Going Favre Beyond the Call of Duty

I complained several months ago that Brett Favre needed to add some new wrinkles to his offseason playbook. In that post, I posited that "Favre-watch" is one of the most interesting things to happen in the otherwise dull and football-less offseason. So far this offseason had been a bust for one of football's greatest entertainers, and needless to say we here at Dank Game were dissapointed. Well maybe Brett reads Dank Game, because in the last couple of weeks he came through in a big way!

The difficulty with this offseason was that Brett was still under contract with the Minnesota Vikings, the only team he was at all likely to play for in 2010. Unlike in 2008, when the Packers made it clear they were hoping he stayed retired, or in 2009 when the Jets drafted a first round rookie quarterback and a new head coach, Favre couldn't cook up interest based on where he'd play. And the sole notion of if he'll play is an old storyline now. He's been reliving it for about six straight years.

But if you thought Favre was done keeping us guessing, you were dead wrong.

NFC North Preview

Six down, two to go! Welcome to Dank Game's NFC North preview. This is one of the most unbalanced divisions in the NFL. The Packers and Vikings are coming off 10+ win seasons and playoff appearances, while the Lions and Bears didn't win 10 games combined last season. While Detroit is slowly digging itself out of the only 0-16 season in NFL history, the Bears are showing a lot of desperation to win now without a lot of real potential to do so. Assuming Favre is still coming back, this division will remain a two way race in 2010.

Division Winner: Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are almost certainly an aging team, but the roster is impressive nonetheless. They still have one of the best defenses in the NFC, especially the front seven, and the team's promising young players are the offense's biggest playmakers. Adrian Peterson, despite being outshown by Chris Johnson of Tennessee last season, is still one of the best two or three running backs in the league. Sydney Rice and Percy Harvin are two of the best young receivers in the NFL. Brett Favre is still Brett fucking Favre, and I don't believe his ankle is the issue he's making it out to be (more on that in a future post). Bottom line, this is practically the same team that made it to the NFC Championship game last year. It took them 5 turnovers to lose in a game that somehow remained close. If Favre is back, they very well could be Superbowl bound. I wouldn't expect any less than eleven wins, and I'm predicting twelve.

Division Runner-Up: Green Bay Packers

The Packers are a much better team than I realized last offseason. The team really did have their quarterback of the future in Aaron Rodgers and trading Favre no longer seems like a completely insane decision. Sure it must have hurt Packer fans to watch the Favre-led Vikings sweep them last season, but it's not as if the Packers are total slouches. On the contrary, they'll be the team to beat in the North once Favre and the "Williams Wall" of Minnesota retire. The Packers have few weaknesses, so assuming Rodgers keeps playing at a high level, they should be making a return trip to the playoffs. I'll give them eleven wins.

Division Third Place: Detroit Lions

Hey, I've got to mix something up in this division! After improving from 0-16 to 2-14 last season, I think the Lions are ready to take the next step. They're probably still a couple years or more away from the playoffs, but to even sniff a .500 record would probably make the Detroit faithful happy for now. At any rate, rookie quarterback Matt Stafford was injured some of last season, and played for a team with very little talent. With more competent people now running the organization, they should steadily improve to at least a middle-of-the-pack team. Assuming this year's rookies continue to improve the squad, they'll make a jump to six or seven wins.

Division Basement: Chicago Bears

I might regret this one, but Chicago is not particularly impressive this season. I thought the Cutler addition at quarterback last season would improve the squad, but the problems in Chicago run much deeper than who's playing quarterback. They're ex-QB proved he could actually play in Denver, and they're ex-running back proved he could play in Cincinnati. This tells me coaching is the problem. Head coach Lovie Smith has avoided losing his job for two straight years, but he'll have no excuses this year. In the end, I don't think pressure on the head coach will be enough to make this team any better. They're once formidable defense is now flat, and they didn't have any first or second round draft picks to bring in young talent. The Bears are a sinking ship, and they'll probably win five games.

2011 NFL Gambling Guide

What is the steal of the 2010 Gambling season?

Bodog Sports, a Vegas sports gambling outlet, is giving the Cincinnati Bengals 30/1 odds of winning the next Superbowl!  Can you even imagine the payoff when the Bengals cross the NFL finish line in first place.  Guys, you could turn $100 into $3,000 or $100,000 into $3,000,000.

