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The object is simple. Build a 53 man roster out of active (non-injured) NFL players. Each team must be represented at least once. So, anyone want to play us?

Starters in Bold

QB Drew Brees Peyton Manning Tom Brady (3)

RB Chris Johnson Steven Jackson Adrian Peterson Ray Rice (4)

FB Le’Ron McClain Leonard Weaver (2)

WR Andre Johnson Larry Fitzgerald Calvin Johnson Miles Austin (4)

TE Dallas Clark Antonio Gates Jason Witten (3)

OT Joe Thomas Jake Long Jared Gaither Damien Woody (4)

G Jahri Evans Chris Snee Carl Nicks (3)

C Nick Mangold Jeff Saturday (2)

DT Jonathan Babineux Kevin Williams Vince Wilfork (NT) Jay Ratliff (NT/3-4 DE) (4)

DE Jared Allen Dwight Freeney DeMarcus Ware (3-4 OLB) Elvis Dumervil (3-4 OLB) Justin Smith (3-4 DE) (5)

OLB Daryl Smith Thomas Davis Brian Cushing (3)

MLB Patrick Willis (3-4 MLB) Ray Lewis (3-4 MLB) Lofa Tatupu Brian Urlacher (4)

CB Darrelle Revis Charles Woodson Brandon Flowers Leon Hall (4)

S Troy Polamalu Nick Collins Jairus Byrd Tanard Jackson (4)

K Sebastian Janikowski

P Shane Lechler

KR Joshua Cribbs (WR)

PR DeSean Jackson (WR)

Many people around the NFL whose reports I believe and opinions I respect say that there is an almost 100% chance that the NFL’s schedule will expand from 16 to 18 games in the near future, with some saying it could happen for as soon as the 2011 or 2012 season. Accompanying the expansion would be the shortening of the NFL’s preseason from 4 games to 2. We all know the reasons why this is potentially a good thing, more money, more football. Even as a huge football fan, I wouldn’t like this move and here are some reasons why.

More stress on a player’s body- I know what you’re thinking, but there aren’t anymore games being added, just two games now count. That’s not the case. You’re taking away the two games from the preseason where starters only play about a quarter or two, and turning them into regular season games, where starters play four quarters. They also play them a lot harder and a lot more physically because they do now matter. It’s going to shorten careers, increase injuries, and increase potential post-retirement injuries more than you think and this is already a sport where careers are short, injuries are widespread, and post-retirement injuries are already a huge issues, especially when you consider head/neck injuries. Going along with this, players may play each game with less intensity, to avoid injuries, and/or we will see more tired players in the playoffs, leading to worse performances in the playoffs.

Cheapens accomplishments- 4000 yards passing, 30 passing touchdowns, 10 receiving touchdowns, 10 rushing touchdowns, 1000 rushing yards, 1000 receiving yards, 2000 rushing yards, these are all impressive NFL milestones. If we add an 17th and 18th game, suddenly those accomplishments are easier to achieve, cheapening the value of the accomplishment. This is a major slap in the face to everyone who has achieved those accomplishments in the past, in 16 game seasons, or even back when there were only 14 games. 16 games to 18 games is an increase of 12.5%. Making the season 12.5% longer makes it that much easier to reach any given milestone.

1972 Miami Dolphins- It’s bad enough that the 1972 Dolphins got to pop champagne in 2007 when the Patriots lost in the Super Bowl, even though the Pats did match and surpass (at one point) their record of a 17-0 undefeated season. With an 18 game regular season, that would mean you’d mean 21 wins in a row for a perfect season. Forget it. That’s not happening. Lengthening the season would have a reverse effect on teams like the 1972 Dolphins as opposed to the effect it has on 2000 yard rushing seasons like Chris Johnson’s. It’s going to make it seem like the accomplishment is actually greater than it is, however great it already is. Lengthening the season makes the 12.5% harder to go undefeated in the regular season and 10.5% harder to do it through the playoffs, and this doesn’t even account for the fact that the Miami Dolphins did it with 14 games in the regular season. I hate to take shots at the 1972 Miami Dolphins, but it makes it that much harder for anyone to do what they did and that’s not really fair to today’s players.

