Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback (1970-1983) Terry Bradshaw on current Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The Monkey and I are on record as supporters of NFL living legend Brett Favre’s decision to return to football in 2009, specifically to the arch-rival (Minnesota Vikings) of his former club (the Green Bay Packers).

We also contend that one’s view of Brett Favre has a lot to do with one’s view of one’s self:

• Do we believe that individuals should have a right to make decisions for themselves?
• Do we believe that individuals should have a right to pursue their dreams, aspirations, and goals?
• Do we believe that it is on the individual to decide what is best for one’s self?
• Do wish to blame a person or deride a person for being torn about his or her personal decisions, which are solely their own to make?

I mean, the man is a Libra.  Should we be surprised when we behave like “ourselves,” when we live up to our inherited and fully incorporated character traits?

Love him or hate him (and there seems to be a lot less love out there) there are several undeniable facts that should be pointed out.

1) The 2009 NFL Football season was arguably the greatest single season of his Hall of Fame career from a statistical standpoint. In 2009, Favre posted the highest quarterback rating of his career (107.2), the lowest interception total of his career (7), and the second highest completion total (563), and third highest yardage total (4,202).

2) Following the devastating loss to the evidently voodoo-enhanced New Orleans Saints, Brett Favre said that if he is to finish his career, that he would be going out “on top.”  While that statement was met with much derision and criticism from fans and the media, from a personal statistical standpoint, his statement rings true, for the following reasons:

• Most of us are familiar with his “Ironman” record, the most consecutive starts for an NFL football player (309 – including playoffs [as Favre himself said, "Why wouldn't you include the playoffs?"]).  For quarterbacks, #2 on the list is Peyton Manning with 209 consecutive starts, meaning he would have to start every single game consecutively for at least the next 6 regular seasons to surpass Favre on the list, provided Favre doesn’t return in 2010.)
• Favre also hold several other significant passing records.  He is #1 all time in Attempts (8,758), Completions (5,377), Touchdowns (442), and Yards (61,655).  All things being equal, his claim to the number one spot in all of these statistical categories is evidence enough to qualify him as being “on top.”

3) Not only did Favre just complete arguably the greatest statistical season of his Hall of Fame career, but he was rated as the #2 passer in the entire league in 2009, indicating that there is no doubt there is more in the tank for this quarterback.

The idea that Favre could walk into a new team and instantly lead them to a Superbowl is far-fetched.  But there is no doubt that Favre exceeded nearly every single person with at least a passing interest in the NFL’s expectations.  He just played 18 of the most brilliant games of his entire career.  One’s athletic ability, even at age 40 doesn’t simply fall off the cliff.

With the 2009 season Favre demonstrated not only his great toughness, but his great natural athleticism.  The notion that a man of his age, with so many years of beating and abuse under his belt, could negotiate an NFL football season with so much poise, and so few mistakes is evidence enough that he has one more year in him.

Love him or hate, Brett Favre is good for the NFL.  He is a ratings juggernaut.  The ratings numbers from the Championship games were ludicrous.  One-third of all televisions in the United States were tuned into the NFC Championship game between the Vikings and Saints.

He likes his team.  The team has rallied around him.  There is no clear heir-apparent in the quarterback department in Minnesota.  There is a possibility of no football in 2011 due to strained labor negotiations.  It is now or never for Brett Favre.

After starting the first half of the 2008 NFL season 6-2, the Washington Redskins are now facing three “must-win” games if they want to manifest an outside shot at making the playoffs as the number #2 Wild Card team in the National Football Conference. This “bladerunning” status is nothing new for them, as they closed out last season on a five-game winning streak on the shoulders of stand-in QB Todd Collins to nab the second Wild Card slot in an unlikely fashion. Their playoff run following the 2005 season was capped off with a virtually identical five-game winning streak as well. So if history is any indicator, they are up to the task that they currently face. But their historical knack for finishing strong when all bets are off doesn’t take away from the frustration that the fan base and the team itself must experience as they just can’t seem to establish any sort of dominance in the league, especially in their offensive game of late.

