NFL (Pre) Season Underway: Redskins Own Best Record in Football

Your up-to-the-minute Wet Hot American Sports NFL report: The 2008 (pre) season is finally underway after the annual Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio Sunday night. The Redskins and Colts battled in an important (meaningless) contest which ended with Washington earning a decisive 30-16 victory.

The win helps Washington remain undefeated and gives them the best record in the NFL. Their win percentage is an impressive 1.000 and they're currently averaging an NFL-best 30 points per game. The Colts suffered a devastating blow with the loss and are still searching for their first win of the year.


Other News and Notes from the game: Washington proved to be such a formidable and feared opponent that Indianapolis Quarterback Peyton Manning declined even to make the flight to Canton. New Redskins Head Coach Jim Zorn will go down in the history books as enjoying an undefeated career coaching record. All other NFL teams were idle this week. Former Hawaii standout Colt Brennan threw 2 TD's and looked impressive (against a 4th string defense) in the win.

CORRECTION: Brett Favre was not mentioned in this story. The editors apologize for this unfortunate oversight. (CONTINUE READING)

Numbers Speak Louder Than Words

8 years. That's how long former wide receiver Art Monk had to wait before being elected to the NFL Hall of Fame Saturday in Canton. The quiet possession receiver spent all but two of his sixteen years in Washington earning three Super Bowl titles for the Redskins.

The uninformed observer would have to conclude that if seven ballots had passed Monk by it must have been due to a sub-par career. Since Monk was never much for speaking his mind, allow his career numbers to do the talking:

• 940 catches
• 12,721 yds
• 13.5 avg per catch
• 68 TD (7 Super Bowl TD's)
• 3 Pro Bowls. 3 Super Bowls.

Wait a tick, those numbers sound pretty good! So good in fact that Monk has more receiving yards than nine other hall of fame wide outs, and more than double the number of receptions than several others. At one time he held NFL records for most receptions in a single season and most consecutive games with a catch (183). And by the way, the teams he played on were, for the most part, run-oriented offenses that required more downfield blocking than slick pass patterns.

Bypassing Mr. Monk for the Hall is the sort of injustice seen only a few times in our history: the civil rights movement, woman's suffrage, and the absence of Nickelback in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Regardless, he's finally in. When he was introduced, the mostly partisan Redskins crowd honored Art with a four minute-plus standing ovation. Third string SportsCenter anchor Dari Nowkhah began his Art Monk story with this gem of an intro: "Madonna and Justin Timberlake only had 4 minutes to save the world, Art Monk had 4 minutes of cheering." Solid writing!

But after patiently and quietly waiting eight years to join the elite club I'm sure he didn't mind another four minutes of applause from burgundy and gold-clad fans. (CONTINUE READING)

Packers to Open QB Competition. Vegas Odds: Brian Brohm a 5000:1 Underdog

Well if Wendi Nix's ESPN report turns out to be true it looks like the Brett Favre saga just took a turn for the better. For me. For everyone in the Packers organization? Not so much. Nix has sources confirm that after his reinstatement, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers will compete in training camp for the starting job.

As a response to the report, ESPN's Kevin Seifert penned this article. In it he asks the question, "will this be a fair competition for Favre?" Seifert makes his point by concluding that it'll be impossible for head coach Mike McCarthy to do a 180 on the stance he's made all off-season, "We're moving forward, Aaron Rodgers is our quarterback." But isn't doing a 180 embedded into any coach's DNA?

No other job in the world features more U-turns than coaching. Whether it's Bill Belicheck's injury reports, Nick Saban's unexpected vanishing act, or any statement made about trade rumors, coaches are notorious flip-floppers. So I agree with Seifert that the competition will be unfair; for Rodgers.

If it wasn't for his false retirement this wouldn't even be a question. Favre is the starter, and Rodgers sits on the pine. Last year, greybeard had one of his best years ever. He threw 28 TDs for over 4,000 yards, with a completion percentage of 66.5%, his best ever. He's not injured and he isn't in some sort of contract year. There's no reason to think he wouldn't come out and put up the same numbers. So how does Rodgers even have a shot at the starters job?

The Packers, if the reports are accurate, feel they have no other choice but to let Favre play for them. Favre, from day one, knew he wanted to play, and wasn't going anywhere but the Packers or the Vikings. Seeing as the latter is not even remotely an option, the Packers had to let him come back. And even though they say it's a competition, the option of having Favre, in his prime at the young age of 38, be a backup; is just as scary as him playing for the Vikings.

Rodgers wouldn't stand a chance. Anything short of Tom Brady in Cheeseland and he immediately will feel number four towering over him. With every interception and every errant pass, more and more Packers fans will stop watching the field, and start watching the sidelines. Seeing as he's never started a game in the NFL, I'd say chances are very good he has a rocky season. Adequate is a possibility, good is a stretch, and great is improbable. Even if Rodgers is the next Steve Young, even Young didn't win a QB competition with Joe Montana. (CONTINUE READING)