NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Known for big plays and game-changing picks, the AP has picked Steelers safety Troy Polamalu as the Associated Press 2010 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Polamalu won the award over Packers LB Clay Matthews. The two will meet Sunday for an award even bigger – Super Bowl XLV in Dallas. Polamalu received 17 votes Monday from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who cover the league, edging Green Bay linebacker Matthews by two votes.

Despite missing two games, in which Pittsburgh went 1-1, Polamalu became the sixth Steeler to win the award. He had seven interceptions this season along with 63 tackles, but made his mark with big plays. In a late-season victory at Baltimore, his leaping tackle forced a fumble that set up the winning touchdown.

That victory catapulted the Steelers to the AFC North title. Now, they are in the Super Bowl for the third time in six seasons, where they face Matthews and the Packers. “I don’t imagine their game plan changing over one player,” Polamalu said. “We don’t single out anybody. Anything we achieve here is done as a team, as a whole.”

Added Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who finished third in the balloting with eight votes and won the award two years ago: “Troy brings this defense from a ‘C’ defense to an ‘A’ defense. He’s someone that you have to account for in the secondary.”

‘With all due respect, I honestly think Troy Polamalu is probably the greatest player I’ve ever played with or even seen play in person,” former Steelers and now Jets receiver Santonio Holmes said the week of the AFC Title game against the Steelers. “Everybody has their one person they think is the greatest player. In my eyes, I think he’s the greatest player I’ve ever played with.”

Polamalu has had better statistical years than 2010, including the 2008 championship season and in 2005, when he had a career-high 91 tackles and three sacks as the Steelers won the title. He hasn’t had any season where he made more big plays than in 2010.

Former Steelers DB Deshea Townsend talks about preparations leading up to the Super Bowl.

The AFC Champion Steelers have landed in Dallas six days before they play for their seventh title against the Green Bay Packers. It wasn’t the type of arrival most Super Bowl teams get, as the weather in Dallas didn’t exactly live up to the Super Bowl celebration.

A winter storm watch was issued starting last tonight and running through Tuesday afternoon. Accompanying the arctic front will be all manner of frozen precipitation: hail, sleet, freezing rain and possibly even snow.

"It's just going to be pretty much a mess for most of the day," said Matt Bishop, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

If you are heading down for the game later in the week, you should be okay, as the preliminary forecast for Super Bowl Sunday calls for mostly sunny skies and highs in the upper 50s.

"It is not a concern, and our schedule of events is moving forward as planned," said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy.

Plans call for the Cowboys Stadium roof to be closed for the game. Winter weather is more of a threat to related activities and for fans getting to and from the game.

"Plans are in place to make sure the transportation system is cleared of ice or snow and safe for residents and visitors to travel around the region," said Amanda Wilson of the Council of Governments.

Some of the team arrived in Michigan State jerseys, honoring O-lineman Flozell Adams, who is returning to play in Dallas where he started his career. Adams played for the Cowboys from 1998 to 2009 before being released and joining the Steelers this past offseason.

“I’m a Steeler,” Adams said, dodging any questions in the locker room about Dallas. “So that’s how we roll.”

In my latest mock draft update I finally warmed up enough to the idea of spending the #12 pick on an offensive lineman that I gave the Vikings Colorado tackle Nate Solder.

Then, wouldn't you know it, Solder went and laid an egg in the Senior Bowl.  He was getting beat by mid-to-late round picks on a consistent basis, and the big man looked like he might just be more of what the Vikings already have.  By that, I mean a giant tackle that struggles in pass protection but can occasionally use his big frame to pave the way for the ball carrier.

So, to be honest, my next update will probably feature the "draft a quarterback or trade back" theme to it, so let's get back to focusing on pass throwers.  Here are some quarterback updates:

COLIN KAEPERNICK

The Nevada pistol quarterback drew a ton of praise during Senior Bowl practices, and he had a few chances to show off his strengths on Saturday, mainly his strong arm and good mobility.  What he didn't do was address any questions about his ability to see the field and read defenses.  Kaepernick is drawing a lot of comparisons to Joe Webb, athletic but raw, but he is expected to have climbed his way into competition to be the third quarterback drafted.

CHRISTIAN PONDER

Here we have the Senior Bowl MVP out of Florida State not hurting his draft stock, not really helping it, but most likely just solidifying his status as a second round consideration.  Ponder went 7 of 13 for 132 yards and two touchdowns, but anyone watching will realize he got some great help from his receivers in putting up those stats.  His arm strength and overall health is still a concern, but he looked like a quarterback perfectly capable of managing a football game at the next level.  Whether or not he has what it takes to be truly successful at the next level is definitely more of a question.

RICKY STANZI

Stanzi really had a poor week of practices, but the Iowa quarterback had an impressive outing during the Senior Bowl.  A couple of great throws were overshadowed by the television coverage of his leadership moment, when he gathered his teammates to inspire them after a poor first half.

ANDY DALTON

Dalton missed most of this game with an injury, so it was hard to get a feel for the TCU quarterback who seems like a possible round two pick.  He did have at least one unforgivable miss to a wide open receiver.

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As Matt mentioned last week, the fine folks at Chrysler chose us to participate in their “Blogger Game On Road Trip”, and I was Matt’s co-pilot. Our leg of the trip took us from Chicago (where we got to take in the NFC Championship game) to New Orleans, with stops along the way in St. Louis, Nashville, and Tuscaloosa. Over the course of 5 days, we logged almost 1500 miles in a brand new Chrysler 200, and saw parts of the country we had never been to before.

