Shortly after the ball fell on 2010, the curtain came down on the 2010 NFL season. For some, the playoffs beckon. Others are left mumbling about what might have been. Others look hopefully toward next season. For still others, the end couldn’t come soon enough.
Coming into week 17 there was one playoff slot to be decided among three teams and four divisions to be finalized covering eight other teams. Of the eleven teams with something to play four, eight won and only three went down in flames. One of those was inevitable since Seattle and St. Louis settled things in a duel. Aside from the Seahawks, the Steelers, Ravens, Colts, Falcons, Packers, Giants and Bucs all did themselves proud to one degree or another. The Rams, Jags and Saints all came up short in their bids, although only the Rams wound was the fatal blow when the final results were in.
Week 17 was also the swan song for several coaches. Mangini went out with a whimper in Cleveland. Fox rode, or was chased, into the sunset in Carolina as his contract expired. Several others may have walked into their team’s locker room for the last time. Four went down during the season and another four may yet be told their services are no longer necessary. The number might be higher if not for the possibility of a lockout.
With the 2010 regular season in the books, I thank those who contributed throughout the season. Special thanks to SMGC who, while not a contributor, set us up on Google to make compiling this much easier. This week, thanks to Any and BG for helping the salt mine that is the GBU.
Good
Detroit – Perhaps our judgment here is slanted a bit by the fact that the Lions secured their sixth win of the season, extracted themselves from the cellar of the NFCN and showed significant progress this season. In this game, the Lions put the hapless Vikings down for the count, holding them to 211 yards and a pair of FG’s while racking up over 350 yards of offense on their own. This game could have easily been much worse. The Lions two turnovers resulted in a failed red zone attempt (fumble inside the Viking 10) and the Vikings only touchdown (a pick six). Still, on balance, this game capped a season that has Lions fans looking forward to 2011.
New England – The Patriots end their regular season at 14-2 with a substantial 38-7 win over Miami. Brady only threw the ball 19 times before he was replaced in the 3rd quarter by Brian Hoyer. The NE offense churned out 502 total yards and completed an impressive 11/17 (64%) on 3rd downs. Rookie TE Rob Gronkowski continues to be a featured target of this Brady led offense, showing some great moves and racking up some nice YAC numbers. Tate, Crumpler and Green-Ellis each added a TD to the score. The only point of concern for the Pats was an apparent concussion suffered by RB Danny Woodhead. But with New England enjoying a nice two week break before their first playoff game, it’s almost certain he will be cleared to resume play.
Oakland – After an internal battle between Jekyll and Hyde during the first quarter, Jekyll won and the Raiders went on to dismantle the AFCW champion Chiefs, 31-10. With McFadden and Seymour out, there was concerns about holes on both sides of the ball. But Michael Bush had a monster game, and second year DT Desmond Bryant held his own, even taking Cassel to the ground for a sack in the 4th quarter. Another moral victory for the Oakland defense was holding Jamaal Charles just shy of a significant YPC record held by Jim Brown. And I do mean “just shy” – he was short by less than an inch. A meaningless game in the eyes of postseason, but a terribly important win to the Raiders organization. Oakland finishes 2010 with a 6-0 sweep in the division, and has made a statement about the direction they are headed in the standings for 2011, UP.
Pittsburgh – We’ll give the Steelers some credit here. Yes, the Browns stunk. But staring at a chance to clinch the division title and a first round bye with a win, the Steelers steamrolled their division rival in Cleveland. Troy Polamalu started the festivities by intercepting Colt McCoy 30 seconds into the game, leading to a Roethlisberger-Wallace 56 yard TD pass on the next play. Things did not get much tougher in the remaining 59:22, either. While the offense was rolling to 418 yards, the defense held Cleveland to 225. This was a Good performance to seal the deal in the AFCN and number two seed for the Steelers
Tampa – The Bucs have become a regular here. On Sunday in New Orleans, with both teams having something at stake (at least at the kickoff), the Bucs did their part to keep their playoff hopes alive. This was a fairly even contest, with the Bus holding the Saints aerial game to under 200 yards. The Bucs used two drives to produce 10 points in an eight minute span in the third quarter to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, Tampa got no help with both the Giants and Packers winning, ending the Bucs’ season. Thus, their appearances in the Good will have to resume next season. But they have served notice.
