Let’s Retire the Favre Retirement Talk

by | Mar 10, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

Are we the only ones getting sick of the Favre coverage?

* Sports Illustrated is issuing a special edition Brett Favre issue this week.  Maybe I’m just not remembering, but did they do this when Joe Montana retired?  John Elway?  Wayne Gretzky?  Michael Jordan (for which retirement)?  Maybe they did for Jordan, maybe even Gretzky, but they were generally regarded as the best in their sport when they played–possibly all time.  I have not heard one rational person (read: someone not in Wisconsin) make an argument that Favre is the best in the game.

* In an article I’m shocked the hype creators editors at ESPN allowed to go live,  Paolantonio actually points out that Favre’s career (specifically the second half of it) is overhyped.  THANK YOU FOR SOMEONE USING SOME LOGIC.  Now, if only Paolantonio didn’t start it off with “the most durable player in NFL history.”  I don’t care what some people may say, that honor is still Jim Marshall’s, at 282 games started (Jeff Feagles can claim the record all he wants, but punters and kickers don’t count).  Some say that Favre’s streak is more impressive because he played a more vulnerable position–yeah, getting hit 10-15 times a game is way more vulnerable than colliding with a 260-270 pound (back in Marshall’s days) offensive lineman for 60-70 plays a game isn’t vulnerable at all.  Especially when you’re at the bottom of a pile and he’s trying to break your fingers or gauge an eye out.

Fortunately, it seems to be dying down some.  We can only hope that this is the week that we get back to what we should be discussing right now–only 7 weeks until the NFL Draft…

Favre Media Circus Continues…

by | Mar 4, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

Well, the local sports radio guy who supposedly doesn’t even talk sports was all about Favre today, and I cringe to think what kind of a Favre love-fest ESPN is putting on right now (I’m guessing at least 2 of their channels are devoted to it already, and ESPN Classic is probably lining up the old tapes as we speak–the first time I’ve been glad that Comcast and DirecTV canned it), so why not have ZoneBlitz be All-Favre All Day too?

So here are my questions, some of which have been carried elsewhere, but if the world was all about original thought, Hollywood would have folded years ago:

1) Is Favre really retiring, or is this just a desperate plea for attention to whine about the Packers not getting Randy Moss (again)? And does that make sense? Seriously, Randy Moss couldn’t have caught that last pass against the Giants. As much as I don’t like Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and James Jones, I have to admit, it’s a pretty good trio.

2) What’s with Favre’s agent Bus Cook telling the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that Favre wanted to play another year? I know it comes off as Cook speculating:

“I think he wanted to play, I think he’s still got it. He knows he’s still got it. I think he felt he could play one more year. I don’t know if they told him they really wanted him to play. That’s just the feeling I got.”

But come on, like Favre hasn’t talked to Cook about his decision? His trusted agent? Hell, his office is in Mississippi.

“Nobody pushed Brett Favre out the door, but then nobody encouraged him not to go out that door, either,” Cook said by phone.

So what, after 3-4 years of the Packers being forced into an annual waiting game with Favre, they’re supposed to roll out the red carpet to Kiln, and beg for Brett to come back? Just check their self respect at the door?

What’s with Favre/Cook trying to make the Packers look like the bad guys here? Especially when you consider…

3) The Chris Mortenson voicemail, in which Favre says he’s simply worn out. So with the voicemail saying one thing, and Favre saying another, he’s already playing both sides of the fence here. Not sure where that leads.

4) Speaking of the voicemail, I have to wonder how his (former?) teammates would even feel about playing for him if he WERE to decide to come back at this point:

“…the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl,” Favre said in the voicemail. “To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful. I know it shouldn’t feel unsuccessful, but the only way to come back and make that be the right decision would be to come back and win a Super Bowl and honestly the odds of that, they’re tough. Those are big shoes for me to fill, and I guess it was a challenge I wasn’t up for. “

I wonder how his teammates feel, knowing that Favre is admitting that the odds are that long? I know that realisitically, the odds ARE long–1 in 32, to be technical. Especially at the time of year where all the records are cleared, and no one has even had a mini-camp yet. But don’t you think, especially coming off of a 13-3 season and a NFC Championship appearance that the leader of the Pack should have a little more confidence in the team than that? I’d kind of feel like Favre just threw me under the Bus…meaning the one that the Packer fans moon as it leaves the stadium, not the one that is Favre’s agent.

Browns or Vikings: Who Got the Better Deal?

by | Mar 3, 2008 | 2008 NFL Free Agency

Was looking through some of the signings over the first few days of free agency, and noticed one that somehow slipped through the cracks (at least at ZoneBlitz HQ):

The Cleveland Browns signed Donte Stallworth to contract, reportedly worth $35 million over seven years, with $10 million guaranteed (although ProFootballTalk is reporting it as a five-year deal).

Compare that to the deal that Bernard Berrian got from the Vikings, reported at six-years for $42 million, with $16 million guaranteed.

