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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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Week 14 Pretty Sensational… and Two More Games to Go

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — While sitting in the press box in Jacksonville, Fla., yesterday, most of the conversation that wasn’t being directed toward David Garrard and the surprisingly good Jags, was being directed at Brett Favre, his swollen collarbone and the big hole in the Metrodome’s Teflon roof.

Early Sunday morning, the big pillow in Minneapolis collapsed under the weight of a foot and a half of snow which immediately meant two things: (1) Sunday’s game between the Vikings and New York Giants that was already postponed until Monday night because of the blizzard in the Twin Cities, would now have to be played in Detroit and (2) This is the beginning of the end for the Vikings in Minnesota?

You can pretty much guarantee that if a new building for the Vikings isn’t on the front burner of the Minnesota House, the Vikes won’t be playing in the cold much longer. Both L.A. and San Antonio are calling and the money seems to be in place to make that franchise comfortable in warmer climes. If the Minnesota legislature isn’t preapred to build a new stadium soon, you can pretty much start packing up the moving vans.

Art Modell, Georgia Frontiere and the Irsay family would be so proud.

Meanwhile, Brett Favre told reporters in Minneapolis and Detroit that he expects his streak of 297 consecutive starts as an NFL quarterback to end tonight. Favre’s shoulder/clavicle injury has not responded as well as he’d like to treatment and he said it’s likely Tarvaris Jackson will start tonight against the Giants.

Well, it had to end sometime.

OK, Sport Select and Fantasy Players, here are your NFL scores and highlights for Week 14…

Last night…

Philadelphia 30 Dallas 27

The Eagles improved to 9-4 as DeSean Jackson had 210 yards receiving and scored the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Michael Vick threw for a touchdown and ran for another.

Yesterday afternoon…

Detroit 7 Green Bay 3

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers left the game with a concussion in the first quarter and never returned. In the end, Drew Stanton of the Lions out-dueled Matt Flynn of the Packers.

New England 36 Chicago 7

The Pats clinched a playoff berth and improved to 11-2 as Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns in a snow-storm in Chicago. Deion Branch caught eight passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. The Pats have won five straight.

Jacksonville 38 Oakland 31

The game we watched yesterday here in Florida was a thriller. David Garrard threw three TD passes while Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown, the sixth straight game in which Jones-Drew has rushed for 100 yards or more. Oakland’s Darren McFadden rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 86 yards and another TD.

Tampa Bay 17 Washington 16

Washington scored in the dying seconds and were about to kick the extra point to send the game into overtime when they botched the point after and lost.

Miami 10 NY Jets 6

Miami’s Chad Henne found Brandon Marshall for the game’s only touchdown in the first quarter.

Atlanta 31 Carolina 10

Falcons runningback Michael Turner carried 28 times for 112 yards and three touchdowns.

Buffalo 13 Cleveland 6

Buffalo’s Fred Jackson rushed for 112 yards while Cleveland’s Peyton Hillis rushed for 108 yards but neither team had miuch more offence than that.

Pittsburgh 23 Cincinnati 7

The Steelers didn’t have much offence, but Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley each returned interceptions for touchdowns. The Bengals have lost 10 straight.

New Orleans 31 St. Louis 13

Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes, two to Marques Colston.

San Francisco 40 Seattle 21

Niners quarterback Alex Smith threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns.

Arizona 43 Denver 13

Arizona’s Tim Hightower carried 18 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

San Diego 31 Kansas City 0

The Chargers Phillip Rivers threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns.

Tonight, two games on a Monday: Baltimore plays at Houston in the real Monday Nighter, while the Giants face Minnesota at Detroit in the fake Monday Nighter.

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Will Favre Stay or Will He Go?

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

The talk in Minnesota has just begun. Will 40-year-old Brett Favre return to the Minnesota Vikings in 2010 for a 20th NFL season or will he call it a career?

