The NFL playoffs begin this weekend so it is interesting to look at some trends associated with the teams that made the playoffs:
Six of the twelve teams are among the top ten offenses in the NFL.
Seven of the twelve teams started the same QB in every game this season.
Eight of the twelve teams are among the top ten defenses in the NFL.
In the last two seasons, the Super Bowl winner did not have a bye during the first week of the NFL playoffs. Therefore, if that trend continues this year, we will be watching this year’s ultimate winner sometime this weekend. Which of the eight teams playing this weekend can achieve that goal? Well, let me go through all of them and give you the “good news” and the “bad news” for each one of them.
Jax can run the ball very well and has an efficient passing game if not a spectacular one. That’s the good news. On the other hand, that efficient passing game might not be sufficiently scary to prevent opponents from lining up all eleven defenders in the box to stop that running attack.
Pittsburgh’s defense is very good and can get itself on a roll. That’s the good news. However, there will be no Willie Parker to run the ball and that means a heavier reliance on Ben Roethlisberger and that probably means more time on the field for that defense. It had better get on a roll right away…
San Diego ought to realize that Ladanian Tomlinson is their ticket to the Super Bowl. That’s the good news. At the same time, there is not much else on display from an offensive perspective that commands a lot of “shock and awe” in the minds of opposing defensive coordinators.
Tennessee’s coach, Jeff Fisher, finds ways to keep his team in games that they ought not to be in with defense and special teams play. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Tennessee offense can go AWOL for long stretches of a game and that is not a recipe for playoff success.
The NY Giants’ strength is their defensive line and it needs to exert pressure on opposing QBs because without pressure the Giants’ secondary can be exposed as “less than stellar”. Add to the secondary questions the uncertainty as to which Eli Manning will show up on any given weekend – the good Eli or his evil twin from the bizarro universe.
Seattle has a whole lot of playoff experience on the field an on its sideline. That’s the good news. The bad news is that their running game is suspect when it is at its very best.
Tampa Bay has an excellent defense. That’s the good news; and they will definitely need it because ever since Jeff Garcia suffered his back injury against the Redskins in November, the Bucs’ offense has been anemic.
Washington has plenty of playoff experience on its sideline and the Redskins are definitely going into the playoffs with more momentum than any other NFC team playing this weekend. The bad news in Washington is injuries to lots of starting players whose replacements are suspect.
If you believe in momentum, the Redskins and the Chargers come into the playoffs with more of it than anyone except the Pats. The Redskins have won four straight games and the Chargers have won six straight. If playing well in December naturally carries over to January/February, both of these teams should be ready to make life miserable for opponents.
The NFL playoffs focus even greater attention on the quarterbacks for the teams. It creates a sporting version of the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Consider:
Of the 41 Super Bowl games so far, 23 have been won by QBs who are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. So obviously, it takes a great QB to … Or did they get to the Hall of Fame because they won …?
Oh, and 5 other Super Bowl games have been won by QBs who are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame (Brady, Favre, Manning) but it is relatively certain that all three of these guys will make it there eventually. So the cumulative total for HoF QBs winning the Super Bowl is 28 out of 41 or just a bit better than two-out-of-three.
For the record, I do not believe that any of the QBs who will be starting for any of the teams playing this weekend will necessarily be Hall of Fame caliber players. I admit that Vince Young, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Eli Manning are still young and may blossom into great QBs. But I am not aboard any of those bandwagons just yet.
Am I the only one who has absolutely had it with the 1972 Miami Dolphins? Their annual champagne celebrations were cute when they were private affairs but tedious at best once they became public. The latest bleatings of Mercury Morris and Garo Yepremian about how the Pats’ achievement will always have to take a back seat to theirs because the Dolphins “did it first” is not merely tedious; it is outrageously annoying. Here is a simple fact. The Dolphins went 14-0 for a regular season and that was – and remains – a stunning accomplishment. The Patriots went 16-0 for a regular season. Now, there just cannot be any huge argument that it is more difficult to go undefeated in a 16-game season than a 14-game season – - unless you are a member of the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ team. Maybe too much champagne has killed off too many brain cells there?
Which NFL team was the biggest underachiever this year? The Saints, Bears, Jets and Ravens were all in the playoffs last year and none exceeded .500 this year. The Ravens fell the furthest; the Jets were the worst team of this bunch. It is a tough call here. By the way, do not leave the Bengals and Eagles out of this kind of discussion. They may not have been as wretched as some of these other squads, but they fell significantly short of what they could have accomplished.
Finally, here is an observation from Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press on the Lions collapse after starting the season with a 6-2 record:
“This has been the best season of Matt Millen’s tenure, but that’s like winning an award for Best Cafeteria Food.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…