[Falcons Message Board]

“I am going out there to really talk about life. To talk about the Lord,” Dungy said on the show. “I know he has made a profession that he has accepted the Lord into his life. Talk to him about what he’s going to face. Most people are going to be against him. He’s got to understand that.”

I’m not certain most people will be against him. I know most people often forgive people who hang and beat dogs. Just like we do pedofiles and rapists.

[ESPN]

It’s the last time we’ll be discussing the NFL until a Bengals player gets arrested in the offseason.

How’d your team do over the weekend? I’ve got lots of different opinions from lots of different people. Click here and you can see how Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline rates the picks; click here to see how Larry Weisman, writer for USA Today, breaks down all seven rounds. Clifton Brown, writer for Sporting News Today, has his take here; for Yahoo! Sports, go here.

I’d give you Todd McShay or Mel Kiper, Jr., but they’re douche bags and charge you $39.95 a year for their services — if I could charge everyone $39.95 to be completely wrong about how a player will turn out, I would. McShay isn’t that bad, but Kiper’s looked like a weatherman with some of his recent predictions.

Enjoy the grades. They mean nothing. At the end of the day, Calvin Johnson has to catch Matthew Stafford’s passes, and DHB wasn’t a stretch by Oakland until he officially busts in Oakland. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I’m counting down to September. Fall, you couldn’t get here soon enough.

An interesting note: The Cardinals, who made the Super Bowl, have the 27th hardest schedule, or sixth easiest next year; the Minnesota Vikings, who won their division and played a first round playoff game at home, have the second easiest schedule. The Patriots, who missed the playoffs, have the third easiest schedule.

You can see all teams here. With the addition of Jay Cutler, and with the easiest schedule in the NFL, it looks as if the Bears might have an easy ride to the playoffs next year.

[ESPN]

That said, via The Big Lead, here’s some guys that impressed, and some guys that didn’t. A couple of notables on my end, from what I’ve seen on NFL Network:

Pat White, QB/WR: He ran an unofficial time of 4.49 in the 40, and then it was adjusted to a 4.55. He also jumped a solid nine feet in the broad jump, which is real important once you’re actually in the game. I know I often see guys stand in place, squat, and leap as far forward as possible. Like I said: Great gauge at talent.

Darius Heyward-Bey, WR: This guy was being talked about as a second rounder, but after running a 4.3 flat, he’s probably going to end up cracking the top 15. Michael Crabtree is still “the guy” when it comes to receivers, but Heyward-Bey is sure creeping up.

Derrick Anderson, WR: This is the guy that I think will be a solid NFL player — probably a good number two receiver — but his 4.58 40 will have schools not paying attention to whether or not he can run a route and catch the ball, and just say he’s too slow to play.

Beanie Wells, RB: I can’t tell if a 4.59 40 is good or bad for him. On one side, it’s slower than most strong safeties. But he’s 235 pounds, and at that size, how fast do you want him to run?

[The Big Lead]
Getting Listy With The Combine

“I’m at a point, kind of like the Apostle Paul,” explained Dungy, “he said, ‘If I live, it’s good. If I die and go home with the Lord, it’s better.’”

“After the San Diego game, I was so disappointed with the loss, I couldn’t figure out why — really just questioned it,” Dungy said, speaking again in terms of faith. “Then on Monday, we discovered that Jordan needed this surgery as soon as possible. As difficult as it may seem to accept [for others], it just showed me how the Lord works in my life.”

The game with miss Dungy, though I’m not sure the Colts will really skip a beat. I think Dungy was a great coach, both in Indy and in his time in Tampa (he was largely responsible for that Super Bowl win), but coaching the Colts is something Kurt Cobain could do with a shotgun to his face.

Dungy will be missed, and will be succeeded by Jim Caldwell, former offensive coordinator and long-time coach-in-waiting. As long as Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne and whatever running back they draft is there, this team shouldn’t have too much to worry about.

