I made this thread as something that will hopefully stay around for the whole season (stickied if possible). This is the place to rant and rave about the events in your team, their latest win/loss...and some smack talkin' here and there. Though there won't be much activity here until after sunday, I'll just ask this question in advance...

How's your team doing???

The Packers will be interesting this season. The final roster moves were interesting, in that so many young players were kept, while some prominent veterans were cut. Clearly they are rebuilding, and to some extent have given up on immediate success. This is interesting, considering that this may well be Favre's last year. They have drafted Rodgers as the heir apparent to Favre, although he is clearly not ready to take over yet. A number of the rookies they kept are clearly "projects" whose true potential will probably not be realized this season. It will be interesting to see the team develop over the course of the season.

Originally posted by Imagineer
It will be interesting to see the team develop over the course of the season.

Unfortunately, my suspicion is that they won't develop over the course of the season.

That is the hazard of rebuilding projects.

Any of you two think this will be Favre's last year?

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
Any of you two think this will be Favre's last year?

I have no idea, really. I'm not sure he does either. I just hope he doesn't pull a Jerry Rice.

I'm not sure. I think a great deal depends on what happens this season, both on the field and in Mississippi. One of the less told stories of the last few weeks is what has happened to Favre's home town and his own house and family. He lives along the gulf coast, and it was not until the day before the last preseason game that he heard from his wife, and found out his family had survived, although his house and most of the rest of his home town did not. Favre has played through so many tragedies in the past few years; the death of his father, his wifes cancer, and other deaths in his family. Sooner or later all this has to take a toll. On the field, he will be playing with a young line this season. This most probably will mean more times that he is hit. I hope he won't have to struggle with injuries, but as everyone knows, it only takes one hit to end a career. He is no longer young, or even in his prime. It is harder to stay in shape, and it takes longer to heal. If this team competes for a playoff spot, and looks like it could go far next year he may stay. If not, or if he is hurt, I think he will retire. One other factor is whether the position of coach at the Kiln, Mississippi High School is open. He has said that he would like to follow in his father's footsteps in that position.

Originally posted by Imagineer
One other factor is whether the position of coach at the Kiln, Mississippi High School is open. He has said that he would like to follow in his father's footsteps in that position.

How cool would it be to have Favre as your coach?

He would at least have the reputation to get even the biggest high school star's full attention.

*GROAN!* Well that was just pitiful. Culpepper with 4 turnovers, the defense...yes THE DEFENSE scores the only touchdown of the game for the Vikings.

1. Borg, I hope you're happy...go ahead, (and porker fans as well) tear me a new one.
2. Trav can't be happy in terms of his fantasy team.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
1. Borg, I hope you're happy...go ahead, (and porker fans as well) tear me a new one.


I won't tear you a new one silverbullet, you've got enough problems already...being a Vikings fan and all...:D

I have to say something about my team!! The Steelers started the season with a bang today :D
The Titans took a beating at Heinz Field

:hitout:

I have faith they will give us fans another heck of a season....and I think it will be interesting to see how many people will still doubt big Ben
GO STEELERS!!:banana: :woohoo:

Originally posted by Vilepagan
won't tear you a new one silverbullet, you've got enough problems already...being a Vikings fan and all...
eh...well it's not like the packers did anything special today either.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
*GROAN!* Well that was just pitiful. Culpepper with 4 turnovers, the defense...yes THE DEFENSE scores the only touchdown of the game for the Vikings.

1. Borg, I hope you're happy...go ahead, (and porker fans as well) tear me a new one.
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :banana: :banana: :banana: :flybyt: :bike: :bike: :drive: :drive: :drive: :banana: :banana: :woohoo: :woohoo: :hula:

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
eh...well it's not like the packers did anything special today either.

Indeed not...penalties were the order of the day...and bad calls by the refs :D

Turnovers were our problem...that's not the way the post-moss era is supposed to look.

Originally posted by Vilepagan
Indeed not...penalties were the order of the day...and bad calls by the refs :D

Yeah, like 20 bad calls for 150 yards against Ahmad Carroll alone. ;)

It's gonna be a long year. But if the Vikings are suffering too, that will help.

