Though I’ll make playoff picks, I’m not counting those toward my weekly pick statistics, so the season there is over. After going 12-4 last week, and discovering I had one game extra in my overall record (and deleting an extra win), I finished the season 161-94-1, a 63.1 percent success rate. That’s a little better than last season, when I was at 59.2 percent. Next year, I might try picking both straight up and against the spread (the latter of which I’m terrible at, I’ll never be a professional sports bettor). Thanks for following along.

You knew there would be some firings after the season ended, and I didn’t think any would be more surprising than Eric Mangini’s on Monday. But then the hammer came down on Denver’s Mike Shanahan, ending the regime of the NFL’s second-longest active tenured coach.

Maybe it shouldn’t have been so surprising. After all, the Broncos have been merely average for a few years now. They haven’t been able to successfully replace Terrell Davis (they almost did with Clinton Portis, but then they weren’t even able to replace him after he departed for Washington), and though Jay Cutler has emerged as a solid NFL QB, he’s no John Elway. Don’t forget that the Broncos had the AFC West all but wrapped up, then watched their playoff hopes disappear.

What is surprising, I guess, is that Shanahan was canned, rather than given the chance to simply walk away. This is a coach that won two Super Bowls with the Broncos. I remember Mike Ditka’s press conference after he was fired from the Bears, thinking why didn’t they let him just resign with a little extra dignity.

Shanahan will be employed with another team, maybe even by next season. With Bill Cowher rumored for every open job, his name will surely surface for the Broncos’.

In the meantime, Shanahan leaves the Broncos with two Super Bowl rings. That’s more than Ditka, Cowher, Mike Holmgren and John Madden. He’ll be remembered in Denver for that before he’ll be remembered for the collapse of 2008.

It looks like next season’s Pro Bowl will be moved to Miami, and more significantly, moved to the week before the Super Bowl instead of the week after. I’m wondering, will it make a difference?

The Pro Bowl is sports’ biggest afterthought, coming a week after the season ends when sports fans have mostly moved on to college basketball and spring training. Moving it to before the Super Bowl, on that weekend where there is no football, is a good move. Ratings should improve, and with the game in Miami (at least for 2010), more people might travel to see the game in advance of the Super Bowl in the same stadium. Granted, no players from the two Super Bowl teams would be available, but the Pro Bowl already loses plenty of players who don’t want to risk further injury.

But the Pro Bowl is still the Pro Bowl: Little defense, simple offense, not a lot of intensity. Even if the game is on a Sunday with no football before the Super Bowl, will viewers turn in for a game that might not be entertaining? Honestly, I probably won’t.

With the playoffs set, I began to ponder which team that didn’t make the postseason suffered the biggest, most shocking collapse in 2008. Several came to mind:

– Green Bay. The Packers weren’t exactly a playoff lock, but they started the season out decently enough, and with a new starting quarterback, no less, that they had a legititmate shot to win the NFC North. Instead, thanks mostly to injuries and not Aaron Rodgers, they finished 6-10.

– Dallas. Had Tony Romo not broken his finger, would the Cowboys have finished 11-5? Difficult to say, especially since there were games they barely showed up. And there was no excuse for not being competitive against the Eagles on Sunday when a playoff berth was on the line.

– Denver. The Broncos were 8-5 with a three-game lead in the AFC West and just needed one win or one Chargers loss to win the division. It didn’t happen, though two of Denver’s losses were to good teams (if you count San Diego as a good team; by Week 17, the Chargers were). However, the Broncos should have defeated Buffalo in Week 16. Maybe they weren’t that good to begin with and just benefited from playing in a mediocre division.

– N.Y. Jets. The Jets went from 8-3 and the hottest team in the NFL to 9-7 and out of the postseason. The collapse cost Eric Mangini his job and made some people reflect that maybe the Packers knew what they were doing when they let Brett Favre go.

– Washington. The Redskins started 6-2 and finished 2-6. They can’t blame playing in a tough division, either, for losing to the Rams, Bengals and 49ers.

– Buffalo. Another great start, another disappointing midseason. At least for the Bills, you can blame the tough division. Losing Trent Edwards for a few games didn’t help, either.

But the winner of the biggest collapse in 2008: Tampa Bay. The Bucs were 9-3 and driving toward a playoff berth, then lost out, including their last two at home to AFC West opponents. How embarrassing is it to be prevented from making the playoffs by the Raiders? For perspective, a less experienced Falcons team coming off a terrible 2007 showed more poise than the Bucs when the playoffs were on the line. Tampa Bay had no excuse.

Well, there it is, a complete regular season. Despite their loss, I kept the Titans at No. 1, as they weren’t really trying Sunday in their loss to the Colts. Note that the Patriots are at No. 6 but staying home in January. The Eagles made the week’s biggest jump, up four spots, while the Bucs took the biggest fall, down four.

1. Titans (13-3)
2. Giants(12-4)
3. Colts (12-4)
4. Panthers (12-4)
5. Steelers (12-4)
6. Patriots (11-5)
7. Ravens (11-5)
8. Falcons (11-5)
9. Dolphins (11-5)
10. Vikings (10-6)
11. Eagles (9-6-1)
12. Cowboys (9-7)
13. Cardinals (9-7)
14. Jets (9-7)
15. Buccaneers (9-7)
16. Chargers (8-8)
17. Bears (9-7)
18. Broncos (8-8)
19. Texans (8-8)
20. 49ers (7-9)
21. Saints (8-8)
22. Redskins (8-8)
23. Packers (6-10)
24. Bills (7-9)
25. Jaguars (5-11)
26. Bengals (4-11-1)
27. Raiders (5-11)
28. Seahawks (4-12)
29. Browns (5-11)
30. Chiefs (2-14)
31. Rams (2-14)
32. Lions (0-16)

A Dallas receiver is upset with his role in the team’s offense, and for once, it’s not Terrell Owens.

Roy Williams expressed his frustration last week over not being more involved in the Cowboys’ passing game. He has only caught one touchdown, and not from Tony Romo, since coming over in a trade from Detroit.

Williams should reflect on how good he has it. Instead of possibly going to the playoffs, he can be stuck with the Lions, who likely will go down as the worst team in NFL history. Maybe he sees the stats former teammate Calvin Johnson is putting up for Detroit this season and wonders why he isn’t getting those numbers. But who would Williams rather be — the third option in the Dallas passing attack or the best player on an 0-16 team? He should count his blessings the Lions traded him and wait for the looks to come to him, probably next season when he and Romo are more comfortable with each other.

The last picks of the season, playoffs notwithstanding (I don’t count those games toward the overall record). After last week’s pummeling, hopefully I’ll go out with a good week.

WEEK 17
ATLANTA over St. Louis
BALTIMORE over Jacksonville
New England over BUFFALO
CINCINNATI over Kansas City
GREEN BAY over Detroit
Chicago over HOUSTON
INDIANAPOLIS over Tennessee
MINNESOTA over N.Y. Giants
Carolina over NEW ORLEANS
N.Y. JETS over Miami
Dallas over PHILADELPHIA
PITTSBURGH over Cleveland
TAMPA BAY over Oakland
ARIZONA over Seattle
SAN DIEGO over Denver
SAN FRANCISCO over Washington
Last week: 7-9 Season: 150-90-1

The Detroit Lions are one loss away from a 0-16 season, the first in NFL history, and the first time a team hasn’t won in a season since the 0-14 Buccaneers in 1976. At least the Bucs had an excuse — they were an expansion team. The Lions just suck through their own devices.

Go back to last season, when Detroit started 6-2 and it looked like Rod Marinelli had turned this team around. Since then, the Lions are 1-22. It appeared maybe they could make a run in the NFC North this year, but they haven’t even come close. Detroit is simply the worst-run franchise in the NFL, which is saying something considering the NFL includes the Raiders, Bengals and 49ers.

On Sunday, the Packers, despite their struggles, won’t let themselves be the team that gave Detroit its only victory of the season. Teams can turn around after a bad season — look at the Dolphins and Falcons — but those teams need major commitments to make the big change. Even with Matt Millen gone and maybe Marinelli, that commitment doesn’t seem to be there. The Lions will improve next year — to 4-12.

So many teams last weekend had clear shots to make, or improve their chances at, the playoffs. Some delivered, some didn’t. Who stunk up their chances the most? The Broncos, who must now win on the road against a suddenly confident Chargers team. I’m just wondering, and I could be way off on this, but if the Broncos don’t make the playoffs, will Mike Shanahan’s job be in jeopardy?

Other musings:

– I know Bear fans who are wondering if their team deserves to be in the playoffs, even after winning Monday night. Chicago needs help, but the other five playoff teams should be rooting that it gets that help, because the Bears won’t get out of the first half, much less the first round.

– How good did the Titans look against Pittsburgh? Were the Steelers simply worn out after so many emotional wins? I’d say this might be an AFC championship preview, but I still think the Colts might come through their wild-card position and challenge for a Super Bowl berth.

– Congratulations to the Falcons for their amazing turnaround. If they draw the Cardinals in the first round, don’t be surprised if they pull off an upset on the road.

– Finally, Brett Favre and the Jets have been unable to seal the deal in the AFC East after starting 9-3. Jets fans shouldn’t watch the second half of last season’s NFC championship. It might ruin their holiday.

And on that note, Happy Holidays!

Tennessee jumps back into the top spot with its impressive victory over Pittsburgh. Nos. 2-5 are close too — I can see any of these teams winning the Super Bowl. The Dolphins make the week’s biggest jump, up four spots, while the aforementioned Steelers take the biggest tumble, down four.

1. Titans (13-2)
2. Giants (12-3)
3. Colts (11-4)
4. Panthers (11-4)
5. Steelers (11-4)
6. Patriots (10-5)
7. Ravens (10-5)
8. Falcons (10-5)
9. Cowboys (9-6)
10. Dolphins (10-5)
11. Buccaneers (9-6)
12. Jets (9-6)
13. Vikings (9-6)
14. Bears (9-6)
15. Eagles (8-6-1)
16. Cardinals (8-7)
17. Broncos (8-7)
18. Chargers (7-8)
19. Saints (8-7)
20. Redskins (8-7)
21. Texans (7-8)
22. 49ers (6-9)
23. Bills (7-8)
24. Packers (5-10
25. Jaguars (5-10)
26. Seahawks (4-11)
27. Browns (5-10)
28. Bengals (3-11-1)
29. Raiders (4-11)
30. Chiefs (2-13)
31. Rams (2-13)
32. Lions (0-15)