I'm happy to take an unashamedly UK biased view on the many exciting sporting triumphs of 2012 - that means Phelps and Bolt won't be dwelt upon, Messi's record year isn't focused on and Vettel's three in a row is only getting a mention because his Red Bull team is led by a British brain trust.
The first notable British success was the Leeds Rhinos regaining the Rugby League World Club Challenge title, beating the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 26-12 at Headingley in February. Ryan Hall was the star of the show and solidified his reputation as the game's leading winger to an international audience. He went on to retain his International Winger of the Year title in 2012, helped no doubt by this early season 2-try performance.
The late winter and early spring belonged to the Welsh as they brought home their 11th Grand Slam by sweeping through the Six Nations Tournament. They did so with an impressive points difference, over a
England team that managed four largely uninspiring victories and an
inconsistent if (relatively) exciting Ireland team.
As the spring turned into early summer, two great sporting dramas unfolded in football. Manchester City won, lost, then won again the Premier League title. The league run in was dramatic and suspense-filled. It was expected that the 'unmissable' derby at the end of April would be the most dramatic night, but a poor United performance meant the occasion was a little flat, even if it changed the league leadership. What the 1-0 City win did was set up the last day, when the drama really came to life. City led then trailed. Joey Barton blew a fuse that prompted his Franglish lessons. United finished their season as title holders, before City proved themselves as Champions with the 94th minute Aguero strike meant some really noisy neighbours could sound off and celebrate.
If the domestic season belonged to City, in Europe the stars aligned for Chelsea to finally (surely??) satisfy their owner with a Champions League victory. Love them or hate them, you couldn't really help but support Chelsea on their journey, especially as party crasher extraordinaire JT was missing from the final. Charmed existence and Petr Cech penalty saves saw Chelsea roll on from the desperate February night in Napoli to dump out Barcelona and disappoint Bayern Munich in their own back yard to lift the Champion League title. I can't imagine watching Chelsea again with such enthusiasm for them to win. It was a special campaign and 19 May 2012 special night...and then a few months later they sack the coach that won the prize! Classic Ambramovic eh!?
19 May 2012 wasn't just a special night for Chelsea FC - Leinster Rugby were also celebrating a European Cup triumph of their own. They retained their title against national counterparts Ulster at a sold out Twickenham stadium. It represented 3 wins in four years and a record winning total and margin in the final of the northern hemisphere's premier club competition. This has really created a dynasty in club rugby for the boys in blue and cemented this teams place in history.
The early summer saw some more Rugby Union, but none of the home nations really excelled themselves during their respective summer tours, although Scotland earned a notable win in Australia...but this is about glory and exciting, so not much can be said about the summer international series really.
Similarly worth skimming over is Euro 2012. Ireland were probably the worst team involved, trying to play like a relegation battling Premier League team in a cup tie against a bunch of guys who actually bothered to learn the techniques required to perform with a football. England weren't much better and scratched their way to an unimpressive quarter final penalty defeat to Italy.
We also had a bit of British success at Wimbledon for the first time in 76 years - but it wasn't Andy Murray, who valiantly reached the final but just fell short against Roger Federer after giving everything he had physically and emotionally. It was Jonny Marray in the men's doubles with his Danish partner Freddie Neilsen. Coming all the way from late wildcard entry to Wimbledon champion is the stuff great stories are made from...and dodgy Kirsten Dunst vehicles too.
But all that was OK, and football didn't really matter anymore anyway, the summer was in full swing and we all saddled up to the great ride towards the home Olympics, and the man peddling us there was Bradley Wiggins. He became the first Brit to win the Tour de France and set the country on an upwards path. Leading the race from stage 7 onwards, he really sealed the win with his second stage win dominating the time trail on the penultimate day, but not one to rest on his laurels, he went all out the next day to help team-mate Mark Cavendish win the race down the Champs-Élysées for the fourth successive year. It was the great tour for Britain, with British riders picking up seven stage wins and 1st and 2nd positions on the final podium. Allez Wiggo and welcome to summer!!
