Tag Archives: detroit lions

Lions Look Great. Vikings Collapse Again. Week 3 Was Sure Interesting.

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
Matthew Stafford1 199x300 Lions Look Great. Vikings Collapse Again. Week 3 Was Sure Interesting.

Matthew Stafford, a young man madly in love with his right arm.

MINNEAPOLIS – It could easily be suggested, without much argument by the way, that the greatest moment in Detroit Lions history was Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2008.

No, that was not the day the Lions drafted Ndamukong Suh. That was the day that Lions owner William Ford fired club president Matt Millen, the ex-player-turned-TV-broadcaster-turned bullshit-artist that almost completely destroyed the Lions franchise with a series of inane draft picks and horrid coaching hires.

From that day forward, the Lions have slowly, but surely returned to the glory they once enjoyed. A glory they last enjoyed in the 1950s, when a fellow named Bobby Layne played quarterback.

Sunday afternoon, in front of 62,466 witnesses at the Metrodome, the Lions showed just how far they’ve come. Trailing 20-0 at halftime, they battled all the way back and won 26-23 in overtime. Led by quarterback Matthew Stafford and an outstanding corps of receivers, the Lions improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1980. And that’s significant.

The last time the Lions were 3-0, Stafford – and most of his teammates had not been born.

The last time the Lions beat the Vikings in Minnesota, in 1997, Stafford was nine.

The Lions have won seven straight games dating back to last season – 11 if you count the four pre-season games this year.

These are the new Detroit Lions, a Lions team that doesn’t even remember the 2008 squad that went 0-16. After all, Millen is gone and a team that was 4-36 in their last 40 games against Minnesota and Green Bay is now 1-0 against the Vikings this season and they don’t even see the Packers until Thursday, Nov. 24 – Thanksgiving Day.

Since Millen was fired, the Lions have, almost over night, become one of the most feared teams in the NFL. This year’s team is now 3-0 and with their phenomenal receivers and cocky young quarterback, they have a legitimate chance to challenge in the very good NFC North. Ever since the Ford Family fired Millen and hired Tom Lewand as president and Martin Mayhew as general manager, the Lions have turned the corner.

Since Millen walked out the door, the Lions drafted quarterback Matthew Stafford, a young man who is madly in love with his right arm, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle Nick Fairley, wide receiver Titus Young, linebacker DeAndre Levy, defensive tackle Sammie Hill, tight end Brandon Pettigrew, runningback Jahvid Best, strong safety Amari Spievey, offensive tackle Jason Fox and defensive end Willie Young.

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Brandon Pettigrew

Stafford, Suh, Levy, Spievey, Pettigrew and Best all started Sunday’s game and all played well. Stafford went 32-for-46 for 378 yards and two touchdowns. Pettigrew had 11 receptions for 112 yards. Best carried 12 times for 14 yards. Spievey had three tackles and a sack. Levy had three tackles. Suh had five tackles and a sack. Off the bench, Titus Young caught four passes for 51 yards, Sammie Hill had two tackles,

Meanwhile, kick and punt returner Stefan Logan was acquired as a free agent from Pittsburgh and was terrific on Sunday. He returned four punts for 37 yards and three kickoffs for 74 yards. Middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch was signed away from Tennessee and yesterday had seven tackles.

The moves this team has made since Millen was dispatched has made the Lions a surprisingly good team. The 3-0 start is no fluke.

“It was a difficult first half, we didn’t play that well,” said Lions quarterback Stafford, addressing the fact his team fell behind 20-0 at the half. “But then we started to do what we do best. We spread things out, we’d played quickly and we had guys make big plays for me.

“On the drive to the game-winning field goal, nothing needs to be said. We knew we were going to score. Like all good offences, we knew we’d make the plays that would get us into a position for Jason (Hanson) to kick the winning field goal.”

That’s the difference between a team that has won seven consecutive regular-season games, compared to a team that went 0-16 just four seasons ago. Good ownership finally put the right people in the right positions and they’ve given good young draft picks a chance to be successful.

It’s kind of the same reason I’ve taken over from Dr. Football as the Alpha Male of this prognostication team. Confidence. I buried the past, looked to future and decided that the Doc wasn’t really that smart.

This will be the third week The Coach has led this season and you’ll see when the picks are posted on Thursday. Last week, The Coach went 10-6 straight up (33-13 on the season) and a Matt Millen-like 5-11 (24-24) against the spread, but The Coach still leads and that’s all that matters. It’s the first time since we’ve started making these picks that The Coach has held the lead.

Yes, “The Roar” has been restored.

Let’s look back at Week 3, before we move forward on Thursday to Week 4:

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Detroit 26 Minnesota 23 (OT)

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Percy Harvin, a great player who doesn't see the ball enough.

Detroit’s Jason Hanson kicked a 32-yard field goal on the fifth play of overtime to win it. The Lions trailed 20-0 at the half and came back to win and move to 3-0 while the Vikes fell to 0-3 with their third straight second-half collapse.

