Rolling Along....
Rambling after week 5...
This week I am going to see if I can ramble a little something about each of the NFC teams....I'm also gonna try and remember them all off the top of my head, so that will be the order in which I'll hit them...in other words, the teams I can't remember will be at the end and I plan to not look anything up (including records so if I'm wrong, its all me - my bad) this week.
Let's start with the home team that is playing well.....that's right, the Detroit Lions. The 3-1 Lions beat the Falcons this week an undoubtedly busted up a few survivor pools out there....hopefully our Fantasy Superior wasn't on that game, but I think he has more brains then to put his money on Vick's arm/legs. Anyway, the Leo's are ok, but remember that the Tigers started out 3-0 this season and they didn't quite get there....I predict an increase in Michigan's emergency room business in the next couple weeks as many 'fans' will be breaking legs jumping off the bandwagon.
Staying with the other Yooper home team, the Green Bay Packers looked like poo last night and I only watched the 1st quarter. As as Vikings fan, I love to see the Packers losing 3 at home to open the season, but as a former quarterback and a pure football fan, I am sad to see such talent as Brett Favre wasted.....its almost similar to Montana in his fading Kansas City years. Anyway, this Packers team may just have a worse defense than the Vikings....and that is saying a LOT.
Now, on to my real home team....the Minnesota Vikings. Daunte and company have that offense running on all cylinders no matter who lines up in the backfield. People are making such a big deal that Mwelde is pretty damn good but I compare it to the QB position in St. Louis or the RB position in Denver....just plug anyone in that has better than average ability and they will get the job done. Neverless, the Vikes are looking good on offense but have no chance of stopping teams like Phillly, Seattle or St. Louis in the NFC....hopefully Tice and the coaches can figure that out before December rolls around.
Let's finish off the division with the Chicago Bears. My uncle Bob's team didn't lose this week and no major starters got hurt, but then again, they were on a bye. The Bears were looking pretty good, but then Rex knocked himself out with a bad knee and the Bears will now rely on Jonathan Quinn - medicine woman - for the near future of Bears football. Scary. Uncle Bob asked if the Bears had been recruiting past high school QB's up in northern MN....I haven't been contacted yet, but I'd probably be willing to sign for the league minimum.
How about the Seattle Seahawks. What a choke job they pulled this week. Holmgren got a little greedy and didn't stick with convention by running the ball and the clock with the lead. Why? I don't know, but it cost him a big game against their division foes the Rams. This team is good and I think might have a chance to battle with Philly for the NFC title, but Holmgren will have to figure out what he needs to do to get to that level.
Now St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz displayed the pure excitement that professional sports are all about on Sunday during his team's huge comeback behind the unconscious passing of Mark Bulger. This team should not run the ball at all. No offense to Marshall Faulk, but really, this offense is no longer Marshall Faulks. Stephen Jackson needs to get more touches out of the backfield and Bulger should throw the ball every down. Not many, if any, defenses can stop Holt and Bruce especially if you throw in that big OL and the talent coming out of the backfield.....
Arizona's Cardinals are pretty much an 'also ran' in the NFC west, but our old boy Denny seems to be making some progress with the red birds. Hard to say where this team would be with Shipp and Boldin, but I'd guess they would have at least 1 more win under their belts.....and one would have probably been this past week. Look for Mc'Clown' to continue to improve enough to not be named the worst QB to start every game for his team this year (that award will go to Kyle Boller).
To close out the west....the San Francisco 49ers. Remember the good old days when the Cowboys and 49ers and Packers were all solid with Rice, Montana, Young, Emmitt, Irvin, Aikman, Favre, Sharpe and Levens were running around....yea I do too, and I'm not too sad to see these old powerhouses struggling a little. Even sadder is that Rice, Emmitt and, to a lesser extent, Favre are still out there chasing the dream and unwilling to give it up.....then again you gotta love the dedication. Anyway, Rattay went off this week but I am pretty sure that was the best week he'll ever have in his life....look for Barlow to continue to suck and screw Jugsie over.