Froome, Cav and Wiggo were just the warm up act to the real star event of 2012 - the London Olympic Games. And boy what a games these were. Great Britain landed third place in the medal table with an overall haul of 65, made up of 29 glorious golds, 17 scintillating silvers and 19 brilliant bronzes. There were so many brilliant individual performances its impossible to list them all so I'll just pick out some of my personal highlights. Team GB got off to a slow start with Lizzie Armistead picking up the first medal with silver in the women's road race on the Day 2 proper of the games. Day 3 provided an unexpected but incredibly tense and enjoyable bronze from the mens gymnastic team - I found a new respect for the athletes of this very demanding sport. We had to wait until Day 5 to taste gold for the first time. Almost inevitably, rowing and cycling came good and started the gold rush, with Bradley Wiggins backing up his Tour victory with a gold medal in the Time Trail only days later. A Gold-Silver combo in the mens C-2 canoe slalom was another personal highlight of week 1, as well as roaring wins in the velodrome for the men's team sprint and pursuit squads and 'Queen' Victoria Pendleton. Then came 'Super Saturday', although you could argue that title doesn't even do it justice. It started with the thrilling and powerful display from the men's coxless fours, with the women's double skull following suit at Eton Dorney. The women's team pursuit raised the flag in the velodrome before all eyes turned on to the Stadium and the athletics. Jess Ennis had carried her tag as the face of the games extremely well as she romped to personal bests through day one of the heptathlon before crowning it with an equally brilliant day two of competition. And just as she finished celebrating a roar went up from the long jump where Greg Rutherford leaped to a slightly less expected gold. There wasn't much time to celebrate that before the starters gun went to start the men's 10,000m and Mo Farah cruised round the track in total control before making that epic kick for the line to take gold and bring the Mobot to the international audience. The Sunday was pretty super too - Ben Ainslie's fourth gold in four games painted the Dorset coastline gold before Andy Murray showed incredible resilience to finally win something big at Wimbledon and finally stop being that Scottish tennis player and became that British tennis hero. He had to beat Djokovic in the semi and Federer in the final to take a well earned gold, and followed that up after a very short break to win silver with Laura Robson in the mixed doubles. The men's pommel horse final fitted in and around the tennis with my red button switching and Louis Smith came as close to victory as he could in picking up silver, with Max Whitlock taking a surprise bronze. The equestrian team then stepped up to gold winning action with the jumping more enjoyable to watch than the dressage, but massive credit to both. Laura Trott showed there was someone to take the flame from Pendleton in women's cycling and Sir Chris Hoy cemented his place as Britain's Greatest Olympian with a tearful victory in the keirin. The Brownlee's brought home gold and bronze in the triathlon and Mo Farah backed up the 10km with the 5km gold on the final Saturday, before boxing brought the games home for Team GB. Nicola Adams had already made history as the first woman to take boxing gold, then the men took over with four more medals including golds for Luke Campbell and then on the final day for Anthony Joshua. Jade Jones, Beth Tweddle and the women's hockey team also gave some special moments.
Some British eyes could have been forgiven for switching away from the Olympics on those last few nights to watch coverage from over the pond of the US PGA Championships at Kiawah Island. Anyone doing so would have seen Rory McIlroy seal his place at the top of the golfing world in winning his second major at the age of only 23, and doing so by a tournament record margin. This was part of a stand out year for Rory in which he lead both the US and European money lists and picked up number player of the year awards.
Next up were the Paralympic Games. I'm not going to lie - I barely watched these games. A combination of big Wigan Warriors fixtures, the start of the NFL season and a late summer holiday to Barcelona where coverage was hard to come by meant I missed much of the excitement of what has been called the greatest ever Paralympics, and certainly the biggest and best attended Paralympics in history. Paralympics GB also landed third place in the medals table, with 34 golds, 43 silvers and 43 bronzes making an incredible total of 120 medals for the GB athletes. Athletics, cycling and swimming were the headline events, with the most notable performers being David Weir, Sarah Storey and Ellie Simmonds in the respective sports - all three have seen their performances recognised with nominations for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Another distraction from the Paralympic Games was one of our Olympic heroes gunning for personal glory. British tennis hero Andy Murray was back on his crusade to win a major and justify his place amongst the sports elite. The weather delays and the elongation of the tournament to the Monday night just helped build the tension as Murray made it to his second grand slam final in a row. Djokovic was the defending champion and the favourite going in to the final, but Murray has always been known for his tenacity and battling qualities. Murray started well, as he had done in the Wimbledon final, and here he got two sets up, before a Djokovic fightback left all Brits feeling the same sense of inevitability that Andy just couldn't get over the line. The first set tiebreaker felt endless, running on for 22 points. Some of the rallies were incredible, one getting up to 54 shots. The match equalled the record for duration at 4 hours and 54 minutes. Every time Andy broke, you felt Novak would come back, but when Novak broke you didn't feel like Andy would wane like he had in big matches before. He carried the fight and eventually sealed it with a 6-2 final set...and we could go to bed! Another late finish for UK viewers!
