NFL Week 3 Thoughts

Vinnie Chase and Company Do It Again

Until they lose a game I will continue to lead off these NFL recaps by talking about the Jets. Right now they are 3-0 after their victory over the Titans but they have New Orleans this week who is also 3-0 and will be their biggest test.

It will be a match up of 3-0 teams and will also showcase the best defense in the league against the best offense. It will interesting to see how Rex Ryan shuts down Drew Brees and Pierre Thomas but I am sure he has a way.

Sanchez looked shaky for a long time on Sunday after the 1st quarter and if not for Ryan Moudon making some costly errors the Jets may not have been victorious. Maybe Rex Ryan should send him the game ball for all his hard work out there.

Although Sanchez struggled he is 14 yard touchdown run in the 1st quarter was the stuff legends are made of. If he continues to show that kind of heart and determination he will do great things in the NFL.

How Scary Are the Ravens?

Good lord this is a scary team. The defense is just as dangerous as always and now all of a sudden they have an offense. Joe Flacco looked like Joe Montana on Sunday as he carved up the Browns for 342 yards and 3 TDs.

Now I know this was against Cleveland who looks like they couldn't win games in the CFL but still. The only question I have is can they score points quickly? I know they can score a lot of points but they still seem like the Ravens of old who score through long drives and not huge plays. That may be an issue going forward if they happen to get down early.

Still the Ravens are 3-0 and look to be the team to beat in the AFC. I know I wouldn't want to play them anytime soon.

Role Reversal

Last year the Titans and Panthers won their divisions. Right now they are both 0-3. Last year the Steelers and the Cardinals played in the SuperBowl and right now they are a combined 2-4. What a difference a year makes.

The Titans have had a horrible start to their season going 0-3 but they are by far the best 0-3 team in recent memory. Their losses haven't been catastrophic and they have had a lot of positives. They just need to feed Chris Johnson the ball more and NEVER throw the ball to Nate Washington. By the way Kerry Collins finished the game against the Jets Sunday by throwing 13 straight incompletions.

The Panthers look terrible and Jake Delhomme has seemingly lost any ability to play quarterback. He has thrown 7 interceptions through 3 games and is the reason the Panthers lose. If they want to win they need to do what works for them aka RUN THE BALL.

Love watching the Steelers lose and as for the Cardinals they should do alright this season as long as their O-line can keep the pressure of Kurt Warner.

Damn You Brett Favre

As if that happened on Sunday. Why couldn't he just throw an interception or an incompletion and just lose the game. Now I have to go a whole week hearing about how amazing Brett Favre is and how he has the "magic." Don't get me wrong it was a great drive, great throw, and an unreal catch but still I wish it hadn't happened.

I contend that the 49ers are to blame for this. What was Mike Singletary thinking playing the prevent defense and allowing the Vikings to march down the field like that? I don't understand how a team can go 58 minutes playing a certain defensive style that is clearly working and then all of a sudden change it up and play soft coverage. All the prevent defense does is prevent you from winning. You cannot allow the offense to get chunks of yards like that and get out of bounds.

That is why I have loved watching the Jets this season. Late in the game when it is close they bring pressure and don't let up. Thank God for Rex Ryan. Find it hard to believe a defensive specialist like Singletary would play the prevent.

The Lions Win?

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the Detroit Lions finally won a football game. The win ended a 19 game losing streak that dates back to 2008. Glad that the team finally won and now they can move forward.

Also love that after the win the team met in the locker room for their post game talk and immediately went back onto the field to thank their fans for supporting them through their terrible season. Thought that was a nice touch by Jim Schwartz and the team. Also need to point out that I called this as it seems like the Redskins quit on Jim Zorn at the beginning of the season.

Quick Thoughts

- How ugly were those Seahawk jerseys on Sunday? They looked like they were designed by a blind person who went blind from looking at that bright ass green.

- Remember when Denver wanted to run Josh McDaniels out of town? Now he is 3-0 and looks like a genius. The man is a winner, period.

- Jake Delhomme and Tony Romo both idolized Brett Favre growing up and both are referred to as "gun slingers." That is NFL code for interception machines. If you want to idolize a quarterback pick someone good.

- Terrell Owens career is officially over. I am calling it right now. If he gets 10 touchdowns this season I will donate $500 to charity.

- The 49ers are for real but if Frank Gore is out for an extended period of time they will struggle.

- This one is for Jeff Hamilton: The Bengals look like a potential playoff team as long as Carson Palmer is healthy and Cedric Benson can maintain his current pace. The fact that they play physical defense now doesn't hurt either.

- Michael Vick hates his new role no matter what he says. He was useless out there on Sunday against the Chiefs and will certainly want a larger role going forward, especially if Donovan Mcnabb stays on the injured list.

- Joey Galloway is washed up and is single handily killing the Patriots offense.

