And then there were four. Thirty-two teams started this National Football League season and the best four are left standing. In Seattle, the Seahawks first-half defence was outstanding . The New Orleans Saints offence only managed 34 passing yards for Drew Brees and just 42 rushing yards. The Seattle defence conceded no points in the first half and held tight end Jimmy Graham to not a single reception until the games final minute. Russell Wilson did not have a dominant game, but the starting 11 without the ball won the game for Seattle. And so did Marshawn Lynch . Of all the running backs in the league, I dont think there is another who gives a greater effort than Marshawn Lynch, play after play. It is impressive for me watch his willingness to absorb physical punishment for an extra yard or even less. Logic says it cant last, that his time is coming or maybe he just has a body type impervious to what normally slows and limits other running backs. In any case, he is not the fastest, quickest or even most skilled, but he never gives up on a play or any opportunity with an intense disregard for possible injury. Marshawn Lynch is a great running back. Seattle has a combination of speed, attitude, confidence and resolve . The intensity of the NFC championship San Francisco at Seattle will be a battle of wills as much as any skills. In New England, the Patriots went with 42 running plays and just 25 passing plays. The play-calling served a dual purpose. Firstly, when you run that much, you dictate aggressive energy to an opponent. After a while, you can wear a defence out because, like all human beings, you get tired of hitting. So, in a moment where you lose emotional concentration at "point of attack," what would normally be a two or three-yard play becomes a 70-yard touchdown run like LaGarrette Blounts 73-yard run in the fourth. Understanding football is one thing, but understanding the psychology of hitting is really unique. You can wear people out and the Patriots achieved that. The second part of that dual purpose was keeping the ball away from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. If you dont limit the his time with the ball and his number of plays, Andrew Luck is going to beat you. It is not as if Luck has a great team around him, quite the opposite, but he is a classic example of a player as a quarterback who makes those around him look better than they are. Once the Colts protect Andrew Luck with a higher degree of consistency, he will be as good as any quarterback on any team in the NFL. As for the Patriots, Logan Mankins at left guard was outstanding and Jamie Collins at linebacker is the next defensive star in New England. Without Vince Wilfork, Brandon Spikes, Jerrod Mayo and Tommy Kelly on defence, the Patriots should not be in the AFC championship game, but here they are. It was an emotionally heated game in Carolina between the Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, especially early on, and it has been a while since I have seen that much confrontational talk and verbal exchanges. It seemed like on every play, someone was threatening someone elseabout something . I am sure that all week, the Panthers grew intensely tired of hearing how tough and physical the 49ers were and made a collective agreement to not allow any intimidation, but be the aggressor and not the participant. Now, I dont think Carolina backed down for one moment, but seven plays inside the five-yard line and only three points means that, in the toughest part of football - short yardage and goaline plays, the Niners won. In playoff football, the smallest of mistakes mean the biggest of consequences and the Panthers gave the 49ers four first downs on penalties in the first half and it seemed that all four were the result of excessive emotion. The Panthers will learn from this and, if they find themselves in the same position next year at this time, they will not make the same mistake of losing self-control. After a last-minute win over the Arizona Cardinals to close the season, a win over the Packers in the brutal cold of Green Bay in the NFC Wild Card playoff and a tough, physical win over the Panthers, right now, no team believes more in each other than the San Francisco 49ers. In Denver, the one word to describe the Broncos win over the San Diego Chargers is "methodical." I think the Charger made one key mistake to lose the game and Denver made the opposite to win . By the end of the third quarter, the Chargers had 79 total yards. In the fourth quarter alone, they had 180. I guess common sense says to play the time of possession game again for San Diego to win, but it was not working . I wonder what would have happened if the Chargers took their fourth-quarter approach all game long and just went for broke, because when they did in the fourth, the game became a game because of it. San Diego was simply way too conservative. With Denver, they did to the Chargers what the Chargers did to them back on that Thursday night game. Manning must have completed 80 per cent of his passes within the first 10 yards down field. They just incrementally kept moving down field with the shortest of distance created using a series of line of scrimmage screens, five-yard crossers, and check downs - no big plays, just little little plays of success and result. One interesting question that has already been asked is, in one game to win it all , who would be your quarterback - Brady or Manning? Given history, I would say Brady, but given ability to control a defense pre-snap, I would say Manning. To pick between that pair is a never-ending discussion. The season began with 32 and now it is down to four and, giving consideration to all discussion and analytical evaluation, it truly is the best four. Nike Air Max 1 Wholesale . The Broncos quarterback earned the offensive award Wednesday after passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over the Raiders Monday night. Manning completed 32-of-37 passes and had a passer rating of 135. Cheap Air Max 1 NZ . The Toronto