But let’s call a spade a spade, the Washington Redskins are not among the NFL’s elite, despite the spending habits and ambitions of their owner, Daniel Snyder. The Skins haven’t been a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination or at the very least garnered more than modest respect as a defensive stalwart since their last Superbowl seasons during the previous century.

And let’s look back as recently to the beginning of the current 2008 season. As inaccurate as pre-season “Power Rankings” or predictions often turn out to be, the Redskins were ranked #16, right in the middle of the pack of the NFL, before the season began, according to ESPN.com’s Power Rankings. So, to say the Redskins are failing to live up to expectations (outside of the players, coaches, and ownership’s expectations) might be a bit of an overstatement, no? Looking at the same list of preseason predictions, it is arguable that teams like the Chargers, Jags, Packers, Seahawks, and Browns, are vastly more disappointing than a team under a new offensive system and head coach like the Redskins that no one really expected to compete very well in the first place.

And yet, Redskins loyalists are still up in arms about the current state of the franchise and their slim playoff hopes and are pointing fingers in every direction and want some answers now about how to fix the problem.

In the context of the NFL, “fixing” problems usually involves firing or benching somebody, so let’s take a look at some likely candidates of fan ire.

1. Jim Zorn, Rookie Head Coach. Here’s a guy who came to D.C. with a resume touting an excellent career as a franchise quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks back in the day, and a fine record as a quarterbacks coach of the same team, widely regarding as the architect behind Matt Hasselbeck’s recent rise to prominence as one of the NFL’s elite passers. But his resume stops there. No offensive coordinator experience and obviously no experience in one of the most difficult and stressful jobs in all of professional sports, that of a head coach. Throw in the fact that he’s also calling plays, a function the majority of head coaches in the NFL relegate to their coordinators, it would be safe to assume that Mr. Zorn’s plate is full both during games and during practice weeks.

How good can we reasonably expect a coach with absolutely zero experience in the current capacity to be, while competing in one of the leagues toughest’s conferences, as a follow-up act to a legend head coach who already can lay claim to a bronze bust of his likeness in Canton (who himself performed marginally well in his reprise outing on the Skins sidelines)? The fact that Zorn has been competitive in at least 7 games this season and still has an outside shot at making the playoffs in his first year are sound accomplishments in their own right, but obviously not sound enough within the context of the “win now” mindset of the NFL. It is rare that rookie head coaches are instantly successful, and it is unfortunate for Zorn that he had to enter the league with John Harbaugh, Tony Sparano, and Mike Smith, who exceeding expectations in unprecendented ways for their respective ball clubs in Baltimore, Atlanta, and Miami. If you think Zorn is under the gun right now, think of how high expectations will be in the aforementioned cities when next season begins.

Could it be then, that Dan Snyder might actually be thinking of firing Zorn after just one season? Well, there is already talk of Bill Cowher coming to D.C., and while any owner in his right mind would be foolish to dismiss the notion of one of the modern game’s finest head coaches taking over their franchise, not all change is necessarily good. Firing Zorn would reflect poorly on one person: Daniel Snyder. It would reveal that his gamble was just that, a gamble, and not an informed consideration for the sustained well-being of his franchise. And while Snyder certainly wouldn’t get fired himself for tarnishing his already damaged reputation, he would be sending negative waves of energy through his entire organization that would take years to overcome, even with Cowher at the helm. This team doesn’t need more change, it needs more consistency.

The solution: Outside of buidling profitability, an owner’s responsibility is to give an organization the tools to be successful. Part of that involves giving the head coach the space to operate and time to accomplish his master plan. Taking into account the NFL draft and internal player development, it is sheer fantastical thinking to conclude that a coach can be successful in only one season. Clearly there are exceptions to the norm, but the Redskins have to overcome a new legacy of mediocrity. The 21st Century Skins are not the Skins of yesteryear. They are losing connection to their dominance and relevance of the 80’s and early 90’s and now embrace a culture of unmet expectations, irratic coaching changes, and misfires in the player acquistion department. The more removed uber-fan Dan Snyder is from the day-to-day operations of the team, the better. If Cowher is to be considered for any job within the Redskins organization, my suggestion is for him (or another GM candidate) to assume a Bill Parcells-esque position in upper management, providing counsel, leadership, and guidance to a team desperately in need of direction and identiry. Would that involve a potential power struggle between him and Zorn? Perhaps, which is why I’d rather see the Redskins acquire a top-notch GM in the vein of Indy’s Bill Polian, or the Pats’ Scott Pioli. Success is hard to come by without a vision or leadership, and right now the Skins need a master plan, the courage to stick to it, and the time to put the plan into action.

