Week 15 NFL Thread: Come to Minnesota and shovel snow!

Absolutely. I hope it snows 3 feet in the 24 hours before game time.

 

The Bears beating Favre at Lambeau in his last game against them would be sweet. But I'm sure the Bears will lose by 30.

Seriously, are the Vikings really expecting Favre to play?

 

Irony, thy name is Matt Cassel. He starts slow, every Chiefs fan wants him pulled, he heats up, Chiefs heat up, KC gets on the precipice of a completely unexpected playoff berth... and then his appendix explodes.

I'd take Matt Cassel, hospital bed and all, over Brodie Croyle. If the Chiefs can win in STL, I like their chances to beat Tennessee and Oakland at home. Unfortunately, I don't think they will... even if Cassel plays.

 

The Vikings had Patrick Ramsey in for a workout today and likely will sign the veteran quarterback for the remainder of the season, according to NFL sources.

The move does not come as a surprise, given that Brett Favre is battling an injury to his throwing arm and Tarvaris Jackson suffered a turf toe injury on Monday night against the Giants in Detroit. The Vikings' third quarterback, Joe Webb, has been dealing with a hamstring issue and also is very raw at this stage of his career.

It's a real possibility that Ramsey could get the start against the Bears on Monday night -- no matter where the game ends up being played.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/blogs/111952849.html?elr=KArksCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiacyKUnciaec8O7EyU

I'm off to shovel.

My patio, not the Bank.

 

The Bears are lucky.

Week 1 - God-awful defensive call negated by Calvin Johnson's non-catch.
Week 3 - God-awful playcalling negated as Packers commit franchise-record number of penalties.
Week 5 - Played the Panthers.
Week 8 - Played the Bills in "neutral" Toronto. Win by 3.
Week 10 - Miami starts third-string quarterback.
Week 11 - No Asante Samuel.

 

"We are a product of what the coaches are doing, are coaching us throughout the course of the week," Owens said.

"Of course we have to go out there and play the game. But in order for us to do what we're allowed to do at the best of our ability the coaches have to put the players in the best position."

http://www.kgmi.com/pages/8786072.php?contentType=4&contentId=7327132


Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Chad 85, no playoffs this season.

 

Change of plan.

Now you can get paid to shovel:

When first announced, the university said the shovelers would be volunteers, as in donating their time and back muscles. That changed later Wednesday, when the school said temporary-labor agencies are arranging to pay folks willing to get behind a handle.

Athletics Department spokesman Andy Seeley said workers will be paid $10 per hour. For more information on helping, including what identification documents are needed, people are being asked to call 612-626-4110 or visit www.gophersports.com.

http://www.startribune.com/local/111925474.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4OW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl

 

They've had virtually no injuries, and I think they've played some other backup and third-stringers as well.

They've been obscenely lucky.

 

Why do I keep picturing Bud Grant sitting in a hunting lodge somewhere, laughing his ass off over all the wailing over playing outdoors?

 

They'll probably avoid Favre and could avoid Rodgers, and Rodgers' injury and lack of availability almost certainly cost the Packers a loss to the Lions (and salvaged an otherwise lost weekend for the Bears).

Maybe I'm too hard on Lovie (or unfairly lump the blame for systemic, organization-wide ailments on his see-no-evil shoulders), but after watching every Bears game he has coached, I find little causal link between Bears wins and his coaching.

Is that really a meat-head perspective?

 

Rick doesn't watch TV. He simulates the games, and the simulator spits out gems like, "Lovie Smith wins!"

 

Sort of, in my opinion.

Lovie does some things right and some things wrong.

Like many NFL coaches, he's abysmal at basic game theory and strategies such as challenge use and time management.

But most of the other stuff he gets ripped for is wrong, imo.

He gets accused of being "see no evil" for two reasons: being slow to replace struggling starters and being very reserved in press conferences. But he's usually right about the starters (Kyle Orton was awful at the time and Devin Aromashaduwhatever is awful) and how he is in press conferences has nothing to do with how he coaches.

There's a handful of elite coaches in the NFL, and he's not one of them, and that's another thing that irks fans. He's a guy with a system that works most of the time and he sticks with it no matter what. He's not going to brilliantly outcoach anyone, and he's not a personnel guy who finds lots of hidden gems.

So if you want to replace him with one of those elite coaches, go for it. No complaints from me.

But here's what he does right: His teams always force turnovers and play insanely good special teams. Combine that with his conservative approach, and you'll find yourself with a lot of close games and able to steal a lot against teams you have no right to beat.

Compared to the pool of candidates they'd likely be shuffling through if they fired him, that's plenty for me. He's probably going to have three division titles and a SB appearance in 7 years on the job after this week. That's above average.

So the question I always ask is: Who do you think they'd get to replace him and why do you think that guy would be better?