Before Sunday’s game with the New Orleans Saints, Favre told broadcaster Pam Oliver that he’d “probably decided” what  he was going to do next season, but wouldn’t say anything publicly.

Yesterday, the Vikings came together at their Eden Prairie, Minn., practice facility and had a final team meeting with head coach Brad Childress and the rest of the staff.

Favre didn’t attend the meeting on Monday. His teammates told him on Sunday to go home to Hattiesburg, Miss., and take all the time he needs to decide what he’ll do about his future.

The media outside Minnesota believes he’ll likely retire, but those close to the Vikings feel he just might return. He said after Sunday’s 31-28 overtime loss to New Orleans that he wanted to go out on top. Considering his final pass was an interception, he certainly didn’t go out on top. As well, he has a second year on a $25 million two-year contract with the Vikings that’s worth $13 million.

If Favre decides to retire, the Vikings do have options at quarterback. They already have contracts with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels although neither of those quarterbacks seemed like a good idea this year. They could go after Michael Vick or Donovan McNabb, depending on what Philadelphia coach Andy Reid decides to do next season, or perhaps they could coax a trade for Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck (new head coach Pete Carroll has not decided what he wants to do at the quarterback position). The Vikings could also use the 30th pick in the NFL draft and hope Tim Tebow or even Colt McCoy is available, although all signs suggest the Vikings are going to try to draft a big defensive lineman with their first pick.

Whatever Favre decides to do, the Vikings brass would like him to make the decision BEFORE the NFL draft.

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A Game of 10 Questions

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

Time Again for our favourite game: 10 Questions.

As always, it comes with appropriate comments, quips and corollaries.

1. Why do Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans get their shorts in a knot over the signing of a nutbag like Pacman Jones, when the same fans have, ijn the past, fallen head-over-heels in love with (a) a guy who assaulted his wife (Kyries Hebert), (b) a guy who stole a car (Juran Bolden) and (c) a guy who robbed his own teammates (Kelly Rush)? Well, in fairness, stealing cars kind of makes you an honourary Winnipegger.

2. Why does the mainstream media in the Twin Cities essentially chase Tarvaris Jackson out of his job as the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings and then when the same media gets a veteran like Brett Favre to come to town, wonders why Tarvaris Jackson ever lost his job in the first place? Come on dudes, one or the other.

3. Why does the goofy Yankee media (which means all the baseball writers in America) continue to tout Mark Teixeira as the American League MVP when Teixeira is hitting just .279 with 32 homers and 101 RBI while their own Derek Jeter, hitting out of the leadoff spot, is batting .330 with 17 homers, 61 RBI with 95 runs scored? Sorry, but  Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera has better MVP numbers (.339/28 homers/84 RBI/.567 slugging percentage with a lot less help in the lineup) than Teixeira.

4. How can a bankruptcy judge accept an offer of $140 million for a bankrupt hockey team when another offer of $212.5 million is on the table? I thought a bankruptcy judge was supposed to be on the creditors’ side.

5. Then again, how does Gary Bettman keep his job as commissioner of the NHL when he runs around bad-mouthing current owners and prospective owners, who all pay their bills, while singing the praises of owners and former owners who stole money and went to jail? Is this the Bernie Madoff League?

6. Why do people still want to believe that professional athletes are role models?

7. Why is it that Butch Goring, John Ferguson, Lorne Chabot, Billy Reay and Murray Murdoch are NOT in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but Clark Gillies, Steve Shutt, Cam Neely, Bernie Federko and Jim Gregory  are? That’s a freakin’ joke.

8. Why do referees and umpires still believe that instant replay is the enemy when, in fact, it’s the best friend they have?

9. Why does the mainstream media keep saying that steroid and HgH users are “cheaters” and are “taking shortcuts” when, as anyone who has ever been in a gym knows, the second you decide that performance enhancers are for you, you have to be prepared to work three times harder than you were working before? Those drugs create more work, they don’t make anything easier.

