No position in the NFL is more highly scrutinized, debated, and discussed than the quarterback. It’s impossible to build a consistent winner without one (and people who follow the Cleveland Browns would tell you that it’s impossible to find one period).

After this weekend’s Packers loss to the Bucs, Aaron Rodgers was a popular topic of conversation on Twitter. I made the comment that he has not shown me that he has the “it” that people always talk about when it comes to QBs. Some agreed and some disagreed, but it got me thinking about where Rodgers falls in relation to today’s crop of QBs.

Thus, I set out to rank the quarterbacks currently holding starting NFL gigs, taking into account their current age and skill level, future potential, past accomplishments, and the general confidence level I would have if that player was the QB of my team.

In fact, that last factor was always the tie-breaker as I went through my rankings: who would I rather have starting for my team, with everything else being equal, if my life depending on winning a football game?

I separated the players into distinct tiers as well so you can see where I think dropoffs exist.

The real fun and the main idea of this post is to generate discussion, criticism, and debate in the comment section below. These rankings are just my opinion and I’d love to hear yours.

Let’s do some ranking.

Tier 1: The First Ballot HOF Franchise Anchor Super QBs

1 – Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts

1a – Tom Brady, New England Patriots

Do I really need to list out their accomplishments or explain why they are the only two men in this tier? Good, I didn’t think so.

Trying to decide between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning would be like trying to choose between a Heidi Klum or a Minka Kelly screensaver for your computer. You’re going to be happy either way, and while both have their staunch supporters, each side can recognize the greatness of the other.

That Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the two best QBs of the this decade is inarguable.

Here is why I put Peyton Manning ever so slightly ahead of Tom Brady: I don’t think that Peyton’s greatness will go down in history as being linked with any particular coach as Brady’s will be linked with Bill Belichick. Thus, to me, the statement “all else being equal” tips the scales to Manning because we’ve never seen Brady without Belichick nor have we seen Manning with Belichick.

Can you imagine?

Yes, Peyton had some great years with Tony Dungy, but he was drafted by Jim Mora and is continuing his excellence with Jim Caldwell as he moves into the third stage of his career. What both QBs have done with so many transient parts around them has been impressive, but Peyton has dealt with it atop his team’s coaching staff as well.

There really is no wrong answer here, but as we get ready for Colts-Patriots this weekend, I’d love to get a sense of where the majority opinion stands on this issue. Because we are Midwest Sports Fans, I assume that Peyton will win this, but let’s find out anyway.

Tier 2: Impeccable Franchise Anchor QBs

3 – Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

You know that I’m not the biggest Roethlisberger fan, and that I consider him to be something of a tool, but even the biggest Browns fan or Big Ben hater has to give Roethlisberger his due credit now. The guy has won two Super Bowls, he consistently comes up big in important spots, and is reaching a Brady/Manning-like level of being a guy that 11-, 12-win teams are built around on a year-in, year-out basis.

He’s not the prettiest, the most text book, or the most statistically impressive. But if he’s on your sideline, everyone else will believe victory is possible regardless of circumstance. That’s a powerful, proven presence that cannot ignored.

4 – Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

This choice could cause some consternation because Brees has not yet won a Super Bowl, nor played in one, yet there are Super Bowl QBs below him.

Here is how I look at that: Do you think that the Giants would not have won the Super Bowl in 2007 with Brees as their QB? Do you think Philly and their pass-happy offense would have been worse off over the years with Brees instead of McNabb? I don’t.

I just think Brees has had to wait a little longer for his opportunity, which appears as if it might be coming this season. He has proven time and again that he is a true franchise QB, an impeccable leader, and a guy who can rally a team (heck, even a city) when the chips are down.

I still rue the day that the Dolphins passed on him in the draft and when they passed on him after he left San Diego. Give this guy Tom Brady’s career and he just might have three Super Bowls too.

Tier 3: Proven Franchise QBs

A quick note about this section. Each QB in Tier 3 has the potential to be a Tier 2 QB, but for one reason or another has question marks that prevent even their most ardent fans from having 100% confidence in them. Certainly though, these are all guys that you’d be proud and excited about having as the QB of your team right now. At least I would.

5 – Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings

There is obviously a pretty big caveat with this one: he’s got to be healthy. But Brett Favre, right now, is playing the quarterback position as well as anyone in the league. He has 16 TDs with only three INTs against the backdrop of everything else that he has done in his career. Once again, Favre is authoring an amazing story.

Now, it remains to be seen whether Favre can keep it going for 16+ games. He wore down as last season went along, and could very well do the same thing this year. But in the right situation — and let’s be honest, Minnesota is the perfect situation for him right now — Favre is a legit superstar QB even at 40.

Look down the list and tell me you’d feel more comfortable with those other guys leading your team right now than Favre. Yes, they may be less annoying, less wishy-washy, and less self-centered than Favre is…but I just cannot justify putting anyone else above him.

6 – Eli Manning, New York Giants

6a – Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles

One thing separates Eli from Donovan McNabb in my mind: he has a Super Bowl title.

That’s it.

Eli has not reached the same statistical benchmarks as McNabb, he does not have as many playoff wins, and he is not as exciting a player. But bring Eli in your locker room and everyone immediately believes a Super Bowl is possible because he’s done it.

I do think, however, that even the strongest Eli supporter still has at least some trepidation regarding Eli’s ability to play at an elite level year-in, year-out. Did he catch lightning in a bottle in 2007? Can he win regardless of his supporting cast? We’re going to find out, as Eli’s career is far from a finished product.

As for McNabb, no matter his accomplishments — and make no mistake, five NFC Title games and a Super Bowl appearance is a terrific resume that is vastly underrated — we cannot say that a locker room full of players would immediately believe they are Super Bowl bound because McNabb walks through the door. It’s just the nature of the beast, and will be that way until he closes the deal in February.

8 – Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals

Like Favre, Warner’s age and proximity to retirement make him hard to place, yet his resume and continued excellence dictate that he has to be ranked pretty high on the list.

Warner proved last year that he is still an elite QB in leading the Cardinals to the Super Bowl. He didn’t win it, but he certainly played well enough to do so. His defense just couldn’t stop Ben Roethlisberger in the final minutes.

Warner is still capable of 5-INT duds like he threw up two weeks ago, but more often than not he is going to get the ball to right player at the right time. Plus, he’s been in every situation you can possible imagine and immediately commands the respect of any locker room he walks into.

If it weren’t for his age, I’d put him above Eli and Donovan, but they have more years ahead of them to try to match Warner’s accomplishments, plus have a less checkered history of injury.

Tier 4: Franchise QBs with Skins on the Wall

And by skins on the wall I am talking of course about playoff berths.

Fans of the teams these guys play for expect each to move into Tier 2 or Tier 3 by the time their career is over, and they’ve already come close to making the leap. All have the talent to do so, but it remains to be seen if they can take that next step.

For each one of these guys, moving into the next tier will be a function of one thing and one thing only: more playoff success.

9 – Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

I am a huge fan of this guy and came close to putting him in Tier 3. Yes, he makes funny faces and his whole nice-Christian- guy/supreme-trash-talker persona seems a bit incongruous, but this guy wins, and wins often, and is superb in clutch situations when his team counts on him.

Plus, go down the list below him and tell me (other than the aging and oft-injured Matt Hasselbeck) who has proven himself more than Rivers. He’s been in the playoffs every year he’s been a starter, made it to an AFC Championship game, and is another guy that commands the attention and respect of his teammates because they believe he will lead them to victory.

You can take any guy lower than Rivers on this list and I’ll play you head-to-head, with similar supporting casts, and I wouldn’t doubt victory for a second.

10 – Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals

There was a time not long ago when Carson Palmer was on the verge of entering the upper-upper echelon of QBs in the NFL. When he led a young, talented Cincinnati team to the playoffs in 2005, everyone thought it was the beginning of a long run of playoff berths for Palmer and the Bengals.

But then the weight of the Bengals’ cursed franchise (or, namely, Kimo Von Oelhoffen) came down on Palmer’s knee. His injury shattered the team’s hopes in 2005 and began a spiral that saw the Bengals plummet to their usual lowly depths and saw Palmer fall off the elite QB radar screen.

Let’s face it, to truly be an elite franchise QB you have to be playing in January and February. Palmer hasn’t been the last few years, but appears poised to do so this year. He’s always had the Aikman-like talent and look about him, but he has been surrounded by chaos. Now he appears to finally have a focused, selfless, defensively competent team around him that is worthy of his talents.

