Archive for category Armchair QB

2010 NFL Schedule

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Here it is, folks the 2010 NFL Regular Season Schedule.  Sure you can see it anywhere, but we wouldn’t be doing our unpaid jobs if we didn’t at least mention it!

Week 1
Thu. Sep. 09
Matchup Time (ET)
Vikings at Saints 8:30 PM
Sun. Sep. 12
Matchup Time (ET)
Dolphins at Bills 1:00 PM
Colts at Texans 1:00 PM
Lions at Bears 1:00 PM
Falcons at Steelers 1:00 PM
Browns at Buccaneers 1:00 PM
Bengals at Patriots 1:00 PM
Broncos at Jaguars 1:00 PM
Raiders at Titans 1:00 PM
Panthers at Giants 1:00 PM
49ers at Seahawks 4:15 PM
Cardinals at Rams 4:15 PM
Packers at Eagles 4:15 PM
Cowboys at Redskins 8:20 PM
Mon. Sep. 13
Matchup Time (ET)
Ravens at Jets 7:00 PM
Chargers at Chiefs 10:15 PM

Week 2
Sun. Sep. 19
Matchup Time (ET)
Ravens at Bengals 1:00 PM
Buccaneers at Panthers 1:00 PM
Bills at Packers 1:00 PM
Dolphins at Vikings 1:00 PM
Bears at Cowboys 1:00 PM
Eagles at Lions 1:00 PM
Cardinals at Falcons 1:00 PM
Chiefs at Browns 1:00 PM
Steelers at Titans 1:00 PM
Seahawks at Broncos 4:05 PM
Rams at Raiders 4:05 PM
Patriots at Jets 4:15 PM
Texans at Redskins 4:15 PM
Jaguars at Chargers 4:15 PM
Giants at Colts 8:20 PM
Mon. Sep. 20
Matchup Time (ET)
Saints at 49ers 8:30 PM

Week 3
Sun. Sep. 26

Matchup Time (ET)
Bills at Patriots 1:00 PM
Falcons at Saints 1:00 PM
Lions at Vikings 1:00 PM
Browns at Ravens 1:00 PM
Cowboys at Texans 1:00 PM
49ers at Chiefs 1:00 PM
Titans at Giants 1:00 PM
Steelers at Buccaneers 1:00 PM
Bengals at Panthers 1:00 PM
Eagles at Jaguars 4:05 PM
Redskins at Rams 4:05 PM
Raiders at Cardinals 4:15 PM
Chargers at Seahawks 4:15 PM
Colts at Broncos 4:15 PM
Jets at Dolphins 8:20 PM
Mon. Sep. 27
Matchup Time (ET)
Packers at Bears 8:30 PM
Byes: DAL, KC, MIN, TB

Week 4
Sun. Oct. 03

Matchup Time (ET)
Jets at Bills 1:00 PM
Seahawks at Rams 1:00 PM
Panthers at Saints 1:00 PM
Lions at Packers 1:00 PM
Bengals at Browns 1:00 PM
Ravens at Steelers 1:00 PM
Broncos at Titans 1:00 PM
49ers at Falcons 1:00 PM
Colts at Jaguars 4:05 PM
Texans at Raiders 4:05 PM
Redskins at Eagles 4:15 PM
Cardinals at Chargers 4:15 PM
Bears at Giants 8:20 PM
Mon. Oct. 04
Matchup Time (ET)
Patriots at Dolphins 8:30 PM
Byes: MIA, NE, PIT, SEA

Week 5
Sun. Oct. 10

Matchup Time (ET)
Buccaneers at Bengals 1:00 PM
Falcons at Browns 1:00 PM
Giants at Texans 1:00 PM
Chiefs at Colts 1:00 PM
Packers at Redskins 1:00 PM
Jaguars at Bills 1:00 PM
Broncos at Ravens 1:00 PM
Bears at Panthers 1:00 PM
Rams at Lions 1:00 PM
Saints at Cardinals 4:05 PM
Chargers at Raiders 4:15 PM
Titans at Cowboys 4:15 PM
Eagles at 49ers 8:20 PM
Mon. Oct. 11
Matchup Time (ET)
Vikings at Jets 8:30 PM
Byes: ARI, BUF, CAR, CIN

