The Beginning of the End of an Era?

With the retirement of Brett Favre this week, the NFL has officially entered the second half of the current Golden Age of Quarterbacks. A mere two years ago, the league was enjoying a phenomenal run of high profile, exciting to watch quarterbacks. Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Donovan McNabb, and Michael Vick were all "Faces of the League", and all were helping to sell out road games in whatever city they happened to be playing in that week. The fact that guys like Carson Palmer, Daunte Culpepper, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and even Philip Rivers were performing at a high level or at least seemed to add to the already high profile of the position just served to add that much more to the feeling that we were seeing an unprecedented level of league wide talent at the position. My, how quickly things change. Vick, as you know, is currently in prison, McNabb may or may not be on his last legs in Philly, and now, Favre has called it quits.

The retirement of number 4 has spawned an alarming amount of discussion on sports talk radio and the internet regarding just how good he really was. After being force fed years of man-love from Peter King and John Madden, the sports punditry has let loose with a backlash that's a little unsettling, to say the least. Is Favre the best quarterback in NFL history? That's not what we're saying. But, to reduce his 17 years to a series of poor decisions, forced throws, and avoidable turnovers is a tad over the top.

Certainly, the "Brett Favre just has fun playing football" notion has been beaten to death, but he did manage to bring a level of enjoyment to watching football that any of the other players mentioned above haven't done, and most likely, won't do. The reason that Favre resonated with the average fan is because he played the game the way that we would like to think we would play it, given the chance. The fact that he made a snowball and threw it at a teammate during the Divisional Round playoff win against the Seahawks underscores that point. Imagine if you were in the backyard, playing your own personal version of the Icebowl in a driving snowstorm. Doesn't that seem like something you would do to one of your buddies if you had just thrown a game turning touchdown pass? Sure it does. That's why Joe Sixpack loved watching Brett Favre. He seemed like one of us. A down to earth type that realized that playing quarterback in the NFL was a blessing and a dream come true. At a time when other players in the league were busy running around with models or pop starlets, Favre was content to live the married life on his farm in the offseason, and stay out of the blinding flash of the papparazzi. When you view him in these terms, it's easy to understand why Peter King and John Madden, as well as casual fans around the country loved to watch him play. As for his place in history, let's discuss that for a moment.

While Favre holds just about every meaningful passing record, he is probably just keeping the seat warm for Peyton Manning. And, yes, he only has the one Super Bowl ring. And, he's probably not in the top five quarterbacks that played in 2007 on the list of "If you had to pick one quarterback to start one game you had to win". With all of that said, Favre still sits at the top of our list for quarterbacks we would pick if we had to make one play to win a game. Time and time again, he seemed to make plays that nobody thought he could make, or should make. Whether it was forcing a pass into double coverage, stumbling out of the pocket and making one of those underhanded tosses like in the Divisional playoff game this year, or drawing up plays in the dirt in the huddle, Favre had a knack for making the most exciting and memorable plays over and over. One such play that defined his career took place in a playoff game that the Packers actually lost. In the fourth quarter of a close playoff game with his team trailing the 49ers, Favre led his team down the field, and threw a go ahead touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman on a play that Mike Holmgren later said was "drawn up in the dirt". With little time remaining, and his team knocking on the door of the endzone, Favre told Freeman in the huddle that he would "audible" at the line, but to run a different route than the audible called for. In fact, the route he told Freeman to run wasn't in the playbook at all. Since the 49ers ran the same version of the West Coast Offense that the Packers ran at that time, the San Francisco defense was extremely familiar with the verbiage and hand signals that the Packers were using. Coming to the line, Favre surveyed the defense, and used a hand signal to change Freeman's route to "Q18", a route in the West Coast Offense that called for him to break off his pattern if he saw the safety playing over the top. In the huddle, Favre told Freeman to break as if he was going to cut the pattern short, and then bolt behind the safety once he had bitten on the underneath route. Once the safety saw the hand signal for "Q18", he certainly knew the route, and was in what he thought to be perfect position to make the play. After the snap, Freeman ran his route as Favre had instructed him, and the safety made only one fateful step forward. Freeman slipped behind him, and Favre threw what Steve Young called "the ugliest duck" of a pass over the safety's head for six. Returning to the sideline, Mike Holmgren uttered not a word to his quarterback, furious that Favre had just run what amounted to a backyard play at a crucial time in a playoff game. If he had, one would imagine that he would paraphrase the manager in "Major League": "Nice throw. Don't ever fucking do it again." That's what made Brett Favre a fan favorite and frequent recipient of slurp jobs from many in the media. If the running soap opera of his will he or won't he retirement over the past couple of years, or the seemingly constant stream of obnoxious praise heaped on him by the media have served to make some talk show hosts or bloggers sick of him, almost everyone will miss watching Brett Favre make plays that he probably shouldn't.

