Manziel is good--and scary

I really like to watch Johnny Football play football.  Johnny Manziel will most likely be a top 5 pick in next week's NFL draft and will sell many tickets to his new team's games and to many away games, much like Michael Jordan did in all the visiting cities his Chicago Bulls played in.
From a technical standpoint, he throws the ball really well.  He has the quickest release of all the QB's in the draft and has plenty of arm strength to be successful in the NFL.  Manziel's biggest problem is that much of what made him Johnny Football at Texas A&M is exactly what will make his NFL career an abbreviated one.  Mike Holmgren recently said he is a lot like Brett Favre and I agree very much.  Manziel's "gunslinging" style makes for great watching, but for big mistakes as well.  I believe Manziel is a better, more pure thrower than Favre and will make less mistakes overall.  It took Holmgren a long time to take some of Favre's wild plays out of his game and to a Super Bowl victory.  Favre continued to make great plays and some really bad ones as well as his career continued on what seemed like forever.  Unfortunately for Manziel, I think it is his overall style of play and lack of physical size (girth) that will give him a much shorter career than Favre, who played through much pain, but avoided the big injury that hit RGIII, the last phenom to hit the NFL.
I was wrong about Allen Iverson when he went into the NBA.  He had a much longer and better career than I thought he would.  But, I am not a basketball analyst and didn't play in the NBA.
Johnny Manziel will get drafted at or near the top of next week's draft.  He will be exciting as heck to watch. And God willing he will avoid the big injury, but like Michael Vick, who depended on his legs so much, Manziel will struggle to stay on the field full time.  So, whoever does draft him better really like their backup QB, because it's a good bet that he will be your starter more often than you would like.

#1 QB vs. #2 QB--Brees vs. Brett in NFC

The New Orleans Saints have never been here before, the Minnesota Vikings have plenty of experience, as does their signal-caller. Drew Brees and Brett Favre will headline the battle inside the Superdome today, finishing the regular season as the top rated quarterbacks in the entire league.
Favre is the first 40 year old to QB his team into the conference championship game, playing arguably the best football of his entire career. Why did Vikings' Head Coach Brad Childress continue to work on getting Brett back on the field after another retirement and even an injured shoulder last season? Because this was the possibility, maybe even the probability, with the rest of the Vikings team so talented.
The Saints have been waiting a long time for this chance. Through so much adversity over time and through Katrina in recent years, the sad-sack franchise has come alive under Drew Brees' leadership. And the silly move by the Houston Texans a few drafts ago, allowed Reggie Bush to go to the Saints and give them another piece to the puzzle.
Percy Harvin has been slowed, ever so slightly, by migraines throughout the year, but still managed over 2,000 all-purpose yards. He missed practice time this week due to those bad headaches, but you can bet he will be trying to slice up the New Orleans defense today.
Playmaker vs. Playmaker--Bush vs. Harvin and Brees vs. Favre. The table is set for a fabulous game, but who will come out on top?
The New Orleans Saints will end the day victorious because New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton and his QB will not hold onto the ball long enough to give the vaunted Vikings' pass rushers enough opportunities. They also have the receiving staff to give their secondary fits. Brett Favre has made many incredible plays this season, but they come later and after some moving around, which will come back to bite them just enough to put the Saints in the Super Bowl for the first time.

Saints Have Prayers Answered

It hasn't been easy to be a Saints' fan or player over the decades, but Drew Brees and his crew have made it a bit easier in the Big Easy.
After disappointing losses ended their regular season, doubt crept in to many of those fans and probably some of the players as well. A "one and done" possibility seemed all too real, but Brees and Bush got back to form and bullied their way to the NFC Champion by knocking off the defending NFC Champion!
The Cowboys seemed to be the pundits favorite while visiting the Minnesota Vikings, but Brett Favre's 40 year old arm threw 4 TD's while blowing out the team that had been on fire for the last few weeks.
This weekend's NFC Championship game in New Orleans should be great entertainment in one of the great entertainment cities in the world!

