From Vegas odds to "Freezer'' scoring a TD

Packers are favored

Las Vegas is in love with Green Bay.

At least the sports bookmakers are.

The Packers have been installed as early 2.5-point favorites over the Steelers when the teams clash in Dallas on Feb. 6.

The Vegas love affair is the culmination of a clear gambling trend during this postseason. Despite being the No. 6 seed, Green Bay was just a 2.5-point underdog to the Eagles when they played in the playoff opener in Philadelphia.

After upsetting Michael Vick's squad, the Packers were just a 2-point underdog to the top seed Falcons - on the road no less. By kickoff, most of the money had been laid of Green Bay so the point spread was just about even. The Packers crushed the Falcons.

For the NFC Championship, the oddsmakers had caught on. Green Bay was favored - even though they were playing the higher-seeded Bears in Chicago.

Now it's on to Dallas, where the Packers enjoy early-favorite status. It's amazing to think that Green Bay barely even made the postseason - eking out a win over the Bears in Week 17 to qualify as a wildcard. Now they are the first No. 6 seed in the NFC to advance to the Super Bowl - and they are favored.

Of course, once the dust settles and the kickoff gets closer, the line may very well shift toward the Steelers. After all, Green Bay's opponent knows a thing or two (or eight) about playing in the Big Game - this will be Pittsburgh's eighth appearance in the Super Bowl.




The Freezer Gets His Touchdown

B.J. Raji was lined up at fullback on Aaron Rodgers’ one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but it was not an offensive formation that landed Raji his first career touchdown. Late in the fourth quarter with his team up 14-7, the 337-pound nose tackle dropped into coverage, intercepted a Caleb Hanie pass, and returned it 19 yards for the score. To top off his hip-gyrating touchdown dance, B.J. “The Freezer” Raji eclipsed William “The Fridge” Perry for the biggest player ever to score a postseason touchdown. Raji’s mass outweighs Perry’s playing weight by 19 pounds.



Pro Bowl will need to replace Packers, Steelers

Now that the Super Bowl teams have been determined, the NFL will need to replace a portion of the Pro Bowl roster.

In all, 10 new players will be needed.

For the AFC, four Steelers will need to be replaced: linebacker James Harrison, safety Troy Polamalu, defensive end Brett Keisel, and center Maurkice Pouncey. (If the Jets had pulled out a late comeback, the league likely would have needed to replace Polamalu and Pouncey, anyway. Polamalu has been slowed for several weeks with an Achilles’ tendon injury. Pouncey suffered a leg injury on Sunday and did not return.)

In the NFC, six Packers won’t be packing their bags for Honolulu: tackle Chad Clifton, safety Nick Collins, receiver Greg Jennings, linebacker Clay Matthews, and cornerbacks Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson.

Already, Jennings has been replaced by Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The rest of the moves will come quickly, since all Pro Bowl players will be heading to Hawaii soon.

 Jay Cutler has MCL sprain; coach blasts QB's critics

Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith blasted the critics of QB Jay Cutler on Monday and became the latest member of the team to support the QB who left Sunday's NFC title game loss to the Green Bay Packers with a knee injury.
Smith said Cutler suffered a sprained MCL in his knee before halftime, which forced him out of the game early in the third quarter. He said it was wrong for anyone -- and he singled out fellow NFL players -- to question Cutler's toughness.

"Our quarterback's a tough guy," Smith said. " He wanted to win the game as much as anyone. He showed a lot of toughness to continue to play with (his knee injury)."

During the game, players such as Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew and Cardinals DT Darnell Dockett questioned Cutler's toughness for leaving the conference championship game. That drew angry responses from Cutler's teammates, including LB Brian Urlacher and S Chris Harris.

Smith said Cutler wanted to play in the second half, and that it was his decision to remove the QB from the game. He said he was "surprised" that other NFL players would criticize Cutler, especially without knowing the specifics of the medical diagnosis.

"For guys to take a shot that weren't there, to try and look at his body language and try to figure out whether he was hurt because he was on the sideline ... you don't know what you'd do in that situation," Smith said.

"The guys who know what he was going through were the guys on the sideline."

He scolded players who were critical of Cutler, and said he didn't know what would prompt such outbursts.

"Seems like if you're in that fraternity, you'd be stepping up for your fellow man," Smith said.

He added, "What type of guy would do that? I mean, we're down right now. We lost a game."

Smith said he was confident that Cutler -- acquired for multiple first-round picks from the Denver Broncos in April 2009 -- is the long-term answer for the Bears at QB.

"Can't wait for our future together with him leading our team," Smith said.

If the Bears had beaten the Packers, Smith said Cutler would have been "questionable" to play in the Super Bowl on Feb. 6.

He did not reveal further details of the extent of the MCL sprain, which he said is still being evaluated.

Bears Caleb Hanie a restricted free agent
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie, who almost pulled out a miracle in the NFC Championship Sunday against Green Bay, is a restricted free agent. Meaning? The Vikings need a quarterback and, well . . .
The Bears are expected to bring Hanie back next year, playing No. 2 behind Jay Cutler.

—McClatchy News Services 

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