2. The Quarterback: Jason Campbell or Colt Brennan?

Fans of rookie QB Colt Brennan LOVE the guy so it’s no wonder that people want to see if his style of play will work in the NFL and are growing frustrated with the lackluster play of Jason Campbell, who is on the verge of completing his first full NFL season as a starter. Clearly Todd Collins, while magnificent in four starts to conclude last season’s playoff run, is not the future of the franchise, so I don’t think there should be consideration of whether or not he take the reigns from Campbell. If the Redskins lose their game in Cincinnatti, the season will be officially over and it shouldn’t be beyond the scope of imagination to sit Campbell in favor of Brennan, just to see what his stuff looks like against NFL starters in gametime situations. Brennan looked great in this year’s preseason, but let’s not forget he was up against scrubs and no names. The last time Colt Brennan took the field against quality opppostion he checked in for one the worst performances in his storied career in a blowout loss to Georgia in last year’s Sugar Bowl.

That being said, Jason Campbell is getting killed in terms of protection and currently has been sacked 34 times, fifth most in the league. How much of this is due to poor play from his offensive line, and how much due to poor decision-making and lack of mobility? Without access to game tapes, I can’t render a judgment as to how often Campbell holds onto the ball too long and fails to see open receivers before being sacked, but judging by the speed at which opposition rushers enter the pocket on a consistent basis, I would say that the fault lies more with the offensive line than on the shoulders of Jason. Now his mobility is another issue entirely and while under pressure he consistently gets run down by 300 pound defensive linemen, so he adds nothing special on that dimension of the game. One quality that makes QB’s like Romo, Roethlisberger, and Drew Brees special is their ability to buy time and make plays even when protection breaks down. Jason Campbell demonstrates marginal decision-making, virtually no mobility, and questionable timing and accuracy. This three-game stretch will measure his leadership, as he has never been in this position in the NFL. He seems like a nice guy, but unfortunately being nice a leader doesn’t necessarily make, and this Skins are in dire need of focused leadership at this juncture. Of utmost importance in this off-season should be the acquisition of excellent offensive linemen, both through the draft and perhaps free-agency. If Campbell loses another game, I would give Brennan and Collins starts to better gauge the quality of the QB inventory currently on hand, in order to guide other player moves in the off-season.

3. Acquire A Possession Receiver

As much as I believe the Skin’s 2009 Draft focus should be on offensive and then defensive linemen, they still desperately need a large possession receiver who can execute the slants and routes that go along with the West Coast offense. Antwaan Randle El and Santana Moss have been basically non-factors this entire season and it is virtually impossible to achieve success in the NFL without a franchise receiver.

The problems of the Skins are many and varied but can summed up as follows:

1) They need to change the culture of mediocrity into a culture of winning. This doesn’t mean firing somebody, this means putting into place a master plan and claiming a new identity (i.e. new uniforms).
2) They need to focus on the line of scrimmage. It is rare for a team with superior line play to suck and even Joe Montana would look like Ryan Leaf without proper protection.

3) They need to realistically measure the quality at the quarterback position. If Campbell fails against arguably one of the worst teams in the NFL, the Redskins should immediately switch gears into assessment and planning mode for the next campaign.

4) Did I mention the Redskins need a uniform overhaul?

What was the most notable development coming out of Week 11? Was it on Thursday night, when the Brett Favre-led New York Jets took the lead in the AFC East with a monster win over their arch rival New England Patriots? Or how about the much heralded Return of the Savior in Dallas that netted the Cowboys a much-needed victory over their arch rivals, my boys, the Washington Redskins, in the NFC East? Could it be the New York Giants displaying utter dominance over the heretofore vaunted Baltimore Ravens and their top-ranked rush defense? What about he inconsistent Bengals continuing to supply close games against the NFC East, this time battling to a tie against the Philadelphia Eagles? How about the Packers and Colts getting their mojo back with big division wins and the new-look Miami Dolphins on a four-game winning streak and currently tied for second place in the AFC East? Or finally, the NFC North embodying the epitome of mediocrity with three .500 teams tied for first place!?

