Waste of Web

Did you know that the Internet isn't just for productivity?

RSS

My take on a great Championship Sunday, a day late but still WAY too long before our next game, and no, the Pro Bowl does not count as an actual football game:

New Orleans 31 Minnesota 28
What can be said about Brett Favre that hasn’t already been said concerning this game? I’m not sure. But I will say this: I like the guy. Yes, I’m tired of his waffling, but I’m mostly tired of the media coverage of it. But you know what? If people really don’t want to hear it, they can completely tune out ESPN, and at some point, the Worldwide Leader will stop talking about it. And the fact is, Brett Favre made the right decision coming back this year and coming back when he did. He was easily at least the 3rd best quarterback in the NFL this season, surpassed only by the two quarterbacks who will be meeting in the Super Bowl. Yes, he made a bad mistake at the end of the game with that stupid interception. But the Vikings were forced to pass due to their 12 men in the huddle penalty, which was beyond stupid and probably owing to the noise level at the Superdome. Had that penalty not occurred, the Vikings would have run the ball with Adrian Peterson, and had he not fumbled (more on that in a minute), he probably would have been stuffed for a yard or two gain, and the Vikings would have kicked a field goal from about 50 yards to win the game as time expired. Ryan Longwell was probably just over a 50-50 shot to make the kick from that distance inside, in my opinion, so it wasn’t a guaranteed win, but I think it was fairly likely. The penalty made the Vikings think (and probably rightfully so knowing the veteran Longwell’s range) that they needed to pick up a few more yards to win the game. They had a timeout left, so they could pass it anywhere except into the hands of a Saint. Which is exactly what Brett Favre did, to no one’s surprise. Concerning Favre’s future, I know he’s saying he’ll likely retire, but you know he can’t be taken at his word clearly. I personally think he should come back. He has a team he almost took to the Super Bowl that still has the talent to go far, and he had a great year. Why wouldn’t he come back? He was healthy all year, though I realize he got beat up in this game. (Maybe his aching body is what’s making him think he won’t come back.) He can skip training camp again (it worked this year), and he can come in and take this team far. He played well last year until he got hurt, and he stayed healthy this year. Brett Favre should come back for another year with the Vikings, and you know, they’d take him back. What other options do they have? Tarvaris Jackson? Um, no. Sage Rosenfels? If you want a nice 9-7 or 10-6 season while the Packers run rampant in the NFC North. You want a Super Bowl, you go with Favre, and they know that. (Of course, if Favre retires and stays retired, they could always inquire about the availability of Donovan McNabb who had Brad Childress as his offensive coordinator in Philly for awhile. Andy Reid is too smart to give him up, but Philly fans are so stupid to want to, the Eagles may feel forced.) This game also brings up the point of overtime when only one team gets a possession where they end up winning the game, especially winning on a field goal and not a touchdown. I won’t go into that discussion and all the possibilities to fix it, except to say I think the college version has its own problems, as you’re already in field goal when you start, but I’m just saying that it may be an issue and may get brought up in the Competition Committee Meetings this spring and may finally change because of this game. The Vikings actually outplayed the Saints in virtually every facet of the game on Sunday, outgaining a great offense and playing great defense. Drew Brees looked average all day, and their running game never got going. But the turnovers killed them. Let’s not just knock Brett Favre for this either. Adrian Peterson could not hold onto the ball. He’s becoming known as a fumbler, and he would be more well-known for his slippery fingers if he wasn’t so damn good at running the ball. He’s fumbled in huge situations repeatedly at the end of this season (let’s not forget overtime against the Bears), and he gave this game away. It got so bad that Joe Buck felt like he had to mention AP holding onto the ball every time he DIDN’T fumble. In such a close game that the Vikings had an upper hand in, it’s a shame that the turnovers did them in. But that’s football. And for the first time in 16 years, both #1 seeds advance to the Super Bowl. I wondered if it would ever happen again, and I postulated earlier this season that if both the Colts and Saints went to the playoffs at 16-0, then it would finally happen. While the undefeated seasons didn’t happen unfortunately, we still got Colts-Saints, which should be a fun Super Bowl.