And finally…

10. Why do the NHL owners STILL believe that Phoenix is a good idea?

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Favre Plays Two Series, T-Jack Enters Game, Fans Leave

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — After two series, it was over. Brett Favre’s debut with the Vikings lasted barely a half an hour.

In two series, Favre completed one of four passes for four yards. Adrian Peterson carried the ball four times for 11 yards. That was it. Favre’s night was done.

And when Tarvaris Jackson came into the game, the Metrodome started to empty. It was barely the end of the first quarter and all those fans who paid $50 to $100 for a ticket and bought that new Favre jersey, headed for the exits.

We’ll have quotes from the Vikings locker room after the game.

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Crowd Aflutter All Day. Waiting for “Their” Brett.

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Brett Favre will wear No. 4 for the Minnesota Vikings tonight when the Vikes meet the Kansas City Chiefs at the Metrodome.

The myth that “most” Vikings fans don’t want Favre to be their favourite team’s quarterback appears to be just that: a big, giant, stupid myth.

“I’m going to watch Brett throw seven or eight touchdown passes against the Packers this season and wallow in it,” said Doug Spooner, who has been tailgating outside the Metrodome since 7 a.m. “I hated him in Green Bay, but he’s not in Green Bay anymore. Professional football is a business. It’s kind of like marriages. He had 15 or 16 years married to the Packers and good for him. But he’s divorced from the Packers now and after a brief fling with the Jets, he’s married to us. We love him. And to Packers fans I say, ‘Enjoy Aaron Rodgers.’ This isn’t personal, it’s a business.”

Or a marriage. Or whatever.

Tonight, Favre will make his debut in Minnesota and fans are hoping for two things to happen (a) that he starts and (b) that head coach Brad Childress introduces the offence before the game so the fans can cheer their lungs out for their new hero.

It was suggested earlier today, by an older fan tailgating in front of the Dome, that he would have liked to see Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels get a chance to be the team’s WB, but when it was presented to him that the Vikings don’t have a chance to go to the Super Bowl with Rosenfels or Jackson at the helm and at least they have some chance with Favre, he relented.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “this could be a really good team.”

In Minnesota this year, with the signing of Brett Favre, it’s already being billed as “Mission: Miami.”

That’s because, with Favre, alongside Chester Taylor, Adrian Peterson, Bobby Wade, Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe and that monster defence led by Jared Allen and Antoine Winfield, the Vikings have a legitimate chance to get to the Super Bowl.

And it all starts tonight.

We’ll have reports throughout the evening.

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Favre Now On The Vikings Practice Field

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

He has a contract, the fans are still going nuts and Brett Favre is now practicing with the Minnesota Vikings.

Remember this? “And that’s why I still believe the Vikings are going to make some news before Sunday, Sept. 13. Whether that news is spelled F-A-V-R-E or V-I-C-K or something else altogether, I just can’t for the life of me see Sage Rosenfels or T-Jack under centre on Opening Sunday in Cleveland.

“How about Favre coming in about Week 3 of training camp?”

That’s what we wrote right here at www.rivercitysportsblog.com on July 29, after Favre said he wasn’t coming to camp. Later that week (on July 30 to be exact), with Tom and Joe on 92-CITI-FM, I guaranteed that Favre would be wearing a Vikings uniform after the team broke camp at Mankato State University. On Thursday, July 30, on The FAN 960 in Calgary, I told Mike Richards that it was an absolute guarantee that Favre would sign because the NFL had already spent millions on “Favre No. 4″ jerseys.

So on Tuesday, Favre and his wife Deanna hopped on the Vikings private jet in Hattiesburg, Miss., flew to Holman Airport in St. Paul, Minn., were picked up by Vikings coach Brad Childress and given a police escort to Winter Park where he signed the contract that was always there waiting for him.

This was always a no doubter.

After all, at the age of 40, Brett Favre wasn’t going to room with Sage Rosenfels or T-Jack in the dorm at Mankato State. Was not going to happen.

