Regardless of where one sits on the relevance of the Brett Favre career calculations, his long overdue departure set in motion a series of noteworthy discussions. Among them:
1. Is Favre the best QB ever?
2. Is Favre one of the best QB's ever?
3. Is Favre the best Packer QB ever?
4. Was this year the "right" year for #4 to retire?
They're all great questions, but it merits mention that one must first define "greatness" before even entering the discussion.
1&2.
If you love stats, there's no question Favre is one of the best ever. He stands atop a class including Moon, Marino, Fouts, Kelly and a handful of others who piled up great regular season records/stats in a game more defensively hamstrung with every passing year.
It's kind of ironic for me though, that Favre reminds me of my favorite and the original GOB, Gunslinger QB, Terry Bradshaw though. Actually, it just makes me wonder how Bradshaw would have performed under the same rule set.
But if one cares about winning, the real winning, Brett Favre has more in common with Trent Dilfer than Joe Montana. That's why it's hard for me to even consider him an elite, top ten performer. The rush by the media to anoint Favre as the King of QB's is about as undeserved as as awarding the Nobel Prize in Physics for the Clapper.
Bradshaw even went on record as saying his greatest accomplishment was that her never lost a SB.
But doubtlessly, there are some greats that have lost a championship. The one that most comes to mind is the phenomenal Otto Graham. 10 Championship game appearances in ten years, and seven championships.
No one even mentions Otto Graham. Even though he played in a era where defenders abused receivers and QB's like they were inmates at Alcatraz, and Graham was the poster boy for developing the face mask after a blow to the jaw left him with 15 stitches.
Ten years, 7 Championships, 86.6 passer rating, 105-17-4 record and 88 TD's.
Now tell me that Favre compares to that? Or even try to extrapolate what Graham would have done under the NFL-lite PI, IC and Roughing rules in place today.
When you consider what Graham did, it's hard to imagine that any of the talking heads have even as much of a clue about NFL history. Or even recent history.
Don't even get me started about Johnny U.
Bradshaw is on TV every Sunday. He won 4 SB's in six years. Montana is hardly an afterthought, with the highest QB rating ever in the post season, over 100. Aikman, yeah he shows up every so often.
And what About 3-1 Tom Brady?
So until we have a stats bowl to decide the best of the best every season, Favre is a very good, but not elite QB.
The sad fact is though, we'll never be able to compare these guys side by side. So the question borders on moot.
3. Bart Starr won 5 Championships. Favre won one. So this question is a joke too.
4. No. He didn't pick the right year, he should have retired four or five years ago after that six-pick with a pick-six, meltdown in the post season. The sad fact is, ever since Favre lost his babysitters, Mariucci, Gruden and Holmgren, he's been a pressure point disaster. He's the guy you can count on to make the worst possible play when it's all on the line. Once Holmgren left, and he had left before the Packers even blew that SB to the Ponies, Favre was cursed by his own hoopla. I honestly think he started buying into the hype.
Heck, Bradshaw had Noll, Montana had Walsh, Starr had Lombardi and Graham had Brown, who did Favre end up with? Yes, the Legendary Mike Sherman. What did we expect?
Don't get me wrong kids, I had to love Favre, if only for the literally challenged mis-pronunciation of Farvruh. But include him in the elite, much less anoint him the best? Come on.
All the hoopla tells me is how sorry the state of QB'ing has become since coaches took the game from the QB's hands and the NFL rule softeners made even the Kordell Stewart experience an option.
Favre was clearly an exceptional and durable athlete, and definitely an exceptional talent. But his career numbers, however inflated, do the talking. 17 years, one trophy.
With no Rush Limbaugh lurking in the literary shadows, Dumbavan McChoke has taken the racist burden upon himself and decried that some people don't want blacks to be NFL QB's. So they have to do "a little extra".
Aside from the fact that I'm eagerly awaiting the NAAWP to come out demanding that the Eagles cut McNabb for his racist remarks, these remarks are disturbing for many reasons.
I suppose that Fathead 5 is under the impression that the viewing public is as stupid as he says they think black QB's are. Otherwise he'd know that the savvy fan sees McChoke's rhetoric as the typical blame laying and excuse making we would expect any bitter, overpaid, underproducing veteran QB whose head is on the block.
Anyone who saw McNabb burn down the franchise in 3 NFCC losses, and then physically gag his team out of SB XXXIX, knows that the McNabb problem is not a skin color issue. It's a cardio-intestinal issue. McNabb simply doesn't have the heart or the guts to finish when it matters most.
So he senses that Eagles fans are gonna start screaming for whitey QB. He's perfectly entitled to lie to himself and say that it's not because he can't win the big one, nor can he even stay healthy anymore. But having lived in Philadelphia for many years of the McNabb era, I know that had McChoke delivered even one Lombardi they'd rename cheese steaks "McNabb's" and nominate him for Sainthood.
And while we're on the topic, what exactly is the "Little Extra" black QB's have to do to achieve recognition? Is it choking in 3 NFCC games, or puking away a SB? Is it being a barely above average QB who is really an above average RB, like the ex-Falcon turned felon? Because there's no absence of media celebration for those two. Is it being a playoff and SB failure like Steve McNair? Because you can't hear McNair's name mentioned without the obligitory "warrior" reference in the same breath.
The sad truth is, McNabb's salvo is ugly in two hideous ways. One, because it showcases the bitterness of a fading star on the downside. Two, because it's the kind of rhetoric that not only incites racism, but propogates the very venom of which McNabb claims that QB's are victims.
The scorching irony is that McNabb has taken the very tack for which he and the NAACP unjustly accused Limbaugh. A few years back, it was Limbaugh who dared to say that the media "over-celebrates" black QB's, and used McNabb as an example of a black QB who gets a lot of press and simply isn't as good as he's made out to be. It cost Rush the job. So McNabb, as he fades into the NFL dust, decides to champion the poor, beleagured, multi-millionaire, overpaid, under-producing black QB's, who aren't getting the press they deserve. Well, the comments won't cost McNabb his job. His performance will.
