NFL 2010 Season

[D]

yeah but he has heart half the time but not the other half. imagine if he played 100 percent his entire career? He'd blow Rice out of the water.


Speaking of Rice. I just don't believe he is the number 1 greatest football player of all time. Top 5 sure, but number 1?

[Axl4Prez2004]

yeah but he has heart half the time but not the other half. imagine if he played 100 percent his entire career? He'd blow Rice out of the water.

Speaking of Rice. I just don't believe he is the number 1 greatest football player of all time. Top 5 sure, but number 1?

D, don't you think teammates would have called him out for half-assing a long time ago if he did truly half-ass it out there?  If he's split wide right, and they're running a sweep left, what exactly do you want the guy to do?  Should he look busy?  Should he sprint in place? 
I don't buy the half-hearted nonsense.  I just don't.
Look at a guy like Allen Iverson.  He ran around that court like a freaking animal his whole career.  He didn't practice.  I've never ever heard Moss didn't practice.  Fuck, I've heard his off-season workouts are tougher than hell.  The guy just isn't this dude who sits around smoking dope and not practicing.  He's never been one to just show up for the paycheck.  The dude wants to win and does everything he can to do it.

Rice has to be considered the best wide receiver of all-time...but does that make him #1 overall?  I don't know, but he's pretty damn close if he isn't.  Comparing different positions is really tough...true apples and oranges.

[faldor]

 The Patriots AND Vikings will not miss Moss one bit.  Count on it.

    In other news, women are more attractive without tits.

Tell me how in the world the Vikings are going to miss Moss?  They went 1-3 with him.  The only way they'll miss him is if they only win 1 game the rest of the year.  You can rattle off stats all you want.  The only thing that really matters is putting up numbers in the WIN column.  Randy made absolutely no difference in that area for the Vikings.  That is fact, not opinion.  You really can't debate that.

And people keep saying Randy can't play defense.  True.  But has anyone noticed how the Patriots defense is playing world's better since Randy left?  Did anyone notice how much better the Viking defense played before Randy arrived?  Are those 2 situations completely coincidental?  Possibly.  But let's keep an eye on how the Viking team and defense responds.

[faldor]

yeah but he has heart half the time but not the other half. imagine if he played 100 percent his entire career? He'd blow Rice out of the water.

Speaking of Rice. I just don't believe he is the number 1 greatest football player of all time. Top 5 sure, but number 1?

D, don't you think teammates would have called him out for half-assing a long time ago if he did truly half-ass it out there?  If he's split wide right, and they're running a sweep left, what exactly do you want the guy to do?  Should he look busy?  Should he sprint in place? 
I don't buy the half-hearted nonsense.  I just don't.

Well Brett Favre disagrees with you, as he said in his press conference that Randy doesn't go all out all the time, never has.  That's just what Randy does.

Wes Welker said similar things when Randy was traded last month.  Now if you want to argue that people don't dump on him until  he's gone, that could be.  But what good would it do to tear into him when he's on your team?  If you know one thing about Randy, it's you need to keep him content.  You're certainly not going to accomplish that by telling him he needs to try harder.

[Axl4Prez2004]

yeah but he has heart half the time but not the other half. imagine if he played 100 percent his entire career? He'd blow Rice out of the water.

Speaking of Rice. I just don't believe he is the number 1 greatest football player of all time. Top 5 sure, but number 1?

D, don't you think teammates would have called him out for half-assing a long time ago if he did truly half-ass it out there?  If he's split wide right, and they're running a sweep left, what exactly do you want the guy to do?  Should he look busy?  Should he sprint in place? 
I don't buy the half-hearted nonsense.  I just don't.

Well Brett Favre disagrees with you, as he said in his press conference that Randy doesn't go all out all the time, never has.  That's just what Randy does.

Wes Welker said similar things when Randy was traded last month.  Now if you want to argue that people don't dump on him until  he's gone, that could be.  But what good would it do to tear into him when he's on your team?  If you know one thing about Randy, it's you need to keep him content.  You're certainly not going to accomplish that by telling him he needs to try harder.

Faldor, with all due respect, wtf?  Moss' presence negatively affected the Vikings defense now?  How?  And how did his departure help the Patriots defense???    How is that even possible?