Bad
Cincinnati – They seem to always play the Ravens tough, but for all intents and purposes, they should have beat Baltimore. The offense totaled nearly 400 yards of total offense, and still only put up seven points. The defense kept Cincy in the game all afternoon long, they just couldn’t capitalize on repeated opportunities. The last drive of the game, though, succinctly summed up the Bengals’ season. After driving down inside the Ravens five yard line, Carson Palmer and the offense had three chances to win the game. After two incomplete passes, Palmer missed a wide open receiver in the end zone as the ball sailed high and the game ended. Coach Marvin Lewis won’t return to the team in 2011, and it’s possible many of their star players won’t either, making Cincinnati a hotbed for turnover during the offseason.
Jacksonville – Entering the final week needing a win over Houston, Jags fans probably thought the biggest impediment to the playoffs would be a Titans win over the Colts in Indianapolis. Alas, the latter did not matter much. While the absence of Garrard and Jones-Drew hurt the effort, Jacksonville got decent offensive production, including almost 200 yards rushing. The real problem was on the other side of the ball. With the offense hampered, the defense needed to step up. Not hardly. They ceded almost 500 yards to the Texans, including nearly 250 yards rushing. Definitely not a good effort when it was needed most.
Kansas City – Ending your season being swept by a division rival isn’t how you want to enter the playoffs. The Chiefs didn’t look like contenders, much less division champs. The KC OLine allowed Cassel to be sacked seven times in the game. That doesn’t bode well for their WC Weekend matchup against the defensively strong Ravens. Cassel struggled most of the game, only connecting on 11 of his 33 attempts for 115 yards. Raiders DT, Tommy Kelly, was warning Chiefs guard Brian Waters that Cassel was “spooked” and ”rattled” and that they should take him out of the game before it got more ugly. It probably didn’t help that their Offensive Coordinator, Charlie Weis, has been rumored to be leaving KC for a position at UF (a rumor that now looks to be true.) Anything can happen in the post season, but we’re thinking it’s about to be Great Googly Moogly time in Kansas City.
Ugly
Arizona – Now, let us preface this by saying the Cards weren’t a good team in 2010. Aside from shocking the Saints early in the season, it seems the amount of key players they lost last offseason turned them from a Superbowl contender to a division bottom-dweller. But to get blown out by the 49ers the way they did says a lot about the team’s character. Arizona mailed it in and just wanted to go home; essentially, the team quit on its coach and on themselves. That should never happen at the pro level, no matter how bad your record is. It’s never easy to win with a rookie quarterback, especially one as raw as John Skelton. On the flip side, there’s no excuse to let Alex Smith and the Niners offense hang up 38 points on them. It was just an awful performance all around and that’s why they earned a spot in our Ugly column.
Buffalo – Six turnovers. To put that in perspective, the Bills also had six first downs. 37 yards rushing. To put that in perspective, they gave up 276 on the ground at 5.5 a clip. The only positive is somehow the Bills put up 7 points. This was an Ugly performance to usher in the offseason for the Bills.
Cleveland – The Steelers were probably a bit concerned needing a win in Cleveland to secure the AFCN title. If so, their concern was misplaced. The Browns played the roll of a corpse in the season finale, falling behind 31-3 by halftime en route to a 41-9 burial. Colt McCoy was picked off three times, but in fairness, he was the offense. The Browns had no running game whatsoever. The defense was not even a minor impediment to the Steelers, surrendering 418 yards, 318 in the air on 30 pass attempts (and 21 completions). By the final gun, whatever progress the Browns thought they had made in 2010 was a distant memory. This was an Ugly performance.
Minnesota – At least the turbulent ride is over for the Vikings. Unfortunately they exit their season with a dismal performance and loss to the Lions. Putting up only 211 offensive yards, this just isn’t what anyone expected from the Vikings this year. Favre finished his season (and subsequently his career) on the sidelines, and Adrian Peterson struggled for his 31 yards on the ground. In fact, the Vikings offense didn’t get in the end zone. The lone MN TD was an INT by Jared Allen. On the heels of the loss, Leslie Frazier was announced as the permanent head coach, and Brett Favre has retired.. presumably for good.