Buffalo 34 New England 31

The Bills came back from a 21-0 deficit and picked off four Tom Brady passes. Buffalo is the only unbeaten team in the AFC.

Carolina 16 Jacksonville 10

Cam Newton only threw for 158 yards and a touchdown, but this week he gets a win. He lost two straight despite throwing for more than 400 yards both times.

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Alex Smith of the Niners

San Francisco 13 Cincinnati 8

Alex Smith was 20-for-30 for 201 yards and the Niners Kendall Hunter rushed for the game’s only touchdown.

Cleveland 17 Miami 16

Colt McCoy completed 19-of-39 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns, the winning TD to Joshua Cribbs. The Browns played without Peyton Hillis and still won a big game at home to got to 2-1.

New Orleans 40 Houston 33

The Saints outscored the Texans 23-14 in a thrilling fourth quarter. The Saints Drew Brees finished 31-for-44 for 370 yards and three touchdowns. TE Jimmy Graham caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Tennessee 17 Denver 14

The Titans Matt Hasselbeck went 27-for-36 for 311 yards and two TDs including a four-yarder to Daniel Graham to win it.

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Philly's Michael Vick injured his hand.

NY Giants 29 Philadelphia 16 

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was hit late and broke his right hand, non-throwing hand and then went off, saying the league’s referees don’t protect him like they do other quarterbacks. It’s true. If a defensive player so much as breathes on Tom Brady, there is a penalty. Vick takes a beating and there is seldom ever a flag.

Oakland 34 NY Jets 24

Raiders runningback Darren McFadden rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns as Oakland improved to 2-1. The Raiders have been improving dramatically and this season with Jason Campbell and McFadden, the offence might be good enough to challenge to the West.

San Diego 20 Kansas City 17

The Chargers’ Ryan Mathews carried 21 times for 98 yards and two TDs. Matt Cassel’s late interception cost Kansas City a comeback.

Baltimore 37 St. Louis 7

Ravens rookie receiver Torrey Smith’s first three career receptions went for 133 yards and three touchdowns. He finished with five catches for 152 yards. Joe Flacco went 27-for-48 for 389 yards and three TDs to Smith.

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Green Bay's Jermichael Finley

Green Bay 27 Chicago 17

Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns, all to tight end Jermichael Finley. Brandon’s Israel Idonije had another good game with four tackles for the Bears.

Seattle 13 Arizona 10

Neither offense was any good but Seattle’s Tarvaris Jackson ran 11 yards for a TD in the third quarter and that’s all Seattle needed.

Tampa Bay 16 Atlanta 13

The Bucs Josh Freeman scored the first rushing touchdown of his career, and Tampa Bay’s defense forced three turnovers and sacked Atlanta QB Matt Ryan four times.

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Ben Roethlisberger

SUNDAY NIGHT

Pittsburgh 23 Indianapolis 20

The Colts lost quarterback Kerry Collins to a concussion and that ultimately cost them the game. Pittsburgh’s Canadian kicker Sean Suisham booted a 38-yard field goal with only eight seconds left on the clock.

MONDAY NIGHT

Dallas 18 Washington 16

Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey booted six field goals to give Dallas all 18 of their points. Tremendous effort by Cowboys QB Tony Romo who played with that serious rib injury.

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Bomber Almost In Playoffs and Yet The Jets Just Get Bigger.

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Today is an amazing day here in Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are now 8-3. Even though they had struggled for a couple of weeks, they won a dandy game over Montreal, 25-23, on Sunday and pretty much put an exclamation point on first place in the East. In fact, the 8-3 Bombers not only lead second-place 6-5 Montreal by four points, they have all but locked up a playoff berth considering the lowly Argos are now 2-9 and there are only seven weeks left. In fact, a win over Toronto this coming Saturday night at Rogers Centre and the Bombers will have locked up a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

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The Tigers' Justin Verlander, now 24-5

Meanwhile, the NFL season has started and my Detroit Lions are 2-0. My Detroit Tigers have clinched the American League Central and, depending on the year, any one of Jose Valverde, Justin Verlander or Miguel Cabrera could be American League MVP. NHL training camps are not only underway all over North America, but the pre-season schedule has already started. Man, it’s a pro sports wonderland.

And yet the only topic of conversation here on the edge of the prairie is the Winnipeg Jets. Even my friends — who for years have been faithful followers of the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens — have suddenly become die-hard Jets fans (that list does not include Toronto fan Kevin Arnst or Boston fan Al Castell who loved their teams even when the old Jets played in Winnipeg and say they still do). They have fallen in love with everything there is about the Jets. They love the logos, the colors, the schedule, the ticket prices, you name it , they love it. In fact, if you dare to criticize anything about this team, they will literally tear your face off with their vitriol.

