A Little Rocky

Petrino's injuries were evident in his news
conference last week.

Bobby Petrino's time card at Arkansas has expired.

Just days after announcing he would be taking an indefinite, but paid leave of absence, Petrino was fired Tuesday by the University's athletic director Jeff Long. This is just the aftermath of irresponsible relationship.

Petrino, 51, was involved in a motorcycle accident back on April 1, suffering numerous injuries that caused him to be hospitalized. However, he wasn't riding alone that Sunday evening on Highway 16.

Former Arkansas All-SEC volleyball player Jennifer Dorrell was also involved in the crash, but Petrino tired to hide her presence in what Long called "knowingly misleading" the university. Dorrell, 25, had been hired by Petrino just days earlier to be the student-athlete development coordinator, but was also engaging in an inapporiate relationship with the now-former Arkansas head football coach.

At one point, Petrino also gave Dorrell $20,000, but it hasn't been disclosed what exactly it was for. Her job status has yet to be addressed.

As for Petrino, his coaching career begin in 1983 as a graduate assistant at Carroll College in Montana. He spent 15 years in college football before Tom Coughlin hired him to the his quarterback coach in the NFL, joining the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1999.

After serving as the quarterbacks coach for two seasons, Coughlin promoted Petrino to the team's offensive coordinator, calling him an "offensive mastermind". But after the team finished last in the AFC Central at 6-10, Petrino headed back to the college game. He spent one year as the offensive coordinator at Auburn until he landed his first head coaching job at Louisville.

In his four seasons as a Cardinal, Petrino accumulated a 41-9 record, but was offered a job to return to the NFL, this time as a head coach, and ran with it.

On Jan. 7, 2007, the Atlanta Falcons made Petrino their 13th head coach in franchise, bringing him in to add to then-quarterback Michael Vick's already electric and dynamic ability. However, that failed before it even got started.

Prior to the start of the 2007-08 season, Vick was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating the league's conduct policy for his involvement in a dog fighting scandal.

Petrino was doomed from the start.

With the team floundering in the NFC South at 3-10 through the team's first 13 games of the season, Petrino abruptly resigned and took the head coaching job at Arkansas.

Considering the Razorbacks lost all three of their running backs (Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis) to the 2008 NFL Draft and prior to his arrival, Petrino's career at Arkansas was pretty good, continuing to win and live up this "offensive mastermind" nickname. He watched quarterback Ryan Mallett break school records, made Tyler Wilson a first-team All-SEC quarterback and the main reason why Arkasnas' offense has had the top passing attack in the SEC the last three seasons.

Petrino won 34 games during his four year stay in Fayetteville, including a 21-5 record the last two seasons.

This last season, Arkansas finished the year 11-2 after defeating the Kansas State Wildcats in the 2012 Cotton Bowl. Both of Petrino's two losses this season came at the hands of conference rivals and teams that played in this year's BCS National Championship Game, Alabama and LSU.

Those accomplishments have now been wiped way and find Petrino without a job -- a job he thought he'd have for long time after he signed a seven-year extension in Dec. 2010.

Long has said Petrino was fired "with cause", making his departure not a costly one. In other words, the University will not need to give Petrino a multimillion dollar buyout.

In the end, this is just another black eye of the NCAA.

WIld Card Weekend Preview: Sunday

After experiencing a lockout, so much uncertain and a record-breaking regular season, the NFL now reaches the postseason with some of the most unlikely of teams ready to crash the postseason party.

Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants:
A year after the Atlanta Falcons seized the No. 1 seed in the NFC at 13-3, won their first NFC South title since 2004 and were upended by the Green Bay Packers at home, 48-21, they are back. This time their dreams of getting to the Super Bowl takes a much different route.

After trading five picks to draft him, Jones
has become one of the most explosive
receivers in the game.

The Falcons will being playing on Wild Card weekend, something they did not do last season, but quarterback Matt Ryan is ready for the challenge of facing a tough New York Giants defense and recording his first win in the postseason. Ryan enjoyed yet another stellar season down South, tossing for 4,177 yards, 29 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions. This time around Ryan has an offensive weapon he didn't have a year ago.

Rookie wideout Julio Jones struggled to get acclimated to the NFL, but he and Ryan seemed to have clicked at the right time. During the final month of the regular season, Ryan threw 10 TD passes, six of those Jones was on the receiving end.

Jones' 7 receptions of 40-plus yards this season tied him for fourth most in the NFL. The development of Jones can be attributed to veteran presence of  tight end and future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is making his fifth trip to the postseason and is 0-4 in his previous four career playoff games. Gonzalez's 238 career games without a postseason win are the second most in NFL history and the most among position players. Detroit's kicker Jason Hanson's 311 games is the most all-time.

Ryan's offensive line has been heavily criticized this season by numerous teams, saying they play after the whistle. New York's Jason Tuck made reference to them being 'dirtbags' earlier in the week. Whatever they are, they know they are faced with daunting task, taking on one of the game's most premiere front four and protecting their quarterback.

