Tampa, Playoffs, and a Blue Moon.

The Bucs seemed to have it all figured out. Three of the remaining four games against sides with losing records; win them, and you're in the playoffs. The critics agreed and bemoaned the Tampa's 'easy 2010 schedule' (whilst seemingly forgetting we had to play the Saints and Falcons twice, along with the Ravens and Steelers who both stand at 11-4). And so it was simple. A botched snap causing a missed extra point, and we'd beaten the unpredictable Redskins. One down, two to go. But the week 15 Detroit Lions weren't the pushover that the script had writte them to be, edging to victory with a last gasp field goal.
And so now the following week's victory over Seattle seems rather moot: the Bucs now need to beat the Saints in the final game of the season. Yes, the same Saints that defeated us by twenty five points in week three, lead by the madden-curse evading super-human Drew Brees. Oh, and since they managed to beat the Superbowl bound Falcons in the Georgia Dome last week - handing Matt Ryan only his second ever home loss - we now have to hope that the Packers and the Giants both lose as well. And as if the situation needed to get any worse, the Packers will now be facing a somewhat 'rookie' version of the 11-4 Bears since the Eagles embarrassment against the Vikings last night means the Bears will be the no.2 seed regardless of what happens. Fantastic!

Philli vs Houston: Pregame

Just a quick one: Philadelphia are eight point favourties over the Texans. Three words, take the Eagles. There are so many things I could say to justify this and it seems so clear to me that I feel it needs no justification. Here's one though, the Texans pass defense is awful, and Vick has taken centre stage over the past few weeks showcasing his new ability to throw deep. This is going to be a big one, Vick is here to play! :)

Bucs @ Ravens (Preview)

The Bucs are 7-3. It's crazy. We're good, and the NFL has generally accepted this. However a shadow still looms large over our season: in spite of winning seven games, none of these wins have come against a team with a record of .500 or better. Additionally, two of our three losses were complete disasters - losing to the Steelers and the Saints by 25 points each.
Jeff Faine is back starting as Centre, which is a good thing, and in light of recent performances, I really believe we can give the Ravens a run for their money. Our main focus should be on winning the turnover battle by pressuring Joe Flacco, and avoiding giving up big plays, as these have killed us in other big games this year.
This is it for us. If we really want to show the NFL what we're capable of and actually turn some heads, this is our moment. There's no point us trying to make the playoffs if we cant beat the better teams.

Minnesota @ Washington
As I've said before, these are two very under-rated and under-achieving teams. The line is only 2 points in favour of the Skins, but this game could go either way. Either a) the Vikings will undergo the Jason Garrett-effect and suddenly decide to show up and play well, or b) it will be the same old-same old, with the Redskins playing a little above average and the Vikings handing them countless opportunities.
One point of note, I don't buy any of this 'McNabb is playing bad' nonsense. From what I'm seeing, his receivers are dropping a ridiculous amount of passes in critical situations.


Carolina @ Cleveland
Cleveland are eight point favourites in this game, and it's a line that I snapped up immediately. And then I realised Colt McCoy is out with a high ankle strain, and they have Jake Delholme facing an awful Panthers team that he apparently isn't good enough to play for. This doesn't bode well. Although, when it comes down to it, I ask myself this: how many points will Carolina score? Not many. And I can see the Browns getting at least two touchdowns. As a result, I can see Cleveland maybe just edging the eight points.
This will also be a very interesting test to see how the Browns cope without McCoy, and a good test of how good McCoy actually is. Cleveland have been amazing over their last three games, and everyone is giving Colt McCoy the credit. Carolina are so bad that the Browns could probably put out an awful showing and still beat them by a few touchdowns, so anything like a close game today and it will seriously boost McCoy's reputation.

San Diego: Team of Excuses.

A resounding shout echoes around the NFL every week. It preaches that the Chargers may be one of the top teams if it only weren't for some guy who's holding out, or some dude who's out on IR. And all I can do is shake my head.
As I write, the Monday Night game between the Broncos and the Chargers is nearing the end of the first quarter, and coming back from an ad break Mike Tirico notes, "Devastating news for San Diego, McMichael has just limped off the field. With him and Gates out, they only have a rookie TE making his first start in the NFL!" Erm, what!? In Tampa, this is the regular scenario every week And tight end?! They're not down to their last QB, or left with two wideouts... BAH.
The amount of sympathy and false recognition wasted on the Chargers disgusts me. Year after year they do nothing besides with a division with three god-awful teams - and when they did it in 2008, it was with a record of 8-8!
Don't get me wrong, Phillip Rivers is fantastic, and the job he's doing with the team he's got is brilliant. But it's no better than what Manning is doing with a team of nobodies in Indianapolis.
The Chargers are an average team. They have no chance of winning the Superbowl, and I'll be surprised if they win a playoff game.
Maybe it's to lure in another franchise to Southern California, but I swear the NFL has some kind of Chargers-bias.
This said, I fully expect the Chargers to win tonight, but my problem is this: Denver will be talked about as a team on the rise, just coming off a 49-29 win against the Chiefs. Whereas, if Denver had been playing my Buccaneers this weekend, the focus would be on their 3-6 record, and their 59-14 home defeat to the Raiders. And if we were to beat them, well, it was only to be expected, of course...