To prove it, this past Saturday at MTS Iceplex, I saw something that never, ever would have happened during the last incarnation of the Jets — 2,000 people crammed into a tiny Junior A hockey rink to watch their favorite team practice.

They stood and cheered when Nikolai Antropov was the first Jet to take to the ice. They stood and cheered when a goal was scored during a scrimmage. They cheered a great pass. They cheered a not-so-great pass. The last time the Jets played in Winnipeg, there were a handful of people who would show up at the Arena to watch practice, but not very many.  If there was a special day, three or four thousand would show up, but that’s it. Saturday was simply the opening of training camp and yet the place was jam packed.

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Evander Kane

“This is going to be a lot of fun,” said Jets star Evander Kane, when asked about playing in Winnipeg. “I think it’s great. It’s a lot different from Vancouver or Atlanta. The fans here are just outstanding and from what we saw on Saturday, very enthusiastic. People are very friendly. I think we all really appreciate the support we’re getting from the city.

“I just wanted to play in Canada. It really didn’t matter where. And Winnipeg is going to be a great place to play.”

Winnipeg fans, your Jets have noticed. Tuesday night, when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at MTS Centre, most of the players are expecting a welcome that they’ve never received before — at any time in their careers.

And they can’t imagine what’s going to happen at the opener on Oct. 9.

“Playing that first game in Winnipeg is going to be an incredible thing,” said former Boston Bruins leftwinger Blake Wheeler, now a Jet. “It’s going to be one of the biggest, loudest, most memorable games any of these guys have ever played. I think we’re all really excited about it.”

In case you forgot, it’s Oct. 9 against Montreal. 4 p.m. CDT. But, I’m sure everybody knows that by now. Heck, every Canadian probably knows that by now.

*   *   *

GREAT SERVICE AND SELECTION AT RIVER CITY SPORTS

I’m going to take a moment to brag a little about the folks here at River City Sports.

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Betsy Taylor and her Jets hoodie from River City Sports St. Vital.

My 27-year-old daughter Betsy lives in Orlando and wanted to make sure she had some Jets gear when she attends the Jets-Tampa Bay Lightning game on Oct. 29, at the St. Pete Times Forum (by the way, tickets for that game are selling for $8.00 each on Stub Hub) in downtown Tampa. So off she went to the River City Sports outlet near my home, the one on Dakota St. in St. Vital.

As you can see in the accompanying photo, she got exactly what she wanted — a girls hoodie that was nicely fitted and had the “Jets” script, as opposed to the logo.

“People in Florida won’t know what the main logo means,” she said  with a laugh. “I wanted a hoodie with ‘Winnipeg Jets’ on it and this was great. I like the fit and the stitching is cool and the service was great.”

Obviously, if you need Jets gear, see the folks at River City Sports. Betsy’s hoodie is top shelf.

 

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All You Need To Know About Week 1 in the NFL

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment
tom brady 648 207x300 All You Need To Know About Week 1 in the NFL

Tom Brady, Awesome Again.

Before Dr. Football and I take on Week 2 in the NFL — our picks will be posted by Friday — we need to take stock of Week 1.

This week, as always, we learned 10 things:

1. The Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears made statements: “You guys can be madly in love with the Steelers and Packers if you wish, but we aren’t going to roll over and die.”

2. Tom Brady is still remarkable. His 99-yard TD pass to Wes Welker was jaw-dropping. The game itself was jaw-dropping. Brady and Miami’s Chad Henne combined to become the first duo of quarterbacks in NFL history to pass for 500 yards and 400 yards in a single game.

3. Despite what ESPN did by ripping Tim Tebow in order to help enable new Broncos GM John Elway to go with Kyle Orton, how long will it take before the Broncos finally go with the guy who wins as opposed to the guy who looks good losing?

4. The Detroit Lions might be legitimate.

5. Michael Vick could have a monster year. Matt Schaub and Phillip Rivers will be very good.

6. Three teams passed for more than 400 yards — and lost.

7. So much for all the whining about the new kickoff rule. Here’s the headline: “Three kickoff return touchdowns in Week 1 tied for the most in an opening weekend in NFL history (1970, 1998).” Looks like a good rule.

8. Like offence? There was a grand total of 7,842 net passing yards in Week 1. The most in a single week in NFL history. There were 14, 300-yard passers in Week 1, the most in a single week in NFL history.  The previous best was 13 in Week 10 of last year. And there were five games in which both quarterbacks threw for at least 300 yards, the most in any week in NFL history. Four 400-yard passers was the most in a single week in NFL history.

9. Carolina rookie quarterback Cam Newton had 422 passing yards, the most ever by a player making his NFL debut.

10. San Francisco’s Ted Ginn  Jr. became the 12th player in NFL history to return a kickoff (102 yards) and a punt (55 yards) for a touchdown in the same game.  Ginn accomplished the feat in just 59 seconds — the fastest in history.

