NFL: 10 People Whose Legacies Are on the Line This December

You have heard the saying that you win championships in December and January, not September and October. This couldn't be closer to the truth.

Of course a good start to a season means that a team will be on pace to make the postseason and fulfill their initial goal. However, it doesn't mean that their early success will translate to the playoffs.

We have seen this occur with numerous players and coaches around the NFL over the course of the league's history, and today is no different.

This morning I am going to focus on 10 individuals whose legacies are on the line this December. Accordingly, I am going to take a look at their past failures and how those have affected confidence in their ability to perform late in the season and into the playoffs.

10. Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers

Prior to the 2011 season, Alex Smith was considered an absolute bust by most NFL skeptics, and the measures on how you define a bust pretty much backed those skeptics.

Smith had thrown 51 touchdowns compared to 53 interceptions and won just 38 percent of his starts over the course of his first six seasons. Although the former No. 1 overall pick had shown improvement over the course of the previous two seasons, he was still considered a below-average quarterback.

Then things seemed to work out for Smith in San Francisco. They brought in an offensive-minded head coach and were left in the less-than-desirable position of not having an off-season, therefore eliminating the possibility of bringing in a more proven quarterback and were pretty much "stuck" with Smith.

Through 12 games of the 2011 season, the San Francisco 49ers own the second best record in the NFL, and Smith has played the best football of his less-than-stellar career. He has a 3:1 TD-to-INT ratio and owns a quarterback rating in the mid-90s.

Over the course of the 49ers' last couple of games, discounting their Thanksgiving loss to the Ravens, a game that Smith was sacked nine times, they have opened up the offense a great deal. During that span, Smith is averaging 260 passing yards per game.

Now it is up to him to continue to be more than a "game manager." Smith needs to prove that he can be the reason why the 49ers offense has improved over the last two months. His identity as an above-average NFL signal-caller relies on it. If the 49ers continue to struggle on offense throughout the final four games and go into the playoffs with an assurance that Smith has taken the next step, they are going to be in deep trouble.

That said, if the 49ers are able to view the Smith that we have seen in three of the last four games, it will cement his status as a really good quarterback and make the 49ers incredibly difficult to match up against once the playoffs start.

9. Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans

Over the course of Gary Kubiak's previous five seasons with the Houston Texans, he overlooked one of the most talented teams in the entire NFL. This talent was wasted as the current AFC South leaders were stuck in mediocrity.

They finished no better than 9-7 over the course of the last three seasons and failed to make the playoffs before falling to 6-10 in 2010.

Now the Texans defense ranks among the best in the entire league, in part due to the hiring of Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator. Due to a rash of injuries on offense, mainly Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson, their offense is the one facing a lot of issues as I type this.

Standing at  9-3 and with a two-game lead over the Tennessee Titans in the division, Houston is nearly a lock to make the playoffs. Still, Kubiak's legacy is going to be defined by how they do in the second season.

Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates has looked serviceable, and the Texans have an amazing 1-2 punch at running back with Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Still, Kubiak is going to have to work his offensive magic in order for this team to contend with the top dogs in the conference.

If he is able to get the most out of a makeshift offensive core, Kubiak will prove himself worthy of coaching the Texans long term. If not, there remains a slight possibility that 2011 will be his final season at the helm of the team.

Either way, it promises to be an extremely important next couple of months for him starting this upcoming week.

8. Rex Ryan, New York Jets

We can talk about how colorful of an individual Rex Ryan is until we are blue in the face. The larger debate is whether he is an elite coach in the NFL.

The New York Jets have followed mediocre regular seasons with tremendous playoff success over the course of Ryan's first two seasons as their head coach. In fact, they have made it to the AFC Championship game in both seasons.

Currently, the Jets stand at 7-5 and are in a mix with a myriad of teams for the final AFC playoff spot:

Cincinnati Bengals: 7-5

Oakland Raiders: 7-5

Tennessee Titans: 7-5

New York Jets: 7-5

Despite recent worried in New York that this team have under performed during the 2011 regular season, it has been the MO of the Rex Ryan-led Jets clubs over the previous two seasons. However, they seem to bring it together in December and January, making a run for the Super Bowl.

