Tag Archives: Minnesota Vikings

Which Brett Favre is the real Brett Favre?

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After watching the Minnesota Vikings’ Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers, I was pretty impressed with how well quarterback Brett Favre played in his first game against his former team.

He was zipping throws into some pretty tight spots. The story of the game remains the Packers’ offensive line’s inability to stop the Vikings’ defensive front, but nevertheless, Favre looked solid.

But many of Favre’s colleagues don’t think highly of his work. In a recent Sports Illustrated poll of NFL players, Favre was voted the most overrated player in the league.

I’m sure that this is largely a product of the unrelenting coverage the national media gave to the story. But there’s probably some truth in it too.

Big days ahead at the Teflon Palace

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While the Minnesota Vikings will continue to call the Metrodome home, the Minnesota Twins are closing out their tenure with the facility in style.

The Twins defeated the Kansas City Royals 13-4 on Sunday, and with Detroit having defeated the Chicago White Sox earlier in the day, Minnesota remained tied for the lead in the AL Central at 86-76 on the final day of the regular season.

The Twins and Tigers will play a one-game playoff Tuesday to determine which team will gain a postseason berth and face the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series.

It’s an exciting time for the Twin Cities area. The national sports spotlight will definitely be on the Metrodome for the next two days.

In a way, these next two days are a microcosm of the Metrodome’s history – logistical problems intertwined with historic sporting events.

The one-game baseball playoff would normally be played on Monday, but the Vikings have a big game of their own against the Green Bay Packers, highlighting one of the problems with the Metrodome.

As my colleague Dan Haglund pointed out tonight, "Where are the Twins going to work out tomorrow?" Good question. They might have to christen Target Field a little early.
 

But despite issues like that, the Metrodome has played host to a lot of big moments. It’s hosted the Super Bowl and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. And it’s hosted two World Series, one that saw Minnesota win its first major sports championship, and another which is often considered the greatest World Series ever played.

The Metrodome could play host to two more monumental moments in the next two days. I’m happy to say I’ll be going to the one-game playoff, but I’ll have to settle for my couch for the Vikings-Packers game. And that’s not a bad consolation prize either.

The anxiety of facing the Lions

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With Week 2 of the NFL season upon us, the Minnesota Vikings travel to the Motor City to face the Detroit Lions.

The Lions became the first team in NFL history to go 0-16 last season, and so far Detroit is 0-1.

In anticipation of the NFL season a couple months back, I remember hopping online to see when my favorite team was scheduled to play the Lions. I doubt I was alone in doing so.

I wrote one of our section’s new-fangled mini-columns on the subject today. It’s hard to say there are must-win games this time of year, but no team wants to snap Detroit’s 18-game losing streak.

I’m not the type of guy who thinks a Week 2 loss could ruin a season, but losing to the Lions has as good of chance as any to do that. It’s the game no team wants to play in.

It’s a no-win situation, because even if you beat the Lions, expectations are so high that a team’s fan base probably won’t be satisfied with anything less than putting up six touchdown passes. That’s what the New Orleans Saints did to Detroit in Week 1.

I made the comment at work Saturday that these Lions could be worse than last year’s, simply because there’s a rookie at quarterback in a situation where a rookie QB can’t possibly succeed. That was probably an exaggeration considering that Dan Orlovsky started for Detroit last season, but still. They can’t be much better.

That’s not to say the Lions won’t win a game this year; I’m certain they’ll win at least one. Let’s not forget that a lot of things went horribly wrong for Detroit last year that led to a winless season, including two close losses to the Vikings (with Orlovsky’s famous safety play), at least one to the Bears, and a complete meltdown against the Packers. The Lions were actually leading Green Bay in the middle of the fourth quarter of a game, and somehow found a way to lose by like 20 points.

It’s an unenviable situation for the Vikings. I’m sure they’ll be more than satisfied to just get this game over with, because the scrutiny that comes with losing to the Lions would be a lot to overcome.

Anyway, enjoy your Sunday. I can’t wait to keep an eye on the Twins-Tigers game too.