Baltimore 35 Pittsburgh 7

The Ravens Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes while runningback Ray Rice rushed for 107 yards and two TDs.

Chicago 30 Atlanta 12

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Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher had an interception and returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown. If the Bears defence continues to rock, it will take pressure off Jay Cutler – who passed for 312 yards in the opener – and his offence. That will make the Bears a much better all-around football team. By the way, RB Matt Forte was brilliant once again and a strong running game will always work in a team’s favor.

Houston 34 Indianapolis 7

The Texans backup runningback Ben Tate rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown as Indy played without Peyton Manning. And without Peyton Manning, they were downright horrendous.

Cincinnati 27 Cleveland 17

The Browns fell asleep on defense late in the game and blew a 17-13 lead late. Cincinnati’s Cedric Benson carried 25 times for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Jacksonville 16 Tennessee 14

The Jags’ Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Buffalo 41 Kansas City 7

Kansas City was 11-5 last year and won the AFC West but Buffalo sauntered into K.C. and scored 40 points in a season opener for the first time since 1992. Fred Jackson carried for 112 yards for the Bills.

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Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia 31 St. Louis 13

The Eagles Michael Vick was terrific. He threw two touchdown passes and ran for 98 yards. He now has 4,728 rushing yards, second most in the history of the game, behind only Randall Cunningham (another Philly QB) who had 4,928. Vick should break that record by Week 4.

Detroit 27 Tampa Bay 20

The Lions Matthew Stafford threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns. The Lions defense was very good, as expected. But the important thing for Detroit was that they beat a decent team on the road.

Arizona 28 Carolina 21

Arizona’s Kevin Kolb threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns while Carolina rookie Cam Newton threw for 422 yards and two TDs and ran for another touchdown. This one was all about Newton, even in defeat. The guy is going to be great if the Carolina coaches don’t screw with his game.

San Diego 24 Minnesota 17

The Chargers scored the final 17 points and the only 17 points of the second half as San Diego came back from a 17-7 halftime deficit.

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The Niners Ted Ginn headed to the end zone.

San Francisco 33 Seattle 17

Ted Ginn Jr. returned a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown, then returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown, all in a minute’s span in the fourth quarter to give the Niners the win.

Washington 28 NY Giants 14

The Redskins Rex Grossman threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns.

SUNDAY NIGHT

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Mark Sanchez, New York Jets

NY Jets 27 Dallas 24

The Jets were down 14 points in the fourth quarter and came back to win AT Dallas. Nick Folk kicked a 50-yard field goal to win in with 27 seconds left. The Jets Mark Sanchez was 26-for-44 for 335 yards and two touchdowns.

MONDAY NIGHT

New England 38 Miami 24

Wow! What a night for Tom Brady. He was 32-for-48 for a franchise-record 517 yards and four touchdowns. Wes Welker had eight catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Miami’s Chad Henne completed 30-of-49 passes for 416 yards and two TDs (see above).

Oakland 23 Denver 20

The highlight of the game came from Oakland kicker Sebastien Janikowski who booted an NFL record-tying 63-yard field goal. Only Tom Dempsey and Jason Elam have matched that distance. By the way, when is Denver going to realize that QB Kyle Orton can’t win.

This week our three biggest games are: Chicago at New Orleans, as the Bears take on a 2010 playoff team for the second straight week; San Diego at New England in a battle of high-powered offenses; and Philadelphia at Atlanta as Mike Vick goes back to his original NFL home.

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Childress Has to Go 8-1 to Save His Job

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress said on Wednesday that he thought the acquisition of wide receiver Randy Moss was a mistake.

“It was a poor decision,” Childress said at his Wednesday news conference. “I’ve got to stand up and I have to make it right. When it’s not right, you need to make it right.”

On Monday, Childress — at least in his own mind — made it “right.” He cut Moss, the goofball wideout who had the audacity to rudely rip a catered meal at the Vikings compound last week. I’ve always thought that anyone who complains about free food is little more than your every-day moron, especially a clown as rich as Moss, who can buy restaurants as easily as he can buy meals.

Moss’s remarkably boorish attack on the help just showed what the Vikings got for a third round draft pick: A tremendous athlete with a brain the size of a walnut. I quite like to watch Randy Moss play football and I must admit, in the Vikings locker room, he’s never been anything but co-operative with me. However, when you tear into a caterer, you’ve pretty much hit rock bottom in the humanity department. The term “dickhead” comes to mind.

In the meantime, there was poor Brad Childress, proud coach of a 2-5 football team, giving away Moss to the Tennessee Titans while the people who pay Chilly’s salary lost a third-round draft pick in the process. Dumping Moss this week didn’t make the Vikings any better. In fact, it probably made them much, much worse. They are also a lot less interesting.

