Phi Bloga Recapa, Week 1

Most of college football's first week is in the books. A couple of intrastate battles commence later today. Kentucky travels to Louisville and Colorado State visits Colorado. And Monday features Tennessee heading to sunny California to face off with UCLA.

But for this season's first edition of Phi Bloga Recapa we've netted enough grist for the mill from Saturday's games. A couple of upsets complete with a Michigan loss, but nothing on the level of Appalachian State's upset, the fitting inaugural for 2007's wild season.

Anyway, here's a look around blogfrica for reactions to Saturday's biggest games.

East Carolina 27 Virginia Tech 22. Beat writer Kyle Tucker at his Hampton Roads blog says:

Wow. Stunner today, huh? I’m not necessarily shocked that East Carolina won. Definitely surprised by HOW the Pirates won. They beat Beamer with Beamerball.

It looked like Tech’s baby-faced team would slip out of here – Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium – with a win despite their many blunders. The kids (and some vets) made mistakes, but were on the verge of a typical Tech win: just enough offense and big plays from the D and special teams.

Then the young Hokies defense wilted, the once-again-uncertain O-line struggled and Tech gave up a disastrous play in the kicking game. In a snap, the air went of the Hokies’ balloon.

Bowling Green 27 Pittsburgh 17. The CriticalFanatic at FanIQ says:

No more excuses for Wanny, after this afternoon's 27-17 loss to Bowling Green. It's Big East title or find a new coordinator job in the NFL.

The Falcons set up to stuff LeSean McCoy, a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate and held him to 71 yards rushing. He got his touchdown early, but Pitt couldn't move late when they needed to. Not all the blame falls on McCoy however, Wannstedt kept the playcalling conservative and for that, his Panthers didn't score in the game's final 30 minutes.

Pittsburgh only gained 46 yards rushing in the final three quarters... against a MAC team. My apologies for picking the Panthers to start out 9-1. New rule: if Wannstedt is coach, don't expect too much in the way of efficient offense.

Utah 25 Michigan 23. Lya Wodraska at the Utes Blog says:

We can analyze this one all week, but general impressions were guys like Nai Fotu and Paul Kruger delivered some big hits when needed, and all those direct snaps the Utes have been working on really paid off with Matt Asiata. He is a bulldozer of a player.

California 38 Michigan State 31. Contributor Tony at Bears Necessity says:

Kevin Riley = Stud

You can’t argue with 17/24, 202 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs. And I’d like to point out that Riley threw another one of those heart-stopping passes with multiple dudes hanging about his waist and legs. As long as he keeps completing them, I say go for it. I’ll promptly change my mind the first time a defender picks one off (as would happen if it were ANY OTHER QB doing such an inherently foolish thing).

Nate Longshore = Cursed

I think we may have just witnessed Nate’s last snaps in a Cal uni outside of garbage time or emergency situations. It’s a horrible thing to write because I sincerely believe Longshore is a great QB, a solid dude, and an excellent leader. And there’s no arguing around what the guy delivered in 2006. But the egg is cracked. Something isn’t right. I just can’t believe, after dwelling all this time on those game-killing picks he threw last season, he came out and threw two bad picks in his first five throws. I’d like to say I think he can turn it around, but I think that window has now, finally, shut.

Missouri 52 Illinois 42. Brandon at Sleepy at 8:30 says:

It followed the same formula as last year: Game is close at first, Mizzou Offense comes out firing, Mizzou Defense comes out stout, Mizzou pulls away at halftime, Mizzou Defense lets Illinois back in the game, Mizzou almost blows huge lead, Mizzou Offense can’t move the ball to ice the game, Mizzou Defense bails out Mizzou Offense. Mizzou wins a game that never should’ve been as close as it was. Mizzou leaves game with major questions.

And the Coeds Shall Be Wasted...

Last Saturday I traveled out to the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey to take in the Jets-Giants preseason game.

Being a typical broke New Yorker working in publishing - yes, that is a type - I don't have a car. I've depended upon public transportation for the last several years. An express bus travels from Penn Station to the Stadium on game days. But I was meeting a friend driving from Jersey who offered to pick me up in Newark, a short train ride from the city.

The luxury of being in a car made me feel pretty fancy driving up to Giants Stadium. My friend Chris, a Giants fan, and I talked of the upcoming season for the two New York clubs. As we wound our way around the massive parking lot and its tailgating fans, we also talked of the reverie.

Chris spent three years of law school at Big Ten Iowa. The glut of students and the campus environs rendered college game days a huge party. Chris and I shared our undergraduate experience at Division III school known exclusively for its academics. Athletes were a shunned breed on our campus. For us, the typical big school football debauchery remains a curiosity.

For all that the school spirit has to recommend in terms of experience - evocative, details often lost to a haze of drunkenness - both Chris and I agreed we connected more with the parity of pro football, specifically NFL football.

Perhaps nothing demonstrates the gaps in talent than the first couple weeks of the college season. This is hardly a secret. Most big programs schedule small school cupcakes for their out of division sled early in the season. Warm ups, extended preseason matchups as bowl hopefuls fine tune for their conference schedules.

This time honored tradition not only allows big schools the opportunity to crush lesser opponents and work out the kinks in their roster, but the smaller programs sent up for demolition also net a handsome reward for their blood shed.

Barring the occasional Appalachian State upset, almost all these contests will struggle to be close in outcome. While one-sided beatdowns might not make for compelling television, for fans especially in attendance, a team's brutality unleashed makes for a chest expanding sight.

I have no ability to preview the upcoming college season as it begins tonight. Last year's wild ride, as the number two ranked team was sent to slaughter week in and week out, was thrilling and reaffirmed the unpredictability of sports... but it's unlikely to be repeated.

And given the rash of lopsided matchups in team's out of conference schedules, it's also unlikely we will know if the power balance between the big conferences is shifting at all until bowl season. (Please, for the love of all that's holy, can someone else besides Ohio State win the Big Ten?)

There are a few promising matchups this weekend. Most are scheduled for Saturday night. Alabama travels to Clemson. Michigan State to California. And Illinois to Missouri. USC at Virginia could make for an interesting game.

But a look through Saturday's schedule especially reveals a potentially horrific bloodbath. Youngstown State at Ohio State. Georgia Southern at Georgia. Appalachian State at LSU (do you think LSU will take them lightly?). Chattanooga at Oklahoma.

It's almost funny seeing newbies to the top of the rankings like Kansas and South Florida getting into the action. A couple of years ago Tennessee-Martin at South Florida might on paper appear at least a relatively even battle. Now, not so much.

Even tonight's games, headlined by North Carolina State at South Carolina, don't have much to recommend. Big East surprise contender Connecticut hosts Hofstra. Wake Forest travels to Baylor, a program in full rebuilding mode.

I'm not attempting to disparage the college season (though I don't think I'm doing a good of it). I'm just trying to temper my enthusiasm. Anything can happen tonight and this weekend. Akron can overturn Wisconsin. Florida Atlantic can shock Texas. Villanova can make us run out of synonyms for 'upset' against West Virginia.

Of course, the NFL doesn't really have a counter offer to college's opening weekend. Tonight scheduled are almost every team's fourth preseason games, boring affairs for viewers where starters play a series if at all and the lower half of the roster competes one last time to make the final 53.

All I know is that this first weekend of college football might be best to answer those nagging questions like just how many directional schools are in Michigan? Is McNeese really a state? What are the major differences between a Southern Methodist and Texas Christian? How did Florida get so many universities? Really, how? Have you ever been to Florida?

