The NFL Thread

[Black Dow]

Honestly I believe all of it...He just W I L L NOT DIE!!! LoLLL!!!!

If this guy wants to give it one more go and you need to fill seats - sign him. If you want to win games run away from him as quickly as possible.

Funny thing is - which one is MIN???? Fill seats or win??? Good debate there because you can make a case either way. Or they can they just go with the second best jewish QB * of all time and call it another top 10 draft pick. hummmm Vikings are already poisoning the qb well?

*=See Sid Luckman

Third best Jewish QB of all time. (if he's Jewish). Jay Fiedler was pretty good and very underrated.

[Black Dow]

As a Chicago fan, I am all for Favre going to Minnesota.

As a NFL, I am for him going there. No what how it ultimately ends up, it's good for ratings, and good for the league.

But I was a Chicago fan, I wouldn't be so glad that he might be going to Minnesota. Sure, he sucked for the latter part of last year- but he was playing injured. Not playing hurt; playing injured. He might be about finished anyway, but if his poor play late last year was a result of the injury and not solely a result of age and decline, then I think he can be a serious thread to that division.

[Black Dow]

As someone said, the best time to evaluate a draft is 3 years later...Anyone want to do the top 10 picks of '06 with me (and the rest of the 1st round if you feel like it?)

Pick 1: Houston Texans, DE Mario Williams (A-)

Remember when this was a "Blair Thomas" level draft choice? At the time it certainly seemed that the Texans, who had yet to break that .500 barrier, needed a key QB or RB rather than a DE but they inexplicably passed on Reggie Bush. What a difference three years makes huh? Now a Pro Bowler and Houston�€™s key defensive player his star clearly outshines...

Pick 2: New Orleans Saints, RB Reggie Bush (C )

Now I'm not going to say this was a bad choice at the time, considering what a morale booster it was for Katrina ravaged New Orleans and how everyone was fawning over him. Unfortunately, three years later the hype has been killed by Bush's utterly mediocre injury riddled performances. It�€™s doubtful he�€™ll ever match up to the love affair he gave New Orleans for a year.

Pick 3: Tennessee Titans, QB Vince Young (C-)

Young had an amazing rookie season but the wisdom says "three years." Unfortunately for the Titans, those three years taught the Titans what everyone learned from Atlanta, you just can't have a running QB and expect to go very far in the long run. To be fair, his replacement, Collins, hasn't got further but his miserable performance in �€˜07 and the decision to bench him in �€˜08 makes this one look something like a bust at this point.

Pick 4: New York Jets, OT D'Brickshaw Ferguson (B)

While he's no Orlando Pace, Ferguson has done admirably on a less than stellar O-Line starting nearly every game for the last three years and made particular strides last season.

Pick 5: Green Bay Packers, OLB A.J. Hawk (C+)

Again, while he's been solid Hawk has not become the superstar he was predicted to be and, three years later, that D is still struggling.

Pick 6: San Francisco 49ers, TE Vernon Davis (C+)

A guy who nobody had heard of before the Combine, Davis's performance hasn't exactly been amazing the last few years. Of course, one could argue that a TE isn't going to look that good without somebody to catch from, and the 49ers have been plagued by QB issues for years. Still, he's no Owen Daniels, who was picked in the 4th round of the same draft and hasn�€™t exactly had amazing QBs in his NFL stint either.

Pick 7: Oakland Raiders, S Michael Huff (D-)

Who? After two slightly below average years that saw him benched after 5 games in his third, we see Al Davis�€™s genius strike again with this dud.

Pick 8: Buffalo Bills, S Donte Whitner (D)

Never more than mediocre and injury riddled, Whitner recently became more famous for screaming �€œDON�€™T TASE ME BRO!�€� before being arrested by Cleveland police outside a (surprise!) night club.

Pick 9: Detroit Lions, OLB Ernie Sims (B)

Considering the team he plays for, Sims has done pretty damn well and is considered one of the league�€™s best tacklers. However, compared to fellow �€™06 LB DeMeco Ryan he really didn�€™t deserve to be #2 of his linebacker class.

Pick 10: Arizona Cardinals, QB Matt Leinart (D+)

All the debate about �€œLeinart vs. Young�€� seems silly now doesn�€™t it? After three awful seasons he looks like a major bust. At least Young had ONE good season.

All in all, the first 10 picks of the '06 draft doesn't look fantastic these days does it?

You may actually be a bit too generous here. No one here, except for Williams and arguably Ernie Sims, has lived up to expectations. But, if you want to see something really bad, take a look at the Top 10 in the 2005 draft. :ack:

[DanteGabriel]

But I was a Chicago fan, I wouldn't be so glad that he might be going to Minnesota. Sure, he sucked for the latter part of last year- but he was playing injured. Not playing hurt; playing injured. He might be about finished anyway, but if his poor play late last year was a result of the injury and not solely a result of age and decline, then I think he can be a serious thread to that division.

He had a torn bicep tendon, which he still hasn't had surgery for. I don't think his arm will hold up much better this year. Maybe they can play him for the first eight games and then let Rosenfels come in when Favre's arm gives way.

[Mexal]

I really really dislike Favre.

[Stego]

I wish we could go back in time and re-read my arguments with Bronn Stone about the draft. I stated why Mario Williams was the best possible choice and he lambasted Houston and lauded Vince Young.

