2008-09 NFL Thread

[X]

Phew, the Pats just barely pulled off the win today. Yet another day with a slew of injuries for our defense. Bruschi, Vrabel, & Wilfork all got injured at some point in the game, and I'm unsure of their status. Anyways, we ended up having to put in Rosevelt Colvin and Junior Seau, both of whom we only signed last week and haven't been on a field since the Super Bowl, but both managed to atleast put in a good effort. Seau did get burned at one point on a play that resulted in a TD, but you can't expect that much from someone who hasn't played in nearly a year.

I've been severely disappointed with our team the last few weeks. Thank god we were able to pull out the win at the very end this week, because theres no excuse to lose to a team like the Seahawks, who are just awful.

Things are even MORE interesting in the AFC East, as now the Pats, Jets and the Dolphins are all tied for first place. I'm still sticking by my guns that the Pats will win the AFC East, we have the easiest schedule left and our play can only go up from the last few weeks. Our defense needs some serious practice though, because the last few weeks have been embarassing.

Still, we're 8-5, so it could be a whole lot worse.

 

[Minor League Brian]

To be fair, Brian, you have to admit the Steeler's just weren't there for almost the entire night. I am by no means a Fan of the Steelers, hell they beat my Skin's not long ago, but I know they're a better team then that. That and I also -really- can't get enough of the Cowboy love that's thrown around when they're Not. That. Fuckin'. Good. Seriously, I don't even understand why everyone busts in their pants over that team.

Now, my Skins are getting torn apart by the Ref's in the Raven's game. Seriously, can the Skin's not play right anymore? I don't get how they can go from beating teams like the Cowboys and Eagles (the first time they meant something) and then losing to shit teams, and just losing all their steam. Blah.

 

[RBH]

That's why Football is a 60 minute game, not 54...

They turned the ball over 5 times. They're lucky our offense is terrible. not capitalizing on mistakes.


They didn't hang on, once again football is a 60 minute game, not 54.


The defense didn't fucking slack, Ben was sacked 5 times, they forced two turnovers, held us to 20 points. They lost because our defense is that good and Romo was making bad decision after bad decision. Their only touchdown was on some bull shit scramble.

Steeler haters crack me up they like pointing fingers at everyone else, they like giving reasons on why the other team lost, and not on why the Steelers fucking won. They're 10-3 with a mediocre offense, an offense that staggers at the line of scrimmage yet we win games, doing it the old fashion way


his posts seem fine, short but to the point.


Um dude, they turned the ball over 5 times, that isn't playing "well"
.
Um, you get real. Ben did what he's done for 4+ seasons. He was effective, he didn't turn the ball over a lot, and he made some plays when he had too. It's that simple, that formula brought 5 SB to the Steel City.

I guess todays fans don't like Defensive Struggles like you saw in the Steel City today.

Quite the contrary I like defensive struggles. This was a great game like I said. If you're gonna say that the Cowboys sucked because they turned the ball over 5 times then you might as well say the same thing about the Steelers since they did it 2 times. I know 5 is more than 2 but turnovers are still turnovers. But one thing we all can agree to is that it was a great game.

The Steelers struggled at home against another team like I said they would. They won the game yes but they did not play well offensively for too long. They cant do that in a playoff type atmosphere unless their defense gives up next to nill.

And short to the point will not work here...if I remember correctly, you have to give reasons for your posts. I thought you knew that Brian. I did say you were one of the good posters.

 

[RBH]

I've been here longer then you, and there was nothing more too say.

The Cowboys played how they always do, I didn't say they weren't "Good", just they SURE as hell ain't what they're cracked up too be. Steeler's were quiet all game, something was just off about them, and they didn't get it back till the end of the game. Neither their offense nor their defense was really "clicking", but it was still a -decent- back and fourth game. In the end, if the Steeler's had lost they'd only have themselves to blame, because the Cowboys are not a superior team when the Steeler's are clicking on all cylinders.

And I actually know how to post, I do it better then you do too.

It was not a personal attack on you....your post wa short which was why it looked like you were not giving reasons. The cold weather affected both teams. I dont think anyone ever gets used to that type of weather even if you have played there for your entire career like some Steelers have. The Steelers are clicking on all cylanders but they fucked up for 54 nminutes today. They did a good job in the last 6 but good teams like the Titans and Giants are not going to allow them to play the way they did and come away with a win.

The Steelers play a tougher team next week in Baltimore. That will also be a defensive struggle which I love. The Ravens are beating your Skins at the moment.

And Brian (Not Brian Becker), many people have said that when it comes to sports, Im a pretty damn good poster. Im improving in my wrestling posts but for the most part, I do my posts very thoroughly and I dont half ass them.

 

[RBH]

Phew, the Pats just barely pulled off the win today. Yet another day with a slew of injuries for our defense. Bruschi, Vrabel, & Wilfork all got injured at some point in the game, and I'm unsure of their status. Anyways, we ended up having to put in Rosevelt Colvin and Junior Seau, both of whom we only signed last week and haven't been on a field since the Super Bowl, but both managed to atleast put in a good effort. Seau did get burned at one point on a play that resulted in a TD, but you can't expect that much from someone who hasn't played in nearly a year.

I've been severely disappointed with our team the last few weeks. Thank god we were able to pull out the win at the very end this week, because theres no excuse to lose to a team like the Seahawks, who are just awful.

Things are even MORE interesting in the AFC East, as now the Pats, Jets and the Dolphins are all tied for first place. I'm still sticking by my guns that the Pats will win the AFC East, we have the easiest schedule left and our play can only go up from the last few weeks. Our defense needs some serious practice though, because the last few weeks have been embarassing.

Still, we're 8-5, so it could be a whole lot worse.

I was happy that the Pats won becasue it enabled me to go 10-4 for the weekend (heading into Sunday night's game). The Patriots have a date next week with the Raiders.....please for the love of God...DO NOT LOSE TO THE FUCKING RAIDERS.....Everyone knows that when you lose to the Raiders, you get kicked out of the league. Pats last 3 games are @ Oakland, vs Arizona, and @Buffalo. I can see 3 wins right there if they stick to the gameplan and run the system a play at a time. The Dolphins have San Francisco, @ Kansas City and @New York Jets, those games could go either way but the Jets have owned the Dolphins recently and the Jets have Buffalo, @Seattle and Miami. The Jets will likely beat Miami but those other two games are toss ups. They always manage to lose home games to the Bills and the Seahawks are not an easy team to beat as New England found out today. It will be an interesting last 3 games but the Patriots defeinately hace the favorable schedule.

 

[X]

I was happy that the Pats won becasue it enabled me to go 10-4 for the weekend (heading into Sunday night's game).

And to return the mutual good will, I'm damn happy that your Niners won today, albeit for selfish reasons. Really needed another Jets loss today, and Singletary provided that. Thank you, you crazy bastard.

The Patriots have a date next week with the Raiders.....please for the love of God...DO NOT LOSE TO THE FUCKING RAIDERS.....Everyone knows that when you lose to the Raiders, you get kicked out of the league.

Rofl, go tell that to the Jets, whom ESPN simultaneously jizzes over at every mention. Sometimes I wonder if ESPN has hidden voyuer cameras set up all around Brett Favres home, playing his daily life on a loop 24/7. It's honestly scary how in love with Favre (and now the Jets of course) ESPN is. I still can't believe how the ESPN NFL crew wouldn't stop praising the Jets defense in a game against the Pats in which they gave up over 500 yards. If that isn't blind worship, I don't know what is.

 

[BooCocky]

Quite the contrary I like defensive struggles. This was a great game like I said. If you're gonna say that the Cowboys sucked because they turned the ball over 5 times then you might as well say the same thing about the Steelers since they did it 2 times. I know 5 is more than 2 but turnovers are still turnovers. But one thing we all can agree to is that it was a great game.

Um dude, 2 times is less than 5. Simple math here brother

The Steelers struggled at home against another team like I said they would.

They didn't struggle, offensively they staggered but defensively they forced 4 turnovers, sacked Romo 3 times, and the touchdown they gave up was because Romo made a nice play

They won the game yes but they did not play well offensively for too long. They cant do that in a playoff type atmosphere unless their defense gives up next to nill.

People said that about the Ravens in 2000 yet they won the SB... Offense wins games, defenses win championship... Ex; Giants, Colts ( Defense struggled all year except in the playoffs) Steelers... So forth, it's not always the best defense, but it's the defense that makes plays when needed too. You can say what you want about our offense, but when it mattered Ben made plays. He started 5-15. After that he finished 12-18. Which is solid, and was good enough to win. Besides, He didnt turn the ball over.

And short to the point will not work here...if I remember correctly, you have to give reasons for your posts. I thought you knew that Brian. I did say you were one of the good posters.

I'm not gonna argue mod rules.

 

[Minor League Brian]

It was not a personal attack on you....your post wa short which was why it looked like you were not giving reasons. The cold weather affected both teams. I dont think anyone ever gets used to that type of weather even if you have played there for your entire career like some Steelers have. The Steelers are clicking on all cylanders but they fucked up for 54 nminutes today. They did a good job in the last 6 but good teams like the Titans and Giants are not going to allow them to play the way they did and come away with a win.

The Steelers play a tougher team next week in Baltimore. That will also be a defensive struggle which I love. The Ravens are beating your Skins at the moment.

And Brian (Not Brian Becker), many people have said that when it comes to sports, Im a pretty damn good poster. Im improving in my wrestling posts but for the most part, I do my posts very thoroughly and I dont half ass them.

Were we watching the same game? I mean seriously. The Steelers Defense was shit for most of the game, and they had plenty of time to captalize on Romo's mistakes. They did have their shining moments, but at no point where they going full throttle the entire time. And Ben was getting laid out near the end, I forgot how many times he got sacked. That line was falling apart, and you're right it wasn't till like the last 6 minutes that they came together but that had nothing to do with the Cowboys falling apart, but everything with the Steeler's finding their stride.

And the Raven's are beating the Skins because the Skins are beating themselves. I mean, 3 consecutive penalties? Bullshit calls by the Ref? Those fumbles in the beginning? Seriously man. The Skins are shit right now.

 

[RBH]

The Steelers defense played well the whole game except for the ridiculous touchdown pass from Romo to Owens in which Romo had like an hour time to throw. Holding a team to 13 points is pretty decent dude. Both the Steelers finding their stride and Cowboys falling apart, it takes two to tango. If the Cowboys held their ground and played a tighter pass coverage, they would have stopped the Steelers.

The offense really did a good job of getting back the ryhtym in the final quarter. Ben Rothlesberger as fucked up (injured) as he is managed to get the job done and for that he deserves a kudos. It does not get any easier next week with Ray Lewis waiting for you.

 

[RBH]

And to return the mutual good will, I'm damn happy that your Niners won today, albeit for selfish reasons. Really needed another Jets loss today, and Singletary provided that. Thank you, you crazy bastard.



Rofl, go tell that to the Jets, whom ESPN simultaneously jizzes over at every mention. Sometimes I wonder if ESPN has hidden voyuer cameras set up all around Brett Favres home, playing his daily life on a loop 24/7. It's honestly scary how in love with Favre (and now the Jets of course) ESPN is. I still can't believe how the ESPN NFL crew wouldn't stop praising the Jets defense in a game against the Pats in which they gave up over 500 yards. If that isn't blind worship, I don't know what is.

I did fuck up. I overlooked that game against the Pats. Their defense has been sporadic at best. They did have great defense against the Titans and a few other games but for the most part sporadic. Yes I am also tired of the ESPN Farve ass kissing that we get on a daily basis. I will not be able to respect Farve until like 3 years after he's officially gone. I really hope the Niners run the table. I know were not gonna be in the playoffs...(yet again...sigh....breaks something because this is my only losing team in all my 4 sports). but if we can run the table and win the last 3, we can set some momentum for next season. I think Shaun Hill is a decent QB but I still want Matt cassell (I dont know if you guys are gonna keep him since he'll probably want to be a starter next year). Beating the Jets was such great joy because the Niners have never beaten Farve in a regular season game (not even Steve Young or Joe Montana).

 

[BooCocky]

Were we watching the same game? I mean seriously. The Steelers Defense was shit for most of the game,

for fuck sakes, our defense wasn't shit, they were pressuring Romo throughout the game, they caused 4 offensive turnovers, and sacked him 3 times.
he would have been sacked a lot more if he wasn't mobile.

and they had plenty of time to captalize on Romo's mistakes. They did have their shining moments, but at no point where they going full throttle the entire time.

Our offenses inability to capitalize on mistakes has nothing to do with the way our defense plays. We couldn't run the ball, which means we had to pass the ball, and with that group of receivers it's pretty hard. They drop so many passes it's unbelievable.

If we didn't have a great defense we'd suck. I have no problem admitting that. But when it comes to our O to make some plays we usually do. After our Offense failed on 4th and Goal, we marched right back down their and scored, why? Because we found a way to move the ball. Ben is great in the no huddle, and Ben is a beast in the 4th QTR. If i remember correctly, Since 2004 he and P. Manning are tied for 4th QTR comebacks or OT game winning drives. Our offense is inconsistent, but they still make plays.