So there it is: Next week Baltimore will play at Pittsburgh for their third and final grudge match of the season. In the first game, Ravens players accused Heinz Ward of being dirty, and also ended the season of Rashad Mendenhall. In their second contest, there was the very disputed call when Ben Roethlisberger completed a touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes that didn’t quite look like a touchdown (certainly not something that was indisputable).

And on the NFC side? Well, not as much fun. It’ll feature a game in Arizona where the Cardinals — maybe the flattest team coming into the playoffs — will host the Eagles, a team whose fanbase was screaming that Andy Reed and Donnovan McNabb should both be doing their thing elsewhere.

I’ll admit: Philadelphia/Pittsburgh or Philadelphia/Baltimore has a decent ring to it. But Arizona playing one of those teams? Would they really stand a chance against that defense. I know they tore apart Carolina, but I feel most of that was contributed to really, really bad quarterback play. I’m not sure that’d be the case if they played Baltimore (who runs and relies on its defense) or Pittsburgh, who does much of the same.

Games are next Saturday and Sunday. Should be fun. No Peyton, no Tom, no Eli, no LT, but we do get an old QB, two great defenses, and a team that doesn’t believe in running the ball (what’s the over/under on passes thrown in that Philly/Arizona game?). I’m looking forward to it.

This isn’t my place to vent about the Falcons and how they got screwed, because to be honest, they were simply outplayed. Matt Ryan finally looked like a rookie, though his offensive line, receivers, the ref’s inability to call an offsides, and his defense didn’t do much to help him out.

Darren Sproles, on the other hand, single-handedly beat Indianapolis, going for 328 all-purpose yards and the final touchdown to end the game in overtime.

Meanwhile, in Miami today, the Dolphins didn’t show up. Chad Pennington, who threw only seven interceptions all year, threw four today, one that was picked by Ed Reed for six.

Minnesota is currently trailing the Eagles at home 16-7, but are driving and look as though they’ll at least get a field goal before the half expires. If Minnesota wins, they’ll face the Panthers next week and the Cardinals will get the Giants (update: Minnesota just scored; 16-14, Eagles). If the Eagles win, they’ll go up to the Meadowlands to face off with New York, and Arizona will play the Panthers in Carolina.

The Ravens will face the Titans next week, and San Diego will head to the Steel City to take on the No. 1 ranked defense of the Steelers. Should be fun to watch. Enjoy the rest of today’s games. Go Vikings; although I’ve got no reason to want them to win, I just think they’re a more balanced team to make a run.

“I know it’s an individual award, but … truly, in my opinion, a team award,” said Manning.

“It’s been the most rewarding regular season that I’ve been a part of in my 11 years, and I have to believe a lot of the other players and even coaches might feel the same way.”

Manning won the award by a landslide, with Chad Pennington of the Dolphins and Michael Turner of the Falcons tying for second place (4 votes per piece).

The MVP was well deserved for Peyton, but now he’s got bigger fish to fry. On Saturday, he faces a Chargers team that eliminated him from the playoffs last year, and a team he has statistically struggled against in the past.

-Baltimore Ravens @ Miami Dolphins: The first time these two teams played, Baltimore killed them. But Miami’s done a lot of growing up since then.

-Indianapolis Colts @ Denver/San Diego: The Colts will be rooting hard for Denver in this one. The Chargers have given them absolute fits over the last couple of years.

-Philadelphia Eagles @ Minnesota Vikings: Are the Eagles the hottest team in the NFL right now? Minnesota can’t be happy about drawing them in the first round.

-Atlanta Falcons @ Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals will need to play better than they have the last few weeks to win this one. Atlanta can run, and they don’t turn the ball over often.

What you’ll notice is that Dallas is out. That’s because they sucked balls against Philadelphia, and there’ll surely be some heads rolling soon. And Tampa Bay is out because they lost again, only it was at home to the Raiders, which isn’t really excuseable.