January 1, 2013

Week 17 Recap and Lady Blitz 2012 Season Awards

The regular season dust has finally settled with some most-excellent thrills, chills and general excitement in the final week of the 2012 season.  There's so much to talk about from this year, and I'll be doling out some acorns in due time during the postseason, especially during that two week Pro Bowl lull before the Super Bowl.  Honestly, they might as well ask the linemen to play paddy cake at the line of scrimmage in Hawaii-- what a joke!  (Also, I think it's more than a little hilarious that the Kansas City Chiefs, who went 2 - 14 and earned the first draft pick of 2013, have more Pro Bowl entries than the Atlanta Falcons, the #1 seed in the NFC with a 13 - 3 record.)

In the meantime, here's your Week 17 recap during which this gal ended things on a high note by going 12 - 4 in her picks.  I'll also feature a big idea, team and/or player each week to keep things interesting.  This week: The Lady Blitz 2012 Season Awards. But first, the good stuff:

Week 17: The Good Stuff
  • MVPeterson - I tried to find a succinct way to express just how unbelievable and impactful Adrian Peterson's performance has been from start to finish this season here, and then I ended up with this whole other post instead.  And in a strangely poetic way, I could appreciate the way AP fell just 9 yards short of the all-time single season rushing record on Sunday.  With the clock running down inside the red zone in a tie game with the Packers, the Vikings could have taken [an admittedly controversial] chance by trying to get Peterson to the endzone for the record, albeit risking overtime and a lost playoff spot.  But they went for the W instead of the once in a lifetime accolade, and AP stayed just as classy as ever.
  • The Year of the Rookie - I know I've been writing about this phenomenon almost weekly so I apologize for any tedium, but the thing is, 2012 rookies continue to be worth talking about.  This will be the first postseason in the modern era in which three rookie QBs will head to the playoffs (Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin and Russell Wilson, who've earned a stunning combined season record of 31 - 17), and we saw a number of other tremendous rookie performances on Sunday.  Washington RB Alfred Morris put on a clinic to send the Redskins to their first division title in over a decade.  Buccaneers breakout RB Doug Martin rounded out his banner year with 160 yards against the NFC-best Falcons.  Carolina LB Luke Kuechley shut down the Saints running game and ended the year with 15 more tackles than any other player in the league.  And Vikings kicker Blair Walsh sent his league-best 35th field goal through the uprights to get Minnesota to the final wild card spot.  The way things are going, 2012 will be a class for the ages-- if only Kansas City had played poorly enough to get in on this draft last year.
  • Chuck Strong - While I'm name-dropping those who will no doubt earn accolades in the post-season, how about Coach[es] of the Year Chuck Pagano and Bruce Arians?  I get misty pretty much every time Chuck does an interview these days, but perhaps none so far has been as eloquent as his post-gamer on Sunday after the Colts' big win over the Texans.  The fact that these two men and their staff have been able to get Indy this far after going 2 - 14 last year is a feat in itself, but it's been truly inspirational to watch a community rally around a team like the Colts fans have this season from creating their own #Chuckstrong campaign to even shaving a couple cheerleaders' heads in solidarity.  With all of the violence on and off the field and scandals in other corners of the NFL this year, the Colts have been refreshing to say the least.
  • Nailed It!: My Best Week 17 Prediction - Although it was a roller coaster year in the picks, I'm happy to say I closed out with 12 - 4  this final week of the 2012 regular season, putting my final record at 165 - 90 - 1, or 65%.  That's in part thanks to the Colts' win against the odds with Chuck Pagano back on the sidelines on Sunday: 
    • "The Colts have far less to play for until next week, but Coach Chuck Pagano will finally be back on the sidelines for the first time since being diagnosed with leukemia three months ago.  When push comes to shove, I'm willing to take a chance that Indy's will can overcome Houston's skill during this final emotional week of the regular season at Lucas Oil."
 Week 17: The Bad Stuff
  • The Saints' Worst Defense Ever, Literally -  If there are any among you who do not believe in karma, look no further than the New Orleans Saints' defensive performance in the aftermath of the bounty scandal this season.  It only took until the second quarter on Sunday for this unit to allow the most yards in NFL history, a record they eventually shattered by over 300 yards when their date with the Carolina Panthers, starring [Memphis Tiger alum!] DeAngelo Williams, was over.  Though DC Steve Spagnuolo's squad showed some signs of progress in the second half of the season, the bottom fell out on Sunday with Carolina putting up over 530 yards--250 of those in rushing--and 44 points to outduel Drew Brees' nevertheless steady offense.  On the year, New Orleans' defense placed 31st or 32nd in all major defensive categories: total, pass and rush yards allowed per game as well as points allowed.  Having nowhere to go but up in 2013 is an understatement.
  • Tony Romo's Week 17 Tradition - So that I won't be the total jerk I want to be here, I should caveat this with reports that Tony Romo apparently suffered a rib injury about midway through the Cowboys' loss to the Redskins on Sunday night.  But if you want to talk about the psychological impacts on performance in football, look no further than Romo's record in win-or-go-home Week 17 performances: he's now 1 - 6 in those games, and his hangups came out to play yet again this year.  Despite having a relatively great year, especially throwing only three interceptions over the past eight weeks, he tossed three ugly ones in Washington that took the Cowboys out of scoring range on two occasions and negated any chance of a fourth quarter comeback.  The great Romo can giveth or taketh away wins in a way few other QBs do these days, unfortunately he continues to be much more of a taker when it matters most.  At some point, you really are only as good as your record, and despite the Cowboys winning 65% of their regular season games on the whole during Romo's tenure, they only have three playoff appearances and one postseason win to show for it.
  • The Ghost of Fail Mary - Many have speculated whether that bonkers Week 3 game between the Seahawks and Packers would have any impact on the postseason 14 weeks later.  (If you need a refresher, the replacement officials botched a call on the last play of the game that should have been ruled a Packers interception but was instead called a game-winning TD for Seattle).  Sure enough, it had the impact that Green Bay feared. The Seahawks' fortunes haven't changed, but the Packers have one fewer wins in the books than they should have.  Had they gone 12 - 4 instead of 11 - 5 this year, they'd get a first round bye and home field advantage in the second round of the playoffs.  Instead, they have to play the Vikings in likely their last home game this season, and if they win that one, they have to do battle with the well-rested 49ers in the divisional round at Candlestick Park instead of in the chilly comfort of Lambeau.  That, my friends, is the short end of the stick.
  • Shanked It!: My Worst Week 17 Prediction - Don'tcha hate it when you don't trust your instincts?
    • "If I wasn't concerned with padding my stats, I'd absolutely take a chance on this Vikings team that continues to surprise everyone with unexpected wins week after week.  Heck, Minnesota almost beat the Packers at Lambeau a few weeks ago by putting Adrian Peterson 212 yards closer to Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record... Even so, the Packers have won 10 straight and are playing for a bye week in the very competitive NFC playoff picture, and we can't have it both ways."

