SB Nation User Blog: Gonzo

How to Win On Your Bye Week

Gonzo — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:30:11 -0000

Pictured: Chicago Bears' quarterback Jeff George. Not pictured: Jay Cutler (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Step 1 - Watch Jeff George v2.0 and the Bears get completely undressed at home by Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and company.

Step 2 - Watch the Green Bay Packers ensure that there will be NO winless teams in the National Football League in 2009.

And. . .well, that's all you need, really.

So, if the Vikings play .500 ball the rest of the way. . .the Bears would have to go 7-1 to catch them (and, presumably, hope that that one loss isn't to the Vikings), and the Packers would have to go 8-0 in order to catch them for the NFC North division title.

I don't want to say it's over. . .but there's a rather large woman off-stage there getting her vocal chords warmed up.

Week Nine Open Thread

Gonzo — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:18:51 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Take the day off, guys. . .you've earned it. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

Browse more photos »

Not going to be paying a whole lot of attention to football today, I'll be honest. . .going to be doing some schoolwork and will likely just have football on the TV for background noise.

The other three NFC North teams will all be in action this week. The Bears will play host to the Arizona Cardinals, and will hope to hold them to less than 40 points. . .I have my doubts. The Packers travel to Florida to take on the last winless team in the NFL, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And in one of the late games, the Lions head out to Qwest Field to face off with the Seattle Seahawks.

There's lots of other NFL action to be had today as well. . .and, if you'd like, you can discuss it all here with your fellow Viking fans. Enjoy!

Mayday! Mayday! The Josh Freeman 2009 White Flag has been thrown. By the way, Aaron Rodgers is this...

Gonzo — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:16:56 -0000

Mayday! Mayday! The Josh Freeman 2009 White Flag has been thrown. By the way, Aaron Rodgers is this year's Great Game Against A Bad Team MVP. His stats have no correlation with his actual effectiveness. Even Al Bundy didn't hold his balls this long.

Bill Simmons, ESPN.com. Every once in a while, the guy is still good for a hearty laugh. That said, I'm happy the Vikings have the clear best QB in the NFC North.

How Could Flex Scheduling Potentially Affect the Minnesota Vikings?

Gonzo — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:35:59 -0000

Anthony Carter. . .not THE Anthony Carter, I assume, but who knows. . .brought up something worth pondering in one of the FanPosts yesterday, and that's whether or not the NFL's "flex scheduling" rules will affect the Minnesota Vikings in some way, shape, or form as we move down the stretch. It's getting to that time of year, and the Vikings are becoming a bit of a hot ticket, so it might be worth examining if any of the Beloved Purple's games could end up getting placed into a prime-time slot.

For those unfamiliar with the rules of the flex scheduling, here's a rundown, and we'll look more specifically at the Vikings after the jump.

-Begins Sunday of Week 11
-In effect during Weeks 11-17
-Only Sunday afternoon games are subject to being moved into the Sunday night window.
-The game that has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday night during flex weeks will be listed at 8:15 p.m. ET.
-The majority of games on Sundays will be listed at 1:00 p.m. ET during flex weeks except for games played in Pacific or Mountain Time zones which will be listed at 4:05 or 4:15 p.m. ET.
-No impact on Thursday, Saturday or Monday night games.
-The NFL will decide (after consultation with CBS, FOX, NBC) and announce as early as possible the game being played at 8:15 p.m. ET. The announcement will come no later than 12 days prior to the game. The NFL may also announce games moving to 4:05 p.m. ET and 4:15 p.m. ET.
-Week 17 start time changes could be decided on 6 days notice to ensure a game with playoff implications.
-The NBC Sunday night time slot in "flex" weeks will list the game that has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday night.
-Fans and ticket holders must be aware that NFL games in flex weeks are subject to change 12 days in advance (6 days in Week 17) and should plan accordingly.
-NFL schedules all games.
-Teams will be informed as soon as they are no longer under consideration or eligible for a move to Sunday night.

