Best QB year ever? Maybe. And it looks like Boston here we come

So I’m lying there watching Drew Brees drill the New York Football Giants last night (24-for-38 passing, 363 yards, four touchdowns) and you wonder.

(Here's the link to the video highlights)

Is this the best season for NFL quarterbacks – as a collective group – ever?

You’ve got Aaron Rodgers doing jaw-slackening things for the unbeaten Green Bay Packers. You’ve got Tom Brady being all Tom Brady up in New England and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Pats aren’t playing in the big game in Indy in February on his talents alone.

I still say Eli Manning doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves for his abilities – especially in the late stages of close games.

There are times Tony Romo looks all-world, Matt Schaub before he got hurt, Jay Cutler the same thing, Ben Roethlisberger’s had big games, so has Alex Smith.

And that’s not even mentioning Teee-boooowwwww!

Why?

Wish I knew for sure but we should relish in it.

For too long, the NFL was horribly boring in one man’s opinion, too much running, too much defence, too much staid old offence that took a lot of energy out of the games, and fun.

Now?

Now you sit down on a Sunday and someone’s going berserk with the ball in their hands. Scoring seems to be up – someone else can do the math, we know me and numbers – the number of fourth quarter comebacks is astounding to me and the pass-happy nature of some offences may not be CFL-esque, but it’s was better than it was.

Maybe it’s the changing of some rules that have given the quarterbacks less to think about; maybe wide receivers are just better than they were; maybe offensive coaches are designing better stuff in the merry-go-round world of coaching.

But it’s fun, isn’t it? We want our quarterbacks to be something of gunslingers, to air the ball out a lot, to go for the big play instead of settling for the easy one.

This year?

It’s happening. And it’s made it a fun season so far, especially for a guy who used to spend every NFL Sunday afternoon in some arena “watching” games on a computer.

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Hmm.

If, as I’ve been led to believe, geography will determine the home-and-home exhibition season we’re in for, looks like another trip to Boston is our future.

I know, Cleveland’s closer and so is Detroit but they have to play each other, New York gets New Jersey, Philly gets Washington and about all that’s left that makes sense is Toronto-Boston.

It was that way in 1999 – plus I recall they opened the regular season in Boston as well – and I guess it’s more by default than true geography but I’m okay with going to a great city (I can go see my man Red) that Porter flies to.

Oh, and if they dare charge a nickel for these games, I’ll lead the boycott.

They have to be free and I don’t care what kind of logistical nightmare that ends up being, if they make people pay for pretend games after a 149-day lockout, they deserve more wrath than you can imagine.

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Random thought of the day:

Dear You Know Who You Are

Mime’s are stupid. And not at all funny.

Signed, The Rest of Humankind.

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Hey, you guys ever see this crazy show The Sing Off?

Gaggles of a cappella singing groups in some sort of contest to see who can butcher songs the best?

(A friend told me about it, I watched some zillion-person choir do Paradise By The Dashboard Light and almost, well, let’s say we moved quickly to Saints-Giants).

I tell ya, there are far, far, far, far too many reality TV shows out there and I need to invent a channel that has nothing but Jeopardy, Seinfeld, and a variety of cop/law dramas).

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So the crazy Joe Kapp-Angelo Mosca thing isn’t going away.

You know the incident by now, the two 73-year-old former CFL greats get into a slugfest at some alumni thing at the Grey Cup? Classic comedy, to me.

You can see it here as part of Damien's stuff from Vancouver.

Anyway, not only did I see it on the opening segment of Monday Night Football – and if they are the arbiters of good sports stories, I don’t know who is – an e-mail arrives overnight from a buddy in the Jersey area that includes a link and a simple statement:

“It’s just a wacky league you’ve got up there.”

Indeed.

But think of the possibilities?

Maybe seniors slugging can replace poker or darts as some TV show?

Maybe they could juice up those boring old NHL oldtimers games by staging a couple of fights; not only would that add a new dimension, it might better approximate the real game.

Tours. Tickets. Merchandising. The possibilities are endless.

Thanks, Joe. Thanks, Angelo.

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Okay, so it’s pouring rain, Super Dog’s deathly a’scared, walk will have to wait although she keeps prancing by the desk until the door open and she cowers and I’m wondering when the first drip’s going to appear from the corner of the kitchen skylight.

Yeah, big morning ahead.

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My man Cathal’s got an interesting piece here today, all about the impact the Leaves being good might have on the Raptors, who have been ungood for quite some time.

First reaction? What? The Leafs are good?

Hmm. Didn’t see any pigs in the sky lately but haven’t been looking that closely.

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Comments

[Penguin]

It was kind of ironic to me that Joe Kapp should suddenly be back in the news. When I first heard all the talk about Tim Teebow, I thought of Kapp. Kapp was a QB also frequently criticized for his lack of throwing prowess. All he knew how to do, it seemed, was to lead his team to win. I am not a Teebow fan. Further, I am an atheist, so I find his religious fervor more than over the top. But, he does seem to inspire his team, much as Joe Kapp back in the day.

[Richard Y]

Just like the players and others involved in the NBA, we are making the transition from the off season back to our regularly scheduled programming. I, like many others, have really enjoyed the non-basketball content and at the same time am looking forward to more about the HOTH. Right now we haven't even started training camp yet and don't have a schedule. If it was a regular year, would we be this concerned about the BNBR (basketball to non-basketball ratio) in Sept?

So Doug if you have a plan for a Life section blog and a Raptors blog, I would read both. In the meantime thanks for the fun over the past 5 months.

Lorie, I need ideas for gifts for sisters and nieces.

[Lorie]

@Richard Y: Always happy to help An Early Shopper! Now, I hear candlesticks always make a nice gift...hah! Kidding, of course. You know what my daughters enjoyed? I'd buy them subscriptions to two magazines: one would be "fun" (like In-Style, Vogue or Elle) and the other would be more "serious" (like The Atlantic Monthly, Walrus, Harper's). They looked forward to getting their issue in the mail (nice change from bills and flyers and earlier than available on news stands) and if you aren't a big fan of malls, it can be done online, of course. You could suit it to their particular interests, (as the years went by, one of my girls opted out of Harpers and asked for a subcription to Harvard Review of Philosophy! Now that's a pricey publication!) but it's something I started with them many years ago. Now, if only they'd take the hint and give me the gift of a year of "Slam". Kidding, of course. :)

[John D.]

A couple of days of catching up and thought you'd be interested to know that despite all the sports in the world (and countless Middle East things) the sports lead on Aljazeera in Cairo was a little tid-bit about our veteran CFL pugalists! Classic.