Messes with the scheduling process- It’s a minor one, but I love how the NFL’s schedule process works. 2 games against all 3 of your division opponents, 8 games against teams in two other divisions, randomly chosen, and the other 2 games against teams in your conference that finished in the same spot in their respective division the year before. I love it. How can you add two more games? It messes it up.

Each game counts for less- With 18 games, each and every game is going to count for less. Each win becomes less valuable. I love how the NFL makes sure every game counts with a 16 game schedule. It’s not like the NBA with 82 games or the MLB with 162. There are 16 NFL games and each and every one of them is about as important as a playoff game. Adding 2 more games hurts that. Each game now is 12.5% less important.

Overall adding 2 more games will water down the NFL. It will make milestones that once meant something mean less. It could make players approach each game with intensity, both to avoid injuries and because each game now counts for 12.5% less. It will also increase the likelihood of major injuries and potentially lead to sloppier playoff performances from even more exhausted players. It changes the meaning of a perfect season. Oh, and it ruins the symmetry in the scheduling that I love about the NFL, but that’s not as important as the other stuff. 

There has been a lot of talk about NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell possibly suspending Ben Roethlisberger indefinitely in the wake of the recent sexual assault charges that has been accused of. That would be ridiculous. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty. Roger Goddell should not go out and suspend Ben Roethlisberger just because some girl cried rape. Granted, I do not know anymore about the case than anyone reading this does, but I know he has not been convicted and in this country that makes him a free man.

Roger Goddell could want to suspend him for hurting the league’s image, but imagine how hurtful to the league’s image would it be if Goddell were to suspend Big Ben, the Steelers were to miss the playoffs because of it, and then he were to be proven innocent. Roger Goddell would look like one of the biggest idiots in the world. David Stern didn’t suspend Kobe when he was going through his rape trial, and that process was even further along than Big Ben’s. Why? Imagine how stupid he would have looked for suspending Kobe, destroying the Lakers for at least a season, only to see Kobe be proven innocent. In addition to being wrong against the principles of this country, it would have made him look foolish.

Big Ben does not, as is commonly believed, have a history of questionable activity. The question activity normally mentioned, not wearing a helmet on his motorcycle and crashing (yes, stupid, but that doesn’t make him a bad person) and a previous rape allegation from last summer, an allegation that was proven false. Where exactly is the questionable activity?

Of course, there are going to be the people who bring up race in this issue. Roger Goddell suspended other black athletes when they were going through legal trouble, but not Big Ben who is white. This is definitely a case of someone shoving race issues into a place where it should not be. Let’s take a look at some of these previously suspended black athletes.

Pacman Jones

2005 arrested for assault and felony vandalism

2006 arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication

2006 misdemeanor for spitting in a woman’s face

2007 speeding in an unlicensed car

2007 caused a shooting at a Las Vegas night club

2007 suspended

Chris Henry

2005 speeding, marijuana possession, driving an uninsured car without a driver’s license

2006 illegal gun concealment and aggravated assault with a firearm

2007 supplying alcohol to minors

2007 DUI

2007 suspended

Tank Johnson

2005 illegal weapons possession

2006 aggravated assault, resisting arrest

2006 possession of unregistered firearms

2007 jailed for 10 counts for illegal weapons possession, 120 days in jail

2008 suspended

Michael Vick

2004 allowed his truck to be used by men who were selling marijuana

2005 had sexual relations with a woman without telling her he had genital herpes

2006 flipped off fans

2007 indicted on chargers of illegal dog fighting

2007 suspended

I really don’t think you can argue that Big Ben’s past “offenses” are anywhere near as bad as what these people did. Yes, they are all African-American, but they happen to also all be thugs. Ben Roethlisberger is not a thug. He has never proven himself to be a thug. He does not merit a suspension unless he is convicted, or at the very least, indicted of the charger.