Now, the one thing that hurts the Vikings when it comes to flex scheduling is that they only have one game this season against a team from the NFC East. . .and ~~official studies~~ casual observations by people that have even an iota of common sense have shown that games involving one or more teams from the NFC East are ten to fifteen times more likely to end up on NBC's Sunday Night Football than games that don't involve any NFC East teams. (Hey, if you think I'm making that up, go back and look at the SNF schedule since it moved to NBC. The imbalance is freaking outrageous.)

So, how many of the Vikings' last seven games have a chance to get flexed into a prime-time slot? Let's take a look at this week by week. . .both the Vikings' scheduled opponent for that week, and the game that NBC has tentatively scheduled for the Sunday night slot.

Week 11
Vikings schedule: vs. Seattle
Current SNF game: Philadelphia at Chicago

There's no way that Seattle at Minnesota is intriguing enough for the NFL's schedule makers to move to Sunday night. The Seahawks have been pretty bad this year. . .they'll be 4-5 at best coming into the Metrodome (more than likely 3-6) and aren't looking at a whole lot of post-season prospects, so I don't give this game much of a chance of being flexed. I don't know if Philly/Chicago will stay in that spot, though. . .there's a pretty juicy looking matchup with Indianapolis traveling to Baltimore that would look good in that spot. However, NBC has a game that fulfills their NFC East criteria, so I don't see the current game being moved from its slot.

Week 12
Vikings schedule: vs. Chicago
Current SNF game: Pittsburgh at Baltimore

Sufficient to say. . .I think NBC has exactly the game they want for Week 12. The Bears, despite not being that good in 2008, were somehow scheduled for five prime-time appearances this season, based largely on their acquisition of Jeff George v2.0 to be their starting QB. How many NFL and network executives do you suppose are kicking their own asses over that brilliant idea right now? (I, personally, hope that somebody has been fired for their ignorance.) So, I think that the NFL would like to forget that fiasco, and I think the only way the Bears are going to get flexed into prime time is if they somehow go against a team from the Lingerie Football League.

Week 13
Vikings schedule: at Arizona
Current SNF game: New England at Miami

This could provide NBC with an intriguing option. The Cardinals, if they can turn it around, should be in position to take the NFC West title again, and after all, they are the defending NFC champions. There's the angle of Warner vs. Favre to look at as well. The only other game that appears to be a candidate to be moved would be Philadelphia at Atlanta. NBC could very well keep the game they currently have, but the Dolphins haven't had a lot of success this year against teams not named the New York Jets, and are fading a bit quickly in the AFC. But I think this game definitely has some flex potential.

Week 14
Vikings schedule: vs. Cincinnati
Current SNF game: Philadelphia at New York Giants

NBC currently has a game that features not one, but TWO NFC East teams scheduled for this week, so we can probably take that game away from NBC when we pry it from their cold, dead hands. But Bengals/Vikings, based on the way things look right now, might be the best game of Week 14. We have the Saints/Falcons rematch, but they've already had one prime-time game, and there's a game between the Chargers and Cowboys that could potentially have some post-season implications for both teams, but again. . .I'd be surprised if the current game gets moved from Week 14 at all.

Week 15
Vikings schedule: at Carolina
Current SNF game: Minnesota at Carolina

The Vikings are already scheduled for Sunday night in Week 15. . .but is there a chance they could get flexed out? The Panthers haven't been very good, and if Jake Delhomme keeps performing like. . .well, like Jake Delhomme. . .there's a very good chance that they'll already be looking to 2010 by the time this game comes around. There are two other solid possibilities for flex scheduling this week, those being Packers at Steelers and Chargers at Bengals. If Carolina's season continues to keep trending south, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Vikings get bumped to an afternoon slot in favor of one of those two games.