11 – Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

Clearly numbers 10 and 11 on this list don’t have many playoff skins on the wall, but they have at least led their teams to the playoffs. Romo has had an ignominious experience in the playoffs, and has become a punchline for the tabloid headlines his personal life has generated, and he is referred to as Mr. November, but there are signs that he finally is starting to harness his potential and “get it.”

We won’t know for sure until December rolls around, at which time Romo must maintain the high level of play he’s had for the past month, but he appears to be maturing on and off the field and finally is the guy in Dallas. This is his team and the decision to jettison Terrell Owens is looking better and better by the week.

12 – Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Ryan has not even completed his second season in the NFL, but he makes this tier for good reasons. He clearly has the talent, he’s already taken more playoff snaps than Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub, and Aaron Rodgers combined, and he has the kind makeup and countenance that suggest he can someday become a Tier 2 or even Tier 1 QB.

Yes, he’s struggled a bit here lately in throwing too many interceptions, but if the playoffs started today he would be there once again. That’s the mark of a franchise QB and Ryan most certainly is that. He just needs more experience, but I don’t doubt that he will make a steady climb up this list in the years to come.

13 – Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks

This is a tough one because Hasselbeck is the one guy in this tier who has actually played in a Super Bowl. He’s also played in more playoff games than Palmer, Romo, and Ryan combined. But when I check my gut feeling, I’d rather have all four of the guys above him with all else being equal.

Hasselbeck has been a very good QB for many years. I also think that he has benefitted from being in a very poor division that has provided him with an easier annual path to playoffs than the guys above him on this list. But the sad truth for Hasselbeck is that he’s now on the downside of his career and will probably be a constant injury risk as he gets older, considering he is already dealing with back problems.

Hasselbeck has had a great career and I don’t want to minimize it by placing him at the bottom of this tier, but power rankings are equal parts looking forward and looking back. The looking forward part just isn’t as rosy of a picture for Hasselbeck anymore.

14 – Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

Flacco appears to have a lot of the same qualities as Matt Ryan, and also took his team to the playoffs in his first season. In fact, Flacco even won two playoff games and almost made the Super Bowl as a rookie. So why isn’t he higher on list?

I don’t think that Flacco was asked to do as much as Ryan. Yes, his poise and game management ability were impressive for a rookie, and that’s why he makes this tier in the first place, but I still feel like he has the most to prove of anyone in Tier 4.

Flacco is the one guy in the top 15 of these Power Rankings that has not yet dealt with the pressure of being the focal point of his team. He is becoming the Ravens’ focal point more and more, but Ray Lewis is still the alpha dog in Baltimore. I think Flacco will need to emerge from Ray’s shadow, as he gains more experience and wins, to move up the list.

Tier 5: Talented but Skinless Franchise QBs

The quarterbacks in this tier all have talent and the keys to a franchise, but have yet to take a snap in the playoffs. As with the Tier 4 QBs, fans of the teams these guys lead ultimately expect them to journey up this list, but they have to make the playoffs and win there first.

15 – Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears

He is the most talented of the guys in this tier, but has a severe fatal flaw to me: his attitude and body language. This opinion comes from an outsider’s perspective, but I just don’t ever recall seeing a winning QB with the kind of deflated body language and pouty faces that we see from Cutler. I can’t imagine that inspires a lot of confidence, belief, and trust with his teammates.

Yes, he has a cannon. And yes, he has great competitiveness and confidence. But he also throws too many INTs and the Broncos went from a yearly playoff team to a home-in-January team when he took over.

There are just too many questions about Cutler for him to be any higher than this.

16 – Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Rodgers does some good things and has the potential to be a very good QB for a long time. But like Cutler, Rodgers has a fatal flaw that kills his team time and again. In Rodgers’ case it is his propensity to take sacks. He simply has to learn to protect down and distance better or his teams will always be facing an uphill battle.

Rodgers’ other deficiency is that he has not yet shown the ability be a great 4th quarter QB. Until he does, he will never be able to be considered among the elites, no matter what his cumulative stats are at the end of the season.

17 – Matt Schaub, Houston Texans

Another really talented player who racks up great stats, but who is defined by his fatal flaw: he can’t stay healthy. He has played in every game this season, which is a major reason why the Texans have a winning record, but he can only be ranked so high until he plays a full 16-game schedule and we get to see him in the playoffs.

Tier 6 – The Grizzled but Inconsistent Veterans

18 – Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos

I don’t think Orton was ever quite as bad as he was made out to be during his Chicago tenure, but he certainly is not as good as people are making him out to be through eight games in Denver. And after being exposed a bit the last two weeks, the Orton hype will probably start dying down. He is what he is: a solid but unspectacular QB who protects the ball relatively well but needs great skill players and a great defense to win.

19 – Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers

I’ve always been a Delhomme fan and it was hard to have to leave him out of Tier 4. This is a guy who came within seconds of winning a Super Bowl, a guy who has been to the playoffs a good amount, and a guy who has engineered plenty of 4th quarter comebacks.

But the sad truth is that Delhomme’s solid career is ending with a whimper as he either seems to throw 4-5 INTs in a game or play it conservatively and get only 100-150 yards. Delhomme is no longer the future in Carolina and may not even be the present as soon as next season.

But I’ll tell you this, for what it’s worth: if I needed to win one game, I’d take him over any of the guys ranked lower on this list. He’s got too many skins on the wall not to at least give him that level of respect.

20 – Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs

He burst onto the scene last year as Tom Brady’s replacement but it is hard to know just how much stock to put into his 2008 numbers. A lot of QBs would have succeeded playing with Randy Moss and Wes Welker with Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels calling the shots. Cassel is getting his chance now to lead a franchise and is having an okay season below-the-radar in Kansas City. But like any other purported franchise QB, he’s got to have success in the playoffs to move up the list.

21 – David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars

Garrard appeared to be an up-and-comer as recently as 2007. He threw 18 TDs, on 3 INTs, and got a nice new contract from the Jags. But his entire team struggled last year amidst devastating losses on the offensive line. This year, Garrard is playing similarly to last year, which means he is just a pedestrian, average quarterback.

Because of his experience, I like him more than any of the guys lower on this list, but he is not quite what the Jags were hoping for when they signed him to the extension. By all accounts he is a great guy, he is just not a great QB.

22 – Vince Young, Tennessee Titians

Yes, Vince is still a young player, but I think we can safely consider him “grizzled” at this point. He’s won Rookie of the Year, been booed and benched, and now regained his starting job and won two straight starts. He still has a long way to go to become a consistent QB, but the potential is still there.

Of all the guys in this tier, Young is the guy I’d have the least confidence in right now, but he’s also the only guy I could see moving up two or three tiers as his career progresses.

And simply because they have to be ranked somewhere and I don’t want to think of another Tier name…

23 – Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins

It would have been great to see how Campbell’s career would have gone had he been able to stay in one offensive system from year-to-year. With all of the turmoil in Washington, Campbell has never really gotten a fair shot. His inconsistent career is the appropriate manifestation of the constant flux in Washington.

24 – Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams

We can all agree that this guy is toast right?

Tier 7 – The Unknown Youngsters

We don’t really know anything about Mark Sanchez, Chad Henne, Matthew Stafford, or Josh Freeman, except that none of them are as good as Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco. I will say that I am not a huge fan of this year’s rookie QBs and would take Chad Henne over any of them. Only time will tell of course, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Tier 8 – JaMarcus and the Rest

JaMarcus Russell, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Trent Edwards, Alex Smith, Shaun Hill, Matt Leinart…all of these guys have been given varying amounts of opportunity and none have seized the opportunity to start (or in the case of Anderson and Russell, to start with any level of effectiveness). I have better things to do than parse through the wreckage at the bottom of this list.

Suffice it to say, these guys all suck until they prove otherwise.

So there you have it. I now step aside and leave the comment section to you. Where do you agree/disagree? Is anyone placed in the wrong tier? Your feedback and opinions are much anticipated and appreciated.

**********

* – Philip Rivers screaming photo credit: Hugging Harold Reynolds

* – Jay Cutler photo credit: Walking the Sidelines

Vikings vs Packers odds – Sunday, November 1, 4:15 PM ET

The Vikings (6-1) had their winning start snapped last week, falling 27-17 at Pittsburgh due to a pair of turnovers that were returned for scores. Favre went 34-of-51 for 334 yards and a pick, while Adrian Peterson ran 18 times for 69 yards and a score for the Vikings, who also committed 11 penalties. Minnesota will go into this massive showdown with some injury worries, as cornerback Antonio Winfield (foot) will miss his second straight game, along with receiver Bernard Berrian (hamstring) and linebacker E.J. Henderson (knee). With all these injuries to important players, the Vikings’ status as online sports betting favorites could be in trouble.