___________________________________________________

Random YouTube Video

Someone Shoot Brett Favre

Seriously can someone just kill this man so I can stop reading about him online and hearing about him on television and radio. This is getting ridiculous. He is talked about on PTI, Around the Horn, and all over Sportscenter. Not to mention that I have gone to ESPN and SI.com every day for the past 2 weeks and have seen a new Favre story.

Favre has been the focus of media attention now for two straight offseasons and it is because he can't stay retired. Last year he came out of retirement to play for the NY Jets (thanks for nothing dick) and this here after a second retirement he may come back to play for the Minnesota Vikings.

I have so many issues with this it isn't even funny.

Problem #1

Retire or play but make up your god damn mind. Favre is a grown ass man and yet he acts like a 5 year old when it comes to his career. After the 2007 season he tearfully retired from the NFL to go live on his ranch. Not even weeks later he came back saying he was "forced" into retirement by the Green Bay front office and that he wanted to play again. The drama was drawn out for months and months eventually ending with Favre being traded to the Jets.

Then after the 2008 season he retired again.

Now he is saying that he wants to come back because he thinks "he can still compete." However instead of just signing with a team he has wavered on his decision and been a douche about the whole thing keeping everyone in the dark.

Be a man and make a decision.

Problem #2

If Favre comes back it will be with the Vikings who play in the same division as the Green Bay Packers aka Favre's old team.

This is a real F you to Packers fans as the Vikings and Packers have a heated rivalry and a Packer legend like Favre wearing the Purple and Gold would be a slap in the face to Packers fans.

When most people think of the Green Bay Packers they think of Brett Favre. For the past decade, and more, he has been the face of the franchise and now he could potentially turn his back on his legions of fans just to pump the tires on his ego and play 1 more year.

Problem #3

By wavering on his decision to come back or not Favre is, whether he knows it or not, screwing over Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels. Jackson and Rosenfels are the two men currently competing for the Vikings starting quarterback job and now since Favre might come back they need to constantly be thinking about that.

They also are being forced to answer questions everyday about Favre and whether they want him to return or how they are going about their lives. Of course they both say they are going about business as usual but really this has to be immensely distracting and very annoying.

As a quarterback Favre should know that this situation is anything but ideal and he would obviously not wanted to be treated this way. The very fact that he is acting the way he is proves he is a selfish dick who is only looking out for himself.

Problem #4

Peter King is a columnist for Sports Illustrated and writes a weekly NFL column that is really insightful and entertaining. He is pretty funny and is extremely well connected around the league making his column a real joy to read. His only problem? He has a raging hard on for Brett Favre that knows no bounds.

Since I began reading Peter King's column about 3 years ago there hasn't been a single week in which he hasn't mentioned Brett Favre. In may not always be a huge paragraph but you can bet your life that Favre's name is in there somewhere.

I thought that maybe with Favre not in football King would focus on the rest of the NFL but no such luck. Favre has made it his personal mission to be in the media and with that comes the weekly BJ from King. It's truly annoying.

Problem #5

The word "gunslinger" is a word used by broadcasters and sports writers to describe quarterbacks who have exceptional arms and throw the ball hard. This is the defining word people use when talking about Favre. I hate this this word with a passion and everything that it stands for. To me when I hear a quarterback called a gunslinger all I think is that he sucks but can throw hard. It is anything but a compliment in my books.

With Favre out of the league this term would be used less and less until finally it fell out of favor but since he demands to stay in the spotlight the chances of that happening are slim to none.

I have many more problems with Favre and his whole will I, won't I act but these are just the major ones. He has gone from football legend to old guy who doesn't know when to hang it up. By continuing to retire and come back all he is doing is ruining his legacy and ensuring that people won't remember his greatness in Green Bay but will instead remember him as a NY Jet throwing picks and possibly as a Minnesota Viking being a massive traitor.

Please someone shoot Brett Favre. Wait never mind don't. It will only cause him to get more media attention.

Random Youtube Video

Favre Soap Opera is Over

The back and forth nonsense between Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers is finally over as yesterday Favre was traded to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick. The pick is conditional on the amount of games Favre plays and how well the team does overall. For instance if the team makes it to the AFC Championship game then the pick becomes a 1st rounder but if they miss the playoffs its a 4th rounder. It was believed that Favre would be going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but that deal fell through at the last minute when the Jets came in with a better offer.

So what does this mean for the teams involved?

Green Bay Packers - Now the Packers can get down to business without the distraction of Brett Favre's massive ego hanging around camp. Unfortunately the franchise had to trade away by far its best player ever and a future 1st ballot Hall of Famer. The Pack got their wish and traded him out of the division and out of the conference. The only issue now is whether Aaron Rodgers can produce on the field. If the Packers have a terrible season then fans will surely be blaming the lack of Favre. The only good that came out of this whole mess was that now the Packers know the 100% wrong way to deal with this sort of situation and they are no longer forced to cater to the needs of Favre. I think that the Pack will be ok and that Rodgers will do a great job but can anyone ever really replace #4?