The Atlanta offensive line was only penalized 25 times this season, the fewest among this year's playoff teams.

As for their defense, Atlanta will need to be able to put pressure on Eli Manning and force them to run the football. Pro Bowl cornerback Brent Grimes will play on Sunday, which could help contain wideouts Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.

At the start of the NFL season, Manning was asked if he was an elite quarterback. He responded by saying yes with many raising their eyebrows as if his dramatic Super Bowl XLII comeback wasn't enough. Well, this season Manning did his best to back up his words.

The eight-year veteran led the Giants to the NFC East title and a 9-7 record this season. A season that saw New York beat the hated Dallas Cowboys twice and their crosstown rival New York Jets in a must-win game on Christmas Eve.

Manning narrowly missed being the fifth quarterback in NFL history and fourth of the 2011-12 season to pass for 5,000 yards, finishing the year with 4,933. However, his 15 fourth-quarter touchdowns passes this year are a NFL record and something he might cherish even more.

A lot of Manning' success this season can be attributed to the breakout campaign that Cruz enjoyed.

In only his second-year in the NFL, Cruz led the team in receptions (82), yards (1,536) and TDs (9). But his 5 receptions of 65-plus yards this season are the most since 1951, when the Ram's Elroy Hirsch accomplished that feat.

While the offense has accomplished a lot this year, it's New York's defense that holds the key to a deep playoff run in the Big Apple. With a weak secondary, the Giants have been able to avoid being torched every Sunday with arguably the most formidable front four in the NFL.

Pierre-Paul (90) has made his presence
felt this season.

In the final two games of the season, New York's defense recorded 11 sacks, by far the most during that time period. Jason Pierre-Paul, who was a first time Pro Bowl selection in 2011 and voted to his first of what could be many first-team All-Pro squads, may be their best defensive player.

Atlanta finished the year with a 4-4 record on the road and have a 3-game road losing streak in the postseason. However, New York recorded a 4-4 at home this season are in the midst of a 2-game home losing streak in the postseason.

Something's gotta give.

ATL X-Factor: Julio Jones


NYG X-Factor: Jason Pierre-Paul


New York, 27-21


Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos:
As if the Pittsburgh Steelers need an introduction. Everyone already knows they are owners of six Super Bowl championship, the most in NFL history, have played in three of the last six Super Bowls and are the defending AFC Champions. But this is a much different Pittsburgh team heading into their road playoff game against the magical and unexplainable Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos.

The Steelers, while they still have the No. 1 ranked defense in the NFL, have been riddled by injuries and limb into Mile High, literally. Two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger has been hampered by an ankle sprain and will not be 100 percent when he takes the field.

Polamalu has been a game changer throughout
 his career and will need to be Sunday
in Denver.

Throughout his career, Roethlisberger's strength has been using his mobility and extending the play long enough to make something happen. His sore ankle has made him unable to do that as effectively and will play a huge factor on Sunday.

Despite the injury, he threw for more than 4,000 yards this season with 21 TDs.

Pittsburgh will also be without leading-rusher Rashard Mendenhall, who suffered a torn ACL the final week of the season. So second-year back Isaac Redman, who has only rushed for 729 yards in his young career, will need to carry the load.

But in the midst of the biggest game of Redman's career, running backs coach Kirby Wilson will not be on the sideline after suffering significant burns in a house fire earlier in the week.

The injury list continues with Pro Bowl center Marukice Pouncey, who was a teammate of Tebow's at Florida. Pouncey is also dealing with an ankle injury and has been ruled out for the game. The last time Pittsburgh played a playoff game without Pouncey snapping the ball, Super Bowl XLV, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers, 31-25.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Steel Curtain will be without safety and the commander-in-chief of the defense Ryan Clark. Clark led the team with 100 tackles, but will not play in the high altitude air in Denver because of the potential danger to his health.

Fellow safety Troy Polamalu will need to take that leadership role and become the quarterback of the defense in Clark's absence.

Pittsburgh allowed 100-plus rushing yards in three of their four losses this season and will be presented with the task of stop the top rushing offense in the league.

The Broncos started the season 1-4 with Kyle Orton under center, but in Week 5 head coach John Fox pulled Orton with his team trailing by 16 points in the fourth-quarter against San Diego and gave the reigns to Tebow. Tebow nearly led an improbable comeback, but came up short, 29-24.

Following Denver's Bye Week, Tebow started in Miami and orchestrated the first of his five fourth quarter comebacks this season, including three coming in overtime.

In his first eight starts this season, Tebow led the Broncos to a 7-1 mark, including a 6-game winning streak. However, Tebow hasn't faired well in his team's final three games of the regular season, but snuck into the postseason and find themselves facing the vaunted Steelers defense.

