Surgery for Gronk

Pollard is notorious for injuring Patriot
players, doing the same to Gronkowski.

Rob Gronkowski's ankle may have it's own Twitter account (@GronksAnkle) with 349 followers, but it had much more important things to worry about on Friday.

The New England Patriot tight end underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his injured left ankle and is expected to make a full recovery within 10 weeks. Despite Gronkowski saying he was "100 percent" following this team's Super Bowl XLVI lost to the New York Giants, it was clear that was not the case.

Gronkowski only caught two passes from quarterback Tom Brady for 26 yards. But it was the play that the second-year tight end couldn't make that really swung the momentum on Super Sunday.

Clinging to a 17-14 lead in the fourth quarter, New England was in the middle of a four-play, 23-yard drive before, on the fifth play of the drive, Brady pulled a Houdini-like escape from the vaunted New York pass rush and heaved the ball down the field to Gronkowski.

The pass was under thrown and intercepted by linebacker Chase Blackburn. Gronkowski did is best to make a play on the ball -- a play he normally makes if healthy. It was the only turnover of the game.

Gronkowski, along with teammate Matt Light, were under heavy scrutiny earlier in the week after a video was released of the two partying and dancing after the loss. And while Gronkowski looked limited on the gridiron just hours earlier, it didn't seem that way on the dance floor.

All in all, it was a great season for the Patriots and Gronkowski.

The 22-year-old emerged as the most dominate tight end the NFL this season, setting records in the process. Gronkowski finished the regular season with 17 receiving touchdowns and 1,327 yards -- both single-season records for a tight end.

'Gronk', as his teammates call him, added three more touchdowns to his total in the postseason before suffering his high-ankle sprain in the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens, beginning the talk of the most famous ankle in sports history.

Oddly enough Gronkowski injured his ankle on a tackle by safety Bernard Pollard. It's not the first time Pollard has injured a significant member of the New England franchise. In Week 1 of the 2008-09 season, Pollard, then a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, was responsible for the low hit on Brady's left leg that torn his ACL and had him miss the entire season.

The following year, in Week 17 against the Houston Texans, with a healthy Brady and the Patriots primed for another deep playoff, wideout Wes Welker caught a first quarter pass and ran for 13 yards before trying to make a move on Pollard, to avoid a tackle. In the process, Welker also torn his ACL and was lost for the rest of the season.

Not any one player can win a team a Super Bowl, but Brady, Welker and Gronkowski were all key components to making their respective teams go, leaving the Patriots to wonder, what could have been.

Pollard is a free agent after the 2012-13 season -- a free agent the Patriots should look into, living by the old cliche, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

This Time it's for Real

When he was on the field, Williams was one
of the most feared backs the game has ever
seen.

We've heard this story before, but this time it looks like it's official.

After 11 great, but controversial NFL seasons, Baltimore Ravens running back Ricky Williams has decided  against taking handoffs next season and will retire.

Williams, 34, played is college ball at the University of Texas, where he was twice named a Consensus All-American and received college football's highest individual honor. Despite finishing fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1997, Williams would claim the award the following season, receiving 85.23 percent of the vote.

Since the award was created in 1935, Williams is one of only six players to received 80-plus percent of the vote and only the third to tally 85 or more. USC's Reggie Bush, whose 2005 award has since been vacated, and Troy Smith (2006) are the only other to receive that high of a vote total, 91.77 and 91.63, respectively.

The former Longhorn standout finished his Heisman campaign with 2,124 rushing yards on 361 carries, scoring 27 touchdowns.

Williams completed his collegiate career as major college football's all-time leading rusher with 6,279 yards. However, just a year after setting the record, Williams' successor of the prestigious award, Ron Dayne, broke that record, rushing for 1,834 in his Heisman season, bringing his career total to 6,397.

Till this day, Dayne and Williams are still the most productive backs in FBS history.

The New Orleans Saints and then-head coach Mike Ditka drafted Williams with the fifth overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. The Hall of Fame coach traded all six of the team's draft picks that season and their first- and third-round picks in 2000 to the Washington just to draft the 226-pounder.

While he was productive in his rookie season, it was in Williams' second year that he eclipsed the 1,000-yard threshold for the first time in his career, rushing for 1,000 yards on the dot. That season Williams led the Saints to their first playoff appearance since 1992, helping them record their first playoff win in franchise history, defeating the St. Louis Rams, 31-28.

New Orleans was ousted from the postseason the following week by the Minnesota Vikings. Those would be the only two playoffs game Williams played in for the Saints.

Williams would play one more season in New Orleans before being traded to the Miami Dolphins prior to the start of the 2002-03 season.

