National Football League

USC has not won a national title since 2004, but the Trojans finished No. 1 for the second consecutive year in terms of the NFL draft. With six players selected Sunday, USC upped its total to 11, more than any other program. "It was a great two days for the guys," Coach Pete Carroll said. "It's an awesome representation of how hard they work." In 2008, the Trojans had a national-best 10 players selected, four in the first round.

Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree is determined to put his best foot forward. The problem: He definitely has a best foot. Crabtree, widely projected to be a top-10 selection in this spring's NFL draft, is dealing with a stress fracture in his foot that was just discovered by medical personnel at the NFL scouting combine. The injury, which he said he's had for about a year, will require surgery that will sideline him for as long as 10 weeks.

The NFL, hoping to stay ahead of the technological curve, experimented this season with three-dimensional TV broadcasts. But for many of the teams in this weekend's slate of playoff games, their offense comes through in crisp and vivid 1-D. All passing, all the time. The Indianapolis Colts finished fifth in passing, 31st in rushing. The Philadelphia Eagles were sixth in passing, 22nd in rushing. The Arizona Cardinals were second in passing, 32nd in rushing.

Home. Alone. On an NFL weekend taken over by unruly guests, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed they're still the kings of their castle. They did what the Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers and even the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants couldn't. They defended their home turf -- and next Sunday will play host to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game at Heinz Field. "It can't get any bigger than that, man," Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes said.

When Mayor David Perez of the city of Industry looks out over the rolling, 600-acre site on his city's eastern edge, he sees the future home of an NFL stadium and an economic engine that would bring jobs and tax revenue for the entire region. When Joaquin Lim, the mayor of nearby Walnut, imagines a stadium there, he sees a potential disaster: traffic, noise and "passionate, emotional" football fans.

In his annual Super Bowl news conference Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league would take a hard look at bringing the Super Bowl back to Los Angeles in 2016 -- the 50th anniversary of the game -- whether or not the city has a team. The first Super Bowl was held in L.A., at the Coliseum, and 2016 would also mark the 70th anniversary of the 1946 L.A. Rams, the first integrated major professional sports team. L.A.

If a quarterback sends the wrong message to his receivers, it can cost him the football. If a quarterback sends the wrong message at this week's NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, it can cost him $10 million or more. That's why USC's Mark Sanchez and his handlers are especially careful these days about the signals that he's sending. With the top of the draft still very murky, and Sanchez a legitimate candidate to go No.

To throw or not to throw. That no longer is the question. USC quarterback Mark Sanchez will throw for scouts at the NFL combine Sunday, bucking a trend established by several elite passers over the last few years. It remains to be seen if Georgia's Matt Stafford will follow suit. The word leading into the combine was he was leaning against throwing here, and instead was waiting for his campus pro day.

NFL talent evaluators rely on study sessions and stopwatches, medical reports and miles of videotape. And sometimes, just plain gut feelings. They don't lean on rules of thumb, because as soon as one is cemented in place, an exception comes along to shatter it. Still, some patterns that have formed in recent years are hard to ignore.

If you want Pete Carroll to stay at USC, the latest Super Bowl coaching matchup -- Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin versus Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt -- was right up your alley. Think Urban Meyer belongs at Florida? Then you have to love pro football's latest hiring trend: an inexperienced and relatively inexpensive coach who can relate to his players is better than the high-profile leader with the whopping price tag, especially in this down economy.