TenYards.comJust another WordPress weblog

No use arguing that Brett Favre wasn’t worth the headache. Sunday showed why Brad Childress spent months waiting for His Waffleness to finally join the Minnesota Vikings:

So that Favre could orchestrate a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the final 87 seconds that ended with a roll-back-the-clock touchdown laser to Greg Lewis with two seconds left, breaking the hearts of the 49ers, 27-24.

Still, the tumblers had to fall into place for Favre. Had San Francisco’s Nate Clements come up with the pick on Favre’s poorly thrown fourth-down toss with 1:55 remaining, he would have cruised in for the winning touchdown. If the 49ers had decided to give quarterback Shaun Hill a shot at completing a short pass on the 49ers’ penultimate possession, they may have stood a chance of picking up a first down instead of burning just 20 seconds. If 49ers punter Joe Nedney hadn’t placed a poor, short-field punt into the end zone from the Vikings’ 47, Favre might have had too much ground to cover.

But those things didn’t happen. And that paved the way for Favre to use his best asset at the age of 39 — his experience. In this one, that was as important to the Vikings as his vaunted right arm. Consider that the Vikings ran 16 plays in the final 3:30 of the game. And that they had three third-down conversions on that final drive including the touchdown pass to Lewis. And that they finished the game with a timeout remaining. That’s clock-management and quarterbacking you’re not going to get from Tarvaris Jackson and/or Sage Rosenfels.

So put this one in the “wouldn’t have won it without Brett” pile. History says that there may be some additions before the season’s out. With the Vikings at 3-0, there’s not even room to debate that.

For anyone long-since weary of Brett Favre mythology, this was the worst-case scenario result heading into Brett Bowl I against the Packers. But for the Vikings and Favre, it was perfect.

No more Detroit debacle
The Lions’ misery ended Sunday with a 19-14 win over the Washington Redskins. But it’s only just begun for Redskins coach Jim Zorn.

First, Detroit. The Lions totally dominated the first half, allowing Washington just three possessions, the first of which ended with a fourth-down goal-line stop on Clinton Portis.

Meanwhile, Matt Stafford continues to defy those who think it was a bad move for a team as bad as Detroit to take a quarterback with the No. 1 pick (like me). He has not been running for his life. He has not looked confused and overmatched. He is, right now, as competent as half the league. His best asset is an ability to take what’s given him which only comes if a young quarterback takes the time to study and understand what he’s being given. Stafford’s 22-yard scramble on third-and-13 in the first quarter and the ensuing touchdown pass he threw to Bryant Johnson was a benchmark play.

Now to Zorn. It couldn’t have gone any worse for him after spending a week under siege by the D.C.-area media. First, he went for it on fourth-and-1 at the end of the first drive (it failed). Then, as the Lions were moving downfield on what would be a 99-yard drive, Zorn accepted a third-down holding penalty after third-down throw from the Skins’ 33 fell incomplete. Zorn could have made Detroit try a 50-yard field goal. Instead, they moved the Lions back 10 yards and Stafford ran for 22.

Making matters worse, $100-million defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was carted from the field with a hip injury. Haynesworth should be OK. Zorn won’t be. The negative momentum has now tipped from “going downhill” to “freefall.” The only question is whether or not he makes it to Halloween.

We’ve been watching over the past couple days with a mixture of fascination and gratitude the e-mail exchanges between our friends at Deadspin and former NFL quarterback and former ESPN analyst Sean Salisbury.

The fascination comes from the fact that we simply can’t believe the stuff that Salisbury has written.

The gratitude comes from the fact that we aren’t the target of Salisbury’s venom.  (Yet.)

Here’s a short excerpt of one of the many messages that Salisbury sent:  “I will own deadspin u will be asked to give up ur sources so since u guys have cost me more than alot of money my only goal in my career is to ruin u like u have me.”

Salisbury also promises to sue CBS and ESPN.  He also plans to write a tell-all book about Bristol.

The problem between Deadspin and Salisbury initially arose because of reports regarding Salisbury, a certain body part, and cell phone photos of that body part.  (Salisbury denies the allegations.)  More recently, Deadspin reported that Salisbury was fired from radio station 105.3 The Fan in Dallas for “sexting” a female employee.  As part of the e-mail exchange with Deadspin, Salisbury denies the allegations.