The Packers (4-2) romped over Cleveland 31-3 at the Dawg Pound, and Aaron Rodgers went 15-of-20 for 246 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan Grant was out of his mind on the ground, running for 148 yards and a score as the Packers racked up 460 yards. Defensively, the Packers gave up 139 yards against an atrocious Cleveland offense while forcing a pair of turnovers. The Packers have taken their last two games by a combined score of 57-3, but it was against Detroit and the Browns. After losing to Minnesota in Week 4, this week will be a better test of where the Packers are in regards to the postseason.

Sportsbook betting lines have the Packers as a 3-point favorite at Lambeau, and Minnesota has dropped their last three on the frozen tundra, and seven of their last 10 overall. The entire sports world will be watching this game, and you can imagine how much Favre wants to win this game, which is why the Packers get the edge at home to avenge their Week 4 loss. Favre will go into hero mode, which isn’t necessary when you have the league’s best running back in Peterson. Green Bay will have to do a better job in protecting Rodgers, who was sacked eight times in Minnesota, because Rodgers can pick apart anyone with time in the pocket.

NFL football betting pick: Green Bay -3

1. 49ers Barking Up the Right (Crab) Tree

Finally, early on Wednesday morning, the 49ers and first round draft pick Michael Crabtree agreed to a deal that will get the WR on the field. The deal was worth $32 million over 6 years with $17 million guaranteed and up to $8 million in additional incentives.

If Crabtree makes the Pro Bowl in two of his first five years, the contract is void after 5 years.

I’ll Tell You This:

I’ve been begging the 49ers for weeks to just get this deal done, and now they have.

The team is already 3-1 without Crabtree and have been my NFC dark-horse since the beginning of the season. Now with Crabtree inked and Gore coming back to the line-up soon, this team moves officially into my “Contender” category.

2. Jets Acquire Braylon Edwards

How do you respond to a big loss against New Orleans, as well as mass media criticism of your rookie QB?

You go out and trade for a troubled, yet amazing WR.

The trade sent Edwards to the Jets in exchange for WR Chansi Stuckey, LB Jason Trusnik, a conditional 3^{rd pick in the 2010 draft, and a 5th round pick in the 2010 draft.}

I’ll Tell You This:

Edwards has been somewhat ineffective for the last year and a half in Cleveland.

After his assault on a friend of LeBron James, Browns’ coach Eric Mangini had to make a move.

This is a great move for both teams.

Mangini gets two more picks to build his team from, and gets rid of a “bad apple”.

The Jets get a very good player, who is excited about a fresh start, and may just turn things around with a new team, and a winning team. (See Randy Moss, New England Patriots)

3. The One Game Playoff Heard Round the World

It took twelve innings, and several ties and lead changes, but Minnesota would cap off what started as a seven game deficit to the Tigers with a  walk off single to win in the bottom of the 12^th inning.

I’ll Tell You This:

I have been down on baseball this year, partly because my Cubs have sucked, but mostly because I feel like this may have been the most boring season in baseball I can remember in a while.

That being said, this may have been one of the most exciting games I have seen in a while.

Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins, and good luck against the beast of the AL, the Yankees.

4. The Playoffs Begin

The MLB Playoffs started yesterday with matchups between The Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies, the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals, and today the Angels will face off against the Boston Red Sox.

I’ll Tell You This:

Here are my predictions for the entire MLB Playoffs:

Division Series

Philly will beat Colorado in five games.

New York will sweep the tired Twins.

The Dodgers will upset the Cardinals in 5 games.

The Red Sox will beat the Angels in 4.

NLCS/ALCS

The Phillies will defeat the Dodgers in 6 games.

The Yankees will defeat the Red Sox in 7 games

World Series Predicion

The New York Yankees will defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games

5. You Tell Me This:

With future Hall of Fame QB’s in the league right now to the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Favre:

You Tell Me This:

1. Who do you think is the best quarterback in the NFL?
2. Who do you think is the best quarterback of all time?

Please leave your comment in the comments section I would love to hear what you have to say!

That’s all for this week kids!!! We’ll see you next week!

Editor’s Note: AJ Kaufman’s weekly MNF coverage on MSF is sponsored by Sadler’s Smokehouse, a producer of premium pit smoked meats that are best described by Sadler’s slogan: Legendary since 1948.

Sadler’s premium meats are perfect for tailgating on Saturday, for grilling out at home on Sunday, or for when you are hosting a group of friends, or even just the family, on Monday night.

With a variety of delicious choices (beef, pork, ribs, turkey, brisket, and more) and availability at grocery stores throughout the U.S., Sadler’s meats are the tasty, convenient choice when you want to watch the big game and eat well while you’re doing it.

Check out Sadler’s Monday Night Football Recipe of the Week: Sadler’s Smokehouse Baked Beans

Each week, you can also listen to the MSF Monday Night Football Podcast, brought to you by Sadler’s. Follow the link to listen to the MSF Podcast on iTunes, or use the in-page player below to listen while you read.

Panthers-Cowboys MNF Preview Podcast presented by Sadler’s

(FYI…audio player may take a second or two to load)

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Monday Night Football Preview

Green Bay Packers (2-1) at Minnesota Vikings (3-0)

• Packers-Vikings Date: Monday, October 5th
• Packers-Vikings Kickoff Time: 8:00 ET
• Packers-Vikings TV: ESPN
• Packers-Vikings Announcers: Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden
• Packers-Vikings Point Spread: Vikings -3.5
• Packers-Vikings Over-Under: 46
• Packers-Vikings Spread Pick by Jerod: The game of the week, and not just because Brett Favre is playing the Packers. These are two pretty good teams. However, Green Bay is not doing a good job of running the ball or stopping the run. I think this game becomes the Adrian Peterson show, with Favre not having to do too much but just manage the game. The Vikings win and cover. Packers-Vikings free pick: Vikings -3.5
• Packers-Vikings Tickets!!!

Packers-Vikings MNF Preview and Analysis

Brett Favre vs. the Green Bay Packers.

Yes, Mr. Favre, in his 273rd consecutive start, goes against the squad he commanded for 16 seasons. Sure, when he heads to Lambeau in a month or so, it’ll be more “special,” but this Monday nighter should still have numerous storylines and intensity. After all, it’s still Packers-Vikings, and if, like me, you’ve spent time in the northernlands, you know these two STATES despise each other, much less their cities and pro football teams.

(I mean, heck, this game is so “important” that it’s pushed back the Tigers-Twins one-game baseball playoff at the Metrodome.)

Green Bay ventured to the “road” after two home games and whipped up on the pathetic Rams (the eastern “bookend” of an extremely bad pro football year in Missouri, it seems). Did that convince us that, despite the home loss to the Bengals, they’re a quality squad? Well, Cincy beat the defending champs this past weekend, but Green Bay is still an enigma. I put “road” for the St. Louis game in quotations since perhaps half the 60,000 in the EJ Dome were Packers fans. The Cheeseheads also benefited from an injury to Rams quarterback Marc Bulger that made a bad team worse.

Green Bay’s greatest weakness is they cannot protect Aaron Rodgers, who was sacked twice by the lowly Rams. The offensive line is a huge mess, as evidenced by Cincinnati’s Antwan Odom getting five sacks in their loss to the Bengals.

That said, linebacker Clay Matthews has been making steady progress as a rush specialist with a sack and two pass breakups in the first three games, but facing Favre, who has made a living with dump offs the first three games, the Packers will need Matthews to step up further in the passing game.

Ryan Grant had a good game against the Rams, but the Pack ran him 17 times on first down. Facing perhaps the best run defense in the NFC, Green Bay will have to be significantly more unpredictable if they plan on having an effective run game. One positive is that Grant was running well to the outside against the Rams, and it is likely he will be doing most of his running outside the hashmarks on Monday as well.

Donald Driver is the unheralded cog that makes the Packers offense run. Now that Greg Jennings has established himself as the clear cut #1 in Green Bay, Driver constantly gets single coverage, often defended by the opposing team’s second or third cornerback. With 14 catches, two touchdowns and almost 80 yards per game thus far, he has made defenses pay for not heeding more attention to him. He’ll need to continue this trend against the Vikings to help take some pressure off the run game

For the Vikes, they’re 3-0 — barely. Brett Favre pulled off one of the most heroic endings of his legendary career, no doubt catapulting his status in the Twin Cities higher than anyone imagined it could be before the end of September. It’s certainly higher than his status in northeastern Wisconsin or America, as a whole.