Irony can be very irony-y, huh folks? Maybe McNabb thinks we don't know better, but we do. He's a loser, and just like a loser would do, he's chosen racism (or whatever other excuse is handy) over truth.
I certainly took a lot of heat last week for my statements about the Moss acquisition in NE. The temperature seemed to cool tremendously, though with the revelation that the Pats might have had a hint about what the Jersey/B planned to do defensively last week.
Don't start writing the Chargers down for the W just yet, though. Sure, it'll get a might bit harder for Tom and Randy to make it into a pitch and catch-a-thon now that they don't have a heads up on what D the opponent will run. But let's not underestimate th NT factor, that Norv Turner for those who haven'[t been singing along.
Sure the Chargers pulled a tough one out against a formidable opponent. But that formidable opponent handed them more than the 14 pts SD put on the board. This Chargers team is already looking like the underperforming, undisciplined crews Norv is known to produce.
This week's game is too close to call. But neither of these teams will be the juggernauts the anlaysts predicted, going forward. Look for the wheels to start coming off in SD (week 6) before NE though.
IND-TN
The Colts looked phenomenal against the Aints. Had they played on Sunday, the NE Perps big "win" wouldn't have looked so big. Look for a slight Indy letdown this week, though. Indy doesn't have 15 more opponents waking up from a bad hangover this year, either.
TN punches everybody in the mouth defensively, and even though VY is going to continue to look subpar statistically, I get nervous about betting against him. He's still the guy who singlehandedly destroyed a BCS Championship for a vastly more talented USC team. The guy just wins football games. Whether or not he'll be a real NFL QB is still open for discussion. Even though I see the Tacks and VY taking a step back this year, I just love his talent level.
CIN-CLE
Here's what we know. The Ravens got 8 chances to score last week and couldn't recover from one bad call. The Bengals got one good call and still defended their end 7 times. Are the Bengals overrated? No. They made the plays they had to, even after Ed Reed tried to break their backs with a scintillating TD return.
In CLE, the Brady Quinn watch is at two quarters and counting. If we don't see him by the second half of next week's game. I’ll personally drive to Foxboro and kiss Moss' butt. Who are we kidding, no I won't. But Romeo knows what he has in Anderson, and he knew what he had in Frye. So the only hope to keep his salary and avoid becoming a "special assistant to the vidoegrapher" in NE, rides on #10.
SF-STL
The Niners are bringing sexy back. Is there a sexier pick as a not so dark horse as a Division Champ? Two years ago, I called Alex Smith a total bust. That makes me about as wrong with that call as Erma4USC was in calling Doug Williams a "scab". Smith was phenomenal last week, and the Niners will be the real deal under Nolan.
STL, on the other hand is the fake deal. The rumors of the "Greatest Show on Turf" v. 2.0 were as Mark Twain would say, 'greatly exaggerated". Here are the facts. Holt and Bruce are old and brittle. Mark Bulger is very accurate, but not the alien Kurt Warner. And The STL defense is about 25% as talented as the one that kept giving Kurt and Co. the ball back. The Rams are an 8-9 win team.
GB-JERSEY/A
Watch that Pack Defense round into the dominant squad everyone says the Ravens still have. Watch Brett Favre fade into the sunset. Watch the Packers contend.
I will say this for Favre. He was hilarious, but not mean, in his remarks about the hefty lefty.
JERSEY/A
I know I'm not the only dying to see an onrushing safety slam into and bounce off of the Hefty Lefty, wondering what kind of truck he ran into. Remember when they used to call Jim Kelly a LB wearing a QB number? What does that make Lorenzen? A NT under center? Something makes me want to see Lorenzen succeed and create the obvious controversy in NY.
BUF-PIT
This is the real season opener for Pittsburgh. I love my Steelers, but when a team commits four penalties during a 15 yard punt, they should just call the game right there. Pittsburgh still has some issues on the OL to solve, witnessed by a complete inability to run the ball before the score got out of hand. And B-Ro still forces the issue and needs to learn how to throw to RB's.
I still love the dignity and intelligence that Tomlin has restored to the sideline in Pitt. How it took the Rooney's 15 seasons to figure out that grown men tune out temper tantrums is beyond me.
As for the Bills, they're going to suffer from the dreaded Jauron curse and the Loseman factor until both are dispatched elsewhere. Jauron turns 13-3 teams into 3-13 teams like hotcakes, and if it wasn't for the deep ball, JP would have no ball at all.
What's worse than bringing back a career choker as your HC? Bringing him back as your GM. I have nothing but Pity for Bills fans these days.
NO-TB
Look for the Saints to pull a complete 180 and show us that they're the slightly above average team we always knew they were. Unless Sean Payton gets it out of his mind that Mr. Bojangles is not feature back, that is.
Look for poor, 37 y/o undersized, pop-gun armed Jeff Garcia to finally shatter into pieces in the coming weeks. Jon Gruden, wtf? You won Tony Dungy's SB, and went about dissembling a SB team into a perennial cellar dweller. Sure you're fun to watch, but so was Nick Saban. Hell, Jim Mora Sr. was a press conference circus, before Denny Green even contemplated a meltdown. But you all have something in common. You suck.
HOU-CAR
I expect the Texans to continue to surprise. I expect the Panthers to continue to be over-rated. I expect Mario Williams to continue to outscore Reggie Bush.
ATL-JAX
Joseph Harrington has about one more game before the Falcons sign Byron "Club" Sandwich, or maybe even Tommy "Gun" Maddox for that matter. True, ATL and Minnesota set offense back 50 years last week. And Granted, the whole Falcons team ####ed their drawers last week. But how long will Petrino settle for a timid, confused QB who can''t handle game speed defenses? Answer; not long.
Does that mean I'm changing course and saying the Falcons were better off with Vick? No. The only difference between Harrington and Vick at QB is that Vick was too stupid to admit he was a RB, and Harrington knows in his heart, that's he's a backup on his best days.
David Garrard? Cut that out. No really, get a cardboard cutout, put it behind the center and you'll get the same performance. JAX is dead if Garrard is their guy. They'd probably go 12-4 with Beverly D'Angelo at QB. But I don;t think she'll play for them, and Del Rio doesn't even have her number. (Thanks, Seth).
