Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Golf's dream pairing - Woods and Mickelson - is on the course in the final round at Pebble Beach. Jason Sobel has hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Euro Roundup: First-place Manchester City won 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday on Joleon Lescott's goal in the 63rd minute, maintaining its two-point lead over Manchester United in the Premier League.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
APQ: On Dec. 9th, can the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New England Patriots? — Steve L., Pittsburgh
Sure they can. In fact, the Patriots have as good a chance of losing to the Steelers as any team they will face between now and the Super Bowl. But the Steelers can’t win unless they play better than they have the last few weeks. The Patriots are not untouchable. They have areas opponents can exploit, as the Eagles demonstrated last week. And at some point they might just have an off day.
Q: What direction do you see Chris Simms career going? — John Klopfer, Ocala, Fla.
Assuming he will be able to overcome his health issues, I could see Simms resurrecting his career if he ends up in the right situation. I think he needs to get out of Tampa and away from Jon Gruden and start over. He needs to go to an organization that will offer him stability, patience and modest expectations. He needs good coaches and a system that will take advantage of what he does best, and a good complement of blockers and offensive skill position players. In other words, he needs a lot of things to go his way in order to succeed. He’s not unlike a lot of other NFL quarterbacks in that regard. But I’ve always liked Simms and thought he could be a good NFL player.
Q: If you’re 5-6 in the NFC, is it time to start preparing for next year by giving your younger players more playing time? — William Yang, Chicago
Absolutely not. If you are 5-6 in the NFC, you have a chance of making the playoffs if you can win four of your last five and you get a little luck. Only six NFC teams have a better record than 5-6 and there are five playoff spots in the conference. Of those six teams who are better than 5-6, the Lions and Bucs are looking shaky, and the Giants and Seahawks are far from sure things. There are only two teams in the NFC that you’d say probably don’t have to worry about missing the playoffs — the Cowboys and Packers. After that, it’s all up for grabs.
Q: Last year it looked like Philip Rivers was ready to become franchise QB. Now he looks lost, and appears to have regressed considerably. What do you think caused this, a new offensive system, sophomore jinx, or was he just over-rated last year? — Frank A. Alvarez, Highland, Calif.
The Chargers are playing the same offensive system they played a year ago, so that can’t be the issue. You might make the argument that play calling is an issue, but if you look at Norv Turner’s history as a play caller you will see he usually gets pretty good results from his quarterbacks. I would attribute Rivers play more to an entire team being a little out of sync. The Chargers’ running game has not worked the way it did a year ago, so defenses have been able to concern themselves more with the pass. The Chargers have had fewer first downs, so his opportunities have been limited. Last year Rivers was very efficient, but he was not often put in position where he had to win games. This year, more has been demanded of him because the Chargers have struggled in other phases. You have to remember this is only his second year as a starter. He is going to have some inconsistencies in his play like any young quarterback. But he is a good one. The Chargers need to stick with him, and they will.
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
 | Slideshow |
 | Super Bowl XLVI shots See the best moments before, during and after the Giants' win over the Patriots more photos |
Latest from ProFootballTalk |
 | Video: Football from NBC Sports |
 Getty Images |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
NBC Sports TV and livestream listings
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.