NFL Round-up, Week 17

Final Conference Rankings
The final conference standings are the exact same as last week’s standings. The AFC West and the NFC East tied with the best over-all records but the NFC East sent two teams to the play-offs as opposed to one from the AFC West. The number of teams sent to the play-offs are in parenthesis.

AFC West 36-28 (1)
NFC East 36-28 (2)
AFC North 34-30 (2)
NFC South 33-31 (2)
AFC South 32-32 (2)
NFC North 29-35 (1)
AFC East 28-36 (1)
NFC West 28-26 (1)

Big Game
Carolina Panthers 44, Atlanta Falcons 11

The big game this week turned out to be a big blow-out. DeShaun Foster rushed for 165 yards, including the longest scoring run in team history, and Jake Delhomme threw for two touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a 44-11 rout of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Worst Game
St. Louis Rams 20, Dallas Cowboys 10

The Cowboys found out about 20 minutes before kick-off that they had been eliminated from play-off contention and then went out and played with no heart. It was a bad end to a bad season for the Cowboys who entered the season with high expctations.

Big Upset
Minnesota Vikings 34/Chicago Bears 10
The Bears’ starters saw limited action but anytime a division winner loses by 24 to a team that fires it’s coach it’s a big upset.

Miami Dolphins
Miami achieved its longest winning streak in 13 years Sunday with a 28-26 victory over New England. Like most play-off bound teams the Patriots played their starters sparingly but it doesn’t take away from the fact that the Dolphins ended the season with the NFL’s longest active winning streak at 6.


The Dolphins started the season 3-7 under new coach Nick Saban, then didn't lose again.

"We are not in the playoffs, but it was not all in vain," Saban said. "This group was a team for the last six weeks of the season, for sure."

Ricky Williams, who scored before first-string defenders left in the second quarter, rushed for 108 yards, one week after gaining 172.

"It shows how important it is to stay behind your team even through the hard times," Williams said. "Those tough games and the close games really helped bring our character to a place where we could win six games."

No doubt the end of the 2005 season will leave Dolphin fans greatly anticipating the beginning of the 2006 season.

Firing Line

Ready … Aim … You’re Fired! Donald Trump would have loved to be an NFL exec today as coaches across the league met their doom. One coach retired and five were canned. Here they are;

Houston Texans owner Bob McNair fired Dom Capers, the only coach the expansion Texans ever had, Monday after Houston finished its season with an NFL-worst 2-14 record and the worst record in franchise history.

The New Orleans Saints acknowledged the troubles Jim Haslett faced through the hurricane-disrupted 2005 season, and praised the coach for an admirable job under the circumstances.

After they fired him, that is.

Mike Martz was fired as coach of the St. Louis Rams on Monday after a 6-10 season in which he missed the final 11 games because of a heart ailment. That illness did not stop him from repeated clashes with the front office, the major reason for his dismissal with a year left on his contract.

Green Bay's Mike Sherman lost his job Monday after a 4-12 season, leaving the future of quarterback Brett Favre in doubt.

Vowing Monday to pick a replacement quickly, owner Zygi Wilf continued to place his stamp on the franchise he and his fellow investors purchased this summer, by firing Vikings head coach Mike Tice less than an hour after the Vikings picked up their 9th win of the season.

Kansas City Chiefs head man Dick Vermeil announced his retirement Sunday. It is Vermeil’s third retirement and the Chiefs are the first team he has coached and not taken to the Super Bowl.

Looking Ahead, Wild Card Weekend

Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This is a great match-up for Tampa Bay. Washington has the quarterback with play-off experience but Tampa Bay has everything else. My Pick - Tampa Bay

Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots Jacksonville may have the better defense but I’ll take the Patriots offense, special teams, coaching and most importantly play-off experience. My Pick – New England

Carolina Panthers @ NY Giants
The Giants have a great running back in Tiki Barber but I think the Panthers will be able to slow him down and put a ton of pressure on Manning. You know the Giants are hoping that this game won’t come down to a field goal. My Pick – Carolina

Pittsburg Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have been the surprise team of the season this year but the clock is about to strike Midnight for Cinderella. Cincy may have an explosive offense but the Steelers have a defense that can slow it down and a pounding offense that will over power the Bengals. My Pick - Pittsbug