Travis Marmon
Although the New York Giants’ 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday was thrilling, it also marked the end of football season, which means I must return to being a bitter shell of a man for the next seven months. It is an odd feeling to regret the end of the season so soon after we almost lost the NFL year to a lockout. Thankfully, football was saved, and we were given a fantastic season to look back on. Here are some of the most compelling storylines of the season that almost wasn’t.
Passing Records Shattered
With the off-season drastically shortened, conventional wisdom said that offenses would suffer due to a lack of practice in their complex schemes. That thought process could not have been more wrong. Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s record for single-season passing yardage, while the Patriots’ Tom Brady and the Lions’ Matthew Stafford each eclipsed 5,000 yards as well. The two worst pass defenses in the league belonged to the teams with the two best records—the Packers and the Patriots—who got by with tremendous quarterback play. Meanwhile, rookies Cam Newton and Andy Dalton had Pro Bowl seasons of their own with no time to adjust to the NFL.
Unlikely Playoff Teams
Admittedly I’m biased, but what’s not to love about a franchise as bad as the Detroit Lions going 10-6 and making the playoffs? If they don’t appeal to you, what about the Houston Texans, making their first postseason appearance in franchise history despite having to play third-string rookie T.J. Yates at quarterback and suffering injuries to stars Arian Foster and Andre Johnson. Then there’s the Cincinnati Bengals, who entered the season looking like they would have three wins at most, yet wound up with a wildcard spot. First-year coach Jim Harbaugh led the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship game with Alex Smith at quarterback. It was the year of the underdog. And speaking of underdogs:
Tebowmania
At this point, even writing Tim Tebow’s name drives me crazy. Regardless of how I feel about him, it was fascinating to see the nation rally around an objectively bad quarterback (he completed 45.6 percent of his passes, threw as many interceptions as touchdowns and fumbled 13 times) as his team won games behind a defense that got almost no credit whatsoever. Tebow quickly developed one of the most irritating fanbases in sports history, which made it all the more satisfying for those of us that actually understand football to watch him be completely outplayed by Tom Brady on two separate occasions, including the playoffs. We made a villain out of the ultimate good guy because of his supporters. I doubt that Tebow will still be a starting quarterback two years from now, but he certainly is a star in the NFL.
The Colts’ Woes
With Peyton Manning recovering from neck surgery all season, the Indianapolis Colts started a revolving door of terrible quarterbacks in Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky. They finished with the worst record in the NFL, which in turn puts them in position to draft Stanford sensation Andrew Luck. In turn, this could lead to Manning leaving the team. No franchise is more of an enigma right now than the Colts, and no team will be more interesting to watch this coming season.