MiMM NFL Player of the Week: This week the award goes out to Jeff Garcia, the 38 years young quarterback of the surging Tamba Bay Bucs. The Monkey and I are impressed with this guys’ tenacity, guts, improvisation, and play-making ability. Perhaps the most under-rated QB in the league, he has the ability to wield late-season magic that is so integral to teams on the hunt for the playoffs. Two years ago he stepped into the starting slot in Philly when McNabb was down with an injury, rallying his team for the playoffs and proving that he still has a lot of gas in his tank. What is so special about this guy is the dedication and commitment he displays in his level of fitness and vitality. Obviously this guy is doing all he can in the offseason and otherwise to maintain his edge in a young man’s game. The idea that he is two years away from forty years old and playing with this much spring to his step is an indication of the personal pride and self-confidence that he must carry off the field. While not necessarily lighting up the board in terms of stats, he gets the award this week for a big time performance forged out of sheer will power, persistence, and razor-sharp focus to overcome the Monkey Mind telling him he’s too old to compete against a tough Minnesota defense.

MiMM Football Question of the Week: Who’s Better, the Giants or the Titans? With the Giants standing tall at 9-1 and the Titans checking in as the league’s only undefeated team, the big debate on all of the sports talk shows and radio is determining which team is superior. In our rankings system, the Monkey and I only compare teams within the same conference, as that’s all that matters when it comes time to figure out who will be facing off against one another in the Superbowl. So in that case, they can both be #1 in their respective conference and the debate pretty much ends there.

But if you want to dig deeper and really try to determine which team is superior outside of simply waiting for them to meet on the fields of friendly strife come early February, then you have to consider each of their wins (and the Giants’ single loss) in the context of one another’s schedule. Right now it seems like the prevailing opinion is that the Giants are the better team, despite their one loss, which is kind of funny when you think about it, that right now in the NFL for many pundits perfect isn’t good enough, as long as perfection is measured by the win-loss result at the end of each game. Many critics of the Titans aren’t excited about their passing game, and many have written QB Kerry Collins off as a “game-manager” as opposed to a play-maker. Clearly the Giants’ running game is sexier than the Titans’, and everybody seems to be enamored with the Bull in a China shop qualities of Brandon Jacobs, a special back to be sure. Of course one can’t ignore the fact that the Giants exist in the country’s largest media market, so certainly they get much more attention than the Titans. More peope have watched the Giants in action, so it’s natural for pundits and fans alike to rank superior the team they’ve seen more often.

But intangibles aside, let’s look for a moment at the results of each of these team’s schedules:

Giants Titans
W: 16-7 Washingtion (6-4) W: 17-10 Jacksonville (4-6)
W: 41-13 St. Louis (2-8) W: 24-7 Cincinnati (1-8)
W: 26-23 OT Cincinnati (1-8) W: 31-12 Houston (3-7)
W: 44-6 Seattle (2-8) W: 30-17 Minnesota (5-5)
L: 14-35 Cleveland (4-6) W: 13-10 Baltimore (6-4)
W: 29-17 San Fran (3-7) W: 34-10 KC (1-9)
W: 21-14 Pittsburgh (7-3) W: 31-21 Colts (6-4)
W: 35-14 Dallas (6-4) W: 19-16 Green Bay (5-5)
W: 36-31 Philly (5-4-1) W: 21-14 Chicago (5-5)
W: 30-10 Baltimore (6-4) W: 24-14 Jacksonville (4-6)

9-1: 292-170 (41-48-1) 10-0: 244-131 (40-49)

On the bottom line above you will see their record, points for vs. points against, and the final number in paranthesis indicates the combined records of their opponents, in order to measure “strength of schedule.” I threw out the losses from their opponents that the Giants or Titans inflicted themselves, so as to not penalize them for beating the teams.

