Let There Be Football!!!

Finally, the cloud of the NFL Lockout has been lifted. As a result, preseason and training camps are fully underway. Along with that, there have been some MAJOR transactions, from free agent signings to retirements. Teams like the New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings have made the most noise in the free agent market with the Pats signing lightning rods such as Chad Johnson (aka Ochocinco) and Albert Haynesworth, while the Vikings signed Donovan McNabb (Albert & Donovan from the Redskins). The Patriots' signings of Haynesworth and Johnson gave me mixed reactions. One of excitement like "Wow! This is great! New England is going to be an even bigger powerhouse offensively with Brady throwing to Chad & Deion Branch!". Another reaction was a head scratcher like "Wow! What is Belichick going to do with these guys? Is he trying to be Jimmy Johnson with two of the biggest headcases outside of Randy Moss and T.O.?" Either way, New England has left me saying "Wow!", and I think that this was their goal through this whole time. I think that I am going to go with the first reaction, because Coach Belichick, as much as I have not liked his past methods of winning (tuck rule, spygate), I like how he is taking this Jimmy Johnson kind of approach and signing two players who are viewed as renegades by the NFL and molding them into his system and style of play, much like how Dallas signed Charles Haley and later Primetime in the early to mid '90s. Fast forward 16+ years later, and it is the same deal. Now the Patriots look more like the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders than your daddy's Patriots from the Drew Bledsoe 1994 days!!lol. I am a guy who likes to see chemistry when there are at least 2 or more stars on one team (49ers- Rice-Montana of the '80s Rice-Young of the '90s, Smith-Aikman-Irvin of the '90s Cowboys). Now Tom Brady has a cool new weapon at his already stacked arsenal next to his biggest gun, Deion Branch. I am looking forward to this WR combo of Chad Johnson/Deion Branch to torch defenses throughout the season, especially when you have the best QB in the league (Tom Brady) throwing the ball. These guys have a major chip on their shoulder after that embarrassing loss to the Jets in the playoffs. I am just waiting for the regular season and playoffs themselves to go undeway before anyone makes hasty comparisons to the Montan-Rice-Taylor trio in San Fran during the '80s. Now, to the Minnesota Vikings. When I learned that Donovan McNabb signed to the Vikings, I was not surprised, but happy, because this is where I had been telling people that Donovan would and should go. I knew that McNabb would eventually join Minnesota, and now that Brett Favre's corpse is no longer taking up space, Donovan can freely operate. I firmly believe that this is the proper place for DNabb to thrive in, because of the weapons that he has to throw to (Sydney Rice, Percy Harvin, Bernard Berrian) along with the league's best running back (Adrian Peterson), who will help open up the field for him to do his damage. Donovan's career has come full circle to that of another Philadelphia Eagles legend, Randall Cunningham. Both he and Randall were huge star QBs for the Eagles for 11 years. (Cunningham- 1985-1995, McNabb- 1999-2009) However, Cunningham took one full year out of football (1996), while Donovan floundered for one year with the Washington Redskins (2010). He might has well left for a year himself. In 1997, when Cunningham returned, he was fully rejuvenated, both attitude wise and performance wise, as he signed with the Minnesota Vikings. The following year in Minnesota would be Cunningham's best since his prime in Philly, where he became the starting QB for an injured Brad Johnson and had a phenomenal season leading the league's most powerful offense with rookie sensation WR and future hall of famer Randy Moss and star WR and should-be hall of famer, Cris Carter. That year, Randall had his best season since 1988, (completing 259-425 passes, 60.9 completion percentage, 3,704 yards, career high 34 TDs, career high 106.0 QB rating) while leading the Vikes to a 15-1 record and coming a game of going to the Super Bowl (which they would have won by the way). With this move to the Twin Cities, McNabb is following in his predecessor's footsteps by reviving his career in the land of 1,000 lakes and adding to his legacy. As I have said before, I knew that he was going to sign with Minnesota. The Vikes also have an edge heading into the season, because the same way the Pats are looking to rebound from that humiliating playoff loss, they are cleaning up the mess that Brett Favre has left behind. Meanwhile, down in the Lone Star State, my Cowboys have been doing the opposite by cleaning house because of the salary cap. Dallas has released 8 players because of the lockout, which included WR Roy Williams and RB Marion Barber (both have signed with Chicago since then). This offseason has been filled with great surprises and excitement and is only a sign of things to come this year. Let's get ready for football!!!!