I accidently fell asleep so some of these aren't going to age well, but oh well... I worked too hard for this to go to waste. The 2006 postseason is upon us, 14 teams attempting to go for the ultimate prize, the Super Bowl trophy. Obviously with that, there are many storylines that will be seen before and after these playoffs are finished. Here are some of the stories...
1. The first 21st century back to back Super Bowls championships is still very much on the table. The 1996 and 1997 Buffalo Bills were the last team to do it, but for those who have doubts about Setherick's Baltimore Ravens, erase them. They are armed with one of the best QBs in Paydirt right now, over 5000 passing yards, a 113+ passer rating, an excellent trade acquisition, and a 1800+ yard receiver. The defense, interception machine Elmer Mathews will make sure any ball in his direction is going in his hands. Excellent group of pass rushers that will find their way to their opponents QB. The roster is stacked, and even with loses to playoff contending teams during the regular season, there's no need to be concerned with this team. Easy Super Bowl favorite.
2. Can an NFC team break through and finally win a Super Bowl in the 21st century? Well... the Philadelphia Eagles are the number 1 seed and look to be the favorite team to make the Super Bowl. They might have taken a close to loss to the Baltimore Ravens during the regular season, but don't count them out yet. An underrated stat that the Eagles have is that they are one of the few teams with a decently balanced offense. An effective run game with Justin Sharpe being 1 of 5 1000 yard rushers this season, a solid pass game that doesn't allow many sacks and two 800+ yard receivers. The defense is a solid unit but aging. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, New York Giants, and Chicago Bears each boast solid units to also make a Super Bowl run, but do they have a strong enough unit to defeat the AFC heavyweights?
3. I didn't mention the Arizona Cardinals in the solid NFC teams. Here's the thing, the Arizona Cardinals, the heavyweight NFC contender, missed the playoffs. After 5 straight NFC Championship game appearances and 3 Super Bowl appearances, it's over. Not a bad season overall for them, just a lot more heavyweights in the NFC this year then in years past. I think the Cardinals, are just fine, one off year should not lead to the end of an era. Plenty of young weapons on this roster on offense. Defense is starting to age slightly but going after young talent in free agency, trade, and the draft should be the answer to keep this dynasty going.
4. The Greatest Show on Surf are at it again. The Miami Dolphins may not have pulled off the feet of their top 3 receivers leading the league in receiving yards like they did last year, but their top 4 receivers each surpassed 750 yards this season. All this while their QB led the league in passing yards and touchdowns again. Despite the slow start of the season, the defense picked up the pace for the rest of the season. Excellent trade deadline acquisitions improved the defense significantly. The defensive line may have take a step back in sacks this season, but still an intimidating roster to go up against. Despite the loss of Robert Ireland, the Dolphins managed to acquire Edward Turner to fill in the void, and 10 interceptions in 9 games with the Dolphins should make offenses think twice about passing towards his direction. A loaded roster and excellent regular season performance is nice, but the real reward, is a Super Bowl championship. And this season will mean nothing if they fall short again.
5. The Cleveland Browns rookie squad deserve a lot of respect for the product they put on the field. A 12-4 and just falling short of the AFC Division crown only means that this team will get better with experience and maturity. Rookie corners James Wright, Drake Renfro, Jay Higgins, and JJ Watkins already show plenty of promise as star defensive backs. Rookie Carey Sweet may have had inconsistencies with catching the ball but when the ball is in his hands, its a thing of beauty. Watch out for Cleveland, this team not only a force now, but they are contenders for the long run.
6. Super wild card weekend is full of wild card results. Plenty of upsets have happened in the past, and I think all of the wild card teams have a chance to take a victory. The Oakland Raiders have an underrated roster, they might have fallen short for the AFC division title, but they are not a bad roster. The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions could have the NFC North, but that titles goes to Green Bay, but that doesn't hurt their chances at a run towards the Super Bowl. Upsets do happen, and don't be surprised if you see one or two wild card teams in the conference championship games.
7. The days of the ground attacks in Paydirt are fading away rapidly. Last season, 7 RBs had at least a 1,000 yard rusher with several teams on the doorstep of having that 1,000 yard season. The Dallas Cowboys had the only running back with a double digit rushing TD season. The Colts averaged 174.3 yards per game just on their ground game. Eighteen teams averaged 100 rushing yards a game or more. This season, 5 running backs had a 1,000 yard season with only 1 team getting close to that number. And nobody had a double digit touchdown season. This year, the Philadelphia led the league in rushing yards per game with 133.3 yards per game. A 41 yard decrease from last season. And only 14 teams averaged 100 yards or more a game. It will be interesting to see how next season's ground game will go as the majority of teams are starting to lean towards the passing attack.
