| It’s crunch time, and you need a win to squeeze into the
playoffs. You have a few pieces of the puzzle, the standouts who have gotten you the
wins that you have accumulated so far. But to make it over the top, you are going to need
just a little bit more to get your team where it needs to be.
Lineup decisions are more critical than ever. Even choosing the wrong kicker can be a
very painful endeavor if done incorrectly.
Are there any secrets to making the right roster decisions down the stretch?
It’s always been a theory of mine to carefully study the NFL standings and how
each team will be affected by a win or a loss.
Teams that aren’t in contention for a playoff slot will often be more willing to
give young players a look and might become a little more experimental down the stretch.
Teams in the playoff hunt usually get conservative down the stretch, limiting the
chance for breakout games or gaudy yardage totals.
For example, in the AFC East, the race for the division championship is still very
spirited. Hence, look for all three of the teams still in the mix to rely heavily on
running the football, with Indianapolis’ Edgerrin James, Buffalo’s Jonathan
Linton and Miami’s soon-to-be-breakout performer J.J. Johnson to be
heavily involved in the offensive production.
The Jets and the Patriots might begin to experiment a little more, considering their
current status. The Jets might give Ray Lucas a little more leeway, while the
Patriots might give Kevin Faulk a few more cracks out of the backfield in place of Terry
Allen, who can’t run on a pair of reconstructed knees forever.
You can do this simple breakdown on nearly every team in the league, and usually what
it does in its remaining games directly correlates to a team’s place in the
standings.
For all intents and purposes, the good teams will continue to do the things that made
them good teams. They aren’t really what are important here. The key is to place your
focus on the teams that are apt to make some changes because they simply have nothing to
lose. It might not seem like much, but a TD from a third wide receiver might be enough to
put you over the top.
Here are some teams that you might want to inspect a little closer in terms of what
they might be looking to do as the season winds down.
Baltimore: The Ravens make little sense. However, it seems somewhat reasonable that the
Ravens might give a few more carries to younger backs than Errict Rhett. Despite
his success, it wouldn’t hurt to find out if Jay Graham is worth keeping
around.
Cincinnati: Darnay Scott and Jeff Blake are riding a hot streak right
now. The tandem will probably try to keep it going for as long as it can. The Bengals
actually looked somewhat respectable Sunday, and it was Scott and Blake who got the ball
moving.
Cleveland: Throw, throw and throw. Tim Couch will probably get a lot of leeway
in the offense, because the limited success the Browns have had has usually come through
the air. Who knows what the Browns will do on the ground, although the name Madre Hill
might pop up over the next few weeks.
Philadelphia: I’m sure this sounds crazy to most, but Donovan McNabb might
not be a terrible play the rest of the way. His natural ability took over Sunday with two
touchdown passes, and he also ran for well over 50 yards. He’s a threat. Odds are he
won’t bowl you over, but he could post respectable numbers the rest of the way.
Chicago: It is hard to argue with the production of Jim Miller, but exactly how
long can the Bears continue to do this silly one-or-two-series scenario with first-round
draft pick Cade McNown. Now, with the playoffs basically out of reach, the Bears
should decide exactly which direction they want this offense to go. That direction
probably shouldn’t involve Curtis Enis, but it certainly wouldn’t do any
harm to give James Allen a long look. It would be hard for him to be much worse
than Enis has been.
New Orleans: I wish I had some insight here. But other than the oft-injured Ricky
Williams, the Saints don’t seem to have a single specialist I could justify
making playing time for. It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better for
the Saints as long as the collective Billy Joes are running the show. |
