THE LAST SUNDAY'S WINNERS & LOSERS
Well the regular season ended today, now it's on to the playoffs for 12 teams, the other 20 head home for the winter. There are coaches to be canned, finger pointing by the unaccountable for not making the playoffs & the realization for some veterans the end is now. Right now the number one most pressing issue is a new collective bargaining agreement so there isn't a work stoppage. The owners & player's association understand they have the a superior product, one that draws better TV ratings than MLB, NBA & NHL combined. Nothing should come before a new CBA, any work stoppage would be viewed as millionaires & billionaires being incredibly selfish. Hopefully sanity will prevail & we'll be enjoying NFL football right on schedule next September. Now for Sunday's winners & losers.
THE WINNERS:
Green Bay
The Packers knew last week, win twice & they're in & that's what they did. They smoked the Giants last week & defeated the Bears today. Green Bay lost a number of starters to injury, more than any other team in the league but they never let that become an excuse. With a great defense & a hot quarterback, the Packers are the toughest 6th seed I've seen in a long time. They were also my NFC Super Bowl pick, so for selfish reasons I happy they made it.
Pittsburgh
The Steelers, with the #2 seed in the AFC, played their best offensive game of the year in Cleveland today. Ben Rothlisberger picked the Browns apart, if his line can keep him upright, the Steelers will be a very tough out. The defense shutdown what had been a successful Cleveland running attack, Peyton Hillis managed just 13-yards rushing vs. Pittsburgh.
New England
The Pats finished 14-2 by beating Miami 38-7. With homefield thruout the playoffs, superior coaching & superior quarterbacking, New England is easily the AFC favorite to advance to the Super Bowl.
Detroit
The Lions won their last 4 games of the season beating Green Bay, Tampa, Miami & Minnesota. Jim Schwartz has given the long-suffering Lion fans reason to believe the franchise has finally turned the corner. One more quality draft & keeping QB Matthew Stafford healthy should be their #1 concern.
Chicago
In the who'da thunk it category, the Bears win in a landslide. The 11-5 record posted by Chicago caught everyone by surprise. Their once stingy defense was once again one of the toughest to score on league-wide. Jay Cutler cut down on his mistakes & the offensive line, which was porous to start the season, improved as the season progressed. To their credit, they could have phoned it in today, they couldn't improve their playoff seeding, but since the game meant everything to the Packers, their sworn enemy, the Bear starters played the entire game in near zero wind chill.
Atlanta
With homefield thruout the playoffs & a gaudy 20-2 home record with Matt Ryan as the quarterback, the Falcons are the favorites from the NFC. The Falcon defense is the unknown here, can they stop Green Bay, can they beat two teams that defeated them during the regular season, New Orleans & Philly?
Tampa Bay
The Bucs defeated New Orleans on the road today. it was their first victory over a winning team this season. They lost 6 starters down the stretch & still won. Tampa finished 1-game out of the playoffs. Coach Raheem Morris has done a 1-year turnaround like Kansas City. Next season Josh Freeman & company will challenge for the NFC South crown.
Jamaal Charles
The Chiefs' running back joined a very elite group of running backs in NFL history. Along with Joe Perry, O.J. Simpson, Barry Sanders & Jim Brown, Charles averaged over 6.0 yards per carry for an entire season. His 6.38 yard average is 2nd all-time to Brown's 6.40. He finished 2nd in league rushing with 1,467 yards on just 230 carries. The Chiefs have a great weapon for the future.
THE LOSERS:
NY Jets
Yeah, they made the playoffs, but because Kansas City lost & Indianapolis won, Rex Ryan's Jets will play indoors next Saturday night against the Colts. Ryan didn't want the Colts, neither did John Harbaugh & the Ravens. Beating Indy is one thing, beating them in their building is another thing all together. Let's see if the league's biggest trash talkers can back it up or are they going to be one & done.
Philadelphia
Most of Andy Reid's key skill position players took the day off in Sunday's loss to Dallas. Michael Vick will return to practice on Monday, but you have to wonder about some of the talk from inside Eagle headquarters. The word is Reid came close to yanking Vick last Tuesday night because for the 3rd game in a row, he wasn't recognizing blitz packages sent after him by Dallas, the Giants & Minnesota. The word is Reid won't hesitate to pull Vick from Sunday's game with Green Bay, another great blitzing team. I gotta tell you, after watching Kevin Kolb today against the Cowboys, I wouldn't be too hasty to yank Vick.
