Reunion Tours Put on Hold
One
of the neat things about player movement in the NFL is when they involve
quarterbacks returning to face their former teams. Sometimes, those
chess-matches turn into classics.
A
couple years ago, Brett Favre, donning Vikings purple, faced the Packers for
the first time in his career on a Monday night, a shootout the Vikings won,
30-23. Later that year he made his return to Lambeau Field and completed the
sweep in another barn-burner, 38-26.
This
year had the potential for many great reunion matches, but as is uncelebrated
life in today’s Roger Goodell’s NFL, injuries have put those rekindling games
on hold, perhaps for as long as four years.
Matt
Cassel broke his finger one week before he was set to return to New England to take
on his mentor and idol, Tom Brady. The Chiefs went with Tyler Palko, and the
result was a grisly 34-3 loss.
Jay
Cutler, who was having a stellar season for the Bears, broke his thumb earlier
this month, which means he will not be under center when the Bears travel to
Denver next Sunday. Fan reaction would have been intriguing, to say the least.
And
Sunday, Matt Schaub’s second career meeting with his former employer, the
Falcons, never happened because Schaub is on season-ending IR with a broken
foot.
Heck,
Kyle Orton didn’t make it more than one play against his former team the Bears,
as the Chiefs’ new backup dislocated his finger on his first throw.
Week 17’s All-Division Slate Needs To Go
I
have so many grievances to air with Roger Goodell, it’s hard to really know
where to start.
Did
anyone ever remember hearing Paul Tagliabue’s name mentioned when he was
commissioner? No, and that was a good thing.
But
among Goodell’s many fix-them-even-though-they’re-not-broken changes, perhaps
the worst is his idea to implement nothing but divisional games in Week 17.
His
thought process was that it would increase competitive play in the final week
and discourage teams from resting their stars in “meaningless” games. But in
reality, potential Wild Card showdowns and inter-conference classics make for
much better football.
The
primary reason for that is twofold. First off, last year was one of the most
boring Week 17’s in recent memory, and if you don’t believe me, just recall
what game was flexed into NBC’s prime-time slot: 7-8 St. Louis at 6-9 Seattle
for claim to the NFC Worst division title.
Secondly,
as we are seeing in recent years, the disparity between the haves and the
have-nots is far too great, and many divisions feature only one prominent team.
When you start wondering who teams like New England, Pittsburgh, New Orleans,
and San Francisco play in the last week, the answer is not pretty.
The
Patriots host the reeling Bills, the Steelers travel to Cleveland to face the
pitiful Browns, the Saints are home to the rebuilding Panthers, and the 49ers
visit the woeful Rams.
So
instead of a Week 17 chocked full of intrigue and juicy playoff-caliber
matchups, you have a bunch of division duds because series like Patriots-Jets,
Ravens-Steelers, and Broncos-Raiders all finished up by mid-November.
Instead
of those weak games, you potentially could actually have games with two teams in playoff contention, for example Jets-Raiders
(remember their 2001 Week 17 classic, with John Hall booting the Jets into the
playoffs with a last-minute 53-yard field goal?) or Texans-Ravens (these two
teams could be vying for a first-round bye).
But
those games were played in the season’s first half, meaning we will never know
how they might have played out in a season-finale with a playoff berth or a bye
on the line. The notion that Week 17’s were meaningless to many teams stemmed
from the Colts’ controversial decision to eschew perfection and rest their
stars instead, so fans had to suffer through watching Curtis Painter in lieu of
Peyton Manning.
Classic
Week 17’s in the past have almost all been predicated on great non-divisional
games and scenarios playing themselves out.
Who
can forget 2003, when the Vikings and Packers both entered Week 17 at 9-6, but
Minnesota controlled its own destiny for the division? The Vikes went to the
desert to play lowly Arizona and led 17-6, while the Packers were rolling at
home against the resting Broncos, 31-3.
Packers
fans knew their hopes were grim, but the Cardinals mounted a furious rally,
culminated by a last-second, 4th-and-24 Hail Mary touchdown pass
from Josh McCown to Nathan Poole to end the Vikings season and send Green Bay
into the playoffs.
Poole
was invited to Green Bay’s playoff game and hailed a hero, meaning he was on
hand to witness one of the more exciting postseason games in NFL history, which
ended on an Al Harris interception return for a touchdown in overtime against
Seattle.
In
2006, the race for the final AFC wild card spot proved to be quite thrilling,
again thanks to some non-divisional clashes.
The
Patriots thumped Tennessee while in the one divisional game of interest the
Steelers upended the Bengals in overtime, putting Kansas City in position to
claim a playoff berth against fellow-hopeful Jacksonville. In a high-scoring
affair, the Chiefs outlasted the Jaguars, 35-30, then waited to see what
transpired in Denver between the Broncos and 49ers.
Denver
would have clinched a playoff berth with a win, as they led Kansas City by a
game in the standings entering play, but were done in by former Bronco kicker
Joe Nedney in overtime, as the 49ers pulled out a 26-23 win, eliminating the
once-7-2 Broncos and elevating the Chiefs into the postseason.
And
in 2008, the Raiders went to Tampa Bay and upset old friend Jon Gruden, 31-24,
to help Philadelphia remain alive for a playoff spot. In what was billed as a
play-in game between old division foes Dallas and Philly, the Eagles romped,
44-6, in a lopsided affair not befitting of divisional rivals.
Time
to take your foot off the gas a little, Roger, and try and emulate your
predecessor as best you can. You might get a little more love from the fans and
players.
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