For this particular entry, I will not be reviewing the games that took place this past weekend. The first part of this diary will concern the playoff picture and the second part will consist of observations about the 2010 season as a whole.
With the 2010 regular season in the books, the playoffs are set, with the Packers eking out a 10-3 win against the Bears, who inexplicably kept their starters in a game that was totally meaningless for them. And congratulations to the Colts and the Seahawks, who played their best defense of the year when it counted the most.
Here are the playoff seedings:
AFC
- New England Patriots
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Indianapolis Colts
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Baltimore Ravens
- New York Jets
NFC
- Atlanta Falcons
- Chicago Bears
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Seattle Seahawks
- New Orleans Saints
- Green Bay Packers
The wildcard games will take place on Saturday and Sunday. The schedule is as follows:
Saturday, Jan. 8th
4:30 p.m. ET: New Orleans at Seattle
8:00 p.m. ET: New York Jets at Indianapolis
Sunday, Jan. 9th
1:00 p.m. ET: Baltimore at Kansas City
4:30 p.m. ET: Green Bay at Philadelphia
Here are my predictions for the wildcard round of the playoffs. I honestly do not see myself topping last year's post-season effort where I went 10-1 on my picks. But here goes nothing:
Saints 28, Seahawks 17
Although Quest Field is a brutally hostile environment for visiting teams, I feel that Drew Brees and company will put together enough drives and make enough defensive stops to emerge the winner in a closely fought battle that will be concealed by the misleading scoreline.
Indianapolis 35, New York Jets 13
Peyton Manning is a man on a mission and he will not be denied in his own stadium by the Jets. I predict that the Colts defense will overwhelm Mark Sanchez.
Baltimore 23, Kansas City 20 (OT)
Though the Chiefs have the type of defense which can bother Joe Flacco, they will have no answer for Ray Rice. The Ravens' defense will be able to contain Jamaal Charles enough to secure victory in the end.
Green Bay 28, Philadelphia 20
Until the Packers are actually knocked out of contention, I believe they have a shot at the Super Bowl this year. Their defense has held opponents to an average of less than 15 points per game, and I feel that the Eagles' defense has some weaknesses that are exploitable.
And now for my reactions and observations about the regular season, which went by in a flash.
11 observations about the 2010 NFL regular season:
- Al Davis is still a moron. He is reportedly going to fire Tom Cable even though (a.) Tom Cable has given us the best and most competitive Raider team in years and (b.) Tom Cable is well-liked and respected by the players.
- Look out for the Indianapolis Colts.
- A year after setting a new record for yards from scrimmage in a single season (2,509), Chris Johnson posted just 1,609 yards from scrimmage this season.
- Arian Foster accumulated 1,616 rushing yards and 604 receiving yards for the year, making him both the rushing champion and the yards from scrimmage champion for the year.
- The Seahawks are the first team to make the playoffs with a sub-500 record.
- One missed field goal (week 3, Falcons at Saints) may have cost the Saints a shot at a second straight #1 seed.
- The Raiders are the first team since the 1970 merger to go 6-0 in their division and not make the playoffs.
- So far, six head coaches have been ousted this year: John Fox in Carolina, Eric Mangini in Cleveland, Brad Childress in Minnesota, Wade Philips in Dallas, Josh McDaniels in Denver, and Mike Singletary in San Francisco. Rumors are swirling that Tom Cable in Oakland and Tony Sparano in Miami are next on the chopping block. If Gary Kubiak keeps his job in Houston then I guess the owners of that team really enjoy losing.
- Tom Brady's streak of passes without an interception is still going and stands at 335.
- Brett Favre has announced his retirement from the NFL. Let's hope he stays on his tractor in Mississippi this time.
- The New York Giants might be the best team I've ever seen not make the playoffs.
Here is how I would rank all 32 teams after the regular season, in reverse order:
- Carolina Panthers
- Denver Broncos
- Buffalo Bills
- Arizona Cardinals
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Washington Redskins
- Cleveland Browns
- Houston Texans
- Minnesota Vikings
- Tennessee Titans
- Detroit Lions
- Dallas Cowboys
- San Francisco 49ers
- St. Louis Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
- Miami Dolphins
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Oakland Raiders
- San Diego Chargers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Kansas City Chiefs
- New York Giants
- New York Jets
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Indianapolis Colts
- Green Bay Packers
- Chicago Bears
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- New Orleans Saints
- Atlanta Falcons
- Baltimore Ravens
- New England Patriots
Here are my year-end awards:
League MVP: Tom Brady
Comeback of the year: Michael Vick
Best Running Back: Arian Foster
Best Wide Receiver: Brandon Lloyd
Best Tight End: Antonio Gates
Biggest Bust: Brett Favre
Coach of the Year: Todd Haley
Best Defense: Green Bay Packers
Best Kicker: Sebastian Janikowski
Rookie of the Year: Ndamukong Suh