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Ring Of Honor

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A culture of violence. Denver Broncos second-year cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in a white limousine about two hours after the new year struck. Such a tragedy. There aren't many 5-foot-8 cornerbacks that find success in the NFL; But his four interceptions put him in the top 20 in the league this year, quite an accomplishment.

I certainly don't profess to know anything about Williams' personal life or the kinds of people he associates with. But, with the thug culture that so many of these multi-million-dollar athletes dabble in, it's actually surprising more of them don't get shot. Maybe some of them will take a lesson from this. We can only hope.

Divine intervention and the Bengals? Consider this. Not only did kicker Shayne Graham miss a game-winning 39-yard field goal that looked like someone swatted it out of the air at the last second, but the Bengals also botched a PAT against Denver last week that would have sent that game to overtime. Had they turned that tie into a win, they would be in the playoffs right now.

My biggest problem with the NFL Network. There are lots of reasons to not like the NFL Network's coverage of NFL games. Their cutaways from games are jarring, their replays are often from bad angles and come too seldomly and too late, and the video looks like an amateur operation. Oh, and 80% of America can't even see the games. This past weekend I got to see the game with the sound on for the first time. And it was dreadful. Bryant Gumbel's voice is simply too high to be calling football games. Heck, even Mary Carillo has a deeper voice than Gumbel. There's a reason TV and radio commentators generally have moderately deep voices; They sound good. Gumbel's is so off-putting that, after the first quarter, I shut off the sound.

Belichick to the Giants? I've now heard from two people that there is a rumor circulating that send New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick to the New York Giants. I suppose it's possible that the genius would leave New England. But I would think New York is the last place he would want to go. The guy just wants to coach; He doesn't want to deal with the media, and that would be half his job with the Giants. I could see him just about anywhere . . . except New York.

How bad is Eli Manning? Try this on for size. In the first period of their game against the Redskins, Tiki Barber had to call a timeout because Manning didn't realize the play clock had almost run out (in fact, it had run out, but Barber did a great job selling his timeout). If the Giants want to win the Super Bowl anytime soon, they need to drop the latest Manning experiment and start over. After three seasons it's clear this guy isn't going to lead them to the promised land.

Herm Edwards is not the coach he's cracked up to be. Sure, his Kansas City Chiefs lucked into the playoffs (they needed three home teams to lose on Sunday, two of them to teams with a losing record, and they all did). But it seems to me that guys like Larry Johnson and Ty Law are carrying them, with little help from the coach. Edwards left the Jets in a mess last year, but a good coach came in this year, got the most out of his guys, made some great coaching decisions, and led them to the playoffs. I'll be very interested in watching how these two coaches fair on the road next weekend.

Hot NFLer of the year? Since Jim blessed us with his bad taste, I'll give you mine. I made the colossal mistake about seven years ago (you'd like to think these kinds of things had a shelf life) of saying aloud that Al Davis wasn't bad looking in the early '60s. Jim and Jim Allen haven't let me live it down. While he looked much different than this, this is what I've now gotten stuck with. And, I dare say, his wrinkled face still gives Alex Smith's crooked face a run for its money.

My awards:

Coach of the Year: Eric Mangini, New York Jets. Mangini took a less-talented team than it was last year and made it a playoff contender. Yes, they also had a soft schedule; But he gets the edge over the Saints' Payton because Payton had all the talent a new coach could hope for; And besides, Mangini had to coach in the AFC.

Rookie of the Year: Vince Young had a great year, but I'm going with New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston. Without doing any scientific research, I'm guessing Colston had the best rookie season of any seventh-round draft pick ever. He was top-10 in the league for TD catches (8), he broke 1,000 yards receiving, and he did it all starting just 12 games. Conventional wisdom says that rookie receivers don't have years like this, and certainly receivers drafted last by their team.

League MVP: It has to be LaDainian Tomlinson. Surely the San Diego Chargers running back will be the unanimous choice for this award, given he set the NFL single-season records for touchdowns and points and led the league in rushing yards. Special nods should also go to San Francisco running back Frank Gore, who came out of nowhere to lead the NFC in rushing, and to New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who helped resurrect a franchise that was floundering, and who led the league in passing yards.

I'm not going to pick games this round, because I think any of these teams could lose to any of the teams they're playing. Instead, I'll keep on with what I've done all season:

Chances to win the Super Bowl:

1) Baltimore Ravens (3:1). They're three wins away from the championship and their defense is rolling. I still think their offense does enough to win, which is how they won the Super Bowl in 2000.

2) New England Patriots (4:1). They did what no one in seven weeks had been able to do: Beat Vince Young. Their matchup against the Jets is a scary one, disciple vs. mentor.

3t) New Orleans Saints (5:1). They're the best team in the NFC, and they'll have to play at most one game on the road before the Super Bowl. They are afraid of no one, which is what happens when you're playing with the house's money.

3t) San Diego Chargers (5:1). Homefield advantage through the playoffs is a big deal. But I think they can be beaten by a team with solid tackling and a good defensive front four, two things that a couple AFC playoff teams have.

5) The rest of the NFC teams (minus the Giants) (8:1). I can't tell you which team has a better shot: The Bears, the Cowboys, the Eagles or the Seahawks. But I think they each have a better shot than the Colts.

