Week 17 Game Notes

Eagles over Redskins

• The Redskins need: offensive playmakers, a quarterback, an eventual replacement for London Fletcher...
• They need a lot.
• The Eagles finally figured out just how talented they are, finishing the year with 4-straight wins. Every team in the playoffs is happy the Eagles’ strong finish was too little too late.
• Can Michael Vick be a true franchise quarterback? As a 32-year-old next season, I’m not sure he can ever stay healthy for 14-16 games per year.

Packers over Lions

• With a huge performance Matthew Stafford finishes the season with 5,038 passing yards and 41 touchdowns-to-16 picks.
• Calvin Johnson had 11 catches for 244 yards in this game to finish just under 1,700 receiving yards. He also notched 16 receiving scores.
• Stafford is 23. Johnson is 26. My gosh, how good is tandem going to be for the next 5-7 years?
• In a losing effort the Lions proved that they are still an immature team, but they also proved why they should scare everyone in the playoffs. They are incredibly explosive.
• Matt Flynn breaks Packer single game records for passing yards and passing touchdowns in his lone start of the year, not too shabby for the franchise of Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers.
  15-1.
• Say what you want about the defense, but 15 wins in 16 games is proof of a great team. It's not perfection, but 15 wins doesn't happen often.

Dolphins over Jets

• Another ugly game for the Jets.
• Shut up, Rex.

Saints over Panthers

• The Panthers established a pattern this year of playing a really good half or three quarters of football and then falling apart. They need to address their defense this offseason in a major way.
• I can't wait to see what Cam Newton can do with a full offseason and a year of experience under his belt.
• The Saints are an absolute machine at home. With an unblemished home record, New Orleans averaged over 40 points per game in the Superdome.
• On the road, however, the Saints were 5-3 and averaged just 26 points.
• Lions at Saints should be a really fun shootout of a Wild Card game.

49ers over Rams

• The game looked out of sight when the Niners went up 34-13 in the fourth quarter.
• Give the Rams credit for rallying and almost coming back, ultimately though they finish at a dismal 2-14 and don't even get the reward of the #1 overall pick.
• Alex Smith's season numbers—3,150 passing yards, 61% completions, 17 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 91 passer rating—not glamorous, but damn solid and good enough to help guide his team to a 13-3 record.
• The Niners blew the defensive scoring title by allowing the Rams to rally. Pittsburgh ended the year with 2 less points allowed than San Fran.
• Coming into 2011, nobody would have believed the 49ers would be the NFC's two seed, and you can't just chalk it up to a bad division. San Francisco was 8-2 outside of the NFC West.

Bears over Vikings

• The Vikings are just beginning what should be a major rebuilding process.
• The Bears have to feel cheated. After losing Jay Cutler and Matt Forte for the season, they just didn't have a chance.

Titans over Texans

• The Titans were the most enigmatic team in the league this year in my opinion. I could never figure out if they were any good. They finish 9-7 and just out of the playoffs.
• The Texans lose three-straight heading into their first ever playoff game; that doesn't seem like a good sign.
• Another bad sign: third stringer and rookie TJ Yates sustained an injury, which forced Jake Delhomme out of the witness protection program and into the game. Even if Yates can play next week, Houston is still relying on a backup's backup and a rookie to win in the postseason.

Jaguars over Colts

• Well, here we go. Andrew Luck is the Colts property if they want him, and then what to do with Peyton Manning?
• Might Indy consider trading the pick for a treasure chest of assets in return, hoping to surround Manning for one more title run? I doubt it.
• Might Peyton Manning get traded, and to whom? That I think is the more pertinent question.
• The Jaguars need to build something around Maurice Jones-Drew before they waste his golden years. He's a monster, leading the league with 1,600 rushing yards this year.

Patriots over Bills

• First quarter: Bills 21 – Patriots 0
• Next three quarters: Patriots 49 – Bills 0
• New England clinches home field throughout the playoffs.
• The Bills, after showing real signs of life to start the year, end 6-10 and still have a long way to go in making themselves into a contender. I'm not sure Ryan Fitzpatrick is the guy, too bad they gave him a 6-year deal worth nearly $60 million.

Steelers over Browns

• It was ugly and ultimately not worth the pain that it took to win as Baltimore sewed up the #2 seed.
• Ben Roethlisberger probably could have used this week off as well, but now he'll head to Denver next week to kick off the playoffs.
• I'm confident the Steelers’ defense will be plenty good enough to ensure a win in Denver, but I worry that Big Ben just won't be healthy enough for them to make a return Super Bowl trip.
• Rashard Mendenhall is done for the playoffs with a torn ACL. With a banged up Roethlisberger and a missing Mendenhall, the Steelers are really limping into the playoffs.

Chiefs over Broncos

• Good for Kyle Orton, though victory would have been even sweeter if it would have held Denver out of the playoffs.
• Final AFC West Standings: Denver: 8-8, San Diego: 8-8, Oakland: 8-8, Kansas City: 7-9. It was competitive at least.
• Tim Tebow: 6-22 passing for 60 yards, the Steelers are licking their chops.
• Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, and Tony Moeaki are all going to be back for Kansas City next year. That's like adding three Pro Bowl-level players for free. If they find the right coach, draft well, and sign some good free agents, the Chiefs could easily compete for the playoffs next year.

Ravens over Bengals

• The Bengals went 0-4 against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. They're good, but they haven't arrived yet.
  Cam Cameron, give Ray Rice the ball: 24 carries for 191 yards against a good Bengals defense.
• Joe Flacco and Alex Smith face the same question: can they stay out of the way well enough for their excellent teams to win a Super Bowl?
• I kid, sort of, I think both Flacco and Smith are capable of playing at a high level, but both will have to prove it on the big stages.

Cardinals over Seahawks

• Two teams fighting for respectability and both are better than anyone thought they'd be a few weeks into the season.
• With these two teams reaching the level of "average" and the 49ers ascending to elite, the NFC West is no longer the worst division in football. I submit the AFC South and AFC West as nice replacement candidates.

Falcons over Buccaneers

• That’s all for now Raheem Morris.
• The Falcons love beating up on bad teams, but they need to prove it against some of the NFL's big boys. Bring on the Giants.

Chargers over Raiders

• Oakland had their chances, and the man they gave up a fortune to get, Carson Palmer, couldn't deliver a playoff birth.
• It's time to cut Norv Turner loose San Diego.
• It's time to bring Turner in as an offensive coordinator for the Jets.

Giants over Cowboys

• Why the hell did I pick the Cowboys? What a bad year for Dallas, blowing multiple big leads in the fourth quarter.
• Tony Romo played at a high level this year but will be 32 next season and doesn't seem to have that leadership ability that other top quarterbacks have.
• Maybe that's not the case, but it sure seems like the Cowboys consistently lack focus, and that has to fall on Romo and head coach Jason Garrett.
• The Cowboys are a strange team to evaluate. Are they a few pieces away from being a legit contender, or do they need to start rebuiliding? DeMarcus Ware, Romo, Jay Ratliff, Miles Austin, and Jason Witten are all good players to build around, but none are spring chickens.
• The Giants have to scare everyone.
• Eli Manning showed that he can score with the Packers, and with Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, he has plenty of weaponry to light up the scoreboard.

--from @AdamHocking