Around this time of the year, you always hear people say "this year flew by fast!" We say that every year, but I do believe 2012 went by extra fast. May be it's because I was busy this year and had some good times. And that includes me making the Super Bowl in both my fantasy football leagues. I won one and lost one if you are wondering. I wanted to win both because the odds of somebody making 2 Super Bowl in 2 fantasy leagues in the same year is so slim and winning both would have only made the story that much more impressive. But I can't complain and I don't want to bore people with my fantasy stories either. In the real NFL, the regular season concluded today. Another year in the books, though the calendar year still has one more day. The story today was Colt's head coach Chuck Pagano returning to the sidelines. It's a heart warming story made better by the fact that the team seems to truly respect and like him and are winning for him and with him. They made it to the playoffs after the horrible season in 2011 - before Pagano, Luck and the gang got there. How good are these guys to make this kind of an immediate impact!
There are 3 rookie QBs playing next week in the playoffs with RG III and Russel Wilson joining Andrew Luck. That might be the most impressive stat of the year. Gone are the days when rookie QBs, even future hall of famers, were good for 10 to 12 losses. Now, if you get the right one, you can win 10+ with some good coaching and decent talent around them. These 3 QBs have been fantastic all year and they are all different. Wilson started slow, but is finishing very strong. He evolved from a game manager to a game changer right in front of our eyes. Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and their stellar defense carry each other and the Seahawks may be a scary team in the NFC playoffs. Andrew Luck is the most traditional among the 3 rookies. He is an incredibly good passer for a rookie, but he does have some ugliness with his interception and completion percentage numbers - much like you would expect of a rookie QB. But his 4000+ yards passing and the innumerable 4-Th quarter comebacks have put the Colts in the playoffs despite a bad defense and a non-existent running game.
RG III is the most sensational of the gang. He has put up some impressive numbers both with his arm and legs all season and is part of a balanced team much like the Seahawks, but very different. The Redskins, led by the 2 rookies - RG III and RB Albert Morris, eliminated the Dallas Cowboys today in the very last game of the regular season to win the division and make the playoffs. Romo and the Cowboys are staring at another miserable off-season as Romo threw some horrible interceptions and lost an elimination game once again. They are in trouble. They can't be doing this every year. Something has to change. They need a real GM and a new head coach. Romo is talented, but needs to be reined in. That simple! The strange part of that division was the Giants missing the playoffs altogether. How does that team with a supposedly buttoned-up, disciplinarian coach in Tom Coughlin and so much talent be so inconsistent and wildly unpredictable? They did end the year at 9-7 - better than the Cowboys, but no playoffs for either team. The division was won by the Redskins whose coaching staff deserve a lot of credit for building an unique offense that perfectly leverages their rookie QB's strengths. They won 7 straight to make it to the playoffs and will host Russell Wilson at home. That means at least one of the rookie QBs will be playing in the next round of the playoffs too, which will be amazing.
With all that said, the real story of this season was All Day, Adrian Peterson. He almost obliterated Eric Dickerson's long standing yardage record with that reconstructed knee. For him to come back from that gruesome knee injury in less than a year with the ferocity and effectiveness he displayed leaves me speechless. Too bad he fell just 9 yards short of the record, but rushing for more than 2000 yards is always impressive, with or without a damaged knee. I can't wait to watch this guy in the playoffs. His performance almost put the unbelievable story of Peyton Manning's amazing comeback in the back burner. How about Manning leading the Denver Broncos to the top seed in the entire AFC behind a 11 game winning streak? He went from a shaky 2-3 start to a 13-3 record in no time! With the Texans choking away their season-long lead in the last 2 weeks, the Broncos are now owners of home-court throughout the playoffs. The rookie QBs and All Day are over-shadowing Manning now, but won't for long. A Manning-Brady AFC championship game seems very likely and I can't even imagine the attention and hype that game and Manning will get if and when that happens. To quote the Jets linebacker Bart Scott, "can't wait."
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