MIN-DET
Next Question.
DAL-MIA
Look for Miami to go six-wide and not even use a QB. Watching the Cowboys get carved up by Eli and company had to be downright frightening to Jerry. But this is another case of what happens when you hire loser coaches to take over wining teams.
As for the Fish, I'm not sold on the "Cam Cameron Experience". That whole, "you guys coach, I gotta look at the players", gig in the last preseason game was bizarre. Don't HC's evaluate players during games anyway?
And is his first name Cameron, too? No, it's actually Malcolm. But is that any better? And shouldn't he be "Colm" Cameron, then? I don't know, I smell 6-8 wins wafting in from the sea.
SEA-ARI
Mike Holmgren went on record as saying it's tough enough to win a game, without an opponent videotaping your calls. At least now he's criticizing other HC's instead of the Zebra's.
DEN-OAK
Jay Cutler is a man. Two fourth and two’s, one stick-throw and one run; both drive savers to win the game at BUF. People say he reminds them of John Elway. I say he reminds me of Jay Cutler. Wishing does not make it so, nor do I wish for Cutler to become better than Big Ben, but there’s something about this guy, and it smells like money.
For some reason I think the Raiders have trumped the Akili Smith signing this week. While he has the physical tools a coaches drool over, I just don’t see this guy ever being a franchise QB. I see a more muscular Aaron Brooks coming down the pike. Not a guy who will make a bad team better, but a guy who will make average teams terrible. I don’t know what it is. There’s no good reason to believe Russell won’t be at least very good. Yet I’m not buying. Besides, paying a rookie $60mm is just insane.
JERSEY/B-BAL
Kellen Clemens to start? Who would have thought the Jets would be looking at a Chad Pennington injury this season. We all did, that’s who. I don’t think JETS fans even bet the games any more, they just bet the over under for when Pennington goes on IR. This is my sleeper pick to sign Byron “The Earl of” Sandwich. I know signing Leftwich would be a news-making event, but I think Mangina likes QB’s who can throw the long out, or at least the short out, which means Chad is left out.
And finally, has Steve McNair (the Warrior) finally lost the tools to go to battle? There have been enough people asking that question recently to at least mention it. But noooooooooo. Here’s what we know about the Alcorn State Ares.
One, he will get injured at least six to 8 times this season.
Two: at least one of those injuries will see McNair limp back onto the field with one of limbs duct taped to his body.
Three: He will start slowly in the first few games, as he always does.
Four: Until January, McNair will find some way, somehow, to rip the hearts out of 10-12 opponents every season. The guy’s just a winner, a regular season winner, that is.
So I took some heat for saying the Moss move was overrated. Evidently, the NFL held the SB yesterday and the Pats won the Trophy with Randy Moss taking home MVP honors.
Get a grip folks.
I understand that anytime one voices opinions, many will disagree. But some of the responses were kinda silly. I guess the ether made some forget that the mere possibility exists that the Jets simply aren't that good (like I said) and the Pats (and Moss) simply had a great game.
Not like it's a sixteen game season with 15 games left and then the post season, huh?
But you geniuses are right. Randy Moss turned back time and erased a history of being a team cancer, no one will expose the facts that NE can't run the ball, and every QB in the NFL has the same 3-yard pop-gun as Pennington. The Pats LB's are all 25 again, the Jets WR's are a juggernaut, Richard Seymour means nothing to the Pats D, and of course one game "does a season make".
What I can't understand is how the Steelers thumped the Browns yesterday and didn't at least win a Division title? I mean they won by 27, and the Pats only won by 24.
How do you think the Indianapolis Colts feel? They whipped the Aints by 31, and didn't even get a WC birth.
So for all those "bold" geniuses who had the nerve to put themselves out on a limb and offer an opinion after the fact . . . . .
Now come the 5 months for which we wait seven months every year. The time when our best available type of modern gladiators suit up and demonstrate all the vicissitudes of human existence in a childs game, played by adults on a field and in the hearts of men.
Forget about the part-timers, the adolescent-filled, rah-rah, sis-boom-bah, watered down, version played at the collegiate level. Forget the desperation that makes us tune into the CFL for as long as we can tolerate the silliness of three downs and a rouge. Forget about the half game called Arena ball. The real thing is here now. The offseason headlined by sickness and depravity is over. Let the games, the only games that matter, begin.
All that said, here are some subplots from some noteworthy games today.
CHI-SD
Here are two teams destined to fall off this year. I'm sorry SD fans, you have a load of talent and the best young QB I've seen since God knows when. But you also have Norv Turner. And at some point this season, the Chargers will begin looking like a team full of inmates running the asylum. Nowhere to go but down for SD.
Da' Bears-I don't see either NFC finalist making it back this year. No, I'm not hatin' on Rex, I just see the NFCN getting a little better and Lovie Smith continuing to struggle to establish an offensive identity for the Bears. I think Lovie says the right things about Grossman, but I'm not sure he's sold on his QB.
And I think the Bears made a huge mistake letting Ron Rivera go.
Packers-Eagles
GB's defense will be the heart of the Packers, not the worn out, tired, game-busting act of crybaby Favre. That's good for Pack fans. The bad news is the primadonna refuses to retire and cede the job to (finally ready) Aaron Rodgers.
In Philly, it's the beginning of a swift end to the Donovan McPuke era. Ther's little question that Eagles have grown tired of the increasingly brittle, big game, human barf-box of a QB who never fit in the system into which he was forced. Don't be surprised to see big 5 on the big bench by game 12. The Eagles are getting older and talent thin on both sides of the line. That spells trouble for veteran choke-dog, QB's. Still, Jimmy Johnson will have the D playing hard in a very soft division.
Panthers-Rams
Yes the Panthers are over-rated, again. But maybe Jake Delhomme is capable of another unconscious season. Tthen again, maybe he's got Kurt Warner syndrome, meaning the aliens have returned his real body and taken the pod back. Who cares? Carolina simply isn't that talented.