Week 16
Vikings schedule: at Chicago (Monday night)
Current SNF game: Dallas at Washington

Monday night games can't be affected by flex scheduling, so there is no chance that the Vikings will conclude their season sweep of the Bears at any time but Monday night. Will Dallas and Washington remain on Sunday night that week? There is a matchup between the Ravens and Steelers out there, although that would make a second SNF matchup for those two teams, as well as the Broncos traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. It will be interesting to see whether this game gets changed.

Week 17
Vikings schedule: vs. New York Giants
Current SNF game: None

The Week 17 SNF matchup won't be decided until after the Week 16 games have concluded. . .presumably by Sunday night, since the Monday nighter that week should have no post-season implications (except, possibly, for home field advantage through the NFC playoffs for the Vikings). This game could potentially have implications for a first-round bye, among other things, so there's a chance that Giants/Vikings could be the Sunday night game of choice. From the look of the schedule right now, the only other game that appears to have the remote possibility of intrigue is Green Bay at Arizona. . .the rest of the Week 17 matchups look like real stinkers, for the most part.

So, the Vikings do have a bit of flex possibility for the last seven games of 2009. Hopefully the league will see that the Vikings should be in prime-time more frequently. . .certainly more than their division rivals deserve to be. . .and adjust the schedule accordingly.

EDIT: DangerDale has pointed out a thread over at The 506 that says both CBS and FOX get to protect five games from flex scheduling. According to that list, the protected games are as follows:

FOX: Washington/Dallas (Week 11), Chicago/Minnesota (Week 12), Dallas/New York Giants (Week 13), Green Bay/Chicago (Week 14), Green Bay/Pittsburgh (Week 15)
CBS: New York Jets/New England (Week 11), Tennessee/Indianapolis (Week 13), San Diego/Dallas (Week 14), Cincinnati/San Diego (Week 15), Baltimore/Pittsburgh (Week 16)

Minnesota Vikings Player Power Rankings, Mid-Season Edition

Gonzo — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:26:25 -0000

I really meant to do one of these back during the pre-season so that we'd have something to compare it to at this point, but I forgot to. I apologize for that. But, as usual, we'll have our mid-season version. . .conveniently designed to go along with the Vikings' bye week. . .and our post-season version to compare.

I've done these for the past couple of seasons, after originally getting the idea from our friends over at Dawgs by Nature. (See the 2007 mid-season and post-season versions, as well as the 2008 mid-season and post-season versions.) These aren't official or anything, and are more designed to spark conversations/debate than anything else. Since the table that these rankings are placed in is pretty huge, I'll put it in after the jump for everyone to have a look at. Enjoy, and tell us what you think!

