NFC North Gap Narrowed After Bears and Lions Free Agency Moves

While NFC North rivals the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers were forced to sit idle during the free agency bidding wars, the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions were the most aggressive teams on day one.

Lovie Smith and Da’ Bears snatched the biggest prize of the day when they signed defensive end Julius Peppers to a six-year contract worth a maximum $91.5 million. The five-time Pro Bowl player will receive a record $42 million guaranteed.

In addition to Peppers, Da’ Bears also snatched running back Chester Taylor from the Vikings signing the rusher to a four-year deal worth $12.5 million with $7 million guaranteed.

Knowing the importance of granting quarterback Jay Cutler more time to throw, they also added blocking tight end Brandon Manumaleuna from the San Diego Chargers.

Not to be outdone, the Detroit Lions made a few quick moves of their own, signing three sure starters when they inked deals with two defensive linemen and a No. 2 wide receiver.

Wanting to shore up a defense that was last in the NFL in points allowed and total yards, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz personally visited Tennessee Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch at 12:01 AM on day one of free agency and convinced the Pro Bowler to sign with the team.

While Vanden Bosch and his agent were working out the details of a four-year, $26 million deal, the Lions also inked a $25 million contract with Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Nate Burleson.

Burleson played in 13 games for the Seahawks last year, catching 63 for 812 yards and three touchdowns and is expected to free up Calvin Johnson from the double and triple coverage he sees on a weekly basis.

Joining Vanden Bosch on the Lions’ defensive line will be Cleveland Browns Corey Williams, another proven starter who was obtained by a trade.

With the Lions adding these proven veteran linemen to their defense and with the team expected to use their No. 2 overall selection in the upcoming 2010 NFL Draft to select defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy, you can throw last year’s dismal defensive stats out the window.

These aggressive moves by the Bears and Lions are certain to make the NFC North more competitive.

Minnesota lost a huge piece of their offense when Taylor left and while Brett Favre sits on the fence in Minnesota still contemplating a return, The Green Bay Packers lost Pro Bowl defensive lineman Aaron Kampman to free agency as well.

© 2010 - Sports Climax^TM

Saints’ Defense Batters Favre, Earns Trip to Miami

NEW ORLEANS - Who Dat in the Super Bowl? It’s Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints but it took overtime to get there.

After being frustrated by a swarming Vikings defense most of the game, Drew Brees lead his offense down the field on his team’s first possession in overtime to set up a 40-yard game-winning kick by New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley and claim the NFC Championship.

The 31-28 victory didn’t come easy for the Saints. Brees and the Saints offense lead the NFL with over 500 yards per game in the regular season but were swarmed by the Vikings defense from the start, struggling to finish with just 257 yards for the game, including overtime.

Some will say the game was won by a Saints’ blitz-heavy defense who pressured Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre from the start. Favre wasn’t officially sacked in the game but found himself flat on the turf on several occasions, taking several shots throughout the game including a few vicious hits early in the game.

Favre is a warrior and there’s a reason the 40-year-old slinger has a current record starting streak of over 300 games. Battered, he got back on his feet and lead the Vikings to touchdown drives on their first two possessions for a 14-7 lead.

Minnesota finished with 475 total yards but their demise was the turnovers. In all the Vikings fumbled the ball 6 times, losing 3 of them and Favre was intercepted twice including on a drive-ending play with 12 seconds left in regulation that took away an opportunity for Ryan Longwell to ice the win in regulation.

In what was expected to be a battle of the slingers, Favre finished the game 28-of-46 for 310 yards, 1 TD and 2INT while Brees was 17-of-31 for 197 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT. Favre who took a relentless physical beating compliments of  the aggressive Saints defense had to be helped off the field later in the game but returned with a limp after the Vikings’ medical staff evaluated the injury and wrapped his ankle.

Adrian Peterson who has taken the back seat to Favre’s passing game much of the season had a solid game with 25 carries for 122 yards and 3TD’s. He was responsible for 2 of the Vikings fumbles but both of those were recovered by purple jerseys.

