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Would that they have kept Favre, hey?

The Favre Soap, Part III, seems to have gone on hiatus. I really don't care much anymore.

Apparently he is in Minnesota now. I think he is going to play. My theory is he just doesn't want to be in camp. Walter Jones used to do the same thing every year to Seattle.

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I had the misfortune of turning on ESPN today. Apparently a few Vikings players went to Mississippi to bring Favre back. The whole thing was childish.

Dear Brett,

We like you. Do you like us? Please check one and return this note:

YES~ NO~

-The New Jersey Jets

Dear Brett Lorenzo Favre,

We heard that you don't like the Jets anymore. Do you still like us? We like you. Please markone and return this note:

YES~ NO MAYBE~

XOXO,

-The Vikings

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, the season's finally started.

The Saints gave quite an unexpected game against the Vikings. Given Drew Brees on one side and ol' Iron Man on the other, the last thing I expected was a defensive duel.

I didn't watch the whole game because 1) I don't care that much about either team and 2) there was a new ep of L&O Criminal Intent by the end of the 3rd quarter, so I missed the Vikes' FG. I saw the blocked PAT, though. That was bizarre and, in the end, a non-factor.

The big news for the weekend is the Steelers are starting someone named Dixon at QB, because Leftwich got injured in the last pre-season game. This just barely convinces me the owners' idea for a longer season is worth it. More on that later.

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Not a bad first weekend. The Steelers won and the Cowboys lost. In the end you can't ask more than that.

At Pittsburgh Roethliberger's absence is being seriously felt. I'd say even Leftwich's absence is seriously felt. While the team reverted to the Cowher era, more or less, and relied more on the run and defense, young Dixon underthrew receivers left and right to force punts or field goal attempts.

Meanwhile the early results indicate the Pats may be back on track. The Dolphins need another one-season trick. The Bengals will disappoint themselves again. The Browns are still the Browns (more's the pity) and the Lions are, unfortunately, their usual selves. The Eagles may be regretting selling McNabb to a division rival. And Mike Shanahan surprised himself by whatever the hell offense he ran last night.

It's not impossible for a head coach that has won the Superbowl with one team to win a Superbowl with another team, but it's never happened. Shanahan, I'm afraid, won't be the first.

Oh, yes, and the Texans either are finally blooming or the Colts have finally lost it.

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The Jets are on track and on schedule towards another perfect Jets' Season. That's one in which they disappoint everyone, themselves included, and remind the people of NYC they have another, better team (even if they play in New Jersey).

I wonder if they can clone Joe Namath? Of course, with their luck the Jets would produce an Off-Broadway Joe (that's not even funny).

The Chargers are on track to mirror the Jets, too. It's amazing when you see how poorly KC did on offense, and yet they won handily.

Not that I expect the Chiefs to do well this season, either, but someone has to win the Mostly harmless Division of the AFC.

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Not bad. The Steelers won and the Cowboys lost, again.

Pittsburgh has managed two impressive feats: 1) the deffense has allowed just one TD in 8 full quarters and some overtime. 2) The offense has scored just one TD in 8 full quarters plus some overtime, yet the team is 2-0.

Repeat after me: Defenses win championships (ask the Ravens).

Of course good special teams help....

Anyway, the Steeler offense might as well not be playing. Except it held on to the ball and ate 33 minutes of the clock, so at least they gave the defense some rest. To be fair, though, Dixon seemed better than last week, before he left the game with an injury. He might be a good starting QB someday, or at least a solid backup. Right now he's neither. I hope Leftwich can play soon (assuming he's rehired -don't ask). I mean, playing a QB who got cut from the Lions (the Lions!), well, the less said the better.

I mean, come on, between Dixon and Batch they threw for less yards than Vince Young, who was pulled out of the game.

Tidbit: when the Titans finally scored a TD, it was caught by former Steeler Nate Washington. Good thing they didn't play in Hine's Field.....

Of course a victory over the Titans isn't as satisfying as it was when they were a divisional rival, and much less than when they were the Houston Oilers. <sigh> But 2-0 is 2-0.

On other things:

The Dolphins looked good, but the Vikings looked awful. I think Favre should have stayed retired this time.

The Pats might as well use a sieve for defense. It might leak less. Here's hoping Brady will last until the defense matures.

The Jets are still the Jets, the win over New England notwithstanding.

