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 three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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 title chances now.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
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.
Getty Images
|
But it is more likely that teams that have already secured their postseason spot will lie down than teams that have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Many times, the teams that have been eliminated are like wounded dogs — dangerous, angry animals.
For proof, look to Week 16. The eliminated Bucs took down the mighty Saints, and the Bears, who were riding out the string, toppled the playoff-bound Vikings.
“When I plug in the tapes, I see professional football played by guys who take it very, very seriously,” said Ron Jaworski of the NFL Matchup Show on ESPN, who happened to be watching the coaching tape of the Bucs’ upset of the Saints during our conversation. “I don’t see teams mailing it in.”
It is more likely a team will get lax in preparation for a game than it is a team will let up during a game. There certainly are circumstances when teams stop playing hard. But they are rare. Players have too much to lose by dogging it — namely, their reputations.
Most players maintain a professional approach. “I don’t think there is anybody around here who is going to not prepare the same or not put their best effort forward,” said Bears veteran tight end Desmond Clark. “There might be some mental distractions going on. We all think about the offseason. I think about going back home. That’s going to happen. But I’m preparing for this game like it’s a game in the middle of the season.”
What drives players like Clark?
“I look at it this way,” he said. “We’re not having a good season, so they are evaluating every little thing on this team. I want my last few games to be as good as they can so when they go back and look at the film, they say this guy played all the way through the season.”
Coaches sometimes have to pull different motivational ploys out of their bag of tricks after the playoff dreams are dead. Bears special teams coach Dave Toub said that before Chicago’s upset of the Vikings, coaches harped on the fact that their game was on Monday Night Football and everyone would be watching.
“The guys, they respond to that,” Toub said. “You always find a reason to play. Just because you’re not playing for the playoffs, there are other reasons.”
Head coaches take the same approach. Even though fans and writers and even general managers may call for young players to get on the field in these situations, coaches usually don’t go along with that line of thinking.
“I’ve been in the NFL, I think this is 17 years,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. “I’ve never once been in a situation that a coach took that stance. Every coach wants to win every game they play. ... If he’s doing well in practice and he deserves to be out there, put him out there. If there is an injury to somebody else and he best serves you on Sunday, put him out there. But just to see somebody, I don’t think that serves the other 52 guys in the locker room very well and I don’t think it respects the game.”
So don’t be surprised if there is another stunning upset or two this week, if one or more of those eliminated teams doesn’t knock off a team with playoff aspirations.
“If you are a pro and you train and you prepare, you only have 16 opportunities every year to do your very best,” Jaworski said. “When they kick off the game, nobody says I’m 5-9 and you’re 12-2. I don’t think there are such things as meaningless games.”
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 |
 | Video: Football from NBC Sports |
 Getty Images |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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.
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.
