Rob: Of all the awards categories we will be doing, Offensive Rookie of the Year was my toughest spot. Leaving Teddy Bridgewater off the top five was heartbreaking, and I had him in the fifth spot right up until I sent the email to Stan. Bridgewater should have been the third overall pick to the Jaguars. I think he will be terrific, and had he played earlier, he might have vaulted up this list. Still, 2014 was the year of the rookie receiver, and this list should reflect that.
Stan: With the regular season all wrapped up, what can we say we learned this year? Rex Ryan learned that the luster of a couple playoff appearances goes away when your offense is so terrible. Mike Smith learned that the window of opportunity can close really quickly. Hopefully the Giants learned a thing or two from the Cowboys. Their success is all on the offensive line. The Lions might learn soon that they might be better off without their best defensive player and the Bears might finally be learning that
Jay Cutler isn’t their guy and no one, not even the quarterback whisperer, can save them from him. Most of all, the fans are learning that the more things change, the more they stay the same. For what its worth, I’ve enjoyed every bit of doing these rankings and I think an official KIRS Top 100 Players of 2014 would be a great way to keep this going.
Rob: Stan, I think you are overrating what everyone has learned. Rex Ryan seems to have his stock higher than ever after being fired. Mike Smith closed his own window by being terrible at his job. Nobody ever learns that offensive lineman are important, they just keep drafting bad quarterbacks. The Lions need Suh, and sadly, the Bears need Cutler. I’d love to keep this going, can’t wait until our next project. While you wait, enjoy Wild Card weekend, and here are the last Power Rankings of the 2014 NFL season.
I’m an avid fan of Bill Burr and I never miss an episode of the Monday Morning Podcast. Despite Burr being from Boston and therefore, a Patriots fan, I love his take on sports. In his most recent episode he talked about how good the Seahawks are even though the Patriots are his team and if the two teams were to meet in the Super Bowl, he’d have no choice but to be nervous. He went on to talk about how the NFL is all about runs. The NFC goes on a run of Super Bowls, then the AFC goes on a run of their own. Back and forth, back and forth. Right now, we’re in an NFC run. Outside of the Ravens win two years ago, we’ve seen four of the last five Super Bowl winners come out of the NFC and this year is going to be no different. Whether its Seattle, Green Bay or maybe even Dallas, the NFC is winning the Super Bowl. Clearly Rob and I are on the same page because our power rankings reflect it.
Okay, I have a quick question. DID YOU SEE JOHNNY FOOTBALL TRY TO PLAY QUARTERBACK ON SUNDAY?!? Oh my God. OH MY GOD. That was the most exciting 60 minutes of football all season, and that includes the 60 minutes I watched the Odell catch on loop on my phone while sitting in the bathroom.
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