Now That Green Bay Has Decided To Sink With Aaron Rodgers...what is Favre worth in today's NFL?
Here's the ad....Older, durable QB with Hall Of Fame Career and an apparent love of retirement press conferences seeking a really dumb NFL team willing to shell out $12 million for one season.....candidates should be really poor judges of value like John Gruden or the entire Oakland Raiders and New York Jets franchises....asking price....a high pick and/or a quality player.
Here's the skinny kids....Brett Favre is a legend in GB and he deserves that distinction....but in ANY other franchise he is something o####amble because who knows how long he'll stay around.... at this stage of his illustrious career the guy spends EVERY off season retiring or thinking about retiring...it's so bad I honestly think he just likes to cry on camera.....This ought to be called the Rent-A-Favre Sweepstakes....
The only legitimate justification for grabbing this guy is that you have MOST of the pieces in place for a deep playoff run except you have Carson Palmer or Phillip Rivers or either of the knobs in Cleveland staring blankly down the bench at you.....Unfortunately the Pack would be iinsane to send #4 to the teams who need him the most....the Bears, Lions and the Vikes.....so where is a good fit?
The Bucs would love him primarily because Gruden has fond memories of Rich Gannon who was like 300 years old when he almost brought Chuckie to the promised land....and since proving that he could ONLY win with Tony Dungee's team, the Bucs may stretch to get Favre to appease a tortured fan base....I think Favre as a Buc will have an appreciable impact on the playoff picture and it will keep some #### in the seats past half time.....Tampa Bay is a team, though, that is a dangerous trading partner for the Pack because there is a very real possibility that if the Pack can find a way into the playoffs that they might face Brett and the Bucs....not a career extending move for GM Ted Thompson....if Tampa Bay knocks GB out of the playoffs Mr. Thompson will be out of work soon therafter in my opinion.
Then there is Baltimore....the Ravens are in an epic free fall and all of the coaching changes in the world won't help them out neither will having a Rookie QB ....A guy like Favre would be an outstanding bridge between the ineptitude of Kyle Boller and the promise of Joe Flacco...plus Ray Ray might like him and then Ray Ray can be happy....the Ravens will still not get by the Steelers, Colts, Jags or Patriots but they would be better....
Then there are the AFC East teams.....the Bills, Jets and Dolphins would give up body parts to get this guy because having your #### whipped for a decade will make you pretty desperate.....the team he would help the most is the J-E-T-S- Jets who are best known for the 50 nitwits who scream their #### off every year at the draft...despite the fact that the J-E-T-S are almost as bad as the Lions when it comes to judging college talent.....Favre and their veteran acquisitions this off season would give them an ability to play with NewEngland .....who knows...they might win a game or two when the games count....They would have to be considered an AFC contender with #4 under center.
If your the Packers front office the obvious first choice would be to someone in the AFC so the guy is not whipping your butts twice a year....but they also have to think long term like Superbowl issues....Green Bay fans will storm Lambeau if Brett goes to a team and gets another ring...that would be a mess...That's why Baltimore makes sense.
As I said in an earlier post, if Favre is traded that is good news for Mr. Rodgers but what would have been a best case scenario for Rodgers would have been a trade for himself because everytime this guy has a tough game the even sophisticated and committed fans like the Packer fans will be making the inevitable comparisons and they will get very nasty if Brett is lighting it up somewhere else....
The Packers should look for a deal with the Ravens....he will do well but that team isn't that close so in the long run a trade will not bite them in the #### too hard. They Ravens could use some time to get Flacco ready....the Packers should insist on a second rounder in '09 and another one in '10....If he goes, as expected, to Tampa things should get pretty interesting.
Also...let's not totally discount the chance that Brett may just stay retired....stranger things have happened.
I expect a complete apology from all of you Cheddar Heads....If The Pack take Favre back they KNOW how bad the upcoming year will be without him....
I will never say a negative word about Brett Favre, in my opinion he is as good as any player who has ever played and had Green Bay had the money he would have won multiple rings....he is as fierce a competitor as there is in the entire sports world and I KNOW he could play at a very high level were he to come back....he is so good that the Packers will win 10-12 games with him under center should he come back...without him they are a team with a solid defense that has improved but with an offense that will absolutely be hampered with what is an unproven quarterback who is really little more than a college sophomore in terms of his playing experience. They will win 8 and that's only because they play in the worst division inthe weaker conference.....
Many of you nitwits commented about how wrong I was when I made these predictions earlier in the week....well my little cheese whizzes....if the Packers front office do take #4 back, I want full apologies from all of you...YUK YUK....how would that be for a confidence boost for young Mr. Rodgers....plus with him being a PAC 10 guy he'll probably have to up his counselling and start to add some caffiene to his daily Caramel Soy Mochachino with a touch of Madacascar cinnamon.....yuk yuk....he's gonna need lots of Lambeau Leap hugs from you guys...man he gets the word that Starbucks is closing 600 stores and MAYBE Brett is returning on the same day....gee whiz....Aaron had a tough one yesterday.....poor little guy.
Here's why the Packers should take Brett back but won't if they are smart...with Brett they are a playoff team...without Brett they are only a playoff team if 8-8 gets them in....They should pass on Brett for this reason...if Aaron Rodgers can play they need to start getting him ready. I personally have my doubts and it is clear that so do the Packers....you can believe that they allowed Brett to play the "will I or won't I" game for four years out of loyalty to #4....for a year or two they were absolutely right to allow Favre to come back and would have been right if Rodgers was the second coming of Joe Montana....but you're a world class fool if you honestly believe that any NFL franchise would allow that to take place for four years if they had someone that they honestly believed was capable of playing.....If Aaron Rodgers was a natural leader, or if he ran plays flawlessly and should great potential in practice THE GREEN BAY PACKERS AND THEIR FANS WOULD HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR BRETT FAVRE'S RETIREMENT THREE YEARS AGO..... The Packers apparently have a somewhat cautious view of Rodgers as evidenced by their reluctance to nip these Favre rumours in the bud as soon as they are leaked....
The sole justification for keeping or acquiring a veteran QB who is clearly past his prime and in this case has already retired by announcing that he had "nothing left" is because you, as a team, know or believe that you have a problem....Aaron Rodgers is not right out of college, they have had him through 3 camps, some limited game experience and so the Pack have got to have a very good picture of what they have...and if they take Brett back they remain worried....we already know that they have not had great faith in him in the prior two years....
Like I said you dopey cheese eating knuckleheads....the Green Bay Packers are in for an adjustment without Brett and it's not going to be a quick process....following a legend never is.....
While I Certainly Tip My Hat To Green By for It's Football Team...Here's Why It Is Not Title Town At This Time.....
The Green Bay Packers are at BEST an average football team in the post Favre world....With Favre in his MVP prime they managed a single Super Bowl win.....from 1967 to today the Pack have won one Superbowl....Yes you have won 12 "championships" but the first three 1929, 30 and 31 were awarded based upon regular season end of season standings....The NFL did not start playing playoffs until 1936 and yes from that point until the idea of a "Super Bowl" was started for the 1966 season the Packers were clearly a top team in the 1930's and a Power House in the early to mid 1960's.....ok....so let's ask the really pressing question....WHAT HAVE YOU DONE LATELY....after Lombardi left, the Packers went into a three decade swoon....from 1967 to 1995 the Packers had two seasons where they posted 10 or more wins (1972 and 1989), in that span the team had 15 losing seasons! When Holmgren and Favre arrived the team became a contender but still managed only to win the big game once and then they really sort of choked in the second appearance in a stunner of a loss to Denver....
