Every year it seems like the NFL is better than ever.
This is because it is.
Brett Favre stayed retired. Peyton Manning has not played a single down due to his neck injury. Yet without the two longest tenured signal callers, the NFL just kept chugging along.
The late commissioner Pete Rozelle was obsessed with the “Any Given Sunday” aspect of the game. Critics call this parity, but it is not parity. It is competitive balance, and it is clearly working.
There are still dynasties, as the Patriots and Steelers are tied for the best record in the AFC. Yet there are also feel-good stories of long suffering teams in the thick of the playoff hunt, such as the Lions, Bengals, Texans, and Raiders.
The NFC seems to have the Packers and 49ers running away with the top 2 seeds, with Green Bay at 11-0 and San Francisco at 9-2. Yet the New Orleans Saints are 8-3, and could steal that second spot. Heck, the Saints are only one game away from the 7-4 Atlanta Falcons in their own division. Speaking of 7-4, the Lions, Bears, and Cowboys are also 7-4, but the Cowboys are trying to fend of the 6-5 Giants and those two teams still have to play each other twice.
The AFC is a logjam. The Patriots, Steelers, Texans, and Ravens are all 8-3. The Texans have never been to the playoffs, but if the season ended today they would have the top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. This is without their quarterback, backup quarterback, and top pass rusher all out for the season. They do get Andre Johnson back, but hanging on to that top seed will be tough.
The Raiders are 7-4, and trying to hold off Tebowmania and a hard charging Denver Broncos team at 6-5. The Bengals at 7-4 are only one game back of Pittsburgh and Baltimore, and the Jets at 6-5 are still fighting.
Michael Vick is injured and the Eagles collapsed to 4-8. The league did not miss a beat.
The first firing of the season happened as Jack Del Rio was let go by Jacksonville Jaguars Owner Wayne Weaver after 9 seasons. After finishing 8-8 last year, Del Rio was told anything short of a winning season would be the end. Jacksonville lost last Sunday to fall to 3-8, and that was it. Weaver also sold the team. Some could argue that he should have let Del Rio finish the season, but sparing a new owner the dirty work is another way to look at it. Jerry Jones had the terrible task of firing Tom Landry, even though it should not have fallen on his shoulders.
One team that has had an emotional roller coaster has been the Raiders. Owner Al Davis died, and coach Hue Jackson has held the team together through a rash of injuries as Jason Campbell went down for the year and Darren McFadden, Jacoby, Ford, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore, Sebastian Janikowski, Richard Seymour, and Rolando McClain have all missed playing time. Yet the newest wound to the team is self-inflicted.
The Raiders were criminals in the 1970s and 1980s, but this 2011 team have been good citizens. That is why it is so disturbing that Rolando McClain was arrested in Alabama a few days ago for allegedly firing a weapon at somebody. The story will play itself out, but between McClain and JaMarcus Russell, good things do not happen to Raider players in Alabama. McClain is the leader of the defense, and he really hurt his team at a critical time.
Another player who let his team down was Detroit’s Ndomakung Suh. Suh’s incident was on the field, and he was suspended for 2 games for stomping on an opponent’s arm while the opponent was on the ground. Suh has had repeated issues on the field, and the suspension was upheld by Raiders legend Art Shell, who knows a thing or two about linemen. Suh has behaved off the field and McClain has been smart on the field, but players have to get it right in both cases or their NFL career will be short ones. With the Raiders and Lions in the playoff hunt, these players have to be smarter going forward.
One player who has been a model citizen on and off the field is Donovan McNabb. McNabb has over the course of his career been criticized by Terrell Owens, Rush Limbaugh, the head of the Philadelphia NAACP, Mike Shanahan, and others. All he did was take the Eagles to 5 NFC Title Games and one Super Bowl.
His career has spiraled downward the last couple of years, and like Jake Delhomme, it all seemed to happen out of sudden. A guy does not go from being a leader to a bum overnight, and in both cases maybe the issue is just one of confidence. McNabb was benched in Washington last year and in Minnesota this year. The 2-9 Vikings considered him expendable, and he asked for and was granted his release. In a surprising turn of events, especially with some teams desperate for quarterbacks, McNabb cleared waivers. Not one team put in a claim for him.
McNabb is one of the ultimate good guys in all of sports. He plays hard, plays clean, has fun, is polite, answers the media questions with integrity, and stays out of trouble off the field. Hopefully he will find a team soon.
Yet without Suh, McClain, McNabb, and Del Rio, one thing is certain. The game keeps marching on. True, the Colts vs Patriots game this weekend has gone from epic to unwatchable. Yet as has been the case throughout, the league will be fine.
The teams have 5 games left, and who will make the playoff and who will miss out is anybody’s guess. Only one team in Green Bay is all but assured the top seed, and only 3 teams are mathematically eliminated.
The stretch run is about to get very exciting as the NFL remains as great as ever.
eric
Philadelphia Eagles @ Seattle Seahawks was the Thursday night game.
Tennessee Titans @ Buffalo Bills (2)
(Bills cover)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Chicago Bears (7)
(Bears cover)
Atlanta Falcons (2.5) @ Houston Texans
(Texans win outright)
Oakland Raiders @ Miami Dolphins (3)
(Dolphins cover)
Denver Broncos @ Minnesota Vikings (1.5)
(Broncos win outright)
Indianapolis Colts @ New England Patriots (20.5)
(Patriots win but fail to cover)
Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers (6.5)
(Steelers cover)
Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3)
(Panthers win outright)
New York Jets (3) @ Washington Redskins
(Jets cover)
Baltimore Ravens (6.5) @ Cleveland Browns
(Ravens win but fail to cover)
Dallas Cowboys (4.5) @ Arizona Cardinals
(Cowboys win but fail to cover)
Green Bay Packers (6.5) @ New York Giants
(Packers win but fail to cover)
St. Louis Rams @ San Francisco 49ers (13.5)
(49ers win but fail to cover)
Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints (9) is the Sunday night game.
(Saints cover)
San Diego Chargers (3) @ Jacksonville Jaguars is the Monday night game.
(Chargers cover)
eric