Health and success to James Hardy. If this 2008 second-rounder can explode in the new year, Terrell Owens can go somewhere else. In a year, Hardy and Aaron Maybin will be the key to the Bills Success.
Miami Dolphins
Durability for Ricky Williams. For the first time in six years, he gained 1,000 yards, with toughness and determination. He's a nice guy playing a team game and will be 33 next year. He has been - and hopefully will be fun to watch as his career winds down.
New England Patriots
The gift of verbal disassociation. Randy, lighten up a bit and admit you took plays off - other receivers in the NFL do it too. Life is too short not to enjoy fame, money and ability and you have all three in abundance. Who cares who says what about you, enjoy the time you have left and remember Tedi Bruschi, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel and Rodney Harrison.
NY Jets
To Mark Sanchez - a vacation with a purpose. No matter how far the Jets go in 2009, they will be that much better in 2010. Take a vacation in February, come back in March with improvement and a new attitude. The Jets are a wide receiver and quarterback away from a Super Bowl appearance.
Baltimore Ravens
Youth for Ray Lewis. He's a mean guy playing a mean sport, but his leadership skills, desire to win and commitment is astonishing. I really like Ray Lewis - as long as he's on my team.
Cincinnati Bengals
Peace of mind. Football is a game - that's it. The revenue streams that can help others, along with the influence players have on each other are more important than anything else. For Mike Zimmer, Chad Ochocinco and the rest of the organization, that peace of mind may have come through personal adversity.
Cleveland Browns
To Mike Holmgren - energy, enthusiasm and youth. I'm surprised he's on board with the Browns. May he create, find or be given the desire to continue the battle in tough times. Welcome back Mike Holmgren, and all the success in the world for one of the game's class acts.
Pittsburgh Steelers
To receiver Mike Wallace - unless I'm mistaken you're the first receiver to catch a TD pass of significant yardage to open a game and close a game to win it. I'm a terrible businessman, but you are forever enshrined as a trivia answer and I must capitalize on that in some capacity.
Houston Texans
One more year for Gary Kubiak as head coach. The problem with the AFC South? Peyton Manning and the Colts are in it. That frustrates Kubiak, Jack Del Rio and Jeff Fisher to no end. But now's not the time to change. Continuity wins in football and to one day beating the Colts you have to stay the course.
Indianapolis Colts
Acknowledgment that Bill Polian is the greatest football executive ever. Whether it's Buffalo, Carolina or Indy, his judgement on players, money, coaches - anything to do with the game - is remarkably accurate and effective. Yes he has Manning. But he has 21 others on the field and they were excellent decisions as well.
Tennessee Titans
Continued good mental health for Vince Young, who had a nervous breakdown last year. This year, he's calm, dedicated and confident. That's important because now, the team doesn't need to draft a quarterback. The future is bright again with Young.
Denver Broncos
The wish that any network analyst would acknowledge that Josh McDaniel was 100 percent right to keep Kyle Orton as his quarterback and trading Jay Cutler. His early decisions in the season confused me, but in the end I was wrong. He has made some excellent decisions - who would have thought that Kyle Orton was a better QB that Jay Cutler?
Kansas City Chiefs
The gift of Charlie Weis. Colege and pro football are dramatically different in so many ways. College is about recruiting and maturing, pro is about buying and performing. He belongs in the NFL not the NCAA. As offensive coordinator, the Chiefs could improve fast.
Oakland Raiders
Maturing for JaMarcus Russell. He has to understand that the money he's getting is not a gift - it's a demand to be 100 percent dedicated and mentally available to improve. Call up Vince Young and get some tips from him. Russell has the physical ability, but it's the mental and emotional approach that's the toughest challenge.
San Diego Chargers
Continued success for Vaughn Martin. Here's a nice young man going through some highs and lows in the NFL. Remember that there's a fine line between an NFL experience and an NFL career. Stay focused on the career and don't ever take anything for granted. Same goes for Canadian Rob Meier in Jacksonville. Stay determined and focused ( and don't get married)!
Dallas Cowboys
The wish of a continued character and performance in equal ability. I have not heard a negative off-field story about the Cowboys in a long, long time, and it's good to see. Wade Phillips has found a nice mesh of ability and maturity, and both are important because you those in equal parts to win. Many love the trash elements of sports. I don't. I like seeing young people - 22 to 32 years old- act like they are in their 4o's or 50's. Money, time, youth and transportation are a lethal foursome of the unknown. Good wishes to Dallas in a Super Bowl run and good wishes to all the players in the off-season where all four elements are available daily.
NY Giants
The gift of continued continuity of personality with regards to Eli Manning. He is their starting quarterback and nothing seems to phase him. I am so impressed with Manning's ability to handle everything that is not football. He seems to have no arrogance, attitude and doesn't seem to be a critic. He's just a guy trying to be the best quarterback that he can be in a very demanding market. Please don't change Eli.
Washington Red Skins
The wish of continued humility for their owner Daniel Snyder. I almost dropped my morning coffee when Snyder said that he made some mistakes. Sometimes before progress is made, you have to take some steps back. I really hope that Snyder will let the football people do football and the business people focus on the business. I think Bruce Allen will make a difference in management.
Chicago Bears
The gift of the next Ron Rivera. Lovie Smith, is a nice guy in a tough game. When the Bears played the Colts in the Super Bowl, Smith had two things happen, his team was healthy and Rivera was his defensive coordinator. Rivera is now in San Diego where the Chargers have won nine straight games. Give Smith another year to have a healthy team and to find or develop the next Rivera.
Detroit Lions
The wish of another excellent draft. Mattew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew and Louis Delmas have all played a lot of football and have become veterans in their rookie season. If the Lions can nail their top three picks in the 2010 draft, they will have a unique foundation that can make them competitive again. April will be a very important month for Lion's football.
Green Bay Packers
The wish for the next seventh round draft pick to be an effective starter. While Aaron Rodgers, Nick Barnett and Donald Driver are expected to play all the time, when you find a guy in the draft like middle linebacker Brad Jones, and he plays like a first rounder, you have taken a hugh first step to winning on a consistent basis. It's the last half of the draft that makes it for a team. Here's hoping the Packers do it again next year.
Minnesota Vikings
The gift of better blocking for Adrian Peterson. He runs with violent power and is the most physically intimidating running back in the game. Unfortunately, the starters up front need to run block better for Peterson to reach the next level. Sometimes the back makes the line better and vice versa, but now is the time for the line to do their share.
Atlanta Falcons
The wish of optimism for 2010. Next season could be an outstanding year for them. Right now, the Falcons are like Jacksonville and Carolina, alternating one good year, and one bad one, but with general manager Thomas Dimitroff, I can only see lots of good in their future.
Carolina Panthers
The wish to stay the course. The Panthers are a really tough team, which is reflected in how they run the football and play defence. They need a quarterback to emerge that does not make mistakes - like a Kyle Orton - not necessarily a star player. Now is not the time for them to change their philosophy or approach. Stay the course please.
New Orleans Saints
A Super Bowl win for the City. The city of New Orleans needs a non-tragic event to help lift everyone's spirit. Obviously it's still a mess in areas, but a Super Bowl win would give a boost to the people. I can't even comprehend what the people went through, but I really hope to see the Saints playing in February.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A wish for head coach Raheem Morris to not lose faith in himself. I'm sure that he didn't anticipate only 2 wins at this point. Morris is begin tested and he needs to stay positive. The good news is that next year, he doesn't have to win the NFC South, but he obviously still must improve.
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