The Saints will be making their first trip to the Super Bowl where they will face the Indianapolis Colts in Miami on February 7th.

Can the journey continue for Brees and his Saints? We’ll have to wait and see if the country will be saying “Who Dat with the Super Bowl crown!”

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Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax

Vikings late TD against the Cowboys was no insult in today’s pro sports scene

When Brett Favre threw his fourth touchdown on Sunday in the Vikings 34-3 win, the Dallas Cowboys erupted in anger at the lack of respect and classless act.

Really? That’s what you’ve chosen as the line that shouldn’t be crossed?

The unwritten rules of etiquette, sports-style, have been dwindling for years. As players and teams ignore conventional wisdom about what is out of line there are few acts that most agree are beyond the pale.

In the NFL, taunting and excessive touchdown celebrations are off limits now but only by league rule. Players get aggravated when their happiness at getting over on an opponent is messed with. And if it takes a few shoves or punches to get it to stop, well that’s just men being men.

Baseball players routinely admire their work as they realize they have hit home runs. The slightest celebration at the expense of a pitcher used to be dealt with swiftly as a batter would routinely be leveled by a pitch at the body or under the chin.

That practice was addressed by MLB but many a player doesn’t like the warning rules meant to deal with it all since their pitcher might be prevented from retaliating against the team’s whose pitcher got in the first lick.

What seems to rankle players both in baseball and football to this day is the act of rubbing their nose in a loss. When a baseball player steals a base with his team up a fair amount of runs its gets the hair follicles to stand up on players’ necks.

When Favre threw that pass on fourth down that had as much chance of failing as a run play in the situation, you’d think someone pulled his pants down and mooned the friends and families box of the opposing team.

What it indicates to me is sore losers are alive and well. Rather than admit they failed and are powerless to stop the onslaught players pout and blame the winners.

If NFL players were truly concerned about class and sportsmanship they’d stop the ridiculous practice of celebrating individual achievements that indicate nothing other than a personal triumph. Like a sack in the first few minutes of a scoreless game or at the end of a game that like the Vikes-Cowboys contest.

You mean to tell me that if the Cowboys had sacked Favre prior to that touchdown pass someone wouldn’t have been hooting and hollering about it with a teammate or two joining in stroking his ego? Same score, same hopeless situation for the Cowboys but it wouldn’t have kept some hot dog from using it to make himself feel good.

You live with the triumphs and you die with them. It’s just it doesn’t feel as good when the good times are being celebrated on the other side of the field.

Cowboys linebacker Keith Brooking was the most vocal when Favre threw the fourth TD pass and he approached the Vikings sideline.

Vikings player Pat Williams summed it up for the media later. “We don’t care what Keith Brooking says,” Williams said. “He was about to get his ass whupped on our sideline over there. It don’t matter. Nobody said anything when [the Cowboys] blew out the Eagles [the past two weeks]“. 

Tired of the same old sports page? Then check out Paula Duffy’s insightful (and often humorous) take on the sports day at her Examiner.com page! The popular co-host for Sports Journey Radio is also a contributor to the Huffington Post and founder of the sports learning site Incidental Contact. In her spare time, Duffy practices law in Los Angeles. But don’t hold that against her.

Childress & the Minnesota Vikings

This week’s Slap-of-the-Week is a slam dunk and it goes to Brad Childress and his Minnesota Vikings for running up the score in a lopsided NFL playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys.  Brett Favre gets an open-handed backhand thrown his way as well just for good measure.

With the Vikings dominating the scoreboard 27-3 with 1:55 to go it was fourth-and-3. Favre and the offense were in perfect position to hand off the ball and continue to run out the clock.

Instead, Favre dropped back to pass and connected with Visanthe Shiancoe on an 11-yard strike, extending the lead to 31 points.

