30
Nov
2010
The Los Angeles Vikings?
Staubach, Landry and the 'Boys faced the Vikings outdoors in frigid Metropolitan Stadium. Could an outdoor venue be next for the Vikes? And, if so, will it be in Minnesota? (Source: knowyourdallascowboys.com)
With the Minnesota Vikings’ Metrodome lease ending after the 2011 season, ownership is sorting through a laundry list of potential suitors. The team could stay put at the Metrodome — or they could break ground on a brand new Minneapolis-area stadium. Those options rest on the stable end of the spectrum. The remaining possibilities are unsettling.
It’s enough to give Vikings fans pause, and history would suggest reason for concern, as stadium issues have historically been central to franchise relocation. Any discussion along those lines is speculation at this stage, and the Vikings appear committed to Minnesota, but Tuesday’s partial transcript includes the revelation that a Los Angeles-based group has approached Vikings ownership.
Sections of the transcript are below — and the Los Angeles issue is brought up after the jump.
Q: How did the recent election results affect the Vikings stadium effort?
Lester Bagley: This is a good question to start. The 2011 Legislative Session is a critical session for the Vikings, the NFL and our fans. Leadership of the new house and senate majorities as well as the new Governor have indicated that this issue needs to be addressed and will be on the agenda.
30
Nov
2010
NFL Week 13 Power Rankings (featuring the “Berserker Number”)
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Does anyone want to play the Bills right now? (Source: BuffaloNews.com)
Note: For the teams from 32-17, I’ve tagged them with my BERSERKER NUMBER (B#). Ranging from 1 to 100, it rates a team’s ability to cause havoc for teams attempting a playoff run. Young, developing squads just beginning to show power (but stuck with losing records) are helped, in my rankings, by a high B#.
For the teams from 16-1, I’ve added my DESTINY SCORE (DS). Again, 1 to 100. Here, I’m attempting to weed out teams resembling, for instance, the 1988 Chicago Bears. Teams with towering regular season records that (we all know) will not get to — back to — the Super Bowl. Teams, well, missing something special.
My (totally subjective, imperfect) Week 13 Power Rankings:
32 Carolina Panthers (1-10) (B#4)
31 Arizona Cardinals (3-8) (B#8)
30 Cincinnati Bengals (2-9) (B#14)
29 San Francisco 49ers (4-7) (B#22)
28 Denver Broncos (3-8) (B#33)
27 Detroit Lions (2-9) (B#28)
26 Buffalo Bills (2-9) (B#68)
25 Dallas Cowboys (3-8) (B#41)
24 Minnesota Vikings (4-7) (B#42)
23 Oakland Raiders (5-6) (B#52)
22 Washington Redskins (5-6) (B#43)
21 Seattle Seahawks (5-6) (B#54)
20 Cleveland Browns (4-7) (B#73)
28
Nov
2010
Sunday Morning NFL Notebook
Early tailgaters gather at The New Meadlowlands before a crucial showdown with the 6-4 Jacksonville Jaguars. (Source: Pat Hanlon, N.Y. Giants)
¶ Quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Brett Favre square off today during a season which has seen aging veteran passers struggle. McNabb is 4-2 vs. Favre, but has yet to face Favre post-Green Bay.
ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that Favre will start Sunday’s game in Washington despite battling what could be pneumonia. Favre told Werder that he required a steroid pack and an injection Saturday, and missed the first hour of team meetings because he couldn’t drag himself out of bed.
For his career, Favre is 70-of-118 passing for 802 yards, 4 touchdowns and 8 interceptions against the Redskins, according to the ‘Skins Twitter page. Favre hasn’t played at FedEx Field since 2004.
¶ Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune reports that Vikings wide receiver Bernard Berrian (groin) and cornerback Chris Cook (knee) are both inactive for today’s game.
¶ BTW, don’t assume we rate this Redskins-Vikings tilt a big deal. It’s not. What it is, is the meeting of two battered, lost teams — neither who have lived up to expectations this season.