Week 6
Sun. Oct. 17

Matchup Time (ET)
Browns at Steelers 1:00 PM
Saints at Buccaneers 1:00 PM
Dolphins at Packers 1:00 PM
Chargers at Rams 1:00 PM
Ravens at Patriots 1:00 PM
Chiefs at Texans 1:00 PM
Lions at Giants 1:00 PM
Falcons at Eagles 1:00 PM
Seahawks at Bears 1:00 PM
Raiders at 49ers 4:05 PM
Jets at Broncos 4:05 PM
Cowboys at Vikings 4:15 PM
Colts at Redskins 8:20 PM
Mon. Oct. 18
Matchup Time (ET)
Titans at Jaguars 8:30 PM
Byes: DET, HOU, IND, NYJ

Week 7
Sun. Oct. 24

Matchup Time (ET)
Eagles at Titans 1:00 PM
Bengals at Falcons 1:00 PM
Browns at Saints 1:00 PM
Steelers at Dolphins 1:00 PM
Rams at Buccaneers 1:00 PM
49ers at Panthers 1:00 PM
Redskins at Bears 1:00 PM
Jaguars at Chiefs 1:00 PM
Bills at Ravens 1:00 PM
Cardinals at Seahawks 4:05 PM
Raiders at Broncos 4:15 PM
Patriots at Chargers 4:15 PM
Vikings at Packers 8:20 PM
Mon. Oct. 25
Matchup Time (ET)
Giants at Cowboys 8:30 PM
Byes: ATL, BAL, CHI, CLE, NYG, PHI

Week 8
Sun. Oct. 31

Matchup Time (ET)
Packers at Jets 1:00 PM
Broncos at 49ers 1:00 PM
Jaguars at Cowboys 1:00 PM
Dolphins at Bengals 1:00 PM
Panthers at Rams 1:00 PM
Redskins at Lions 1:00 PM
Bills at Chiefs 1:00 PM
Titans at Chargers 4:05 PM
Vikings at Patriots 4:15 PM
Seahawks at Raiders 4:15 PM
Buccaneers at Cardinals 4:15 PM
Steelers at Saints 8:20 PM
Mon. Nov. 01
Matchup Time (ET)
Texans at Colts 8:30 PM
Byes: DEN, JAC, SF, STL, TEN, WAS

Week 9
Sun. Nov. 07

Matchup Time (ET)
Buccaneers at Falcons 1:00 PM
Saints at Panthers 1:00 PM
Bears at Bills 1:00 PM
Jets at Lions 1:00 PM
Dolphins at Ravens 1:00 PM
Patriots at Browns 1:00 PM
Chargers at Texans 1:00 PM
Cardinals at Vikings 1:00 PM
Giants at Seahawks 4:05 PM
Chiefs at Raiders 4:15 PM
Colts at Eagles 4:15 PM
Cowboys at Packers 8:20 PM
Mon. Nov. 08
Matchup Time (ET)
Steelers at Bengals 8:30 PM
Byes: GB, NO, OAK, SD

Week 10
Thu. Nov. 11

Matchup Time (ET)
Ravens at Falcons 8:20 PM
Sun. Nov. 14
Matchup Time (ET)
Texans at Jaguars 1:00 PM
Vikings at Bears 1:00 PM
Panthers at Buccaneers 1:00 PM
Lions at Bills 1:00 PM
Jets at Browns 1:00 PM
Titans at Dolphins 1:00 PM
Bengals at Colts 1:00 PM
Chiefs at Broncos 4:05 PM
Cowboys at Giants 4:15 PM
Seahawks at Cardinals 4:15 PM
Rams at 49ers 4:15 PM
Patriots at Steelers 8:20 PM
Mon. Nov. 15
Matchup Time (ET)
Eagles at Redskins 8:30 PM

