2008 Woodie Awards
Inside the Lines: An NFL season worth remembering
J. Andrew Horvath
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Sports
So, the NFL season is over, and like Peyton Manning in that MasterCard commercial, you're probably pretty bummed. It's going to be a long time until autumn returns and the leaves change to their fiery reds and burnt oranges.
So, until then, we'll make due with March Madness, baseball, and hockey (once every blue moon when you actually get to watch it). However, right now, the Pro Bowl is close enough in the rearview mirror to reflect on football as a whole.
From year to year, there is always some degree of disruption and fluidity in the NFL's standings. That is the nature of today's NFL: nothing lasts very long, whether it's winning or losing. Only half of the teams that made the postseason in 2006 did so this year.
This, however, brings us all to the unpleasant part (at least for me, anyway). This is the old "here it is, I botched pretty much every call I made" part of the season. So, with no further adieu, let's get to it.
First, examining my own picks for the divisional and playoff races, one can come to one unequivocal conclusion: I have no idea how to prognosticate.
The AFC was hit and miss.
The Chargers, as predicted, did drop a few games but did not get swept by the Broncos (quite the opposite, actually). They also won the division, and their defensive leader did not drop that far in the sack category from his performance a year ago.
The NFC, predictably, was quite a mystery. The NFC East had three teams reach the playoffs, none of which were my pick, the Eagles. Interestingly, despite finishing in last place in the East, the Eagles were still 8-8.
The Lions, despite the bold words of Jon Kitna, did not reach ten wins, falling short at 7-9 (close to the 8-8 mark I predicted). However, even though predicting division winners is about as easy as predicting how long Britney is going to stay out of rehab, there is something a little more difficult.
Predicting the individual awards properly is somewhat of an accomplishment…one that unfortunately evaded me this season.
So, until then, we'll make due with March Madness, baseball, and hockey (once every blue moon when you actually get to watch it). However, right now, the Pro Bowl is close enough in the rearview mirror to reflect on football as a whole.
From year to year, there is always some degree of disruption and fluidity in the NFL's standings. That is the nature of today's NFL: nothing lasts very long, whether it's winning or losing. Only half of the teams that made the postseason in 2006 did so this year.
This, however, brings us all to the unpleasant part (at least for me, anyway). This is the old "here it is, I botched pretty much every call I made" part of the season. So, with no further adieu, let's get to it.
First, examining my own picks for the divisional and playoff races, one can come to one unequivocal conclusion: I have no idea how to prognosticate.
The AFC was hit and miss.
The Chargers, as predicted, did drop a few games but did not get swept by the Broncos (quite the opposite, actually). They also won the division, and their defensive leader did not drop that far in the sack category from his performance a year ago.
The NFC, predictably, was quite a mystery. The NFC East had three teams reach the playoffs, none of which were my pick, the Eagles. Interestingly, despite finishing in last place in the East, the Eagles were still 8-8.
The Lions, despite the bold words of Jon Kitna, did not reach ten wins, falling short at 7-9 (close to the 8-8 mark I predicted). However, even though predicting division winners is about as easy as predicting how long Britney is going to stay out of rehab, there is something a little more difficult.
Predicting the individual awards properly is somewhat of an accomplishment…one that unfortunately evaded me this season.
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