Hall of Fame committee to name Team of Decade

by Andy | 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 Andy | 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.

Championship game loss worse for Vikes than Jets

by Andy | Jan 25, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

Just got home from a friend’s house where I watched the Minnesota Vikings once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the NFC Championship game. While it’s not quite as hard to live with as the 1998 debacle against Atlanta this one will stick in the craw of fans and players for weeks and months to come.

If you look back to the picks posted on this site last night the last line said something about how these two teams are evenly matched and how the game will likely come down to breaks and turnovers. The Vikings had a great season. And they did almost everything they had to do to beat the Saints tonight. Everything, that is, except hang onto the football.

They controlled the time of possession. They defended the pass admirably, holding Drew Brees to fewer than 200 yards passing. They had many more first downs. But they committed five turnovers, two of which came inside the Saints’ 20 yard line. Get three points out of either of those drives and this is a different contest.

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Pearson, Foreman spar on Minneapolis radio

by Andy | Jan 15, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

As the hype surrounding the playoff game between Dallas and Minnesota heats up much of the talk has centered on 1975.

That’s the year the 10-4 Cowboys came to Metropolitan Stadium to face the 12-2 Vikings in the NFC Divisional playoffs. The Cowboys won the game when Drew Pearson caught Roger Staubach’s “Hail Mary” pass with less than a minute remaining.

The controversy stems from whether or not Pearson pushed off on Minnesota defensive back Nate Wright. As a born and bred Minnesotan I was brought up to believe Pearson did interfere, though in truth I was only about 10 months old at the time.

I have little emotional attachment to the event outside of it involving the team I grew up cheering for and a team I grew up … not cheering for. But that’s not the case for many fans who were a few years older than I was at the time.

The controversy remains entertaining even nearly 35 years later and the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Jim Souhan wrote an interesting account of Pearson’s point of view on the play. Even more entertaining was an interview Pearson did with KFAN-AM’s Dan Barreiro Thursday afternoon. Pearson maintains there was incidental contact but no blatant push.

Former Viking running back Chuck Foreman, who called into the radio station while Barreiro was talking with Pearson, of course believes there was interference on the play.

The resulting conversation was one of the most entertaining interviews I have heard on the radio in quite awhile. Kudos to Barreiro, who knew enough to allow himself to be little more than a side player in the discussion, as Foreman and Pearson tweak each other and banter through a 20-minute or so segment.

And kudos to both players, both of whom obviously still feel very strongly about their team’s points of view from that game but who discussed the issue on the air with a great deal of humor and respect.

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