Jasper winning battle with scale while prepping for Bills career

Michael Jasper has been dropping weight the past few years, and when he embarks on a career as an NFL defensive tackle -- soon, he hopes -- he plans to be quite svelte.

Jasper, a seventh-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in last month's draft, is down to 375 pounds -- still big, even by NFL standards, but nowhere near the 448 pounds he carried not so long ago.

The 6-foot-4½ nose tackle has lost 73 pounds since leaving Middle Tennessee State after his sophomore year to transfer to Bethel, an NAIA school in McKenzie, Tenn., and he has focused on slimming down even more since his college career closed last fall.

"(Bills regional scout) Matt Hand made a deal with me initially, saying they wanted me under 400 pounds," Jasper told the Tennessean. "After the draft, I talked with coach (Chan) Gailey, and he said just to keep working hard and keep the weight off."

Jasper has become smarter about his diet while working out with his cousin, Artis Hicks, a nine-year NFL offensive tackle who played for the Washington Redskins last season.

"I've stopped eating so much and pretty much cut eating beef out," Jasper said. "I've minimized my bad carbohydrate intake, increased my vegetables and greens and water intake to kind of confuse my body so that it wouldn't hold onto so much water. It has started to flush some of the excess off.

"I feel brand new. I sleep better, I wake up feeling good, I enjoy being outside and feel like a kid again. I realize God has definitely blessed me."

Because of the NFL lockout, Jasper hasn't spoken with anyone from the Bills since the draft, and he's not sure if the team wants "me to get down to 360 pounds or anywhere near that," he said. "The way my body is, I'm not a regular 360-pound man. But I've done what the Bills asked me to do."

The average NFL nose tackle entering last season was 6-3 and 330 pounds, according to the Tennessean.

Jasper, 24, was listed at 394 pounds when he was drafted -- the heaviest player taken during the three-day process -- but Bills general manager Buddy Nix said that number was wrong.

"He's not as big as you've got him listed," Nix said after the draft. "He's down to 378 pounds, so he's drying up to nothing."

Bethel coach Dino Kaklis believes a slimmer Jasper will be a better Jasper. The lineman posted a 5.34-second 40-yard dash time, a 34-inch vertical leap and a 9-foot-5 broad jump in a workout for Bills scouts, and he wasn't as slim then as he is now.

"Everything the Bills and the other NFL guys saw of Michael playing during the year was when he was at 435 pounds, and they were impressed by what he did then," Kaklis told the Tennessean. "He's at 375 now and still as strong and solid as he was. I'd say he has the mobility of a 265-pound player."

Jasper weighed just 240 pounds when he started at Mount Juliet (Tenn.) High School, but he was 380 as a senior.

"When I got bumped up to varsity my freshman year, I started to put on the weight," Jasper said. "I started drinking creatine and protein and didn't know what I was doing. Then once I got to college, the food gets a whole lot better, and I started to get even bigger."

Jasper played two seasons as a nose tackle and offensive guard at Tennessee-Martin, then transferred to Middle Tennessee State but didn't play because of grades. He became a part-time student, and that's when he ballooned to his heaviest weight, before transferring to Bethel, where he played defensive tackle in 2009 and offensive guard in 2010.

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Colts win AFC South; Vinatieri's winning FG sets up matchup against Jets

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts are back in the playoffs.

And they look like they're ready to defend their AFC championship, too.

Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes, the defense limited Chris Johnson to 39 yards rushing and the always-clutch Adam Vinatieri booted a 43-yard field goal as time expired Sunday to give the Colts a 23-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans. They earned their seventh -- and most improbable -- AFC South title in eight seasons.

"We know what they were up against and how difficult it was and to overcome all that and win the division," owner Jim Irsay said, "it is extra special."

For the Colts (10-6), there were plenty of reasons to celebrate.

They tied Dallas' NFL record of nine consecutive playoff appearances, set from 1975-83.

Manning broke Gene Upshaw's long-standing record for most consecutive starts to open a career (208) and then set a new mark for completions in a season (450), established just a few hours earlier by Drew Brees. The four-time league MVP also threw his 398th and 399th career TD passes, falling one short of joining Brett Favre and Dan Marino as the only members of the 400 club.

Reggie Wayne caught nine passes for 68 yards and one TD, moving past Hall of Famer Raymond Berry into second in franchise history with his 69th career touchdown receiving.