That’s right. The Vikings had just embarrassed the Cowboys on national television but a 24-point win wasn’t enough for Favre and his Vikings. This cheesy move was right out of the playbook of Steve Spurrier when he was at University of Florida and his Gators were notorious for running it up.

Announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman commented on how throwing in that situation was ‘rubbing salt in the wound’ and how unusual it was to throw in that situation. See video on NFL.com here.

Cowboys’ linebacker Keith Brooking took offense to the classless move. “I just thought what happened at the end of the game was disrespectful, and it was classless,” Brooking said, according to the team’s official blog. “All the things that are in that category, I’ll throw out to the Vikings organization and whoever is over there calling the plays. It just wasn’t the right thing to do at that time, period.”

Childress did a really poor job at explaining and defending the move during the postgame news conference.
“Just staying aggressive with it, if you will,” Childress said. SLAP! There Brad, we’re staying aggressive too and throwing another bitch-slap right off the top of that head!

“Lou Holtz used to say, ‘It’s our job to score points. It’s their job to stop us from scoring points.’ That happens. It wasn’t rubbing it in. It’s just taking care of business and being aggressive at the end of the game.” Childress added.

SLAP! Have another backhander. It’s not your job to throw on fourth-and-3 in a game that’s clearly going to end in a blowout.

Many believe Favre was padding his stats at the expense of his opponent. When asked about running up the score Favre said, “I didn’t see that.” Bull! You were running up the score.

We all know not to take Favre’s comment to heart. There’s a huge possibility he will change his mind in the near future, then probably change it again, and again, and again.

Vikings coaching staff, you lacked class with that move and embarrassed your organization. For that you get the Sports Climax Bitch-Slap-of-the-Week.

Copyright © 2010 Sports Climax

Cowboys Dominate Eagles For First Playoff Win Since 1996

ARLINGTON, TX. - The Dallas Cowboys responded to last week’s blowout over the Philadelphia Eagles with another lopsided win, 34-14. The Cowboys dominated from the start with the Eagles offense only taking 18 snaps and gaining 140 yards total offense in the first half. Michael Vick’s longest touchdown pass of his career (76 yards) tied the game 7-7 but after that is was all Dallas.

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo hit 23-of-35 passes for 244 yards and two TDs and 0 INTs. He spread the ball around well throughout the game connecting with rookie John Phillips and Miles Austin for touchdowns and Roy Williams on five passes for 59 yards.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was never able to develop a flow to his offense. He finished the game 19-of-37 for 230 yards, with one touchdown and an interception.

Dallas linebacker Keith Brooking who played his entire career for the Atlanta Falcons before coming to Dallas this year was ecstatic with the win. “We have something to really build off of,” said Brooking “With the talent we have I don’t think there are a lot of teams in this league that can beat us right now.”

Dallas coach Wade Phillips got a gorilla off his back with the win, his first ever in the playoffs. The win may have created job security for Wade as speculation of Dallas owner Jerry Jones replacing him was picking up steam prior to December.   ”This team has hung together all year, got stronger at the end of the year and were playing our best football,” said Phillips. “I think we’re playing as good as anybody right now.”

Romo can finally forget about the bad hold he had that caused a botched field goal attempt and contributed to a Dallas playoff loss a few years ago.

“It’s just … rewarding,” Romo said. “It makes me proud of the guys. Fighting, grinding, staying committed to the approach. I’m happy for the guys, happy for Wade, happy for Jerry.”

The game was played in the $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium drew 92,951 fans making it the largest crowd to ever see an NFL playoff game other than the Super Bowl.

The Cowboys pack up and head into Minnesota for their game next Sunday against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.

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Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax

Brett Favre is Primed and Ready For Playoffs

MINNESOTA - After a lackluster December that included a conflict with coach Brad Childress that was caught on national television, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre appears primed and ready for the playoffs.

After leading his Vikings to a 1-3 record in December, with the lone win coming against The Cincinatti Bengals in Week 14, the New Year started on a high note for the 40-year-old slinger when Favre led the Vikings to a lopsided 44-7 win against the New York Giants on Sunday.

