Left field

The Lineman: Week Seven NFL Picks

By Steve Keating

That was more like it, a very solid 5-1 effort in Week 6 after a very tough month of average results.

Could we be perfect in lucky Week 7? Feels good.

Record: 19-17. Last week 5-1

Pick of the Week: 5-1

PICK OF THE WEEK

Green Bay Packers (6-0) at Minnesota Vikings (1-5)

Who will have last laugh in Favre’s finale?

‘Unnecessary Roughness’ is a new regular column on the NFL from an international perspective written by Simon Evans, a British born Reuters sports reporter in Miami.

There is something both admirable and tragic about the way in which Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre is ending his NFL career and on Thursday we should get a clue to whether we are to witness one last year of fine passing and success for Favre and his Vikings or hobbling and interceptions from a soon to be 41-year-old quarterback.

What he says is the final season of his outstanding career begins on Thursday at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans – the very place where his aim of bowing out with a second Super Bowl triumph ended in a battering from the Saints defense and an unforgettable overtime interception.

Favre’s final push for Super Bowl glory, a horrible year after, in the Jets jersey, he had looked like a heavyweight boxer lumbering out for one ill-advised final pay day, was a storyline that ran through last year’s NFL season and will again this time.

Last year, the Rocky comeback script came up against another Hollywood ‘feel good’ story, as New Orleans, the city that was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina just five years ago, beat up Favre and the Vikings and then triumphed over the highly-rated Indianapolis Colts to win the Super Bowl.

The NFL, always aware of the need for a compelling storyline, has made sure that the Saints and the Vikings meet up again on opening night and while it will be another great night for Saints supporters, many will have their eyes on Favre.

Lack of direction in Green Bay after Favre return

To understand what the National Football League and the beloved Packers mean to the residents of Green Bay you need only ask for directions.

Chances are that sooner or later you will find yourself on Lombardi Ave or Holmgren Way, or might swing by Brett Favre Pass or find yourself on the newly paved Aaron Rodgers Avenue.

In Green Bay, all roads eventually lead to Lambeau Field but on Sunday, many of the city’s nearly 104,000 residents did not know which way to turn.

Favre was back in town and the famed quarterback who never missed a start during 16 record-smashing seasons in Packers green and gold, returned for the first time wearing Minnesota Vikings purple and walked away with a 38-26 win.

For some in this tight-knit Midwestern town, where many are shareholders in the NFL’s only community-owned team, Favre’s signing with the despised Vikings in August for $25 million was a slap in the face bordering on high treason.

For others, the 40-year-old Favre’s return represented a chance to thank the future Hall of Famer, who led the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, winning it all in 1997.

Many, like Bob Schaaf, who gave up a weekend elk hunting to take his wife and two sons to a game that attracted worldwide interest, did not know how to react.

Brett Favre: career renaissance at 40?

In one of the most anticipated games of the season, in two rabidly partisan Midwestern states, Brett Favre has gone from beloved icon of the Green Bay Packers to leader of the hated Minnesota Vikings. The dislike reached Hatfield-McCoy proportions Monday night when Favre triumphed 30-23 over the team he proudly represented for sixteen years.

According to the New York Times, the showdown attracted an average of 21.8 million viewers, the biggest audience in the history of cable television, exceeding the 18.6 million who watched the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys game in September 2008 on ESPN.

In an interview to ESPN, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said Favre is the best quarterback in the NFC North. “[Favre] played really well,” Cutler said. “I think we kind of would have liked to have seen Green Bay beat him to even out the conference a little and give those guys a loss, but he played fabulous from start to finish. It was a good game.”

These days, the aging Cajun plays with the allure of a fine French wine: the older he gets, the better he gets… at least early in the season. Favre who turns 40 on October 10th has a perfect 4-0 record, and his surgically repaired right arm seems to have new life.

A medical team performed surgery on Favre’s biceps last May, cutting the partially torn tendon to alleviate the pain that prompted him to prematurely announce his retirement for a second year in a row before signing with the Vikings.

Last year, Favre’s season with the New York Jets started well; in week four he threw six touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, a personal best and one fewer than the NFL record. By week 12, the Jets had compiled an 8-3 record, including a win over the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans.

However, the Jets lost four out of the last five games of the season including the final game against the Miami Dolphins, who had acquired Chad Pennington after he was released from the Jets to make room for Favre. In those five games Favre threw eight interceptions and only two touchdown passes, bringing his season total to twenty-two of each.

Favre soap opera is getting a little tired

The Brett Favre saga continued this week when the future Hall of Fame quarterback un-retired yet again to join the Minnesota Vikings.

No one should be able to tell Favre when he should stop playing, but the 39-year-old 10-times Pro Bowler has fumbled his retirement so badly he’s become a national punch line.

His on-again, off-again retreat is greeted with a yawn by some, anger by others, and a laugh by those who stopped listening to him years ago when he first decided to quit.

