Fantasy Football Diehards



FLASHUPDATE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM NOTES/Wednesday, 14 January, 2015

Compiled By FlashUpdate Editor Bob Harris

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GREEN BAY PACKERS

According to Associated Press sports writer Genaro C. Armas, the Packers will get a head start out West to prepare for the NFC title game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Green Bay plans to leave for Seattle on Friday, one day ahead of when the team would usually fly out for Sunday road games.

This is no ordinary road game. The winner goes to the Super Bowl.

Head coach Mike McCarthy is hoping this trip to CenturyLink Field has a different outcome than the previous one in September -- a 36-16 loss in the league opener to the Seahawks.

"You learn from past experiences," McCarthy said Monday. "We evaluate every schedule, every practice. We're always looking to try to get better."

Just like quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whom McCarthy said felt well a day after the 26-21 win over Dallas that clinched the Packers' first trip to the NFC championship game since their most recent run to the Super Bowl title after the 2010 season.

According to 's Kevin Patra, after watching Rodgers drag his injured calf around Lambeau Field on Sunday, the prevailing thought was that the quarterback would be in worse shape to face the Seahawks this week.

Remember, Rodgers had a bye week to rest the calf and yet it still hindered his mobility. Surely the injury would be worse after a 60-minute slugfest.

Not so, said McCarthy.

"I think it feels a lot better this time this week than last week," McCarthy told reporters Monday, also noting his quarterback felt better than after Week 17 against Detroit.

"I think I've got 120 minutes left in me," Rodgers said Sunday's win. "So, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I can play all those minutes."

McCarthy said that Rodgers would continue treatment that he received last week.

The MVP front-runner's calf will be the focal point of the injury reports this week. While he won't be 100 percent facing a daunting Seahawks secondary, any positive news about the NFL's most important player is worth noting.

Ailing calf notwithstanding, Rodgers once again proved Sunday that he's better than most healthy quarterbacks in the league even if he's less than 100 percent. He finished 24 of 35 for 316 yards and three touchdowns.

Rodgers said the calf felt better as the game progressed. A practice plan for Rodgers will be determined on Wednesday (and I will be following up in the News & Views section of the site in coming days).

For as good as Rodgers was against the Cowboys with limited mobility, the Packers may need him to be even better against Seattle's rugged defense on the road.

Rodgers was 23 of 33 for 189 yards with a touchdown and interception in the opener against Seattle. Back then, the Packers offense was still trying to find its rhythm. Eddie Lacy got knocked out of that game with a concussion.

Things have changed dramatically. The offensive line has played well all season. Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb are one of the top receiving tandems in the league, and Lacy has gotten stronger in December and January.

And now, rookies Davante Adams and Richard Rodgers have proven they can produce in the postseason after good games against Dallas. Fullback John Kuhn and tight end Andrew Quarless have also emerged late in the season to help diversify the attack.

"You know, this team from Week 1 has grown a lot, so we're definitely looking forward to it," said Quarless, who had four catches for 31 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys. "Just to see the growth and resilience of this team throughout the postseason is a positive."

Indeed, as 's Rob Demovsky noted, in that season-opening loss, Aaron Rodgers never once threw at Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. Despite the fact that McCarthy said the Packers didn't intentionally avoid challenging one of the NFL's best cornerbacks, it sure looked that way.

Rodgers said it came down to matchups. He finished that game with his second-lowest passer rating (81.5) of the season.

Demovsky went on to note that Nelson had a productive night on that left side with nine catches for 83 yards (although his longest gain was just 16 yards) but cutting the field in half didn't help the offense. Rodgers attempted 33 passes, and 23 of them were targeted at either Nelson or Cobb (six catches for 58 yards). Rodgers' 23 completions were spread among just five players, two of whom were running backs.

"I think we've played a lot differently since then," McCarthy said.

How far has his offense come?

Ten times in the past 16 games, including Sunday's win over the Cowboys, the Packers have had at least seven players catch passes. Three of those times, Rodgers spread the ball among eight receivers, and one time -- in the Week 7 win over the Carolina Panthers -- he found nine.

Adams played only nine of the 62 offensive snaps in the opener. Against the Cowboys, he played all but seven of the 68 plays and caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Richard Rodgers didn't catch a pass against the Seahawks or in any of the first three games of the season. In his past three games, he has eight catches, including a 13-yard touchdown catch against the Cowboys that ended up as the winner.

"I think we're better; I think they're better," offensive coordinator Tom Clements said Monday. "As the season goes along, teams get better."