Player Power Rankings
Rank	Player	Comment
1	Jared Allen, DE	Greatest trade in Vikings' history? If it's not, it's certainly on the short list. In 24 games since coming to Minnesota, #69 has 25 sacks (3 of which have resulted in safeties), 5 passes defended, 6 forced fumbles, and has generally just been the best 4-3 defensive end in the National Football League. He'd probably be the Defensive Player of the Year if the season ended today.
2	Brett Favre, QB	Okay, raise your hand if you thought the guy would be this good. looks around I doubt it was that many, but anyhow. . .in eight games, Favre has turned the ball over all of four times (only one of which. . .against St. Louis. . .could probably be classed as egregiously awful), has a 4:1 TD/turnover ratio, and a quarterback rating of a cool 106.0. Yes, it remains to see how he'll perform over the second half of the year, but the returns have been good so far.
3	Adrian Peterson, RB	You know the bar has been set pretty high for you when you're tied for second in the NFL in rushing yards, averaging almost 5 yards/carry, are second in the league in rushing touchdowns. . .and some folks are under the perception that you're struggling. He's on pace for 40 fewer regular season carries this year than he got last year, and as long as teams still want to defend the Vikings like they have Gus Frerotte at quarterback, his numbers will probably stay low. . .keeping him fresh for the post-season.
4	Percy Harvin, WR	Surprised to see him this high? Don't be. How much of an impact has Harvin had? With him returning kickoffs, the Vikings have the best average starting field position in the NFL. He's also been a big part of the Vikings going from having one of the worst special teams units of the last 20 years to being one of the better units in the league, according to the DVOA rankings from Football Outsiders. Oh, and he's done alright catching the ball, too. Barring an injury, we can probably just stop the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting right now and hand the award to #12. (Oh, and another big thank you to T.J. Houshmandzadeh for signing with the Seahawks. . .because if we had him, we likely wouldn't have Harvin.)
5	Kevin Williams, DT	The best all-around defensive tackle in football has been blowing up interior linemen all season long. He's on pace to have his first double-digit sack season since 2004, and he's still incredible against the run. Oh, and he's thrown in 6 defended passes, too. To borrow a phrase from Eric. . .greatest "missed draft pick" ever? Greatest "missed draft pick" ever.
6	Sidney Rice, WR	Nobody on the Vikings' roster has benefited more from the addition of Brett Favre than El Sid. It's hard to believe that the University of South Carolina produced both Rice and Troy Williamson, since Sidney is pretty much the anti-Williamson. He's on pace to have 1170 receiving yards (and hopefully more than the 2 TDs he has currently), and he has the most ridiculous set of hands this team has seen since Cris Carter left town. Yes, Randy Moss included.
7	Ryan Longwell, K	Ridiculous to put the kicker this high? Perhaps. . .but ponder this: Every time this season a ball that he's kicked has gone past the line of scrimmage, it's gone through the uprights (his only "miss" this season was the block at the end of the first half of the San Francisco game). His kickoffs have been pretty darn good, too. One can't underestimate the importance of a kicker as good as Longwell has been this season.
8	Chad Greenway, LB	The Vikings' leading tackler after the first half of the season, he's also tossed in a couple of interceptions and 4 passes defended. He's really gotten a lot better in coverage over the course of his Viking career, and has become one of the better all-around linebackers in the NFL.
9	Steve Hutchinson, G	Still the best at his position in the National Football League, despite getting called for his first holding penalty in 27 games last weekend against Green Bay. Meanwhile, Nate Burleson is still doing nothing in Seattle. Yeah, I still think the Vikings got the better of that little exchange.
10	Bryant McKinnie, T	McKinnie has been much maligned over the course of the past couple of seasons, and we would lament how he would get abused by speed rushers. However, after making the adjustment to having Brett Favre at QB early in the season (along with the rest of the O-line), McKinnie has done a hell of a job, and is finally really starting to live up to the huge payday he got a couple of years ago. He looks like the tackle the Vikings thought they were getting when they drafted him in 2002.
11	Antoine Winfield, CB	Ordinarily he would be much higher on this list, but his injuries. . .coupled with the fact that the Vikings haven't missed him nearly as much this year as anybody might have thought. . .push him down a little bit. Don't get me wrong, he's still one of the best in the league at his position, but he hasn't had quite the impact so far this season that one would think.
12	Pat Williams, DT	Phat Pat got off to a bit of a rough start in 2009, some of which could possibly be attributed to getting a late start on the pre-season festivities, but has come around over the course of the past few games, and is back to being his usual bad-ass, run-stuffing self. He's even contributed his annual sack with his takedown of Aaron Rodgers in Week 8.