Could you imagine if the Twins actually made the playoffs and ended up facing the Yankees in the first round without Justin Morneau? Jose Morales as an everyday DH? How about fielding the Matt Tolbert/Brian Buscher platoon at third base at Yankee Stadium? Brian Duensing matched up against CC Sabathia? Carl Pavano getting a chance at revenge against the Evil Empire? It’s like straight from the script of Major League, with Carlos Gomez starring as Willie "Mays" Hayes. How can you not root for that?

Time for NFL predictions

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The National Football League opens its 2009 season Thursday with the Tennessee Titans facing the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I can’t wait. I’ve had football fever for the last month or so, which is unusual for me. Maybe it’s because the Minnesota Twins are pretty much out of the postseason chase. I don’t know what it is, but I’m ready for some football.

Let’s take a look at the divisions:

NFC North
My predicted finish: 1, Minnesota Vikings. 2, Chicago Bears. 3, Green Bay Packers. 4, Detroit Lions.

The Bears will be improved, and the Packers should be better, but the Vikings have a good recipe for success, and it has nothing to do with Brett Favre. As a Bears fan, I watched Chicago get to the Super Bowl with a great running game and a great defense. The Vikings have both of those in their favor.

NFC East
My predicted finish: 1, Philadelphia Eagles. 2, New York Giants. 3, Dallas Cowboys. 4, Washington Redskins.

I’m a sucker for the Eagles. I find myself picking them to win this division every year. This division is going to be real tough.

NFC South
My predicted finish: 1, Atlanta Falcons. 2, Carolina Panthers. 3, New Orleans Saints. 4, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Love the Panthers run game and the Saints pass game, but the Falcons are the complete package. Just one year ago, it’s hard to imagine I felt that way. But Atlanta as a franchise has really bounced back from the Michael Vick debacle.

NFC West
My predicted finish: 1, Arizona Cardinals. 2, San Francisco 49ers. 3, Seattle Seahawks. 4, St. Louis Rams.

Could be the worst division in football, despite having the NFC champs in it. I could see any team winning this division – let’s not forget the Cards were merely 9-7 before going on their playoff run – but I’m not impressed with any of them. They all have pronounced weaknesses.

AFC North
My predicted finish: 1, Pittsburgh Steelers. 2, Baltimore Ravens. 3, Cleveland Browns. 4, Cincinnati Bengals.

Hard to see this division being much different than last season. Two haves (Pittsburgh and Baltimore) and two have-nots (Cleveland and Cincy).

AFC South
My predicted finish: 1, Indianapolis Colts. 2, Tennessee Titans. 3, Houston Texans. 4, Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Colts have to get their running game going after Joseph Addai’s rough year last year. I think they will. I like the Titans’ D and Houston’s O, but Indy’s got a more complete team.

AFC West
My predicted finish: 1, San Diego Chargers. 2, Oakland Raiders. 3, Denver Broncos. 4, Kansas City Chiefs.

I’m not sure what to make of this division. I think the Chargers will run away with it, though in the NFL, parity reigns, so I’m sure I’ll be way off. Denver’s had a rocky offseason, and I’m not sure how the players will respond to it. I was never a big fan of letting Mike Shanahan go the way it was. So this pick is no indication of me thinking the Raiders are good; it’s just I think Denver will struggle.

AFC East
My predicted finish: 1, New England Patriots. 2, Buffalo Bills. 3, Miami Dolphins. 4, New York Jets.

Jets will take their lumps with a rookie QB. The addition of Terrell Owens should help Lee Evans and Marshawn Lynch, assuming Trent Edwards can get everyone the ball. But the Patriots remain the class of this division, and now Tom Brady is back.

POSTSEASON PICTURE
NFC division winners: Minnesota, Philadelphia, Arizona, Atlanta
NFC wild-card teams: Chicago, New York Giants
AFC division winners: New England, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis
AFC wild-card teams: Baltimore, Tennessee

And now … drumroll please … for my Super Bowl pick ….