In any case, enjoy the bloodshed everyone. This weekend, I'm headed back to the land of thighs as buttery as the meat and dairy consumption is alarming. In short, God's country. Here's a bottle of cheap champagne cracked on the side of the 2008 college football season. Welcome back.

Pillaging Expectations

Head over to Throwing Into Traffic, Zac's excellent blog, where I cross enemy lines and preview the Minnesota Vikings 2008 season.

Yeah, a bit of a shocker, I know.

I approached Zac about writing another entry for his Premature Evaluations series. During our conversation, while attempting to talk myself out of writing about the Vikings, I instead found compelling reasons to tackle the team from the Twin Cities.

Anyway, enjoy. Stop back tomorrow for our regularly scheduled program of analysis a day late and a dollar in change.

Fight for Your Right to Fail

This close to the regular season I think it's safe to say everyone's in a forecasting frame of mind. Talks with friends on the upcoming season amount to measurements of unknowns against expectations. Or, a dissection of the stuff of predictions.

How can the Giants repeat without the benefit of lowered expectations? Will the Jaguars take a step forward? Will the Browns take a step back? In a league defined by parity, what constitutes a surprise team?

That last question rolls around my mind a lot, especially since my buddy Kyle put it out there. Are the Texans, a team I'm high on, a legitimate dark horse in the crowded AFC field? Yes, they finished last in their division, but still managed a notable 8-8 season despite the brutal 1-5 AFC South record.

For that matter, would any of the 7-9 squads from last year constitute a surprise team should they make a playoff run? The Bills, Saints, and Broncos possess the coaching and weapons to turn that corner. And perhaps the Lions, Panthers, and Bears do, too.

But they all have the flaws to flame out instead of hanging tough for the final wild card spot.

Of course, a few teams every year hit absolute rock bottom. Last year, the Dolphins and Rams fought through half the season for a more dubious perfection than the one attempted by New England. And not until week 15 did Miami take themselves out of the running for a winless season.

Perhaps just as compelling as who surprises us with success is who surprises us with abject failure?

And, then again, maybe not. There's no doubting a car crash holds a twisted appeal, but our fascination is almost predicated on the ability to turn away from the wreckage, to distance ourselves from it, to return its reality to nightmares on the edge of consciousness.

No matter our level of interest, a few teams will tank the season. Zac at Throwing Into Traffic during the course of his Premature Evaluations series submitted this notably brief entry for the Kansas City Chiefs:

Yawn.

Glenn Dorsey will probably tackle a lot of people. Dwayne Bowe is still underrated. Larry Johnson will plummet on your fantasy draft board but is still a very good running back. Also, the most exciting thing about this offense is Tony Gonzalez, a 32 year old man with a wife named October (they definitely met at a country club).

Seriously, one hour in, and that’s all I’ve got. This is what you people get for not sticking up for your teams: Crappy recipients of my boredom and loathing.

But hey…Brodie Croyle era, right?

Perhaps the 2008 Chiefs truly do deserve such a slight. But it got me thinking about the teams set up for a complete collapse this season. What does a season of failure after failure mean? And why is it important?

Also, which teams are headed toward disaster?

Last Saturday the Miami Dolphins, the poster child for fiasco circa 2007, stomped the Chiefs 24-0 in their preseason match up. Perhaps it's unwise to draw too many conclusions from the outcome of a preseason game, but the degree to which the Chiefs failed to assert themselves in any aspect of the game was alarming.

Maybe, just maybe the baton has been passed. The Dolphins who are certainly in the running to flounder for another season might climb out of the dregs of the League. And the Chiefs limping towards a complete rebuild might slide down further into those dregs.

If the Chiefs do complete that perilous slide, one they've been poised on the brink of for a few years, what will it look like?

On the field, it will certainly be ugly. Promising youngsters Glenn Dorsey, Tamba Hali, Brandon Albert, and Brandon Flowers are certain to gain valuable experience, imperative if they are to become the cornerstone of the team's future. But little consolation can be offered to fans for suffering through the blowout losses and artless choke jobs.

Moreover, losing breeds firings throughout front offices, coaching staffs, and on rosters. But what a truly terrible season can do for a team like Kansas City is act as a purging fire. Last year's 4-12 debacle convinced the team limping through the previous seasons it was time to go all in on the rebuild mode. But breaking out the wrecking ball only proved there's so much more to do.

So, yes, Kansas City fans, it could get worse before it gets better.

What does the Chiefs' potential historic awfulness mean for the teams on its schedule? Well, a freebie. A chance for the fans of Kansas City's opponents to see their teams firing on all cylinders. A chance to see the limits of their team's potential.

Unless of course like the Ravens in loss to the Dolphins last year you happen to root for the team that gives up one or two of those wins to the League's worst. No good can come of that.

Finally, who is likely to be 2008's worst? It's a bit tougher to forecast than expected. Injuries and chance have more conspiring to do before they derail the seasons of entire franchises. But here at Fuhbaw, we bring you analysis both ballsy and a little inane. So here's my list of six teams poised to be the worst.

Chiefs. Already mentioned extensively above. Herm Edwards is a solid coach if shaky at clock management. But there are too many young and unproven players at key positions.

Bengals. This team's outlook was bad enough when the defense portended to still struggle, uh, defending. But now the offensive line is playing like Carson Palmer slashed the tires of their Escalades.

Redskins. I don't like the combination of youth at head coach and quarterback, while age without much depth anchors the offensive and defensive lines. I'm not saying the Skins are going to suck, but if they do, it could be a suckitude of epic proportions.

Lions. Do I have to explain this one? Really? All right. Despite having the single best wide receiving talent in the game, despite having a couple bruising defenders, how can you ever put faith into this organization? Plus, the coaches are determined to run the ball even though they have the best one-two receiving combination in their division. I sense Millen logic infiltrating every level of the franchise. I have visions of Jon Kitna audibling to flea flickers on ten straight plays with disastrous results.

Falcons. Matt Ryan might become a great quarterback. He might not. I don't know. But if Atlanta plans to start him this season, take this into account. Peyton Manning, a great quarterback, started from the first game of his first year. In that season, the Colts went 3-13 and tied for worst record in the league. Obviously, the move paid dividends, but not without extracting its own high cost.

Broncos. Quarterback isn't the issue here. Jay Cutler is solid at the very least with the potential to be good. Brandon Marshall is scary good, if he doesn't derail his own career. But the Denver defense could be historically awful. I'm not even sure of anyone who plays on it. Champ Bailey? Elvis Dumervil? He's pretty cool. We're the same height and I would like to rush the quarterback like he does. But seriously, they probably can't stop the run and if Dumervil can't make the sack, they probably can't stop the pass opposite Bailey either. Again, no guarantee that they'll be awful. Just if they are, it should be a particularly stinky brand of awful.

Just a note, I don't think the Dolphins will be good this year, but I don't think they'll be the absolutely worst team in football. Which is a step up. Go Fins, eh? That also goes for the Riaders, Rams, and 49ers. I think they will all be terrible, just not the worst of the worst. Yay, team!

Never Forget, Never Forgive, Never Mind

In the Thursday primetime preseason - that's an oxymoron, right? - match-up the dominate story pounded into viewers' heads concerned the dual quarterback battle unfolding for both the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers.

(Cue the voice-over guy from movie trailers.)

"Orton. O'Sullivan. The fate of mediocrity rests in their sweaty hands."