 

[Minor League Brian]

Maybe I think more of the Steeler's defense then you do then, but I don't think they were doing so hot. They weren't terrible, as I said they had their moments, but too me the Steeler's are a better team then that.

 

[X]

I think Shaun Hill is a decent QB but I still want Matt cassell (I dont know if you guys are gonna keep him since he'll probably want to be a starter next year).

Shaun Hill is a great backup. But theres a large market of great backups out there, what you guys need is a franchise QB, something that Alex Smith was supposed to be (that pick looks worse and worse every day dude).

I'd like for Cassel to go to the Niners, as the Niners are a team I have respect for and have no reason to hate (unlike the Cowboys/Steelers/Ravens, all of whom I despise for frequently signing players with the moral compass of a child murderer).

There are two obvious directions Cassel can go; come back on a one year deal, or cash in on his year. On one hand it'd be ignorant for Cassel not to seek big money somewhere else; but on the other hand I feel that Cassel would not be entirely opposed to coming back for another year as a backup for Brady/starter in case Brady's not ready to go or gets injured again.

You have to remember one important factor: loyalty. If not for Belichick and the Patriots organization, theres almost no chance Cassel would have ever gotten the chance to start anywhere else, or for that matter even be a back up. 7th round picks aren't often kept around as long as Cassel has been for the last few years, though he's still young enough to be the building block for a team. If the Pats were to offer him a nice salary with some performance-based incentives, I could see him coming back for another year. The QB market will be just as thin in 2010 as it will be in 2009, so I'm sure someone would still be willing to open the wallet pretty nicely for Cassel.

Still, it's a bit early to tell where Cassel's career will go from here. He's a product of the NE system for sure, but he's got a great arm as well as great feet and he's a very smart kid to boot. The only thing he really needs to work on is his accuracy; not so much because of too many interceptions (he only has about 7 I believe? Not bad) but because there have been several times this year when he's badly overthrown recievers. What makes this even worse is that he tends to only overthrow the ball when Randy Moss is WIDE OPEN deep down the field, or in the end zone.

I think he'll have a good career. Not a Manning or Brady kind of career, but I can see him becoming a solid Hasselbeck or Delhomme kind of player.

 

[BooCocky]

(unlike the Cowboys/Steelers/Ravens, all of whom I despise for frequently signing players with the moral compass of a child murderer).

O, please explain this. The Steelers sign players that have good attitudes for the most part and they sign players that are going to help the organization win championships.

Lets break this down for you. Gildon, a trouble maker, Gone. Porter, a pompous jackass who couldn't keep his mouth shut... Gone, the Rooneys fined him several times during his tenure in PGH. Cedrick Wilson, A woman beater, cut. Holmes was fined and suspended when he was caught with Marijuana. Who suspended him? The League? No, it was the Steelers organization. They will not tolerate that behavior, and they have said it in the past. You never see Steelers in trouble, outside of maybe Harrison, but even the Girls friend said he had the right to shove the girl on the ground.

Besides, it was your Patriots, who signed Moss, the same Moss who brought down two organizations, and destroyed a QB in the process. The Cowboys sign players like Pac Man Jones, the Steelers do not, why? Because they do not want the organization labeled as a bad organization.

It isn't the Rooney's way. He's a respected man, and runs a football franchise the way it should be ran.

 

[RBH]

Shaun Hill is a great backup. But theres a large market of great backups out there, what you guys need is a franchise QB, something that Alex Smith was supposed to be (that pick looks worse and worse every day dude).

I'd like for Cassel to go to the Niners, as the Niners are a team I have respect for and have no reason to hate (unlike the Cowboys/Steelers/Ravens, all of whom I despise for frequently signing players with the moral compass of a child murderer).

There are two obvious directions Cassel can go; come back on a one year deal, or cash in on his year. On one hand it'd be ignorant for Cassel not to seek big money somewhere else; but on the other hand I feel that Cassel would not be entirely opposed to coming back for another year as a backup for Brady/starter in case Brady's not ready to go or gets injured again.

You have to remember one important factor: loyalty. If not for Belichick and the Patriots organization, theres almost no chance Cassel would have ever gotten the chance to start anywhere else, or for that matter even be a back up. 7th round picks aren't often kept around as long as Cassel has been for the last few years, though he's still young enough to be the building block for a team. If the Pats were to offer him a nice salary with some performance-based incentives, I could see him coming back for another year. The QB market will be just as thin in 2010 as it will be in 2009, so I'm sure someone would still be willing to open the wallet pretty nicely for Cassel.

Still, it's a bit early to tell where Cassel's career will go from here. He's a product of the NE system for sure, but he's got a great arm as well as great feet and he's a very smart kid to boot. The only thing he really needs to work on is his accuracy; not so much because of too many interceptions (he only has about 7 I believe? Not bad) but because there have been several times this year when he's badly overthrown recievers. What makes this even worse is that he tends to only overthrow the ball when Randy Moss is WIDE OPEN deep down the field, or in the end zone.

I think he'll have a good career. Not a Manning or Brady kind of career, but I can see him becoming a solid Hasselbeck or Delhomme kind of player.

You have to remember that it was Nolan who signed Alex Smith. I can guarantee you right now that if someone with a brain had been running things, Alex Smith would not be a Niners QB right now but we cannot change the past.

I think Cassell will go somehwre else. I understand what you are saying about loyalty but remember that several Patriots who loved playing for the Pats have left within the last few years (Amante Samuel and Deion Branch) Those guys loved playing for the Pats but they found something else that they liked elsewhere.

The Niners need a QB if Shaun Hill is not the man, then Cassell would be the perfect guy at least until the team develops the next big thing. I may be wrong but I do not think any QB qill be as great for us as Montana and Young were. You cannot compare to those guys. But I do believe that my Niners if they can run the table are finally finally heading in a right direction.

 

[X]

O, please explain this. The Steelers sign players that have good attitudes for the most part and they sign players that are going to help the organization win championships.

Don't get me wrong, there are a large number of Steelers players I have a ton of respect for. I respect Ben & Hines very much. Really I probably only assosciated the Steelers with the Ravens & Cowboys because of their past of signing players with questionable resumes. But, now that you mention it, they have cleaned up their organization.

You never see Steelers in trouble, outside of maybe Harrison, but even the Girls friend said he had the right to shove the girl on the ground.

Come on now, that's fucking ridiculious. I don't care what the girl did, there was absolutely no way he was justified in pushing her to the ground. No excuse whatsoever.

Besides, it was your Patriots, who signed Moss, the same Moss who brought down two organizations, and destroyed a QB in the process.

Oh bull-fucking-shit. Moss did NOT destroy the Vikings, and to claim that Randy Moss is the reason that the Raiders organization is in shambles is INCREDIBLY misinformed. The Raiders were shit before Moss, and they've been shit afterwards. Moss had nothing to do with that team's failures.

And to try and claim that Moss is responsible for Daunte's downfall is also fucking ridiculious. Did Randy Moss take a bat to Culpepper's knees? Was he in Culpepper's ear telling him where to throw every time he threw an interception? That's ridiculious.

Moss had some attitude problems, but they were greatly exagerrated, and nowhere near the level of a TO or Chad Johnson. Besides, the moment you sign with the Patriots any bad attitude problems you have are fucking history, or you are. Belichick does not tolerate even the slightest form of disrespect from his players, and if Moss were to even open his mouth to bitch or moan once, he'd find himself in a very unfortunate situation with the ownership.

Seriously, don't even try to criticize the Pats. We employ some of the most respected players in the history of the NFL, and are known for our history of tough and ulta-respected grizzled veterans.

 

[X]

I think Cassell will go somehwre else. I understand what you are saying about loyalty but remember that several Patriots who loved playing for the Pats have left within the last few years (Amante Samuel and Deion Branch) Those guys loved playing for the Pats but they found something else that they liked elsewhere.

Woah, woah, WOAH. Hold it there man. Asante Samuel did NOT love playing for the Pats. All Samuel cares about is money, nothing else, which is why we ended up having to place the franchise tag on him, something he only accepted under the stipulation that the Patriots would not place it on him again.

A buddy of mine who I graduated high school with actually has the same sports agent as Samuel (he's a big track runner kinda guy), and has met him a few times. Upon asking Samuel what were the chances he'd come back with the Pats in 2008, his response was "virtually none". I wasn't there obviously, but I doubt he'd lie about something like that.

Samuel is a punk. Talented, but a greedy punk nontheless.

 

[BooCocky]

Don't get me wrong, there are a large number of Steelers players I have a ton of respect for. I respect Ben & Hines very much. Really I probably only assosciated the Steelers with the Ravens & Cowboys because of their past of signing players with questionable resumes. But, now that you mention it, they have cleaned up their organization.

Depends on what you mean, we sign players that are going to help our organization, and if a problem occurs while on the team the Rooneys will take action. They don't have a problem benching plays for causing trouble nor do they have problems fining players for altercations during the games.

Come on now, that's fucking ridiculious. I don't care what the girl did, there was absolutely no way he was justified in pushing her to the ground. No excuse whatsoever.

She had an intent to harm, Harrison was only protecting himself, he did nothing to hurt her, he just saved himself. If a woman charged you with the intent to harm, what would you have done? I would have shoved her without any hesitation.

Oh bull-fucking-shit. Moss did NOT destroy the Vikings, and to claim that Randy Moss is the reason that the Raiders organization is in shambles is INCREDIBLY misinformed. The Raiders were shit before Moss, and they've been shit afterwards. Moss had nothing to do with that team's failures.

Well no, but his constant attitude of give me the ball, I'm better than you, this offense revolves around me shit brought down his offense. In the end Moss hurt his team more than he helped his team.

Seriously, don't even try to criticize the Pats. We employ some of the most respected players in the history of the NFL, and are known for our history of tough and ulta-respected grizzled veterans.

And you criticize the Steelers organization. Rooney helped build the foundation of the NFL along with Jerry Jones and Kraft. The Rooneys have been one of the most respected owners in the NFL.

Here, I will give you this piece of info from ESPN

Bowlen received 4.5 votes and Jones received four votes, trailing only the five votes received by the Dan Rooney family, which founded the Steelers. Dan Rooney, the chairman of the team, declined to comment for this story. Rooney was at the top of a very crowded list, which lends credence to the notion that the NFL is enjoying a zenith of quality ownership. Eleven of the 32 owners in the league received votes.

"It's a nice compliment to hear your peers feel that way," Jones said. "I think I've been a guy who always had had my share of criticism along with compliments, but I have always tried to make my organization work. That is the key. You always have to strive for success."

Quality ownership also means you have to be the type of person for whom people want to work. Coaches said the primary prerequisite of good ownership is simple: support. Coaches want owners who are willing to use resources to make their team competitive, but also owners who are aware of what is going on.

After one season as a head coach in the NFL, Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin clearly relishes working for the Rooney family. Tomlin said there is a reason why his ownership received the most votes.

"Everything permeates from the top down," Tomlin said. "I don't care what you talk about, whether it's a football team or a business. Our owners' reputation is well-deserved. They're awesome people. They're football people. It's one of the things that's better than you even anticipate."

Gary Kubiak, going into his third season as the head coach in Houston, said he has been lucky to work with good ownership. He was the offensive coordinator in Denver under Bowlen for a decade and now works for Texans owner Bob McNair, who received a vote for best owner. Kubiak said he feels fortunate to have worked under such quality ownership. He said his job would be much more difficult if he didn't work for quality people.

"It's the only chance you have as a football coach, I can tell you that," Kubiak said. "You have to work for a good man who is willing to do whatever it takes to give your team a chance to be competitive. There is nothing better than that support system they give you. Bob McNair is just tremendous. I was fortunate enough to be around Pat as an assistant coach."

Mike Shanahan has worked for Bowlen since 1995 as head coach and previously had a stint under Bowlen as an assistant coach. The only other owner Shanahan has worked under as a head coach is Raiders owner Al Davis, who didn't receive a vote in this survey. Shanahan worked for Davis for 20 games in 1988-89 and his distaste for Davis is well-known. Shanahan said he credits Bowlen's leadership for his success in Denver.

"You can't get better than Pat Bowlen," Shanahan said. "He gives you everything you need as a coach. People around the league recognize how good he is as an owner. He's steady, he's calm. He gives total support."

Like Rooney, Bowlen stays in the background. Still, Bowlen said it is imperative for him to work at the Broncos' facility. Some owners have offices and other businesses elsewhere. The Broncos are Bowlen's business.

"The Broncos are my job and I love my job," Bowlen said. "It's very easy to go to work."

But don't expect Bowlen ever to make football decisions. He fully trusts Shanahan.

"In my 24 years as an owner, I always thought it was my job to find the right people," Bowlen said. "Once you find the right people, you trust the team with those people. If I ever thought I don't have the right people, I'd make a change."

Jones' approach is surely different, but the goal is the same.