There was no sense bringing him in to start camp with all the rookies around and have nothing but Cirque du Favre every freakin’ day.

And, what the heck? For two weeks, Rosenfels and Jackson got to pretend they were the co-starters on a team that’s going to play very, very good football this season.

Now he’s here and suddenly my season tickets have a whole new value.

Yesterday, according to my friends in Minneapolis, Favre arrived in Winter Park just after noon and the place “was a zoo!”

There were TV camera crews everywhere, fans trying to get a glimpse of the new quarterback and only one police officer, attempting as best he could, to keep order.

At 12:50, Favre had signed his new contract. At 1:29, he was on the practice field. At 12:02, you could purchase Favre No. 4 jerseys on the NFL website. Coincidence? I think not.

Meanwhile, at about 11 a.m., former Vikings receiver Cris Carter said on espn.com: “And another news flash, Brett Favre is going to be starting for them (the Vikings) this weekend at quarterback.”

Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Metrodome, it’s the Vikings vs. the Kansas City Chiefs. Wonder how many No. 4 jerseys will be in the building?

According the Minnesota Vikings, purple is the new green.

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Favre Says No Thanks. Will the Vikes Actually Start the Season with Jackson or Rosenfels?

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

Brett Favre has told the Minnesota Vikings that he won’t return to the National Football League this year or any other year in the future. He’s retired, period.

Wonder what Reebok and the NFL are going to do with all those FAVRE No. 4 Vikings jerseys that are already being sold in places like Shanghai and Hong Kong?

Oh well, that means Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson or maybe even John David Booty will start at quarterback this year for the Vikings. While I, frankly, believe that Jackson was capable of being a winner two years ago, Vikings fans think otherwise so we’ll see what happens. But somehow, I don’t see the Vikes starting the season with any one of those three guys at the helm.

Call me crazy, but if Jackson was good enough last year, there would have no pursuit of Favre in the first place. Or even Rosenfels.

Meanwhile, Rosenfels has shown a great deal of maturity and class. In an interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, he said: “I don’t think it’s necessary to give me an explanation because I understand the situation. I’ve been around the league long enough. … I feel no animosity toward players or coaches.”

That’s a solid response to an otherwise difficult scenario. It’s hard not to root for the guy. But somehow, he just doesn’t appear to me to be the starter on a team that has Super Bowl aspirations. Call me crazy. Trent Dilfer of all people, won a Super Bowl in Baltimore, but I’m sure this Vikings team and its three-headed monster of Rosenfels/Jackson/Booty doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of the Bears or Packers.

And that’s why I still believe the Vikings are going to make some news before Sunday, Sept. 13. Whether that news is spelled F-A-V-R-E or V-I-C-K or something else altogether, I just can’t for the life of me see Sage Rosenfels or T-Jack under centre on Opening Sunday in Cleveland.

How about Favre coming in about Week 3 of training camp?

* * *

THE OTHER MICHAEL

No not Michael Vick, Michael Bishop.

On Monday, the replacement for Lefty Lefors went to his first Winnipeg Blue Bombers practice and took nearly every snap. Still, head coach Mike Kelly hinted that (and I’m paraphrasing), “Oh, perhaps Michael won’t be ready to start on Saturday in Toronto and maybe, just maybe, we’ll go with Lefty again this week.”

Kelly is not insane. He was just playing the local rubes. ‘Cause if Bishop doesn’t start on Saturday at Rogers Centre, the Bombers will be down 5-0 before they can blink — and 5-0 oughtta do it with Lefors at QB.

If Michael Bishop isn’t the answer for the Bombers, Lefors still won’t be. If Bishop fails, Casey Printers will be on the next plane. As much as Mike Kelly likes and even admires Lefors, he’s not going to allow the guy to cost him his job.

And if the Lefors experiement isn’t over, it will. Cost Kelly his job, that is.