Super Eagles Superbowl Bound?

Can we please get excited about Vick?! Can I hear someone, just one person, say that if he carries on like this that he'll be HOF calibre? (Even if he'll eventually be shunned for what his performances between 2006-2008...)
The Eagles were 6th in my mid season power rankings, and there are only two reasons why:
1) Their defense is so far from the best in the league - i.e. they conceded 28 points today even with McNabb throwing three picks...!
2) I'm not wholly confident Vick can stay healthy because I know when something is too good to be true! Additionally, he can't continue to dance out of the pocket in the way that he does and not expect to get hurt.
This aside, if he does manage to stay healthy, I fancy the Eagles for the Superbowl.
Moreover, after watching the Falcons dominate the Ravens last Thursday night, I'm prepared to pick a Vick-bonanza for an Eagles/Falcons match-up in the NFC Championship game in January. Both are heavily reliant on their QBs, but if both Ryan and Vick can stay healthy, these are two unstoppable teams.

Eagles 59 Redskins 28

Mike Vick lit up Monday Night Football with a dazzling record-breaking performance to take the Eagles joint top of the NFC East.
Week 10, Monday Night Football: a match-up between a head coach and a former quarterback who played 142 games throughout their 11 years together. This, in addition to the benching with two minutes remaining that McNabb endured two weeks ago, only turned the focus more onto how the famed number five would perform. This focus was pushed even further onto McNabb following the baffling pre-game announcement that he had signed a new 5-year, $78million extension to his contract. But as memorable as a game as this would turn out to be, the Donovan McNabb saga would be vastly overshadowed by brilliance from his replacement, and the youthful team he left behind.
The touchdown circus began with the very first play of the game, with Desean Jackson catching an 88-yard touchdown pass from Michael Vick under man to man coverage. Silence passed over Fed-ex Field.
Things then turned from bad to worse for Washington when, following a three-and-out, the Eagles stormed down the field with first downs from Jackson and McCoy in a drive that was capped by a 7-yard run into the end-zone by Vick.
Washington were only three plays into their second drive of the game before it was prematurely ended with an interception from Coleman. Incredibly, this lead to another drive down the field which finished with an 11-yard touchdown catch from McCoy from a shovel pass from Vick.
After Washington yet again failed to gain a single first down, Philadelphia steam rolled their defense as Jerome Harrison took an inside zone hand-off 55 yards for the fourth touchdown of the quarter.
The first quarter ended with the Eagles breaking the record for the largest lead by a road time at end of 1st quarter in the history of the NFL, but it was only a sign of what more was to come, as Vick began the second quarter by throwing another 65-yard touchdown to Jeremy Maclin.
The 'Skins showed signs of resurgence when McNabb took to the field and immediately threw a 71 yard pass to Davis.
With five minutes gone in the 2nd quarter, Vick finally threw his first incompletion (after 12 successful attempts), which lead to their first scoreless drive. Following the resulting punt, Washington made the most of their opportunity, scoring a touchdown after only a three plays, in a drive which included a 70-yard throw to Armstrong.
However, Washington's resurgence was halted when McNabb threw an interception straight into the diving arms of Patterson on a 3rd an 10, leaving him with 0 completions and 2 picks on four third downs.
Michael Vick returned to the field, darting out of the pocket and skipping around flailing defensive backs to lead the Eagles to another touchdown drive; his final play, a six yard dance into the end-zone to tie the most points scored by any Eagles team in a first half.
The Redskins made a brighter start to the second half than they had to the first, returning the kick-off 40 yards to the 46 yard-line, and following up with a long throw down field to full-back Sellers. With McNabb unable to convert again on 3rd down, the Redskins went for it on 4th and 3, and converted, setting up a four yard touchdown run from Williams.
Philadelphia's next scoring drive was capped off with a catch from Jackson in the end-zone after Vick was allowed eight seconds in the pocket before making the throw.
The Eagles increased their lead to 59 points, surpassing the most ever scored by any team on a Monday Night, when Patterson returned an interception forty yards for a touchdown, leaving McNabb with zero completions and three interceptions from eight third down attempts.
The Redskins pulled back a touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but 28 yards was never going to be enough in a game where they gave up 597 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Eagles jump to a tied NFC East lead at 6-3, as the Redskins fall to below .500 to 4-5.