I point this out because some giant of a mind has informed me in response to an earlier posting that Green Bay is "Title Town" until someone takes that away....in 41 years YOU HAVE ONE TITLE in a one sport town....that takes away any ability to claim Title Town....using your logic the following Cities have a much stronger claim to the moniker....here goes my list for cities with a substantially stronger claim to title town than you Cheeseheads....
1. Boston-15 Titles since 1967 ....(Celtics 8, Bruins 2, Red Sox 2, Patriots 3) and since the start of the century no city has been close.....
2. New York 11 Titles since '67...Yankees 6 WS wins since '67, the Giants 3 Superbowls, the Jets 1 Superbowl, and the Rangers 1 Stanley Cup win
3.. Los Angeles- 11 Titles with 9 NBA Titles for the Lakers and 2 World Series Wins for the half watched Dodgers LA. I do not count the Angels win because they did not identify themselves as the LA Angels.....
6. Chicago 8 titles (Bulls 6, White Sox 1, Bears 1)
Honorable mentions include San Francisco, Dallas, Denver, San Antonio (a one horse town) Baltimore, Philadelphia, Toronto, Minnie, St. Louis, Montreal, Miami, Oakland, all of whom have won the golden ring MORE than you blockheads in Green Bay....
Of course were we to do what you have done...count the records since the dawn of time...then the Yankees, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Celtics and Lakers alone would smoke you guys by HUGE margins....
So my dear little cheddar heads....Green Bay is not and cannot claim title to anything beyond being a really cold and very average footbal town....I would urge you to resubmit your application in a few years...in order to make the top 6 the Pack will have to win 7 more tiles and with 1 in 40 years that should happen sometime in the year 2288...give or take a few decades....Green Bay Title Town ....that's a hoot...but thanks for playing and try again in about 280 years......
Here's our question for the day: Will Green Bay win more than 6 games in '08? I say yes, they win 7....I mean it's very hard in that division not to win 7....Detroit, Minnie and Chicago are all horrible so they should come out of that with a minimum of 4 wins....they also get Atlanta, Carolina, Seattle, Houston and Tampa Bay....You will know what kind of season you'll have right out of the box in Green Bay....Minnie at home and the on to Detroit....if the Pack loses both then they tumble into the abyss...if they split...then they have a shot at 7-9 or 8-8 which might give them 1st place in this crappiest of all NFL Divisions.....This squad gets croaked by Dallas, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Indy and New Orleans....Who will lead this team that you could count on to do anything significant...Aaron Rodgers? Listen closely....Senor Rodgers has thrown for a total of 111 yards over his three years in the league....clearly not his fault given that he was playing behiind the great one....but...that does not mean that he should be given any credit as a proven replacement because he has not established that he can play in this league.....Additionally, who in the name of all that is cheesey are the back ups? Add to that the fact that Rodgers entire body of post high school work has consisted of playing in 25 college games and you have what? In his life after high school this guy has played in 30 games....if you're counting on much here you may end up with a bad taste in your mouth when he's staring down the throat of that Jacksonville Defense or when Dallas comes to town.....he may well turn out to be a great player like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or, but history tells us that he'll more likley be another David Carr or Byron Leftwich...plus the guy needs a haircut...Green Bay is in for a long cold winter...unless BF comes out of retirement....
Get past the QB mess and this team clearly has talent with little depth....If Ryan Grant stays healthy and can repeat his '07 performance they will still need a lot more help for the long haired freaky dude calling signals....he could have T.O., Marvin Harrison and Chad Johnson and this team might still stink if Rodgers plays as soft as I suspect he will....
Early season favs include the obvious picks....Indy, NE, Dallas, Jacksonville and then it's a bunch of unknowns....will Tennessee continue to improve....has the Jets spending spree landed them a team (still need the QB me thinks)....bet on this Atlanta will slowly start to improve, Baltimore will be horrible, along with AZ, San Fran, Cleveland and I would not bet the farm that Oakland, Miami, Tampa Bay or the Niners have figured anyting out.....
Divisionally the NFC East and AFC South are the two to beat, Pats should clinch a playoff berth by about the middle of September and Indy and Jacksonville should be the best divisional games this year....I think Dallas is right there talent wise, I am no fan of Tony Romo because despite all of the hype that has surrounded this guy he has shown a disturbing trend as not being clutch in playoff games....I have a lot of doubt that he is the answer....but the NFC should fold up nicely foor Dallas to breeze....in the AFC it once again comes down to New England, Indy and Jacksonville....this year I think it's a jump ball in light of all of the secondary turnover the Patriots have had.....
Since 2001 NO city, I mean NO city has Come Close To this City's Teams.....
THERE CAN BE NO LEGITIMATE DEBATE ABOUT IT....BOSTON IS TITLETOWN.....
Let's give Detroit it's due...the Red Wings and Pistons are awesome teams....but let's be clear....Detroit has NO claim to being title town....Hockey Town ----probably but that's it....the Tigers suck, the Lions are worse and the Pistons won only one as that team is presently configured....
How about New York....the Giants deservedly won their Superbowl but beyond that let's see....the Yankees are a good team with an aging but still powerful lineup and NO pitching staff. The Spanks have not recovered from the single most humiliating defeat in organized professional sports history....you may remember that 2004 ALCS....I know all of you suddenly quiet Yankee fans remember it don't you?...how about those Knickerbockers.....they may well be the worst franchise in organized team sports given their money and the absolutely horrible teams they have paraded onto the Garden floor...oh wait...how can the Knicks be the worst franchise ever when they play in the same market as those Mets....the second highest payroll in baseball and they lay all of the blame for their '07 colllapse on a manager and not the dipstiick who overpayed Pedro, Santana, Glavine (we know he's gone but he took a lot of $ while he was there and didn't do ####), Beltran, Delgado and that ace Wagner....wanna fire someone who IS to blame....schedule a 3:00 a.m. meeting with Omar while you still have a fan or two left....and then there are the Rangers and who really cares...
How about L.A.? Well the Lakers had a nice run until they played a complete team and they promptly crapped out....I remember just two short weeks ago a lively interview with Kobe and Stephen A. Smith where Steven A. pressed Kobe as to why it wasn't fair to compare Kobe to MJ and at the time I wrote it off as a good reporter just asking the questions because many many people had started to believe that Bryant deserved such a lofty comparison....and maybe Kobe will still someday be able to be compared to Michael...just not at this time....Kobe was so outplayed by the Celtics trio of Pierce, Allen and Posey that he was barely the best offensive player on his own team....he was clearly out played, out hustled and outschemed by tthe Boston Celtics to the point where his legacy has been tarnished to a great degree..Michael Jordan would have carried his team to a win over Boston this year, there is NO question about that...but back to my point...LA is never really eligible to be Title Town without a real baseball team and without an NFL franchise....Christ even Charlotte and Jacksonville have teams.... what? you say that the Dodgers are a real baseball team because they signed Joe Torre? To that I say, grow up...as good a manager as there is in the game does not make the Dodgers are real team. Fans don't care, teams NEVER win (Kirk Gibson ain't coming through that door kids) and did I mention that people in LA have NO passion for sports....How many titles have the Dodgers won? Nah, LA is not close to a candidate for Title Town USA....and what did Shaq say...."Kobecouldn't do it without me...." Love it, LA blows.