Does Randy have a huge ego?  Yes.  Do teams have to accommodate huge egoes?  Yep.  I don't think anybody's debating the fact Randy's got an ego and can be difficult...I didn't hear Favre's quote btw.  Was it in reference to Moss' performance in games?  Practice?  In meetings?  I have no idea. 
You know as well as I do, the Vikings won that fucking game at Lambeau.  If you watched that game, the refs fucked the Vikes multiple times.  Quarless' td catch was on a 3rd down.  Childress didn't challenge a CLEAR incompletion, =7 Packer points.  Shiancoe's td catch was exactly that, 7 points...called an incompletion by the refs.  I'm not whing, I'm not crying, it's not sour grapes, but if you watched that game, we won the freaking game.
Ha! and just saying Randy's presence didn't do anything, hell they could have gone 0-4 and Moss gave them a 1 win advantage!  Who the fuck knows?  Without a deep threat on the field do we beat the Cowboys?  Maybe not.  All I know is that we should have been 2-2 in that time span...the 1-legged quarterback chucking interceptions and fumbling balls away and the shitty defensive efforts I guess had nothing to do with the team's awful performance. 

Lots of points here, but when you asked the question about how do you make him content?  Easy.  It's the same damn thing in every line of business.  I don't lead a ton of people on the job, but you have to have a feel for what each individual on your team needs.  Randy's not a grunt that will take every order and charge through brick walls because he's been told to do so.  Colonel Klink aka Chilly likely tried that.  It doesn't work.  With a guy like Randy, very intelligent guy, but a guy with no filter as I mentioned b4, you need him to feel like his input is not only appreciated but it's also utilized.  It's all communication. 
Jeff Fisher is a fucking awesome communicator.  Randy will do well in TN. 

[faldor]

yeah but he has heart half the time but not the other half. imagine if he played 100 percent his entire career? He'd blow Rice out of the water.

Speaking of Rice. I just don't believe he is the number 1 greatest football player of all time. Top 5 sure, but number 1?

D, don't you think teammates would have called him out for half-assing a long time ago if he did truly half-ass it out there?  If he's split wide right, and they're running a sweep left, what exactly do you want the guy to do?  Should he look busy?  Should he sprint in place? 
I don't buy the half-hearted nonsense.  I just don't.

Well Brett Favre disagrees with you, as he said in his press conference that Randy doesn't go all out all the time, never has.  That's just what Randy does.

Wes Welker said similar things when Randy was traded last month.  Now if you want to argue that people don't dump on him until  he's gone, that could be.  But what good would it do to tear into him when he's on your team?  If you know one thing about Randy, it's you need to keep him content.  You're certainly not going to accomplish that by telling him he needs to try harder.

Faldor, with all due respect, wtf?  Moss' presence negatively affected the Vikings defense now?  How?  And how did his departure help the Patriots defense???    How is that even possible?

I'm not saying he's the reason.  But both happened.  Again, it could be a complete coincidence.  I can't speak too much on the Vikings side.  But I know the Patriots defense was god awful to start the season.  They certainly turned a corner in that Miami game, so it was probably coming along with or without Moss.  But I do believe the defense and team as a whole plays differently without him.  I mean you have to.  The Patriots with Moss were built around scoring points early and often and playing from ahead.  The defense wasn't asked to do much.  You take Moss out of the equation and you play a more ball control offense, giving the defense more rest during the game and thus making them more fresh when they are on the field.  Not to mention the fact that when the Pats got rid of Moss, they rallied behind each other, out to prove the skeptics wrong that they couldn't win without him.

So did Randy hold the Patriots defense back?  It might not be as crazy as it sounds.

And Favre was asked about Moss not going after the ball on the pass interference call this week.  He said that Moss maybe could've caught the ball.  He takes plays off, he always has, that's who he is.  So either you disagree with your favorite QB, or you've got your favorite WR all wrong.

[D]

Im sure Randy is a nice guy, stays humble etc, so teammates don't want to blast him publicly. Hell, teammates of T.O. think he is a great guy.

Have you ever heard ANYBODY say a negative word about T.O.?

being a cool/nice guy and being someone people want to play with are totally different things. There are reason s why Moss will now be on his 5th team, T.O. is on his 5th team and Allen Iverson is in Turkey

BTW this is a cool argument/discussion

ive really missed being able to debate stuff.