As I'm writing more and more game reviews and articles (i.e. not my usual, conversational, over-opinionated rants!), I thought I'd post them on here as well as elsewhere. That's all :)

Tim Tebow

With something like three attempts and one TD, I'm not going to write an article on Tebow just yet, don't worry.
But whilst scouring nfl.com archives, I found an old comment I'd written at the end of a mock-draft by Pat Kirwan, on which he had Tim going 47th to the Patriots. My comment was thus: "This draft is not credible; for the simple fact that he places Tebow with the pats at 47. Heck, yeh, they'd probably take him there, but if he's still in by mid 2nd round (which people are starting to doubt seeing as he's travelling to NY for day 1), then Denver are gonna snap him up at 42. Have you seen Josh Mcdaniels talking about this guy?"
...not a boast, but I feel this is a rare, minor win for me over the big NFL.com writers :)

Mid-Season Power Rankings

1) Giants
First of all, let me say that there are three or four other teams that I'd be quite happy to put here. That aside, I don't see any side with more potential to dominate than the Giants right now. Exhibit A: last weekend, when faced with a trip to Seattle - a team who is showing a lot more Jekyll than Hyde of late - and whose twelve man had been talked about in the build up as a potential game-breaker. Did they flinch? No. They stormed into a three touchdown lead before the first quarter was over and didn't concede a point until the game was long dead and buried. And since I'm quite the believer that Pete Carroll and the Seahawks are going places, I only applaud the Giants. They've come a long way from the last time I watched a full game of theirs - MNF against Chicago when they took until the 4th quarter to score a touchdown...

2) Jets
As we all know, the Jets were Rex Ryans preseason pick for the Superbowl, and they were mine too. Week 1 odds of 18/1 quickly dimished to as little as 7/1 and they've certainly done all the right things to claim their stake as a Superbowl contender. They're strong in all positions, which is why there are so many questions over whether Sanchez is good enough at QB. What is comes down to is this: they may not be as strong at QB as they are in most other areas of the field, but when they're as good as they are, they don't need to be.

3) Steelers
I'm not a fan of the Steelers, but I can't help but admit that their season so far has been ridiculously impressive. They seem to dodge every obstacle thrown in their path with ease. Take the first few weeks, Charlie Batch in for Big Ben, with people thinking they'd be lucky to escape 2-2, but much to the contrary, they breeze it! Then Big Ben comes back, and although he seems a little out of practice, they still manage to get through. Even with Troy Polamalu playing way below his best they're still pretty hot on defense.

4) Falcons
Along with the Philli, Atlanta are the team that I can't stop watching; they're just so good. I've had a moan about how they're stressing Matt Ryan too much and relying on their ungodly high 3rd down percentage, but they're winning games, and Matt Ryan is enjoying a sickening good run of form. My only worry is their dependancy on Ryan, and whether this is just him being great, or him in a good run of form...

5) Eagles
Of all the quarterback controversies I've seen, the Eagles have the best. The talk over these past few years is that Kevin Kolb is shaping up to be a really good QB, and that he is. But in terms of the best QB in the league right now, there are fewer as good as Vick. Much like the Falcons though, the Eagles rely on Vick to be the unstoppable which they've been of late. With Kolb, they're strong, but with Vick they're unstoppable. For me the question is whether he can keep it up and stay injury free until the end of the season. If he can, then the Eagles are the team to watch.

6) Titans
Three words: Fisher, Moss, and Young. Vince Young is on great form. And while Moss didn't work in Minnesota (this time around), Fisher and Chilli are different coaches. One has an AFC Championship under his belt and is the longest tenured coach in the National Football League; the other has four years of head coaching experience and is one loss away from being sacked. Moss will show some respect.

10) Vikings
Yes, I put the Vikings tenth despite them being one defeat away from playing golf in January (i.e. no playoffs). But, for me, what these rankings are about is how good a team is - not what their record is. If we take away their crazy loss to Miami back in week two, we're looking at a 4-4 football team (and everybody seems to be hopping back onto the Chargers bandwagon now that they've managed to get things back to 4-5). But wins and losses aside, this is a strong football team. Jared Allen, Peterson, Favre, Rice when he's healthy, the Williams wall... I could go on.