SUPER BOWL: The New England Patriots win another championship, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 31-17. Yeah, I know. I really went out on a limb there.

The beauty of the NFL, as the Falcons showed last year, is ANY TEAM really can come out of nowhere and go 11-5 and make the playoffs. You just never know.

I know I can’t wait for Sunday. I’m checking out the Twins-Athletics game at the Metrodome – a fitting matchup for my final time at the Metrodome to watch the Twins – before driving back to Fargo-Moorhead to catch the Packers-Bears game on Sunday night. Should be great.

If you disagree with any of my picks or want to include your own Super Bowl predictions, feel free to do so in the Comments section. I’d love to tell everyone I keep tabs on all 32 teams and am an NFL insider, but that’s hardly the case. I know Favre’s a Viking, Cutler’s a Bear, and T.O’s a Bill. That’s about it.

Can the Vikings possibly get a new stadium?

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We had a good story via the Associated Press in our Sunday section on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his thoughts on the Minnesota Vikings stadium situation.

The Vikings have ranked dead last or close to it in recent years in generated revenue among NFL teams. And Jones doesn’t think that’s acceptable for a market of this size.

“Right now we are subsidizing this market,” said Jones, one of the most influential owners in the league. “It’s unthinkable to think that you’ve got the market you’ve got here, with 3.5 million people, and have teams like Kansas City and Green Bay subsidizing this market. That will stop. That’s going to stop. That’s called revenue sharing. That’s on its way out.”

At some point the NFL and Vikings ownership is going to want to rectify the situation. But how does a team go about doing that in an economic climate like the one we currently live in?

And with the Minnesota Twins and the University of Minnesota football team both getting the finishing touches put on new stadiums, I don’t think politicians and taxpayers in the state are going to be real enthusiastic about publicly financing another new facility for a pro sports team to play in.

So now what? The Vikings and Twins are easily the two biggest sports franchises in Minnesota. The state could ill afford to lose the Vikings to a market in need of pro football, such as Los Angeles.

The Vikings lease with the Metrodome runs through 2011. After that, one Vikings official went as far as to say the team will become a "free agent."

What does everyone think will happen? I’m interested to get feedback.

That one hurt a li’l bit

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I’m all for giving Joe Nathan the benefit of the doubt, but yeesh! That was nasty!

The Minnesota Twins closer gave up back-to-back homers to the Chicago White Sox in the top of the ninth inning before walking two more hitters as the White Sox rallied to beat the Twins 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon.

Detroit defeated Cleveland on Wednesday night, pushing the Tigers’ lead in the AL Central to 4.5 games.

Nathan just has not looked the same since that 50-pitch outing he had against Kansas City in August. He’s walked just 17 guys in 55 appearances this season, but six of those have come in the six games since the Royals outing on Aug. 21.

There’s not much the Twins can do but hope he turns it around. He’s arguably one of the best closers in baseball. Every reliever goes through rough stretches (i.e. Matt Guerrier in the final couple of months last year), but fans just got to hope he works through it before the Tigers’ magic number expires.

FAVRE TO MISS PRESEASON GAME

Minnesota Vikings quarterback and ESPN darling Brett Favre will not play in the team’s final preseason tune-up, a Friday night matchup against "America’s Team," the Dallas Cowboys.

If only Tony Romo were still going out with Jessica Simpson, it would make this the ultimate matchup, pitting two quarterbacks you just can’t hear enough about.

Speaking of which, I just thought about something I heard on the radio Monday. Reportedly, Simpson has put a hex on Romo via an online witch. Here’s the link. I swear I don’t watch Entertainment Tonight. Really.

CHIEFS PUT THEIR OWN SPIN ON "THE OFFICE"

Warning: Shameless Twitter plug.

While checking out Twitter today – which I’m not very active on, but enjoy seeing what Chad OchoCinco has to say – I saw that Sports Illustrated writer Joe Posnanski had included a link to a video made by the Kansas City Chiefs copying "The Office."

