Fish Fear Me

Football Thoughts

It was a very satisfying win over the Cowboys yesterday. They came to town with all of the momentum and the praise of the pundits and got knocked on their butts. It would have been a good win over any team, but coming against the Cowboys, the only NFL team that I hate with a passion that I'll take to the grave, makes it especially delicious. They were a good team this year and I can respect their ability to play, it's just that they can take their "America's Team" and their prick of an owner and pound them straight up you know where.

Poor baby: Cowboys linebacker Keith Brooking took exception to the Vikes adding a TD late in the game. If it had been up to me I would have kicked a field goal, but...meh. If you want to keep the other team from scoring, Brooking, try playing some football you big baby. That said, I don't think coach Brad Childress was channeling his inner Belichick, I think he was just confused. Childress showed the same baffling play management at the end of the first half too. He deserves great credit for the success of the Vikes this year, but he has a history of brain-farting like that at key moments in games. If he does that against the Saints this coming Sunday, Sean Payton is going to clean his clock with it.

Hey Gerald? That big "K" imprinted on your forehead? That stands for Karma.

I hope Ray Edwards got a game ball for his performance yesterday. One big thing to watch today is the verdict on his injured knee. How that plays out will have a big impact on the Viking game plan for Sunday.

No matter what happens now, I think it's indisputable that the Bret Favre signing was a great move. I was very doubtful at the time, but I have to give Brad Childress credit for going after him and for being right on both Favre's ability on the field and the positive leadership role that he has played this year.

If both teams show up on Sunday at the Superdome, and I think they will, it should be one heck of a game. It's fitting that the two best NFC teams of the regular season are going to meet, and it's no false modesty for fans of both teams to have respect for the other guys this week. The Saints are the favorite in my book, but the Vikes have a good chance. I have the nagging suspicion though, that this game was decided when the Vikes flopped against the Bears last month and failed to grab the opportunity for home field advantage. The Saints have it, and that just may be the difference. 

I went 3-1 on my playoff predictions again this weekend. Despite my dislike for Jets coach Rex Ryan, I was delighted to see the Jets prove me wrong and knock off San Diego. I'm still in the lead for this playoff FFL round and that crippled a few of my opponents who went heavy with Chargers on their team. Not me.

Update-Good news on Ray Edwards:

Edwards sustained a mildly sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee, according to a source with knowledge of the diagnosis. Edwards could miss some practice time, but he will be OK come game time Sunday, the source said.

17 Weeks Already?

It was a fun Vikes game to watch yesterday as Favre and company destroyed the Giants before halftime arrived. A meaningless TD for the Giants near the end prevented the shutout, but in every other way it was a complete smackdown. The recipe for the Vikings to succeed in the playoffs is exactly what they did in the first half yesterday: Drive the ball(and score of course), give the defense decent rest between series(no three and punts) and an early lead, and admittedly by a bit of luck don't turn over the ball. When the offense comes out and plays in the first half, that team is dangerous to any other team in the NFL right now.

Can they pick up where they left off in a couple of weeks? Who knows? The rest at this point in the season will do them some good and should leave them physically better off than any of the possible opponents. Their next game will be at home, and I've come to the conclusion that AP is a far better running back on carpet than on real turf, though I should probably try to research that a little. But can they put together two solid first halves in a row? They haven't done that in a while and it's no sure thing. We'll see, but it overall was a great season and earning the #2 seed in the playoffs is an accomplishment in itself. One thing for sure, they better take it one game at a time.

On the FFL front I ended up in fourth and the awful performance of the Vikes offense against Carolina and the first half against the Bears had much to do with that. Oh well. I won my division and got a dollop of gravy last weekend when I managed my division's All-Star team to victory. It's just $10 for each owner in the division, but it keeps the last weekend interesting. The score was 53-30 btw.

And so ends another FFL regular season. Where did the time go?

The Ugly, The Ugly, And The Ugly

The Vikings loss last night to Carolina was ugly. It was made all the uglier because the poor performance on offense probably cost me a trip to the FFL Super Bowl. And the ugly truth is that the Vikings have been outcoached and outplayed in two of their last three games, both times by teams they should have been able to beat.

Can I say ugly a few more times? I believe I can.

The Strib is running an instant poll today that asks, "Did the loss to Carolina shake your confidence?" Roughly 68% of the 6800 respondents have clicked on "Yes, the Vikings aren't as good as I thought" as I write this. That's how bad last night's game was and how deeply it has shaken the Vikings faithful to the core.

So what's happened to the team that has been mentioned in the same breath as the Saints? While player performance is clearly down, I think the real problem is that the rest of the NFL has figured out Minnesota's offense. They have figured out how to limit the threat from Adrian Peterson and still put pressure on Brett Favre and in both the Arizona and Carolina losses the Vikings have been unable to adjust. I don't know if that's Favre or the coaching decisions, but I suspect the latter.