Argonauts running back hurt his left ankle during the teams practice Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre. http://www.cheapairmax1nz.com/ . A spokeswoman for the NLRB says its "a very incremental move" and does not necessarily indicate the board is close to a finding in the case. NFL owners filed an unfair labour charge against the players union in February, arguing that the union was not negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement in good faith. Nike Air Max 1 Sale Cheap . However, after review it became clear Kadri kicked the puck in. Nike Air Max 1 NZ . -- Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton will be sidelined for at least two weeks because of a strained calf muscle, and pitcher C. ROME -- Luca Toni scored twice as Hellas Verona beat AC Milan 2-1 Saturday to celebrate its return to Serie A after an 11-year absence as the Italian league opened with a shock. It was more to form, meanwhile, as Juventus kicked off its bid for a third consecutive title with Carlos Tevez scoring in the 58th minute of a 1-0 win at Sampdoria, which beat the Bianconeri in both league meetings last season. Juve didnt quite dominate like in its 4-0 rout of Lazio in last weekends Super Cup but Antonio Contes men showed the same poise and discipline of the past two seasons. Tevez, Juves big off-season acquisition from Manchester City, only had to tap in after taking a pass from Paul Pogba at the edge of the box on a rainy night at the Juventus Stadium. At the other end, Juves corp of quality defenders -- Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini -- cleared any danger. It was a different story in Verona, where Andrea Poli put Milan ahead in the 14th minute following a pass from Mario Balotelli before the 1.96-meter (6-foot-5) Toni struck back with headers in the 30th and 53rd. "Theres no better way to start the season," Verona midfielder Massimo Donati said. It was a disturbing result for Milan ahead of Wednesdays return-leg match with PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League playoffs. Milan also gave up a lead in the opening leg, drawing 1-1. Last season, Milan never lost in Serie A after establishing a lead, winning 21 matches and drawing four. "The explanation is simple: we played bad football and we played poorly as a squad," Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said. "We needed to control the ball better. We played poorly and they deserved the victory. "We need to play with more nastiness and more attentively," Allegri added. "After we scored we stopped playing. Even though hes 36, Toni fought like a lion." The other eight matches of the opening weekend will be played Sunday, with last years runner-up Napoli hosting Bologna and Inter Milan facing Genoa at the San Siro. Also, Lazio opens against Udinese with one end of its stadium closed as punishment for fan racism in the Super Cup. There were concerns that Verona fans might direct racist chants at Balotelli but, with the issue discussed widely before the match, supporters responded by applauding him instead whenever he touched the ball -- albeit likely in an ironic manner. "The fans offered a great response," Donnati said.dddddddddddd After the final whistle, Milan fans grew unruly and began launching seats over a barrier at Verona supporters. Verona won its only Serie A title in 1985 and has had the dishonour of watching neighbour Chievo Verona play in the top division for much of the last decade while it toiled in Serie B. But a second-place result in Serie B last season earned Verona promotion and the signing of Toni in July to a one-year contract has already proved wise even though Daniele Cacia led the second division with 24 goals in 2012-13. The 36-year-old Toni also scored on his debut when Verona beat Palermo 1-0 in the Italian Cup last weekend. "Hes decisive on dead balls and hes a decisive player for us," Verona coach Andrea Mandorlini said of Toni, who formerly played for Palermo, Fiorentina and Bayern Munich and was a member of the Italy squad that won the 2006 World Cup. Balotelli had Milans first chance nine minutes in with a shot from beyond the area that was blocked by goalkeeper Rafael. Balotelli might have done better by passing the ball to one of two teammates striding toward the goal and he was wise to pass to Poli five minutes later to set up a goal. After collecting the pass, Poli dribbled in between two defenders and slotted the ball past Rafael. After struggling in the opening 20 minutes, Verona began to assert itself more as the half wore on and Toni took advantage when Milans defence lost track of him during a corner kick as the hosts equalized. Toni also had a chance in the 36th with a bouncing shot that Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati couldnt control but a defender cleared the danger. Still, it was Verona that came out in attack mode to start the second half and Abbiati had to leap high to tip over the bar a header from Bosko Jankovic in the 51st. Two minutes later, Toni put Verona ahead with a header from the edge of the box as he leaped over defender Cristian Zapata for his 111th career goal in Serie A. And in the 62nd, Abbiati had to punch away a dangerous cross to prevent Toni from doing any more damage. Toni exited to a standing ovation when he was replaced by Cacia in the 85th. Cacia nearly made it 3-1 in the 89th but Abbiati was able to stop the attempt. Balotelli grew frustrated and drew a yellow card for protests in the 90th. There was also a last-minute card in Genoa, as Sampdoria defender Paolo Castellini was shown red for a hard foul on Stephan Lichtsteiner. Cheap Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys WholesaleDiscount Basketball JerseysCheap NHL Jerseys AuthenticCheap Baseball Jerseys Free ShippingCheapest College Jerseys SaleCheap Football Jerseys ChinaNike NFL Jerseys CanadaWholesale NHL Jerseys From ChinaMLB Jerseys Outlet CanadaWholesale NBA Jerseys Canada StoreCheap Soccer Jerseys ChinaCheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '