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Will Brett Favre come back next season?

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:20:36 +0000

The FAVRE WATCH continues...

With still more than a few months left before we get to see what the 2010 NFL football season has in store for us, Brett Favre ain’t budging yet when asked on what exactly are his plans for his imminent future in the NFL.

You see, Brett Favre said that he still hasn’t decided yet on whether he’ll play again next season, and doesn’t expect to make an announcement anytime soon. Well, we can’t say we haven’t heard something like this from him before.

Appearing on NBC’s ”The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Favre, who played for the Minnesota Vikings last season, politely balked when host Jay Leno asked for his thoughts on returning for the 2010 season.

”Well Jay, it’s only been a month, and I know now that I’m just not going to say anything anytime soon, just going to kind of sit back, relax, enjoy the offseason,” Brett Favre said in his first public appearance since the Minnesota Vikings lost in the NFC championship game at New Orleans back in January 24.

The pride of Kiln, Miss., Favre is the NFL’s career leader in nearly every major passing category. Hell, the guy’s a three-time league MVP too. The former star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers had one of his best seasons ever after doing what was once unfathomable, playing for Green Bay’s rivals, the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings were rewarded with 33 touchdowns and the lowest interception rate of Favre’s career. But Minnesota’s loss at New Orleans left the 40-year-old battered. He said afterward that his decision probably wouldn’t take months and that his main concern was whether his body could hold up for another season.

Asked if that defeat still upsets him...

Where will Brian Westbrook go next?

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:01:16 +0000

Like Tomlinson, Westbrook has began looking for teams to play for.

With the 2010 NFL football season still more than a couple of months away, guys like Tomlinson and Westbrook have more than enough time to find a new place to call home where they try to salvage what’s left of their playing career.

In case you haven’t heard, the Philadelphia Eagles decided to part ways with their all-time leading rusher by releasing Brian Westbrook a few weeks ago. Westbrook, who has a history of injuries, missed eight games in 2009 after suffering ankle injuries and two concussions.

In his eight-year career with the Philadelphia Eagles, he never played a full season. This seems to be part of the reason why Philadelphia didn’t want to bring him back in 2010. He was also due to make $7.25 million.

Now that he’s a free agent, Westbrook may have to accept the fact that he will most likely be signed by a team for a limited role as a no.2 (or even no.3) running back. Here are just some teams that may consider signing Westbrook now that he is no longer with the Eagles.

The Minnesota Vikings may be a good choice for Westbrook since running back Chester Taylor is now a free agent and hasn’t been re-signed by the team. Not only would Westbrook be a good back playing behind a player like Peterson, but the Vikings will most likely be a Super Bowl contender next season, whether Brett Favre returns or not, with a strong running game and one of the top defenses in the NFL.

What could make this deal even more likely is the fact that Brad Childress is the head coach for the Minnesota Vikings. Childress spent seven seasons on the Eagles coaching staff before taking the head coaching position in Minnesota, including four years with Westbrook.

He’s given other former Eagles, such as...

NFL Rule Book needs to be updated

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:02:23 +0000

They should, because, I don’t know about you but, I’m sick and tired of coin tosses deciding the outcome of an NFL game.

A standard NFL game consists of four quarters each with 15 minutes. The clock stops after certain plays. If an NFL game is tied after four quarters, the teams play an additional period called overtime game lasting up to 15 minutes.

NFL overtime rules say that in an NFL overtime game, the first team that scores wins, even if the other team does not get a possession. This is known as the sudden death. On the other hand, if neither team scores during the overtime, then the game is considered as a tie. In an NFL playoff game, additional overtime periods are played, as needed, to determine a winner.

The sudden death overtime rules call for a 15 minute period to follow the end of regulation. The first team to score wins. During the regular season, if after the end of the overtime period, no team scores, the game is recorded as a tie.

Playoff games will continue with multiple overtime periods until somebody does end up scoring. At the end of regulation time the referee will immediately toss a coin at the center of the field in accordance with the rules pertaining to the usual pregame toss. Unfortunately, the key to the game often rests on the flip of the coin.

There has been a public clamor to change the rules of the overtime for the longest time because of the problems the teams face. Some of the problems with the current system include; only three, or in rare cases, two points are required to win the game and the team that loses the toss, may never even touch it in the overtime period.

The team who wins the coin toss can elect to receive or kick away the ball. The teams that elect to receive usually go on to win, but not always. According to NFL stats, 60 percent of the games are won by the team that wins the toss, a very decisive advantage.

The NFL should seriously consider other options that...

Brian Westbrook released by the Eagles

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:36:02 +0000

My my, teams are really letting some once great running backs go these last couple of days huh?

Brian Westbrook won’t be playing for them Eagles no more once the 2010 NFL football season gets here. Yes, just like LaDainian Tomlinson not playing for them Chargers anymore. You see, after two cases of concussions last season, the Eagles finally let him go, stirring up some rumors that he may just call it quits and walk away from football.

However, Brian Westbrook claims that is simply not the case. ”My plan is not to retire. My plan is to continue to play football,” he said in an interview with a local radio station in Philly. ”There’s 32 teams out there. Hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to go and play with another team.”

Yes, after two concussions that kept him out for a good portion of Philly’s last campaign in the NFL, Westbrook feels he can still play football and bang heads with guys like Jared Allen and Patrick Willis. And in case you’re wondering, no, he doesn’t have a death wish.

Westbrook, who thanked Philadelphia Eagles fans and coach Andy Reid for all their support, said his agent has already heard from three or four teams about his availability for 2010. Of course, we don’t know if those three or four teams play in the NFL. Hell, he may end up playing for some team in Canada for all we know.

Westbrook also said that he understood why the Eagles got rid of him the way they did.

”It’s hard for teams to keep veterans, especially aging veterans at a higher salary number, when they can get younger guys,” Brian Westbrook said. ”Especially when guys have battled injuries the way I have the last year and a half or so. I understand that. I completely do.”

As for the rest of the Eagles...

Indianapolis Colts to win Super Bowl 44

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:04:30 +0000

Are you ready for the big game?

In case you’ve been living under a rock lately, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints will collide this Sunday in Miami, Florida where we’ll see which of these two teams will be crowned the Super Bowl XLIV champions.

Who will take the big one? Let’s look at the Indianapolis Colts, who have already recorded their most single-season wins in franchise history with 16. The quest will be a second Super Bowl title in a four-year span and since they’ll be playing in their fourth Super Bowl appearance in Miami, it seems the stage is set for the Colts to win their second Super Bowl title.

You see the last time Peyton Manning and his Colts were in Miami playing for the Super Bowl, they defeated the Chicago Bears 20-17. Manning was also the league MVP that season, the same as he is now coming to Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, Florida.

That’s why the Colts should take this one easy.

Sure, the New Orleans Saints are as good as the Colts this season with both teams flirting with perfection all year to post the best win-loss record of their respective conferences. Both the Colts and the Saints also have Pro Bowl quarterbacks in Peyton Manning and Drew Brees respectively. That’s probably why Super Bowl XLIV will prove to be a high scoring affair.

However, while Drew Brees have become one of the most explosive quarterbacks to ever play football, he ain’t no Peyton Manning. Manning has been here before, leading the Colts to the playoffs every year since 2002 that includes a Super Bowl season back in 2007. A win in Miami Sunday will further solidify Manning as the very best to ever play quarterback in the NFL. Brees is good but Manning is simply just a notch better.

Manning was openly criticized for never...

Can the Saints win it for New Orleans?

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:02:29 +0000

Let me just get this out of the way, if the Saints win the Super Bowl, then the celebration that’ll come after will be bigger than Mardi Gras.

And since Super Bowl XLIV will be their first ever trip to the Super Bowl for the New Orleans Saints, anything they celebrate from this point forward will be nothing compared to the way this city will celebrate if the Saints win the big game.

In case you didn’t get that, the New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. Hosting their first NFC championship game, the Saints defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 to earn a trip to Miami.

They will play the Indianapolis Colts, a team that has a knack for playing and winning Super Bowl championships in Miami. Of course, for a city that has been able to overcome adversity, don’t expect the Colts’ history in Miami faze these Saints fans one bit.

Especially Drew Brees.

”Four years ago, they were hosing this roof,” as Saints coach Sean Payton put it, referring to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. ”This is pretty special for this city.”

The Saints went 20 years before they had their first winning season, and 33 years before winning a playoff game. Only the Detroit Lions, at 44 consecutive years, have missed more Super Bowls than the Saints.

Against the Vikings, it did look like the Saints were about to miss another trip too.

Faced with fourth and 1 from the Minnesota 43 in overtime, New Orleans opted to go for the first down. Tailback Pierre Thomas took the handoff and leapt into the air, not knowing where the Saints season might land.

When referees spotted the ball, the Saints...

Bodog’s Super Bowl XLIV Betting Props

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:54:07 +0000

Bodog has posted some interesting betting propositions for the big game.

Just in case you didn’t know, Super Bowl XLIV is this Sunday in Miami, Florida where the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints play for all the marbles. It’s Peyton Manning going up against Drew Brees, Manning’s legacy against the city of New Orleans.

The Super Bowl match-up between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints should be one heckuva’ game. Hell, the conference championship games both teams played on a couple of weeks ago was one of the highest rated football games on TV already. Super Bowl XLIV should be off the chain.

Of course, before the Indianapolis Colts take on the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV, sportsbooks across the country have begun to post all kinds of betting options for you to bet on and our guys from Bodog are no different.

One of which has odds on the Super Bowl commercial that will feature Tim Tebow and his family. The 30-second commercial produced and paid for by Christian group Focus on the Family features the now former Florida Gators quarterback and his mother Pam and reportedly tells how Tebow would never have seen the light of day if his mother had heeded doctors’ warnings and had an abortion when she was pregnant with him.

Another one has bettors betting on which Super Bowl commercial will have a higher rating on USA Today’s annual Ad Meter. Bettors can bet on Budweiser, Go Daddy.com, Coke and Doritos, among others. I don’t think we’ll see those commercials that feature Peyton Manning before.