This offseason has already been a crazy one for trades in the NFL as guys like Antonio Cromartie, Kerry Rhodes, and Anquan Boldin have switched teams. The amount of trades this offseason has already surpassed the number of trades from the entire last offseason, but most likely it’s not done. The Eagles are the most stacked team in the league at the quarterback position, with star starter Donovan McNabb, top young backup Kevin Kolb, and former NFL star and wildcat Michael Vick, but earlier this week they put all three on the trade block (in hopes of getting some picks to fix other parts of their team) and the rumors have not stopped swirling since.

I think if any of these quarterbacks are traded, it will be either be Michael Vick or Donovan McNabb. Kevin Kolb is the only quarterback on their roster that is under contract for 2011. Coach Andy Reid is a quarterback’s coach. He’s not going to let his team go into 2010 without a solid plan in place for 2011. Kevin Kolb, because of his age and contract length, could probably get more value for the Eagles in exchange, but he’s not going anywhere. Now, Donovan McNabb makes a lot of sense to trade. He could leave as a free agent in 2011 for nothing so they might as well trade him, knowing they have other solid quarterbacks on the roster, and pick up a pick in the 25-40 range in the process. Now, where could McNabb go?

St. Louis Rams:

The Rams are going to target a quarterback with the first pick, most likely Sam Bradford, but Bradford would be best if he sat in the bench for a year behind an accomplished starter. Bring in McNabb and that solves that problem. The issues, as a rebuilding team, do they really want to bring in a quarterback for only one year if they had to give up the 33rd pick in the process. 

Probability: Very low

Cleveland Browns:

Mike Holmgren is in charge of this team and would love to get his hands on a guy like McNabb with experience in the West Coast style offense that the Browns run. However, like the Rams, the Browns are rebuilding and McNabb would probably not resign after this year so I doubt they would give up a 2nd rounder for a quarterback for one year. Plus, the Browns already are paying Jake Delhomme 7.5 million for next year. That’s a lot of money in one position.

Probability: Low

Oakland Raiders:

This is one of the more prominent rumors out there with the Raiders trading Nmandi Ashmouga and their 38th pick to the Eagles for McNabb and Asante Samuel. The fact that that rumor is out there so prominently makes this more likely than the Browns and Rams combined. This would make a ton of sense for the Raiders. They always give up picks that could help them in the future for veterans with expiring contracts that make them only a little better (see Richard Seymour, Kamerion Wimbley). Plus, McNabb is like 100 times better than JaMarcus Skittles. 

Probability: Possible

Buffalo Bills:

The Bills’ name is out there as a possible destination, but McNabb has basically said that he doesn’t want to go there. They could make sense. Their supporting cast isn’t awful, but playing in the cold in Buffalo is a notorious deterrent to quarterbacks. I can’t see this happening because Buffalo wouldn't want McNabb for just one year.

Probability: Very Low

San Francisco 49ers:

This one makes sense. The Niners are quietly building a solid supporting cast by the bay, but the quarterback position is still a bit of a question. The Niners could be attractive enough to McNabb that he would likely resign there for the longterm, but this rumor isn’t out there very much. Also, the Niners’ don’t have a pick in the top 42 (other than the 13th and the 17th which are too high), so they would also have to trade something else to go with their 49th pick and I don’t know if that will be enticing enough to the Eagles. This could happen, but it could be complicated.

Probability: Don’t count on it

Arizona Cardinals:

I am surprise this one does not get very much hype out there. They have one of the strongest supporting casts in the league on offense with guys like Beanie Wells, Larry Fitzgerald, and Steve Breaston and they run a type of offense that fits McNabb’s arm well so they could resign him longterm. If I were them, I would definitely consider trading the 26th pick for McNabb and a later pick. This one makes more sense than any deal out there.

Probability: Most likely

Minnesota Vikings:

The Vikings are the only team on this list that McNabb has actually said he would like to play for, but they have repeatedly told the media that they are willing to give Brett Favre as long as possible so, unless Favre announces his retirement and they belief him, this deal is nothing more than smoke to try to get Favre to hurry up with his decision and come back to workouts.

