A few things I learned watching the Eagles/Vikings game last night

Number 1:

The average age of the Eagles most prolific offensive weapons is a little over 24.5 years old. I'm including Mike Vick, Brent Celek, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, and Jeremy Maclin only. Take out Mike Vick and it's a little over 23 years old. Either way, if these guys stay together they could have a run of at least 5 more solid years if they're healthy. Staying together is probably unlikely in this age of free agency but depending on how the collective bargaining stuff turns out it may be more likely. That should be a scary thought for the NFL.

Number 2:

All that Mike Vick MVP talk has to go away now. Leading up to this week it was plausible to say he had a shot at winning the MVP, but after the performance last night, it's a wrap. Go ahead and give it to Brady now. I've heard the arguments about how Brady is gonna win it regardless because he's Brady and his reputation is better than Mike Vick's in general and I agree with that to an extent. But combine winning an MVP with Mike Vick's story and it is far more compeling, motivating, and means a lot more than Tom Brady putting up big numbers this year or (for that matter) Mike Vick putting up big numbers this year. Vick's story transcends the sport and is about life's mistakes, consequences, and subsequent recovery and return to respectability. No matter how much you may hate what Mike Vick did or was involved in, you have to respect how he came back, showed humility, and performed well at what he's paid well to do. So while Brady will win the MVP this year, Vick's story is more valuable than just a trophy.

Number 3:

If Andy Reid is worth the money the Eagles are paying him, this win should galvanize the Eagles for a solid playoff run. The timing of the loss is almost perfect in that a team that's playing well toward the end of the season knows they're good and may be a little overconfident going into the playoffs. Losing a game in the last couple of weeks can help to humble them. Remember when the Patriots ran the table and lost in the Superbowl? That's all I'm saying. Sometimes a loss is a good thing. For weeks now the Eagles have been riding on a cloud of Mike Vick fairy dust and it seemed nothing could go wrong. Last night proved that Vick is most definitely human and the Eagles need to execute better and more importantly, learn how to stop the corner blitz coming from Mike Vick's left.

Number 4:

I understand why no defenses have been able to effectively make Mike Vick roll to his right rather than his left. It's because he's FAST AS HELL! He'll just dodge someone coming from the left and then continue left if there's room. By doing this he can easily square up and make his normal left-handed throws. When he rolls to the right he takes a little more time to set-up and throw the ball and is more likely to run. The commentators mentioned this last night and I've heard it before several times and thought the same exact thing I've always thought: "Ya'll must not realize just how elusive and quick this guy is. He will dodge that shyt and go right back to his left." Vick managed to do just that several times last night but not enough. And it also seemed like he and DeSean Jackson just weren't on the same page at all last night and I think that also played into it. But either way, the Vikings blitz schemes last night were effective and I expect that to be the blueprint for anyone that faces the Eagles from here on out.

Number 5:

LeSean McCoy may be the closest thing to Marshall Faulk in the NFL in terms of his ability to catch and run with the ball. He's not as good at running the ball between the tackles as Marshall Faulk but on dump-off passes and screen plays he's about as elusive as anyone in the NFL and plays with that sort of silky smoothness that Marshall Faulk had. I think lots of people expected Matt Forte to assume the Marshall Faulk role in Chicago this year because of Mike Martz being there but McCoy leads all RBs in receptions this year (and I bet it's by a landslide) and there was one pass he caught last night where he probably ran for 30 yards or so but he looked about as elusive as anybody ever has (Barry Sanders notwithstanding) in the NFL.

Number 6:

Mike Vick deserves a raise. I honestly don't think the Eagles are going to sign him to any sort of long-term deal as a starter. He's 30, Kevin Kolb is 26, and this is Mike Vick's shot to win a title in Philly. This year only. I bet the Eagles will use him as trade bait for a team like Minnesota who will need a solid QB next season if they can't draft one. I would throw Washington in that mix but Andy Reid isn't that stupid. There are a lot of teams that could use a solid QB so even though I don't think Vick will be in Philly he's earned a solid contract somewhere in the NFL next season.

Number 7:

Joe Webb might already be a better NFL QB than Tavaris Jackson. No disrespect to Tavaris but Webb showed a lot of poise and composure and the ability to make plays last night. Everybody's talking about how he was drafted as a receiver blah blah blah but dude was a QB in college so the position is not foreign to him and that showed last night. And if you look at what he did in college (albeit at UAB) you'll see that he's quite the athlete and put up rushing yards a la (ahem) Mike Vick. With that said, maybe the Vikings should start thinking about a future with AP, Webb, and Lesley Frazier as their team's nucleus. They've got two solid wide-outs in Rice and Harvin and a solid tight-end in Shiancoe. Grab another good wide-out, a lineman or two where you need 'em, a couple solid defensive players, and they're right back to being competitive with the Bears and Packers.

NFL Picks - Week 11

First and foremost, shot out to Mike Vick for having an amazing season so far and beating the BRAKES off my favorite team on Monday Night. If I were him I'd probably be doing this behind closed doors to everyone that STILL wants to see him fail because of the dogfighting conviction and him being a conceited, arrogant, herpes-spreading prick back in his Atlanta days.


