Tom E. Curran's game day walkthrough

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JACKSONVILLE - Haven't been here since watching Donovan McNabb engineer a late drive in the Super Bowl with the urgency of a retiree going out to get his morning paper. Now for a quick whiparound of some notes as you get ready for the 2-12 Jags and 10-4 Pats.

Dan Koppen by now has to be the foremost authority on the planet when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of two of the greatest quarterbacks ever. Koppen centered for Tom Brady in two MVP seasons (2007 and 2010) and now has had Peyton Manning's hands positioned intimately for 14 games this year. If the playoff scenario unfolds so that the Patriots and Broncos play, Koppen will be a touchstone for comment. Which he will deftly deflect.

Stayed at the Sawgrass Marriott on Saturday night and took a tour of TPC Sawgrass on Saturday. They'll be seeing more of me when the season ends.

I fully comprehend the greatness obvious in the seasons of Adrian Peterson and Calvin Johnson. Either one is now the frontrunner for the Offensive Player of the Year. But, to me, it's hard for a position player to trump a quarterback for MVP. The value inherent in a player who can ably get his team in and out of bad plays, call out blocking schemes, read defenses, perform with the ball in his hands on every single play, bear the pressure of the franchise and city in a way a running back or wideout never has to makes him stratospherically more valuable than a back or a wideout. I will say, though, that the performance of Peterson in carrying the Vikings anemic offense on his back to the sixth-seed in the NFC (currently) has made him every bit as valuable to his team this year as Manning and Brady. It takes a lot for a running back to make up the stagger on a quarterback. Peterson is probably doing it.

Interesting timing to the storythat Tim Tebow will be released by the Jets and the Jags are interested in bringing him to Jacksonville. Jacksonville owner Shad Khan may or may not have pulled a string or two in letting outlets know the Jags would still be interested in pseudo-local boy Tebow. Khan's a new owner and covets attention and buzz around his team as he tries to build its fading footprint. Secure Tebow, have him on the roster to leverage for attention for the London games that Jacksonville's signed up for and curry favor with the locals here in North Florida. The loser in this? Tebow. Even Chad Henne and Blaine Gabbert will look better than Tebow as classic quarterbacks in training camp and preseason. And that will make it exceedingly hard for Mike Mularkey to make the businessPR switch to Tebow. And left dangling in the middle? Tebow. Whatever you think of his football or off-field image, he's a decent enough person whose image and marketability is being taken advantage of.

Mark Sanchez will be the Jets No. 2 this week. Ironic. He's played like No. 2 all season.

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