Any Given Sunday

The 2012 football season has been a season with different surprises and upsets every week. Some teams that many expected to be good have failed to meet expectations, while other teams exceeded their expectations for the 2012 season. Due to the craziness from week to week, there has been no clear favorite to win the Super Bowl as there has been in the past. This is why fans love the National Football League.

Some surprising games to remember include; week 3 when the Vikings beat the 49ers, week 5 when the Colts stunned the Packers, week 15 when the Falcons crushed the Giants after a week when the Giants won 52-27 over the Saints, and week 16 when the Seahawks embarrassed the 49ers after a week when they beat the Patriots at home.

With all that said, there have been several new competitive teams this season that many are not accustomed to seeing in the lime light.

Three teams who had top ten draft picks this past April, (Washington, Minnesota, and Indianapolis) are in line to make the playoffs this season. Only a year removed from disappointing seasons, these teams are in position to make a run at winning the Super Bowl as the last game of the season approaches.

In addition, a team most experts saw being at the bottom of the food chain as they have in most recent years is the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks have surprised people with their 10-5 record. This record sealed at worst the #1 wild card spot, with an outside shot at winning their division. Head Coach Pete Carroll has turned the franchise into a Super Bowl contender this season as the Seahawks look to return to the spotlight.

On the flip side, teams such as the Saints, Steelers, and Eagles have failed to meet their prototypical expectations held by their fans and opponents around the league. All have fallen short of their own expectations for different reasons, none the less, they will be watching the playoffs from home.

Then there’s the reigning Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Tom Coughlins led Giants are currently (8-7) and on the outside looking in as they trail the Redskins and Cowboys in their division. Manning and company let their 1st place standing in the NFC East slip away due to their inconsistency throughout the season. This could result in winning the Super Bowl to not being able to defend it in only 10 months.

Saving the most surprising and most impressive for last, how about the season Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning have put in? As talented and special as they are in their respected positions, not one person can say they predicted each would perform at as high of a level that they have following the injuries they were overcoming.

Manning has led a young Broncos team to one of the best records in the AFC. Neck injuries are serious regardless of the sport, which is why it has been impressive to see what Manning has been able to do this season, as his team currently controls a ten game win streak.

Usually tearing an ACL is usually the death sentence for a running back, not for Peterson. Most injuries of this sort take forever to come back from, and those who suffer through the rehab never come back the same player they once were. However, this season Peterson has not only come back the same, he has come back stronger and better than before. Heading into week 17 he has a chance to not only clinch a playoff birth with his teammates, he also is just 208 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record which would be an amazing accomplishment if it happens.

While it is sad to see the NFL season entering the last week of the season with only a month of football left, we should be thankful for the surprises teams and players have brought us all season long.

Just as Al Picinos character in the movie “Any Given Sunday” said in the teams locker room, “The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch.”

Teams can win or lose each week if they don’t execute their game plans properly which results in different teams winning each week. The game of football always amazes us and keeps us on the edge of our seats in fear and excitement of the unknown of what lies ahead, and that is the reason people love football because any given sunday a team in the NFL can win.