Basically the Packers stunk up the Pontiac Dome today. The offensive line was pathetic, and that led to the offense being totally ineffective. The defense was placed in a bad position often, and for the most part they played decently (with the exception of Ahmad Carroll). Unfortunately he failed to recognize that the referees were going to call him every time he came close to hitting someone in the face. He refused to change what he was doing, and they just kept calling penalties. Not all of those penalties were justified, but enough were that he should have gotten the message. Look for him to be replaced as the starter next week.
What is going to hurt most in the long run is the injury to Javon Walker. It is being reported that he tore his ACL, and will probably miss the rest of the season. He will have a MRI tommorrow, so we should find out for certain then. The Packers are going to have a big hole in the offense to fill, and there aren't a lot of great receivers who are unemployed at the moment. Maybe we can persuade Jerry Rice to come out of retirement for the season.

Dallas had an excellent game against San Diego! Great way to begin the season. I was very impressed with Drew Bledsoes poise in the pocket.

I live in Chicago. Please shoot me!

I will say this now, since it's probably the only time I can do so from here on out. Those lovable Washington Redskins are undefeated and in first place. Chicago is such a great town and team. :) (couldnt resist, boykorda)

49ERS AND mIKE nOLAN BEAT THE HATED rAMS!!!!! thats all I care about. Go niners!

Im Huge Buccaneers fan and i was suprised to see them force 5 turnovers againts the vikings last week i hope they can keep it up!

Go BUCS

Originally posted by bucman80
Im Huge Buccaneers fan and i was suprised to see them force 5 turnovers againts the vikings last week i hope they can keep it up!

Go BUCS
::cheers::

Originally posted by bucman80
Im Huge Buccaneers fan and i was suprised to see them force 5 turnovers againts the vikings last week i hope they can keep it up!

Go BUCS
Originally posted by BorgHunter
::cheers::
*Jeers*

Buccaneers 2-0 first time since 2000

Cheers

Total Vikings Meltdown...that's all I can/want to say right now.

...oh, and congrats to Brett Favre for going over 50,000 yards today.

50,000 yards is nice, but a victory would have been better. Looks like we're still tied with the Vikings. I do not understand what is wrong with the Vikings. The Packers played better today, but they still have to stop the critical penalties and manage to put at least a little pressure on the opposing quarterback. Dilfer is not as good as he looked today.

Originally posted by Imagineer
I do not understand what is wrong with the Vikings.

The theory on NFL Primetime was basically this: Randy Moss could reliably catch passes thrown into double coverage or draw the defense away from the other receivers. Now that all of Culpepper's receivers are being covered equally more of the pressure is on him, and he's either not up to it or has a bit of a learning curve ahead of him. I find it hard to believe that Culpepper and his receivers aren't talented, so I guess it's going to take him a while to learn how to throw to covered receivers and take his receivers a while to learn how to get open on their own.

Originally posted by Imagineer
The Packers played better today, but they still have to stop the critical penalties and manage to put at least a little pressure on the opposing quarterback. Dilfer is not as good as he looked today.

They couldn't not play better. Oy, this is going to be a long season. I bet Favre's gone after this one. Maybe Sherman too. What really depresses me is that the team that made them look stupid last week got plastered by the Bears. The Bears!

I agree that this is going to be a long season. The Packers have a long way to go on rebuilding, and the young players have to get better. I also agree that Favre will probably retire after this year. Then next season we will have a young quarterback to look forward to. Hopefully the rest of the team will be somewhat improved by then.

It is WAY to simplistic to think that it's ONLY Randy Moss missing from a great Vikings offense.... look at Culpepper in the pocket, he looks jittery, unconfident, and uncomfortable. They lost a starting Offensive lineman, the offensive coordinator, Ontario Smith, AND Randy Moss... so yea they have issues already... it doesnt help that Culpepper is playing like ass...

The Packers are on their way out i think, no offense to Pack fans. Favre will have an above average season, Ahman Green will go for 1000 yards... but their record will be about 8-8 if that.

Now... let's get to SUPER BOWL matters..

The COLTS baby!!! did you see their first few games??? We have a FREAKIN DEFENSE!!! how about that? We gave up a garbage-time TD to the Ravens, and a Field Goal to the Jags... thats it.

Peyton Manning had a TERRIBLE game against Jacksonville... and we still won. I love it LOL

Originally posted by Decka
The Packers are on their way out i think, no offense to Pack fans. Favre will have an above average season, Ahman Green will go for 1000 yards... but their record will be about 8-8 if that.

Now... let's get to SUPER BOWL matters..