And the Rams? Please. If one more talking head predicts the return of the "greatest show on turf" I'm going to "McNabb" in my helmet. Here's why; The rams no longer have Faulk, Holt and Bruce are old, and Bulger is not the "alien" Kurt Warner. Bulger reminds me a lot more of Neil O'Donnell than the Kurt Warner pod. That's why the Rams kick FG's now.
KC-HOU
Herman Edwards will make huge strides towards creating his own identity for the Chiefs. The bad news is that means kicking FG's and losing in the first round of the playoffs. I love Herm as a person, but he's not a top flight HC.
The Matt Schaub era begins in HOU. That means things will be better for Texxon fans. But they're still the Texans, and one good personnel decision doesn't cancel out the lingering legacy of Tony Boselli, and wasted moves like Mario Williams and Ahman Green. Will they be better, yes. Contenders, no.
DET-OAK
Luke McCown, Josh McCown, Cade McNown, Les Brown and his Band of Renown, who cares? They all suck at QB. Of course, any time Adam Schefter reports something, I only believe it if it's already happened. But here's what matters, it'll probably be about 2 quarters before we see Duante Culpepper under center. What bothers me is that Lane Kiffin is so sissyfied that he feels like a career nobody with mor reps is a better bet than a vet who has put up some great numbers in the past. Hell, I probably know the Raiders offense better than Culpepper, but Kiffin didn't call on me this Sunday.
John Kitna will put up big numbers and still be a loser. Here's why. He's Jon Kitna. And can Detroit stop anyone from scoring?
PIT-CLE
Charlie Frye is counting the minutes until Romeo Crennell goes to Brady Quinn. So are Browns Fans. Jamaal Lewis is soft, but Quinn will have some weapons. I doubt he'll save Romeo's job though. Bill Cowher will have his dream job next year.
I see the Steelers struggling with the "new" offense for the first 4-6 games, especially because of a suspect OL. Colon is unproven, Simmons will wear down (AGAIN), Mahan is a huge upgrade over the one-legged Hartings but learning, Faneca is not going to play hard and had been getting blown up frequently the lst few years (hence the non-extension), and Smith has always been below average at LT.
But the D will be better. The big reason is the "loss" I keep hearing about in Joey Porter. In James Harrison the Steelers get a stronger, every down, every game player. Porter's most consistent performance in the last 5 seasons came from his jaw. And at least one of the two top picks at LB will be a beast. Maybe both.
This team could win 12 games, or 9, depending on how the OL comes together.
TEN v. JAX
VY will struggle. Teams will employ the Cunningham/Stewart/Vick defense and shout down his run options. He'll still be brilliant at times, but only against cellar dwellers. TN will also not run the ball like they did last year as LenDale White develops into a pro RB. It's all necessary, though. The Tacks have to take a step or two back to go forward.
JAX will still be stellar on defense. But the whole Leftwich fiasco will expose the fact that when you have two QB's, you really have none. Garrard never took the job from Leftwich and has been downright horrible at times. Until Jax drafts or signs a QB, they're not a playoff team.
TB-SEA
TB rests squarely on the oft injured Carnell Williams. Jeff Garcia is not a long term answer, nor are any of the 17 other QB's in TB. The D will be good as always. Simeon Rice will not be missed. This is an average football team, with a tremendously overrated (Switzer Rule) coach.
Seattle has a superstar running back with a chronic broken foot and a QB with a bum shoulder attached to a gimp arm. Yuk. The crybaby coach rushing to make excuses for underperforming players doesn't help either.
NE-NYJ
The addition of Randy Moss is the most overrated FA addition since Yancey Thigpen to TEN. The run game is suspect, and Tom Brady has a chronic shoulder that will not get better with time.
The D is also getting older at LB and very thin at DL and DB. This team is not the SB gimme the gabbers are gabbing about.
Jersey B will suffer from a Mangini-over this year. QB problems will ensue as Pennington continues to struggle with throws over 3 yards. Vilma is a beast and the D will be solid, but this team just lacks tools on offense.
ATL-MIN
The good news is that the Falcons are finally playing a QB at QB. The bad news is that it's Joey Harrington. But the Falcons will be better with Joey than Michael. Write it down. Not because Harrington is that good, but because Vick was the most overrated "QB" ever. I don;t knwo what to expect from Petrino defensively, but I know that JM Jr. had lost his team on both sides of the ball. I can't see the D being any worse.
Big story in MIN was that Travaris Jackson called Peyton Manning this pre-season. I could call the Pope, but it wouldn't make me a priest. What on earth is Brad Childress smoking? Then he trades for a career rumdum like Holcomb? The situation in MIN proves the old saying, "when you have no QB's, you have no QB".
BAL-CIN
The Ravens will be tough on D. They will also be tough on their fans when thay have the ball. The addition of Willis McGahee is a question mark for me, mostly because I wonder that knee will last 4-5 seasons. McNair got hot last year, but he's clearly not what he used to be.
CIN will always be a play or two from 12-4 or 4-12. This team simply lacks character all over the place. Marvin Lewis needs to start running a football team instead of a halfway house.
DAL-NY
What's the over under on how long Jerry Jones will kid himself into thinking Wade Phillips is a HC? I give him two seasons to completely waste the talent haul Parcells built in DAL. and Pardon me, Tony Romo, you've played 5 good games. So did Scott Mitchell.
Is this Eli's make it or break it year? No. Manning will be better. It is Tom Coughlin's make it or break it year, though. Bill Cowher should send Coughlin, Crennel, Wilson, and Turner fruit baskets now, for exploding his market cap.
MIA-WAS
Does anyone care? Does anyone want to see Joe Gibbs destroy his legacy? Does anyone want to see a Miami team without a guy named Shaquille on it?
DEN-BUF
Trent Edwards is the franchise QB in Buffalo. Someone please tell JP Loseman he should pack his bags now. #### Jauron will drive Bill Cowher's stock even higher.
DEN-This is the SB team no one says is going to the dance. The D will be above average, but the O could be explosive. Cutler might yet be the best of the Rivers, Roth, Cutler trio. And don't underestimate Shanahan, ever.