NFL Playoffs: QB Showcase

A strong running game and defense are the ways to win in January in the NFL. Well, that has been a successful recipe, but these 2010 playoffs are shaping up as the QB playoffs.
The Packers and Cardinals earned their name of "Wildcard" game, with offensive records breaking all over the place and both quarterbacks putting up outrageous numbers.
The Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets are built in the classic model and still left in the these playoffs, but the Ravens travel inside to the dome of the Colts and the Jets will be in warm San Diego, California to take on the hot Chargers, who have become a QB dominated team with Phillip Rivers' dominance this year.
The NFC stays inside at 72 degrees in New Orleans and Minnesota, probably the best four quarterback matchup in NFL history. Kurt Warner and Drew Brees regularly carry their teams through games and Tony Romo and Brett Favre can do the same.
I looked forward to the Green Bay/Arizona game last week with great anticipation, because I like Aaron Rogers as much as these other guys and expected a great shootout--not quite expecting it to be what it turned into, but this weekend's games should be just as entertaining.
And the only way for the NFL to get a cold weather game of any kind before the playoffs, is if both the Jets and Ravens--the old school teams left in the tournament--win. Otherwise, it is warm weather all the way to the Super Bowl. Wait, the Super Bowl in Miami, Florida may be the coldest game from here on in.

Brett Favre Still NFL's Biggest Story

I thought and wished Brett Favre would have retired when he still looked this photo, wearing the colors of the Green Bay Packers, but after all the drama, who could have imagined that he would still be the #1 storyline week in and week out for the NFL?
Whether it is playing against his former team and setting a record for beating every team in the entire league or going back to Lambeau this week, he has made big play after big play to lead his team from behind to win game after game.
I'm big enough to admit, even though I wished he had retired close to the top of his game around 2006, with the rest of the Vikings around him, at 40 years old, he still seems near that pinnacle. And even if it isn't at HIS best, it is still better than almost everyone else's best and just may be what the Vikings needed to get to the promised land (Moses was 80 when he led the Israelites out of Egypt and to the promised land. Yes, I know Moses led them in the desert for 40 years and never actually got into the promised land, but I couldn't help the reference, because Favre usually looks like he is closer to 80 than 40).

Living Legend Leaves Marks on Packers

Love him or hate him, you must give it up to Brett Favre for his unbelievable performance on Monday Night Football. That was one of the most impressive throwing shows I've seen. Too bad for Aaron Rogers that it had to come at his expense, but even though Favre has had some up and down outings over the years, he has had a number of memorable games on the big stage and this was one heck of a show of his 40 year old arm.

Rumble in the Bubble--Favre vs. Rogers

What a Monday night draw. The Green Bay Packers took the bold step to go with Aaron Rogers and move on from the Favre era. Brett Favre comes back at the last minute this season and posts the most miraculous throw of his career to win the game right before meeting up the the team that he quarterbacked for 17 seasons. Wow!
Rogers is 8-11 as a starter, but I still believe they made the right choice at the right time. Favre had waffled so many times and guess what? A NFL team needs their QB to go through the offseason program with the team. Now you say, why, when the Vikings are off to this great start and Favre wasn't anywhere to be found? Let's just agree that Favre is simply different and a difference maker, but "teams" do need their field generals to be part of the team concept to be successful on the whole.
It should be a great showdown and I hope the Packers come out on top, not because I care, but to keep the Favre hype from becoming bigger than the Vikings as a team (oops, it already has) and because Rogers has said and done everything the right way following in Brett Favre's footsteps at Lambeau.

