The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don

Funny, I backed the Jets ATS more than any team in the league this season and consistently proclaimed the Bengals would be “one-and-done” in the playoffs, yet picked Cincy last week. I’m an idiot…Leon Washington will enter the picture, but for 2010 fantasy drafts, I guarantee I’d draft Shonn Greene ahead of Thomas Jones…Where did that come from, Dustin Keller?…Seriously, how bad are Braylon Edwards’ hands?…What happened to Carson Palmer? His 21:13 TD:INT ratio (with three rushing scores) wasn’t bad this season on a run-first team, but over his last 595 passing attempts over his past two seasons, he’s gotten 6.4 YPA…What a fantastic performance by Jay Feely. Three punts inside the 20? Pretty crazy from a placekicker…Speaking of kicking, I love how Shayne Graham is the Bengals’ “franchise player.” What a choke job…This is ultimately still a passing league, so the Jets are severely hampered, but with such a dominant run game and the best defense in the league, they remain dangerous. New York was the No. 2 team defending tight ends this season, and obviously Darrelle Revis will shut down Vincent Jackson on Sunday, so while I still expect San Diego to win, how are the Chargers, with no running game, going to score a bunch of points? Expect a close game this week…Speaking of Revis, what a travesty he didn’t win Defensive Player of the Year. Charles Woodson had a very good year and was easily the second-most deserving pick and would have been the right choice in many other seasons, but Revis so clearly should have won it in 2009. Aside from quarterbacks, if I were starting a franchise from scratch, he’d be my No. 1 pick. Put it this way, if Revis replaced Woodson last week in Arizona, I guarantee the Packers would still be alive in the playoffs. Revis got screwed worse than Conan O’Brien. But don’t listen to me, Rex Ryan has his own thoughts on the matter.

I’m beginning to think the Cowboys are better than the Eagles. Seriously, the outcome just gets worse each time they face each other. The Vikings were undefeated at home this season and might be the toughest opponent in the NFL when in Minnesota, but gun to head, I’m picking Dallas to win the NFC this year. And I’m done with Marion Barber. He’s dead to me. Felix Jones is a pretty big upgrade anyway…I wouldn’t bump down DeSean Jackson’s ranking too much next fantasy season because of his two terrible games against the Cowboys to end 2009, but it’s also worth noting just how impressive Jeremy Maclin looks. There will be more mouths to feed in Philly’s passing attack in 2010…What happened to Brian Westbrook on Saturday? You simply can’t touch him with a 10-foot pole in fantasy leagues next year…I will say this – a Colts/Cowboys teaser this week might be one of my favorites in a long time. You can thank me later.

Baltimore caught some breaks Sunday, and with no Wes Welker and a clearly injured Randy Moss, the Pats became pretty easy to defend. That said, looking back at their schedule and with so many close losses this season, the Ravens also deserve a ton of credit. This is a very good team. Still, it’s not a great matchup in Indy this week. And Joe Flacco’s health is a big concern as well…What about Laurence Maroney surprisingly getting New England’s first carry of the game, and then not another one the rest of the way? Of course, Kevin Faulk was needed more once the Pats got down early, and the team had to go shotgun heavy. That and Maroney can’t block…Tom Brady entered Sunday with a 23-game home winning streak. Pretty impressive performance by Baltimore. But what the hell was John Harbaugh thinking not challenging that fumbled punt? He says his guys upstairs didn’t get the right view. Umm, no one had it turned on the CBS feed that was available to all of us?…Julian Edelman is pretty good, I must admit…Flacco completed four passes, got 3.4 YPA and finished with a 10.0 QB rating. He’ll need to play a bit better for the Ravens to have a chance in Indy this week.

What a crazy Packers/Cardinals game. Unbelievable play by the quarterbacks, and I loved Mike McCarthy’s willingness to go for it on fourth downs as well as his surprise onside kick…Anquan Boldin has officially lost all leverage. Look for him to be moved during the offseason…Next year, I see no reason why Aaron Rodgers shouldn’t be ranked as the No. 1 QB, Jermichael Finley as the No. 2 tight end and Greg Jennings as a top-10 receiver in fantasy leagues…Anyone who doesn’t consider Kurt Warner a Hall of Famer by now is crazy. I’d be surprised if Arizona doesn’t make it a close game in New Orleans this week…Neil Rackers = shankapotamus…The line opened with the Cards as 2.5-point favorites. By Sunday morning, the Packers were favored by three. I’ve never in my life seen a spread change 5.5 points like that…My pocketbook will be feeling that Rodgers to Jennings would-be touchdown miss in overtime for quite some time.