The legacy of Ryan's early tenure as the head coach of the Jets is going to come down to their ability to continue this late season success in 2011 and bring the city another playoff appearance. I understand that most Jets fans are looking for much more than that, but you have to start somewhere.

If the Jets fail to make the playoffs, the largest sports media market in the world will probably be throwing out the possibility that he will not return in 2012 and isn't the long-term answer for the Jets. As you well know, this type of criticism will stick with a head coach in that city throughout the duration of his career, so it is vital that Ryan nips that in the bud immediately and somehow leads the Jets to the playoffs in 2011.

If not the media firestorm will start in January and continue until he is ridden out of town in a Trenton taxi.

7. Carson Palmer, Oakland Raiders

Make no mistake about it the Oakland Raiders are fully expecting to make the playoffs in 2011 and have bet their future on the immediate success of the franchise.

After all, they did give up a first-round pick in 2012 and second-round pick in 2013 in order to acquire the services of Carson Palmer. Whether or not you agreed with that trade really isn't the point. Palmer needs to show that he was at least worth the risk over the next four games.

It all starts against the Green Bay Packers this weekend. If Palmer fails to live up to expectations as the 2011 season draws to a conclusion and loses out for the division title to Tim Tebow, you will see a flurry of skeptics come forth pronouncing him to be nothing more than the marginal signal-caller we have seen over the course of the last four seasons.

If Palmer does lead the Raiders to the playoffs and shows the talent that we had seen some five seasons ago, a lot of those skeptics will go into hibernation during the spring and summer.

6. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers

There is a lot of us who believe that Norv Turner's legacy as a head coach of the San Diego Chargers has already been etched in stone. It was recorded after three consecutive postseason failures from 2007 to 2009 and re-recorded last season when San Diego missed the playoff altogether.

Following a surprisingly fast 4-1 start to the 2011 season, the Chargers went on to lose six consecutive games before defeating the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars last Monday night.

Right now, San Diego sits with a 5-7 record and are two games behind both the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders for first place in the AFC West. Media reports have also surfaced that Turner will be fired if they don't make the playoffs in 2011.

With that, the chances that San Diego wins the AFC West are extremely remote right now. They would most likely have to win out. With games against Baltimore, Oakland and Detroit, that seems extremely unlikely. If the Chargers don't make the playoffs Turner is gone; even if they do squeeze in only to lose in the first round, he is probably going to get a pink slip.

The only way that Turner saves a job that it seems he is imminently going to lose would be to go deep into the AFC playoffs. If that happens, his legacy will quickly be changed for the better.

Don't expect that to happen.

5. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants

Prior to the 2007 season, there were a myriad of different reports from New York that Tom Coughlin's job was on the line. In fact, these reports seemed to indicate that it was playoffs or bust for the Giants head coach.

Well, the New York Giants ended up riding a late-season surge into the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl in one of the greatest upsets in NFL postseason history.

The Giants have only made the playoffs once since. Additionally, they are just 5-8 in December during that span. Second-half meltdowns have come to be synonymous with the Giants over the course of Coughlin's long tenure there.

And 2011 is no different. The Giants started out 6-2 this season, following a riveting road victory over the New England Patriots. Since, they have lost four consecutive games and find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the NFC playoff race.

In order for Coughlin to keep his job, I believe that the Giants are not only going to have to win the NFC East but go deep into the playoffs. With two games remaining against the division-leading Dallas Cowboys the fate will be in their hands.

If not, Coughlin will go down as the coach who won New York a Super Bowl but failed to lead them to anything of substance in his other seven seasons as the team's head coach.

4. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

At 9-3, the Baltimore Ravens have the inside track on the AFC North championship and a first-round bye in the playoffs. This means that Joe Flacco would enjoy the possibility of playing in his first home playoff game of his career, after seven consecutive postseason road starts.

In those starts, Flacco has gone a surprising 4-3, but his statistics aren't indicative of a game-changing quarterback. During that span, the Delaware product completed just over 50 percent of his passes and threw three more interceptions than touchdowns.

In short, the Ravens were asking him not to lose the game.

Over his career, Flacco has thrown 17 career December touchdowns compared to just eight interceptions, while leading the Ravens to a 9-4 record. He is going to have to continue that success this December in order to ensure the Ravens a postseason home game for the first time in five seasons.

If not, Flacco will have to go back on the road into a hostile environment and perform above anyone's previously set expectations. Accordingly, he needs to prove to the Baltimore Ravens and the rest of the NFL that he can be the season the Ravens make a deep run in the playoffs and vie for a Super Bowl championship. If not, it appears that our understanding of Flacco will be nothing more than him being an inconsistent regular season quarterback who struggles when more is asked of him.

3. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers have had a downright dreadful 2011 seasons. They had a six-game losing streak snapped last Monday and currently stand two games back in the AFC West with just four left. Additionally, Rivers has already matched his career high in interceptions just three-fourths of the way through the season.

I can count at least two games in which Rivers was the primary reason for a Chargers loss. This seems a little out of character for the ultra-talented quarterback, but that is only on the surface.

Rivers has an amazing 21-2 record as a starting quarterback in his career in December. That is truly a testament to his ability to come up big when it counts. During that span, the Chargers had to win nearly every single late season game in order to sneak into the playoffs because of horrendous starts to the season.

This season is no different, but the obstacles are greater. They have three extremely difficult games over the course of the final quarter of the season against the Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. In order to even have a shot at the playoffs, the Chargers will have to sweep those three games and take care of business against the Buffalo Bills this week.

If they sneak into the playoffs, Rivers will go down as one of the most clutch late-season quarterbacks in the modern history of the NFL. Waiting for playoff success might be a different story and require the Chargers to cut ties with Norv Turner, which seems nearly imminent at this point.

2. Mark Sanchez, New York Jets

The New York Jets will not make the playoffs this season is Mark Sanchez doesn't  up his game a great deal. This is a quarterback that still has a quarterback rating hovering around the high-70s and low-80s after 43 career NFL starts.

It is about time that he takes the next step to being an above-average NFL quarterback. The 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions may be a nice first step, but his completion percentage is still only in the mid-50s, while the Jets continue to struggle a great deal on the offensive side of the ball.

Their running game is nowhere like it has been over the last couple of seasons, so the onus is going to sit with Sanchez to pick up his game.

We are already hearing Sanchez getting the Bronx Cheer, even when he threw four touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills in a must-win game two weeks ago. New York will not settle for mediocrity, it just won't. And for a Hollywood type of personality to be entrenched in as the starting quarterback for a marginal New York Jets team, it is only magnified further.

Time is running out and Sanchez needs to prove his worth this month. Otherwise, those boo birds will be out in full force and I am not sure the USC product has the moxie to get over that.

1. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

Who didn't expect Tony Romo to be No. 1 on this list?

Romo is currently 7-11 as a starting quarterback in the month of December in his career. He has led late-season meltdowns, which disabled the Cowboys ability to get into the playoffs. He has also made crucial mistakes in the playoffs that forced the team to take an early exit in January.

Romo, who is arguably having the best season of his career, needs to end these late seasons struggles immediately.

The Cowboys currently own a 7-5 record and are in first place in the NFC East. However, they still face the task of going up against the 6-6 New York Giants twice in the final four games.

If Romo can lead the Cowboys to the playoffs and win a game or two in January, a lot of those skeptics will go quietly into the night for a while. If not, there will be many calling for the Cowboys to get rid of the under-performing quarterback.

Either way, it is put up or shut up time for Romo, and you can bet he feels that pressure.