(For those of you who don't understand the term 'literary device", the title is merely an effort to see how much enmity I can provoke and still get buried by the Fox webmasters)
The NFLN just broke the story that the Jacksonville Jaguars have reversed course and chosne David Garrard over the offseason anointed starter, Byron Leftwich. Not only that, Byron will be leaving town at the behest of the JAX FO.
Leave it to Rich Eisen to practically sob over Leftwich's ultimate trade or release, only 9 days before the opener. If that wasn't enough, NFLN "insider" Adam Schefter, when asked if it was a money issue, said "no it wasn't a consideration, but it was a consideration". Okay, that's not an actual quote, just satire.
But here's the secret folks, it was about money. Money and progress. Leftwich was scheduled to make over $5mm this season, and aside from his string of injuries an 50% on the field ratio the last few years, Leftwich simply wasn't getting any better as a QB. Too much money for too little progress. Forget the strories of him playing on a broken leg at Marshall. He didn;t play with a borken toenail in Jacksonville. Five years later, his release was still "sundial fast", his weight was still an issue, his energy and leadership were questionable and he just didn't put points on the board. So goodbye Byron.
Before Rich Eisen soaks another crying towel, let's not sweat for the helfty Leftwich. He'll instantly wind up either in KC, Minnestota, Oakland, Atlanta, NY (either one) Cleveland, Dallas, or maybe even Tampa Bay. I hear Gruden plans to keep 10 QB's this year. I fully expect the NAACP to hang Arthur Blank in effigy though, if he doesn't immediately trade for Leftwich and sign him to a 10-year, $150mm extension. Anything less would be racism.
Let's not start crying about how unfair it is to Leftwich, shall we? The guy collected mint for being a part time QB and never raising his game a single inch. Now some desperate team will throw another load of cash at Byron for five more years of mediocre, part-time performance. The sad fact is though, the Falcons, Vikings, Chiefs, Browns, Bucs would be better off with Leftwich than what they have right now. Even if Vick wasn't rotting in jail where he belongs, Leftwich still is the better man in ATL. Quinn is not ready, and I won;t even mention the crumbums starting in Minnysoda, KC and the undersized retread in TB.
So big deal, the Jags cut Leftwich. They got tired of paying $5mm for an average QB who gets hurt a lot, and now they're gonna pay maybe a mil or two to a average QB who "can beat you with his arm and his legs". Translation: In a few years he'll be a backup punter or starting for an Arena league team.
They'll be a few surpirses before this weekend is over, but for me, this wasn't one of them. Players constantly hold teams hostage until the last minute with the cry "it's just business". So Wayne Weaver kept Leftwich until the 11th hour even though the FO and staff didn't have faith in him. Well, you reap what you sow guys. Loyalty is no longer a noun in NFL parlance for either side. It's a business, you know.
So Mike Vick manufactures an act of contrition, and a press, worried about looking "judgmental" and "racist" describes the act as a "good first step". I'm not so sure.
I can't be the only one who noticed how desperately uncomfortable the, formerly "above the law", ex-QB looked in making his first relevant statement to the public since the story broke. He looked about as humble as Donald Trump's comb-over.
Sure he cited the three musts from "contrition for dummies" handbook. "Accept responsibility, found Jesus, ask forgiveness . . . ." but even those bare necessities sounded canned and disingenuous coming from a sedate(d) soft-spoken, Ron Mexico.
So pardon me, kids, if I'm not floating on the raft of #### Vick just set adrift. Just because he's managed to stop himself from flippping the bird at the fans and society in general, doesn't mean I believe he's on a mission from God now. The only think Vick has ever been able to fake was being an NFL QB.
Guys I'm Pulling For . . . .
Duante Culpepper
Hating the Raiders as only a Steeler fan can, it's hard to cop to cheering for any Raider. But I can't be more hopeful for anyone in the NFL than Duante Culpepper. Yes, Culpepper underperformed a huge deal in Minnysoda, and got the eight train. But what happened to him in Miami was unbelievably unfair. Regardless of the notion that Culpepper is a streaky QB whose streaks seem to last entire seasons, I've always loved his bazooka arm and his athletic ability. Aside from that, this Jamarcus Russel saga is bordering on insanity. The guy's never taken a snap and he's holding out over bonus money? For Culpepper's sake. I hope Russell continues his bizarre combination of idiocy and greed until Duante has at least enough time to prove that Miami was a fiasco.
Joey, formerly Joseph, (aka Joey) Harrington
While I'm not necessarily a Harrington believer, could a QB land in two worse spots than Detroit and Miami recently? Besides, I'd like nothing more than seeing the Falcons emerge from the ####-storm Vick tossed on them, to become a competitive franchise by playing an actual QB at QB. Maybe Harrington got what he deserved, maybe he just sucks. But no franchise and no city full of fans should be punished to death for putting their faith in a player who chose to immediatley and repeatedly #### on them.
Add to that the fact that Harrington, by a shade, is a better QB over his career than Vick, and gets sacked less often. Atlanta and the rest of NFL fans need to accept the reality that QB position does not require re-inventing. Every QB who the media ever labeled as re-inventing the position re-invented themselves out of a job.
What a wonderful lesson to be learned if the Falcons survive and even thrive with a QB at QB.
Guys I wish would stay home . . . . .
Priest Holmes
Don't get me wrong, It's impossible to dislike Priest Holmes as a man or a ball player. But at this point, you have to ask; why? KC is not a SB contender, and the odds priest would be released (if he even makes the roster) to sign with a contender are minimal. But the odds that he could be seriously injured in game action are high enough to wonder what is driving this man. As a RB, he has nothing to prove. As a competitor, he has nothing to prove. And I haven't heard that he's run out of money . . . .
What frightens me is the mere possibility that one of the NFL's class acts and former best talents will take just one more hit. One more that stops him from leaving the field for the last time, under his own power. That's something I'd rather not see happen.
