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four teams have already won their divisions and took playoff seats in the afc... among the four, indianapolis has one of the first-round byes... the other will be contested by cincinatti and denver... the two wildcard spots are up for grabs with jacksonville and pittsburgh having the inside track since both have easier schedules and need not to collide with each other unlike san diego and kansas city...

 

seattle is the first team to grab a division title and playoff spot in the nfc... the playoff picture is still blurred in the nfc with eight teams vying for a post-season appearance... wins by chicago, ny giants, and carolina will give them both the playoff seat and division title... week 16 will be a pivotal one...

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and shaun alexander tied priest holmes for the total tds in a season...

 

and he still has a chance to break it next week... if mike holmgren decides to let him play...

 

if alexander does break the record... he'll end up asking for absolution - "forgive me father for i had topped a 'priest'"... :lol:

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Here are your confirmed division champions:

AFC East - Patriots

AFC North - Bengals

AFC South - Colts

AFC West - Broncos

NFC East - none yet - most probably Bucs

NFC North - Bears

NFC South - none yet - most probably Giants, Redskins close by

NFC West - Seahawks

 

AFC Wildcards - Jaguars, the other spot might go to Steelers or Chiefs

NFC Wildcards - Giants, the other spot might go to Bucs, Panthers, Redskins or Cowboys

 

TALO COLTS!!! GRRRRR!

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i intentionally highlighted the second paragraph...

 

guys... take time to reflect...

 

Dungy recalls son as fun-loving teen with compassionate heart

By FRED GOODALL, AP Sports Writer

(Associated Press Writer Mitch Stacy in Tampa contributed to this report.)

 

LUTZ, Fla. (AP) -- Tony Dungy blinked back tears, straining to compose himself.

 

"Parents hug your kids every chance you get," he said. "Tell them you love them every chance you get because you don't know when it's going to be the last time."

 

The Indianapolis Colts coach buried his eldest son, James, on Tuesday, lovingly recalling the 18-year-old who died in an apparent suicide last week as a "mama's boy" with a "compassionate heart." Someone who loved to smile and have fun.

 

Dungy spoke for nearly 20 minutes during an emotional two-hour funeral service attended by NFL stars, past and present, league officials, including commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the entire Colts team and four other NFL head coaches -- Herman Edwards, Dennis Green, Lovie Smith and Jack Del Rio -- along with University of Washington coach Ty Willingham.

 

Hall of Famer Mean Joe Greene and ex-Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green were also among the 2,000 mourners who came to Idlewild Baptist Church in this Tampa suburb.

 

Dungy dabbed away tears at times, but his message throughout was clear: His son was a "sweet young boy" who struggled with many of the same issues as others his age.

 

"As he got a little older, like all teenagers, he was searching for who that person was inside of him. Who he was going to be. ... And like most of us, I think he went through a time as a teenager that he wasn't sure his parents always had the best advice. He wasn't sure that we always had his best interest at heart," the coach said.

 

"My daughter Tiara said it best the other day. She said: `I just wish he could have made it until he was 20. Because when you're 17 or 18, sometimes the things you guys say to us don't always make sense. ... When I got to 20, they started making sense again."'

 

Tiara, the eldest of Dungy's five children, is 21.

 

Before leaving for the cemetery, Dungy made a brief statement outside the church and, on behalf of his wife, Lauren, and family, thanked friends and fans for their support.

 

"We loved our son very much, he loved us and we miss him terribly. James was a good young man with a compassionate heart and we were glad to have him for 18 years. ... God has him now for the rest of eternity," he said.

 

Shortly before the service began, the Colts entered a side door to the main auditorium of the 5,200-seat church, filed past the open casket and took their seats to the right of the family section.

 

Dungy, with his right arm draped around his wife's shoulder, led the family in and stood in front of the cherrywood casket to say a final goodbye. The couple took seats in a pew a few feet away, then watched solemnly as the lid was closed and the service began.

 

Dungy left the Colts last Thursday, the day his son was found, and it remains uncertain when he will return.

