Tag Archives: phil loadholt

An Odd Tuesday in the National Football League

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

There is a National Football League game tonight. The Sunday Nighter in Philadelphia that was postponed due the Eastern snowstorm, will be played in Philly tonight as the Eagles play host to the Minnesota Vikings. 7 p.m. on NBC.

It’s the first NFL game on a Tuesday night since 1946. That night, the New York Giants defeated the Boston Yanks 17-0. They played at the old Boston Braves’ stadium and there were so few people in attendance that the Boston Globe’s Jerry Nason wrote: “The New York Giants did everything but usher the surprisingly few patrons to their seats… (the Giants) gave the Boston Yanks a statistical shellacking of proportions far greater than the 17-0 score.”

Nason added that the game was considered “a financial catastrophe” for the Yanks franchise because less than 16,000 were in attendance. The star of the game was Giants’ fullback Merle Hapes, who scored both of his team’s touchdowns.

It won’t be a financial disaster tonight, even though this game should never have been postponed.  Lincoln Financial Field should be full as the Eagles take another step toward clinching the NFC East. The Vikings, meanwhile, will finish the most disastrous season in the team’s 50-year history, a season that included the collapse of its stadium, the firing of its head coach and the concussing of a future Hall of Fame quarterback.

Of course, outside of Dan Barreiro and Dan Cole on the FAN in Minneapolis, nobody in the football media even mentions that the Vikings had probably the worst offensive line in NFL history. Phil Loadholt couldn’t block my wife, Bryant McKinnie played on roller skates, centre John Sullivan was simply horrendous and Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera (who isn’t very good anyway) were always hurt. They didn’t cause the Metrodome to collapse and they weren’t the reason the Vikings have had to play five games in five weeks in five different stadiums, but they were the reason Brett Favre got his ass beaten to a pulp, Brad Childress got his ass fired and the Vikings could very well finish behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC North.

Tonight’s game should be an interesting piece of work. Eagles by at least two touchdowns. Michael Vick takes another giant step toward vindication. All will be well in a town with a subway that still couldn’t get to a football game on Sunday while a measly two inches (it might have been less) of snow fell. The governor of Pennsylvania called Americans “wusses.” He was wrong. The people who run the NFL are wusses. As Minnesotans proved when last week’s Vikings game was moved to TCF Bank Stadium in a blizzard, most Americans are just fine, but rich Americans are indeed wusses. Dicks who can’t drive in the snow are wusses. NFL executives are wusses.

In the meantime, please discuss: Who plays quarterback for the Vikings next year? Tarvaris Jackson, Joe Webb, Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb or Vick?

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Favre Haters Know NOTHING About Football… or They Haven’t watched the Vikings All Year.

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

On the NFL pre-game shows this morning, and during the Green Bay-Minnesota game this afternoon, the league’s big TV thinkers have spent all the time they possibly could blasting 40-year-old Brett Favre for having a bad year.

They’ve all talked about turnovers, turnovers and injuries and more injuries. They blamed the entire Vikings’ 3-6 record on the quarterback.

They are STUPID people.

I’ve said it all year long and today it’s more obvious than ever. The Vikings offensive libe is the worst in the history of football. It is the worst offensive line at any level of football anywhere on the planet. Peewee kids can block better than this line.

In his first 12 drop backs today, Favre had no more than two steamboats to throw. He was sacked once and hit seven times.

Bryant McKinnie is on roller skates. The Minnesota pocket collapses faster than any in football. Phil Loadholt has no clue. Steve Hutchinson is done. The other two guys couldn’t block me.

I have never seen anything worse in more than 50 years of watching the National Football League.

And it’s Favre’s fault???? No wonder television journalism is a joke.

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Minnesota Falls in Chicago, Brady Great in Pittsburgh Again

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

This morning on Streetz 104.7 here in Winnipeg, co-host Big Will had an astute comment about the Minnesota Vikings: “They look and sound like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of America.”

Indeed. Sunday afternoon the Vikings went into Chicago and were beaten 27-13 by the Bears. While the local Twin Cities media continues to whine about Brett Favre’s interceptions, Brad Childress’s coaching shortcomings and struggles in the red zone, here are the real problems:

(1) The Vikings have no receivers. Randy Moss was released. Sidney Rice didn’t suit up. Bernard Berrian was hurt in the warm-up (gawd???) and Percy Harvin was hurt in the game. Greg Lewis, Greg Camarillo and Hank Baskett just won’t cut it in big time pro football.

(2) The Vikings might have the worst offensive line in NFL history. Bryant McKinnie plays like he’s on roller skates and Phil Loadholt couldn’t block my wife. When you have no time to throw and you’re throwing to people who can’t get open, you will lose. No wonder Brett Favre says this is his last season — absolutely, positively.

Meanwhile, Detroit lost because they couldn’t score, Cleveland lost because they couldn’t match last week’s performance against New England and New England won because Tom Brady just beats Pittsburgh.

