Matchups for the AFC championship game Sunday between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium:WHEN T

Matchups for the AFC championship game Sunday between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium:WHEN THE COLTS (13-5) HAVE THE BALL:Andrew Luck (12) led the NFL in TD passes with 40, and hes proven himself as a real force in his three pro seasons. Nike Blazer Shoes Online . Except, that is, against New England. Luck stands 0-3 vs. the Patriots — the only team hes played more than once and not beaten. The Colts have been outscored 144-66 in those games.Luck needs to be as calculating yet fearless on offence as New England figures to be on a defence led by NT Vince Wilfork (75), DE Rob Ninkovich (50), LB Jamie Collins (91), CB Darrelle Revis (24) and S Devin McCourty (32). The Patriots have had success confusing Luck, who then has forced passes. Hes a good runner and might need to take off a lot on Sunday.RB Boom Herron (36) has been a find and the Colts need some early production from him to avoid getting one-dimensional. That means a developing offensive line must seize control; a decent running game will keep New Englands dangerous offence on the sideline. Key confrontations will include two rookies, LG Jack Mewhort (72) and C Jonotthan Harrison (75) against Wilfork and LB Donta Hightower (54).Eventually, though, Indy has to win some of the matchups in the passing game. Luck certainly is capable, so can WRs T.Y. Hilton (13) and Hakeem Nicks (14), long-time star Reggie Wayne (87) and a slew of tight ends produce?WHEN THE PATRIOTS (13-4) HAVE THE BALL:Bother Brady with the pass rush and someone tame Gronk.One of the games all-time great winners, QB Tom Brady (12) will pick apart any defence that gives him time. Brady has had better corps of targets in his 15 seasons, but the one unmatchable weapon is All-Pro TE Rob Gronkowski (87). Gronk is more than a security blanket for Brady, hes a game breaker, and the Colts will be hard-pressed to find anyone to slow him. LB Jerrell Freeman (50) and safety Mike Adams (29) will get the call at times, and everyone will get a shot at — or get run over by — Gronk at some point.The best way to slow Gronkowski and the other receivers — Julian Edelman (11), Danny Amendola (80), Brandon LaFell (19) — is to make Brady hurry his throws. That means producing a pass rush, which will fall on a variety of defenders: rookie DE Jonathan Newsome (91), veteran LBs Erik Walden (93) and QQwell Jackson (52) and DE Cory Redding (90).New Englands blockers have been inconsistent, one reason the Patriots ranked 11th in offence. The onus on protecting Brady falls mostly on tackles Sebastian Vollmer (76) and Nate Solder (77).Even if the Colts are winning that trench battle in the passing game, they could get overwhelmed by the Patriots on the ground. Yes, they rushed for a mere 14 yards against Baltimore, but in the past two games vs. the Colts, RB LeGarrette Blount (29) gained 166 yards and scored four TDs in last years divisional game, then RB Jonas Gray (35) ran for 201 yards and four TDs this season.If New England can pound it on the ground, Indy must move CBs Vontae Davis (21) and Greg Toler (28), Adams and fellow S Sergio Brown (38) in tight. Then, Bradys eyes will light up as he searches for his receivers.SPECIAL TEAMS:One slight edge in Indianapolis favour is here, where the Colts have All-Pros in placekicker Adam Vinatieri (4) and punter Pat McAfee (1). Vinatieri won three Super Bowls as a Patriot and one as Colt. He will break Jerry Rices record for most post-season games played when he competes in No. 30 on Sunday. Vinatieri also can break a tie with Tony Fritsch for most consecutive post-season games with a field goal (13).McAfees 42.8-yard average was second in the conference, and Indys kick coverage is solid. New Englands Ryan Allen (6) had a net of 39.9 yards per punt.The Patriots have a strong field goal guy in Stephen Gostkowski (3), who missed only two and led the NFL with 156 points. Edelman topped the AFC with a 12.0-yard average on punt runbacks and scored once.COACHING:Bill Belichick just tied Tom Landry for postseason victories (20) and is seeking a sixth trip to the Super Bowl. Belichick keeps things fresh by finding new ways to exploit the opposition. Last week, it was at times putting eligible receivers at ineligible positions, perfectly legal if devious. His staffs best coaching work this season has been done on both lines.Chuck Paganos Colts have gone 11-5 in each of his three seasons in Indy; he missed a huge chunk of 2012 battling leukemia. A defence-minded coach and former co-ordinator in Baltimore, his squads have been marked by their offence with Luck, and excellent special teams. In a matchup with Belichick, Pagano is not likely to get cute.INTANGIBLES:The Patriots are tired of hearing they havent won a title in a decade after taking three Super Bowls in four seasons (2001-04). They also get reminded they lost their last two trips against an underdog.New England is 8-0 in home games that meant anything, and has that 42-20 romp at Indianapolis in its pocket.The Colts have played an extra playoff game, which might be good for momentum with victories over Cincinnati and Denver. It also cant be too good for freshness.Lucks poor record against the Patriots cant be ignored, and New England has a big edge in conference championship experience.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Wholesale Blazer China . And by all indications, the team is expected to select phenom Connor McDavid with their selection. The Buffalo Sabres, who were knocked down to the second overall pick after finishing with the worst regular season record, are expected to take the other generational player in Jack Eichel. Nike Blazer Shoes For Sale . Jonathan Crompton led the team to a 40-9 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Crompton threw three touchdown passes - two to Duron Carter and one to Brandon London - and Sean Whyte connected on four field goals to power the Alouettes to the win. http://www.wholesalenikeblazer.com/ .The Hanwha Eagles said the team was impressed with Morgans contact ability and base-running skills.The 34-year-old debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007 and hit .Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, What are your thoughts on the NHLs recommended rule changes from Monday? Do you think theres a way to make goaltender interference - or other on-ice rulings - more clear by going to video review? Does video review help the officials on the ice or take some of the decision making away from them? Which of the recommended rule changes do you think can really help the stripes in a game? Steve Wishie, Toronto Thank you for submitting these very important questions following the competition committee meeting that took place on Monday in New York. The General Managers will be convening sometime in the very near future to discuss these issues. Since it would appear there was little or no input from a knowledgeable officiating mind in attendance, I wish to address the General Managers directly with the following comments specifically related to implementing an expanded video review. I had the pleasure of developing a professional working relationship with each of you; in some cases that relationship began during your playing career and prior to your move into the role of general manager. While it is safe to say that we didnt or wont always agree, please know that I have great respect for the knowledge and care for the game that each of you demonstrates. Having been on that goal-line far too many times to count during my 30-plus year NHL officiating career I know, better than most, the demands, expectations and difficulties that the current crop of referees are experiencing. Goalkeeper interference is the most difficult decision that any referee has to make. The referees, like no time ever before, require your most thoughtful assistance to equip them with the necessary tools to achieve success and uphold the integrity of the game. The time has now come to step outside of any traditional comfort zone and implement video review technology that is available to the rest of us that watch the game on a television monitor, but who are not charged with making a split second decision on these potentially game changing plays. Based on Mathieu Schneiders quote below it would appear that the expectation of "certainty" must be met in order for video review to be expanded beyond the current allowances contained within the rules. "I think the underlying fundamental here is that if youre going to go to video review in a given area, there is the expectation of certainty," said Mathieu Schneider, the NHLPAs special assistant to the executive director. "And its just not there. Its very difficult. The type of things that were talking about, a possible coachs challenge, are things that we might be able to be certain on. But theres still a ton of grey area." I would respectfully submit that language contained throughout the rule book provides the referee(s) with the authority and latitude to exercise his individual judgment in the enforcement of the rules. Phrases such as "In the judgment of the Referee; There is an enormous amount of judgment involved in the application of this rule by the Referees; The Referee, "at his discretion" may assess; The Referees are provided very wide latitude in the penalties with which they may impose under this rule; The discretion provided (to the Referees) should be exercised realistically…" The referees do not apply a mathematical equation to problem solving. Cheap Blazer For Sale. Instead, with your direction provided to them as to the expected standard of enforcement, the referees exercise their individual judgment to try and make the "correct call" from a position and vantage point that they occupy on the ice in that moment. This does not always achieve "certainty" and the referees perception of the play can quickly be changed if he is provided with a different angle or more precisely through video review. The current process and follow-up protocol of a conference conducted by the four on-ice officials (when utilized) does not achieve any "certainty" that the correct call is ultimately made. Gentlemen, one of the challenges that await you at your next meeting is to achieve some consensus among your group as to what actually constitutes a violation of rule 69—goalkeeper interference? Based on another quote following the competition committee meeting you have your work cut out for you. Even the Game 2 situation brought what Schneider called a "split room" on whether it should have counted or not. "Theres a lot of instances where you have two reasonable people looking at the same video and have two different interpretations, and goalie interference is certainly one of those," Schneider said. "I think the education process is whats going to be most important for the officials, for the players, and I think Colin alluded to, we want to maybe err on the side of the goalie more often. Well, thats the direction we have to give to the officials. "The education process is going to be key. And to have certain telltale signs." Your room cannot be "split" on this crucial issue of players interfering with the goaltender. The players and officials are in need of more concrete direction. Empowering the referee to take a second look at a play with a quick video review, perhaps through a coachs challenge, will help improve these game altering decisions. I also agree that "the education process is going to be "key". The officiating brotherhood can never stop learning, evolving or improving. Give them the tools they need to develop better positioning philosophies so that they consistently know where to go when a player is coming at them or where to go to find the best site line to the goal. A well officiated game is also incumbent upon the utilization of a referees sound judgment. He cannot be stripped of that yet again by a non-official making the call for him from an off-site location. The referees want to get the call right! The couple of minutes it will take for the referee to review the suspected presence of goalkeeper interference, along with some good coaching, will lead to a new age of officiating. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '