Looking Back at '13

Seeing as the Minnesota Vikings are home for the playoffs, I've been caught up with coaching searches and draft positions most of this week. It's kept me from looking back at some of the big happenings of the 2013 NFL season. It's sometimes fun in the new year to look back at the old year. In no particular order, we have:

Peyton Manning

It's still strange to see Peyton Manning in a Denver Broncos jersey. His incredible play in his two seasons in Denver is making it easier each week. He broke Tom Brady's touchdown record with 55. With today's NFL, it's difficult to call any record out of reach but 55 is really pushing that boundary. He also broke Drew Brees' yardage record. Some will complain that the last pass was a lateral. If it was called a lateral on the field, Manning would have stayed in the game and broken the record anyway. The record is his but this record will probably be broken pretty much every season. Manning, Brady, and Matt Ryan all averaged over 40 attempts/game. Several others nearly did. Passing is the name of the game and Manning continues to do it better than anyone. He's an incredible treat to football fans everywhere.

Carolina Panthers

The Vikings hosted the Panthers in week 6. Both teams came into the game at 1-3. Each team was sort of teetering on the edge of a dreadful season. Both head coaches were on the hot seat. The Panthers completely dismantled the Vikings that day. The Panther won their next seven games and lost only once more in the regular season. The Vikings lost a bunch. Panthers coach Ron Rivera is a coach of the year candidate. Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was fired. The Kansas City Chiefs may have rebounded from a 2-14 season a year ago but the Panthers, in my opinion, is the surprise team of the year. Cam Newton has been terrific. The Panthers defense is brilliant, especially up the middle. 

The Middle Linebacker

With the growing popularity of 3-4 defenses, the traditional middle linebacker, the quarterback of the defense, is going the way of the fullback. The stellar play and leadership of Luke Kuechly of the Panthers and Sean Lee of the Dallas Cowboys are keeping the position relevant. 

Josh Gordon

87 catches

1646 yards 

9 touchdowns

And, he missed the first two games of the season. In only his second season, The Cleveland Browns receiver has emerged as one of the best wideouts in the game. Over a four game stretch from November 17 to December 8, he had an incredible 774 yards on 36 catches. Spread over an entire season that pace would produce 3096 receiving yards. His numbers would be astonishing in the best of circumstances. The Browns quarterback situation was about as far from the best as can be imagined. They couldn't keep a quarterback healthy. Despite being the only real threat on the team, defenses seemed helpless against Gordon.

LeSean McCoy

Philadelphia Eagles running LeSean McCoy doesn't need a lot of room to maneuver. Coach Chip Kelly's hurry-up, spread-em out offense stretches defenses horizontally and vertically. It opens up the field for McCoy to wreak a lot of havoc. He led the league in rushing with 1607 yards. 

The re-emergence of the Philip Rivers

There was a time when Philip Rivers was included among the top quarterbacks in the game. He was right there with Manning, Brady, Rodgers, and Brees. The San Diego Chargers started to flounder and so did Rivers. He's back. The Chargers lost most of their top receivers in training camp to injuries. It didn't seem to bother Rivers at all. His level of play led to the quick rise of rookie Keenan Allen. And, Allen kept rewarding that favor with each game. They now form a lethal combination. The Chargers may have squeaked into the playoffs but Rivers makes them a tough opponent for any team. 

The New England Patriots and Bill Belichick. 

Bill Belichick has three Super Bowl titles as a head coach. Two more as an assistant coach. He's been voted the AP Coach of the Year three times. His coaching this season might have been his best coaching in his career. It's simply amazing that he was able to lead this New England Patriots team to a 12-4 record, an AFC East title, and a first round bye in the playoffs. He was forced to deal with all the crap from the Aaron Hernandez drama before the season even started. No doubt, it helps to have Tom Brady at quarterback. Neither Belichick, nor Brady, knew which offensive weapons were going to be available each week. The Patriots biggest weapon, tight end Rob Gronkowski was only available for about a quarter of the season. The receiver position was a revolving door all season. The defense was a M*A*S*H unit on all levels. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork was lost early for the season. He's to the defense what Brady is to the offense. Linebacker Jerod Mayo was lost for season. Injuries rifled through the secondary. It seems as long as Brady and Belichick are still breathing that the Patriots will be in the mix. That was never more true this season. Amazing stuff.

That's just a few of the grand developments of the 2013 NFL season.