The Vikings went a pathetic 1-10 on 3rd down conversions last night and managed only 10 first downs total. The end result of that was a Vikings defense that got worn down and a lopsided 37:58 time of possession for Carolina. Childress and the Vikings have the talent to go far this year, but only if they can counter-adjust to what defenses are doing to them right now.

My FFL team was part of the collateral damage to last night's fiasco. After spotting my opponent 15 points from Peyton Manning on Thursday(thanks for nothing Jacksonville), I battled back over the weekend until I only needed 9 points from Favre and Longwell last night, plus whatever Sidney Rice managed to get for my opponent. Easily a doable thing, I thought, based on what has happened most of this year. I got 1 point, so I guess not. So it goes in the world of FFL and it's not that big of a deal. It's just the ugly gravy on top of what the Vikes dished up for their fans last night.

In The Money

The FFL regular season finished last night and the result for me was a tie for first in my division with another owner at 8-5. However, I beat him twice this year so you can call me division champ. That means I'm guaranteed to be in the money for this year and I get a first round bye in the playoffs. This year it has been mostly about luck as my team will score 60 points one week and then turnaround and barely scrounge 30 points the next. I think the odds of winning it all are against me, but having a first round bye improves that a little. We'll see how it goes.

Update: Huh. I didn't realize it until this evening, but I ended up as #1 seed also, for as long as I hang around in the playoffs. With the teams so close this year I don't think it really matters much, but every edge may count.

Sporting News

Friends, Minnesotans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury the Twins, not to praise them;
The evil that starting rotations do early in the season lives after them,
The good is oft interred with old pennant hopes,
So let it be with the Twins...

Sorry. When the Twins couldn't complete the sweep of Detroit yesterday, admittedly a very difficult task, instead of hitting the road one game behind the Tigers they are three games back today. They have three in Chicago, then three at KC, then four in Detroit, before ending the season back home with three against KC again. Now, it's possible that they will pick back up on their winning streak, they had won six in a row to get back into the hunt, and I hope they do. I'd like to see one more AL Central pennant to bring to the new ballpark next year. If they pull that off it will truly be an accomplishment based on what they have done so far this season. Which is why I temper my expectations.

On the plus side, the Twins are the best in the division as far as intra-division play at 35-24. Countering that is their record on the road, a dismal 31-40. And while the six-game winning streak was fun, before yesterday's loss it merely brought them to 10-7 for the month of September. That is hardly an inspiring record.

Go for it boys, I'll be rooting for you. I really don't think you have a prayer, but hey, prove me wrong.

The Vikes started slow again yesterday and let me indulge in bitching about my Vikes pet peeve, an offense that does several three and out series in a row and leaves the defense tired and scrambling. Detroit couldn't take advantage enough of that though, and when the Vikings offense finally got their act together Detroit was toast.

This is a good Vikings team. I'm a little concerned about rookie right tackle Phil Loadholt, but some patience is in order. All accounts that I've read say that he is working hard at all aspects of the game and so maybe he just needs some time to grow into the job. The dude is a monster at 6-8, 343 lbs. officially. If, when, he gets adjusted to the NFL, he's going to be a force.

On the FFL front, I cruised to victory this weekend. I think I was up like 25-0 yesterday by the time most of the early games had finished the first quarter. All of my starters scored with the exception of Brandon Marshall and it looks like I will have the high score for the week. Not that I think I have the greatest team in the world, but it's a better start than last year.

The 2009 FFL Lineup

I'm not sure I was in my right mind when we got together on Monday night to draft teams for this year's fantasy football season. We have ten teams and draft 12 players per team. I had the fourth pick of the first round and pretty much knew that Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner, and Maurice Jones-Drew would go before me. If that happened(and it did), I decided I would go with a receiver instead. So I bet the franchise on Larry Fitzgerald this year. Uh, no pressure though, Larry.

The 2009 Team Hoot:

• QB-Jay Cutler
• QB-Brett Favre
• RB-Marion Barber
• RB-Darren McFadden
• RB-Marshawn Lynch
• RB-Larry Johnson
• WR-Larry Fitzgerald
• WR-Marques Colston
• WR-Brandon Marshall
• WR-Antonio Bryant
• K-Ryan Longwell
• DST-Green Bay

I've got my share of head cases and old farts there. RBs went quickly and by the time it got back around to me I really didn't want Barber, but he was the best of the rest. I like my receiving corps, if Brandon Marshall takes out his frustrations on his opponents and not his own team. I picked Favre up in the final round almost for the heck of it. If he can click this year the Vikes will have one potent offense. We'll see.