St. Louis – With the season, and NFC West division, on the line, the Rams came up small at the worst possible time. In almost every area, the team underperformed. The offense was ultra-conservative, Sam Bradford came down to Earth a bit and threw a backbreaking interception that reminds us all that he’s still a rookie. The numbers bear this out: 184 yards of offense, only ten first downs and seven three and outs. The defense played decently, though they made Seahawks QB Charlie Whitehurst look like Michael Vick on some scrambles. The coaching was just inept all night. Coach Steve Spagnuolo made two bizarre non-decisions, one in the first half on 3rd and 5 that would’ve given them a first-down deep in Seattle territory. The next came in the fourth quarter when the referees mistakenly gave the Seahawks a first down when it should have been 4th and 1. Those two calls could have changed the entire game. Despite all that they still only trailed by 7 midway through the fourth, when, with the ball on the Seahawk side of the 50 Bradford tossed the aforementioned interception. It was the final straw, as the Ram offense watched helplessly while Seattle held the ball for over 7 minutes of the final 8:30 on a 13-play drive that resulted in a FG to put the game away. However, in perspective, this same Ram offense was only slightly less helpless when it was on the field. Give St. Louis credit for competing all season, but they showed on Sunday night that they still have a way to go before becoming a contender.
Honors
Michael Bush – With McFadden out, the weight of the Raiders rushing scheme sat on his shoulders, and he ran with it. Literally. 25 attempts for 137 yards and a TD.
Dishonors
NFC West - You couldn’t produce a single winning season. There are five NFL teams at/above .500 who will be sitting at home watching the playoffs, while your division champion makes a mockery of post season football. Shame on you.
Awards
Ciron Black (Best of the Good): Steelers – We were tempted to leave this bottle sealed, but somebody had to get a drink. With a decent amount on the line, on the road, the Steelers took care of business quickly and thoroughly. A round to the Raiders, who, also on the road, competed a sweep of the AFCW.
Aunt Esther (Ugliest of the Ugly): Rams – The championship was within your grasp, along with the ability to validate your division . But you rolled over to a 6-9 team, losing your postseason and allowing a sub .500 team to enter the playoffs.
You might also like:
Tagged as:
gbu,
nfl week 17
NFL Week 17: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
January 5, 2011 - 11:17 pm · 0 comments
by Zack Kelberman
in Community Commentary, Weekly Segments
Shortly after the ball fell on 2010, the curtain came down on the 2010 NFL season. For some, the playoffs beckon. Others are left mumbling about what might have been. Others look hopefully toward next season. For still others, the end couldn’t come soon enough.
Coming into week 17 there was one playoff slot to be decided among three teams and four divisions to be finalized covering eight other teams. Of the eleven teams with something to play four, eight won and only three went down in flames. One of those was inevitable since Seattle and St. Louis settled things in a duel. Aside from the Seahawks, the Steelers, Ravens, Colts, Falcons, Packers, Giants and Bucs all did themselves proud to one degree or another. The Rams, Jags and Saints all came up short in their bids, although only the Rams wound was the fatal blow when the final results were in.
Week 17 was also the swan song for several coaches. Mangini went out with a whimper in Cleveland. Fox rode, or was chased, into the sunset in Carolina as his contract expired. Several others may have walked into their team’s locker room for the last time. Four went down during the season and another four may yet be told their services are no longer necessary. The number might be higher if not for the possibility of a lockout.
With the 2010 regular season in the books, I thank those who contributed throughout the season. Special thanks to SMGC who, while not a contributor, set us up on Google to make compiling this much easier. This week, thanks to Any and BG for helping the salt mine that is the GBU.
Good
Detroit – Perhaps our judgment here is slanted a bit by the fact that the Lions secured their sixth win of the season, extracted themselves from the cellar of the NFCN and showed significant progress this season. In this game, the Lions put the hapless Vikings down for the count, holding them to 211 yards and a pair of FG’s while racking up over 350 yards of offense on their own. This game could have easily been much worse. The Lions two turnovers resulted in a failed red zone attempt (fumble inside the Viking 10) and the Vikings only touchdown (a pick six). Still, on balance, this game capped a season that has Lions fans looking forward to 2011.