Minnesota obviously trailed until the final two seconds, but also outgained the Niners by 131 yards and did not allow San Francisco to convert a single third down all afternoon. Favre became the oldest NFL QB to throw for 300 yards since Vinny Testaverde in 2004.

On the other hand, The Vikings beat up on two of the four or five worst teams in football the first two weeks, then needed a miracle to win their home opener against a decent SF team.

The big question with the Vikings is the production (or lack-there-of) of Bernard Berrian. Arguably one of the league’s best deep threats, he has been used sparingly. But then again, the Vikings are 3 -0, Favre has nearly a 95 QB rating, five touchdowns against just one interception, and Adrian Peterson (119 yards per game0 looks better than ever. Will teams slowly start to catch on to the “dump off” game and move in their safeties, eventually forcing Favre to throw deep? If the Packers decide to go this route, however, I still think they’ll find Favre up to the challenge.

Packers-Vikings MNF Prediction

Home field should carry the day. Minnesota and Favre will feed off the emotion and crowd. Peterson should run well as usual, especially versus the Packers mediocre (at best) defense.

Though the Packers have won five of the past six in this rivalry, I don’t see G..B. with a chance, and it could get ugly as Minnesota looks for 4-0 and control of the NFC North. Minnesota has 88 points in three games and Green Bay has allowed a startling 63 points to three offenses that are mediocre at best.

Packers-Vikings pick: Vikes to cover the spread.

Another day, another video to share with you that I found on Hot Clicks.

The video below features a song by the band The Replicates and chronicles the inspiring tale of a jilted fan base that has had to move on from the most beloved object of its affection and learn how to love someone new.

The fan base in question is the Green Bay Packers, the beloved object of its affection now gone is, of course, Brett Favre, and the man they are moving onto is none other than Scott Stapp Aaron Rogers.

It’s a pretty clever video (after the jump), although they certainly don’t think much of the Packers’ defense.  

Here you go:

As I sat in the Edward Jones Dome Sunday afternoon and watched the Green Bay Packers beat the hapless St. Louis Rams, I couldn’t stop a wandering eye from glancing up at the far side of the building.

There on the ring of honor, beside Rams greats like Marshall Faulk and Merlin Olsen, and other St. Louis football icons like Dan Dierdorf, were digital displays providing scores and stats from around the league.

Packers fans delighted in seeing the Minnesota Vikings trailing San Francisco late at home. Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre was having a yeoman’s day, completing 50 percent of his passes for a pedestrian 221 yards.

At the same time inside the Edward Jones Dome, new Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was hitting big plays to Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, and leading the Packers to a 36-17 win.

Rodgers had a sparkling passer rating of 126.9 by virtue of his 13-for-23 day with 269 passing yards and touchdown tosses to Driver and fullback John Kuhn. Rodgers also ran for a score, and picked up another 38 yards with his legs.

What the thousands of Packers fans in St. Louis were unable to see was the switch in Favre’s head they had grown so accustomed to seeing for 16 seasons get flipped.

Favre had engineered 39 fourth-quarter comebacks for the Packers, displaying the intangible ability to take over a game when it was on the line. Sure he lost a few along the way, but his talent for dominating a game, and the exuberance in which he did so, is what made him a sure-fire Hall of Famer. It’s also the reason he grew to become arguably the most beloved player in Packers history.

Now donning the purple of the hated Vikings, Favre reminded Packers fans of his greatness, and proved to the rest of the league that he still has it.

Taking over at their own 20 with 1:29 remaining and trailing by four, the Vikings were without a timeout. Favre, who had been 18-of-36 for 221 yards with a touchdown and interception, engineered a 10-play, 80-yard drive to lead the Vikings to an improbable win.

Two weeks before his 40th birthday, Favre led his 40th career fourth-quarter comeback. He was 6-of-10 on the drive, with two incompletions as a result of having to spike the ball to stop the block. The drive ended with a remarkable 32-yard fastball to Greg Lewis in the back of the end zone with just two seconds remaining.
Favre had done it.

He pumped left, rolled right, avoided a sack by skipping backwards, then rifled a pass with pin-point accuracy between two defenders. Lewis did his part, too, laying out for the ball, and getting both feet in bounds.

Following a review, the touchdown was upheld, and the Vikings knew now why their coach had pursued Favre so heavily.

Brad Childress was often chastised for dissing the two quarterbacks he had in camp, incumbent starter Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels, a player they traded for to push Jackson for the starting job. But, at the end, there was Jackson right next to Favre giving him a congratulatory hug.

Even Jackson realized that neither he nor Rosenfels would have led the Vikings to a victory that day.

Brett Favre is Brett Favre for a reason. He’s a bonafide Hall of Famer for a reason.

As well as Rodgers has played for the Packers, they are still a team that has won just eight of 19 games since Favre led them to 13 wins in 2007. People are still second-guessing the decision of general manager Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy not to welcome Favre back after he changed his mind about retirement in June of 2008.

On Sunday, the old, grey-haired quarterback gave those naysayers another reason to say, “I told you so.”

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* – Brett Favre photo credit: City Pages

Wow.

Trailing 24-20 in the 4th quarter to the San Francisco 49ers, Brett Favre showed everyone why the Vikings were willing to bend over backwards to bring him in as their QB for 2009.

Here’s why:

Video: Brett Favre Throws Game-Winning Touchdown Pass to Greg Lewis

Favre, under intense pressure, found Greg Lewis in the back of the endzone for the touchdown, giving the Vikings a 27-24 lead with :02 left. Lost in the hubbub over Favre throwing the TD will be the incredible effort by Lewis to make the grab. He did a fantastic job on the play.

The Vikings would hang on and move to 3-0. The frisky 49ers fell to 2-1…but also showed that they are a force to be reckoned with in the NFC.

Favre finished the game 24-46 for 301 yards. He threw 2 TDs and one INT, his first pick of the season.

Next week, Favre and the Vikings face Favre’s old team, the Green Bay Packers, on Monday night.

Brace yourself. You won’t hear about anything else next week.

The first game of any season is always exciting. There have been no losses yet, no unfulfilled potential, and no bitter taste on the tip of the tongue still stinging from the week before.

It’s a bitter, noxious taste that Browns fans are unfortunately quite familiar with and one that we were forced to choke down on a regular basis last year. 

What made 2008 such an exceptionally bad season was the fact that the Browns’ surprising run to 10-6 in 2007 had raised everyone’s hopes and turned them into expectations.

When hopes get trampled, it is easier to accept it and move on. It was just a hope, a wish, right?

There is always a recognized chance that a hope might not come to fruition, thus somewhere in the back of your mind, and in your heart, you are always somewhat prepared for a hope to fall short.

But when expectations are not met, it is crushing.

A deeper layer of vulnerability is exposed when hopes and wishes are transformed into full-fledged expectations. 2008 was a season that started with what now seem like absurdly high expectations for the Browns, but at the time they seemed perfectly reasonable. That is why the taste was all the more bitter when the team fell so egregiously short of fulfilling the expectations.

And now, here we are on the eve of 2009’s commencing kickoff with little to no idea of what to expect from the 2009 Browns. In 2007 we were supposed to be terrible and went 10-6. In 2008 we were supposed to be great and went 4-12. In 2009 we are supposed to be terrible again…

…and based on the experiences of the last two years, all it means is that we could be really good or really bad and no one would really be surprised.

So, on the preemptive bright side, at least there are no soaring expectations that could precipitate a painful fall like last year. But there also seems to be a glaring lack of hope as well, especially for a team in a league that saw 2007 doormats Miami and Atlanta make the playoffs last year.

I, for one, am actually relatively hopeful about the 2009 Browns.

If anything else, the complete lack of knowledge regarding what we will see on the field this year makes the season seem intriguing. There is a new front office leadership team, a new coach, a semi-new quarterback, several new players including some promising rookies, and a fresh 0-0 record all presaging, if nothing else, a new experience in 2009.

Unfortunately, there is also the history of disappointment that has defined the Browns franchise; a history of doom, gloom, and frustration that the franchise and its fans cannot seem to escape.

I have done my best to turn the plethora of 2009 unknowns into positives, writing a few weeks back that SI’s Peter King will regret predicting a 2-14 finish for the Browns. Some Browns fans have jumped on my bandwagon of hope, as evidenced by the comment thread of this Plain-Dealer story in which a commenter by the name of “dawgmatist” linked to my article with the following statement:

For those of you (myself included) who will be relying more so on HOPE, rather then EXPECTATIONS this season, here’s a good article I’ve kept and refer to from time to time to help give my spirits a little boost as we approach our season.

And for the most part, I believe what I’m saying.

