NFL Season 2009

[Scruffy]

Colts leading 17-16 3 qtrs gone!

This will be a good finish!

[Mb.Eddie]

Saints win 31–17.

I'll try and watch the game some time this week.

[Movie Maniac]

Great win by the Saints

[Mb.Eddie]

Watched the game. Average first half. Decent 2nd. Well done NO.

[Mb.Eddie]

Super Bowl most-watched program ever

Sunday night's Super Bowl XLIV rated as the most-watched programme ever.

CBS's coverage averaged 106.5m between 7pm and 10pm, easily topping last year's 98.7m for the Cardinals vs. Steelers game. It also overtook the 1983 series finale of M*A*S*H (105.97m) to become the most-watched programme of all time.

The other networks opted to air repeats against the game.

Link.

[Movie Maniac]

Not surprised it got over 100, but to the best ever is amazing.

[Mb.Eddie]

Ex-Pie Chris Bryan takes NFL punt

FORMER AFL ruckman Chris Bryan is set to sign with an NFL franchise as early as next week.

Bryan's date with football destiny begins March 9 when he lands in Los Angeles to try out before NFL scouts.

The 27-year-old said he had turned his back on another shot at AFL glory when Hawthorn knocked on his door late last year.

"It was pretty tough at the time to say no, but since that day I have been training all the time for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I haven't regretted it one little bit," Bryan said. "We've got four clubs lined up."

His quest is being guided by Nathan Chapman, from Australia's ProKick academy.

Chapman said the former Blue and Magpie had huge potential.

"I expect him to sign a contract," he said.

"But he still has to perform at the upcoming workouts under pressure.

"Let's just say I'd be surprised if he came home without a contract."

Bryan, wife Lauren and son C-Jay are taking a huge punt in order to make good the footballer's dream.

Lauren is due to give birth to their second child over there, too.

"If it does go pearshaped, we'll reassess because of the baby, obviously. We'll give it 12 months," Bryan said.

"Guys do injuries all the time, so I'll have a far better chance if I'm in the country than not. I'll get a normal job if I have to.

"But I'm confident it will work out. I can consistently kick hang time of 4.5 seconds, which is about 50 yards. I've also got the bomb there. That's about a hang time of 5.4 seconds, but it's the consistency that's the key."

The Sunday Herald Sun has learned Superbowl champions the New Orleans Saints made discreet inquiries about Bryan before Christmas.

"They're more than eager to get him across," Chapman said. "A lot of teams want to know when he arrives, because they're so excited about what they've seen on film."

Another former star being nurtured by Chapman is recently retired sprinter Josh Ross.

Asked if Ross was a serious contender for an NFL deal, Chapman said: "I do actually. He has some special talents.

"He is a blank canvas. There are no promises from either camp, but it's a unique position he finds himself in.

"The one definite thing is he is exciting.

"We tested him for numerous positions, including a wide receiver, a punt returner and a kick returner. There would be five or six roles he could try out for.

"So, we've sent a tape over and we'll wait for a response."

Link.

[ImARocket]

I wonder if hell wear one sock up and one sock down lol...!

[Mb.Eddie]

Chris Bryan just a mediocre punter says opposition coach

FORMER Collingwood and Carlton player Chris Bryan's new career as an NFL punter has been greeted with surprise and scepticism in the US.

Bryan, 28, was today signed by the Green Bay Packers on a three-year non-guaranteed contract.

One opposition special teams coach described the former ruckman's performance at a Green Bay camp as "mediocre".

"From what everybody over there said (Bryan) was a good guy, but he was nothing special, and they named three, four or five guys that were better than him," the coach said.

"One of them was (Sav) Rocca's brother (Anthony), who actually signed with the Eagles but got homesick and left."

Writing in the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinal, Bob McKinn described Bryan as "a 28-year-old Australian who has never played American football".

He quoted an opposition special teams coach as saying: "It just really seems they don't know what they're doing up there with the kicking personnel. I don't know what they're going to do."