Indianapolis 30 New York Jets 17
The Jets went up early in this game, but you knew the Colts were probably going to come back. Maybe you thought the Jets were destined to be in the Super Bowl and that they’re old-school running-and-defense thing would work or that there was karma involved in the Colts’ giving up the undefeated season against the Jets in Week 16. But the Colts were just clearly the better team in this game, and they came up big when needed. Peyton Manning especially, as machine-like and as efficient as ever. He got hit a few more times than usual, but he found the holes in the defense, especially when the Jets blitzed, and he brought them right back. The drive before the half, three plays, all long passes to Austin Collie, was vintage Manning. I’m really surprised that defensive coordinators haven’t learned that you’ll get burned more often than not against good veteran quarterbacks (and especially great veteran quarterbacks like Manning) when you blitz them. Sure, you can rattle a young guy or someone who’s not very good, but the Mannings, Favres, Breeses, and Bradys of the world? Stupid. I saw the Peyton is now 5-0 against Rex Ryan-coached defenses in his career. Ryan is obviously a good defensive coach too, but maybe against Manning, he blitzes too much. Maybe he should lay back and let his talented defense play more coverage, especially when he has Darrelle Revis shutting down one side of the field all on his own. I do like Rex though. He got progressively fatter this season, and I love loudmouth coaches who speak their mind (I love loudmouthed anyones who speak their mind in this overly-PC communist, 1st Amendment-hating world we live in). Now, his complete opposite is Jim Caldwell, who I think I heard speak for the second time this week. I remember Caldwell coaching Wake Forest in the ‘90s, and that team was just mediocre (as they always had been). I know Wake has had some good season recently, but maybe Caldwell wasn’t to blame. Or maybe he’s learned how to be a great NFL head coach under Tony Dungy. And maybe it’s partially due to the fact that Colts’ organization is just such as well-run stable organization that they can continue to have sustained success no matter the turnover. Jim Irsay, Bill Polian, Tony Dungy, Tom Moore, and Peyton Manning have put systems in place that don’t change. They know how to scout players, how to coach players, how to run practices, how to deal with the media, all that. Peyton has always played in the same offensive system, which is actually a very simple offense compared to what a lot of team run (especially the high-flying Saints). They just run it to perfection. This team changed defensive coordinators this year and didn’t miss a beat. This team lost a Hall of Fame receiver (albeit one that had been declining for a year or two) and didn’t miss a beat (more on that in a minute). They struggled in the running game and started 14-0 and went to the Super Bowl. There’s something in place there that works, so they don’t change those things. And changing coaches to a guy who’d been there for years is another example of that. I’ve come to realize that so much about head coaching is the leadership and organization of running a huge corporation in a way. It’s not necessarily about X’s and O’s, though it’s important to have those who can do it. The Steelers are another organization with stability from top to bottom. Mike Tomlin was a 4-3 Tampa 2 guy, but he showed head coaching ability to Dan Rooney, so he was hired. He didn’t bring his defense with him. He trusted Dick LeBeau and maybe put some of his Cover 2 strategy in the game plan, but mostly, he just ran the team and let his coaches coach. They won the Super Bowl last year. Jim Caldwell is the boss, and he lets Peyton and Tom Moore do their thing. He makes the big decisions, runs the practices, sets the tone for the team. So many great play-callers and strategists have failed as head coaches, and the reason is probably that they just aren’t great leaders or that they thought they could just move up and keep calling plays and not have to change much. The Eagles hired Andy Reid, a quarterbacks coach in Green Bay who’d never been a coordinator, and that’s worked out fine. He’s called the offensive plays at times, I realize, but Jeffrey Lurie saw something else in him other than X’s and O’s. I get a little tired of hearing pundit say that since a guy hadn’t been a coordinator, he shouldn’t be a head coach or that it’s only the hot coordinators that should be tapped as the head guys. Herm Edwards was the assistant head coach under Dungy in Tampa and coached the secondary when he was hired by the Jets. He wasn’t a great coach, but he wasn’t bad either. He led a lot of playoff teams. Caldwell was the same. He helped to run practices, ran some himself, and acted more in a supervisory role. That’s probably more important to the position of head coach than calling plays. You have to know football and know what’s going on with your team, don’t get me wrong. But there’s more to it. And Caldwell seems to have that extra something. And as a rookie head coach, he’s led his team to the Super Bowl, though in a way, he’s not really a rookie because he didn’t take over a team he didn’t know; he took over a team he’d been with for years and one that had been preparing him for his opportunity for years. It was a smooth transition made possible by a well-run organization. Back to the receivers. The Colts expected that Marvin Harrison would be replaced by Anthony Gonzalez this year, a former first-round draft choice, but he got injured in the first game and never played. So rookie Austin Collie, a white guy, and Pierre Garcon, a second-year guy from a Division III school come in and ably fill in all year, and they both had huge games Sunday. What’s interesting about the Colts’ simple offense is that Harrison always played on the same side; Reggie Wayne always plays on the same side. They have some different formations, with Dallas Clark in tight or in the slot, one of their running backs out wide, etc., but they don’t do the wacky (and very effective) things the Saints do. But they still rack up the yards and still go to the Super Bowl as an offensive-minded team. Maybe you don’t have to change things up a la Sean Payton or Mike Martz. Maybe you just have to do whatever it is you do well. If you run the same plays all the time and run them perfectly, it’s hard to stop. Football is a physical game, so do everything right, you can win. Block effectively every time, and you can have time to pass and you can create running room (how many times have the Colts run that old Edge stretch play whether with Edgerrin or anyone else, and how many times has it worked?) The Colts simple offense works because of repetition, smart players, and of course, talented players. Anyway, the Colts are going to their fourth Super Bowl, and interestingly enough, all four of them have been in Miami. I remember that the Patriots first 3 Super Bowls were all in New Orleans, and apparently, there have only been 4 of them at the Superdome total. The last 3 all had the Patriots involved. Weird coincidences. In Miami, I expect the Colts to win a close game over the Saints 32-29. Yes, by that weird score.

My take on the Divisional Playoffs. And why are they called that? They don’t determine the Division winners. Stupid name, but usually a great weekend of football, nonetheless.

New Orleans 45 Arizona 14
I really thought Arizona would put up a better fight, especially given the way the Saints played at the end of the season, losing their last 3 games after winning their first 13. But I think this weekend proved, at least for one year, that the good teams that seemed to slip up at the end of the season or just rest can really turn it back on. It’s rest, not rust, and end-of-the-season momentum matters little if there’s disparate talent between the teams. The Cardinals looked like they would be in the game, after Tim Hightower took it to the house on the first play from scrimmage. First, I was surprised that Hightower was in there, then I was surprised they opened with a running play, then I was obviously surprised he took it to the house. Unfortunately, the Cardinals’ defense couldn’t hold back the potent attack of the Saints at any point during the game, and that was their undoing. Kurt Warner had only lost one playoff game previously in his career not named “The Super Bowl,” and that was ironically to the Saints after the 2000 season. Speaking of that game, the Saints have now won 3 playoff games in their entire history (to put that in perspective, the Cardinals won 3 last year along…the Cardinals). Who was the starting quarterback in that game? Was it A) Archie Manning, B) Bobby Hebert, C) Aaron Brooks, or D) Drew Brees? The answer is UVA product Aaron Brooks, a man who once threw my football. Drew Brees won the other two. The Saints have their mojo back, and they can easily win at home this week to advance to their first Super Bowl. Too bad it’s one of the seemingly rare years the game won’t be in New Orleans. Concerning the Cardinals, I hope Kurt Warner comes back for another year. He’s a good man, still a great player, and he’s good for the game. If he doesn’t, it’ll be interesting to see what Matt Leinart can do with that potent offense.

Indianapolis 20 Baltimore 3
The Colts won their first playoff game after earning a bye in the Peyton Manning era with this one, shutting up some of the people who criticized them for resting starters. The criticism leveled for not going for a perfect season is still warranted, as is the criticism for letting the Jets in the playoffs by pulling starters in Week 16. Now, they have to face that same hot Jets team, which could come back to bite them. But if this game was any indication, they should be able to beat an inferior team. What I took from this game, watching Peyton Manning’s two touchdown drives in the second quarter was that I don’t know if I’ve ever watched a quarterback with as much command and as much influence over a team. The Colts ARE Peyton Manning. He defines them the way no quarterback has ever defined a team in my opinion. Not Joe Montana, not John Elway, not Dan Marino, not Tom Brady, not even Brett Favre. If he wins another two Super Bowls, he likely will go down in history as the best of all time. What I find interesting about the Colts now is that in their past playoff history, they either lost their first playoff game or ended up having to go to Foxborough. The only year that didn’t happen, they went to the Super Bowl and won it (though they still played New England but in Indy). I think they’ll win it all, and I’m predicting that right now. The Ravens are a solid team that just didn’t have what it took to beat a team like the Colts. It’ll be sad if Ed Reed decides to retire, and I think all football fans, even Steelers fans, should be saddened by that prospect. Not only is he a great player, he’s a great guy. Though much like Kurt Warner, if he leaves, he’ll be successful at whatever he does next.