Eric Mangini has proven he can turn a team around in one season. Braylon Edwards and Kamerion Wimbley are talented enough to become the stars Cleveland needs to anchor its offense and defense. And the addition of James Davis plus an increased role for Jerome Harrison should make the Browns more proficient at running the football.

So…if I’m so excited, you may ask, why in the hell did it take me this long to get my Browns Week 1 preview and prediction up?

And the forthright answer is that, despite my overall optimism for 2009, I am not at all hopeful about this Sunday’s matchup with Minnesota. I didn’t want to face such disappointing thoughts until it was absolutely necessary.

Right now, the 2009 Browns season is like an early winter morning after a fresh powdering of snow. Everything looks fresh, clean, and pure. There is a chance that school or even work could be canceled. The perfection of the moment has yet to be disturbed.

But at some point, the snow will start to melt, cars will have rendered the streets sloshy and nasty, and the underlying and forgotten about ice might have made the roads unable to be driven on. Eventually you realize that the seemingly lovely blanket of snow is actually nothing but a nuisance that will wreak havoc on your day.

I’ve avoided this preview because I already know that once I’ve finish writing it, the figurative fresh snow of 2009 will have already begun to melt.

Before I delve into the three reasons why the Browns could win on Sunday, and the three reasons why they won’t, here are the particulars to get you ready for Sunday:

Minnesota Vikings (0-0) at Cleveland Browns (0-0)

• Vikings-Browns Date: Sunday, September 13th
• Vikings-Browns TV & Kickoff Time: 1:00 ET on FOX
• Vikings-Browns Location: Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland
• Vikings-Browns Announcers: Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick
• Vikings-Browns Point Spread: MIN -4
• Vikings-Browns Over-Under: 40
• StubHub: Browns-Vikings tickets as low as $40
• StubHub: all 2009 Cleveland Browns tickets
• StubHub: all 2009 Minnesota Vikings tickets
• StubHub: all 2009 NFL tickets

And now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the matchup analysis, getting the negative stuff out of the way first. 

Three Reasons Why the Browns DON’T Have a Chance to Beat the Vikings on Sunday

1 – The Vikings running attack seemingly can’t be stopped and the Browns cannot stop the run

This is the A+/#1 reason why I see the Browns really struggling to even keep Sunday’s game close. All you need to do is look at the numbers from 2007 and 2008, as they tell the story:

2008:

• Minnesota Vikings rushing: 146.1 yards gained per game (5th in the NFL)
• Cleveland Browns against the run: 151.9 yards given up per game (28th in the NFL)

2007:

• Minnesota Vikings rushing: 164.6 yards gained per game (1st in the NFL)
• Cleveland Browns against the run: 129.5 yards given up per game (27th in the NFL)

Behind Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, Minnesota will be able to control the game and the clock on the ground. I hope that the Browns are better against the run this year, but this is a hell of a team to find out against. If the Vikings run for less than 150 yards, I will be surprised. 

And it’s hard to win games when you give up that much on the ground.

2 – The Vikings are terrific at stopping the run, while the Browns struggle to establish a ground attack

The Vikings running for 150 yards wouldn’t be such a big deal if I felt the Browns had a chance to churn out 125-130 yards of their own on the ground. That would help balance out the clock domination and keep the pressure off of Brady Quinn, who is making his first ever opening week start as the  top tog on the depth chart.

While I am hopeful that the Browns’ running attack will be better this year, it wouldn’t really take much based on our ground “success” from last season. Once again, the stats explain this expected Sunday mismatch better than I ever could:

2008:

• Cleveland Browns rushing: 100.3 yards per game (26th in the NFL)
• Minnesota Vikings against the run: 76.9 yards per game (1st in the NFL)

2007:

• Cleveland Browns rushing: 118.4 yards per game (10th in the NFL)
• Minnesota Vikings against the run: 74.1 yards per game (1st in the NFL)

There was a little bit of hope when it looked like the “Williams Wall” might not be eligible to start the season. However, both of the Williams boys will be out there, meaning a whole lot of 1- and 2-yard clouds of dust on Sunday, and probably a lot of 3-and-outs because of it.

3 – The team with better players and more stars wins most of the time

This is a truth of sports that you could try to argue with, but you would have absolutely no statistical nor empirical foundation upon which to argue.

And on Sunday, the team with the better roster will be on the sideline opposite my boys in brown.

• The established stars on the Browns include Joe Thomas, Braylon Edwards, a well-past-his-prime Jamal Lewis, Shaun Rogers, and an emerging LB in D’Qwell Jackson.
• The established stars on the Vikings include a past-his-prime Brett Favre, Steve Hutchinson, Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, and a potential game-breaker in Percy Harvin, among several others.

If we stacked these two lists on a scale, it might tip over and fall towards the direction of Minnesota, and not because of the girth of the Williams boys.

The Browns have improved their roster over the last few years, and have more talent than they are given credit for or showed last year, but have a ways to go to be on par with Minnesota.

Okay, now it’s time to transition from the negative to the semi-positive. 

I’ll end the suspense right now, in case you were even still wondering: I am predicting Minnesota to win this game, and to cover the 4-point spread. You can scroll down right now if you don’t believe me.

But the phrase “any given Sunday” is the most famous NFL cliche of them all for a reason, and the Browns winning a season-opening game over the Vikings in Cleveland would be far from the biggest upset in NFL history. If it happens, who knows, it might not even be the biggest upset of the day.

It’s just highly, highly unlikely.

But let’s assume the optimistic hypothetical for a moment, just for the sake of argument and for the sake of furthering what few semblances of hope we as Browns fans can cling to heading into kickoff tomorrow. What follows are three reasons (plus an obvious fourth) why the Browns could win.

And if they do end up winning, I can almost guarantee that all three of these things occur (especially the first one!).

Three Reasons Why the Browns DO Have a Chance to Beat the Vikings on Sunday

1 – Home field advantage

Here is some interesting reading for you stat geeks out there (you know, people like me): NFL Home Field Advantage and Team Strength, from Advanced NFL Stats. The post analyzes the varying effect of home field advantage between evenly matched teams and mismatched teams. The scope of the study is the 2002-2006 NFL seasons.

What the study found is that the overall percentage of games won by the home team is 57%. For teams that end up with the same record, and are therefore “evenly matched,” the percentage rises to 63%. Conversely, the home field advantage is reduced to 53% for “mismatched” teams.

Here is what I take from this, if we assume that the Super Bowl-contending Vikings and my beloved but undermanned Browns are, indeed, a mismatch: there is still a 53% chance that the Browns come away victorious.

Hey, I said this section was reasons why the Browns do have a chance. I’d say this quick statistical citation qualifies.

(See, I guaranteed that if the Browns would win, the first reason would almost surely occur. Well, no matter what happens, the game is being played at Cleveland Browns stadium, so I’m right!)

2 – The Browns’ porous 2008 rushing attack could improve to a level closer to 2007’s competence

As stated above, I have little confidence that the Browns will be able to run on Minnesota or stop the Vikings’ rushing attack. To win the game, they will have to at least exceed my expectations in one area. With Adrian Peterson in the Vikings’ backfield, I see very little hope of the Browns containing the Vikings on the ground.

However, I do think there is a chance for the Browns’ backfield to come through with a solid day.

The main reason for this hope, no matter how small it may be, is that the Browns do have versatility, and even a little bit of explosiveness, in their backfield. 

• Jamal Lewis is no longer capable of explosive runs, but he can contribute solid short-yardage efforts and help wear down the Vikings’ front 7. He is also a capable blocker and should help keep Jared Allen away from Brady Quinn when he is in the game.
• James Davis is like poor man’s version of a young Jamal Lewis. He has decent quickness to the hole, decent speed, and a good enough combination of elusiveness and power to make the first or second tackler miss. Davis remains unproven, but if he can run in the regular season similar to how he ran in the preseason, the Browns could have a new feature back for the future.
• The perennially underused and underappreciated Jerome Harrison provides big play ability out of the backfield, both as a runner or receiver. He averaged over seven yards per carry last year and has the athletic ability to evade the Vikings’ powerful front 7 and pick up yards in chunks.

Now for a quick snap back to reality: the Vikings finished first in the NFL in rushing defense the last two years. Predicting that the Browns can break the century mark on the ground against Minnesota is foolhardy at best, and most likely requires some level of hopeful insanity. 

Well, I am not predicting that it will happen. Yet, if James Davis and Jerome Harrison are used more than sparingly, and come to play, it could happen. And I believe that with the inexperienced Brady Quinn at QB and only one proven WR on the outside in Braylon Edwards, the Browns will need to approach or exceed 100 yards on the ground to win this game. 