Take it from me, and my surprisingly slightly-more-than-half right 2009 NFL predictions.  Let's review!

First I picked the playoff teams for the AFC teams.  And oh boy did I nail four of the six playoff teams!  I missed the Colts as the top seed - I thought the loss of Tony Dungy and some of the rest of their coaching staff might actually disrupt the continuity Peyton Manning has enjoyed since coming into the league.  My theory finally paid off when the Colts lost the Superbowl . . .

I thought the Titans would would have a great in place of the Colts.  And they did, but only after losing the first 6 games and replacing their starting quarterback.  I feel I should get a mulligan on that one.  Same with the Texans, one of my wildcard picks, who came damn to close to the post season.  They posted the same record as the 5th seed Ravens and 6th seed Jets, but lost in tiebreakers.

So let's talk about the Ravens.  I totally had both them and the Bengals in postseason, but I flip-flopped the division winner and wildcard team.  Being only a game off, I feel pretty justified here.

Lastly, I had the Chargers and Patriots winning their divisions.  Like everyone else.

I did nearly as well in the NFC playoff predictions.  The Vikings unsurprisingly cruised to a second straight division title.  I expected the Bears to best the Packers for a wildcard spot, but I failed to realize how poor Chicago's coaches were.  And now they're mostly fired.

I picked the Eagles for a much better season than they had, but the did make the playoffs.  I'm still not sure how the Cowboys managed to be a playoff team and beat Philadelphia three times in one season.

Elsewhere I picked the 49ers and Panthers for big seasons.  Although neither did horrendously, they did miss the playoffs.  At least San Francisco kept the NFC-West interesting.

Most happily of all though, I had the Saints making the playoffs and going on a long postseason run from the beginning.  Geaux Saints!

So take it from me gambling aficionados.  A guy who's right 58% of the time

Down but not out

OK, we've all had a chance to digest Cincinnati's 30-10 loss to the Vikings yesterday, and it's time to approach the situation with some clarity.

The team mostly looked bad, especially on offense. Too many penalties, too little pass protection, and an offense that was too conservative (with the exception being the first touchdown drive) doomed the Bengals pretty early in the day. Although the defense held the Vikings in striking distance most of the day, the inability of the offense to stay on the field and score points would eventually doom them to their worst performance of the year.

It seems most local and national coverage is already giving up on the tigers. This was supposedly their preview of postseason football, and the Bengals clearly failed. Plus, this team hasn't won a playoff game since 1990 (the longest draught in the league, naturally). So while I don't necessarily blame them, I think I can see a bigger picture.

After each of the Bengal's losses, they have responded very well the next week. After Denver, they came and beat the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau. At the time the Pack were the darlings of the preseason, and even now they're almost certainly a playoff team. This was a total win, with great offensive and defensive efforts

After the somewhat embarrassing loss to the Texans, the Bengals responded by destroying the Chicago Bears. This was clearly the high water mark for this offense, and should be a reminder of what can be done, but far too often isn't.

Lastly, after a totally embarrassing loss to the Raiders (I think this is embarassing - the Raiders are hard to figure out - they did beat Philly and Pittsburgh, too), the Bengals responded by totally controlling the Browns game. Although they didn't score a lot of points, it never looked like the Browns would seriously threaten the lead.

Well, I guess back to back games against two of the league's four worst teams, maybe the Bengals had gone a little soft. Really though, it comes at a good time. Even with the loss, Cincinnati would still steal the 2nd seed in the playoffs from the Chargers with a win, plus another win or two to close the season.

Because optimism for this team isn't running high right now, this isn't the scenario that most people are looking at. Analysts have been using any number of stats to point to the Bengal's recent futility in the passing game and inability to score touchdowns in the second half even before the Vikings game. Obviously there's some truth to this, but I cannot believe that a nine win team that swept its division is going to be one and done in the playoffs.

Why not? Because last year the team that met that description was the Arizona Cardinals, who made it to the Superbowl.

Be patient, Bengals fans. It's not January yet.

Week 3 NFL Observations

The 'stache is back to fill the void left by a lack of online writing about professional sports.

