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.