Favre was 25-of-31 for 316 yards and threw 4 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Favre’s performance on Sunday as well as that of his supporting cast secured the Vikings a second seed in the playoffs and a well-deserved first round bye.

The extra week of rest should be favorable for Favre and earning that second seed also assured no outdoor games for the Vikings. After hosting their first game at the indoor Metrodome, the Vikings only road game would be against the New Orleans Saints if they both won their match-ups.

Favre has been outstanding this season, leading the Vikings to a 12-4 record while completing 363-of-531 passes for 4,202 yards. Known for a high career TD/interception ratio, Favre corrected that tossing 33 TD passes and throwing only 7 to the wrong colored jersey all year. Last year with the New York Jets he led the NFL with 22 INTs. His passer rating this year is also one of the highest of his career at 107.2.

Expect Favre and the Vikings to be well rested and come out with a vengeance for their opening round game on January 17, and while their opponent has yet to be determined, you have to like their chances.

Favre proved many of his critics wrong, coming out of retirement and showing there is a lot of life left in his arm. With the slinger in sync with receivers Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian and potential rookie-of-the-year Percy Harvin and the Vikings running game back on track with Adrian Peterson, expect them to go deep into the playoffs and possibly to the Super Bowl on February 7th.

Last year it took Fox Sports showing Visanthe Shiancoe in the buff during a live telecast to turn heads and give the Vikings an onslaught of media attention. This year the Vikings are doing it by putting Brett Favre behind center.

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Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax

Favre Embarrasses Vikings Coach on National Television

MINNESOTA - How do you reward an NFL head coach who drops what he is doing in the middle of preseason, flies  to another state to pick you up and personally chauffeur you to his team headquarters and arranges for you to sign a huge one-year contract?

If you are Brett Favre, you embarrass that head coach on national television . . . that’s exactly what the 40-year-old slinger on the Minnesota Vikings did Sunday night during his team’s humiliating 26-7 loss to the underdog Carolina Panthers.

Ahead on the scoreboard 7-6, Vikings coach Brad Childress started shuffling personnel from the field onto the bench starting with Pro Bowl left tackle Bryant McKinnie who was getting taken to school and run over repeatedly by Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers.

McKinnie sat on the bench because that’s what pros do, they follow their coaches instructions.

Childress’ next move was to bench Favre but the ego-saturated quarterback would have no part of it. In front of the world, they got into a heated exchange on the sidelines with Favre refusing to be benched.

“I’m watching, and I said, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m thinking about taking you out of the game here,’” Childress later explained (not that he needs an explanation, he’s the head coach). “I mean, you’re getting your rear end kicked.’ Though not a lot of fault of his own.”

When Favre was asked about the heated exchange on the sidelines he said, “Yeah, there was a heated discussion, I guess you would call it. We were up 7-6 at the time. No secret, I was getting hit a little bit. I felt the pressure on a lot of plays. We had seven points. So I think everyone in the building was like, ‘They’re not moving the ball, they’re not getting points.’ Brad wanted to go in a different direction, and I wanted to stay in the game.”

Yeah Brett, every player on the bench every Sunday wants to come into or stay in a game but that’s not the player’s decision, it’s the head coaches’ decision; that is unless you’re an egotistical quarterback who begs for headlines.

Favre re-entered the game and lead his team to the humiliating loss but worse yet, he showed his teammates and a national television audience who is boss in that locker room and raised a serious question, ‘Who is really running that team?’.

Since this incident, others are resurfacing through the media including a game earlier this year when Favre ignored Childress’ wishes and called an audible late in a game causing the coach to want to bench him. Like this recent incident, that benching also never occurred.

Football is a team sport and everyone has a role to fill, especially the head coach. When a guy like Favre comes in and dictates, chemistry is sure to suffer.