I never played pro-ball, but I suited in High-School. I still remember the click-clack of those cleats on the cement, the sense of invincibility one gets when donning the pads and helmet, and the absolute thrill of performing for the folks cheering you on. i can only imagine how hard it is to move on from the biggest stage, in the niggest game in pro sports. I hear the longing in Sterling Sharpe's voice every time I see him on TV, his career cut short by a neck problem. But then I think of the late Darryl Stingley and it makes me wish Priest would move on.
Vinny Interceptaverde
Oh please. What is this guy, 65 now. So he's played in every decade since Edison invented the light bulb, big deal. I get the feeling Belichick keeps inviting him back for doing time with him in Cleveland . I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. You can get a much younger, 2nd rate QB to play 3rd fidlle for a lot less money than a 73-year veteran. And he'll probably throw fewer game busting picks.
That's what kills me about VinnyT. It's not like he's some wise old sage, whose best days are behind him. He's a sorry old choker whose best days were in high school. I mean this is the guy Jimmy Johnson benched for the National Championship game because he tore up his leg on a motor scooter the weekend before the match. This is the guy who never met a choke he didn't like.
Bill, if Jimmy from South Park were here he'd say, "it's like, come on".
I just finished reading yet another idiotic racism rant trying to excuse Michael Vick for bankrolling and participating in disgraceful, inhuman and brutal conduct over a period of six years.
The blogger, of course, defaulted to the chalk excuse that whitey was simply working to keep the black man down. This time, by letting the case simmer until sufficient evidence existed to prosecute Ron Mexico. The he segued into the "400 years of suffering" rant that's typical of all the folks who have taken the "free lunch" route into making excuses for being society's failures.
It makes me wonder why jews don't scream about societal injustice every time they get arrested. After all, the Egyptians did a pretty good number on them. Then the Germans did a number on the jews that makes slavery look like a Sunday Brunch.
Letst we forget the Armenians, victims of a Turkish Genocide that the world refuses to acknowledge.
Yet neither of those ethnicities screams injustice as an excuse for being a criminal. I guess they're resigned to taking responsibility for their actions.
But all the crying, protesting, Martin Luther Kinging, and a whole deck of race cards doesn't erase the simple fact that Mike Vick took a plea. So even if the new racists won't admit that Mexico is guilty, Mexico does. And he knows that the worst possible thing would be for the truth of his misdeeds to be visible to the public. So just like the coward he was to begin with, he took the easy way out.
But as that poor, misguided blogger stated, we should "face the facts". So let's face them.
The facts are:
Mike Vick got a huge contract.
Mike Vick took some of that money and bankrolled animal cruelty/murder and gambling
Mike Vick participated in that enterprise for 6 years
Mike Vick lied to everyone when they caught him and made his situation much worse by insisting that he was innocent, when he was the ringleader
Mike Vick hasn't gotten what he deserved, he deserved the superceding indictment for racketeering. But the judge might fix that somewhat by departing above the guidelines.
Mike Vick broke the law repeatedly and purposefully.
He got caught by accident, when the feds were following up a drug tip. Not because they were sitting and waiting to get him.
He couldn't have made the crime any easier to prosecute if he had invited the feds to bet on the fights.
People who break the law, black, brown, white, red, yellow, or any shade in between, should go to jail. That's how just societies work.
As the author said, and I agree, Mike Vick does need help. But that doesn't exempt him from punishment. If Vick didn't see that what he was doing was wrong, that means he's not only a perpetrator, but that he's a danger to society. One fact that hasn't arisen in the press is that animal abuse is one of the most common indicators of dormant sociopathic behavior. So this may just be the tip of Mike Vick's criminal iceberg.
So before we even acknowledge this racism BS, let's face the real facts. Mike Vick was given a long rope and now he's swinging from it. And there's only one man to blame.
While it's true that Ron Mexico took the coward's way out of more severe racketeering charges and will reap the enormous benefits of a federal system that rewards expedition, he's still going to jail.
Thank you God and thank you lawful society for proving that these atrocities may go under-punished, but at least will not go unpunished. And while we're at it, thank goodness for Roger Goodell for doling out the absolutely perfect punishment.
SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY!!!!!
How sweet is that? What will the NAACPWM (NAACPwithMoney, that is) have to say about this? They can't cry that it's too long. They can't cry that the punishment is too severe. All they can do is thretaen to cry if it goes on too long. But by the time Vick leaves prison 1-2 years later, maybe a good deal worse for wear, never having been an effective QB anyway, will the NAACPWM consider him such a hot topic? Likely not. They'll probably have a richer perp to prop up as poster child for "rehabilitation".
The irony is, Goodell's NFL suspension of Vick won't even take effect until after the NFL's most exciting felon has done his time. And Vick better practice up on his contrition because his "blame everybody else" sneer isn't going to go over too well with his judge. He'd be wise to get some Botox and humility lessons before his sentencing hearing or the judge will likely depart above the federal guidelines, both for the sentence and 3-year minimum supervised release. Needless to say, Vick's PO will be far less likely (if Vick continues his sneering) to allow the Atlanta Felon to leave the state for away games essentially making him (more) useless to any NFL team willing to tackle the PR nightmare of signing such a sick perp.
So even if Goody is kind, and only give Vick a year, he's done for this season. He likely won't start his sentence until November, and even is he gets as little as 18 months, his best bet is August 2009. But is Goodell going to let a felon with such a gruesome case and conviction get away with just a year. In light of what we've seen for even near offenders, the answer is no.
I'm thinking Mike meets with the Good Commish in 2009 and gets a 2-3 year vacation, making him eligible for NFL play in 2011 at the earliest. How fitting that would be.
Mike had better practice up on wiping that pig faced sneer of his disgraceful mug, because it doesn't get any easier for the ex-QB. He'd better practice up on owning up and other acts of contrition like his life depends on it, because his life does depend on it.
You see, when it comes to the Federal System, no one is as slippery as Mike Vick thought he was. But if he even thinks he's got a shot at returning to the NFL, he'd better learn, right quick, to admit that he's exactly the #### the indictment shows him to be. Or he's going to be facing more time and more suspension.
That's how the crime and punishment system works Mikey, those who don't repent don't get our early.