13	Ray Edwards, DE	You know. . .when he's not busy jumping offsides or getting ridiculous late hit penalties, Ray Ray has actually had a pretty solid year thus far, with 26 combined tackles and 3.5 sacks. Sure, he might be the "weak link" on the defensive line, but being the weak link on a defensive line this good is sort of like being a MENSA member with an IQ of "only" 135.
14	Visanthe Shiancoe, TE	Second in the NFL in touchdown catches among tight ends, he gives the Vikings yet another weapon to utilize around the goal line. One could argue that he should be getting more catches, but with the emergence of Harvin and Rice, I'm not sure where those catches would come from. (Yes, I know, "Tahi" is the obvious answer.)
15	Ben Leber, LB	Still the quietest member of the defense, but as always, you don't hear his name called very often, which means he's doing what he's asked to do. Occasionally spectacular, but always solid. Still the only good thing Fran Foley ever did for the Minnesota Vikings.
16	Phil Loadholt, OT	The massive rookie from Oklahoma grabbed hold of the starting RT slot in training camp and, like most things he gets a hold of, he hasn't shown any signs of letting go of it any time soon. He did miss a game because of injury, but overall has provided a level of play that few may have expected from him as a rookie. We'll have to keep an eye on him to see if he hits the "wall" during the course of the year.
17	E.J. Henderson, LB	I'm surprised that he's down this far, too, but really. . .who ahead of him do you move? Frankly, E.J. just hasn't looked like E.J. most of the time this season. A good portion of the Vikings' woes against tight ends can be attributed to him (though there is blame to be spread around. . .give me a bit), and he just hasn't been the beast that he was prior to the dislocated toes that caused him to miss most of 2008. He is getting better, though, and hopefully will continue to do so as the season goes on.
18	Bernard Berrian, WR	He's had some injury problems this year, and his average yards/catch is significantly lower than it was in 2008, but he's still providing a pretty steady presence on the outside. He's become pretty much automatic on slant routes thus far this season, and it's only a matter of time before corners and safeties start biting on those and opening up big gainers over the top. He's not the #1 option any more, but he's still solid.
19	Cedric Griffin, CB	This is just my personal opinion, but there isn't a more frustrating player on the Vikings' roster to watch than Cedric Griffin. The guy has a ton of talent, and we know he has the capability to be really good (see the second half of last year), but there are too many times when he forgets how to tackle and gets beaten in coverage. Sadly, he's not even the most disappointing member of the secondary this season.
20	Anthony Herrera, G	Another guy we haven't heard a whole lot from this season, which is a positive. For the most part, he seems to be doing a relatively solid job at the right guard spot.
21	John Sullivan, C	For a guy starting at center for the first time in the NFL to be the pivot on an offense this good says a lot about Sullivan's ability. Has he been great all the time? No. . .but he hasn't been a tremendous drop-off from Matt Birk's play last year, either, and he's still been pretty good, despite a couple of mental errors (like the mis-timed snap in Green Bay).
22	Chris Kluwe, P	Yeah, he had a crappy ~~game~~ half against Pittsburgh, and Joshua Cribbs got a punt return TD against the Vikings in Week 1. . .he does that to a lot of teams. . .but Kluwe has made a lot of strides over last season, in my opinion. The willingness of the Guitar Hero to (finally) sacrifice some distance for hang time has been another part of the Vikings' special teams turnaround.
23	Jimmy Kennedy, DT	If Jimmy Kennedy isn't a testament to the amazing abilities of Vikings' defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, I'm really not sure what is. Kennedy has served the Vikings very well as a rotation player to this point of the season, and may be putting himself in line to be a replacement for Pat Williams in the near future. Yeah, "solid rotation" player isn't necessarily what you want from a guy that was once drafted #11 overall. . .but it's a hell of a lot more than St. Louis, Jacksonville, or Chicago got out of him.
24	Madieu Williams, S	One of the bigger disappointments on the team this year, in my opinion. There have been a few occasions where Williams has just looked completely lost this season, and for a veteran guy like him, that shouldn't happen. He really, really needs to step up his level of play in the second half of the season in order to bring the Vikings' pass defense up to where it needs to be.
25	Tyrell Johnson, S	The other biggest disappointment for the Vikings this year. I know this is his first year as the full-time starter, but he just hasn't been all that good. Nobody questions Johnson's physical ability, to be sure, but he needs to show more of why the Vikings took him in the second round in 2008.