Funny thing, both career backups acquitted themselves well... or well enough. The question lingers if their simultaneous solid play was due in no small part to the quality of the defenses faced.

Yet if Thursday was a test, both passed.

More importantly, the gods of bland color commentary were appeased. A story arch of mild interest and questionable import ran its course to some early agreeable completion.

But the battles between bums and busts bore little on the most transcendent moment of the evening. In fact, a glance at the stat sheet or play by play won't reveal that moment either.

So what was this moment that even if briefly underlined the best aspects of this game of violence and luck?

Certainly, the cast of characters was a small and strange one, featuring one star and one nobody.

When we quantify amazing in the NFL, Devin Hester the dynamo return man is often part of the equation. Barring injury, he will shatter the record for career return touchdowns most likely in this his third year. His is a talent possibly rarer than once in a generation.

However, in that same equation, you are hard pressed to consider Zak Keasey a variable. Keasey is a college linebacker converted to fullback, now fighting for a roster spot.

Keasey sports a mane of blond dreadlocks and an Ivy League education, perhaps two things high on the list of things not associated with the pro football.

But Keasey's performance Thursday was an all around solid one. His hunt-and-seek style of lead blocking sprung holes for Frank Gore early. He even added a run of 16 yards, flashing some good moves at the line.

But the play of the night didn't take place during the normal ebb and flow between the offense and defense. Rather, a special teams play made by Keasey and stolen from him by those same quarterbacks stealing the main storyline.

After a San Francisco drive stalled in the second quarter, punter Andy Lee drove a punt some 60 yards downfield bounding inside the 10 yard line.

Hester the transcendent talent whose greatness can overshadow the occasional skittish decision fielded the punt one foot just outside the endzone, one foot within. Hester retreated a step then took threeout before stepping back in attempting to shake Keasey bearing down on him hard.

But Keasey wasn't shaken. With a shoulder hit and an arm tackle - who arm tackles Devin Hester?! - Keasey contacted and brought down Hester completely in the endzone for a safety.

At least it should have been a safety.

The referees ruled Hester didn't step out of the endzone after securing the punt and therefore it was considered a touchback.

The replay clearing showed Hester stepping out and back into the endzone. A simple coaches challenge would clear up the whole mess.

But the confusion of San Francisco quarterbacks during the course of the half burned all three timeouts. Head coach Mike Nolan couldn't challenge with ruling on the field.

And Keasey's amazing play, one that should write his name in permanent marker on this year's roster was erased from the statlines of the game.

Well, Zac Keasey, here's a small corner of the internet devoted to an incredible fuhbaw play. Congrats and good luck dropping Hester for two again.

63 at 63

Sad news this morning, Hall of Fame former player and head of the NFL Players Association Gene Upshaw is dead at 63. Pancreatic cancer diagnosed over the weekend took his life late last night.

The suddenness of the diagnosis coupled with Upshaw's flurry of activity over the prior months renders the news shocking to say the least. During the slow offseason, Upshaw remained very visible, talking candidly with the media at the annual owners' and players' meetings as well as giving several speeches responding to Commissioner Roger Goodell on various labor issues.

While perhaps a stretch to term the union head embattled, Upshaw certainly set himself up for a fight in the coming months and year. The NFL owners opted out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in spring. And Upshaw faced discontent from within the Players Association's Executive Committee about his leadership in the coming labor battle.

Upshaw managed as he often did over his lengthy tenure at the top of the union to hold his enemies at bay. But his passing certainly throws a sizable wrench into the labor negotiations. Upshaw often straddled the line between fighting issues outright - for instance, preparing to dig his heels in rejection of Goodell's call for a rookie payscale - and working closely in compromise with the NFL commissioner and owners.

I'm reminded of Upshaw's constant intonations to the media over the past several months that a future work stoppage is far from imminent. I wonder if whoever grasps the reigns of power in the union - perhaps Troy Vincent, perhaps Kevin Mawae, perhaps some dark horse candidate - can wield the power required to offer that same assurance?

Upshaw's legacy is a contentious one to say the least. As a player, he was a well respected All Pro with the Raiders who along with Art Shell embodied the consistent excellence of the 70s-early 80s Oakland teams without the notoriously dirty play.

Upshaw quickly ascended through the union ranks and oversaw the union through the labor strike of 1987 and the institution of free agency and the salary cap. Through this singularly profitable period for NFL players, they've had only one head of their union, Gene Upshaw.

Yet while Upshaw helped players secure free agency and a larger share of the football revenue pie, he also treated important issues callously. When some retired players called for better benefits for veterans, Upshaw responded with threats, in one case wishing physical violence upon one outspoken veteran.

Gene Upshaw's passing alters the landscape of professional football. For good or ill - and I suspect it's a lot of both - Upshaw was a giant in the NFL, for his on the field abilities as much as his off the field power. For forty years, the NFL was a central part of his life. And there's no doubting he leaves a sizable imprint on the League in return.

More Dirty Math

(Maybe this is the cough syrup talking, but I'm content to back this one up.)

Jacksonville Jaguars = Dallas Cowboys.

Except they don't. Or, I should say, it may not seem so by examining the parts separately. In aggregate, however, they become the AFC/NFC flip sides of same coin.

Like 1 + 1 = 4 / 2. Different ways at arriving at the same sum. But the same sum nonetheless.

Jaguars running back Fred Taylor said it best: "It's almost Super Bowl or bust." And if you don't believe the Cowboys are weighted with the same burden, then you don't know your Jerry Jones.

Sure, there are other teams with the big goal, with the big talent to conceivably hoist the Lombardi trophy in February. But can you find any team in their respective conferences with so much to prove and so little accomplished? They aren't the Patriots, Colts, or Steelers. Nor are they the Eagles, Seahawks, or Giants.

Last week, I rolled out my own errant version of an NFL season preview. Ideas will change as the preseason wraps up. Still, it's important to lay down some variables, known and unknown.

In my preview, both Jacksonville and Dallas occupy an area where their push for supremacy requires an immediate display. Both teams are far from lovable, both built for the hard love and hard hate of dynastic football. The Cowboys simply through the continued arrogance of claiming to be America's Team. The Jaguars through constructing a hard ass winner in a pro football backwater.

First, what are the differences that drive two different teams to the same point, to a strangely similar identity?

Dallas brings as much drama off the field as on it. You can find it in Terrell Owens and Adam Jones. But you can also find it in Tony Romo. Chasing a bubbleheaded starlet through the gossip rags or racking up a police blotter rivaling Suge Knight's, it's all cringeworthy and distracting and tolerated because of an immense collective talent.

Jacksonville on the other hand is tame by comparison. Sure, backup receiver and continual disappointment Matt Jones got caught during the cocaine chapter of his own Behind the Music fall, but the team's stars are anything but off the field. David Garrard is a family man uncomfortable in the spotlight. Backs Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew happily share the load between them. The insanely talented defense from John Henderson to Rashaen Mathis to Reggie Nelson are studious film rats.

The two teams are also coached in wildly different styles. One can sense Jacksonville head man Jack Del Rio fights the urge to throw on the pads and run onto the field several times of day. Wade Phillips, the Dallas coach, derives his lazy style from his iconic father, Bum Phillips. It's hard to imagine pads ever fitting the rotund Phillips.

Finally, the Cowboys are a decorated franchise, a ratings draw for the league, and cash-making machine. The Jaguars play second fiddle to college football in their swampy corner of Florida. Despite the solid teams they've fielded in their short existence, the Jaguars are constantly the subject of exit strategy rumors. LA? Toronto? How about a corporate sponsor for their stadium?