Autumn started to roll in, and after the summer of cycling, Olympics and tennis, you wouldn't think it could get much better - but 2012 had more to come, and the end of September saw one of the greatest sporting comebacks ever. I nearly had to miss watching the Ryder Cup because I was supposed to be cycling coast to coast across England, but circumstances cancelled that trip and I'm happy they did. It's been nicknamed the 'Miracle at Medinah' after Team Europe battled back from a 10-6 deficit at the start of the final day to overcome their shaky singles reputation to emerge victorious at 14.5-13.5. I always say about the Ryder Cup that its when golf becomes sport. Sure individual sports can have their merits and can be enjoyable to watch, but they never quite match the drama and passion of team sports for me - golf does this once every two years and is far more enjoyable for it. The Europeans had barely turned up on the first three and a half sessions and analysts everywhere were predicting a blow out win for the Americans. But then Mr Ryder Cup Ian Poulter turned things around with some inspired play in the last group on the course as the Saturday play drew in. Some momentum was picked up, but experts were still predicting a clear win by as much as eight points for the Americans. In a remarkable day the scoreboard kept getter bluer and bluer as the points stacked up. In the penultimate pairing, Martin Kaymer had some wayward work on the greens to thank Steve Stricker for as he came home to tie the scores up and ensure the Ryder Cup was retained and Molinari took the final game from Woods for the icing on the cake as the cup was won. The spirit of Seve was lauded as a massive factor in the win, but it was a man on the fairways that truly inspired the win - Ian Poulter, Ryder Cup legend.
October saw the end of a glorious career of another sporting hero. Some say Frankel is the greatest racehorse of all time. The British thoroughbred retired as the highest ranked horse in the world, with a record of 14 wins from 14 starts, 10 group one wins and nearly £3million in prize money. The 2012 Champion Stakes saw Frankel take on some unusually soft ground that put his place in the race in doubt up to the morning of the race. A poor start put Frankel on the back foot early but he fought back to take the race by 1.75 lengths. Horse racing isn't my thing but you have to give credit to this remarkable sporting icon.
October also saw the end of Warrington Wolves' Paul Wood having two testicles. The main storyline coming out of the Leeds Rhinos second consecutive Grand Final victory wasn't Kevin Sinfield's man of the match display, it was the pain defying stint Wood put in with a ruptured testicle in the second half. Despite defeat and losing a ball, Wood took it in good humour, tweeting that he was sure he had left something behind when he left the hospital the following day. His teammates credited him for playing his b*ll*cks off and he became an uncomfortable media must have, with his story reported all over the world.
The rugby league year ended with an emphatic but uninspiring international series which England dominated against the Welsh and the French. It looked like the end of a long season for France's high quality forward pack as they couldn't keep pace with England, and the depleted largely part-time Welsh were never at it. Things looked good for England with them being able to try out a lot of backs combinations and give a number of players their debut, but the competition wasn't really tough enough to give us much indication of the strength of the squad we'll have to take on the Aussies and Kiwis on 2013. A total of 172 points scored over three games suggests the opposition wasn't up to much.
When the autumn series in once code finished, the rugby union autumn internationals started. This England faced a much sterner test playing the best the southern hemisphere has to offer, after a big win against Fiji to start the series. Narrow losses to Australia and South Africa raised questions about the on field decision making of captain Chris Robshaw with choices on when to kick a goal and the time taken to make such decisions being seen as critical to England's defeats. However, the series ended with possibly England's biggest win against a southern hemisphere since the 2003 World Cup final. England defeated New Zealand 38-21 and ended their 20 match losing sequence against the Kiwis in the process. A strong start and a well disciplined almost error free performance helped England get well on top in the first half before a second half try-fest saw New Zealand threaten to power England out of the game, until England put up three tries of their own to record their record winning margin in their seventh triumph over the All Blacks.