Week 11
Thu. Nov. 18

Matchup Time (ET)
Bears at Dolphins 8:20 PM
Sun. Nov. 21
Matchup Time (ET)
Packers at Vikings 1:00 PM
Redskins at Titans 1:00 PM
Cardinals at Chiefs 1:00 PM
Ravens at Panthers 1:00 PM
Bills at Bengals 1:00 PM
Lions at Cowboys 1:00 PM
Texans at Jets 1:00 PM
Raiders at Steelers 1:00 PM
Browns at Jaguars 1:00 PM
Seahawks at Saints 4:05 PM
Falcons at Rams 4:05 PM
Buccaneers at 49ers 4:05 PM
Colts at Patriots 4:15 PM
Giants at Eagles 8:20 PM
Mon. Nov. 22
Matchup Time (ET)
Broncos at Chargers 8:30 PM

Week 12
Thu. Nov. 25

Matchup Time (ET)
Patriots at Lions 12:30 PM
Saints at Cowboys 4:15 PM
Bengals at Jets 8:20 PM
Sun. Nov. 28
Matchup Time (ET)
Titans at Texans 1:00 PM
Buccaneers at Ravens 1:00 PM
Jaguars at Giants 1:00 PM
Panthers at Browns 1:00 PM
Steelers at Bills 1:00 PM
Eagles at Bears 1:00 PM
Vikings at Redskins 1:00 PM
Packers at Falcons 1:00 PM
Chiefs at Seahawks 4:05 PM
Dolphins at Raiders 4:05 PM
Rams at Broncos 4:15 PM
Chargers at Colts 8:20 PM
Mon. Nov. 29
Matchup Time (ET)
49ers at Cardinals 8:30 PM

Week 13
Thu. Dec. 02
Matchup Time (ET)
Texans at Eagles 8:20 PM
Sun. Dec. 05
Matchup Time (ET)
Jaguars at Titans 1:00 PM
Broncos at Chiefs 1:00 PM
Redskins at Giants 1:00 PM
Bears at Lions 1:00 PM
Falcons at Buccaneers 1:00 PM
Saints at Bengals 1:00 PM
Bills at Vikings 1:00 PM
Browns at Dolphins 1:00 PM
49ers at Packers 1:00 PM
Raiders at Chargers 4:05 PM
Rams at Cardinals 4:15 PM
Cowboys at Colts 4:15 PM
Panthers at Seahawks 4:15 PM
Steelers at Ravens 8:20 PM
Mon. Dec. 06
Matchup Time (ET)
Jets at Patriots 8:30 PM

Week 14
Thu. Dec. 09
Matchup Time (ET)
Colts at Titans 8:20 PM
Sun. Dec. 12
Matchup Time (ET)
Bengals at Steelers 1:00 PM
Falcons at Panthers 1:00 PM
Packers at Lions 1:00 PM
Patriots at Bears 1:00 PM
Browns at Bills 1:00 PM
Giants at Vikings 1:00 PM
Raiders at Jaguars 1:00 PM
Buccaneers at Redskins 1:00 PM
Seahawks at 49ers 4:05 PM
Rams at Saints 4:05 PM
Dolphins at Jets 4:15 PM
Chiefs at Chargers 4:15 PM
Broncos at Cardinals 4:15 PM
Eagles at Cowboys 8:20 PM
Mon. Dec. 13
Matchup Time (ET)
Ravens at Texans 8:30 PM

Week 15
Thu. Dec. 16

Matchup Time (ET)
49ers at Chargers 8:20 PM
Sun. Dec. 19
Matchup Time (ET)
Bills at Dolphins 1:00 PM
Eagles at Giants 1:00 PM
Redskins at Cowboys 1:00 PM
Browns at Bengals 1:00 PM
Jaguars at Colts 1:00 PM
Texans at Titans 1:00 PM
Saints at Ravens 1:00 PM
Chiefs at Rams 1:00 PM
Cardinals at Panthers 1:00 PM
Lions at Buccaneers 1:00 PM
Falcons at Seahawks 4:05 PM
Broncos at Raiders 4:15 PM
Jets at Steelers 4:15 PM
Packers at Patriots 8:20 PM
Mon. Dec. 20
Matchup Time (ET)
Bears at Vikings 8:30 PM

Week 16
Thu. Dec. 23

Matchup Time (ET)
Panthers at Steelers 8:20 PM
Sat. Dec. 25
Matchup Time (ET)
Cowboys at Cardinals 7:30 PM
Sun. Dec. 26
Matchup Time (ET)
Patriots at Bills 1:00 PM
49ers at Rams 1:00 PM
Ravens at Browns 1:00 PM
Lions at Dolphins 1:00 PM
Jets at Bears 1:00 PM
Redskins at Jaguars 1:00 PM
Titans at Chiefs 1:00 PM
Seahawks at Buccaneers 1:00 PM
Vikings at Eagles 1:00 PM
Texans at Broncos 4:05 PM
Colts at Raiders 4:05 PM
Giants at Packers 4:15 PM
Chargers at Bengals 8:20 PM
Mon. Dec. 27
Matchup Time (ET)
Saints at Falcons 8:30 PM

Week 17
Sun. Jan. 02

Matchup Time (ET)
Dolphins at Patriots 1:00 PM
Buccaneers at Saints 1:00 PM
Panthers at Falcons 1:00 PM
Cowboys at Eagles 1:00 PM
Raiders at Chiefs 1:00 PM
Titans at Colts 1:00 PM
Jaguars at Texans 1:00 PM
Bengals at Ravens 1:00 PM
Bears at Packers 1:00 PM
Vikings at Lions 1:00 PM
Giants at Redskins 1:00 PM
Steelers at Browns 1:00 PM
Bills at Jets 1:00 PM
Chargers at Broncos 4:15 PM
Rams at Seahawks 4:15 PM
Cardinals at 49ers 4:15 PM

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BEARS MAKE HUGE MISTAKE, WHAT’S NEXT?

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The Chicago Bears today released DE Alex Brown, cutting away a huge component in the spirit of whatever it is that their core defense has left. Brown’s accountability and forthrightness are well documented, and he is loved by his teammates, as well as being respected around the league.

 

Take a Barometer reading of any internet comment thread regarding Brown’s release (here’s Florio’s) and you see two things:

 

1. Bears fans pissed at the move, which is important as Bears fans typically rip their own players as much or more as rival fans do.

2. Fans of other teams wanting their team to pick him up. Fans are douchebags who think everyone who is waived should be overpaid to join their team – but the fact is the team that signs him will have a pleased fanbase for doing so.

 

Brown’s release is being described as GM Jerry Angelo not wanting to sink 30-plus Million into the defensive line this season. But, I thought this was ‘Win or Bust’ this year. Why the concern with salary allotment at one position? Doesn’t Alex Brown and Julius Peppers sound better than Peppers and Mark Anderson? Who gives a sh*t if Brown is due $5.5M this season? Don’t you have a better chance at making the playoffs with Brown than you would be without him?

 

alex brown.  online photo, no source available

 

The truth is that even though this is an uncapped free-agent season, Angelo is working within a budget. The McKaskeys gave Angelo in the neighborhood of $28 Million to work with for free-agent signings, which is way more than any other team has even approached spending. After the Bears signed Peppers, Chester Taylor, and Brandon Malumaleuna, there really wasn’t too many players left to spend an enormous ransom for.

 

And if it is really win or die, look for Chicago to be making one more belly flop into the acquisition pool before the 2010 season begins. They gotta be freeing up budget space to either trade into the first round, or acquire a veteran. My bet is on trading for the best deal they can get for TE Greg Olsen, either a safety or an offensive lineman. They also could be looking into making an offer for a restricted free agent, possibly Oshiomogho Atogwe of the St. Louis Rams, who is a trendy name to drop if you can pronounce it.