So, yeah, on the surface, these two teams couldn't be further apart on the football spectrum. But look closely at where they are, how they play it, what they need improve... the similarities start to emerge.

Quarterbacks Tony Romo and David Garrard embody different ideals of quarterback. Romo is the Namath off and the Favre on the field. Garrard is all steady hands and Christian humility.

But remember this, neither Romo or Garrard were heralded prospects. Both fought up through practice squads and backup duties to lay claim to starting duties. Both can play loose and make plays with their legs as much as their arms. Romo may have arrived half a season earlier, but both serve as the lynch pin for their respective team's championship aspirations.

Behind Romo and Garrard each are a pair of backs charged with busting holes through the opponents defense. Taylor and Jones-Drew are both slippery backs that can power forward and block well. Marion Barber is a complete savage which the team hopes to spell with rookie speedster Felix Jones.

There's something old school in complementing both teams' downfield passing attacks with credible one-two punches in the backfield. Of course, two mauling front lines help put those nasty intentions to action.

Finally, Dallas's 3-4 defense may line up different than Jacksonville's 4-3, but the teams play a similar brand of kill-the-quarterback while relying on a couple intensely good athletes in their secondaries. The Jaguars employ a deep defensive line rotation, the Cowboys are stocked at linebacker. Both units are charged with upfield pressure. While the Jaguars are more stout at the point of attack with tackle Henderson, the Cowboys shut down opponents with Bradie James's sideline-to-sideline play.

More to the point, both defenses are stacked with size and speed. Both knock around opponents week in and week out. Both give the teams their best chances of making good on those lofty expectations.

So many sportswriters waste type in the preseason making Super Bowl picks. I guess it's scribbled down for the gambling crowd. Still, it's a pointless exercise and conveniently forgoes what we love of the sport, its unpredictability.

Let it be clear then that I'm not picking a Jacksonville-Dallas showdown in Tampa. Rather, the Jaguars and Cowboys are at the same time capable of reaching the big dance through much the same path and weighted by the considerable pressure to do so. Watching that pressure drop and how the teams react should shake out how much happens among the best teams in the league.

And don't be surprised if both Jacksonville and Dallas find success in 2008, the results are eerily similar.

It's Not an (Amani) Toomer, Lessons From the Void

Please don't misunderstand, I'm entirely happy that the NFL preseason is upon us. The games may not be the sexiest girl at the dance, but hey, at least there's a girl at the dance.

The college season is right around the corner. Then pro season begins in earnest right after Labor Day. Yes, this is a good time of year.

But I wonder often how much we actually learn from these preseason games. I mean not that they lack value. Rather, the objectives for the coaches, players, and their teams are so vastly different than the objective of a normal regular season game. This difference of objectives renders it difficult for an outside observer to project what we see on the field to the upcoming season.

The interwoven dependence of a football team is neatly undone as coaches aim to examine each part of their team. It's limiting reps of star players, throwing bench players into unique situations, running either overly simplistic or complex formations.

Throughout the season, every game is a must win situation. Nothing is held back, or nothing should be held back. This is not the case with the preseason.

Forget the final scores. But look at how many good teams struggled through this second week of preseason, especially the first units. Donovan McNabb and the Eagles first team looked cold against the Panthers. Trent Edwards cut through the Steelers starting defense for two touchdown scoring drives. The high powered Dallas and the bruising Jacksonville offenses both struggled against lesser opponents in Denver and Miami respectively (more on the Cowboys and Jaguars tomorrow).

Certainly, any given Sunday and all that noise, but the across the board slop fest by good teams through the second week of preseason has me doubting the value in reading deeply into these games.

So let's make some shallow observations or at least ones focused on individuals not teams.

Anyway, with those qualifications in order, here's some lessons learned from the last night's MNF game and the second week of preseason:

1. Braylon Edwards is the Cleveland offense as much as Joe Thomas is. Since being cleated and sidelined by Donte' Stallworth, Braylon won't suit up for the rest of the preseason. If last night is any indication, the Browns are in trouble if he can't rush back.

Last year's resurgence (surgence?) in Cleveland was much attributed to rookie tackle Joe Thomas, and rightly so.

But with Thomas performing shaky last night and without Braylon to terrorize the secondary, quarterback Derek Anderson played like he was stuck behind a malfunctioning dry ice machine, that is, in a perpetual fog.

2. Domenik Hixon really wants a roster spot. His three touchdown performance probably wrote his name in ink on the roster. It wasn't just the fact that Hixon caught two touchdowns and returned a kick for another, rather his ability to catch the ball strongly with his hands and drag his feet to stay in bounds.

Hixon's solid all around play last night with David Tyree's heroics in the Super Bowl reflect well on the scouts for New York. The Giants have consistently coached up solid running back talent, but the personnel department is doing a great job bringing in receivers with all the right tools. Certainly, after Plaxico and Amani, the Giants will need their 3 to 5 receivers to step up if they want to defend their crown.

3. Syndric Steptoe really wants a roster spot, too. Steptoe was a rare highlight in the Browns night. Two great touchdown catches and a kick nearly returned for a touchdown was only outshone by Hixon's night.

This is big for Cleveland because of the receiving drop off after Braylon and Donte'. With Joe Jurevicius unlikely to make a comeback, Cleveland needs another playmaker to power their passing game. If Steptoe is for real, the Cleveland offense can open up a little bit and keep opponents guessing.

4. McNabb still has that annoying tendency to whip passes at his receivers feet then look like someone just stole his Chunky soup. (I think that one's self explanatory.)

5. Brett Favre knows how to throw a pass and his new receivers on the Jets know how to catch them. In a very short and solid performance, Favre impressed in his two drives, throwing a touchdown to cap the second. Who knew?

Seriously, there's bound to be some awkward moments, but the man is a slant and fly quarterback who can buy time in the pocket with his deceptively excellent footwork (even if his throwing mechanics are notoriously terrible). As long as the Jets tailor their offense to his strengths, I don't really see where the problem is.

6. The New England offense sucks without Tom Brady.

7. Can it be called 'winning' a quarterback competition when the other guy loses it? Kyle Orton is named the starting quarterback for Chicago after Rex Grossman's terrible performance in Seattle. Orton 'won' the job by simply not making as many mistakes as Grossman which is kind of like not drinking and driving as much as Lindsay Lohan. So yeah, bear down, Chicago Bears fans.

8. Calvin Johnson is here. (Holdover observation from the first week of preseason, but important to state nonetheless.)

9. As long as JaMarcus Russell is up to speed, the Raiders have a chance. Chew on that one for awhile. We all knew the dude has a cannon, but he made some good decisions and withstood pressure from a very good Tennessee defense. Playing through a generally weak AFC West division could help Oakland make some noise this year. How weird is that?

Free Association #1: Season Preview

Compiling a NFL season preview typically requires staring at schedules and thumbing through depth charts. Perhaps, the writer studies volumes of statistics or sifts through training camp reports filed by the local beat.

Instead of approaching a season preview with such tried-and-true methods, I of course take a far less logical tack.

No rosters. No spreadsheets. No articles marked up with red pen. On a blank piece of notebook paper, I assemble a thought web while staring at this advertisement for NFL belt buckles featuring all 32 teams:


(Don't ask.)

A few words of note first. This isn't a flow chart, but generally, teams with similar realistic aspirations are often grouped closely together, like the Colts and Patriots.