Minnesota 34 Dallas 3
Everybody likes when the Cowboys lose. Except people from Texas and people who jumped on the bandwagon when they were winning Super Bowls. But Cowboys fans shouldn’t be too discouraged. They got over a lot of humps this year, playing well in December, winning a playoff game for the first time since 1996, and Tony Romo really emerged as a top quarterback. But they just weren’t as good as the Vikings. Throughout most of the season, their offensive line was among the top in the league, but in this game, Minnesota’s excellent defensive line just destroyed them, even before Flozell Adams got hurt. And uh, Jason Garrett, using Jason Witten, one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the game, blocking Jared Allen? Not a good idea. Basically what happened in this game is that the better team won, maybe more easily than they should have once momentum went their way. Brett Favre played another great game and looks like he could play another few years. I honestly think he would be stupid to retire (again). He should play again next year for the Vikes, who I’m sure would take him back win or lose this week (or next week). And once again, a team that looked to be slipping the final weeks came back with a vengeance and proved all doubters wrong. It’ll be a fun NFC Championship Game on Sunday, with two great QBs going at it with great offenses, in a dome. The Vikings haven’t been to the Super Bowl since they lost their fourth one in the mid-70s, and the Saints have never been, so some fresh blood will be there. Okay, Brett Favre might be there, which will piss a lot of people off if it happens, but I personally love the guy. Did you see his “Pants on the Ground” locker room thing after the game? His teammates love him, he loves the game and playing, and he’s playing as well as he’s played in over a decade. By the way, he beat Dallas for the first time in the playoffs ever. I found it interesting that Troy Aikman was calling the game, and Aikman had won the previous 3 playoff games when Favre was in Green Bay. Aikman came into the league 3 years before Favre, and now he’s been gone a decade. Amazing to think about that.

New York Jets 17 Cincinnati 14
Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Mark Sanchez. One of these things is not like the other. It reminds of the 1997 season, when the four quarterbacks were Steve Young, Brett Favre, John Elway, and Kordell Stewart. (And again, this was 12 years ago, and look at the second name on that list…still playing and still playing well.) The Jets deserved to win this game though. The Chargers played like crap, and Nate Kaeding choked. I remember another Jets-Chargers playoff game, this one five years ago. I was watching at a bar in Nashville as Kaeding missed a potential game-winning field goal, and the Jets ended up pulling the upset. I still say the Jets don’t deserve to be in the playoffs, after the Colts handed them that game in Week 16, but they’re here, and they’re pretty good. The Bengals gave up in Week 17 too, but the Jets then went into Cincy and destroyed the them, so that kind of makes up for things. A portent of things to come this weekend? Let’s hope not. Let’s hope last year is a portent of things to come this weekend. Last year, a team with a talented swarming defense led by Rex Ryan and a run-oriented offense with a veteran back and a rookie back as well as a rookie first-round draft pick quarterback came into the playoffs as Wild Card, went to the AFC Championship Game and lost to a superior team. Let’s hope it happens again. Also, you can say that this game proves me wrong about end-of-the-season momentum not mattering when one team is superior, like I’m pretty sure the Chargers were. However, although the Jets were on a 6-1 run coming in this game, the Chargers had won 11 in a row. They didn’t slip up at the end of the season or rest starters. They played to the end. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with LaDanian Tomlinson, who unfortunately seems to be at the end of his career. If Norv Turner, clearly far from a great coach but a great offensive play caller, especially in the run game, can’t make him look good, then I don’t know if there’s any hope for him. This may have been the Chargers’ best hope for a Super Bowl run, along with their 14-2 season 3 years ago clearly, and you wonder if they’re going to be as good next year.

My thoughts on the whole Pete Carroll and Lane Kiffin coaching moves and controversies this week. Pete Carroll left USC to coach the Seattle Seahawks, and Lane Kiffin left the University of Tennessee to take over at USC, where he served as an assistant under Carroll earlier this decade.

First, I’ve heard a lot about how Pete Carroll was an abject failure in the NFL during his previous stints as a head coach, so why would he go back to the NFL just to fail again? This is not accurate. Let’s go over his two head coaching jobs. His first was during the 1994 season with the New York Jets. This was not a very talented team overall, though they had gone 8-8 the previous season under noted head coaching savant Bruce Coslet. The team started 6-5, which included a win in Miami over the Dolphins. The Dolphins were 7-4 and coming into the Meadowlands to face the Jets. A Jets win would have put them in the lead in the AFC East by virtue of the tiebreaker over Miami. The Jets went up 24-6, then blew the lead, as Dan Marino threw four touchdown passes to future convicted felon and father of the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner, Mark Ingram. This included the infamous fake spike touchdown at the end of the game. The Jets never recovered and promptly lost their next four games to close out the season as well. The Dolphins and Patriots both finished four games up on the Jets, and Carroll was fired. Was it a great coaching job by him? Not really. But late owner Leon Hess replaced him with Rich Kotite, who promptly went 4-28 over the next two years because he wanted to “win now.” Considering this information, was Carroll really a failure in his one year? No.