As of this posting, Deadspin has devoted three separate posts to the topic.  And for good reason. 

Salisbury simply wouldn’t stop.

It remains to be seen whether he follows through with his plan to file suit.  Or to write a tell-all book about ESPN.  For now, his biggest accomplishment since shaving a Christmas tree into the back of his haircut in the early 1990s has been to actually put down his phone and quit sending e-mails to Deadspin.

PFT http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/09/24/sean-salisbury-sounds-off/

Brett Favre threw two touchdown passes and Adrian Peterson ran for one score as Minnesota continued Detroit’s misery with a 27-13 win at Ford Field.

Favre completed 23-of-27 attempts for 155 yards while Peterson had 15 carries for 92 yards for the Vikings (2-0), who have won three straight going back to last season.

Visanthe Shiancoe and Percy Harvin each caught a touchdown pass for Minnesota, which has won four straight and 14 of the past 15 meetings with Detroit.

Matthew Stafford connected on 18-of-30 passes for 152 yards and had his first career touchdown pass, and was picked off twice. Calvin Johnson had five catches for 51 yards and a score for the Lions (0-2), who have now lost 19 straight games and nine in a row at home. Kevin Smith had 24 carries for 83 yards.

Detroit is creeping up on a dubious record. If the team loses its next seven games, it will tie the record set by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Trailing by three at the start of the second half, the Vikings held the Lions to a three-and-out and used a 10-play drive that covered 39 yards and was capped on a Ryan Longwell 26-yard field goal to tie the game

On the second play of the Lions’ ensuing drive, Smith fumbled the ball and Minnesota recovered. Peterson wasted no time as on the first play he took a handoff, broke a tackle and raced into the end zone on a 27-yard score for a 17-10 lead.

In a drive that spanned the third and fourth quarter, Minnesota took a 20-10 lead on Longwell’s 46-yard boot between the uprights with 9:56 to play. Minnesota ran nine plays on the drive and ate up almost six minutes of the clock.

Detroit was driving on its next touch, but Stafford was picked off by Chad Greenway and Harvin’s three-yard score with 5:58 to play sealed the win for Minnesota.

Jason Hanson’s 48-yard field goal with just under three minutes to play completed the scoring in the game.

Minnesota started the game with the ball and were moving down the field, but Favre and Peterson mixed up a handoff and Ernie Sims fell on the ball, giving Detroit possession near midfield.

The Lions converted a fourth down on the drive, but stalled at the Minnesota 12-yard line and settled for a 30-yard field goal from Hanson with 5:05 to play in the first.

Detroit’s defense did a good job containing Peterson and Favre over the next several minutes as they forced three consecutive three-and-outs from the Vikings.

After the third punt, the Lions went on a successful scoring drive to increase their lead. Four consecutive carries between Smith and Maurice Morris got the ball across midfield. An unnecessary roughness followed by a personal foul from Minnesota gave Detroit 1st-and-goal and Stafford found Johnson near the goalline and Johnson leaned in to give Stafford his first touchdown pass and Detroit a 10-0 lead with 5:40 left in the first half.

The Vikings finally got the kinks out of their offense on the ensuing drive and put points on the board. Peterson got things going on the first play with a 22-yard run. Favre later converted a third down and on 2nd-and goal at the one-yard line, Favre rolled out to the right and hit Shiancoe in the end zone to make it a 10-7 game going into the break.

After the 64-yard touchdown run for the ages from Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, the guy can do whatever he wants.

Even if it includes stealing teammate Sidney Rice’s car.

According to a September 17 entry on Rice’s personal blog, Peterson made off with Rice’s brand-new Maserati. 

Peterson set the thing up by leaving his cell phone at the team’s facility and then calling Rice and asking Rice to bring the phone to Peterson’s house.  After Rice said he’d do it, Peterson said, “I know you will.” 

So when Rice headed to the parking lot, he couldn’t find his car.

“I wasn’t really worried because I knew it had to be someone from the team, because no one else can get into our parking lot,” Rice writes.  “So I had someone drive me up to the staff lot to see if someone had moved it and left it there to play a joke.  But it wasn’t up there, and I’m getting really mad at this point.”