And teams change their game plans, too.

In the opener, it was Jarrett Boykin who lined up on Sherman's side of the field most of the time. Boykin played 49 snaps and not only didn't catch a pass, he didn't have one thrown his way. Boykin barely plays anymore and finished the season with as many drops (three) as catches (three for 23 yards).

This time, it might be Adams' turn over there.

"He'd be a great matchup," Nelson said. "He's growing his understanding of the game, the speed of the game. He's got great quickness, great hands, so he'd be ready for that matchup. ..."

Meanwhile, the Packers gave up 123 yards rushing to DeMarco Murray Sunday and looked more like the run defense that was ranked 32nd in the league halfway through the regular season than the group that was a top-10 unit over the last eight games. They might have to do better againstMarshawn Lynch to have any chance in Seattle.

In the season-opener, Lynch rushed for 110 yards on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns. In three career games against the Packers, Lynch has averaged 90.7 rushing yards per games

Julius Peppers signed with the Packers in part because he wanted a shot at a Super Bowl. He played like it. Peppers had a sack and two forced fumbles. He stripped Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo on his first-quarter sack, although Dallas recovered. Peppers then stripped Murray, a fumble that Packers defensive end Datone Jones recovered, on Dallas' first possession of the second half.

Nick Perry had three sacks in the regular season. He was in on two sacks on consecutive plays in the second half Sunday. He got one on his own on the final play of the third quarter and then shared one with Mike Daniels on the first play of the fourth.

In addition to the shifting game plan, the tweaks that McCarthy made to the training schedule and conditioning program have paid off. Not counting Aaron Rodgers' lingering injury, the Packers for the most part haven't been hit by long-term or season-ending injuries to key players that seemed to slow them down in recent years.

The move to fly out on Friday fits the pattern of McCarthy trying new things to give his team an edge. The practice schedule will be normal otherwise, given that Friday is usually a day off the field. The team will then run through a practice on Saturday in Washington.

"Just the fact that we're trying to get better at everything we're doing," McCarthy said. ...

All that said, as Demovsky suggested, if the Packers played in the NFC West, they might not even be in this position.

Indeed, they haven't been able to beat the Seahawks or San Francisco 49ers of late. When the Packers lost at Seattle in the NFL opener back on Sept. 4, it was their sixth straight loss to those two teams combined. The 49ers have ousted the Packers from the playoffs each of the past two seasons. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Lacy carved up the Cowboys' defense for 45 yards on seven carries on the opening touchdown drive, only to vanish until the middle of the second quarter.

As it turns out, the Packers' power back was waylaid by an asthma attack brought on by the frigid Wisconsin weather.

"You know your body is good enough to go out and play," Lacy explained, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "But. ... You just can't breathe. And it's a breathing thing. It's not something you want to go out and. ... Risk something bad happening. There's nothing I can do about it. It's a medical condition. I take my inhaler, I do everything I'm supposed to do. When it happens, it happens."

Although Lacy managed just 3 yards from early in the first quarter until halftime, he came back strong in the second half, salting the game away with 63 yards on 11 carries.

The asthma shouldn't be an issue in Seattle's more mild climate this Sunday.

Far fresher than he was at the end of his 2013 Rookie of the Year campaign, Lacy is coming off his 10th consecutive game with 100 or more yards from scrimmage. The Seahawks aren't the only team bringing a smashmouth ground attack into the NFC Championship Game. ...

Mason Crosby became Green Bay's all-time leading scorer in the divisional playoff win over Dallas on Sunday. Crosby made two field goals and also two extra points, raising his points total to 1,122 in all games played (regular season and postseason). Kicker Ryan Longwell held the team record of 1,119 points since 2005.

And finally. ... During the Sunday's game, Rodgers peered over the line of scrimmage and barked out the phrase "New York Bozo." FOX mics picked it up and left much of America asking the same question? Who is the New York Bozo?

On Sunday, a reporter asked the Packers' quarterback about it.

"What about it? Did you guys hear that?" Rodgers asked with a chuckle.

"Our guys don't know what that means, either. I don't know if you caught what (left tackle) David (Bakhtiari) said after I said that. Nobody knew what that meant. It obviously didn't mean anything."

That's right. "New York Bozo" was a dummy call. A bunch of nonsense representing nothing. And now that Rodgers has revealed this, we're unlikely to ever hear it again. 

