To mirror other threads on the baseball and college pigskin seasons, here's a chance to talk about the current NFL season and your favorite team(s).

As a diehard Vikings fan, I was encouraged by the whuppin' they put on the Cowboys yesterday. Culpepper and Moss seem poised to have monster years and the defense seems much improved. I picked a 10-6 season, with an NFC North title. So far, so good!

Even though they're not nearly as annoying now as they were in the Michael Irvin days, I'd still say that a win against the Cowboys is a win I'm happy to see. "America's Team" can still use some humility, I think. Although I do have a soft spot, if that's possible, for Parcells. Even though I'm sure they are total bastards to play for, there's something appealing about those old school coaches like Parcells and Bob Knight.

I have so say right off the top, though, that my interest in the NFL has plummeted since 1994, when the Raiders & Rams left the area. But that's not a bad thing, really. There are plenty of teams to root for, and plenty of things to do in LA, that we can live without it. The NFL truly needs LA much more than we need the NFL. And the taxpayers out here aren't going agree to spend a plug nickel on any new stadiums to accommodate the No Fun Leauge.... but I guess we'll see. If we do get a team, I'd love to see them play in the Rose Bowl. What a beautiful stadium that is.

My flag is flying for the Eagles, and Vikings this year. But i must say New England, green bay are going to get in the way!

Biggest disapointments: Baltimore
Miami
Chicago (didnt really need to mention them because its a givin!)

I am just going to say that the Eagle and Patriots are going to the super bowl. Trust me.

I think Eagles/Pats is a good bet. But I'm rooting for my Vikings to push past the Eagles, which may not happen, but given the roll that Culpepper is on, it's not unthinkable...

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
I think Eagles/Pats is a good bet. But I'm rooting for my Vikings to push past the Eagles, which may not happen, but given the roll that Culpepper is on, it's not unthinkable...

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I agree that the Viking offense is great but the defense hasn't really proven itself. I hope that Culpepper beats Marino's most touchdown passes in a season though that would be interesting.

Any one looking forward to the Lions/Cowboys game? I think it will funny seeing Roy Williams defend Roy Williams. The great reciever vs. the great cornerback.

I knew all week that the Steelers would be the Pats. It is great that no one can rave so much about them, I think the Eagles are going to beat them next Saturday.

The Chiefs will win it all this year.

Mark my words.

And you should reserve the right to be wrong, because the chiefs are not going to the superbowl. They don't have any defense, end of discussion it will be eagles and pats/steelers.

I've been pleasantly surprised with the Giants this year. Prior to the season starting, I'd have been happy if they had won 6-7 games. Now, of course, it looks like they have a GREAT chance to make the playoffs.

The New York press has hated Coughlin from the beginning, and I must admit that I would have preferred either Charlie Weis or Romeo Crennel from New England. But so far, he seems to be doing a great job. We shall see.

Well I am going to start a discussion in this discussion. Hope nobody minds, but there is already a censorship thread, and it is completely off topic. How does everybody feel about the "Monday Night Football" opening? I don't see the big deal at all, you see worse on every single channel, regardless if it is cable or not. Remember "Fast Lane" on FOX that had some scenes that were questionable and somewhat raunchy, but there were not any punishments there. This is why football has a five second delay? So that you can NOT do anything about a commercial that isn't that bad at all, to only be picked on by the FCC and immediately apologize? What does everyone else feel about the subject?

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Originally posted by Mike:
Well I am going to start a discussion in this discussion. Hope nobody minds, but there is already a censorship thread, and it is completely off topic. How does everybody feel about the "Monday Night Football" opening? I don't see the big deal at all, you see worse on every single channel, regardless if it is cable or not. Remember "Fast Lane" on FOX that had some scenes that were questionable and somewhat raunchy, but there were not any punishments there. This is why football has a five second delay? So that you can NOT do anything about a commercial that isn't that bad at all, to only be picked on by the FCC and immediately apologize? What does everyone else feel about the subject?

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While I agree that on it's face, it's not objectionable, the NFL is trying to get away from the the Janet Jackson thing of over-sexualizing the tv portion of the game (which is ironic considering all of the "twins" beer ads, etc.). But I also happen to think there's an element of latent racism going on here -- black athlete & scantily clad white woman in a compromising position. Perhaps that offends some folks in SEC country! (kidding). But that may be part of it. If that's not it, I have no idea what the beef is....

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I also happen to think there's an element of latent racism going on here -- black athlete & scantily clad white woman in a compromising position.