The Vikings knew what they were getting. Prior to that escorted service to his contract signing, Favre had dumped the Vikings just two days before training camp. The player was also accused of supplying inside info to aid the Detroit Lions prior to a game between his former Green Bay Packers and the Lions.

The timing of this incident could not be any worse as the regular season winds down and teams like the Vikings are focusing on the playoffs.

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Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

Favre Defeats Packers 30-23 on MNF

MINNESOTA - Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre won the first round of his bout against his former Green Bay Packer team on the Monday Night Football national stage when his Vikings won 30-23.During post-game interviews, Favre admitted he entered the game “as nervous as I have ever been before a game.”

Favre who unmercifully dumped the Vikings just two days before training camp this summer, later pulled an about-face and reconsidered, coming back to the team at the last minute. Maybe all that disruption was worth it for the Vikings.

Favre who turns 40-years-old later this month, battled his younger counterpart Aaron Rodgers in a game that was not totally decided until the final onside kick attempt with less than one minute to play in regulation.

Favre finished 24-of-31 for 271 yards and 3 TDs while Rodgers set a career high in passing yards, finishing 26-of-37 for 384 yards. Rodgers also tossed for one TD and an interception.

The much-anticipated rematch will be played on Lambeau Field in Green Bay on November 1st.

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Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

NFL Week 3 - Match-ups and Upsets

Paula Duffy, Examiner.com sports writer does this week’s NFL preview. Below is her take on this weekend’s games and  potential upsets for NFL Week 3.

Detroit Lions over the Washington Redskins: Like many others I look at this as a way to get Detroit over the 2 year slide and begin the Jim Zorn death watch. While the Redskins’ defense is solid, their offense is putrid. Detroit can score points as we’ve seen, even against Minnesota’s excellent defense.One caveat: if it’s close late in the 4th, momentum shifts to the Redskins. Detroit has no idea how to hold a lead.

Tennessee Titans over the New York Jets: The Titans lost in overtime to the Steelers and in a shoot-out to the Texans, both of which were close. Those games showed they’re vulnerable to the pass but can deal with the run. Sanchez is good but not that good. Don’t discount possible letdown by New York after the big win vs. Patriots.

San Francisco 49′ers over the Minnesota Vikings: Favre is due for an uncontrollable day and Adrian Peterson says he’s good to go but you think he’d admit he wasn’t? The 49′ers are tough, physical and can score in the red zone. When Vernon Davis says he’s a converted “me first” kind of guy you know they want this one for Samurai Mike.
The rest of the schedule:

Green Bay over St. Louis: No reason to think the Rams will turn the page this week.

New Orleans beat the Bills: What have you seen in Buffalo that can equal the league’s best offense? Nothing.

Texans over the Jaguars: I feel for Maurice Jones-Drew but they need an A-list QB or wide receiver to balance that attack

New York Giants over the Tampa Bay Bucs: The Bucs can’t stop good offenses and the Giants have one. But if too many Giants are banged up and can’t play, look for this to be close.

Eagles over the Chiefs: Two back-up QB’s for Philly can’t blow this opportunity can they? If Vick is misused or coughs up the ball, maybe.

Arizona bests Indianapolis: While I think this could be a close shoot-out, Indy’s defense makes this pick a reality.

Baltimore over Cleveland: The Ravens have one of the most balanced teams in the league. Awesome D and an offense that can run and throw. Cleveland’s got…?

Steelers beats the Bengals: I’m not all that sure about this. I’ve got to see more of a running game from the Steelers before I make them a lock each week. Until then, those Bengals should scare them.

Bears over the Seahawks: Seneca Wallace is a good back-up but their running game is iffy. The Bears can run against them if last week’s defensive failure vs. Gore is a measure.

Chargers best the Dolphins: But for bad play calling, the Bolts would have beaten Baltimore last weekend. I think they can take the Dolphins after that.

Denver over Oakland: JaMarcus Russell might be as big a bust as Ryan Leaf. Need I say more?