Indy became only the third team since 2000 to lose a Super Bowl and return to the playoffs the following year.

Plus, the Colts did all that despite having 17 players on injured reserve.

The reward: a Saturday night showdown with the New York Jets in a rematch of last year's AFC title game. They also have a chance to host a second straight championship game as the surprise No. 3 seed, thanks to Kansas City's 31-10 loss to Oakland.

"I'll wait until Tuesday to get into that (the Jets)," Manning said. "We just kind of found out what time we're playing and who we're playing and get going on them starting this week."

Yes, the Colts were fortunate.

After losing to Dallas on Dec. 5, they were 6-6 and in serious jeopardy of missing the postseason for the first time since 2001. So coach Jim Caldwell told his players they needed four straight wins to make it back.

They did it, barely, and got a little help along the way.

Moments after Dominic Rhodes lost a fumble and Tennessee ran it back to the Colts 37, Houston's 34-17 victory over Jacksonville went final -- assuring the Colts of the division crown. But they still needed to win to avoid a possible second-round matchup at New England.

Two plays later, Kerry Collins fumbled the snap and Robert Mathis recovered at the Colts 38. Manning needed only five plays to get the Colts into Vinatieri's range, then waited patiently next to the official as the clock ticked down. He called timeout with three seconds left.

Vinatieri, the best clutch kicker in league history, wasted no time in adding another line to his legacy, raising his arms after the 43-yarder went through.

"They're never the same and you never take them lightly," said Vinatieri, who was 3 for 3 and matched a season-long with a 48-yarder in the first quarter. "We just have to have the opportunity at the end to help our team win that game. It was a good win, an important win for us. We'll take it."

For Tennessee (6-9), it was a fitting end to a season gone awry.

The Titans were 5-2 in late October, then lost eight of nine and now face uncertainty after a public spat between Vince Young and coach Jeff Fisher put the futures of both in doubt.

Fisher told the television broadcast crew he expected a quick decision to be made about his job status and later said he hoped to return next season.

"I'm under contract for another year, so we'll see," Fisher said. "We're going to come back and have wrap-up physicals tomorrow and we'll start our evaluation process."

The Colts won this one the same way they had the previous three -- by running effectively and stopping the run.

"They've been playing better the last couple of weeks," Collins said. "They definitely have improved since the last time we played them. You can't just come in here and say we're going to pound the ball at them for 150 yards. It just doesn't happen like that."

Meanwhile, Indy topped 100 yards rushing for the third straight game and Manning played like his usual self. He finished 27 of 41 for 264 yards and probably would have thrown for a record-breaking 64th 300-yard game had it not been for a handful of drops.

Late in the first half, Manning hooked up with Wayne on a bubble screen, and the receiver sprinted around the right side and into the end zone for a 7-yard score to make it 13-6.

Collins punched back in the second half, throwing a 21-yard TD pass to Kenny Britt to tie the score.

Manning answered with a perfect 30-yard over-the-shoulder pass to Pierre Garcon to make it 20-13, then Collins tied it again on Johnson's 15-yard reception that made it 20-20 with 4:18 left in the third quarter.

Neither team scored again until Vinatieri's field goal ended it.

"I think it shows the resolve of this team and our fight," Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney said. "It doesn't matter if we're 6-6 and we have to win our last four, we have to do it. If we have to win the last seven, we'll try to do it. That's just kind of what we are and we've been that for a while."

Notes: Collins was 28 of 39 for 300 yards with two TDs and passed John Unitas for 11th on the career passing list. Collins has 40,441 yards. Unitas had 40,239. ... Fisher coached his 273rd career game, including playoffs, moving past Joe Gibbs for seventh on the career list for most games coached with one team. ... Manning finished the season with a career-high 4,700 yards passing.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Giants shake off slow start to end Jaguars winning streak at three

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With his team trailing by 11 points and the season on the brink, coach Tom Coughlin wasn't the only voice in the New York Giants' locker room at halftime.

The one that stood out was Justin Tuck, and his message was simple: Stop playing like garbage.

Garrard's personal achievement

The Giants (7-4) got the message and maybe saved their season with five games to go.

Eli Manning threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Boss with 3:15 to play and Tuck and his buddies sacked David Garrard on three straight plays in the closing minute and forced a turnover as the Giants rallied to beat Jacksonville 24-20 on Sunday. The win snapped a two-game slide and ended the Jaguars' three-game winning streak.

