The NFL playoff race is shaping up as the season comes to a close. However, the teams that won’t be in the postseason made some news-worthy actions this week as well.
With all the attention on who will emerge from the pack as a wildcard representative, how about putting some focus on who emerged from the pack in the Brady Quinn sweepstakes? Some of the bad teams actually hurt their chances by racking up some meaningless wins to salvage “pride” at the end of the year. Do I think Quinn is the next Brett Favre? Nope. Do I think he is going to be the top pick in the draft? You bet.
Brady Quinn has NFL quarterback written all over him. He has size and amazing mechanics to go along with some nice seasoning from Charlie Weis. What more could you ask for? Consider that this is a down year in the draft and you have a can’t miss 1st pick. With the current crop of rookies having such immediate impacts, you knew it was going to be on the downward part of the cycle for NFL prospects this season.
With Detroit and Oakland battling it out to be the worst team in the league, I thought I would examine how Quinn would fit in if chosen by either team. Starting with the Lions, I think he fits in wonderful here. He has an oddly similar situation to Carson Palmer. They both would have Jon Kitna as their mentor and wealths of young talented wide receivers, not to mention a recent history of ineptitude. I think he would fit in wonderfully. As for Oakland, they have alot of money invested in Aaron Brooks so it is hard to say what direction they are going in. Having Brooks was the reason they passed on Leinart in last season’s draft, does lightning strike twice?
Other mediocre teams made noise this week, starting with the Green Bay Packers. How could you not be happy for Brett Favre? Granted, you would have liked to see him make one last playoff run. Seeing him win his last game in front of all the Packer-loving cheeseheads was something great to see. Aside from that game, it was good to see the Packers at least field a respectable team down the stretch. Seeing the Packers with 7 wins most likely exceeded expectations for even the most loyal Green Bay fan.
How about Derrick Brooks? Fresh off not being selected to the Pro Bowl, Brooks seemed much more inspired against a pitiful Cleveland squad. His 21 yard interception return for a touchdown not only secured the win for the Bucs, but gave everyone a reminder at why Derrick Brooks should be thought of as one of the best linebackers of all time. Yes, I did say all time. Anyone who disagrees with me obviously hasn’t kept up with the anchor of the best defense in the NFL over the last decade close enough. Brooks has done it all and, through it all, has persevered. The pieces to the puzzle keep falling off, but Derrick Brooks remains the same. There isn’t a Warren Sapp, a John Lynch, or even Simeon Rice for most of this season. That didn’t matter to Brooks, who has to be frustrated at the results of this season. Everyone should remembe how Brooks took less money to stick around because he wanted to bring the Bucs organization one last championship. In case you’ve been under a rock this season, the Bucs aren’t anywhere close to that. The season looked promising at the beginning, with a young team returning intact after an 11-5 season. However, the Bucs were decimated with injuries and forced to play a grueling schedule. Somewhere in that, people forgot about Derrick Brooks.
The Houston Texans have 3 wins over teams with winning records, but they only have 5 wins total. To say the Texans are unpredictable is a vast understatement. However, those wins aren’t as impressive when you consider that 11 games on the schedule are against teams with a winning record. Going 3-8 against winning teams isn’t what I call success, especially after all the controversy concerning the draft. The Texans did do one thing right this year, they drafted Demeco Ryans out of the University of Alabama. Ryans has exceeded expectations at linebacker to at least make some Texans fans not feel so bad about not taking Young, Bush, or Leinart. Mario Williams hasn’t been a total lost cause, just more of a 3rd or 4th round pick level of play. How could people not see this coming? He didn’t dominate college other than the nonconference cupcake games at NC State.
Well, I just thought I would give some love to the rest of the league instead of focusing on the playoff race. It is Christmas isn’t it? Everybody needs a little love once in a while.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
Ron Jumper also writes for SportsOverload.com