Paul’s Blog

Superbowl XLIV is almost upon us. The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints are nearly ready to do battle on the grass turf of what is now called Sun Life Stadium in South Florida, just outside of Miami. Both teams got out to great starts this year, 14-0 for the Colts and 13-0 for the Saints. Both teams, surprisingly, failed to win another regular season game having clinched home field advantage in the playoffs.

A multitude of factors play into this contest.

With the New York Jets putting pressure on the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback non-pareil Peyton Manning, Darelle Revis shutting down Reggie Wayne, and double coverage on Dallas Clark, the Colts were looking for answers as the Jets took a 17-6 lead in the first half of the AFC Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday. Manning turned to rookie Austin Collie and second year man Pierre Garcon and they responded. Garcon caught 11 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown in helping the Colts score 24 unanswered points to defeat the Jets and secure their spot in Superbowl XLIV.

Garcon, who only recently found out that his family is Haiti was still alive, turned in a superlative effort. With Manning’s increased confidence in his young receivers, the Colts’ offense is going to be a huge factor as they face the New Orleans Saints in the Superbowl.

Click in the image for a larger version.

Here is the original pencil sketch (on Strathmore watercolor paper):

The New Orleans Saints put the “rust or rest” debate to bed Saturday as they routed the Arizona Cardinals 45-14 in the NFC Divisional Playoffs aided by a spectacular performance from Reggie Bush. Bush, the Heisman Trophy winner from USC, lived up to his considerable hype by rushing 5 times for 84 yards (including a twisting 46 yard touchdown), catching 4 passes for 24 yards and finishing off the highlight reel with a fantastic 83 yard punt return for a touchdown to ice the game.

The Saints now face the Minnesota Vikings in the first ever NFC Championship Game to be played at the Superdome.

Reggie Bush was also the POTW on December 24, 2006. You can see other Reggie Bush drawings here.

Pencils on Strathmore 300 smooth bristol:

Colors “painted” in PS. Click on the images for a larger version.

The Baltimore Ravens stunned the New England Patriots in Foxboro with a 33-14 Wildcard Playoff win Sunday behind a great performance from Ray Rice, who rushed 22 times for 159 yards and 2 TD’s. The Patriots, who haven’t lost a home playoff game since 1978, watched in awe as Rice took the opening carry of the game and dashed 83 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. The Baltimore defense set the WABAC Machine to 2000 and stifled the once unstoppable Patriot offense by planting Tom Brady on the turf and creating numerous turnovers.

The Baltimore running game and defense was so dominant that Joe Flacco was only 4 of 10 passing. Up next are the mighty Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional Round, where the Ravens hope to channel the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers and knock off the AFC’s best team in a big upset.

Ray Rice was also the POTW on October 18, 2007.

Pencils on Strathmore 300 smooth bristol:

Inks on Strathmore 300 smooth bristol with some digital fixups:

Click on the images for larger versions.

The Alabama Crimson Tide became National Champions Thursday night by defeating the Texas Longhorns 37-21 behind 116 yards rushing on 22 carries from their Heisman Trophy winning tailback, Mark Ingram. Ingram (only a sophmore) bested the “Heisman Curse” to become just the second winner (along with Matt Leinart) in the BCS era to also win the title. In the first half, his 92 yards rushing helped propel the Tide to what turned out to be an insurmountable 24-6 lead. Unable to play most of the second half due to cramps, Ingram came back in the fourth quarter to help put the game away.

Texas lost its best player, Colt McCoy, after only 5 plays and freshman Garrett Gilbert was clearly overwhelmed in the first half. He settled down in the second half and Texas made a game of it as Gilbert threw two touchdowns to Jordan Shipley to close the gap to 24-21. The ‘Bama defense, however, ruined Cinderella’s evening by sacking Gilbert and recovering his fumble deep in Longhorn territory. From there, it was all Tide as they scored two touchdowns late to win going away.

Pencils on Strathmore 300 Smooth bristol:

Inks on Strathmore 300 Smooth bristol (with PS fixup):

Colors done in Photoshop.

Click on the images for larger versions.