Let’s now look at Carroll’s tenure with the New England Patriots, widely considered to be a complete failure for reasons I can’t understand. In his first season at the helm, the Patriots went 10-6, won the AFC East by defeating the Dolphins on the final weekend of the season, then won a playoff game the next week by beating Miami again. They lost the following week to the Steelers. This can hardly be considered a failure. The next season, Carroll led the Patriots back to the playoffs as a wild-card in a tough AFC East that sent FOUR teams to the playoffs (only the Colts, in the AFC East at the time, failed to make it in Peyton Manning’s rookie year). This was a year the Patriots endured a myriad of injuries and still rebounded to a 9-7 record. They then lost their first playoff game to Jacksonville. While this isn’t winning the Super Bowl, this is far from failure. Dan Reeves deservingly won Coach of the Year honors that year (1998) for taking the Falcons to a 14-2 record and the Super Bowl, but I felt Pete Carroll was third behind Reeves and Bill Parcells, considering what he did with a banged-up team. The next season, was a year when the AFC East was just as tough, with the Colts seemingly coming out of nowhere to go 13-3, the Bills making the playoffs at 11-5 (the last time they’ve made it), and the Dolphins in Dan Marino’s and Jimmy Johnson’s final year going 9-7. The Jets, who were supposed to a Super Bowl contender, lost QB Vinny Testaverde in the first game, had a rough start to the season, then rebounded to finish 8-8. In this environment, the Patriots also finished 8-8 and in last place by tiebreakers. I had expected them to finish 7-9 and in last place. Only unrealistic Patriots fans expected better, and I know a lot of them thought they had a Super Bowl team. They did not. Pete Carroll did what he could with the talent there. However, he was fired, leaving the Patriots with a 37-31 record as head coach. This is defined as failure? This is being equated to Bobby Petrino’s 3-10 record and Steve Spurrier’s 12-20 record?

I will say, for the record, that it was at this point that the Patriots hired Bill Belichick. I said at the time that it was horrible move. It was one of the most wrong predictions I’ve ever made about the NFL (that and my prediction after the 1995 draft that second-round choice Kordell Stewart would be a Hall of Fame QB). Belichick inherited the talent that Carroll was given and promptly took the team to 5-11. With right-hand man Scott Pioli, Belichick then gutted the team, signing mid-market free agents and promoting 4th-string 2nd-year QB Tom Brady to backup, and won the Super Bowl the following year after Brady took over the injured Drew Bledsoe. And then they won it all again two years later. And then again the year after that. Did Pats owner Robert Kraft make the right move replacing Carroll with Belichick? Clearly. But Carroll wasn’t a failure by any stretch of the imagination. In my mind, he exceeded realistic expectations for that team, though not as much as Belichick did during the 2001 season. So, Pete Carroll’s biggest sin in New England was basically that he wasn’t Bill Belichick. Very few are. He wasn’t a failure, and it’s lazy and irresponsible to characterize him as one. He wasn’t a great coach as he was in college, but he wasn’t a bad coach either. He made the playoffs two years out of four in the NFL and won a playoff game. That qualifies as success these days. Norv Turner has a career record of 69-87-1 (playoffs: 4-3), while Carroll’s is 33-31 (playoffs 1-2), and Norv has managed to be a head coach in the NFL for 12 of the past 16 years.

Some of the main characteristics of a good NFL coach are leadership skills and organizational skills. A coach is basically the CEO of a company. Pete Carroll has run the closest equivalent to an NFL organization in college (Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight jokes aside), so he really has the experience as a leader and organizer now that he may not have had in the 1990s. USC was also by far the most popular football team in the second-largest media market America. Pete Carroll was highly successful with that kind of pressure. I expect more success in Seattle. He is walking into a team that has some holes, sure, but has enough talent to be a playoff team in my opinion. They should have contended this year. They had some injuries though not as serious as last year. I thought something was flagrantly missing from that team, so I have no issue with Jim Mora’s firing after a single year. That team should have been better, and I expect them to be better under Carroll. Also remember that this is a guy with significant NFL experience. He knows how the league works; he knows how to run practices; he has experience working with older millionaire players. Most college coaches making the jump to the pros don’t have this experience, and that is the main reason I feel that Spurrier failed. (Spurrier was 8-8 in his first year when Marvin Lewis was his assistant head coach. Lewis spent the year telling Spurrier what he could and couldn’t do with an NFL team and NFL players. He then left to become head coach of the Bengals, and the Redskins collapsed and Spurrier resigned.)

Now, onto Lane Kiffin, who is widely being called a dirty snake and other much worse terms for leaving the Vols after a single year to take over from Carroll at USC. Kiffin had been the offensive coordinator during the Trojans’ best days, when they were playing for titles (and winning two). While I understand the vitriolic reaction from Vols students and fans, look at this from Kiffin’s point-of-view. He took a high profile job in the SEC when it was offered to him. He never expected that his dream job, the USC job, would come open anytime soon. He didn’t expect Carroll to leave for years.

We tend to forget that athletes and coaches and those in the public eye are people too. We envy their status in life for one reason or another, whether it be money, fame, etc. We don’t realize that despite the riches and fame and everything that comes with it, they’re still human and still want some of the same things we do. Lane Kiffin was given an opportunity to go back to where he feels is “home,” a place where he and his family loved living, and he gets his ultimate dream job. If you were working for a great company but had gone as far as you could go, you may want to get out (I did that once) and take a job where there’s more money and more prestige. So, you get that new job and leave. Lo and behold, a year later, your old boss leaves and you get the chance to take his job at your old company, which you loved. Of course, you go back. You wouldn’t be questioned for doing so except at the place you’d been working for just a year, and I think most of those people would understand. That’s all Lane Kiffin is doing.

I understand that Kiffin can come across as slimy and dishonest based on his tenure at Tennessee, considering he committed multiple secondary NCAA violations and considering how he riled up pretty much the entire SEC, especially the University of Florida. In my view, he was trying to build the profile of the Volunteers, who since their National Championship win after the 2000 season had fallen off the national radar for the most part. Kiffin may not be the best guy in the world, and maybe he’ll bolt USC at the drop of a hat if they’re hit with NCAA sanctions, but again, I understand why he would take the USC job once it opened and leave UT after just a year.

My favorite part of this is the mentions of his time as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. He took the job at the age of 31 and lasted just over a year. Owner Al Davis asked him to resign before last season, and he refused, so Al Davis fired him four games into the season. Davis then held a press conference, famously using an overhead projector, where he called Kiffin a liar and made other disparaging remarks. Since that time, Davis has been skewered for that press conference, and his team has taken many hits over the last few years for falling into complete disarray. The Raiders have become a laughing stock, averaging just over four wins a year since their 2002 Super Bowl season. Much of the blame has been placed on the octogenarian Davis, who seems to have lost touch with the current NFL and who continues to exert complete control over the organization (and I use the term “organization” loosely in the Raiders’ case). The picture I’ve attached shows a classic picture of Davis from the very press conference where he denigrated Kiffin that has gotten so much negative attention.