As you can see, the Titans obviously have the edge in terms of their record alone and the quality of their opponents is virtually equal. The Titans have allowed fewer points but the Giants have scored more points. In terms of mutual opponents, the Giants struggled against the Bengals, whom the Titans beat pretty soundly. However, the Giants defeated the Ravens by a much wider margin than the Titans did.

In order to measure these factors, let’s assign points for each factor:

Win-loss record: 2 points

Points scored: 1 point

Points allowed: 1 point

Strength of schedule: 1 point

Mutual opponents: 1 point

I am giving win-loss record additional value because obviously at the end of the day, if these two teams were to ever meet to decide superiority, the only thing that really matters is getting that W.

Under the MiMM Compu-Human Superiority Determining System:

The Titans earn: 5 points

The Giants earn: 3 points

So according to the Monkey and Me, the Titans are the superior team.

However, if these two teams were to meet in the Superbowl, we’re predicting a final score (after four quarters) of Giants 21, Titans 21. Huh?

Well, we didn’t just pull those numbers out of a hat, now. We took the total points scored by each team and added that to the total points allowed by the opposing team. We then divided by 2 to get the mean of the total points scored by one team’s offense as compared to the other team’s defense. We then divided by 10 (the total number of games) to get a predicted point total for a face-to-face matchup. The final result for the Giants was 21.15, while the final result for the Titans was 20.7 points. Since there are obviously no fractions of points in actual football, we were forced to round up or down accordingly, netting a tie. This would lead to OT in a potential Superbowl. (Now wouldn’t that be cool?) Since the Giants technically outscored the Titans using our system by .45 points, we would have to give them the win in OT by the smallest possible margin, which in our estimation would be a field goal (as it would be virtually impossible for the Giants to score a safety in OT). Thus, the final score in a potential Giants-Titans Superbowl would be Giants, 24-21 (OT)…

But the Titans are still a better team. Right now.

Will have fun with this again at the end of the season if these teams are both able to continue their winning ways.

Now, onto the recaps…

G-Men Gain Ground Against Ravens: In a game that pitched an unstoppable force against an immovable wall, the Giants’ Ground Game was too much for the top-ranked Baltimore rush defense. The Giants are not only proving themselves to be the top team in the NFC and possibly a more complete team than the undefeated Tennesse Titans, but they are also stacking up wins in such a compelling, dominating fashion, that it’s difficult to imagine anybody stopping them come January. This team is perfectly poised for the playoffs due to three attributes:

1) Their phenomenal defense. The old adage, “defense wins championships” doesn’t just sound definitive, it is. But defense alone won’t do it.

2) A ground game is essential for championship football, due to two factors: the often poor weather conditions that teams must play in during the playoffs, and the fact that defending the run can be damaging and fatiguing and more difficult to accomplish towards the end of a physically grueling season.

3) Big play ability from the QB and receiving corps. What makes the Giants so special is the fact that they are clearly multi-dimensional. Eli and Plaxico or TE Boss can come up with big passing plays, especially once they’ve established the ground game utilizing their many-headed hydra beast of Bradshaw, Ward, and Jacobs.

Giants-Ravens highlights below:

Jet Favre on Path to Fulfill Master Plan Against New England

The NFL Network came up with a doozy Thursday night, pitching the surging Jets against the back-to-earth Patriots in a game that would decide first place in the AFC East. Of course Brett Favre was brought to New York specifically to engineer a playoff run immediately and that’s exactly what he’s doing by securing first place in a huge win over a rival that has caused problems for the Jets for many years. Now at 7-3, the Jets are tied for the second-best record in the AFC, are a legitimate playoff contender, and will get to prove just how dominant their new look combo of run-pass efficiency in a HUGE game against the Titans next week in Nashville. Personally, I’d like to see them take the field in their New York Titans persona, in the first-ever Titans-Titans NFL matchup.