I was the primary driver on this trip, so I felt it appropriate to share my thoughts on the car. I’m also an auto enthusiast, so who better to talk about the car than me?

On Monday morning, we finally got behind the wheel of the Chrysler 200. Launched as a replacement for the Sebring, the 200 is competing in a crowded market, alongside the likes of the Camry, Accord, Fusion, and Sonata. (I can’t believe I’m including a Hyundai in this list, but the Sonata is pretty nice!) Heck, the new Focus might also be a contender in the mid-size market, as it’s grown in size (at least in pictures). But I digress.

The Chrysler 200 is quite a departure from the Sebring, at least visually. The best view is from the rear, which shares a striking resemblance to a $125K+ Aston Martin. Intentional or not, it’s going to get the attention of the image-conscious. Unfortunately, the rest of the outside styling is a little generic. Again, I think they were going for a DB9 look up front with the grille, but the headlights spoil the fun. And from the side, it’s pretty generic.

So I jump into the drivers seat, and take a few minutes to take in my surroundings. The first thing that gets my attention is the thick leather-wrapped steering wheel. It’s amazing! The leather seats are pretty comfy as well. The dashboard is an improvement over the outgoing Sebring, but look hard enough and you’ll still find some carry-overs from the old car. The fancy analog clock (a styling element “borrowed” from Infinity) looks good, but was hard to read while driving. Thankfully, the navagation screen also displayed the time.

First impressions are important, but how did the car hold up throughout the trip? Very well! I’m assuming the car we drove had the 2.4-Liter I4 DOHC 16-Valve Dual VVT Engine (producing 173 horsepower and 166 lb-ft torque), and not the 3.6L DOHC 24-valve V-6 Engine (producing 283 horsepower and 260 lb-ft torque). The car gave us impressive mileage (averaging almost 30mpg), but I would have gladly given up some fuel economy for the additional power of the V6!

My favorite feature of the 200? In-car WiFi. The 200 offers WiFi connectivity, so you can get on the Internet no matter where you are. So while I drove, Matt was hard at work on his laptop, making sure all of the sites were up-to-date. During the brief stint where he drove, I was able to get some work done, and upload a bunch of photos to Facebook. This is an amazing feature, and it’s the first auto maker I’ve heard of offering such a thing. I’m sure others will quickly follow suit.

But no car is without it’s fault, and the 200 is different. The navigation/media center was an exercise in frustration. The navigation system had some real issues in Chicago, which caused us to get lost for almost 30-minutes! Prompts to turn right or left were often given AS we were driving through the intersection in question! And as we were leaving Chicago on a major highway, the NAV told me I was on a dirt road. My iPhone running the MapQuest app did a better job of navigating me.

The Media Center plays CDs, DVDs, has a 30 GB Hard Drive (enabling instant replay!), and our car also had Sirius Satellite Radio. In addition to the Bluetooth Audio capabilities, the car also had 2 USB ports so you could plug in your phone or iPod. I plugged my iPhone into the USB port, pulled up the Playlist option on the screen, and the radio was able to see all of my playlists. SO much better than the limited functionality my current car offers through the USB port. It was amazing for the first hour.

But then we stopped to get gas. When I started the car back up, the media center screen said “Error Detected”. No matter what I tried, I could not get my iPhone to sync up with the car anymore. For the next 3 days, I tried to get it working again, to no avail. It was frustrating, as the Boston Acoustic sound system in the car was INSANE, to the point where I’m now shopping around to upgrade my current sound system..

So here are my final thoughts.. A step in the right direction for Chrysler, showing that they’re ready to compete in this highly-competitive market, and not get regulated to rental car status. Skip the navigation system (buy a TomTom for $100 if you need NAV), and spend that extra money on the V6 engine! Definitely get the Boston Acoustic sound system – The best $500 you’ll ever spend!

Loaded up, the car can get pretty pricey – So if you’re on a budget, choose your options wisely.

In accordance with the FTC Guidelines, I am disclosing that my time, travel and accommodations have been compensated by Chrysler Corp. for my participation in the Blogger Game on Road Trip campaign. Although I have a material connection to Chrysler Corp., any publicy stated opinions of Chrysler Corp. and their products remain my own.

The NFL is not sponsoring or affiliated with me, my trip or my postings.

The last time he spoke about him, he lashed out at him.

Now he seems to be giving him praise.

That’s HOF and former Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw, who has in the past been critical of current Steelers Ben Roethlisberger in light of the off-the-field issues — namely a second sexual assault allegation that resulted in a four-game suspension.

What Bradshaw is saying now though seems to be a lot different than before, liking what he sees just a week before the Steelers play Green Bay in Super Bowl XLV.

“Ben does it with strength,” Bradshaw said this week during a media conference call. “He’s very strong with great presence in the pocket and only moves when he has pressure. Last week against the Jets, he did a spin move that I would show to young quarterbacks and say, ‘You either have this or you don’t.’ It’s basically a feel and great quarterbacks have it.

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Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post reports Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco took a shot at Bengals owner Mike Brown in his most recent criticism of the organization.

Brown, who has drawn plenty of criticism over the years for having a small scouting staff, no indoor bubble despite the cold conditions in Cincinnati and low salaries for staff.

"If you have a business is it right for the people that work for you to care more about success than the rightful owner itself?" Ochocinco wrote on his official Twitter account.

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