NFL: No More Eagles, Divisional Picks

Well, it was interesting in its way, yet it's also like a broken record. An Eagles team raises expectations and then drops out of the playoffs. At least this time, there's no Donovan McNabb for people to blame. But the loss to Green Bay didn't expose anything that wasn't already exposed. They have a defense that wasn't all that good during the 10-4 start and didn't get any better during the last two meaningful games (the season-ender against Dallas was just a glorified exhibition), both of which they lost. The offensive line, particularly on the right side, is a mess. Michael Vick, while showing a lot of improvement, still needs work. Of course, the Eagles have to sign him first. He's now a free agent.

Assuming they're still Vick fans, the Eagles have to decide what to do with Kevin Kolb, who still wants to start and has just one year left on his contract. Keep him as a backup again? He won't be happy with that. If they trade him, they need a backup for Vick or they're really in trouble. We saw Vick get hurt and miss some time this year. Imagine if that happens again and Kolb is gone.

Right now the Eagles' biggest problem is a two-pronged issue. They need a lot of upgrades to truly contend for the Super Bowl, but they won't be able to do anything until the NFL and its players' union have a new contract.

NFL Playoffs: Mediocrity, OT, Wild Picks

This weekend features the first round of the NFL postseason. There are a couple of perceived injustices, and I'm probably in the minority regarding both.

Let's start with the presence of 7-9 Seattle in the playoffs (because they won their division) instead of 10-6 teams Tampa Bay and the Giants (because both finished in second), and to make things worse, the Seahawks are at home against 11-5 New Orleans. Many people think that the Seahawks shouldn't be in it at all, let alone have a home game. They propose changes to allow a team with a better record to take the place of a losing team in the future. In theory this works. In reality, if you can win a division (even a pathetic one like the NFC West) and not be in the playoffs, if there's no reward for finishing first, why have divisions to begin with? For that matter, why have conferences? Just have all the teams listed 1-32 and have the top 12 in the playoffs.

Of course, you'd have to figure out a way to come up with a fair schedule (fair in strength-of-schedule as well as things like travel) without divisions, and somehow not destroy many (if not all) of the division and conference rivalries. Imagine the Eagles and Cowboys not playing a game in a season. Or the Steelers and Ravens. Or whatever. So forget that idea.

However, I do think the Seahawks should be on the road.