Sports Then and Now

Courtesy of Engy’s

Favre was beaten and battered by the Saints.

The popular question following the victory by the New Orleans Saints over the Minnesota Vikings to clinch the NFC Championship and the right to play in the Super Bowl has been, “Are you happy now?” Happy is not the word I use.

Watching Sunday’s game I grimaced at every painful hit given by the Saint defense onto the Viking quarterback. Every tackle that was borderline late, I winced at. But each time the veteran QB got up off the Superdome turf and returned to the huddle. Every time but one, then he was helped off the field at the end of a possession. While watching the trainers and doctors of the Vikings checked him out and re taped his ankle, many wondered if he would answer the bell. But like a great title fighter he came back in to take his licks and fight his team one more time.

But was I happy the Vikings lost? No, I was relieved.

I was relieved that the one time QB of my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers wasn’t able to take the division rival to the Super Bowl. Throughout the year all Packer fans were expecting the “old” Favre to come back. We were waiting for Brett to begin forcing the ball, being intercepted and costing the Packers a possible victory. Green Bay fans would shrug it off as “Brett being Brett.” We felt that is what made him the QB that Packer fans fell in love with.

But the divorce wasn’t pretty and eventually Brett wanted to prove to the administration of the team that he parted ways with that he could still play. He did take Green Bay to the NFC Championship game in his last year in Wisconsin just two years ago and he knew there were still many touchdown throws left in that right arm.

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Who is the best all around qb?

This is the debate that may never be answered.

The arguments of all arguments.

Who is the best quarterback in the NFL today?

Is it Tom Brady? Peyton Manning?

Some can even make an argument for “Big Ben” Roethlisberger. However, I think Roethlisberger needs about four more years to add to his body of work before he can be held in the same breath as Brady and Manning.

So how do we make the determination of who is the best all around quarterback? What variables will be used to measure both quarterbacks?

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Browns team president, Mike Holmgren addressed the media for the first time today.

New Cleveland Browns President, Mike Holmgren addressed the media for the first time today.  This is his first day on the job and he hit the ground running.

He has a lot of work ahead of him.

Decisions on his coaching staff especially head coach Eric Mangini.

The signing of Josh Cribbs.

Bringing the Cleveland Browns back to respectability and to a Super Bowl.

Holmgren brought the cities of Green Bay (1-1) and Seattle (0-1) Super Bowl appearances and has one Lombardi trophy on his resume.

He has rebuilt franchises and there is no reason he can’t do it in Cleveland.

As a team executive, you need to be able to speak to the media and keep them abreast of the workings of the team.

He did a stellar job in his first press conference. Holmgren had the media in the palm of his hand.

As a Cleveland Browns fan, he is making me drink the kool aid.

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Wes Welker suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Texans.

With wide out Wes Welker being carted off the field with what appears to be a serious injury to his left knee, fans of the New England Patriots have already begun asking the question why.

Why did coach Bill Belichick decide to play his starters in a near meaningless game? Why did we have to lose the heart and soul of our offense? Why have our play-off hopes been dashed for the second year in a row.

With the Patriots driving down the field in the first quarter of their game with the Houston Texans, Welker, who entered the game with a league leading 122 receptions, caught a ball from quarterback Tom Brady in the left slot and ran for a first down before getting his foot caught in the Texans turf and immediately grabbing for his left knee.

Welker was being covered by safety Bernard Pollard, though the injury was sustained before Welker was hit.

With Brady, receiver Randy Moss and the Patriots trainer looking on, Welker was helped from the field and was seen with a towel over his head in a display of obvious pain and disappointment. He was carted off the field to the Patriots looker room with approximately six minutes to play in the first quarter.

Many fans believe that any hopes of the Patriots competing in the upcoming AFC playoffs rest squarely on the shoulders of the diminutive receiver who has caught 345 passes over three years with the Patriots and is a key component to their effective passing offense.

The Patriots missed the playoffs last season after Brady was injured in the first period of their first game against the Kansas City Chiefs when he was hit below the knee by Pollard, who played for the Chiefs at the time. Despite an 11-5 record the Patriots missed the playoffs.

Entering today’s game with a 10-5 record, the Patriots have clinched the AFC East and a home game for the first round of the playoffs and are playing today’s game simply to determine whether they would be a number three or four seed.

Peyton Manning passed for more more than 42,000 yards in the decade while leading the Colts to double digit victories nine times.

It was a banner decade for the NFL with many franchises building new stadiums and posting record attendance. The caliber of the play on the field was arguably the greatest of all time with many superstars putting their stamp on the decade.

Unlike previous decades where a Super Bowl blowout was a common occurrence, the 2000’s saw six Super Bowls decided by a touchdown or less, including dramatic endings to the final two Super Bowls played in the decade.

Offenses generally ruled the roost with high-powered attacks lighting up scoreboards across the league. However, defense was still an important component of most championship teams.

Because NFL careers are often short, selecting the top 10 players of the decade is a challenge because many of the best players at the end of the decade were not even in the league when the decade started.

Most of the players on this list were key performers on teams that achieved playoff and often Super Bowl greatness. Please feel free to share your thoughts on who else you think is deserving of being considered among the best of the decade.

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Below is our list of the top players of the decade:
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As Deion Sanders said about Josh Cribbs, "Pay the Man!"

Being a Browns fan since the late 80’s, there hasn’t been a whole lot to cheer about.

Cleveland lost to Denver in the ’86, ’87, and ’89 AFC Championships, all in heartbreaking fashion.

Art Modell stole the franchise and moved them to Baltimore in ’95.

Since the team’s rebirth in 1999, the good memories have been few and far between.

The team has had only one playoff appearance in 2002 which resulted in an epic collapse against the hated Steelers.

The Browns made another run at the playoffs in 2007, but fell short with a 10-6 record.

There has been one lone bright spot over the last few fruitless seasons in Cleveland.

His name is Josh Cribbs.

Cribbs has been nothing short of electrifying.

Devin Hester who?

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