¶ For my money, the game of the day is the Jacksonville Jaguars visiting the New York Giants, in what amounts to a solid test for both teams. The result will tell us a lot about both 6-4 teams as they fight for position in the playoff race.
¶ The Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot reports that the Browns’ Josh Cribbs is active against the Carolina Panthers. Quarterback Colt McCoy and cornerback Eric Wright are inactive.
¶ It will be interesting to see how the Denver Broncos respond today against the St. Louis Rams. The Broncos and coach Josh McDaniels were each fined $50,000 after Broncos’ video operations director Steve Scarnecchia violated NFL rules by taping a six-minute portion of a San Francisco 49ers walkthrough on Oct. 30, the day before the teams played each other in London.
MORE AFTER THE BREAK
24
Nov
2010
Should the Vikings cut Brett Favre?
READERS: How would you caption this photo? (Source: Daily News)
Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier has inherited a mess, but all is not lost.
Frazier has the opportunity to take decisive steps to show that he means business — and he better not waste the chance catering to Brett Favre. His best route is a decisive, fresh start at the quarterback position.
It’s a thought that’s been picking up steam all week, and NFL Network’s Mike Mayock makes a most compelling case for cutting Favre — not in the offseason, but now. With the playoffs out of the question, Mayock insists the Vikings must find out now who they have at quarterback.
You can’t do that with Favre in the locker room.
“At this point, you’ve fired your coach. It would be a crime if you don’t find out, in the remainder of the season, whether or not either one of your backup quarterbacks can play. So, if I was there, I would like to see a uniform situation within the organization where the owner, the new head coach and Rick Spielman, the head of personnel, sit down and say, ‘It’s time to release Brett Favre.’ We need to get a clean look at these two young quarterbacks and find out if either of them is our quarterback of the future. If that’s the case, then you know what you have to do in the draft. If you don’t have a quarterback, then you can go and get one. If you do have a quarterback, that’s great, but it’s time to cut the ties with Brett Favre right now.
“The bottom line is, Brett’s not going to be there next year … so you gotta find out right now who your quarterback of the future is, because … you do a disjustice to your entire organization if you don’t have a plan going into the draft.”
Favre loyalists will balk at such a plan, but it’s time for the Vikings to reboot the machine. It will be interesting to see what Frazier does with the time he has left this season. When it comes to Favre, we’re talking about a guy who’s basically never missed a day of work and never mailed it in. It would be a brutal ending, but Mayock is right — benching Favre doesn’t do you any good. It must be decisive. You cut him and move on.
22
Nov
2010
Brad Childress gets the axe in Minnesota
Chilly is feeling pretty dejected this morning (Photo via RealClearSports)
In a move that should surprise absolutely no one (we called it in our mid-season awards), the Minnesota Vikings fired Brad Childress on Monday and promoted Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier to interim head coach.
Reports out of Minnesota suggested that Childress had lost the Vikings locker room weeks ago, and that he had angered owner Zygi Wilf when he cut Randy Moss against his wishes, and without consulting anyone. The “Fire Chilly” movement had grown louder and louder in recent days, and following the Vikings 31-3 loss to the division rival Packers yesterday (which brought their record to 3-7 on the year), Wilf apparently had seen enough.
You can read all about this move at NFL.com, but we’re pretty sure Frazier is going to be an improvement over Childress, and could bring some much-needed leadership and stability to the organization. And now Chilly can go back to his dental practice, or whatever he was doing before he got into football.
3
Nov
2010
Titans Claim Randy Moss After 21 Other Teams Pass
(Photo via Yahoo!)
The Tennessee Titans claimed Randy Moss off of waivers on Wednesday, and were the only team to put in a claim for the unruly WR after the Vikings officially released him yesterday. Tennessee was 22nd in the waiver order, which means that 21 other teams saw the same thing the Patriots and Vikings saw from Moss this season: a self-centered brat who simply can’t put the goals of a team ahead of his own childish ego.