Brett Favre Plays Well--Hurts Self and Another

I don't know what anyone on the Minnesota Vikings was thinking by putting a 40 year old man (not named Jerry Rice) out as a wide receiver. Brett Favre seemingly hasn't learned anything heading into his 19th season in the NFL as he cuts an unsuspecting player at the knees and by turning sideways as he does it, ends up injuring his own ribs in the process.
Note to Brad Childress: This is not why you begged this guy out of retirement and also not what you are paying him $12 Million to do.
Favre had a pretty darn good outing in a more extensive showing, leading the Vikings to a preseason win, just keep your head up and off defenders shins and things should go quite well for Minnesota this year.

QB--Easy Position?

Brett Favre tosses balls with high school kids over the summer, signs with the Minnesota Vikings on Monday and starts on Friday night. Greg Paulus plays basketball through his college years before deciding to play QB for a season before his eligibility runs out and gets the starting job at Syracuse!
Once upon a time QB's had to practice with the team and earn their teammates trust to win the starting quarterback position.
These are wacky days in the football world. OK, Favre is a "Hall-Of-Famer in waiting" and he has a grasp of the Brad Childress' playbook, but it sends a chilling message to all those players that poured the blood, sweat and tears into offseason training and training camp to get moved down the depth chart so quickly and easily.
Favre started and looked very human, going 1-4 for 4 yards in a short stint. For the Syracuse Orange, here's hoping Paulus doesn't follow in Favre's recent footsteps.

Favre A Viking--Who Would of Thunk It?

Truthfully, I thought Brett Favre would be back this year, but I was thinking he would wait for the season to shape up a bit and look at the playoff race to find the right fit. Instead, he misses the tough part of training camp and with two days of practice and a walk-through, is expected to start Friday nights game for the Minnesota Vikings.

Brett Favre Not Playing This Year?

I've been writing off Brett Favre as being done playing for half a decade now and it seemed as if he had finally written himself off earlier today, but just as I was preparing a final goodbye, I hear he may be interested in playing later in the year if a contending team comes calling. So, I will save his fond farewell for another time.

Brett Favre To Decide by Opening of Training Camp

Former NFL great Brett Favre will decide if he wants to become present NFL quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings by the time they open their training camp. How nice. Either the Vikings believe that they are an experienced QB away from the Super Bowl or they are so bad at quarterback right now that a one year window with Favre is worth playing around with, while not developing their current crop very much as they carry the clipboard this season.
Here's one thing in Favre's favor that neither he nor the Vikings seem to be realizing and you can see some of it in the photo with this article. Good mechanics. Brett doesn't want to come back unless he has that great arm strength that he has built a Hall of Fame career with, but little does he know that he may become the John Elway of this year. Elway threw the ball too hard for many years, but as he controlled himself a bit better after the age of 35, so too could Brett Favre if he isn't quite as confident in his arm strength. If he plays a little more controlled and within himself, Adrian Peterson and Favre could team up to make a run like Elway and Terrell Davis did to finish the 1990's of in grand fashion.
Brett doesn't need to have the strongest arm in the league, he needs to make the best decisions in the league because he has the most experience and that is what experience is supposed to do for you, give you better decision making skills, his arm will always be strong enough.

Favre Coming Back Again?

This may be the craziest sports story of the year and there have been plenty already. A week ago the New York Jets released Brett Favre from the reserved/retired list and the biggest post-draft story is Favre's potential return to the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. Remember the tampering questions last year when the phone records were looked at to see just how much Favre had talked with Vikings coaches? Obviously the Packers didn't want him in their division, so he made his way to the AFC for a year. As of today, Brad Childress was still in Minnesota, even though reports had him in Mississippi on Wednesday night.
Maybe this is all hooey. But with Brett Favre, it probably has legs. At first thought, I couldn't believe it at all. But then I said to myself, that with Adrian Peterson behind him, Percy Harvin on the field (who knows where he will be used), this has the makings of something pretty good.
I played against Favrey when he was still on the Atlanta Falcons and I know how long ago that was, but this guy can still get it done for one more year, if he gets some help (maybe five more years).