New York Jets - The Jets now have their most famous player ever since Joe Namath was on the team and are getting a true veteran who should bring stability to the weakest part of the Jets game. I am a huge Jets fan and could not be happier that Brett Favre is coming to the Meadowlands because now Chad Pennington is gone for good. Favre should also be able to teach young quarterback Kellen Clemens a few things as well which should help the team for the future. The best part of the deal though was that the Jets didn't have to give up very much to get Favre as the pick is conditional on the teams success. If the team makes it to the AFC Championship I'm fine with giving up a 4th round pick.

Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings are the team who did the worst out of this whole ordeal. They were accused of tampering which is a blemish on the team and they also showed 0 confidence in young quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson was apparently having a tremendous off season and was showing great signs of progression and yet the Vikes tried everything to get Favre which has to make the young QB feel unwanted. If the Vikes had only stepped up and said we think Jackson is better than Favre for this team then they would have no issues. The Vikings got nothing out of the deals and are left with only problems now.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - The Bucs should consider themselves lucky that they didn't get Favre as I think that Jeff Garcia is a much better quarterback for that particular team. The Bucs, who already have like 20 quarterbacks, didn't really need Favre as last year Garcia guided the team to an NFC South title and made the Pro Bowl. Garcia is a good QB and the Bucs are lucky that they have him. Favre would not have fit in very well and would probably not be used to playing in all of that hot weather they have there in Tampa Bay.

Brett Favre handled this situation extremely poorly and has lost quite a few fans because of it as he is normally viewed as a team first guy who just loves football. After this whole debacle however he looks like very other athlete out there who is only out for #1. I just hope now that I can go back to hearing about other sports stories on ESPN rather than just the latest chapter in the Favre saga.

Worst Case Scenario for the Pack

When Brett Favre retired after the end of last season Packers fans mourned the fact that the franchise’s best player of all time was no longer going to be wearing the yellow and green. However only months into his retirement Favre is talking about coming back and Packers fans couldn’t be more scared and upset.

Favre coming back presents a nightmare situation for both the Packers front office and also the fans. After Favre left back-up quarterback Aaron Rodgers stepped up and started to ready himself for his first season as a starter in the NFL. Now he may have to ride the bench again if Favre comes back to town which might force Rodgers to decide to play somewhere where a team is willing to make a real commitment to him.

The worst part of the whole situation is that Favre is saying that if the Packers don’t want him to come back then he is willing to be traded to another team and teams such as the Vikings and the Bears have expressed interest. Could you imagine Mr. Packer playing for the arch rival Bears? Or seeing Favre wearing Viking Purple? It makes me nauseous just thinking about it.

To me there many different ways that this can play out with none of them looking particularly good for the Packers and their fans.

1. Favre comes back and plays for the Packers for another season, maybe even 2 or 3, and the Packers tell Rodgers to hit the pine for a bit longer and wait. Rodgers doesn’t resign after his contract expires in 2009 and walks to another team and becomes a great quarterback while the Pack may have to pick another QB in the draft if Favre walks away again. If Favre doesn’t have a repeat season of last years success then fans will shout he should have stayed retired and he came back for selfish reasons.

2. The Packers bring Favre back and trade him to a team not in the division. This would mean that Head Coach Mike McCarthy and GM Ted Thompson would be known forever as the two men who traded the best quarterback in Packer’s history. This would also mean that Favre would be playing for a different team and would earn the ire of many Packers fans who would feel he came back for selfish reasons and never really cared about Green Bay.

3. McCarthy and Thompson convince Favre not to come back and to stay retired. This could be a positive but if the Packers and Rodgers end up having a terrible season then fans might clamor and say they should have brought Brett back.
Favre has earned the right to make the decision but I don’t think he fully understands the situation he is creating for the Packers as an organization. He is causing a massive distraction at Packers camp and is forcing players to have to talk to the press about he topic everyday instead of concentrating on the teams first season without him.

Having said that I think that if an athlete decides to retire than they should stay retired. Nobody put a gun to Favre’s head and told him he couldn’t play football anymore so would he retire if there was no urgency or need? Favre is a grown man and could have waited a bit longer before making his decision instead of springing this whole situation on the Packers who by now have fully transitioned into a system that doesn’t revolve around Favre anymore.

Any course of action that the Packers decide to take will not be taken any time soon as clearly McCarthy and the Packers have no idea how to approach the situation and are choosing to stay quiet, at least to the media, as they contemplate their next move. Its going to be an interesting off season for the Packers and Brett Favre as they go back in forth in a game of will they wont they.