It’s kind of funny, and only a couple minutes long. I’ll post it below.

By the way, can’t wait for the new season of "The Office," which starts Sept. 17. Also, after being away for two years, a new season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" starring Seinfeld creator Larry David starts Sept. 20 on HBO.

If you haven’t heard, a number of members from the cast of Seinfeld are participating in "Curb" this season. I can’t wait. This might be enough to push me over the edge and get HBO for a couple of months rather than wait for the season to come out on DVD.

Blitzcorner | Kansas City Chiefs Office Parody Video

To elaborate …

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I got the opportunity to spend a little time on the Christopher Gabriel Program this morning. It was my radio debut, so I was little nervous. Said the word "wonderful" on the air, which is not part of my regular vocabulary (I prefer "spectacular"), but it was a great time.

After discussing some various sports topics with him, I felt like spending a little time here elaborating on them further.

  • Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings: Tonight’s game should give Vikings fans a chance to see much more of Favre. After throwing just four passes in his preseason debut, Favre will play the entire first half tonight against Houston. While preseason games don’t matter much, I think in Favre’s case, the reps are needed. I think a lot of people – thanks to his jeans endorsements – have this image of Favre being a good ol’ boy playing pick-up football in the backwoods of Mississippi running around in his Wranglers. But the NFL isn’t that easy, and it’s important for him to familiarize himself with the wrinkles of this offense and these receivers.
  • The Minnesota Twins: Well, the deadline passed and the Twins aren’t getting Rich Harden. So, as Coach Norman Dale said in Hoosiers, "This is your team." The Twins are 4.5 games back in the AL Central race behind Detroit, with seven games left against the Tigers. One thing to keep in mind is that 4.5 games may not sound like much, but when you’re talking about teams that are playing .500 ball, that’s tough to make up. Let’s say (and this is purely a fictional example) the Colorado Rockies are 4.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Dodgers are playing a little better than .600 ball. With teams having that kind of success, the Rockies could make it up if the Dodgers hit a rough patch. But for the Twins to make up 4.5 games, they’re going to have to be a different team than the one that’s played .500 ball all season. That means consistent starting pitching and production from the WHOLE lineup, not just the heart of it (Mauer, Morneau, Kubel and Cuddyer). The Twins and Tigers are like two tortoises that haven’t moved much in the standings, and it’s hard to imagine that’s going to change.
  • NDSU football: One other point that I thought of after getting off the radio was that when the Bison beat the University of Minnesota, that was a midseason game. NDSU had built up momentum by playing great football, while the Gophers were in freefall after a very rough start (Was that the year the Gophers lost to Florida Atlantic? Yikes!). With all of the new faces on the Bison, I’d give them a better chance of beating Iowa State if it was a midseason game than I would in the opener. Because by the middle of the year, the Cyclones could be licking their wounds from a rough start to the Big 12 season, and the Bison might have patched any holes they found to start the year.

Finally, there’s a story floating around the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Yahoo Sports about Kirby Puckett via his former hitting coach Terry Crowley.

Crowley, who was the hitting coach for the Twins during the 1991 World Series, says Puckett called his shot prior to his 11th-inning walkoff homer to win Game 6 and send the Twins to Game 7 and eventually a World Series title.

Crowley told the Pioneer Press that Puckett said if the Atlanta Braves left Charlie Liebrandt in the game, he was going to hit a game-winning homer.

"On some replays of the tape, if the crowd noise is diminished," Crowley told the Pioneer Press, "you can hear Puckett tell me, ‘I told you so, Crow.’ "

We’ve all heard the "Get up on my back" stories about Puckett in the World Series, but this account by Crowley is of a much more specific nature. Here’s a link to the video.

I’ve always felt – from a national perspective – Puckett’s blast is underrated. Carlton Fisk’s walkoff homer in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series gets a lot of attention (partially because it was Boston and partially because of the way he tried to "wave" the ball fair), but the Red Sox lost that series. And Joe Carter’s blast in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series was thrilling, but if the Blue Jays had lost that game, they still would have been alive for Game 7.

