NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

The Chargers once again failed to reach the promise land of the Super Bowl after another post season collapse at home Sunday vs the fifth seed, the New York Jets. Their season ended after a run that saw them start slow, then reel off 12 straight wins, only to be knocked out in their first playoff game.

Which leads the team to the offseason, which includes the future for running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the one time heart and soul of the team, who almost didn’t even make it to the season after an offseason which included lots of talk about him being released.

The Chargers have never made the Super Bowl with Tomlinson as their premiere running back, and now that another season has ended, it’s time for the team and the back to once again address if he’ll be around in 2010. Tomlinsons possible final game in San Diego was a dud, as he had just 24 yards on 12 carries—and just 4 yards in the second half.

His decreased production and speed suggest his time with the club could be ending after his first career year with fewer than 1,000 yards rushing. "I'm not sure," Tomlinson said when asked about his future. "I've heard all the speculation, but I'll tell you what, I've had a heck of a time here, and if it is (over), I've enjoyed the ride."

Last season the team franchised running back Darren Sproles, making sure they would not lose him like they did a few seasons back when Michael Turner bolted to Atlanta. The team seems like they are ready to finally make the transition to Sproles as their feature back, which means that the end very much could be here for Tomlinson in San Diego.

The AFC and NFC Title games are now set, as in the AFC it’s the Jets at the Colts, and over in the NFC it’ll be the Vikings taking on the Saints.  The AFC game is the early game this year, starting at 3pm Eastern, while the NFC game is slated for a 6:40pm Eastern start.

So here are the quick lines as the games have become official just a few hours after the Vikings and Jets moved on Sunday:

Minnesota + 4.5 at New Orleans – Over/Under 52.5

NY Jets +7.5 at Indianapolis – Over/Under 40.5

Now looking at these lines right off the bat, you can tell that Vegas thinks the NFC game could be a shootout, as Brett Favre vs Drew Brees is going to be a great matchup.  On the AFC side, you can see they are thinking it’ll come down to the Jets trying to hold the Colts in check, which is why the over/under is much lower.  We’ll see how the lines flux during the week.

Rex Ryan and the Jets were left for dead after a loss to the Falcons three weeks before the end of the regular season. Now, they are one game away from the Super Bowl.

Sunday in San Diego the Jets overcame a 7-0 halftime deficit, used a ton of Charger mistakes, and in the end put up 17 second half points to pull off the only real stunner of the weekend, beating San Diego 17-14 to move on to the AFC Championship game.

The win for New York sets up a matchup with the 15-2 Colts, who dispatched the Ravens 20-3 Saturday night at home. Indianapolis lost to the Jets in week 16, but it was a game that will more be remembered for the Colts having their starters pulled and ending their perfect season with the game still very much winnable.

For the Jets, they did it like they have done it all season when they have won. They ran the ball, they played solid defense, didn’t allow any big plays, and rookie QB Mark Sanchez didn’t make any critical mistakes to put the game at risk. The Chargers were held to 4-for-13 on third downs, and kicker Nate Keading missed three field goals, sealing their fate.

Sanchez was just 12-for-23 for 100 yards and a TD, and he did throw a pick, but the defense and running game did enough to save him and help out in the huge win. Shonn Greene put the Jets up 17-7 with a 53-yard score with 7:17 left, and then after the Chargers scored to close the game to 17-14, Greene and Thomas Jones put the game away with four runs that gave the Jets a first down to run out the clock.

The Jets run defense did the job as well, stopping the Chargers cold all day, holding them to just 61 yards. Darren Sproles had just 33 yards on 3 carries, and LaDainian Tomlinson, playing in what could be his last game as a Charger, had just 24 yards on 12 carries.

Chargers QB Philip Rivers was harassed by the Jets D, and was held to 27-for-40 for 298 yards with a touchdown and two picks. He also was sacked twice but had a lot of pressure throughout the game, and even was flushed from the pocket a number of times and had to hurry throws.

The Jets are truly a Cinderella team, but the big question now is will they have enough time before midnight to pull off two more wins and give rookie coach Rex Ryan and rookie QB Mark Sanchez a Super Bowl ring in their first years on the job.

The Bills are without a coach – still. Leslie Frazier did nothing to hurt his chances on Sunday, leading a swarming defense from the sidelines that dominated the Cowboys in a 34-3 win. Frazier and his defense will now get a shot to make it to Super Bowl XLIV as they will face the Saints in the NFC title game next week.