26	Jim Kleinsasser, TE	We just keep putting Kleinsasser out there as a blocker every year, and he just keeps destroying everything in his path. I'm not sure how many years the guy can keep doing this, but he certainly hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.
27	Cullen Loeffler, LS	I'll put the same thing I put next to his entry every year. . .when's the last time you remember the Vikings' special teams units being victimized by a bad snap? Loeffler is solid.
28	Heath Farwell, LB	The Vikings had a lot of turnover in their special teams coverage units between 2008 and 2009, but the return of Heath Farwell has been huge. He's always around the ball on special teams, whether it's kick returns or punt returns, and his tackling is as sure as ever.
29	Jeff Dugan, FB/TE	Remember when most of us thought the only reason the Vikings drafted Jeff Dugan was because he went to Maryland like Mike Tice did? Yeah, that was five seasons ago, and Dugan is still here. He's a solid blocker, and has even gotten a couple of passes this year. One of the more underrated Vikings. . .probably underrated on this list, too.
30	Chester Taylor, RB	This may seem way too low for Chester, but his yards/carry average is way down this year, and I really think we're seeing his last season in Minnesota, as he's in the final year of his contract. With the expansion of Adrian Peterson's role as a receiver and the improvement in his pass blocking, #29 just isn't as vital as he's been in years past.
31	Naufahu Tahi, FB	Good enough blocker, but again, I'll go with something I say every year. . .STOP THROWING HIM THE FOOTBALL. (Although he did have a 30+ yard catch-and-run against St. Louis, which means there are probably more plays in the playbook for him than ever.)
32	Brian Robison, DE	It's not that Robison is bad or anything, because he's clearly not. He just doesn't get a whole lot of opportunities with the guy he has in front of him taking all the snaps. Oh, and Brian. . .the next time a kickoff bounces into your hands, just fall down. . .please?
33	Jaymar Johnson, WR	Another guy that could probably be a few spots higher, he's stepped into the punt return role quite nicely after the injury to Darius Reynaud. Wouldn't mind seeing him get a few more shots as a receiver, but who's he going to displace, barring injury?
34	Kenny Onatolu, LB	I was really rooting for this guy to make the squad after his pre-season performance, and he hasn't disappointed, adding more solid play to the Vikings' special teams units.
35	Greg Lewis, WR	IT'S GREG LEWIS! TOUCHDOWN! OH MY GOODNESS! GREG LEWIS! WELCOME TO MINNESOTA! OH MY HEAVENS!
36	Fred Evans, DT	Twenty-nine taser-free months and counting for Evans. Way to go, #90!
37	Benny Sapp, CB	Could make an argument that he could be higher, I suppose. He's had his moments but, like many parts of the Vikings' secondary this season, he's made a few highlight reels for the wrong reasons, too.
38	Tarvaris Jackson, QB	Hasn't been a disruption, and has actually taken his demotion quite well. Has seen a bit of time in mop-up duty as well. I hope we don't have to see him this year, but if we do, I have confidence that he could do the job for a little while, at least.
39	Letroy Guion, DT	Has bounced back and forth between the active roster and the inactive list, but has done a solid enough job in the time he's gotten.
40	Artis Hicks, OL	Filled in for Phil Loadholt when the big guy was out with an injury, and played pretty well. Still a solid backup at numerous positions.
41	Asher Allen, CB	Has spent most of the year on the inactive list, but has been up for the last two games and has asserted himself pretty well. Easy to see the potential the Vikings seem to think he has.
42	Jasper Brinkley, LB	Hasn't seen much time as a LB, but has been a very good special teamer thus far.
43	Karl Paymah, CB	After watching him get thoroughly abused against Baltimore, it became clear why he was brought in as a special teamer and not a cornerback. He recovered nicely against Pittsburgh, though. . .and, hopefully, will be finding his way back to a strictly special teams role here soon.
44	Darius Reynaud, WR	Was doing an outstanding job as a punt returner before his injury, and now might not get his punt returner spot back thanks to Jaymar Johnson's performance.
45	Eric Frampton, S	Hasn't gotten the opportunity to come alive on defense. . .yes, I continue to murder that joke. . .but has been a good special teamer.
46	Husain Abdullah, S	See above, but without the reference to Peter Frampton.
47	Jamarca Sanford, S	Hasn't been up for all the games, but again has been a solid special teamer in the games that he has been.
48	Ryan Cook, OT	No Ryan Cook on the field makes Gonzo a happy blogger and Vikings quarterbacks much healthier than they may normally be.
Non-Ranked Players/Incomplete Grades
Rank	Player	Comment
NA	Sage Rosenfels, QB	The best-compensated #3 quarterback in the league. Nice work, if you can get it.
NA	Jayme Mitchell, DE	Still pretty talented, but there just isn't room for him in Minnesota's defensive line rotation. Damn shame, too.
NA	Erin Henderson, LB	Heck, I'm not sure if Henderson the Younger is even still on the team.
NA	Jon Cooper, C	Was signed, then released, then signed again, and I don't think he's seen the field this year.
NA	Albert Young, RB	Hasn't seen the field this year, either.

