Cardinal fantasy prospects take hit with Warner retirement

by | Jan 29, 2010 | Fantasy Football

With Kurt Warner retiring Matt Leinart retakes the helm in Arizona, at least for now. If the Cardinals settle for roster status quo, that puts the fantasy football fates of superstars like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in the hands of a quarterback who has thrown for fewer than 4,000 yards and just 14 touchdowns since being drafted in 2006.

Zoneblitz.com expects the fantasy stats of nearly all Cardinals to take a hit, at least through the early portions of the 2010 season. Anthony Maggio, who is a freelance sports writer, a contributor to FantasyFootballChamps.com and the owner of the Punting Baxter blog, agrees that Warner’s retirement isn’t good news on the fantasy football scene.

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With Warner’s retirement the Hall of Fame discussion begins

by | Jan 29, 2010 | Hall of Fame, NFL Random Thoughts

This topic has been addressed before both here and in other places, but now, as Kurt Warner’s career comes to an end (assuming he doesn’t become the next Brett Favre) the debate surrounding arguably one of the most interesting Hall of Fame case studies out there can begin in earnest.

Warner finishes his career with 208 touchdown passes, which doesn’t put him in the top 20 all-time. With 32,344 yards passing, he falls short of the top 20 there, as well.

He was named to four Pro Bowls and was a first team All-Pro just twice. That’s also decent but not overwhelming.

On the other hand, the man led the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He led in touchdown passes in 1999 and 2001 and yards in 2001, as well.

More importantly, he took three teams to Super Bowl appearances in 12 seasons, winning one with the Greatest Show on Turf and coming close in the other two.

Especially impressive, to me anyway, was the third one last year when he took the long moribund Arizona Cardinals on a playoff ride to remember. He came within a couple minutes of leading the Birds to an upset over the far superior Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, he wasn’t especially durable. In the 11 seasons starting with the year he took over the helm in St. Louis through this year, he played 16 games just three times. But it’s also important to remember that the accomplishments he did compile started in 1999 when he was already 28 years old.

So, there’s a synopsis. Do the ring and multiple Super Bowl appearances win out? Or does the late start to Warner’s career keep him out?

Will any of you watch the Pro Bowl?

by | Jan 28, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

I was thinking about what I am going to do this weekend with no real football games on television for the first time since August. And it occurred to me that the Pro Bowl is this weekend.

I probably should have remembered that because of all the announcements about players pulling out of the game. But for some reason it hadn’t registered. And that’s probably because I really couldn’t possibly care less about this game.

For one thing, even when the game is the week after the Super Bowl in Hawaii, there are a ton of front-line players who skip the game for injuries or “injuries.” Second, there are weird rules about blitzing and stuff like that, or at least there were back when I used to occasionally tune in to watch.

Finally, to make it even less interesting than normal, 14 players from the Colts and Saints are missing this year’s game because it is this week instead of the week following the Super Bowl – can you really seriously call it the Pro Bowl and not have any players from the Super Bowl participants in the game? The absentees this year will include the top three vote getters – Super Bowl quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, and oft-elected Brett Favre, who hasn’t actually played in the game in years.

I’d heard some theories tossed around about moving the game to August so it is played before the season rather than after. That probably wouldn’t make any difference to me – and I would think teams would be a little hinky about letting their best players suit up for an all-star game before the season starts.

I’m curious to hear our readers’ thoughts on this game. Do you usually watch? Will you this year because of the new venue or the placement of the game between the Super Bowl and the Championship games? Is there anything the league could do to get you interested in watching? Or should the NFL just consider canceling the game?

Hall of Fame committee to name Team of Decade

by | Jan 26, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

The Pro Football Hall of Fame put out an announcement this afternoon that its selection committee would announce the Team of the Decade for the oughts during the Pro Bowl this weekend.

As part of the announcement the Hall linked to its teams from the past eight decades. You can access those lists via the accompanied link.

At the behest of Tony P., if memory serves, we unveiled the Zoneblitz.com Team of the Decade during Super Bowl weekend last year. We were at a bit of a disadvantage given that the 2009 season thrust a few additional candidates, such as Josh Cribbs, toward the top of the list. But as I look back I still think we did alright.

You can access our list here. We’ll see how our list compares with that of the Hall’s Selection Committee over the next few days when the official announcement arrives.

Have fun.

Inevitable Favre retirement talk already starting

by | Jan 25, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

I was hoping it would take at least a few weeks for the Brett Favre retirement saga to start up in full force again but unfortunately less than 24 hours after the Vikings ended up on the short end of the NFC title game multiple media outlets are filling their airwaves with speculation.

Paul Allen on KFAN-AM in Minneapolis said on air this morning that he expects Favre to chew on his final throw for a few months and use that as a determining factor for deciding to come back. So he’s expecting number four to start again in purple. And people within the organization apparently told him the decision will be a few months off and that he needs to let his body heal and the emotions to die down.

Allen, who is also the play-by-play man for Vikings broadcasts, however, is also admitting that he may be letting emotions enter into his belief that Favre will return.

According to ProFootballTalk.com, on the other hand, ESPN’s Ed Werder is reporting that Favre told him he’s “highly unlikely” to play again. And his colleague Adam Schefter says Favre’s teammates don’t expect to see him back either.

So here we go. For the last five months we’ve seen the upside of Favre. Not it’s time for the inevitable down side. How do the Vikings plan for the offseason? How much diva-like back-and-forth do we have to watch this year?

The Super Bowl is two weeks off, but for all but the Saints and the Colts – and especially at this point for the Vikings – it has already begun.