| John McMullen. 25th January, 2008 - 1:09 pm
 Confession time...I love Eli Manning and the New York Giants.
No, I am not a Giants' fan, and if being honest I still think Eli stinks. But give the devil its due, Big Blue saved me from two straight weeks of incessant Brett Favre slurping.
For that...I will forever be grateful.
I'm not sure when criticizing Favre became an indictable offense in this country. Somewhere between his vicodin addiction and his many personal travails, I'm sure. Still, the endless lovefest borders on the absurd.
Favre wasn't always like this. In my years in Minneapolis, I had the pleasure of seeing him play twice a year, and it was breathtaking. In his prime, Favre was one of the best ever -- second only to Joe Montana in my mind.
Year in and year out, the Vikings had more talent than the Green Bay Packers, but when people asked for my prediction, I always went with Favre. He was that good.
Today, I feel silly for ever lauding Favre -- a pariah that may even trump T.O. as the most selfish player in the NFL.
He might not be doing situps in the driveway but he's held the Packers hostage for the past few offseasons as football's version of Roger Clemens.
Sure, he had a nice comeback season in 2007 when he was surrounded by a number of receivers able to overcome his penchant for throwing into double coverage two to three times a game. Yep, those same "playmakers" he shoved under the bus last offseason while pining for Randy Moss to save him.
And, his apologists that dot the network airwaves look more and more foolish when defending him at the expense of every other player on his team -- most of which actually listen to their coaches and try to carry out an assignment properly.
Of course the future Hall of Famer's status in the game makes it impossible for his own coaches to call him out for his willful ignorance of their game plan -- something every other NFL signal caller would get lambasted for on a daily basis.
In the woeful NFC, the Packers should be preparing to be sacrificed at the hands of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII if Favre just managed his own ego in the NFC Championship Game.
I mean, let's face it. Eli is not as unstoppable as Citizen Watch would have you believe. In fact, he's the fourth option at the Manning family pick-up games, a notch below Cooper.
So, instead of waiting for the patented Manning playoff implosion, every one's favorite gunslinger just hurls the ball into coverage and waits for his minions to blame his young receivers or a case of the sniffles.
Simply put, Favre’s play in the NFC title game was the ultimate act of selfishness on the football field. Forget mapquesting Glendale, Favre is now preparing for his upcoming nuptials.
No, he's not renewing his vows with Deanna... He's finally making things official with Joe Buck.
Slurp, slurp, slurp.
John is the managing editor of The Phanatic Magazine and the co-host of the highly rated 'Johns on Sports' radio show on WTBQ in New York. Every Saturday from 5-7 p.m. (et) you can hear John along with his co-host, John Gottlieb, talk to the movers and shakers in the sports world. Recent guests have included Darelle Revis of the New York Jets, ESPN's Buster Olney and ComcastSportsnet's Ron Burke. You can listen on the internet at wtbq.com or call 845-651-1110 to be part of the program.
John is also the author of the upcoming book on Philadelphia Eagles football titled, "Philadelphia Eagles football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports." The book will be released by Savas Beatie in September 2008. You can reach John at jmcmullen@phanaticmag.com. |