 

Then again, I don’t put it past them to just be making a dipsh*t move and releasing a guy who was healthy, tough, consistent, and a fan/team favorite because they don’t want to now pay for a guy who’s been a bargain for his entire 8-year career.

 

Brown fell to the Bears in the 4th round because he had the reputation of having a lousy work ethic, which wasn’t true. I seem to remember a marijuana issue too, but I could be wrong. They never had to pay him much, or sign him to a long deal, because his paper stats never warranted huge money. But his effort was, at times throughout his career, the best on the team. Apparently the Bears didn’t see it as worthy of a contract they entered into and which he earned.

 

Under this scenario, which is entirely plausible, the Bears will then choose to pay Tommie Harris $4.25M this season to be invisible instead of paying Brown $5.5M to be busting his ass making plays. I suppose they’re praying to get at least one quality season out of Harris, which is foolish. The smarter, bolder, and more team-oriented move would have been to dump Harris, who is a weirdo anyway, and who isn’t even close to as popular with the locker room.

 

Oh yeah, and the fans hate Harris too, and would have applauded the move seeing as he hasn’t had a discernible impact on a game since he signed his current contract. I don’t care if he draws double-teams, he doesn’t deserve them. I understand that if Peppers waves his magic wand and draws all the attention, that Harris would possibly benefit more stats-wise than Brown will, but it’s still the wrong move.

 

Harris benefits more with both Peppers and Brown than without, and so do the Bears. What they do with Brown’s money better be worth it.

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Yawn…is it September yet?

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Well, I guess it’s about time to wrap up the ol’ season here on FP, and I want to start by thanking Bob Noyes for having me this year, and allowing me to use various obscenity-laced tirades against, well, Jay Cutler.

 

One doesn’t have to look back very far to find me verbally assaulting the pick-prone sourpuss, but I have to say that he finished the year strong. If by strong, you mean good performances against division opponents late in the year. Albeit they were at home vs. the Vikings, whose road defense was atrocious at the time, and in Detroit, where they trampled the defeated, rotting carcass of the league’s dead-last Lions defense.

 

That’s a Rod Marinelli production, by the way. Yep, our new defensive coordinator. But I digress.

 

bear on bike.  online photo, no source available
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Chicago Bears front office.

 

Now, Cutler played a favorable two-game stretch to finish the season. But I’ve seen plenty of Bears QB’s fold up shop under just as favorable late-season circumstances, and Cutler didn’t. And I do think strides were made in the passing game the last two weeks, with the emergence of Devin Aromashodu, a guy lots of people – Jay Cutler included – liked in preseason, but who didn’t see the field until the year was well in the sh*tter. Bad move. I get that the receivers in Chicago were deep with young talent this year, but it really looks like the biggest, most polished option was kept in street clothes virtually all season long.

 

OH YEAH, THE SAINTS WON THE SUPER BOWL

 

I didn’t really think that i had much of a dog in the fight for the championship this year, but once the game started I was squarely in the corner of the Saints. It was a bit bandwagon, but it was just me and the wife watching, and you had to root for them. They were all so adorable.

 

BASELESS BRETT FAVRE SPECULATION SECTION

 

The Gunslinger’s been pretty quiet since after the NFC Championship game, only releasing a brief statement of thanks that sounded kinda like he thought he might be ready to come close to making the decision of whether or not he might finally be ready to begin considering whether the time had finally come around to deciding on if the time may finally be here that he’s got to sit down and once and for all come to a decision on either hanging ‘em up, or maybe staying on for one more shot. Good luck, Brett. The world will be ready when you are. I guess.