Cinci Disappointment (2-6)

At 2-6, the Cincinnati Bengals' season is over, and it's a shame that that's the case. Back in preseason I had them as playoff contenders, maybe even superbowl outsiders, but for one reason or another, they have failed to live up to all aspirations. As for the biggest underachiever so far, I think there are several teams that chase them for that prize, but no others have fewer excuses than the Bengals...
Minnesota boast one of the top teams in the NFL, but Favre has had ankle problems and struggled with tendonitis, Sidney Rice has been sorely missed, and let's not even mention the Moss saga.
The Chargers, I believe, are one of the most overrated teams in the NFL and Phillip Rivers has performed incredibly given the circumstances. Obviously their excuses for the premature end to their season lie in contract disputes with icons such as Merriman, and more importantly the sidelining of Vincent Jackson and the damage that it caused to their receiving corps.
Finally, the Cowboys may stake their claim for the mid-season underachievers, but frankly I believe it would be a false one. They're a team with a lot of big names, but their problem is that they're not much of a team. On top of that, they give away penalties like it's preseason, and their special teams are one of the worst around.
Nevertheless, Cincinnati fall under none of the above (aside from the poor special teams play!) They've not been lacking in talent in the areas where it matters, they've been free of any contract disputes, and for the most part, escaped injuries. Carson Palmer, now in his 8th year, looked set with the addition to T.O. to the offense, and as if that wasn't enough, they drafted two wide-out starter rookies in with their first three picks! And in case they needed to balance things out, they have Cedric Benson - one of the leagues top backs - in the backfield. Can I be blamed for believing that Marvin Lewis - fresh from winning head coach of the year - would be 'going places' with this team in '10?!
For me, the blame lies with Carson Palmer. Looking at his stats, he's 20th in the league in QB rating and 8th in interceptions thrown. Another interesting stat which doesn't bode well is that thirteen quarterbacks have taken more sacks than him, which makes it hard for him to blame his O-line...
Moreover, what hurts Cinci is that this was the year he was really meant to show up. Peyton Manning has barely anything to work with this year and yet he still finds a way to win games. With the aforementioned weapons at Palmer's disposal he should be leading the league in most categories. But alas, he isn't.
It could be argued that Cinci got unlucky this year with their schedule and had to face some of the top teams in the league early on, but take the Bucs game for example, this was not one of those, yet they lost it. And Palmer's stats for that one? 58% with average gain of 5 yards, 2TD, oh, and 3INTs...
Oh, and why did I write a post about this?! Because I love T.O. and I'm still pissed he didn't get a look in in the Top 100! The dude never gets the credit he deserves!

Ravens 21 Atlanta 26

In the mid-season power rankings, I had originally omitted Atlanta from the top five, but that has now been rectified. They may have only beaten the Ravens by five points last night, but they outmatched them on all cylinders. I'm still yet to be proven wrong about Joe Flacco: he's mediocre when it matters; and last night he was lucky to escape with only one interception to his name. Anquan Boldin helped him out a lot, especially with the touchdown catch, which was arguably under-thrown. Ray Rice is something special however, and he's one of the reasons why they have to be considered as a Superbowl contender. He's quick, he's reliable, and with the exception of when they rush him for the third time in a row (which usually results in a 'no gain'), he usually averages a good four or five yards. The Ravens are solid on defense too. But all in all, they're so much like the Jets: quality team, slightly above average quarterback. Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but right now, I can't see either Flacco or Sanchez hoisting the Lombardi come February.

As for Atlanta, I'm big on them right now. I've jumped on the band-wagon, and I'm drinking the cool aid. I'd like to begin by highlighting what they do right, but seeing as they're doing so much right at the moment, I think it would be quicker to highlight the few things they need to change if I'm calling them a serious Superbowl contender:
1) 3rd downs. It's simple: they have far too many of them. And whilst they may lead the league in 3rd down conversions, and are ridiculously great at scoring on drives with a stupid amount of 3rd downs, it simply can't stand up in the long run. Sure, in a game of football, you have four downs, and three of them are fine to use, but I need to start seeing them gaining more than four yards on their first two downs. Every time, it's either two runs for two yards each, or an incomplete pass and a four yard run... ...followed by a magical ten yard pass on third down... Fine if it works, but I see absolutely no logic or reason as to why they're not converting on first or second, yet they are on third. Fine if it works, but they seem incapable of a scoring drive that doesn't involve at least two third and longs. Even on the final game-winning drive last night with 50 seconds left!
2) They have to put the ball in the hands of Michael Turner and Jason Snelling more often. Matt Ryan was 22 for 28 last night ...at half time! Joe Theismann joked "for me, that was a game!" Fine, it's a passing game these days, and the game is arguably better for it, but he's in his third year - he's not Manning yet. He's bloody awesome, and one of the best in the league at the moment, they can't afford to burn him out half way through the season.

That's all. Both teams are contenders for the top five. Both WILL make the playoffs. And like I said before the game, the fact that Atlanta have proved themselves is a minor win for the Bucs seeing as we came from within a 4th and 1 from beating them last Sunday.