Probability: Don’t count on it

Restricted free agency. Most NFL fans have heard of it, but have never really quite needed to know what it means. After all, so few players were actually restricted free agents that fans could just assume that it meant that they were a free agency, but their original team had both the first and last say as to whether or not they would be part of the team the next year. This offseason, it will be a big deal. There is about a 99.9% chance that there will be no salary cap next year and that will come with a few rules. Teams that made the final 8 in the playoffs can only sign as many free agents as they lose. There is no maximum or minimum to your payroll, as long as you meet the minimum salary figure for all of your players. And, instead of players becoming restricted free agents if their contract runs out after 3 years with their original team, they will become restricted free agents if their contract runs out after 3-5 years with their original team. And all of a sudden, there will be a lot more restricted free agents, so I believe it is important for the fans to know what exactly that means.

Restricted free agency works like this. There is a certain amount of time a team has to give their restricted free agent a tender. If they don’t, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent. The team can choose from 4 different tenders, each is worth a certain amount of money, which has yet to be announced for the 2010 NFL offseason. The first one, worth the most, is a 1st/3rd tender. The 2nd, worth the 2nd most, is a 1st round tender. Continuing to fall in value, the 3rd is a 2nd round tender. And the least valuable is the so called default tender.

Now, any team can sign these restricted free agents after they have been tendered. However, to sign someone with a 1st/3rd round tender, you must give up a 1st and a 3rd round pick. To sign someone with a 1st round tender, you must give up a 1st round pick, and so forth. To sign someone with a default tender, you must give up a draft pick that equals the round the player was drafted in, with a maximum of a 3rd round pick. To sign someone with a default tender that was undrafted, you don’t have to give up anything. Then, the original team has a week a match the offer their restricted free agent receives. They can choose to match the contract, or let him walk and take the draft picks. 

11. Outside Linebacker (4-3 only)

Not quite as much of a versatile defensive player as a middle linebacker, and you can get away without great outside linebackers as shown by the fact that neither the Saints nor the Colts have good outside linebackers this year. Their main job is cleaning up the messes of the defensive line and chasing down running backs out of the backfield. They can also be blitzed.

Best in the league: Daryl Smith, Brian Cushing, Lance Briggs

12. Tight End

They may be more important to rookie quarterbacks than veterans, but most quarterbacks enjoying having a good safety value tight end who can catch the ball over the middle. Their job description includes both catching the ball like a receiver and blocking like a lineman, but because of their hybrid type status, they aren’t extremely important.

Best in the league: Jason Witten, Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez

13. Center

The most underrated position on the field, there’s a reason that Peyton Manning does so well, he has had the same center snapping him the ball for his entire career. That definitely helps. They are also the smartest offensive linemen in terms of football knowledge, oh, and they also have to do some blocking. Just look at what happened to the Eagles after Jamaal Jackson got hurt for the first time in many seasons, Donovan McNabb looked uncomfortable and the entire offensive line fell apart.

Best in the league: Jamaal Jackson, Jeff Saturday, Nick Mangold

14. Safety

They aren’t necessary to a good team, but they certainly help. The Steelers have given up 10 more points per game over the last 2 years in games in which safety Troy Polamalu missed than in games he played in.

Best in the league: Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Nick Collins

15. Kick Returner

Nothing energizes a team more than a kick return touchdown, and they also give you good field position, the only issues, the difference between good ones and bad ones in terms of yards per return is minimal and even a good one will only score like once or twice a year. Their career length also isn’t very long.

Best in the league: Joshua Cribbs, Clifton Smith, Johnny Knox

16. Punt Returner

Basically the same as a kick returner, but because of the situation, they often get a much smaller chunk of yards per return. 10 yards is good. Their career doesn’t last long either.

Best in the league: DeSean Jackson, Joshua Cribbs, Quan Cosby

17. Full Back

Not all offenses even use one, but having a big fullback that can run and catch the ball, in addition to block, adds an extra little element to your offense.

Best in the league: Leonard Weaver, Le’Ron McClain, Ovie Mughelli

18. Punter

A good punter can make a good defense even better by setting them up with good field position, the only issue, they are only used when struggling so if you’re a good team, they aren’t extremely necessary.

