1 week to go

Week 16 is almost over and there is one week left to go; there's one game left, but the playoff fate for tonight’s two teams has already been determined.

The playoff picture is about the same as I described last week in the NFL Rant blog, but the Jaguars, Steelers, and Giants Fates have been sealed; they are in to the playoffs (or wild-card). The Panthers have no shot as I expected. Things have gotten a little complicated with the Cleveland Browns unexpectedly losing to the Bengals in a rivalry game. They lost, now they need the Titans to lose next week... the Titans are in control; if they lose, they are NOT in the playoffs, and if they win they ARE... that simple. The Browns however, can win or lose, and they have no control over their own destiny, they've royally screwed themselves against a struggling Cincinnati team, but that's the excitement of the playoff picture.

In the NFC, The Redskins now control their destiny as well... Minnesota lost control last night when they were annihilated by the Redskins in what looked pretty pitiful as they couldn't get anything going on the ground or in the air. It looks as though their one sided offense can be stopped pretty easily. The Vikings now have to win with the Redskins loss. The Saints can still get in with a win, and a Vikings and Redskins loss. Things are looking a little bleak, but with the Vikings past performance and their single threat offense, I don't know how great their chances are; luckily, for them they are playing Denver.

Luckily for the Browns and Minnesota, they both have two abysmal teams to defeat... the Browns are playing the 49ers (although showing hope with a 2 game winning streak behind QB Shaun Hill and 3 out of their last 5) and the Broncos are playing against the Vikes, so these should be wins or they don’t really deserve to be in the playoffs anyway. And as long as the Vikes win they don't have to worry about the Saints, and the Redskins are playing the tough Dallas Cowboys who seem to be falling out of their groove in the past few weeks. Even though home field advantage has been locked up for the boys in Dallas, they may play tough against the Redskins to get back into the flow of things before the playoffs since they have a bye that first week. If by chance all the blocks fall into place and the Vikings and Redskins both Lose, the Saints would still have to win against Chicago.

However, for the Browns (win or lose) they have to hope the Titans lose. Luckily for the Browns, the Titans are playing the Indianapolis Colts, but we'll have to see how much of an effort the Colts will actually put in against this team with the bye already locked up for the first week of playoffs. It’s hard to say how hard the Colts will play, but I’m hoping that they understand the importance of playing tough.

Well, good luck to all your favorite teams as mine is out… part of me wants the Browns to make it, and the other part of me wants my 49ers to crush them even though it does no good for my team, but it does stick one to Patriots (who have their first round draft pick due to a trade).

Back to watching the Record Books... Randy Moss and Tom Brady both need two touchdowns a piece to break the single-season records for most TD's in a season. Moss is at 21 Reception TD's and needs 1 to tie Jerry Rice and two to hold the record. Brady is at 48 TD's tying Dan Marino, but needs 1 more to tie Peyton Manning and two to take the Record.

NFL Rant

It will be New England, Indianapolis and the Chargers in the AFC playoffs for sure. The Jaguars, Steelers and Browns will most likely all make it as well, but the Titans have a small chance for the wild-card, so unless a miracle happens for Tenessee, it will be the Chargers, Jaguars, Steelers and Browns in the wild card. If Tenesse loses 1 game, the Jags, Steelers and Brown clinch a spot. Here's what needs to happen for the Titans to get a spot, they have to win both games, and possibly if Jacksonville loses both games, but since they would have the same conference records and same head-to-head records, I think that the Jaguars would win in this scenario in a tie-breaker. The Titans real hope is that either the Steelers or Browns lose both of their next two games, if they both lose both their games the Steelers will clinch their division due to tie-breaker, and then the Titans would have to win both games against the Jets and Colts (unlikely) to oust the Browns. I don't see the Browns losing against Cinci or San Fran, so if they win their games, then they have to hope that the Steelers lose both their games and then we are in another tie-braker situation. If the Titans lose 1 game, then the AFC playoff picture is pretty much as I stated above, the only difference will be who plays whom.

In the NFC, Dallas, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, and Seattle have all clinched a spot. Dallas and Green Bay are sure bye's that first week. The NY Giants are set for a wild-card spot, the Vikings have a great chance, but the Saints and Redskins aren't out of the picture yet. This race is a little closer, since Minnesota and Washington play each other next week; so if the Saints win their remaining games (agains Philly and Chicago), and the Redskins beat out the Vikes next week, the Saints will have the spot over both the Redskins and the Vikes due to Conference Records. The Panther's only chance is if Washington beats Minnesota since Minnesota has the better record, and then Washington loses to Dallas (pretty likely), but the Panthers would have to win both their games against Dallas and Tampa Bay (very unlikely), then in this case the Panthers have a shot because even though their records are tied, their conference record would beat out both Washington and Minnesota, assuming that Minnesota loses to both Washington and Denver, but unlikely. However, there is a great chance that Washington can beat Minnesota, and will lose to Dallas, so for all you Panther fans out there... start praying, their schedule isn't looking promising though. The Redskins need to win against both Minesota and Dallas, and the Saints will have to lose one of their remaining games against the sub-par Chicago and Philly teams, so even if Minnesota wins against Dallas, the Redskins would get the spot due to the head to head game (if they win next week). If Minnesota wins just one game against the Skins or Dallas then the Skins can't get in, but Minnesota will only clinch if the Saints lose one of the following 2 games, because the Saints would win in a tie-breaker against Minnesota.

Brett Favre just broke Dan Marino's career record for most passing yards in a career, but it doesn't look like he nor Tom Brady have a shot to steal his record of most yards in a season of 5084; Brady would have to average 425 ypg in the final two to take that record. Tom Brady also needs 5 more TD's to steal the record from Manning of 49 TD's in a season (that record was 48, previously held by Marino until 2004), but Brett Favre already has the record for Most TD's in a career that he took earlier this season and now has over 440, which is 20 more than Marino, and continues to make it harder for anyone else to come close over their lifetime.

It doesn't look as though Peterson has a shot to break the rookie record for rushing in a rookie season, but he already holds the all time record for most yards in a game of 296, so who's complaining? He's 3rd in the standings for total yards this season right below Willie Parker and LT even after missing 2 games due to injury, and IMO is a sure-fire win for Rookie of the Year honors. On the Defensive end, my man Patrick Willis has to be a top candidate for the Defensive Rookie of the Year.