"I am hands-on, but I think I treat my people as equals," Jones said. "I put myself in their shoes and I have the same goals. Sure, I make a lot of decisions, but I trust and respect my people as if they were my equal because they are my equal."

Both Bowlen and Jones said the fact that 11 different owners were nominated by the coaches speaks to how well the league is currently being run.

"This is the most informed group of owners that I've ever been involved with," Jones said. "We're really in good shape. Information is king and our owners are all very aware of what's going on. This isn't an easy business to be involved in, but we have a good, united group."

 

[RBH]

What a day of football ...lets go over how some of the football playoff contenders did and what I see from them.

1. Tennessee Titans (12-2): the Titans lost to a Texans team that wanted the game more. the Texans had not beaten the Titans in several years so it was bound to happen but none of us expected it to happen this year. the Titans have shown that they can struggle as they have in 3 of the last 4 games though they did manage to win 2 of those games. I am leaning towards Pittsburgh next week in my pick between the teams when they play.

2. Pittsburgh (11-3): Isn't it so convenient that the Titans and Steelers play each other next week with first place in the balance. I love it when that happens. Great win for the Steelers as their defense once again showed why they have the best defense since Ray Lewis's 2000 Ravens defense. But the difference is that Ben is a better Quarterback than Trent Dilfer. The Steelers were able to get past some great adversity in hated Baltimore and put the Ravens downa peg. They are still the AFC North beasts until someone decides to say otherwise.

3. New York Jets (9-5): If the playoffs began today, the Jets would have the tiebreaker advantage and therefore be the divison champ. They played okay today but they did not impress me. The Bills are weak right now and the Jets were supposed to take care of them easily but they let the Bills come back. Not a good thing. Next week, they got to go to Seattle in a time zone where they are currently 0-3 (losses to san diego, san fran and oakland)

4. Denver Broncos (8-6): The Broncos are poised to be eliminated from the playoffs in the very first round. That is how bad I believe that they are. The Broncos got totally blown away by a Panthers team that they more or less should have beate if they were really that good to begin with. But the simple truth is that Denver has no solid running game and a very inconsistent Quarterback.

5. Indianapolis Colts (10-4): The Colts are surely on fire now. They are winners of their last 7 games and are sure to keep that trend going within the next 2 games whee they lose the season with a road game in Jacksonville and a home game against Tennessee. The very fact that no one is even paying attention to them makes them even more dangerous come playoff time. The Colts still are Peyton Manning's team but have proven that they can win without his heroics.

6. New England Patriots (9-5): If the playoffs began today, the Patriots would be in the sixth spot as they have the better conference record. The Patriots played really well against a horrible Oakland Raiders team a week after they came close to losing to Seattle. Now, they have a date at home against Arizona next week and they need to take care of business.

In the Hunt
7. Baltimore Ravens (9-5): The Ravens totally fucked up their playoff positioning with their looss to the Steelers and now will need help to even make the playoffs. They need the Pats to lose at least one game and they themselves need to win their final two games. That is easier said than done as they do have a date with the Dallas Cowboys next week before concluding the season with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

8. Miami Dolphins (9-5): The Dolphins need to run the table to be guaranteed of a division title and a playoff spot. But that is easier said then done. But I am impressed with their defense. They ahve not allowed a touchdown in 3 games (Before Xfearbefore comes in saying their defense sucks, yes I know you guys scored 48 points on them, but remember the first game they did hold you guys to 13 points). The Dolphins have totally reformed their team and it is all thanks to the genius Bill Parcells. It is also amazing to think that the Dolphins could win 10 games and still not make the playoffs. But their last 2 games are not a breeze: at kansas city and at the Jets at the Meadowlands.

NFC
1. New York Giants (11-3): Who the hell are these guys? Losers of two in a row and about to lose their homefield advantage next week when the Panthers come to town. Where is Will when you need him? The Giants have slowed down dramtically after scorching off to an 11-1 start. The Eagles found a way to beat them through the running game and the Cowboys did the same thing alas both teams did something very smart; its called the Blitz. Blitzing while very risky can be very rewarding if it takes the Offensive Line by surprise. The Giants can very easily fall to 2nd place by the end of the year and possibly even 3rd if the Vikes get hot.

2. Carolina Panthers (11-3): The world if all theirs if they want it. The Panthers have won 3 in a row and are in a prime position to take the conference lead from the Giants. The Panthers have demonstrated that they have a great running game and a decent passing game. Plus, their defense has come back to life this year. They need to get to Eli early if they want to win next week.

3. Minnesota Vikings (9-5): The Vikings are in a prime position to win the division next weekend when they host the Falcons. If the Vikings can win and the Bears lose, then they will automatcally win the division. They will end the season with a home game agaisnt the Giants and like I said, it is very possible that they could actually earn a first round bye. Now who the hell saw that coming?

4. Arizona Cardinals (8-6): The Cards proved how much they suck against the Vikings. I see them falling in the first round. The Cards have a great offense but once that goes, so does everything else and they do not play well from behind. The Cardinals have hope but they also have to play at New England next week followed by a home game against Seattle.

5. Dallas Cowboys (9-5): The Cowboys have put themselves in prime position to go out and make the playoffs. Now, all they have to do is continue to win. The Cowboys beat a good Giants team and now will face a tough Ravens team at home and a difficult Eagles team on the road. The Cowboys can clinch a playoff spot if they win the final two games but easier said than done.

6. Atlanta Falcons (9-5): The Falcons won a very important game as they now need to win to stay alive in the NFC Wildcard race. They can actually clinch a playoff spot by winning their final two but the Falcons have to do that at Minnesota and at Saint Louis. That is not always easy.

In the Hunt
7-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-5): The Bucs have dropped from playoff favorites to possible letdowns. They have lost 2 in a row to division rivals and now must beat San Diego to stay alive. That is not always easy but it is possible. The Bucs will finish the season with the Oakland Raiders which is a plus. If they can sweep these final 2 games, things will look up for the Bucs. For now, they have to keep their focus on the Chargers.

8. Chicago Bears (8-6): The Bears need to win at home against Green Bay and also win in Houston and they also need Minnesota to lose both games. Those odds look unlikely but theyre not impossible. The Bears have played mostly well this season (sans losses to Minnesota and Green bay). The Bears need to beat Green bay and hope that Minnesota loses.

9. Philadelphia Eagles (7-5-1): The Eagles need to win against the Browns and then at Washington. Those are 2 very winnable games but it all depends on how well they play. Which Eagles team will show up for these final 3 games? The Eagles that devoured Arizona or the Eagles team that got devoured by Baltimore? I believe that they can beat Cleveland and Washington and even Dallas since their last 5 December meetings against the Cowboys have been 5-0.

If the playoffs began today

AFC
round 1
-Indianapolis @Denver=I would pick Indy because Denver has not played well.
-New England-New York Jets-I would pick New England because they have done well at the Meadowlands in rceent years.

Round 2
-New England @Tennessee=I would pick Tennessee because their defense is a little better.
-Indianapolis-Pittsburgh=I would pick Indy because Peyton Manning and the Colts have already shown that they know how to beat the Steelers at Pittsburgh.

AFC Title Game
-Indianapolis @Tennessee=I would again pick Indy as they seem to be hot right now and running on all cylanders.

NFC playoffs
round 1
-Atlanta @Minnesota=Minnesota because they are playing better consistent football right now.
-Dallas @Arizona=Dallas because they are more consistent and the Cards were one of the teams that started their playoff losing streak if I remember correctly.

Round 2
-Minnesota @Carolina=Carolina because their running game and defense is better.
-Dallas @ New York Giants=Dallas because they are playing better football right now and it would avenge last years loss

NFC Title Game
-Dallas @ Carolina=Carolina because they were the team to start Dallas's losing streak and will start a new one.

SUPER BOWL
Indianapolis vs Carolina=Indy because Peyton Manning will rise to the occasion.

Now these are just what I believe could happen if the playoffs started today, does not necissarily mean that they will happen.

 

[klunderbunker]

I am stunned with the Cowboys winning over the G-Men. After teh absolute meltdown this week, we beat the Giants in an absolute must win game, and do it in convincing fashion. This now makes it seem that the Steelers loss is now absolutely killing up. In reality, we gave up 6 points to New York. That safety was a mistake. We rose to the occasion and just took them down. Now we move on to Saturday, which means I get to watch the game. The Ravens are a defeatable team, and it would put us a huge step closer to the playoffs. If we get Arizona in there, we would beat them too. Very excited now, and can't wait for next week.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I'm glad the Steelers pulled out another tough win...If we can contain Chris Johnson next week we have a great chance to win that game....The Panthers/Giants game is a must win for the Giants because if they lose they are in danger of falling into the #3 seed....I expect the Dolphins to win out and claim the AFC East because I don't trust the Jets defense and they have been horrible against the run as of late.

 

[RBH]

The Dolphins can certainly win next week but remember that they have not won at the Meadowlands in several years. In fact, the last time the Dolphins won a game there, I believe Marino was QB. They hate playing there. I mean it would be great if they did. I am just laying down the facts,

And a correction on my earlier post, if the Vikes win one game or the Bears lose, the NFC North race is over. The Vikings would have to lose both games and the Bears win both games to have a chance.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

TheOneBigWill's 'take' on the N.F.L. Season:

Before I get started, don't you just love how I really point out everything as being my 'take' on the situation? lol It's like, I don't think people really give a crap to spend the extra second or two it would take to read that it's my take, (much less the couple of seconds it'd take to read me writing all this, anywho..) I just feel the need to explain that it's mine. So let's get to it.

Opening Thoughts: As I write this, we're 15 weeks into the Regular Season. We've seen some interesting developments and some solid games. We've also seen some odd turn-outs, including the first tie since 2002. (I believe, it's been that long) One of the more interesting turn-outs surrounding the tie game, was apparently the belief by Eagles' QB, Donovan McNabb that a game couldn't end in a tie, ever. My opinion's on that subject are of shear shock at how many players overall seemingly didn't know a game could end in a tie. If practically every fan knows this, how could the player's themselves not?!

Another year gone by, and another round of premiere star QB's go down with injury, none greater than Tom Brady. This makes me question if by next year, we'll be seeing flags around the QB's waists and a new "flag football" rule will be brought in.

The latest story surrounding the N.F.L. is the Dieuratic (sp?) drug that's apparently a masking agent to cover-up the possible use of Steroids. 6 players, Deuce McAllister, Will Smith, Charles Grant, (of the New Orleans Saints) Pat & Kevin Williams, (of the Minnesota Vikings)-(no relation) and Bryan Pittman (of the Houston Texans) were the big names all found guilty/positive of using it. As-is, due to a Minnesota (I laughed) judge, the case is pending until further review and the players will NOT be suspended until the case has had a chance to be fully reviewed.

The interesting note to this is, instead of filing along side the Saint's and Viking's players, Bryan Pittman took the suspension. I believe that is him saying 1 of 2 things. Either he's admitting to taking Steroids and willingly taking the suspension and punishment. Or he's figuring the suspensions will happen at some point and if not this season, definately next.. so since Houston isn't a playoff contender this season, he won't hurt his team by leaving early. (not that a Long Snapper plays a super big role to begin with.)

The main reason the others are fighting this is because apparently all of them are claiming this drug was to help with health and their weight. Now that may be true, but they also knew this drug was ILLEGAL to use.. and there is no cover-up, or excuse for stupidity. I say this being carried out in court is only a waste of time. I mean, come on.. you can't tell me that was the only (ONLY) drug that was or could've been available to help with their weight and health. So my guess is one if not more or all, were covering up Steroids and just do not under any circumstances want linked to that being the case in any way, shape or form.

But enough of the off the field issues, I'll fill in some more in my closing thoughts and through my team by team review. So let's get to the review of each team, through Week 15. I'll start with the A.F.C.

A.F.C. North:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: Without a doubt I would say the Pittsburgh Steelers are the A.F.C.'s best team this year, and dispite the TN. Titans having a better record, as-is, I wouldn't say it'll be that way come the end of the season. Pittsburgh has a very smash mouth Defense that's carried them through some tough matches this year, and no tougher than the Baltimore Ravens. Once on Monday night, that lead to OT, and again this past Sunday in a thriller.

I think Pittsburgh's main problem is the ineffectiveness of their back-field, and the over use of their QB. (Brian, I know you'll have something to say) Big Ben is a good QB, no question, but they've been majorly banged up in the backfield and when they can't run effectively, they can't do any trick plays through the air, or play-action, which hurts Ben.

Willie Parker may still be showing signs from last year's injury, not to mention this year's all new list of bang-ups. Moore has been a nice fill-in, but he wasn't a starter in Minnesota for a reason, and my guess is he won't be the starter for Pittsburgh next year either. Regardless of all that, the Pittsburgh Steelers do NOT need to put up 30 pts. per game, because their Defense doesn't allow (usually) over 20. I believe Pittsburgh is the team to beat in the A.F.C., and home-field (possible) throughout the playoffs will mark them as the odd's on favorite to head into the Superbowl.