Best in the league: Shane Lechler, Andy Lee, Ben Graham

19. Kicker

They can kill you or not kill you, the issue, one who doesn’t kill you one game, can kill you the next. They are extremely inconsistent.

Best in the league: Matt Prater, Sebastian Janikowski, Stephen Gostkowski

20. Special Teams

There’s a reason all the special teamers are the backups of other position that you can risk getting hurt. Much love for the position, it takes a lot to suck up your pride and play special teams, but they aren’t super important. You can only really tell when they are bad and miss a tackle. The holder and the long snapper are a little bit more important, but not much.

Best in the league: Tim Shaw, HB Blades, John Wendling

1. Quarterback

If you have a bad quarterback, one who throws a lot of interceptions, you most likely are not going to make the playoffs. If you have a decent game manager, you can win but you need a hell of a support cast. A good quarterback, not only creates more yards than any other position on the field, but also opens up lanes for running backs, makes his receivers look better, and keeps his defense off of the field and rested, making them better. In fact, 18 of the 19 last Super Bowl winning quarterbacks made a Pro Bowl before winning the Super Bowl. Eli Manning is the only one to not make the Pro Bowl before winning the Super Bowl and he eventually made it the next year. There’s a reason for that.

Best in the league: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers

2. Offensive Tackle

A franchise quarterback isn’t much good if he’s on the ground every play. Not only do sacks and hits disrupt a quarterbacks rhythm, but too many over a long period of time can cause a young quarterback to develop David Carr syndrome and a veteran quarterback to develop Marc Bulger syndrome. Offensive Tackle also support the running game as well.

Best in the league: Joe Thomas, Jake Long, Jared Gaither

3. Defensive End/ Rush Linebacker

Well if hits can do things that bad to quarterbacks, it only makes sense that the guys who hit them are of great importance. It is an old and time tested football saying that in order to win you need a quarterback, to protect your quarterback, and to get to the other teams quarterback. Defensive ends are not the only players who accumulate sacks and hits and pressures, but they are the only ones whose first priority is getting to the quarterback. Rush Linebackers are essentially the same, only they line up at different spots on the field in different schemes and more often have to drop back into coverage. Nonetheless, rush linebackers normally lead their team in sacks, pressures, and hits.

Best in the league: Jared Allen, DeMarcus Ware, Dwight Freeney

4. Running Back

Well if you don’t have a franchise quarterback is the next best thing in terms of gaining yards. Franchise running backs don’t win you Super Bowls like quarterback do, but they certainly help. They can tire out the opponents defense and open up passing lanes for the quarterbacks and also catch passes and even do some blocking.

Best in the league: Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson

5. Wide Receiver

Quarterbacks can win without great wide receivers, in fact some can even argue that quarterbacks make great wide receivers, but it certainly will help any quarterback to have a speedy deep threat and a reliable possession guy at his disposal to help him guide his team. Just ask Eli Manning how he likes playing without Plaxico Burress (10-11 including playoffs since Plax shot himself in the leg).

Best in the league: Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Vincent Jackson

6. Cornerback

That being said, if you have a great #1 cornerback, he will nullify the opposing #1 wide receiver. Darrelle Revis shutdown every #1 wide receiver he faced last year. Don’t think that didn’t win them some games. If your quarterback is forced to essentially play 10 on 10 without his best receiver, he’s going to struggle.

Best in the league: Darrelle Revis, Charles Woodson, Leon Hall

7. Nose Tackle (3-4 only)

Other than rush linebacker, no front 7 position is more important to a 3-4 than nose tackle, even more than a defensive tackle to a 4-3. They don’t put up huge stats, but having a huge shield of a nose tackle than can occupy two blockers and also move around some makes everyone on the defense better.

Best in the league: Vince Wilfork, Kelly Gregg, Shaun Rogers

8. Defensive Tackle/3-4 Defensive End

Essentially the same position, only a 3-4 end lines up a little farther outside, but the job description is the same. Be a big body against the run and also get to the quarterback if you can.

