Great NFL Weekend

I might be wrong, but I feel like this season's NFL playoff picture was clearer going into Week 17 than it has been in a long time. Of a total of 12 playoff spots, only 3 were still up for grabs - the AFC West, AFC Wild Card and the NFC East. Pretty tame if you ask me...and yet we were treated to a week rich with storylines.

The biggest story to me didn't even involve a team gunning for a playoff spot, but rather the team with the worst record in the league. The Indianapolis Colts, with a 2-13 record, needed to win and a Rams loss to avoid the distinction of being a division winner in 2010 and holding the top pick in the 2012 draft. Going into the week, we had heard that the veterans on the team were playing to win. They were not in it to Suck for Luck but rather were playing for their injured leader, Peyton Manning. By losing to the hapless 4-11 Jacksonville Jaguars, they clinched the worst record in the league.

Now the good times begin. The Colts have a 35 year old QB who has had 3 neck surgeries in the past 18 months. He is not getting any younger and who knows if he will ever be the same. A lot of experts suggest that Peyton was the reason for the significant drop-off in record, but the truth is that it was a perfect storm. Yes, losing Peyton hurt, but this team is a mess. They were not going to win the Super Bowl even if he had been there. Their ceiling with Manning is a few more 10-6 records over the next few years, followed by another drop-off and then rebuilding. I think they would be crazy not to draft Luck and start rebuilding now. They will never get this chance again. They have to do it now - they have to let go of Manning. He might not deserve to be dropped because of an injury, but sports is a cruel business.

The second biggest story is that of Mr Tim Tebow. I recently wrote how I was a full-fledged member of the Church of Tebow. It just seemed crazy to think a player with below than average skill could go 6-1 in his first seven starts and put his team on the brink of the playoffs if not for something divine. After a two game losing streak, the recently released Kyle Orton was back in Denver to try to knock out the man who replaced him. It was a perfect scenario that would have made for great revenge. At the end of the day, Orton didn't have a great day but got the win because Tebow couldn't help his team score more than 6 points. I honestly can't believe it - after making me believe, he dropped the ball in the most important game of the season. Luckily for him, Oakland couldn't beat San Diego and the Broncos are in the playoffs. however, if they can't beat Poittsburgh this coming weekend, I think Elway and Co need to really re-think this Tebow thing. Who would have thought that possible four weeks ago?

And there were a lot of other great stories:

• The Jets joined the Eagles as pre-season Super Bowl favorites who are outside the playoffs looking in. What a pathetic collapse and one that will undoubtedly lead to tons of debate over the next few months.
• The Bengals, a team I pegged for 2 wins this season, made the playoffs with a 9-7 record. A simply amazing coaching job by Marvin Lewis. They won the tiebreaker over the Tennessee Titans who somehow won 9 games with Chris Johnson being absolutely terrible. Kudos to Mike Munchak on the job he did but now the question remains where they go at the QB position next year. Will Hasselbeck be back to lead a possible playoff team or do they give the reigns to Jake Locker and hope he doesn't blow it?
• I don't want to take anything away from Aaron Rodgers, but his back-up Matt Flynn just threw for 400+ yards and 6 td's against the Lions. I'm not ready to suggest that he is ready to lead a team, but does this help the "Aaron Rodgers is Not the best QB ever" debate.
• The Giants got a huge win over their key rivals. The Cowboys have go in another direction, right? Romo can't possibly be their guy moving forward.
• The passing records set this year are just insane. The NFL saw not 1, not 2, but 3 QB's throw for more than 5000 yards (Brees, Brady, Stafford) and 3 threw more than 40 TD's (Rodgers, Brees, Stafford) Can someone help me understand why this is happening? My father-in-law suggests that it is because no one is allowed to hit anyone any more...it can't be that simple can it?
• Finally, what is going to happen to the Seahawks? I feel like they are actually pretty close to being relevant again, but they have a major decision to make, not just about Tarvaris (who I don't think is going anywhere in the offseason) abut about Marshawn Lynch. I know that his situation is a lot different than Shaun Alexander's, but I have to wonder whether it would be wise to spend a shit ton of money on him. I am just weary of guys in contract years and who take a ton of hits. It is going to be interesting to see what they do.