In my opinion, when ranking the biggest homers in postseason history, it’s Bill Mazeroski’s walkoff homer for Pittsburgh in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series first, and then it’s Puckett’s blast. Maybe Crowley’s story will give Puckett’s a little more attention.

MAZEROSKI’s WALKOFF IN GAME 7 OF 1960 WORLD SERIES

PUCKETT’S WALKOFF HOMER IN GAME 6 OF 1991 WORLD SERIES
(Fast forward to 6:45 mark of video)

I got to add this too. I found it while looking for Puckett’s Game 6 homer.

1991 TWINS MUSIC VIDEO (Chili, Morris, Erickson, Knoblauch, Newman)

Vikings owners not afraid to pony up

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The Star Tribune’s Jim Souhan has a nice column on the newspaper’s site about Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf.

Opinions, as should be expected, vary on whether or not signing Brett Favre was a good idea for the Vikings. But in a market where owners are often panned for not spending enough money and abusing the term "small market," it should be a breath of fresh air for fans in this region to have an owner not afraid to throw some dough at his team.

And it’s a pretty smart business move, too. Having an attention-grabber like Favre on the squad creates a buzz, which in turn will help sell tickets and increase advertising revenue in all sorts of ways.

Hate to bring it up again, but hopefully the Minnesota Twins don’t lose sight of that when Joe Mauer‘s contract runs out.

Addition of Favre shouldn’t change expectations drastically

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I was out sick yesterday, so I guess you could say this post is a day late in addition to the usual feeling of being a dollar short.

The Minnesota Vikings put an end to months of speculation Tuesday by signing veteran quarterback Brett Favre to a two-year contract.

I’ve heard it all in the last 24 hours. I’ve heard people on TV say the addition of Favre makes the Vikings the team to beat in the NFC. I’ve had friends try to convince me Favre is now the best QB in the NFC North. But wait, there’s more boastful Favre statements.

  • When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Brett Favre.
  • Brett Favre is suing NBC for their show Law & Order claiming it is the trademarked names of his left and right legs.
  • There is no chin behind Brett Favre‘s beard. There is only another fist.
  • Brett Favre doesn’t sleep. He waits.

OK, enough with the Chuck Norris jokes.

I think expectations should already be pretty high for the Vikings. They have a phenomenal running game and a great defense. Many teams – like the Chicago Bears a couple years ago – have gone to the Super Bowl on that alone, with a little help from Devin Hester.

It’s convenient to those Favre-backers to look at his 2007 season with Green Bay and say that would make a difference.

Yes, Sage Rosenfels and/or Tarvaris Jackson could not put up numbers like Favre did in 2007. But look at the two years prior to that, or last season for that matter.

Favre’s QB ratings for the last four years: 70.9, 72.7, 95.7, 81.0.

In fact, the most telling stat from yesterday’s coverage was ESPN comparing Favre’s 2008 season the Vikings QBs’ seasons in 2008. Pretty much identical.

And if Favre already has a tear in his rotator cuff, whose to say he’ll make it a full season. I realize he’s started 269 straight games, but he is turning 40 in four months. He might play the full season, but it might be in the same manner that he did with the New York Jets last season.

I think Vikings fans have plenty to be excited about for 2009. But I’m not convinced that the addition of Favre really makes that much of a difference.

Sage surges in race for Vikings’ starting QB job

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I will admit – before you read any further – that I didn’t watch a second of the Minnesota Vikings’ preseason game on Friday against the Indianapolis Colts. What you are about to read is simply an analysis based on what I’ve read and the box score. So, I apologize.

Sage Rosenfels was 10-for-13 for 91 yards, helping the Vikings score on their opening possession.

Tarvaris Jackson was 7-for-15 for 39 yards.

It would appear that Rosenfels has the edge, but there’s still three preseason games to play. Rosenfels has spent his entire career battling for a starting spot. This could be his best opportunity. But you have to wonder, at this point in his career, how he hasn’t won a job before.