Baltimore @ Atlanta

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!!!!! For the last three Thursday's I've been counting down the days until I mid-week football finally begins! With ten minutes until kick-off, I hardly have time to write up a preview for the game, but I expect Atlanta to edge it. The line is -1.0 in Atlanta's favour and although I can't see them winning by too much, I'd bet on them to take that too. In my mid season power rankings - which I'll post up tomorrow - I actually have Baltimore higher than Atlanta, however I feel Atlanta have more potential in this game. Matt Ryan's home record is incredible (16-1), I still don't trust Joe Flacco, and the Atlanta have enough weapons on offense to match the Ravens on defense (Roddy White, Michael Turner and Jenkins, with future HOF Gonzales as if that wasn't enough...)
I think this will also be an interesting game from the Bucs perspective. We only just lost by one score last week and this game will give a better gauge as to where the Falcons rank. A big win from Atlanta tonight would look very favourably on our Buccaneers.

Moss is back in Minni, Favre is thrown a life a lifeline!

Sometimes things happen in the NFL which are so perfect, so exquisitely well-timed, that you could be lead to believe it was scripted. The Randy Moss trade the other night is one such example. On one hand we have the Vikings, at 1-2, getting ready for four tough games, Brett Favre with no-one to throw to, wishing he'd never come back, Sidney Rice out indefinitely, their O-line a shambles, their season was almost dead before it had even begun. After attempts to improve, their chances of signing a top wideout were dashed when San Diego dug their heels into the ground on the Vincent Jackson situation. Then, out of nowhere, on Tuesday night, they get who?!? Randy Moss?!? I had to hear that one twice to believe it. This is their breakout rookie receiver who had the best rookie season anyone has ever had, after a ton of teams passed up on him in the draft due his run-ins with the law, returning after a set of record breaking seasons as Tom Brady's no.1 guy, back in Minnesota with Favre - who had tried to get him signed as a Packer back in 2006 - in an attempt to bring back life to Favre and the Vikings Superbowl dream. You'd think it couldn't be scripted any better. Except for the fact that the Vikings start with a game against the Jets - a team that could not be on better form, with their all-pro cornerback Derrell Revis back from injury, after famously calling Moss "a slacker". Then they take on Dallas, the most famous of all teams to pass up on Moss back in the '98 draft, and one which he always makes it his duty to play his best against. This is then followed by a trip to Green Bay, who, besides trying to sign him back in 2006, are also the Vikings arch rivals, and were the recipient of Randy Moss' famous 'pants-down' touchdown celebration. All of this is then topped by a trip to none other than Gillette Stadium to face the Patriots, the very team that just traded him away - on halloween no less!

Jason LaCanfora reported that Favre was 'giddy with excitement', and I'm not surprised. The Vikings may just have some life left in them, and the NFL just got a little better.

Outside Favourites?! The 49ers Slump to 0-5

What an epic game. I said earlier that Dallas were a hard side to fathom, but the 49ers are almost impossible. One minute Alex Smith's running away from blitzing linebackers, fumbling twenty yards behind the line of scrimmage, the next he's leading them to two touchdowns in five minutes, and three points away from overtime. And by the looks of things, Alex Smith may have survived another week as the 49ers no.1, although, it's anybody's guess as to how long he can last. He started the game like Drew Brees, showed great similarity to Ryan Leaf throughout the third quarter to the point where he was booed and jeered after each down, and then finished the game almost like Manning with two touchdowns in quick succession. With the way the game ended, he deserves another week, and will surely get one, but he cannot continue with any inconsistency. In some ways, he's lucky his backup is David Carr and not some young 4^th rounder or else he wouldn't have lasted so long. Aside from QB problems, the 49ers really aren't that bad - and I'd say the fact that 3 of their 5 defearts have been by three points or less backs this up. One factor I can't understand is why they're not running the ball more. Frank Gore is a beast running the ball, and with minutes remaining last night they passed up a 2nd, and then 3rd and goal - with one yard to go - to throw the ball instead of giving their running game a shot. It didn't make any sense.

Just to finish, a quick note on Philadelphia. I felt they were pretty much as expected, with the exception of Kolb. Some would have predicted a big game for him, I did not. Although, some people are on the Kevin Kolb bandwagon, and I most certainly am not. I never was. I saw the bandwagon begin, I watched it roll on by and I shook my head in disgust. Is he good? Yes. Is he a good backup? Hell, yes, a superb backup. But is there any chance he'll be standing on a podium in Texas next February with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in his hands? Not in a million years. When I speak with people taking a ride on the Kevin Kolb bandwagon, there is a standard line to be heard: “He played twice last year, and had 300+ yard games both times!”. And my argument to that is this: one was against the KC Chiefs, with the worst defense in the league in 2009, the other were the Saints – who, yes, were somewhat respectable – but the end result was that Philli lost – by more than three scores... Although this was thin. I had no real substance to the argument. I didn't like him and I couldn't explain why, until tonight. I'll admit, he had a pretty impressive game. His qb rating was in the region of 120 at half-time, and his completion percentage was pretty outrageous. Alongside his touchdown pass, he had zero interceptions. But if you watch carefully, you see his main flaw is a big one: he takes his time in the pocket. In the first half alone he was sacked four times, and many cite the problem with the O-line as the reason why Vick gets sacked so often, but it's got nothing to do with that. You could put Vick behind Bruce Matthews and Anthony Munoz and he'd still take a couple of sacks. I actually think the Eagles offensive line showed up pretty well tonight but Kolb releases so few within four seconds of the snap – and when he does, they're weak. Take the 3^rd and 2 right near the end of the fourth quarter, the quick pass to Brent Celek; a quick pass, thrown slightly behind, he bobbled it, and they turned it over. And thus my point. Against slow defenses, and maybe even averge Ds, Kolb may look like a superstar, but don't be fooled. Just like when he ran out on Lambeau Field in week 1 and got knocked out ten plays into the game, he'll look like a seventh round rookie against the better defenses. And unless he learns to speed up his execution, I can't see him being successful in the long run.

