The first story on everyone's mind heading into week 17 was the possibility of the Detroit Lions being the first 0-16 team in NFL history. And just like the first fifteen games that they played, the Lions came up on the shorter end of the stick. They did play tough thru three quarters, as they have in a handful of games, but they could just not hang with the Packers in the fourth as they lost the quarter and the game by ten. Some might consider them the worst team in NFL history, and based on their record they are statistically, but they do have some youthful talent that could change things around soon with some proper development and good decision making in the draft. Their clear standout is Calvin Johnson, a second year wide receiver out of Georgia Tech, who has quietly had himself a top notch season, recording 78 receptions for 1331 yards and 12 touchdowns, which are easily considered Pro Bowl caliber numbers. In addition to Johnson, rookie running back Kevin Smith had a solid year rushing for 976 yards and scoring 8 touchdowns. In honor of the Lions, and their inability to finish a game this season with the lead, I am not finishing this article due to lack of caring for the hopeless football team from Detroit.

Who could have seen this coming? A 44-6 bludgeoning of the Dallas Cowboys by the Philadelphia Eagles. A classic David vs. Goliath story that people have seen all too many times to even be phased by this joke of a game. Of course "The Little Engine That Could" (Eagles) were gonna beat up on the "Bad Boys" (Cowboys) of the NFL. Adding to that, why shouldn't the Raiders beat the Bucs, as well as the Texans beating the Bears, in order to set up a dream matchup between bitter NFC East rivals in a virtual playoff game in Philly? What fails to make any sense to me is how the same offense that put up 41 points on this same defense could not even manage a touchdown throughout the entire course of the ballgame. In addition, how can Tony Romo be a quarterback who makes the tightest of throws in one game and misses so badly in the next? I still believe that the notion about him not being able to win in December is just a bit of coincidence, and I feel if the coaches had a better gameplan, it could help him succeed. If you ask me, the team needs some changes in the coaching and management areas as I believe this team has proven that they are more than capable when it comes to personnel. Changes definitely need to be made fast because this team is not getting any younger, and they definitely have the talent to win right now. Unfortunately, right now does not include the 2008-2009 season.

Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Terrell Owens, Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, Marion Barber, Tashard Choice, a solid offensive line. Show me a weakness here. This team is virtually an unstoppable team when you look on paper. But of course as Lee Flowers once said, paper champions do not win anything, you gotta win on the field. As you look a little beyond a very talented personnel, you start to see some cracks in this team's armor. They lead the league in penalties, and their offense is not anything short of vanilla. I mean how many times can a team run the ball on 2nd and 10 until they realize to change things up. The coaching/play calling is this team's ultimate downfall because this team is way too talented to not be blowing opponents away. Some might say that it is possible that they just are not as good as last season; they just do not have it anymore, but when you see the way they finished the game, on offense, against the Ravens, it is obvious that they can still be an extremely potent offense. Going into the season, they were supposed to be a team that only improved on minor weaknesses following a 13-3 record the season before, but as the rest of the football world can see, this is not the case at all. Jason Garrett looks as though he is trying to get Wade Philips fired so that he can take over as head coach. Use your team's abilities! Coaches would kill to have the offensive firepower that Dallas has the potential to have, and he is just throwing away a ton of talent. If the team can miraculously overcome these detrimental problems against the Eagles this weekend, they are granted a ticket into the playoffs where then they can achieve exactly what everybody thought they could at the beginning of the season: a Super Bowl championship.