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DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  [pic]

QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien 

RB: Eddie Lacy, James Starks, DuJuan Harris 

FB: John Kuhn 

WR: Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, Jarrett Boykin, Jeff Janis 

TE: Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Brandon Bostick, Justin Perillo 

PK: Mason Crosby 

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INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

As 's Mike Wells framed it: "The biggest win of Andrew Luck's three-year career came in what ultimately might have been his predecessor's final game. ..."

Wells went on to explain that Luck pushed aside Peyton Manning in his own house Sunday in Denver. Now he will try to pull off a rare feat: beating Manning and New England's Tom Brady in back-to-back playoff games when the Indianapolis Colts face the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium.

"Words can't describe how special [Luck] is," receiver Hakeem Nicks said of his QB, who won for the first time on the road in the playoffs as Indianapolis beat Denver 24-13. "The belief he has in his play-making is something not many people have. He's definitely a guy who comes around once every blue moon. He's not your average quarterback."

Five teams have tried to beat Manning and Brady in back-to-back playoff games, but only former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (2010) and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (2012) have done it.

For all the late-game heroics and overall success Luck has had in his career so far, the one thing he hasn't been able to accomplish is beating Brady and the Patriots.

Luck is 0-3 against New England and has thrown eight interceptions, including four when these two teams met in the 2013 playoffs.

"I'd like to think I'm a better quarterback and we're a better team and more well-equipped to handle the unknown and the unforeseen," said Luck, who threw for 303 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 42-20 loss to the Patriots at home Nov. 16. "I think we've got a bunch of good football players, and a chance to go up to New England and play them and get another crack at it is awesome. We'll make sure to take full advantage of it and do what we can."

This isn't the same Luck who turned the ball over 22 times during the regular season. He's making the right reads and not forcing the ball down the field to his receivers. He's playing safe -- not risky. That's why running back Dan "Boom" Herron has 18 catches in two playoff games, and that's why the Broncos didn't sack Luck.

Luck did throw two interceptions against the Broncos, but they were third-down heaves that were basically punts. When he was pressured, he was 8-of-13 for 99 yards and a touchdown. Not surprising, considering Luck's seven touchdown passes under duress during the regular season were the most in the NFL.

According to Wells, "The best way to describe Luck these days: nearly flawless.

"He'll have to continue to play that way if he expects to join Sanchez and Flacco in an exclusive club."

"Andrew does a great job of simplifying things," tight end Dwayne Allen said. "[He] focuses on his job. He does a great job of leading us, making sure there's no panic inside of us. It doesn't matter if he's throwing an interception or throwing a touchdown -- he's so even keeled. He's never fazed, and that's why [GM Ryan] Grigson got him with the first pick."

It took Manning six years to win his first playoff game. Not Luck, who led the Colts to a playoff appearance as a rookie and a playoff victory in his second season, and now he has the Colts in the conference championship game. He is 3-2 in the playoffs, and his 1,703 passing yards are the most through five playoff starts in NFL history.

"We've got a special team," receiver Reggie Wayne said. "We have everything in place."

While Luck has been better than advertised, there's more to it than just the quarterback.

Wide receivers Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Nicks have all been effective at times. And as 's Mike Reiss noted, each brings a little something different.

The speedy Hilton (third year) totaled 82 catches for 1,345 yards (16.4 avg.) and seven touchdowns during the regular season; the savvy veteran Wayne (36 years old) remains one of the game's smoothest route-runners and is still productive (64 catches, 779 yards, 2 TDs) even though he went without a catch in the divisional-round win over the Broncos; while the 6-2, 221-pound Moncrief (32 catches, 444 yards) has done his part after being drafted by the team in the third round out of Mississippi.

Nicks hasn't been all that impressive over the course of the season, but he secured 2-of-3 targets for 24 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos.

The tight ends are also factors. All three of them.

As Reiss notes, Allen (6-3, 265) is a combination type whose improvement as a blocker caught Bill Belichick's attention in November. Coby Fleener (6-6, 251) is more of a receiver, while Jack Doyle (6-6, 267) can move bodies in the running game but shouldn't be overlooked as a pass-catcher (18 receptions in regular season).

Meanwhile, Indy has embraced Chuck Pagano and his philosophy and Grigson has put enough pieces in place to win 11 regular-season games in three straight seasons.

The two-time AFC South champs have gone one step deeper in the playoffs each year of the Luck-Pagano-Grigson era, and now they are just one win away from their third Super Bowl trip in eight years.