"I talked about how you allow somebody to come into your house and take over," Tuck said after the Jaguars had taken a 17-6 halftime lead. "At that point, they were doing just about whatever they wanted to do. We couldn't allow ourselves not to be on the same page."

"I told them I was playing like garbage," Tuck added. "I told them we were playing like garbage. In the second half, we've got to pick it up. I just tried to create a spark, and it worked."

The Giants held the Jaguars (6-5) to three points, 92 yards in total offense and forced two turnovers, with Antrel Rolle's fumble recovery with 1:25 left icing the game.

"That was something that we needed," Coughlin said. "We needed to rise up and have a finish like that. We're all aware of the circumstances that we're in, that the division is in, that the conference is in, and we needed to keep pace."

Milestone Tracker

Jaguars QB David Garrard was one of a number of players who reached career milestones Sunday. Find out what it was. More.

Jacksonville took a 20-17 lead on 42-yard field goal by Josh Scobee with 8:26 to play and the Giants finally took the lead with a six-play, 69-yard drive that featured an 18-yard pass to Mario Manningham and an 18-yard run by Brandon Jacobs, who gained 87 yards on 14 carries in his return to the starting lineup.

Faced with a third-and-10 at the Jaguars 32, Manning (14-of-24 for 226) and Boss caught Jacksonville in a blitz.

"He saw it," Manning said of Boss. "He went up the field looking for the ball and I got it to him."

Boss caught the ball at the 25, shook off a tackle by safety Courtney Greene and romped into the end zone.

"He almost brought me down," said Boss, whose holding penalty cost the Giants a first-half touchdown. "I was kind of fumbling and stumbling to keep my feet and get in the end zone."

Greene took the blame.

"I just missed the tackle," said Greene, who led the Jaguars with 11 tackles.

Manning also threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Manningham and Lawrence Tynes kicked three field goals. Manning's late heroics also helped big brother Peyton in the AFC South race with Jacksonville -- the Colts and Jaguars began the day tied for the division lead.

Garrard and Rashad Jennings ran for touchdowns and Scobee kicked two field goal as the Jaguars lost for only the third time in eight games.

"This is a team that's been in Super Bowls and been in a lot of playoff runs, so we can't let up on a team like that," Jaguars defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. "It's a sign of maturity. We have a lot of growing up to do all across the board."

Jacksonville had one last chance and Garrard drove the Jaguars from their 27 to the Giants 29, where they got a first down on an illegal contact penalty against Aaron Ross with 1:51 to play.

Tuck and Antrel Rolle sacked Garrard for an 11-yard loss on first down. Dave Tollefson tackle Garrard for a loss of 5 more on second down. Cornerback Terrell Thomas, who intercepted Garrard's first pass of the second half to set up Tynes' third field goal, then sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble that Rolle recovered.

"If you don't execute and let a team stay in the game, that's what going to happen, you're going to end up losing out there," Garrard said as he waited to be X-rayed. "That's two or three weeks in a row we've left teams back in where we had a chance to end the game."

The Giants tied it early in the fourth quarter on the touchdown pass to Manningham and a 2-point conversion run by Ahmad Bradshaw.

Garrard (20-of-35 for 162) used runs of 6, 6 and 11 yards to set up Scobee's go-ahead 42-yard field goal.

Garrard and the Jaguars were outstanding in the first half, scoring on drives on 75, 85 and 71 yards the first three times they had the ball.

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Jennings capped the Jaguars' opening drive with a 5-yard run. Garrard hit passes of 12 and 16 yards on a 15-play drive that Scobee ended with a 22-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead.

The Giants appeared to tie the game on a 9-yard pass from Manning to Manningham on their next possession, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty against Boss. Tynes, who kicked a 22-yard field goal after New York's opening drive stalled at the Jags 5, added a 29-yarder.

Garrard then led a 13-play, 71-yard scoring drive he capped with a sensational 5-yard run on which he avoided a sack by Osi Umenyiora and broke a tackle by Tuck in going from sideline to sideline for the TD.

Notes: Will Beatty started at left tackle for the Giants with Shawn Andrews out with back injury. ... Former Giant Guy Whimper started at left tackle for Jacksonville with Eugene Monroe out with a concussion. ... Mike Sims-Walker, who battled an ankle injury all week, had four catches for 48 yards. ... The Giants finished with four sacks. ... Jacksonville lost despite having the ball for 35:27.

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