But Jeff Fisher apparently thinks Moss can help his ball club, who are 5-3, and lost Kenny Britt for an undetermined time to a hamstring injury last weekend. The Titans have a bye this week, but hope Moss will give Vince Young another weapon on offense for their run at the playoffs. And All-Pro RB Chris Johnson certainly believes Moss’ presence will help his chances on the ground:
“Why do we need Randy Moss?” Johnson said Wednesday, before the move was announced. “You can’t put eight in a box if you got Randy Moss out there on the outside. If you’ve got Randy Moss out there, you just can’t play him one-on-one. I feel like Randy would be a great addition to this team, be a great addition to our receiving group and really help us go deep in the playoffs.”
That, of course, is assuming that Moss decides to actually run his routes full speed and play until the whistle. When he does that, Randy is an undeniable talent … the problem is, he only seems to really make an effort when it’s beneficial for himself, personally. And if Moss isn’t feeling it, he half-asses it, and makes sure the rest of the team knows about it. So far this season, Randy clearly hasn’t been feeling it.
But Jeff Fisher runs a tight ship and has a strong personality, so he should be able to handle Moss’ ego. At least for a few weeks, I mean. Think about this: the Titans become Moss’s third team in less than half a season. It’s pretty clear he’s going for some kind of demented record here. How many teams do you think he can he tear through in 17 weeks?!? We’ll set the over/under at 5.
1
Nov
2010
Randy Moss Waived By Vikings, Remixed by DJ Steve Porter
Randy Moss waves goodbye to his latest stint in Minnesota (AP Photo via NFL.com)
UPDATE: We thought it important to mention that Moss hasn’t been officially waived by the Vikings yet. Multiple reports suggest that Brad Childress went rogue when he informed the team & coaching staff that he was releasing Moss. Chris Mortensen said tonight that Childress has “lost the locker room” and Adam Schefter tweeted that several members of the organization want Randy to stay.
Stay tuned, but Moss’ agent has confirmed that he was informed by the team, and it’s hard to imagine a situation where he would stick around to play for Childress now.
____________________________
In a surprising move, the Minnesota Vikings waived Randy Moss today, less than a month after trading a 3rd round pick to the Patriots for the troublesome wide receiver. Moss had an awful game yesterday in his return to New England, with just 1 catch for 8 yards, plus one play where he noticeably quit on a sure touchdown pass after being interfered with (Favre was injured on the very next play). And to top it off, afterward, Moss told the press he was done answering questions for the rest of the season (having being fined $25k last week for not cooperating with the media). He then went on to answer his own questions, volunteering criticism of the Vikings while praising the Patriots.
Moss will remain on waivers until tomorrow afternoon, during which time teams with the worst record will get the first chance to sign him, along with his contract (1-6 Dallas anyone?). But obviously, Brad Childress saw the same things from Moss that Bill Belichick did, and didn’t want him on his team for even one day longer. So any team that decides to take a chance on Moss has to be prepared for the headaches that inevitably come along with him. When he’s not happy, he makes it real hard on those around him.
With that, we bring you the latest remix from DJ Steve Porter, which gives us an auto-tuned retrospective on the career of Randy Moss.
WATCH “ONE CLAP” BY DJ STEVE PORTER AFTER THE JUMP
31
Oct
2010
Brett Favre starts but doesn’t finish vs Patriots (VIDEO)
Brett Favre closes his eyes and hopes that this is all a bad dream (Image via SB Nation)
The big story heading into this weekend was whether or not Brett Favre would keep his continuous games streak alive. Well as we figured, Favre started, but didn’t finish today’s game, as both he and the Vikings fell to the Patriots, 28-18.
