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.....
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.....
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.....
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....
W#### comprises the talent pool at QB? There are the current players and recent players such as....
Tony Romo, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers etc etc... Then there are the historical selections such as Fouts, Bradshaw, Gifford, Starr, Unitas, Young, Aikman, Jurgenson, Stabler, Plunkett, Simms, Staubach, Kelley, Marino, Elway, Namath, Tarkinton and Griese. So where do we place Manning? I say that we should look at this analytically.... If we look at rings I guess it is a simple equation:
That leaves Peyton in a field with the likes of Jim Plunkett, Doug Williams, Phil Sims, Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Len Dawson, Joe Theisman, Jef Hostetler, Mark Rypien, Kurt Warner, Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson and Ben Roethlisberger all of whom have won at least as many rings as Peyton and most of them did it far soooner and with far less talent than Manning has had.... So let's round up, Peyton is ranked somewhere between 10th and 22nd. I like the guy and I would give him a solid 12th ranking....
Not happy with the ultimate measure of success?...let's go to passing yardage....the following players are the top ten:
1. Dan Marino - 61,361 2. Brett Favre - 57,500 3. John Elway - 51,475 4. Warren Moon - 49,325 5. Fran Tarkenton - 47,003 6. Vinny Testaverde - 45,271 7. Drew Bledsoe 44,611 8. Dan Fouts - 43,040 9. Joe Montana 40,551 10. Johnny Unitas 40,239
I mean when you see it in black and white I don't care how you cut it....the guy is after a decade still well behind Boomer Esiason and Dave Krieg and Warren Moon....in any event Manning is a solid 13th using that criterion and lets say he continues to play well he may rise to 5th or 6th assuming he doesn't continue to play like he has since Marvin showed he was mortal (ask Curt Warner how things went when Bruce and Holt slowed down).
Relax, there is always a way to manipulate the figures...let's go to the most widely recognized measure of passing greatness....yards per attempt...clearly Peyton must own this category right...I mean the guy is a yardage machine right? Ummmmwelll...no. Here again Peyton AFTER A TEN YEAR CAREER is ranked 14th all-time in YPA behind such greats as:
Otto Graham, Sid Luckman, Big Ben (ranked 3rd), Warner, Van Brocklin, Young, Ed Brown, Starr, Bob Berry, Unitas, Morrall, Marc Bulger and (brace yourself) Daunte Culpepper. I think the key point here is that Manning is ranked 14th (I told you I was being generous when I ranked him 12th greatest).
So I looked some more and wanted to tell you that Peyton has the second highest career passer rating and then it occurred to me that the statistic USUALLY predicts mediocre quartebacks...don't believe that? Here are some of the names on the top 20 list of highest career ratings:
Chad Pennington (I'm not kidding)(NO SUPERBOWL WINS)
Curt Warner;(1 WIN)
Marc Bulger (0 WINS)
Daunte Culpepper (0 WINS)
Drew Brees (0 WINS)
Trent Green (0 WINS)
Rich Gannon (0 WINS)
Jeff Garcia (0 WINS)
Matt Hasselback (0 WINS)
Brian Griese (0 WINS)
Jake Dellhomme (0 WINS)
Eleven players and exactly 1 Superbowl win between them, so I ask you, how critical a statistic is passer rating? It is an insignificant measure designed to keep idiots like us reading stat sheets.
W#### is not in the top 20...Unitas, Marino, Dawson, Tarkenton,Bart Starr, Bradshaw, Staubach, Aikman, Dan Fouts, John Elway, Joe Namath, Sonny Jurgenson, Phil Simms, Bob Griese...SO MAYBE...JUST MAYBE the real rating measure and the real gauge of greatness boils down to how many rings a guy gets....I also would say that Peyton is the product of league parity that has in many ways greatly improved the overall athleticism of players, they are bigger, stronger, faster and smarter than the guys who played before them in every position ecept 2...kicker and Quarterback. Quick and be honest let's say that you are charged with building a dynasty who would you take....here's my top ten list as of today....
Joe Montana
Terry Bradshaw
Bart Starr
Tom Brady
John Elway
Troy Aikman
Roger Staubach
John Unitas
Brett Favre
Peyton Manning
I defy anyone to suggest that Mannning could EVER be ranked higher than 6 on this list unless you as a GM aren't concenred about your job and being known as the #### who let Joe Montana get away so you could get a tempermental so-called superstar who routinely lashes out at teammmates and blames everyone for his misgivings and who has not yet met the camere he wouldn't make love to for money...I know I dont really think Manning is that good, now tell me who on my list he is better than....
