The Donovan McNabb experiment in Minnesota has completely come to a close.
On Thursday, the Vikings, at 2-9, released McNabb after originally acquiring him from the Washington Redskins in the offseason.
McNabb completed 94 of 156 passes for 1026 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions in six starts with the Vikings in 2011. He was replaced by starter Christian Ponder on October 16. McNabb’s primarily weakness however was his inability to throw a long pass, as he completed just five of his 94 completions for over 25 yards, according to the Associated Press.
The question now is where will McNabb go? Well, with Jay Cutler out for a while with a broken thumb that required surgery in Chicago, it appears there may be a definite opportunity there. The Bears are in the thick of things in the NFC North at 7-4. McNabb, if he goes to Chicago, won’t have to do much either, as they already have a great running game led by Matt Forte, great special teams led by Devin Hester and great defense led by Brian Urlacher. Oh, and McNabb is also from Chicago.
After a long lockout, a lot of questions were answered during the first week of the NFL season, but many remain as we head into week two!
The opening week saw some heroic performances, both expected and unexpected, some big surprises and of course some big flops…but what will a new week bring us?
Probably the marquee game for a lot of football fans will be on Sunday night when the Philadelphia Eagles face the Atlanta Falcons in Michael Vick’s first game back in the ATL since resuming his NFL career. It’ll be interesting for the obvious reasons, but also because everyone is watching Vick very closely again this season to see if he can match what he did in 2010. So far, so good.
Philly’s old pivot didn’t fare so well in his first game under centre for the Minnesota Vikings – Donovan McNabb will probably have to throw for more than 39 yards if his new team is to avoid going 2-0 to start the year. If he doesn’t have a big game soon, people might start to wonder if he’s past his best before date…(After the jump: More NFL, NBA 2K12 commercial & a national anthem flub!) (more…)
This week’s episode of 15 Minutes of Fame is coming at you a little later than usual, thanks to some bad timing and some technological mishaps, but it’s finally here!
This week on the show: The latest on the Edmonton Oilers arena situation and Nikolai Khabibulin’s summer in prison, plus some other talking points from around the NHL. In football news: Plenty of signings in the NFL as the lockout ends and the Edmonton Eskimos improve to 5-0 on the year.
In the GABBYs: Chris Kluwe & Tripping Icarus, Ervin Santana, the Seattle Mariners, Jerry Meals and more! Also, to make up for the lateness, a special “Behind the Scenes” feature has been added to the start of the video!
The Washington Redskins have traded quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Minnesota Vikings for a sixth round pick in 2012 and a conditional sixth round pick in 2013, dependent on McNabb’s performance in 2011.
The Vikings needed a quarterback when they couldn’t come to terms with Tarvaris Jackson, who is expected to sign with the Seattle Seahawks, and the retirement of Brett Favre. When have we heard that before?
McNabb saw his numbers go down significantly with the Redskins last season. He had 14 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 77.1, his worst since his rookie season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999.
After several productive seasons with the Eagles, where he played in six pro bowls, McNabb could not find the same success in the nation capital in 2010, as the Redskins finished with a 6-10 record.
The Redskins were not done there. They then traded defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to the New England Patriots for a fifth round pick in 2013. In 2009, Haynesworth signed a 7 year deal worth $100 million with the Redskins, of which $41 million was guaranteed. After being considered the best player at his position while with Tennessee, Haynesworth frequently did not connect with head coach Mike Shanahan. After constant feuding over defensive systems, Haynesworth was actually suspended for four games.
No, I’m not talking about his career just yet. I’m talking about the NFL’s investigation into the allegations that he sent dirty pictures to a former NY Jets sideline reporter during his time in the Big Apple. So, did he send them after all? What about that video that people say he asked her for?
Well, the probe is over but we still don’t actually know.
The league fined Favre $50,000 on Wednesday for what it calls his failure to cooperate with investigators. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the 41-year-old was “not candid in several respects” which resulted in a longer investigation and extra bad press for all parties involved.
