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The NFL's transformation into a pass-happy league has sent teams scrambling for ways to keep up defensively.

Perhaps that explains why defensive linemen and 3-4 outside linebacker types dominated ESPN.com's first NFL Blog Network mock draft for 2012.

AFC West blogger Bill Williamson snapped up three of them for the division he covers. Six other defensive linemen and 3-4 outside linebackers found homes elsewhere in the first round.

Offensive linemen (seven), defensive backs (five) and wide receivers (five) accounted for most of the remaining first-round selections.

In keeping with the pass-oriented theme, Alabama's Trent Richardson was the lone running back selected, landing in Cleveland with the fourth overall choice.

And, of course, we kicked off the mock with a couple of quarterbacks.

The most significant scandals in NFL history affected individuals and organizations alike. The nature of the allegations, the prominence of the individuals involved, the punishment meted out and the overall impact led us to single out the following five, realizing there were others worth strong consideration.

1. Michael Vick to prison. Involvement in a dogfighting ring brought down one of the NFL's highest-profile, most dynamic quarterbacks in his prime. Vick was released and sent to prison, sending the Atlanta Falcons into turmoil. Vick owed nearly $20 million when he filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and the Falcons had to rebuild their franchise.

2. Saints bounties. Offering cash payments for injuries inflicted on opponents brought down the wrath from commissioner Roger Goodell: Saints coach Sean Payton was suspended for one year, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was suspended indefinitely, general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for eight regular-season games, and the team was fined $500,000 and lost two second-round draft picks (one each in 2012 and '13) for their participation in a bounty program.

3. Spygate allegations. Cheating claims levied against the New England Patriots threatened to tarnish the legacy of a flagship franchise at the peak of its powers. Goodell determined the Patriots acted against league rules by videotaping opponents' hand signals. The NFL levied $750,000 in fines and revoked the Patriots' first-round choice in 2008.

4. Hornung/Karras gambling. The NFL suspended Paul Hornung and Alex Karras for the 1963 season after both admitted to betting on NFL games. Hornung and Karras were both Pro Bowl players and Hornung was one of the league's biggest stars playing for the NFL's most iconic team: the Green Bay Packers. Commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated both players in 1964, and Hornung wound up in the Hall of Fame.

Art Schlichter's one-year ban two decades later also deserves mention among player gambling scandals, but his standing in the league wasn't as strong at the time.

5. Eddie DeBartolo Jr. suspended. The San Francisco 49ers' former owner remains a beloved figure in team lore. He was a finalist for the Hall of Fame this year. But his 1998 felony conviction for failing to report extortion relating to a Louisiana casino project produced a $1 million fine and a one-year NFL suspension. DeBartolo wound up selling the 49ers, precipitating a decade of futility for the organization.

Five things to consider as the San Francisco 49ers emerge as a team with interest in free-agent quarterback Peyton Manning:

• Tom Condon's involvement. The agent represents Manning and unsigned 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. Manning is obviously Condon's top priority at the moment. He was in a unique position to facilitate the 49ers' involvement in Manning, thanks to his influence over Smith's contract status and the places Manning might consider most seriously. Condon could be manipulating the process in an attempt to gain maximum leverage, first for Manning, and secondarily for Smith.


• Divisional dynamics. The 49ers have a direct interest in keeping Manning away from the NFC West. Their emergence as a possible destination delays the process. That is bad for the Cardinals, who must decide by 4 p.m. ET Friday whether to keep incumbent quarterback Kevin Kolb with a $7 million bonus. Whether or not the 49ers are serious candidates for Manning, their involvement later in the process works against the one NFC West team to defeat the 49ers last season, Arizona.
• The 49ers like Alex Smith. Coach Jim Harbaugh has repeatedly expressed his affinity for Smith. Taking a look at another veteran quarterback would threaten the relationship between the two, but Manning is a special case. Looking into a four-time MVP quarterback and future Hall of Famer doesn't qualify as a personal affront to a quarterback with one winning season on his resume. The assumption here is that Harbaugh has communicated the team's intentions to Smith, either directly or through Condon, and that the 49ers feel comfortable in their ability to move forward with Smith if Manning does not come to San Francisco.
• The fit with Harbaugh. The assumption with Manning has been that he would want considerable control over the offense. How much control would Harbaugh, himself a former quarterback with strong belief in his system, adjust for Manning? I tend to think Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman would find a way to make it work. They could sell him on a strong emphasis on the ground game, which could help keep Manning healthy. Dallas Clark was a star in Indianapolis when Manning was there. Imagine what Vernon Davis might be able to do with Manning.
• What about Seattle? The Seahawks expressed interest in Manning, but failed to secure a meeting with him. If Manning did land in San Francisco, Smith would be a natural candidate to play for the Seahawks. We're a long ways off from that happening at this point, but it's something to consider if the 49ers are shown to be serious about chasing after Manning. The Seahawks had interest in Smith previously.