As we discussed this morning on The TEAM 1260 in Edmonton, the Moss situation didn’t matter. It comes down to this: If the Vikings offensive line doesn’t start protecting Brett Favre and the defensive line doesn’t get to a quarterback soon, the Vikes will soon be the second coming of the Matt Millen-led Detroit Lions. And Brad Childress will be looking for work as an assistant coach next season.

Whichever way you look at it, the signing and/or release of Randy Moss was a disaster. Now, if a team that isn’t as good today as it was on Sunday, doesn’t win eight of nine down the stretch, lots of people will be looking for work next year.

And the head coach is at the top of the list.

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Have the 7-11 Bombers Improved? Or Should Fans Still Be Patient.

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Sure, the Canadian Football League is still 2 ½ months away from the start of training camp, but do you get the sense the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a long way from being a contender?

In fact, last year at this time, many of the local football experts were worried that the team being assembled by Mike Kelly was starting to resemble the team that was assembled in 1998 by Jeff Reinebold. Plenty of no-names and an untested quarterback caused many of our great local football minds to question the new head coach.

Wonder where they all went this year?

I mean, really, has anyone noticed that the Blue Bombers have lost both of their good young defensive halfbacks? Jonathan Hefney signed with the NFL’s Detroit Lions while Lenny Walls was released to Montreal. Granted they signed aging Lavar Glover, 32, but right now they look old and slow.

Meanwhile, the Bombers traded away young, gifted Gavin Walls for a knee-injured Canadian defensive end named Stan van Sichem and they still need a real middle linebacker.

They lost two good young receivers to the NFL in Dudley Guice and Titus Ryan and their new quarterback was a backup in Saskatchewan who has one career start, has thrown only 152 CFL passes and was unwanted in Edmonton.

Are the 7-11 Bombers a better team yet?

Just asking.

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How Good is This Guy?

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

I knew it when I declared back in July that Brett Favre would indeed sign with the Minnesota Vikings (which, of course he did), but I must admit, after Sunday afternoon’s performance against the Seattle Seahawks not even I thought he’d be this good.

Sunday at Mall of America Field, Favre completed 22-of-25 passes (88 per cent) for 213 yards, no interceptions and four TDs as he led the Vikes to a 35-9 shellacking of the Seahawks. Those numbers are beyond remarkable. Eighty-eight per cent is the highest single-game percentage in Favre’s career. He threw touchdown passes to four different receivers — Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe, Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin.

NFL.com reported that Favre’s previous career high was an 85.2 percent completion mark against Detroit on Sept. 20 of this year. But, amazingly, he has only completed at least 80 percent of his passes in a single game, two other times in his previous 18 seasons in the league.

Having had the opportunity to interview Favre (albeit in news conferences and scrums) on a number of occasions this season, I’ve concluded that the 40-year-old quarterback has reached a stage in his career in which every down is a bonus. As a result, he’s become more likable, more respected (if that’s possible) and perhaps even more skilled that he was when he was leading the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl.

In fact, on Sunday, Favre set an NFL record with his 22nd career game with at at least four touchdown passes. He and Dan Marino were tied at 21 each.

When Favre’s achievement was announced to the sellout crowd during the fourth quarter at the Metrodome on Sunday, he received a standing ovation and yet looked like a guy who had no idea what he’d done.

One gets the sense he no longer cares. At 40, he’s playing on perhaps the best team he’s ever seen — let alone been part of. In fact, if you base greatness on the number of weapons a team has, then Favre’s Minnesota Vikings might be the greatest team in the NFL today.

Frankly, it’s extremely unlikely even the unbeaten New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts can claim to have seven of the most potent weapons in all of football, but Bret Favre can. In fact, does any team have more great offensive players than Minnesota: Favre, Harvin, Rice, Berrian, Peterson, Taylor and Shiancoe. No team in the NFL can touch that group.

The post-season is going to be fantastic.

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Vikings Go To 8-1 With Easy Win Over Detroit.

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

MINNEAPOLIS — OK, so it wasn’t their best effort of the season, but in front of 63,854 spectators — including thousands of Winnipeggers — the Minnesota Vikings drilled the Detroit Lions 27-10 at Mall of America Field on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the Vikings improved to 8-1. The Lions fell to 1-8.

The Vikings were handed a load of penalties (there were times when this thing looked fixed), many of which, head coach Brad Childress had little trouble questioning. In fact, a roughing the passer penalty against Ray Edwards, caused Childress to call out the official who made the call.

“I said to the official, ‘Ray never hit the quarterback on the head and he didn’t tackle him low so where did he tackle him that would result in a penalty?’,” a frustrated Childress explained. “The official said, ‘He (Edwards) launched himself at the quarterback and hit him high.’ And I said, ‘Where does it say in the rules that you can’t launch yourself at the quarterback?’ When I looked at the replay I noticed that Ray didn’t make contact at all. That wasn’t a very good call.”

