The NFL regular season is complete and it has been a wild year on many levels. For starters, I can’t remember a season shaped quite so heavily by trips to the injured reserve. It started early with the Peyton Manning saga and kept right on going with hamstrings and achilles tendons popping like jiffy pop on asphalt in the Sahara desert. You could probably field a pro bowl squad with the guys that missed significant time this year. Possibly most significant was the quarterback casualties. Part way through the year, it looked like Chicago and Houston were poised to threaten the offensive juggernauts of the league with the well-rounded team approach before Cutler and Schaub bit the dust. After that it was open season for Rodgers and Brees, and the season handicapped by tough luck on the injury front just sort of played out. It’s ironic that a year with such historic offensive performances could be nominally characterized as mediocre. Think about it. Green Bay offense: 9.8. New Orleans Offense: 10.0. Patriots offense: 9.0. Name one other great unit in the league this year. San Francisco defense maybe? I don’t know. Everyone else that wasn’t awful seemed like a weird blend of streakiness that beat up on lesser teams headed up by the awkward, polarizing, sensational, absurd 8-game run of Tebowmania (for the record, I’m surprised that spell check doesn’t recognize Tebowmania).
That is the 2011 season in a nut shell, so without further ado - on to my annual playoff preview. I’m a little late on this so hopefully you catch it before the weekend plays out. If not, maybe you’ll humor me and give it a quick read next week to see how I did.
The NFC
The NFC leads the way with Green Bay and New Orleans firmly at the top of everyone’s power rankings and San Francisco lurking as an under the radar dark horse to make a run at the title. Note: if college football ruled the world there’d be no games for four weeks before the Saints and Packers lined up in a rematch for all the marbles (and of course the other teams would play each other in over-hyped, meaningless exhibition games. That wacky Patriots offense would take on the blue-collar 49ers. Don’t worry Cowboys and Jets, you’ll get in too. Your fans will travel). Thankfully, instead we’ll get NO and SF battling it out in a win or go home grudge match for a crack at the defending champs (seriously college football, wake up).
It will be interesting to track the Saints over the next few weeks. They are probably playing better than anyone but have the toughest road of the contenders. After they out-sprint the Lions, they head outdoors against the one team built to take them down. If they manage to eek out a win over the 49ers, they head to Lambeau field for a chilly shootout with the Pack. I’m not sure they can navigate that yoyo. The Giants/Falcons game could be the closest match-up of the early games but neither (I’ll say Atlanta exploits New York’s shaky secondary) could survive against Green Bay. In week two, San Francisco manages to stop the unstoppable and heads to Green Bay with another large chip on their shoulder (coyly cemented into place by Coach of the Year Jim Harbaugh). I think they give the champs a run for their money but lose in a nail-biter to Rodgers in crunch time. Green Bay punches their ticket to Indianapolis.
The AFC
On the other side of the bracket, I don’t know if Pittsburgh has enough left in the tank to make a run. Their defense is healthy enough to squeak past Denver, but the Patriots will put Big Ben and company out of their misery in the second round. The Steelers title hopes wilted when they missed out on the bye. Winning four straight playoff games is too much for them right now. New England vs. Baltimore will be interesting, but Torrey Smith and Ray Rice seem like a favorable match-up against the Pats’ flawed defense. The Baltimore D does just enough and the Ravens squirt into the Super Bowl by what seems like default.
The Super Bowl
Green Bay is banged up on the offensive line but I don’t know if this could have played out better for them. Like the Patriots, they give up points on D, but they at least have more than a JV secondary. The Ravens can’t hang and the Packers are your repeat champions. It’s hard to do, but general manager Ted Thompson has built a roster capable of winning back-to-back titles. That’s all for now. Keep an eye out for a preview of the draft landscape. The draft order is solidifying and I am getting pumped!