Philladelphia vs Detroit

Did someone say QB controversy?!? If I needed any more reason to pick the Eagles on Sunday, Reid starting Vick is it. As some of you may know, I've never been a fan of Kolb. I was always a big fan of Mcnabb, I hate the Philli fans for the way they treated him while he was there, and I'm still baffled by their offload of him to the Skins.
I aware that Kolb had two 300 yard passing games in his two starts as an Eagle, but this isn't close to the whole story. Only one of those was a win, and that was against Kansas City who were 30th in total defense last season - hardly a big wow... His other game was a loss, in which he was sacked once and threw three (yes, three) interceptions. And you get rid of your future hall of famer for this?
I was actually of the belief that Kolb should have started this weekend had he been fit, but not because he's the better choice, but because Philli has to know if he really can be their number one. As it happens, it looks like he wont be fit, and one would expect Vick to impress. This guy was a hall of famer, he's not some new guy, and by the looks of things, he's not only kept his fitness, he seems much more mature too.

Brett Favre Alert (Proposition no.4 has been lifted)

Of all of Brett Favre's retirements, this has to be one of the strangest. After all his years at Green Bay, he was old and it was accepted, fine, you're going to retire. Then the Jets came into the picture and he reconsiders one more year. Then for retirement number two: he's done his years at Green Bay, done his extra year with the Jets, he's finished. And all through the summer, the Minnesota Vikings banged on his door and begged him to join them for a year. He says no. No through the OTAs, no through the real training camp, and then, oh, go on then... And then it finally happens! The old Brett Favre is back! In one of his best seasons in yeeaars, he takes the Vikings to within one painful play of reaching the Superbowl.
Is he done now? I refuse to believe it. All summer long the bookmakers have had him as favourite to return but on Wednesday it was announced that he would decide to retire. Espn's writers wrote frantic blogs, Espn Football Today called an 'emergency podcast', and it seemed that this was it. Until Thursday when news filtered through that Favre "will play if he's healthy"...
Well all I have to say to that is this: HA HA HA! I'm sorry, I just think the whole thing is ridiculous. First of all, I firmly believed from the start that if he was going to retire, he would have done so a short time after the Vikings season ended - this was the respectable way to go. All through the summer he's been saying he's unsure and couldn't make a decision; yet at the same time, he decided to undergo the ankle surgery he had which was obviously done in prep for a 2010 season - he wasn't getting microscopic ankle surgery to mow the lawn or play tag football. And as for health, this is Dr James Andrews we're talking about. He's the best, bar none. He would have known all along whether Favre surgery was going to work out, and I believe that being as he is, Favre would have come out and spoken publicly if the had been any doubts raised about whether it would heal properly. For the fact that he's still lingering, and we're 1 week away from preseason, tells me one thing and one thing only: "I'm going to retire, or not, or well, maybe not if I'm healthy" = "Guys, look, I'm old, I can't really be bothered with preseason but I know I'm going to look lame if I just sit it out, so I'll be on my couch for a while and I'll give you a call in a few weeks when Tavaris and Sage have made your hair go a little grey."
Nothing else. It's the great Favre sit out. And for as good as he is, it's acceptable. Get him at Tampa and I'd let him sit the first few games if he came to play the last fourteen for us!
But as for whether he'll retire or not, there's no doubt in my mind that he'll be back and only two possible ways that he'll stay retired: 1) He drops a fruitbowl on his ankle in the next few weeks, 2) He actually really isn't fit enough and has just madly mis-timed his decision to retire. For his sake, I hope it isn't this. If the interception against the Saints was going to be his last snap in NFL football, he should have retired soon after the game; and it would be sad to see things end this way.
So that's my take on it - he'll be back. I just watched NFL Network and in a heated discussion between Mooch, Eisen and Irvin, Marruicci was talking about the situation. He didn't say much but I could I swear I saw it in his eyes :) he'll be back.

