Last night we as NFL fans were treated to a sloppy yet entertaining Super Bowl. I personally believe that it could have been much more lopsided in the Packers' favor if they hadn't lost key pieces of their secondary and dropped what seemed like every other pass. Kudos to the Steelers for keeping it close, but I think it was evident that the better team won. It's good to see Aaron Rodgers fully emerge from shadows of the past, and it would have been hard to stomach seeing Ben Roethlisberger win a Super Bowl the same season he was suspended for a quarter of it because of sexual assault allegations.
Now what? The NFL is now in limbo as the owners and players squabble over the enormous revenue from America's new pastime. My word of caution to the fans is not to get emotionally invested, which I know is hard considering how much we love football. Neither the owners nor the players really care about the fans in this negotiation because it's just that, a negotiation. There will be posturing, bluffs, ridiculous offers and ridiculous counter-offers. At the end of the day it's just business for everyone actually involved in the negotiations. Don't let it become personal to you, no matter how hard both sides try to make it that way in their various PR battles to win your favor.
Although the 2010 season is officially over and the 2011 season has half-heartedly begun, there are a few items for the Houston Texans that need to be wrapped up before we fully transition into 2011. Follow the jump for the links that hopefully puts a nice bow on the year that we wish could have been better.
A couple of sincere congratulations are in order for Houstonians involved in football. First off, Madison High School's Ray Seals was named as the first ever Don Shula Coach of the Year recipient. Also, Houston's own Bulls Eye Tailgaters were named the Bing National Tailgating Champions. Congratulations to both.
Paul Kuharsky is looking back at the 2010 season for the AFC South, and he details what he correctly predicted and what he did not for the Texans in the preseason.
Tom Brady was unanimously elected as the League MVP, but if I had to select a Texans MVP it would probably be Arian Foster. Foster and Maurice Jones-Drew squared of in a video game battle this weekend, and Foster answered some questions between games.
The NFLPA Game, formerly known as the Texans vs. the Nation game, was held on Saturday, marking the last of the draft season all-star games. Rob Rang wrote who were his winners and losers from the contest. I've heard a lot of great things about Hampton NT Kenrick Ellis, but before you get too excited, he has a checkered past of suspensions supposedly due to drug use. I don't see the Texans taking a chance on a player like that.
Next stop along the trip to the draft is the NFL Scouting Combine. Alan Burge is getting you ready by detailing specific players who might be targets for the Texans in his draft focus series. Over the weekend he detailed Cal DE Cameron Jordan, Mizz OLB Aldon Smith and A&M OLB Von Miller. I myself will have something on Miller later in the day.