Yeah, I'd be doing that behind closed doors ONLY lol.

I'm glad to see Vick has improved quite a bit as a (passing) QB - he's always been great at running - and that he's seemingly matured quite a bit. I just hope that his growth off the field as a human being is far more pronounced than his growth on the field as a football player. At the end of the day Michael Vick is a person just like the rest of us and to see him grow more as a person than an athlete is what will be really impressive to me. So far, it looks like that's the case and I'm rooting for him, even when he beats the crap out of my favorite NFL team.

As a Redskins fan I have no excuse for that Toby-esque whippin' we took. Not blaming Shanahan, McNabb, Haynesworth, Snyder, or anyone else. That's a team loss and a historically embarrassing team loss at that. Yet and still, you know what it is....BLACK-AND-YELLOW-BLACK-AND-YELLOW!


Now for my picks this week...

Chicago over Miami: I'm sorry, I just don't think they can win with Tyler Thigpen as the starter. Even with the Wildcat I think that Chicago's defense is solid enough to win this game. I really really want to pick Miami because I think they're well-coached AND they're playing at home. But I think that the Bears defense is gonna pull some good tricks out the bag for Mr. Thigpen.

Cincinnati over Buffalo: Sorry Buffalo, this won't be a two-game winning streak. As much as I think Carson Palmer stinks to high heaven, I don't think the Bengals are gonna give up this game at home. Besides, Chad can celebrate his engagement with a few TDs.

Dallas over Detroit: I will say this about the CowGirls. They looked kinda dangerous last week. Not "we gonna make a playoff run" dangerous (aaaahhhbviously!) but "we gonna fock up a few people's shot at the playoffs" dangerous. They seem to have a renewed energy so I expect them to win this game, especially at home.

Titans over Redskins: After getting obliterated by the Eagles and next up having to play in Tennessee against a well-coached team with a sick running back and a really good defense... Yeah, I'm not picking my favorite team in this one. I expect Chris Johnson (aka Pinball) to break 200 yards.

Chiefs over Cardinals: Even after the loss last week within their division I still think that Kansas City might actually be for real this year (speaking of, I'm officially convinced that the Falcons are the real deal).

Green Bay over Minnesota: The Vikings season ended last week. Check out Brett Favre's curtain call against his old team. After the Vikings lose this one I hope Chilly is intelligent enough (yeah right) to start Tavaris Jackson so they'll have an idea of what next year might be like. Imagine Tavaris Jackson pulling a Michael Vick next year. It's possible.

Jets over Houston: The single solitary reason I am picking the Jets in this one is that Houston's defense stinks so bad that even the slowly-getting-better Mark Sanchez should be able to put up a few TDs. Ok, two reasons. The other is that this game is a home game for the Jets. I'm not sold on the Jets as much as I thought I'd be at this point in the season and for as many wins as they've squeaked out (against solid teams though), I think QB play is what's going to determine their season. And I'm just not sold on Sanchez being able to pull through and actually win one in the clutch against a really good team. Fortunately for them, Houston is not a really good team but just average.

Steelers over Raiders: Omar Epps alter-ego slash body-double (Mike Tomlin) is my favorite coach in the league right now. That's it. Nothing more.

Baltimore over Carolina: Who is playing QB for the Panthers again? Oh yeah, it doesn't matter.

Cleveland over Jacksonville: After talking trash about the Browns before they beat the Pats and watching them come close to beating the Jets last week I'm going to go out on a limb here and take them against Jacksonville. The Jags got lucky last week and I don't believe they're as good as their record says they are. Not to mention taht as of late, Celeveland's been playing better than their record indicates.

Atlanta over St. Louis: Like I said earlier, I'm convinced the Falcons are for real this year. They may actually be the best team in the NFC even though everyone was talking about the Giants a week ago.

New Orleans over Seattle: Taking the Saints because they're at home at coming off a bye week.

Tampa Bay over San Fran: Sorry @riprock81, I gotta go against your boys this week. Tampa Bay (to my shagrin and my brother's excitement) is a solid football team this year. San Francisco is inconsistent at best. I am however rooting for Troy Smith to have a good game and hopefully for him to be their starter in the future. I think he got a raw deal in Bmore (let go in lieu of Mark Bulger).

Pats over Colts: The Colts could possibly will themselves to a win in this one because of Peyton. BUT, I do not see them doing it in Foxborough. Dome team in New England? I dunno buddy!

Philly over Giants: This is a bandwagon/trendy pick I know because of how the Eagle buffocked the Redskins on Monday night. I don't expect the Eagles to play that well against the Giants defensive front. But I don't think either of these teams can stop one-another from being successful offensively (Philly with the pass, NYG with the run) so I think it'll come down to QB play. And even with his Superbowl ring I don't think Forrest Gump (Eli Manning) will be able to pull it off. Mike Vick's legs might actually be the difference in this one.

Chargers over Denver: THIS JUST IN....The Bolts have the 2nd easiest schedule in the league from here on out. You know what that means right? They're gonna run off 4 or 5 wins and look like a Superbowl contender until they get to the playoffs. Every year it happens... Wash, rinse, repeat!