I am ready to headbutt somebody!!! or How two teams I hate made Super Bowl XLII the most exciting one ever.

The above play literally made me jump out of my chair and look for someone or something to headbutt. I was so excited about the Patriots not winning the Super Bowl that as I perused this here internet earlier today, several thoughts came to mind. First, you can almost hear this guy crying. Priceless stuff. Also, another thought ocurred to me: what happened to Donte' Stallworth? Jabar Gaffney? And other than the pass interference call in the end zone, Ben Watson? Far too many names that weren't called last night for the Pats. All of that adds up to the result we all saw. Anyway, in keeping with the general theme of elation, this clip is good for a hindsight chuckle or two, and these guys have put together a pretty comprehensive compendium on the history of choking. All in all, a pretty good day for a Monday. I'm just glad that we won't have to listen to the Patriots for the next 35 years talking about how they are the only team to go 19-0. Mercury Morris is surely annoying, but Rodney Harrison (he of the HGH suspension), Tedy Bruschi (did you know he had a stroke?), Mike Vrabel (did you know that they sometimes use him as a goal line tight end?), Juniour Seau (pile jumper), Tom Brady (did you know he's dating a supermodel and fathered a child out of wedlock with his actress ex-girlfriend?) and Bill Belichick (cheater) would be much worse. Combine that cast of undesirables with the obnoxious Boston fanbase, and the NFL would be almost unwatchable for the forseeable future. Having to live in a world where Eli Manning is a Super Bowl MVP is a fair trade in my opinion.

Santana to the Mets...meh

We here at The Young Lefthander are unabashed Braves fans. The news yesterday of the Santana has greatly altered not only the NL East, but potentially the NL. Let's get this out of the way, Johan Santana is the best pitcher in the game. You will hear from rival teams a lot about how last year was a down year, and Santana is potentially regressing as a pitcher, "that's not true."

Over the last four years Santana has been early 2000s Pedro Martinez. His averages over the last four years have been:

228IP 246SO 3.10ERA

No one has been even close to that. He has also won two Cy Youngs, and probably should have won a third. His numbers for last year were pretty much in line with his career averages, the only number that really jumped was his HR total which went from 24 in 2006 to 33 in 2007. That would explain the mild increase in ERA, however, all of his other periphery numbers were in line with his career averages, including his WHIP (see ESPN).

The more distressing thing for Braves fans is the fact that the Mets did not give up anything regarding major league talent. We were all under the impression that the only way this trade would happen is if the Mets gave up Reyes and Heilman. Reyes is one of the best young SS in the game, though not the best, and a little overrated (that is a topic for another day). Heilman is an excellent reliever who has the potential to be a closer, and still relatively cheap. I am not going into all the prospects the Twins received, but none of them are considered upper tier prospects, with Carlos Gomez considered being the best of the bunch. The rap on Carlos Gomez is that he is the typical "toolsy" outfielder who many scouts feel may not hit well enough in the majors.