How about Chicago....although the Blackhawks such #### and the Bulls are a disgrace, and the Bears are moving backwards again. They do have the White Sox who have won a World Series and the Bulls of Michael and Scottie were all world....but what have done for me lately....you KNOW the Cubs will screw up somehow and someway and while Ozzie will probably get the Southsiders a legitimate playoff shot...even if they win they really don't matter...even in Chicago...what's that old line...."there's nothing lonlier that being a southsider in a city of northsiders"....so The ChiSox are not given any credit here until their own city backs em just a bit....so Nyet to Chicago...and Philly, Saint Louis, Dallas, San Antonio (one team sports towns just don't count), Saint Louis, Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Miami, Cleveland, Cincy, Oakland, KC, New Orleans, Houston or Seattle....nope not one of these cities can say that they have won world champioships in Football (3) Baseballl (2) and Basketball (1) since 2001....only one place on the planet can say that and that's Boston.
Oliver Wendall Holmes once called Boston the "Hub of The Universe" because the city is the eductaional center of the Country with no fewer than 100 colleges in the city and its thriving suburbs....and those colleges include Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Northeastern, Emerson and Boston College to name just a few. Add to that an extremely low crime rate, a bevy of world class hospitals, four gorgeous seasons and the birthplace of our democracy and you have a city that is truly the best place to live on the East Coast.
It is almost unfair that the Red Sox are by far the best team in baseballl over the last 5 years, that the Patriots are still the best team in football and that the Celtics have now resumed theiir rightful place atop the NBA and won their 17TH title....a feat that no other team has ever topped....to put that in perspective.....that is 17 more titles than Cleveland, Denver, Charlotte, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah, LA Clippers and New Jersey Nets have combined to win....
Then there are the Red Sox....again in first place, again with the best rotation in the game, again with out any hole in their entire lineup, great manager, great closer, sold out EVERY game for decades.... wealthy and committed owners and a fan base that dwarfs the Yankees...if you doubt that for one minute try to buy a single game ticket for next season from the Red Sox ticket office....it will take an act of Congress and a great bit of luck. Then go to Baltimore (AKA Boston South) and see how the BoSox fans outnumber O's fans ...they have utterly destroyed the Yankees who simply will never recover from the beat down they took in '04....manager's gone, owner's feeble and his nit wit replacement is managing the team, they hired a manager who is so obnoxious that he got himself fired in the same year as he was named Manager of the Year in the NL and then there's the GM who must bear reposnibility for Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano, ElDugue, Alphonso Soriano, Roger Clemons third comeback tour and the whole notion that Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes were legitimate major leaguers....what you ask have the Red Sox done with young talent???? Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, John Lester, Jacoby Elsbury, Jed Lowrie, Clay Buckholtz, Justin Masterson, Manny DelCarmen, Craig Hansen are ALL playing and the team won last year's Fall Classic by destroying the Rockies....are you kidding me? It is amost unfair....the Red Sox are still in firts place and Curt Schilling is out, David Ortiz is out, Daisuke Matsuzaka is out...Manny is out...Coco is out....the Cubbies lose Zambrano and they WILL collapse....This is the most talented team of young players to play in 25 years....
I will not offer any excuses for the Patriots....they lost and they deserved to lose to a team that is now a long shot to return to the playoffs. The Pats are again favored to return to the Superbowl and only a fool like Tom Jackson would seriously question that...they have quietly reloaded a secondary that was not very good last year and they picked up three solid linebackers in the off season...anybody wanna wager with me? I say they win 12-14 games and retuirn to the ALCS where they will beat Indy, or Jacksonville....as usual.
Now there are the Celtics who have a real small window because they have not shown that they can figureout how to draft NBA players from the lower end of the first round....but...for noow they will likely return to the Conference finals next year and unless Cleveland can figure out how to win on the road the C's should return to the finalls to face NO, Utah or San Antonion...it won't be the Lakers...Kobe will see a lot of Tom Thibodeau's defense next year the way that Kurt Warner got figured out after Bellichik figured him out in 01....Let's face facts...Luke Walton, Vukocic, and Radmanovic are not legitimate NBA players....they were useless in the Finals and then their is the quickly aging and slowing Dereck Fisher and the riddle that is Lamar Odom....plus can someone tell me why Pau Gasol gets such high praise....he's is everything we expect from a European player...he no like hitting...him no like physical ball....him no play defense.....so the Lakers won't be having to worry about another Boston Beat down next year....if New Orleans gets a better 2 they will be the team....or at least I hope they will.....
So my little pinheads....Boston simply rules the sport's universe and yes I did not mention College sports because there is not a single college team that can beat even the weakest professional team at anything so it don't count.....
Not since Chris Berman convinced ESPN that he had talent has anyone done a better job of building a broadcast career on less than Kiper has....He has the whole sport's world convinced that he is a Draft Guru....Man he is good.
Our sports calender has for years been based upon a series of seasonal events, Bowl Season, Superbowl Sunday, March Madness, the April start of MLB, the Masters, The Kentucky Derby...etc etc etc... Like the good folks at ESPN and ESPN the Rag have convinced us that life on earth depends on who is selected when in the NFL draft. We have been suckered into this frenzy surrounding the NFL Draft despite the overwehlming evidence that there is no evidence to predict who will succeed in the NFL on draft day.. That entire event is in actuality a non event unless you are a loser Jet fan and it forms the high point of your football year. Because ESPN says it's an event they cover the hell out of it and for two full months we are subjected to a whole group of idiots who gurgle all sorts of useless stats and pretend to know what the player personell people are doing and thinking. I mean let's face it, one of the more entertaining sidelights of this virtual feeding frenzy is what happened to that Dreamboat Brady Quinn....Mel Kiper and the other so-called experts built that guy up as though he were Tom Brady or Peyton Manning....he was clearly the best available quarterback and was going to make some team an instant contender-WRONG!...Unfortunately for the player he did not get the memo and believed that these guys had a clue. Y'all remember the kid sitting there in his ill fitting and strangely configured suit as team after team after team passed on the guy who was best known as having no game whatsoever in a big game (we do remember the LSU beat down don't we sports fans?)....things got so bad for the lad that they mercifully pulled him off of the floor and allowed him to sit in a back room far away from the cameras. It was the humane thing to do. Of course the kid said all the right things about just wanting to play but man that was as embarassing thing to watch....why did it happen you ask? Because the experts wouldn't know what the player personell people are interested in and they aren't told despite their repeated assurances to the contrary. Thing for a minute about the concept of a "Draft Guru" and then try to quantify what such a guy would be worth to a team...#### he would have to weigh his money.....