If I possessed the patience to re-copy the entire web (I don't) I would rename "Wrong Kind of Youth" to "Barely Legal". I'd rather leave the impression that teams like the Bills are headed in the right direction, just perhaps not this year.

Finally, two of the biggest issues of this year I think are the quarterback questions around the league, especially as they pertain to youth, and how much dominant defensive fronts, of which there are many, impact the game. The Giants playoff run last year aligned both those issues at the just right time. And certainly the league sat up and took notice.

So here's my head on the 2008 season as we stand near the precipice.


Here are some highlights and notable convergences from Fuhbaw's Free Association on the upcoming season:

Redskins

For some reason I start with the Redskins. The first team performs well through the preseason so far. Campbell directs the offense with confidence. Receivers Santana Moss and Antwan Randle El despite being tagged bad fits for coach Jim Zorn's West Coast Offense run the slants and hooks with authority.

Yet the age in the defense and along the offensive line offset with the youth in coaching and at critical skill positions render the team a sizable unknown. One thing in their favor, the NFC East always produces a couple worthy teams come playoff time

Jets and Browns

Both the Jets and Browns might seem in lofty company with the Colts and Patriots. For different reasons the two teams find themselves with the same high expectations. In the case of the Browns, a surprising 2007 campaign which saw them barely miss the playoffs in the competitive AFC. In the case of the Jets, an offseason spending spree culminating in the Brett Favre trade.

Perhaps it's an odd pairing, the Browns come off a 10-6 season while the Jets try to put a 4-12 disaster in their rearview... but there's little doubt how the seasons plays out for those two teams will determine a lot for the playoff picture come December.

Nasty Front Sevens

Defense wins championships, the adage runs. And teams don't refrain from pouring resources into that side of the ball. Right now, rushing the passer is replete playoff caliber aspirations. The 70s might have been the age of the great defensive fronts, but right now with an interesting balance between 3-4 and 4-3 defenses, a goodly number of solid-to-great front sevens are out there.

Some are true blue like the Bears and Steelers. Some are emergent like the Texans and Cardinals. But all should make this season interesting as the league's top quarterbacks look to top the record breaking seasons of recent years. I don't know if offense or defense is winning the arms race overall, but I'm not counting out any of these teams with fine fronts down the stretch.

My Shit Eating Grin, Re: the Bills, Texans, and Cardinals

Regular readers of this site probably note I carry a lot of love for the current incarnations of the Bills, Texans, and Cardinals. All three teams are trying to hang their identity on tough fronts and some extraordinary skill players, especially receivers. However, a glance over this season preview shows all three teams in hard luck territory, particularly the Bills.

What can I say? A global view of the League doesn't favor any of the three. But there's enough going on in all three franchises that I think one of the surprise teams of the year should emerge from one of these three. Call it hunch. Call it a restless adding of unquantifiable variables. Call it math for assholes. I really don't care what you call it. Just know that I'm not backtracking on my interest in these three teams.

Raiders

I lucked out in throwing together this thought jumble/web/thing in regard to the Raiders. If there's a franchise that inspires more head scratching, I'm not sure I'm aware of it. The Raiders dropped a chunk of change this offseason. They also drafted one of the two best football players available in this year's NFL draft.

They are however the Raiders. I will say this, however they perform on the field, this persistent question of are they a complete and utter trainwreck or are they a legitimate contender will make them compelling. So stuck between a massive rebuild and an all-in approach, Oakland might for the first time in a while be fun to watch... depending on your definition of fun.

Champs or Chumps vs Contenders Forever?

Sportswriters like to portray the NFL as a "What have you done for me lately" League, NFL stands for Not For Long... that kind of idea. And, yes, outside the importance of memory acting upon our vision of the League, there is a brutal concern for only the present on the business side of things.

However, teams with a recent history of success are given more latitude than upstarts. The Steelers and Eagles can fall a bit short because they constantly put themselves in the running. On the flip side, recent runs on postseason glory by the Saints and Jaguars leave them much to prove.

Perhaps the team with more than anything to prove and with perhaps the least likelihood to meet those high expectations are the champs. The Giants have a hard road to hoe if they want to defend their title and a lot will have to fall into place. Both offense and defense will need to do more with less after losses of Michael Strahan to retirement and Jeremy Shockey to trade. Now, it's not impossible, but I think it important to point out their season is balanced on the edge of a knife.

Boredom For the Ages

Crashed last night instead of working up a new piece for the Fuhbaw today. Instead of waiting patiently refreshing the page again and again, head to Chris Cooley's blog for another behind-the-scenes look at how players deal with all the training camp down time.

Yup, that's right, I'm talking crossword puzzles! Glamorous, indeed. (Complete with video of Clinton Portis playing the role of the Punisher.)

Check back tomorrow. I'll begin rolling out regular season previews from the typically unique Fuhbaw perspective.

Minute By Minute: Aaron Rodgers

Perhaps you tire of the anything Brett Favre related. Indeed, my previous three pieces are all devoted to the old man, his new situation, and the quarrelsome path there. Apologies for the overload, there seemed much to say.

Then let me promise today I won't be talking Favre, at least not explicitly. The Green Bay Packers, of course, played their first preseason game last night hosting the Cincinnati Bengals. ESPN's pregame studio group waxed on about the pressure Aaron Rodgers faces following Favre's legacy.

Certainly the former Packer looms large over Rodgers's future.

But in a solid performance last night, Rodgers kept the critics at bay or at least arms length. Given the scrutiny, I want to return to that performance while resisting the obvious comparison.

Since the preseason is upon us, Fuhbaw will experiment with a few features for the upcoming season. And, because I want to give Rodgers a hug or a six pack of beer he can't get in northeastern Wisconsin, let's start with Aaron's maiden voyage as the Packers starter. Minute By Minute breaks down crucial minutes of a player's game complete with any tangential analysis.

Because Rodgers took the field for only the first quarter and, it can be argued, every snap was crucial, let's break down Aaron's night minute by minute.

First Quarter

14:55 Aaron and the offense trot onto the field to a partial standing ovation. Despite the stories escaping Green Bay of Rodgers ducking rocks thrown by children cursing like longshoremen (or something like that) this reception seems more inline with the general consensus as I understand it. We're a patient bunch, ya know.

And a false start is the offense's answer to Lambeau's warm embrace. Chalk it up to pregame jitters. Coincidentally, the term "jitters" derives from slang used to describe alcoholics suffering from delirium tremens, let's hope Aaron didn't work up some dutch courage before the game.

13:55 Sacked by a safety blitz Aaron didn't read, the team finds themselves with a 3rd and 17. Rodgers hangs in until the last minute and throws a bullet to Donald Driver who - whaaaat? - drops it. Driver does drop his fair share of passes, but rarely in critical situations. Hey, Aaron, it's not your fault! (That's like the "We're Number Two" chant, right?)

11:13 The Packers defense forces a three and out, handing Rodgers another shot. Crappy run blocking sets up a 3rd and 9. Rodgers brings the heat again to Driver who hangs on this time for the first. Without naming any names, the offense looks the same as last year when it was clicking. Is that such a surprise?

10:13 Rodgers takes a second sack, perhaps by holding onto the ball too long. Still, considering reports of happy feet out of training camp, the fact that Aaron's hanging in there against the rush is a good sign. Though the wrong Happy Feet, allmovie says, "When a penguin named Mumble is born without the ability to sing the romantic song that will attract his soul mate, he'll have to resort to some fancy footwork by tap dancing his way into the heart of the one he loves." Follow your heart, Aaron!

