Bell: Best and worst of NFL season

Best performance by a supporting
coach: Bruce Arians. When first-year
Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano
left to undergo treatment for leukemia,
the offensive coordinator stepped up as
interim coach and decided to leave the
light on in his boss's office. Pagano came
back to a squad that Arians guided to a
surprising playoff berth. And now there's
no better choice for Coach of the Year
honors.
Worst timing for an injury: Alex
Smith. The San Francisco 49ers
quarterback, who took his team to the
NFC title game last season, was among
the most efficient passers when he
suffered a concussion in Week 10. He
even finished the touchdown drive after
getting knocked woozy against the St.
Louis Rams. Then he lost his starting job
when coach Jim Harbaugh switched to
second-year pro Colin Kaepernick. Makes
you wonder if some players might try
harder to hide concussion symptoms.
Best fresh start: Peyton Manning.
After four neck procedures forced him to
miss the entire 2011 season, the NFL's
only four-time MVP was cut by the Colts
last spring. Yes, even the best of them
can get dumped -- and become the most
desired free agent since Reggie White.
Manning landed with the Denver
Broncos, lured by Hall of Famer John
Elway. With the Broncos careening
toward the playoffs with an NFL-longest
10-game winning streak, Manning is
having yet another MVP campaign.
Best successor: Andrew Luck. How
lucky is Colts owner Jim Irsay? After
more than a decade with Manning as the
face of his franchise, the Colts wind up
with Luck as the new franchise
quarterback. Luck has only led the Colts
to the playoffs, set the NFL's single-
season rookie passing record and showed
quite the knack for last-minute
comebacks.
Worst prediction: Ryan Kalil. The
Panthers center fueled optimism when
he purchased a full-page ad in The
Charlotte Observer and in an open letter
told fans to expect a Super Bowl
championship season. He was a bit
premature. Although they have played
well down the stretch, the Panthers
flopped as a contender -- and Kalil wound
up rehabbing from a season-ending foot
injury.
Best example for following the
rules: Dez Bryant. With a series of off-
the-field issues threatening to derail his
enormous talent -- including a since-
settled domestic assault matter
stemming from a July incident that
involved his mother -- the third-year
Cowboys receiver agreed to a set of
team-influenced lifestyle rules designed
to foster focus. It has worked. Bryant
has blossomed into a game-breaking star,
putting up career-best numbers for
catches (88), yards (1,311) and TDs (12)
that reflect improved consistency in
executing his instructions from the
playbook.
Worst scandal: Bountygate. In
March, the NFL announced results from a
three-year investigation that uncovered a
bounty system with the New Orleans
Saints inspired by indefinitely-suspended
former defensive coordinator Gregg
Williams. But over several months, the
NFL's case got weaker and weaker amid
player challenges and revelations of a
sloppy investigation. This month, former
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue,
serving as arbitrator, vacated the
punishment that successor Roger Goodell
prescribed for four players, raising even
more questions. The matter still isn't
finished, with linebacker Jonathan Vilma's
pending defamation suit against Goodell.
Best conversion: Ray Rice, fourth-
and-29. Staring at a loss at the San Diego
Chargers in Week 12, the Baltimore
Ravens running back took a check-down
pass from Joe Flacco -- a check-down
pass! -- and weaved his way around at
least a half-dozen defenders to get a first
down that saved the day. The Ravens
won in overtime, and on Sunday clinched
another AFC North title.
Worst officiating blunder: Fail Mary.
There was some good that came out of
the bizarre ending to the Seattle
Seahawks last-second victory against the
Green Bay Packers in Week 3, when
replacement officials wiped out M.D.
Jennings' apparent interception by ruling
receiver Golden Tate had simultaneous
possession. The ensuing outrage inspired
the NFL to increase its offer to the
locked-out regular officials, which
resulted in a new labor deal in a matter
of days.
Best way to bust a myth: Megatron
beats Madden Curse. Detroit Lions star
Calvin Johnson was featured on the cover
of the Madden 13 video game, a high-
profile slot that has sometimes coincided
with misfortune. Not for Johnson, aka
Megatron, who broke Jerry Rice's single-
season NFL record for receiving yards
and heads into Week 17 poised to
become the first receiver to crack 2,000
yards. What curse? Ok, there's still the
Lions Curse to overcome. A year after
making the playoffs, Detroit is 4-11,
stumbling with a seven-game losing
streak that underscored the need to
throw the football ... while playing from
behind.