Well as Mel Kiper would surely say, those teams were dead wrong about BQ and Cleveland got a franchise player at No. 22...surely Cleveland would be laughing all the way to the football bank ....wrong again Mr. Pompodore....The Browns start Derek Anderson and have locked him up on a long term deal....the Mighty Quinn must be the Quarterback of the distant future....
Despite the large number of misses by the so-callled draft experts we are still assaulted with intensive pre draft coverage aimed at convincing us that there is an ability to measure who will be able to play in the NFL....and every single year there are as many instances of misses than hits by Kiper and the host of other ESPN wanna bes....Remember Ryan Leaf, Todd Marinovich, Akili Smith, Jeff George, Brian Bosworth, Andy Katzenmoyer, and Cedric Benson just to name a very few... My favorite story though has got to be Tim Couch who was taken over Donaovan McNabb by Cleveland (starting to see a trend folks????? Cleveland don't know Quarterback talent)....The guy had to have been the worst of all time because he was taken with the first overall pick ahead of McNabb; Ricky Williams (ok so not a great example) Champ Bailey; Terry Holt; Damien Woody; Jevon Kearse; and Edgerin James....The suggestion that anyone can predict a player's long term career prospects on draft day is simply laughable and it boggles the mind that the NFL pays these guys in locked steps before they show up at camp....
Need more proof, let's look at a few guys that the so-called experts passed on....Cato June, taken 6th Round '03; Brian Westbrook 3rd round '02; Mike Vrabel 3rd Rd '97; Marques Colston 7th Rd. '06; Joey Porter 3rd rd. '99; Asante Samuel 4th Rd. '03; Jason Taylor 3rd Rd '97; and then there's Tom Brady who was taken in the 6th Round in '00....
As you are watching ESPN's gavel to gavel coverage of the 2008 Draft think about this for minute...if Mel Kiper was able to do what he says he can do why wouldn't he be working for an NFL team making untold millions as he built dynasty after dynasty...don't watch they have no clue who will be an impact player in 3 years.
I have Restrained Myself Most of The Year Because Every Time You Mention Tony Romo or Peyton Manning In Anything Other Than Glowing Terms I get Lunatics who Rant on About Just How Wonderful Both Of These Guys Are....
Well I suppose this weekend should have put an end to that nonsense. I sat at Gillette Stadium Saturday night and witnessed the most recent coronation of the greatest quarterback to ever play the position. 26 for 28 is just the statistical part of the picture, numbers aside, did anyone who is not a rabid Jags fan think that Tom Brady would allow the Patriots to lose that game? He was, simply put, in complete control in the familiar setting of an all or nothing playoff game against what is probably one of the top three teams in the AFC. Even still, Brady would have been perfect had Wes Welker and Ben Watson not dropped balls which hit BOTH of them on the hands...and let's face the facts, the Jags had their way with the New England secondary especially in the first half. David Garrard looked for all the world like a diamond at Quarterback, he did everyting well enough to win that game...except for Brady he does win that game....
The tds, the yards, the clutch play, the arm, the perfect season....all of it compels one, and only one conclusion. Tom Brady is finishing up the best season ever by a quarterback and when he is measured against a resume of 3 superbowl rings and the legendary play he has shown...he is the Best Ever before he does another thing like win a 4th or 5th ring.
Now what were you all (I suppose I should say "Y'all") saying all year long about Tony Romo? He was the best since Staubach, he was going to make who forget about Troy Aikman? There comes a time when you have to realistically assess a quarterback's play and in the case of Mr. Romo I suggest that the ONLY statistic that needs to be considered is this: What has boy wonder done with the balll in his final possessions the past two seasons? When Dallas was poised to win yesterday, you remember...when they got the ball back on their own 43 with about 7:00 minutes to play only down by 4, what did this supposed Great do? I like the 14 yard sack, you know the one where he was standing outside of the pocket with time and DID NOT get rid of the football, or maybe his most shining moment came when he stood bolt upright with average pressure and launched the ball out of bounds....gee Tone...I think I read somewhere that that's a penalty and gee...I think it's a loss of down and 10 yards....yep...it sure was....But the poor play was evident throughout the 4th quarter, when the Giants D picked up the intensity Romo faded....with about 12:00 minutes to go on a 2nd and 8 at the Dallas 44 he was sacked for a 5 or 6 yard loss, then in a thrid and long he failed to convert....this is not the stuff of Staubach or Aikman....
In his last three games Mr. Romo has looked exceptionally average and one would think that at this time of year with a team with that talent you'd get a better effort. Barber was a stud, hat's off to TO and Terry Glenn for playing in pain, Jason Whitten is in my opinion the best possession tight end in the game and he played well again....the line did let Romo get ####ed around a bit but so what, these were not the 75 Steelers you boys played....they were a team you handled easily TWICE this season whose Quarterback looked like he was on YOUR payroll the way he kept trying to give you the ball back.Your defense certainly played well enough to win the game, hell they were stopping the Giants when it counted and gave your offense the balll back TWICE in the final 7:00 minutes....Jeez Louise that was poor and 80% of the blame rests with that Dreamboat you have at Q....
The most vocal homers are the Indy fans who are, maybe were, convinced that Peyton Manning was so great that only a fool would argue the point. It's a funny logic that they use....of course Peyton and the Colts are the best because they play in the BEST division in football and they win it year after year....HUH? Then they say, well hey we beat New England last year so doesn't that prove that Peyton is better, he won one crucial head to head with Brady so that's it...Of course, that logic misses a few key points....name the premiere receiver on Brady's 06 team.....Jabbar Gafney or Reche Caldwell? Name the four healthy starting D backs in the base defense? Oh wait, they did not have 4, they were down to three and were using a wideout as the fourth. What was going on in the Pat's defensive huddle last year...oooohhhh I know ...two of the linebackers were trying to keep their lunch down due to the flu that worked its way through the team....and even then...it took a mystery pass interference call to get you the win....and you saw it again yesterday, the officials did everything in their power to make sure that Peyton advanced...horrible calls.....all day long. It has become so much the norm in Indianapolis that long incompletions ARE automatic interference calls that these guys complain on balls that were 5-6 yards underthrown....please for next year boys can we implement a NO MORE WHINING policy? The Chargers beat you TWICE and the Patriots beat you in the Dome and let's face it, you got outclassed by the Chargers back ups and were going to take a bad beating next week even if you could have won yesterday...which, of course, you didn't. To add insult to injury, name the tailback and Quarterback who put you away yesterday, c'mon boys, name then without looking at the box score...and enjoy this little statistic this long cold off season....Peyton the Conqueror was 9/19 in passing attempts in that CRUCIAL fourth quarter...10 incompletions...10 and you still had a chance to win...really just a shame.....Listen, there is no question about it, Peyton Manning is the second best Quarterback in the game and he is far better than the #3 guy....my point earlier in the year which has been proven beyond a shadow of doubt is simply that he is NOT Number 1...that guy plays for New England...he's still playing also.
Pardon me while I chuckle quietly for a minute or two.....