The Lewis-Davis-Harrison trio has intriguing potential, and they do have a decent offensive line to run behind. Maybe, just maybe, the Browns can defy the stats and the odds to produce adequately on the ground. If so, they will have a chance to control the ball, the clock, field position, and possibly put themselves in a position to win the game late.

3 – The Browns’ main defensive strength capitalizes on the Vikings’ main offensive weakness

I have already chronicled the Browns’ woes stopping the run. We also know that opposing QBs do not fear being taken to the ground, as the Browns accumulated only 17 sacks last year, tying for 30th in the NFL. For a little perspective, DeMarcus Ware of Dallas had 20 all by himself.

However, there is one thing that the Browns do well defensively: force turnovers, specifically interceptions. Only Baltimore (with 23) had more inceptions than the Browns’ 22 in 2008. And it wasn’t one player dominating the totals, as the Browns got INT contributions from everywhere on their defense.

• Brandon McDonald led the team with five
• Sean Jones had four
• Eric Wright, Brodney Pool, and D’Qwell Jackson had three
• Mike Adams had two
• Three other players had one

Sean Jones is gone, so his four picks will have to be replaced, with former Jet Abram Elam stepping in as the guy trying to replace them. Elam had only one pick last season, but did return it 92 yards for a TD.

Update: Forgot to check the injury report before posting. Eric Wright is listed as questionable, with Hank Poteat slated to replace Wright if he cannot go. So…please EW…be ready to go.

Also, just so you don’t think I forgot, Bernard Berrian is also listed as questionable for Minnesota. While his absence would hurt Minnesota, I think this game will be decided on the ground, making Berrian’s inability to play somewhat negligible. But it does offer one less way for the Vikings to attack Cleveland should Berrian not be able to go, and obviously would help balance out Wright’s absence if he cannot go either.

Why is this such a positive, especially against the Vikings? Well, you may have heard that Brett Favre is now playing QB for Minnesota. And you also may know that he is the NFL’s all-time leader in virtually QB stat imaginable, including interceptions.

Last year, Favre tossed 22 completions to the other team, and there were only three games in which he did not throw a pick. For his career, Favre has thrown 310 INTs so surely he will gift wrap a few for McDonald, Wright, Pool, et al, right?

It depends on which Brett Favre we see.

He played very conservatively during the preseason, and understands the greatness that lines up behind him. Though it goes against his natural instincts, I am sure that Favre and the Minnesota coaches are committed to him playing a more safe, ball control, game manager brand of football than he is used to playing. 

But can an old dog learn new tricks? Can a leopard change its spots? Can a Favre protect the football?

We’ll find out, but the historical evidence leads me to believe that there will be at least one or two balls there for the taking. If so, the Browns’ defenders have proven that they are capable of taking advantage.

Now the caveat: the Browns’ offense will have to take advantage of the turnovers, something that they couldn’t do last year. So we’ll see if that improves this season. 

Regardless, I’m just looking for reasons the Browns could win. Forcing turnovers is certainly one reason that we can reasonably expect, and there is no way Cleveland comes away from Sunday victorious without them.

Before we move onto the prediction, I do also want to say that a fourth reason for hope is the presence of Joshua Cribbs. He is capable of changing a game with one kick return, one forced fumble covering a punt, or even in his new purportedly expanded role on offense. By now, Browns fans should understand that Cribbs’ superb ability is a given, so I didn’t list it as one of my three official reasons.

Okay, now for the moment I’ve been fearing and avoiding: a prediction for this Sunday’s Browns-Vikings game.

You already know that my caveat will be that I hope to be proven wrong. While there are a few legitimate reasons to believe that I will be, I take my prediction responsibilities seriously and try to pick with my head instead of my heart.

If I picked with my heart and dove completely into the lonely waters of Browns optimism, I’d go 17-14 Browns. However, my head says the Browns just aren’t good enough yet, even at home, to overcome Adrian Peterson and the Vikings.

So while I believe that 7-9 or 8-8 is realistically attainable for this year’s Browns, I just can’t see one of those 7 or 8 wins coming tomorrow.

Official Browns-Vikings prediction: Minnesota Vikings 27 | Cleveland Browns 13

And now, in the interests of ending this on a positive, please follow the link to my aforementioned ode to Browns hope in 2009. The Vikings are just not a good matchup for Cleveland, but an 0-1 start will not mean that hope is lost for a successful rebound season in 2009.

A few other previews from our friends around the Brownsosphere:

• Browns-Vikings Preview and Game Thread — (Dawgs By Nature)
• Take Browns and the 4 pts — (Cleveland Frowns)
• Browns-Vikings By the Numbers — (OBR)

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* – Adrian Peterson photo credit: Bryan C Singer/Icon SMI via Lester’s Legends

* – Eric Wright photo credit: Tracy Boulian — Associated Press via Washington Post

And, for the record, the pictures of Layla Kiffin (whose husband has a big debut coming up) are not gratuitous.  As you will see, while she has nothing to do with LeGarrette Blount or Brett Favre, there is an interesting story about her at the top of the sports links.

First, updating a story that we covered in the wee hours of this morning, Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount has been suspended for the year after punching a Boise State player last night and nearly going into the stands after fans who were taunting him. My gut reaction is that it’s too much.  My rational reaction is that the kid has been in trouble before and there is a good chance that this was a “last straw” type thing.  Either way, I think the University of Oregon needs to take it upon itself not to take an “out of sight, out of mind” approach and make sure the kid gets help.

In related news, Todd McShay has spent an entire column stating the obvious: that Blount’s actions from last night will hurt his draft stock. What would we do with Todd McShay? Although, I am linking to him, so perhaps the joke’s on me.

And finally, the last quick-hitter, ancient and indecisive Vikings QB Brett Favre has been fined 10K for his chop block on Eugene Robinson. Favre thought about retiring when he received word about the fine, then decided against it, then realized his arm hurt and he missed his tractor, and then looked at himself in the mirror and marveled at how good he looked in his new Wranglers. Then he retired again. And then unretired. Then, presumably, he paid the fine.

(And yes, for the record, that is Layla Kiffin staring thoughtfully at me while podcasting. The photo might be doctored, and might have originally had Lane in it, but I will neither confirm nor deny this. Kudos again to KVB for making me look an idiot with cartoon headphones on. In honor of his hard work I try to post this picture whenever I can.)

And now onto the links!

Sports:

• Lovely Layla Kiffin and her dad, former #1 NFL draft pick John Reaves, have issues — (FanHouse)
• Mike Ditka takes equity stake in lingerie football — (InGameNow)
• The case for Derek Jeter as AL MVP — (Wall Street Journal)
• Awesome picture of Manute Bol and Muggsy Bouges together — (NESW Sports)
• Impending death of salary cap won’t be doomsday for NFL — (Deadspin)
• You can start working on Steve Spurrier’s coaching obituary — (Mr. SEC)
• Jason Whitlock betrays the man we came to respect — (Sports By Brooks)
• Yes! A positive story about the White Sox! — (MLive)
• Okay, I’ll admit it: some Cubs fans don’t care about the Cubs — (Not Qualified to Comment)
• The girls of college football – UH YUMP — (Straight Pinkie)
• Stomp feet, clap hands, and BOO! — (i94 Sports)

Non-Sports:

• Charge for online content, readers return to print — (Newsweek)
• Take note: Important Mila Kunis-Natalie Portman News — (MoonDog)

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* – First Layla Kiffin photo credit: GratisBay.com

* – Second Layla Kiffin photo credit: 3rd Saturday in Blogtober

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We are just over one week away from NFL kickoff 2009, less that a week from College Football, and coming down the stretch in Major League Baseball. Here are my top 5 stories for this week.

1 – LA Dodgers Make Deals to Solidify Playoff Roster

As the waiver deadline approaches the most active team seems to be the L.A. Dodgers, picking up White Sox slugger Jim Thome and Diamondbacks’ hurler Jon Garland. As of today the Dodgers hold a 5.5 game lead on Colorado, who also made a move trading for White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras.

I’ll tell you this: the Dodgers are putting together a team that will compete with the Yankees in the World Series. There is no doubt in my mind that the Dodgers are the team to beat in the National League, save for maybe (and this is painful for a Cub’s fan to admit) the Cardinals.

2 – A Tale of Two Cities: Minnesota and Philadelphia

Brett Favre and Michael Vick have made their comebacks and the inevitable debates have followed.

In Minnesota, talk of team mutiny was rumored, some sources saying that the locker room was split. These rumors were put to bed quickly, but Viking Nation may see it differently. One Vikings fan was found to have a live goat in her trunk painted purple and gold.