[tippasaurus]

I don't think anyone is saying or even attempting to say Moss isn't an amazing talent. problem is making him fully put his heart into it.

its that old adage: "Ill take a guy with 60 percent talent and 100 percent heart over someone with 100 percent talent and 60 percent heart."

Randy's problem is that he speaketh the truth...and he doesn't have an effective filter between brain and mouth.  That's it. 
 

So you're saying he doesn't loaf or "pout" on the field when things aren't going his way?  Film would suggest otherwise.  The fact that the Titans were the only team that put a claim on him should tell you a lot about how he is viewed in the league.  Surely that perception around the league isn't only because of his mouth....because there are plenty of examples of players that don't exactly mince words (TO comes to mind), yet aren't accused of loafing on the field.   

He would still be w/ the Pats if Moss was ok being a decoy (i.e. draw away coverage), but he is SO high maintence that teams don't even want to bother at this point.  Unfortunate because, as others have pointed out, he is probably the most talented receiver ever.     

[faldor]

I don't think anyone is saying or even attempting to say Moss isn't an amazing talent. problem is making him fully put his heart into it.

its that old adage: "Ill take a guy with 60 percent talent and 100 percent heart over someone with 100 percent talent and 60 percent heart."

Randy's problem is that he speaketh the truth...and he doesn't have an effective filter between brain and mouth.  That's it. 
 

So you're saying he doesn't loaf or "pout" on the field when things aren't going his way?  Film would suggest otherwise.  The fact that the Titans were the only team that put a claim on him should tell you a lot about how he is viewed in the league.  Surely that perception around the league isn't only because of his mouth....because there are plenty of examples of players that don't exactly mince words (TO comes to mind), yet aren't accused of loafing on the field.   

He would still be w/ the Pats if Moss was ok being a decoy (i.e. draw away coverage), but he is SO high maintence that teams don't even want to bother at this point.  Unfortunate because, as others have pointed out, he is probably the most talented receiver ever.     

Well said.  It is quite telling that ONLY the Titans put in a claim on him.  I'm actually a little surprised even they did, but all the "experts" were talking how at least 5 or 6 teams were interested in him.  And maybe they were on "their" terms.  But they obviously didn't feel the rewards outweighed the risks by picking up the rest of his contract for this season. 

Randy wants to get paid next year, and you can't blame him for that.  He wasn't getting the ball with the Pats so he talked/acted his way out of town.  He thought things would be different in Minnesota but he still wasn't getting the ball AND they were losing to top it off.  So again, he talked/acted his way out of town.  Is the third time a charm?  I'd like to think that he HAS to behave and go along with the program this time regardless of what may happen.  He has to prove he can be a team player if a team is going to sign him to the contract he desires next season.  Then again, a team may just take a chance on him regardless based on his talent alone.  It's happened before for him, so it could happen again.  Only thing is, Randy is a little older now then he was 4 years ago when he was jettisoned out of Oakland and he came crawling on his hands and knees to New England for the chance to prove himself.  I don't foresee a 2007 like campaign coming his way again.

[Axl4Prez2004]

I don't think anyone is saying or even attempting to say Moss isn't an amazing talent. problem is making him fully put his heart into it.

its that old adage: "Ill take a guy with 60 percent talent and 100 percent heart over someone with 100 percent talent and 60 percent heart."

Randy's problem is that he speaketh the truth...and he doesn't have an effective filter between brain and mouth.  That's it. 
 

So you're saying he doesn't loaf or "pout" on the field when things aren't going his way?  Film would suggest otherwise.  The fact that the Titans were the only team that put a claim on him should tell you a lot about how he is viewed in the league.  Surely that perception around the league isn't only because of his mouth....because there are plenty of examples of players that don't exactly mince words (TO comes to mind), yet aren't accused of loafing on the field.   

He would still be w/ the Pats if Moss was ok being a decoy (i.e. draw away coverage), but he is SO high maintence that teams don't even want to bother at this point.  Unfortunate because, as others have pointed out, he is probably the most talented receiver ever.     