Rice then realized that Peterson was the culprit, and Rice found in his locker the key to Peterson’s car.  So Rice drove Peterson’s car to Peterson’s house and retrieved his Maserati.

Rice has vowed to exact revenge on Peterson, but based on the way Peterson physically abuses on a routine basis men of Rice’s build who play defensive back for opposing teams, Rice would be wise not to overdo it.

Let’s hope the fun and games continue all the way to the SuperBowl!

PFT

Brett Favre looked pleasing in purple. Adrian Peterson always does. The ageless quarterback threw a 6 yard touchdown pass to rookie Percy Harvin in his debut with the Minnesota Vikings, and Peterson scored three touchdowns in a 34-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Brady Quinn hit tight end Robert Royal with 28 seconds left. Quinn, had a rocky opener. He went 21 of 35 for 205 yards, but most of his completions came on dumpoffs and short routes. He had one interception and the game’s most comical moment when he had the ball pop out of his hand and fall behind him following a scramble. Cedric Griffin, who broke off his coverage from Braylon Edwards and made the easy pick at the Vikings 18. Favre then went to work, leading Minnesota on the kind of drive he used to victimize the Vikings with when he was with the Packers.

The ageless quarterback threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to rookie

Making his 270th consecutive start after a will-he-or-won’t-he flirtation that dominated NFL headlines this summer, the 39-year-old Favre showed he can still fire the football with authority — and hasn’t lost his boyish love for the game.

After hooking up with Harvin, Favre sprinted into the end zone and tackled the young wide receiver who was just 4 years old when his QB joined Green Bay.

Peterson scored on a pair of 1-yard plunges and capped his day with an electrifying 64-yarder in the fourth quarter to make it 34-13.

Peterson, who was held to 25 yards in the first half, finished with 180 on 25 carries.

Favre was 14 of 21 for 110 yards and appeared to be fully recovered from offseason surgery to repair a torn biceps tendon, an injury that plagued him down the stretch last season with the Jets. Favre threw nine interceptions in New York’s final five games, a slide that cost his team a playoff spot and led to coach Eric Mangini’s firing.

Mangini is now with Cleveland, and one game into his tenure, little has changed with the Browns. They fell to 1-10 in season openers since 1999, but did score their first offensive touchdown in seven games when

Quinn, picked by Mangini to start after a drawn-out battle with

Joshua Cribbs scored on a 67-yard punt return for Cleveland’s first TD.

It was a game in the first half.

The second one belonged to the Vikings, who trailed 13-10 at the break.

Minnesota scored on its first possession of the third quarter as Peterson plowed his way into the end zone. The next time Cleveland had the ball, Quinn was intercepted by cornerback

After being sacked, Favre stepped up in the pocket and zipped a pass to Harvin for 21 yards. Peterson then ripped off a 19-yard run before Favre capped the 13-play, 82-yard drive that ate up 7:32 with a short pass to Harvin, who was wrapped up by the 2 but managed to stretch his arms across the goal line.

Favre and Mangini greeted each other warmly on the field before the game, hugging and sharing a few laughs. Their relationship wasn’t always so buddy-buddy in New York, ending with Mangini’s ouster, which many blamed on Favre’s arm injury.

- Associated Press

Though the league consistently has disputed rumors and reports that a Super Bowl someday will be played in London, Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledges that, in time, a franchise might be stationed there on a full-time basis.

Goodell reiterated that possibility during a Tuesday appearance on The Dan Patrick Show.

“It’s realistic to me that we would play multiple games in London, regular-season games, maybe as early as next year,” Goodell said.  “And if that continues to have the same kind of reaction, a team playing in London on a regular basis is a real possibility.”

And if that happens — if a team moves to London — the folks in London would necessarily have the ability to bid on hosting a Super Bowl.  Indeed, it’s not unreasonable to assume that, given the climate in England, a new stadium with a retractable roof (and a massive “telly” hovouring at least 30 meters from the pitch) would be necessary.  As is the custom in the U.S., the promise of a Super Bowl would then be used as the carrot to help secure partial or complete public financing of the structure.

So if a team eventually moves to London, count on a Super Bowl eventually being exported there, too.

