10 Things We Learned From The NFL Season

- Brett Favre loves to play football probably more than any man thats playing now and maybe ever has played or ever will play . . . But he also loves to play with boobies . . . just as much as the rest of us.

T-I-T-S!

- They could make a movie about what happended to Randy Moss this year.  They could call it "How to Lose Your Job & Alienate Teammates" or "Pariah".


I would pay straight cash homie to see this movie!

 - Sexual assault is a serious problem that the NFL has had to deal with over the years, and at the very least, it is a FAR worse offense than smoking a little weed . . . unless you are the Pittsburgh Steelers.

- The new reality TV show 'The T.Ocho Show' and the 2010 Cincinatti Bengals proved that former All-Pro wideouts Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson-Ochocinco-Johnson are over-paid, over-celebrated, kinda getting old, and un-entertaining, both on and off the field.

 


"We're terrible."

 
- Fat guys can be prima donnas too.

"There is NO WAY that I'm getting sweaty today . . ."

- A player receiving a touchdown pass in the endzone does not get credit for a receiving touchdown unless he comes down with possession of the ball, with both feet inbounds, with full control of the ball all the way to the ground, without bobbling it, tightly gripped to his fingers and/or forearm(s)/bicep(s), in a   continued football motion, for atleast 1.7 seconds, with the ball at a greater than 45-degree angle from the player's sternum, and cradled closely and securely to the chest as if it were God's only son sent to us from Heaven to Earth that he whoever believeth in him shall not die but have eternal life.

Blessed are the pass catchers . . .

- Professional football (John Facenda voice) not only a game, but a war -- a violent battle between seething gladiators, clashing furiously and with great tumult -- while trying not to hit their opponent in the helmet with one's own helmet, in fear of receiving a substantial fine and possible suspension . . .

- If you're gonna fake an injury, or if you really are legitimately injured, and it's the NFL playoffs, and you have a reputation of being sort of a whiny baby, you should grab some crutches, or at least look like you care, or else the situation will almost certainly define your career to this point.

Jay Cutler=FML

- Theres nothing funny about losing in the NFL . . . except players speaking after losing in the NFL.

- A game can be cancelled if there is too much snow, because the safety of the fans is very important to the NFL.  So its a good thing they don't plan on having a Super Bowl outdoors in a northern city anytime soon.

Can't wait! 2014, Super Bowl Sunday (or Tuesday)!

The Year of the Quarterback: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

The hit heard 'round the world

The 2010 baseball season was deemed as the Year of the Pitcher because of the amount of dominant individual pithching performances that seemingly occured on weekly basis throughout the season.  This year in pro football, the headline stories have been dominated by quarterback play; but not always because of dominant performances.  We have witnessed the entire spectrum: from normally great quarterbacks playing awful to guys flat-out playing out of their minds.  These are the top stories.

Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings.  With Favre almost leading the Vikes to the Super Bowl last season, and in the process having a career year, Vikings fans had plenty of optimism for the 2010 season.   But things started to go sour when Favre's performance wasn't stellar early on (wide receivers Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice missed significant playing time) and then-coach Brad Childress and Favre began to butt heads.  Next thing you know, some chic named Jenn Sterger

Favre couldn't resist. Could you?

comes out talking about dirty text messages Favre sent her and the league taking action.  The 41-year-old took things in stride and continued to play, even with the short-lived experience with the disgruntled Randy Moss, and the subsequent firing of Childress.  But the injuries got too much for the NFL's iron man to handle and his record consecutive games played streak ended at 297.  I'm not counting on Favre retiring just yet, but if he does, he would have to part ways with his career in a year when he had one of the ugliest seasons ever for a pro quarterback.                                                         

Peyton Manning, Indianappolis Colts.  The juggernaut that is the Colts offense, coming off a tough loss in the Super Bowl, was expected to continue rolling with almost every key part returning.  In addition, the oft-injured Bob Sanders would be healthy again and add more talent and depth to the defensive secondary.  But the injury bug came along and guys started dropping like flies.  Sanders got hurt again and to date has not played in any game.  Wide receivers Anthony Gonzalez and Austin Collie have missed significant time, as well as Peyton's favorite target over the years, All-Pro tight end Dallas Clark.  The running game took a hit too with starting back Joseph Addai sidelined with a pinched nerve in his shoulder.  Manning was forced to throw the ball alot with the running game being non-existent and it led to a stretch where he threw 11 interceptions in three games against the Patriots, Chargers, and Cowboys with four of those picks going back for touchdowns.  If not for Peyton rallying the Colts against the Jaguars last week to regain control of the AFC south, he would be graded as ugly.  Because if they hold on and earn a spot in the playoffs any thing can happen and the bad could turn into very good.

VY has issues.