2. Baltimore Ravens: Where in the world did Joe Flacco come from?! (Delaware would be the smartass answer) First year head-coach John Harbaugh must've really seen something golden because this kid has exactly what this team needed.. someone who can pass 5-10 time's per game, and NOT turn the ball over greatly.

It's been reported that (believe it or not) the Baltimore Ravens have been one of the top scoring Offense's of the passed few weeks.. looking back that's rather amazing considering they faced team's like Philly, New York, (Giants) Washington and Pittsburgh. (Cinnci can be thrown in, but don't count them.)

This Defense seems to have a odd/even type of fight in them. One year they're one of the best Defense's in the N.F.L., the next they just suck. This year they're on, and it's leading Baltimore straight into the playoffs as a very tough opponent for Dec-Jan match-ups. They do what needs to be done this time of the year. Run the ball effectively, and play hard-hitting smash-mouth Defense. Unfortunately, as seen in a few match-ups this year.. they haven't really beaten any big named teams.. when they were playing their best. (Philly doesn't count)

My guess is Baltimore will slide into the playoffs, but won't make it beyond the Wildcard round. They might be playing the type of game that's needed, but so will practically every other team. (unless they match-up against the Jets, Denver or San Diego. (yeah, it's possible)

3. Cleveland Browns: Don't ask me how, but somehow I was among those who believed this team might be a decent team this year. I didn't believe they were a Superbowl team, or a top notch/quality team, but definately better than 4-10. What's funny is, I don't think they'll win again this season, and they play the Bengals next week at home. (last home game)

Romeo Crennel has already been told he'll be released, barring some type of Super-human miracle, and let's face it.. that's the type of miracle that requires all the current playoff team's to basically fall off the face of the earth, and allow the Browns to fall in by default. Sorry Romeo, good luck going back to New England.. or college.

Sadly, that isn't the worst thing. There is always a great chance they could land a great head coach. The super sad fact is all the money they paid out to Derek Anderson. You know, the guy they BENCHED this season after signing him to a big money, long term deal. Yeah, good luck finding a team willing to take that off your.. well, maybe Detroit, they did pick up Culpepper afterall.. but then again, they'll likely be picking up one of the top QB's of the draft.. or another WR, cause you can never have too many stud WR's without a rider. hahaha

Anywho, Brady Quinn looked okay at best, but he's not really looking like the top notch QB a lot of people felt he would be. Maybe it's the lack of top named players, but then again Edwards and Winslow are a nice duo. I think Cleveland needs an upgrade at their RB position, with the adition of another deep threat at WR. But most of all, they need to retool their Defense because they'll never win when they have to put up 40 pts. to make the amount of pts. their Defense is allowing.

4. Cincinnati Bengals: If Marvin Lewis, Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh (yes that's spelled right) and Carson Palmer are all returning next year, I don't see much of a turn around for the Bengals. Possibly a 5-11 season instead of what looks to be heading for a 4-11-1 season. (yes, that's me giving them the two last games as victories.)

I have no idea what happened to Palmer, some say he has an injury to his throwing arm, yet it doesn't require surgery. That's sounding more like he's just throwing like crap and we don't wanna admit it. Thing is, Palmer was at one point a very good QB. And he has two very reliable (on the field) targets. The Bengals main issue is the off the field crap.

Chad Eight Five wanted to be anywhere but Cincinnati this year, then told the middle of their obvious losing season he had a change of heart.. why? My guess is during the off-season he'll once again throw a fit when he doesn't get his wish of being off the team. If I'm Cinci, I trade him to Oakland.. go rot in hell with the rest of the trash.

The great thing about this team isn't anyone or anything regarding the team at all. It's the voice of the fans, paying money to voice and post (literally through billboards) their opinion's on what they need to do. This is where I'm a bit torn; you see I'm a fan and I have my own theories on what selective teams should do.. but as a fan, it's not my job to coach and control the team. I'm likely also not the best option for reasonable things to do. Just because it seems good to cut the loose ends and start fresh, doesn't always mean anything. (by the way, I'm NOT a Bengals fan.. I was simply saying, AS a fan, I wouldn't believe I'd know what's best for my team.)

Next year will hopefully be a turning point for this team, but only if one of the top 4 egos (if not more) are removed. You can not run a team with 4 guys believing they're the head guy.

A.F.C. South:

1. Tennessee Titans: 12-2 and I'm still not sold on the Titans even being a playoff team. They have a bye, and the ability to win homefield throughout, but it won't happen. This is a team that's gotten by all the good opponent's and hey, a win is a win I know.. but depending on how good the win is, is how good you are as a team. I mean, afterall the Browns defeated the Giants on Monday night.. but we aren't crowning the Browns the next Champions.. are we? No.

Tennessee coasted by Baltimore, barely. They took a lucky win against GB, in OT. They defeated the Colts when they were still struggling, and I firmly believe they won't do it in Week 17 again. Afterall, the loss to the Titans was what woke the Colts up. But lately, they lost hard to the Jets at home.. and again to the Texans on the road. They have a red hot Pittsburgh team, for homefield throughout the playoffs on the line. I'm 99.9% positive that they'll drop to Pittsburgh, especially without a couple star Defenders. And then again to the Colts, in Indy.

Tennessee might of come on like gang-busters, but let's face it.. K.C., Jacksonville, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Minnesota. (before they got hot) If you have a good Defense, why wouldn't you win any of those games? That's exactly what the Titans HAD.. mixed with a nice duo at RB. Their best move was benching Vince Young, just to keep the turnover ratio down.. and that's only because Collins won't throw 10 yds downfield unless he absolutely has to.

I'm not a believer in the Titans until they beat a great opponent. The Steelers, The Colts.. or ANY playoff team once the playoffs begin.. then I'll start rethinking my opinion of this team.. but as it stands, Tennessee will fall out in the divisional round of the playoffs. (only because they already have the bye)

2. Indianapolis Colts: Peyton Manning has had by far his worst season since (I believe) his rookie year. The Colts weren't extremely effective with running the ball to begin with, but Joseph Addai going down with injuries didn't help matters. Thankfully they resigned Dominic Rhodes who's making them question why they ever cut him to begin with. (you know, forgetting the drug issues)

The Indy Defense was never huge either, but just like their Superbowl year, they're coming on at the right time of the year to lead the Colts into what could be at least an A.F.C. Championship showdown against the Steelers.

I think the Colts definately need to target fixing their Defense in the off-season because out of everything, that's been the one killer for this team. I refuse to blame the offense for anything, and with how great Peyton Manning has been over the years, especially with the well known injury he's entitled to having a down season. The only question now becomes, if the Colts were to win out and then win the Superbowl.. how many people will hope for a partial Peyton Manning injury to volt them back again. hahaha

3. Houston Texans: Why the fuck wasn't Steve Slaton starting to begin with? I mean, it's not like he JUST picked up playing great after Green went down.. each time the kid has touched the ball, even in the limited touches while sharing with Green, he was an explosive home-run threat. This is their future and if he would've started/touched the ball more in the beginning, the Texans might be a playoff contender right now. YES, I believe that.

Andre Johnson is by far one of the best WRs in the league, and the best thing about this guy.. he keeps his mouth shut and avoids drama. Who wouldn't want 2 or more of this guy on their team?! The Texan's main issue is and will always be their QB. Matt Schaub was the big name QB they picked off from Atlanta and he hasn't produced the way they wanted him too.

Finishing up with his second season, Schaub has missed about as many games as he's played for them. That's not good. To add to it, Sage Rosenfels has played about as good as Schaub but has a nasty turnover issue. With a guy like Andre Johnson, it's incredibly hard not to wanna pass 20-30 times a game, but with a back with Slaton's abilities how could you not be tempted to just hand off just as many times.. it's simply a hard choice.

The Texans Defense is nicely coming along, being lead by Mario Williams. However no Defense is great enough to overcome the lack of offense the Texans still have. I strongly believe if they find a good enough QB, or if Schaub/Rosenfels can become the QB the Texans need them to be, this could be a possible Wildcard team next year for the playoffs. (It'll always be the Colts division, even if the Titans have it this year)

4. Jacksonville Jaguars: A similar issue at QB, just like the Browns. Garrard came out big last year leading the Jags to the playoffs, and a possible threat overall.. so he was their savior.. then he hit a wall, just like Anderson in Cleveland. The only thing here is, I'm unsure if Garrard is the real problem, or his lack of talent at WR is.

You have two studs, well one and an aging vet at RB that are good enough to help you, but this year both seem to have up and down numbers, which tells me 1 of 2 things. Either their line aren't opening holes, or their Defense is allowing too many pts. to be scorn against them, to allow for them to run when they fall behind big.

Speaking of the Defense, what the shit happened here?! You take two of the top DE's in the draft, to go along with the already great line-up you have with Hayward, Henderson and Spicer. You have decent corner and safety help.. and you just.. fall?!

What's more amazing is.. you fall.. AT HOME! Their last home game is against the Ravens in Week 17. No way they win. I get that some teams are just horrible, but seriously, Jacksonville shouldn't be one of them.. especially at home. I just don't have an answer to what the Jags issue is, and I'm not going to say it's Del Rio because I personally believe he's a good coach.

I would say this is just a fluke year for Jacksonville and they'll bounce back next year, albeit I'm unsure to where. Their division is (like I said) the Colts, and the Titans and Texans are becoming stronger. Jacksonville needs WRs, point blank.

A.F.C. East:

1. New York Jets: Broadway Brett, Brett the Jet, give me a fucking break. Chad Pennington is going to single handedly give all New York Jet fans a big middle finger on Week 17, and the only thing that can stop that from happening is a (yes, I'm saying it) FLUKE win over a bad Seattle Seahawks team in Week 16.

How the Jets are even playoff contender's is beyond me. In less than a year, this has already become Brett Favre's team and I fail to understand why. Thomas Jones is one of the top rushers in the league.. yet you (Jets) allow your aging Hall of Famer to throw pick after pick. When the Jets learn to run the fucking ball with Jones, then alt. out for Washington, they might win something worth it.

I'm not trying to be hard on Brett Favre, as I said.. Hall of Famer, great player, but he's the leading cause of this team's failure right now and he's costing them the playoffs that they should've had wrapped up two weeks ago.

The Defense is good enough to stop any team when they're on the field for a limited time, but when Broadway comes out and tosses a pick directly after the Jet's D' gets off the field, of course they're going to allow pts. to be put up against them. That is if Brett's pick wasn't going for 6 the opposite direction anyways.

I can't stress enough how much Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are being anal raped by Brett Favre on the field. I mean, it's not all bad though.. guys like David Clowney and Chansi Stuckey get to pretend to be good WRs because number 4 is throwing laser's to them. The Jets will win, when Jones/Washington run the ball.

If they make the playoffs, they won't win shit unless they run. I guarantee it. Favre's one great performance was against the Arizona Cardinals.. the same game they almost ended Boldin's career in.. against the Arizona Defense that couldn't shut anything down.

Face facts. The Jets haven't won anything worth while. They BARELY defeated the Patriots on Thursday night a couple weeks ago, and outside of that, they truly haven't faced any worthy opponent's to begin with.. so how they SHOULDN'T be 12-2 right now is beyond me. Favre is the cancer that needs to be fixed.. he's good to have as a distraction and can win you games, but not at the rate he's playing right now.

I'd be surprised if he returned for another season next year, I honestly would. I'm believing he hates New York, and doesn't feel the same as he did in Green Bay. I don't know what would keep him there, short of somehow believing he could win another ring. Which I firmly believe he WON'T do this year.

2. New England Patriots: Biggest story of the year.. Tom Brady goes down in Week 1 with tears in his leg. Yet the Pats are 9-5 and possibly playoff bound. How amazing is that, and it's not just Brady. They've lost half their Defense to injury, yet Bill Belichick continues to do what he does best.. fill holes with unknown names.

Matt Cassel, biggest "heartfelt" moment of the N.F.L. year. He's the kid who hasn't started since High School. Somewhere, people in Buffalo, New York and Miami are saying to themselves.. "I thought that meant he hadn't played either, how's he so good?!" Let me put it this way.. Cassel has officially accomplished something that not even Tom fricken Brady can say he's done.. he's thrown back-to-back 400 yd. games. For a former High School starter, that seems right up his alley.

Bottomline, people jumped the shit off this ship the moment Brady yelled out in pain, but the true believers knew that Brady (as great as he is/can be) isn't the everything to this team. The one screw that turns the machine is the guy on the sidelines, who put the unknown Brady in years ago.. and did the same by refusing to sign a vet from FA, but instead take the High School kid.

The only thing holding this team down is the inexperience of a Matt Cassel, and the injuries to their Defense. Even at that, they're still fucking challenging for the division title and a playoff spot.. how amazing is that. Not to mention how fricken horrible is that to look on the other teams in that division!!