In more reunion news, Gary Kubiak faced former boss Mike Shanahan. The Texans won in overtime. For once icing the kicker (sort of) worked.

Finally, can we stop slobbering over the prospect of the Manning brothers facing each other? They won't, unless one of them switched to defense. Why is it so hard to understand a QB faces the opposing team's defense, even if his brother is QB on the other team?

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Repeat after me: Defenses win championships (ask the Ravens).

Ask them what? The Ravens have only won one championship. If I'm going to use a single team to determine the most effective way to win NFL championships then I'd rather use a franchise like the 49ers, who built a reputation for dominating Super Bowls using innovative passing plays. A system that won four Super Bowls within eight years and then a fifth just five years later (and has never lost a Super Bowl) seems like a better example of what works in the NFL than a franchise with a only one trophy.

Quarterbacks win championships.

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Ask them what? The Ravens have only won one championship.

Indeed. With a QB whose name no one remembers and a pedestrian offense.

If I'm going to use a single team to determine the most effective way to win NFL championships then I'd rather use a franchise like the 49ers, who built a reputation for dominating Super Bowls using innovative passing plays.

You should pick the Steelers, then, who've won six Superbowls, more than anyone else. While the 70s dynasty had a fairly good offense, they also had the league's best defense. The current team also has a great defense and a problematic offense.

So there.

Oh, And I won't even mention the 85 Bears.

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Indeed. With a QB whose name no one remembers and a pedestrian offense.

That's ironic, because I happen to live in Fresno right across the street from Bulldog Stadium and Trent Dilfer is a local celebrity around these parts. But even nation-wide, the fact that he earned a reputation as the worst QB to ever win a Super Bowl proves that the year was an exception to the rule- not evidence of the rule.

You should pick the Steelers, then, who've won six Superbowls, more than anyone else.

I'm not saying the 49ers are the most successful NFL team, I was just questioning why you'd claim that a certain system is the most effective way to win a Super Bowl but then point to only a single championship win as proof. The West Coast Offense is one example of a system that resulted in more Super Bowl wins.

Oh, And I won't even mention the 85 Bears.

You're welcome to mention them, because two examples out of 44 isn't strong evidence that good defense is more important than good offense. I'm certainly not saying that defense is irrelevant, or that there has never been a championship team that also had the best defense in the league. I think it's completely possible to acknowledge that there have been games that were won by the defense without contradicting the fact that looking at all the stats from all the teams over multiple seasons proves offense to generally play a larger part in winning games.

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I'm not saying the 49ers are the most successful NFL team, I was just questioning why you'd claim that a certain system is the most effective way to win a Super Bowl but then point to only a single championship win as proof.

I believe I pointed at seven championships, and hinted at one.

In any case, do talk about the Niners. let's start with Ronnie Lott.

The we can talk about the 1980s Chargers. They had a killer offense under Don Coryell and Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow. Of course, they had no defense to speak of. And so...

The West Coast Offense is one example of a system that resulted in more Super Bowl wins.

Niners 5, Steelers 6. 5>6? I thought not.

BTW, Bill Walsh started developing his offensive system in Cincinnati under Paul Brown. Would that the Bengals had promoted him to head coach...

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\If your talking west coast offense and super bowls then you also have to include: Mike Shanahan's (former Walsh asst) two wins with Denver, Mike Holmgren (Walsh asst) and also John Gruden (Holmgren asst) with Tampa Bay. 9>6.

Gruden? I think not. Tampa won for its defense. Which, BTW, he inherited from former Steeler Tony Dungy, and one of his defensive assistant coaches was soon-to-be-Steeler Mike Tomlin. Anyway, the defense scored 21 points, as many points as it allowed the Raiders to score.

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Gruden? I think not. Tampa won for its defense. Which, BTW, he inherited from former Steeler Tony Dungy, and one of his defensive assistant coaches was soon-to-be-Steeler Mike Tomlin. Anyway, the defense scored 21 points, as many points as it allowed the Raiders to score.

But your theory falls apart in super bowl thirty where Dallas beat Pittsburgh. Dallas's offense ranked fifth in the NFL and Pittsburgh's defense was ranked third NFL. Yet the more dominant offense won out.

Naturally there are many examples of dominate offenses and defenses winning games. Unfortunately you can't just wrap the whole thing in a neat little equation and say dominate defenses always win. There's too many variables in play.

