That's a wrap on the season, folks. Week 17 was an incredibly dramatic Sunday to set the stage for the playoffs starting next weekend. The Snap Judgments will continue on throughout the playoffs, but we have to put a bow on the regular season first.
1. The pool for the Coach of the Year Award is incredibly deep. Most years, there are one or two coaches who emerge as candidates for Coach of the Year by season's end. This year, there are at least five coaches who have plenty of qualifications for the award. Andy Reid, Ron Rivera, Pete Carroll, Sean Payton, and Chip Kelly all are worthy candidates, putting the voters at an incredible dilemma in determining which of them deserve it most. It'd be especially ironic and telling if Payton did win the award, considering the animosity between the Saints' organization and the league office last year that resulted from Payton's suspension for the 2012 season.
2. Monday, Bloody Monday. On the other end of the spectrum, teams looking to make changes at the head coach position got an early start last night when the Browns had surprisingly fired Rob Chudzinski. Mike Shanahan is widely reported to be fired later today, and other coaches such as Jim Schwartz, Mike Munchak, Dennis Allen, Greg Schiano, and possibly Jason Garrett could all find themselves on the chopping block. That doesn't even include GMs who may be shown the door as well, such as Miami's Jeff Ireland. But hey, that's par for the course on the day after the end of the regular season.
3. The 5000-yard threshold for quarterbacks in a season has quickly lost its luster. Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Matthew Stafford all cleared the 5000-yard barrier in 2011, the first season where a quarterback had hit the number since Dan Marino did it in 1984. Since 2011, Brees has crossed 5000 yards every year, and Peyton Manning has set a new single-season record this year in passing yards (5477). The NFL has shifted its rules and penalties in favor of passing offenses over the last few years, putting us at the point where it's no longer crazy to think that a QB could throw for 6000 yards in a season.
4. The Texans are a long way off from competing again. The Texans managed to lock themselves into the #1 overall draft pick in April after losing 14 consecutive games to finish the season. They've already begun their search for their next head coach after Gary Kubiak was fired a couple weeks ago. They're probably going to have to draft a quarterback for the future with their top pick, and rebuild their offense and secondary eventually. Andre Johnson is much closer to the end of his career than the prime, and even Arian Foster is showing signs of being burned up. The Colts have re-emerged as the big dog of the AFC South, and the Texans' brief window of competing has closed.
5. The Ravens will bounce back next season. Joe Flacco had an absolutely miserable 2013 season, thanks largely to having a pitiful offensive line covering him. He had career highs in interceptions and sacks this year, and if not for Eli Manning he would have been the season's biggest disappointment. The Ravens clearly need to address their offensive line and wide receivers in the off-season, and once they do they will compete again in 2014. They aren't nearly as far away from being competitive again as teams like the Texans, Falcons, or Giants are.
6. Same old Cowboys. Three straight Week 17s of elimination games against opponents for the divisional title, and the Cowboys are 0-3 in those games. It's also three straight years of finishing 8-8, which says the team does not have the leadership or coaching in place to get it over the hump. Tony Romo may say all the right things in being there on the field with his teammates as much as possible, but he has shown too many times over the years he will choke when the pressure is on. This time, Kyle Orton had the opportunity to lead the Cowboys on the field, but the same results happened. If Garrett does find himself unemployed and the team hunts for another new coach, Jerry Jones will put the team into rebuilding mode yet again, and the status quo will continue in Dallas.
7. How do the Patriots do it? Rob Gronkowski missed over half the season, Tom Brady threw only 25 touchdown passes, and most of their wide receivers are under 6'0, and yet they still won 12 games and the AFC East this year again. The easy answer is "Coaching, stupid," and Bill Belichick deserves a ton of credit for keeping the Patriots competitive even after losing Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker. Regardless of how far they get in the playoffs this year, it's incredible to see how the Patriots keep on truckin' no matter who they lose.
8. My pick for Super Bowl 48 is Chiefs/Seahawks. It's far, far too easy to pick Broncos/Seahawks, and the last time both #1 seeds had reached the Super Bowl was Super Bowl 46 (Saints/Colts). I don't see anyone marching into Seattle and beating the Seahawks straight up in their building, especially considering they had already beaten all their closest rivals head to head earlier this season, e.g. 49ers, Panthers, and Saints. The most exciting possible matchup for the Super Bowl at this point is Chiefs/Eagles, but I don't realistically see that happening. Still, seeing the Chiefs go from 2-14 in 2012 to potentially reaching the Super Bowl the next season would be beyond remarkable.
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