2012 had one more great sporting achievement in store for British fans. India welcomed England for a four match test series. England hadn't won a series in India for 24 years and things couldn't have started much worse at the end of what had been a dismal year of test cricket. England's abject failure to play spin bowling looked set to continue after the 1st test nine wicket defeat in Ahmedabad. The only bright note was the 176 scored by captain Alistair Cook in the follow on second innings. Changes were made to the bowling line up with Monty Panesar coming in for Tim Bresnan to take 11 wickets in the match. Cook and Kevin Pietersen showed the Indians how to bat on their own wickets, both contributing centuries to a 413 1st innings that gave Panesar and Swann the platfom the work from. A ten wicket victory levelled the series. The 3rd test saw Steve Finn come in for injured Stuart Broad, but Monty and Cook both picked up where they left off in Mumbai to give England a big 1st innings advantage. In the 2nd innings the seamers led from the front, taking three wickets each and restricting India to only a small lead before the batsmen knocked off the runs needed in quick time. England left Kolkata with a 2-1 lead. The fourth test wasn't very exciting. The slow low wicket saw runs scored at only 2.27 runs per over through the whole test. India were able to get Cook, but Pietersen, Joe Root and Matt Prior fought hard to give England a strong starting point. James Anderson bowled his arm off to take four wickets and restrict India to a small 1st innings deficit. Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell batted out over after over to put the match in a position where India couldn't win and the historic 2-1 series victory was sealed with a draw in Nagpur. It was Cook's first series as permanent test captain and he demonstrated his ability to lead from the front and carry his team. During the series he became the highest test run scorer for England in India, the first captain in world cricket to score a century in each of his first five tests in the job, the Englishman with the most test centuries and the youngest batsman to reach 7000 in world cricket. He cemented himself in English cricketing history and made himself the final hero of my 2012 run down.
What a year for British sport. Forget the bad stuff a few days and remember how great thsi year was. I know one thing I'll be doing this Christmas peiod, I'll be watching the DVD of the Olympics once or twice!
Monday, 24 December 2012
Saturday, 8 December 2012
NFL 2013 International Series preview
With 2012 coming to an end I'm continuing my look ahead to sporting events I'm excited about in 2013, and there isn't one I'm looking forward to more than than the chance to see my favourite NFL team playing here in the UK - but the 2013 International Series isn't just about the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to town, there is so much to be excited about.
The growing popularity of the game over here and the further ambition of the league to expand it's audience has led to us getting two games next year. We'll see some of the best players in the league in a match-up between the AFC North and NFC North in September, and then we'll get our first chance to show some support to our London Jaguars (ours for a game each year for four years at least!) in October. So, lets preview this thing...
Founded in 1933, then known as the Pirates, this is one of the most historic and successful franchises in the sport. Under the continued ownership of the Rooney family, one of the worst teams in the league turned into one of the best after the hiring of Chuck Noll and the most brilliant run of drafting in league history during the glorious 1970s.
The Steelers won four Super Bowls in that decade and a dynasty was born. They have remained perennial challengers ever since, with Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin both guiding the teams to rings this century to make a league record total of six Super Bowl wins.
This winning history has led to them having the third most Hall of Fame inductees of any franchise, and the most for any club founded 1933 or after. Owners Art and Dan Rooney, Head Coach Chuck Noll, and players like Terry Bradshaw, 'Mean' Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Rod Woodson and Dermontti Dawson have been recognised for the impact they had on this historic franchise and on the game as a whole.
Honours:
Super Bowl wins: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2005, 2008
Conference Champions: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1995, 2005, 2008, 2010
20 Division Titles
27 Post-season appearances
Players to watch:
You have to start with 'Big' Ben Roethlisberger. This former Offensive Rookie of the Year is only bettered by Tom Brady for championship rings and is famed for his ability to extend plays, break out of tackles and complete plays that would never be drawn up on the chalkboard. Although not regarded as 'elite', Ben has shown an ability and a determination to win, despite playing behind some inconsistent offensive lines and decreasing support in the running game. Ben is supported up by a bunch of young talented fast and tricky wide receivers and an increasingly admired tight end that can do it all.
On the other side of the ball, legendary defensive coach Dick LeBeau has created one of the best units over the last decade, consistently figuring at the top of the rankings for yards and points allowed. He has been helped by two former defensive players of the year in Troy Polamalu and James Harrison.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings were created through a league expansion in 1961 and went on to rise through this first decade to be the best team by the end of the decade, picking up the best record and the NFL Championship in 1969.
Like the Steelers, the 1970s was the real rise to prominence of the Vikings, built on a punishing defense and dominant D-line, earning the side the nickname "The Purple People Eaters".
