Easy to sit here now, after the fact on New Year's Eve, and issue verdicts on the good, bad and ugly in the NFL since Super Bowl XLIV.But, hey, somebody's got to do it. Here goes…
• Best change of heart: Look what Andy Reid has now, after changing course and making Michael Vick his starting quarterback rather than giving the job back to Kevin Kolb after he returned from injury. Maybe Kolb would have led the Eagles to an NFC East title, too. But Vick's been so special that he's in the running for MVP honors.
• Worst final cut: The Jets couldn't find room on their roster for little Danny Woodhead, who has gone on to carve out a significant role as a runner-receiver-special teamer for New York's most bitter rival, the Patriots. The Jets drafted Joe McKnight after signing LaDainian Tomlinson to complement Shonn Greene, but you've got to believe they would have tried keeping Woodhead if they knew he'd blossom for Bill Belichick's team.
WEEK 17 PICKS: Our analysts choose winners and losers
• Best reunion: The Chiefs got help for young coach Todd Haley in a big way, reuniting the former Super Bowl-winning coordinators Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis from Belichick's staff. Now they're division champs. GM Scott Pioli, another ex-Patriot, didn't stop there. Signing running back Thomas Jones, fortifying the interior O-line (Ryan Lilja, Casey Wiegmann) and a superb draft that bolstered the D (Eric Berry), the O (Tony Moeaki) and special teams (Dexter McCluster, Javier Arenas) mattered, too.
• Worst attempt to replace a superstar: The Cardinals knew it would be tough to replace Hall of Fame-credentialed Kurt Warner. But Derek Anderson? That became the plan after Arizona dumped Matt Leinart, and it hasn't worked out. Anderson, who had similar turnover woes in Cleveland, even had a post-game meltdown a few weeks ago.
• Best way to unload a headache: When the Patriots traded Randy Moss to the Vikings, it seemed as if they were creating a hole in the offense by casting aside a proven deep threat. Instead, they opened opportunities for more balance in a makeover that features twin terror rookie tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. And re-acquiring wideout Deion Branch added another dimension. With the NFL's best record and highest scoring rate (32 points per game), they surely don't miss Moss — whose public rants about his contract status left the impression that he might become a bigger distraction.
• Worst new relationship on the rocks: Mike Shanahan thought he was getting a savvy veteran quarterback who would be a crucial component to a rebuilding project when he traded for Donovan McNabb. But with his son, Kyle, the offensive coordinator, also in the mix, McNabb was benched. And chemistry was sapped to the point where the McNabb and Shanahan camps have traded he-said, he-said statements in a public dispute. Did it have to get to this? Never mind that $78 million contract extension that McNabb signed in November. It's pretty worthless, with minimal guaranteed money. It's natural to wonder if the contract structure is a factor in agent Fletcher Smith's unusual slamming of the Redskins. In any event, Mike Shanahan hasn't looked his best, either. He might have had support in his handling of Albert Haynesworth, who has a $100 million contract but has balked at job demands. But the McNabb saga included Shanahan flip-flopping between reasons why McNabb was initially benched and how the last one went down.
Worst reason to draw NFL scrutiny: The Broncos were fined by the NFL for secretly videotaping the 49ers? The 49ers? How absurd. They would have gotten more for their Spygate II money had they taped the Steelers, Ravens or, gulp, the Patriots.
• Best plan to eliminate late-season exhibition games: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell seems to have found the solution for making the final games of the regular season more meaningful, by saving a heavy dose of divisional games for the end. It remains to be seen how well that will work in an 18-game season. But first the commish will be pressed to come up with a solution to settle the labor battle, which includes philosophical differences regarding the merits of an expanded regular-season schedule.
• Worst intervention: Three Vikings players —Steve Hutchinson, Ryan Longwell and Jared Allen— left training camp and flew to Mississippi to talk Brett Favre into coming out of retirement. But their good intentions backfired as Favre was so unable to duplicate the magic of his 2009 season. Miss training camp, then lead a team to a title game? Guess that only works once.
• Best reason to get back into the first round: After drafting D-tackle Ndamukong Suh with the second pick in the draft, the Lions maneuvered to get back into round one to select running back Jahvid Best with the 30th pick. He's delivered big plays as advertised, and is yet another example of how the personnel moves have improved in Detroit with GM Martin Mayhew paired with coach Jim Schwartz in the post-Matt Millen era. Dealing for backup quarterback Shaun Hill was another sharp move. Now, if they can just find a way to keep starting quarterback Matthew Stafford healthy.