Favre was injured in the 4th quarter after Patriots DT Myron Pryor’s helmet got underneath the 41-year-old QB’s facemask, lacerating his chin. Favre had to be helped off the field, and ended up getting carted to the locker room looking like he had just been run over by a truck. He received eight stitches, and Brad Childress described him as “a little woozy” afterward. It was one those dreaded blows to the head the league loves so much, but Pryor’s facemask was in Favre’s chest, and it looked to be a clean hit just after the ball was released.
Watch for yourselves:
29
Oct
2010
Favre’s streak reportedly in jeopardy … YAWN
(AP Photo/Andy King via ESPN.com)
UPDATE: Favre participated in practice today on a limited basis, but Childress said he wouldn’t decide on who will start on Sunday until just before game time:
“I am fond to saying 48-hours to game time,” Childress said. “We don’t play until 3:15, I think, East Coast time; still got a lot of treatment time. Can bones heal in 48 hours? Probably not, but (head athletic trainer) Eric Sugarman has a great bone stimulator in there that really does the trick.”
This is starting to remind me of the whole Favre retirement saga … and as such, I no longer care. I mean, this is a 2-4 team with a bad offense led by a gimpy old man. Aside from the streak – which should have ended naturally via one of his recent retirements – this is almost a non-issue. The Vikings would probably be better off with Jackson at the helm this weekend, and that in and of itself speaks volumes.
_______________
The Star-Tribune is reporting that Vikings HC Brad Childress is leaning toward sitting Brett Favre down on Sunday against the Patriots with two fractures in his left foot. This, despite the fact that Favre – who has yet to practice this week and has been in a walking boot until today – hasn’t ruled himself out the game yet. Of course, the big news here is that if Favre doesn’t go, it would put an end to his NFL Record streak of 291 consecutive starts … but that’s still a huge “IF”:
Favre, who has played through numerous injuries during his 20-year NFL career, has “confided” in some close to him he’s not convinced Childress will let him play against New England, the NFL Network also reported Thursday night.
Yeah yeah yeah … I’ll believe it when I see it. Like everything else Favre-related, this feels like just another media-hyped creation to help build up his legend even further. In fact, at least one NFL team doctor said that the injury is nothing more than a “glorified ankle sprain”, and its been speculated that if this were a playoff game, most players would be able to play through it.
They’re going to shoot Favre up with whatever painkillers it takes so he can step under center and take at least the first few snaps of the game to keep his streak intact.
17
Oct
2010
Wade Ball on display as Cowboys fall to 1-4
Remember when the Cowboys were favorites for the Super Bowl this year? (Photo: Star-Telegram/Paul Moseley)
The world-renowned Wade Phillips discipline was on full display Sunday in Minneapolis during the Cowboys 24-21 loss to the Vikings. Dallas was flagged 11 times for 91 yards, including calls that negated a 68-yard Miles Austin TD, as well as a 34-yard punt return. Austin kicked things off himself with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the Cowboys first score, and Tony Romo added two interceptions that set up 10 points for Minnesota. It was the third time Phillips’ club has reached double figures in penalties this season, as they continue to find new and exciting ways beat themselves.
The loss drops the Cowboys to 1-4 on the season, and has Dallas sports fans praying that the Rangers can salvage their Fall sports season. But owner Jerry Jones is sticking by his head coach, saying after the game that he wouldn’t fire Phillips, at least until the end of the season.
“I would never consider doing that during the season,” Jones said.
(ed note: this is only because of the ridiculous amount of money it would cost to do so)
However, Jones did not give Phillips a vote of confidence. He acknowledged that the Cowboys are in serious trouble due in large part to a glaring lack of discipline.
“I’m not [optimistic],” Jones said. “I’m very disappointed. I realize the challenge that we’ve got, and we’re not playing well enough to get it done right now. We’re running out of the opportunity to make this season what we meant it to be.”
CONTINUE AFTER THE JUMP FOR VIDEO LOWLIGHTS OF THE COWBOYS SEASON
