Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez had his right knee examined by Dr. James Andrews, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

Sanchez visited Andrews on Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala., but it was not immediately certain if the quarterback will need surgery. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not commented publicly on Sanchez’s visit.

Sanchez missed one game after suffering a mild sprain of the posterior cruciate ligament against Buffalo on Dec. 3 in Toronto. He had no apparent signs of injury during the last several weeks of the season, as he helped lead the Jets to the AFC championship game.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker scheduled surgery for next week to repair the knee he blew out in the final regular-season game against the Houston Texans.

A league source told The Boston Globe that Welker will undergo the procedure next Tuesday at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Welker tore both the medial collateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee making a cut after catching a pass. The MCL did not need surgery, so he let that heal before having a procedure on the ACL.

“We’re just taking our time right now,” Welker told Jim Traber during a radio interview in Oklahoma City, Welker’s hometown, last week. “That’s one thing — we’ve got a little bit of time right now to wait on that to heal and just kind of get ready and make sure that we exhaust all the options and find out the best one for myself to give me the best chance to get back out there on the field.”

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner will announce Friday at a news conference whether he plans to retire, according to a Cardinals source.

The widespread assumption — one that hasn’t changed for weeks — is that the 38-year-old Warner will step away from the game.

One possible indication of Warner’s intentions is that he already has begun gathering his family so they can attend Friday’s news conference at the team’s training facility, according to sources.

Warner’s agent confirmed the news conference in Tempe on Wednesday evening.

Warner also has another added motivation for a quick decision: He has multiple promotional appearance commitments during Super Bowl week in Miami. Rather than answer retirement questions then, Warner would prefer to remove the focus from his future as quickly as possible so it’s not an issue next week, according to a source.

Click here to read the full article – By Adam Schefter of ESPN.com

The off-season has begun for 30 out of the 32 NFL teams and although it may be early for this, the prospect of many foreseeable head coaching moves has been on my mind. At the moment there are no positions open, however with a free agent pool of many notable coaches one should figure that positions will soon be open.

Coach still most likely to get fired: Raheem Morris

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Raheem Morris has not gotten it done in his first season after taking over for a fired Jon Gruden. Gruden a fan favorite led the Bucs to a 57-55 record and there only Super Bowl win. The difference between Morris and Gruden is that Gruden found a way to win with average- mediocre players, while Morris has not. Look for the Bucs to keep Morris for at least one more season to aid the development of Josh Freeman; that is if they cannot persuade Bill Cowher out of retirement.

Coach who should get fired: Wade Phillips

The Dallas Cowboys have posted a .681 winning percentage with Phillips as coach, which is best all time among coaches for the storied franchise. However it is Phillip’s “awe shucks” attitude and lack of post season wins that sends him packing. In this league regular season wins will not keep you around for long. It was in 2007 that Bill Parcells took over as general manager and hired Phillips to follow his orders. Parcells is now two seasons removed from the Cowboys organization, which is way too long of a timeframe for Phillips to not be following any orders. He must go immediately.

Coach who should not get fired: Eric Mangini

Let’s face it; besides Shaun Rogers who suffered a season ending injury the Cleveland Browns had no one noteworthy player on there roster during the season. (note: Joshua Cribbs made a name for himself during the season with spectacular special teams play). Surprisingly with a roster half full of New York Jet second stringers Mangini guided them to 5 total wins and capped the season off with four straight. This is impressive considering at the start of the season I had picked Cleveland to go winless. With that said Mangini is owed at least one more season with this group, to further develop some while replace others with better talent.

What do you guys think about the free agent pool of NFL head coaches? Will any of the above coaches be fired? Were my predictions way off on each and every pick?

Let me hear what you have to say…

This is perfect for the Indianapolis Colts: They have Peyton Manning and they’re back in the Super Bowl.

The four-time MVP threw three touchdown passes and the Colts rallied from an 11-point, first-half deficit to beat the New York Jets 30-17 Sunday in the AFC championship game.

The Colts (16-2) are now headed back to the NFL title game for the second time in four years and their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history. Better yet, they’re heading back to their lucky city — Miami, where they’ve played all four of those games and won there twice.

“I thought we just kept our mouths shut and went to work this week,” Manning said.

The big-talking Jets, and their equally big-talking coach, Rex Ryan, were all the incentive Indy needed Sunday.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

A 40-yard field goal in overtime by a little-known kicker could become as famous as jambalaya in these parts.

The New Orleans Saints, a team with no home and an uncertain future five years ago, are heading for their first Super Bowl. By battering Brett Favre and beating the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 Sunday, they set off celebrations on Bourbon Street that locals never could have imagined in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“This is for everybody in this city,” said coach Sean Payton, the architect of the Saints’ turnaround. “This stadium used to have holes in it and used to be wet. It’s not wet anymore. This is for the city of New Orleans.”

And it came courtesy of Garrett Hartley and the Aints — who surely ain’t the Aints anymore.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Manhattan is now Revis Island — at least for a few days.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg unofficially renamed Manhattan after Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis during a rush-hour pep rally for the team on Thursday in Times Square.


The Jets face the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game in Indiana for a trip to the Super Bowl.

Thousands of Jets fans roared their approval when Bloomberg unveiled a large municipal-style sign printed “Welcome to Revis Island” with the team’s logo in one corner. Revis regular guards the opponents’ best receiver one-on-one, and the Jets call being put on Revis Island.

The sign will be posted in Times Square as long as the Jets are in the playoffs.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

The Philadelphia Eagle’s January 2 wildcard loss to the Dallas Cowboys means that NFL, as well as Philly fans finally have more to talk about then the same old fate of Donovan Mcnabb in the city of brotherly love. The focus, at least for this off-season will be on Mike Vick, and whichever team should choose to pursue him. Vick will almost certainly not be resigning with the Eagles, which leaves Philadelphia out as a possible destination for him for the 2010 season.

Before exploring all of the options for Vick the question of whether or not he is willing to take on the same role he has with the Eagles must be answered? Vick has outwardly professed his intention of signing with a team that will let him be their full-time non-wildcat starter at quarterback, however if the offers do not come flying in, would he change his mind?

Vick proved that he still has the talent to play at the NFL level, but can he deliver while being the every down signal caller? What teams should pursue Vick? Were should he go if the offers kept coming in? What team, coach, and or offense is best suited for a player with the kind of talent he has?

With the conference title week in the bag it was the Vikings, Saints, and Colts recording dominant victories in each of there respective home games. The only game featuring an upset was the Jets on the road over the Chargers. With the title game coming up who do you guys think will be playing for the Lombardi trophy after this weekend?

My predictions:

Jets 30 Colts 24 (Ouch!)

Saints 27 Vikings 17

The Denver Broncos and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan have agreed to part ways, and a source told ESPN.com’s John Clayton that Nolan is close to an agreement to take on the same role with the Miami Dolphins.

Before the split, Miami sent in a request for permission to interview Nolan, sources close to the situation told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The parting was friendly and gave Nolan a chance to move on and talk to the Dolphins, the source told Clayton.

The Dolphins fired defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni and have struggled to find a quick replacement. The Dolphins’ interest in Nolan apparently opened the door for the chance for Nolan to get to Miami.

Nolan becomes the third member of coach Josh McDaniels’ inaugural staff to depart following a disappointing 8-8 finish. Offensive line coach Rick Dennison left for Houston’s staff and longtime running backs coach Bobby Turner was reunited with Mike Shanahan in Washington. Both Dennison and Turner were holdovers from the Shanahan era.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com