Ya’ll can also bet on the Super Bowl’s ratings...

Betting on the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl?

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:04:54 +0000

For the first time since 1980, the Pro Bowl will be played somewhere other than Honolulu.

That’s right, the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl between the AFC’s and NFC’s best will take place Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, at Dolphin Stadium in South Florida. It will feature some intriguing match ups too. Nowhere will that be more evident than when the NFC wide receivers try to shed the AFC’s starting cornerbacks.

With the Jets’ Darrelle Revis and the Raiders’ Nnamdi Asomugha pestering and shadowing DeSean Jackson, Miles Austin, and Sidney Rice, the NFC may find it difficult to get any sort of big play in the passing game. Throw in Ed Reed at free safety and Brian Dawkins at strong safety, and the NFC’s offensive coordinator Jason Garrett may want to consider calling Barry Switzer to get some quick pointers on the wishbone.

On the contrary, you have to like the NFC stable of quarterbacks over what the AFC is running out there. Matt Schaub will start for the AFC and will be backed up and at some point, replaced by Vince Young and David Garrard.

Meanwhile, the NFC is running Aaron Rodgers onto the field first, and then Donovan McNabb, and eventually Tony Romo. The NFC quarterbacks should be able to carry the day, providing they have any open receivers.

The running back duel will be the other place of greatest intrigue. The AFC’s Chris Johnson, the guy who makes greased lightning look like a lumbering lineman, was the first back in the NFL to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season since Terrell Davis in 1998. Let a linebacker take a play off to see if he can tell whether his wife and girlfriend are sitting too close together in the stands, and we may be watching a new Pro Bowl record for longest run from scrimmage.

The NFC quarterbacks will be sticking the ball into the gut of the man who was the greatest running back in the league until Johnson came along, the one they call All-Day. Adrian Peterson may be running angry, which will be nothing new, but would be an anomaly for a Pro Bowl. He will still be sore about losing to the Saints. He will still be a little embarrassed about putting the ball on the ground three times in the NFC championship game. And he will be in no mood to be outshone by some kid from Tennessee.

With the substandard quarterback situation on...

Super Bowl XLIV Betting Propositions

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:02:57 +0000

It’s that time of the year when bettors go ga-ga over one huge football game, betting on everything from coin tosses to who among the Colts will wear panties.

Well, maybe not that last one. (I hope…) Seriously, Super Bowl XLIV should once again generate all kinds of betting propositions since this is only the biggest sporting event of the year other than the World Cup and it will be the last time we’ll ever get to enjoy football until we hit August again later this year.

Get ready, because here they come again, Super Bowl prop bets. Every year, a part of the media coverage around the big game focuses on the astounding number of proposition betting options that online sportsbooks roll out.

These prop bets range from the obvious (correct score of the game) to the unique (the Over/Under on the length of the national anthem). Over the next week and a half, we’ll look at some of the Super Bowl prop betting options offered and where the betting public are putting their money.

On that note, SPORTSBETTING.com has hundreds and hundreds of props listed and some of the most innovative options you’ll find anywhere.

Let’s get the popular coin toss one out of the way at the start here. The prop bet ”will the opening coin toss be heads or tails?” is currently listed at -115 for both options (I don’t really see this line moving due to heavy one-sided action…)

The Total for the Super Bowl is at 56 and of course there are numerous props related to the Over/Under. For example, one betting option is, ”what will the actual total score of the game be? An even number (-110) or an odd number (-120)?” See how crazy that is? Not even Peyton Manning can figure that one out.

There is also a proposition on the...

The Best of the Best in 2010 Pro Bowl

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:25:57 +0000

For the first time ever, the Pro Bowl will come a week before THE big game, as this year’s Pro Bowl kicks off Super Bowl week with a bang.

Yes, the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl will now come before the Super Bowl and this year, the best players from both the AFC and the NFC will play at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida for this year’s annual showcase of the league’s premiere talent.

This way, football fans will be able to further build their anticipation heading to Super Bowl XLIV and as far as this year’s Pro Bowl starters are concerned, both teams’ rosters have some familiar faces.

Leading the pack for the AFC squad is Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Other selections include Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson and Colts teammate Reggie Wayne.

Dallas Clark, who also plays for the Indianapolis Colts, was also voted in for the Pro Bowl to play tight end, starting tackles will be the Dolphins’ Jake Long and the Broncos’ Ryan Clady. Starting guards for the AFC will be the Patriots’ Logan Mankins and Alan Faneca of the New York Jets.

Faneca’s teammate Nick Mangold will be the AFC’s starting center.

Over on the NFC side of things, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, and wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald of Arizona and DeSean Jackson of Philadelphia, were voted in by fans to play for the conference.

This year, the Minnesota Vikings have the most players on the 2010 Pro Bowl with eight total players that include five starters on offense and defense. Philadelphia, Dallas, and Indianapolis followed them up with six players. The New Orleans Saints, the San Diego Chargers, and the Baltimore Ravens each have five players of their own on the team.

One shocking revelation was that the...