Well said.  It is quite telling that ONLY the Titans put in a claim on him.  I'm actually a little surprised even they did, but all the "experts" were talking how at least 5 or 6 teams were interested in him.  And maybe they were on "their" terms.  But they obviously didn't feel the rewards outweighed the risks by picking up the rest of his contract for this season. 

Randy wants to get paid next year, and you can't blame him for that.  He wasn't getting the ball with the Pats so he talked/acted his way out of town.  He thought things would be different in Minnesota but he still wasn't getting the ball AND they were losing to top it off.  So again, he talked/acted his way out of town.  Is the third time a charm?  I'd like to think that he HAS to behave and go along with the program this time regardless of what may happen.  He has to prove he can be a team player if a team is going to sign him to the contract he desires next season.  Then again, a team may just take a chance on him regardless based on his talent alone.  It's happened before for him, so it could happen again.  Only thing is, Randy is a little older now then he was 4 years ago when he was jettisoned out of Oakland and he came crawling on his hands and knees to New England for the chance to prove himself.  I don't foresee a 2007 like campaign coming his way again.

  that reminded me of the time Homer Simpson had to go back to the power plant begging for his job back.  Good visual.  Thanks Faldor!
Injuries, a shitty qb, and Oakland will do that to a player.
I guess Brady's 50 touchdowns would have come with or without Randy.     That 16-1 season that was one lucky-ass grab away from being a 17-0 season had nothing to do with Randy. puh-leeze. 
Brady's always been a winner.
It took Moss to give Brady Peyton-like numbers.
My concern for Moss is that without a solid qb his production is going to be hurt.
...and yes, I do believe you are right, his mouth got him kicked out of N'England.  (not his play)

[faldor]

I don't think anyone is saying or even attempting to say Moss isn't an amazing talent. problem is making him fully put his heart into it.

its that old adage: "Ill take a guy with 60 percent talent and 100 percent heart over someone with 100 percent talent and 60 percent heart."

Randy's problem is that he speaketh the truth...and he doesn't have an effective filter between brain and mouth.  That's it. 
 

So you're saying he doesn't loaf or "pout" on the field when things aren't going his way?  Film would suggest otherwise.  The fact that the Titans were the only team that put a claim on him should tell you a lot about how he is viewed in the league.  Surely that perception around the league isn't only because of his mouth....because there are plenty of examples of players that don't exactly mince words (TO comes to mind), yet aren't accused of loafing on the field.   

He would still be w/ the Pats if Moss was ok being a decoy (i.e. draw away coverage), but he is SO high maintence that teams don't even want to bother at this point.  Unfortunate because, as others have pointed out, he is probably the most talented receiver ever.     

Well said.  It is quite telling that ONLY the Titans put in a claim on him.  I'm actually a little surprised even they did, but all the "experts" were talking how at least 5 or 6 teams were interested in him.  And maybe they were on "their" terms.  But they obviously didn't feel the rewards outweighed the risks by picking up the rest of his contract for this season. 

Randy wants to get paid next year, and you can't blame him for that.  He wasn't getting the ball with the Pats so he talked/acted his way out of town.  He thought things would be different in Minnesota but he still wasn't getting the ball AND they were losing to top it off.  So again, he talked/acted his way out of town.  Is the third time a charm?  I'd like to think that he HAS to behave and go along with the program this time regardless of what may happen.  He has to prove he can be a team player if a team is going to sign him to the contract he desires next season.  Then again, a team may just take a chance on him regardless based on his talent alone.  It's happened before for him, so it could happen again.  Only thing is, Randy is a little older now then he was 4 years ago when he was jettisoned out of Oakland and he came crawling on his hands and knees to New England for the chance to prove himself.  I don't foresee a 2007 like campaign coming his way again.

  that reminded me of the time Homer Simpson had to go back to the power plant begging for his job back.  Good visual.  Thanks Faldor!
Injuries, a shitty qb, and Oakland will do that to a player.
I guess Brady's 50 touchdowns would have come with or without Randy.     That 16-1 season that was one lucky-ass grab away from being a 17-0 season had nothing to do with Randy. puh-leeze. 
Brady's always been a winner.
It took Moss to give Brady Peyton-like numbers.
My concern for Moss is that without a solid qb his production is going to be hurt.
...and yes, I do believe you are right, his mouth got him kicked out of N'England.  (not his play)

Axl4Prez, let me ask you, when did I ever insinuate that Randy was meaningless in New England?  Have I ever said that?  NO!  You keep trying to paint Randy as some misunderstood guy who never gets any credit.  I have said, time and again.  He was a loyal team member for 2 and a half years for the Pats.  He was absolutely a big reason they went 18-0, let's not short change them with 16-0, until the Super Bowl.  However, now here's where you get steaming mad again.