Sigh.

And now that he has Alzheimer's he'll never remember that I was right. :(

[awesome possum]

I would love to see Favre in Minnesota, only because it will be so much fun watching both Chicago and Green Bay gunning for his ass when they play. Interceptions galore as he scrambles and then haphazardly tries to force the ball to someone because he doesn't want to get hit.

With his ability declining, I think he'll be more detriment to a Minnesota franchise that's just a step away from NFC dominance, and since I hate the Vikings I'm more than willing to watch him screw up their chances this year.

[Kalbear]

I remember you were saying that, Stego - and that you were at least right about Williams being a better choice than Bush or Young. I still don't think that Houston is going anywhere without a good QB, and there's nothing that shows me that they have it. And their defense is...inconsistent. But Williams is definitely a beast, and much better than I thought he'd be.

[Andrik the Unsmiling]

Weighing in on Favre: By and large, I've got no problems with the dude. He beat my favorite team in key games a few times, and that stings, but that's football.

There are, however, two points aside from his general takeover of the media cycle with this "will he or won't he?" crap lately, that royally piss me off at ol' Britt...

1) Gunslinger-ness.... Can we stop talking like it's a good thing? Oh, sure, it's an interesting thing. And it's fun when a QB chucks it deep every now and again. But it seems like all too often this is just used as an excuse to justify his turnovers. You know what? An interception sucks just as much whether you're a "gunslinger" and media darling or not. Stop it, media. What seriously burns me is the thought that this drivel might have subconsciously affected a younger generation of future QBs to think that not taking care of the football is ok if you're ballsy about it.

2) His name. I can think of several ways to pronounce it. Far-ve, is not one of them. You know, I give people a lot of latitude here. It's a little upsetting that we have to have like 3 pronunciations for "Andrea" (and girls who get super bent out of shape if and when you forget which one they prefer), but you know what? I can roll with that. But pretending like Brett Favre's name isn't french just takes it to a new low. Pick one of the possible bastardized pronunciations and roll with it. Or change your name. Just don't ask me to ignore the phonetics of the words in front of my face.

[Black Dow]

I remember you were saying that, Stego - and that you were at least right about Williams being a better choice than Bush or Young. I still don't think that Houston is going anywhere without a good QB, and there's nothing that shows me that they have it. And their defense is...inconsistent. But Williams is definitely a beast, and much better than I thought he'd be.

They have it. Matt Schaub, passer's rating last year of 92.7, over 3,000 passing yards in only 11 games. It's not a question as to whether he's good, it's a question of how good, and whether he can stay healthy throughout a full season of starting.

[Caliban]

I wish we could go back in time and re-read my arguments with Bronn Stone about the draft. I stated why Mario Williams was the best possible choice and he lambasted Houston and lauded Vince Young.

Sigh.

And now that he has Alzheimer's he'll never remember that I was right. :(

Why cant this be found. Because I dont remember it that way at all Stego.

[DanteGabriel]

Why cant this be found. Because I dont remember it that way at all Stego.

I don't remember who he was arguing with, but I remember Stego confidently predicting Williams would be a beast and that Houston made the right choice.

[Caliban]

I think i remember being piled on about Bush not tranlating and Mario being the better choice. I dont remember stego's bit. Why cant we pull up that stuff? Too oold? where is the NFL 2006 offseason thread>?

[Kalbear]

Why cant this be found. Because I dont remember it that way at all Stego.

To be fair we couldn't really hear you all that well while you were gagging on Rex Grossman's huge penis. You could've said a lot of things.

[Caliban]

To be fair we couldn't really hear you all that well while you were gagging on Rex Grossman's huge penis. You could've said a lot of things.

Good call. It would only make sense that Sexy has a huge cock.

[ZANNI_1276]

Dancing with the Stars and Washington Redskin NO SHOW Jason Taylor just re-upped with the Fins - 1 year, 1.5 million. Dolphins are going to need the help with the schedule they have coming up.

[DanteGabriel]

I confess, I am disappointed Taylor took the short money to go back to Miami. Then again I might be willing to take that big a pay cut to stay out of New England winters.

[ZANNI_1276]

I confess, I am disappointed Taylor took the short money to go back to Miami. Then again I might be willing to take that big a pay cut to stay out of New England winters.

Me too. I guess heading back to South Beach is nice for the winter and nostalgic to wind down your career but if he wanted to win though he should have thought hard about NE, Fins aren't going to sneak up on anybody next year and their schedule is pure murder.

Too early to make predictions and it kills me to say it but NE with Brady back and the new pieces they have added, they are the team to beat in the AFC....

[DanteGabriel]

Too early to make predictions and it kills me to say it but NE with Brady back and the new pieces they have added, they are the team to beat in the AFC....

I'm a fatalistic New Englander and don't like the idea of Taylor chasing gimpy-kneed Brady around the field.

[ZANNI_1276]

I'm a fatalistic New Englander and don't like the idea of Taylor chasing gimpy-kneed Brady around the field.

Agree with you there, I too am pretty fatalistic but even that his knees are shaky but Bill would have probably have regulated him to part time on passing downs to which he would have been a really good role player in that system and would have beefed up the pass rush there. Give Bill credit, he knows how to use his personnel.