The COLTS baby!!! did you see their first few games??? We have a FREAKIN DEFENSE!!! how about that? We gave up a garbage-time TD to the Ravens, and a Field Goal to the Jags... thats it.

Peyton Manning had a TERRIBLE game against Jacksonville... and we still won. I love it LOL


No offense taken. The Packers kept 11 rookies on a 53 man roster. They are rebuilding, and I think 8 - 8 is generous. Realistically I think they will wind up 6 - 10. Indianapolis is, in my mind anyway, one of the best teams in the NFL this year. Enjoy it while you have it, because these things go in cycles. A few years from now, Indianapolis will be rebuilding.

Originally posted by Decka
It is WAY to simplistic to think that it's ONLY Randy Moss missing from a great Vikings offense.... look at Culpepper in the pocket, he looks jittery, unconfident, and uncomfortable. They lost a starting Offensive lineman, the offensive coordinator, Ontario Smith, AND Randy Moss... so yea they have issues already... it doesnt help that Culpepper is playing like ass...

Moss may be a partial reason why the Vikings are sucking it up right now, but it's not the only reason, nor the main reason.

The injury bug has also hit the team. Darren Sharper was out with, i believe, a knee injury; Matt Birk (center) is out for the season due to hip surgery, and Burleson was pretty banged up throughout the game. To add to the list, Onterrio Smith is suspended due to his 3rd drug violation, David Dixon and Kelly Campbell are gone, and Scott Linehan, offensive coordinator, is now in Miami.

All the talent is there...but as with any process, it takes time to rebuild a team. However, expect Tice and Loney to get an earful this week about the team's recent performances.

What a Monday night game!!! The 'Skins edge the 'Girls with two bombs in the final minutes of the game after being held in check for most of the game. I just have one question for all you Cowgirl fans out there.








How 'bout them Cowboys???

I was LMAO last night. Another funny thing was the Saints "home game" vs the G Men. they painted "saints"" in the end zone and made the giants wear their away jerseys, but all the fans were for the giants. Poor saints.

we wont bother analyzing the 49er-eagles game, we will chalk it up to food poisoning like Kobe and shaq do :D

Why the hell was that Saints/Giants game played in New York Anyway? It should have been either on a neutral field, or heck, Reliant Stadium in Houston was wide open, and much close to New Orleans...why make the Saints the home team when it's on the field OF THE VISITING TEAM?!

Football needs new rules, no more pads, the football needs to be replaced with a heavy stone, and each player gets a knife :D

I remember a variant of football from my time in the army called combat football. There was only one rule, whoever got the ball in the other teams end zone won.

Tho my Browns lost to the Colts yesterday at Indy, I saw some flashes of real improvement. If there's such a thing as a good loss, one to build on, this is it.
Have a bye week next Sunday and then take on the Bears.

"Cry havoc, and unleash the dogs of war...."

Woof.

So my Vikings finally got off the floor with a 33-16 win over the Saints. I think Culpepper has, in a way. redeemed himself with his performance yesterday (300 yds. passing, 3 TD's and 0 INT's, compared to his 8 INT's in the previous two games). Hopefully he's back on track. Packers drop to 0-3...'twas a good weekend for me:)

Can we stop this season and start over again?

Originally posted by LionelHutz
Can we stop this season and start over again?
No.

Sorry Lionel, I'm having too much fun with this one.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
Sorry Lionel, I'm having too much fun with this one.

I guess what goes around comes around. There is that part of me that would like to see the Vikings in the Superbowl. So they can be the first team to lose five of them. :D

Originally posted by LionelHutz
I guess what goes around comes around. There is that part of me that would like to see the Vikings in the Superbowl. So they can be the first team to lose five of them.
So let me ask...which do you think would be worse, being the first team to lose five superbowls, or being like the Buffalo Bills and lose four straight?

I don't know about going to the superbowl this year. A trip to Detroit in January isn't the greatest prize.

Colts are 3-0

and WITHOUT the high powered offense they had last year.

It's the D thats doing it. They have given up 16 points in 3 games.

Watch out Pittsburg and New England...

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
So let me ask...which do you think would be worse, being the first team to lose five superbowls, or being like the Buffalo Bills and lose four straight?

Whichever one the Vikings do. :D

But seriously, four in a row would suck worse.

At least my team (right now) isn't looking like the '76 buccaneers.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
At least my team (right now) isn't looking like the '76 buccaneers.

