Week 17 Recaps

• Minnesota looked like a contender against a Giants team that quit on Coughlin. 44-7 is embarrassing for the Giants organization.
  
• The Jets locked up a playoff appearance by killing the Bengals who rested starters, 37-0. Sets up #4/#5 rematch in Cincinnati next week. Will the Bengals be able to turn it on that much in one week with a few different players?
  
• Packers continue to look like a scary team as the Cardinals rested. Another #4/#5 rematch on Sunday, again in Arizona. I'm leaning toward the Cardinals because Warner can be that good and defense will play tougher with regular guys.
  
• Dallas' defense dominated the high-powered Eagles for a 24-0 home shutout. The Eagles have a lot of work to do in order to beat them Saturday night in Dallas. Dallas' pass-rush is the key to beat the Eagles: Don't give Donavon time to get it 60 yards downfield to Jackson for the home run.
  
• The Colts and Caldwell made some interesting choices again this week. Played starters until Wayne and Clark got 100 catches then rested everybody as the Bills rolled them up. Manning is good enough to win at least one playoff game by himself. I look for the Colts to win their first game.
• Big shout to Bills' Fred Jackson, attended Coe College. First player to rush for 1000 yards and have 1000 yards on kickoff returns. Also, 4th all-time with 2,516 combined total yards.
  
• Niners beat the lowly Rams, who finished 1-15 and assures them the first pick in the 2010 draft. Singletary isn't quite there yet and Spagnuolo has a long way to go. Niners will hope for playoffs next year, Rams hope for 6 wins.
  
• Cutler's season is finally over. 7-9 is not what Chicago had in mind, considering nearly all Bears fans foresaw 10+ wins and playoffs. They need to get Cowher in for Lovie. Start there. Lions got two wins. Better than none.
  
• Carolina finished strong with John Fox and Matt Moore deserving credit. Got to 8-8 and were out of it very early. The Saints continued to struggle, but started Mark Brunell and rested other key players. Still can win in the playoffs, but will depend on opponent. Don't see the Super Bowl for the Saints.
  
• Atlanta finished 9-7 for the first back-to-back winning seasons EVER. A noteworthy stat for wrong reasons. Glad to see they finally got some consistency with Mike Smith and Matt Ryan, who needs to stay healthy. Bucs showed flashes a couple times but have a long way to go. I wonder about possible coaching changes.
  
• The Ravens did enough to get the wild-card and beat the Raiders.
  
• The Chiefs pulled out the upset on the road as the Broncos ended the season on a tumultuous note. 6th team to miss the playoffs after starting 6-0. Keep McDaniels around, but Marshall might not fit there.
  
• The Titans climbed out of 0-6 to finish 8-8. Best season of 2009: Chris Johnson . Finished with 2006 rushing yards (5th all-time) and 2,509 yards from scrimmage (new NFL record). Vince Young played well, 8-2 in his starts. Fisher kept them playing hard, solid head coach.
  
• The Browns continued auditions for the Holmgren regime. Got the Jags 23-16, who finished a disappointing 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the 2nd straight year. Questions about Del Rio are in order. The Jags need to move the team.
  
• Steelers will be sitting at home. Again. They missed the playoffs the year after winning the Super Bowl in 2006. Dolphins should have made the playoffs. Beat the Jets twice and still finished behind them.
  
• The Zorn era is over. Redskins never had a chance this year. Spent $100 million on one player and got 4 wins. They need a new head coach, a new quarterback and more quality lineman. Portis is on the decline and will need to be replaced as #1 back - great career, love the guy and his game.
  
• Houston got over .500 for the first time EVER. An even more dubious stat than the Falcons. A decent year from Kubiak, Schuab. Andre Johnson might be the league's top receiver. Worst news of the day: Wes Welker tore knee ligaments and is out. One of my favorite players and I fear this will hurt the rest of his career.