The people eating line was led by Alan Page, the first defensive player to win the league MVP award in 1971. He led the team to near total dominance of their division through the decade and is one of six players to have their numbers retired by the franchise, along with legendary quarterback from the same era, Fran Tarkenton.
The good times were less frequent through the 1980s and early 1990s, until they put together one of the greatest teams not to win the Super Bowl with the 1998 team. A young Randy Moss was mentored by the outstanding Cris Carter. They set a new NFL points scoring record and scored at least 24 points in every game, but couldn't even get to the Super Bowl.
A slight decline in the 2000s has seen the signing of Brett Favre, a legend of the Vikings' divisional rival Green Bay, being the biggest headline they made. He took them to a NFC Championship game in his two years on the team.
Honours:
NFL Championship wins: 1969
Conference Champions: 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976
18 Division Titles
26 Post-season titles
Players to watch:
Adrian Peterson is probably the best running back in the game and should retire as one of the best ever. If you go to London next year to watch any one player, this is that one player. He broke all sorts of records in an outstanding rookie season in 2007, including the league record for single game rushing yards. He has backed this up ever since, leading the league in rushing in 2008 and going over 1000 yards each year until his 2011 season was seriously curtailed by injury. In 2012 he has started every game after coming back from a torn MCL and ACL that ended his 2011 campaign. The injury hasn't slowed him down as he miraculously leads the league again in rushing. He is the main event of the offense, although all-purpose Percy Harvin is an exciting threat whenever and however the ball gets in his hands.
On the defense there are some hard working and strong tackling linebackers, but the real impact player and difference maker is sack king Jared Allen. His 114 sacks is the most by any player during the time he has been in the league. He has come as close as anyone to taking Michael Strahan single season sack record. He's forced 27 fumbles, 4 safeties, 5 interceptions and a defensive TD.
Series Match-up and possible story lines:
The all-time series is tied up at 8-8, although the Steelers are on a three-game winning streak after wins in '01, '05 and '09. The most famous match-up was Super Bowl IX - The Steel Curtain vs. The Purple People Eaters, future hall of famer Terry Bradshaw vs. future hall of famer Fran Tarkenton. The Steelers won 16-6 thanks to an MVP performance from Franco Harris and a late Bradshaw TD throw.
One thing of interest looking ahead is how many of the young receiving core and promising running backs will be on the Steelers roster next year. Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer are all out of contract for 2013 and salary cap pressures make it unlikely all will be kept.
How well the young group of high draft picks on the Steelers O-line gel will also be an interesting factor. They will need to keep improving if they can help keep Big Ben clean and unhurt from a match-up with Jared Allen.
Another area to watch will be how well the special team coverage unit for the Steelers can contain Harvin. Both teams are capable of playing out close games, and in close games special teams can be the difference maker.
San Francisco 49ers
The team was established in 1946, becoming the city's first major league professional sports franchise. A few division winning seasons and play-off appearances littered a largely uneventful first 30 or so years of existence, but the 49ers real history started in 1979 with the arrival of revolutionary offensive mind Bill Walsh as head coach and the drafting of Joe Montana.
Walsh's 'West Coast offense' marshalled by Montana was supported by Dwight Clark for the first two Super Bowl wins in the firs half of the 1980s. Then Montana was given a new weapon to throw balls to in 1985, when the team traded up to take Jerry Rice in the first round of the draft. Pretty much every receiving record in the league was to fall to Rice over the next decade and more and he helped the team to three more championships - back-to-back wins in '88 and '89 under Montana and a triumph under Steve Young in 1994.
Needless to say, a number of characters from these glory years have made it to the Hall of Fame and/or had their numbers retired by the team out of respect. Their rise in the 1980s coincided with American Football getting exposure in the UK for the first time, and as a result they have a strong loyal following in the UK.
The glory years didn't continue and the franchise slumped through the noughties, but a punishing defense and functional offense saw them host the NFC Championship game in 2011 and things are looking up for the Gold Rush.
Honours:
Super Bowl wins: 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994
Conference Champions: 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994
18 Division Titles
24 Post-season appearances
Players to watch:
The defense is the real strength of the team, lead by possibly the best pair of linebackers in the league - Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. Willis has been outstanding ever since coming into the league and has been voted the best linebacker in the league on three occasions and has been voted to the Pro-Bowl in each of his five seasons in the league. Bowman broke out in his second year, 2011, when he was second in the league for solo tackles and was voted All-Pro by the Associated Press.