So who got the better deal?

(more…)

Michael Turner Signs With Falcons?

by | Mar 2, 2008 | 2008 NFL Free Agency, Fantasy Football

The Atlanta Falcons announced Sunday that they had signed Michael Turner to a six-year deal.  Terms haven’t been released yet that we’ve seen.

On the surface, I don’t know that this one make sense for anyone involved.

The Falcons get a running back that has looked great in backing up LaDanian Tomlinson.  Which is good.  But the Falcons already had a back who has looked pretty good in what little time I’ve seen of him playing in Jerious Norwood.

And that brings me to why I question the deal from Turner’s stand point–not only do the Falcons have Norwood, but they haven’t even used him effectively in his first two years there. 

As the AP article points out, the Turner signing likely signals the end of Warrick Dunn’s time as the starter.  That’s a move that should have come last year, when Norwood was out performing him every week towards the end of the year, it seemed.

Yes, I’m probably jaded because I ended up with Norwood on virtually every one of my fantasy teams last year.  But I thought he showed in his rookie season that if given enough carries, he would eventually break a long one.  Yet for some reason, the Falcons refused to utilize him more, even when Dunn was turning in some putrid performances.

Dunn, who has always been labeled as undersized, and proved earlier in his career that he could be a full time guy, just doesn’t appear to have it any more.  He had only one 100 yard rushing game last season (27 carries for 100 yards even against San Francisco), and only 4 games in which he averaged 4.0 yards or more per carry (11 for 55 against the Panthers, 17 for 70 against the Colts, 8 for 32 against the Bucs, and 12 for 70 in the finale against the Seahawks).  At the same time he had 8 games where he averaged less than 3.0 yards per carry.

Yes, the entire Falcons team was God awful last year, with their QB going to prison before the season, and a head coach that lacked the fortitude to be an NFL coach, and left for college power house Arkansas before the season even started.

And Norwood did have a couple of clunker games as well.  And I did hear rumors about his work habits in training camp.  But only once did he get more than 10 carries in a game, and it has always looked to me like Norwood is the kind of guy that needs carries to get something going.  As it was, he gained 603 yards last year on 103 carries, a 6.0 yard per carry average.  Compared to Dunn’s 720 yards on 227 carries, a 3.2 yard per carry average, for the same offense.

Yes, Turner should be a good, possibly great player.  But was it a gaping hole that needed to be filled, compared to some other obvious holes the Falcons have?   If early speculation that Turner and Norwood will split time in the backfield is correct, will either be as effective as they might as the full time guy?  Will Turner complain about not finally being in the full spotlight, and will Norwood maybe start to complain as well?  (Or has he already?)

And, of course, probably the biggest losers in this one are once again the Fantasy Football players out there, who are faced with yet another two headed RB situation, where there were at least some hopes that Turner would find his own starting role, and the Falcons would finally start to utilize Norwood in a featured role as well.

Derek Anderson Signing-Makes Sense, or Not?

by | Mar 1, 2008 | I Said, He Said

Welcome to the first of what will probably be a regular piece on ZoneBlitz–we’re calling it (for now) ‘I Said, He Said’, where we go point-counter point on a particular topic.  I would guess 95% of these will end up being copied and pasted (more or less) from some of the Instant Messenger conversations we have.

And yes, our wives do wonder how two guys who can spend all day in communication on Instant Messenger could possibly know less about what’s actually going on in the other’s life…well, this explains it:

Andy: Derek Anderson agreed to terms with Cleveland
Tony: really?  I don’t get that one.
Tony: you like the Anderson signing?
Andy: I understand the Anderson signing.
Andy: Like it? Not sure. But I understand it.
Tony: I don’t
Tony: Take the picks.  Let someone else have the one year wonder.
Andy: This team has been horses**t and Anderson made them competitive. I don’t think you can have a dreg team for five years go 10-6 and then say to the fans “The QB that got us here is going elsewhere and we don’t care.”
Andy: Quinn could be the second-coming or he could be a career second-teamer.
Tony: Yes, but regardless of which he is, you have a decent amount invested in him.
Andy: right
Andy: But there is nothing wrong with him sitting for two seasons.
Tony: Now he might be the next Aaron Rodgers. Without the old, grizzled vet blocking his way.
Tony: There is when he’s going to start whining and complaining about not playing and earning his incentives.
Andy: And there is nothing wrong with the Browns trading Quinn either.
Andy: I think the Browns put themselves in position to really hold the cards.
Tony: I bet they’d have a tough time trading him.
Andy: I don’t.
Andy: Too many sh***y QBs in the NFL.
Tony: I think they f***ed themselves over.
Tony: *sorry, should have said tough time trading him for value.
Andy: I’m surprised the deal happened this early in FA.
Andy: But I don’t think it was a bad move for the Browns.

And just like that, we moved on.  So what do you think–did the Browns make the right move in re-signing Derek Anderson?