Week Three was pretty interesting in the NFL, as several of the undefeated and winless teams so far come as a complete surprise. None of these surprises me more than the Carolina Panthers. Losing big to the Cowboys last night, I am wondering where the Panthers that won 12 games last season went. The NFC-South once again has flipped its standings from top to bottom from one year to the next. Excepting the Saints, the whole division looks a little weak.

Speaking of New Orleans, I believe they are the best team in the NFC right now. Even without Drew Brees throwing a touchdown (which will be a very rare occurrence this year), the Saints still handily beat Buffalo. Next week they take on the 3-0 Jets, and this one should be a blockbuster.

That won't be the only great game next week either. As I already wrote extensively about the AFC-North yesterday, I'll just move on.

Ravens at Patriots - This game will go a long way in determining who dominates the AFC this year. The Colts are easily tied as contenders, and it looks as though the Jets are somehow in the conversation.

Cowboys at Broncos - If the Broncos go 4-0, I will be shocked. The Cowboys need this game to keep pace with division rivals Philadelphia and New York.

San Diego at Pittsburgh - The Chargers need to catch up to the Broncos, and the Steelers are already two games out of contention in the AFC-North. These teams usually match up well, so this could be a very close one.

Green Bay at Minnesota - Ignore for a second the Brett-Favre-vs-his-old-team story line, and you'll realize that would have been a great game anyway. A win would suddenly put Green Bay at the top of the division.

'Til next week, Mustache out

The Ocho to do the Lambeau Leap?

Well, he'll actually have to score a touchdown first, but Chad Ochocinco has told reporters in Wisconsin that he plans to do the Lambeau Leap. For those unfamiliar, this is when players jump into the stands behind the end zone after scoring.

Of course this ritual is usually reserved for Packers players, since it's their fans seated there. But Chad doesn't care. In fact, he apparently expects the fans to "embrace Ocho."

Ochocinco has never played a game in Green Bay, but this act actually wouldn't be unprecedented for him. In 2007 he announced he would jump into the Dawg Pound (the section behind one of the end zones in Cleveland), and he did. Browns fans did not embrace the Ocho however, they poured A LOT of beer on him and shouted expletives at him. Video below:

So we'll see how this one goes. Hopefully Chad actually does score a touchdown. At the very
least, it's a lot safer when Chad enters the stands than when Ron Artest does.

Right SlimMcFrostedTips? (For real, Slim had the tips of his hair frosted. I told him it was going
to look stupid and he didn't believe me.)

UPDATE

He did it!

2009 NFL preview - NFC

And in an obvious follow up to yesterday's post, here's Dank Game's NFC season preview that you were so excited about.

West

I see a lot of flux in this division as compared to last year. I do not see Arizona repeating a playoff run, although their offense will likely continue to put up big points. San Francisco is a rising star in a poor division, and just good enough to edge out a Cardinals team that will win few games outside the division.

Seattle dominated this division for years, and lost their own Superbowl to Pittsburgh, but even with the addition of T.J. Houshmenzadeh, the window on this team has likely closed. Meanwhile the Rams, who have been terrible for a couple years now, will just barely edge out Seattle for the number three spot in the division while still falling under .500

South

I see the NFC South getting shaken up as well. I really believe New Orleans has done enough to upgrade their defense to win this division, as tough as it may be. The offense will be as potent as last season, and the Saints will likely run up the score on the NFL's bottom feeders.

Last year's division winner, Carolina will remain in the playoffs, although through the wild card. They will be chased by a good Atlanta team, who will just barely miss the playoffs. Meanwhile, it appears Tampa Bay has collapsed. With a new head coach and still not fully decided starting quarterback situation, Tampa will be in a distant fourth.

North

I didn't make any changes in this division. However, I do think the Bears will make the playoffs this year via the wild card, and Green Bay may very well have a winning record. Detroit to bottom out the division is too painfully obvious to bother explaining.

The Vikings are a hot team this year following the Brett Favre signing. The team is basically the same as the one that won the division last year, but with at least a slightly better quarterback situation. And Chicago will be imporved with Jay Cutler behind center instead of Kyle Orton. And Detroit will win at least one game.