Frank Gore has carried the load for the 49ers offense since stepping up in his second season, 2006. That year he broke all the franchise records and was consistent in yards per carry as well as leading the team in receptions. He has consistently broken 1000 yards, apart from his injury hit 2010 season. Although Gore still leads the offense, other players like Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree are increasingly making plays for the team, whoever the QB is.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags are a relative newcomer in the league compared to the other teams we'll see in 2013, but they are ours to keep for four years at least. They enjoyed a faster start to their existence than the other franchises coming to town. After coming in to the league in the 1995 expansion, they made the play-offs in four of their first five years and had the best regular season in the league in 1999.
Defeat in the 1996 AFC Championship game is as good as it has gotten so far for the Jaguars and little success followed their 14-2 1999 season. Attendances haven't been great and the spectre of relocation has loomed over the franchise in recent times, but under the new ownership their is renewed optimism and they only need to sell out seven games in Florida for the next four years because they should be getting one sell out each year at Wembley Stadium.
Honours:
2 Division titles
6 Post-season appearances
Players to watch:
The Jags have a couple of exciting receiving talents emerging in Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon, along with the rangy and skillful tight-end Marcedes Lewis, that give the team some threat in the passing game. However, the star of the show is still pint-sized running back Maurice Jones-Drew. 'MoJo' showed what he was capable of as a rookie, leading the AFC in all purpose yards from scrimmage and scoring 16 total touchdowns. He proved himself as an all-around offensive threat in his first few years in the league, and proved his toughness playing the 2010 season with a torn meniscus in his left knee. He then proved he was one of the best running backs around by leading the league in rushing yards in 2011.
Despite having some good defensive coaching talent over recent times, this is an area that doesn't really have an outstanding player in relation to the rest of the league. Rashean Mathis is the holder of all franchise defensive backs records and is joined by some other talent in the backfield. Ahead of them is hard working linebacker Paul Posluszny. 'Poz' has consistently put up high tackle numbers since joining the league after a stand out college career.
Series match-up and possible story lines:
The two sides have only met three times before, the Jags lead the series 2-1 but the 49ers won the last meeting of the sides in 2009.
The big storyline in San Fran this year is the switch of starting QB from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick even though Smith has been putting up career numbers and leading the team to a winning season. The switch from the conservative offense that Smith manages to the more explosive and varied game that Kaepernick brings to the table long-term will be interesting to watch. San Fran could very well be coming to London as Super Bowl champs too.
For Jacksonville, it remains to be seen what they can do in the draft for next year with this season already finished for them. Because of the beauty of the reverse order draft in the NFL, they will be looking to get a high draft pick next year - an they don't have to look further than divisional rivals the Indianapolis Colts to see how that can bring a change in fortunes one year tot he next. If they can get a quarterback that can manage the football and a player in the front seven defensively that can make impact plays, they will be a team who can at least compete.
Tickets are already on sale for both games and I've got mine booked. Can't wait. Hope anyone reading this gets theirs too and I hope to see lots of people their and maybe meet a few more UK NFL fans. Give me a shout on Twitter if you're going - @markill
The growing popularity of the game over here and the further ambition of the league to expand it's audience has led to us getting two games next year. We'll see some of the best players in the league in a match-up between the AFC North and NFC North in September, and then we'll get our first chance to show some support to our London Jaguars (ours for a game each year for four years at least!) in October. So, lets preview this thing...
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Minnesota Vikings
Pittsburgh SteelersFounded in 1933, then known as the Pirates, this is one of the most historic and successful franchises in the sport. Under the continued ownership of the Rooney family, one of the worst teams in the league turned into one of the best after the hiring of Chuck Noll and the most brilliant run of drafting in league history during the glorious 1970s.
The Steelers won four Super Bowls in that decade and a dynasty was born. They have remained perennial challengers ever since, with Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin both guiding the teams to rings this century to make a league record total of six Super Bowl wins.
This winning history has led to them having the third most Hall of Fame inductees of any franchise, and the most for any club founded 1933 or after. Owners Art and Dan Rooney, Head Coach Chuck Noll, and players like Terry Bradshaw, 'Mean' Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Rod Woodson and Dermontti Dawson have been recognised for the impact they had on this historic franchise and on the game as a whole.