Well...I wish the Packers weren't...

It is still early in the season though, and I certainly don't expect them to lose every game...

Hey, this week the Packers get to play a team that is playing almost as poorly as they are. Carolina is not tearing up the league at 1-2, and the game is on Monday night. I'm sure this one looked good to someone when they were setting the schedule. What a difference a year makes.

Originally posted by Imagineer
Hey, this week the Packers get to play a team that is playing almost as poorly as they are. Carolina is not tearing up the league at 1-2, and the game is on Monday night. I'm sure this one looked good to someone when they were setting the schedule. What a difference a year makes.

so true... but carolina is a tough team!

Stephen DAvis is probably the most punishing runner in the league...

Carolina should be tough, but they aren't playing like it so far. Then again, the Packers have not been playing very well either. It should be interesting, and I am hoping that Carolina continues to play poorly.

You know your division is weak when your first place team has a losing record.

And yet another lackluster performance by Culpepper and Crew on Sunday afternoon.

Go Pack!! I cant stand Carolina ever since they took Stephen Davis from the 'Skins. I loved seeing that bowling ball in our backfield. Even if he is injury prone.



Just thought I would chime in here about my undefeated Redskins. Winning ugly is still winning. :D

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
You know your division is weak when your first place team has a losing record.

As they pointed out on NFL Primetime last night, for the last two weeks, the team with the bye has taken over the division lead.

Originally posted by LionelHutz
As they pointed out on NFL Primetime last night, for the last two weeks, the team with the bye has taken over the division lead
The two teams expected to have nothing going this year are in the top half, the team that's supposed to win it is 1-3.....and the packers....well....they're right where they should be:D

I think the Packers have a plan going to get the top draft pick and a last place schedule for next year.

Originally posted by Imagineer
I think the Packers have a plan going to get the top draft pick and a last place schedule for next year. So far it's working perfectly. :D

Wouldn't surprise me either...though it's kinda difficult to think that the ARIZONA CARDINALS have a better record than the Packers.

Originally posted by Imagineer
I think the Packers have a plan going to get the top draft pick and a last place schedule for next year.

Unfortunately most of their first round picks never amount to much. Even when Ron Wolf was pulling the trigger.

Beware the Tony Mandarich factor.

Originally posted by Imagineer
Beware the Tony Mandarich factor.

Or Terrell Buckley.

or Mossy Cade

So...week 5 is complete....was it as crappy for anyone else as it was for me?

Well, my Browns won.
Weren't pretty, but I'll take it!:)

The Packers finally won a game, and looked good doing it, although the injuries continue to mount.

Vikings didn't play, Packers won, my fantasy team sucked it up big time, not to mention Iowa State lost and the Hawkeyes won...I'm glad that weekend's over.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
So...week 5 is complete....was it as crappy for anyone else as it was for me?

Nope, not at all. How many weeks 'til the next win?

I'm guessing the Packers won't win this week, because they have a bye. The week after that, however, they will travel to the infamous dome in Minneapolis. That should prove interesting. The Vikings will have to hope that the Packers play like their first four games, because if they play like they did this last weekend the Vikings will fare no better than the Saints.

Originally posted by Imagineer
The Vikings will have to hope that the Packers play like their first four games, because if they play like they did this last weekend the Vikings will fare no better than the Saints.
Indeed they will. Hopefully our also-injury-plagued team is up for the challenge; that Culpepper learns to calm himself down and just focus on moving the chains, rather than making the big plays; and that Tice can get some motivation going in this rattled team...but when he has to bring in "consultants" from past teams, or even friends that know the game well enough to help him out...that can't mean a good thing.

Overall, it's going to be an interesting game to watch. Speaking of which, did anyone see this coming; the Detroit Lions are in first place in the NFC North?

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
Speaking of which, did anyone see this coming; the Detroit Lions are in first place in the NFC North?

I figured them for second place, behind the ViQueens.

Anyone remember the old black and blue division?

1st in the North is like coming in first at the Special Olympics.
And I apologize to the participants at the Special Olympics. Many of them even go on to lucrative careers in the Bears front office.

Originally posted by LionelHutz


Anyone remember the old black and blue division?

Indeed I do. I remember all the way back to when there were only two divisions, the east and the west, in the NFL. The perrenial battles with the Rams in the sixties were eclipsed by the battles with the Bears and Vikings, although at the time the Vikings weren't all that big a rivalry. The Thanksgiving games with Detroit were always tough. Cleveland had some great teams then too, with Jim Brown.

