2009 NFL Regular Season Ends, Takeaways Before the Playoffs

1) Ray Rice is my favorite player in the game currently.  Not only did he play for Rutgers (a team I love), but he has single handedly energized Baltimore’s offense, and given the team great hope in a year when its once mighty defense has staggered. He has combined for 2000+ yards of the Raven’s 5600 (about a 500 yard increase from 2008), the first Raven’s player to do that in a long time. He’s also 5’8″.  Unfortunately, I think his breakout year might be his best, he’s a guy who is ever improving but not unstoppable like AP–as teams get to review his footage in the off season, they’ll be able to counter him more effectively.  Until then, though, I will continue to enjoy the explosive little man.

2) Blowouts suck.  Everyone loves to see their team blow out a divisional rival (all is well in Jerryworld today), but there were by my count 7 blowouts this weekend.  How boring!  This seemed like a lot to me until I looked it up–there were 6 last year, 6 in ’07, 5 in ’06, and 5 in ’05–but regardless of the relative commonplace occurrence of blowouts, they make for terrible football.  Considering that the NFC playoff picture was settled and the AFC playoff picture was all but (any team but the Jets, Ravens, and Colts needing miracles of ineptitude to make it in), the last week before the playoffs continues to be the most boring.  I’m not sure how to change this–will two more weeks really make a difference?–but it seems that the regular season again ends on a blah (unless you like the Ravens, Jets, or Cowboys).

3) Next week is rematch heaven, and I am not sure if it’s good.  On the one hand, I think Cowboys-Eagles will be the best of all the rematches.  Philly goes back to Dallas with a score to settle against a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since before Michael Cera’s career (lame analogy, but it has been 13 years), but a team that stomped them last night.  Bengals-Jets or Cardinals-Packers could be promising, or not.  All it takes is one repeat, and I think the Arizona-Green Bay picture looks ripe for it, to make the rematch “disappointment, pt. 2.”  Despite the relative high probability of a team losing twice (3 reversals seems like too much for me), I have the feeling this is more of a product of point 2 rather than point 3.

4) The NFL needs to drop all these new hitting rules, or get very serious about creating and enforcing rules to prevent concussions.  During the ridiculous Vikings-Giants blowout, Osi Umenyora’s facemask touched Brett Farve’s helmet to trigger a roughing the passer penalty.  What?  That is the most incidental and non-damaging hit possible against a helmeted player.  These rules penalize good defenses while assuring no safety for the quarterback.  If you’re serious about keeping the QB safe, make him wear better protection, including a concussion reducing helmet.  Otherwise, teams are (slightly) less incentivized to go for the sack while quarterbacks who are sacked illegally gain no protection from the rule.  Considering sacks are up this year any way (invalidating half my argument?), maybe the kind of changes the NFL needs to make is to mandatory gear, not inscrutable rules and foul calling.

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