The last time he retired was just three weeks ago when he told Vikings officials to look elsewhere for a quarterback. So it is no surprise that Number 4 will be in the line-up Friday when Minnesota hosts the Kansas City Chiefs.

He had a Cal Ripken-esque career when he retired following the 2007 season after 16 marvelous years with the Green Bay Packers.

But after a tearful good-bye, Favre decided he wanted to come back. The Packers said it was too late. So he went to the New York Jets for the 2008 season, but when both he and the team faded down the stretch, he decided to call it a career.

Technology and the modern sports fan

“What are you doing?” This simple question is the basic premise of Twitter, the growing social media website that has transformed how many fans get their daily dose of sports news.

In addition to the newsfeeds provided by established brands (@ReutersSport is a good one!) there are feeds directly from the major sports offices (@MLB,@NFL, @NBA). Then there are the athletes themselves, providing everything from perspective on current events to personalized fan interaction.

It seems that athletes have been embracing all sorts of new communication technologies over the last few years.

During the Beijing Olympics, swimmer Dara Torres and NBA star Carmelo Anthony used Skype to talk with family back home.  Former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban have helped bring sports blogging into the mainstream. And in the next evolutionary wave, many stars have embraced Twitter as a way to bring themselves closer to friends, family and fans.

We are given a front row seat to league announcements and rumor mill fodder. Athletes and celebrities alike have been given another venue for their exhibitionist personalities and many are embracing it, even while teams and organizations search for a way to curb and regulate its use.

Charlie Villanueva caused a stir last season by Twittering during NBA games.

Chad Ocho Cinco’s comments about potential updates during upcoming NFL games were soon followed by an NFL announcement addressing the subject. Per the NFL’s Brian McCarthy (via Twitter), “NFL players may use Twitter. Teams have rules re: not tweeting during meetings. We prohibit use of PDAs/phones on sidelines on gameday.”

Too Hard To Say Goodbye

In order to put yourself at the top of any sport (or any profession), it usually requires a mental toughness that differentiates you from the pack. A drive to not only succeed, but to persevere is programmed into the psyche for these men and women.

The signing of future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez and the ongoing saga surrounding former/current NFL quarterback Brett Favre are just some recent examples. To get yourself in the mindset to compete you train your mind just as any other set of muscles, but it can be tough for these greats to just call it quits and walk away. If you’ve never let injury or exhaustion hold you back, how can aging be viewed in a different light?

Currently in baseball there are several pitchers over 40 still pushing there careers. Randy Johnson earlier this season achieved his 300th win at the age of 45. Jamie Moyer continues his career at age 46 and seems to have gotten more consistent with age. Tim Wakefield at age 43 was selected to his first MLB All-Star game this season while pitching for the Boston Red Sox.

Pitching in what will be his 18th season, there is little reason to think that Martinez is the same pitcher he once was. He now lasts about 5 innings and while his experience keeps him effective, hitters are no longer terrified to bat against him. With a chance to reach the playoffs one more time, it is understandable why he is back, even if only for one last run.

Should Brett Favre come out of retirement…again?

Although NFL training camps are still weeks away, each passing day brings new reports suggesting that Brett Favre is about to come out of retirement for a second time in as many years. The Vikings have openly admitted their interest and Favre has done the same.

While the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers are trying to rebuild around younger quarterbacks, the Minnesota Vikings appear to be willing to throw a proverbial Hail Mary pass to an aging quarterback in the hopes he can take them to the Promised Land.

During an appearance on HBO’s Joe Buck Live, his first since retiring from the New York Jets last February, the three-time NFL MVP said he had surgery a couple of weeks ago on his throwing arm. He said the doctor who performed the surgery on his biceps told him it would take four to five weeks to find out if the procedure was a success.

As long as his right arm is healthy, it looks like Favre is coming back to the NFC where he’s spent almost his entire career. The Cajun may not be able to part the river that runs through the Twin Cities, but his eye-popping statistics cannot be overlooked so easily: he won Super Bowl XXXI, was voted Associated Press MVP three years in a row (last one shared with Barry Sanders), selected 10 times to play in the Pro Bowl and he holds NFL record for the most touchdown passes.

Last year, Favre’s season with the Jets started well; in week four he threw six touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, a personal best and one fewer than the NFL record. By week 12, the Jets had compiled an 8-3 record, including a win over the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans. However, the Jets lost four out of the last five games of the season including the final game against the Miami Dolphins, who had acquired Chad Pennington after he was released from the Jets to make room for Favre.

In a recent interview, the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdowns, receptions and receiving yards, Jerry Rice didn’t show a lot of confidence in Favre. Rice said the stress of a 16-game season might be too much for a 39-year-old. “Brett is a competitor. But I know towards the latter part of my career, even though I still wanted to be out on that football field, it was like things became a little bit more difficult,” Rice told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.