Maddux Sports Blog

1. I still have long term concerns about how good the Favre experiment will look in December, but one thing seems certain now – this team is only undefeated because they signed him. Or at least that seems reasonable. It’s hard to imagine that Rosenfels or Jackson would have been able to lead that comeback in the same way, or could have thrown that pass to win as time expired. I don’t see this team doing any real damage in the playoffs. I don’t even now for sure what the Vikings really have to offer, and likely won’t know until they play Baltimore in week six.

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1. Matt Cassel – I was very impressed by Cassel last year, and I am fully in favor of the Chiefs’ decision to make him their QB of the future. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have more than a few concerns about his immediate future, though. His team is monumentally short of real talent around him, and there are real concerns about whether the offensive line will give him the time he needs, or the time he became used to last year. I am optimistic in the long term, but this year could be a real problem. The Chiefs weren’t a good team last year, and they have a lot of work left to do until they become a good team again.

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Well, it’s been an interesting day in professional football. The hallmark story involves the legendary Brett Favre, who, at 39 years old, turned down the starting spot with Minnesota today. Additionally, QB Michael Vick is certainly a person of interest these days and there are a few other guys who are worth considering.

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Matt Cassel is a Chief. Bizarre. It seemed destined to happen – the Chiefs didn’t have a true number one in town, and Scott Pioli left the Pats on good terms to go to K.C. as the main man. What is so surprising, though, is that the Pats essentially gave Cassel away. New England packaged linebacker Mike Vrabel with Cassel, and all they got in return was a second round draft pick, 34th overall. The Chiefs get two starters in two positions of high need, and they give up just a pick that is far from guaranteed to produce an instant (more…)

This is probably a ridiculous position, and I don’t really think I believe in it, but as I was watching Matt Cassel look like a superstar as he tore Arizona to pieces, I couldn’t help but think that maybe New England’s QB situation isn’t as straigh forward as it seems. Maybe they should do the unthinkable and trade away Tom Brady. As a Michigan fan, I can’t believe that I am even thinking that. Still, here are five reasons why this ridiculous suggestion could make some sense:

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I’m not going to offer a pick or any specific analysis about tonight’s huge NFL game – that’s not what I do here. This is a very interesting game, though, so I do want to take a closer look at it. Here are five different elements to this game that I will be watching closely, and which have factored significantly into my handicapping of the game:

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