New England – The Patriots end their regular season at 14-2 with a substantial 38-7 win over Miami. Brady only threw the ball 19 times before he was replaced in the 3rd quarter by Brian Hoyer. The NE offense churned out 502 total yards and completed an impressive 11/17 (64%) on 3rd downs. Rookie TE Rob Gronkowski continues to be a featured target of this Brady led offense, showing some great moves and racking up some nice YAC numbers. Tate, Crumpler and Green-Ellis each added a TD to the score. The only point of concern for the Pats was an apparent concussion suffered by RB Danny Woodhead. But with New England enjoying a nice two week break before their first playoff game, it’s almost certain he will be cleared to resume play.
Oakland – After an internal battle between Jekyll and Hyde during the first quarter, Jekyll won and the Raiders went on to dismantle the AFCW champion Chiefs, 31-10. With McFadden and Seymour out, there was concerns about holes on both sides of the ball. But Michael Bush had a monster game, and second year DT Desmond Bryant held his own, even taking Cassel to the ground for a sack in the 4th quarter. Another moral victory for the Oakland defense was holding Jamaal Charles just shy of a significant YPC record held by Jim Brown. And I do mean “just shy” – he was short by less than an inch. A meaningless game in the eyes of postseason, but a terribly important win to the Raiders organization. Oakland finishes 2010 with a 6-0 sweep in the division, and has made a statement about the direction they are headed in the standings for 2011, UP.
Pittsburgh – We’ll give the Steelers some credit here. Yes, the Browns stunk. But staring at a chance to clinch the division title and a first round bye with a win, the Steelers steamrolled their division rival in Cleveland. Troy Polamalu started the festivities by intercepting Colt McCoy 30 seconds into the game, leading to a Roethlisberger-Wallace 56 yard TD pass on the next play. Things did not get much tougher in the remaining 59:22, either. While the offense was rolling to 418 yards, the defense held Cleveland to 225. This was a Good performance to seal the deal in the AFCN and number two seed for the Steelers
Tampa – The Bucs have become a regular here. On Sunday in New Orleans, with both teams having something at stake (at least at the kickoff), the Bucs did their part to keep their playoff hopes alive. This was a fairly even contest, with the Bus holding the Saints aerial game to under 200 yards. The Bucs used two drives to produce 10 points in an eight minute span in the third quarter to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, Tampa got no help with both the Giants and Packers winning, ending the Bucs’ season. Thus, their appearances in the Good will have to resume next season. But they have served notice.
Bad
Cincinnati – They seem to always play the Ravens tough, but for all intents and purposes, they should have beat Baltimore. The offense totaled nearly 400 yards of total offense, and still only put up seven points. The defense kept Cincy in the game all afternoon long, they just couldn’t capitalize on repeated opportunities. The last drive of the game, though, succinctly summed up the Bengals’ season. After driving down inside the Ravens five yard line, Carson Palmer and the offense had three chances to win the game. After two incomplete passes, Palmer missed a wide open receiver in the end zone as the ball sailed high and the game ended. Coach Marvin Lewis won’t return to the team in 2011, and it’s possible many of their star players won’t either, making Cincinnati a hotbed for turnover during the offseason.
Jacksonville – Entering the final week needing a win over Houston, Jags fans probably thought the biggest impediment to the playoffs would be a Titans win over the Colts in Indianapolis. Alas, the latter did not matter much. While the absence of Garrard and Jones-Drew hurt the effort, Jacksonville got decent offensive production, including almost 200 yards rushing. The real problem was on the other side of the ball. With the offense hampered, the defense needed to step up. Not hardly. They ceded almost 500 yards to the Texans, including nearly 250 yards rushing. Definitely not a good effort when it was needed most.
Kansas City – Ending your season being swept by a division rival isn’t how you want to enter the playoffs. The Chiefs didn’t look like contenders, much less division champs. The KC OLine allowed Cassel to be sacked seven times in the game. That doesn’t bode well for their WC Weekend matchup against the defensively strong Ravens. Cassel struggled most of the game, only connecting on 11 of his 33 attempts for 115 yards. Raiders DT, Tommy Kelly, was warning Chiefs guard Brian Waters that Cassel was “spooked” and ”rattled” and that they should take him out of the game before it got more ugly. It probably didn’t help that their Offensive Coordinator, Charlie Weis, has been rumored to be leaving KC for a position at UF (a rumor that now looks to be true.) Anything can happen in the post season, but we’re thinking it’s about to be Great Googly Moogly time in Kansas City.
