So, for those who want to feel good about our chances (statistically speaking), here's the latest Accuscore Report, based on 10,000 simulations.  We are projected to have a 99% chance of making the playoffs, a 94% chance of winning the division, and are likely to finish the season at 13-3.  Not bad.  

To make 75 words, I'll ask, is anyone aware of when the flex games will be determined?  I haven't heard any discussion of whether we'll be getting any extra Vikings games in Prime Time.  

So, we all know the one that was called (and that cost us the game).  New photojournalistic evidence reveals a better example of what tripping looks like in the NFL.  Desperate, flailing, defeated, laying on one's back, completely out of the play, having been run over by a freight train, and having nothing left to do but throw up one's legs, etc.  As the Steelers will be if we have the fortune of playing them again when it really counts.  

Another great game for Sydney Rice.  Check out the names of the eight receivers who rank above him, all of whom are big time NFL stars.  Like to see our guy rising up to join the elite.

The hype surrounding Favre this past Monday night was no doubt deserved.  Offensive player of the week under the scrutiny of the national media, equally deserved.  Allen was a monster and should have been awarded defensive honors.  But, as a fan who notices every detail, who screams Kennedy's name after a giant sack, while everyone else in the room is asking "Who's Kennedy?," I saw something this week that I think you'd have to have been an SBNation blogger to see.  It was in the details (the under-the-helmet look on a guy's face) and it was gorgeous to watch.   What I saw was an urgency, a precision, and an aggressiveness that we have always been promised from a certain player, but that has never been there with any consistency.  My gameball this week goes to Sidney Rice.  I simply loved what he brought and think that if he continues to factor heavily into this team's repertoire of weapons there is no conceivable way defenses can line up against us.  BB is on the up.  Harvin: we all know what he can bring.  If Rice becomes a dynamic threat, it's over.  And, for the first time, this week that seems like a genuine probability.

Are folks concerned about any of the following?  For example, Hutch?

So, it seems to me that the beauty of the Wildcat (splitting the traditional QB out wide) is that you can break from a standard huddle, with the guys who would make up a typical formation, and suddenly confront a defense with a tactically different alignment they have to quickly adapt to.  The element of surprise would certainly be lost if, for example, we trucked out TJ on the handful of plays we ran from scrimmage in the Wildcat.  Given the importance of being able to use your starting quarterback in the formation so as not to announce it, what are our chances realistically of running this formation and not putting Favre at risk?  As I'm reading this morning's reviews, it seems that a lot of the same people who were thrilled to see us insert this formation are now questioning the decision to split Favre out wide. But, isn't that the whole point?

Okay, so, two things happened this weekend to change my sense of the division.  

I'll start with the bad.  Frankly, I thought Aaron Rogers played frighteningly well this weekend.  I did not have this sense at any point last year, but am now worried that he could emerge as a very legitimate top-calibre threat this year.  I just don't think I could stand it if the Packers turn out to have another stable, top-shelf young gunslinger.  

And, for the good.  Man, watching the Bears last night made my mouth water.  Orlando Pace is an absolute dinosaur.  Dumervil is both less explosive and less powerful than Jared Allen and absolutely dominated Pace on the left side of the line.  I think the Bears are even weaker along the OL than people predicted, and if they try to add bodies to the left to stop Allen, it will only lead to more opportunities for Williams and Evans.  Looking very forward to our match ups with Chicago.  Cutler's good, but not deadly.

So, I've heard a couple of analysts say that we shouldn't expect to have any word out of MN anytime soon about who they will try to trade from among, Sage, TJ, and JDB.  I read something here yesterday that made sense, saying that we would try to move quick while the hype was hot, also that we'd want to avoid injuring our trade candidate before sending him off.  But, the post never considered, what if the guy we didn't trade got hurt before the start of the season, a bigger problem for us, since we're (now) a win-now team.  I'm of the opinion we should wait and continue to see how each of our three guys performs.  There's no reason why any of their stocks should drop (except Sage's perhaps, who's riding the biggest wave of love after his ten throws last week), and we will have more clarity after our fourth game, who we gain the most from by keeping in the system.  I think this is wise and we have everything to gain from being patient.

As I see it, we have to draft a QB in 2010, and everything depends on at least a year of stability at the position before the young man steps into the pressure of following up whatever becomes of our quarterback situation in the next two (plus) years.

More than anything, I believe (sadly) that this is the final vote-of-no-confidence in Tarvaris.  Chris Carter said it best in a panel discussion when he said that the move to acquire Favre is about opening up the playbook.  Sage is not, according to him, "getting" the system, and if Jackson has not gotten it by now, well, his time is up.  I have enjoyed watching his development more than most, but believe he has been stung hardest by this off-season and cannot grow up to be a healthy quarterback in this league under our system, and the scrutiny of our fans.  We should do Jackson and ourselves the favor of searching for an immediate deal, sending him to another team.

Sage, I believe, can withstand this transition.  He's done it his whole career, and he will be a serviceable back up.  I don't believe JDB will not ever be a legitimate NFL starter and that he will be fine for us playing an auxiliary role.  In fact, I think that Jackson is objectively better for us than JDB, but because of the reasons I've already mentioned, can't produce for us, and will probably get us more trade value from other teams than JDB.  

That means that the real question re: our future lies in the draft.  And, we have to take action immediately.  In a perfect world, Brett has a great year this year and comes back a la Elway for a second consecutive ring in 2010.  That would give our 2010 draft one year to develop under a legendary quarterback.  It is not the ideal three years that Rogers had with Green Bay, but it is what we will have to work with.

Fortunately for us this is projected to be a strong year for quarterbacks.  With whatever we get for TJ, we will add ammunition to our draft stock, giving us more strength to move up in the first round to find a real solution to our perpetual shakiness at the QB slot.  Favre, however excited people are about hims, is still not "that" solution.

All along I have worried that once we signed Favre he would bring with him the baggage from the Jets about not being a team guy.  I was reluctantly resigned to having him don Purple this year but thought, by all means, if he did he would come back during training camp to show this team that he's ready to be a committed locker room guy.  We already know he has world class calibre.  But, now, WTF?  Seriously?  There will be no way for him to escape the perception (in the locker room, of all places!) that this is a guy who felt he didn't have to go through the trenches with his teammates.  I've always tried to avoid thinking in prima dona terms about Favre, believing he did a relatively good job of staying out of the media fray this year, despite the amount of attention he received.  But, now, I don't believe there's any other excuse I will believe.  It wasn't his shoulder, we know.  And, now, indeed, it probably wasn't his knees or ankles.  Brett Favre waited until now to make his decision so that he didn't have to do what was expected of every other player on the team besides him, to attend training camp.  I'm not happy at all with this and believe that we should not accept this as an organization--even if he gives us a better chance to win (hypothetically).  This crap (I would bet) has done real damage to our solidarity.