Nothing I could say would be helpful to this team. They do it every damn year, it's annoying to degrees that even Pats fans can't explain. They're good almost everywhere and where you think they aren't, they shock you and end up good there. The ONLY fault I see is their running game. Maroney needs cut, bottomline.. he's not producing worth a crap, and he's injury prone. There's a nice little (not so much anymore) silent RB out of Iowa, Shonn Greene that's making a lot of head-way. I'm unsure if he's a draft possibility, but the Pats are the type of team to pick up unknowns for the most part and make them great.

New England and Pittsburgh, or Indy will be another playoff chapter, but unfortunately I don't believe New England has the strength to match either team, as hot as they are, to go beyond them in the playoffs. If they make it, that is. (Arizona and Buffalo are left, they should win out)

3. Miami Dolphins: The utter surprise of the year, and it falls on the shoulders of the Tuna, Ironically. Chad Pennington was the one guy who this offense missed and needed the most. They don't truly have a great WR core, but that's okay because they don't need to have for him to throw 10-20 yd. passes and hand the ball off to the nice little RB duo they have in Williams and Brown.

The only thing I get annoyed with is the stupid "Wildcat formation". Everyone believes the Dolphins created this "mysterious" formation, when Carolina actually used it about two years ago when Delhomme was injured and we had Weinke at the helm. We (Carolina) ran all over Atlanta with our QB either on the sidelines, or out at WR where he couldn't do any harm. Yet because the Dolphins defeated the Pats with it first.. apparently they made it, and will be famous for it.

For the record, and If anyone cares, (and you fucking should) do a little checking. Dan Henning the Fin's Offensive Coordinator.. jump two year's back and tell me where it says he coached as the Off. Coordinator. Bullshit I tell you.

That formation WILL be the downfall of this team though, and they need to cut ties with it because every team in the N.F.L. is now running it, and by result every Defensive Coordinator is finding ways to stop it. Miami (to their credit) have done a lot more with it, but once again.. you can only do so much.. and by way of Baltimore back in Week 7, it can kill you just as much as help you.

Miami, regardless, has amazingly turned this ship around and believe it or not, could win the division and get into the playoffs. They face the Cheifs next, which won't be as easy as some would think, but should be a win none-the-less. Then finish up AT HOME, against the Jets. Welcome (to your new) home.. Chad Pennington.

Miami's Defense has come out of nowhere, especially from last year and a major part is Joey Porter. Especially since a couple big names on the Defensive side of things parted ways with the team for greener grass elsewhere. This I believe is where Parcells came into play.

I think Miami's worst enemy will be their own belief in how great the Wildcat formation is, but the inexperience at WR will also come into play and as I've said, NO Defense can carry any team if they have to play 70-80% of the game. In order for the Fins to win.. the offense has to click harder. I'd assume they'll upgrade with a couple WR hook-ups through Free Agency, and pick up some more talent Defensively through the draft. Their WR core is young, and will learn.. The oldest guy in their receiving core is David Martin (TE) at 7 years, followed by Peele (TE) at 6 yrs. So they're young still. so don't cut them out as awful just yet, because they aren't.

4. Buffalo Bills: But they started out 4-0?! Seriously, look at the damn schedule and you'll understand why. The first thing I'm going to say is the same thing that some announcer said a week ago. You sold out a home-game for more money to play in Toronto.. you deserved to lose, and I hope you buy something meaningless with your extra cash, because you can't buy a win.. morons.

First, I can't see how anyone claimed this Defense was good. I see a couple names, but nothing truly sticks out. They brought in Stroud from Jacksonville, and picked up McKelvin in the draft, plus had Posluszny return from injury.. but that's not enough.

Trent Edwards was a gift to many in Buffalo.. against the likes of St. Louis, Oakland, Seattle and Jacksonville. I'm not going to say he's bad, because he isn't.. but he's not polished enough to lead them anywhere NOW. And Losman will always be 2 steps behind him, to play good enough to put the bug in the minds of everyone on that team that he could be an option.. and he's really NOT.

Lynch is a great RB, and truly unnoticed to many, but then again why should he be noticed when he isn't producing the bigger numbers he should be.. due to the lack of help the rest of the offense gives him. Lee Evans is a stud, but a stud without help around him. Parrish is great as a return specialist, but not the greatest as a number 2, and Hardy was a rookie.

Buffalo needs some slight improvements, possibly from Free Agency instead of the draft, but I'd start with WR and Defense first. Trent Edwards will mold into their QB, I believe that.. how good he becomes is only going to be a worthy question to ask if the offense improves. The Bills are out of the playoff hunt, and now look forward to next year.

A.F.C. West:

1. Denver Broncos: Are you shitting me?! Two questions spring to mind. First, how have they NOT locked up this division. Second, how many RBs can Denver destroy this year?! Holy crap has Denver become the RB hell of all teams.

When a rookie FB becomes a 100 yd rusher on your team, something needs to make you stop and question what's going on. The funny thing is, Selvin Young is still on the team and able to play.. they'd just prefer if he didn't. LOL That's nice.

The up factor here is, if you talk to Jay Cutler, his arm is as big as his mouth.. and he won't be afraid to tell you how amazingly Hall of Famer worthy he is. Brandon Marshall will match word for word with his QB, in explaining how great of a WR he is.. yet when he doesn't get the ball, he whines harder than T.O. at times. This is a situation that will overcome Denver if Shanahan isn't careful.

Cutler is a good QB, but great and H.o.F. worthy.. he isn't. His big arm doesn't equal out to matching his little brain, and his turnover ratio is hurting the Bronco's chances of a playoff spot, simply because he believes he can fit the ball into anywhere.. and then doesn't. That connected with Marshall believing he can catch anything, doesn't help matters. Eddie Royal was a great pick-up and will turn into a great secondary WR to compliment Marshall's mouth and talent, but this is a Cinci-situation waiting to happen.. I promise.

Denver's Defense isn't great, or even good for that matter.. but a lot has to do with injury. They released Lynch during the off-season, and got hit by the injury bug throughout the rest of their star talent. I firmly believe Cutler is going to have to swallow some of that pride and start realizing his name doesn't spell out "Denver Bronco's Team".. sadly, they're on their 5th-6th RB (might be a bit much) so they truly DON'T have any other option.

Denver will FALL into the playoffs, because they play the Bills next, but drop in the first round to Baltimore or better.. Indy, where Cutler will get the pleasure of watching a true soon-to-be H.o.F'er go to work on a banged up Defense.

Thing about the off-season is, Denver has some decent RB's to look at once they're healthy. But I'd suggest as sad as it is to say, looking into back-ups for your back-ups. And possibly more Defensive help.

2. San Diego Chargers: I just have to laugh at how many times they've flushed away the ability to make the playoffs, only to be given new life. In all honesty, they should've defeated Denver in Week 2 anyways and that call by Hochuli will forever be the San Diego Downfall in all of their minds.. dispite the fact that the entire Charger's team has just been awful this year.

Tomlinson, a back that's almost locked up a H.o.F. spot in his own right.. has downright played AWFUL this year. Blame it on his line, blame it on the lack of offensive production around him, blame it on his FB leaving, or even on the coaching staff.. but regardless.. Tomlinson hasn't played great for more than just this year now.. maybe it's not everyone else???

I honestly like Rivers, and he'll forever be the Bree's back-up to me, but he's still a good QB. Unfortunately, he doesn't have great talent at WR. Chris Chambers has had an injury plagued season, and Jackson has been good to cover, but not great. The biggest letdown would have to be Antonio Gates, who's going to miss out on a typical big season via stats.

Shawne Merriman goes down before the regular season begins and he still tries to play, dispite risking his career, only to leave game 1 against Carolina and finally play smart by going on IR and hopefully getting healthy for this Defense. Which speaking of, has only had something like 4 turnovers in their favor.. when they lead, or came close to leading the league in turnovers last year. Merriman didn't do ALL that.. but his leadership apparently did.

You can say it's the lack of Merriman being there that's lead to the downfall of the D' for this team, but I'm not buying it. They had talent other than him, and he's still leading them via the sidelines with moral support.

San Diego has Tampa Bay, who's fallen a bit lately but won't fall any further.. which means Denver will FALL (like I said before) into the playoffs, while the Charger's luck will finally run out on waiting for Week 17's match-up against a Denver team I'm sure they'll beat for morale purposes.

Find a new line, a FB that can help lead L.T., and some new Offensive toys for Rivers and you might be able to return to the playoffs next year. I'm sure everyone will jump right back on this "Superbowl team's" band-wagon. lol

3. Oakland Raiders: Lane Kiffin, believe it or not, had the best thing happen to him in being released. The Raiders are and will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS be Al Davis' team. Until he dies, they won't win.. period. They can draft all the number one guy's they want.. Russell is and will continue to be a let-down, and McFadden will form into a problem before he forms into a superstar.

The Raiders have a great Defense, and Rob Ryan is a great Def. Coord. however the offense needs to produce SOMETHING in order for this team to win. Need more proof? Jake Delhomme throw 4 picks against this Raiders team, and Carolina still won 17-6. Against ANY other team they would've lost.. and it happened IN Oakland, for what that matters.

They need WRs to help out, but what they need the most, you can't pick up in F.A. or the draft, and that's the ability to let the coaching staff to be capable of doing their job. I'm sorry to all the Raider fans in the world, but until Al Davis goes to whereever he'll go when he dies.. Oakland will continue to stay on life-support in the meantime.

4. Kansas City Chiefs: While it's unfortunate that it's happening to Herm Edwards, this is what most people should've expected. The Chiefs went wild in the Draft and covered about everything a team could cover for rebuilding your team. However, as I've said unfortunately.. when you're in the rebuilding process, you can't expect great turn-around (all the time) within a single season.

In my opinion, Larry Johnson should be on his way out and he's become more of a problem for this team then a help. Jamaal Charles (rookie from Texas) should be the next big thing in K.C. either him or Kolby Smith, but either way.. Johnson isn't cutting it for a rebuilt K.C. team looking for a new edge.

Dwayne Bowe is amazing, nothing to say about it. But without a premiere QB to toss him the ball, the Chiefs won't accomplish much. Croyle was suppose to be the future, but he went down with Brady, then again when he attempted to come back. Perhaps a white light in the form of Tyler Thigpen will help retool this team.. he has been amazing. (for fantasy owners) Somehow I think a QB controversy will happen before Thigpen gets the reigns out of Croyle's hands. And we could be looking at nothing depending on what QB in the draft falls in K.C.'s lap.

I guess I'm a bit shocked at the way the Defense has performed, but again.. half are new, most are young, and the other inbetween pieces are vets looking to retire. I look for this Defense to be A LOT better next year, and I'll even go on a chance and say the Chiefs could even take the division next year.

I only say that because I don't think the Charger's offensive issues will fix themselves in a year, and Denver will implode before they get any better with Cutler and Marshall.. Oakland is who they are, which leaves Herm Edwards to be capable of leading this team to a playoff spot. I know it's a bit much, but I believe it could/would happen.. next year.

A.F.C. Outlook: Well, first and foremost if you read all of that.. good for you. I think my final thoughts on the A.F.C. this year would have to be their fall to the N.F.C. and how many people will claim it's because of injury. So let's quickly look at that.

With exception to a Pats team that is still a possible playoff team, what reall huge injury has effected the A.F.C. teams? Denver? 7-9 last year, they weren't really big then, what was meant to change that this year? If anything, Tennessee came out of nowhere, as did the Ravens. Houston picked up from last year, and the Colts albeit stumbled at first, are as hot as anyone now.

Pittsburgh is the best team in the A.F.C. right now, and arguably the entire N.F.L.. so injury can't be an excuse to blame for why the N.F.C. has finally out-played and out-done the A.F.C. The fact is, teams in the N.F.C. are just beginning to play harder. Albeit, it's only teams in the South and East.

If it wasn't for the off chance that Indy would play Pittsburgh in the second round, I'd say that would be the greatest playoff match-up right now. The Jets and Broncos don't even deserve to be IN the playoffs, yet both (Broncos almost definately) will seemingly stumble in. The Dolphins would be a shock to get in, but can do it.. however I don't see them doing anything once they get in. (short of playing Denver)

I think the one game Pittsburgh doesn't want to have again, is a 3rd match-up with the Ravens. 2-0 thus far, but as Dallas from last year will tell you.. don't bank on 3 in a row, it's almost not possible.

Tennessee won't factor into the playoffs, they're beginning to get injured and fall apart at the WRONG time of the season. They'll go down as the best team through the season, in some's mind anyways.. but they are afterall going into the playoffs with a back-up QB starting, and an offense that falls if the running game can't get started. (unless they get to play the Bears in the playoffs)

I honestly think New England is a team many should look out for in the playoffs. I said earlier that they likely couldn't match-up against Pittsburgh or Indy, but that isn't to say they can't. And if one thing is known about this team, especially now of all time's.. it's they can do anything, especially when you least expect them to.

Bottomline though, I say Pittsburgh goes to the Superbowl. Homefield throughout in a rough Pittsburgh setting is exactly what they want, and everyone else dreads..