Ugly
Arizona – Now, let us preface this by saying the Cards weren’t a good team in 2010. Aside from shocking the Saints early in the season, it seems the amount of key players they lost last offseason turned them from a Superbowl contender to a division bottom-dweller. But to get blown out by the 49ers the way they did says a lot about the team’s character. Arizona mailed it in and just wanted to go home; essentially, the team quit on its coach and on themselves. That should never happen at the pro level, no matter how bad your record is. It’s never easy to win with a rookie quarterback, especially one as raw as John Skelton. On the flip side, there’s no excuse to let Alex Smith and the Niners offense hang up 38 points on them. It was just an awful performance all around and that’s why they earned a spot in our Ugly column.
Buffalo – Six turnovers. To put that in perspective, the Bills also had six first downs. 37 yards rushing. To put that in perspective, they gave up 276 on the ground at 5.5 a clip. The only positive is somehow the Bills put up 7 points. This was an Ugly performance to usher in the offseason for the Bills.
Cleveland – The Steelers were probably a bit concerned needing a win in Cleveland to secure the AFCN title. If so, their concern was misplaced. The Browns played the roll of a corpse in the season finale, falling behind 31-3 by halftime en route to a 41-9 burial. Colt McCoy was picked off three times, but in fairness, he was the offense. The Browns had no running game whatsoever. The defense was not even a minor impediment to the Steelers, surrendering 418 yards, 318 in the air on 30 pass attempts (and 21 completions). By the final gun, whatever progress the Browns thought they had made in 2010 was a distant memory. This was an Ugly performance.
Minnesota – At least the turbulent ride is over for the Vikings. Unfortunately they exit their season with a dismal performance and loss to the Lions. Putting up only 211 offensive yards, this just isn’t what anyone expected from the Vikings this year. Favre finished his season (and subsequently his career) on the sidelines, and Adrian Peterson struggled for his 31 yards on the ground. In fact, the Vikings offense didn’t get in the end zone. The lone MN TD was an INT by Jared Allen. On the heels of the loss, Leslie Frazier was announced as the permanent head coach, and Brett Favre has retired.. presumably for good.
St. Louis – With the season, and NFC West division, on the line, the Rams came up small at the worst possible time. In almost every area, the team underperformed. The offense was ultra-conservative, Sam Bradford came down to Earth a bit and threw a backbreaking interception that reminds us all that he’s still a rookie. The numbers bear this out: 184 yards of offense, only ten first downs and seven three and outs. The defense played decently, though they made Seahawks QB Charlie Whitehurst look like Michael Vick on some scrambles. The coaching was just inept all night. Coach Steve Spagnuolo made two bizarre non-decisions, one in the first half on 3rd and 5 that would’ve given them a first-down deep in Seattle territory. The next came in the fourth quarter when the referees mistakenly gave the Seahawks a first down when it should have been 4th and 1. Those two calls could have changed the entire game. Despite all that they still only trailed by 7 midway through the fourth, when, with the ball on the Seahawk side of the 50 Bradford tossed the aforementioned interception. It was the final straw, as the Ram offense watched helplessly while Seattle held the ball for over 7 minutes of the final 8:30 on a 13-play drive that resulted in a FG to put the game away. However, in perspective, this same Ram offense was only slightly less helpless when it was on the field. Give St. Louis credit for competing all season, but they showed on Sunday night that they still have a way to go before becoming a contender.
Honors
Michael Bush – With McFadden out, the weight of the Raiders rushing scheme sat on his shoulders, and he ran with it. Literally. 25 attempts for 137 yards and a TD.
Dishonors
NFC West - You couldn’t produce a single winning season. There are five NFL teams at/above .500 who will be sitting at home watching the playoffs, while your division champion makes a mockery of post season football. Shame on you.
Awards
Ciron Black (Best of the Good): Steelers – We were tempted to leave this bottle sealed, but somebody had to get a drink. With a decent amount on the line, on the road, the Steelers took care of business quickly and thoroughly. A round to the Raiders, who, also on the road, competed a sweep of the AFCW.
Aunt Esther (Ugliest of the Ugly): Rams – The championship was within your grasp, along with the ability to validate your division . But you rolled over to a 6-9 team, losing your postseason and allowing a sub .500 team to enter the playoffs.
You might also like:
Tagged as: gbu, nfl week 17