The Braves are going to have a potent lineup and the only seeminly week area would still be the back end of the rotation. The rotation has a lot of potential, but we are relying still on the health of a few aging starters (see Smoltz and Glavine). If you asked me right now I would have to say that the Mets are probably the team to beat with the Braves slightly trailing in the NL East. I reserve the right to change that assessment before the season starts.

The President's on! He's on every channel!

While you watch President Bush's last State of the Union address, here's a quick update on ACC hoops.

1. Duke (17-1, 5-0) Not sold on these guys yet. Tough to take them seriously when Scheyer continues to see meaningful minutes
2. UNC (19-1, 4-1) These guys are good. Hansbrough is a beast, and they'll be battle tested by March. Be prepared to see lots of them later in the season.
3. Boston College (12-6, 3-2) Haven't seen alot of them, but haven't been impressed from what I have seen.
4. Clemson (15-5, 3-3) Too much like their football team: fast start, fall apart late.
5. Virginia Tech (12-8, 3-3) Athletically gifted, they seem to have a little trouble staying focused. Could have beaten Duke if they weren't so preoccupied with playing physical.
6. Georgia Tech (10-9, 3-3) Left for dead after Young and Crittendon defected to the NBA after last year, they seem to have found their legs somewhat, playing Kansas and UNC very tough, and ripping off three straight conference wins over Virginia Tech, NC State, and Virginia.
7. Miami (15-4, 2-3) Talented backcourt, but not sure they have all they need to make it to the tournament.
8. NC State (13-6, 2-3) Probably better than most expected. Need to be able to steal a couple of tough road games before they are considered legit.
9. Wake Forest (12-6, 2-3) Again, haven't seen much, but unless Tim Duncan's walking through that door (and he's not), it's not their year.
10. Maryland (12-8, 2-3) Probably the most dangerous of the three loss teams. The win over UNC could signal good things to come.
11. Florida State (13-8, 2-4) If they can't get Jenn Sterger on board, why should anyone pay attention?
12. Virginia (11-7, 1-4) Trendy preseason "team to watch" hasn't lived up to expectations. Solid backcourt, but they need to put it together. Losing at home to a less talented Georgia Tech team is definitely not a good sign.

We'll try to be back tomorrow with more fun.

Cloverfield

We just got back from seeing Cloverfield, and our official verdict is: meh. The monster was pretty cool, but we've seen Blair Witch before. To the right, you see the funniest opinion we have seen on what the monster looks like. We were marginally excited to see it, but we did enjoy this trailer. Also, we can't wait for this. Should be a good summer for movies.

Here we go...

We would like to post here more often, but we have a difficult time finding enough content that we have enough of an opinion on to post that much. We do, however, know a good idea when we see it, and we're not above borrowing it (with proper credit given, of course).

• This is sure to send obnoxious, neurotic Bostonians into a frenzied panic.
• This guy just might be the antidote to all things Federer, and winning the Australian Open could put him on a roll.
• Here's some proof that models are crazy people.
• We just started playing with this, and it's dangerously addictive.

We might be back later in the day with some more random fun.

Note: We'll give all our link sources credit in the tags. That way, they'll all stay organized and you can find everything easier.

Finally!!!

After a 6+ month layoff, we have decided to wander back to the keyboard, and start banging out useless crap nobody reads. We are just over a week away from the merciful end of the football season, and we absolutely can't wait for it to be over. As with most folks who grew up in the hotbed of college football that is the southeastern United States, we love us some football, but, by the end of college football and the NFL playoffs, we feel like a kid at the end of the school year: exhausted and ready for a vacation. Such are the consequences of living and dying with your teams. So, we eagerly anticipate the ending of the football season, and the rejuvenation that comes along with March Madness, MLB, golf, and even tennis. After all, it won't be that long before training camp starts and it's time for fantasy drafts. Enjoy the respite people, it doesn't last long.

A little visual evidence that backs up that whole tennis thing.