I heard a caller call in to sports talk radio with this argument, I can't take credit for it.  Everyone always likes to say how Randy wasn't the reason they lost the Super Bowl that year.  AND I AGREE.  BUT, this caller brought up this fact.  That whole season was based on blowing teams out.  They'd get out to such large leads that teams had no chance at catching up.  Moss would go deep, Brady would hit him.  As long as the offensive line gave him enough time, things were golden.  However, teams started to catch on about half way through the season.  The Pats had a few close calls down the stretch but were able to prevail.  Then they met their toughest match in the Super Bowl.  The Giants defense played the game of their lives.  The offensive line couldn't provide enough protection.  Moss running his deep routes were ineffective.  They really didn't know of any other way to win, because they really never had to that season.  Well they finally figured it out, and I'll blame the coaching staff more than Moss, in the 4th quarter.  BUT, if they didn't rely so heavily on Moss and base the entire offense around him that season, MAYBE they would've had confidence to change things around earlier.

Has Moss won a Super Bowl?  I seem to remember a Vikings team he was on doing quite well in the regular season, only to fall short to the Falcons at home in the NFC Championship game.  He's a dynamic talent.  He's been on some great teams.  Yet he's never been able to win the big one.  I'm not pinning all the blame on him, but you seem to want to insinuate that he can MAKE a team and that is just completely off base.

[D]

Well, thats an interesting argument Faldor the caller had BUT, I'm not a huge fan of it.

NE had that game won. Correct me if im wrong, but Moss caught the go ahead touchdown right? Asante Buckner Samuel dropped an EASY game winning interception.

We can also throw in David Tyree's miracle catch. So I think NE did enough to win but for the first time, the ball didn't bounce their way.

That's Moss though. When he is motivated and into it, he will catch u 23 touchdowns and help you to 18-0. When he isn't, he will kill your team.

[faldor]

Well, thats an interesting argument Faldor the caller had BUT, I'm not a huge fan of it.

NE had that game won. Correct me if im wrong, but Moss caught the go ahead touchdown right? Asante Buckner Samuel dropped an EASY game winning interception.

We can also throw in David Tyree's miracle catch. So I think NE did enough to win but for the first time, the ball didn't bounce their way.

That's Moss though. When he is motivated and into it, he will catch u 23 touchdowns and help you to 18-0. When he isn't, he will kill your team.

Moss did have the go ahead TD, but he only had 4 catches in the game.  And here's the point I forgot to mention.  After all that craziness happened and the Giants went ahead, the Patriots had the ball with 40 seconds or so and all three of their timeouts, and all they needed was a FG to tie the game.  Plenty of time with Tom Brady and Moss, Welker, Stallworth, Faulk, etc. to get into FG range.  BUT, since Brady had Moss, he tried 4 hail mary type passes.  The Moss effect.  QB's get infatuated with his potential, and get away from what works best for them and the situations they're in.  Brady got sacked on the first attempt, and missed on the next 3.  A few 10 yard passes to Welker and they're in business.

[faldor]

Okay, so maybe the Vikings will still continue to be a mess, even without Moss.

Multiple sources tell the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that Percy Harvin and Vikings coach Brad Childress had a "heated" argument about the injured receiver's effort in Friday's practice.

As if we needed more confirmation that Chilly's lost the locker room. The Star-Trib has few other details, but Harvin played through a serious ankle injury last week and accounted for 135 all-purpose yards against the Patriots. Harvin is also known to be "furious" with Childress for waiving his close friend Randy Moss earlier in the week. Owner Zygi Wilf should've fired the coach when such a good opportunity presented itself on Tuesday. Worth noting: Beat writer Tom Pelissero suggested on Twitter Friday that Childress' firing wouldn't be a surprise if the Vikings lost Sunday's game against Arizona.