We're halfway there....no, not me and the mouse in my pocket....I say we cause you all are pretty much halfway done in forcing yourself to read this crap I type out each week. Here are the Tampa Bay Bucs. Another team who is probably going to do some QB recruiting....and I would contemplate a move from Houghton to Tampa at this time of year for probably less than the league minimum. This team is ugly. Not pug ugly or kinda ugly, but ugly ugly. Gruden is stuck in a black hole down there and probably was hoping that the hurricanes would pick him up and take him away.
The Carolina Panthers have been on a RB roller coaster this year. First they started the year off with the contention that a healthy Stephen Davis would carry the full load and DeShaun would have to wait another year. Then, Stephen got a little dinged up and DeShaun came in and blew up the place....pretty much creating a situation that screamed of the dreaded RBBC when Davis returned. Then, this past week which was to be Davis's final in rehab, DeShaun got busted up so now, Stephen will be back in the starting lineup next week as the feature back. Ok, that can get confusing, but just to make Panthers fans a big more sick, their top WR is still out with a busted leg....not a surprise that this team is struggling.
On to the New Orleans Saints. First off, Aaron Brooks is not the answer. Todd Bouman isn't either. This team is an average QB away from being great. Yea, I just said that Brooks isn't even average. Jeff Garcia would take this offense deep into the postseason. Heck, Tim Couch, Ryan Leaf or Jon Carlson may perform better. Deuce isn't bad, and Cell Phone Horn is pretty good, but this team is only a QB away from making a run at the NFC's top tier.....and no, you can't call me JC Limbaugh for writing this.
Finally for the NFC south....Atlanta Falcons. They started out pretty strong, but then, they lost to the Lions this past week and who knows what happened there. I've watched Joey Harrington for the past few years and he still sucks so I don't know how they won that week. Anyways, Ben's QB Vick is doing ok in the west-coast offense, but the real spark plug to this offense has been Warrick Dunn. Suomala's team has benefited greatly from Dunn's early season trips to the end zone, but I will predict that Vick will still end up with more rushing yards and TDs than Dunn by the end of the year.
Look to the East and you'll first see the Washington Redskins. In this election year, I predict that Gibbs will just barely avoid being impeached in the nation's capital. All the 'Hogs fans out there are starting to realize that Shanahan pulled a fast one on them since the Denver system made Clinton look like a stud and they pretty much stole Champ Bailey (who is a true stud) in the off season trade....similarly, Nookie's trade to Juice is also turning out about the same way....maybe Shanahan is a good person to follow since he seems to know his crap (except for the Jake Plummer thing....)
Somehow, the Dallas Cowboys are in the NFC east still, but I'm not here to argue geography. Old man Parcells boys have done ok so far....I think at least, since I can't recall their record. But how can you complain when they are fielding a competitive team with Vinnie, Eddie and Keyshawn playing integral parts in the offense....and its not even 1998. Sad to say, but I think that the 'Boys are better off since Q's little pee in a cup problem....even with a damn old QB running the show.
Next to last in the NFC is the New York Football Giants. Nobody gave this team a chance to win or Kurt Warner a chance to be the starter this long. Its good to see spoiled football boy Eli on the bench while long shot hard working Warner shining once again. Add Tiki-torch's Priest/Faulk-like numbers and this offense has looked pretty good. If Shockey can stay on the wagon both when dealing with the press and in his nightlife, Coach C may have a chance to take this team to the postseason. Then again, if they fall out of contention, Warner's leash will become short and the G-men may start playing for the Manning II - future.