But now that Kiffin has suddenly left for Tennessee and now that everyone wants to paint him in the most negative light possible, now Al Davis is being viewed as being the righteous one here. Kiffin clearly is a liar because Al Davis said he was, the same Al Davis that the same people were calling senile and out of touch last week. Kiffin’s tenure in Oakland, where the Raiders went 5-15, was now completely due to Kiffin’s incompetence, not the fact that Davis had run the organization into the ground. From 2003 to 2006, the Raiders went 4-12, 5-11, 4-12, and 2-14 (the middle two seasons were under the aforementioned Norv Turner). Kiffin in 2007 went 4-12, and started 1-3 before his firing. The Raiders finished the season 5-11 and finished this past season 5-11 as well. But Kiffin was clearly the worst of the worst, and he should have won more in Oakland. And again, we’re trusting the man in the picture now over Kiffin. I personally think there are truths and untruths on both sides, and I don’t know the whole story of Kiffin’s time with the Raiders. But the fact that we’ve gone from feeling bad for Lane Kiffin having to deal with senile Al Davis to suddenly trusting everything Davis said and feeling that the Raiders’ failure was primarily due to Kiffin is asinine. I will say, however, that Davis’ assertion that Kiffin was using the Raiders job as a springboard to obtain a top college head coaching job may be accurate. He very well may have been a slick opportunist, taking a job that no one else wanted (more proof of Davis’ meddling and what a terribly run team the Raiders are at least perceived to be), hoping to build a resume. But again I bring up, how many people in normal walks of life have taken crappy jobs to build their resume, staying for a year or two only to move on?

What’s also been brought up is that Kiffin didn’t exactly light the world on fire during his first year in Knoxville, going 7-6. However, Pete Carroll went 6-6 in his first year at USC, then won 7 straight Pac-10 Championship and won the National Championship in his third and fourth years. Carroll is venerated as one of the great college coaches of the last 20 years, but he started slow as he came into a historically good program that had fallen on mediocre times. Much like Kiffin did at Tennessee. I’m not saying Kiffin will be successful, especially as successful as Carroll, but let’s just look at the facts. Let’s look at the facts for both Carroll and Kiffin and not try to color it with the negativity that’s been going around the last week. Let’s take an unbiased point of view and look at what really happened. That’s all I’m asking.

My take on a really not-so-wild Wild Card Weekend:

Arizona 51 Green Bay 45
Okay, this was the only really wild game, and as it was the last one of the weekend, it rescued us from a pretty boring weekend up to that point. The Cardinals went up early by 21 points, and the Packers came back late. Had the Packers won, it would have been the third greatest comeback in playoff history. But they didn’t. Aaron Rodgers couldn’t really have played better in this one (except hitting a wide-open Greg Jennings in overtime…a little more air under the ball, the Packers win). He set the Green Bay single-game playoff passing record, which is saying something considering who was there and playing in many, many playoff games for many, many years. Neither defense seemed to want to play in the second half, including the Packers’ suddenly vaunted D under Dom Capers. The defense did improve greatly this year, and Charles Woodson was deservingly named NFL Defensive Player of the Year (while I would have voted for Darrelle Revis, I have absolutely no issue with Woodson who was a very close second in my opinion), but I had the feeling all year that it wasn’t truly that great. The Cardinals, who have the talent on offense to score with anybody, just picked them apart. Anquan Boldin was out, but Kurt Warner found Early Doucet for a couple of touchdowns in his place and Steve Breaston for another one (and oh yeah, Larry Fitzgerald had another great playoff game). Kurt Warner threw for 5 touchdown passes in this one, which somehow only tied his career high. That’s how great he’s been in the playoffs. I saw a stat that said that he’s lost 3 playoff games in his career. I know for a fact that two of them were Super Bowls. He threw more touchdowns than incompletions. Amazing for a guy pushing 40. He’s not only one of the great people in NFL history, he’s one of the great QBs. I’ve been saying since at least mid-season that I thought the Cardinals could contend with the Saints and Vikings and that you couldn’t count them out for the Super Bowl. I really think they’re going to at least give the Saints a heck of a game on Saturday. It could be a game that breaks the record 96 points scored in this one. The Cardinals played better on the road this year, so it’s hard to discount their chances, even in the loud Superdome. And remember what they did last year in their Super Bowl run. The Packers should be good again next year. The defense will hopefully continue to improve, and hopefully, they can continue to solve their protection problems. During the first half of the season, Aaron Rodgers held the ball too long while protection broke down and took too many sacks. Both Rodgers and the line seemed to have gotten things straightened out in the second half the season, but it was a protection breakdown that cost them this game at the end when Rodgers was strip sacked and the ball ended up in Karlos Dansby’s hands for the game-winning touchdown (although I realize starting tackle Chad Clifton had left with an injury). The Packers need to continue to shore up the line if they want to take the next step to Super Bowl contender. Most of the pieces are in place, but one of the hardest things to do in the NFL is to take that step from 11-5 playoff team to elite team. The quarterback is there, and that’s probably the most important major piece. Also, one thing lost with Green Bay’s loss is the great onside kick call after the Packers had pulled to within 14. They recovered and scored on the drive to pull within a single score. Without the onside kick, this game wouldn’t have come down to the wire. Great call.

Baltimore 33 New England 14
Who predicted this would happen? Oh right, I did. I blatantly said last week that the Ravens would win this game. They went up 14-0 before you could blink in this one and held on for the victory. Both quarterbacks seemed somewhat injured in this one, as Joe Flacco goes 4 for 10 for 34 whole yards and one pick and no touchdowns. He wasn’t really needed in this one, as Ray Rice and the defense won the game early. Tom Brady had a terrible playoff game for once and cried and whined his way home. Baltimore may not be the most lovable team in the NFL (mostly due to many people’s weird insistence that Ray Lewis is a murderer and not a witness who was covering for his friends, which by the way was what he pled guilty to), but I think everyone outside New England was ecstatic to see the Patriots go down. After a Saturday in which the Jets and Cowboys won, it was great to see Pretty Boy Brady and Hoodie Boy Belichick go home. The Pats just didn’t look great this year at any time except their 59-0 thrashing of the Titans. Brady even said that he felt there was something missing, and I’ve been saying that all year. The team looked like what they were, a 10-6 team that lost in the first round in the playoffs. You wonder if this really is the end of the Patriots run. It’s hard to discount a QB who’ll only be 33 on Opening Day next year, and it’s hard to discount a Belichick-run team. I mean, the 2001 Patriots weren’t exactly a very talented team, and they won it all. The 2003 and 2004 teams were clearly more talented, as was the 18-1 2007 team, but that first team was a bunch of castoffs and nobodies. I wonder how much of a role Wes Welker can play next year after injuring himself late. A QB can come back from a late season ACL tear (see: Carson Palmer), but a receiver who depends on speed and especially in Welker’s case, quick cuts? I don’t see it. Julian Edelman filled in nicely for him in this game though. The Ravens have a chance in Indy this weekend for sure. They could have easily beaten the Colts earlier this season, and if Flacco is healthy and can do more, they can win. The Colts haven’t played a meaningful game in weeks, and this has never done them well in the past. The Ravens are better than their 9-7 record, in my opinion, and they showed flashes at times of being one of the best teams in the league. It’ll be an interesting game this weekend.

