There are two facts of professional football that I believe hold true in every situation:

1. A good defense and running game is the key to winning championships. Every recent champion has proved this, even the Colts. Remember that the season they won it, the Colts had a much improved defense and Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes were more heavily involved in the offense. A good defense will beat a great offense in big games (see: Giants 17, Patriots 14).

2. Winning the trenches is the most important thing. The team that has control of the line of scrimmage has control of the game and should come out victorious. If you can block well, your offense can overcome lesser talent. The Vikings of last year were able to contend despite the sub-par play of Tavaris Jackson thanks to their line (I know Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor are talented, but running behind Steve Hutchinson and Bryant McKinney made them a lot better). Control the defensive line to get pressure and you can take even the best QB off his game (see: Giants 17, Patriots 14).

Despite these facts, I believe the Falcons made the right move drafting Matt Ryan over the best player in this draft:
continue reading "Matt Ryan was the Right Pick"

1. Miami- Jake Long OT, Michigan
2. St. Louis- Chris Long DE, Virginia
3. Atlanta- Glen Dorsey DT, LSU
4. Cincinnati (from Oakland)- Darren McFadden RB, Arkansas
5. Baltimore (from Kansas City)- Matt Ryan QB, Boston College
continue reading "Jason Galloway’s Mock Draft (updated)"

1. Miami- Jake Long OT, Michigan
2. St. Louis- Chris Long DE, Virginia
3. Atlanta- Glen Dorsey DT, LSU
4. Cincinnati (from Oakland)- Darren McFadden RB, Arkansas
5. Baltimore (from Kansas City)- Matt Ryan QB, Boston College
continue reading "Jason Galloway’s 2008 NFL Mock Draft (first round)"

Chad Johnson to the Raiders 

On draft day, the Cincinnati Bengals will send wide receiver Chad Johnson and the 9th overall pick to the Oakland Raiders for the 4th overall pick and another pick.

 Why it makes sense:  This makes sense for both clubs involved. The Bengals will be able to get rid of the cancer that is Chad Johnson and receive the right to draft RB Darren McFadden with the 4th overall pick. Although this will leave the Bengals thin at receiver, it doesn’t appear that Chad is going to play for them this year whether they trade him or not; Cincinnati might as well get what they can for him now and get possibly the most talented player in the draft and another pick later in the draft. The Raiders will get a top tier NFL receiver in Chad Johnson to team up with Ronald Curry and newly acquired WR Javon Walker to give JaMarcus Russell a slew of weapons at his disposal for next year. Passing up McFadden will be tough for Al Davis, but LaMont Jordan should improve with the talented receiving corps taking pressure off the running game. On top of this, the Raiders could use the 9th overall pick to take very talented Boise State offensive lineman Ryan Clady to give Russell more protection or defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis from USC to bulk up the D-line and potentially replace the recently retired Warren Sapp.

There is no more appropriate an image to leave Brett Favre’s career than him angrily ripping the chinstrap off his grizzled face following a terrible interception at the worst possible time. We can apologize for his actions by meaninglessly creating the phrase “gun-slinger,” but we all know what this expression means: a quarterback too reckless to hold the discipline required for an offense to run without error. There is no doubt what Favre meant to the game, but to try and laud him to the greatest quarterback ever based on his “playing football like a kid” is an absurd statement at best and a gross misrepresentation of his career and success.

continue reading "Brett Favre: Greatest QB ever?"

Before I get to the NFL draft, I must first address this. I just recently came across a tragedy so severe it can not go unmentioned. Now I want to first caution that this fact is not for the faint of heart; it will try your sense of right and wrong, your hope that good exists in the world, and the very basis on which you have placed your hope. It hurts to even type it. The song with which ABC went to the most recent commercial in the Suns-Mavs game was Creed’s Higher.
I would love for someone to explain to me why this country has the FCC if it is not to keep Creed away from television sets. Now, I understand that on a given radio station you run the risk, but I assumed that my television set would keep me safe from the shitty voice of the hella-lame Scott Stapp forcing its way into my life. I would like to continue living in the belief (as unrealistically utopian as it may be) that the worst thing that could happen while watching the Suns-Mavs game is that the Suns may not win. I demand that I be guaranteed that in the future I am protected from this gross injustice that has been ruthlessly released into the world.

Now, some thoughts on my real topic, the single most important event in the month of April: the NFL draft.
continue reading "NFL Draft Preview"

Now that Brett Favre has retired, the argument arises to where he stands on the list of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.

Notice that the title of this post does not have a question mark in it, only a period. Favre is the greatest of all time, and I have proof to back it up.

Some argue that Brett Favre is the greatest because of his NFL records in wins, passing touchdowns, passing yards and consecutive starts. These records are the basis of Favre’s case as the greatest, but let’s dig a little deeper to find out truly why he is better than all his competitors.

The Interception Record

This is the argument that kills Favre. The big kahuna. The reason why Favre isn’t the greatest, right? Wrong. When looking at this interception record, you must look at how many more interceptions he had than his competitors and you must remember to consider that he also has the most touchdowns of all time, the most completions of all time and the most passing attempts of all time.

Favre ended his career with 442 passing touchdowns and 288 interceptions, a difference of 154. In fact, his difference between touchdowns and interceptions is the second best differential in the history of the NFL. The only quarterback to have a better differential is Dan Marino with 168, only 14 better than Favre. Other quarterbacks that are worse than Favre in this category include John Elway (74), Joe Montana (134), Steve Young (125), Johnny Unitas (37), Terry Bradshaw (2), Troy Aikman (24), Sammy Baugh (-16) and every other quarterback in NFL history. The interception record is not a good thing, but it is not as much of a liability as people think.

continue reading "Brett Favre: the greatest quarterback of all-time."