Flubs:

Rex Ryan — Another season, another Super Bowl guarantee from New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan, another failure to deliver the hardware. For the third straight year, Ryan promised a championship, but unlike the 2009 and 2010 seasons when his team lost in the AFC Championship, 2011 saw the Jets unable to even make the playoffs. Players started calling out franchise Quarterback Mark Sanchez after the season, and there seems to be discontent with the team’s direction in the Big Apple.  Maybe next year, Ryan should take a cue from his cross-town counterpart, and Super Bowl champion, New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin, and focus less on talking and more on winning.

Lee Evans/Billy Cundiff  — The two Baltimore Ravens gave new meaning to the term “choke” in the final minute of the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots. Evans dropped a relatively easy touchdown reception that would have given the Ravens the lead and most likely sent them to the Super Bowl. Cundiff missed the very definition of a chip shot, a 32-yard kick that would have sent the game into overtime, giving Baltimore another chance to win.

Rob Gronkowski — One of the biggest pre-Super Bowl XLVI stories was the condition of Patriots superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski’s ankle.  The Gronk, who sprained his ankle in the AFC Championship game, played but was limited at best.  That didn’t stop him from cutting footloose at the Patriots post-game party, however, where cell phone footage captured him dancing shirtless after the team’s loss to the New York Giants. The video of a team’s star celebrating after a loss was a little too much for some teammates and fans to take, and begs the question: Who throws a party after a loss anyway? It should be noted that Tom Brady, Wes Welker and Bill Belicheck were not in attendance at the festivities.

 

Snubs:

Ndamukong Suh — With all the focus on Detroit Lions defensive lineman Suh’s aggressive and sometimes dirty play, including the infamous Thanksgiving leg-stomping incident, fans and analysts alike were quick to forget the fantastic season he actually had. Suh anchored one of the most intimidating defensive lines in a league, racking up 36 tackles and 4 sacks in just 14 games, and helped lead the Lions to their first playoff appearance in 12 seasons.

Wes Welker — After his critical drop late in the Super Bowl that, if you ask Tom Brady’s supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen, possibly cost the Patriots the game, many have been throwing the New England wide receiver under the bus as he enters free agency. How soon they forget that Welker led the league in receptions in 2011 and is still one of the most dangerous weapons in the NFL, especially when Tom Brady is the man getting him the ball.

Andy Dalton — Amidst all the hype over Carolina Panthers rookie sensation Cam Newton, many forgot about the other rookie starting quarterback. Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton started 16 games, threw for over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns. While Newton did have better stats, it was Dalton who actually led his team to a winning record and a playoff appearance. With fellow rookie A.J. Green as his favorite target, the TCU grad certainly looks to be a threat at quarterback in the coming seasons.