• Worst way to undermine the game's integrity: Jets strength coach Sal Alosi's sideline trip of Dolphins special teamer Nolan Carroll was one of the lowest blows by a coach in memory. He was suspended indefinitely by the team for that act, and for his part in getting players to form a wall. Some think that still might not be enough.
• Best new quarterback guru: Mike Martz, reunited with Lovie Smith as the Bears' new O-coordinator, is bringing out the best in Jay Cutler. Not only has Chicago become the surprising NFC North champ, Cutler has cut down on the turnovers that was projected as a potential problem in Martz's wide-open scheme. After throwing an NFL-high 26 interceptions last season, he's shaved the count to 14. And he's had a passer rating of at least 100 in four of the past five outings.
• Worst impact from a first-round pick: The Colts drafted defensive end Jerry Hughes with the next-to-last pick in Round 1 with visions of him becoming a key reliever in a ferocious pass-rushing tandem with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Freeney and Mathis are still ferocious, both named Pro Bowl starters this week. Hughes, though, has had zilch for impact, with three tackles and zero sacks on the year.
• Best comic relief: Rex Ryan sure keeps it interesting. If not declaring his team is Super Bowl-bound, or wearing a wig, or injecting the opposing quarterback's model wife into press conference banter, it's the hubbub around a foot-fetish home video that may include his wife. What a hoot. And definitely one of Buddy's boys, albeit the more conservative of the twins.
• Worst return on a trade: The Broncos traded running back Peyton Hillis and a pair of late draft picks to Cleveland for Brady Quinn. Not good. Quinn's the No. 3 quarterback, while Hillis has been a stud with more than 1,100 rushing yards and 11 TDs. Meanwhile. Denver's struggled with a 28th-ranked rushing attack. Trading Brandon Marshall was questionable, too. The responsible party, ex-coach Josh McDaniels, has also taken a hike.
• Best way to change the culture…and results: The Raiders have snapped their string of consecutive double-digit loss campaigns (7) and might even finish 8-8, with much credit due first-year offensive coordinator Hue Jackson. Aided by a monster year from Darren McFadden and the addition-by-subtraction move of dumping JaMarcus Russell, the bubbly Jackson has injected life. His work has also taken a load off head coach Tom Cable, who admits that he had too much on his plate last season.
• Worst handling of a scandal: Let's see if we've got this straight. Favre doesn't fully cooperate into the investigation of his alleged lewd messages to a former Jets employee that caused such a PR stain on the league and he gets fined $50,000 without a suspension? Goodell, who has suspended players before they've had their day in court and repeatedly declared a mission to protect the NFL's shield, comes off looking rather soft in this long, drawn-out case. As it turns out, Favre's infraction costs less than the amount Steelers linebacker James Harrison was initially fined for a hit on a defenseless player.
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Snubbed: Bucs coach Raheem Morris was taken aback that not a single Tampa Bay player was named to the NFC's Pro Bowl squad. The Bucs, the NFL's youngest squad, were the only team with a winning record not to have at least one Pro Bowler.
"It's a little bit of a slap in the face," Morris said.
Hey, there's always the chance that a Buc or three — quarterback Josh Freeman, left tackle Donald Penn and tight end Kellen Winslow were chosen as alternates — will wind up with a trip to Hawaii.
Nonetheless, it's part of Pro Bowl tradition to squawk about players who were snubbed when the selections are announced. Five more "snubs" to consider:
• Malcolm Jenkins. The Saints free safety is a certified playmaker on the NFL's No. 2 pass defense. Ask Sam Bradford (red zone pick-six) or Roy Williams (Thanksgiving strip). In this case, Jenkins' loss is Giants safety Antrel Rolle's gain.
• Rodger Saffold. The Rams' rookie left tackle doesn't get the pub that his rookie quarterback pal receives, but the first pick in Round 2 came NFL-ready with solid techniques and has started since Day 1. A case can be made that Saffold, like Penn, had a better, more consistent season than Chad Clifton and Jordan Gross.
• Aaron Rodgers. It's tough to argue against the immensely popular Super Bowl MVP, Drew Brees, and Matt Ryan's poise in crunchtime (last Monday night, excluded) has helped Atlanta close in on the No. 1 seed. But Rodgers, the Packers quarterback, is the NFL's third-rated passer (101.9). He hasn't been supported by a strong rushing attack like Ryan, and his 10 picks are less than half of Brees' total (21).