As far as Frazier becoming the Bills next head coach, there’s no word of that yet, as in the post game he didn’t say much about the chance of joining Buffalo as their new head coach in 2010:

Former Bears cornerback Leslie Frazier certainly didn’t hurt his cause to become an NFL head coach after his Minnesota Vikings defense dominated in a 34-3 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Frazier, the Vikings defensive coordinator, interviewed for the Buffalo Bills head-coaching vacancy, the only job available right now. After Sunday’s game, though, Frazier did all he could to avoid talking about anything other than the Vikings. Asked if he’s heard from the Bills, Frazier said, “The only thing I’m really focused on right now is the NFC Championship game. In the meantime, enjoy this for a little bit then on Monday we got to get ready for that NFC Championship game.”

Brett Favre came back for one reason.

Now he’s one game away from getting the chance to compete for that reason. Sunday at home Favre and his Vikings teammates dominated the red-hot Dallas Cowboys 34-3, setting up the showdown that everyone thought we’d see in the NFC Championship game next Sunday – Minnesota at New Orleans.

It’s going to be a great showdown, as it’ll be Brett Favre and the Vikings vs Drew Brees and the Saints in a game pitting two very good NFC teams fighting for the right to head to Miami to face the AFC Champion in Super Bowl XLIV.

Sunday though belonged to Favre, Sidney Rice, and a swarming Vikings defense that bottled up Tony Romo and the Cowboys run game all day. They pressured Romo, forcing him to fumble twice and then throw a bad pick as the Cowboys played desperate trying to get back in the game in the second half.

The 40-year-old Favre had a blast, throwing four touchdowns and celebrating hard after each one. He’ll have a lot more to celebrate if they can get past the Saints next Sunday evening. "Today was like this season—it's been wonderful," Favre said. Asked if it was an emotional game for him, he said, "I'm kind of worn out right now, but it is. It was emotional before the game."

The QB completed 15 of 24 passes for 234 yards, throwing three of his four touchdowns to Rice, including the first one. Rice ended the day with 6 grabs for 141 yards and three TD’s. As for that defense, it was unstoppable. The Cowboys had just 248 yards of offense, and Romo was sacked six times, lost two of his three fumbles and threw a glaring interception right to Ben Leber.

After gaining 118 yards in the first quarter, the Cowboys got only 130 the rest of the way and watched the buzz from their first playoff win in 13 years last week fizzle out. "It's like the elevator falling from the top. It's tough when it's over. If you don't win it all, you have not reached your goal," coach Wade Phillips said.

Romo finished 22 for 35 for 198 yards. It was not all his fault, as the Cowboys defense was overmatched, as they got to Favre for three sacks, but couldn’t stop him when it counted.

It should be a classic next week in the Superdome, as it will be a great matchup between the real two heavyweights in the NFC.

The Chiefs will likely enter 2010 with Jamaal Charles at running back, but right now the emerging back is going to be having surgery on his shoulder this week:

Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, who has become the toast of Kansas City since establishing himself as an emerging star once he finally got a chance to play, is headed back to Missouri to have shoulder surgery on Wednesday according to his hometown newspaper. It got to a point this season where you just expected to see Charles go off to the sidelines during a game to have his shoulder popped back into place. Hopefully this surgery will solve the problem for good.

Gaines Adams the Chicago Bears defensive end passed away this morning around 9:00 am. This report according to the coroner in Greenwood County South Carolina. Adams apparently was rushed to the hospitals emergency room where he was pronounced dead. Early indications are that gaines died of  cardiac arrest caused by an enlarged heart.

He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Clemson. The Bucs traded Adams to the Bears in October for a second-round pick in this years draft.

"He was a great kid, a hard worker who always had a smile on his face," former Buccaneers coach and current "Monday Night Football" broadcaster Jon Gruden told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I don't know anybody who didn't like Gaines Adams. He was a great teammate, just a stand-up guy, a class act.”

In 47 games over three seasons with the Bucs and Bears, Adams had 67 tackles, including 13.5 sacks.

“I remember him at the 2007 Draft as a fine young man,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Our condolences to Gaines’ family, his teammates on the Bears and Buccaneers, and their organizations on their loss.”