It didn’t help that the Vikings lost a couple of fumbles, one by Adrian Peterson near the Detroit goal line, but Minnesota’s Sidney Rice did pitch-in with a career-high 201 yards receiving (on only seven catches) while Peterson did rush for 133 yards (100 in the first half) and scored two touchdowns.

The win gave Minnesota its best start since 1998 when the Vikes went 15-1 and then lost the NFC championship game to Atlanta.

Vikings quarterback Brett Favre (in his 300th consecutive start) completed 20 of 29 passes for a season-high 344 yards with one touchdown pass to backup tight end Jeff Dugan. Meanwhile, Rice’s 201-yard game was the fourth 200-yard receiving game in team history. It was just nine yards short of Sammy White’s team record (210 against Detroit in 1976).

“Wde were coming out of the bye and we were loose,” said Childress. “Maybe we were too loose. We have to tighten things up and play better next week against Seattle. It’s all about improving. We still need to improve.”

THE NOTEBOOK: The Vikings have won 15 of their last 16 games with Detroit… Minnesota was just 3-of-11 on third-down and had 13 penalties for 91 yards, which kept the game close until the fourth quarter… What a great game for Ray Edwards. The Vikings defensive end/linebacker had five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble… There were 63,854 people inside the Metrodome (the 121st consecutive sellout in Minneapolis) and they were all breathing the same air. Obviously nobody really cared about H1N1… It’s shocking that 16 teams failed to draft Percy Harvin before the Vikings selected him. As Favre said yesterday, “He runs like a runningback, he’s built like a runningback and plays like a receiver. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen.” And yet 16 teams passed on him. What does that say about scouting in the NFL?

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Thoughts And News From a Crazy Sports Weekend

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

From Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson battling it out in Atlanta to Brett Favre’s brilliant comeback at the Dome to Jimmie Johnson’s win at the Monster Mile to the Bombers home victory on Saturday night to the Lions first win in 19 games, it was a wild and woolly weekend.

It’s Tuesday morning. Monday Night Football was a dog and our 92-CITI-FM radio show was highlighted by the announcement that we are “An Official Station of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Radio Network.” So  here’s what’s left in my head…

1) Favre was magnificent on Sunday afternoon, hitting Greg Lewis with a 32-yard touchdown pass — a 32-yard bullet, by the way — with two seconds left to beat a very good San Francisco 49ers team.

Yesterday, wherever I stopped in Winnipeg, people were jumping up and down with enthusiasm over Favre’s final drive. Many were happy that they were going to next week’s Monday Nighter between the Vikes and Packers at the Metrodome.

It was a truly great moment in football history, a 39-year-old veteran who has retired twice, once again doing what he’s always done throughout his marvelous career — bringing a team back in the final seconds. On Sunday, Favre earbned his paycheque and Vikings head coach Brad Childress earned the respect he might have lost by encouraging Favre to come out of retirement — after training camp had ended — to play another year (or two).

If you get a chance, go to http://www.kfan.com/pages/psn_paulallen.html and listen to Vikings play-by-play star, Paul Allen’s call. It was almost as exciting as the fact Favre threw the pass about 40 yards on a line.

2) Jimmie Johnson, the three-time defending Sprint Cup champion, won the AAA 400 at the Monster Mile at Dover on Sunday, but once again 50-year-old Mark Martin was second and, as a result, Martin remains 10 points ahead of Johnson in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

It was Johnson’s fourth win at Dover, his second at Dover this year, and he’s now just eight consistent races away from a fourth straight Sprint Cup title.

I love Mark Martin, but if Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knauss keep it together, Johnson should take home the Cup once again. And what an incredible feat that would be.

3) My beloved Detroit Lions won on Sunday, 19-14 over Jim Zorn’s (he’s a former Bomber, you know) confounding Washington Redskins.

It’s funny, but all six people in my NFL pool picked the Lions to win (it was one of my few victories this week) and that suggested that nobody, not anybody, thinks the Redskins are a threat.

The Lions won’t likely win more than two or three games this season, but right now there are six winless teams (and the Redskins aren’t one of them) after three weeks — St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Kansas City, Tennessee and Cleveland. And three of them — St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Cleveland — don’t look like they’ll win a game. In fact, if you look at every schedule, there is a reason to think all three could go 0-16.

4) Despite his win on Saturday night, Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly is still despised by plenty of Bomber fans. I know, I get the e-mails.

However, to be fair, Kelly could be Bart Andrus, a guy who has lost the Toronto Argonauts’ locker room and who has turned the Argos into a 3-9 last-place team. No matter how bad you might think Kelly is – and I’m not so sure he is that bad – it could always be worse.

Yesterday, another veteran has been sent packing by Andrus as the Argos traded cornerback Byron Parker — who has more interceptions for touchdowns in his CFL career than the entire Argos defensive backfield has interceptions — to the Edmonton Eskimos for a fourth-round pick in next year’s Canadian draft. Nice deal.