And there you have it. I'm pretty sure that I haven't missed anybody. . .if I have, let me know, and I'll work them into the rankings at the appropriate place.

Anatomy of a Play: Favre to Berrian TD vs. Green Bay

Gonzo — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:52:07 -0000

Anatomy of a Play: Favre to Berrian TD vs. Green Bay

Another nice job by Mike Mayock of the NFL Network to analyze the play that put the dagger into the Green Bay Packers last weekend.

Note the tackle by Al Harris at the end of the play where he grabs Berrian by the opening of his helmet while nothing gets called. Is there a dirtier defensive player in the National Football League than Al Harris? I generally don't hope for players to get injured, but after some of the crap that guy gets away with, I wouldn't shed any tears if something bad were to happen to him.

A Question for the Favre Haters Out There

Gonzo — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:23:34 -0000

More photos » by Jerry Holt - AP

9 days ago: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre reacts after throwing for the Vikings' final touchdown in a 38-26 win over the Green Bay Packers in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Star Tribune, Jerry Holt)

Browse more photos »

Not necessarily Viking fans that hate Favre, mind you. . .but more the fans of other teams that hate Favre, if they're out there and reading this.

Cliff Christl of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wrote an article entitled "No Expense Spared by Team in Favre PR War." I can't link to the article here, as it's from a pay website. . .I don't pay for the site myself, mind you, but someone on a message board I frequent pointed it out. . .but I do want to point out this one little sentence from the article:

Don Hutson considered retirement and reported to camp late in 1939, and he then announced his retirement before the 1943, '44 and '45 seasons, only to play again. Forrest Gregg retired and unretired four times during his career.

Hmmmmmm. . .one has to wonder if the level of poutrage was as great from the other side of the river back in those days as it is today with #4. Hell, Favre still has one more retirement to go before he catches Hutson, and two more to go before he catches Forrest Gregg. (Although Gregg did sort of make it up to us by going to the Packers and being a really, really crappy head coach.)

Before people whine about the Brett Favre "will he or won't he" thing or whether or not he "betrayed" the Packers or whatever other WHARRGARBL the Wisconsin media wants to shovel our way this week, they should take a minute or two to educate themselves on the past. Just saying is all.

Goodell Begging Congress to Clean Up His Mess

Gonzo — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:56:29 -0000

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has spent a good amount of time in Washington, D.C. over the past couple of days, and I can't say that he appears to have enjoyed himself too much. He got ripped by Congress for the disgusting way the league treats its former players, and now, according to Pro Football Talk, he's asking the nation's legislative body to close a loophole that he and everyone else in the league offices didn't quite bother to catch until it came back to bite them.