Then again, maybe he'll love Arena Ball. All the NFL rejects go there.
One of my favorite NFL Network Commercials is the "time to get your story straight" ad. The one where they show the pre-season commentary from everyday fans that ends up completely backwards. Statements like, "Mark my words, this is Cleveland's year" come to mind.
Nonetheless, I have the same right to go out on a limb and embarass myself too. So with that in mind, I'm going to post my crow now and eat it later. So here are my predictions for noteworthy developments in the upcoming season of the greatest show on turf. (The NFL, not just the Rams).
McNabb McChoked
1. Donovan McNabb is auditioning for his next team. With a rash of injuries, hurried rehab, no contract extension, and huge cap numbers looming, McChoke is a ghost in Philly. Don't be surprised is Dumbavan struggles early and Felly/Kolb start splitting reps by week 3. Reid has ultimate confidence in Feeley. His decision to bench him for the playoffs a few years back cost the Birds a SB shot.
2. John Gruden will be the next big name coach to be fired. Tony Dungy's SB win last year solidified the fact that Gruden was a recipient of the Switzer (formerly known as the Seifert) Trophy in Tampa. That's the award you win when the coach before you builds a championship team that could win a SB with a blow up doll at HC. Gruden has put his stamp on the Bucs like Seifert did or the Panthers. Just remember, Jon, when you have seven QB's, you have no QB.
3. The Colts will not repeat. Their personnel losses mean they will score fewer points and other teams will score more points.
4. That "Write In" SB Trophy for the Pats is premature. The Pats have serious questions at RB and LB, two positions that tend to mean a great deal to playoff teams. Besides, Randy Moss never makes a team better. The fact that the Pats decided to retool via spending spree is a departure from what made them great anyway.
5. The Vikes are in serious trouble offensively. To paraphrase ex-ESPN analyst Joe Theismann; "the problem with having Tavaris Jackson as your QB is that Tavaris Jackson is your QB". The only thing more frightening than a season with Jackson under center is half a season with Brooks Bollinger under center.
6. Priest Holmes will come back successfully. Will he be the Priest of old, maybe not quite. Will he make Larry Johnson trade bait? Yes.
7. Just like Bill Cowher used to coach great teams into mediocrity, Norv Turner will coach a very good team into ineptitude. The wheels may not come completely off this year in SD, but if the Chargers win ten and even sneak into the second season, it will be a blessing to the town that gave us Jimmy Durante.
8. The same Dallas Cowboys who cursed Parcells on the way out the door, will be wishing for another new coach after ten weeks of Wade Phillips. Wade is not a winning HC. Watching him mishandle the talent that Parcells assembled in Dallas is going to be ugly. Jerry Jones is starting to look more and more like Dan Snyder every day.
9. The fear of the QB formerly known as "Joey" in Atlanta is earth-shattering overkill. Harrington has slightly better career stats than his predecessor and is sacked far less often. Few people bother to remember that, despite the NFL's best run game by a wide margin, Vick is the most sacked QB in the NFL. Sacks kill drives and give field position away, kids. With a QB at QB, even "Joseph", the ShitBirds are immediately better off offesnively.
Mike Vick's Next Training Camp
10. Mike Vick no longer possesses that "escapability" that NFL announcers so often waxed about. (Actually, if you look at Vick's sacks per attempt, even nearly-crippled Peyton Manning has much better "escapability".) Vicks' real escapability, though will start to be tested Monday, when at least one of his co-defendants will plea-out and (without doubt) offer replete and damning testimony on Ron Mexico's leadership in his dog-killing ring. He did esacpe one thing though, his Nike Contract.
11. Vince Young will struggle as teams begin to employ the Cunningham/Stewart/Vick defense against him. Despite the Tacks excellent ground game, Young will be forced to become effective from the pocket. I'm not saying he won;t learn how to play the position in the NFL, but his real learning curve wil decelerate as teams get to know him.
12. The Panthers will continue to be overrated. I don't need to explain this.
13. JaMarcus Russell is already benched until year two. With no contract in sight, the guy who most needs TC on the team that most needs a QB, can not even dare to play him this year. He'd have a better rookie year if the RayDuhs put him in a giant blender.
14. Nobody cares if Michael Strahan holds out. He's an aging star on a team in transition at many skill positions. Coughlin is done and Bil Cowher will either end up here or in Cleveland depending on Romeo Crennel's progress.
15. The Cro-Magnon in a cheerleader suit returns. Just when we thought cerebral guys like Mike Nolan were the new wave of HC's, look for some "I wanna win now" owner to hire the Missing Link to continue the commitment to mediocrity he pioneered in Pittsburgh. I truly believe that Cowher will end up in Cleveland, though. He's a Schotty Disciple from the Brown days, played ball there and knows like no one else, how to lose big games at home. The fit is perfect. It's clear that Al Lerner knows a good deal more about window-shopping than trap-blocking. Don't rule out Dan Snyder, though. I think Gibbs will finally admit that he never regained the edge he lost before his first retirement.
16. Matt Schaub will make the Texans better. Unfortunatley, that means they'll be mediocre.
17. The Steelers will have some growing pains under Mike Tomlin. It's likely that part of the transition will see the Steelers shedding overpriced, over-the-hill and underperforming LB's like Farrior and Haggans along with the 52 Defense Cowher adored for so long. Don't be surprised to see a lot more 4-3 looks right away with either Woodley or Timmons in a 3-point stance, and eventually the combination of Timmons and Woodley on the outside with Harrison in the middle of a 4-3 alignment.
18. Byron Leftwich will play his last season in JAX. Despite DelRio's politically correct speak, he's clearly not a Leftwich believer. I don't think he's a Garrard believer either. The Jags aren't convinced Culpepper will ever be healthy, though. Don't be shocked if Jake Plummer ends up in Jagland, or the Jags draft a young QB and sign a make-due vet next year.
Old enough to QB, but can't buy beer.
19. The big problem in KC is not LJ, it's BC. Handing the QB job to a guy whose had two incredible preseasons is a risk. Handing the job to a guy whose had two pretty good preseasons is a symptom of psychosis. Hasn't Herm Edwards learned that the QB does matter. Did he forget about his job with the Jets?