 

A preliminary autopsy report indicated the teen took his own life, but the exact cause of death won't be released until a toxicology examination is completed in four to six weeks.

 

The coach addressed his players during the service, calling them some of the greatest role models in the country and urging them to reach out to young people.

 

"I want to urge you to continue being who you are because our young boys in this country, they need to hear from you," he said. "If anything, be bolder in who you are. Because our boys are getting a lot of the wrong messages about what it means to be a man in this world. About how you should act, and how you should dress, and how you should talk, and how you should treat people. They don't always get the right message, but you guys have the right messages."

 

He also cautioned parents against taking their children for granted. He recalled Thanksgiving, which was the last time he saw his son, as the teen rushed off to the airport.

 

"I said, 'I'll see you later.' I didn't get to hug him. I knew I'd see him again pretty soon, so it didn't really bother me very much," Dungy said.

 

"We talked on the phone a lot the last few days. We're always talking about what was going to happen. The last few days he was saying -- as the guys on the team know he would -- he was saying: 'Dad, we're going to the Super Bowl, and when we do, will I be on the field?"'

 

Dungy nearly broke down again, then finished his thought amid applause.

 

"And I said: `Yeah, man. You know the hard part is getting there, but if we do, you know you're going to be on the field.' ... But I never got to hug him again. That's one thing I'll always think about and always remind people to do: Hug 'em every chance you get."

 

The Colts arrived aboard six chartered buses carrying players, coaches and staff. Quarterback Peyton Manning arrived separately.

 

Players from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom Dungy coached for six seasons, were among those present, along with owner Malcolm Glazer, former general manager Rich McKay, now with the Atlanta Falcons, and former Buccaneer and Dungy neighbor Warren Sapp.

 

The coach even had kind words for Glazer, who fired him after the Bucs lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2001. He thanked the owner for taking time to help shape his son's life while he was working in Tampa.

 

"We took a lot of bus rides to the airport. And he would sit on the front seat," he said, referring to Glazer. "Every time Jamie would come on, he would talk to him. He never talked to him about football. He always talked to him about being a good son, and then he'd talk to me about taking care of my boys and being a good dad -- every single trip we took."

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NFC:

1 NFC West Champions Seattle Seahawks

2 NFC North Champions Chicago Bears

3 NFC South Champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers

4 NFC East Champions New York Giants

5 NFC #1 Wildcard Carolina Panthers

6 NFC #2 Wildcard Washington Redskins

 

AFC:

1 AFC South Champions Indianapolis Colts

2 AFC West Champions Denver Broncos

3 AFC North Champions Cincinnati Bengals

4 AFC East Champions New England Patriots

5 AFC #1 Wildcard Jacksonville Jaguars

6 AFC #2 Wildcard Pittsburgh Steelers

 

Wildcard Weekend:

A: #3 vs. #6

B: #4 vs. #5

 

Divisional Championships:

C: #1 vs. lowest seed

D: #2 vs. highest seed

 

Conference Championships:

E: winner of C vs. winner of D

 

Super Bowl XL

@ Detroit

F: AFC champions vs. NFC Champions

 

Goodbye Brett Favre...

 

At the other end of the spectrum, here's the six worst NFL teams:

1 Houston Texans (2-14)

2 New Orleans Saints (3-13)

3 Oakland Raiders (4-12)

4 Green Bay Packers (4-12)

5 San Francisco 49ers (4-12)

6 New York Jets (4-12)

 

And the Texans will get Reggie Bush!!! Aaaaarrrrggggggghhhhh!!!!

 

Texas vs. USC for the BCS Championship on January 5

Edited by howard_the_duck
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In the BUSH BOWL: 49ers 20 - Texans 17. :boo:

 

49ers fans should be upset that they won, considering that Bush's high school team mate is Smith, who's now the starting QB. And that Bush's favorite team while growing up was the 49ers. :grr:

 

It's not often you get a chance to draft a Heisman trophy winner ?!?