Debate and Case Closed...It's Not Even That Close.
Since 2001 Tom Brady has won three Superbowls and the best receiver he has ever had in a Superbowl game has been Deion Branch who promptly left the team for greener pastures in Seattle (Pats will have a draft pick next year because of that). Nobody puts Branch in a category as an elite receiver, he is NEVER mentioned with the likes of Randy Moss, Terrell Owens or Marvin Harrison. Brady has had Antwone Smith as a running back and then an extremely effective Corey Dillon, here again, neither back was an elite back when he played with New England. If you were picking players you would not have picked either as your first string running back for the years they played in Foxborough. Priest Holmes, Edgerin James, Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin, Marshall Faulk, Shawn Alexander and LT are just a few of the backs playing who were statiscally better.
Last year the Patriots made it to the AFC Championship game and nearly won the game with Jabbar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell as his primary wideouts. Brady has been sacked 192 times in 6 seasons (only five of which have been full)Manning has been sacked 180 times in 11 seasons, Brady has played behind dozens of Offensive line combinations and while he has had Kevin Faulk and excellent tight ends he has not had a very easy go of it...and despite the lack of any Draft Day or College pedigree he has nevertheless become the premiere Quarterback of his time and if he continues past 10 years he should be considered the greatest to have ever played the game ....and here's why.
The guy most often mentioned as the player to beat is Peyton Manning, he has the endorsements, he now has a ring, he puts up gawdy numbers most of the time and the guy is one of the best of all time. But this year we have a unique opportunity to watch Peyton Manning perform as he deals with a lack of talent from his wideouts now that Marvin Harrison has missed 4 games. How has he done? In his last four games Manning has thrown for 6 tds and 8 interceptions. His higest completion rate over that spand has been 62.2% and you can call it whatever you want but he strugggled mightily against BOTH the Chargers and the Patriots in the past two weeks, on Sunday his QB Rating did not break 50 and against New England it was 83.1. He has not topped a QB rating of 100 in his last four games. There is no question that defenses can attack him more effectively without the brillliance of Harrison on the field, but the point here is that Brady has labored for five years without elite receivers and he actually won three rings. At the end of the Colts/Pats game last week did anyone in the country honestly argue that Manning was the best guy on that field? I know, I know, the Homers will argue that their guy is better and we all know that they speak from emotion and fan blindness and not the facts but c'mon even the most die hard hossier homer has to acknowledge that Peyton is great but he's no Brady...Brady did it again scoring in 43 seconds and while Indy fans looked for all the world like they wanted to jump off the balconies...don't panic...Marvin will return and the good ship Manning will likely see New England later....but for the love of all that is football stop with this nonsense that Manning is better or that you'd take him if you were a General Manager and they were both available. I #### did do that it would probably mean that you were the GM in Oakland or Miami.....stop you're just making an #### out of yourself.
APPARENTLY BILL BELICHECK HAS OFFENDED THOSE REFS YESTERDAY OR THE LEAGUE HAS DECIDED THAT IT NEEDS TO HAVE A HAND IN THE OUTCOME OF THE GAMES BETWEEN NEW ENGLAND AND INDY.
Let me begin with this disclaimer: I love great football and this year the Patriots are a better team. Are the Colts closer than I thought, absoluetly they are. I did not think the Colts would keep it close and I readily admit that I was wrong. I know this will offend Indy fans but if there is ever again a word heard that the Colts are not the darlings of the league I offer the following irrefutable evidence:
In a game with very few holding calls, New England 10 penalties for 145 yards-Colts 4 for 25
For more concrete evidence of a clear bias look here....
Colts receiver clearly out of bounds, the side judge signals that he is out of bounds, Referee overrules the guy and we go to the booth and it wasn't close. Why would someone away from the play make a call where another official was ruling that he was out of bounds? Why no conference if there was a difference of opinion amoung the officials? Was that a close call? Yes, but no amount of evidence refutes the fact that the official on the play ruled it an incompletion.
Moss in the end zone gets called for a phantom Offensive Pass iinterference. He had his back to the defender, he did not push off and he did not extend his arms....