 

brett favre.  online photo, no source available

 

The only other Vikings rip I got is Bryant McKinnie getting kicked off the Pro Bowl team and then being douchey enough to host parties in Miami all week afterward, and twittering about it all the time. This was fairly nauseating on several levels. If you want to party in Miami all week, fine – I would too. But all you gotta do is just tell the NFC coach that you don’t want to play, like everyone else who made the Pro Bowl original starting roster. McKinnie already didn’t deserve the spot, and then he just stopped coming to practices, he was dismissed from the squad. Embarrassing.

 

The clock continues to tick on the new Vikings stadium deal that still doesn’t exist. And it doesn’t look like Brett Favre taking them to the conference title game gave the team much momentum to getting the state to pony up some cash, as some predicted it might. Outgoing governor Tim Pawlenty, who is expected to run for the Presidency in 2012, made no mention of money for a new stadium in his final budget proposal as Minnesota’s governor. With government spending and fiscal restraint such hot-button issues these days, a guy with presidential aspirations can ill afford to try to stick his taxpayers with a several hundred-million dollar stadium bill. He’s going to punt that issue right on down the line to his successor, and I don’t blame him. I do blame him for the state budget mess that led to there being no money at all for the stadium, but that’s another issue altogether.

 

If anyone is still listening (crickets…crickets), thanks so much for reading this season, and it’s been fun. I genuinely appreciate all the feedback and precious disposable time spent reading my material.

 

 

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Oh Yeah, I Should Make a Super Bowl Pick

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Oops. I let the whole two weeks between the Championship round of the playoffs and the Super Bowl slip by without a peep. It’s now Saturday afternoon, and no one is capable of stomaching any more prognosticating about what will happen in the Super Bowl.

 

So for your sake, I will keep my prognostication pretty short: Colts win, 30-27.

 

Peyton Manning will eventually figure out the Saints defense and win the game, blahblahblah. The score I’ve indicated would portend an exciting, close, hard-fought game, but I don’t know if that will be the case. I think Manning will simply be in control by the middle of the 3rd quarter, and even if both teams are moving the ball at will, the Saints won’t be able to overtake the Colts.

 

peyton manning.  online photo, no source available

 

Look for the game to start decidedly slow. It could be 10-7 at halftime. The Colts’ eventual win will legitimize Manning and Indy; their Super Bowl 41 win over Chicago didn’t really count. The Bears were a one-hit-wonder and not a worthy matchup with the Colts’ offense. This time around they face a team who does at least one thing really well, as opposed to Chicago, who had a pretty good defense and that was about it. They could run but not in a dominating, game-winning way. Speaking of the Bears.

 

BEARS HOMER SECTION

 

The Bears finally caved and hired Mike Martz to replace Ron Turner as offensive coordinator. The whole situation reminded me of when a guy in high school really, really wants to date some girl, and she keeps turning him down, and it gets kinda pathetic because the guy just won’t give up, and then somehow the girl just kinda comes around and says, “okay fine, let’s make out.”

 

mike martz.  online photo, no source available

 

Will he improve anything? Maybe. Will he save Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo’s jobs? Probably not. The Bears, even with improvement on both sides of the ball, are still a longshot to make the playoffs. The Packers look to be in the drivers seat to win the division, especially if Brett Favre decides to finally go away. I don’t trust Chicago to somehow nail down a wildcard spot.

 

I also don’t trust Martz to have enough of an impact other than maybe putting Cutler back another year when he has to learn another new playbook in 2011.

 

VIKINGS HATER SECTION

 

Oddly enough, I’m here to defend the Vikings in this column. Not once have I heard out of virtually any Vikings fan something to this effect: “Wow, that was a really fun season. Wow, that was a great NFC Championship game. Wow, that was one of the most dramatic, memorable games I’ve ever seen. Wow, Favre really took our team on a nice ride, and without him we would have been struggling to be relevant after about Week 5. Wow, these guys really played their hearts out but just weren’t able to overcome huge mistakes.”