Hmmm, what's up with the Vikings SBKC? I thought all that crap left with Dennis Green.

Originally posted by LionelHutz
Hmmm, what's up with the Vikings SBKC? I thought all that crap left with Dennis Green.
Yeah, I wonder how they're gonna get out of this sinking ship...no pun intended. But I do know one thing's for sure....when you have a 1-3 record, a sex party on a charter boat isn't going to help you win games...but it could help them score some points...again, no pun intended.

Reminds me of the Packers, circa 1985, although they kept the sexual shenanigans on an individual level and not a group activity.

how bout this fact...

The Colts are giving up an average of 5.3 points per game

whoa... now that's Defense.

We're gonna dominate this year...

Just imagine what Tice is going through right now: He's been on the hot seat for a couple years now, his team's 1-3, he was accused of scalping super bowl tickets earlier in the year, and now his team is participating in live sex acts, prostitution, and public urination on some girl's random lawn? He needs to find a way to get the team back on track, granted they are very frustrated with their current record.

Originally posted by Decka
how bout this fact...

The Colts are giving up an average of 5.3 points per game

whoa... now that's Defense.

We're gonna dominate this year...

Don't get me wrong - they obviously have a great D, but that's not going to last once they start playing teams with better offenses.

Originally posted by silverbulletkc

Just imagine what Tice is going through right now: He's been on the hot seat for a couple years now, his team's 1-3, he was accused of scalping super bowl tickets earlier in the year, and now his team is participating in live sex acts, prostitution, and public urination on some girl's random lawn? He needs to find a way to get the team back on track, granted they are very frustrated with their current record.


You left out the "Original Whizzinator!"

I think these "players coaches" always get burned by this sort of stuff. You gotta lay down the law at some point. Although it might very well be that the team isn't willing to get rid of bad apples (of course they got rid of Moss) in which case there's not much Tice can do.

Nothing will change in the player's behavior until the customers demand it. Action would get taken plenty quick if the fans demanded it. Imagine what would happen if ratings for Vikings games dropped by 50%. Advertising revenue would drop, and heads would roll. Even better would be a public boycott of companies that advertise on Vikings games, and of companies who use endorsements by those players. When the money stops coming in, the behavior will change.

From what I saw when I lived in Minneapolis, the Vikings fans don't show any real interest until the team's won at least 4 out of the first 5 games. And yet the team is still that way.

Well, after yet another shitty performance by the Vikings, it looks like it's gonna be a battle of the 1-4 teams next week with the Packers and the Vikings...The winner will...well....be the winner....when they win.........and will have the satisfaction of saying that they beat a team other than the Saints.

It will be an interesting game. Of course I am hoping that the Packers win, and I think they will. The Packers are injury riddled, but the week off will have helped that at least somewhat. The loss by the Lions today leaves the NFC North division wide open for someone to take it, although the division is clearly the weakest in the NFL. It could be the first time that a team with a losing record wins a divisional title. Any of the teams that gets hot, or even lukewarm, will be the Division Winner. I am hoping that Favre will be the difference, as he often is. Still the game is at the Metrodome, so that is to the Vikings advantage. It should be interesting.

A talk with the NFC North: (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=fleming/051020)


I found him in a nasty rundown bar in Windsor. Inside, it smelled like mop bucket water and ashtrays. He was slumped over onto the bar, mumbling to himself with his cheek resting against a half-filled mug of flat brew. The elastic waistband of his underpants had been torn free and it looped down out the back of his pants, almost to the ground.


Above him was a snowy TV screen, showing what seemed like a never-ending loop of Joey Harrington interceptions, reports from the Vikings Love Boat cruise on Lake Minnetonka, Mike Ditka erectile dysfunction ads and clips from Brett Favre's last few playoff performances.

The guy on his right was passed out. Although his face was partially disguised by the word "idiot" written in black Sharpie, I recognized him right away. It was another one of the football guys everyone loves to hate: Prevent Defense. The dude on his left just sat there staring straight ahead into the mirror behind the bar while adjusting his mullet, trying to get it to fall exactly right onto the collar of his burgundy Members Only jacket. It had been a long time since I'd seen Run-n-Shoot.