NY Giants
The G-Men played like they had bi-polar disorder, great one week, awful the next. They committed an un-Godly 41 turnovers, forty-one. When their season was on the line they put the nearest division competition, Philly, in a 31-10 hole with 8-minutes to play in the game. The Eagles proceeded to light them up for 4 touchdowns in less than 7-minutes. It was inexcusable, especially for a veteran team. They followed this collapse by laying another egg, this time in a 45-17 beatdown at the hands of the Packers. This is a better team than their 10-6, out of the playoffs would indicate.
Seattle and St. Louis
St. Louis played the worst game they had played against a division opponent all season, losing 16-6 in what was essentially a play-in playoff game. Sam Bradford wasn't good, his receivers dropped passes & for some unknown reasons they deserted their running game. They looked lost, confused & overwhelmed. St. Louis managed only 184 total yards. Seattle became the first team with a losing record to win an NFL division title. They were far from spectacular & figure to lose Saturday against the Saints. By winning tonight, the Seahawks shifted their draft position ever so slightly. Had they lost, they would have selected 8th in next April's draft. But by winning, they will draft no earlier than 21st. The league mandates all playoff teams draft after all non-playoff teams. So they'll get a little more punishment than just a sound beating from New Orleans.
Kansas City
Not only did they fall from the #3 playoff seed to #4, the Chiefs looked absolutely awful doing it. A rough, physical Raider team pushed them around & gave Baltimore a pretty good blueprint on exactly how to beat them. The Chiefs look like a one & done.
Oakland players & fans
For a team that is plagued by owner involvement, Raider coach Tom Cable has done an admirable job considering how hamstrung he is with Al Davis butting in constantly. If left to draft & staff their roster the way he wants to do it, Cable might have made the playoffs. But now the word coming out of Oakland is Cable is out, his contract option won't be pickup & the coaches' revolving door is back in business. Tough deal for Cable, a lot tougher deal for long suffering Raider fans.
Now that the playoffs are set, let's review my predictions from way back in the 1st week of September. I predicted the NFC division winners to be NY Giants, Atlanta, Green Bay & San Francisco, with wildcard teams Dallas & New Orleans. My AFC picks were New England, Indianapolis, Baltimore & San Diego with wildcard teams Pittsburgh & Cincinnati. So I correctly predicted only 3 division winners but 7 of the 12 playoff teams overall.
THE WINNERS:
Green Bay
The Packers knew last week, win twice & they're in & that's what they did. They smoked the Giants last week & defeated the Bears today. Green Bay lost a number of starters to injury, more than any other team in the league but they never let that become an excuse. With a great defense & a hot quarterback, the Packers are the toughest 6th seed I've seen in a long time. They were also my NFC Super Bowl pick, so for selfish reasons I happy they made it.
Pittsburgh
The Steelers, with the #2 seed in the AFC, played their best offensive game of the year in Cleveland today. Ben Rothlisberger picked the Browns apart, if his line can keep him upright, the Steelers will be a very tough out. The defense shutdown what had been a successful Cleveland running attack, Peyton Hillis managed just 13-yards rushing vs. Pittsburgh.
New England
The Pats finished 14-2 by beating Miami 38-7. With homefield thruout the playoffs, superior coaching & superior quarterbacking, New England is easily the AFC favorite to advance to the Super Bowl.
Detroit
The Lions won their last 4 games of the season beating Green Bay, Tampa, Miami & Minnesota. Jim Schwartz has given the long-suffering Lion fans reason to believe the franchise has finally turned the corner. One more quality draft & keeping QB Matthew Stafford healthy should be their #1 concern.
Chicago
In the who'da thunk it category, the Bears win in a landslide. The 11-5 record posted by Chicago caught everyone by surprise. Their once stingy defense was once again one of the toughest to score on league-wide. Jay Cutler cut down on his mistakes & the offensive line, which was porous to start the season, improved as the season progressed. To their credit, they could have phoned it in today, they couldn't improve their playoff seeding, but since the game meant everything to the Packers, their sworn enemy, the Bear starters played the entire game in near zero wind chill.