Wild card picks: Let's get right to next week's games: 

AFC
Kansas City (9-7) at Indianapolis (12-4): The Colts have an awful run defense so expect Larry Johnson to run wild. But the Colts are 8-0 at home and the Chiefs have not beaten a team with a winning record on the road. In addition, the Chiefs are 5-7 in the AFC, with two of those wins against Oakland. Indianapolis has too much offense and has beaten a much higher caliber of opponent. Colts 31, Chiefs 20. 

New York (10-6) at New England (12-4): The Jets are an amazing story, since a lot of people thought six wins would be an accomplishment. They beat only one team with a winning record, but that was at New England. The Patriots have a lot of injuries, but don't bet against them in the playoffs. Bill Belichick beats his protégé Eric Mangini. Patriots 23, Jets 10. 

NFC
Dallas (9-7) at Seattle (9-7): Two dogs, each having lost three of its last four. The Cowboys actually played better on the road (5-3) than at home (4-4), while the Seahawks' home advantage of a year ago is gone. The Cowboys suck less. Cowboys 27, Seahawks 24. 

New York (8-8) at Philadelphia (10-6): God, is the NFC pathetic. Neither of these teams would be in sniffing distance of the playoffs in the AFC, but the Eagles are the hottest team in the conference and could make a run. Jeff Garcia continues his resurrection. Eagles 24, Giants 14. 

Gag: What a choke job by the Denver Broncos in losing at home in overtime to San Francisco and being bounced from the playoffs. They led the Niners 13-0 and the roof caved in. Mike Shanahan's decision to re-insert Jay Cutler into the game proved to be disastrous. Cutler threw an interception returned for a touchdown that allowed the 49ers back into the game. 

It was obvious that Shanahan was playing for the future when he benched Jake Plummer in favor of Cutler with five games left and Denver at 7-4. Cutler went 2-3, with wins over Arizona (big deal) and Cincinnati (when the Bengals missed a game-tying extra point). As lame as Plummer is, I think he would have had enough to get Denver into the playoffs. As it is, Shanahan better hope that Cutler is truly his quarterback for a long time, or his 2006 decision will go down as bone-headed. 

Gag 2: After the Broncos, put the goat horns on Cincinnati Bengals kicker Shayne Graham, who missed a 39-yard field goal that would have beaten Pittsburgh; the Steelers wound up winning in overtime, 23-17. Had Graham made the kick, Denver's loss would have meant a wild card spot for the Bengals. 

"That's just another game we shouldn't have lost to another team we feel were better than," said Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. The Bengals lost their last three games and all season blew games they could have won. Cincinnati lost five games by six points or fewer, including a killer to Tampa Bay (4-12). They also led San Diego by 21 points before allowing 42 points in the second half. The Bengals have no one to blame but themselves. 

Lucky? The biggest beneficiary of the Cincinnati and Denver meltdowns was Kansas City. With their 35-30 win over Jacksonville, the Chiefs secured the sixth AFC playoff spot. The Chiefs also needed Tennessee to lose, so it took an unlikely trifecta for K.C. to sneak in. What is doubly strange is that the Bengals, Broncos and Titans all were home. 

Simms strikes again: Finally, I get to add another to the long list of Phil Simms homoerotic comments. In talking about a season-long NFL picks contest with fellow CBS analyst Boomer Esiason, Simms said: "Boomer's throwing that love out to me, being nice. I don't like it. I like a little friction." Ever hear of lube? 

Scarecrow: From Cris Collinsworth, calling the Giants-Redskins game for the NFL Network: "I'll never forget going into the [NFL rookie] scouting combine, where they have all these players and they want to bring you in and get your height and weight, but what they really want is to see you in your underwear. They want to see what kind of body you have. How do you think I fared in that?" Collinsworth was a rail-thin 6-5, 190-pounder. "I went from a first-round draft pick to the second round." Said colleague Bryant Gumbel: "Ray Bolger come to mind?" 

Ugh: Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman was pathetic Sunday night against Green Bay. He played a half and was 2 for 12 with three interceptions! A corpse could do better. I would not be shocked to see Brian Griese replace Grossman in the playoffs. This is not a good situation for a team that has everything but consistent quarterbacking.

Boo-hoo: The Patriots are upset on what they thought was a cheap shot (a low block) from Tennessee receiver Bobby Wade on safety Rodney Harrison that knocked Harrison out of the game. Normally, I am sympathetic to players who get hurt, but Harrison is one of the worst cheap-shot artists I've seen and he thinks nothing of going after an opponent's knees or head. There is a reason he is the most-fined player in history. Karma can be a bitch. 

Awards: 

MVP: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego. His 31 touchdowns set a standard that will be hard to top. Runnerup: Peyton Manning. The Colts' defense is that of a 3-13 team, yet the Colts won 12 games because they had Manning behind center. 

Coach of the year: Eric Mangini, Jets. The Jets were 4-12 and Mangini has them playing well heading into the playoffs. Runnerup: Sean Payton, New Orleans. Nice job in winning the division, even though it's in the NFC. 

Hot player of the year: Alex Smith, San Francisco (left). The face, the body, the personality. Wow! Runnerup: Brian Moorman (right), Buffalo punter. What an athlete and so sexy. 

Top 5 

1. San Diego (14-2): Can Marty Schottenheimer finally end his playoff jinx? 

2. Baltimore (13-3): They still struggle on offense but play great defense and special teams. 

3. New England (12-4): All they do is keep winning. 

4. Indianapolis (12-4): How they won 12 games with that sieve of a defense is an eternal mystery. 

5. New York Jets (10-6): Chad Pennington looks reborn at quarterback.