Dallas bests Carolina: Third week in a row for the Panthers to face a potent offense and the Cowboys are cranky after loss to the Giants.

Tired of the same old sports page? Then check out Paula Duffy’s insightful (and often humorous) take on the sports day at her Examiner.com page! The popular co-host for Sports Journey Radio is also a contributor to the Huffington Post and founder of the sports learning site Incidental Contact. In her spare time, Duffy practices law in Los Angeles. But don’t hold that against her.

Starting Stafford Too Huge a Risk for Lions

DETROIT - After seeing rookie sensations Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco evolve into legitimate starters last year in the NFL, the temptation was too much for the Detroit Lions and Coach Jim Schwartz.

With the season opening September 13th with a road game in New Orleans followed by a visit from the Minnesota Vikings, Schwartz ignored the risks and named Matthew Stafford the starter.

Putting the young slinger across from Minnesota’s swarming defensive line just eight days into his NFL career may evolve into a human sacrifice and reinvent the name ‘Purple People Eaters’ for the Vikings.

The Vikings sacked Lions quarterbacks a total of 10 times in the two games last year. That is a risky scenario to place a young rookie quarterback in who is trying to build confidence.

Stafford has an incredible arm, there’s no doubt about that but it’s hard to throw with a 300-lb. lineman’s arms wrapped around you.

We’ve been hearing the Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco theories but those two rookies stood behind proven offensive lines last year and were given plenty of protection throughout their 11-5 seasons. There’s talk about how improved the Lions O line is this year but why not wait a few weeks to verify that.

The league’s best quarterbacks crumble under excessive pressure up front, even Tom Brady as seen in the Super Bowl game when the New York Giants knocked Brady totally off his game upsetting the heavily-favored New England Patriots.

The NFL game is a sprint compared to NCAA and Stafford could have gotten a feel for the pace and speed of the game by watching the first few Sundays from the sidelines.

There would be a lesser argument for handing Stafford a clipboard and headset in New Orleans if this were a ‘Stafford vs. Stanton’ or a ‘Stafford vs. Orlovsky’ debate but the Lions have a proven Pro Bowl quarterback on their roster, Daunte Culpepper who has thrown for 23,208 yards in his career. That’s 13 miles; more than 232 football fields.

Culpepper deserves a legitimate chance to reinvent himself. It happens all the time. John Travolta did it on the screen with Pulp Fiction; Chad Pennington did it on the field with Miami last year.

Culpepper, the three-time Pro Bowl player showed up 30 pounds lighter in game shape before the season started expecting to start. Now that he finds himself out of the starting position he was never given a chance to lose, there may be some bad locker room karma heading the Lions way.

When Daunte joined the Lions in October 2008 we covered that story, “Daunte Should Avoid the Lions”. The Lions have a knack for finishing player’s careers on a sour note (Google Tatum Bell and Marcus Pollard). If Culpepper sits rotting away on the bench while he has some arm left, he could join that group. You have to wonder; Will Daunte ask to be traded?

Culpepper appears committed to again making a mark in the NFL and he cannot do that collecting splinters on the bench.

Playing against former teams brings the best out of athletes as we see ever week when ex-Lions visit Detroit and have career days after being traded or cut. I would have expected the best out of Daunte against his former Vikings team during Week Two at Ford Field.

The logical decision would have been to sit Stafford for at least two weeks then re-evaluate his progress, the O line and the team then go from there. William Clay Ford is always more interested in selling tickets as in the case with hurrying quarterback Joey Harrington, a first-round dud that was never given a fair chance to develop.

The Lions got impatient. This is clearly a rebuilding time, just as the past decade has been so what would a few more weeks of development have mattered?

 This is unlikely to be a playoff season but the Lions are taking a chance of destroying the confidence of their franchise $78 million investment-another reason this team is, and may always be, destined to be a loser.

Voice your opinion by taking our front page poll and vote whether Stafford and Mark Sanchez should be taking snaps NFL Week One.

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Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

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