PFT – Mike Florio

Greg Paulus’ debut at quarterback for Syracuse lacked only the storybook ending.

Eric Ellestad kicked a 35-yard field goal in overtime Saturday to give Minnesota a 23-20 victory over the Orange, who failed to score in the extra session when Paulus threw his lone interception on an ill-advised pass.

Paulus got off to a strong start in his first football game since 2004, but his turnover on a third-and-5 play on the first possession of OT gave the Gophers a chance to win.

“I shouldn’t make that throw,” Paulus said. “I was trying to make a play. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t. I should have thrown the ball in the back of the end zone and kicked the field goal.”

Paulus guided Syracuse to a 20-14 lead at the break but failed to convert any of the Orange’s eight third-down tries in the second half.

“We had some opportunities to put them away and we just didn’t get it done offensively,” Paulus said. “And that’s on me.”

Still, in his first college football game after playing point guard for four seasons at Duke, Paulus made plenty of positive plays. He was 19-for-31 for 167 yards and one touchdown.

“I would have liked a better outcome,” said Paulus, just 7-for-14 for 39 yards in the second half after the Minnesota defense adjusted. “That pick, I shouldn’t make that mistake. I’ll be kicking myself for a little bit thinking about that one. But playing football is awesome. It’s so much fun. I can’t tell you the joy I get. To play here is phenomenal.”

Paulus had not played competitive football since he was honored as 2004 national player of the year at Christian Brothers Academy in suburban Syracuse. New coach Doug Marrone, who played for the Orange in the mid-1980s, made Paulus the starter less than two weeks into preseason camp, and he felt good about the decision despite the outcome of the opener.

“It [the interception] was a poor decision,” Marrone said. “I’ll rely on him to make the right decision. I have a lot of trust in him.”

Adam Weber was 19-for-42 for 248 yards and one touchdown and Eric Decker had nine catches for 183 yards to lead Minnesota.

Until his ill-fated throw, Paulus showed great poise for somebody who had never played the position in college, and the Orange’s revamped offensive line provided adequate protection.

Paulus, who received an NCAA waiver to play football with his one remaining year of athletic eligibility, seemed at home after the Orange’s first snap of the game sailed way over his head and led to a quick Minnesota touchdown. He looked off defenders and scrambled when he had to, displaying the flair that made him a record-setting high school quarterback five years ago.

With Syracuse trailing 14-3 late in the first quarter, Paulus electrified the near-capacity crowd of 48,617, which included former Syracuse star Donovan McNabb, with his first collegiate scoring pass.

Facing a second-and-6 from the Minnesota 29, Paulus fooled three defenders with a pump fake and hit a wide-open Mike Williams near the goal line to move the Orange within 14-10. It marked the 10th straight game Williams has had a TD catch, a school record and the best mark in the nation.

Not even penalties seemed to faze Paulus. Despite a false start and a hold against the Orange late in the second quarter, he guided Syracuse 67 yards in eight plays, accounting for all but 10 yards with four completions in four attempts to set up Delone Carter’s 1-yard touchdown run.

That gave the Orange, who were 10-37 in the previous four years under Greg Robinson, a rare 20-14 halftime lead. Syracuse scored 20 or more points in a game only eight times under Robinson.

The game started badly for the Orange. Center Jim McKenzie’s first snap sailed over Paulus’ head and was recovered by Minnesota’s Cedric McKinley at the Syracuse 16. Two plays later, Duane Bennett scored untouched on a 16-yard run around the right side.

Ellestad forced overtime with a 26-yard field goal with 57 seconds left after a lob by Weber for Decker in the right corner of the end zone sailed high.

“This was exactly what I expected it to be,” Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said. “Syracuse is a tough place to play. We didn’t do everything right by any means, but I’m excited that we found a way to win.”

The LFL will be making several major announcements in relation to significant media, personality and ownership partnerships such as Mike Ditka. “Coach Ditka embodies the game of football and will be an invaluable asset to the LFL as we mature into a worldwide sports brand,” said, Mitchell S. Mortaza, Founder & Chairman. Mike Ditka added, “Football has always been a large part of my life and passion, this an opportunity to be part of something truly special in its inception phase.”

http://lflus.com/