Well, This is Just Great!

At work today, when I wasn’t checking in on the internet for those hot Minnesota Twins – Jeff Cirillo rumors, I was plugging in product descriptions. Everything the vendors had they described as “great.” Everything was great. Great, great, great. The word has lost all meaning to me. In any case, let’s look at this great weekend of NFL games, first looking at a game involving the great Vikings. (Seriously, can we buy import companies a thesaurus?)

I’m absolutely stunned that respectable sports commentators and journalists kept asking, “what came over the Vikings?! They were GREAT this weekend!” Here’s a hint. They were playing the LIONS. They did the same thing to the Cardinals. They beat the Redskins too. All bad teams. The Vikings are great against the druck at the bottom of the NFC. It’s that simple. Before we move on, I just want to leave you with a couple of Darren Sharper quotes from the weekend. First, in the locker room before the game. “This game is very extremely important to us.” It’s a good thing they won, then. And before the game, during those Fox closeups of certain players, they selected Mr. Sharper again. “I want tickets to the playoffs, that’s all I want. Ask the big man up there…. Santa Claus… for tickets.” Well, so far Santa’s watching out for you, Darren. Santaspeed.

As someone with a vested interest in the Colts, I’m suddenly being filled with a deep sense of unease. Of course, that could just be the flu that’s been going around. But you could forgive me if the Colts were making me sick. Their’s is a case for having a balanced offense. Nobody respects Joseph Addai yet, and as a result, people are keying on Peyton Manning’s passing game. Sure, the man can read defenses, but if he can’t get the opponent to bite on the run, then he’s in a lot of trouble. Of course, everyone knows you are going to throw when your defense gives up as many points as Indy’s does. If the St. Louis Cardinals have taught us anything, however, this is the year Manning gets his ring.

Ok, so I was wrong on Philip Rivers. He’s pretty good. It helps to have Ladanian Tomlinson and a terrific defense as well. Also, Jay Cutler sucks thus far. I was right on that one. And that’s great.

So, are the Saints this good, or are the Cowboys this bad? I think it’s a little of both. First, the Cowboy backers seem to insist that Tony Romo is the second coming of Johnny Unitas, if it weren’t for the fact that, you know, he still hasn’t proven himsef against a real defense. Secondly, the Saints are discovering that Reggie Bush is best used on swing passes and screens. He’s wonderful in the open field, and anyone who knows anything about football can see that. He’s not so good going inside. When Deuce McAllister inevitably leaves for greener pastures and more playing time, the NFC South will invest heavily in quick corners and outside linebackers. Just like Randy Moss’ opponents added safeties and played great against him. And now look at Moss. That’s you in a few years, Reggie. Great, huh?

So, what’s the deal with the Rams? Stephen Jackson and the Rams offense looked great for about a quarter, but then they just sort of fell apart. Was it because the defense kept letting Rex Grossman pick them apart? The world may never know. But the Rams might have something with that Jackson character.

Boy, that was great, wasn’t it? I’ll be back up and blogging again tomorrow. – Ryan