 

What the @$&% happened to “Minnesota Nice”? I know, I know – it was all about the championship this year, but this season was an unbelievable success by NFL standards. Going into overtime of the NFC Championship game was no small feat, and while I know that Vikings fans felt entitled to at least a Super Bowl appearance, they should be at least a little bit grateful for being able to witness one hell of an exciting season.

 

If Favre comes back, which is of course impossible to determine, they’ll be a contender again. They have some work to do on the O-Line and their pass defense, and they better pray to the good Lord that EJ and Antoine both make it back for significant playing time. A snapped femur and a Lisfranc foot injury are problems. Will either lose a step? Henderson is young enough to recover completely, but Winfield may face some heat for getting old.

 

JETS HOMER SECTION

 

Rex Ryan flipped off some Dolphins fans at an Ultimate Fighting event last week, drawing criticism for being unprofessional. Hypocritical NFL analysts got all their undies in a bundle over it, while they would just as easily rip a coach for being too vanilla, never saying or doing anything interesting, or just being plain boring.

 

rex ryan.  online photo, no source available

 

This is turning into a preachy “count your blessings” column – to all the pudwhacking NFL pundits out there, lighten up. It’s okay to get a kick out of Rex Ryan. He didn’t get in a fight, he didn’t spit on anyone (although it’s been reported that he got spit ON prior to the finger), he didn’t choke anyone or drive through a fast-food joint with no pants on. Enough with the faux-outrage.

 

Have a safe and happy Super Bowl weekend.

 

 

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THE OTHER SHOE HAS DROPPED ON THE OTHER FOOT

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A cold sun rose over the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul today, groggy and hungover, smelling like stale beer from Bourbon Street or a 1st Avenue sportsbar. Viking Nation collectively rose and wiped the crusty defeat from their eyelids.  The season was over.   Minnesota was already close to being the Chicago Cubs of the NFL, and last night was their Bartman incident. And like any good fans in an NFL market, they quickly went about the task of placing blame.

 

THE OTHER SHOE

 

Some went after Favre for what may have been his final pass in the NFL, another NFC Championship game ended on an ill-advised throw just before the end of regulation. Many blamed Adrian Peterson for all the now-cliched fumbles. There was all the questionable calls by the refs. There had to be a reason that the Vikings went down in such tragic fashion – again.  For all the borderline replay calls, all the turnovers, all the late hits on Favre by the Saints defense, all the drive-killing blunders…the reason they lost was 12th Man.

 

brad childress.  online photo, no source available

 

Now, I know that I am a piss-ant spitball artist. Unfairly questioning coaching decisions is what I do, and I am summarily unqualified to do so. But the decisions made in the waning seconds of the NFC Championship game deserve to be dissected, interrogated, savaged, and burned at the stake.

 

How in the %$#&ing world do you come out of a timeout with 12 men in the huddle?  And after that, how in the $#%&ing world do you have Brett Favre executing a designed rollout pass-play, when he can barely walk, and have one of his targets be his go-to guy all the way across the other side of the field?

 

FAVRE.  ONLINE PHOTO, NO SOURCE AVAILABLE.

 

Both of those mistakes may have actually been someone else’s fault, but both fall on the head coach’s shoulders. It’s his responsibility to see that those things don’t happen.  Somewhere in between the 12th Man flag and the next play, either Favre or Chilly decided that calling that particular play was so cute and so unexpected that it had to work.  It was too clever not to work.  They must have thought, “Who would be expecting this kind of play?  It’s the worst possible play we could try in this situation!”

 

If it was Favre making that call, it’s on Chilly to stop that kind of thing from happening. The coach has to have enough control to prevent it.  If it was Childress making that call, then he deserves to be tarred, feathered, and fired.  I’ve harped on it so much all year that I am sick of saying it, but it’s true: Brad Childress is a f*cking moron.

 

There were so many bounces and calls that didn’t go the Vikings way, and those instances will be remembered and rationalized by those irrational Vikings optimists out there. The irrational Vikings fatalists will write it off as another cursed run at a Super Bowl title.  The aspect that makes it gut-wrenching, even as a Vikings hater, is that they still were in a position to win despite the crap calls and the fumblitis. As Mike Tice once famously said, “Brutal. B-R-U-T-A-L. Brutal.”

