Thoughts on the 2010 season!

The Super Bowl is in the rearview mirror, and as of today everyone is back to 0-0. The Packers have had their celebration and parade, and now every team in the league is working towards acheiving the goal that the Packers just accomplished- the Super Bowl and the Lombardi Trophy. Some teams are close, and some are very far off, but now is the time that teams can set themselves up to get closer to that championship. Before we look ahead to the murky waters ahead for the NFL, let's look back at some of the winners and losers of the 2010 postseason:

Editors Note: I need to do a little housecleaning here: I finished with a winning record on my picks in the regular season (130-119-9), but I struggled in the playoffs (4-7). Overall, my final record for picking games for the 2010 season was 134-126-9. It is my first winning season since I started this blog in 2008, and if I won money this year, then I could just imagine how bad Vegas got killed this year. It was a very easy year to pick in the regular season-especially early in the year. The playoffs were very predictable, but I kept going against the public grain, and I got burned for it. I am happy to finish over .500 for the year, and I look to stay above .500 again next season.

Winners:

-Obviously, the Green Bay Packers are the big winners. They are 8-4 and in position to win the NFC North, then lose to Detroit and Aaron Rodgers get concussed. They lose valiantly at New England on SNF the next week with Matt Flynn doing his best Tom Brady impersonation, and they fall to 8-6. They have to beat both the Giants and Bears back to back weeks to make the playoffs. They bomb the Giants 45-17 and beat the "Play It Balls To The Wall" Bears 10-3 in Week 17 to qualify as the sixth seed in the NFC. Three straight playoff road wins over Vick and the Eagles, the Falcons in the Georgia Dome, and the Bears-this time in Soldier Field. To top it off, they beat the Steelers 31-25 in the Super Bowl after losing Donald Driver and Charles Woodson. After the whole Brett Favre drama, the Packers stuck to their guns and won their fourth Super Bowl in their history.

-Although the Steelers lost Super Bowl XLV to Green Bay, they will be a force for years to come. They beat their rival, the Ravens, in the divisional round 31-24. Trailing 21-7 at the half, they came storming back to knock out their foes from the AFC North. Then, they absolutely jumped all over the Jets in the first half of the AFC Championship Game 24-3. They were able to hold on and win it 24-19. Although they battled back and fell short to the Packers, Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin will be back to a Super Bowl soon in the very near future.

-The Seahawks are definitely winners after this postseason. To get in at 7-9, and then beat the defending Super Bowl champions at home is something that the Seahawks and their fans can very proud of. Anything after that wildcard win over the Saints was going to be gravy anyway.

--Don't put the nail in the coffin of Peyton Manning and the Colts. Injuries absolutely destroyed the Colts this year, yet they still gutted out a 10-6 record, AFC South Title, and a playoff berth. Plus, they were up 16-14 at home against the Jets, and if they don't let Antonio Cromartie get a big return on a kickoff, they win that playoff game. The Colts and Manning will be back with a vengeance next year.

Losers:

- The New England Patriots should be very bitter right now. All offseason, the Pats are going to replay that Jets game in their minds. Three things I'll remember from that game: Tom Brady's interception on the first drive of the game, Alge Crumpler's drop in the endzone that made NE kick a field goal instead of taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, and the ill-advised fake punt on 4th and 3 with just over a minute left in the half and the Pats trailing 7-3. Those three moments will be eating at the Pats all year. If they play better, then they beat the Jets, and definitely beat the Steelers in AFC Championship. The Patriots are not going anywhere (8 draft picks in the first 4 rounds this year) and I would expect the Pats to learn from this loss and use it as motivation heading into 2011.

-The Kansas City Chiefs finished 10-6 and won the AFC West, but they lost another home playoff game and they haven't even won a playoff game since the 1993 season. The Chiefs were embarrassed at home by Baltimore and when you lose 30-7 at home in your first playoff game, I think that really puts a damper on your season no matter what you did in the regular season. Charlie Weis is leaving, and Matt Cassel might struggle as a result. I'm not sold on Todd Haley as a HC, and their schedule is going to be a lot tougher next year. They have to play New England, Indy, the Jets, Chicago, Green Bay and Pittsburgh next year. Plus, you know San Diego will be back and ready to go after giving the AFC West away this year.

-Anytime you go 13-3, have the best record in your conference and lose your first playoff game, then you are thoroughly disappointed. I'm sure we have not seen the last of Matt Ryan and the Falcons, but that 48-21 blowout loss to Green Bay is a bad loss and it will totally put a bad taste in the mouth of any Falcons fan when they look back on the 2010 season.

-The Ravens are losers because they were making their third straight appearance in the playoffs and won at least one playoff game in the tourney for the third year in a row, yet they still didn't make the Super Bowl. This might have been there best chance to make it. They got KC in the first round, they avoided the Pats in round 2, and they were up 21-7 at Pittsburgh. If they win the game, then they would have hosted the Jets in the AFC Title game. Instead, they blow the lead and lose 31-24 to the Steelers. Plus, their two key offseason receiver pickups, Anquan Boldin and TJ Houshmanzadeh, both have awful drops late in the game that decided it. The Ravens missed out on a golden opportunity this postseason.

-The final team and final loser of the 2010 playoffs: The New York Jets. The Jets were everywhere this season. Think about it: They got 5 primetime games, the signings of guys like Santonio Holmes and Antonio Cromartie, Hard Knocks on HBO, Rex Ryan's guarantees, the Ines Sainz controversy, the foot fetish stories, Braylon Edwards' DUI, More Ryan guarantees, all the close wins late in the game, 45-3, the Sal Alosi tripping incident, the playoff win over the Colts, the trash talk of the Pats, the upset of the Pats and another AFC Title Game appearance. As much as you hate the Jets and this group, they were constantly the story every week in the NFL this year. They were a must watch, and it was fun to root against them week after week. The bottom line is that the Jets backed up most of their talk, but one thing still escaped them: A Super Bowl berth. The Jets fell short of their ultimate goal, and the goal that they stated they would get. It will be hard for the Jets to get back to AFC Title Game next year, let alone the Super Bowl. Also, how can the Jets follow up the hype of 2010 in 2011? One thing is for sure- it will once again be fun to root against the Jets every single week.