Atlanta
With homefield thruout the playoffs & a gaudy 20-2 home record with Matt Ryan as the quarterback, the Falcons are the favorites from the NFC. The Falcon defense is the unknown here, can they stop Green Bay, can they beat two teams that defeated them during the regular season, New Orleans & Philly?
Tampa Bay
The Bucs defeated New Orleans on the road today. it was their first victory over a winning team this season. They lost 6 starters down the stretch & still won. Tampa finished 1-game out of the playoffs. Coach Raheem Morris has done a 1-year turnaround like Kansas City. Next season Josh Freeman & company will challenge for the NFC South crown.
Jamaal Charles
The Chiefs' running back joined a very elite group of running backs in NFL history. Along with Joe Perry, O.J. Simpson, Barry Sanders & Jim Brown, Charles averaged over 6.0 yards per carry for an entire season. His 6.38 yard average is 2nd all-time to Brown's 6.40. He finished 2nd in league rushing with 1,467 yards on just 230 carries. The Chiefs have a great weapon for the future.
THE LOSERS:
NY Jets
Yeah, they made the playoffs, but because Kansas City lost & Indianapolis won, Rex Ryan's Jets will play indoors next Saturday night against the Colts. Ryan didn't want the Colts, neither did John Harbaugh & the Ravens. Beating Indy is one thing, beating them in their building is another thing all together. Let's see if the league's biggest trash talkers can back it up or are they going to be one & done.
Philadelphia
Most of Andy Reid's key skill position players took the day off in Sunday's loss to Dallas. Michael Vick will return to practice on Monday, but you have to wonder about some of the talk from inside Eagle headquarters. The word is Reid came close to yanking Vick last Tuesday night because for the 3rd game in a row, he wasn't recognizing blitz packages sent after him by Dallas, the Giants & Minnesota. The word is Reid won't hesitate to pull Vick from Sunday's game with Green Bay, another great blitzing team. I gotta tell you, after watching Kevin Kolb today against the Cowboys, I wouldn't be too hasty to yank Vick.
NY Giants
The G-Men played like they had bi-polar disorder, great one week, awful the next. They committed an un-Godly 41 turnovers, forty-one. When their season was on the line they put the nearest division competition, Philly, in a 31-10 hole with 8-minutes to play in the game. The Eagles proceeded to light them up for 4 touchdowns in less than 7-minutes. It was inexcusable, especially for a veteran team. They followed this collapse by laying another egg, this time in a 45-17 beatdown at the hands of the Packers. This is a better team than their 10-6, out of the playoffs would indicate.
Seattle and St. Louis
St. Louis played the worst game they had played against a division opponent all season, losing 16-6 in what was essentially a play-in playoff game. Sam Bradford wasn't good, his receivers dropped passes & for some unknown reasons they deserted their running game. They looked lost, confused & overwhelmed. St. Louis managed only 184 total yards. Seattle became the first team with a losing record to win an NFL division title. They were far from spectacular & figure to lose Saturday against the Saints. By winning tonight, the Seahawks shifted their draft position ever so slightly. Had they lost, they would have selected 8th in next April's draft. But by winning, they will draft no earlier than 21st. The league mandates all playoff teams draft after all non-playoff teams. So they'll get a little more punishment than just a sound beating from New Orleans.
Kansas City
Not only did they fall from the #3 playoff seed to #4, the Chiefs looked absolutely awful doing it. A rough, physical Raider team pushed them around & gave Baltimore a pretty good blueprint on exactly how to beat them. The Chiefs look like a one & done.
Oakland players & fans
For a team that is plagued by owner involvement, Raider coach Tom Cable has done an admirable job considering how hamstrung he is with Al Davis butting in constantly. If left to draft & staff their roster the way he wants to do it, Cable might have made the playoffs. But now the word coming out of Oakland is Cable is out, his contract option won't be pickup & the coaches' revolving door is back in business. Tough deal for Cable, a lot tougher deal for long suffering Raider fans.
Now that the playoffs are set, let's review my predictions from way back in the 1st week of September. I predicted the NFC division winners to be NY Giants, Atlanta, Green Bay & San Francisco, with wildcard teams Dallas & New Orleans. My AFC picks were New England, Indianapolis, Baltimore & San Diego with wildcard teams Pittsburgh & Cincinnati. So I correctly predicted only 3 division winners but 7 of the 12 playoff teams overall.
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