Nov. 5 - 10:58 pm et
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune

[Axl4Prez2004]

Faldor, please don't think I'm steaming made at you.  I'm totally not!  I LOVE talking football, and I'm passionate about it, but it's all good.  It's all so subjective and that's what makes it fun!
I'm re-reading your post and of course I see we are on the same page, Randy gave the Pats at least 2 1/2 seasons of what they needed.  It was this season where yes, Randy talked himself out of New England. (not intentionally IMO)
I never said Moss could MAKE a team.  I have insinuated he can make (and has made) offenses better.  Scoring more points, etc.
Seriously, go back to the "big games" Moss has been in.  I consider playoff games pretty big.  10 td catches in 12 postseason games.  Does that sound like A-Rod in the playoffs?  or Barry Bonds pre-steroids?  Not to me it doesn't.

Go back to the Vikings "big games." 
In the loss to the Falcons in the NFC Championship game, the Vikes lost 30-27.  Every Vikings fan knows that game was lost by 2 people.  Denny Green and Randall Cunningham.  By the way, Randy had 6 catches for 75 yards and a td.
In fact, with the Vikings, the Viking offense lit it up in 6 out of 8 games.  Points per game:  41, 27, 27, 37, 34, 0, 31, and 14. 
The 0 and 14 games were the ones Randy was shut down. Giants in 2000 and Eagles in 2004, both Super Bowl teams. 2 catches for 18 yards, and 3 catches for 51 yards, no tds.
In the other 6 games, playoff games mind you...BIG GAMES, Randy had the following numbers:
(catches-yards-td)
4-73-1
6-75-1
5-127-1
9-188-2
2-121-2
4-70-2
Honestly, do those numbers look like someone who gets shut down consistently in big games? 

Yes, the Vikes went 4-4 in the playoffs, but those Vikings teams could not play defense.  They gave up over 26 points per game.

Ya know, we probably agree more than we disagree Faldor.  I will admit I'm biased as hell in favor of Moss and the Vikes.  You're likely to be biased as heck as a Patriots fan.  Vikings fans know that Moss was sent out of Minnesota wrongly twice.  Pats fans have the bitter taste of losing a Super Bowl and all the woulda coulda shouldas that go along with it...and you all had the up close and personal view of the inappropriate Randy press conference.  Teams lose games.  No doubt about it.  31 teams will not win the Super Bowl every year.  Just because a guy doesn't have a ring doesn't make him a bad player.  Barry Sanders, Dan Marino, all the Purple People Eaters and Tarkenton from the '70's Vikes, Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Deacon Jones...all great players who I'm pretty sure didn't win a ring. 

This all makes my head spin.

...I still contend Childress should have been fired for even suggesting the Vikes waive Moss.  Wilf never should have granted Childress the power to waive players without letting the owner know first.  Some folks may call that "meddling" a-la Al Davis or Daniel Snyder, I call it a common sense checks and balance system.  Harvin has a right to be pissed because he is personally fucked.  Ya think Bernard Berrian can do any damage deep?  The Vikes will try, but even a homer like me can't see it succeeding.

[faldor]

The Vikings didn't appear to miss Moss today.  At least after the first 3 quarters or so.  What a strange game, or at least it seemed.  I didn't watch it, but just by following the game on the NFL Network.  It looked as if Childress was on his way out the door.  Then, the team rallies and completes a come from behind win.  Now his job seems safe, for now.  And Harvin did just fine without Randy today too. 

As for my Patriots.  Just a horrendous showing.  I guess they were due for one.  They've been getting by by the skin of their teeth lately.  I'm hoping today was just a case of Eric Mangini knowing Brady and the Pats so well.  Also the Browns have played 2 near perfect games in beating the Pats and Saints.  Gotta give them credit.  And to top it off, the Jets came back and beat the Lions in OT, in a game they had no business winning really.

So it's back to a tie for first.  Well, the Patriots were the best team in the NFL for one week.  Now it's back to reality.

[tim_m]

Another pretty crappy showing for my Jets. They may have gotten the win but you can't just barely beat a team as bad as the fucking Lions. That offense has been anemic since coming off the bye week. They need to wake up a bit.

