2012 was memorable season in NFL

Every year the NFL provides us with 21 weeks of escape. With all that life brings our way, we can always count on 21 Sundays within the year to entertain us.

This season has been a very memorable year for a number of different reasons.

The biggest story early in the year as always was the Super Bowl. For the Patriots, the 2012 Super Bowl was supposed to be revenge for the 2008 loss. Instead, Eli Manning’s fourth quarter heroics gave the Giants their fourth championship and Manning’s second.

Mario Manningham’s fourth quarter catch goes down as not only one of the best plays of 2012, but in Super Bowl history. The loss for New England also reconfirmed for the haters that the Patriots still have not won a Super Bowl since Spygate.

The 2012 season will also be remembered for the draft. This year’s draft will be responsible for some of the best highlights for the next decade, potential league records and maybe some championships.

Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III entered their rookie year with tremendous expectations and did not disappoint as both led their teams to the playoffs.

Unfortunately for the San Francisco 49ers, the draft also brought Russell Wilson to the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson has steadily improved throughout the weeks and Wilson and the Seahawks will be contenders for many years to come.

This season has also seen the Commissioner’s office busier than ever. Along with player suspensions and fines, Roger Goodell had to deal with the New Orleans Saints and the Bounty Scandal.

Perhaps the Bounty Scandal was a blessing in disguise for Goodell as it may have prepared him for the headaches that would be brought on by the replacement refs.

With each passing week, the replacement referees were disrespected more and more by the players and crucified more and more in the media and finally after three rough weeks the real refs returned.

The fate of some superstars was also altered this year. Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson returned from serious injuries and hve surprised everybody but themselves.

Coming into the season, Manning and Peterson said all of the right things, but yet there were doubts in the minds of many.

For Adrian Peterson, tearing his ACL and MCL may have been a blessing in disguise. His work ethic was never questioned, but one has to wonder if his training and motivation would have been at the level that it was in the offseason if he wasn’t out there trying to prove that he was fully recovered and would continue to dominate.

Not only did Manning prove that he is fully recovered, he also proved that he is still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He has led his team to a first-round bye and is a leading contender for MVP.

To be solidified as the greatest of all time, however, Manning will need to win at least one ring for John Elway and the Denver Broncos faithful.

This was also another year that had sports radio discussing a player that had no reason to be mentioned.

For those of you sick and tired of hearing about Tim Tebow, there’s only one more season of Tebow mania left. Tebow’s arrival in New York was his only highlight this season. The season was a disaster for Tebow and the Jets.

After suiting up for a new team next year and proving what most already know, Tebow should be making his way to the CFL for the 2014 campaign.

For the majority of the season, players, coaches and management are matched up against each other and are divided as they all fight for victories. But sometimes events take place that bring everyone together and unfortunately the end of 2012 had two events that brought the NFL together.

The tragic ending to the lives of Jovan Belcher, Kasandra Perkins and Jerry Brown brought the Chiefs and Cowboys to their knees, but did bring the league together.

Lets all pray for a 2013 that brings peace to the Belcher, Perkins, and Brown families.

Happy New Year’s to all.

Jessy Sandhu is the founder of www.fantasymoves.com. Follow him on Twitter @FantasyMoves.

Tags: sports, updates, nfl, football