Next weekend should be interesting but it's going to really hurt if the Chargers and the G-Men lose....gee whiz..what would that mean? Hey that would mean that maybe Dallas and Indy were really not that good after all....yuk yuk....hey Tony have fun in Cabo...Peyton we'll see plenty of your smiling, only a mother could love ya, mug on the 3000 commercials you've got going.....Maybe next time you should look AWAY from Clark in a crucial 4th down situation....we all saw the commercial that's why Norv had him covered.....
So Here Is The Rant of The Day...Kornheiser May be the worst MNF announcer of all time and Baltimore Really Stinks...
I must be old school, I remember a time when nationally televised broadcasts like Monday Night Football would hire announcers and color commentators who at least pretended to be impartial. Can anyone explain what the hell Kornheiser is doing. I get that the Patriots are the team to hate, if I lived in Indianapolis, Dallas or Philly I get it, the Patriots are loaded and they remain undefeated even after experiencing two so-so efforts in a row. I really do understand that sentiment because it happens all the time...but Kornhole must have said 15 times that last night might very well be the night that the Patriots get beat...his glee was apparent and exceedingly unprofessional...he does not like New England and virtually every word out of his mouth confirmed that....this dolt went so far as to scream that Billick should "take back" the timeout he called in the fourth quarter. Newsflash to Tony...ummm sorry son, in football you can't take back timeouts the way that you and your girlfirends did when you played wallyball at your squash club... This is what happens when ESPN is left to select the MNF staff, aren't there more qualified candidates? They must have a hundred people capable of doing that job, this #### makes Dennnis Milller look competent...#### that racist Limbaugh was better. Do they think that America wants to listen to a guy who obviously was the last guy picked in gym class for everything and then pummelled in every game of dodgeball he participated in. I'll bet this knob got hit from behind by his OWN teammates just to get his sickly looking #### off of the gym floor? You know this guy...asthma inhalers, #### stains on the chinos and black socks in gym class with the perpetual note from his doctor that he can't play any "rough games". I suppose that MNF is trying to broaden its viewer base by locking up all of the kids in chess clubs around the country...give me a break, get Wilbon...he's funny and knows something about sports....
Let's get to the game, I would agree that "the catch" was close but please...it was CLOSE not an obvious miss. The play was reviewed and found to have been a catch. My view was that it did not look like he had possession...but to be honest the ball was still in his hand as he was going out of bounds...was it missed? Maybe and maybe not...it was that close. Now for the flash...Get over it Ray, you gave back 100 yards on largely avoidable penalties....You should have won, you in fact had the game won but could not make the plays when it counted...the good news is you are a loser who played tough...based on your performance last night you'll be back patrolling the nightclub scene before too long anyway...talk about losing a step....
Could there be a bigger group of idiots than the Ravens? There is a fine line between spirited play and foolishness and these knucklehads gave that game away by acting like the selfish fools that they are...Coach Billick has allowed that team to be controlled on the field by selfish players and this apparent sense that they are bad boys and can play any way they please is not working...guess what...they are a terrible football team with 8 losses through 12 games and they blew a great opportunity to beat New England and let's face facts...New England was ripe for the picking....The Patriots tried to choke but the Ravens defense were having none of that....don't tackle Stallworth, nah...instead grab his face mask in an overted gesture and swing him down-but then complain that you got a bad call....Tackle Moss in the end zone and then after the call go to the sideline and high five a teammate....what? Where was Billick, why wasn't he screaming at these guys to calm the hell down? The most glaring example of this teams poor play was the flag throwing incident...that was just the icing on the cupcake...what a pack of fools. Yes you are a professional football player on a 4-8 team with NO chance of going anywhere and yes you should grab up a flag and launch it into the stands....wow what a play....can someone tell me how such a great team could be stuck in the basement of their division? Please I just do not get it, earlier this year I thought Adalius Thomas sounded like a real punk when he said that the Patriots were a "team" and that the Ravens played like a bunch of individuals out there just for themselves...I really thought he was way out of line...you know you left the team shut the hell up...but after last night's abortion o####ame I see why he felt the need to say what he said...this is a bunch of punks who think the score is incidental, that what counts is a good beat down....what a concept...I'm shocked that this band of nitwits hasn't gone to the Superbowl every year...very impressive....Ed Reed and Todd Heap need to go and get paid by a team that can play and that understands that IT IS THE SCORE THAT COUNTS....after those two who else would anyone want...Ray Ray is all done, McGahee is just another running back...nothing special there...plus that Miami connection HAS to concern any GM...(they don't play nice), Ogden is a former stud but he's 32 and not the player he was, their receivers may be the worst in the NFL as a unit ( a whopping 9 TD's among 13 guys who have caught balls this year) and then there's the vaunted defense.....Suggs, Scott and Johnson round out the LB corps and will anyone make an argument for me that they are as good as they claim to be? Well here are the facts...they are ranked 18th in points allowed this season...18th! I thought they had a super defense led by the greatest of alll time.... with his ONE sack this year...no not two I SAID ONE SACK....yes he does have a lot of tackles (75) but that's more of a product of a porous Defensive line now isn't it....
Baltimore fans will gripe about the refs and while they have a legitimate beef on the one call tell me again about the Hail Mary...was Samuel dragged down? Look at the tape, they tried to give it back but Boller underthrew the damned end zone....and were the refs picking on Baltimore after the flag got launched...is there a sighted person on the planet that did not see the Stallworth interference, or that facemask or the Moss interferences...how about McGahee's fumble...that was NOT called....I mean cut the ####..thugs get penalties and the Ravens got what they deserved.
I say that Billick is out of his mind, Baltimore needs a lot of reeducation about what the game is actually about...all of the taunting when you can't play just makes you and your coach look the part of fools....I wonder if they can get the Goose out of retirement...now that was a class guy.
I apparently struck a nerve with my insightful recent post on the lack of quality QB play, so allow me the simple indulgence of smacking a few of you around a little bit....
First off, to the MIami fan who sprung to the defense of Dan Marino (who I am a huge fan of) let me remind you sir that you could not be more wrong...I have checked the facts and here they are: Dan Marino was drafted in 1983 as the 27th pick behind the likes of Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien and Todd Blackledge and while that draft also included greats like John Elway and Jim Kelly, who among you honestly believe that you would take any of these guys over Marino? As a junior at Pitt, Marino had a very good year, as a senior he slipped badly and as a result was largely unheralded on draft day. Give me a break, he dropped to the point where he was on the brink of not being drafted in the first round at all. Marino was overlooked and the fact that he was the sixth quarterback taken that day in 1983 proves that you are an incredible ####.