Best in the league: Albert Haynesworth, Kevin Williams, Haloti Ngata

9. Middle Linebacker

Slightly more important in the 3-4, but they are the heart and soul of a defense and while they aren’t the most important, they are usually they most outspoken and the most versatile defenders on the field.

Best in the league: Patrick Willis, Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher

10. Offensive Guard

Just two offensive tackles alone isn’t going to be enough to protect your quarterback, though guards are primarily designed to get the big defensive lineman away from your running back and are not as used against the pass rush because of their size and position on the field, and for that reason they are ranked lower than offensive tackles.

Best in the league: Jahri Evans, Steve Neal, Chris Snee

The Rooney Rule was established in 2003 by the NFL as a type of affirmative action. The rule basically said that an NFL team must interview a minority candidate for an open NFL head coaching job or Senior Football operation opening. At the time the rule seemed like a good idea. There were only 2 minority coaches in the NFL (Tony Dungy, Herm Edwards) at the time the rule was put in place and the rule has definitely done its job.

However, it has also had some negative consequences. Though it does help minorities, as do most things that help minorities, it can also be viewed as racist in its own sense. A possible interpreted message from the rule is that minorities need to be treated differently on the basis of their skin color because of the rough history of minorities in America. Though, I can not actually speak as a minority (and I would actually like to get the opinion of someone who has dealt by being an ethnic minority in America on this issue) but I do think that treating anyone any different on the basis of their skin color, whether it be better or worse, is a bad thing. Unless there were a rule put in that required a team to interview a non-minority before hiring someone, and I do strongly believe (correct me if I’m wrong) that a bunch of a people would have something to say against that rule, but unless there were a rule that like, I don’t think that there is true ethnic equality in the NFL.

Another negative side effect of this rule is tokenism. It doesn’t always happen, but a lot of times a minority coaching candidate will be brought in just to satisfy the rule. Correct if I’m wrong, but I don’t think tokenism is a good thing. Nowhere has this been more glaring than with the recent hiring of Pete Carroll by the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll had basically had a deal in place to coach the Seahawks, a deal which leaked out of the Seahawks organization and into the public before it could be made official, but before the deal could be made official, the Seahawks had to satisfy the Rooney Rule. So, they interviewed Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, an African-American, who, for whatever reason, maybe he didn’t read the news that said Carroll had all but had the job locked up. A day later, Carroll was hired, and Frazier was left as just a token.

The NFL is now at a point where the negatives of the Rooney Rule now outweigh the positives. There are currently 7 minority head coaches in the NFL who identify as minorities, or 22%. In America, currently 31% of the population identifies as an ethic minority. I know those numbers aren’t exactly the same, but I think its at the point where you can say the Rooney Rule has served its purpose in terms of giving minority coaches their fair representation in the NFL coaching pool. With a higher percentage of today’s coordinators and assistants being minorities, I think we can expect that number to increase in the near future. 2 of the last 3 Super Bowl winning coaches were African Americans and that number has a chance to grow to 3 out of 4 if Jim Caldwell and the Colts win this year over the Saints. In 2007, both Super Bowl head coaches were African Americans. I think it’s safe to say that the amount of good that the Rooney Rule still needs to do for the NFL is less than the negative side effects that come with a rule like the Rooney Rule. I just hope the NFL and the world in general can find a way to be as a racially equally as possible and I think eliminating the Rooney Rule might do that for the NFL. Again, I may be wrong with my assumptions and I would definitely enjoy hearing different opinions on this matter and on race issues in general, especially from someone with experience dealing with issues of race. 

Even with only one week left in the NFL season, the NFL playoff picture is still about as complicated as human cloning with so many different scenarios involving seeding order and even just who makes the playoffs. Hopefully I can make sense of it here.

AFC

Indianapolis Colts

Already clinched #1 seed in AFC

San Diego Chargers

Already clinched #2 seed in AFC

New England Patriots

If they win and they’re the #3 seed, if they lose, they would need a Cincinnati loss to get the #3 seed. If they tie, they would need Cincinnati to also tie or to lose. The farthest they can fall is #4.