"You're excited that you've done so much so soon but you also feel the weight. You know where you have to go," owner Jim Irsay said. "We know what we have to do as an organization and that's to get to the top of the mountain. That's what our goals are as we go into this playoff run."

It's exactly the road Irsay expected to face when he told Associated Press sports writer Michael Marot last month that Indy's likely path to a championship would go through Denver and New England, then either Green Bay or Seattle, who will square off in the NFC championship game.

Most thought winning any of those games would be too much to ask of Indy's young team. The Colts never saw it that way.

"Faith is believing in what you don't see or can't see, and the reward for believing is you'll get to see it," Pagano said Monday. "We've got a bunch of guys in this building that believe in what we're doing and believe in each other. If you can't speak it into existence, it'll never happen."

The indications that Indy was ahead of schedule were there most of the season.

During a five-game winning streak in September and October, the Colts allowed 75 points and the run defense was on the verge of cracking the top 10. Luck was throwing for 300 yards on a weekly basis and led the league in touchdown passes thanks in part to an evolving ground game.

Then, late in the season, the Colts defense played well enough to win five of its last six games despite an uncharacteristic rash of turnovers and penalties. In the locker room, players and coaches insisted they were getting "hot" at just the right time.

The critics, meanwhile, complained Indy's success was largely built against sub-par teams and pointing to their 2-4 mark against playoff-bound teams and blowout losses at Pittsburgh and Dallas and at home against the Patriots (13-4) as evidence the Colts would be eliminated quickly.

Even a convincing 26-10 wild-card round win over Cincinnati didn't change those thoughts.

Sunday's win over Denver will help, even though the Colts remain the biggest underdog left in the playoff field.

fThe Colts don't care. They've got bigger things on their mind: The Patriots.

Remember, it hasn't been Brady who has owned the Colts in the past two games. It has been New England's running backs. First, it was LeGarrette Blount in the 2013 playoff matchup and then Jonas Gray ran for 201 of the Patriots' 244 yards in November. The Colts did a good job of containing Broncos running back C.J. Anderson in the divisional-round game, holding him to only 80 yards.

You can expect the Patriots to use their running game to help set up the play-action pass for Brady.

Just like with Peyton Manning on Sunday, the Colts have to find a way to make Brady uncomfortable. They've sacked Brady only two times in the past two meetings. The Colts did intercept him two times in the game in November. Brady was 33-of-50 for 367 yards and three touchdowns in New England's victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.

The Patriots didn't even try to run against the Ravens, but if they can force the Colts defense to pick their poison, it could be a long day for Indy's defense. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Pagano said the Colts came out of Sunday's game with no major injuries. ... The coach also explained that Trent Richardson, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 draft, was inactive for the Broncos' game because he was not as skilled on special teams as the recently signed Michael Hill.

Richardson worked out on special teams last week, but Pagano said he has not been asked to play on those units previously and that Hill was brought in, partially, because of his knack on special teams. ...

Herron played 68 of 75 offensive snaps against the Broncos. He touched the ball (rushes and receptions) a total of 31 times. As noted above, Herron has caught 18 of the 19 passes thrown his way in the team's first two post-season games.

Herron suffered an apparent shoulder injury in the first half of the Denver game. He came out of the game briefly but then returned and played the rest of the day. Herron is expected to start Sunday at New England.

He has had issues with fumbles in the past, but clearly Richardson isn't a threat to cut into his touches at this point. Zurlon Tipton is serving as the "Thunder" component to Herron's "Lightning. ..."

The Colts believe they will have the same starting combination on the offensive line for the third straight week. The most recent time that happened was Weeks 1 to 3.

The line gave up three sacks to the Broncos in their Week 1 loss. They kept Broncos pass rush specialist DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller off Luck all game and did not give up a sack.

But there was pressure and Luck dealt with it effectively. In fact, the QB was under duress on 15 of his 45 dropbacks, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and was 8-of-13 for 99 yards and a touchdown. His seven touchdown passes under duress during the regular season were the most in the NFL.

Josh Cribbs only averaged 2.3 yards on three punt returns and was hit hard on two of those returns. He had to be helped to the sideline after one especially hard hit. Pagano said Monday that Cribbs needs to know when to say when it comes to fair-catching punts, which is something the veteran return man usually doesn't like to do. 