Here’s a fond look back at Week 10:

Sunday Night…

New England 39 Pittsburgh 26

The Pats’ Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski and ran for one himself. Brady has beaten the Steelers in six of the teams last seven meetings. The Steelers simply stink against New England.

Sunday afternoon….

Chicago 27 Minnesota 13

The Bears Jay Cutler went 22-for-35 for 237 yards and three touchdowns. The 3-6 Vikings have to run the table if they hope to make the playoffs.

Miami 29 Tennessee 17

The Dolphins used three different quarterbacks to stop a five-game home losing streak.

NY Jets 26 Cleveland 20 (OT)

Jets QB Mark Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes on a TD pass with 17 seconds left in overtime to win it.

Buffalo 14 Detroit 12

The Bills Fred Jackson carried 25 times for 133 yards and a touchdown while Detroit’s Calvin Johnson caught 10 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. It was Detroit’s 25th straight road loss and Buffalo’s first win of the season.

Indianapolis 23 Cincinnati 17

The Colts Kelvin Hayden returned an interception for a touchdown. Cincinnati had five turnovers.

Jacksonville 31 Houston 24

The Jags’ Mike Thomas scored on a 50-yard TD pass with no time left to win it. David Garrard who threw that pass completed 24-of-31 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns while Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Tampa Bay 31 Carolina 16

Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman completed 18-of-24 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown as Tampa improved to 6-3.

Denver 49 Kansas City 29

Kyle Orton threw a career-high four touchdown passes. Matt Cassel completed 33-of-53 passes for 469 yards and four touchdowns and he lost.

Seattle 36 Arizona 18

Matt Hasselbeck threw for 333 yards and a touchdown.

Dallas 33 NY Giants 20

Jon Kitna threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns and Jason Garrett won his debut as Cowboys head coach.

San Francisco 23 St. Louis 20 (OT)

Joe Nedney’s 29-yard-field goal in overtime won it.

Tonight, in the Monday Nighter, it’s the Philadelphia Eagles at Washington to face the Redskins.

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The Shooter Gets it Right. Because He’s Actually Worked up a Sweat.

Posted on December 25, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Merry Christmas. Here’s a special Christmas greeting to someone who actually gets it.

Charley Walters writes a column for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. Known as “The Shooter,” he pitched for the Minnesota Twins in the late 1960s.

Walters is a terrific columnist, not because he’s going to challenge Thomas Boswell for a writing award, but because he’s a great reporter who writes from the point of view of the people who play the game and the ones who actually buy tickets and watch it.

He’s right a lot more often than he’s wrong. In fact, his insights are often sensational and, you guessed it, he’s seldom wrong.

On Thursday, he wrote a column with Tommy Kramer, the former Vikings quarterback. It’s the first place I’ve read or heard that the Brett Favre-Brad Childress “blow up” was a crock of media-created bullshit.

“Tommy Kramer watched the Vikings suffer an embarrassing loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night, and Kramer, who for 13 seasons was a free-spirited quarterback for Vikings coaches Bud Grant and Jerry Burns, has followed the subsequent headlines depicting the sideline disagreement between Vikings coach Brad Childress and his star QB, Brett Favre,” Walters wrote.

“‘Bunch of nothing is all that is,’” Kramer said Wednesday. “‘Those things happen all the time. Childress was just trying to protect Favre because (offensive left tackle Bryant) McKinnie was getting pushed back by (defensive end Julius) Peppers like he was on roller skates.’”

Thank you, Charley Walters. And thank you, Tommy Kramer.

The Minnesota Vikings have lost two of their last three games because their offensive line can’t block anybody. Against Carolina, Phil Loadholt and Bryant McKinnie were terrible. That 26-7 shellacking had little to do with Favre or even Adrian Peterson (another whipping boy). It had everything to do with an offensive line that has not been very good and if they aren’t better on Monday night, the Vikings could get thumped in Chicago.

Here’s a little Sports Journalism 101: The Favre-Childress story is what’s known around the NFL as a “Tuesday story.” In a sport like football, where teams practice six days to play one, there is so little to write about in the middle of a week late in the season, that journalists fabricate stories in order to earn a living.

The Favre-Childress feud was a fabrication from the moment the two had a discussion on the sidelines and, once again, when these gutless newspaper reporters snivel, “Don’t shoot the messenger,” they’re wrong.

The world would indeed be a much better place if we did shoot the messenger from time to time.

There is so much undeniable bullshit in the mainstream media that it’s becoming embarrassing. What makes it worse, is that far too many people read it, hear it and believe it.

It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote: “As for what is not true, you will always find abundance in the newspapers.”

The alleged Favre-Childress feud is a classic example of Jefferson’s insight.

And it was also a great source for Walters to write the contrary opinion. As the business model of the daily newspaper drives them all closer to extinction, we get a mob mentality and we seldom get the contrary opinion. Heck, we seldom get the one-phone-call opinion anymore. Nice work, Shooter.

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