East

I briefly wrestled with the question of whether to put Philadelphia or New York on top of this division. I'm starting to think that much-hyped Eagles are over-hyped and I don't see what the Michael Vick signing really does for them. But they are still a more complete team than the rest of the NFC, and Donovan McNabb is a better quarterback than Eli Manning. New York will be close to a wild card berth, possibly losing out on a tie-breaker scenario.

Most expect Washington to finish the division in last place, but I think they're a better team than advertised. Dallas fans seem to use T.O. as a scapegoat for last seasons playoff miss, but I do not think this team has improved, and see them falling probably a game behind the Redskins.

Playoff Picture

So Farve From Over

Alternative headline:

"So Favre away / Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore"




Alright, well I think I have to mention the Brett Favre un-retirement at least once on this blog. After all, for the second straight year, Favre's will-he-or-won't-he play-this-season antics have dominated the offseason.

And for good reason. In football nothing happens for like 6 months, aside from the draft. And for all the hoopla that goes into mock drafts and rookie workouts, it's really pretty insanely boring.

So while some desperately bored football junkies try to get their fix from the draft, Canadian football, and sometimes even baseball, let's be glad their is a man who can entertain for months at a time just by avoiding answering a yes or no question.

I'd argue that Brett Favre is not the good-natured southern-boy, tractor-drivin, Wrangler-wearing, indecisive honky that we're led to believe. In actuality, Brett Favre is the greatest showman in professional sports (sorry Ochocinco). Why? Because he has been able to lead Michael-Jordan-level unretirement excitement twice now (which realistically is more than Jordan, as his second comeback lacked the fanfare of the first). And I'll bet he's got another one in him.

Go ahead, roll your eyes. Comment (politely) that you're actually really sick of hearing about Favre and that you wish he'd just go away. I think you're either a liar or Packers fan, and I'll address each of you separately.

Those of you that are sick of him probably don't think he's all that good anymore. And compared to his MVP heyday, you're probably right. But he's still solid enough that more than one team would like to have him, and he's only a year and a half removed from the NFC championship game. Obviously he didn't repeat this success with the Jets, but there was more than Brett Favre wrong with that team.

And anyway, even if he does stink this year, won't it be fascinating to watch the meltdown (unless you're a Vikings fan)? I mean, what's coach Brad Childress going to do? Bench the most noteworthy player of the last 20 years? Good luck "Chilly" (as Brett's already calling him).

Regardless of his potential play, what's not to love about his offseason retirement musings? It's like a Hitchcock plot: full of unexpected twists and perfect timing (from an entertainment standpoint). Last year he picked the most boring moment in the entire NFL calendar to announce his desire to return to the Packers, and when they said they didn't want him, his pre-training camp showdown was legendary. He threatened to show up to training camp and "compete" for a starting spot, he contemplated accepting a two-year $20 million dollar package to NOT play football, and he ended up in New York where his new coach (actually younger than him!) made his newborn son's middle name Brett.

He upped the anty this year though. The Jets called his retirement bluff and just cut him. Brett was now free and could play for whomever would have him. This gave him tremendous negotiating power. After months of speculation, much of it driven by the Favre camp, and once all signs pointed toward Minneapolis (again during the most boring part of the offseason), he suddenly said he couldn't do it. Training camp was now underway, and it certainly looked like he wouldn't play this year, even after subtly hinting that he still possibly could.

Aha! Training camps winds down, and Brett Favre finally becomes a Viking after at least six months of speculation. Honestly, I'm pretty sure he just didn't want to practice. I won't fault him for this too much. After all, who reading this entry hasn't slacked off at work when possible before? And if you're reading this at work, I double my point.

So now we just have to wait and see if the grey-bearded Favre can do some serious damage with a pretty good Vikings team.




Now, Packer fans: I can understand why you'd be upset that your most beloved star is now playing for a division rival. But I'd like to point out that he wanted to come back to you and your coach and G.M. said no and traded him away. I think if you really appreciate the years of service and Superbowl victory he gave you, you should respect his desire to keep playing. But you can still root for the Vikings to lose!


///


Seriously, are you not entertained!




As a side note, Vinny Testaverde played until he was 44. Brett turns 40 this season. Don't be surprised if he retires/untires a couple more times. I know I'll be hanging on every word. So long as they're during the offseason.