Honours:
Super Bowl wins: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2005, 2008
Conference Champions: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1995, 2005, 2008, 2010
20 Division Titles
27 Post-season appearances
Players to watch:
You have to start with 'Big' Ben Roethlisberger. This former Offensive Rookie of the Year is only bettered by Tom Brady for championship rings and is famed for his ability to extend plays, break out of tackles and complete plays that would never be drawn up on the chalkboard. Although not regarded as 'elite', Ben has shown an ability and a determination to win, despite playing behind some inconsistent offensive lines and decreasing support in the running game. Ben is supported up by a bunch of young talented fast and tricky wide receivers and an increasingly admired tight end that can do it all.
On the other side of the ball, legendary defensive coach Dick LeBeau has created one of the best units over the last decade, consistently figuring at the top of the rankings for yards and points allowed. He has been helped by two former defensive players of the year in Troy Polamalu and James Harrison.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings were created through a league expansion in 1961 and went on to rise through this first decade to be the best team by the end of the decade, picking up the best record and the NFL Championship in 1969.
Like the Steelers, the 1970s was the real rise to prominence of the Vikings, built on a punishing defense and dominant D-line, earning the side the nickname "The Purple People Eaters".
The people eating line was led by Alan Page, the first defensive player to win the league MVP award in 1971. He led the team to near total dominance of their division through the decade and is one of six players to have their numbers retired by the franchise, along with legendary quarterback from the same era, Fran Tarkenton.
The good times were less frequent through the 1980s and early 1990s, until they put together one of the greatest teams not to win the Super Bowl with the 1998 team. A young Randy Moss was mentored by the outstanding Cris Carter. They set a new NFL points scoring record and scored at least 24 points in every game, but couldn't even get to the Super Bowl.
A slight decline in the 2000s has seen the signing of Brett Favre, a legend of the Vikings' divisional rival Green Bay, being the biggest headline they made. He took them to a NFC Championship game in his two years on the team.
Honours:
NFL Championship wins: 1969
Conference Champions: 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976
18 Division Titles
26 Post-season titles
Players to watch:
Adrian Peterson is probably the best running back in the game and should retire as one of the best ever. If you go to London next year to watch any one player, this is that one player. He broke all sorts of records in an outstanding rookie season in 2007, including the league record for single game rushing yards. He has backed this up ever since, leading the league in rushing in 2008 and going over 1000 yards each year until his 2011 season was seriously curtailed by injury. In 2012 he has started every game after coming back from a torn MCL and ACL that ended his 2011 campaign. The injury hasn't slowed him down as he miraculously leads the league again in rushing. He is the main event of the offense, although all-purpose Percy Harvin is an exciting threat whenever and however the ball gets in his hands.
On the defense there are some hard working and strong tackling linebackers, but the real impact player and difference maker is sack king Jared Allen. His 114 sacks is the most by any player during the time he has been in the league. He has come as close as anyone to taking Michael Strahan single season sack record. He's forced 27 fumbles, 4 safeties, 5 interceptions and a defensive TD.
Series Match-up and possible story lines:
The all-time series is tied up at 8-8, although the Steelers are on a three-game winning streak after wins in '01, '05 and '09. The most famous match-up was Super Bowl IX - The Steel Curtain vs. The Purple People Eaters, future hall of famer Terry Bradshaw vs. future hall of famer Fran Tarkenton. The Steelers won 16-6 thanks to an MVP performance from Franco Harris and a late Bradshaw TD throw.
One thing of interest looking ahead is how many of the young receiving core and promising running backs will be on the Steelers roster next year. Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer are all out of contract for 2013 and salary cap pressures make it unlikely all will be kept.
How well the young group of high draft picks on the Steelers O-line gel will also be an interesting factor. They will need to keep improving if they can help keep Big Ben clean and unhurt from a match-up with Jared Allen.
Another area to watch will be how well the special team coverage unit for the Steelers can contain Harvin. Both teams are capable of playing out close games, and in close games special teams can be the difference maker.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
San Francisco 49ers
The team was established in 1946, becoming the city's first major league professional sports franchise. A few division winning seasons and play-off appearances littered a largely uneventful first 30 or so years of existence, but the 49ers real history started in 1979 with the arrival of revolutionary offensive mind Bill Walsh as head coach and the drafting of Joe Montana.
