Harrison is not the type to give some words of wisdom to the younger players, and I especially don’t think that will happen in a new environment like Minnesota. That’s not to say that Harrison is necessarily a selfish player, but that he tends to be a lone wolf and tends to himself. However, young Colts WR’s have always praised him in the past for leading by example, so he could a good influence in that regard. The point I’m trying to make is that even though Harrison has been with the Colts for 13 years, we the fans still don’t have a firm idea of how Harrison interacts with the other players. With that in mind, it would probably be unwise to rely on him for veteren leadership in a new setting with new people.

that’s a sizable difference.

Also none of the stories I looked at would be specific about when it happened. They said he complained of pain “in recent weeks” in the stories that came out right after week 17. Even before his collapse in the last 5 games he was throwing over a pick a game and had 9 of his 10 fumbles.

Favre was very good for a very long time, but he isn’t anymore. He’s had one good year and 3 below average (league ave. not just Favre’s) years of the last 4

but I do think the Giants and Eagles are clearly better.

They might even get a 1st round bye since NYG and PHI will beat up on eachother for two games, but I think they’re #3 in the (JV) NFC.

Favre’s problem is he has let the media and fan perception of him spin out of control. I watched virtually every game last year with Favre and what I saw was a still-god but old QB trying to help a very flawed Jets team. They were 4-12 without Favre the year before and 9-7 with him (8-3 when he was healthy). And, as you noted, in 2007 Favre was magnificent.

While many here, and elsewhere, just want Brett Favre to go away, the fact of the matter is if (and it is a big IF) he is healthy, he is a top tier QB. Even at 40. Top tier. Give him Marvin, AP, and that defense (coached by Leslie Frazier BTW), then they become the favorite in the NFC.

(sorry, trying to lighten things up. I happen to agree)

And I like the Vikings, picked them last year and defended that to the critics. I just think the NFC North will be a lot tougher this year than many are realizing. I live in Northwest Indiana (aka Bears country) and grew up in Michigan during my teen years. I was a huge Favre fan (my son is named Brett) until his nasty divorce with GB, so I followed them closely. I have always followed that division closely. And I love Peterson, have had him on my fantasy squad the past two years now.

I would be careful not to underestimate the Bears. They have had a solid defense that has suffered a bit as of late because their offense could not stay on the field. The offense is looking solid. Matt Forte is the real deal. Many of us wanted him to be drafted by the Colts, and he is beginning to validate our favor. He is a three down back who does it all well. Mark it down, despite all the Cutler buzz, Forte is the most important piece of the offense. And K. Jones isn’t too shabby of a backup, either. Good tight ends in Olsen and Clark.

Don’t underestimate Cutler. I don’t much like some things about his attitude, but he is good. He made Brandon Marshall, not vice versa. And when Marshall was down, he made rookie Eddie Royal look pretty good. Cutler hooked up very well with Earl Bennett in college, and they are now reunited (along with OT Chris Williams, btw). Bennett was more highly touted coming into the draft than Brandon Marshall was, if you recall.Cutler has promised Chicago that they will love Bennett’s production this year, and I believe him. Cutler is the first real QB that the Bears have had since, well, forever.

Devin Hester will surprise at WR. By the end of last year, he had learned how to run amazing routes (remember he came into the NFL as a CB), but Orton couldn’t hit him when he had gotten wide open by running good routes and pure speed combined. Hester still made some nice adjustments and catches a couple times. Cutler will have no trouble taking advantage of Hester’s play. Hester and Bennett will soar in production this year.

Add in Olsen and an amazing Forte, and this team is finally offensively looking very good. The defense will not have to play forever or win games themselves, and they will be even more of a force.

Now let’s mention one of the best special teams units out there. Besides two great returners and tight return coverage, they have a tremendous young kicker in Gould. This is a team that won field position battles despite an inept offense. Watch out this season.

I think the Bears will surprise everyone this year. They made couple great coaching decisions this offseason, with Lovie getting more involved in the defensive calls and the hiring of Marinelli on the DL. They are set, barring freak injuries, for an amazing year. We will see what happens, but I would expect that they’ll finish on top of a very tough division. Again, we’ll see.

You don’t think Cutler’s a HUGE upgrade? Because he is.

The fact he’s got absolutely nobody to throw to is the big issue, of course. Tom Brady and Belicheck could probably make that offense work but whilst Cutler’s a good player, he’s no Tom Brady and Chicago doesn’t have the offensive schemes that New England do.

New wallpaper. heh heh heh