Hey speaking of morons, how does it feel to be a Miami Dolphins fan? Must be a lot of fun, I was wondering if there was any way that they could do more to screw that squad up...they really did a great job this past offseason huh? Too bad they cannot get guys like Wes Welker.... Man that Coach looks like a real chip off of the Schottenheimer block doesn't he? What an innovator, why just last night he showed some real Bill Walsh abilities, what creative play calling, what genius...I hope they don't actuallly pay that knucklehead...very animated press conferences...I haven't seen anything like that guy since Rod Rust was coaching. Thank god they still have Chris Chambers and that they signed that wonderful accomplished quarterback in the offseason, Trent Green,...did you know that they pay him more than $6 MILLION DOLLARS per year? How's he doing, what, he's got another of his 200 concussions and is again out for the year? No way what a bad break! whh...what? They traded Chris Chambers for a draft pick? Huh? Well at least they finally got rid of that #### Ricky Williams so they can develop a runner under Coach Cameron's long tradition of building dynastic teams... Huh, nah you're kidding me they just re-signed Ricky and he played like two minutes and got hurt...you don't think Ricky will go out injured so that he can collect a check to repay the team the $8million they gave him the last time he was in town , you know before he quit the first time so he could go to Tibet to smoke weed with the Dalai Lama? What, you are nuts, Coach Cameron has never coached a professional team as a head coach? Man, well at least they have Cleo Lemon a proven NFL caliber QB to back up Trent Green...I wouldn't worry they have a pretty easy schedule and I'm sure they can beat New England in New England on December 23....yeah it should be allright...Yuk yuk. On a serious note, you have to be a real glutton for punishment to want to watch the Miami Dolphins who couldn't win it all WITH Dan Marino, the way things are going they may make us forget about how rotten the Oakland Raiders have been since Rich Gannon (another unheralded yet very good QB) was calling signals for them. To quote my greatgrandmother...the Dolphins suck.
I also love that we are now pulling real hard for Matt Lienert I guess because we really really like him (he must be cute) because there is nothing about his physical abilities that suggest that he is anything other than a perrenial back up...so let me be clear, I will stand by my prediction that Lienert will be a bust but I am willing to afford him some more time I mean thekid is on IR and it would be really poor form to dismiss him while he's out...but you all do understand that big kids with soft arms and slow feet tend to grow into very spectacular back ups in this league...but you win, I'll give Lienert a pass for now. His 56% career completion rate is troubling as is the fact that he throws more picks than tds and is prone to holding the ball too long...but he is tall...slow and weak armed...but hey anything can happpen....
But as for the rest of you, I defy anyone to make the argument that my points were wrong, here are the last 16 QBs taken in the first or second round in the prior four drafts:
Jamarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, Kevin Kolb, John Beck, Vince Young, Matt Lienert, Jay Cutler, Kellen Clemons, Alex Smith, Aaron Rodgers, Jason Campbell, Charlie Frye, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Phillip Rivers, and JP Lossman.
I will concede that Rivers may prove to be a very good quarterback but I will bet any of you that it won't be in San Diego. I would also agree that Big Ben looks to be the real deal as well but after that I say no general manager would draft any of these guys as high as they went the first time. Not one of them is considered a lock to even hold onto their positions much longer, if they have the positions in the first place (and I exclude Russell and Quinn from this discussion because they are so special they dont even start). Anyone catch JP Lossman the other day, yeah there's a guy with a real bright future...HOLDING A CLIPBOARD AND STANDING NEXT TO A COACH....Let's see, maybe Beck or Clemons will...ahh never mind they are both so poor they don't warrant discussion....and how many times do Giants fans have to watch as Peyton's little brother shits the bed....?
I can't help it, did somebody say that Brady Quinn was a steal at 22? Yeah because this guy looked so good in big games at ND...he was pooor when it counted most....he's a figment of people's rampant imaginations, did he limit his combine workouts because he has mad skills or did he only want the #### GM's to buy something they didn't first get to see...Talk about being a product of the media (ESPN and SI) draft frenzy...I can still picture that egomaniac sitting there on draft day in what looked to be the poorest fitting suit I have ever seen as he valiantly pretended not to be bother by the fact that NOBODY was interested. That was the very best part of the draft, watching a pampered athlete as his hopes were repeatedly smashed to bits as team after team after team gave the overrated Mr. Quinn the polite "It's not you, it's us" ....Loved it....I only hope he gets to play soon so we can put an end to the speculation that since his miserable LSU game that he has gotten better with age and lack of reps....
You can obviously take issue with a particular guy here or there but most of you have no clue what you are talking about (the dan Marino comment being first to come to mind) but the point remains valid, drafting NFL Quarterbacks is a guessing game, every GM in the game knows that but they are usually thrust into the role of seeking a savior because teams fall on hard times. So you are a GM of a team with a high first round pick and your quarterback is Tommy Maddox or Trent Dilfer, your very job is on the line and so much attention is dedicated to "THE DRAFT" people like Mel Kiper make tons of money predicting and offering opinions, the local fan base gets all worked up, Nike signs these guys up, Sport's Illustrated does a cover piece and reports every detail of the guys workout, diet and family history, they cover the combine gavel to gavel, they do public interest pieces on just how hard the guy had it as a child, then you find out that the guy has the IQ of an eggplant on the eve of the draft but hey the guy won in college and can throw the football "70 yards in the air from his knees"... on draft day they get all dressed up for the event and then they are taken with great fanfare and signed to big contracts....and then the time comes for them to play and you know what, more often than not they do not make it...so what does all of this mean....THE GENERAL MANAGER LOOKS LIKE THE ####....Guys like Rick Mirer, Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, Tim Couch and Trent Dilfer are actually the success stories,,,,hell they at least made the teams that drafted them..they are all stiffs but they at least had significant playing time.....the numbers are crystal clear, about 1 in 15 of the first or second round guys start for more than 2 years...so please save all of the nonsense about Quarterback development...it is not accurate.
On the David Garrard matter I am not sure where anyone other than an #### homer wearing his nice new Homervision goggles would see much based upon what this guy has done....I agree that he shows signs of being very good at times, I agree that he is a pleasant surpise at this point in his career but I hope you re not too offended if I don't book my airline tickets for Canton so I can watch his induction ceremony just yet.... Mr. Garrard throws the ball an average of 12.4 times per game over the 36 game career he has had, at that rate he'd have to play for two centuries to touch any of Marino's records, he is presently ranked 23rd in total passing yards at 1663 just below Damon Huard and Marc Bulger. If he passes for 2500 yards this year (no chance this year) he'll need to play for 24.5 years to match Dan Marino. He is ranked 18th in TD passes with 9, if he continues to average 13 per year he'll need to play thirty more years to match Favre's total touchdown passes, he is ranked 24th in passing attempts as he has attempted to throw about half as much as Favre, Brees, Hasselback, Manning and Brady, his yards per attempt numbers are good and zero picks are pretty good but when compared with the elites that number is very deceptive. Brady has thrown the ball 183 more times, he has done so with a substantially higher completion percentage (72.4% to 65.1%) Brady has thrown for 1813 MORE yards than Garrard and THIRTY more Touchdowns, yes Brady has 4 picks but I guess I would put David Garrard's numbers on a par with Brady, Favre, Mannning (not the tool in New York) or Romo...if I were drunk I might do that! But why worry, I'm certaiin that David will carry the Jags to the Superbowl soon...yuk yuk yuk.....well maybe not too soon. Man you guys with the cool homervision glasses kill me...anybody else want to get smacked down....how about you Donovan McNabb fans? Anybody? Aww shucks you guys are so easy.....
Here's a prediction, I think Garrard will be a starter for a while and I do think he will improve, I think this not because I get aroused when I think about my beloved Jags...no it is because Garrard looks competent, he has better than average skills and seems to play hard and well most of the time.