9:13 The trademark Rodgers mobility is put to work in a nice bootleg, pass again to Driver. Throwing on the run, Rodgers looked good without really setting his feet. And Driver broke a tackle with a nice high step. Another first down.

8:13 Packers immediately go to their five-wide formation that killed opponents last year. Rodgers hits Chris Francies on the slant, right in-between the numbers. Unfortunately, the fact that Francies actually let the ball hit him between the numbers makes it pop out for an easy interception by the Bengals. So... when does Greg Jennings come back from injury?

6:26 The defense forces another three and out. Coach McCarthy returns to the air. Rodgers throws high on slant to James Jones but connects. A playfake by Rodgers and double move by Jones leaves James wide open, but Rodgers just overshoots. Jones streaking across the field might have scored.

Rodgers may have rushed the throw due to a closing rush. But, listen, Aaron, I rush every morning due to general laziness, and I still get to work on time, capice?

5:26 Sensing a mismatch, namely 6'4" Ruvell Martin on 5'11" Jerrid Gaines, Rodgers throws a deep fade for 30 yards. The pretty pass is followed by a throwaway, a hitch to Driver, and an overthrow of Martin, hard to do for 6'4" receiver. Still, Rodgers put the team in scoring range. And Mason Crosby connects with the FG. 3-0 Packers.

2:16 With the ball back after another punt, the Packers mix run and the short pass. Rodgers performs a nice pumpfake then gives to Brandon Jackson on the delay who spins and sprints for 22 yards. Hmm, perchance this Bengals defense isn't very good? Just a hunch.

1:16 Aaron's short flare pass is taken by Driver 11 yards who lays a hit before going out of bounds. Jones hangs onto a slant, absorbs the hit of two defenders, loses his helmet then rumbles into the endzone for the TD. 10-0 Packers.

Rodgers's night ended on the high note. His play was solid, moving well in the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield. Frankly, his playfaking was a little shaky, but his passes have all the zip in the world.

But perhaps most clear from the night, considering the broken tackles by Driver, Jones, and Jackson, the Green Bay offense will only thrive given a position wide level of playmaking. That's not an indictment of Rodgers, rather a reality, which looks, well, like a potential reality.

Jets Camp Report, Part 3: Pun Intended

Two weeks after venturing to Hempstead - a knuckle of one finger in suburbia's sprawling grasp over Long Island - I find myself back stalking the same field.

Nothing's changed with the set-up at Hofstra University, the site of the New York Jets training camp. The field still gleams the uneasy green of artificial turf. Anxious fans still mill about in beloved jerseys. Modest bleachers still shine uncomfortably in the summer heat.

But, of course, everything's changed since I filed my initial reports. Two weeks ago, the biggest stories were the team's newest big men and a familiar quarterback competition. Brett Favre was merely a specter hanging over that competition, alternately a convenient jeer and a far flung hope.

Now hopes once modest and uncomfortable prepare to seat big, fat expectations. Anxiety turns to excitement, the reason simply that new name on the back of so many new jerseys fans have shelled out for in record numbers.

And another shade of green causes me unease. Though the Jets' hunter green isn't so far from the Packers' dark green, the reality of Brett Favre in a new uniform drives those minute degrees miles apart.

Today is Saturday, Brett Favre's first practice with Gang Green. The momentous quality of the occasion is reflected in the 10,000+ fans in attendance.

Up until this moment, Favre's New York arrival is all talk. The local rags trot out their consistently awful puns: Jett Favre, Can You QB-lieve It?, So Favre So Good, etc. Snatches of heated discussions are heard wandering the midday streets of the city. The mayor unveils an oversized key and outsized words in welcome.

Thankfully, after an entire month of bluster, the time for talk is over.

I am a lifelong Packers fan, but I tell myself I come as a writer interested in the objective importance of the moment. Admist the throngs of green and white, I'm hardly the only cheesehead. In fact, a couple Cowboys jerseys float by as well as a Steelers jersey. I stand next to a Buccaneers fan, perhaps here to see what his team missed.

Make no mistake, this three ring circus is primarily for the Jets and their fans. And, despite all the hoop-la, the main spotlight is trained on one man.

Unsurprisingly, that man looks a little lost in his new surroundings. An August routine of sixteen years broken will do that to a person. During stretches, Favre bends his knee in the opposite direction of the players around him, players already two weeks deep in the clockwork drills. He stops altogether, talks to an assistant coach to clarify his confusion.

The players run their position drills, but the entire crowd cranes to watch Favre, wondering when he'll throw. I wonder if Jets fans are easily impressed. As Favre takes snaps dropping back seven steps, someone says, "Look at him him drop back, what a pro!" Then I remember I'm not among the earnest folk of the northern Midwest and think I missed a tone of playful sarcasm.

There's no deny a slight disconnect between the fans and Favre. On the cab ride to the field, the guy I share the fare with is convinced Favre is motivated to play for the Jets. I'm not so sure. Brett's body language through the press conferences and sideline interviews shows me a tired old man, perhaps wondering what mess he got himself into. All might be well once the first Sunday rolls around, but there's no shortage of growing pains between now and then.

After what seems like an eternity, Favre lets fly his first pass. Applause and cheers ring through the assembled. His second pass provokes even more cheers, but a mild sardonic tone creeps in, the fans laughing at themselves for caring, self conscious at least in part of the absurdity of the moment.

Ever pass is judged. A heater is knocked away to gasps. The first interception nets a handful of jeers and more gasps.

Coach Mangini wastes no time in running several 11-on-11 sessions, handing Favre the reins to the ones. Arrayed with the entire starting line-up for the first time, the strangeness of the situation begins to sink in. Initially, exhaustion at the standoff and relief at its conclusion afforded some peace of mind. But watching him direct and dodge, pump and throw, basically watching Brett lead, the relief gives way to regret.

Journalists from time to time like to admonish their reading public that football is a business. It's a realm of hard truths, best to temper those emotions with a dose of skepticism. Never mind these same writers hope you buy into the grand fantasy, that you care enough to shell out for their typeset pages in books and magazines.

No, there's not a whole going for sports unless we fans forge some connections, however silly, however vestigial.

I contemplate what Favre has given Packers fans. Certainly, innumerable blows to his body. Chunks of his flesh litter Lambeau Field. Perhaps, a statewide rise in heart attacks on autumn Sundays. And foremost, an eerie consistency at a position and sport designed to discourage any such reliability.

Somehow, it's fitting, aside from a pair of overlarge shoes for Aaron Rodgers, Favre leaves Green Bay no part of himself. His body is in tact. No throwing shoulder torn to shreds or knees hobbled to old age.

What made his brief retirement bittersweet was the fact that plenty of football remains in his 6'2" frame. He was afforded a rare chance to walk away from the game, free from its ravages.

The contentious circumstances of his return to the NFL aside, the same truth imparts this comeback tour a bittersweet quality as well. Vikings center Matt Birk wrestled with the romantic notion of being scraped off the field as he contemplated retirement. But peeling the jersey off a prone body is often ugly in operation. Its elegiac, but only powerful in hindsight.

Favre's physical gifts will deteriorate. The spotlight on that inevitability once dimmed now shines again.

These thoughts fill my notebook. But a quick cadence of huts lifts me from these sobering scribbles. Favre drops back to pass, steps up in the pocket, and lets fly a beautiful tight spiral. Jerricho Cotchery slices the down the field on a deep post pattern, his man striding with him step for step.