CFL NOTEBOOK: The Bombers released both DT Tyrone Wlliams and QB Richie Williams yesterday. A lot of Winnipeg newspaper space was wasted on those two clunkers… The Argos dealt Arland Bruce III to Hamilton for the rights to Corey Mace and some draft picks. That Argo outfit still has no offence. Trouble is, with Lefors at QB, six points was enough last week…

* * *

FROM THE READERS:

Got the following note from Jason, a regular reader and listener, on Wednesday:

Mr. Taylor:

With the Goldeyes in first place heading into the final month of regular season Northern League baseball and playing some very exciting baseball these days, it bothers me that they get lost in the mix because of the Blue Bombers.

The Blue Bombers. One of sorriest excuses for a sports franchise, well, ever. Playing out of a building that’s falling apart and should’ve been torn down 10 years ago. A team that hasn’t won a Grey Cup in 19 years (in an 8-team league!). And this season will be no different, as the team stumbles their way through each game. (kind of makes me wonder why every football fan in this city isn’t desperate to see a new owner take over… what’s so great about community ownership again?)

Yet, it’s all the Winnipeg media talks about. The Winnipeg Goldeyes have a real good shot at bringing this city its first championship since 1994. It’s a team with a beautiful venue, rock-solid ownership, and greater value and entertainment for your dollar than a Blue Bombers game. Yet, this city seems to rarely give them the respect they deserve.

Does it frustrate you too?

- Jason

Jason,

The Goldeyes get tremendous support at Shaw TV, 1290 CFRW, Grassroots News, 92-CITI-FM and www.goldeyes.com.

Just make sure you read, watch and listen to what matters and don’t get caught up in the slow, agonizing death of old media.

Thanks for your note, Jason.

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Bang, bang, bang: Three more little thoughts banging around in my cranium.

Posted on February 14, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

Ran 10-K this morning. Spent the 65 minutes listening to Kings of Leon, Airborne Toxic Event, AC/DC and Coldplay on the iPod while thinking about the insanity of the sports world….  

 

1) Great news yesterday for my good friends who are die-hard fans of the Minnesota Vikings. There is no longer any fear that Brett Favre will be at the helm of the Vikings next season. Tarvaris Jackson just might end up being the guy. That is good news. Honest.

 

Thursday it became official. 39-year-old Brett Favre told the New York Jets that he was retiring after 18 seasons, ending a record-setting career in which he became one of the NFL’s all-time greatest players.

Favre made his decision about a month and a half after his one and only year with what Billy Clyde Puckett called, “the dog-ass Jets.” He should have played in Minnesota in 2008, but stuff happens. 

 

Of course, who relly knows about Favre, other than Favre. So, check back later in case he changes his mind – again.

 

2) Philadelphia Phantoms head coach John Paddock, the one-time coach and GM of the Winnipeg Jets, has little good to say about Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray. And the fact is, everything ol’ “Too Tall” says is right. 

 

On Thursday, Paddock told the Camden Courier-Post: “We were 14 games over .500 when I was fired. They’re seven under now. Somebody needs to take responsibility for that.” 

Earlier this month, Murray fired his personal choice for head coach in 2008-09, Craig Hartsburg, just 48 games into the season after the Senators bungled off to a record of 17-24-7. 

Paddock, who obviously doesn’t think much of Murray, believes just as former GM John Muckler believes: That the Sens GM has absolutely no clue and should be sent packing.

3) Hank Aaron has told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he believes Barry Bonds should keep major league baseball’s home run record.

 

“I just don’t see how you really can do a thing like that and just say somebody isn’t the record holder anymore, and let’s go back to the way that it was,” Aaron told the paper of record in Atlanta.

He’s right, too.

Aaron, a class act who hit 755 home runs in his career to break the previous mark of 714 by Babe Ruth, is smart enough to know that even if Bonds took ‘roids, he was far from the only one (by the way, whatever happened to the list of 104 that included Alex Rodriguez? Why was Rodriguez the only player blistered by the mainstream media?). Bonds, of course, surpassed Aaron in 2007 and apparently has ended his career with 762 bombs.

