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NFL---NFL-2014 is about to be history and yet a few changes could occur at
the top of the National Conference standings during Week 16, for instance, the
11-3 Arizona Cardinals losing to the 10-4 Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night
places the two in a tie for conference and division best, while on Monday night
an American Conference North’s 9-4 Cincinnati Bengals loss to the now 11-3 AC
West’s Denver Broncos, and an AC North 9-5 Pittsburgh Steelers beatdown of the
AC West’s 8-6 K.C. Chiefs, positions the Steelers atop the AC North.
And, should the NC East’s current number
one, the 10-4 Dallas Cowboys, lose on Sunday to the AC South’s top team, the
10-4 Indianapolis Colts after a NC East’s number two 8-5 Philadelphia Eagles
crushing of the NC East’s 3-11 Washington Redskins on Saturday, the Eagles will
regain the NC East lead.
Too, atop the NC North today are the 10-4
Detroit Lions and the 10-4 Green Bay Packers. Respective wins or losses for the
two during Week 16 won’t change that, but the Packers have a better chance at
the win from Sunday’s challenge versus the NC South’s 2-10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
than the Lions have vs. the NC North’s 5-8 Chicago Bears on Sunday.
As if a division isolated from what the rest
of the NFL can accomplish in a season, there’s the NC South, not even leading
teams the 5-8 Carolina Panthers and 5-8 N.O. Saints, above .500---they are .393
and .385.
The AC is not as open as the NC for
turnabouts at the top. The AC West’s 11-3 Broncos, the AC East’s 11-3 N.E.
Patriots and the AC North’s 10-4 Indianapolis Colts can afford to lose their
Week 16 contests, since each has a three game lead over a second place team. The
Broncos will be facing the Bengals, the one AC division leading team that from a
loss on Sunday could give way to a now second place franchise, the Steelers,
should the latter crush the Chiefs on Sunday, meanwhile the Patriots probably
defeating the now NC East last place 3-11 N.Y.
Jets.
Broncos, Chargers---THE Denver Broncos 22-10 win over the S.D. Chargers was further
evidence that the former has a hard-to-stop running game and a consistently
crushing defense, and a QB who can make up for shortfalls in pass and red
zone-to-TD opportunities by making the conservative choice, the FG attempt, and
having the support of a kicker who doesn’t miss.
Some effective Broncos passing was still in
the mix with those repeated RB C.J. Anderson gains in yardage, notably the one
Broncos TD from a pass received by WR Demaryius Thomas, though the game’s
highlight will remain QB Peyton Manning bringing his offense squad within range
of the FG’s that kept insuring a Broncos victory, this as response to points put
on the board by the Chargers.
But key to what could be a Broncos win over
the Cincinnati Bengals this coming Monday is a Broncos defense that kept the
Chargers to 10 points, and kept the Buffalo Bills to 17 during the week before,
and the Chiefs to 16 week before that.
Manziel---TIM
Tebow, RGIII, now Johnny Manziel, college QB’s of great promise tanking in the
NFL---they have not been the only star athletes losing their mojo so quickly
in the NFL, and in mists of humiliation so thick it can seem like glue that
won’t go away.
Which underscores several questions, for
example, Why has the divide between college stardom and even a modest form of
NFL rookie success between so difficult for these athletes to
cross?
Is there a bridge they missed
seeing?
Have some ugly personality flaws and/or
absent skill-sets been in their way?
Has some PR exec made the mistake of
building expectations of the new guy that not even the best of the best could
reach in any professional sport?
Has a public too eager for there to be
superstars in their city caused the unreachable expectation, a set-up for
failure?
And, could blame rest with NFL team
management, with an HC and assistant coaches disliking the time and attention
placed on rookies touted as incoming saviors, often a distraction from
next-season preparation, and how about some teammates who weren’t anywhere near
early picks from college now resenting the incoming star?
So, where’s the snake, or snakes, that have
been living in the grass? One indication has been obvious: come into the NFL
super-cocky and you’ll sooner than later be dead meat, same result from
exhibitions of humility so obviously showbiz that viewers and teammates might
want to vomit repeatedly.
Too, the
one or two top defenders of an opposing team that a star college QB has to face
on a Saturday, with the remaining defenders being marginal, well, those one or
two are every defender that the QB faces in any NFL game, oops! Bengals 30,
Manziel’s Browns zero, zip,
Nada!
But those other factors listed here, to what
degree can they hammer away and pull the air out from under a rookie of promise?
This is something that the NFL should explore with great seriousness. Maybe
there are ladders that the fallen star can still climb, reaching highest
potential. Perhaps with imposed corrections the next top athlete transitioning
from college to professional football can give more, be more, can
succeed.
END/ml
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