New England fans should take heart in Matt Cassel’s phenomenal performance during the loss to the Jets. He threw for 400 yards and was a coin-toss away from pulling off a big comeback while heading into overtime. The Monkey and I argued for hours on whether or not to award Tom Brady’s replacement with the sought-after MiMM NFL Player of the Week Award, but ultimately decided against it, reserving that honor for players who not only display an ability to quiet the Monkey, but also help their teams achieve victory in the process. The fight for dominance is certainly not over now that the Jets are on top, however. Week 12 features ENORMOUS games for three teams in that Division, with the aforementioned Jets taking on the Titans and the Patriots and Dolphins squaring off an big rematch that may also decide the current leader of the Division. It’s mind-boggling to think that if the Jets succumb to the undefeated Titans and the Patriots make it two losses in a row, the new-look Wildcat Miami Dolphins would be sitting pretty sharing a space with the Jets on top of this interesting Division at 7-4 (I guess technically the Jets would be ahead, due to a head-to-head tie-breaker, but you get my point).

Jets-Patriots highlights below (set to a catchy beat)…

Marion Barber Steps All Over Skins

The last time these two teams met, Marion Barber only carried the ball 8 times and the ‘Skins got the win. This time, the Cowboys prevailed, but not necessarily due to the play of returning starter Tony Romo at the quarterback position. With the Skins leading narrowly at halftime, the Cowboys took control of the game in the second half and did so on the back of Mr. Nasty himself, Marion Barber III. The Redskins defense played admirably for most of the game, as they did against Pittsburgh, in this, the third-straight nationally-television prime time dismantling of the Skins. The D.C. D and special teams did all they could to keep their team in the game outside of scoring points directly. The offense, despite decent field position and many opportunities could not move the ball effectively outside of the initial drive of the game, which yielded a touchdown.

I am not sure the biggest problem the Redskins face is at the QB position. Campbell looked flustered and hurried on Sunday Night because he was under relentless and incessant pressure, thanks to his sieve-like offensive line. His O-line needs to learn how to block in a hurry or what was looking like a dream debut season for Rookie Head Coach Jim Zorn will result in a terrible nightmare for the players and fans who thought this might be the year that the ball club finally turned its fortunes around after a promising 6-2 start. Next week they match up against Zorn and Shaun Alexander’s old team in Seattle, a locale that has provided plenty of heartbreak for the Skins in two anemic playoff appearances over the last three years. While Zorn and Alexander I am sure would like nothing more than to stick it to their old team, Seattle, with their season in complete disarray, might relish the idea of spoiling the Skins playoff hopes. This is a huge game for the Redskins to get their groove back and may very well decide the fate of the remainder of their campaign. The ‘Boys, on the otherhand, get to host the 49ers and Seahawks over the next two weeks and could very easily emerge at 8-4 for their game against Pittsburgh. Marion Barber is playing championship football. Let’s see if the rest of the ‘Boys will too.

Monkey Watch: Week 12

The most compelling matchups in Week 12 for us begin with the Jets-Titans game. With the Jets attempting to prove that they not only deserve to be atop the AFC East, but also in the conversation as one of the top teams in the entire AFC, they will have no better stage to make their case than against the 10-0 Tennesse Titans.

I am also excited about the rematch between the Dolphins and the Patriots. This AFC rivalry is meaningful again and there is no doubt the Pats would like nothing more than to put their early season embarrassing outing to rest for good. Both teams have improved since the first affair and football fans eagerly await what new tricks either team will have in store for one another.

Finally, I am intrigued by the Giants-Cards scrum in the desert. Certainly Kurt Warner would love to beat the team that kicked him to the curb a few years back and the Giants defense, returning to the scene of their epic trouncing of the Patriots in last year’s Superbowl, are eager to prove that they are all that against the Greatest Show on Turf Version 2.0.

Until then…

As soon as I saw the first shot of Clinton Portis jogging down the passageway leading from the locker room to the field during the opening moments of ESPN’s broadcast of the 2008 Election Eve Monday Night Football showdown between the 5-2 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 6-2 Washington Redskins, I knew something wasn’t quite right. How did I know this?

Clinton’s burgundy jersey.

