And then there were four. Thirty-two teams started this National Football League season and the best four are left standing. In Seattle, the Seahawks first-half defence was outstanding . The New Orleans Saints offence only managed 34 passing yards for Drew Brees and just 42 rushing yards. The Seattle defence conceded no points in the first half and held tight end Jimmy Graham to not a single reception until the games final minute. Russell Wilson did not have a dominant game, but the starting 11 without the ball won the game for Seattle. And so did Marshawn Lynch . Of all the running backs in the league, I dont think there is another who gives a greater effort than Marshawn Lynch, play after play. It is impressive for me watch his willingness to absorb physical punishment for an extra yard or even less. Logic says it cant last, that his time is coming or maybe he just has a body type impervious to what normally slows and limits other running backs. In any case, he is not the fastest, quickest or even most skilled, but he never gives up on a play or any opportunity with an intense disregard for possible injury. Marshawn Lynch is a great running back. Seattle has a combination of speed, attitude, confidence and resolve . The intensity of the NFC championship San Francisco at Seattle will be a battle of wills as much as any skills. In New England, the Patriots went with 42 running plays and just 25 passing plays. The play-calling served a dual purpose. Firstly, when you run that much, you dictate aggressive energy to an opponent. After a while, you can wear a defence out because, like all human beings, you get tired of hitting. So, in a moment where you lose emotional concentration at "point of attack," what would normally be a two or three-yard play becomes a 70-yard touchdown run like LaGarrette Blounts 73-yard run in the fourth. Understanding football is one thing, but understanding the psychology of hitting is really unique. You can wear people out and the Patriots achieved that. The second part of that dual purpose was keeping the ball away from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. If you dont limit the his time with the ball and his number of plays, Andrew Luck is going to beat you. It is not as if Luck has a great team around him, quite the opposite, but he is a classic example of a player as a quarterback who makes those around him look better than they are. Once the Colts protect Andrew Luck with a higher degree of consistency, he will be as good as any quarterback on any team in the NFL. As for the Patriots, Logan Mankins at left guard was outstanding and Jamie Collins at linebacker is the next defensive star in New England. Without Vince Wilfork, Brandon Spikes, Jerrod Mayo and Tommy Kelly on defence, the Patriots should not be in the AFC championship game, but here they are. It was an emotionally heated game in Carolina between the Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, especially early on, and it has been a while since I have seen that much confrontational talk and verbal exchanges. It seemed like on every play, someone was threatening someone elseabout something . I am sure that all week, the Panthers grew intensely tired of hearing how tough and physical the 49ers were and made a collective agreement to not allow any intimidation, but be the aggressor and not the participant. Now, I dont think Carolina backed down for one moment, but seven plays inside the five-yard line and only three points means that, in the toughest part of football - short yardage and goaline plays, the Niners won. In playoff football, the smallest of mistakes mean the biggest of consequences and the Panthers gave the 49ers four first downs on penalties in the first half and it seemed that all four were the result of excessive emotion. The Panthers will learn from this and, if they find themselves in the same position next year at this time, they will not make the same mistake of losing self-control. After a last-minute win over the Arizona Cardinals to close the season, a win over the Packers in the brutal cold of Green Bay in the NFC Wild Card playoff and a tough, physical win over the Panthers, right now, no team believes more in each other than the San Francisco 49ers. In Denver, the one word to describe the Broncos win over the San Diego Chargers is "methodical." I think the Charger made one key mistake to lose the game and Denver made the opposite to win . By the end of the third quarter, the Chargers had 79 total yards. In the fourth quarter alone, they had 180. I guess common sense says to play the time of possession game again for San Diego to win, but it was not working . I wonder what would have happened if the Chargers took their fourth-quarter approach all game long and just went for broke, because when they did in the fourth, the game became a game because of it. San Diego was simply way too conservative. With Denver, they did to the Chargers what the Chargers did to them back on that Thursday night game. Manning must have completed 80 per cent of his passes within the first 10 yards down field. They just incrementally kept moving down field with the shortest of distance created using a series of line of scrimmage screens, five-yard crossers, and check downs - no big plays, just little little plays of success and result. One interesting question that has already been asked is, in one game to win it all , who would be your quarterback - Brady or Manning? Given history, I would say Brady, but given ability to control a defense pre-snap, I would say Manning. To pick between that pair is a never-ending discussion. The season began with 32 and now it is down to four and, giving consideration to all discussion and analytical evaluation, it truly is the best four. Geron Christian Redskins Jersey . Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia will have surgery on his left shoulder this week and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Alex Smith Jersey . The game had many controversial incidents that, upon closer inspection, were not as controversial as many believed. The Formations Toronto FC lined up in its usual 4-4-2 formation, with Nick Hagglund slotting in at right fullback and Bradley Orr at centreback in place of the injured Mark Bloom and Steven Caldwell, respectively. http://www.cheapredskinslockroom.com/AUT...INS-JERSEY/.com) - A pair of programs shooting for their 10th win of the season get together at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as the NC State Wolfpack tangle with 22nd-ranked West Virginia during the challenge round of the Gotham Classic. Jonathan Allen Redskins Jersey .C. United on Saturday night and boost the Unions playoff hopes. Nick DeLeon scored in the 36th minute for United (3-23-6), which had ample opportunities to build on its lead but went its 10th straight match without a victory. Troy Apke Jersey . Snedekers best result so far this year is a tie for eighth place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He sits 113th in FedEx Cup standings and has dropped to 31st in world rankings — not the results expected from a player ranked fourth in the world only two years ago.Each week, TSN Hockey analyst and former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennan provides 10 observations about netminders in TSN.cas Post 2 Post. 1. Henrik Lundqvists slow starts King Henriks early struggles are nothing new and I think we all know how this will turn out this season. 2012-13: 1-3-0, 3.47 GAA, .895 SV% 2013-14: 1-3-0, 4.30 GAA, .879 SV% 2014-15: 1-2-0, 5.42 GAA, .816 SV% 2. Wild About Kuemper Hes off to a hot start, going 2-0-0 out of the gate with two shutouts. The Wild have only given up 23 shots per game, but Darcy Kuemper has been rock solid. With injuries and inconsistency from Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom, this organization is desperate for stability in net. 3. Reverse VH and VH Goals Simply put, the VH is a move thats been used by most NHL goaltenders to close off real estate against sharp-angle shots. When the puck is in the corner or just above the goal line, a goalie seals the strong side post by planting his lead pad vertically (hence the V) against the post. He then positions his back pad horizontally (thus the H) along the goal line. Bostons Tuukka Rask demonstrates the VH position. The Reverse VH is a position-changing movement made famous by Los Angeles Kings starter Jonathan Quick. Also called the post lean or shoulder lean, its when a goaltender is in transition going down from an up position. If you eliminate that (if a goalie is down to begin with), you dont get beat in transition anymore. The Kings Jonathan Quick demonstrates the Reverse VH position. Goalies get beat by it when the commitment to the move is late and they arent getting down and sealing the ice. The move is all about the seal and what you do after the move, to transition for the next save. Max Pacioretty beat Jonathan Bernier in the Canadiens-Maple Leafs season opener when Bernier was late on his decision, as did Rick Nash scoring on Jaroslav Halak on Tuesday night. 4. New starter making an impact: Frederik Andersen, Anaheim: 3-0-0, .928 5. Starters (or presumed starters) struggling to find form alongside Lundqvist: Mike Smith, Phoenix: 0-1-0, .778 Cam Ward, Carolina: 0-1-1, .846 Steve Mason, Philadelphia: 0-2-1, .884 Roberto Luongoo, Florida: 0-2-1, .dddddddddddd870 Tuukka Rask, Boston: 1-2-0, .892 Jonathan Bernier, Toronto, 0-2-0, .882 Jonas Hiller, Calgary: 0-2-0, .901 Semyon Varlamov, Colorado: 0-2-1, .910 6. Veteran starters who have lived up to expectations so far: Craig Anderson, Ottawa: 1-1-0, .955 Cory Schneider, New Jersey: 3-0-0, .937 Kari Lehtonen, Dallas: 1-0-1, .934 Braden Holtby, Washington: 1-0-1, .933 Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay: 2-0-1, .931 Corey Crawford, Chicago: 2-0-0, .930 Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus: 2-1-0, .927 7. Backups having good starts: Alex Stalock, San Jose: 1-0-0, 1.000 Martin Jones, Los Angeles: 1-0-0, .970 Reto Berra, Colorado: 1-0-0, .974 Karri Ramo, Calgary: 2-0-0, .934 Devan Dubnyk, Arizona: 1-0-0, .923 James Reimer, Toronto, 2-0-0, .920 8. New Start(er)s Vancouvers Ryan Miller wasnt sharp against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, but still got the win and is 2-0-0 to start the season. While his numbers are less than sparkling, hell still need to gel with his new team - especially his defence with exchanges and puckhandling. On Long Island, Halak has been outstanding, including a 40-save night against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Hes also 2-0-0 to start the season and has helped stabilize a situation in goal that had been an issue for some time. 9. Pekka Rinne in fine form Nashvilles Pekka Rinne, coming off hip surgery that led to an infection, is still an elite goalie. He was missed dearly by the Predators last season and is off to a 2-0-1 start with a 1.62 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. Hes one of the best goalies in the league and hes showing it early on. 10. More big name goalies getting pulled The 2014-15 campaign is not even a week old, but there are some bigger names getting the hook out of the gate this season. Last year at this time, six goalies were yanked through the first few games - Reimer, Quick, Rinne, Holtby, Devan Dubnyk and Tim Thomas. So far this year we have seen eight guys get the hook, including some elites: Quick, Carey Price, Lundqvist, Semyon Varlamov and Luongo to go with Michael Hutchinson and Viktor Fasth. But hey, its still early. Plenty of hockey still to be played. ' ' '