Your thoughts? I'm guessing we'll have about a thousand comments in five minutes here. Fire away!

A reminder as NFL teams name franchise players: Teams can withdraw the designations if players decide against signing the corresponding one-year offers.

That came to mind Friday upon reading Matt Maiocco's report suggesting Dashon Goldson had no immediate plans to sign the San Francisco 49ers' one-year franchise offer worth an estimated $6.2 million.

Teams rarely withdraw franchise designations, but plans can change. Leroy Hill found out the hard way back in 2009, when the Seattle Seahawks used a first-round choice for Aaron Curry, then withdrew an $8.3 million franchise offer from Hill, who was suddenly scrambling as a free agent after the draft.

We all saw what happened to Goldson last offseason. He found nothing palatable in free agency, then re-signed with the 49ers for one year and $2 million. The lockout made for unusual circumstances. Goldson might find the market more favorable this year.

But I see no advantage for Goldson in withholding his signature. Any team signing him to an offer would face losing two first-round draft choices if the 49ers declined to match. Teams simply do not trade two first-round choices for the right to pay good safeties.

Signing the franchise offer makes the money guaranteed. Not signing the offer means it could disappear if circumstances changed.

Goldson has a Pro Bowl on his resume, so he is more accomplished than Seattle's Hill was back in 2009. But neither was a player the team absolutely had to keep. The Seahawks, like the 49ers now, had more options than the player.

The 49ers appear unlikely to withdraw the tag, but they will get by just fine this offseason with or without Goldson under contract. Goldson has more at stake.

I see less reason for Arizona's Calais Campbell to sign the Cardinals' franchise offer, which has been projected to be around $10.6 million. There is virtually no chance the Cardinals would withdraw the tag, and if they did, Campbell would command big money from teams hungry for young defensive linemen of his caliber.

In Seattle, meanwhile, the Seahawks are expected to use the franchise designation on Marshawn Lynch if a long-term deal remains elusive. The deadline for naming franchise players is Monday.

Larry Fitzgerald doesn't get it.

He hasn't said or done anything on UStream all week. He hasn't ripped Roger Goodell for getting paid a salary commensurate with his job of running a multibillion-dollar business or complained about his own contract. He hasn't admitted losing nearly every penny he has earned and announced a desperation signing with a team in a football league few had ever heard of.

Someone needs to pull Fitzgerald aside and explain that this is not how a wide receiver in the NFL is supposed to behave. He isn't supposed to be generous and kind, inquisitive and sensitive, thoughtful and genuine. He is supposed to be singularly focused on himself, his body, his accomplishments, his Q rating and his wallet.

Here is the rest of Ashley Fox's story about Arizona's star receiver.

Arizona

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic says the Cardinals have several hurdles to clear if they hope to add quarterback Peyton Manning, but that won't stop the speculation.

St. Louis

In this debate about potential free agent receivers, Steve Wyche of NFL.com says Marques Colston of the Saints might be a good fit with the Rams or 49ers.

San Francisco

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com looks at the work done by defensive backs coach Ed Donatell, who was reportedly denied an opportunity to interview for Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator job.

Seattle

The Seahawks made an all-time list of worst team videos.

Seventeen days separate the Super Bowl from the NFL scouting combine.

Ten remain.

Time to recharge, in other words.

I'll be back Feb. 20 before heading to the combine on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Editors will post to the blog periodically while I'm away.

See you on the other side, and thanks for another great season on the blog.

News that the St. Louis Rams are considering San Francisco's Tom Gamble and, earlier, Arizona's Steve Keim as general manager candidates makes sense from at least one perspective.