Cincinnati Bengals

If they win and New England doesn’t (loss or tie), they are the #3 seed. If they tie and New England loses, they are the #3 seed. Any other scenario, the are the #4.

New York Jets

If they win, they are in the playoffs and get the #5 seed. If they lose, they would need, the Ravens to lose, the Steelers to lose, the Broncos to lose, the Texans to lose, the Jaguars to lose or tie to get the #5 seed. If the above scenario happens with the exception of the Ravens winning, they would get the #6 seed. Anything else and they are out of the playoffs.

Baltimore Ravens

If they win, they are in the playoffs. If they win and the Jets lose, they get the 5th seed. If they lose, they would need the Steelers to lose, the Broncos to lose, the Texans to lose, the Jaguars to lose or tie to get the 6th seed.

Denver Broncos

If they win, they need either the Jets or Ravens to lose, plus one other team from the following group: the Jets, the Ravens, the Steelers, and Texans, to make the playoffs. However, they can actually lose and get the 5th seed. If everyone else alive in the playoff hunt, except Miami, also loses. They can get the 6th seed if everyone else alive in the playoff hunt, except Miami and one other team, also loses.

Houston Texans (I did forget this, thanks Eric, my bad)

They need a win and either the Ravens and Broncos or the Jets and Broncos to lose to make the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers

They need a win and the Texans and Jets to lose, the Texans and the Ravens to lose, or the Jets, Ravens, and Broncos to lose to make the playoffs.

Jacksonville Jaguars

They need a win and one of the following scenarios to happen

1. Steelers, Broncos, Texans and Jets all lose.

2. Steelers, Ravens, Broncos and Jets all lose.

3. Steelers, Texans, Jets and Ravens all lose.

4. Jets, Ravens, Texans and Broncos all lose.

5. Ravens, Broncos, Steelers and Texans all lose.

Miami Dolphins

They need a win and the Jets, the Texans, the Jaguars, and the Ravens all to lose

NFC

New Orleans Saints

Already clinched the #1 seed in the NFC

Minnesota Vikings

Can clinch the #2 seed with a win and a Philadelphia loss or tie, or if they tie and Philadelphia losses. If they lose, and Arizona loses, they are in the #3 seed. If they lose and Arizona wins, they are in the #4 seed.

Philadelphia Eagles

Can clinch the #2 seed with a win or a Minnesota and Arizona loss or with a tie and a Minnesota loss or tie and an Arizona loss or tie. If they lose, they drop down to the #5 seed. If they lose and Green Bay wins, they get #6 seed. If they tie and Minnesota wins, they get #3 seed. They can’t get the #4 seed.

Arizona Cardinals

Gets #2 seed with a win and a Philadelphia and Minnesota loss. Gets #3 seed with a win and if Philadelphia or Minnesota loses. All other scenarios they get #4 seed.

Dallas Cowboys

Gets #2 seed with a win and a Minnesota and an Arizona loss. If they win and Minnesota ties or wins and Arizona loses or ties, they get #3 seed. If they win and Arizona and Minnesota win, they get the #4 seed. If they lose and Green Bay wins, they get the #6 seed. If they lose and Green Bay loses, they get the #5 seed. If they tie and Green Bay wins, they get the #6 seed.

Green Bay Packers

If they win they get the #5 seed. If they tie and Dallas losses, they get the #5 seed. Anything else and they get the #6 seed. 

Wow! My head hurts!

Chris Henry has died today at age 26. The majority of reports of his death have all talked about his hardships and his failures. In the car today, thinking about Henry’s death and how short life can be, and about untapped potential, a song game on the radio that I felt described the situation well, especially the first few lines. The song is “Leave Out All the Rest” by Linkin Park.

I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest

I am not going to talk about the mistakes Henry has made in his life, I am not going to go in detail about his off the field failures, or his untapped potential. I’m not here to judge him and his life at all, because I didn’t know him. I am just going to say Henry was a person, with friends, family, talents, shortcomings, and aspirations, just like everyone else, and leave out all the rest because as a human being that is what he deserves. I’m sure there are many, many people out there who will miss Chris Henry and for those people I wish the best and for him I wish that he may rest in peace.