This year’s NFL season was exciting before it even began. Before the opening kickoff in the Giants vs. Cowboys game, before any meaningful tackle had been made or touchdown was scored, it was clear that the NFL season was going to be one for the ages. Bounty gate rattled the NFL and attacked it's core set of values and beliefs down to their very cory, while at the same time media became the Tim Tebow show. Peyton Manning was shipped to the Mile High City so that his successor, Andrew Luck, could take the stage and the Redskins traded away a bevy of picks for their heir apparent RGIII. Mario Williams became the highest paid defensive player ever and Calvin Johnson got the richest contract in NFL history. So it is clear that this past NFL off-season was almost as exciting as the season itself.
Starting in week 1 the NFL season was off and running. It was more exciting than ever before and football was back in the air. After week 1, many in the media were quick to anoint the Jets the kings of the AFC East simply because they thwarted the Bills. How funny that turned out to be as the Jets wound up being the laughing stock of the NFL. The Jets, as we all know by now, did not make the playoffs, and as a result of their horrendous season their GM is now unemployed and the team is in shambles because of devastating injuries to Santonio Holmes and Darelle Revis.
In RGIII’s debut all he did was go down to New Orleans and beat the emotionally charged Saints in one of the most dominating rookie performances in NFL history. But he was not done there, RGIII continued to impress and progress in every game during the season ultimately culminating in the Redskins winning the NFC east in the final regular season game of the 2012-13 NFL season. But it was not just RGIII who had a big year, in a lot of ways this was the year of the rookies actually. An unheralded, undersized QB from Wisconsin named Russell Wilson reenergized football in Seattle. Behind Pete Carroll’s unwavering faith in him, Wilson was able to lead the Seahawks to the playoffs and even win on the road in his first NFL postseason start. Andrew Luck also led the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs in one of the most memorable seasons in NFL history.
Chuck Pagano was brought into Indianapolis to turn around a franchise and boy did he do that. The Colts were well on their way towards returing to NFL prominence when Pagano was dealt the worst possible hand. He was told that he had leukemia and that he could not continue coaching until he was treated. Any other team would have probably crumbled without the guidance of a head coach but not the Colts. Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians stepped into the role of interim head coach and led the Colts on an improbable run to the postseason while winning himself the Coach of the year award and ultimately a head coaching job in Arizona. #CHUCKSTRONG became the mantra of the Colts and the players and fans all gave their prayers and undying support to Pagano so that he could return to the sideline. Pagano did ultimately return to the team for their final game of the season in what was the most emotional scene of the NFL season.
Though it is true that the 2012-13 NFL season was the year of the rookies, it was also in many ways the year of the records. First Calvin Johnson broke Jerry Rice’s seemingly impossible to break record of receiving yards in a season. At the same time, JJ Watt and Aldon Smith were both challenging Michael Strahan’s single season sacks record. And perhaps most impressively, Adrian Peterson was literally defying the laws of science in his return from a complete ACL tear while simultaneously challenging Eric Dickerson’s age-old rushing yards record. Although he came up just 8 yards short of 2,106, Peterson catalyzed Minnesota’s run to the NFL playoffs and won the MVP and AP Offensive player of the year along the way. But it wasn’t just AP who came back from a devastating, career threatening injury. Peyton Manning was returning from over a year away from football, and although he had not played a down in over a year, he picked up right where he left off. Peyton Manning, in fact, had a better overall season than he did before his neck injury and the fans of Denver have literally forgotten who Tim Tebow is.
Ray Lewis’ “last ride” was easily the biggest storyline of the playoffs and he capped off his last ride with a Super Bowl victory. But this entire Super Bowl run would not have been possible without the infamous 4th and 29 play against San Diego in which Ray Rice had his way with the Charger D and was touched down just a few inches beyond the first down marker. When the Ravens get together in 20 years and talk about their win in Super Bowl XLVII , they will not be able to do so without giving great thanks and praise to Ray Rice for making it happen.
The Super Bowl did not disappoint. There were a bevy of highlights, a black out, Beyonce, a comeback, brothers pitted against eachother, untested QB’s, and controversy. Colin Kaepernick somewhat stole Alex Smith’s job and led the 49ers on a magical ride to the Super Bowl. Going into the contest it was only his 10th ever NFL career start; yet his play made it appear as if he had been a starter in the league for years. Yes, there is criticism about his clock management, but on the whole, it is obvious that the 9ers would have never made it that far without Kaepernick under center. As if Kaep and Ray Lewis were not enough for the media to talk about before the Super Bowl, they got the best present in football history when the NFC and AFC champions were both Harbaugh’s. The questions were endless and repetitive and I just as I can imagine John and Jim did, just wanted the game to come.
At the end of the day, nobody can be disappointed with how the NFL season turned out and what happened during it. Whether your favorite team won or lost their division, their playoff game, or even the Super Bowl, there were great things that happened to every team (aside from the Jets) throughout the entire year. Next year should be just as great as this year was and all football fans have a lot to look forward to.
0 comments:
Post a Comment