In order to acquire the former Heisman Trophy winner, the Dolphins gave the Saints their '02 first-round draft choice, swapped their fourth-round draft positions for the same draft and a conditional third-round pick for 2003.

A hefty price to pay, but no nearly the cost New Orleans paid to draft him. Miami, at least initially, would be rewarded.

In his first season in South Beach, Williams became the league's rushing leader, carrying the ball 383 for 1,853 yards, putting together, at the time, the eighth best rushing season in NFL history. Williams also led the NFL in yards per game that season, averaging 115.8 and scored a career-high 16 TDs.

He would be named his first and only Pro Bowl and All-Pro team.

Following up his breakout campaign, Williams rushed for his fourth straight 1,000-yard season and became the definition of a workhorse for Miami. In his first two seasons with the Dolphins, Williams carried the ball a combined 775 times, by far the most in the NFL.

After the best two seasons of his career, Williams surprised everyone, choosing to retire from the NFL after violating the league's drug policy and facing a four-game suspension to start the 2004-05 season. It was the second time in threes years Williams had tested positive for marijuana, and along with his suspension, he was slapped with a $650,000 fine.

When his first retirement was made officially on August 2, 2004, Williams was ruled ineligible for the upcoming season.

Miami countered Williams' retirement by drafting Auburn standout, Ronnie Brown, with the No. 2 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, Brown, taking most of the snaps vacated by Williams, narrowly missed rushing for 1,000 yards, rushing for 907.

Williams and Brown formed a more than
respectable one-two punch in the
backfield.

However, Williams returned to the Fins the following year, paying back most of his signing bonus and served his four-game suspension. The 12 games Williams played that season, he rushed for 743 yards on just 168 carries.

His second stint didn't last long. In 2006, Williams went north of the border, playing for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League.

Williams would be reinstated into the NFL in 2007 by Commissioner Roger Goodell -- a decision that was contingent upon Williams taking multiple drug tests throughout the week. In his first game back, on Monday Night Football, Williams torn one of his pectoral muscles and was placed on injured reserve not long after.

Williams wasn't the one only that missed time that season -- a season that saw the Dolphins almost go winless, finishing the year 1-15. Brown missed the final nine games of the regular season due to a knee injury and also found himself on IR.

In 2008, with a healthy Brown, a new head coach and Bill Parcells calling the shots, Williams was apart of the wildcat offense and making his first playoff appearance since his second year in New Orleans.

2009 would be Williams last run at something special. Brown was placed on IR with a right foot injury just nine games into the season, giving Williams his starting job back.

He rushed for 1,121 that season. It had been six years between 1,000-yard seasons for Williams -- an NFL record.

Williams spent one more season in Miami before signing a two-year contract this past August to join the Ravens. He served as Ray Rice's backup and played in all 18 games this season, including both of Baltimore's postseason games where they ultimately fell in the AFC Championship Game.

In 147 regular season games, Williams finishes his career with 10,009 rushing yards, becoming only the 26th player in NFL history to eclipse that mark. He scored 74 career TDs and was one of the rare running backs with the ability to catch the football. Williams caught 342 passes in his career for 2,606 yards.

Whatever the future holds, Williams will be remembered for his shaggy dreadlocks, rock solid physique, but fragile personality. He had the potential to be one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.

Instead he might be the most misunderstood figure in sports.

Newborn Colt

Taking his first career head coaching job,
Pagano will no longer be with the great
Ray Lewis.

Just a day after interviewing for the head coaching vacancy for the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano has landed the gig.

Pagano was given permission to interview for the job following Baltimore's heartbreaking 23-20 loss in the AFC Championship Game Sunday, coming at the hands of the New England Patriots. Indianapolis has said Pagano will be officially introduced in a press conference on Thursday.

He is the fourth Raven defensive coordinator to receive a head coaching job, joining Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Mike Nolan (49ers) and Rex Ryan (Jets).

The 51-year-old Pagano first came to the Ravens in 2008 when then-first year head coach John Harbaugh hired him to be the team's secondary coach. He served in that position for three years before being promoted prior to the start of this season as the defensive coordinator, succeeding Greg Mattison.

Mattison left to return to the University of Michigan, taking the defensive coordinator job, a position he previously held at the university.

In his first (and now only) season as Baltimore's defensive coordinator, Pagano put together the third ranked defense in the National Football League and saw four of his starters be selected to the Pro Bowl. The list consists of Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs.

Prior to making the move to the NFL, Pagano had spent his first 16 seasons coaching in college football. Known only only as an assistant throughout his career, Pagano got his first taste of the NFL in 2001 when he was hired by the Cleveland Browns to be their secondary coach.