Both men would give new coach Jeff Fisher direct, inside knowledge of teams the Rams must beat to become competitive again. St. Louis went 0-6 in the NFC West this past season. Fisher was not in the NFL last season. He was previously in the AFC South. He'll have a full offseason to study the Rams' division rivals, but Gamble and Keim would bring institutional knowledge an NFC West outsider would not.

The 49ers have focused on re-signing their own players and avoiding big free-agent purchases in recent seasons. Gamble would presumably bring to St. Louis the same mindset -- one Fisher was familiar with while working with GM Mike Reinfeldt in Tennessee.

Minnesota's George Paton is also among those under consideration, having received a second interview. From Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "Paton is highly regarded within the Vikings organization, and his responsibilities are expected to expand should he stay in Minnesota. Paton played a large role in the trade for defensive end Jared Allen in 2008."

Finding a GM with the personality and people skills to work well with Fisher stands as a leading consideration for the Rams.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Super Bowl reunion featuring the Patriots and Giants will spark memories from the 2007 season, when New England suffered one of the greatest upsets in NFL history.

The Patriots don’t need a rematch to remind them of that monumental collapse. Even though only 24 players remain from that New England team, everyone suiting up for this year’s Super Bowl remembers how the 12-point favorite Patriots fell four quarters short of perfection.

This is the ramification when a team goes from the expected coronation among NFL greats to the forever devastation of what might have been.

The 2007 Patriots, 1968 Colts and 2001 Rams have all felt the sting of screwing up their legacies. They aren’t just teams that lost in the Super Bowl, like last year’s Steelers.

These select few rank among the very best Super Bowl losers. They are the ones who dominated week after week, only to leave the game’s biggest stage defeated.

“The overwhelming sense of that year is the failure that is always remembered,” said Tedy Bruschi, a linebacker on that 2007 Patriots team, which lost to the Giants, 17-14.

“I’m proud of the run we made and we were on the cusp of something that had never been done before. But we failed.”

Those Patriots entered the Super Bowl with an 18-0 record and outscored their regular-season opponents by 315 points, or 19.7 per game.

That average margin stands as the fattest for any team in the NFL since at least 1940, according to Pro Football Reference. Those Patriots didn’t just win. They won big, until they lost.

“You think you know, until you don’t know,” former Patriots linebacker Chad Brown said. “There was such confidence going through the season, such a sense of belief. But until the final whistle sounds, it’s never over. They found a way to get it done. Hats off to them.”

Before the 2007 Patriots forged their unenviable place in league history, the 1968 Colts actually changed the league’s future with their loss.

In what was the third AFL-NFL championship game, the Colts were heavily favored to bring the title to the NFL for the third straight year.

The previous two Super Bowl games were dominated by the NFL -- the Green Bay Packers won by a combined score of 68-24 -- which put the AFL’s existence in jeopardy.

Despite not having an injured Johnny Unitas, the Colts rolled to a 13-1 record during the regular season and routed the Cleveland Browns, 34-0, in the NFL championship to avenge their only loss.

The Colts heard about Joe Namath guaranteeing a win, but the 18-point favorites never took the Jets seriously.

One year after the Colts’ 16-7 loss, the AFL and NFL merged.

“We went down to Miami with a little different attitude -- that we were just going to win that game,” said Rick Volk, a three-time Pro Bowl safety for that Colts team.

“We were expecting to do it and I don’t think anybody had any question that we weren’t going to win. We went down not focused totally on the game itself.”

Volk suffered a concussion early in the game and doesn’t remember much of it. He had to watch film afterward to see how he played.

Following the loss, he asked quarterback Earl Morrall in the showers whether the Colts had won or lost.

“It was more than a game when we got beat,” Volk said. “It was devastation.”

The 2001 Rams can relate.

Most key players remained in place from their 1999 championship team. They breezed through the regular season with a 14-2 record, outscoring the Patriots by 132 points (503-371). They had scored 84 points in the divisional and conference championship rounds.

“That was a great football team,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “They were No. 1 in the league in defense and one of the most explosive offenses in the history of the NFL, and they were good in the kicking game.”

Marshall Faulk considers the 2001 team better than the 1999 version.

Players had been together longer. They were more proven, more refined. But the Patriots’ defense roughed up Faulk and the St. Louis receivers, taking the Rams out of their game.

The Greatest Show on Turf bogged down.

Faulk used the term “hack-a-Shaq” to describe the plan Belichick put into place that day.