Bonds has pleaded not guilty to charges that, in 2003, he lied to a grand jury when he said he never “knowingly” used steroids (the media likes to say “performance-enhancing drugs,” but the question Bonds was asked reads: “Did you ever take steroids?” After all, in the right circumstance, an aspirin is a performance-enhancing drug). 

However, even if Bonds is acquitted or this mainstream media witch-hunt never gets to trial, he’s already been convicted in the court of public opinion. The two frauds who wrote “Game of Shadows,” the book about Bonds and drugs that included more than 200 unnamed sources (which means they made it all up), along with the rest of the MSM (many of its mob, carving Bonds in print even though they’ve never met the man), have made it impossible for Bonds to ever be acquitted by the public. He’s toast. 

Of course, the worlds dumbest man, baseball commissioner Bud Selig, had recently remarked — out loud, no less — that he, “was considering recognizing Aaron’s total of 755 as the major-league record.”

Sadly, if Selig was any more ignorant, they’d have to put him a home. 

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Some Thoughts From a Crazy Weekend of NFL Playoff Football…

Posted on January 12, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

A few thoughts from a weekend in front of the big new Sony Bravia HD…

 

(1) OK, so I’d make a lousy NFL owner. No question about it. I know, because, on Saturday afternoon, if I owned the Carolina Panthers, I’d have fired head coach John Fox at halftime.

 

Let’s be honest, five interceptions will cost any team any football game and Carolina QB Jake Delhomme did himself no favours by coughing up the football five times. However, had Fox been marginally prepared for the Cardinals, Delhomme would not have found himself in a position where he had to force so many second-half passes.

 

Fact is, the Panthers could still have beaten the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday WITH five Delhomme interceptions, if Fox and his staff thought it might be somewhat important to actually try to cover Arizona wideout Larry Fitzgerald.

 

Fitzgerald came into Saturday’s game as the leading receiver in the NFC (1,431 yards). He might be the best receiver in football. He’s not a secret. 

 

Meanwhile, his receiving partner Anquan Boldin was injured and not in the lineup. So suddenly, with one of the Cards’ two most important weapons out of the equation, Carolina still forgot that Fitzgerald was playing. The Panthers allowed Fitzgerald to catch eight passes — six in the first half — for 161 yards and a second-quarter touchdown. Had Carolina shut down Fitzgerald before halftime, they’d have shut down the Cardinals. 

 

I hope this doesn’t sound presumptuous, but why didn’t Fox think of that?

 

(2) Evidently, in the National Football Conference, the 17-week regular season doesn’t mean very much. This coming Sunday a 9-6-1 team will journey to the home of a 9-7 team to play for the NFC title.

 

That’s right. It will be the 9-6-1 Philadelphia Eagles against the 9-7 Arizona Cardinals in the NFC championship game and the team hosting the game, the Cards, lost 35-14 at home to the Minnesota Vikings less than a month ago.

 

In a league where four injury reports are published every week just to keep the gamblers happy, it has now become painfully obvious the only reason the NFL’s regular season exists is for the benefit of the gamblers. 

 

After all, when an 11-5 team misses the playoffs and a 9-7 team could win the Super Bowl, the integrity of the schedule comes into question and right now, it would appear the only reason they bother to play a regular season is so you and I can bet on it.

 

(3) Why is it that people hate Minnesota Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson so much? Seems everyone from Vikings head coach Brad Childress to the entire Minnesota media corps wants the Vikings to find a way to make it appear as if ol’ T-Jack never existed.

 

Which brings up the following question: “Because T-Jack had no support whatsoever from his offensive line in a 26-14 playoff loss to the Eagles two weeks ago, is he any worse at playing quarterback than Eli Manning — who had some support at home this past week and lost 23-11? With no help from his Hawgs, T-Jack DID put up more points against that Eagles defence than L’il Manning.

 

Just asking.

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