Knowing that the Skins not only almost always wear white jerseys at home, but also during their recent playoff runs have usually complimented those white jerseys with matching white pants, a combo I’m not too in love with but tolerate due to the winning that usually goes along with the ensemble, the fact that Mr. Portis was seemingly out of uniform gave me a moment of pause. Then the camera pulled out to a wider shot and revealed something I’ve never witnessed once during a lifetime of being a Redskins fan: the monochrome look: burgundy-on-burgundy.

As much as I liked the all-burgundy look, I was concerned about why freshman Head Coach Jim Zorn and the boys would want to tempt fate on a national stage for one of their biggest games of the season. A couple seasons back, the Skins found their winning ways with the all-white getup, so I had to question if now was the time to try anything different. Such is the nature of superstitions in sports. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and that goes for uniforms, daily habits, shaving, and whatever else the Monkey Mind wishes to associate with success.

In the case of my beloved ‘Skins, there is no doubt in my mind that the players associate white-on-white with winning. Burgundy-on-burgundy, while cool, is an unknown, and perhaps the preseason would have been a better time to fiddle with things like uniforms, especially in the case of the Redskins, who have been none too successful wearing any uniforms other than their plain old regular boring outfits that they’ve been sporting since the early ’80’s. The last time they wore throwback unis, they suffered a horrible defeat at the hands of the soon to be Superbowl Champion New York Giants at Fedex. The only other time in recent memory that I recall the ‘Skins wearing alternate or throwback digs was during the Steve Spurrier era, and we all know how that went. Now that Skins lose again in alternate threads who knows how long it will be before management decides to change their outdated look?

Will the “Redskins Rule” Continue to Hold in ‘08?

My diatribe on unis out of the way, there is another huge sports superstition still surrounding this game that has nothing to do with textiles, and that is the fabled “Redskins Rule.”

Discovered by Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau in 2000 (and slightly amended in 2004) the Redskins Rule has accurrately predicted the outcome of 17 straight Presidential elections, dating back to 1940 (before which the Redskins were not called the Redskins, nor based in DC) which is either an eerie unexplainable connection between sports and politics or an oddly random occurrence that is at least mildly interesting.

The Redskins Rule states:

If the Redskins win their final home game preceding the US Presidential Election, then the Party of the winner of the previous election’s popular vote will win the current year’s Presidential election.”

To put that into context of the Monday night contest, since the GOP won the popular vote in 2004, if the Redskins were to beat the Steelers, the Republicans would win the election in 2008. What a way to conflict a fan if the fan has an interest in politics.

Prior to 2004, the Redskins Rule read simply that if the Redskins win, the incumbent Party wins the election and if they lose, the challenging Party wins. Case in point, while I was in Cincinnatti for a Bush campaign event I was covering for my documentary Swing State Ohio in 2004, I found myself in a sports bar rooting against my Redskins who faced the Green Bay Packers at home just days before the election, in order to ensure a Kerry victory. My team lost but that dissatisfaction was enlivened by the prospect of Kerry winning the election a few days later. When Kerry lost, many thought that for once in over 60 years the rule had proven false. But Hirdt had another look at the data and realized that the connection between the fate of the Skins and the election was not quite as direct, hence his refinement of the rule to take into account the popular vote from the previous election, as stated above.

So I will accept this loss at the hands of a quality opponent like the Steelers because Redskins Rule will undoubtedly prove true yet again in 2008.

And maybe, just maybe, whoever made the decision to scrap the sure-win white-on-white for monochrome burgundy is an Obama supporter and was doing all he could to ensure a Democratic win, outside of attempting to convince players of possibly many political stripes to throw the game for the good of the country.

One of the Top 10 posts on this blog in terms of visits is an article called, “Kickers Are Not Football Players,” in which my Monkey Mind basically questions whether or not kickers and punters are actually “real” football players and proposes a rule change that would make many of their services obsolete. Since writing that post, I officially recanted my tirade against kickers and punters, prompted to do so by Tampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant’s gutsy performance in Week 4 following the death of his son. Now, in Week 8, another performance by a kicking player, in this case a punter by the name of Sam Paulescu, picked up from Denver by the Cowboys, has cemented the realization that my assessment of the “football worth” of kickers and punters might have been a tad misguided. Paulescu delivered perhaps the biggest tackle of the game in Dallas, electrifying the crowd and energizing his teammates in an otherwise lackluster performance by the underachieving Cowboys. For his incredible hit and position-transcending play, Cowboys Punter Sam Paulescu is Week 8’s MIMM NFL Player of the Week.

