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Smash Articles
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Zen Master The 3rd pre-season game is the final opportunity for the starting quarterback to tune up prior to opening day. We were told was that it would be Favre's opportunity to dust off some accumulated rust ... we'll see. What is now apparent is that Brett wasn't the only one brushing off some rust out there. The addition of Brett Farve would be the final ingredient to bring us all to the promised land ... we'll see. Regardless of who is taking the snaps, the defense has no choice but to slam eight (8) in the box. In short ... they have to stop AD, like we used to have to stop dis' guy Sanders ... what was maybe the greatest running back of the modern era. The defenses that we face today have only two modes: Stop the rock in AD's hand, and if it's not there, jump from filling gaps to surging rushers through those same gaps to apply immediate pressure on that QB. It's not a bad strategy ... because that's all they have left. It's a crap shoot on every snap. In other words, they've pushed the pawn and the square behind has been weakened. To YAC, or to find YAC, just might be its only downfall opening the door for Chester, Visanthe, and now Harvin. They say that this team is loaded with Pro-Bowlers and conference all pro's (As if it were saying, just give-up to the 31 other teams) ... we'll see. This team has a long history of individual accomplishment but the most powerful words ever spoken by any Viking in it history came from the utterances of Jim Marshall, "Not winning it (the Super Bowl), sure is nothing". When someone says that this is AD's team (Leader), or something similar to that for any member of this team, have none of that, as that statement is polarizing and disrespectful of the concept of team and it's members. Sure its nice to hear nice things about yourself but the only thing that really matters are statements like "High & Tight", which is a statement of your professionalism and a clear respect to your trade. The path you're on ... is now clear! Brett Favre's block last night surely means that it's time to scrap the Wild-Cat ... we'll see. We'll if we learned anything, it's that the substitution for the Wild-Cat should include Brett jogging off the field followed by Chester, Harvin, and TJack jogging on to it. Which brings us to another point of emphasis ... If Brett doesn't make it throughout the season, it will be because of his mobility due to a breakdown in blocking schemes. In other words, TJack's mobility will trump everything so don't chuck that option down the sink. John Gruden may have aspiration at being a head coach again in this league ... we'll see. This was my first opportunity of watching Gruden as a game-time commentator, where in one evening, he became numeral-uno in my book. Gruden put John Madden's grunts and Joe Buckhead's monotones to shame. He had complete command of every aspect of this game and all of its nuances. He's the Zen master of, "what-it-is"! It's little wonder why he continuously sported the look of chucky, as he knew what you had, and you weren't putting it out there. Who else but Chucky could kill the entire contents of an entire sports stadium, when the lights flicker out, and come out whistling. Let me tell you ... I've watched Monday night football before ... now, with Gruden ... I'm tuning in. The obvious plan with Chester Taylor, under Chilly's old system, has been to keep him in reserve as the #2 running back behind AD ... we'll see. Not only will Brett Farve see Chester as the incredible Westbrook-2, he's also going to see Chester as his ticket to disrupting the oncoming rush ... and I'm not talking about picking up the blitz with a block. Chester Taylor, like Westbrook, is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball, and his presence within any package prevents the defense from executing any plan ... whatsoever. Now was it just me or was Brett Farve being picked up off the ground after just about every pass ... we'll see. Brett breaks from the pocket, sweeps left and forward, throws the ball down field, runs an additional 5 yards downfield, and still have two defensive lineman fall on top of him. Brett's going to take his shots this year, but this was ridiculous. How many times did we watch Brett release the ball ... wait ... wait ... then he takes a late shot. One flag last night, to protect him from these cheap shots, was all that was required. What's up with that! Bad, Bad Brett for throwing what we used to call as kids a cross body block ... which used to be legal ( I was born in the 60's too) ... we'll see. Hello! Has anybody been watching football out there! Defensive players absolutely drool over the opportunity of having a quarterback come up against them ... trying to block them. In just about every instance that I've seen, the defensive player has taken that opportunity to apply as much punishment and abuse on that QB as is physically possible. From what I've seen most of these little interfaces have been more like a grown man pummeling on a rag doll. Does anyone remember what Ray Lewis did to TJack last year or how about TJack on that interception return versus Philly. I'm not defending nothing! No one wants to see anyone get hurt. I'm just telling like it is. How many have stated that Brett Farve is a bad experiment, or he'll never last the entire season ... always expressing his future in terms of his demise ... we'll see. Coaches and players love the steady beat of the game. It's like listening to the steady beat of a metronome ... almost hypnotic. They rely on it like a sugar-tit! So many seconds for this ... so much time for that. Then we hit the 2-minute warning and we do the MFC dance (Dane Cook - Something about a monkey and a coconut). For years we struggled with time management, and this part of the game, then here comes this guy, carrying Fort Knox is his hind quarters, and then ... the field tilts. Then the whole space-time continuum shreds before our eyes. Brett Farve takes control and the next thing you know ... Chester-Taylor-is-a-God ... and he's in the end zone ... dancing! Folks! I had to rub my eyes ... what did I just see! There was also another very interesting dynamic. Something that I haven't seen since the days of Howard Cosell and the great Sir Francis. Gruden blurts it out ... how many coaches throughout the league owe the success of their careers to that guy {Brett Farve}. Then he lists the whose who of the NFL. Then the question is asked, how many times did we have the players, the coaches, the whatever ... but we didn't have the Mo Jo workin' our side of the street? Think back to the time of summitting the insurmountable heights of Joe Montana. Well folks ... apparently, it's arrived, and it's building like a Tsunami ... the most destructive force on this planet. Imagine Packer Backers working on our side of the street because after all ... they were right ... the cheese managers, on the other hand, just might have to admit that they were wrong! In other words, watching a Packer-Viking tilt in 2009 is a win either way for a Packer Backer's ... whomever thought this through is a genius!~ One of John Madden's most famous quotes was, "We knew exactly what we were going to do. They knew exactly what we were going to do. The coaches knew exactly what we were going to do ... and they were powerless to stop it"! We'll see! The Viking Ghost
Writer Post Script: Does anyone remember a running back out of Oklahoma that was projected to be clearly a bust in the NFL. He had a broken clavicle, that was reinjured during a bowl appearance, where its healing was a question mark. Peterson also had an upward running style that would never work in the NFL, which made him prone to injury. My son reminded me about that yesterday. Maybe there were 31 other teams hoping to stash a prize for themselves.
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