P.S. I would never intentionallly leave Roger Staubach off of any discussion of the all-time greats, we all understand that Staubach was an amazing talent and tough as nails...one of the absolutely best players of all time....
Well as the NFL season has unfolded certain unmistakeable trends have emerged...yesterday was no exception. The league that once prided itself on "parity" has somehow slipped from balanced excellence to balanced mediocrity.
Let's be clear, the Philadelphia Eagles are a decent football team with good coaching and an inexplicable ability to cut its losses and dump Mr. McNabb. I think last night's game was indicative of the larger problem facing the NFL....the Patriots are great not because they are great, but mainly because the rest of the league is simply not very good. AJ Feeley played a hell o####ame but in the end he reverted to exactly what he is, a back up with good, not great skills. Last year Jeff Garcia came onto this team and, here again, used his average skills to effectively lead these very same Eagles....so what is Mr. Lurie missing, his team plays like world beaters when a certain overpaid, oft injured, pretender with mega endorsements dealls is on the sidelines. Mr. Lurie you would probably have a wild card berth if AJ Feeley finishes the year for you. Had Feeley been playing right along the Eagles win that game last night...
How bad is the League right now? Having watched every Superbowl game I can say that for the most part the single best indicator o####reat team is a staunch defense and an outstanding quarterback. Sure there are notable exceptions in Tampa Bay's win, the Hostetler Giants, the Ravens and the '85 Bears (Jim McMahon was horrible), but throughout the Superbowl era we have been treated to the likes of Bradshaw, Montana, Elway, Starr, Aikman, Brady, Simms, Favre, Manning and Griese. In today's NFL there is a serious shortage of quality at the most important position. You need look no further than the following names to understand that, Rex Grossman, JP Lossman, Chad Pennington, Vince Young, Jay Cutler, David Carr, Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Gus Frerotte, Joey Harrington and Cleo Lemon do not represent the evolution of the position, they are hangers on , guys who should be relegated to careers as snap and clipboard holders....but these guys are leading their teams and this is the main reason why there are currently 19 teams with sub .500 records. There are only 5 teams with 8 or more wins. Yesterday the Jacksonville Jaguars did not sell out a game, they are a lock for at least a wild card berth and yet their fan base did not suppport them. Why is that?
The AFC East after the Patriots is a combined 7-25 in terms of wins and losses. Who are the three stars leading these teams, Lossman (4 tds to 6 picks and a 76 QBR), Clemens (56.9 QBR) and Lemon (3 tds, 4 ints, QBR 69.4) Mr. Lemon was recently put out of his misery as will Mr. Lossman but these guys are actually being paid to play QB for well established franchises. Too selective? After Brady, Favre, Manning, Romo, Brees, Roethlisberger and Palmer who is any good? Jay Cutler? He is young and sporting an 89.6 QBR which is at least 15 points above the league average which is exactly 74.7...that's right 74.7. These numbers speak for themselves kids. Despite the overwhelming evidence, teams seem to be comfortable with the new brand of parity, sure we'll play .500 ball but hey if it gets us into the playoffs who cares seems to be the mantra....why else would the Titans stay with Vince Young?
Look at his numbers, so far this season this Number 3 pick has: 5 touchdowns to 13 interceptions, he has 1663 passing yards and a QBR of 65.3. His team is 6-5 and just got spanked 35-6 by the Bengals. Yeah, yeah I know, he's a Michael Vick style QB so he has amazing rushing numbers right? Wrong....he has 297 yards on 68 attempts and has fumbled 6 times. So why do teams stick with these guys, by that standard Peyton Manning is a God and Drew Bledsoe was one of the greatest players of all time...If we take Young's numbers and compare them with Manning this guy would have to play twenty or more years just to match Mannings passing numbers in yardage, of course by then he'd have about 320 interceptions.
The answer is simple, teams have done a poor job of picking these guys and then when they sign them, pay them big and spend the summer convincing everyone how good the guy is the GM cannot admit that he screwed up and they don't make the change. Usually the coaches go first...I mean the number of guys taken in the first round who are complete busts is staggering...do any of these names ring a bell?
Andre Ware, J#### George Dan McGwire, Todd Marinovich, David Klingler, Tommy Maddox, Rick Mirer, Heath Shuler, Jim Druckenmiller, Trent Dilfer, Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Cade McNown, Akili Smith, Patrick Ramsey, Eli Manning, Alex Smith, Matt Lienert, David Carr every one of these players were first round picks.... and on and on it goes, Brady, Montana and Marino were all largely overlooked and they became three of the greatest of all time. Sure every once in a while guys like Mannng, Elway and Aikman come along but they are more the exception than the rule ...
I being the great and powerful Oz hereby propose that any General Manager or player personell person who takes or directs the taking of a Quarterback in the first round of a draft who ends up in two years not to have a winning percentagge greater than .500 be fired by application of the League's rules and then not to be rehireable unless to work in stadium parking or concessions...maybe...just maybe we could get some decent football to watch...yuk yuk yuk.....
As we enter the Holiday Season Let's Give Thanks...
I must admit that I was shocked that the NFL network has taken a shot a Peyton Manning in a recently released commercial spot where a bar patron (with a decidely Boston accent) points out that Manning is not really changing the play calls, I thinks he questions the guy's manhood a bit as well. I say this signals the beginning of laughability quotient on Mr. Manning. When you look like an all world QB there is great tolerance for oversaturation and let's be blunt, Mr. Manning would sell ice to Eskimos if he could. The fun starts when you start to look like Steve McNair, that's when the jokes will start to fly. So it looks like it is really going to be fun because nobody likes to see the fall of a false idol like the American sports fan. I was at Gillette Stadium when Boy Wonder coughed up a huge furballl, Ty Law picked him 2 or 3 times and it was just tremendous to hear 65,000 people chanting "cut that meat" as Manning litterrally fumed on the sidelines as he tried reconcile his professional life, stay tuned because if this guy keeps slipping they are going to eat him alive.....
This was an interesting week, the Colts continue to look like they closer to being an average football team than to an elite one. They are led by a quarterback who for all the world looks like a twelve year old Pop Warner quarterback whose receivers are dropping balls. "Gee whiz, goll dawg it, whay kaint thase guys jest cetch that danged ball Poppa?"....I mean this guy is going to be fun to watch as teams figure him out....I thoroughly enjoyed that effort yesterday. I've got news for the Indy faithful, that offensive line just got whupped bad by a horrible team, I mean they barely won at HOME to K.C. after losing to a team that scored only one offensive touch a week prior. The lack of Marvin Harrison is certainly hurting on offense but I guess we can now dispell the notion that Reggie Wayne is his heir apparent, does he just look like he's got bad hands and no heart or is he playing someone who does?....The good news is that Indy has a patty cake schedule the rest of the way starting this week with Atlanta...., and their other three home games down the stretch are against divisional opponents, the Jaguars, Texans and Titans. They should win at least the Houston game. Their three road opponents are with the utterly inept Falcons, Ravens and Raiders. It is almost impossible for the Colts to go any lower than 12-4 as I see it, although who figured Manning would choke against the Chargers and then the Chiefs? So maybe the Oakland game will be worth watching. The real problem that they have is that it is a big part of thier history that when they don't think they have the horses to beat New England they usually start wiping down the golf clubs...this year it may just be me but has anyone noticed a lack of any fire in the gifted one?