The tactics New England used in that game might not fly as well under current rules. As much as any Super Bowl loser, those Rams would have benefited from new guidelines discouraging the rough-house tactics New England employed against Faulk and the St. Louis receivers.

“When I played, the game was played outside the numbers,” Faulk said. “You didn't challenge people down the middle. Cover 2 was built to put you in the middle of the field.

"Now, people want to see Cover 2 because, one, you can't touch a receiver down the field and, two, you can't separate him from the ball and three, you have to make sure he can see you before you hit him because he is defenseless, and you can't get hit him in the head. It is just a different game.”

The current Patriots are taking full advantage of the differences by targeting tight ends down the middle of the field. They were more of an outside passing team four years ago, when Randy Moss remained a dominant force at wide receiver.

Times change, but losing against the odds lingers. Those 2007 Patriots, like the 2001 Rams and a few others, never could enjoy the exalted places in history they seemed so likely to earn.

“I wish when you lined up to play that the team that was the most talented won the game,” Faulk said. “If that was the case, we wouldn't be so excited about the matchup we're about to see, because it's obvious the Patriots were the better team [in 2007], but the Giants played better that day.”

TOP 10 SUPER BOWL LOSERS

1. 2007 Patriots: The only 16-0 team in regular-season NFL history outscored opponents by 19.7 points per game, a record. Tom Brady's 50 touchdown passes exceeded by one the record Peyton Manning set in 2004. New England scored at least 38 points in half its regular-season games. The Patriots drew fines for illicitly taping opponents' signals and criticism after twice going for it on fourth down while leading Joe Gibbs' Redskins by 38-plus points.

2. 1968 Colts: Baltimore had a 13-1 regular-season record, the NFL's top-ranked defense, No. 2 offense and eight Pro Bowl players, including John Mackey and Bubba Smith. After a 34-0 shutout of the Cleveland Browns in the NFL championship, the Colts were touted as "the greatest team in pro football history." That is, until they faced the 18-point underdog Jets and Joe Namath from the AFL.

3. 1969 Vikings: Minnesota had allowed only 10 points per game in winning the NFL title. As feared as the Vikings were for their "Purple People Eaters" defense, their quarterback, Joe Kapp, seemed nearly as tough. Famed oddsmaker Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder called the Vikings' offensive line the best he'd ever seen in making Minnesota a 13-point Super Bowl favorite. But the Chiefs knocked Kapp from the Super Bowl with an injury in rolling to a 23-7 victory.

4. 1983 Redskins: The Washington offense scored a then-NFL record 541 points and featured the Hogs, the Diesel, the Fun Bunch and MVP quarterback Joe Theismann. The defending Super Bowl champions stormed into the Super Bowl on an 11-game winning streak that included a 51-7 demolition of the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. The Redskins, though, were on the other end of the rout in the Super Bowl, losing to the Raiders, 38-9.

5. 1978 Cowboys: Dallas rode an eight-game winning streak into the Super Bowl and had shut out the Los Angeles Rams, 28-0, in the NFC title game. The Cowboys were defending Super Bowl champs and led the league in scoring. Legendary head coach Tom Landry masterminded a "Doomsday Defense" that led the NFL in sacks with 58. Jackie Smith's dropped TD and a disputed pass-interference call against Bennie Barnes proved pivotal in the Cowboys' 35-31 Super Bowl loss.

6. 2001 Rams: The Rams rolled to a 14-2 mark by lighting up the scoreboard with Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. The "Greatest Show on Turf" outgained opponents by an average of 137 yards per game and outscored them by an average of two TDs. But the 14-point favorite Rams were upset by Bill Belichick's defense and an unknown QB named Tom Brady.

7. 1990 Bills: A 51-3 victory over the Raiders in the AFC title game launched the Bills to the first of four consecutive Super Bowls. They amassed 502 yards against a Raiders defense that had held 12 opponents beneath 290. The Bills put an NFL-best eight players in the Pro Bowl, led by Jim Kelly, who posted a career-best 101.2 NFL passer rating. The Bills were so confident, claiming they would have rather faced the defending champs from San Francisco.

8. 1997 Packers: The defending Super Bowl champions were peaking by winning 10 of their last 11 games. Brett Favre led the NFL with 35 touchdown passes in winning the MVP for a third straight year. But the 11-point favorite Packers ran into an inspired John Elway.