NFL Quarterback breakdown for 2010

When I say QB situation, I don't mean “QB Controversy”. No no, I simply mean “Do they have options?” “OK, well what should they do?!”. Hence, the Pats, the Colts, the Rams, Dallas, and the Saints do not feature in here. ...and after next week, neither will the Vikings...

As for the Bucs, I'm pretty confident. Our QBs are as unknown as an NFL roster gets but I'm happy with them. I've got a lot of faith in Josh Freeman and I can really see him turning out to be a solid NFL player. Sure, he wasn't great last season but he was thrown into things late, after Leftwich and Johnson fell. A couple of notable games were his debut against the Packers which we won in the final minutes, and then the overtime finish against the Saints (who, of course, went on to win the Superbowl). He reminds me of a younger McNabb. I've heard a few people say he's like Vince young but I don't think he has Vince's speed. He is, nonetheless, much bigger than Vince, and is tough to knock down. All in all, I'd take Vince Young or McNabb quarterbacking my team anyday, I'm happy with him starting this season.
As backup to Freeman we've got Josh Johnson, whom I'm happy with too. He lost all three starts with us last season (including the Wembley game which I was at), but I saw a daring attitude in him that I liked. He wasn't afraid of mixing up a play - even though sometimes it ended up worse! Without a solid QB at the Bucs for a long time, and certainly through his rookie years, it's easy to see why he is the way he is, however, I believe, in time he'll do OK as our backup. I was also going to write that I was happy with us picking up Jevan Snead. He'd originally been considered one of the best draft prospects alongside Sam Bradford, though ended up going undrafted, but I've just read that we released him earlier today, so he mustn't have impressed in the OTAs

As for other teams, I think Denver have a situation. It's not necessarily a bad one, but it's a situation. For any of the top 8 teams in the league, picking Tim Tebow in the draft would have been an easy ride. Well, assuming he's prepared to sit as backup for a while. The Pats, Colts, Saints are all fine teams with an excellent quarterback, and with no fantastic backups in any of them, Tebow would have fitted in OK. In my opinion, Minnesota would have been great for him, sitting behind Favre for a year, and then challenging Tavaris Jackson for the starting job... And going to Jacksonville, who slowly seem to be getting tired of David Gerrard, he'd have been a great fit. But Denver is a little odd. Denver invested a lot in Kyle Orton, and he has to be the definite starter for 2010 - and barring any mess-ups 2011 too. But with the inclusion of Brady Quinn on their roster, it's hard to see where Tebow fits. Tebow's coming out of college as one of the most famed college players ever, and many people have high expectations for him, but with Orton starting and Brady Quinn on board, it's hard to see when Tebow will get his chance. Brady Quinn has been a flop, there's no question about it. He didn't live up to expectations, and often struggled to keep hold of his starting job at Cleveland. But now that Denver have picked him up, I think they've definitely got to give him a chance. But how long until he gets it? We'd assume that - barring any mess-ups - Orton will keep his job all season long, but if he was to lose it after that, who next? Tebow already? For me, this is the only way and Brady Quinn will be nothing more than a replacement when/if Orton gets injured, with Tebow will slowly work his way into Quinns job. I really hope it does work out this way because I wouldn't trust Quinn. So, in conclusion to this one, for as long as Brady Quinn is nothing more than a backup boy for year 1 of the Tebow years, until year 2 commences and Timmy is experienced enough to be a backup himself, then I'm cool with it. But if there's one thing I learned last year, it was that you can never predict what Josh Mcdaniels is going to do next. e.g. Le Brandon Marshall saga. But that's another story...