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But your theory falls apart in super bowl thirty where Dallas beat Pittsburgh.

No, it doesn't. A dominant defense by itself is nothing, it needs at least a half-competent offense to go along. The 90s Steelers never had anything near to a half-competent offense.

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I believe I pointed at seven championships, and hinted at one.

Which seven? You claimed that defense is what wins championships and then used the Ravens as evidence. That is the claim I was referring to.

In any case, do talk about the Niners. let's start with Ronnie Lott.

I don't understand the point you're trying to make here. The 49ers had an amazing Hall of Fame defensive back while they were winning Super Bowls and a great defense in general, therefore...defense must play a bigger part in teams winning NFL championships than offense? You seem to think that my argument is that no championship team has ever had a good defense, or that a better defense doesn't result in winning more games. Not only is this not my argument, but I even made sure I was clear in my last post: "I'm certainly not saying that defense is irrelevant, or that there has never been a championship team that also had the best defense in the league."

Let's try it this way: You brought up Ronnie Lott as evidence against my argument here. Quote the claim(s) I made that you think have been disproved now that you've brought up the fact that Ronnie Lott played for the 49ers.

Niners 5, Steelers 6. 5>6? I thought not.

I can't help but to get the sense that you're deliberately misunderstanding my points here, since my mention of the 49ers was a very clear and direct quote of your mention of the Ravens- not the Steelers. Re-read the context in which I brought up the 49ers and you'll see that it was in reference to Baltimore. It's dishonest of you to now pretend that you misinterpreted my point to be directed towards something you didn't post until after my original post in question.

Again, here is the factual basis of my argument. Which part of that is inaccurate?

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  • 1 month later...

Here's an update on Favrageddon: Shortly after Favre comes back to the vikings, star receiver (and field-stretcher) Sydney Rice has hip surgery. The Vikings struggle for a few games, just barely beating the Lions.

The Vikings trade a third-round pick to the Patriots for Randy Moss to replace Rice. Moss helps them beat the Cowboys, but for the most part he just continues to be a push-off artist and a head-case who slacks on his routes.

The New York media digs up two-year old news to sensationalize Favre's return to the meadowlands to play against his former team. Nobody cares about the allegations that Favre hit on and "sexted" a reporter. The NFL head office claims to be investigating it.

The Vikings lose a close game in Lambeau and in the process Favre breaks his foot in two places. Favre and Vikings coach Brad "Chilly" Childress have a pissing contest in the media to see if Favre gets to start against the Patriots. Favre wins.

Favre plays well against the Patriots, but ends up getting knocked out of the game with a lacerated jaw. The Vikings lose. In the aftermath Randy Moss criticizes his coaching staff for trying to get a 4th-down touchdown instead of a fieldgoal and, more importantly, for not listening to him about how the Patriots were going to construct their game plan. He says he won't answer any media questions the rest of the year after having been fined $25k the week before for doing just that. He calls Bellicheck the best coach in football history and ends his rant with a salute to the Patriots.

Chilly gives Moss "some extra time to be with his family in New England" by convincing the GM to waive him.

That's right, the Vikings traded a 3rd-round pick to have Moss for 4 games before releasing him from the team. I think this last bit is Chilly's way of trying to re-assert his leadership over a team that was wildly out of control with both Moss and Favre on the team. It didn't help that Chilly doesn't seem to command much respect to begin with. His job is at risk if he doesn't get a handle on things and produce this year. Meanwhile, the Packers, despite having been decimated by injuries and despite Rogers posting the worst performance of his career (by QB rating), manage a shut-out against what some in the media were calling "arguably the best team in football." The Packers now have the division lead. Yay!

So here is a question - has Favre returned to the Vikings to sabotage their franchise as one last gift to his former team? Likewise, was Moss's trade to the Vikings a devious plan orchestrated by Belichick?

PS: The "New Jersey" Jets' Darrell Revis and Rex Ryan aren't going to win any Superbowls with their mouths.

Edited by FeatherFall
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  • 3 months later...

Anyone interested in Pittsburgh's defensive coaching legacy spreading to other teams and the history of the 3-4 defense or its special significance in this year's Superbowl should check out this article from ESPN's Keven Seifert.

XLV: The Method Behind Capers' Madness

Edited by FeatherFall
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