9. 1967 Raiders: These Raiders established owner Al Davis' reputation for building top teams with castoffs. Daryle Lamonica, Hewritt Dixon, Dave Kocourek, Bill Miller and George Blanda were among the players from other franchises assuming prominent roles.

10. 1988 Bengals: One of the more underappreciated Super Bowl teams, Cincinnati tied for the best record in the NFL at 12-4, recorded seven games with a 100-yard rusher and beat the Buffalo Bills, 21-10, in the AFC Championship Game. Only a dramatic Joe Montana touchdown pass with 39 seconds left stopped the Bengals from continuing to do the Ickey Shuffle in the Super Bowl.

FIVE WORST

1. 1979 Rams: The definition of mediocre, the Rams barely outscored their opponents in total points (323-309) and finished the regular season with a 9-7 record. Vince Ferragamo, who replaced an injured Pat Haden, completed fewer than half of his passes and threw twice as many interceptions (10) as touchdowns (five). Los Angeles was outclassed in the Super Bowl.

2. 1985 Patriots: They lost three of their first five games but managed to get into the playoffs despite a third-place finish in the AFC East. Tony Eason struggled in his third NFL season, throwing 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Not exactly the quarterback you wanted going against the 15-1 Chicago Bears.

3. 1986 Broncos: It was surprising to see that Denver went as far as it did after finishing with four losses in its final seven regular-season games. As their defense crumbled throughout the season, the Broncos needed "The Drive" to get past the AFC Championship Game but there was no Elway magic left.

4. 2008 Cardinals: Every Super Bowl loser outscored its opponents during the regular season, but the Cardinals did so by only a single point. Kurt Warner made them dangerous in the playoffs, but a 47-7 defeat at New England in Week 16 completed a slide from 7-3 to 8-7. Arizona drew Atlanta Falcons rookie Matt Ryan in the wild-card round, then unexpectedly landed the NFC title game at home when Philadelphia upset the 12-4 Giants in the divisional round.

5. 1994 Chargers: They managed to split their final 10 games in the regular season before edging out the Dolphins (22-21) and Steelers (17-13) in the playoffs. But Stan Humphries was no match for the 49ers' Steve Young, who threw a record six touchdown passes.

The St. Louis Rams will hire Brian Schottenheimer as their offensive coordinator, league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Read more from Schefter's report here.

Bernie Miklasz and I had much to discuss, including Jeff Fisher's hiring, during our weekly conversation Tuesday.

That audio is here.

One thing Bernie alluded to later in his program was the fact that Fisher's teams in Tennessee were known for playing through the whistle. Bernie was looking for a way to quantify that through penalty types. I've followed those trends for years and know Fisher's teams committed more personal fouls, specifically for roughing the passer, than most other teams in the league.

The chart shows the Titans with the most combined penalties for unnecessary roughness, roughing the passer, personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct from 2001-2010. Those are the years I could access readily via ESPN Sports & Information. Fisher was the head coach during those years. Seattle had the fewest; the Seahawks were among the least penalized teams overall under Mike Holmgren.

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Jeff Fisher scored his most lopsided coaching victory against the team that will introduce him as head coach Tuesday.

Fisher's Tennessee Titans won 47-7 against the St. Louis Rams back in 2009.

That game embodied what Fisher sought to establish during 16-plus seasons as the Titans' head coach. Tennessee ran for 160 yards, picked off five Keith Null passes and held Steven Jackson to 39 yards on 18 carries.

Fisher was 7-8 against current NFC West teams during his tenure as Titans head coach. The chart breaks down his record against Seattle, San Francisco, St. Louis and Arizona, discounting two games from 1994, before Fisher took over as coach.

That 7-8 mark included 5-3 since 2005 and 4-0 during the 2009 season. He was 1-0 against current NFC West head coaches, beating Arizona when Ken Whisenhunt and the Cardinals were without an injured Kurt Warner.
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Join our ESPN.com NFL experts as they break down the playoff match up between the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET. See you there.

The Arizona Cardinals' record fourth overtime victory of the 2011 season vaulted NINERS4Ever66 onto the "You Called It" Wall of Fame as the regular season closed.

Nice work, '66.