The guy in the middle looked up at me as I stood in the doorway. He looked like a mix of Ryan Cabrera, Hulk Hogan and Gary Bettman and he reeked almost as bad as Bill Romanowski's putrid new book.

"You NFC North?" I asked.

He nodded and motioned to a booth behind him, under a neon sign for Strohs. We sat down and before I could even get my notebook out to ask a question, his face fell into his hands and he started that really awkward kind of drunk crying.

"It's been a pretty rough season for you so far, eh?"

NFC North's head popped up off the table. His face was bright red.

"ROUGH? ROUGH? Oh, see, I knew I should have never agreed to this interview. ROUGH? You don't know the half of it, man. I just read somewhere that since they reorganized the divisions in 2002 I'm an NFL worst 89-118. Yesterday, the NFC West e-mailed me a headline from Green Bay this week that read: 'Despite 1-4 Start Packers are one game out of 1st.' The NFC West is mocking me, you can't get much lower than that. At least that's what I thought -- and then you showed up."

I tried to hold my laughter in, I really did, but it was no use. The noise woke up Prevent Defense, but then his head fell back against the bar with a thunk and he was snoring again in no time.

"You think this is funny ... DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Did you see what Detroit PSL did to my shorts?"

"Detroit PSL?"

"It's a high school league, OK -- I got beat up by a high school league. Oh man what was I thinking? Did you know I once had a chance to be the MAC? I should'a listened to my mom, she wanted me to go to veterinary school. Coulda opened my own vet office. Put that in your story."

"Well, look at it this way: You're on your way to becoming the first division in football since the strike season to send a team with a losing record to the playoffs. Do you have any idea the time and thought and money and marketing that has gone into the NFL system of parity? Do you know how hard you have to work in this league to be mediocre? I mean, you're about to ruin the whole experiment. That's no small feat my friend."

I had pushed too hard, I knew it right away. NFC North stood up. He wobbled a bit and then put his hands up like a boxer from the 1800s. Then, while spitting at me in a way that covered my face with pieces of pretzel, he said, "You wanna take this outside, pretty boy?"

I whispered, trying not to embarrass him any more than I already had. "Do you really want to do that?" I said. "I mean, you have six total wins. Six. But if you discount wins against your own teams and the New Orleans Saints, you've got one."

"Is that ... is that bad?" He sat back down and signaled for another Strohs.

"Well," I told him, "five other divisions have twice as many wins as you do. One of your teams just got beat by Chris Weinke. The Minnesota Vikings, the most disheveled guys on the planet, are in SECOND PLACE RIGHT NOW. In their final 10 plays last week the Lions gained negative 2 yards."

"Well, you can't technically gain negative two yards. And besides, the kids don't care about that. The kids are more into stats and fantasy football and raw numbers and all that stuff."

"You can add Kyle Orton's and Joey Harrington's passer ratings and it is still lower than Carson Palmer's."

"Get out."

"Seriously, and other than Thomas Jones, you don't have a running back or wideout in the top 25."

"Wait ... "

"Did I mention you have four of the game's worst 11 offenses?"

NFC North held up his hand, saying, "Stop, stop, please. Enough. Maybe what I have is a marketing problem. Maybe I need a new nickname or something. The Black and Blue Division is so ... so antiquated. I need something more hip, more appropriate ... "

Cutting him off I asked, "How about 'The Whack but True Conference?'"

"'Whack but True?' I don't get it. I'm not that clever. Who do I look like, the Ivy League?"

"Think about it. It describes you to a T. The Whizzinator. The Super Bowl ticket scalping. The Moss Moon. Have you seen what they did to Soldier Field? Wait ... did you hear that? Another Packer just got hurt. Here, try this one: Matt Millen got a contract extension in Detroit after winning 18 games in four seasons. I gotta tell you, if Tampa was still in this division they'd have already locked up a first-round playoff bye. Everything you do is whack, but it's true."

At this point, NFC North looked like a guy in an intervention who finally cracks and agrees to go to rehab. "Personally? I blame that damn Bears Super Bowl Shuffle," he said. "How 'bout you, when do you think it happened?"

"2000 NFC Championship Game: Giants 41, Vikes 0. No one's really taken you seriously since then."

NFC North rubbed his eyes and nodded his head. He let out a long, noisy sigh. "Yeah, yeah ... that was brutal. Well, at least I have my bye week coming up."

