# Season Long NFC North Discussion Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 1, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514 "2009-09-01T17:54:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/421 "2009-11-02T18:14:59Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I thought for a while that maybe Dan Snyder had secretly bought the team. However, according to [this](http://www.askthecommish.com/salarycap/numbers.asp), they’re pretty much smack in the middle in terms of cap space. Are all those contracts loaded in the back end, or something? Or is Spielman just really good as fiddling with the cap hit numbers? Spielman has been amazingly good at limiting dead money under the cap. According to [this article](http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-denver-post-money1029,0,863778.story) the Vikings and the Packers are the best in the league right now in avoiding dead money. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/422 "2009-11-02T18:39:44Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The three stooges defense on Harvin’s 51 yard catch and run (after a laser pass from Favre) was pretty big too. Well yeah that was big, there were plenty of big plays, the two I mentioned just stuck out more to me. This game was actually pretty similar to the game in Minnesota. The Vikings get a big lead and the Packers (Rodgers especially) work hard to make it close, but in the end the Vikings are just better. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/423 "2009-11-02T18:48:39Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I had blocked that play from my memory. > > Unfortunately, it’s only the _second_ greatest QB scramble to ever happen to the Vikings. The best is still this [immortal run](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni6cCwb6Nlk) by Steve Young. That’s the one that still haunts my dreams. Funny thing, the play that haunts my dreams is also a play by Steve Young…and Terrel Owens. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IzThn8pkpC0/hqdefault.jpg "The Catch II: Steve Young to Terrell Owens") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzThn8pkpC0) Of course, a play or two earlier Jerry Rice had fumbled the ball but the officials called him down, otherwise the game would have been over. Nonetheless… ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/424 "2009-11-02T19:00:52Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > While I agree that Chilly is an unexciting personality, and often a maddeningly conservative play caller, hasn’t he quietly built pretty good team over the last couple of years? He’s drafted well (AD, Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice), he got us Jared Allen out of free agency. His record has improved year by year, and now with the addition of Favre, the Vikings are off to one of their best seasons since '98, and are legit contenders for the NFC crown and the Superbowl. Any discussion of Chilly’s roster accomplished needs to be prefixed with a $30mil salary cap surplus that was dropped in his lap by Red. ---
**Author:** ![UncleNito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7cd45c/32.png) [@UncleNito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleNito)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/425 "2009-11-02T21:43:35Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Of course, a play or two earlier Jerry Rice had fumbled the ball but the officials called him down, otherwise the game would have been over. Nonetheless… Only time in my life I’ve heard my Mormon-missionary brother drop F-bombs. In front of my mother, no less. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/426 "2009-11-03T02:39:17Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Oh give me a fucking break. When Brett comes to Lambeau to get his number retired then all the feel good stuff can be discussed and he canbe cheered. BUt he came back to Lmabeau as memebr of the Vikings with the sole reason to beat the Packers. He came into Lambeau as the ENEMY, inot just any ENEMY but the hated purple. In an important division game. So save me the heartbreak for all of the booing Brett got. I mean seriously, they were supposed to cheer the guy? Fuck that bullshit, he **was** a Packer he is **now** a Viking so fuck him for now. When Kevin Garnett came back to Minnesota to take on the Wolves he got a standing ovation. Favre gets boos, jersey burnings and a mock funeral because he wouldn’t go quietly into that good night after the Pack no longer wanted him. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/427 "2009-11-03T02:41:38Z")
When Chuck Knoblauch came back, fans threw hotdogs at him. Of course, Chuck Knoblauch is a whiny prick and Kevin Garnett is a class act. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/428 "2009-11-08T14:40:43Z")
And the Packers lose another starter on their O Line, with Spitz going on the IR, ending his year. _sigh_. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/429 "2009-11-08T16:06:37Z")
> [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](#): > > When Kevin Garnett came back to Minnesota to take on the Wolves he got a standing ovation. Favre gets boos, jersey burnings and a mock funeral because he wouldn’t go quietly into that good night after the Pack no longer wanted him. It wasn’t that the Pack no longer wanted him. It was that they couldn’t have him continuing to hijack their offseasons year in and year out. Once Favre announced his retirement, they made plans to move on without him. You can’t argue that it’s in any way their fault that they couldn’t accomodate his change of heart a month before the damn season. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/430 "2009-11-08T16:32:44Z")
Why did they try to bribe him not to go to another team? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/431 "2009-11-08T17:07:26Z")
Because he doesn’t suck? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/432 "2009-11-08T18:08:11Z")
And on the first series of the game, Tommie Harris gets ejected for punching Deuce Lutui in the face after the play is over. Ah, those Bears. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/433 "2009-11-08T18:10:47Z")
Slick move, Harris. And I really, really needs a Bears win this week too. Dipshit… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/434 "2009-11-08T18:21:42Z")
The Lions have a good chance to get a great draft choice . Hows that for desperation? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/435 "2009-11-08T18:41:00Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > The Lions have a good chance to get a great draft choice . Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, or Russell Okung could make nice additions. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/436 "2009-11-08T18:53:26Z")
The Packers are doing everything they can to keep the Bucs in this game. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/437 "2009-11-08T19:10:23Z")
“This is just downright embarrassing what we’re seeing here today”\* Troy Aikman describing the Bears defense that has given up 4 touchdowns on 4 possessions in just under two quarters of play. \*Or something close to this. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/438 "2009-11-08T21:34:05Z")
This can not keep up. The Seahawks have had 2 plays and 2 turnovers. The Lions have dropped the ball all over the place. They hit the goalpost on a 34 yard field goal and it bounced away. But somehow they got 2 touchdowns and are leading 14 to zip. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/439 "2009-11-08T21:43:40Z")
I have officially given up on the Packers. Losing the Vikings is one thing (at least they are good this year), and the other loss I can chalk up to a fluke, but losing to a previously winless team? I’l probably continue to watch games (at least for a while), but I will assume a loss. I had no Super Bowl illusions, but I figured 9-7 or even 10-6 might be doable. Now I have doubts about 8-8 or even 7-9. ☹ Brian ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514/440 "2009-11-08T22:39:08Z")
I couldn’t ask for much more than this as a Vikings Fan on a bye week. Hehe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/season-long-nfc-north-discussion-thread/508514.md?page=23)