Lessons Learned in NFL's Week 17...
By Scott Burks
Here are my thoughts on Week 17 -- the final
week of the 2009 NFL season (nooooooooo!!!!!)...
Too little, too late for the Houston Texans
and my Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Texans and Steelers played well in their season finales yesterday, but
it was all for naught. The Texans gave us a glimpse of what might have
been, scoring 21 unanswered points in their comeback victory over the New
England Patriots. The good news is the Texans have their first winning
season and will have something positive to build on for next season.
The only thing is the bar has been set that much higher for Houston.
My Steelers put together a complete game (sans
the alleged defense giving up two scores to a third-string QB in Tyler
Thigpen), only to be eliminated when the hated Baltimore Ravens beat the
awful Oakland Raiders later that day. As far as the Steelers are
concerned, any time a team loses to the Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, and
Cleveland Browns in the same year, it does not deserve to qualify for the
playoffs to defend its championship. Better luck next year, fellas!
The New York Giants quit on coach Tom
Coughlin. Let's face it, if you watched the Giants-Minnesota
Vikings game yesterday, it should be obvious that the Giants did not leave
New Jersey the night before the game. 44-7 the last game of the year.
Again, 44-7! That was such a sad, precipitous fall from that 5-0 start
this season. Apparently, a coaching change was made in the form of
their defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan getting his ass fired earlier
today. From watching yesterday's game, I think the problems run deeper
than the defensive coordinator. The Giants quit on their coach and on
each other, plain and simple.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell
will regret sitting his starters in Week 16.
I cannot stop talking about this clown. The Colts have gone from
possibly going 16-0 to losing its last two games to go fall to 14-2.
While 14-2 is not THAT bad, it is if you lose two straight before the
playoffs began. I do not care who they are, teams should not be riding
a losing streak going into the NFL playoffs where it is "one and done".
I will not be surprised if the Colts lose their first playoff game (again).
The New York Jets and Green Bay Packers are my
official sleeper teams for the playoffs.
The Jets and the Packers are going to make some noise in the playoffs.
It's my "put up or shut up" statement for the 2010 NFL playoffs. The
Jets do two things that win in the playoffs -- play great defense, and run
the ball down opponents' throats. Those two things will help a rookie
QB in Mark Sanchez (see Ravens QB Joe Flacco last season). I like the
Jets' chances going into Cincinnati this coming Saturday. It's hard
for a team to bounce back after getting its ass kicked against the same team
it'll play the following week. Sure the Bengals will score points the
next go around, but that Jets defense and running game are just too nasty.
The Packers are among the hottest teams in the
league. The scariest thing about that is that no one is talking about
them. In the NFC, it's been New Orleans Saints this, and Vikings that.
I look for the Packers to win in Arizona this coming weekend, and beat the
Saints on the road the following week. However, I do not see the
Packers beating the Vikings, but you never know...
So much for
the Dallas Cowboys not winning in December.
This is a team that has brushed back the doubters, if you will. The
Cowboys have looked good this December, and beat the hell out of the
Philadelphia Eagles yesterday to win the NFC East. And you know what,
I look for the Cowboys to keep the good times rolling (unfortunately), and
pick up their first playoff win since 1996! How about that???
The Washington
Redskins and Oakland Raiders need interventions. So let me get this
straight -- the Redskins canned their neutered head coach Jim "Get Me the
Hell Out of Here" Zorn this morning, not even 24 hours after their last game
of the season (which of course, ended in a loss). That makes it seven
coaching changes under owner Dan "Danny Boy" Snyder in 11 seasons.
That also makes the Redskins 80-96 (a .455 winning percentage) under Danny
Boy's watch.
Meanwhile in
Oakland, word on the street is coach Tom Cable is about to get canned by
Darth Vader himself, owner Al Davis. That will make it six coaching
changes in the last eight years. The Raiders have lost at least eleven
losses for six straight seasons -- an NFL record.
As much as I'd
like to be the ultimate optimist, I feel for Redskins and Raiders fans.
Given the next wave of coaching changes in both franchises, the more things
change, the more they stay the same...
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