Vick has also been met with equivalent praise and disapproval, with Donovan McNabb going on record saying that Vick’s presence and the style of play-calling involving Vick was “a gimmick” and a distraction from their game plan.

I’ll tell you this: Like it or not, the Vikings became a contender when they signed Favre. However, Vick brings quite the distraction both on and off of the field. It will be interesting to see, but if McNabb is already skeptical about Vick’s role, then that can’t be a good sign for the Eagles.

3 – Trouble in Ann Arbor

In what has been a tumultuous summer of violations in College Football, one last situation has raised its ugly head right before the season’s start.

This week some former and current players accused Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff of exceeding the NCAA’s practice guidelines and complained that the staff was over-working student athletes beyond the maximum weekly and daily hours limitations. Rodriguez responded with an emotional press conference, completely denying the allegations by saying that they were “miscommunications” and “just not true.”

I’ll Tell You This: The Wolverines went 3-9 last year in Rodriguez’s first year at the helm. While it would not surprise me that these players were over-worked, I think the bigger issue is that, to save his job, Rodriguez has to find a way to bring Michigan back to being one of the premier teams in the NCAA.

4 – Injuries in the NFL Preseason

With the NFL preseason coming to an end, injuries have already begun to raise their ugly heads at big-time positions for teams.

Patriots QB Tom Brady injured his shoulder when Redskins $100 million dollar man Albert Haynesworth crushed him in the second quarter of their game last week. The master of masking issues, Bill Belichick, down-played the injury saying that Brady would be ready for the regular season.

Brett Favre has said that he has a cracked rib, but played in the Vikings’ preseason game against Houston without any protection. Could it be that Favre is preparing an excuse for what might become a disappointing season?

Finally, all of Kansas City stopped breathing for about 24 hours when off-season acquisition QB Matt Cassel went down hard with a knee injury. At first the prognosis was 4-6 weeks, seemingly a finishing blow to KC before the season even started; however, now reports are saying that the MCL strain that Cassel suffered was minor and he would return to the lineup possibly sooner rather that later, maybe even for the season opener.

I’ll Tell You This: Nothing can kill a team’s season faster than an unexpected and unnecessary preseason injury. Hopefully all of the above stay healthy so we can watch as many teams battle it out for the playoffs at full strength as possible. A healthy NFL is a more fan-friendly NFL.

5 – The Return of Pacman

Adam “Pacman” Jones has returned to football. But this time it’s not in the NFL. It’s not even with the upstart AFL, which launches next month. 

No, Pacman Jones is headed to the Canadian Football League. He has signed “in principal” a one year deal with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

I’ll tell you this: Who cares?

Apparently no-one in the NFL is ok with giving Jones yet another chance to prove that he can’t control his personal life, and honestly, I can’t blame them. Jones is just one of those players with all the talent in the world but no self-control. And playing professional sports is a luxury. He can’t control his life, he is a thug, and he is not a role model like we want our athletes of today to be.

Good riddance Pacman. Canada, you can have him.

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You can follow BigMB on twitter by going to www.twitter.com/mylesb3269

* – Jose Contreras and Jim Thome photo credit: by Charles Rex Arbogast – AP via South Side Sox

During last night’s Vikings-Texans preseason game, Brett Favre – the 40 year old QB who claims to have a lingering arm injury and a potentially broken rib – was split out wide and throwing blocks when the Vikings went to their Wildcat formation.

Not only was Favre’s chop block totally wrong, but the decision to even have him in that position is totally wrong. I realize that this is probably a refrain that Vikings fans are sick of hearing, but what the hell is Brad Childress thinking?

Follow the links to StubHub for great deals on Minnesota Vikings 2009 Tickets and all 2009 NFL Tickets.

The video of Favre’s chop block on Eugene Wilson is below, courtesy of the good folks at Black Sports Online.

Brett Favre Dirty Illegal Crackback Block on Eugene Wilson Texans vs. Vikings from BlackSportsOnline on Vimeo.

Look, no one thinks that Brett Favre is a dirty player, but he has definitely never been accused of over-thinking on the football field. His role on this play is to block and help open up the left side of Percy Harvin. I am sure it was just instinct that led him to dive low in an effort to – at least in his own mind – protect himself. Without question, I think he’d do it differently if he could.

For that reason, I blame Chilly far more than I blame Brett. Favre is a QB, not a blocker.  And I realize the Vikings want to incorporate some Wildcat this year with the dynamic Percy Harvin on the roster, but why not do it with Brett Favre on the sideline? Or, at worst, tell him to run out wide and then stay as far the hell away from any defenders as possible.

If you want to do a play like this in a key situation in the regular season, and Favre wants to go all out to throw a block, fine. (Obviously he needs to use better, less dangerous technique next time.) But putting Favre in that position in the preseason is at best negligence, and at worst a sign of complete idiocy on the part of Brad Childress and the Vikings coaching staff.

I know that the Vikings offense, led by Adrian Peterson and steady play from Favre, looked good last night. But if the Vikings coaches continue to make idiotic decisions like they did last night, it will not spell success for the Vikes in 2009.

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* – Brad Childress photo credit: VikingsGab

Here is the list of Top 20 selling NFL jerseys, courtesy of Darren Rovell’s SportsBiz, via Shutdown Corner:

1. Brett Favre, Vikings
2. Jay Cutler, Bears
3. Troy Polamalu, Steelers
4. Michael Vick, Eagles
5. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
6. Tony Romo, Cowboys
7. Mark Sanchez, Jets
8. Tom Brady, Patriots
9. Adrian Peterson, Vikings
10. Eli Manning, Giants
11. Terrell Owens, Bills
12. Peyton Manning, Colts
13. Hines Ward, Steelers
14. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers
15. Jason Witten, Cowboys
16. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals
17. Joe Flacco, Ravens
18. Matt Ryan, Falcons
19. Aaron Rodgers, Packers
20. Michael Crabtree, 49ers

The most startling fact is this, as explained by MJD: Vick has only been with the Eagles for 14 days, yet he is 4th in jersey sales over the past five months. Amazing.

And really, I suppose that we can’t be too surprised about Favre topping the list. Many of his old Green Bay fans will buy a jersey wherever he plays, and the entire Minnesota fan base is salivating at finally having a QB with some positive winning experience as a starter. Forget that he’s 40 and over the hill and probably won’t make it through the season healthy.

(In fact, he might not make it out of the preseason. Just caught on ESPN that Favre apparently thinks he may have another ready-made excuse if he stinks this year a cracked rib. Uh oh…)

Honestly though, consider the implications of the following statement four or five years ago: “In the year 2009, Brett Favre Vikings jerseys will be the highest selling jersey in the NFL.” It would have sounded totally non-sensical and the kind of thing that a Packers fan would describe as a certain sign of the dawning of the apocalypse.

And here is a contemporary sign of the impending end of the world: Michael Crabtree, who is a turd has yet to sign with the 49ers and is threatening to skip the entire season, is ranked #20 in jersey sales…out of all players in the NFL! 

At least his holdout appears to be hurting his sales though.  Darren Rovell mentions that Crabtree was 8th on the list a short time ago.  As MJD points out, for those 49ers who were excited that Crabtree fell to #10 and then gobbled up his jersey, it “could turn out to be the worst jersey investment of all-time.”

Or, like I said, just a precursor to the apocalypse. 

And now some other great links to carry you through the afternoon and evening.  See you all tomorrow morning.

Sports:

• NBA All Under-25 League — (Barkley’s Mouth)
• Jay Cutler: By the numbers — (Jay Cutler Superstar)
• 2009 NFC West Preview — (MoonDog)
• Broncos-Bears preseason game was like a playoff game — (Peter King’s MMQB)
• NFC North predictions from ESPN — (i94 Sports)
• Rich Rodriguez defends himself against allegations — (FanHouse)
• Great perspective on Tim Tebow — (Tim TeBlog by Dan Shanoff)
• Where’s the love for Miggy? — (MLive)
• College football pick ‘em — (Sparty and Friends)
• Denver fan debuts “Cuntler” #6 jersey — (Busted Coverage)

Non-Sports:

• 4 reasons winning the Mega Millions would suck — (Illuminati)
• Guide to being a man: How to slay a vampire — (Straight Pinkie)
• Macaulay Culkin is the father of Michael Jackson’s youngest kid? — (The Sun)
• 12 inventions that had to have been created by stoners — (Hail Mary Jane)

First off all, something that made me laugh out loud this morning while the morning SportsCenter was running in the background as I got ready for work. In case you didn’t hear the latest world-stopping controversy out of Minnesota, there were reports that surfaced yesterday about a “schism” in the Vikings locker room regarding the players’ support for Brett Favre.