There is a chance Parker, who was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles to make room for Michael Vick, could suit up for the Eskimos when they play 4-8 Winnipeg at Canad Inns Stadium on Friday night.

If he plays, Parker could be a difference maker in that game so I guess if the Argos can’t beat Winnipeg on the field, they can make someone else better and hope that team beats Winnipeg.

5) Finally, I was able to announce on 92-CITI-FM this morning that our radio station is now “An Official Station of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Radio Network.”

That’s tremendous news, but it also means that 92-CITI will carry Canada’s games, plus the medal round of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament.

Here’s the schedule and every game is on 92-CITI-FM in Winnipeg:

Tuesday, Feb. 16: 7 p.m., Canada vs. Norway

Thursday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m., Canada vs. Switzerland

Sunday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Canada vs. USA

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m. Qualification Game (Canada is not likely to play in this game).

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m., Quarter-final game.

Friday, Feb. 26, 2:30 p.m., Semi-final No. 1

Friday, Feb. 26, 9 p.m., Semi-final No. 2 (Canada would likely play in this game if Team Canada qualifies).

Saturday, Feb. 27, 9:30 p.m., Bronze medal game.

Sunday, Feb. 28, 2:30 p.m., Gold medal game.

There is nothing better than Olympic hockey. And there is really nothing better than having Olympic hockey on 92-CITI-FM.

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Pacman’s Coming. Probably Later Than Sooner.

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Week 10 in the CFL begins Friday night with Montreal at B.C.

The Bombers play again Sunday at 3 p.m. on TSN in the Labour Day Classic at Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Riders are 7 1/2-point favourites.

That’s all we know — exactly — about the Bombers involvement in the Labour Day Weekend. We know a lot of other things, but none of them, for certain.

This week, the blockbuster news came down that Adam (Pacman) Jones had signed a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Jones, who has had a number of run-ins with the legal community in the United States, is still a great football player who simply can’t separate his football life from a private life that appears to be poisoned by booze and a love for strippers and guns. That’s a pretty toxic combination and it’s resulted in an inability to be hired by the nice, upstanding folks who run the National Football League.

So we first hear that Pacman’s coming, then Blue Bombers’ CEO Lyle Bauer tells Tom, Joe and I on 92-CITI-FM this morning that the team’s player personnel director, John Murphy, who spilled the beans to Sports Illustrated, might have spoken too soon. Bauer wouldn’t deny that he’d like to have Jones join the local football side, he just wasn’t sure that a signed contract — plus all the paperwork required to get Pacman and his legal baggage across the border — has been formally notarized.

Meanwhile, everybody from community activists to politicians gave us their opinion on the potential arrival of the bad boy cornerback, and of course most of them were either morons or just historical revisionists who forgot about Kyries Hebert (domestic trouble), Onterrio Smith (the user of the original Whizz-in-ator), Juran Bolden (stole a car) and Mike Sellers (smoked the hippie lettuce), all less than golden citizens when they came to came to Winnipeg — and all but Smith — turned out to be decent guys and rebuilt their NFL careers.

Of course, even the silly Winnipeg Free Press asked the following question of the day: “Is Pacman Jones worthy of the Blue and Gold?” Worthy? Guess the ol’ Freeps’ editors just forgot about the team’s history with players who have notorious backgrounds.

Assuming that Jones will be allowed into the country, he would be a welcome addition to a team that desperately needs a punt and kick returner and can always use another corner.

Meanwhile, there was also talk on Tuesday night that wide receiver Charles Rogers, the Detroit Lions’ castoff  could be headed to Winnipeg. At least, last night at the Hearts of Blue and Gold Dinner for Variety, the Bomber players were intrigued with that rumour.

Regardless, Pacman’s agent says his client will be in Winnipeg soon.

He’d look good in the lineup on Sunday. With or without all the baggage.

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Fitzgerald Ready: “It’s just like playing at Martin Luther King Park in Minneapolis.”

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

NFL Super Bowl Report No. 4, Tuesday Jan. 26, 2009

TAMPA — It was Media Day today, the annual Tuesday of Super Bowl week where allegedly serious journalists get all tangled up with the circus freaks from MTV and Nickleodeon. 

 

Fact is, Tuesday of Super Bowl Week is usually a circus and it’s usually great fun.

 

At least, in most other years, it’s been a circus. Today, however, it was eerily subdued. There was one freak from Telemundo who had a five-o’clock shadow and yet dressed like a blonde hooker — wig, cocktail dress, too much makeup, the whole Hallowe’en costume. OK, so he was more like a fat, old hooker and it was truly disgusting, but he was so quiet and he was around so little that he was hardly noticeable. 

 

This year, at the Recession Bowl, most of the talk among the media members has had more to do with when their respective newspapers would fold, not whether Larry Fitzgerald would catch nine more passes for 150 more yards and three more touchdowns on Sunday.