Dallas 34 Philadelphia 14
A lot of people despise both teams (i.e. Giants and Redskins fans), but this game probably disappointed most of America. Very few people like seeing the Cowboys win. An interesting take on the Cowboys I just read: they have no players on Injured Reserve, which means they’ve stayed relatively healthy this season. Sure, they’re all banged up at this time of year, and there have been injuries that knocked players out for short periods of time, but luck does play a role. The Cowboys are good, and they finally got the No Playoff Wins Since 1996 monkey off their back. Wade Phillips finally won a playoff game after losing his previous four in Denver, Buffalo, and Dallas, and Tony Romo finally won a playoff game after losing his previous two. (Aside: I loved how when Romo dropped the snap on what should have been the winning field goal three years ago that everyone thought that would severely affect his play the next season. He had a good quarterbacking day. The fact that he was the holder had nothing to do with that. It may have caused mental blocks holding on future attempts, but it had nothing to do with playing QB. If he’d thrown 5 picks, I could see that prediction. And he was only the holder that season because he was backing up Drew Bledsoe early in the season, and some teams use the backup QB (or even starter) as their holder. Joe Theismann always held kicks, and Gus Frerotte did too for the Redskins as backup and starter. Interesting, Tony Romo is back holding kicks this year. It’s actually probably a good call because clearly quarterbacks have better athleticism, passing ability, and football instincts than the punters who usually hold. Romo actually almost ran for a TD, and he was inches from a first down, which would have allowed the Cowboys to try the kick again as there were still a few seconds on the clock. He would have been praised for his football instincts in that case. Aside over.) Romo played well, and the Cowboys just seemed to have the Eagles number this year, beating them all three times. Philly played well most of the year, and their offense was as explosive as it’s been in the Andy Reid/Donovan McNabb era, but they just couldn’t play well against the Cowboys. Let’s not start the Fire Andy Reid and Get Rid of Donovan McNabb crap because of that. Had they played almost any other team in the first round here, they would have won. Anybody who thinks that getting rid of McNabb will get this team over the hump and into the Super Bowl is incredibly ignorant and knows little to nothing about football. The Cowboys have a great chance to win this weekend in Minnesota. It should be a fun game to watch with two physical teams who can put up points going at it. Two teams that are solid all around should produce a close game with scores in the twenties. And it brings up the interesting question: Who does America hate more now? The Cowboys or Brett Favre?

New York Jets 24 Cincinnati 14
The Bengals looked flat all day just as they did last week, and the Jets won. I’ve been singing the Bengals praises all year, but they peaked too early. They weren’t good at the end of the season, and they fell flat on their faces in the playoffs. They haven’t won a playoff game since 1991 (the 1990 season), which is actually a year longer than the Lions. You know who’s third on that list? The Chiefs. Really. Kind of a surprise, isn’t it? They haven’t won a playoff game since 1993, when Joe Montana was the QB. Of course, that covers much of the Marty Schottenheimer era. Anyway, the Jets are playing well, but I see it coming to a screeching halt this week in San Diego, where the Chargers are the hottest team in the NFL and easily one of the best. In my opinion, you can make the playoffs and win a game or two with a smash-mouth running game and tough defense. If you don’t have the passing offense or the QB, you can’t win it all. The greatest example of this is the 1994 Steelers. They couldn’t pass the ball, so facing a clearly inferior Chargers team at home that went up on them with two long touchdowns, they couldn’t even gain 3 yards at the end of the game to win. The next season, they opened up the offense, becoming one of the first teams to employ five-side sets consistently, and what do you know? They went to the Super Bowl. Their running game and defense weren’t as good as the year before, and they weren’t viewed as dominant anymore, but they almost won it all. And coming back to having a good QB, they could have won had it not been for terrible interceptions by Neil O’Donnell, who nobody would consider a great QB (and not just because of that game, his defining moment). The 2004 Steelers are another example. They lost to the Patriots (who were actually a better team) despite going 15-1 with a rookie QB (Ben Roethlisberger). The next season, they went 11-5 and were the sixth seed, but by this time, Big Ben and the offense had opened up more. They won it all. The Jets will have to open things up a bit more next year as Mark Sanchez matures and becomes a better QB, much like with Big Ben. They’re building something good in New York, but this year is not their time.

Since I posted last week’s column Thursday, today’s comes Sunday night. (Editor’s Note: While Nick wrote this Sunday, the lazy SWINA editors are just getting it up tonight. Blame a good Monday night of wrestling with no Monday Night Football to compete with) My slightly arrogant and self-congratulating (for my correct predictions on certain teams) take on the final week of the regular season, Week 17:

Dallas 24 Philadelphia 0
The Cowboys sweep the Eagles this season, leading them to an NFC East title. Now, they get to do it all over again, hosting them for the second week in a row at the giant palace in Dallas. (Has it been called that yet? It rhymes. I want credit for that.) Dallas looked like the better team, and they’ve done a great job of shedding their December (and January) choker label, especially Tony Romo. I’m not sure what happened to Philly out there today, but watch out next week. It’s rare to beat a team three times in one season (see: Dallas and Giants from two years ago), and if I remember correctly from the 1993 season, when it happened in two games, when teams play the exact same team in the exact same location in the last week of the regular season, then in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, the result is usually different. Dallas needs to win their first playoff game since the 1996 season to fully shed that choker label. Philly needs to win the Super Bowl to get the Philly fans off of Donovan McNabb’s back and Andy Reid’s back.