[Axl4Prez2004]

The Vikings didn't appear to miss Moss today.  At least after the first 3 quarters or so.  What a strange game, or at least it seemed.  I didn't watch it, but just by following the game on the NFL Network.  It looked as if Childress was on his way out the door.  Then, the team rallies and completes a come from behind win.  Now his job seems safe, for now.  And Harvin did just fine without Randy today too. 

As for my Patriots.  Just a horrendous showing.  I guess they were due for one.  They've been getting by by the skin of their teeth lately.  I'm hoping today was just a case of Eric Mangini knowing Brady and the Pats so well.  Also the Browns have played 2 near perfect games in beating the Pats and Saints.  Gotta give them credit.  And to top it off, the Jets came back and beat the Lions in OT, in a game they had no business winning really.

So it's back to a tie for first.  Well, the Patriots were the best team in the NFL for one week.  Now it's back to reality.

I got to watch the whole game today...how sweet was that?  I want to take full credit for the win by the way.  The Cards were driving...Vikes down 21-10...and I finally remembered!  I forgot to put my Vikings flag up today!  I put it up immediately and it held the Cards to a field goal.  Then, the Vikes proceeded to score a td...stop the Cards...then score the tying td with seconds to go!  Seriously, if you watched the game, we stunk it up for over 3 quarters of the game...failed again on a 4th and goal from the 1.  (at that point I was thinking how crazy is it to have 3 games decided on my team's inability to punch it in on 4th and goal from the 1?)  Luckily, the defense actually got pressure on the quarterback, and thank God it was Derek Anderson, who really, really sucks.

One more thing I noticed that I didn't hear mentioned by the announcers...Favre's throws do not look like they've got as much mustard on them.  I mean I know that's pretty damn obvious when he's got a bum ankle, but it really does affect his play.  Also, right now, a big reason for his high yardage today was the fact he can't move well in the pocket.  Hence, he gets sacked for big losses.  Luckily, we were playing the Cardinals...and while his velocity may not be the same, his touch sure is something special.  The tying td to Shiancoe was absolutely perfectly dropped in there.

The Vikings season was saved...for one more week.  Next week at the Bears.  After that, Packers at home.  We could really make a move. 

Go Cowboys tonight over the Packers!  D, do they have a shot??? 
 

[GeorgeSteele]

 The Patriots AND Vikings will not miss Moss one bit.  Count on it.

    In other news, women are more attractive without tits.

Tell me how in the world the Vikings are going to miss Moss?  They went 1-3 with him.  The only way they'll miss him is if they only win 1 game the rest of the year.  You can rattle off stats all you want.  The only thing that really matters is putting up numbers in the WIN column.  Randy made absolutely no difference in that area for the Vikings.  That is fact, not opinion.  You really can't debate that.

And people keep saying Randy can't play defense.  True.  But has anyone noticed how the Patriots defense is playing world's better since Randy left?  Did anyone notice how much better the Viking defense played before Randy arrived?  Are those 2 situations completely coincidental?  Possibly.  But let's keep an eye on how the Viking team and defense responds.

I'm sorry, but a lot of that makes no sense.

So, the Vikings are already better off without Moss by winning 1 game? Really?  Arent' you ignoring the possibility that there might be a greater likelihood of them winning more games had he stayed than they end up winning without him?  Which wouldn't be the craziest thing to have ever happened given that:  (1) he would have had more time to learn the offense; (2) the soft part of the Vikings schedule just started; and (3) he's Randy Fucking Moss.

And now he makes the defense play worse?  What? 

In terms of stats, yes, of course they can be manipulated, but contrary to what's always drilled into our heads, other stats besides wins/losses do matter.  Why?  Because determining how good (or bad) a team is sometimes not as simple as looking at its record.  Perhaps if you noticed that the Pats' offensive yardage production has plummeted without Moss, you would have seen a blowout loss to the Browns coming (you probably still wouldn't have; that was kind of surprising, but not really). 

Anyway, forget stats, I don't feel that I should have to out-nerd everyone with numbers that anyone can pull off of http://www.pro-football-reference.com/ in order to state the obvious -- any team would be worse off by losing a Hall-of-Fame talent.  Really, it's pretty obvious, let's not over-complicate things. 

[AxlsMainMan]

How about Clay Matthews single-handedly destroying the Butt-boys? What a joke of a team - saw better football from the local highschool yesterday.