later. Chelseas favoured 10 are all close to the pace of 30+ starts because no other player is on pace m

In Arizona, the Cardinals lose Tyrann Mathieu for the year with a ACL and LCL knee injury. In Carolina, the Panthers lose Jonathan Stewart with an MCL knee injury. But the most devastating season-ender was Rob Gronkowski and his ACL and MCL knee injury with the New England Patriots. The Patriots will rebound somehow to remain competitive but being competitive and winning in the playoffs are two different tests. Players get injured but for Gronkowski, this is difficult to comprehend and accept. On the positive side, he is a young, fourth-year player and youth and the ability to heal effectively do go together. On the negative, for a young player, Gronkowski has an old body of football battles. Two back surgeries at the University of Arizona, missing his senior year, three arm surgeries over three years with New England and now a major knee surgery that, as we have learned by watching RG3, takes more than six months to recover from. His biggest battle to get back will be that he has to do this on his own and often all alone. Football rehabilitation is not a team sport, it is an individual challenge that you have to look at as a job at which to excel and a time commitment that ends an off-season of enjoyment. Every now and then, I get a streak of jealousy over the amount of money pro football players make and how fast, but then I lose that when I consider how short of a career it is and how fast the injuries can compound. In Cleveland, the most talked about player this week will be Browns defensive back TJ Ward because he is the weapon that took out Gronkowski. Yes, he could have make the tackle higher around the hips but would have probably bounced off the hips and Gronkowski would have made another five yards. Or he could tackled him around the shoulders and been taken for 10 yards trying to wrestle the 66" 260 lbs tight end to the ground. Ward is listed at 510" and 200lbs so it was his only choice to take the legs. If he didnt, he would have been criticized and graded down the next morning in the review of the game. The more negative grades you have, the less significance you have in value. No choice for Ward at that moment in time. Pivotal Discussion I dont know who the best quarterback is in NFL football but of the top four that have won Super Bowls, here is what I think. Tom Brady is the best pressure quarterback in football and has exceptional leadership qualities. What he has been able to do with extreme limitations of time is second to none. With two minutes to go on your own 20-yard line and needing a touchdown, Tom Brady is the best. Peyton Manning is #1 in terms of preparation and in-game adjustment. So many times the best offensive possession for Denver is the first one as that becomes the first points scored in the game. Then as the game moves on, Manning figures it out. What he figures out I am not sure but so many times, the second half is dominated by Denver no matter what has happened in the first half. Nobody can run their offence like Manning. Drew Brees has the best footwork and awareness. Cris Collinsworth showed on Sunday Night Football how Brees goes from one opportunity to another downfield, not only in the game but in the pre-game. Later, it was visually demonstrated how polished and precise his footwork and throwing motion work together. Pocket awareness is having the ability to feel a pass rush but not see it. Some quarterbacks never get it; Brees has mastered it. No one has a better arm or a more relaxed demeanor on the field than Aaron Rodgers. If there is anxiety inside Rodgers in the middle of a game, I dont see it. It amazes me how composed and relaxed he remains from play to play. Confidence yes, ability yes but also a gift of knowing or having the skill to focus on what is important and dismiss what is not in any given moment. And with that gift, he has the most accurate and velocity intense arm. If ARodgers comes back for the Dallas game, everything will change for the Packers. Overall, I pick Aaron Rodgers as my number 1 quarterback. Capital Demise In Washington, you can see the end coming. I dont think players give up on a team, coach or year. The competition for an NFL job is too heavy and everything is on video to be re-evaluated all off-season over and over and over. But I do think players play with different intensity levels depending on weather, opposition, one-on-one competition and free agency. When you give up a run for a touchdown, a pass for a touchdown, a punt for a touchdown and a kick return for a touchdown, there is something deeply wrong. The value of a coach is how the players respond and the Washington Redskins did not. You cant fire 53 players, only the boss. Time To Sit In Denver, I hope the Broncos sit Wes Welker until the playoffs. Within one month, he has been diagnosed with two concussions and both on the same type of pattern, a crossing route in between the hash marks about 10 yards downfield. Thats linebacker territory. Also, I guess the conversation about Peyton Mannings ability to play effectively is cold weather is over. Four touchdowns and 397 yards answered that question against Tennessee . Tough To Watch Finally, the Monday Night Football game was painful to watch for two reasons. First, it was brutally cold and by the fourth quarter, everybody was ready to go home; in the stands, on the field, everybody. Secondly, it was tough to watch the slow but consistent disintegration of the Dallas defence. Salary cap limitations have been a good thing for football as it forces competitive balance but when mismanaged, you see weakness in personnel that is normally depth players who will never be starters. That has caught up to the Cowboys. They can still win the NFC East when they face the Eagles in Philadelphia on December 29, but by no means is it a sure thing based on Monday night. Wholesale NFL Store . "I could have been equipment manager but nooooo" from Lisa on Ice. Season 6, Episode 8. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. http://www.wholesalejerseysfromchinashop.com/ . In a series of tweets, it is explained by the Department of Player Safety that Niederreiter makes full body contact with Burrows and although there is head contact, he does not "pick" the head in the course of making the hit. Cheap Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. Cheap NFL Jerseys . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday.By now it is a stat everyone knows. Jose Mourinho wins the league in his second season at a club. He did it at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. When his team led Man City by eight points after 11 matches, following the second weekend in November, many were willing to hand him the championship again. Two months on and the momentum has shifted. Chelsea outsprinted Man City by eight points through the first 11 games but have handed them all back to their title rivals through the last nine matches. They are now at a deadlock just past the halfway mark of the marathon. Chelsea remain favourites but not as many people are willing to hand Joses Chelsea the title. Fewer still are questioning him despite his side giving up a sizeable lead to a team who had David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero all out injured for the bulk of the time they spent catching up. A look at the opponents during that run shows a slight edge for City but not a monumental one. Manuel Pellegrinis men played just two of the top ten sides, Swansea and Southampton, while Chelsea also played Southampton as well as Tottenham twice and Newcastle. The most notable thing to take away from the eight-game stretch was squad versatility. Mourinho said he would sleep fine after the loss to Newcastle because he felt his team played at a high standard. He couldnt say the same after their second loss, a 5-3 hammering at Tottenham on New Years Day where they looked tired and a long way from the level they had been at for most of the season. During the busiest time in the Premier League season, where Chelsea played four games in eleven days, Mourinho started eight players in all four of those games. Only Man Utd (9) and Burnley (11) started more players during the four-game stretch. Man City started just five in all four of their games. Mourinho clearly knows his best XI. Thibaut Courtois is the leagues best goalkeeper and picks himself, his back four have started 16 of the 20 league games together so far, Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic, playing as a formidable pair in central midfield, have started 18 of the 20 together games this season and in front of them is the tried and tested trio of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian. Striker Diego Costa has started a remarkable 17 games of 20 despite regularly, early this season, being linked with injuries. It is not unusual to see a goalkeeper like Courtois start as often he does but it is in front of him that Mourinho has some bigger decisions to make during the second half of the season. Through 20 games there have been 200 outfield spots available on Chelseas starting XI in league matches. The aforementioned 10 players have filled 181 of them – over 90 per cent. This is a number we hardly ever see anymore and shows, up to now, that Chelsea have been lucky with injuries but also, again, that their manager relies heavily on 10 outfield players. Those ten are on pace to fill 344 starting slots of the 380 available throughout a season, an incredible number. Past Champions To show how high this amount is I ran the numbers of the last 10 Premier League winners. The following is the amount of starts the most used 10 players combined for during the season: Man City 13/14 – 273 Man Utd 12/13 - 259 Man City 11/12 – 283 Man Utd 10/11 – 252 Chelsea 09/10 – 280 Man Utd 08/09 – 260 Man Utd 07/08 – 293 Man Utd 06/07 – 269 Chelsea 05/06 – 274 Chelsea 04/05 – 287 No team is close to 344. For such a large sample size the numbers are quite similar. Four of the champions are within ten combined starts and each of the last six winners have fallen between 252 and 283.dddddddddddd. Manchester United of 2007/08 is the leader of the pack and had six starters all pass the 30-start threshold. This seasons Chelsea have nine of their outfield players all on pace to eclipse this and the only one who is missing is Willian who has started 13 of the last 16 after Andre Schurrle was preferred in three of the first four games. The numbers show their current rate is unsustainable and it is not even close. Squad Depth As well as the Premier League, Chelsea are also still in contention for the Champions League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup. During the festive period, Mourinho elected against squad rotation but he will be forced to rely on it in February and March. That will reduce the projected number of 344 but by how much? Mourinho has been praised for keeping his squad happy during a period when they havent been playing but will the players be good enough for his standard when required? Its not difficult for me to leave players out. Everybody has to be ready to sacrifice for the team, to give everything for the team, not to be selfish, Mourinho said recently. This will be put to the test sooner rather than later. Chelseas favoured 10 are all close to the pace of 30+ starts because no other player is on pace to start double-digit league games this season. Schurrle has started five of 20, John Obi Mikel and Felipe Luis four and Ramires just three. Here is a look at how many outfield players started 10 league games or more for the champions in the last 10 years: Man City 13/14 – 16 Man Utd 12/13 - 16 Man City 11/12 – 15 Man Utd 10/11 – 17 Chelsea 09/10 – 16 Man Utd 08/09 – 17 Man Utd 07/08 – 14 Man Utd 06/07 – 14 Chelsea 05/06 – 15 Chelsea 04/05 – 15 No team even close to 10 and no one with less than 14. Chelsea currently has only 10 outfield players who have started more than five games and we are past the halfway stage. Admittedly, it wont take a lot of changes to get the likes of Schurrle, Mikel, Felipe Luis and Ramires to double-digits but how much does Mourinho want to rely on them? He has lost patience with Schurrle, removing him at half-time recently at Southampton, which was his only start in the past three months. Mikel and Ramires give him different options when he wants to be more defensive in midfield and he usually removes Oscar for one of them. After his performance at Spurs the Brazilian number ten may be on the bench more in the second half. Another Brazilian, Felipe Luis, cost 16 million pounds but the back four have been magnificent in most games this season and have been very difficult to dislodge as bright young star Kurt Zouma (zero starts) knows only too well. Mohamed Saleh and Loic Remy have also struggled to get starts and have just one between them so far. These are barriers Mourinho must find a way past in the second half to reduce the 344 number and increase the double digit starters past 10. Locked in a fierce battle with Man City, Chelsea still have the advantage in terms of fixtures remaining but it is this advantage that Mourinho must use wisely with his squad. History shows us how often he wins in year number two but it also shows us how much he needs to start relying on his squad if he wants to lift the trophy in May. Join us on Saturday from 7:30am et/4:30am pt for a full day of Premier League action including Chelsea vs Newcastle on TSN4 at 10am et/7am pt. ' ' '