On ESPN “First Take” Marcellus Wiley told a story about his first Pro Bowl appearance. He had no idea what the etiquette was on how hard to try so he decided to work the first play at about 50 percent, the next thing he knew he had blown past perennial all-pro left tackle Chris Samuels for a sack.

Samuels glared at the fresh faced Wiley and said “Oh you want to play for real huh?” Wiley said he dialed it back to about 20 percent for the rest of the game after that. Please do not interpret this as a complaint, because if I was an NFL player why would I bother risking injury in a game that means as much as a game of Madden?

The NFL outsmarted itself by moving the game the week before the Super Bowl. Their logic was a two-pronged version of stupidity. Part one was that the average football fan would miss the gridiron in the week off before the Super Bowl. Part two was that by the time the Pro Bowl would roll around after the Super Bowl in past seasons, the average fan did not care anymore.

The biggest problem I see in this flawed logic is that players from the two Super Bowl teams cannot play. It is pretty hard to get excited about an all-star game when a lot of the all-stars are not even playing. Fourteen players from the Saints and Colts combined missed Sunday’s game because they obviously had bigger fish to fry. Add to that 17 more who missed the game with various injuries and it’s not even an all-star game, it is a mediocre-and-above contest. To put it in perspective, of the six quarterbacks actually voted into the pro bowl, only Aaron Rodgers played in the game.

Instead of having these guys waste their time in a game where they rightfully do no put out any effort in a meaningless game, let’s see a skills competition. I am proposing a collection of different challenges for the various positions ranging from 40 yard dash, rep test on bench press, a quarterback challenge, obstacle course, etc. I personally would love to see who can bench press 225 pounds the most times. I miss the days of the old quarterback challenge on CBS.

In regard to that other bowl that probably a few more people watched, there is one thing that has been sticking in my craw. I am so sick of hearing the Peyton Manning detractors say how this game hurts his legacy, and that it proves he is not an all-time great.

This is ridiculous to the point of being almost offensive. Manning was 31-45 for 333 yards, one TD and one pick, these are hardly pedestrian numbers. Everybody is going to kill him for the late game interception by Tracy Porter, but if you look at the play again you cannot entirely blame Manning.

Did he telegraph the throw? Probably. Should the ball have gone somewhere else? Maybe. But like the saying goes, it takes two to tango. Though Manning did not say so in his post-game news conference, it was clear he was not the only one at fault. He kept repeating that “Porter made a great play and made a great break on the ball,” which was true.

Peyton failed to mention the half-hearted route by Reggie Wayne. There is no way Wayne should let Porter ever get underneath him on a slant pattern. Even if Porter did flat out beat Wayne to the ball, it would be nice to see a wide receiver bail out his quarterback once in awhile.

The interception aside, Manning performed extremely well, and was statistically better than his first appearance on the grand stage. All of you Manning haters need to understand he is an all-time great.

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First, I believe that the fans are starting to really see what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been striving for; an NFL where any team has a legitimate chance to win any game.

Secondly, the Saints, Colts, and Vikings are not the untouchable god-like teams many analysts portray them as. Between these three teams, they have had ten games in which they have won by less than five points (six belonging to the Colts).

Thirdly, my dark horse team to watch out for is the Denver Broncos who play a relatively easy schedule and have a good chance at reclaiming the division lead.

Fourthly, the Dallas Cowboys will continue their tradition of collapsing in December.

Lastly, watch out for the two hottest teams playing their best football at the right time: The Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers.

Going into week 14, the teams remaining in playoff contention are split into the two conferences by their standings.

AFC: Current Records Remaining Games
Indianapolis 12-0 DEN, @JAX, NYJ, @BUF
San Diego 9-3 @DAL, CIN, @TEN, WASH
Cincinnati 9-3 @ MIN, @SD, KC, @NYJ
New England 7-5 CAR, @BUF, JAX, @HOU
Denver 8-4 @IND, OAK, @PHI, KC
Jacksonville 7-5 MIA, IND, @NE, @CLE
Baltimore 6-6 DET, CHI, @PIT, @OAK
Miami 6-6 @JAX, @TEN, HOU, PIT
NY Jets 6-6 @TB, ATL, @IND, CIN
Pittsburgh 6-6 @CLE, GB, BAL, @MIA

NFC:
New Orleans 12-0 @ATL, DAL, TB, @CAR
Minnesota 10-2 CIN, @CAR, @CHI, NYG
Arizona 8-4 @SF, @DET, STL, GB
Dallas 8-4 SD, @NO, @WASH, PHI
Philadelphia 8-4 @NYG, SF, DEN, @DAL
Green Bay 8-4 @CHI, @PIT, SEA, @ ARZ
New York Giants 7-5 PHI, @WASH, CAR, @MIN
Atlanta 6-6 NO, @NYJ, BUF, @TB
San Francisco 5-7 ARZ, @PHI, DET, @STL

Here is how I see the playoff picture panning out:

AFC: Predicted Records Reasons
Indianapolis 14-2 Too many close wins, lose NYJ and in JAX
San Diego 11-5 Hot and cold teams with losses to DAL and TEN
Cincinnati 11-5 Defense helps them win against MIN and KC
New England 10-6 Get road win in Buffalo but still lose in Houston
Denver 11-5 Have easy remaining schedule, can’t beat IND
Jacksonville 10-6 Ends Indy’s bid for 16-0 season
Baltimore 10-6 Go 4-0 but still not good enough for playoffs
NY Jets 10-6 Go 4-0 also but share Ravens futility
Miami 9-7 Can’t beat JAX to make playoffs
Pittsburgh 7-9 Can’t stop their slide and miss playoffs

NFC:
New Orleans 15-1 Lose CAR with starters sitting for rest
Green Bay 12-4 Hot streak drives them to the division crown
Philadelphia 11-5 Eagles offense gets hot at the right time
Arizona 11-5 Offense not good enough for Packers defense
Minnesota 11-5 Brett Favre chokes in December
New York Giants 10-6 Can’t win big divisional home game against PHI
Dallas 9-7 Dallas chokes as usual, Tony Romo possibly cut
Atlanta 8-8 Without Matt Ryan they stand no chance
San Francisco 7-9 Offense cannot help out defense

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