Green Bay 33 Arizona 7
I know Arizona really didn’t have anything to play for here, but really, neither did Green Bay. I’m just going to assume that since it was pretty much set these two teams would play again next week and again in Arizona that the Cardinals went out with a vanilla game-plan that showed nothing. I trust Ken Wisenhunt since he’s won a Super Bowl as a coordinator and an NFC Championship as a head coach. This game should be fun next week. Both NFC games are rematches. The Packers are playing as well as anybody in the NFL right now, so I wouldn’t count them out of anything, and based on last year, I wouldn’t count the Cardinals out either. I love the NFC playoffs this year, by the way. The six teams that are in can all make the Super Bowl, and they’re far and away better than every other team in the NFC. The only team remotely close is Atlanta, but even they’re not in the class with the six teams that made it. I mean, the next teams down are the Giants, Panthers, 49ers, and Bears. The right teams made it.

New York Jets 37 Cincinnati 0
The Jets step up when they have to and make the playoffs. Now, they’ll be going to Cincinnati next week, where I’m hoping the Bengals show up a little better. The Jets also close Giants Stadium in a much better fashion than the team the stadium was named after. I’ve liked how, until recently I think, when there was a Giants game, it was “Giants Stadium.” When it was a Jets game, it would be the “Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey.” It’s got to suck to play in a stadium named for another team, especially one that’s had far more recent success and way more success during the time the two teams played in the stadium. Anyway, I said the Jets don’t deserve to be in the playoffs, and I hold to that. The Steelers are a better team; the Titans are the better team; the Dolphins swept them; the Texans may be better, though maybe not. And by the way, who’s the only person outside of southwest Ohio to say they expected the Bengals to have a good season and to even be a playoff team? Oh right, that was me. Still, they need to play a whole lot better next week if they want to win their first playoff game in like two decades. Again, maybe like with the Cards, they were playing with a stripped-down game plan. By the way, you know whose fault it is the Jets are in the playoffs? The Colts, that’s who, for giving up their game last week. If there’s really anything wrong with not playing, it’s when you let teams in the playoffs who should have to play real games. I wonder if the Bengals are just as guilty as the Colts and if the Jets would have finished 7-9 if those teams had played all out. While in the NFC, I really feel the best six teams made the playoffs, I don’t think that in the AFC. The Ravens deserve to be there, but I’m unsure about the Jets. I don’t like the Jets, if that wasn’t clear.

Houston 34 New England 27
I don’t like the Patriots either, incidentally, but we’ll get to them. The Texans do what they have to do to give themselves a shot at the playoffs and finish with their first winning record ever. Of course, the Bengals’ crapping on themselves keeps them out of the playoffs. They’re slowly coming on, and Matt Schaub (from…Virginia) had a great season. Maybe next year is the year they get to the playoffs. We’ll see. The Patriots will host the Ravens next week, and they lost Wes Welker to a season-ending injury, and he’s a major piece of their offense obviously. The Patriots have seemed to just not have it together this year, and without Welker, they’ll look like it even less. I predict a Ravens win. Of course, Welker’s injury will give credence to those who say you need to rest starters when you have nothing to play for (just the 3 or 4 seed really, in the Pats’ case, and they were going to play the Ravens regardless of what seed they were going to be with the way things shook out). Now, I’m not really on either side of that argument; I think both sides have something to say and that each team needs to make their own decision. The Pats weren’t playing all that well, other than destroying Jacksonville last week, so they probably needed to go into the playoffs on an up note. So, I can’t fault them.

Minnesota 44 New York Giants 7
Talk about choking. The Giants started 5-0, then collapsed. There was some talk early about their easy schedule in that start, and that talk proved to be warranted. Other than their pasting of the sorry Redskins, the Giants have looked terrible recently. Minnesota gets that 2-seed and the week off that they looked to be blowing. They would have gotten it anyway with the Eagles’ loss and the Cardinals’ loss, but they stepped up to show they’re still a Super Bowl contender and that Brett Favre is still a great QB, at least against a pathetic, overmatched defense.

Kansas City 44 Denver 24
I predicted bad things for Denver coming into the season, then foretold of a collapse for the first few weeks as they were winning. I finally gave in and gave Josh McDaniels credit after they went to 6-0 and admitted to being wrong. However, I was wrong to admit I was wrong. The collapse came. This team lost all three of their division home games, with only one of them to a good team (San Diego). They lost not only to the Raiders and Chiefs at home, they lost to the Redskins on the road. Last year, they were 3-0 and 8-5; this year 6-0 and 8-4. Both years, they were 8-8 and missing out on the playoffs during the final week. At least they lost to a good team last year, not a terrible one. Maybe Mike Shanahan wasn’t the problem. Unfortunately, because of the fast start, Josh McDaniels will get another year, and to be honest, that’s probably fair. The Chiefs played hard in this one, but what they’ve done throughout the season doesn’t give me a lot of hope for the future.

Tennessee 17 Seattle 13
Chris Johnson gets to 2,000 yards in this one, though he doesn’t break (or really even threaten) Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record. However, he does break Marshall Faulk’s record for yards from scrimmage (rushing and receiving). That record may not get as much publicity, but I think it’s even more important. He’ll be the first pick in all fantasy leagues next year, most likely, and he’s a great player. And to think, the Titans were roundly criticized for picking this guy two years ago. Trust good organizations. Also, I’d like to ask you who said the Titans would finish at .500 after they started 0-6? Oh right, it was me. At the same time, who predicted a comeback season from the Seahawks. Oh right, that was unfortunately me too. This team just seemed uninspired and boring all year. I really don’t know what’s wrong up there. The Titans will be back to competing for the playoffs and maybe beyond next year now that they know Vince Young is their QB of the future and now that they know they have one of the best running backs in the game.

San Diego 23 Washington 20
The Redskins find a way to lose yet again. They were up most of the game while San Diego, playing for nothing, took out their starters and had Billy Volek at quarterback. And they still lost in the final minute. The Redskins finished with the same record as the sorry Chiefs and with a worse record than the dysfunctional Raiders and dysfunctional Browns. Seriously, the Browns had a better record. What an amazingly horrible season for the Redskins. San Diego might be the best team in the AFC, but this game obviously tells us nothing since it wasn’t important. Maybe it tells us the backups are pretty good, but I think that part tells us how bad the Redskins were this year.

