socialistic control mechanisms, that have evolved to continue the subjegation of the ‘free’ population once a majority of our society ‘moved away’ from a fuedal system…
We live in a country where we are ‘Free to do what we are told’… I know this is a football blog so I won’t expand too much, but it is silly that people only blame others for the condition that our Nation is in… Every person that accepts what is going on around them is equally responsible for changing it…
I feel very strongly that discussing religion and/or pliitics on the Bronco blog is inapproiprite, but, I feel it important to violate my own “rule”.
As a non-Christian (Neither Jewish or Muslim) I’d like to thank TT for cancelling his scheduled appearance at an event whose featured speakers are diseminators of hatred and dissention. Thank you TT for truly practicing and following the golden rule. One of the many things that it common to all religious beliefs.
It comes down to this… We are part of nature, and as such we have 4 basic drives that are innate to our survival, and they are
Food, Shelter, Water and Comfort (Peace of Mind)
By controlling these things you can literally control the way a population is allowed to form conscious reasoning and manipulate the thought process in relationship to natural values and what an individual considers to be ‘Right or Wrong’. This is why Monkeys that grow up on different dirt have different ‘religions’ and it makes us fundamentally at odds…
Think about this… People all have the same basic needs and desires for life, and if we could communicate with others we would see we are all the same fundamentally. As a planet we don’t even have a common language…
The human Monkey is very primitive in its evolution, and not until you get over your own ‘importance’ can you ever start to affect a real meaningful long term change…
Why would his people even want to have him there in the first place….
Now that “whatever” group says they have a contract with him and want him to honor it, just what Tebow and all of us need…
Great comment, Oldsouth. It would surprise me if this didn’t get worked out amicably between Tebow and Rod Parsley’s group. Who knows whether Tebow actually signed the contract, or if it was signed by his staff with a power of attorney? And it doesn’t matter.
For all we know, Parsley probably will not want any negative attention brought on his organization and their “revival” with a breach of contract proceeding against Tebow. For sure, Tebow will do his best to work it. At any rate, it’s their business to settle.
*work it out.