The throw is too almost long. Almost. Cotchery leaps and extends his left arm, ensnares the pass, and loosens a thunderous cheer in the throats of crowd, myself included. All the hesitations and regrets melt away. I'm simply a fan again, amazed by this game practiced by rare athletes. Whatever the circumstances, the game won't fail us. Of that I feel certain.

I know my Packers are taking the sensible route to constructing a team. Mid-level free agents, resources poured into scouting, drafting in volume for depth, collecting prospects with an obsessive compulsion. It's a philosophy and they've held to it.

The Jets on the other hand backtracked on such a deliberate and moderate approach. Favre merely becomes the central argument for this aggressive philosophy. Big bucks to Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Tony Richardson, et al, serve as a side dishes to the main course.

All in for now. It's an approach Favre howled for in his final Green Bay years. Are big accomplishments always accompanied by a slight stench of desperation? We'll find out.

The Jets and Packers won't clash on the field this year, but their accomplishments will be set against each other. And it's more than just Rodgers versus Favre. It's a clash of ideologies. As I board the train back to the city, I realize at least Favre finally suits up for the side he believes in.

Brett Favre Does Not Care About Fat People

So, it is done. Guns withdrawn, paths cleared, the standoff is over. As of late last night Brett Favre is a New York Jet.

I'll admit to a certain weariness, whether ultimately relief or regret, I won't yet say. Emotional exhaustion isn't the state in which to weigh the import of big, fat changes.

Regarding Favre and Jets fans, I stand by everything stated in my second Jets training camp report from last week. The relationship will be a contentious one, but the love of drama on both sides should make it work, if in a dysfunctional way. Whether the dysfunction plays out as a trailer park soap opera or the latest Off Broadway production remains to be seen.

More to the point, can you imagine Brett Favre with greater access to the limelight? Having traced a similar route through a much different journey, I can state the obvious, eyes bulging with the particular truth of it, that New York is a world or two away from Green Bay.

The Jets faithful are no doubt ecstatic. (As I type this, I receive an email from Zac of Throwing Into Traffic which consists mostly of emphatic "Dudes" and exclamation points.) And no doubt relief and regret are operating in varying degrees around the rest of the NFL in general and the state of Wisconsin in particular.

The protracted fight chaffed against the Midwestern sense of what's right. This despite the Peter Kings of the world's best effort to depict Packers fans as an army of undead clad in xxx-large #4 jerseys. (Okay, maybe the xxx-large part is true.) Still, the face of my franchise and starting quarterback I cheered for more than half my life is now departed to bigger if not greener pastures.

Yesterday, I stumbled across a survey detailing Favre's dipping approval ratings in Wisconsin, a la Bush post Katrina. Funny if sad that a similar sense of commitment lacking precipitated the drop. In December 2007, 73% of the state viewed Favre favorably. As of earlier this week, that number dipped to 47%. Most dramatically, the Green Bay area's support declined from 82% to 31% over that eight month span.

Unfortunately, there's no Kanye to stand up and nervously blurt out the truth of the situation on national TV. Whether Favre ever considered lacing up for Green Bay again or if in fact Minnesota's siren song seduced him from quiet Kiln, we may never know for sure.

And how much the whole truth matters is debatable. The Packers are just another young, talented team minus a primadonna to provide them a cheap and easy identity. The Packers as whole now must shoulder that monumental task with thankfully a little less glare from the fewer stage lights.

The Jets are now all in for the present. The Kris Jenkins, Alan Faneca, Tony Richardson, et al, spending spree is complete with its centerpiece last. Last week I joked that maybe the Jets hunted hopes a little too big. That's not the case as of this morning.

Two unintended consequences of the trade. First, the AFC East division is just as compelling as the AFC South and NFC East. A couple elite quarterbacks in New England and New York, an emergent defense in Buffalo, and a massive mess in Miami. A previously pedestrian week two match-up between the Patriots and Jets is now an epic quarterback battle between Brady and Favre.

Second, Chad Pennington released is free to sign with any NFL team. Given his options, he likely signs with Minnesota and provides them mere competence at quarterback. Chad in purple offers the Vikings a small glimmer of what they hoped for in Favre under center, yet still mightily improves their chances.

So Brett in green and gold becomes Favre in green and white. I passed a Blockbuster Video in Manhattan yesterday advertising Madden 09's release. The cover blown up and plastered large depicting Favre as Packer, as gracefully retired icon, is now hilarious for myriad reasons. Not least of which is a testament to the awkward, transformative, for-better-or-worse quality Favre imparts to everything he touches.

"I Don't Agree With Your Question"

Perhaps I'm giving up one of the tricks of the trade, but I spend time wading through press conference transcripts every week. Mind you, I don't probe every answer to every question answered by every player and coach. But if a certain issue is ripe for deeper analysis I prefer to read statements to the media in full against the picking and choosing of the standard AP stringer article.

Obviously, with such a contentious issue like the ongoing Favre standoff - where's Janet Reno when you need her? - there's no shortage of material ready to be reft from its context.

Chris Jenkins wrote the AP article for the morning presses. The article is clear in closing the door between a Packers-Favre reunion, the 'what' in this case, but still unclear is the 'how', as in how did this mess come to pass?

In order to flesh out this spare accounting of events here are some choice quotes from Mike McCarthy's press conference yesterday.

On Favre's mind-set:

I'm not going to get into the personal part of our conversation, but the essence of the whole thing was I had a list of questions for him to answer those questions. I had questions that I felt were important for him to answer. I had questions for him from the locker room, from his teammates, and he did a great job. I thought it was a very respectful conversation. The feedback was back and forth. But once again, his feeling was, I don't want to speak for him, but based on where he is, the path that it took to get to this part, he wasn't in the right mindset to play here.

On McCarthy's treatment of Favre:

We agreed, we disagreed, we disagreed, we agreed, but really it came back to what was best for the football team. I told him flat and straight, just like I talked about here in the Family Night scrimmage, my whole focus was on he was one of 80. He was on our 80-man roster, and for us to move forward as a football team with his role being defined, frankly where is your mind at? From that, we went back and talked about everything that happened. It's very personal for him, and that's where he is. I don't want to speak for Brett.

On the purpose of McCarthy and Favre's marathon discussions:

That was not my intent when I started the meeting. My whole intent was, 'was he coming into the locker room to play for the Green Bay Packers, and where is your mind at?' That was the first question I asked him, and we could never get back to that point where he was comfortable.

On an open competition:

(What changed in your mind that there could be an open competition after you said all along that Aaron Rodgers was the starter?)
I don't agree with your question. What I said all along was Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback on our football team. He was on our 80-man roster. Until Brett Favre reinstated I was not going to participate in hypotheticals. I said that every single time I stood in front of the media because why would I let hypotheticals in our locker room? I wasn't going to do it, and you guys did a great job. You hit me from every angle, but I wasn't going there. Why should I have those conversations and then have our guys be put through the process of answering those questions?

On Favre talking to the Packers beat:

We have not talked about when he would speak to the media. That's not a conversation ... unfortunately, we talked for six hours, but we did not talk about you guys. I apologize.

On the crux of their disagreement:

Just listening to all the conversation, the number of things that have happened between March all the way to this point, and that was one of the things, I said prove me wrong. Tell me I'm wrong, that you're playing for all the right reasons. I thought he was playing, I thought he was extremely emotional. I thought his decision to play was emotional. He told me that was not the case, and I respect that. I told him over and over again, I would like to be wrong, but I never thought through this whole process that he was going to play this year, and if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong.

