Saturday 21 January 2012

5 Things That The 2011-2012 NFL Season Taught Us

To the hardcore NFL fan, the 2011-12 season ends Sunday night with the NFC Championship game. I tend to agree with TSN Radio host, Simon Tsalikis, The Super Bowl is for the masses and watched by everyone who claim to be a football fan but can't name the two conferences that the two teams represent. As a result, I would like to list 5 things that happened this season and what we should learn from them. Although you may not agree with some, they will serve as "food for thought" going into the 2012-13 NFL season.

1. Defense Wins Championships. In a season where Drew Brees and Tom Brady each threw for 5000 + yards, defense will be the key to winning the two conference championships and the Super Bowl. The Giants were able to stop the Packers with a solid defensive effort and should be able to keep the 49ers in check. As for the Patriots, it is too early to tell if their defense is worthy of a championship. If they have their hands full with the Ravens offense, the Pats will not win the Super Bowl regardless if the Pats wins the AFC Championship.

2. After Further Review, Move The Replay Booth. Isn't the point of the replaying questionable calls on the field is to get the calls right?



After the blown call on the field and in the booth by Bill Leavy regarding the Greg Jennings' fumble, the league has to start thinking about moving the booth upstairs; especially for games in the playoffs.

3. Pass Happiness. It will be interesting to see how many teams will model themselves after the Saints, Patriots, Packers and Lions in terms of passing on every down. Yes, the passing game is sexy and sells tickets but does it ultimately lead to hoisting the Super Bowl? Time will tell.

4. Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth, Rex. If Rex Ryan is going to run his mouth about winning the Super Bowl, he should have a team that can win games on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Ryan is suppose to be a defensive guru; however, the New York Jets defense was ranked 5th in the league. Hey Rex, get a defense that will win some games regardless of your offence and then start talking about contending about a championship.

5. Tebow Time Was Great But... Tim Tebow's season made for a sweet story; however, it has to be put into perspective. He was a quarterback for a team that played .500 football in an awful AFC West and struggled moving his offence down the field. Granted, he had an awesome day versus the Pittsburgh Steelers but that was one game. If the Broncos played the Steelers 9 of 10 games, Tebow would not have that type of game again. Will Tebow be able to improve for the 2012-13 season to be a NFL quarterback to the liking to the stakeholders of the Denver Broncos, especially John Elway.

Final Taughts:
  • If The Price Is Right. Rumour has it that the Habs wants to sign Carey Price for $7 million for 7 years. $7 million? Really? Most people are going to use Pekka Rinne as a benchmark to begin attaching a value to Price. I rather use Cam Ward as a measuring stick. If I'm the general manager of the Habs, Ward's $6.3 million cap hit is the maximum amount that I'm willing to offer Carey Price for 7 years. Remember, Ward has a Stanley Cup ring and both Rinne and Price has not reached a conference final yet.
  • Lebron Haters Waiting To Pounce. It seems that Lebron can't win with the NBA pundits and fans. James is truly dominating lately without Dwayne Wade but the haters out there are simply ignoring his efforts. They are waiting for fourth quarters in the playoffs to say, "You see, you see Lebron can't play with his teammates. The Heat can't come together when it counts. It's not Lebron's team". While I'll admit that the Heat is Wade's team, Lebron will be a better a 4th quarter player this post season. He has to. He has no other choice.

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