While Brett Favre played his I’m-just-a-simpleton-from-Mississippi card and explained that he didn’t know what “schism” meant, his new teammate Jared Allen was much more hilariously eloquent in describing how big, complicated, six-letter words are so foreign to NFL locker rooms:

Jared Allen’s comments on “schism”, via The Big Lead:

“I don’t think anyone on this team knows what schism means let alone use it in a sentence form. At first I thought schism was an STD, and I was like WOAH we practice abstinence here!”

The video of him delivering the line was even funnier. He had just gotten done at practice, was all sweaty, half out of breath, and looked directly into the camera when he delivered the line. I wonder how long he’d been saving it, or how many of his teammates he tested it out on before running over to to officially deliver it to the world.

I don’t really care one way or the other; it’s the funniest (and certainly the most ironic) line from an NFL player we’ll hear all year.

(And here’s an early nominee for funniest message board post discussing this situation, from BoxDen.com: “hes #69 for a reason abstinence my ass”)

And for anyone else who is still wondering what a “schism” actually is, here is the dictionary definition…and then here is a video that defines it even better in lovely, melodic tones as only Tool can deliver:

And speaking of weird videos, did you all see Brandon Marshall at Broncos practice yesterday? Kudos to whoever described him as acting like an ass clown, because that’s about the most apt way to describe it that I can think of:

Video: Brandon Marshall Acting Like an Ass Clown at Practice

Acting like a petulant child is definitely the way to go when you want to get traded and get a new contract. Umm…not. (Actually, this is the NFL we’re talking about, so maybe Marshall is onto something.)

Marshall was, of course, in full damage control mode this morning, but there is a good chance that this video will stick with him for the rest of his career, kinda like TO doing push-ups in his driveway. (And TO’s only gotten two fat new contracts since that display…so take that Brandon Marshall! Wait a minute…)

I wonder what Josh McDaniels is thinking right about now. What’s the over-under on how many games the Broncos win this year? 3.5? I might be tempted to take the under.

Update: Now we know exactly what Josh McDaniels is thinking: Eff you Brandon Marshall.

Via ProFootbalTalk, the Broncos have suspended Brandon Marshall for “conduct detrimental to the team” (i.e. acting like an ass clown).

Enjoy your Friday everyone.  I’ll Be back later if anything hot comes up and will definitely have a link post up this afternoon.

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* – Jared Allen photo credit: Tom Olmscheid via USAToday.com

Well, what are these folks to do now that their beloved is playing for a different team and *gasp* one that is in the Packers’ very own division? (If it’s the family I know, more Favre fans than Packer fans, it’s head over to NFLshop.com and get Favre Vikings jerseys, of course!)

The good folks at 1670 WTDY in Madison, Wisconsin — namely, “The Wisconsin Guys”, Dan and Kurt — have an idea: donate all of your old Brett Favre clothes to the homeless! It’s called the “4 The Poor Jersey Drive.”

Today’s link of the day, from TheWisconsinGuys.com (via Sports By Brooks):

So, how do you get rid of that old Brett Favre jersey, hat, sweatshirt, etc…?

There is no need to blow it up, light it on fire, run it over, shred it, or any of the other pretty good ideas you may have. If you give it to us, we’ll put your name in a drawing to win tix to see Benedict Favre take on the Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday, November 1st.

We will be taking those used but now useless clothing items to Minneapolis just prior to the Green Bay/Vikings Monday Night Football game on October 5th and we’ll be giving them to a Twin Cities homeless shelter. See, they don’t have to go to waste!

That, ladies and gentleman, is a constructive way to deal with feelings of anger, betrayal, and revenge…and could only come from the good folks who inhabit the glorious Midwest.  Think Philly fans would be clothing the homeless with old Mike Schmidt jerseys if he had unretired to play for the Yankees?  Shoot, they might not even give a homeless guy an old McNabb jersey and he’s still their QB!

(Philly fans, feel free to email me to express disgust that I just perpetuated the old stereotypes again…you were the first fan base that came to my mind…I’m sorry!)

And here you go, some other solid links from around the web today.

Sports:

• University of Oregon threatening cheerleader Amanda Pflugrad over online bikini photos? — (Busted Coverage)
• Rick Pitino has had it with you lying liars — (Deadspin)
• Who cares what the topic is, this is always worth a click — (Hot Clicks)
• AFC West Preview — (MoonDog)
• I’ve finally kicked the Cubsahol…for now — (Not Qualified to Comment)
• MLB realignment is stupid — (Sharapova’s Thigh)
• Blogs With Balls Radio premieres on the Joe Sports Fan Radio Network — (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
• Colt McCoy and his Heisman ’stache — (Major League Jerk)
• QB controversy in Minnesota? What? — (The Viking Age)
• Jay Cutler 2009 Predictions — (Jay Cutler Superstar)
• Team-by-team success when top two starters pitch — (MLive.com)

Non-Sports:

• Granny goes nuts, attacks news crew with a garden hoe (AWESOME!) — (Straight Pinkie)
• The hotties of beer pong — (Spewf.com)
• Courtney Starburst looks good in Jamaica — (Hail Mary Jane)

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Maybe I should apologize to John Madden ahead of time, but with the turn of events in the most recent Brett Favre Saga, a question still lingers that needs to be answered.

Has Brett Farve perhaps turned what would have been a legendary career into a letdown?

We all know that many athletes have overstayed their welcome in the past. Some do it for the money, some do it for the fame and notoriety, and some do it because they love the game and can’t imagine life without it. Most likely, it’s a combination of all three reasons.

With respect to Brett Favre, let’s first take a brief look at his career with Green Bay. In sixteen years, Favre only produced one losing season, alongside his ten Pro-Bowl appearances and three MVP awards. He went 5,377 of 8,754 for 61,655 yards, and had 442 touchdowns with 286 interceptions, while winning one Super Bowl.

Fast forward to his 2008 one-year stint with The New York Jets. He led the Jets to a 9-7 record, yet another winning season, and started out in true Brett Favre fashion until the bottom fell out in the final five games of the season during which he completed 343 of 522 passes with 22 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. A shoulder injury was partly to blame for the decline, but many would point the finger at Favre, accusing age and his reckless style as major contributors to his and the Jets’ downfall.

On September 27, 1992, Favre was named Green Bay’s starting quarterback against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since then he has maintained a living record of 269 consecutive starts, a record whose closet challenger is Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning, who is at a distant 176 games. This accomplishment knights Favre as the NFL’s, and perhaps all of sports’, true Iron Man.

So has Favre tainted his legend with this offseason’s teeter-totter of antics and surprises? Let’s take a quick look at another sport’s most famous player, who did much of the same thing.

You may know the name Michael Jordan.

His first season with the Bulls was in 1984. Two years later, he was on his way to becoming the most dominant force in basketball.  After three championships, Jordan retired in 1993, only to come back one year later. Another three-peat championship followed. 

Then, in 2000, he announced another retirement, followed by Jordan becoming partial owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards.  In January of 1999, Jordan was quoted saying the he was “99.9% certain” that he would never return to the NBA hardwood again (Sound familiar?). However, in September of 2001 he returned to the NBA, playing for the team in which he had previously staked ownership. Two sub-par seasons followed, and Jordan retired again, this time permanently.

Other players have overstayed their welcomes as well.

Emmit Smith stayed around a few years to long to break the all-time NFL rushing record that was previously held by Walter Payton, a player who retired in his prime. Vinny Testaverde started NFL games well into his 40’s. Gary Payton and Karl Malone, both past their prime, joined a stacked Lakers team in an attempt to win a NBA championship.

Agree or disagree with these athletes, playing sports becomes a way of life and becomes quite difficult to give up, especially when you still have the talent to stick around.

With the 2009 NFL season looming, Favre will again suit up, this time with the Minnesota Vikings. Perhaps he will have a great season. Perhaps he will have a poor season. Maybe it will just be quite average. But one thing is for sure: he will be exciting.

Will his reputation be tarnished? Let me ask you this: When you look back at Michael Jordan’s career, do you think about the 6 championships, the scoring titles, the amazing buzzer beaters, as well as the Nike and Gatorade sponsorships? Or do you even, for one second, think about or remember one game with #23 in a Wizards Jersey?

I think you have your answer, and I have mine.

Regardless of the ensuing 2009 NFL season and its results, Brett Favre remains The Man, The Myth, and The Legend.

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* – Brett Favre with Viking photo credit: Fantasy-Info.com

* – Brett Favre young in Green Bay photo credit: The Sporting Truth