"It's come and gone, dude, come and gone. Right now the only thing you have going for you is, I think, you never employed Romo." At this point I raised my hand, signaling to the bartender for two double shots of Jagermeister.

"So it's only gonna get worse, Flem? But what about the NBA and all this nonsense with dress codes? Why don't people pick on him? Or the White Sox, yeah what about the White Sox, I heard their theme song is a Journey tune ... ?"

"Sorry, buddy. I can't touch that one since I can't stop listening to Depeche Mode's new stuff."

"Well, so when will it end?"

"I dunno. Maybe after the 6-10 Bears lose in the first round of the playoffs when some other 9-7 team sits home ... or no, wait, probably not until the Super Bowl in Detroit, which I'm sure will be a huuuge hit."

"Oh dear lord," said the NFC North.

And just like that the interview was over.

NFC North got up and walked back to the bar, and as he left me, I saw him reaching around, trying to retuck his waistband back into his pants.

I read that this morning at work and really got a kick out of it...not because it's funny to see the NFC North portrayed as a bar drunk, but because it's true...every last bit of it.

Sad, but unfortunately true.

Definitely a hard-fought game between the where-were-you-in-the-first-half-Vikings, and the ended-up-in-the-right-place-at-the-end (and injury-ridden) Packers Rivalry today...and the best part is that the right team came out on top!

Yeah, some days it really sucks to be a Packers fan.

Originally posted by Imagineer
Yeah, some days it really sucks to be a Packers fan.
Yeah, like on Sundays.

This year anyway. Rebuilding years are tough, but they build character in the fans.

Originally posted by BorgHunter
Yeah, like on Sundays.

Oh please - Tampa's had a winning season for what - something like 20% of its history?

56 freakin' yards. So you have a Minnesota team I like losing to Wisconsin because of a bad kicking game, and a Minnesota team I hate beating the Packers because of a good kicking game. That stupid stadium is cursed!

I agree that the Metrodome is evil. Actually I think all domes are evil. Football should be played outside in the weather, on grass. So should baseball, although baseball is kind of a wimpy sport where they postpone games when it rains.

The Vikings would havef a huge advantage against some of the southern teams if they were to play outdoors. I say, let them build the new stadium, just don't put the retractable roof on it.

I also agree with Imagineer's baseball comments.

The advantage of the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field has been a factor in many games. It helps to offset the opposite effect when the Packers have to play some of the southern teams early in the season. It gets hot in Tampa.

WEEK 8 - The Bears take first place in the NFC North, The Texans get their first win, The Giants win one for Mara, and the Vikings and Packers lose, yet again.

Oh and don't forget about the Colts!!!

.... um yea they had a bye week

Originally posted by silverbulletkc
WEEK 8 - The Bears take first place in the NFC North, The Texans get their first win, The Giants win one for Mara, and the Vikings and Packers lose, yet again.

It is sad that the Packers are playing so badly. Favre had 5 interceptions today. The defense actually looked pretty good, but the offense was pitiful. The offense has been pitiful all season, except against New Orleans. I know that Favre is better than that, but the stupidity that is going on just continues. I think the play that typified the Packer's offense today was when Flanagan snapped the ball before Favre got under center. Apparently he thought Favre was lining up in shotgun formation.
The NFC North is coming down to Detroit and Chicago. I don't think anyone would have predicted that before the season, but that's why they play the games. It looks like both the Packers and Vikings need rebuilding.

It's pretty sad when yr team loses to the worst team in the NFL!

Sad because we have some real talent here and our defense is much improved. But the Browns main problem lies at QB.

Trent Dilfer is not the answer. I'll never know what we're even doing with a Ravens reject anyway. The guy can't throw downfield, and looks lost to boot. It's sad because our defense plays their heart out, and we have a decent running game. But this guy is killing us!

I say, let the rookie Charlie Frye play! how much worse can we be? Sure he'll make some rookie mistakes. But a guy can't learn sitting on the bench!

Look at Eli Manning. He is getting better with every game. No reason why Charlie can't do the same!
Romeo, I hope you read this!

PS What's this nonsense about Art Modell, sissyboy, being a candidate for the Hall of Fame! they'll let about anybody in nowadays. He is a disgrace.

Originally posted by rendova
PS What's this nonsense about Art Modell, sissyboy, being a candidate for the Hall of Fame! they'll let about anybody in nowadays. He is a disgrace.

Not a good idea when the Hall is an hour drive from Cleveland!