Walsh's 'West Coast offense' marshalled by Montana was supported by Dwight Clark for the first two Super Bowl wins in the firs half of the 1980s. Then Montana was given a new weapon to throw balls to in 1985, when the team traded up to take Jerry Rice in the first round of the draft. Pretty much every receiving record in the league was to fall to Rice over the next decade and more and he helped the team to three more championships - back-to-back wins in '88 and '89 under Montana and a triumph under Steve Young in 1994.
Needless to say, a number of characters from these glory years have made it to the Hall of Fame and/or had their numbers retired by the team out of respect. Their rise in the 1980s coincided with American Football getting exposure in the UK for the first time, and as a result they have a strong loyal following in the UK.
The glory years didn't continue and the franchise slumped through the noughties, but a punishing defense and functional offense saw them host the NFC Championship game in 2011 and things are looking up for the Gold Rush.
Honours:
Super Bowl wins: 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994
Conference Champions: 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994
18 Division Titles
24 Post-season appearances
Players to watch:
The defense is the real strength of the team, lead by possibly the best pair of linebackers in the league - Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. Willis has been outstanding ever since coming into the league and has been voted the best linebacker in the league on three occasions and has been voted to the Pro-Bowl in each of his five seasons in the league. Bowman broke out in his second year, 2011, when he was second in the league for solo tackles and was voted All-Pro by the Associated Press.
Frank Gore has carried the load for the 49ers offense since stepping up in his second season, 2006. That year he broke all the franchise records and was consistent in yards per carry as well as leading the team in receptions. He has consistently broken 1000 yards, apart from his injury hit 2010 season. Although Gore still leads the offense, other players like Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree are increasingly making plays for the team, whoever the QB is.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags are a relative newcomer in the league compared to the other teams we'll see in 2013, but they are ours to keep for four years at least. They enjoyed a faster start to their existence than the other franchises coming to town. After coming in to the league in the 1995 expansion, they made the play-offs in four of their first five years and had the best regular season in the league in 1999.
Defeat in the 1996 AFC Championship game is as good as it has gotten so far for the Jaguars and little success followed their 14-2 1999 season. Attendances haven't been great and the spectre of relocation has loomed over the franchise in recent times, but under the new ownership their is renewed optimism and they only need to sell out seven games in Florida for the next four years because they should be getting one sell out each year at Wembley Stadium.
Honours:
2 Division titles
6 Post-season appearances
Players to watch:
The Jags have a couple of exciting receiving talents emerging in Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon, along with the rangy and skillful tight-end Marcedes Lewis, that give the team some threat in the passing game. However, the star of the show is still pint-sized running back Maurice Jones-Drew. 'MoJo' showed what he was capable of as a rookie, leading the AFC in all purpose yards from scrimmage and scoring 16 total touchdowns. He proved himself as an all-around offensive threat in his first few years in the league, and proved his toughness playing the 2010 season with a torn meniscus in his left knee. He then proved he was one of the best running backs around by leading the league in rushing yards in 2011.
Despite having some good defensive coaching talent over recent times, this is an area that doesn't really have an outstanding player in relation to the rest of the league. Rashean Mathis is the holder of all franchise defensive backs records and is joined by some other talent in the backfield. Ahead of them is hard working linebacker Paul Posluszny. 'Poz' has consistently put up high tackle numbers since joining the league after a stand out college career.
Series match-up and possible story lines:
The two sides have only met three times before, the Jags lead the series 2-1 but the 49ers won the last meeting of the sides in 2009.
The big storyline in San Fran this year is the switch of starting QB from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick even though Smith has been putting up career numbers and leading the team to a winning season. The switch from the conservative offense that Smith manages to the more explosive and varied game that Kaepernick brings to the table long-term will be interesting to watch. San Fran could very well be coming to London as Super Bowl champs too.
For Jacksonville, it remains to be seen what they can do in the draft for next year with this season already finished for them. Because of the beauty of the reverse order draft in the NFL, they will be looking to get a high draft pick next year - an they don't have to look further than divisional rivals the Indianapolis Colts to see how that can bring a change in fortunes one year tot he next. If they can get a quarterback that can manage the football and a player in the front seven defensively that can make impact plays, they will be a team who can at least compete.
Tickets are already on sale for both games and I've got mine booked. Can't wait. Hope anyone reading this gets theirs too and I hope to see lots of people their and maybe meet a few more UK NFL fans. Give me a shout on Twitter if you're going - @markill
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)