Don't forget to check out my N.F.C. Review.. coming very soon, behind this review. Thanks for reading.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

N.F.C. South:

1. Carolina Panthers: At 11-3 Carolina is having their best season in Franchise history, and to add on top of it they're also setting Franchise as well as N.F.L. records with their RBs. DeAngelo Williams has become the first 1,000 yd rusher since the days of Stephen Davis from their last Superbowl run. Williams along with rookie RB Jonathan Stewart also became only the 6th set of duo backs to both rush for 100 yds, 2 TDs and run for an average of 7.0 (possibly 8.0) yds. per carry. This is without question their heart and soul of the team.

To begin the season controversy came over the Panthers, after they suspended Super-star WR Steve Smith for the first two regular season games after breaking teammate CB Ken Lucas' nose in a training camp fight. Much to everyone's surprise Carolina jumped out to a 2-0 start without their highest profiled player.

Steve Smith has jumped quickly back into being one of the best WR's in the N.F.L., posting another 1,000 yd. rec. season and another Pro Bowl bid. Along side the returning Mushin Muhammad and the signing of D.J. Hackett, Carolina has the best WR core they've had in a very long time.

Speaking of returns, Jake Delhomme has returned from Tommy John surgery, which many felt couldn't happen. Albeit his gameplay has landed Carolina in hard times and almost cost them a game against the Oakland Raiders, Delhomme has also led Carolina to several come-from-behind victories, including against San Diego, then again against Green Bay and Arizona.

Carolina's Defense used to be the pride and power of this team, and last year they dropped tremendously due to Delhomme being injured and the Offense hardly being on the field. This year being led by Julius Peppers and second year pro Jon Beason, the Panthers' Defense has returned slightly to the dominate force they once were. Still giving up several yds. through the air, this is likely their Defense's one hardest weakness.

Charles Godfrey (rookie) is growing quickly as the team's starting FS, while former Bear and 2nd yr. Panther Chris Harris is filling the shoes of former Panther great Mike Minter quite nicely. Chris Gamble, who recently signed a 6 yr. extention is leading the CB's along with Ken Lucas and Richard Marshall.

Many would've said Carolina's weakest point would've been their front four, who took a hard blow when they lost Kris Jenkins via a trade to the Jets, but it's actually the opposite as Carolina started the season as one of the top rush defensive teams.. holding RB's such as L.T., Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson all under 100 yds. total. While the most dominate performance was holding Larry Johnson to 2 total yds. ALL GAME.

As a Panther fan, I have great pride in my team but I'm also very realistic on how bad we've been. Almost dropping games to Oakland, Detroit and barely winning several games in last minute fashion has made Carolina a very unstable team to be seen as a top contender, yet they're seemingly getting hot at the perfect time, winning 7 of their last 8 and being capable of having homefield throughout the playoffs with a victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.

The irony to everything is, Carolina even at 11-3, still has a chance to MISS the playoffs. With Atlanta and Tampa Bay both at 9-5, and having much easier schedules to finish out their seasons, along with Dallas at 9-5, if all three of those teams win out and Carolina loses out (NYG then NO) they won't make the playoffs.

The final bright spot on this is the fact that (according to espn/nfl.com) Carolina has done what no other team will be able to do this season, and that's go a perfect 8-0 at home. So if they can defeat the Giants in New York, and clinch homefield throughout.. they could quickly become a force many won't want to face. That doesn't mean they'd be unstoppable however, as every team can fall on any given Sunday.

2. Atlanta Falcons: Three individuals have brought new life into this Franchise and pulled them from the "doghouse". Those three are; First year Head Coach - Mike Smith, FA pick-up - Michael Turner, and rookie QB - Matt Ryan. I can't say enough of how impressed and amazed I am with this team.

San Diego must be kicking themselves for letting go of the spark-plug/bolt that Michael "The Burner" Turner is. Atlanta is more than thankful for their miscues, however. Turner in his first full season as a starter is showing why L.T. is a thing of the past, and Turner is the future. On his shoulders, along with Jerious Norwood jumping in as well, Atlanta has rode their backs to several victories.

Matt Ryan has also become one of the best two rookie QB's in the league, along with Joe Flacco in Baltimore. Ryan was given the reigns of a team that was in more than the ground. His WR core was less than impressive, and his teammates from years passed on this team had all but seemingly given up, but this young kid has shown great growth in this club, leading Atlanta to an unbelieveable turn-around.

Roddy White has really become an elite WR with Matt Ryan finding him almost every other play, and coming down with the must-needed catches to help his team. It truly seems like this offense has found what they were lacking for several years, even back with the former rushing QB Micheal Vick.

Atlanta's Defense seems to spark off how explosive the offense has become, and being lead by John Abraham doesn't hurt either.

Atlanta may be at 9-5 and could miss the playoffs, but regardless this team has definately been one of the bright spots of the N.F.L. with how great it's flipped around in a single year's time. One final note to mention, ever since the realignment of division's.. the team in last place of this division finishes first the following year. Atlanta was last, last year.. and believe it or not, does have the ability to finish first with Carolina losing out and Atlanta winning out.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Last year's top team in this division still looks to reclaim the top spot for a second straight year, and at 9-5 could do so if Atlanta and Carolina lose out, with Tampa Bay winning out. Once again, this is a possible option, especially with TB's schedule being San Diego & Oakland. (both home games) As I look at TB's schedule, I'm also finding myself correcting an early statement.. Tampa Bay hasn't lost at home to my understanding, and if they win-out, they'll ALSO go undefeated at home.

The hard blow to this team is the news of Monty Kiffin leaving at season's end to join his son in Tennessee to coach college ball. Kiffin is one of the greatest Defensive-minded coaches you could find, and this will be a hard hit to this team in a year's time. For now, however, up until two weeks ago in Carolina this defense was one of the top ranked rushing defenses.

Lead by vet's such as Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks this Defense is still one of the best in the league and definately not one you'd wish or want to face, regardless of where or when. Gaines Adams in his 2nd year is coming along nicely, and Aqib Talib in his rookie outting has become the team's leader in INTs.

On the flip side of the ball, Tampa Bay hasn't ever really been known for their offense, but this year they've jumped back and forth between Jeff Garcia and Brian Griese. Griese lead the Bucs to 3 straight victories, after Garcia went down with a mysterious injury in their Week 1 loss to New Orleans. Garcia came back however after Griese went down to injury and lead the Bucs to a 6-2 record before getting injured again and once again allowing Griese to jump back into the main spot at QB.

Not to be outdone by the QB switch-ups, but Tampa Bay has seen a fair share of changes at RB and WR as well. Beginning the season with Earnest Graham, only to watch him fall toward the middle of the season and turn to Warrick Dunn, (who returned to the team he started with) now the Bucs have brought back former #1 overall draft selection, Carnell (Cadillac) Williams to help the aging Dunn in the backfield.

Meanwhile, with injuries plaguing Galloway's season, a well-travelled Antonio Bryant comes in to be the big-deep threat the Bucs were missing for a very long time. I truly believe this team is still missing some very important things to make their offense click, but as long as their Defense returns to form, they won't need to change a thing in order to become a threat in the post-season.

I do however believe come next year, they'll need to start focusing on a couple more threats at WR, a solid RB to have in the backfield, and Head Coach Jon Gruden might need to buckle down and settle on just ONE QB, for once.. if the Bucs hope to have a long lasting future as a great team.

4. New Orleans Saints: I can't explain why the New Orleans Saints are struggling this year, except to say with the lack of a powerful Defense and the injury bug hitting several key players (such as: Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, Deuce McAllister and Jeremy Shockey) it's going to be hard for Pro Bowl QB Dree Brees to lead his team to the playoffs with fill-in's at every key position they need.

Reggie Bush truly isn't panning out as the RUNNINGBACK that the Saints needed him to be, but thankfully a back-up that noone projected has emerged as a good back for them, in Pierre Thomas. McAllister has come back from injury, only to be sidelined from time to time by his aging legs. Bush on the other hand is still trying to play college ball in a pro setting, and it's cost him health as well as playing time.

The thing that makes Drew Brees a great QB is the fact that he can take practically any WR and make them great.. just ask Lance Moore who was a virtual unknown before the season only to come out as one of the top Saint's WRs of the year. Devery Henderson is still a deep threat, but lacks major ability to be the go-to WR in clutch situations. Meanwhile Billy Miller has come out as a more reliable target at TE than Shockey has been.

The fact is though, the Saint's offense isn't the reason they're struggling, it's their Defense and the in-ability to do anything to get the opposing team off the field before they score. Charles Grant and Will Smith are nice book-ends, but that doesn't help the DBs defend against all the balls flying over-head for 6.

New Orleans has age and inexperience at CB which is hurting more than helping, my suggestion would be to definately fix that issue by the off-season and look to rebuilding and reinforcing that Defense to help Brees lead the Saints back to the playoffs next year.

N.F.C. North:

1. Minnesota Vikings: After dropping to 0-2 they turned to vet QB Gus Frerotte to lead them, the only problem is.. they never needed a QB that could lead, only manage the game long enough to watch Peterson do what he does best, carry the team to victories.

Minnesota's Defense is the story that leaps out the most and has truly carried them to some victories. The William's Wall of Pat and Kevin, along with Jared Allen have really been the end-all, be-all story to this Defense but several names go unmentioned and they really shouldn't. Antoine Winfield, Darren Sharper and Madieu Williams have been a big help to this backfield and the DBs spots, when the front four can't stop the pass.

If Minnesota had a great QB, and better WR help, they'd be unstoppable to almost anyone, and that I could pretty much guarantee. Unfortunately their WR core is made up of a former Bear, Bernard Berrian, a 2nd yr pro Sidney Rice, and a who's who of fill-in's that aren't even truly important enough to mention.

The true story of this team is the great one-two punch of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. Peterson, who leads the league with 1,500 plus yds on the ground, truly has made a lot of other teams wishing they took the chance on the former draftee with an injury.

Currently, Minnesota has a one game league over Chicago and they're in control of their own destiny to make the playoffs. With Detroit never being involved to begin with, and Green Bay shooting themselves in the foot with losses that shouldn't of happened, the only threat would be the Bears unit that would love to have a home game in the winter weather. I'm confident that Minnesota will win at least one more game, enough to clinch the division, and if that doesn't happen.. they at least have hope that Green Bay or Houston will defeat the Bears to help back them in, anyways.

In the off-season, the Minnesota Vikings need to focus on the one thing they should'be focused on to begin with.. finding a reliable QB to lead their team, and possibly a couple more targets to be helpful at WR. This team would be complete with just those two small things, it's just apparently finding them that's the problem.

If Minnesota makes it to the playoffs, I don't honestly believe they'd do much damage, but they will have a home-game via winning their division, so there is a good chance that they could do enough damage to someone.

2. Chicago Bears: The one mystery of this team has been their lack of experience at QB, and their dominate play at Defense.. to the turnaround and the good play by the offense, followed up by the stumbling of their Defense. It's like a hot and cold situation that noone can figure how to know what's to come next.

Kyle Orton has officially become the starter for the Bears, but will he be the starter next year? He's doing a nice job of leading them and he did win the job from Rex Grossman in the off-season. (albeit not a big battle) I think the most important factor of this offense has been rookie Matt Forte, who's been a nice breath of fresh air since the days of Thomas Jones a few years back.

The Bears' WR core isn't exactly worth mentioning, but they do have the aging Marty Booker and the explosive Bradon Lloyd. Devin Hester is still trying to make the transition from CB to WR, when his true calling may always be Punt and Kick Returner. Unfortunately it seems the Bears always have a new hot streaker for that position from year to year.

Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs lead the Bears Defense, along with big names like; Tommie Harris, Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher, and Danieal Manning. The only problem here is, the Bears were at one time a great run-stopping defense and now seem to give up 100 yds. per game. Add onto that that they can't seemingly stop the pass, unless they're facing a team like St. Louis and it's just unexplainable.

I think Chicago has shot themselves in the foot, much like Green Bay in previous weeks, but depending on how the season ends up, the Bears still have an outside shot of winning their division and becoming a threat in the playoffs.

I think the top issue for the Bears is finding a QB that's going to be their future, is it Kyle Orton? He wasn't the savior or the answer a year back, and it seems Grossman and Orton alternate on which plays better from year to year, but in the end, neither are quite good enough to lead their team to the playoffs and anything meaningful. I think the Bears will look to upgrade in the draft for a new future leader, but without talent at the WR position, it'll be worthless as well.

3. Green Bay Packers: Brett who? You know who, he's the guy that lead you to a 13-3 record and almost another Superbowl. Then the guy you had a media war with in the off-season that likely cost you everything in the end, because you flat-out ruined your team's rep. by simply not just doing away with him sooner and making a spectical by claiming to bring him into training camp, only to turn around and THEN offer him a big bonus to NOT come out of retirement, THEN finally trading him away with underlining agreements that if the Jets were to send him to any other team in your division, they'd pay you with 3 first round picks. Nicely done.