 

To listen to anyone carve up Favre for losing the game is an insult to being a football fan. That guy left everything on the field in a game in which he was practically sodomized on national television. He came back when he was 40 and took a team that was going nowhere into overtime of the NFC Championship game, and gave you a season that you’ll never forget for it’s drama and storybook heroics, and that’s how you show your gratitude? If you’re a Vikings fan and you blame Favre for that loss, you’re an asshole. He played well enough to win that game. Blame all the other f*ckups on that roster and coaching staff, but don’t blame Favre. He did his part.

 

THE OTHER FOOT

 

It is only a matter of time before Favre starts his annual waffling over retirement. If the 2007 NFC Championship game left him with a bad enough taste in his mouth to come back, I wonder how his silver dragon-breath is tasting this morning?

 

brett favre.  online photo, no source available

 

He had kept the Ol’ Gunslinger trapped away in the closet virtually all season. Then it kicked the closet door down at the worst possible moment, and charged out like Butch and Sundance.  Guns blazing, wild, fearless, suicidal, and unmoved by the consequences of his actions.  It cost him a shot at the ultimate redemption, the real Hollywood ending to his career.  And yet, the loss wasn’t his fault.  It was Peterson’s.  That has to be motivation to give it one more shot.

 

Now, Vikings fans are going to be hung out to dry like the Packers fans they once loved to ridicule. Now it’s them hanging on every nuance Favre leaks out to Ed Werder or Jay Glazer or Joe Buck. The QB cupboard at Winter Park is pretty bare without No. 4. If it isn’t Brett, next year looks like the result of a missed opportunity and a closed window, instead of one last chance at glory.

 

The best decision management can make is not to take a stand one way or the other, until they absolutely have to. Let Favre make his choice, and then let him flip-flop around. The only scenario in which Favre would be forced into a decision is if the Vikings try to trade for Donovan McNabb.

 

Perhaps a more pressing question for the organization is what to do with Adrian Peterson.  Talk-show radio rubes called for a trade or his head or both, but the Vikings have no reason to cut a guy still on his rookie contract and unlikely to reach too many incentive clauses next season.  And honestly, what is Peterson’s real trade value after the Saints game?  No team is going to give them a first-round pick for a guy who put the ball on the carpet three times (yeah, the botched handoff was on him too) in the biggest of spots.  At a ridiculous minimum, he’s a guy you’d certainly rather have on your team than not.

 

adrian peterson.  online photo, no source available

 

But he’s a liability.  Vikings fans clenched their asses awkwardly every time he was handed the ball after his 2nd fumble.  I guess if you’re the Vikings, you see if you can get anything for the guy and if not, get Albert Young off the practice squad and try to do what the Jets and Ravens did with a bevy of talent at RB.  Speaking of the Jets…

 

JETS HOMER SECTION

 

When the Jets were up 17-6 in the 2nd quarter on Sunday vs. the Colts, I knew what Jets fans were thinking.  I’d been there before.  In Super Bowl 41, the Bears, my Bears, were up 14-6 on Peton Manning and the Colts, and I convinced myself that they’d be able to pull off the upset.  I was wrong.  And as this game started to slip away from the Jets, their fans came to the same sobering realization.

 

When Manning has everything clicking, he’s virtually unstoppable.  Darrelle Revis did his job and held Reggie Wayne to 3 catches and 55 yards, 0 scores.  But once Manning started to figure out the rest of the Jets’ talented secondary, it was over.  But there is much to look forward to if you’re a Jets fan, in fact, losing this game to the Colts, which is totally excusable, is better than going to the Super Bowl and losing there.  It leaves the team hungry instead of deflated.  The Jets will be a force in 2010.

 

contact: nick.thomas@flyingpigskin.com

 

 

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