 Week 17 Feature: The Lady Blitz 2012 Season Awards
On this first day of 2013, it is time to officially close the books on the 2012 NFL regular season with a few Lady Blitz awards.
  • Best Preseason Prediction - Zooming out from the week-to-week game picks, I actually did pretty well on my preseason win-loss predictions and outlooks for many teams.  I picked 17 teams (53%) within one win of their actual record and a total 23 teams (72%) within two wins of their record.  Not too shabby considering 3 out of the 6 worst teams in the league last year are now in the playoffs!  Of the 4 teams I got on the nose (Dolphins, Bengals, Jaguars, Bears), my Dolphins assessment was most prophetic in a not-so-obvious way as the Jaguars:
    • "Cheering for Miami at this point is most suitable for people who still subject themselves to M. Night Shyamalan movies.  There may be a few intriguing glimmers here and there, but you will ultimately be disappointed by how this one ends."
  • Worst Preseason Prediction - As mentioned throughout this post, there were definitely some big, mostly pleasant surprise contenders who emerged this season.  There were also some real stinkers, most universally known as the Eagles.  I missed 5 teams (12%) by 5 wins or more: those who did much better than I expected were the Colts, Broncos and Vikings.  Those who did much worse were the Chiefs and Eagles.  Most of those were understandably surprising, but shame on me for underestimating the Broncos, a team that was already pretty good even before Peyton Manning showed up that indeed had an easy schedule:
    • "While Peyton Manning's presence is a welcome change at QB, the Broncos need another year to rebuild under No. 18's complicated schematics and an easier schedule to rise back into contention."
  •  The Lady Blitz Kiss of Death - Earlier in the season I cursed Joe Flacco's Ravens into a slump by praising his complementary style of QB play.  Baltimore fans will be all to pleased that I have since paved the way for them to claim the division crown once more by praising the Steelers' "Next Man Up" responses to a litany of injuries.  Heck, I even recalibrated my playoff picture at midseason to show that Pittsburgh would not only make the playoffs but win the AFC North with Baltimore barely eking out a wild card spot.  Within the week, the Steelers were down to their third string quarterback and preparing to lose to the likes of the Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers.
  • Biggest Posts of the Year - It's been a solid inaugural run with this blog.  While I cannot speak to the likelihood of spambots and my editing self running up the numbers on this site's traffic, we've topped 2,300 hits in the first nine months of this blog's operation coming from three different continents.  The top 3 most viewed posts of the year have been:
  • Super Bowl Prediction, The Third - At the beginning of the season, I had the Packers beating the Ravens before their respective injury and morale woes (and horrible officiating) sent them further down in the playoff seeding.  At midseason, I had the 49ers over the Texans, as they looked like the two most balanced and complete teams in the league.  I'll stick to my San Francisco guns since they have one of the "easier" roads to New Orleans than most of the NFC and may be best suited to stomp the Dirty Birds dead in their tracks.  But the Texans (like the Colts, Bengals and Ravens) just have too many questions on offense for me to be able to keep sprinting alongside Peyton Manning or Tom Brady.  I think the Pats will earn their sixth trip to the Super Bowl and their third loss.
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