End Zone (Week 9)

1. Which Peyton needs a bounce back 2012, Manning or Hillis?
KDC: Manning. Brady & Manning are now the Favres of the NFL - the old guns who are burnishing their legends but won't be winning any more championships. The sheer force off Manning's drive to win has been proven by the total collapse of the Colts. If anyone ever doubted his leadership intangibles, they can no longer do that. To see him come back & lead them to the playoffs in 2012 would be a movie. It would also prove that the 3 neck injuries weren't long-lasting. Sadly, I'm afraid it's unlikely we'll ever see Peyton Manning back on the gridiron as anything but a shadow of his former greatness. Neck injuries do that to even the immortals. That's why he needs a bounce back - just to be healthy for the rest of his life.
Momo: Its gotta be Hillis. Peyton Hillis has had a strange season since being on the cover of "Madden Football". He's had leg issues, strep throat, skipped out on a charity event for disadvantaged children, complained about his contract through the press, and had an intervention performed by teammates in the locker room. Peyton Hillis season so far sounds like a scripted TV drama. His problem is this is a lot of the same things that got him ran out of Denver.Hillis needs to line up and play football. Just get back to running downhill and all the other stuff will take care of itself.

2. Which Harbaugh do you see in a championship game, John or Jim?
KDC: The Ravens. I see the 49ers falling to earth when someone makes Alex Smith alone beat them. I'm still unconvinced the Ravens offense is good enough or consistent enough to go to the Super Bowl, but they've had the Patriot's number for a couple years, they seem to have finally hexed Pittsburgh and I'm guessing the Bengals & Texans will eventually wilt due to inexperience with excellence. That leaves the wildly inconsistent (& lucky) Jets. I'm not sure there's anyone in the AFC who can handle the Ravens defense, so if the offense can keep it together . . .
Momo: It's all about Jim and the Niners. Now at the beginning of the season no one would have said that after the Packers, the Niners would be the second best team in the NFC, but that is the case. The Niners are more than likely going to get a bye and homefield at least for their first game. After that, all they need to do is win one game and they are in the NFC Championship game.

3. Did the lockout hurt all the free agent signings this year?
KDC: Maybe that's it. Maybe it's the lockout. But maybe most free agent signings make better headlines than players. The wheels have come off most of Philadelphia's multiple big signings & both of the Patriot's signings (Ochocinco & Haynesworth) are no shows this year. In fact, for every historic signing (think Reggie White to the Packers in 1993) I'm guessing there are 10-12 total busts. It's probably about the same odds as most drafts, except you think you're getting a known quantity (a veteran player) and you're not.
Momo: I believe the lockout has hurt teams who signed free agents get continuity and chemistry. If you look at the teams who are succeeding they are the one's who did not make wholesale changes. The Giants, Jets, Ravens, Packers, Saints and Steelers have been together for a while and that has benefited these teams.

4. This NFL season, just a few good teams or just a lot of bad teams or has the lockout and rules changes made it hard to build excellence?
KDC: I'm afraid there are a lot of bad teams this year. After the Packers, & the 49ers (!), everyone else has been wildly inconsistent. The Ravens can only beat the Steelers, but could lose to anyone else. The Patriots can only put up "Wow!" stats on weak teams. No one trusts the Bengals or Texans or Jets.... I mean, any given week any really bad team can beat a decent team, but is that good football? It's an off year. (& frankly, I love that my Packers are undefeated, but it doesn't make very many games watchable.)
Momo: Its just a lot of bad teams and combined with new rule changes we are now watching some bad football. There is a huge dropoff between the good teams and bad. Just look at the Rams, Dolphins and Colts. If you combine the defenses of Alabama and LSU, those teams might just score 17 points or less. Also the rule changes have virtually made it impossible for defense"s to tackle. Look at the fines this week from the Ravens-Steelers game. The majority of the hits in that game used to be called "good football hits". Now players are getting penalized and their wallets lightened because the league wants higher scoring games. These two things have changed the game we watch.