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DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  [pic]

QB: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck 

RB: Dan Herron, Zurlon Tipton, Michael Hill, Trent Richardson 

FB: Mario Harvey 

WR: T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne, Donte Moncrief, Hakeem Nicks, Josh Cribbs 

TE: Coby Fleener, Jack Doyle, Dwayne Allen 

PK: Adam Vinatieri 

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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

As Associated Press sports writer Howard Ulman noted, "No Brady vs. Manning XVII this postseason. Now it's Brady vs. Luck IV. ..."

After 16 matchups with Peyton Manning, Tom Brady will face Andrew Luck for the fourth time when the star quarterbacks lead the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.

At stake in this budding rivalry is a spot in Super Bowl XLIX (that's 49) -- one year after Manning's Broncos beat Brady's Patriots in last season's AFC championship game.

The Patriots (13-4) are much more familiar with Manning.

But his struggles in Denver's 24-13 AFC divisional game loss against Indianapolis on Sunday accentuated his recent decline. The Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens 35-31, overcoming two 14-point deficits as Brady threw for three touchdowns and ran for one Saturday.

The steadily rising Luck is more of a puzzle than Manning even though the Patriots are 3-0 against the third-year veteran with every win by more than 20 points.

Still, their lack of experience against him -- and his growth as a quarterback -- could mean extra time for defenders in the film room and on the practice field getting ready for the strong-armed Luck and the Colts (13-5).

"In the National Football League you just prepare for your next opponent," Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said Monday. "I don't think you worry about who is hard (to prepare for) or who's not."

The Patriots prepared for both quarterbacks in the regular season. And they beat both by 22 points in consecutive games.

They routed the Broncos 43-21 on Nov. 2 in Foxboro with Manning throwing for 438 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The loss dropped him to 5-11 against Brady.

After a bye, the Patriots went to Indianapolis and beat the Colts 42-20 on Nov. 16. Luck threw for 303 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

"Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck, both of them present very difficult, extreme problems that you have to defend," Patricia said of the top picks in the NFL draft, both by the Colts, in 1998 and 2012.

The Brady-Manning rivalry began with the Patriots' second-year quarterback's first NFL start, a 44-13 win over Manning's Colts on Sept. 30, 2001.

Luck was a rookie when he first faced Brady on Nov. 18, 2012. And he played like one in New England's 59-24 win.

He threw three interceptions with two returned for touchdowns covering 87 and 59 yards. He also lost a fumble one play before Brady hit Rob Gronkowski with a 34-yard touchdown pass.

"They're good enough," Luck said after the game. "They don't need those gifts."

In his next game against the Patriots, he threw four interceptions in a 43-22 AFC divisional playoff loss last season, one week before Manning and Denver eliminated New England.

Before this season's loss to the Patriots, Manning said, "You know you'd better not be going three-and-out, turning the ball over, trying to figure out what they're doing on defense. Because you know Brady & Co. are capable of putting up a lot of points and you're going to find yourselves behind, especially up there."

Luck learned that quickly and repeatedly.

"I'm just disappointed in myself," he said after the Patriots beat the Colts two weeks later. "It's up to us to fix what we did wrong and move on."

They did that, winning five of their remaining six regular-season games, albeit against a weak schedule, before beating Cincinnati and Denver in the playoffs.

That last game ruined chances for another Brady-Manning reunion.

"The NFL is a very competitive league," Brady said Monday during his weekly appearance on WEEI Radio. "Peyton is an incredible player. Andrew Luck's a great player. We've got one of the great young quarterbacks coming into our stadium, so we've got to be able to figure out a way to slow those guys down."

The Patriots did that well enough to beat Manning 11 times in Brady's career.

Now they'll try to go 4-0 against Luck.

"It's the National Football League. It's the playoffs," Patricia said. "Every game is very difficult. ..."

Well. ... Maybe not all of them.

As 's Mike Reiss noted this week, in one of their defining games of the season, the Patriots recorded a 42-20 road victory over the Colts on Nov. 16.

The most notable aspect of that game was how the Patriots went to a power running attack and steamrolled their way to 244 rushing yards on 45 carries (5.4 average) with four touchdowns in a coming-out party for running back Jonas Gray. The Patriots played with a sixth offensive lineman,Cameron Fleming, on 37 of their 73 offensive snaps (including penalties).

That was a Sunday night game that embarrassed the Colts, so this will be their chance at redemption.

For the Patriots, Bill Belichick will surely be reminding players that there is no carryover from that game, and perhaps he'll point to the 2010 season when New England blasted the New York Jets late in the regular season 45-3, only to lose to them six weeks later in the divisional round of the playoffs, 28-21. Still, the Patriots will probably enter this game as double-digit favorites.

