The 2008 NFL season is officially in the books.

In a way, this year was just like every other year, and in others, it was a year like none other.

RANDOM THOUGHTS I HAVE ON THE PLAYOFF TEAMS:

The Arizona Cardinals still have never won a Super Bowl, although the franchise did indeed come close. Now, they will be doomed by the Super Bowl Super Gods for an eternity and be cursed to a 30-year-playoffless-drought.

Pittsburgh won its sixth Super Bowl and surely, the Terrible Towels will again prosper in the near future.

And the Philadelphia Eagles made it to the NFC title game. Again. And they lost. Again.

Rookies Joe Flacco and Jim Harbaugh’s brother made a shocking bid for the AFC title, yet failed to beat the Steelers for the third-straight time during the season.

After they shocked the world last year, New York emerged as the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a favorite to repeat for the championship in Tampa. However, the Giants were crushed by the then-soaring Eagles.

But the Giants weren’t the only home team to lose in the Divisional round of the playoffs with a full week to rest against the Wild Card contenders.

The Titans, like the Giants, fell hard, and so did the Panthers. Both were expected to advance to their respective conference’s championships games.

Ironically, the only team that won a home game in the Divisional round went on to win the Big Game.
And who could forget Wild Card Weekend?

The Colts won nine straight games only to have their rebounding season stomped on by the “almighty” 8-8 Chargers. I still can’t believe an 8-8 team made the playoffs.

While I’m on the subject, how the heck did a 9-7 team make the Super Bowl?

Anyways, let’s get back to the Wild Cards…

Who would have thought the Dolphins would win games, let alone take the AFC East title?

Not even Bill Parcells could have predicted the latter.

Then there was Matt Ryan. Sure he was the Rookie of the Year in the regular season and he led his team to 11 victories on the way. But what happened in the playoffs? I sure would like to ask him.

The Vikings, as expected, sure didn’t have too great of a playoff run. But then again, who was their quarterback? I don’t even remember at this point.

RANDOM THOUGHTS I HAVE ON THE TEAMS THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT:

After Tom Brady went down in week 1, quarter one, I gave the Patriots no chance of winning whatsoever. And that wise coach of theirs proved me wrong, like 10 times or so. It will be interesting to see if Tom Brady comes back, and how. Will he ever return to 2007 form? Not likely. Will he return to any form at all? Probably.

But, what will happen to Matt Cassel?

Brett who? Favget-about-it. Favre should retire, like now, please. I’m over hearing your name. He’s no Kurt Warner, and he isn’t leading the Jets to the Super Bowl.

(Favre was better than Warner, but his time has passed.)

Remember when the Buffalo Bills were in first place? And no, I’m not talking about the 1990s. Boy, did they fall apart, or what?

The Cincinnati Bengals won four games. Maybe they will have better luck next season when they pick up that new player Ocho Cinco.

Biggest disappointment of 2008: the Cleveland Browns. Expect more next season, because you can’t expect less.

Can’t expect much more than 8-8 from the Texans. I’ll consider that a success for them.

Speaking of success, the Jacksonville Jaguars sure didn’t have any this season. I know it’s early, but look for them to make some type of Super Bowl run next season.

The Broncos, in my opinion, ought to be ashamed of themselves. They were a lock to win the AFC with a multiple game lead in the end of the season and failed to keep it.

The Raiders and Chiefs were so bad they don’t deserve their own line of commentary.

What about the Cowboys? Although I predicted them to have a superb season, I’m quite glad they didn’t. Get rid of T.O., problem’s (maybe) solved. He’s bad luck. Send him to Detroit.

The Redskins did go 8-8, but at times they seemed like a much better team. Other times they seemed damned awful. Maybe 8-8 sets them straight.

The Chicago Bears, despite being just 9-7, were impressive. I didn’t expect much from them, and they ended up above .500.

The Cheesehead Packers lost their franchise quarterback and looked like they might be able to successfully follow the change. But, in the end, the Packers finished their season 1-4 and were 6-10 overall. Look for Aaron Rodgers to have a somewhat better season next time.

The Detroit Lions were pathetic. Maybe, just maybe, they will go 1-15 next year.

The “other” NFC South teams (Bucs and Saints) should rebound next season and take over the playoff spots from the Panthers and Falcons.

Don’t even get me started with the “other” NFC West teams. They were bad, just bad. No other words needed to describe it. Possibly, the 49ers will emerge as next year’s playoff representative from this “division”. All they got to do: win 8 or 9 games.

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