Bryan played 46 AFL matches from 2005-09, 16 for Carlton and 30 for the Magpies, but only one last year before being delisted.

Bryan has been guided by former Brisbane and Hawthorn AFL player Nathan Chapman, who runs Prokick Australia, an academy designed to train up aspiring punters and kickers.

"Green Bay need a punter for this year, it's a really good opportunity,'' Chapman said.

Bryan becomes the fourth player to make the transition from AFL player to NFL punter, following in footsteps of Darren Bennett, Ben Graham and Sav Rocca.

Link.

[Mb.Eddie]

Unknown Aussie hits NFL big time

A journeyman footballer who shares the name of a North Melbourne premiership great has earned a contract as a punter with American football giant the New England Patriots.

David King, a 28-year-old sales representative and former personal trainer, who last played for Norwood in the Eastern football league in 2008, becomes the only punter on the Patriot roster, signing a one-year deal that could be worth as much as $320,000.

Originally confused with former Kangaroos half-back David King, who played in North Melbourne’s 1996 and 1999 flag-winning outfits, King has been pursuing his NFL kicking dream since late 2008.

"It’s a learning process for myself and hopefully over the next few weeks I can make a good impression and manage to stick around," King told US sports site ESPN.

King says he will be learning about American football "over the next few weeks, I’d say."

"I don’t have a great deal of knowledge. I do like the game, I can tell you that much. We don’t get a great deal of it back home on TV. The last few years it’s been getting a lot more reception because of the Aussies playing in the league now. I’m here to learn. I’m just here to really kick a football and if I can show the guys I can do that, hopefully I can learn the rest that comes along with that."

Norwood team manager Greg Caulfield said King had a "licence to kick the ball as long as he could" at his previous club Euroa, but at Norwood, where he shared kick-in duties, team rules sometimes constricted his exploits.

Caulfield recalled a day when King cleared the wing at Lilydale with a kick-in.
"It was with the wind, and it's a small ground, but that was when I thought, this guy can really boot it," Caulfield said.

"Funnily enough, he was fairly similar to the North Melbourne David King.

"He played half-back, had a bit of dash and a bit of a leap and was a pretty good spoiler... he 'played tall' for his height and we sometimes used him as a key defender.

"You hear about all these AFL players (becoming NFL punters) getting all the publicity ... we've hardly heard a ripple about Kingy. It is great to see country and suburban footballers getting these chances."

King went to the US to try out at such showcases as the Pelfrey’s Kicking Combine and visited renowned kicking coach Gary Zauner in April 2009.

Zauner, an NFL special teams coach for 13 years, and college coach for 11 years, has targeted Australians following the success of former AFL stars Darren Bennett, Ben Graham and Saverio Rocca. He says King was a "quick study on most of the things I showed him. He was also excellent and studying video and analysing his technique".

The role model for the unheralded King is most likely to be Dallas Cowboys punter, Aussie Matt McBriar, who is reportedly on a contract of $3.5million.

Zauner, enthused by the talents of candidates such as King, visited Australia in December 2009 and auditioned prospects including former Essendon player Courtney Johns, saying he was "intrigued by the big legs" he had seen here.

"I think colleges are looking for guys who can just kick and the NFL is definitely looking for guys with massive legs who can hit those five second hang times."

Speaking to SEN radio when he visited, Zauner said more Australians may follow King’s lead to the American game.

"If a guy is not a great Aussie rules player and let’s say he’s not the athlete but he’s got a massive leg - if they want to play American football, what they need is a venue and they need just need the exposure and if they’re good enough, it doesn’t matter what country they’re from."

Recently Jy Bond (New York Giants) and Chris Bryan (Green Bay Packers) were also picked up by NFL clubs. Bryan played 46 games in five seasons of AFL football with Carlton and Collingwood.

Former Swans premiership player Nick Davis tried out with King last April but did not pursue his NFL dream.

The Patriots are trialling another punter this week.

Link.