On the other side of the ball, the Patriots were in their sub defense (five or more defensive backs) on 48 of 58 snaps against the Colts on Nov. 16, and based on the way Indianapolis trends toward the passing game, Reiss believes it is likely to be similar once again on Sunday.

That figures to make it a different type of defensive game than we saw against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round, as the Patriots were in their base package a bit more (26 of 77 snaps) with a primary focus on defending the run and it didn't go so well for them. The Colts are less apt to grind it out on the ground (3.9 avg. per carry in regular season, 25th in the NFL) as their best chance to win is with the ball in Luck's hands. Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis spent a significant portion of the Nov. 16 matchup checking Reggie Wayne, while slot man Kyle Arrington was excellent against T.Y. Hilton, with some help behind him.

One matchup that gave New England some problems that day was cornerback Brandon Browner on tight end Coby Fleener (7 catches, 144 yards).

Bottom line? In three games against the Patriots, Luck and the Colts have been outscored 144-66. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Gray was a healthy scratch for the playoff battle with the Ravens, a game New England clearly entered with a game plan focused on the passing game. I'll be looking for more on his chances of playing in this one in coming days. That said, his chances of reproducing that big effort we saw against the Colts last time around seems unlikely. ...

The Patriots fully erased their second 14-point deficit against Baltimore with a lateral from Brady to receiver Julian Edelman, followed by a perfect spiral from Edelman to a wide-open Danny Amendola, who ran free to the end zone for a 51-yard score.

"Me and Julian have been practicing that for about five years," Amendola told reporters after the game, even though Amendola and Edelman have been teammates in New England for only two years. "It was a play we had in the books for a little while now, but it ended up working out."

Edelman said he hadn't been pushing the coaching staff for a chance to run the play.

"I just kind of sit back and do my job," Edelman told reporters. "I don't throw it as good as I used to."

Brady had a different assessment of Edelman's arm.

"He throws it better than I did," Brady said of Edelman. "He spun it. It was a perfect spiral right in stride. I've gotta make some rules that he can't throw it better than I can, but he did. It was pretty sweet. ..."

The most significant injury-related question surrounding the Patriots is whether rookie center Bryan Stork will be available for Sunday's game after injuring his right knee in the divisional round. According to Reiss, specifics of Stork's injury are not known, but based on the fact he left the game in the second quarter and didn't return, and was nowhere to be found in the locker room when reporters were present after the game, it's not trending in the right direction.

Because the Patriots generally only dress seven offensive linemen on game day, the options are limited. But with a week to prepare for the possibility, the Patriots could explore some other options, such as rookie Cameron Fleming at right guard. ...

A few more items. ... According to a report out of Atlanta, where the Falcons are set to have a second interview with Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels may have decided to remain in his current job.

McDaniels interviewed with the Falcons and 49ers during the playoff bye week for those teams' vacant head coaching jobs, but according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Patriots' offensive coordinator is "expected to stay with the Patriots."

Many had considered McDaniels a potential good fit for a job with the Falcons given that the team's front office is led by former Patriots co-workers Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli. ...

And finally. ... John Harbaugh didn't appreciate not being able to substitute after the Patriots lined up ineligible receivers Sunday.

After the game, in response, Brady suggested the Ravens "study the rule book" more. On Monday the Patriots quarterback toned it down, but told WEEI that trick plays are just part of the game.

"Let me say first, I have a lot of respect for (Harbaugh) as a coach, and obviously that team is one of the toughest teams we face. It's always a tough matchup," Brady said. "It was a play that we liked and we thought would work. We had a couple versions of it. It's kind of an alert play for our team, and we made them figure out what to do. I think that's what it looked like to me. We had to execute it, we had to dfmake the appropriate calls and block it and make the plays, and I was proud of us. That was a good weapon for us.

"That's part of football. You have to prepare for everything."

On Monday, Belichick was much more succinct in his response when asked if he had any reaction to Harbaugh's initial complaints, who called it a "deceptive" tactic.

"No," Belichick said during a conference call with reporters Monday.

The Patriots coach said having a receiver report as ineligible isn't new, as players do it on special teams all the time. He also added that he snagged the idea while watching another NFL team play.

"You know, it was a play, just a situation that I saw another team, like use, kinda, and then we talked about it," he said. "Thought about ways, maybe, to put some pressure on the defense with that type of concept of having four receivers on the field were actually eligible, make them ineligible instead of making the ineligible guys eligible, instead of the other way around, so we came up with a few ideas."

