One: The Broncos are making the playoffs. Well, I was completely wrong. I thought their was no way the Broncos would regain their “team ball” mojo. But they did, and their remaining schedule is easy. They have two games against the Chiefs remaining, plus a game against the Raiders. If they win those games, they’ll make it in at 10-6 with a great 8-4 conference record.
Still, who doesn’t love the idea of betting against them in Cincinnati or San Diego in round one?
Two: The Titans will beat the Colts this Sunday, win their next five games, finish 10-6…but won’t make the playoffs. 16-0 is a hard run and CJ will rip open the Colts run D. The only other team playing like the Colts in the 4th quarter is the Titans. After that they get a three game home trip before heading to Seattle for the finale. I predicted the miracle run before last week, and after another thrilling win, I’m sticking with them.
However, it won’t be enough. A 6-6 conference record will sink the Titans in the tie-breakers.
Three: Who will edge them out? The Steelers. Tomlin’s crew is really struggling at 6-5, but like ‘05, they’ll make a little run into the playoffs. The only real challenges are at Green Bay and vs the Ravens. They’ll beat the Ravens in Heinz Field, win four out of five, and then lose everyone money when they choke in the first round. Yeah, they’ll be in the playoffs, but they’re just not that good.
Three: The Giants will have a new defensive coordinator next season. You have to wonder what could have been if the Giants, understanding the value of their defensive coordinator, had offered the talented coordinator $3.5+ million to stay. Instead, he jumped to the Rams and is struggling on a one-win team without a franchise quarterback. You have to kind of think they’d love a reunion; that won’t happen, of course, but Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan has been consistently outcoached, and the Giants will listen to fans’ yells for Sheridan’s head while trying to sell those last PSLs.
Four: Eagles at Cowboys in Week 17 will decide the NFC East. Both of these teams are really inconsistent. But the Eagles will be able to squeeze out victories against the Ryan/Turner-less Falcons, and they should be able to take two out of
three in New York, vs. the 49ers and vs the Broncos.
Five: By next year, we’ll declare the Vince Young and the Titans the winner of the VY-Reggie Bush-Mario Williams quandary in the ‘06 draft. Williams, a top-flight defensive end, looked like the clear winner until a month ago, but there’s nothing more important than a quarterback, and Young looks like he really gets it.
Six: Favre will win League MVP, but Manning will deserve it. I get the feeling that Favre’s ridiculous statistical season and the novelty of the old, lovable man will get the Vikings starting QB the MVP award. It’s easy to see his comparative value to Tarvaris Jackson. Favre is a four-win upgrade. But Manning deserves it. His five consecutive 4th quarter comebacks are incredible. He makes an average team great.
Seven: Despite his seven-hour summits with the Bills, Mike Shanahan won’t coach in Buffalo. Yeah, he may not be able to draft defensive players, but Shanahan will be highly sought after as a GM/coach this off-season. He’ll merely use the Bills interest to get a ridiculous contract and total control to turn around the Redskins (Daniel Snyder’s really taken his fans’ scorn over his decisions to heart). He also could be a surprise hire in Houston if they give him enough money (Gary Kubiak was Shanahan’s prodigy, so his system’s already in place).
Eight: Alex Smith will start for the 49ers next year. He’s playing pretty decently, and I think Singletary likes him and would like to use his resources on some dominant maulers in the trenches and a playmaking pass rusher.
Nine: The NFL’s new concussion policy will seriously change the game. Very smartly, concussions are becoming an automatic missed-game injury in the NFL. After sustaining a concussion, almost all players will be held out the following week, and possibly longer if they’ve suffered the injury multiple times. Concussions are so prevalent in the NFL that this will be really noticeable. A lot more key players will miss games, especially since you can’t just “gut” through it. Imagine if this surfaces in the playoffs. Come playoff time, a quarterback will soldier through a torn ACL (like Philip Rivers), but that won’t work for concussions. I have a feeling we’ll see one backup quarterback playing the biggest game of his life come January thanks to a concussed starter.
Ten: Do or die playoff time in Week 13 will spike your blood pressure. The season’s on the line in four premiere NFL cities: in New York, the Giants last gasp chance is a win over the visiting Cowboys that would change everything. In Atlanta, the Falcons will have to beat the battered Eagles, possibly without Michael Turner or Matt Ryan. In Green Bay, the Ravens visit with wildcard births on the line for both teams. In Indy, the Titans look like the last great hope to hand Indy a regular-season loss and keep their playoff dreams alive.
Plus, Texans at Jags and Vikings and Cardinals should bring a lot of fun (and fantasy points). December’s coming. Football season is fleeting. Enjoy every second.
Norman Rockwell says:
The concussion thing won't change anything in the NFL. What is a concussion is so much more ambiguous than a broken bone, torn tendon, or ligament. Team doctors are already shady as is, this will just make it much worse if the concussion policy has any bite to it.