Vince Young, Tennessee Titans.  The Titans were terrible (0-6) last year until Vince Young took over for Kerry Collins as starting quarterback midway through the season.  VY finished out the season with an 8-2 record and almost carrying the team to a playoff berth.  The Sporting News named him 2009 Comeback Player of the Year.  Things were looking up for Vince until he got into an altercation at a Dallas strip club during the offseason.  Bad Start.  The Titans were doing o.k. to start this season until Young injured his thumb in Week 11 against the Redskins and had to come out of the game.  Vince wanted to go back in, but coach Jeff Fisher kept him on the sidelines.  VY responded by throwing a hissy-fit, leading to Fisher placing Young on season-ending IR.  Titans owner Bud Adams still supports having Vince as the starting qb once he's healthy but the feeling is that Fisher has had it with him.  Something's gotta give in this ugly situation.
Tom Brady, New England Patriots.   Brady had a good year last year and was having another good year this year, but things didn't start to turn until Randy Moss was traded to Minnesota, and the Patriots acquired a former Brady favorite, wide receiver Deoin Branch, from the Seattle Seahawks.  All Brady has done this year is lead New England (13-2) as the top scoring team in the NFL, averaging 33 pts per game, and setting the all-time single season record for most pass attempts without an interception (319 and counting).  Even coach Bill Belichik might say that Brady has been pretty good this year (but I wouldn't hold my breath).

Brady vs. Vick - Who ya got fa MVP?

Mike Vick, Philadelphia Eagles.  Vick has come a long way from his days as the #1 overall pick for the Atlanta Falcons coming out of college.  After that prison stint for the dogfighting ring, the Eagles were willing to give Vick a shot last year, but he was basically the 3rd string quarterback behind Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb.  After McNabb was traded in the offseason, Vick got moved up to the backup position as coach Andy Reid named Kolb the starter.  When Kolb went down with an injury, Vick finally got his chance to be a starting quarterback in the league again and did he ever take advantage of it.  He played good enough that Reid said even when Kolb was healthy, Vick would remain the guy.  All the guy has done is lead Philly to a 10-4 record, including monster wins over the Redskins and Falcons, and the legendary fourth quarter comeback against the Giants at the new Meadowlands.  I don't think anyone could have imagined Vick coming out of prison and being this good.
Donovan McNabb, Washington Redskins.  The Eagles look pretty smart right now by trading away McNabb when they did.  Not to say that Donovan doesn't still have it in him to be a Pro Bowl type quarterback, but Redskins coach Mike Shanahan atleast sure doesn't think so.  After a disappointing year for McNabb (14TDs, 15 INTs, 77.1 passer rating) his coach utterly disrespected him by benching him for Rex Grossman (37 TDs, 38 INTs, 70.6 passer rating career) and designating John Beck (1 career TD pass) as the backup.  No love for D-Mac in D.C.?  Straight up ugly.

Honorable mention GOOD: Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers. Matt Cassell, Kansas City Chiefs. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints. Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Honorable mention BAD:  Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions. Chad Henne, Miami Dolphins. Jake Delhomme, Cleveland Browns. Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers. Rusty Smith, Tennessee Titans.

Too UGLY to mention:  Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys. Carson Palmer, Cincinatti Bengals. Derek Anderson, Arizona Cardinals. Brian St. Pierre, Matt Moore, and Jimmy Clausen, Carolina Panthers.

Iron Man vs. Gunslinger

Everyone is talking about the Brett Favre streak but I ask just how impressive is it? A WCVB Boston poll asked if Favre's consecutive games started streak was more impressive than Cal Ripken, Jr.'s consecutive games played streak and an overwhelming 82% of fans said that Ripken's streak was more impressive. I think that many casual fans would favor Cal because, overall, he was a very likeable guy. Favre has gotten under our skin over the past four years due to his waffling about whether or not he was going to play or retire. But lets put this streak into perspective by asking two questions: (1) What are the chances of the record ever being broken and (2) How does it compare to other consecutive games played streaks? 297 consecutive starts is impressive and great but when I look at records in the sports world I don't see this record as one that will never be broken and the main reason why is that Peyton Manning has started 205 consecutive games. Peyton is 34 and if he starts for five more years and nine games, he will pass Favre (and that is assuming the league doesn't go to an 18 game schedule and there is no lockout of games entirely). That doesn't seem very unlikely considering that of any NFL quarterback of this generation, Peyton Manning's jersey seems to stay the cleanest at the end of games. The guy never gets hit and he doesn't scramble out of the pocket to buy time. He is a quick release guy; a guy that watches film and studies the defense and makes quick decisions, not someone like Favre, a certified gunslinger who could turn a broken play into a big play by moving out of the pocket and often taking a brutal hit. Manning is the picture of stability and as long as he decides he wants to continue playing the game I strongly believe the record will eventually be his.

Ripken played in a MLB record 2,632 consecutive games. The player that had the best chance of catching him was Miguel Tejada, who had a streak of 1,152 before his wrist was broken by a pitch in 2007. The current player with the longest consecutive games played streak is Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. His streak is at 204. In today's game, it is not realistic to think anyone will even come close to Cal's record because managers give players days off all the time whether they want them or not. Also, there are so many games played during the season that sometimes it makes sense to have a guy sit a game or two against a bad team to have him fresh for an upcoming series against a team you might be battling with in the standings. I don't ever see anyone in today's game approaching what Tejada did, and he didn't even make it to half the games played that Ripken did.  Favre's record is most impressive when you look at it like this. Since Ripken played in a 162 game season and Favre played in a 16 game season, lets round the season to 160 games and divide Ripken's games played by 10, in order to even the playing field. So Ripken, on a scale of a 16 game season would've had around 263 consecutive games played to Favre's 297. That's a 30 game advantage for Brett. Add in the fact that he played in a far more physically demanding sport and #4 does deserve all the attention. In my opinion, Favre was a throwback to the sport we will never see the likes of again, a true warrior. But his record appears to be reachable and therefore I would focus more on other attributes and great things he brought to the table more than his consecutive games played streak.