And finally, not coincidentally, are the Philadelphia Eagles. Well, love them or hate them, the Eagles are BY FAR the best team in the NFC. Donovan has officially lost his 'McSuck' nickname as far as I am concerned but it has nothing to do with his play and everything to do with TO's agents poor organizational skills. If whoever he is would have got his paperwork in, the 9ers would have been forced to trade TO and probably not to the Eagles and if TO isn't there, Donovan would have had another year with absolutely no receiving threat. Unless injuries strike this team - which isn't out of the question looking at the rest of the league - the Eagles will make yet another trip to the NFC title game, but this year they will chalk up their first win and Super Bowl berth.
And on to....'9 Things I think I think.. (**Note, I left these as they were the last two weeks and added comments in the brackets () after each 'thinking'.
1. The Vikings are good, but not good enough right now. Philly would beat us at home and on the road in any given week the way each team is playing. (No change in this from last week, although the Eagles should have scored more than 19 against the injury riddled Bears secondary) (Again, no change from last week and I think the Eagles could put up 40+ against the Vikes D that showed up on Sunday)
2. Injuries suck, but they seem to be distributing themselves evenly among half the teams in our league. Sucks to be us. (Amen....still) (Less major injuries this week, but since there is no one left to get hurt, its not a surprise. At least one of Nookie's guys got hurt again....some things are constant.)
3. You'd assume Houghton is a safe place....well today a man was stabbed at Wal-Mart....scary. (And no stabbings of 92 year old men this week in Houghton....but as in a great quote from 'City Slickers', "The week ain't over yet") (Safe to say that the weather in Houghton is getting cold enough that the murderers and vagabonds have all headed to warmer locales for the winter)
4. On a related point, 24-7 doesn't always mean 24-7 when someone is stabbed in your place of business on a Tuesday afternoon. (a thought, can you sue for misleading advertising then?) (I got nothing here.....sorry)
5. Frost advisory tonight for the western U.P. means that I can start the snow total count.....and yes, we are still at 0 for the season. (and still at 0 inches this week....thank god for that I say) (Well, snow is in the forecast for the coming weekend here....no laughing from you Duluth guys cause its in the forecast there too)
6. Wong has been quiet since returning to school....maybe too quiet... (if I didn't get his blogs, I'd start to wonder) (Still no words from Wong....other than blogs....hopefully the other famous Joe Nathan in the cities is keeping him busy)
7. Denny Green is WAY overrated.....and don't give me that crap that Shipp or Boldin would make that big a difference. (Ok, my bad....I should have said, New Orleans is WAY WAY WAY overrated....) (Nope, Cards couldn't beat the 49ers....Denny is overrated)
8. Week 3 of the 2004 season was the best Air JC will ever see in fantasy football. (Funny cause Week 4 was one of the worst) (And in Week 5 the Air JC owned teams return to mediocrity)
9. Who would have thought that on September 28th, Rico would still be engaged....there goes my day in the pool (And I think Suomala had October 5th....so he's out too) (Well, Jugs had the 12th, so he's out too....)
And the final word....
Our beloved Twinkies once again bowed out to the much hated New York Yankees. They've made a nice run the past three years but I think it is time to stir the pot. Obviously what they have been doing has been successful, but sometimes you have to do something different. What do I suggest? Go after something big.....pitcher, hitter...doesn't matter, just make a run at someone and show the fans and prove to the team that the management means business. Playoffs are great, but just look at the T-Wolves, getting there ain't all there is. Hiring a bench coach isn't gonna cut it, what the Twins need is a FA in the caliber of Shilling, Johnson, Schmidt or Sheffield, Chipper, Edmonds, etc. Now don't start writing to me telling me those guys are not FA's this year since if you had read above you would know I didn't research anything for this rambling, but you get the idea. Not having a guy with 35 homers (again) is not gonna cut it. I hope Pohlad is open to making a final run next year, but we'll see what the baseball-stork brings us Twins fans. For now, we have the Vikings then the T-Wolves and hopefully the Wild to watch....so its all good for us home-grown MN sports kids.
That's all I've got....have a good week boys....
Need I say more?
BIGFFBL senior writer Jeremy Carlson sounds off whenever he feels like it on www.bigffbl.com