In his first season in Cleveland, Pagano's secondary were responsible for 28 of the Brown' league-best 33 interceptions. Two years later, Pagano was a major contributor to the Cleveland defense tying a franchise record.

The Browns only allowed 13 passing touchdowns that season.

After only one more season in Ohio, he left to become the defensive backs coach for the Oakland Raiders, a position he would hold for two seasons before jumping back to the NCAA. In 2007, Pagano served as the defensive coordinator for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

A man that has never been the top dog anywhere he's been is now in charge in turning around a team in turmoil.

The Colts finished the 2011-12 season with the worst record in the league at 2-14. And while that has handed them the first overall pick in April's draft, it has caused many to lose their jobs. Jim Caldwell, who had been the team's head coach for the last three seasons that included a trip to the Super Bowl, was fired to kick off the New Year.

That was after vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, who served as the team's vice president and general manager since 2009, were part of the firing frenzy that owner Jim Irsay has been on.

Irsay has since hired 39-year-old Ryan Grigson to be the team's GM moving forward, but he won't have anything to do with the fate of Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning.

Manning never took a snap this season after recovering from neck surgery. Irsay has already stated that the team will take Stanford's Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick, posing an interesting situation for Manning and the Colts.

It's not as if both Manning and Luck cannot coexist because history shows it's possible. Steve Young sat behind Joe Montana in San Francisco before getting his team to the Super Bowl and eventually being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Most recent, Aaron Rodgers has won a Super Bowl and could receive his first MVP Award this season after spending the first three years of his career sitting behind the iconic Brett Favre.

It's not if they can, it's will they?

Manning is due a $28 million bonus in early March, a bonus that could decide his future in Indianapolis.

Whomever is under center for the Colts next season, Pagano will be happy to have them, but be more focused on playing with his new defensive toys, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Which is contingent upon the team resigning Mathis, who is soon-to-be a unrestricted free agent.

Either way, it looks to be an end of an era in Colts football.

Championship Sunday Preview: Fun In Foxborough

Are you ready for some football?

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots:
It was just two years ago that the stingy Baltimore Raven defense invaded Foxborough, handing Tom Brady his first career postseason loss at home.

In their wild-card matchup on Jan. 10, 2010, Baltimore's Ray Rice took the first play from scrimmage 83 yards for a touchdown, giving his team a lead they would never requlish. At the time it was the longest rushing play of Rice's young career and the second longest rush in NFL postseason history.

Rice hopes to have a repeat performance of
his first postseason trip to New England.

Baltimore held a 24-0 after the first quarter and despite quarterback Joe Flacco only completing four passes for 34 yards, the Ravens went on to win the game, 33-14.

Most of their production came from the ground game, with Rice rushing for 159 of the team's 234 total rushing yards. The Ravens hope for much of the same against the 17th-ranked rush defense. This season, Rice completed his third straight season with at least 1,200 rushing yards, setting a career-high with 1,364. He also set career-highs in attempts (291) and touchdowns (12), but it might be his all-around game that makes him one of the most dynamic and dangerous backs in the game today.

The 24-year-old running back caught 76 passes out of the backfield this season for 704 yards, averaging just under 10 yards per completion at 9.3.

And while the New England defense will be saddled with the assignment of stopping Rice, Baltimore's D will need to shutdown the prolific and efficient Patriots' offense. Led by their veteran core group of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs, whose 14 sacks were good enough for the team lead, they know it would be their final shot to retaste Super Bowl glory.

Slowing down the tight end tandem of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez should be the key to the Ravens' success.

As for the Patriots, Brady and Co. head into Sunday's AFC Championship game confident as ever after torching the Denver Broncos last week, 45-10 and winning their first playoff game since the 2007-08 season, where they beat the San Diego Chargers also in the AFC title game.

Brady, who is coming off a record-setting performance with six touchdowns passes, five coming in the first half, remembers this Baltimore defense far to well. In his first postseason loss at home, the former sixth-round pick was sacked three times, while also throwing three interceptions.

Brady has seen enough of the Raven D and is
seeking his revenge.

In that loss, he threw for just 154 yards and no matter what he says, it still stings today.

Brady is 4-1 in his career against the Ravens, including the playoffs. In those games, the three-time Super Bowl champion has throw six touchdowns, but six interceptions, three obviously coming in one game. And now with a 9-2 career record at home in the postseason, he will not let history repeat itself.

Even though Baltimore was undefeated at home this season, they posted a 4-4 record on the road and head into one of the toughest places to play in the NFL. Although, history tends to repeat itself.

Trying to make their fifth Super Bowl appearance in the last 11 years, New England will be out for revenge and ready to settle the score.

BAL X-Factor: Ray Rice


NE X-Factor: Tom Brady


New England, 27-21