And, as he has since the beginning, Goodell continues to lie his ass off about the circumstances surrounding the StarCaps case:

As the league would have Congress -- and anyone else who cares -- believe it, the NFLPA betrayed the league by assisting the efforts of the members who faced suspension based on the consumption of StarCaps, an over-the-counter supplement that had been secretly spiked with a banned substance. But the evidence in this case supports a finding that the league knew that StarCaps had been spiked with a prescription drug, that the league knew players had been taken StarCaps, and that the league issued no specific warning to the players that taking StarCaps could be hazardous to their careers -- and more importantly to their health.

See, this is what anybody with a clue has been saying all along. The question in this case, in my opinion, has always been "What did the NFL know, and when did they know it?" And damn near all of the evidence in this case suggests that the league knew that StarCaps contained the substance bumetanide way, WAY in advance of the positive tests of Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, Charles Grant and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints, and Grady Jackson of the Detroit Lions.

Quite frankly, Goodell's pathetic begging in front of Congress to get this rule changed as a result of these events taking place tells me one simple thing.

He's conceding a loss.

I think he's under the impression that there's no way that he wins this case against the Williams Wall, and is now trying to get the rule changed so that he and the liars in the NFL front office don't have to potentially face such a problem again in the future.

Sorry, Roger. . .maybe you and yours should have been more honest in the first place rather than fooling around with the lives of your players in a pathetic attempt to yell "GOTCHA" at some of the guys that line your pockets.

As I always say. . .get up, get get, get down. . .Roger Goodell is a joke in your town.

Gonzo Reads Books: Peter King's "Monday Morning Quarterback"

Gonzo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:32:59 -0000

So I get home from work a few days ago, and I found a nice surprise in my mailbox from the good folks at Sports Illustrated Books. It was a copy of Peter King's new tome Monday Morning Quarterback: A fully caffeinated guide to everything you need to know about the NFL. Now, I know that I've had my differences with Mr. King in the past. . .well not with Mr. King, per se, but with some of the things he's had to say about our Beloved Purple over the years. However, the guy is where he is because he's a heck of a writer, and really seems to enjoy what he does. Hell, who wouldn't?

I've been reading furiously over the past couple of days, and the MMQB book is full of good stuff. A lot of it is a compilation of King's columns of the same name from SI.com, as well has some lists about "What I Think I Think." But he does include some good, original material in there such as his top 100 players in today's NFL. (Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson, Kevin Williams, Antoine Winfield, Bryant McKinnie, and Chad Greenway all made the list. . .but I won't tell you where.)

King makes lots of good insights, and many of you will be happy to know that the columns taken from previous SI.com entries are limited to just football. . .so, those of you that dislike hearing about stuff like girls field hockey and what he thought about the barista that served him his double-half whipped mocha-choca-latta ya ya he got from the Starbucks at the Denver airport can be spared such things. (Yeah, I worked a "Lady Marmalade" reference in there. . .big deal, wanna fight about it?) In my personal opinion, some of the best columns in the book aren't really football-related at all. . .if you read the story about the King family having to put Woody, the family dog, to sleep and don't get at least a bit of a tear in your eye, you need to check yourself for a pulse. But if you want football, football, and a little more football, King gives you plenty of that as well.

MMQB not only gives you some good, entertaining football stories, it also gives you an opportunity to look behind the scenes and gain a perspective that you ordinarily would get from a book about football. It's pretty light reading, much like King's column is, but you can sit back, read a story or two, and put it away at your leisure. This book will make you laugh and make you think as well. I know I've enjoyed reading it immensely thus far, and I've still got plenty of reading left to do to complete the entire thing. If you're looking for a good read about football. . .and, hey, the Vikings have a bye week coming up, so why not. . .you'd be well-served to grab yourself a copy of this book. Or, in honor of Mr. King, you could go to your local bookstore, get yourself a coffee, and read it in the cafe. Either way, some time with Monday Morning Quarterback will be time well-spent.

Vikings/Packers Highlights w/Radio Calls

Gonzo — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:26:30 -0000

Vikings/Packers Highlights w/Radio Calls

The NFL.com video highlights with the local radio calls. Awesome stuff, as always.