Aaron Rodgers deserves better, and has been a great leader for a team that's legacy is being drug through the mud these days. Even the biggest Packer fan felt scared to see Rodger's take the reigns with the injury prone career he's seen riding the pine on the bench.. yet when I look at why this team is failing right now, Rodger's wouldn't be at the top of my reasons why. Ryan Grant would be.

A year ago, the Packers couldn't seemingly find a RB who was worth using, and they fell into Ryan Grant who exploded into a great back to lead them to the playoffs. The truth is, there was a reason he was an unknown on your team a year ago, and there is also a reason Thomas Jones is now having a great year in New York. It's because when Brett Favre is dropping back, so is the coverage to insure he doesn't do damage.. which allows the RB of choice to run wild. I'm not saying Grant isn't a good back, I'm simply saying he isn't as good as any Green Bay fan would lead you to believe.. and it's showing, since team's aren't as afraid of Rodgers' arm, as they were Favre's.

Greg Jennings, meanwhile, has emerged as the future for this team's WR core, and he's also becoming one of the better WRs in the entire league. Donald Driver might be moving up in age, but that doesn't mean he isn't still a threat and Aaron Rodgers has built a nice connection with this duo that really should've been focused on more this year. Donald Lee is okay at TE, and I could be wrong but I truly believe they need a better third option for Rodgers and this is where Favre would've found the 4th or 5th guy on his chart, that Rodgers just isn't doing.

Green Bay's Defense started off good, and they've been solid for the most part throughout the whole season. Charles Woodson and Al Harris are among two of the top 5 DB's leading the league in INTs, with 5 a-piece. But the issue GB's Defense has had all season long is the inability to stop the run. Team's like Carolina torched them with 5 total rushing TDs, to help win late. While guy's like Steve Slaton help set-up last second FGs to help their team overcome the Pack-attack.

I think Green Bay is a good team, and they will be the team to beat in that division, even regardless of Minnesota or Chicago winning the division this year. I just think this was all a fallen-apart season thanks in part to the front office and the drama that helped everyone to have a little bit harder of a time of centering themselves on what was most important.. the team, and the playoffs.

4. Detroit Lions: Calvin Johnson. There, now that I've mentioned the one bright spot about this team, I can move on to the next division. Seriously, the Lions have a chance to make history.. and not in a good way. I can't properly explain what happened here, especially when they started off 6-2 a year ago, only to win one game in the previous 22 games.

Jon Kitna and his mouth has once again dug a hole it can't fill, and my guess is he won't be capable of saying that next year because he won't be here next year. The one good thing about having the overall pick in the up-coming draft (unless the Lions decide screwing themselves even more is just the fun thing to do) is they have the opportunity to pick up a talented QB in the draft.. or you know.. another star WR. Cause that's helped them thus far.

All kidding aside, it has to say a huge amount for Calvin Johnson to be the only true star on this offense, and still be in the top 5 of WR's and rec. yds. as well as TDs. Team's don't have to fear blocking anyone else, noone else is good enough to be a threat.. yet Johnson finds ways to get open. That makes him a huge player, and an unbelieveable talent for this miserable Franchise.

Kevin Smith is another bright spot on this team, that will grow into a good player in the end at the RB position.

The Lions biggest issue (and trust me, it was hard deciding on just one) to me, would have to be the play of their Defense. The Lions, through their multi-starting QB's, have managed to put up points.. so the offense isn't entirely awful. But it's the Defense being unable to hold opposing teams down, that's lead Detroit to an 0-14 record. 17-0 was the opening score against Tampa Bay, yet they lose by double digits. 10-0 was the opening score against Carolina, yet they drop that game as well. Detroit isn't capitalizing on the Defensive side of things, to help their struggling team pick up even ONE victory.

The play the Saints, and then the Packers. I'd like to think they could beat either team, especially since both are struggling just as much lately.. but I just don't think they will. If they do, it'll be Green Bay just because they're a division rival, and divional games are harder.

In the off-season, my biggest theory to help Detroit is for them to take a QB. I can't guarantee it'll help greatly, but it's got to be better than nothing. Then again, as I mentioned, their offense IS scoring, it's their Defense that isn't capitalizing to help in the end.. so fixing that Defense is a number one goal as well. I just don't think you should waste a #1 overall pick, on a Defensive player, especially if a Superstar QB is waiting in the wings.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

N.F.C. review ended up being too long. So here's the rest, broken into a 3rd section. Sorry.

N.F.C. East:

1. New York Giants: Regardless whether it's Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg on the anniversary of losing Sean Taylor, or if it's the 10th anniversary of the Tennessee Titans going undefeated the longest this season, the only thing not being mentioned until right around this time of the year is that the defending Superbowl Champions are primed and looking to repeat. If there's one thing this division isn't lacking, it's the drama side of things.

Before I get started on my take on the Giants, my seperate opinions on Plax is point blank.. he, along with any other N.F.L. player who goes to a night club with a weapon, regardless of what they do with it, should be instantly and perminately banned from the N.F.L. My guess is he's done in New York, and that's honestly quite stupid on his part, especially after signing a nice contract extention that he seemingly fought so hard to earn. I'm sure Dallas will be there with open arms to accept another drama-filled bad apple. Now then..

The Giants are becoming the New England Patriots of the N.F.C., it seems regardless how many Superstar players they lose, there is always someone on their depth chart awaiting to step up in a big way. They lose Tiki Barber to retirement, and Brandon Jacobs emerges as a better back to them than Tiki really ever was. They lose Micheal Strahan to retirement and Osi Umenyiora to injury and Justin Tuck steps up to more than fill the void. Jeremy Shockey goes to New Orleans, and Kevin Boss, albeit not as well, fills the void without the drama. Plaxico acts stupid, and Amani Toomer is more than happy to collect the money the Giants will take back from Plax.

The fact is, this is a team that overcomes a lot of things. Just ask Green Bay, Dallas and New England. They have a tremendous Defense, and their Offense performs good enough to make sure they're always two steps ahead of the game. However they aren't unstoppable, and that much has been proven through recent weeks. Both Philly and Dallas showed that this team isn't an Iron Man, or a Juggernaut.. and depending on how Sunday's match-up with the Carolina Panthers plays out, along with Minnesota against Atlanta, New York may not even be in contention for a bye in the playoffs.

Still, through all of that the fact is something between last year and this year has changed Eli Manning into the QB the Giants hoped he'd become. And a year removed from angry fans almost screaming for Tom Coughlin's release has them cheering in his name for where this team is currently.. that is until they drop another couple of games, or more importantly, a playoff game.

I would say the only crippling factor to the Giants team currently is the outside drama that's effecting the lockerroom on focusing. With the loss of their star WR, it also puts more pressure on their Offense to be more on target. Plax took double coverage almost everywhere he went, allowing Brandon Jacobs to run down anyone in his path. Jacobs is once again injured and missing time, which puts the pressure on Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw. Neither back is a prime starter, which is why the combination of the trio made them so deadly, yet so weak at the same time. You remove one, and the other two fail.. especially the smaller two.

Regardless, Jacobs will return, if not this weekend, definately by the playoffs. (barring an unforseeable season-ending injury) The Giants aren't unstoppable, but they are a very, very dangerous team to defeat, especially when they can remain focused.

If I had anything to say about the off-season for this team, it would be to drop the drama by trading Plaxico Burress away and finding themselves another star. They don't have many areas that need improving, simply because they had a lot of talent step up when their original stars went down and that's given them depth mostly throughout. WR is the only main area they need help, that includes a possible TE through the draft, or FA. All in all, the Giants are a complete team for the most part, and my guess is they'll be a force to contend with for seasons to come.. IF they can cut lose from the drama.

2. Dallas Cowboys: Well, you can't mention drama without mentioning Dallas in some form or fashion. T.O. wants to make Dallas his retirement home, but it seems Owens hasn't fully discovered how to grow up, even in his 13th season. Recent behind-the-scenes drama has Owens and other WRs (Roy Williams & Patrick Crayton) upset that Tony Romo and B.F.F. Jason Witten are connecting more on the field, and Romo isn't targeting his WRs as much.

Well, the last time (this season) Owens moaning and complained about wanting the ball.. he got it, for over 200 yds and a TD. Of course that was against a San Francisco team that may be playing for the draft now. The only issue I see here is, if Owens truly wanted to be a team player and change his ways from his past.. why would he complain over who gets the ball, as long as they're winning, which last time I checked, they're on a 5 game winning streak.

I get that Owens is a Hall of Fame caliber WR, and Roy Williams is likely the franchises new future so they have reason to be upset. However, Jason Witten may very well be a Hall of Fame caliber TE, or rather IS, which means if he can get the ball and score with it.. just let the victories continue, and celebrate as a team, instead of a crybaby who gets unnoticed.

Speaking of unnoticed, that's certainly not what Adam Jones has been lately, and I for one am sick of it. The league has come down on him so hard, that the poor kid can't even get upset at a shit gone bad without threatening to suspend him. He gets in a fight (slash argument) with his bodyguard, and he ends up indefinately suspended. They told him to stay away from drinking, drugs and getting involved in gun crimes. They never told him he couldn't continue his T.N.A. training with his bodyguard, so why almost end the kid's career indefinately?! Stupid to me.. ease up.

Regardless of the drama, the unmentioned Superpower on this team is DeMarcus Ware, who is closing in on an N.F.L. record for sacks. Currently he's at 19 and counting, and he's been a one man army for this Defense who's truly not the best in pass coverage, which makes him even greater. Dallas isn't known anymore for their Defense, but Ware is making them remember when they were.

Jumping back to the offense, the one individual who's gone slightly unnoticed is Marion Barber who's playing his first season as the Cowboys indefinate starter. Unfortunately, thanks to Jerry Jones "getting misunderstood" in questioning his back's toughness, even Barber can't catch a break. They drafted Felix "The Cat" Jones to be Barber's help, but due to injury Jones' season was cut short and the true explosion out of the backfield comes from an unknown 4th round pick from Georgia Tech, by the name of Tashard Choice. In the games Barber has missed, and played poorly in, Choice has stepped up with explosion and helped Dallas pull out victories, or control the game.

Does this mean Jones could have some rivalry for playing time next season? I'd honestly say no, simply because Felix was just as explosive before he went down to injury, however the true question is, does Marion Barber truly have what it takes to be a starter full time? The answer in my mind is no, but with 3 great backs.. why focus on one guy being a full-time rusher?!

In the end, I think Dallas is going to fall just one game shy of the playoffs, only because of Romo's injury that hurt the team in the middle of the season. If Dallas does make it through to the playoffs, however, I would greatly say lookout simply because this is a team that needs to win-out to make it. Because of that, they'll ride a HUGE wave of momentum into the post-season and they'll definately be a great threat once they get there.

In the off-season, Dallas needs to focus on the smaller things. A back-up more qualified to handle games than Brad Johnson. Linemen that know how to properly understand the snap-count, so they aren't left in their stance while their QB is being drilled for a Safety. Defensive backs to help their Defense grow. The simple things in life, that allow Dallas to stay as far away from drafting anymore Offensive Superpowers to add to the already over-flowing drama-club that is Romo, Owens, Witten and the rest.

3. Philadelphia Eagles: To bench or not to bench, that is the question. Thankfully because of Kevin Kolb's awful gameplay, McNabb only had to endure sitting on the bench for half of a game. The Eagles are in so much trouble, I don't even think Philly fans realize how bad they are.

Sure, they're still in the mix (on the very outside looking in) to make a run at the playoffs, but thanks to a QB who didn't realize games could tie, along with a Coach who can't control his own personal Family issues enough to maintain control over his ball-club, the Eagles are a team headed for disaster before greatness. And the funniest thing about it is, the fans WANTED Kolb over McNabb at one point.. why?! Philly fans are without a doubt simply ignorant.

McNabb wasn't having a tremendous season, but neither was 90% of the team. Westbrook has been battling injuries, and McNabb was trying to win games without his starting RB, with a make-shift WR core that was running on empty thanks to injury as well. Kevin Curtis didn't come in until mid-way through the season, as did Reggie Brown.. however thanks to the talent of rookie DeSean Jackson, along with Hank Baskett, the Eagles did manage to stay somewhat afloat.

On the opposite side of the ball, the Eagles hoped to build to their already impressive Defense by adding CB Asante' Samuel, however due to the injury bug he hasn't been as effective as they'd hoped.

Because of the tie that the Eagles had, I really don't believe they'll make the playoffs. What's worse is come this off-season, they have a number of major stars set to become Free Agents, and my guess is they can't resign.. or won't resign all of them. The Eagles are in for a world of change, which in a weird way is what the silly Philly fans have been asking for. I guess this is where someone needs to come in and say.. "Be Careful what you wish for.. you just might get it."

4. Washington Redskins: Ending out our drama-filled N.F.C. East is the Redskins, lead by first year Head Coach, Jim Zorn.. who recently has come into a war of words (through the media, none the less) with RB Clinton Portis. Way to make yourself at home in the N.F.L.'s most dramatic division. After a shakey pre-season, in which the Redskins couldn't buy Offensive points, followed by a Week one loss.. the Redskins turned things around and drove hard through the middle of the season. Unfortunately, it's not how you start, it's how you finish, and losing 5 of your last 6 games isn't how Zorn and company wanted to finish out.