Baltimore 21 Oakland 13
The Raiders put up a game but came up short in the end. Punting late down eight was probably their biggest undoing. Well, that and having to play JaMarcus Russell at the end of the game when Charlie Frye went down. In an AFC where beyond the division winners, there were a lot of .500-ish teams, you wonder if the Raiders could have been one of those teams if they hadn’t played Russell so much early. This is a terrible organization though there’s some talent in spots. There’s also plenty of overpaid untalented, lazy players on the team too. The Ravens make the playoffs with the win and will face New England in Foxborough next week, where I predict they’ll win. I think they’re the better team, and they’re playing well now. Ed Reed is back, and this is a team to be reckoned with at all playoff levels.

Pittsburgh 30 Miami 24
The Ravens win officially knocked the Steelers out of the playoffs, which has got to hurt Steelers fan pretty badly. But they won the Super Bowl last year. And who’s been saying all year that they expected the same thing to happen as happened during the 2006 season, that the Super Bowl Champion Steelers would miss the playoffs while the Super Bowl losers, the Cardinals this year, the Seahawks in 2006, would actually make the playoffs? Oh right, that was me. I’ve said a lot about the Dolphins this year, and this is about where I expected them to end up. There’s a lot of hope for the future though. They’re a fun team, and they lost some close games. They’ll win those next year, and I predict a division championship for them next year. I predict the Steelers will be more competitive next year too.

Carolina 23 New Orleans 10
The Saints rest some starters, including the great Drew Brees and end up losing their third in a row. They’re not exactly going into the playoffs on a high note after starting 13-0. Still, they have every game in the Superdome they’ll play in the playoffs, but I’d be worried about them if I were a fan. The Panthers quietly put together a .500 season after looking like they’d be terrible. John Fox deserves another year, and I’d like to see Matt Moore compete for the starting QB job next year. He’s really proven himself with Jake “Oh Crap, I Threw It to the Wrong Team Again” Delhomme hurt. I’ll say it again, I predict the Panthers win the NFC South next season. Weird prediction I know, but this is a weird, unpredictable team.

Buffalo 30 Indianapolis 7
Speaking of teams going into the playoffs as a #1 seed on a down note, I give you the Colts, losing their last two, this one in the snow in Buffalo. Not much motivation for them sure, but a lot of teams go 14-2, few go 15-1, only one has gone 16-0, none have gone 19-0. Terrell Owens is now third all time in receiving yards. I noticed that Tim Brown was fourth and that Marvin Harrison was fifth, which made sense. Obviously, Jerry Rice was far and away #1. But as I was looking at the graphic on TV, I just glossed over #2, I think just assuming it was Cris Carter. It wasn’t. It was Isaac Bruce. Seriously, Isaac Bruce has the second most receiving yards in NFL history. It sort of makes sense when you think about it, but I would have guessed Carter, Brown, Harrison, and maybe others before I got to Bruce. Owens probably won’t be back with the Bills and may not be back in the league next year. Apparently, the Bills are talking to Bill Cowher and will interview interim coach Perry Fewell. I think Fewell did a good job at the end of the season with this team, though if Cowher’s available, that’s probably the better option.

Chicago 37 Detroit 23
The Bears end up with a mediocre, 7-9 season. Who said they’d compete for a Super Bowl? Oh right, that was me. See, I’m not always giving myself credit for being right. I was wrong about the Bears. Jay Cutler had a great game, and he’s not as bad as people want him to be. He threw a lot of picks this year, but they came in clumps, in certain bad games. He had a four-pick game and a five-pick game, and he almost won the four-pick game. Many of them weren’t his fault. The Bears had other issues, especially injuries on the defense. I hope Lovie Smith gets another year, but we’ll see what happens. Devin Aromashodu had two more TDs in this one, pretty good for a guy I’d never of a week ago. I really expected more from the Lions this year. I thought they were on the right track, and maybe they are, but in today’s NFL, the turnaround should happen a little quicker than it seems to be happening in Detroit. Maybe the Matt Millen era had killed the talent level so badly that it will take much longer, but maybe they’re not really on the right track. Next season will tell us more.

Cleveland 23 Jacksonville 17
The Browns make Mike Holmgren’s decision whether or not to keep Eric Mangini a tough one by winning their fourth in a row. Supposedly, they hadn’t won four in a row since 1994. Except the Browns weren’t around in 1994. That was the team that’s now the Ravens. I know how NFL history is supposed to work on this front, but it still bothers me. The 1993 Patriots started out 1-11 in their first year under Bill Parcells and won their last four before going 10-6 the following season, then two season after that going to the Super Bowl. Will that happen in Cleveland? No, no it won’t. But maybe Mangini is doing something right. A lot of players have been lobbying for him, and by his quotes, I actually agree with his thoughts about what he’s doing. Has he made mistakes? Oh yeah. Should he be fired for some of those, like over-fining a player for not paying for a $3 bottle of water? Maybe. But maybe he should be given another year, provided a new offensive coordinator comes in and provided that Brady Quinn be made the starter here. Onto the Jaguars, who said as the Jags got into playoff contention that this wasn’t a playoff team and would miss out? Oh right, that was me. Can I also bring up that they end up finishing in last place in their division, as I predicted? They’re just a very boring, uninspiring team, much like the Bills or the Seahawks.

San Francisco 28 St. Louis 6
The Niners finish 8-8, which is where I thought they’d finish (give me credit…again). They need to get more out of the offense next year to make the playoffs, but another year for Alex Smith, who’s come on very well, might do it. They have some talent there, with Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore, so maybe it can happen. The Rams, despite having one of the best running backs in the league in the Steven Jackson, who could probably run for 2,000 yards for an actual NFL-caliber team given what he did this year for this team, are just awful at most positions. They’re just pathetic. 1-15. I actually wonder if they’re worse than last year’s Lions. This team has gone from Super Bowl team with Kurt Warner to playoff team in the Marc Bulger era to a worse embarrassment than they were pre-Kurt Warner.

Atlanta 20 Tampa Bay 10
The Falcons finish above .500 two years in a row for the first time in franchise history. Like I said earlier, they’re clearly the seventh best team in the NFC. They’re better than the nine teams below them, but they’re not in the class of the six teams that made the playoffs. But the right people are in place in the front office, the coaching staff, and on the field now that it’s not a surprise that this is the most stable this organization has ever been. They had a tough schedule this year and came out pretty decent, albeit not in the playoffs. Maybe they go 11-5 again next year, or maybe they go 9-7 and make the playoffs. Barring injury though, I don’t see them finishing below .500. The Bucs have looked better in recent weeks, which is how a young, rebuilding team that started so poorly wants to finish a season. Like with the Lions, next year will tell us what we really need to know.