Can somebody please make the call, make the damned call already...the New England Patriots are simply too good for the majority of this league. Buffalo was the latest victim and it was like watching the high school varsity play the powder puff team. There was no aspect of that game that was competitive. If you are Ralph Wilson, or the person who is tugging on his puppet strings, please tell me that you have some kind of a plan to improve. Please tell me that Marv Levy is your GM because he's a blast at the office Christmas Party or because he's got something on you....but PLEASE don't tell me that what we saw last night IS your plan. The NFL needs a "contraction" policy where teams that become institutionally incapable of winning are sold to owners who aren't in it purely to sell hot dogs and soda. Say what you want about Jerry Jones, Bob Kraft, the Moras and Rooneys but these people are institutionally committed to winning because they know that you make more money and sell more hot dogs winning. Let's consider this, who sells more merchandise, the Bills and the stellar corps of players or the Patriots, Colts, Packers or the Cowboys? I'll bet anyone that outside of the immediate Buffalo area you can't find a bills hat or one of their shirts. Last year I was in Tortola and the kid serving the Red Stripes on the beach was wearing a Cowboys hat, not a Bills or Chiefs hat. The list of teams eligible for contraction appears to be growing exponentially of late, some teams are money makers...they offer innovative menus, shopping malls, state of the art stadiums and they command ticket prices and television revenues that drive the league and then there are those teams that are not committed to winning, have no chance and keep deluding their fans into believing that they have found the next great star... Miami is obviously hoping that there will be a minor league soon, as are the J.E.T.S. Jets, and the Oakland and Kansas City teams appear to also have lost the will to live. The NFL ought to have a competition committee and they should grade teams and then the five lowest ranked teams should take less in television and revenue sharing money. Now you'll have a competitive game and parity in that league will not mean let's have 20 teams that are at or below .500 because that is exactly what you have now. If the playoffs were to begin today, the brackets would include a divisional winner at .5-5 (San Diego) and two more at 6-4 (Seattle and Tampa Bay) . The level of play is certainly slipping, owners have becoem like fatted calves and they are no longer trying in some instances...it is too bad and what makes it worse is when an elite team strolls into town they all whine about running up the scores and the focus will becoame how do we make the game more competitive by tweaking the rules instead of by forcing the weak teams to start running their teams better.
While it is clear that Tom Brady is the best player of his generation, he stands in and makes throws that are usually on the money, when he was flushed from the pocket twice last night he ran (Manning coughs up the ball in that situation-ask Rosevelt Colvin), he threw for 5 tds, was 31 for 39, had 373 passing yards and a quarterback rating of 146.1. NE put up more than 50 points for the second time this season, and now are ranked first or second in every offensive category. But that is not the end of the story, they have scored more points and given up less points than the Colts. Take out the 10 penalty for 145 bag job attempted by the refs and New England did a number on the Colts as well. They are on a truly historical run and the saddest part of all is that the INDY IDIOTS are actually saying with straight mid-western faces that it's only because New England picked up Randy Moss. The overwhelming evidence is that ALL of Indy's success rests with one certain Marvin Harrison, he is the Colt's because when he is on the field he cannot be covered and when teams do double him Old Brick Hands, Reggie Wayne will occasionally catch the ball. Without Marvin Harrison, peyton would be his brother, a tall guy who whines about where he's drafted, who he has to play with and the fact that defenders do occasionally hit people especiallly tall immobile quarterbacks.....The only reason Indy got a ring is because of a bag job on that mystery pass interference call last year otherwise NE would be closing in on ring 5 and not Ring 4. The NFL apologized to New England and Ellis Hobbs because the officials in that game rooted for Indy just like they did again this year.
What we have here is a failure to communicate...."Hey you" out there in that fantasy land known to most of us as San Diego...I've been saying this for 11 weeks now...what in the name of all that is holy compelled you to hire Norv Turner? Last year's best record in the AFC is a faint memory at 5-5 coming off of another loss yesterday 24-17 to the Jags. One has to wonder is there any point where the management in ChargerLALAland can utter these words...."We made a horrible mistake, please forgive us, Norv wants us to pass along that he has a nice ocean view condo for sale"....I mean cut the #### fellas. You are a running team with one of the best young backs in the game and you are currently ranked 15th in rushing. You canned a promising young quarterback in Drew Brees and now are led by a quarteback who looks to have all the talent in the world but who doesn't seem to know what the hell is going on. Philllip Rivers has 11 touches against 12 picks and a qb passer rating in the 70's. You are currently ranked 23rd in passing yardage and 16th in passing touchdowns. You hired a guy with career coaching numbers that makke us wonder how the hell he ever became a head coach and despite the fact that his reson d'etre is offense he cannot seem to figure out how to score touchdowns. Your Indy win was just a cruel trick played on your management by the football gods. Sure you won, six picks from that phony Manning helped and now what to do,,,,what to do...How can we fire a guy who just beat the reigning Champs? A true dillemma. YOU WERE AN ELITE TEAM LESS THAN ONE YEAR AGO FIRE THAT COACH NOW!!!! There, was that so hard, trust your old professor, it is better to just rip that nasty old band aid off fast, doing it this way is just killing your loyal fans.
Green Bay is for real y'all. I readily admit that I was a skeptic early on. I believe that Brett Favre is one of the best of his time at qb but like most of you it seemed all but certain that his playing days were done and to be honest he looked old and uninspired in recent years. I would always show him utmost respect though because he has literally done it all. This year he looks like a young version of himself again. Yesterdays 31-17 beat down of the Panthers is proof that this is not a scheduling fluke, that Pack are for real and the Cowboys better be very careful that they don't have to go through Green Bay in January because I don't think they can win that game as long as Brett stays healthy. In Dallas I go with TO and the 'Boys but on the tundra I bet New England may see Brett and the Pack in the Superbowl.
I said earlier that Atlanta deserves a criticism free year after Mike "the Con" Vick went down. But I mean come one, you cannot throw the ball we get it....but how in the name of the Ghosts of Mike's dead dogs could you put up 49 yards rushing? I mean that is what you do. Damned hard living up to promises with you guys. Must tip the hat to the Bucs, they may have something to say before it's all said and done, I would NEVER bet against Jeff Garcia, even with modest numbers that cat just knows how to play hard....too bad Philly couldn't get a guy like that..yuk yuk yuk.....
Passing thoughts...the league is heading in a troubling direction, much like baseball in the past 12 years...if the individual owners are not concerned about being competitive don't change the rules....change the owners.
Let's Go To The Tale Of The Tape On Peyton Manning....is he one for the ages or not?
Earlier in the week I put together what I thought was a balanced and well reasoned analysis of the Manning/Brady debate and concluded that Manning is not very good unless he is surrounded by Uber Talent....the facts on that point are overwhelming...that debate is over and in time Brady will be seen as having been better than all of them.....But that leaves us with where does Peyton Manning belong in the eyes of history....
