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Hello everyone.   Sorry for the late post, been busy with the holiday season.  I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and is enjoying a nice holiday season.  Welcome to 2009.  But now, it is time to take a quick look back at the last week in 2008 and the last week of the regular season of the NFL.  I went 12-4 this week, better than last week's 7-9 record.   But now, it's time for the "The Week that was in the NFL" Week 17:

St. Louis 27 @ Atlanta 31

Give the Rams and Steven Jackson credit.  They played the Falcons tough, and with a few more playmakers on both sides of the ball, they could be a factor next season.  But Michael "the burner" Turner was just too good and now the Falcons go to the desert to face the Cardinals.

New England 13 @ Buffalo 0

That wind was incredible in Buffalo (over 60 mph gusts at times).  The Patriots took care of business though and won, but at 11-5, they did not make the playoffs.  That's hard to figure out.

Kansas City 6 @ Cincinnati 16

The Bengals ended the season strong (3 straight wins).  The Chiefs not so much.  Both teams will look towards the offseason to get some much needed work done.

Detroit 21 @ Green Bay 31

They were close, but the Lions now will live in infamy as the first team to finish a season 0-16.  Besides Calvin Johnson and perhaps Kevin Smith, the Lions have nothing.

Chicago 24 @ Houston 31

Chicago had a chance at the playoffs, but mistakes cost them a chance at the playoffs.  Houston finished the season strong, and will have momenum heading into next season.

Tennessee 0 @ Indianapolis 23

In the battle of the backups, the Colts proved to be the better team.  Peyton Manning is looking towards another MVP.  I think he'll get it.

New York Giants 19 @ Minnesota 20

It took till the end, and it was against the backups for most of the game, but the Vikings got the win and won the NFC North.  Now the Eagles come to town, and the Vikings are having trouble selling out tickets.  That spells all kinds of trouble for the Vikings.

Carolina 33 @ New Orleans 31

The Panthers blew a big lead, but they were able to come back and kick the GW FG to lock up the #2 seed in the NFC.  16 yards.  That's how short Drew Brees came to breaking Dan Marino's passing record.  But he did throw for over 5000 yards and did have a magnificent season.

Cleveland 0 @ Pittsburgh 31

Ben Roethlisberger's scary injury gives more momentum to resting starters in a meaningless game.  But there are freak injuries in football.  Big Ben should be ready for the Steelers divisional playoff game in a week.

Oakland 31 @ Tampa Bay 24

This was the shock of the day.  Where has Tampa's defense gone?  The Raiders rushing attack shreded the Bucs defense and knocked the Bucs out of the playoffs.  Nobody saw this one coming, no one.

Jacksonville 7 @ Baltimore 27

Win and you're in.  That's what the Ravens did and now the travel to Miami for a wild card matchup.  With their defense, I would fear the Ravens.

Miami 24 @ New York Jets 17

The Cinderella story continues for the Dolphins.  They won and now will host the Ravens on Sunday.  What can you say about the Jets collapse.  Brett Favre needs to retire.  He has been terrible.  Eric Mangini has now been fired and the locker room is full of resentment towards Brett Favre according to a report.  That does not look good for the Jets.

Dallas 6 @ Philadelphia 44

Perhaps the second biggest surprise of the day was the way the Cowboys came out and played against the Eagles.  Thanks to some surprising wins from teams in the early games, the Eagles with a win would make the playoffs.  And they came out and played like they wanted to be there.  The Cowboys did not.  Jerry Jones has some housecleaning to do and perhaps some surgery to rapair this fractured franchise.  Their performance was embarrassing.

Seattle 21 @ Arizona 34

The Cardinals needed to win this game to gain some confidence heading into the playoffs.  They won, but will they be able to stop Atlanta?  We'll have to wait and see.

Washington 24 @ San Francisco 27

Nice way to end the season for the 49ers.  And they lifted the interim tag from Mike Singletary and he is now the head coach.  Great hire by the 49ers.

Denver 21 @ San Diego 52

Boy did Denver choke away a chance at winning the AFC West.  The Chargers throttled the Broncos and are one of the hottest teams entering the playoffs.  Their battle with the Colts will be a classic.  The Broncos lost cost Mike Shanahan his job, and I think it was the right move.  He has made some questionable decisions in recent years and has struggled since John Elway retired.

Well that is all I have for today.  I'll be back tomorrow with two different logs previewing both Saturday and Sunday's playoff games.  It should be great.