Best new star presence: RGIII. The
Washington Redskins mortgaged their
future in a trade with the Rams for the
chance to select Robert Griffin III with
the second pick overall. Now they have a
bright future, built around their dynamic
quarterback, and a chance for the
franchise to seize its first division title
since 1999. As a bonus, Griffin brings an
enormous appeal as a megastar -- his
jersey is the top seller in the NFL and
politicians from both sides of the aisle on
Capitol Hill have jumped on the
bandwagon.
Best draft value: Russell Wilson.
What do you do when you can't draft
Luck or RGIII? The Seahawks selected
Wilson in the third round, 75th overall.
He won the starting job by beating out
prized free agent Matt Flynn, and has
since proven to be quite a bargain.
Wilson triggers the offense for a team
that became the first to score 50 points
in back-to-back games since the 1950
Los Angeles Rams. And, the Seahawks
are in the playoffs.
Worst role on a reality show: Chad
Johnson. You figured that one of the
NFL's most recognizable personalities
would be featured prominently when
HBO's Hard Knocks documentary series
spent training camp with the Miami
Dolphins. Yet the storyline became so
unfortunate as the man formerly known
as Chad Ochocinco was arrested for
domestic assault after an incident with
his new wife, Evelyn Lozada. This became
too much for new Miami coach Joe
Philbin and led to Johnson becoming the
most recognizable NFL personality ever
cut during a reality-TV episode. It
seemed fitting, given that Johnson
creatively developed into a household
name with one stunt after another. It
also seems that it was Johnson's final act
as an NFL player, the drama undoubtedly
a factor as no team signed him following
his release from the Dolphins.
Best comeback: Adrian Peterson.
After tearing the anterior cruciate and
medial collateral ligaments in his left
knee on Christmas eve 2011, the
Minnesota Vikings star declared he would
return better than ever. Here's to
positive thinking, but that was some tall
order. The lesson now? Never doubt
Peterson, maybe better than ever in
record time after reconstructive knee
surgery. He's poised to become the
seventh player to rush for 2,000 yards
and aims to break Eric Dickerson's 1984
single-season rushing record of 2,105
yards. Peterson is 208 yards from
breaking that. There's no need to doubt
him now.
Worst comeback: Ben Roethlisberger.
The table seemed set for the Pittsburgh
Steelers to make a mad dash to the
playoffs, after their marquee quarterback
returned from a three-game layoff after
shoulder and rib injuries. Instead,
Roethlisberger showed that it's not so
automatic to get back into the flow. The
Steelers have lost all three games since
Roethlisberger's return -- including the
past two, when his crunchtime
interceptions set up the game-winning
field goals -- and are eliminated from
playoff contention.
Best way to 'phase out' a receiver:
Wes Welker. Remember when the New
England Patriots were supposedly
phasing out the blitz-busting slot
receiver from their offense? Welker is
third in the NFL with 110 catches for
1,260 yards and has become the first
player in league history to post five 100-
catch seasons.
Worst commentary: Rob Parker.
When the edgy ESPN talent labeled
Griffin III as a "cornball brother" during
an exchange on First Take, it did not
exactly inspire a conversation on racial
perceptions or brotherhood. Instead, it
got Parker suspended for 30 days.
Best vegan: Tony Gonzalez. The 16th-
year Atlanta Falcons tight end must have
this thing about showing age or wear and
tear. Gonzalez, 36, had another all-pro
season, second among NFL tight ends
with 88 catches, including 8 TDs. He
must be living right and eating well in
what he says is his last season. Let's see
if he can help the Falcons finally get over
the hump to win a championship and ride
off in style.
Worst hype: Tim Tebow. A bad idea
from the start for the New York Jets
braintrust, which traded for Tebow and
declared him a Wildcat option behind
Mark Sanchez. Instead, controversy,
aided by Sanchez's funk and the Big
Apple spotlight. Tebow is headed for a
ticket out of town. The Jets got their
money's worth for buzz. But all attention
isn't necessarily good.
Best catch: Martellus Bennett. The
New York Giants tight end emerged as a
decent red zone option for Eli Manning.
But Bennett made his biggest catch
when he snagged an over-zealous fan
who had fallen over the railing above a
tunnel that leads to the locker room at
MetLife Stadium following New York's
thrashing of the Packers.
Worst ending to a record streak:
Drew Brees. The Saints quarterback
broke Johnny Unitas' record for
consecutive games with a touchdown
pass (47) and extended the streak to 54
games while trying to rally the team for
a playoff push. Then the streak ended.
Badly. Brees had his first career five-
interception game in a Week 13 loss at
Atlanta that essentially squashed the
Saints' playoff hopes.