The biggest QB situation of 2010 for me, is in Philli. This was a team that definitely had one QB too many, and for me, they made the wrong move. It was definitely a tough one, but I still can't get my head around what they did with McNabb. This is a guy who'd taken them to five NFC Championship games and a Superbowl.
And for what??? A second round pick?!? Crazy stuff. Fine, the guy's almost old enough to be my dad, but the second I heard about his move to the Redskins, I was in disbelief. If you want to get rid of him, fine, but to your biggest rivals?! And I mean, your biggest rivals who have just hired Mike Shannahan and are one Albert Hainesworth situation away from chasing your tail!? When the news was emphatically released by Adam Schefter (how I want to be that guy...) on Easter Sunday, I wrote “Retribution awaits the city of brotherly love”. And I sincerely hope it comes. October 3rd – Week 4 – right after Kolb's taken them to just one win in three... :)
The only way I can make sense of the situation is this: on the one hand, they want a clean up their roster; they've got some good young guys in (Maclin, etc) and they did have one QB too many. If they'd have gotten rid of Kolb, they were left with a great guy who hasn't got many more years in him, and a guy who used to be excellent, but has spent the last few years behind bars in an orange jumpsuit. Consequently, losing Kolb wasn't an option. As for Vick, he's special. this is a guy who Atlanta built a team around for three solid years, and before he got arrested and jailed, he took them to the NFC Championship game. Then the year he broke his leg in preseason they went on to lose all but two games. He was the Atlanta falcons, and granted he might not have been the greatest passers in the game, but he was something special, almost magical. When lacking inspiration, I still load up youtube and watch his top ten greatest touchdowns. That infamous run against Minnesota? Extraordinary. He had a spark that made you want to watch the Falcons games; and all last year, I just had to watch the Philli games he was playing, just in case! At any one moment he could turn a dead play into something unbelievable, and it was awesome. If he could come close to recreating what he once was, then Philli have gotten themselves something great for not a lot. For this reason they weren't shipping Vick. Of course, there's also the fact that they weren't exactly getting anything like the McNabb offers, but remember, they did have to pay him a $5million bonus to keep him there for this season, so they definitely have some belief in him. Anyway, enough of the Vick admiration and back to the QB situation... What do I think Andy Reid has in mind? Kolb is the obvious starter. He's been there for enough seasons now and knows Reid's playbook back to front. Only two games in all the time he's been there, he definitely deserves a chance. How long? It depends on his success rate. I belive Philli are good enough to make the playoffs this season. Why? Well every year there's the Dallas hype, and I hate to buy into it - I can't stand Romo - and New York are a wild card team for me, as in, I think they're hard to place. If Philli's expectations are to make the playoffs, then I'd give Kolb the first three games: Green Bay, Detroit and Jacksonville. If he loses all three, he's out. Anything else and Reid's just got to look at the way he's playing and make judgement based on that. The one thing that worries me is that the Eagles might be scared to start Vick, even if Kolb fails. It looked like he just got in the way last year with the whole wildcat formation, and with himself and Kolb competing on a level playing field, it's going to be hard to see it working. All in all, I still have faith in Vick, and if Philli don't, it could end up costing them. He should at least be given a couple of games in the preseason.

Tennessee will be interesting too. I was a big fan of Kerry Collins. Not the old Kerry Collins, no. But that guy who started for the Titans in the season before last, wow, he was good. Then he went and lost his first six games of the 2009 season and I'll admit it, I was with Jeff Fisher all the way in deciding to keep him in his starting job for those six games. And then, out of nowhere, Vince Young returned! And no, not the Vince Young of recent years. It was seemingly the rookie Vince Young that went to the pro bowl in 2005! Yes, I think he's back :) and it could mean very good things for Tennessee this year. As for Kerry Collins, Fisher can't start him after the finish Vince Young had last year; he'll just have to sit and wait until Vince does something crazy again...

The Bills are the team which I'd say are in the worst position. Trent Edwards is ok, but as a starter? Not a prospect I like the sound of. As for Ryan Fitzpatrick, he's famous for being only the second person to get 100% on the Wonderlic test, the genius kid from Harvard. However, one thing he's not famed for is being a great NFL QB. If I'm being honest, he symbolises everything I think about the Buffalo Bills right now: not good enough. Basically, a piece of advice for the Bills: finish last, pick first, take Jake Locker. Enough said.

And then the Vikings? Ohh, I went there... Silly isn't it? Because Favre is coming back. There's no question. It was reported that he told a team mate that he'd never shirt-up again after that Saints game last season but the simple fact is that if he wasn't coming back, he'd have said something by now. So, unless he breaks his foot in the next few weeks, or stubs his toe, he'll be back for week one of the new season.

That's all I have for now. Most other teams are fine with one QB in place. Whether they're great teams like the Pats and the Colts, or as bad as it gets with the Lions and the Rams, they've all pretty much got it sorted.

Offseason in Tampa

Well it's been so long since I've posted... Let me see... We finally got a win at Green Bay, somehow managed to beat the Saints in overtime, and managed the not-so-difficult feat of beating the Seahawks to finish 3-13 for the season, which consequently leaves us picking 3rd in the draft and getting - one would expect - either Suh or McCoy. I'll be doing a write-up on the draft in the next few days, detailing what I think we need and what I think we'll get.
Not really many stories of note this offseason for the Bucs, although I have to say I consider the trade of Antonio Bryant to the Bengals to be very healthy indeed. He'd had a few good seasons, and I'm not saying he isn't a good player, but he didn't fit in to our system at all last year. I don't have his stats to hand, but the amount of dropped passes he had was unreal. Of course if he does well next year with the Bens then 2009 will be put down to the buccaneers musical qb show, but as far as I was concerned, he had problems that Kellen Winslow, and even young guns like Sammie Stroughter did not. Getting him off our books will hopefully allow us to keep Kellen as our no.1 receiver and have 3 or 4 younger guys for the future. If I wasn't all too aware of the financial situation in Tampa right now, then I'd be lobbying for quite a well known wideout by the name of Terrell Owens to sign on. But alas, I hardly think the Glazer budget is going to take us that far.
As for free agent stuff... tomorrow... and it's not all good...