20. Trent Green will start in Miami and get hurt again. Who's backing him up again? It may as well be Joey Porter, because Porter will at least enjoy running his mouth in the huddle.
Those are just a few insights into what I'm expecting in NFL 2007.
CBS has a new TV show this season that stars Stanley Tucci as a brain surgeon. Kind of ironic, when you consider that Tucci has made a long career of playing 2nd or 3rd bananas, or 2nd rate crooks in 2nd rate films. I bet the show is a huge hit in Pittsburgh, though, where a 2nd rate pretender has been starring as coach of the Steelers for 15 seasons.
With about ten minutes left this Sunday, the Ravens sent in the scrubs and signaled not just a Steeler season killing victory, not just a SB run ended, but 50 minutes of complete domination. Dan Dumbdorff had said, 44 minutes earlier; "you won't see this too often, but the Steelers are getting manhandled". As usual, Dierdorff was way off the mark.
You do see it. If you're an honest and objective Steeler fan, you know you see the Steelers get outhit by all but the cellar dwellers more often than not. If you're willing to face the truth of Cowher's Steelers, you know that they get outhit often. The truth is, Cowher's Steelers have been living off the legacy of Noll's Steelers of the 70's for 15 years now. But that's supposed to be okay I guess, because Noll's Steelers of the 80's lived off of that legacy too.
Consider also that Cowher's teams are an impressive 45-65 when the oppnent scores first and 23-71 when trailing at the half. Loosely translated, that meant the black and gold should have just packed up and headed to the airport at halftime. Before you start talking about that comeback last week, remember who the Steelers were playing, the same team that was demolished by the 5-5 Benglas today. Cowher's gang is a scintillating 24-54 when they lose the time of possession battle and 23-59-1 when they lose the turnover battle. You may not have known these facts, but I did, so when any decent team goes up 7-0, I pretty well know the gang is in for a long day.
But give the Devil his due. 9 sacks later, even I didn't expect the Steelers to come out this week and get so thoroughly punked by the Ravens. The dean of NFL coaches managed somehow to not just bring his team out flat and timid, he also must have broken out the double secret strategy of not allowing his players to block anyone.
Leading 14-0, the Ravens dialed up another sack and crushed Roethlisberger. While the trainers stood over him on the sideline asking him what day it was, they should have been asking him if he wanted to throw in the towel. I can hear it now:
Q: What day is it?
A: What day is it? It's the day Harting gets his #### knocked backwards after every snap, the diabetic is auditioning to play a revolving door , and Marvelous Marvel is throwing lookouts every other play, that's what frickin' day it is!
But let's not just consider the offense, Cowher's assistant Dean of Defense, #### LeBeau just kept throwing the same slow developing, garbage blitzes at the Raven's he's been using since 1992. That LB crossover up the middle is a beauty, and it still works juts like ti did back in the 90's. Does anybody remember Alfred Pupunu? Steve McNair does. He just kept abusing the empty middle with drive building completions to Frank Wychek, no I mean Todd Heap or insert TE name here. Worse yet, he isn't throwing it with Kevin Greene or Chad Brown anymore. Now we get washed up James Farrior and undersized, under-talented Larry Foote slapping helplessly at 330 lb. Raven linemen.
Of course Dierdorff didn't miss the chance for commiserating with Cowher's pre- game statement that the Steelers "just haven't gotten consistent play" from the secondary. Here's a quick question for you sports fans. How do you get solid secondary play when you have your corners play 8-10 yards off of receivers and blitz your safeties every other down? The answer is, you don't. The short pass is always there and the middle seam is wide open. This is a big reason why the Steelers are a play from ahead team. Any offense that can afford to be patient will abuse them.
This week's debacle began when Cowher made the gutless move to bench his best athlete in the secondary, Ike Taylor. True, Taylor got roasted a few days in advance of Thanksgiving by NO, but benching a guy after a season extending win? Why? Why do that? How about giving a struggling, but gifted young player a chance to catch his breath and get his confidence back. This was Cowher's pathetic way of demonstrating that was actually coaching the team, that's why.
But why not bench season long no-show, Joey Porter? Why not bench officially washed up Center Jeff Hartings, who has been getting pushed around every week like Greg Lloyd in SB XXX? Why not sit the fumble machine punt returner, Santonio Holmes? Why not start a WR that catches more passes than he drops, or at least sign one? Why not adjust your schemes to expose the other team's weaknesses, like your opponents do? Why not stop running the same plays on offense and defense you've been running for 15 years now.
I'll tell you why. It's like my psychologist often tells me, he has no answers.
But just like where there's a will there's a lawyer, there's hope in even the saddest of occurrences. This season is the long overdue baptism that Ben Roethlisberger had coming (if he manages to live to week 16) and he should come back stronger. A 6-10 finish will likely allow the Steelers to get a few decent draft picks, especially at LB and WR. And best of all, it will likely force the Steelers FO to force the Dean of NFL Dipshits out the door for fear of losing both Ken Wisenhunt and Russ Grimm. Plus, I get the feeling that Art Jr. isn;t as much a fan of Bilbo as Dan Rooney was.
Now don't get me wrong. I think Cowher is a genuinely good guy and I was thrilled for him when the Steelers finally got that elusive 5th trophy. But that trophy was the result of Ben Roethlisberger strapping the team and Cowher to his back for a SB run. Until BigBen, Pittsburgh had 3 out of 4 AFCC flameouts at home, and was one hail-mary away from the o-fer.
Personally, I'm sick of the molly-coddling of underachieving, overpaid "trusted vets" like Joey Porter. I'm tired of watching broken down fat slobs like Jerome Bettis being called "leaders" even after they no-show in January and I'm tired of hearing about how pluggers like Hines Ward are the best Pittsburgh has to offer.
So while Steeler fans are enduring what is looking like the worst, post-SB encore in history, they only need to look at the guy in the headset to know whence it sprang. The great news is that he might have secured his exit with today's performance.