On the worst product placement potentially in all of football:

He spoke to Ted for about an hour, and then he came back, we had Sammy's pizza. Give Sammy's a little plug, about 10 o'clock, and we spoke again for about another hour. My understanding is him and Ted had a very healthy, honest conversation also.

On the failure of language to convey a short answer:

(This team went to the NFC Championship last year and he was the runner-up for MVP; for some fans this seems like insanity...what's the short answer?)
I think insanity is strong. I think it's unusual. There's no doubt about it. I've never been a part of anything like this, or seen anything like this. But I think ... I don't have a short answer for you.

(What is the long answer?)
We don't have enough time.

So there you have it. At least as it stands before Favre is shipped to Tampa or New York, what reports are indicating today. Take whatever ingredients you prefer, combine, shake, and pour. This story's a cocktail that won't go down easy any way you mix it.

Crooked Path Walker

I should not sympathize with Javon Walker. Abiding closely to the strictures of hallowed fan logic, Javon should forever catch my enmity.

However, as Javon's strange journey unfolds, the insults I once heaped upon him, the ones spat out during his rocky departure from Green Bay, fade into distant memory.

Perhaps, I find something of myself in Javon, identify with his misfortunes and misfortunate reactions. I'll spare you any autobiography in this piece. More to the point, I suspect Walker's behavior to be more universal than often characterized by the media probing for any human weakness to sell copy.

On Sunday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Walker considered retiring effective immediately, this after signing a lucrative contract with Oakland in the offseason. Javon pledged to return his sizable bonus. To whatever end, Al Davis talked Walker out of retirement. And now Javon won't talk about it all.

Javon's career is an arduous one to say the least. A near bust early in his career after a disappointing rookie season, Walker came of age in the high-powered Packers offense in year three. Remember Walker not Donald Driver pushed the offense to greater heights, his unique combination of size and deep speed pointing to an elite status not yet achieved.

The holdout commenced like clockwork. Unfortunately for Javon, the script veered astray from its normal reading. Brett Favre called out the young receiver for not honoring his contract. Management stood firm, perhaps too firm, intent on appearing steadfast at the expense of their relationship with Walker.

Javon threatened retirement for the first time, displaying an almost adolescent tendency to push the nuclear option. Eventually Javon shuffled back to camp, sundering the ACL in his right knee and any ties to Green Bay in the first game.

A year late, Javon got his wish and was shipped to the Broncos. The promise of rookie quarterback Jay Cutler, the new Elway, the new Favre, combined with Walker's undeniable talent licensed high hopes in Denver. Walker performed well in his first year, but the team stumbled.

Javon was left alone, running wild through opponents' secondaries, all targets drawn on him. Still, his numbers were good and the Broncos looked to improve with their young quarterback.

Did I say I identify with Javon Walker? No, that's not exactly true. A close friend didn't die in my arms, like Darrent Williams did in Javon's arms. In the early hours of New Year's Day 2007, their limo sprayed with bullets, Darrent bled to death, and Javon emerged with his shirt covered in blood and an understandable silence about his usually unreserved self.

Walker rarely talks about Darrent's death publicly. Can you blame him? But because he doesn't, do you assume it doesn't haunt him?

I didn't think so.

His second season in Denver brought Brandon Marshall to the fore. As Walker battled more injuries to his right knee, Brandon became what Walker portended to be. Their skill sets were eerily similar, both tall and fast. Marshall perhaps more physical, Walker perhaps smoother.

Yet the difference wasn't enough to turn Brandon and Javon into complimentary parts of a seamless passing attack. Walker sulked. The team eventually released him.

Enter Al Davis and the Raiders big spending this past offseason. Another new start for Javon, in the franchise most unlike any other NFL franchise. The inmates running the asylum, the recipe for success from the best of the Raiders' glory years. I don't know if Davis is right in his minted trust of Walker, Gibril Wilson, Tommy Kelly, et al, but points for boldness might transform into real points.

This story wraps up nicely with that new beginning, but like all real tales, that is not the end. Javon was beaten and robbed a month and half ago in Vegas. His strange version of events didn't jive with the more plausible scenarios. Another media silence ensued.

And then just last week, Walker unhappy with his performance in a Raiders jersey thus far offered a resignation of sorts to Al Davis. Not the first retirement Javon has contemplated, but a different one. This retirement wasn't offered to serve his own ends. Moreover, this was a point of pride, not the threats of youthful braggadocio.

Does this latest strange act in Javon's tale indicate an unique if relative maturity? I don't know. Walker's path is turning into that of a wanderer's. He just might not fit into the bizarre world of pro football and thus might be more like you and me if you throw out the forty times and bench presses.

You won't find me rooting for Javon in Silver and Black or Pewter and Red or wherever he finds a home. But I do hope he finds that home one way or another.

Sunday Night Lights

Football is back! Scratch that. Football is sorta back.

As evidenced by the depleted starting line-ups in last night's Hall of Fame game, the sport has yet to return in full force.

Pitchers and catchers and spring ball may provide the baseball fan with enough on a chilly spring day, but football feeds on its own intensity. Bob Sanders stalking the sidelines detracts mightly from a Jason Campbell touchdown to Antwaan Randle El on a deep crossing pattern.

So if it wasn't exactly football, what was last night in Canton? Why the relief? And what did it mean to us, the fanatics?

Here's what's returned, the right to be football obsessed. The shame of waiting half the year for the collision of pads is lifted. It is officially a-okay to proclaim the season loudly and with enthusiasm.

Ever year, around the NFL Draft, sportswriters trot out well worn words, tributes to football's year round popularity. And they're right... to a point. The League stages enough drama spread throughout the offseason to snag a corner of the news cycle.

But explain to the non-fan why you spend a glorious late April Saturday indoors watching names being read off index cards and you're bound to elicit a disapproving even pitying facial expression or two.

No, not until the big clock is lit up and a ball flies end over end through the glare of Sunday night lights will the reasonable non-fan finally throw up their hands and concede the start of all things football.

Best to not tell them, though, that the Hall of Fame game is hardly sport. The entire production is more county fair than Roman Colosseum. The Canton festival guide's list of events reads like any yearly to-do in a sleepy community. The crowning of the pageant queen, a ribs cookoff at the fair grounds, grand parade, a concert complete with fireworks.

And the game itself is reflects the earnest if inexpert pageantry. Quinn Gray backing up Jim Sorgi leaps for a shotgun snap over his head and out of his reach. A safety results.

Jared Lorenzen, the Hefty Lefty, the 280+ lbs quarterback, scrambles for a first down. Let me repeat. The Pillsbury Throwboy. Scrambles. For a first down.

Chris Horton, rookie backup safety, nets two impressive sacks which in turn should net him a roster spot, not a hero's parade.

Colt Brennan debuts his professional career as a gamer - throwing two touchdowns, making plays with his feet - in direct contrast to his reputation as a stat packer at Hawaii. He's the hero of the second half.

No, these aren't the players and narratives slated to climb the September stage. Instead, they juggle and misdirect just long enough for the backstage to commit the final lines to memory, stitch the last thread of the costume, and paint a forgotten piece of scenery.

So, we'll be ready when you come back, football. In the meantime, we won't let on that you're still not here.

Jets Camp in Focus

Fuhbaw wraps up this all Jets week with a photo essay of my day at Jets training camp last weekend. Have a great weekend everyone. I'll be back next week with thoughts on the Hall of Fame game and the upcoming season as we prepare to hurtle through August, the preseason, and everything after.