Things I Noticed: Week 17

The regular season ended with an exciting slate of games in which all but four of the week's games had playoff implications.  Credit the league's schedule makers for ensuring that the last week of the season was packed with plenty of divisional games, which helped make sure there weren't too many meaningless games.  It also helped that many of the teams competing against each other for playoff spots played at the same time, so they didn't have the luxury of seeing the results of their competition before determining if the game had any meaning for them.

Here are some things I noticed this week:

• The Patriots clinched the top seed in the AFC with a win over the Bills.  It looked ugly early on, as the Bills piled up a 21 point lead in the first quarter.  For a while it seemed that either New England wasn't aware that they needed to win in order to get that top seed, or perhaps they felt sorry for their long suffering rivals and spotted them a few touchdowns as a handicap to start the game.  In any case, the Patriots finally showed up in the second quarter, on both sides of the ball, while rallying to score 49 unanswered points to cruise to victory.
• On the one hand, it's troubling to see the Patriots fall into an early hole in each of the past three weeks, but on the other hand, at least their offense has shown that they are capable of rallying back, proving they are never really out of any game.
• The Patriots Tight End duo once again contributed most of the damage for the offense.  Hernandez caught 7 passes for 138 yards and a TD, while Gronkowski added 8 catches for 108 yards and 2 TDs.

• Gronkowski's two trips to the endzone extended the record he had previously set for for TD's by a TE to 17, but he also set another TE record.  His season total of 1,327 receiving yards edged out the Saint's Jimmy Graham for the league lead at the position, not only for this year, but for the most All-Time for his position.  Sure, it's only his sophomore season, but put this man in the Hall of Fame already!
• Tom Brady became only the 6th QB All-Time to pass for 300 career TDs.  He's tied with John Elway for 5th All-Time on the list.
• Aaron Rodgers got the week off to rest for the playoffs, but the Packers offense didn't miss a beat.  Backup Matt Flynn stepped in and set franchise records with 480 yards and 6 TDs.  The last of his TDs put the Packers ahead for good with just over a minute remaining.  Don't worry, the likely league MVP won't find himself in any sort of QB controversy, but it was a great performance for Flynn, who has looked great in limited appearances in his young career.  This performance may boost his trade value, as he appears more capable of running an offense than some of the options several teams are relying on.
• Matthew Stafford became the third QB this season to pass the 5,000 yard mark, thanks to an insane 520 yard, 5 TD performance in the loss to Green Bay.  Nearly half of his yardage went to Calvin Johnson, who caught 11 passes for 244 yards and a TD.  Megatron's huge outing vaulted him over Wes Welker for the league lead in receiving yards.
• The 49ers held off a late comeback attempt from the surprisingly resilient Rams team (that should have been trying to lose) to claim the #2 seed in the NFC.  The 49ers have been getting the job done mostly with tough defense (4th in yards allowed, 2nd in points allowed), but credit Alex Smith and the offense for being part of the reason for their league leading +26 turnover differential. The offense tied the 2010 Patriots for the fewest turnovers in a season with 10 (all of which were credited to Smith - 5 INTs, 5 fumbles).
• After a miserable 2-14 season, where they fell just short of being bad enough for the top pick in the draft, the Rams fired coach Steve Spagnuolo.  No surprise there, considering he only won 10 games in this three seasons in St. Louis.  He could be a good fit as a defensive coordinator for another team (Eagles, perhaps?), but don't look for him to get another head coaching gig anytime soon.
• The Jets last hopes at a playoff spot crumbled as their season melted down, ending with a loss to the Dolphins.  An 8-8 record is not what Rex Ryan had in mind entering the season, but it's how it ended that they should find most disturbing.  Not only did they lose, but they did so surrounded by rumors of locker room turmoil centered on diva receiver Santonio Holmes.  Several of his teammates called him out for his poor attitude and selfishness.  Holmes was reportedly benched for the final minutes of the game for quitting on his team.  

• Given his expensive price tag (nearly $8 million guaranteed next season) it would be a tough pill to swallow for the Jets to cut him, but if he does return to the team next year it could lead to a disaster if he doesn't change his attitude.  The tension between Holmes and Mark Sanchez (among other teammates) may have boiled over to the extent that it can't be repaired.  Of course, that's only an issue if the Jets still believe Sanchez is their franchise QB for the long run.
• The Bears season was derailed by the losses of Jay Cutler and Matt Forte.  So of course it had to end with the heart of their defense, Brian Urlacher, getting knocked out of their final game with an injury.  At least they won the game, to snap their 5 game losing streak and finish the season at 8-8.
• Jared Allen added 3 1/2 sacks to his season total.  That leaves him with 22 sacks for the season, which is half a sack short of the season record set in 2001 by Michael Strahan.  
• In case there was any concern that Drew Brees would take it easy after setting the season passing record and essentially locking the Saints into the #3 seed, Brees put those concerns to rest by toasting the Panthers for 389 yards and 5 TDs.  The performance added to his record total, which ended up at 5,476 yards for the season.  That's nearly 400 yards more than the previous record, held by Dan Marino!  Tom Brady also passed Marino this season, but Brees seemed set on ensuring his total would be out of Brady's reach.