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That seems highly plausible, I never even thought of that but it makes sense. It is a shame that so many years after racism implemented in the government the citizensa still have these types of issues. I'm sure it is probably subconsious but it is still, terrible. I totally agree that the "twins" commericials are just as bad and much more annoying than anything ABC has created.

This season so far has been really bad for my team. My team are:

Titans
Lions
Broncos
They all are under 500 and it does not look good for the rest of the season for them nethier.

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Originally posted by CompmanJX3:
The Chiefs will win it all this year.

Mark my words.

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HA

I was really impressed at how well the Jaguars played against the Steelers. They showed that the Steelers can be beaten, and had the damn kicker not missed, they would have been beaten.

Alright, I'm gonna rant now. The hot topic on the sports talk today was the Randy Moss "moon" after his 2nd TD against the Packers. I'll get these things out on the table first:

1. I'm a long time Vikings fan.

2. I don't have strong feelings about Moss. He's a great player, but also a head case.

3. There is a longtime tradtion in Green Bay which informs Moss' actions. If the Pack win, the fans line up behind the stadium and moon the visiting team's bus from behind the fence.

4. Moss did NOT remove his pants. He just mimed the mooning.

OK, now I'm done with prelims. Here's the deal: EVERYONE is up in arms about this. Joe Buck, who I like, called it "despicable." James Brown (who rarely has an opinion of his own) and the crew on Fox's postgame show were up in Moss' grill. Fox refused to re-air the footage (this is the same network that brought us "Married by America" and "Who's Your Daddy" and "Temptation Island"...how can they be on a moral high horse here?) and ESPN didn't air it on the edition of EPSNews that I saw (again...they'll repeatedly show a brutal, concussion-causing hit or "Playmakers" but not this?)

Here's my beef: I'm not defending Moss. His actions were ill-advised but (in my estimation) intended in good humor and kind of funny. But why is this act any different that the Terrell Owens' Sharpie incident or the TO Dallas Star incident? Or Joe Horn's cell phone? Or Jon Randle, who would lift his leg on a QB after sacking him, as if peeing on him? Supposedly, after the "moon", two fights broke out in the stands between Vike and Pack fans. A fan on ESPN radio called this Moss' fault. To me, it seemed like a good-natured jab at the Packers fans using THEIR tradition. Any fights that broke out in the stands CANNOT be blamed on Moss. This wasn't a Ron Artest going into the crowd situation.

The national press has been ALL about talking up Terrell Owens this season. Why doesn't his history of "unsportsmanlike conduct" matter? Ray Lewis is another one that the press gets lathered up over...he's the greatest defensive player of our time. (He's WAY overrated, if you ask me!) But nobody seems to care that he was a MURDER SUSPECT and covered up a crime.

Pardon my rant, but I just think there's a serious double standard here. I think Randy Moss does some dumb stuff, and often, but he's no worse than most of the receivers in the league. And he's CERTAINLY no worse than any player in the NBA. I think Randy Moss should represent his team better than he does. But I don't think he did anything even remotely "despicable" on Sunday. If you want to end questionable celebratory endzone displays, ban them ALL. Why is the worm, or pushups, or a moonwalk acceptable but a faux moon to the crowd is not?

While I agree with you completely PE, I would rather talk football. How did Green Bay lose that game anyway? I thought it was all but decided even before the game started. No matter how much I like Favre, I cannot deny the fact that his performance has declined lately. He threw FOUR interceptions, granted most were the recievers fault, but nonetheless the go on his stats. I am really hoping that the Eagles can find a way to win without TO before they lose to the Vikings.

The Colts didn't beat the Broncos, they dismantled them and I will consider the Colts a strong superbowl pick. Although they face the Patriots, the have lost strength in my book after loosing the the Dolphins.

The Seahawks lost, again...what is new? A cinderella story early season hopeful falls apart before it ever begins. And now the Rams have to face the Mike Vick and the Falcons.

I think that the remaining four teams will be the Steelers, Falcons, Colts, and Eagles. That would make an excellent superbowl no matter who wins the divisions.

I've been reading my new book, with ESPN in the background, now I know why you said so much about it, seems that is all they have to talk about. If Randy wants to shake is butt a little bit, he should be able to without scrutiny. It is funny how big of a deal it is made out to be. I actually saw the celebration live and one of the broadcasters actually apologized for Moss's actions. And now they are saying he has no respect for football. Nonsense!