CHARLOTTE, N.
https://www.tampabayfootballshop.com/54-Jersey .C. - Carolina teammates describe Luke Kuechly as one of the nicest guys youll meet, an aw-shucks, All-American kid whos polite and still spends part of his off-season living with his parents in Ohio. Seattles Bobby Wagner is the charming, approachable kid-at-heart, regularly seen walking around with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack draped around his shoulders. Off the field, nice guys. Harmless. On the field, its a whole different story when it comes to the All-Pro middle linebackers. Panthers safety Roman Harper, who previously played for New Orleans, remembers watching a game last year and wondering who the crazy man wearing the No. 59 jersey for Carolina was. Hes yelling, hes talking trash — and then you meet him and he doesnt even remember any of that, Harper said. Hes just the nicest guy, he talks about his mom all the time and all this other stuff and its just so funny. It really is like the Superman-Clark Kent thing. Wagner is the intense driven leader of the Seattle defence, which has finished first in the league in the NFL in each of the past two seasons. Kuechly was the catalyst for the Panthers holding the Arizona Cardinals to 78 yards in last weeks wild-card game, an NFL post-season record for fewest yards in a game. Theyre two of the better young linebackers in the league, for sure, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. Theyre exciting to watch. For all the inherent hype surrounding quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Cam Newton entering Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game, this game could be determined by the teams two defensive play callers. The past three meetings between the Seahawks and Panthers have resulted in low-scoring matchups, hardly a surprise given the men manning the middle of those defences. The Seahawks won those games 16-12 in 2012, 12-7 in 2013 and 13-9 in October, although Wagner didnt play in the most recent game due to a turf toe injury. Were the quarterback of the defence so I think we should get as much recognition as the quarterback, Wagner said. (But) its a fun position. Were in the middle of everything. We have a job during the run, have a job on the pass, get sacks, interceptions, tackles. Were pretty much involved. Its the best positon in my opinion. Kuechly agrees, although hes fine without the attention. Its all good, and I wouldnt want to change that, Kuechly said. Thats something you take with the position. Teammate Greg Olsen called him the best defensive player in the league and said hes already as good as Brian Urlacher was in his prime. Both players entered the league in 2012 — Kuechly as a first-round pick out of Boston College; Wagner a second-round choice from Utah State. Since their arrival, both defences have vastly improved in part because of their ability to decipher offensive formations, run to the ball and make plays. Both excel in pass coverage, too. Kuechly, the NFLs Defensive Player of the Year last season, demonstrated last week just how valuable he is to the Panthers. He had 10 tackles, a key fourth quarter interception and tipped another Ryan Lindley pass that resulted in a turnover in Carolinas 27-16 wild-card win over the Cardinals. He can literally take over the game from the middle linebacker position, Harper said. Wagner finished with 104 tackles in 11 games and doesnt have quite the same big plays on his resume this season as Kuechly, but hes just as valuable to Seattles defence. Thats why he was selected as an All-Pro despite missing five games due to the toe injury. Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said both middle linebackers are high-IQ football players who do everything well. But he said theyre different players. Luke is a very dynamic player and I think Bobby plays within the stream of our defence and makes plays in front of him and makes tackles in the backfield, Sherman said. Said Rivera: Seattle has an attacking, aggressive style and I think Wagner fits what they do very well. Both are known for their athleticism and speed. Harper didnt realize how athletic Kuechly was until he watched him jump flat-footed onto a box five feet off the ground. I was like, OK, I get it now, Harper said shaking his head. Wagner once ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds. Hes able to flow from one side of the field to the other with swift, seamless movements that even impresses Kuechly. When I watched some crossover tape of Seattle, I see him just kept seeing him flying around and making plays, Kuechly said. The guy is smart, athletic and he can run. The Panthers have yet to figure out Wagner and the Seahawks. Theyve only scored one offensive touchdown in the past three games against the Seahawks. Rivera knows it will only get tougher on Saturday night with Wagner back in the starting lineup for the rematch. Hes a solid football player with a tremendous amount of athletic ability, Rivera said. He has a great football mind and because of that he does things the right way.
https://www.tampabayfootballshop.com/23-Jersey . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution.
https://www.tampabayfootballshop.com/82-Jersey . Heck, we might just miss the BCS. Maybe? It sort of worked out this season. Top-ranked Florida State (13-0) was the only team to get through the regular season unbeaten, and the Seminoles did it in dominating fashion. SOCHI, Russia -- IOC President Thomas Bach accused world leaders Tuesday of using the Sochi Olympics as a political platform "on the backs of the athletes," and of snubbing the games without even being invited. Three days before the opening of Russias first Winter Games, Bach used a hard-hitting speech to call out politicians for using the Olympics to make an "ostentatious gesture" serving their own agendas. Without naming any individuals, Bachs comments appeared directed at President Barack Obama and European politicians who have taken stands against Russias law banning gay "propaganda" among minors. The Olympics, Bach said, should not be "used as a stage for political dissent or for trying to score points in internal or external political contests." "Have the courage to address your disagreements in a peaceful direct political dialogue and not on the backs of the athletes," he said at a ceremony attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "People have a very good understanding of what it really means to single out the Olympic Games to make an ostentatious gesture which allegedly costs nothing but produces international headlines. "In the extreme, we had to see a few politicians whose contributions to the fight for a good cause consisted of publicly declining invitations they had not even received." The buildup to the Olympics has been overshadowed by Western criticism of the anti-gay law and Russias record on human rights and other issues, making Sochi among the most politically charged games in years. Obama and key European leaders are shunning the Olympics. Obama, in a clear message against the anti-gay laws, has sent a delegation to Sochi made up of three openly gay athletes -- tennis great Billie Jean King, 2006 Olympic hockey medallist Caitlin Cahow and figure skater Brian Boitano. For the first time since 2000, the U.S. delegation to an Olympics will not include a president, vice-president or first lady. Former Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano leads the delegation. German President Joachim GGauck and French President Francois Hollande are also not coming to Sochi.
https://www.tampabayfootballshop.com/25-Jersey. Neither is British Prime Minister David Cameron. Bach reiterated again that Putin had given the IOC assurances that the Olympic Charter would be upheld during the games and that homosexuals would not be discriminated against. Bach said Olympic values stand against any form of discrimination, including on grounds of sexual orientation. But he stressed the IOC must be "politically neutral without being apolitical" and that athletes must not use the Olympic Village and venues for "political demonstrations." The IOC has come under criticism for not doing more to fight the anti-gay law, but Bach said the committee was a sports organization with limited responsibilities. "We are not a supra-national government," he said. "We are not a superior world-parliament. We do not have a mandate to impose measures on sovereign states." Bachs speech was delivered at a ceremony marking the opening of the IOCs three-day session, or general assembly, ahead of the games. The Germans sharp comments marked a strong contrast with the relatively anodyne, diplomatic speeches of his predecessor, Jacques Rogge. Bach, winner of a fencing gold medal at the 1972 Olympics, was elected in September to succeed Rogge, who served for 12 years. Bach acknowledged there had been "a lot of skepticism in and outside the IOC" when Sochi was awarded the Olympics in 2007. "Now, seven years later, we can see that Sochi, that Russia has delivered," he said. Putin lauded the IOCs decision to bring the games to the Black Sea resort. "We realize what a difficult decision this was to hold the games in a city that barely had 10 to 15 per cent of the necessary infrastructure," he said. "You believed in us, you believed in the Russian character which can overcome all difficulties." "In the space of five years," Putin added, "we built world-class sports venues and city infrastructure that normally takes decades to build." ' ' '