• What an amazing season for Brees.  He threw for over 300 yards 13 times this season, while topping the 400 mark twice.  His lowest total yardage game (258) would still be a great game for most QBs.  He also finished 2nd in QB rating (110.6) and first in TDs (46).  If not for the Packers having such a dominant, nearly undefeated season, Brees would give Aaron Rodgers some tough competition in the MVP debate.
• It was a rough season in Philadelphia considering the high expectations they had going into the season.  8-8 isn't what they were looking for from a team loaded with star power, but a strong finish at least got them all the way up to second place in the division.  
• After nearly blowing their chances the past couple of weeks with surprise victories, the Colts finally clinched the top pick in the draft by losing to the Jaguars.  A narrow tie breaker victory gives them the edge over the Rams, who also had 2 wins.  
• Maurice Jones-Drew plowed through the Colts defense for 169 yards to clinch the league rushing title and set a franchise record for yards in a season.
• The Titans held on to beat the Texans, but it wasn't enough to get them into the playoffs since they lost a tie breaker to the Bengals.
• With essentially nothing to play for, seeing as they were already locked into the #3 seed, the Texans made a bold decision at the end of the game to try to win on a two point conversion after they scored a TD in the final seconds of the game, rather than tie the game and take their chances in overtime.  I liked that they went for it, even if it didn't succeed.  What I did not like is that they pulled starter TJ Yates early in the game in favor of Jake Delhomme.  Granted Yates was dealing with a sore shoulder, and given their luck with QB injuries this year the Texans were probably just being cautious, but Yates certainly could have used the extra experience heading into the playoffs. A 3 game losing streak to end the season does nothing to suggest that this team is ready for it's first playoff appearance in franchise history.
• The Falcons dominated the Bucs to move up to the #5 seed in the NFC.  Coming off a blow out loss, Atlanta desperately needed some momentum heading into the playoffs, so this lopsided victory should help as much as the higher seed does.
• The lifeless Bucs end the season on a 10 game losing streak that should cost coach Raheem Morris his job.  Someone has to turn this team around, because there's too much young talent for them to be this bad.
• The Ravens clinched the NFC North and a first round bye with a win over the Bengals.  Ray Rice got the team off to a good start with a 70 yard TD run on the opening drive of the game and the Ravens never looked back.  The win was huge, given that it not only prevented the Steelers from taking their division title, it also gave the Ravens an important road win against a playoff caliber team.  The Ravens have struggled on the road this year, but this win at least got them to a reasonable 4-4 for the season.
• Andy Dalton may not have the stats that Cam Newton has, but at least his team is in the playoffs.  Maybe it won't be enough to earn Rookie of the Year honors, but it should make for an interesting debate.  Rookie receiver AJ Green should also be in the discussion, which actually may work against Dalton.
• The Steelers limp into the postseason as a Wild Card, despite an impressive 12 win season, due to the tiebreaker going to Baltimore.  Ben Rothlisberger is still playing on one leg and they have now lost top running back Rashard Mendanhall.  Give them credit for battling through this season, but their postseason may not last long.
• After showing signs of developing as a quarterback in recent weeks, Tim Tebow took a big step back with an awful performance against the Chiefs.  He completed only 6 of 22 passes for 60 yards and turned the ball over twice.  He wasn't even able to find any room to run, as KC managed to sniff out each of his attempts to scramble.
• Kyle Orton got some measure of revenge by beating the team that released him and out-dueling the QB that replaced him.  Ok, maybe out-dueling isn't the right word.  He was merely less horrible than Tebow was.  
• It's been an up and down season for the Chargers, who started out winning 4 of their first 5 games, before losing 6 straight, then ending with wins in 4 of their last 5 games.  Just eliminate the middle third of their schedule and they would be one of the league's best.  Instead, they'll have to settle for second  place in the division and crushing the playoff hopes of the division rival Raiders.
• True, Carson Palmer is a better option than any of their other options, but now that they know they aren't making the playoffs, they are probably regretting giving up so much to trade for him.  They could have gotten a comparable option for next season without having to sacrifice multiple high draft picks.
• If every game could be played in over time, the Cardinals would rule the league.  They won their 4th OT game of the season in as many chances, thanks in part to some big plays by Larry Fitzgerald.
• "I wish we could play more games in overtime," Fitzgerald said. "If we play 16 games in overtime next year, we might go 16-0." 
• Seattle once again finishes the season 7-9.  Luckily, this time it's not good enough to win the division. Thanks for making progress, NFC West!
• In a win or go home battle for the NFC East title, the Giants crushed the Cowboys to advance to the postseason.  Victor Cruz was the star of the game, taking a first quarter reception 74 yards to the endzone to put the Giants ahead early.  He finished with 6 catches for 178 yards.

• Undrafted out of UMass, Cruz finishes the season third in receiving yards, trailing only Calvin Johnson and Wes Welker.  He also added 9 TDs this season, which means he also treated us to 9 salsa dances.
• A frustrating end to the season dropped the Cowboys from division leaders all the way down to third place in the NFC East after a two game losing streak to close the season.  Changes have to be made now that the team has failed to make the playoffs in 3 of the last 4 seasons.  Most will point to Romo, but I don't think he's the problem.  Coaching has been a bigger issue.  It's likely that both QB and head coach will return next year, meaning they will likely miss the playoffs again.
• Here are your final playoff teams, in order of seeding:
• AFC: Patriots, Ravens, Texans, Broncos, Steelers, Bengals
• NFC: Packers, 49ers, Saints, Giants, Falcons, Lions
• The Broncos are the only playoff team without a winning record (8-8) and have an unsightly -81 point differential for the season.  They enter the postseason on a three game losing streak, tied with the Texans for the worst current streak of any playoff team.  Yet teams will still fear them in the playoffs due to the mystique of Tim Tebow.  That could wear off quickly if they get blown out at home against the Steelers this weekend.
• The Saints (+208) over took the Packers for the league lead in point differential.  The Rams were the worst (-214).
• The Saints and Patriots are on 8 game winning streaks.  No other playoff team has a current streak of more than 2 games.  Momentum matters heading into the postseason, which the Broncos and Texans may soon find out the hard way.
• Early playoff prediction: Saints and Pats meet in the Super Bowl.  The game comes to a premature end when the scoreboard breaks due to all the points that are piled up between the two teams.