Again, some good stuff mixed in with more disappointment and Caste nonsense. Jordy Nelson put on a show yesterday- just think what he could do if his coaching staff treated him like the superstar he clearly is. It was also great to see the Patriots finally get back to targeting their superstar TE- Gronk had been practically ignored the past few weeks. Finally, it's nice to know that the "Dream Team" won't be in the playoffs and the Bucs finished the season as the NFL's worst team.
However, there were more negative story lines yesterday. First and foremost, the Tebow saga has taken a decidedly un-magical turn. The naysayers are having a field day now, and who can argue with them? Thanks to the most idiotic offensive game plans since Knute Rockne invented the forward pass, Tebow looks horrible now. They run EVERY first down, and the vast majority of second downs. More disturbingly, Eric Decker-who was on the verge of a major breakout at mid-season, is almost never targeted now. Tebow locks onto Thomas, during his infrequent throwing opportunities. I don't care that they backed into the playoffs- Fox is a complete moron, and Tebow has now been typecast as a "gimmick" player who "can't play" QB, just like all those brilliant "analysts" kept telling us. And, of course, Decker becomes the latest white WR whose immense talents will simply be wasted by a league whose coaches are supposedly devoted to winning.
Toby Gerhart was injured yesterday, so didn't get to close out the season on a high note. Of course, he may still have a chance to make his mark early next season, but we all know he could average 200 yards rushing per game and still be relegated to his quota of 2-3 touches as soon as AP returns. In the same game, it was comical to see Lovie and co. pulling out all the stops to prevent Jared Allen from breaking the sack record. At one point, they had four guys blocking him. Of course, his own black coach couldn't figure out how to move Allen around, in order to give him a better chance to break the record. I think we all know that there will never be a black Brett Favre, willingly falling down on the field and handing a record to a white player on the opposing team. Also, Hillis evidently suffered another injury. I'm sorry, but how can we deny that he's injury prone at this point?
Even I was shocked that Welker didn't lead the league in receiving yardage. The Patriots certainly weren't as interested in helping their players set individual goals as the Saints were. I don't care what anyone says- that team blatantly pads Brees' stats, week after week. They have a first and goal from inside the five, and routinely don't even try to run the ball. The Packers do a lot of this as well, which pads Rogers' stats. You don't see the Patriots do it as much, and certainly the legendary Norv Turner never does it, thereby robbing the truly great Philip Rivers of an untold number of short, cheap passing TDs.
How does one explain the fact that Matt Flynn, in only his second NFL start, shattered the all-time Packers' records for passing yards and TD passes? If Aaron Rodgers is incomparably great, how can Flynn do something that he, HOFer Bart Starr, and future HOFer Brett Favre never did? I think games like this should give all of us pause when we credit one player for a team's success. Rodgers is very, very talented, but clearly the system, the line and the receivers have a great deal to do with his success. I don't know whether we can say quite the same thing about Brees (certainly the Saints' receivers, outside of Graham, are mediocre), but we can safely say, I think, that neither Brees nor Rodgers could put up the numbers Philip Rivers manages behind that line, with that moronic offensive system.
Bottom line- QBs continue to get more credit and more blame than they deserve. This is what bothered me about the ridiculous Tebow-mania. He didn't really do much to earn individual praise, but because of the nineteenth century offensive system he's mired in, there is very little he can do individually. Now, he's going to be blasted again and that isn't fair. Fox will face virtually no criticism (after all, he "led" his average team to the playoffs with a QB who "can't play") and Tebow will need every bit of "magic" he allegedly possesses in order to even stay competitive against the Steelers.
I'll be rooting hard against the Steelers and Ravens in the playoffs, but the only teams to truly root for, imho, are the Texans and the Patriots.