The league said he didn’t violate its workplace-conduct policy though, which means no one is really sure if he actually sent those “below the belt” picture messages or not. The ruling leaves it pretty open, but I think most people will assume that his apparent evasiveness means he probably did it! (more…)
There’s no question that above all else, the NY Jets have been one thing this year: Controversial.
That trend continued this week, with the latest episode involving coach Rex Ryan! This one isn’t so much a controversy in the way that the Brett Favre sexts, the treatment of a female reporter at Jets practice or the ‘sideline trip’ were – this one is more just a fairly embarrassing thing that has come to light.
One thing it does have in common with the Favre text story though is that it was brought to us by the website Deadspin.
Without further ado, here’s the scoop: A series of foot fetish videos have surfaced that appear to star a woman who looks a lot like Rex Ryan’s wife Michelle. The guy working the camera in one of the videos even sounds kind of like Ryan. The similarities between “Ihaveprettyfeet” and Michelle Ryan don’t seem to end there – both are 47-year-old housewives, both have a master’s degree and both once lived in Ellicott City, Maryland. (more…)
From now on, you’ll be able to read my NFL picks on Thursday because of Thursday Night football in existence over the next seven weeks.
Last week I went 10-3, with my only losses coming from New England, Houston and Indianapolis. I am now 80-50 overall.
Here are my weekend picks:
TNF
Atlanta over Baltimore– In a tight battle that will go down to the wire, the Ravens’ older defense will get tired in the fourth quarter.
11AM
Detroit over Buffalo–The Lions are moving in the right direction with Jim Schwartz at the helm. Lions’ wideout Calvin Johnson has 551 yards and eight touchdowns, proving he is becoming an elite receiver.
I’m starting a trend. I’ve gone 10-6 each week over the first three and have an overall record of 30-18. Last week I was wrong with Green Bay, Miami, San Francisco, Washington, New Orleans and San Diego. Let’s hope we do a little better in week 4. I know one thing. I won’t be 10-6 again because Dallas, Minnesota, Kansas City and Tampa Bay have the bye.
11am
Atlanta over San Francisco–A lot more was expected from the 49ers at the start of the season, and Mike Singletary’s job could be in jeopardy if they go to 0-4.
NY Jets over Buffalo–It will be a long day for Ryan Fitzpatrick. Maybe they’ll have to go to Trent Edwards. Oh wait a sec. Forget about that idea Chan Gailey. You released Edwards this week and he is now in Jacksonville.
Last week I went 10-6, and was wrong with Chicago, Cincinnati, Miami, Pittsburgh, New England and Tampa Bay.
My overall record so far is 20-12. Here are my week 3 picks:
11am
Baltimore over Cleveland–The Raven D may be getting up their in age, but they’re still very tough.
Cincinnati over Carolina–The Panthers lost last week at home to Tampa, now they have to face the Bengals.
Dallas over Houston–In what could be considered a minor upset, the Cowboys get back on track after a slow start.
San Francisco over Kansas City–In one of the more interesting matchups of the weekend, the 49ers played much better last week against the Saints than they did a week before against the Seahawks. They should be able to beat the Chiefs if they don’t play down to their competition.
With the CFL’s regular season complete in just over a month from now and the NFL’s regular season now kicking into high gear, no time is better than the present to watch this magnificently physical sport.
Here are the games I’ll be watching this weekend.
Saturday–7:30pm–CFL–B.C. Lions @ Calgary Stampeders–TSN–The 9-2 Calgary Stampeders can clinch a home playoff game this evening with a victory, against a 3-8 Lions squad they have dominated in recent outings. Calgary has won the last eight regular season games against B.C. , with the Lions last win coming on November 3, 2007. Don’t expect the Stampeders to activate newly acquired running back Jesse Lumsden of their practice roster any time soon. Calgary just has too much depth at that position, led by Joffrey Reynolds and Jon Cornish.
NFL Week Two
Picture This!
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