As the Broncos were the second worst passing team in the NFL, averaging 152.1 yards per game, they were the top rushing offense in the league. Denver averaged 164.5 rushing yards per game this season, relying veteran on Willis McGahee to use the clock.

Earlier this year, Prater kicked a 59-year
 field goal to tie a game in a eventual
win against the Chicago Bears.

Kicker Matt Prater also played a major role in Denver's winning streak earlier this year, kicking numerous field goals that either tied the game or gave win them the win.

Even though the statistics will not back it up, Denver's defense developed into one of the game's best and will play a major factor against Pittsburgh. Rookie linebacker Von Miller is the favorite to land the Defensive Rookie of the Year honor and played out of his mind the second half of the season.

Miller finishes his rookie campaign with 64 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 11.5 sacks.

The Broncos will be without veteran safety Brian Dawkins, who is suffering from a neck injury, but will have one of the best cover corner the game has ever seen. Champ Bailey is one of only two remaining members of the Broncos team that lost to Steelers in the AFC Championship game in 2005. Bailey is out for revenge.

PIT X-Factor: Troy Polamalu


DEN X-Factor: Matt Prater


Denver, 17-13

Rushing Into The Record Books

Vick's athletic ability gives the Eagles
hope moving forward. 

While the Philadelphia Eagles continue to flounder in their own mistakes, quarterback Michael Vick rushed himself right into the record books.

Down 28-7 early in the third quarter, Vick found his team on their own 37-yard line with a fresh set of downs after a 14-yard completion. Vick called a play-action pass and when nothing was open down field, he reverted to the tool that has made him one of the most dynamic players in NFL history, his legs.

Vick scrambled all the way to the Buffalo 10-yard line for a 53-yard gain, making him the NFL's all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks.

Randall Cunningham, who spent his first eleven seasons under center with Philadelphia, was the previous record holder with 4,928 career rushing yards as a quarterback.

Vick finished the game with only five carries going for 90 yards on the ground, increasing his career total to 4,948. Only 31, the south paw has a chance to make his record untouchable especially after signing a six-year $100 million contract extension this past August.

He most certainly would have accomplished this feat sooner if had not miss two full seasons in the prime of his career due to imprisonment.

The former Virginia Tech Hokie now has now rushed for 318 yards in five games this season.

With his most recent milestone, there is no question Vick is the most prolific rushing quarterback in NFL history as he now holds almost every QB rushing record in NFL history. In a thrilling overtime game against the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 1, 2002, a then-member of the Atlanta Falcons, Vick set the single-game rushing record for a quarterback after scampering for 173 yards, including a game-winning 46-yard touchdown run in the extra period.

In what would be his final season as a Falcon, Vick ran for 1,039 yards in 2006, setting the single-season rushing record for a QB. To top it off, his 32 career rushing touchdowns are only 12 behind Otto Graham's QB record of 44.

As much as Vick relishes his individual accolades, football is a team sport and he and his Eagles are struggling mightily. Philadelphia is now 1-4 on the season after a Sunday's deflating 31-24 loss to the surprisingly surging 4-1 Buffalo Bills.

Vick threw a career-high four interceptions, putting his season total at seven, giving him a share of the league lead with a pair of AFC West opponents, San Diego's Phillip Rivers and Denver's Kyle Orton. Vick's 4.1 interception percentage trails only Orton's 4.5 in 2011.

To go along with those seven interceptions, the 10-year veteran has coughed up the football three times, giving him 10 total turnovers on the year which is one more than Vick had all of last season. He also has turned the ball over at least once in each of his last 12 games and thrown 14 interceptions in his last 11.

Andy Reid, right in now on the hot seat
in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia has now lost four games in a row for the first time since 2005 and are off the their worst start since head coach Andy Reid's first year in 1999. Thats year the team finished 5-11 and last-place in their division.

With the sluggish start for the once self-proclaimed "Dream Team", many Eagle fans are calling for Reid's head, but it has been the ineffectiveness of his defense and newly promoted defensive coordinator Juan Castillo that have not lived up to expectations.

Castillo had been the offensive line coach since 1998 before taking over the defensive duties this offseason after the firing of Sean McDermott. While the Eagles rank 1st in the NFL averaging 165.6 rushing yards per game their defense has allowed almost the same. The Philly defense ranks 30th in the league allowing their opponents to average 140.2 rushing yards per game against them.

There's just no replacement for a legend like the late Jim Johnson.

After allowing 143 yards on the ground, Philadelphia's defense had a chance at redemption and give Vick and his offense one last attempt at a comeback, but they fell short. With Buffalo faced with a fourth-and-1 and 1:23 left in the fourth quarter, Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick drew 11-year veteran Juqua Parker offsides, sealing Buffalo's fourth win of the season and pushing the Eagles further down in the NFC East cellar.

Vick will continue to run his way into the record books next Sunday when they visit their division rival and first-place Washington Redskins.

Ryan Claims His Territory