Ellis Hobbs on another phantom defensive pass interference where both network announcers declared that they did not see the contact and where the replay did not support the call.
After last year's AFC Championship game the NFL apologized to the Patriots for the phantom pass interference call on Hobbs that got the Colts back into that game.
The League has to address this, one team cannot have that kind of disparity in a game.
Despite the horrible officiating it was a good game (not great)) by two of the best teams to play in recent memory. The Colts proved that they are every bit as good as NE and that they may be a better defensive team. The Patriots proved that they do, indeed, have the more clutch of the two best Q's in the game.
Despite all of the hype, the only thing of import to come from this game is that Indy will likely have to play New England in Foxboro in the AFC Championship game. Three years ago the edge would go to New England but the way that the Colts "D" can play I think that is the Game to watch....it almost doesn't matter who the NFC sends to the big game...the two best teams on the planet played yesterday in Indianapolis.
Here we are in week 9 and the unfortunate aspect of a Colts/Patriots presuperbowl superbowl is that nobody seems to be paying attention to the rest of the league...so here goes....
Frisco at Atlanta....in this epic struggle you have stay with the home dawg despite the spread.
Cincy at Bills...the Bills keep improving and win the game and cover.
Redskins at Jets....the Skins are really bad as the Pats showed last week...but the Jets are worse....take the Skins giving three...
Packers at KC....the Pack should whup up in this one, take the Packers.
Redbirds at Bucs...I mean please stop, can you schedule a more boring, meaningless game? Dog gone it these teams are robbing me of good life time....who cares, don't touch it, the Arizona bus is liable to breakdown.
Panthers at Tennessee...a good game, Titans too much Defense although that stiff at QB might find a way to give it away....Titans cover.
Jags at Saints....even with DelRio coaching the Jags should find a way to win this game as New Orleans realizes exactly why San Diego let the great Drew Brees walk away...pppppssssssssstttttt shhhh he's not very good.....especially in big games.
Broncos at Lions....To quote Chevy Chase, um Denver, you um, you are um you're not um good. As a matter of fact, as we approach the end of the Mike Shanahan show let's all take a knee and pray that John Elway will come back to the team to lead those long suffering Mile High Fans back to the promised land ...Hey I agree that Mikey should be considered a hall of fame coach, he took a rag tag team all the way...hey wait, that was Bill Parcels...well he took a rookie Quarterback to the Superbowl....hey wait...that was Bill Belichek....well at least he took a dominant defense with no quarterback to the big game....no wait...that was Brian Billick and John Gruden....so wait what did Mike Shanahan do, oh yeah he won two rings with John Elway at Q at the prime of his career and he taught a lot of guys how to chop block and ruined lots of careers....hip hip horray for Mike! Is this #### gone yet? Lions beat em bad, I hope.
Bolts at Vikes....Bolts big, even Norvie couldn't screw this one up.
Seattle at Browns.... Seattle is an ok team team and right now they are just a better team than the Browns...take the Seahawks in a real squeeker.
Texans at Raiders....if this were the only game on I would schedule a prostate exam or a colonoscopy before I'd watch this one....BOTH teams should be sent to the CFL in exchange for some maple syrup....and not the good grade A amber stuff...I mean the cheap stuff they put into the Mrs. Butterworth's bottle. Texans should win but since nobody will watch it who cares....
Cowboys at Eagles...a great game, Dallas is the better team and will cover.
Ravens at Steelers...this should not be a game for long, Pittsburgh is too good for the Ravens. Ravens fade to black continues, injuries may be a factor in this rivalry game though, keep an eye on Big Ben.
Pats at Colts....the BIG game won't be as exciting as the hype, they almost never are, Patriots will cover and will blow this open if Sanders decides to play in the box.....Look for Wes Welker to have a monster day, Indy can pick their own poison in this one, cover Welker and TE Brady or Watson and Moss and Stallworth will kill you, figure out a way to play a dime all day and they'll run it down your throat. Patriots have too much and unless the 1975 Steelers take the field they walk away with this one.
Here's the deal... we will discuss sports in a fair and reasonable manner....rem ember one criticallly important point....YOU ARE A DOPE AND A MASSIVE ####.... .I, ON THE OTHER HAND, AM FAR SUPERIOR IN TERMS OF KNOWLEDGE AND INTELLECT....