A Thought About Week 7: Due to an exhausting move to a new home, I was unable to write my recap last week. That being said, the Monkey felt awful that we weren’t able to hand out our much-sought after and highly respected MIMM NFL Player of the Week Award, so we’ll take this opportunity to honor Rams RB Steven Jackson for the studly and overpowering clinic he ran in Big D last week in the mongo upset against the ‘Boys.

Titanic Win in Tennessee

ESPN Analyist Ron Jaworski continues to make ridiculous comments during Monday Night Football with boyish know-it-all glee. In a previous post I talked about his insane statement that Aaron Rodgers was part of an emerging “dynasty” in Green Bay. This week it was his chiding of fellow analyst and play-by-play guy Mike Tirico when Tennesse coach Jeff Fisher decided to go for two and attempt to tie the game at 14 points apiece in the second half. Leading up to the play he said it was “too early” to go for two. The Monkey and I are not sure what time on the clock has to do with attempting to bring the score even. Why would any coach intentionally decide to remain behind in points when the opportunity to even up the score exists. Being down by two is no different than being down by one, hence a “mandatory” two-point attempt instead of a PAT. Even after successfully converting the 2PT, Jaworski continued to criticize the call, saying: “I don’t agree with it, but it worked.” How can an football expert like Jaworski not agree with the notion of scoring more points, especially considering Tennessee’s rushing prowess?

As I write, I’m watching Peyton Manning’s postgame interview. He is handling the defeat well, despite his stat line showing two INT’s for the night. Important to note that both of his picks came off deflections or tipped passes, and not entirely horrible decisions on his part.

No doubt about it, this was a huge win for the Titans. I like Jeff Fisher and have always had a fondness for this franchise, mostly due to the heroics of Steve McNair. But I also must note that the season is hardly over for these guys. They have a tough schedule ahead of them, with Green Bay coming to town next week. In addition, it sure seemed like the MNF guys, after questioning the Titans’ legitimacy all game in terms of their relatively weak schedule so far, were at the conclusion of the contest practically annointing this team AFC Champs as opposed to helping the viewers put this latest win into perspective, in that played a good game against a mediocre 2008 Colt team. Great job, but they still have a lot to prove.

Steelers Winless Vs. NFC East…So Far

To me, the biggest news surrounding the result of this game is not little Eli rising to the challenge in big game after big game, or Plaxico Burress’ latest disciplinary infractions, or even Big Ben’s holding on to the ball for too long. Instead, in our view, the biggest thing to note about this game is that the “throwback magic” was oddly enough not in effect for Pittsburgh in this, the biggest game of the season so far for the Steelers. Next week against Washington on Monday Night will be their second-biggest game of the season. A loss in DC might indicate their success at 5-2 is mostly due to a relatively weak schedule in the first half of the season. A loss against the Skins will also make them 0-3 against the league’s best Division.

Steelers – Giants highlights below…

Skins-Cats: Is a W a W?

I mention this game partly because I am an “unrepentant” Redskins fan, but partly in response to some of my comments made above re: the Titans’ win against the Colts. While the Titans have certainly been winning in much more convincing fashion and obviously haven’t yet choked or registerd an “L,” the point remains the same: is a W always a W? In the case of the Skins, they have been squeaking by every opponent. Their latest win, against one of the NFL’s worst teams, came after trailing for much of the game and required a special teams explosion by Santana Moss to seal the deal. This was a blowout by Redskins standards and that’s pretty scary. Oddly enough, they compiled huge offensive stats over the Cats but trailed the Lions into the third quarter and only put up 18 offensive points. Look at these numbers (Skins on the left, Lions right):

Chalk the lack of scoring up to the one fumble and 67 yards worth of penalties, but the ‘Skins had better find a way to get into the endzone against the Steelers next Monday Night in DC.

Redskins – Lions highlights below…

Next week: Our Mid-Season Rankings!  Who is For Real, For Real!