NFL Week 17 Review

It's the last week of the regular season, meaning many of the games on this week's slate are irrelevant.  A few teams had already locked in their playoff spots, while a good chunk of teams were already eliminated.  How excited could you get about an Arizona/San Francisco game knowing neither team has a shot at the playoffs?  Those teams aren't that interesting even if they did have a shot.

On the bright side, it's refreshing that there were some teams with something left to play for this week.  In several recent seasons we've had teams lock up the top seeds with several weeks to play, so we're fortunate not to be in that position this year.

Here's some things that I noticed this week, at least from games that actually mattered.

• The Patriots, having already clinched the AFC's top seed, rested some key starters but still managed to blow out the Dolphins.  Brady played a bit longer than any paranoid Pats fan would have liked, but given the off week before their first playoff game the team felt he needed some time in order to stay in rhythm.
• Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis went over the 1,000 yard mark for the season.  He's the first Patriot RB to reach that mark since Corey Dillon in 2004.
• The Patriots set an NFL record with just 10 team turnovers for the season.
• They had one this week, a fumble by Danny Woodhead.  He can be forgiven considering he left the game after the play with a head injury.  You can't scold a guy for dropping the ball if he got a concussion.  Hopefully he'll be back in time for the playoffs.
• The Falcons wrapped up the top seed in the NFC with an easy win against Carolina.
• John Fox will mercifully be let go as coach of the Panthers.  He's a good coach that should catch on with another team with a better chance of getting back to the playoffs in the not too distant future.  Carolina looks nowhere close, but at least they will get the numbe 1 pick in the draft.
• The Steelers are another team that clinched a first round bye with a convincing win against a bad team.  Apparently these teams wanted to send a message as they enter the playoffs.  Either that or they wanted to score plenty of points this week to make up for not scoring any next week when they won't have to play.
• The Brows fired coach Eric Mangini after the game.  Given the bad blood between him and the Pats... I can't feel sorry for him, but it's worth pointing out that 5 wins might be overachieving for that team.
• Brett Favre sat out again, in what will likely hopefully be the last game of his legendary career.  His absence the last three weeks adds to speculation that he was actually suspended during that time as punishment for the Jenn Sterger controversy.  He just had to pay a $50K "fine" for "not cooperating" to keep it a secret by masking it as an injury instead.
• The Chiefs blew a chance to get the #3 seed by failing to show up for their game against Oakland.  The Raiders pass rush had Matt Cassel off his game, sacking him 5 times.  Not a good way to head into the playoffs.  Hard to see them making it out of the first round, despite playing at home.
• Oakland finishes the season at 8-8, ruining my dream of the Patriots getting a top 10 draft pick from them.  Despite the mediocre finish, the Raiders did somehow manage to sweep the division, finishing 6-0 against other AFC West teams.
• The Bucs beat the Saints in a game that could have been meaningful, but wasn't.  Huh?  Well, had the Saints won they would have had a chance at the division, but since Atlanta ended up winning their game that took away that chance.  A Bucs victory kept them in contention for a Wild Card spot, but since the Packers won their game they got the spot instead.
• The Jets rested most of their starters in a meaningless game, but still blew out the Bills, who hoped to remain close to the top of the draft order.
• Since the Steelers won their game, the Ravens win was irrelevant.  Just like the team they beat... the Bengals.
• A Chargers win didn't get them in the playoffs, but it did keep them ahead of Oakland for 2nd place in the division.  So, umm... that's something, right?
• San Diego finishes the season ranked first in the league in total offense and total defense, but somehow manages to miss the playoffs.
• The Packers earned a Wild Card spot with a win in Chicago.  The game didn't matter for the Bears, but they still played tough by limiting the Packers to only 10 points (only 3 points until the 4th quarter).
• The Colts won the AFC South and moved up to the 3 seed by beating the Titans.  Not bad for a team that looked like they could miss the playoffs a few weeks ago.
• The Colts are ranked 25th in the league in rush defense.  Chris Johnson led the league in rushing last year.  So of course he goes for a miserable 39 yards on 20 carries against them. 
• Tennessee finishes in last place in the NFC South, but has a +17 in point differential.
• The Eagles were stuck with the 3 seed in the NFC, so they had no incentive in this game.  They rested Michael Vick, giving Kevin Kolb the chance to further diminish his trade value with another poor outing (162 yards, 1 TD, 3 Ints) in the loss to the Cowboys.
• The Jags playoff hopes slipped away with the Colts victory anyway, but it didn't help that they were crushed in a must win game against the Texans.  Granted they were without their starting QB and star RB, but it's a tough ending for a team that was leading their division two weeks ago.
• The Seahawks won a "win and get in" game against the Rams to steal the NFC West.  That's right, a 7-9 team not only will make the playoffs, but will get to host an opening round game.  I'm going to go throw up now.
• Seattle had a -97 point differential, 5th worst in the NFL.
• Only one of Seattle's wins this year came against a playoff team (Chicago).
• The playoff seedings are now set:
• AFC:
• Patriots
• Steelers
• Colts
• Chiefs
• Ravens
• Jets
• NFC
• Falcons
• Bears
• Eagles
• Seahawks
• Saints
• Packers
• The official NFL awards voting hasn't been conducted yet, but here are my opinions for this season's awards races.
• MVP: Tom Brady (that's not a homer pick, anyone that doesn't pick Brady is crazy)
• Offensive Player of the Year:  Arian Foster
• Defensive Player of the Year: Clay Matthews
• Offensive Rookie of the Year: Sam Bradford
• Defensive Rookie of the Year: Ndamukong Suh (apologies to Devin McCourty)
• Comeback Player of the Year: Michael Vick (coming back from prision is impressive enough, but a former star being stuck behind McNabb and Kolb on the depth chart, only to climb his way back to the top... that's even  more impressive). 
• Coach of the Year: Bill Belichick
• League Leaders:
• QB Rating: Tom Brady (111.0)
• Passing Yards: Philip Rivers (4710)
• Passing TDs: Tom Brady (36)
• Intereceptions (most): Eli Manning (25)
• Rushing Yards: Arian Foster (1616)
• Rushing TDs: Arian Foster (16)
• Receiving Yards: Brandon Lloyd (1448)
• Receiving TDs: Dwayne Bowe (15)
• Tackles: Jerod Mayo (175)
• Sacks: DeMarcus Ware (15.5)
• Interceptions: Ed Reed (8)
• Forced Fumbles: Osi Umenyiora (10)
• Biggest breakout seasons:
• Michael Vick, Arian Foster, Payton Hillis, Brandon Lloyd
• Biggest busts of the season (non-injury related):
• Donovan McNabb, Albert Haynsworth, Randy Moss, Brett Favre
• It's been an exciting NFL season, but for some teams it's time to pack up and head home.  For the rest of us, it's time for the playoffs!