The NFL had no issues with the reporting by the Patriots and it was announced in the stadium.

As  suggested, whether it's a scheme New England will use the rest of the playoffs remains to be seen, but Belichick has put in one more wrinkle that defenses must prepare for, just in case. 

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DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  [pic]

QB: Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, Garrett Gilbert 

RB: Shane Vereen, LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden, Jonas Gray, James Develin, James White 

WR: Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Bryan Tims, Matthew Slater 

TE: Rob Gronkowski, Tim Wright, Michael Hoomanawanui, Steve Maneri 

PK: Stephen Gostkowski 

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SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

According to Associated Press sports writer Tim Booth, there is a certain humility that must come with choosing to be a pass catcher for the Seahawks.

Seattle's offensive structure leaves so few opportunities for its wide receivers and tight ends to stand out that they often get panned for not bringing a dynamic element to the Seahawks' passing game.

But give them the opportunity to shine -- as they did in Seattle's 31-17 win over Carolina in the NFC divisional playoff game on Saturday -- and that group of Seahawks can be on par with other receiving units around the league.

"The makeup of the guy, the attitude that he brings, the toughness that he brings, and the grit that the guy brings, that has a lot to do with the guys that we like," head coach Pete Carroll said. "We've got a very feisty, competitive bunch of guys and they complement one another but they're all unique in their ways."

Seattle's receivers stood out in the win over the Panthers. Jermaine Kearse had a career day with 129 yards receiving and a 63-yard touchdown. Doug Baldwin caught his first touchdown since Week 14. Tight end Luke Willson led Seattle with four catches, two of them coming on a decisive drive in the fourth quarter that Willson capped with a 25-yard TD catch.

The likelihood is that Seattle's receivers will get overshadowed again this week give the proficiency of Green Bay's passing offense and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Seattle's receiving group has lacked big names for most of Carroll's tenure. The most notable was Percy Harvin and he lasted all of eight games with the Seahawks.

Where Seattle has thrived is finding players with lesser profiles and the desire to prove others wrong. There is a reason Seattle has only two drafted wide receivers on its roster. Finding the undrafted and overlooked has been beneficial.

Baldwin, Kearse, Bryan Walters, Ricardo Lockette and Chris Matthews all went undrafted coming out of college. The only draftees that spent most of the season on Seattle's active roster were rookies: second-round pick Paul Richardson -- now out for the season with an ACL tear -- and fourth-round pick Kevin Norwood.

Even in the previous seasons, the only high draft pick to have a major role in Seattle's passing game was Golden Tate. Baldwin said the team has taken pride in seeing what Tate did this season with Detroit with 99 catches and 1,331 yards receiving.

"The only two guys that are drafted in our room are the guys that were drafted this year. They've made big plays for us but the majority of the plays throughout the course of the four years that I've been here have been from the undrafted guys," Baldwin said. "It's indicative of the work ethic our receiving corps has instilled. When you come here as a receiver, whether you're drafted or undrafted, you're going to get a fair opportunity."

While the group continues to get maligned by pundits for being average -- and yes, they hear everything that is said about them -- they also understand their role in Seattle's offense. Offensive line coach Tom Cable said this has been the best season for Seattle's receivers blocking downfield and giving Marshawn Lynch opportunities to get bigger chunks of yardage.

The most impressive example was Lynch's 79-yard touchdown run against Arizona in Week 16 when Lockette made four different blocks on the play.

"When you have probably the best running back in the NFL in Marshawn you kind of pride yourself to get him those open runs," Kearse said. "When he gets to the secondary it comes down to us for those long runs, it comes down to us executing and making those blocks. I think we just take pride in it."

It's an attitude that doesn't come naturally, especially at the start.

"Naturally as a receiver you want to throw the ball. Everybody was the guy at their college and you come into an offense who runs the ball a lot, you kind of have to change your focus and you've got to learn to take pride into it," Kearse said.

Meanwhile, as 's Terry Blount notes, making big plays and stopping big plays is a mantra for success in the NFL.

The Seahawks had 10 game-altering plays Saturday, including all three offensive touchdowns.

For that matter, so was the defensive TD, as game altering as it gets with Kam Chancellor's 90-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter.

Seattle ran 50 plays from scrimmage, so 20 percent were explosive plays, which include any pass of 16 yards or more and any run of 12 yards or more. Seven of 22 passes were explosive and five of them were 25 yards or more.

