d past Quick for a 2-1 lead at 11:54. Crawford made another big

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England offensive line, maligned through the early weeks of the season, has rebounded to do a terrific job protecting the teams 37-year-old prime asset.Quarterback Tom Brady contributed to the teams highlight film with a 17-yard scramble that ended in a hard hit instead of a slide last week against Miami. On Nov. 2, some Brady footwork led to a circus catch by tight end Rob Gronkowski, another highlight-reel play.Overall, Brady has been mostly upright over the last 10 games, nine of them wins.I think it was just a matter of time, tackle Cameron Fleming said Friday as the Patriots finished preparation for Sundays game at the New York Jets. There were a lot of changes coming in and I think we all just needed time to shore up our technique and mould together as a unit — and realize that were interchangeable, that if one man goes down then another man can come in and help and get the job done.I think it was time that got us better and we focused on what we needed to do to improve, because we knew there was something wrong that needed to change and we just made it happen.Changes? Start with long-time line coach Dante Scarnecchia retiring and being replaced by Dave DeGuglielmo. Then, just before the start of the season, Pro Bowl guard and team leader Logan Mankins was traded to Tampa Bay.The result: four sacks in the opening game, nine in the first four, with Brady getting hit way too much and the team going 2-2.Now, with two games left in the regular season and the Patriots on the verge of clinching home-field advantage for the entire AFC playoffs, the team is second in the league (behind Denver) in fewest sacks per passing play. New England is third in total sacks allowed (behind Denver and Baltimore).So the team that yielded nine sacks in the first four games has surrendered nine in 10 games since. The continued health of tight end Rob Gronkowski has helped, but the line has been good.We dont look back too far, said left tackle Nate Solder. Our goal right now is the Jets and I think thats been our approach all season. One week at a time you improve, you get a little bit incrementally better, and by the time you get to this point in the season, you see some big improvements.I think its incrementally because I think each guy improves a little bit each week and that gets you to where youve improved a lot over the course of the season.Added guard Ryan Wendell: I would expect every year to get better throughout the season. We work hard to try and get better every week, so if we werent doing that, we wouldnt be doing our jobs.As far as the coaching change affecting the group, Wendell added, Its still the same system. Players and coaches change every year and weve been real fortunate around here to have one coach at that position for a long time. But across the NFL coaches and players are moving all the time, so its not that out of the ordinary.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Jordan 12 Uk . "I was so nervous," Hadley said Sunday after winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour victory. "I did not eat well last night. Air Jordan 12 Wholesale . 1 goaltender tonight when they conclude a four-game road trip versus the Winnipeg Jets. http://www.cheapairjordan12uk.com/. He was attracted by the punishing defence, the strong running game and a coaching staff he trusted. The 49ers announced Thursday that Manningham had signed a two-year deal to join the team he helped knock out in the NFC championship game two months ago in their latest offensive upgrade at wide receiver. Air Jordan Retro 12 Wholesale . And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand. Air Jordan 12 Online Sale . Ireland was the last unbeaten side in the championship after France fell to Wales on Friday, and was favoured to end a three-match losing run to England with a side with more than twice as many caps, rampant momentum, and added incentive to celebrate Brian ODriscolls world record-tying 139th test cap.CHICAGO -- Corey Crawford is playing so well right now that nothing seems to bother him. When the Chicago Blackhawks had a goal waved off in the second period Sunday, Crawford picked up the slack for his disappointed teammates. Crawford made 25 saves, Jonathan Toews had a big goal in the third and the Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 in Game 1 of the Western Conference final. "Confidence has always been there," Crawford said. "Really the first thing is being prepared, having that preparation to try and have my game at the highest level it can be each time I get out there." He is on quite a roll right now, allowing only one goal in each of the past three games. The 29-year-old Crawford leads the NHL with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage in the playoffs. "He does a good job of never getting too high or too low because tomorrows another day," teammate Brandon Saad said. "He did a great job tonight." Saad had a goal and an assist for defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago, which remained perfect in seven home playoff games this year. Duncan Keith had a tiebreaking score in the third period. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night. Playing just two days after a Game 7 victory over Anaheim, the Kings got a second-period score from Tyler Toffoli and outshot the Blackhawks 26-20 in the opener of a rematch from last years Western Conference final. But Crawford made a couple of solid stops in another terrific performance. "I think we can do a better of getting in front of the net and make it harder on their goalie because we had some pretty good shots, but nobody was hanging around, so he was able to see everything," Kings centre Anze Kopitar said. With the Blackhawks clinging to a 2-1 lead in the third, Toews, Marian Hossa and Johnny Oduya got loose on a 3-on-1 break. Toews one-timed Oduyas pass right by Jonathan Quick for his sixth playoff goal at 16:10. Quick made 17 saves after he played a key role in Los Angeles rally from a 3-2 deficit in the series against the Ducks. The Kings also battled back from a 3-0 hole against San Jose in the first round. "We had a chance," Los Angeles forward Mike Richards said. "We shot ourselves in the foot a bit on their goals, and give them credit, theyre an opportunistic team. But we made a couple of mistakes and it ended up in our net." TToews 26th career playoff goal came after he had one waved off in a confusing stretch in the second period.dddddddddddd It looked as if Chicago had a 2-0 lead when Toews rush to the net resulted in the puck going off the skate of Kings defenceman Slava Voynov and into the goal. But it was waved off after a conference by the officials, prompting a round of boos from the crowd of 21,832 and a waving, yelling display from Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. According to the NHL, the original call of good goal was changed because the officials decided Toews made incidental contact with Quick before the puck crossed the goal line. The league said the ruling was not reviewable, so the call on the ice remained in place. The sequence seemed to wake up the Kings while deflating the Blackhawks. Los Angeles got its first goal about a minute later, with Tanner Pearson making a terrific pass to the middle to Toffoli for his fourth of the playoffs at 4:35. "I thought we lost a little momentum there," Quenneville said. The Kings then had a couple of chances to take the lead, but Crawford stepped up each time. He denied Kyle Clifford on a 2-on-1 break with 13:42 remaining, and stopped Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown in rapid succession midway through the period. Crawfords solid play bought Chicago some time to shake off the disallowed goal, and it paid off when Keiths slap shot went off the stick of Kings forward Trevor Lewis and bounced past Quick for a 2-1 lead at 11:54. Crawford made another big save on Jeff Carter in the first minute of the third, and Toffoli had a backhander go off the outside of right post on a breakaway opportunity in the final period. The Blackhawks turned a bad roughing penalty by Kings defenceman Alec Martinez into Saads power-play goal with 5:14 left in the first. The Kings had a prime scoring chance with 2:42 to go in the period, but Nick Leddy tied up Richards at the end of a 2-on-1 break. NOTES: Kings D Willie Mitchell was active for the first time since Game 6 of Los Angeles first-round series against San Jose, but D Robyn Regehr remained out with an injury. He has missed the Kings last seven games. ... Chicago killed off two power-play chances and is 44 for 48 on the kill in the playoffs. ... Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival was active after he was a healthy scratch for the last two games of their second-round series against Minnesota. ' ' '