 

In fact, sitting on the bus in front of a couple of New York writers, it sounded as if the end was near for the heavily-indebted New York Times.

 

“I just don’t understand the new business model,” said one 50-ish writer. “You take the product that you used to charge people for, put it on the web and give it away. The people who run this business have absolutely no clue how a business works and now they sit around and wonder what happened.

 

“The Tucson Citizen, the Rocky Mountain News, the Seattle P-I, and more are threatening to go. These papers still make money, but the owners have so much debt service, they can’t make it work.”

 

“It’s just so silly,” said the other 45-ish journo. “The web is a voracious beast. You just feed it and feed it and it’s still hungry. Everyday, we feed it more and more copy and yet it can’t make any money, but we now work harder on the web than we do on the paper. Meanwhile, the core business can’t keep up with its debt financing.

 

“It’s true, editors and publishers are editors and publishers. The concept of business completely eludes them.” 

 

So on Tuesday at Media Day at Super Bowl XLIII, there were plenty of so-called serious journalists, but very few women dressed up like strippers, girls dressed up like trees or vegetables and men dressed up like hookers. There were very few questions like this: “If you were a pizza, what kind of pizza would you be?”

 

“The freaks aren’t here, because very few of us are here,” said Dave Perkins of the Toronto Star. “Every year, there are fewer and fewer of us. They say the business is changing. It’s changing faster than we think.”

 

So on a very interesting Media Day, here are a few interesting responses…

 

1) A little more than a month ago, Mitch Berger was in B.C. kicking a football all by himself. This week, he’s preparing for Super Bowl XLIII. He can’t believe it.

 

“I really thought I’d go when I was in Minnesota in 1998,” Berger said, surrounded by a handful of Canadian media types.

 

“That was a great season. We were 15-1 and Randy Moss was rookie of the year,” Berger said. “I thought that was my one and only chance. Then we got another chance in 2001, but we went into New York and got spanked by the Giants in the NFC Championship.

 

“And that was it. I thought I was done. I was home in B.C., kicking by myself, and nobody called. Not even a CFL team called. I think Winnipeg still has my rights and I thought they might call, they had kicking problems all year, but they didn’t call, so I thought I might have to wait until training camp next year.

 

“Then my agent got a call from the Steelers and now here I am. I’m enjoying Super Bowl Week, my family gets in tomorrow, it’s going to be a great, great time.”

 

Berger owns four restaurants and a bar in Vancouver and Victoria and he’ll never be broke. But to get one more shot at the Super Bowl is just about as good as it gets.

 

2) Larry Fitzgerald Jr. said yesterday that his dad, sportswriter Larry Sr., will be all over him this week. 

 

“But in a good way.”

 

“He’ll tell me to get plenty of rest, to eat right, to stay out of trouble,” said the Cards gifted wideout, a young man on the verge of setting every playoff receiving record in NFL history.  

 

“Having my dad around is great. He’s done so much for me because he allowed me to be a big part of his life. I got to hang around with some of the greatest athletes in history. He’s the reason I’m able to do what I love to do today. When you’re a youth and you see what you want you want to do for the rest of your life and you eventually get to do it, then that’s really living the dream.

 

“Right now, I’m living the dream.”

 

Fitzgerald said that with his dad staying with him in the team hotel, he’s able to take the distractions out of his game.

 

“I look at this game this way: It’s the same game I’ve been playing since I was seven years old at Martin Luther King Park in Minneapolis. Sure it’s the Super Bowl, sure it’s the biggest stage on earth. But it’s the same game I’ve always played. I just need to run my routes, catch the ball and run with it. That’s all it is. It’s just football.”

 

3) Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, was asked how he turned around a team that played mediocre football down the stretch and finished the regular season at 9-7.

 

Let’s be honest here: The Cards were dreadful in December, but have been unbeatable in January.

 

In fact, as the question was being asked, former Detroit Lions head coach Steve Mariucci — a guy who had a lot of trouble winning football games — wondered aloud whether Whisenhunt had changed the system or delivered a different message.

 

“None of the above,” Whisenhunt said with a smile. “There was nothing tangible that happened. We just got hot at the right time. Nobody gave us a chance in the playoffs so it’s been the us-against-the-world mentality and the guys have bought into it. We’ve done nothing more than get hot at the right time.”

 

Funny, it’s actually starting to feel a little cooler here in Tampa. 

 

Oh, by the way, last night before the Montreal-Tampa NHL game, the duo of Les Sabler (on guitar) and Marshall Gillon (vocals) provided both the Canadian and U.S. national anthems.

 

I have never heard O Canada or the Star Spangled Banner performed better. Outstanding doesn’t even begin to describe how spectacular it was. 

 

Another by the way, no matter what the P.A. announcer told the crowd, the attendance at last night’s game in Tampa, was a lie.

 

The St. Pete Times Forum was not half full for the Habs and Bolts.

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