Russell Wilson was involved in eight of the explosive plays, including a 14-yard run in the third quarter. Lynch had a 25-yard run and Robert Turbin added a 13-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

The 10 explosive plays Saturday topped the Seahawks' average of 8.4 game-altering plays per game this season. Seattle had 135 explosive plays in the regular season, one more than the Indianapolis Colts.

Wilson's 24.9 yards per attempt on third down were the highest by a quarterback this season. Wilson had multiple completions on passes traveling more than 20 yards downfield for the fifth straight game. He didn't do that in the first 12 games this season.

And the Seahawks also led the league in fewest explosive plays allowed at 76.

Given Green Bay's offensive firepower, those explosive plays will come in handy this week.

Remember, the Packers and Seahawks played the first NFC game this season, and now they'll play the last one at the same place.

Seattle easily defeated Green Bay 36-16 in the season opener. Lynch rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Wilson completed 19 of 28 passes for 191 yards, two TDs and a 110.9 QB rating.

But another player who had a nice game that night won't be on hand. Harvin caught four passes for 41 yards, adding seven carries for 59 yards rushing and three kick returns for 60 yards, but he was traded to the Jets in October.

It is worth noting the Packers are 2-0 against Seattle in the playoffs: But both of those games were played at Lambeau Field. The Packers won 33-27 on Jan. 4, 2003, when Al Harris had a 52-yard pick-six in overtime. Green Bay also won 42-20 on Jan. 12, 2008, when Brett Favre threw three TD passes.

This will be the first time these teams meet in an NFC Championship Game. The Seahawks have won eight consecutive playoff games at CenturyLink Field.

Other notes of interest. ... The Seahawks expect center Max Unger and cornerback Byron Maxwell to be fine for Sunday's game.

Carroll said Monday that Unger appeared to be fine after having the back of his legs rolled up on in the fourth quarter of the Seahawks' win over Carolina on Saturday. The concern was that Unger had re-aggravated a high-ankle sprain.

"I think he's come out OK," Carroll said. "Very fortunate on that one."

Maxwell was ill last week and was limited to just four snaps on special teams in part because he didn't have the stamina to stay on the field for more than just one play at a time. Carroll said he spoke with Maxwell on Monday morning and it seems like the starting cornerback has recovered.

"I checked in with him, with the trainers and he seems like he's recovered," Carroll said. "He just had a bad -- whatever it was, whether it was the night air, I don't know. He had some issues but he's OK now."

Tharold Simon started in place of Maxwell and was in for every defensive snap. The return of Maxwell will be important facing Green Bay's passing attack.

Seattle also expects tight end Tony Moeaki to return after missing the Carolina game with a calf injury.

Carroll said Seattle will add quarterback B.J. Daniels to the active roster to take the spot of Richardson, who was placed on injured reserve. Carroll said the Seahawks intend to use Daniels in multiple roles.

"He's a very versatile guy for us to bring to life right now and really, more than anything, it's great to reward a guy that has competed so consistently and so hard for us, so I'm excited to do that," Carroll said. ...

Richardson had only 271 yards in the regular season but showed impressive athleticism on some jump balls late in the season. The injury will certainly put a hamper on his ability to grow in his second season, too. ...

According to ESPN710 Radio's Liz Mathews, with Richardson out of the picture, Norwood could see an increased role in the Seattle offense.

Indeed, Carroll said Norwood, a fourth-round pick, must step up.

"We totally trust that he knows what's going on and can make good plays," Carroll said. "They're a little different in style but we think he's going to be a very effective player. We just haven't seen a lot of him so you would know that. But we're OK about that. We're going to definitely miss Paul because he just continues to show, he's made a lot of big plays and big catches in tough situations. We'll miss him in that. ..."

And finally. ... The Broncos reportedly want an interview with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Quinn, who has interviewed with multiple teams for their coaching positions, has been in Seattle for the past two seasons. His defense ranked third in rushing yards allowed per game at 81.5 yards and first in passing yards allowed at 185.6 per game.

The Broncos join a long list of teams who reportedly want Quinn as their next coach including the Jets, Bears and Falcons. 

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DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  [pic]

QB: Russell Wilson, Tarvaris Jackson, B.J. Daniels 

RB: Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin, Christine Michael 

FB: Robert Turbin 

WR: Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Ricardo Lockette, Kevin Norwood, Chris Matthews, Bryan Walters 

TE: Luke Willson, Cooper Helfet, Tony Moeaki 

PK: Steven Hauschka 

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