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Penn State is sure to decimate Florida St. so I stopped watching :lol:

Wow... just when I've opened the TV again, the game was tied, 13-all.... then after several missed FGs, the Nittany Lions prevailed, 26-23. Gotta give props to the Seminoles

 

Now I wonder if any of the kickers from these two schools would make ot to the NFL because they choke hehehe

Edited by howard_the_duck
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first... steve mariucci was fired by the lions...

 

then the vikings fired mike tice ...

the saints fired jim haslett...

the texans fired dom capers...

the rams fired mike martz...

the packers fired mike sherman...

the raiders fired norv turner...

 

plus the chiefs' dick vermeil retired... for the third time...

Edited by teio
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inVINCEable.. :boo: im sure his pro stock would climb with that victory.. reggie bush made a great effort to put USC closer for at least a FG try.. but in the succeeding play leinart spent the whole 8 seconds trying to look for a receiver.. a receiver which wasnt anywhere near the endzone at that.. tsk tsk tsk.. mental lapse really.. if you were going to make a last ditch throw y dont look for a receiver in the endzone??? :blink:

 

anyway, the projected top 3 picks.. bush, young, leinart.. B)

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houston has the first pick... and everybody is expecting them to pick reggie bush...

 

what will happen to their established back domanick davis?... and jonathan wells?... and last year's first-round pick vernand morency?... the texans offensive line is awful and they need every inch of help they can get to fix it... trade davis for couple of lower round picks and free up salary room for free agent signings?... maybe?...

 

new orleans has the second pick... if the texans choose to pass on bush... the saints can't just pick him up... why?... deuce mcallister is still on board... no thanks to the season-ending injury he had this year... mcallister is a steady performer... but his back line partner aaron brooks isn't... either matt leinart or vince young will surely be wearing a gold helmet with a black lafleur...

 

tennessee has the third pick overall... and if the saints also pass on bush... the titans cannot also just pick him up... chris brown stayed healthy and travis henry might still be given a chance to be around... leinart and young can't also fit in immediately as steve mcnair is deeply entrenched at the quarterback position... the titans receiving corps was severely depleted and no one has stepped in to fill the void left by derrick mason...

 

new york jets has the fourth pick... if tennessee happens to also pass on bush... the jets are the likely taker... curtis martin is aging... and his injuries for the past years is the evidence... cedric houston was just used in the final weeks... while derrick blaylock's reknown was established with his end zone vulturing behind then-unstoppable priest holmes... but a healthy chad pennington returns... and should revive a wretched jets offense... if the jets decide to give martin another shot... they might as well retool their defense...

 

green bay has the fifth pick... if the jets also pass on bush... the packers will also not take him easily... ahman green will be fully recovered from the injury he sustained... so does najeh davenport... and if superman brett favre decides to call it quits... leinart and young will also not immediately fit green bay as aaron rodgers is already there... green bay needs help to revamp their offensive line and safety positions... and both are the primary problems they need to address in the draft...

 

oakland has the sixth pick... so if bush is passed again... this time by the packers... the raiders can't also pick him up... lamont jordan proved that he can produce if given the chance... the raiders must fix their offensive line to push jordan's production better... or find a replacement for the inefficient kerry collins... sounds like a job for leinart or young...

 

san francisco has the seventh pick... even if the lowly niners need someone to spark their rebuilding program... they can't also take bush immediately... kevan barlow's performance hit rock-bottom... but rookie frank gore surprised everybody with his strong performance towards the end of the season... safety and offensive line are also problems for the niners and they might as well use their pick to upgrade the positions...

 

arizona has the eight pick... if bush is passed for the nth time... the cards are the ones who have the rights to take him... why?... the finished dead last in rushing... averaging only 71.1 ypg... and with bush lining up behind either kurt warner or josh mccown... the cardinals offense will now be balance with the high-flying duo of larry fitzgerald and anquan boldin manning the wings...

 

...but it is highly impossible that bush will be available in this part...

 

but who knows?... :rolleyes:

Edited by teio
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