We'll charge forward into the playoffs even though the NFC West has the wild-card round off. Simply use the comments section of this item to predict winners and scores for the following wild-card games:

• Cincinnati at Houston.
• Detroit at New Orleans.
• Atlanta at New York Giants.
• Pittsburgh at Denver.

The Falcons have to be the most nervous heading into the weekend. They have yet to win a playoff game with coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan. They have not won one since Jim Mora and Michael Vick were central figures in Atlanta following the 2004 season. The Falcons beat St. Louis that season in what stands as the most recent playoff game for the Rams.

Back to the contest this week. You'll notice I've cleaned up the Wall of Fame to show only 2011 winners. The Wall was getting a little cluttered. I've also broken out a separate chart showing our repeat winners. pope_c_hawk owns one victory in each of the past three seasons. No one else can make that claim.

Congrats to all our winners, and good luck this week.

On a side note, the "You Called It" Wall of Fame board voted 1-0 to list pre-2011 winners separately in 10-person blocks, arranged alphabetically:

• _Mr_Zero_, 2_Zero_Sickness, 49ers r golden, ahlycom08, allenjr16, alvaden, artman9865, asowinski33, ballsthompson, BrandonD28;
• brobbb91, CardsCrush85, catterbu, ccolling7979, chahen, cloudturo, CoasterNiner, cobra7282, cole barrick, DiLune2;
• DirtyDezzzzert, egravning, Elion245, fadein, fundadfor2, guillermoman, habitat730, henlex, IAmAtATotalLoss, IamJonasJones;
• jayric81, Jeremy-Clark, Joe_Couch, John510asb, JohnnyBloodletter, juicy2446, kstaub869, Leesters, Lv4Sublime, MalibuRuffRider;
• noahhasabs, pglenn33, pope_c_hawk, Primeau1203, redng0ld, RedRumRBS, Redzone59, RiWeagley, roadto_1, RVAninersFAN;
• salukininer, SeahawkBell, Seahawks Ya Dig, skinavich, Superfuzz777, TACOREV, the_FREAKs_cousin, TLinkWC, ttmonee, vamp2q;
• whoknewitt, wonderfuldan, workmantiny, WRESTLEMASTER24,

And now, on to the newly configured 2011 Wall ...
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Sifting through 2011 regular-season rankings for NFC West teams on offense and defense:

• 49ers' winning formula: San Francisco ranked eighth in rushing yards, eighth in NFL passer rating, first in fewest giveaways, fourth in yards allowed, first in rushing yards allowed, first in takeaways, second in points allowed and among the top five on defense for passer rating and QBR. That added up to/reflected a 13-3 record. The team ranked only 30th in red zone offense, but that percentage was trending up. The 49ers scored six touchdowns in nine red zone possessions over their final three games. They had scored five in 23 previous red zone possessions over a seven-game period.
• Seahawks' defensive improvement. Seattle's No. 9 ranking in yards allowed was its highest since the 1997 team ranked eighth. The Seahawks also ranked seventh in points allowed while finishing in the top 10 in a few other categories. The Seahawks allowed 5,315 yards, a figure that has fallen every year since peaking at 6,048 during the 2008 season. Seattle was somewhat better in third-down percentage and actually slipped in red zone percentage, but the team curtailed big plays and red zone opportunities. Seattle ranked second only to Pittsburgh in fewest pass plays of 20-plus yards allowed. The Seahawks were 31st in that category last season. The total fell from 63 to 40.
• Cardinals' situational defense. Arizona ranked first in third-down defense and second in red zone defense. The yardage rankings lagged in part because the Cardinals allowed 58 pass plays of at least 20 yards, fifth-most in the NFL. Arizona also lost the turnover battle too frequently. The Cardinals ranked 28th in fewest giveaways and 26th in most takeaways. Continued development of the pass-rush would help force more turnovers.
• Rams not worst against run. St. Louis went through much of the season allowing more rushing yards per game than any team in the league. They avoided a No. 32 ranking, however, when Tampa Bay allowed 251 yards to Atlanta in Week 17. That left the Bucs ranked last. The Rams' offense scored too few points, allowing opponents to lean on their ground games. St. Louis' opponents carried the ball 509 times, most in a Rams season since 1981. This was the third time in four seasons and the eighth time since 1940 that St. Louis' opponents had 500-plus carries, according to Pro Football Reference.

Now, on to the charts ...

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The second chart, like the first, is ordered by points per game.

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