Washington's post-season hopes are all but over, thanks in part to a loss to the Bengals. But the real concern isn't making the playoffs, it's being anything important in the future, and right now, Washington is finishing how the started.. in the pre-season, that is.

While Jason Campbell has had a better season, he still isn't being as productive as a starting QB should be. With Colt Brennan being a very late steal in the 6th round, it can't be too much longer before we start seeing Washington fans crying for the rookie to get a shot.

Clinton Portis has had an amazing season, leading the league in rushing for a while and being a Pro Bowl RB to boot. His off-the-field drama with Coach Zorn is a minor issue that will become major if it isn't fixed soon, but the only question is.. which guy is more valuable to this team? My guess is the RB.

Santana Moss, along with Antwaan Randle El and Chris Cooley did their best to produce for this Offense, but in the end the WR core of Washington is still lacking something that's not helping Campbell's chances of holding onto the starting position for much longer. I've never been high up on any of the WR's in this group, and Randle El only made a name for himself in a trick-play format through a heavy run first team in Pittsburgh. Cooley is at times an underrated TE, but in the end especially which this group of talent.. if you become too noticed, you'll start to drop in numbers.

Jason Taylor came over from Miami and a part of him might of wished he stayed. Taylor hasn't done much with this Defense, but his being there alone has helped boost some morale. London Fletcher-Baker is a man that truly goes unnoticed in this Defense, as he's really lead them through everything this year. However it's the outstanding play of their CB's, Shawn Springs, Fred Smoot, Carlos Rogers & trade pick-up DeAngelo Hall that's helped this Defense stand a fighting chance.

In the off-season my guess is trying to find help for your offense. Your Defense can stand on it's own, but not for long if the offense can't continue to perform. Clinton Portis was doing a great job of carrying the load, but thanks in part to being injury prone and also becoming the stand-out star, more teams focused on shutting him down and placing the game in the hands of Campbell, which may be why they've failed thus far. I would highly suggest more help at QB, unless they truly want Campbell to be the guy, also more help at WR, but in the form of Free Agency, not the draft.

N.F.C. West:

1. Arizona Cardinals: How the West was won. The answer? My choice for M.V.P., Kurt Warner! Sure he has a high risk/high reward type of gameplay, and without a running game I think ever Arizona Cardinal fan should be thankful they've won as many games as they have already.

While you have to take this division's turnaround with a grain of salt and a mention to the injury bug throughout, the fact is Kurt Warner fought to become the starter and lead Arizona to an early division lead that could've easily been overthrown by the Rams or the 49ers. The Seahawks were truly the only team who got hurt through injury, but it was the Head Coaching errors of Mike Nolan and Scott Linehan that helped Arizona remain at the top without question.

Arizona wanted an 'edge' to their running game, but the aging vet doesn't seem to be the answer any longer and hasn't really been the answer from the very beginning. However, thanks in part to the draft, rookie Tim Hightower shows signs of explosive speed and quickness, enough to give this team a possible threat in the years to come. That is, if they ever decide to run the ball.

But with Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, being lead by Kurt Warner with over 4,000 passing yds, why would you even want to run? Steve Breaston has emerged as a very solid number 3 option, when many teams don't even have a guaranteed number 1. This team will live and die by the air game, and with how teams have adjusted lately, I'd say the funeral arrangements are being drawn up sooner than most Cardinal fans want.

Not everything can be put on the Offense though, and that is where the lack of a Defense comes into play. Arizona on average puts up almost 24-34 pts. per game, yet that doesn't guarantee them a victory, because their Defense is allowing just as many points to be scorn against them. While they have shown signs of power at the hands of Darnell Dockett and rookie corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the fact is they truly need to grow some more before being able to claim they're even playoff contenders.. yet they are.

When Minnesota is putting up 4 TDs through the air against your team, and holding you without a high profile passing game, AT HOME, I think it's time to realize you have some major issues to workout before the post-season. I can safely say Arizona is both dangerous and weak. They can hurt you badly with their passing game, but unless their Defense can stop you (which they've only done a couple times this season) Arizona won't make it beyond the Wildcard round.

In the off-season, my guess is work hard on fixing, rebuilding and adding to your Defense. Kurt Warner is aging, but I don't believe he'll hang them up yet, especially after coming in and winning the job. If Warner does win M.V.P., chances are he won't even have to compete with Matt Leinart over the position come next year.

2. San Francisco 49ers: The best thing about this team's losing record is that they have the chance to right a wrong they took in the top of the draft a couple years ago. Alex Smith has obviously not worked out for them, and they need to look to the future for that next best thing. Depending on what QB's come in to the draft, this might be just the thing that the Niner's need to rebound next year.

With Mike Nolan gone, the question many Niner fans have to be wondering is who's going to take over the team. An internal war seems to be in the works between the current stand-in Head Coach, and Offensive Coordinator, Mike Martz.

About the only solid position the 49er's have on Offense is the productive play of Frank Gore, who's carried the Niner's through a lot of games. However thanks to injury, they've had to fall back on former Panther starting back, DeShaun Foster. Foster is an on again/off again back that can either help or hurt your team. He never really had the full potential to be a great starter, and obviously won't do that here with Gore leading the charge. However, as long as injuries don't effect him, Foster can become a good back-up to compliment Gore.

Isaac Bruce is leading the WR core, however how much longer can you expect the vet to remain in the game? I'd be shocked if he returned next season in all honesty. He's having a great season here in San Fran, but without help he's not going to be willing to stick around for the pounding I'm sure his body can't take much more of. Meanwhile, TE Vernon Davis has had to do a lot of growing up, the only problem is.. will he remain grown up, or revert to a child come next season?

I can not say enough about Patrick Willis and the outstanding players this Defense has. If the Niners could simply produce enough on Offense to not warrant these guys to constantly be on the field, they'd be playoff bound in no time. Willis, along with Manny Lawson and Nate Clements really make this D click.. but again, no Defense is going to go forever, and the longer they have to, the easier it is to go up against them.

In the off-season, the number one goal is to find someone who believes in the players and the team, enough to make it work. The main focus, player wise, would be to discover a QB either through FA or the draft, mainly the draft, that can become what Alex Smith hasn't and likely won't. Then find help for your WR's. Your Defense is good enough that you don't need any major changes, so focus entirely on your offense this time around.

3. Seattle Seahawks: You know things just aren't going to workout properly when you're watching the Philadelphia Eagles movie about the bartender who made the team, when you're trying to find someone to play WR for your injured group of hawks. Unfortunately, this just isn't going to be a "swan song" for Mike Holmgren who's expressed that he'll step down as Head Coach for a season or longer to take a break. The team has made it clear that former Falcon's Head Coach, Jim Mora Jr. will take over next year.

Seattle's season started off bad and hasn't taken a turn for the better since. After losing Deion Branch for the beginning portion of the season, followed by Bobby Engram and then Nate Burleson, only to add on top of it, WRs whom you've signed to fill the previously injured's roles.. it's just not your season.

Not to make matters worse, but in the off-season they cut Shaun Alexander and turned to former Cowboy, Julius Jones who truly hasn't and likely won't fill the spot to the best of expectations. Jones will always be a part-time back, who needs a little help from others to make him good. Unfortunately for Jones, I really can't see Morris being that fill-in to be his help.

Without WR's, the running game had to work double hard, and to Jones' credit they did seem to find a decent go of it, but it just couldn't stablize long enough. Finally, as if injury hadn't hurt this team bad enough, their starting QB Matt Hasselbeck drops, leaving Seneca Wallace to fill in.

This is the part in which I'm just going to chalk this season up as forgettable for Seattle. They aren't a bad team, and they have a decent group of talent, both with Hasselbeck, as well as some of their WR talent. Injuries have just hurt the team this year so much, that they couldn't possibly come back from it.

On the flip side, the Defense is still trying to fight as hard as they can. Being lead by Lofa Tatupu, Julian Peterson, and the refreshed former Falcon, Patrick Kerney, the Hawks' Defense is still one to contend with. Like I've said before and will continue to say again though, without an Offense that can help stay on long enough to give these guys a rest, no Defense is perfect and unstoppable.

In the off-season, I'd mainly suggest looking into a RB for the future. Depending on if he's even available or still too young, Shonn Greene out of Iowa (as I've mentioned before) would be a great hidden gem. Chris "Beenie" Wells is also a thought. Hasselbeck is starting to rise in age, but still has a couple years left. Long enough to wait on the possible hope of a Tim Tebow, or Sam Bradford. (if they can be so lucky) Hell, maybe Graham Harrell could fall to them.

With how hard they got hit at WR, you'd wonder if they'd be scared into taking more help at the position, dispite having a nice group of talent already. I would ultimately focus on the RB position for long-term though, before anything else.

4. St. Louis Rams: This was honestly surprising to me, beyond anything I could ever come to understand. Scott Linehan seemingly lost control of this team before the season ever started, and the final straw seemed to be when the players more or less quit on him, after he benched Marc Bulger in favor of Trent Green.

Be it as it may, the fact is the Rams just had a lot of unknown issues, and none was any bigger than the poor performance of QB Marc Bulger, or RB Steven Jackson. Without either of those two doing what they should've clearly been capable of doing, it's no wonder the Rams were sitting pretty at the bottom of the tank.

After it's second straight season of an 0-4 start, Linehan was canned and Jim Haslett was upgraded. He instantly reinserted Marc Bulger, and lead the Rams to a victory over the (at that time) red-hot Redskins. The nice change of pace wouldn't last forever though, as the Rams are still at the bottom and working on a top 5 draft pick for the second straight year.

With the poor play of his QB, and the missing link opposite to him on the field, Torry Holt has suffered the most out of the group of talent that still seems to have some left. Holt has done his best to push this team to anything worth mentioning, but regardless it's been the explosive outting of 2nd round rookie, Donnie Avery that's given this team something to hope for.

I can't say much for this Defense, mainly because I haven't followed it. I wouldn't imagine you could gain too much from them, just because of the lack of an Offense this season though.

In the off-season, I would seriously consider sitting down some star Franchise players and asking them point blank if they enjoy their paychecks. Because if they continue to play like shit, noone is going to wanna take a chance on paying them big money. (even though Bulger seems set, as is) Avery is a nice 2nd option at WR, to be opposite Holt, but Holt isn't getting any younger, which means another addition to WR may be what they need.

I wouldn't be shocked if Steven Jackson got a wake-up call in the form of a 1st round RB to join the club, either. All in all, my guess is next year won't be much different for this Franchise unless they workout exactly what went wrong with the stars they have.

N.F.C. Outlook: Just like before, if you managed to read through all of that, good for you. As it stands in the N.F.C., I would definately say the power lies within the South and East. The most impressive thing of all would have to be the overall Home record of every team within the South though.

Carolina is 8-0 at home, Atlanta is 6-1, Tampa Bay is 6-0 with the chance to go 8-0, and New Orleans is 6-1. What's even more impressive, is the inter-division home record. No team thus far has lost to a division rival at home, with Carolina @ New Orleans being the final divisional match-up, for Week 17.

Meanwhile, every team within the East has played excellent Football, and while they've seemingly fallen a bit more than the South, they've seemingly had the tougher opponent's to make them a tougher division. Most would say, anyways. Being a Panther fan, I would credit the South with the better overall division, as the Bucs and Falcons are doing a lot greater than the Eagles and Cowboys.

When Week 17 ends, I wouldn't be surprised if a couple teams with 10 plus wins were left out of the playoffs. Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Chicago and Dallas ALL have the possibility of finishing with at least 10 wins and only 2 of those teams will clinch Wildcard spots. Hell, there IS still a possibility of Carolina at 11-3 MISSING the playoffs, depending on Atlanta and Tampa Bay, as well as the Panther's own final two games.. talk about hard to swallow.

Minnesota is coming on at just the right time, and much like last year's Giants, this could mark an interesting situation. Keep in mind, New York's last regular season game was against the Pats a year ago.. this year, Minnesota's final game is against the Giants.

Meanwhile, Arizona is likely looking to fall into the playoffs with an 8-8 record, depending on how their final home game against the Seahawks might play out. Arizona is a team that I think could be overlooked heading into the playoffs, but I wouldn't count them out once the post-season begins. They do have the ability to get hot in a split second, and once again that's an aerial assault that is incredibly hard to stop.

Chicago does have a possible chance of making the playoffs should Minnesota fall. While the Bears have a hard time closing games out, the one plus going for them is a home game in Chicago for the Wildcard. I wouldn't discount a hungry Bears unit, either.

My personal feelings want to see Carolina go to the playoffs and straight through to a Superbowl victory, but my head tells me that a lot of things can happen to prevent that, including a Giants team that if they can re-focus will be deadly in the post-season. Not to mention a Dallas team, that should they make it in, they will have to win out to do so, and that will give them a HUGE deal of momentum.