• Shaun Phillips. For years, he's been known as the "other" Shaun, overshadowed by Shawne Merriman. Now that Merriman's gone, Phillips is still a force. But Terrell Suggs got the third outside linebacker nod for the AFC squad. Both Suggs and Phillips have 11 sacks, but Phillips is better in coverage (7 PDs, 1 INT, TD) and more complete.
• Hakeem Nicks. Obviously, it's a numbers game. The NFC's four Pro Bowl receivers —Roddy White, Calvin Johnson, DeSean Jackson and Greg Jennings— are all deserving. There are only so many slots, with quarterback-in-need Larry Fitzgerald also missing out. Yet imagine what numbers Nicks (79 catches, 1,052 yards, 11 TDs) would have put up had he not missed three games with a leg injury.
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Who's hot: Jacoby Ford. The Raiders rookie receiver-returner is just the second player in NFL history to open two games in the same season with a kickoff return for a touchdown. His 99-yarder against Indianapolis last weekend was his third of the season, tying him for the league lead with Leon Washington. Ford, a fourth-round pick, is not half-bad as a receiver, either, averaging a team-high 18.1 yards on 24 catches. Unfortunately for Ford, this still wasn't enough to earn the AFC's Pro Bowl slot as kick returner as he was snubbed for Tennessee's Marc Mariani.
Pressure's on: Chad Clifton. The Packers' left tackle was named to the NFC's Pro Bowl squad this week, but it was a shaky pick. Clifton was benched in Week 2, and hasn't been dominant at his position while allowing at least nine sacks. He'll get a chance to prove his worth in Sunday's must-win game against Chicago, when he will be matched against ferocious Bears defensive end Julius Peppers. When they lost at Chicago in Week 3, the Packers committed a franchise-record 18 penalties for 152 yards, with Clifton guilty of three of the infractions. At least this time he'll have the home crowd on his side.
My road to Super Bowl 45 goes through…New Orleans. An impressive victory at Atlanta on Monday night clinched the playoff spot that assures the Saints will defend their Super Bowl crown in the postseason. Yet heading into the finale against the Bucs, there's still a chance (slim, because the equation includes Carolina winning at Atlanta) the Saints can win the NFC South title and the No. 1 seed. In any event, New Orleans (11-4) looked playoff-ready during its gritty performance on Monday night. It was the latest example of how the Saints have had to gut out some wins this season, contrasting the string of blowout victories last season. And unlike the superb efficiency Drew Brees demonstrated last season en route to Super Bowl MVP honors (34 TDs, 11 INTs during the regular season), he's taken more chances while trying to overcome key injuries around him and thrown 21 picks — second-most in the league, after Eli Manning's 24. The Bucs (9-6), meanwhile, cling to playoff hopes. First, they'd have to win their first game this season against a team with a winning record in a 1 ET matchup. Then they'd have to have the Giants and Packers lose late-afternoon contests. Regardless, it's been a successful season for the Bucs and their emerging second-year quarterback, Josh Freeman.
Quick slants: At least five teams that didn't make the playoffs last season will compete in this year's tournament, the 15th consecutive season the league has had that type of turnaround. If the Seahawks defeat the Rams on Sunday, though, it will mark the first time during the Super Bowl era (and perhaps much longer) that a team with a losing record earned a playoff berth…NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth, among the chorus criticizing the NFL for moving last Sunday night's Vikings-Giants game to Tuesday because of safety concerns due to the weather, suspects it could come back to haunt the NFL. Collinsworth says he thinks the league might have to defend itself legally if a tragic accident occurs while a fan is driving to a game in the future that is played despite threatening weather. His point is that the league has now set a precedent and expectation for bad-weather games, but the legal scenario sounds pretty far-fetched. What, is it April Fool's Day, already? NBC, by the way, still had a robust audience to watch the first Tuesday game in the NFL since 1946. With 23.7 million viewers, the audience was up 25% from last year's Week 16 matchup between Dallas and Washington....Ravens safety Ed Reed, whose two picks at Cleveland on Sunday gave him an AFC-high-tying six in just nine games this season, didn't practice on Thursday, listed with a neck injury. It's worth keeping an eye on, given Reed's history of neck problems.
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