NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Barry Sanders Jr., the son of former Lion Barry Sanders, is attracting attention as a high school freshman at Oklahoma City’s Heritage Hall High School.

source

Check out this YouTube as he scores on a reverse.

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Sure Barry Sanders can laugh now. He left.

It is a curse put on me over 1,000 years ago by a witch. How could she have known the Detroit Lions would be so bad?

My father used to tell stories of the Lions in the 50’s winning the World Championship. They did not have the Super Bowl back then. The Detroit Lions have never played in a Super Bowl.

One time the Detroit Lions were in a playoff game against the Packers and Barry Sanders gained a -2 yards. Yeah, -2. Such it is to be a Lions fan. Still as fans we persevere.

Detroit Lions fans are a special group, because we do quit.

You thought maybe that was written wrong, but it was not. We do Quit! Tell that to Matt Millen. Tell that to Mr. Ford. We quit all the time.

Most fans will watch an entire ballgame early in the year and then after about the 3rd game, you begin to realize the Lions will never win enough games to go to the playoffs and certainly won’t be in the Super Bowl. In fact, they look so bad that you begin to shut off the TV at half time while screaming obscenities. Detroit Lions fans know a lot of bad words.

But we keep coming back and back, only to quit again.

There is no justice in being a Lions fan. For a while we had Barry Sanders, but even Barry eventually just walked away. He did not even say anything. It was just enough. You can lose only so long. It was time to go.

Detroit Lions fans love football. We quit.

My prediction this year is for the Lions to win it all. Until my revised prediction after game 3, which is never to watch a Lions game again in my life. We quit. Don’t worry, Squibster will be back, if only to see how the other teams pound my Lions.

Oh, when will the curse be lifted?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Kevin Jones may have to run on one leg, but he will do it for the Chicago Bears

Image details: Chicago Bears v Detroit Lions served by picapp.com

Why is it a Bear that Kevin is a Bear?

The answer? Because the moron Detroit Lions gave up on Kevin when they do not even have a great running back.

I just felt that when Jones was healthy and was given the chance to be a featured back, he was good. Not great, but good. He ran the ball hard. He was hard to tackle. No, he wasn’t the shiftiest back ever. He was just a good workman running back who could move the chains. So I was sorry to see him go. Perhaps Kevin Smith will be a suitable replacement, but I wasn’t ready to give up on Jones yet.
source

It probably does not matter anyway. The Lions never really used him or any of their running backs, since Barry Sanders got disgusted and left.

When given a chance to be “the guy” in the Lions offense, he always did a decent job. He played in 53 games as a Lion and got more than 20 carries 11 times total. 11 times!

If we search far and wide for why the Lions let Kevin go, then we come up with this…money, possible knee problems, money, and money. Good reasons to be sure, but when you suck as a franchise, you cannot keep just letting players go.

And the cardinal sin is to let a good player go to a divisional rival. Ouch!

Jones’ deal is worth $605,000 with no incentives—far less than the $2.35 million he would have made this season had the Lions not cut him. The risk involves the running back’s health, with Jones coming off a right ACL tear that was repaired in the winter. The recovery was supposed to take a year, but thanks to the help of surgeon D.S. Ping in Saline, Mich., Jones says he is well ahead of schedule.
source

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
ESPN lists their Top 10 running backs of all time.

Jim Brown is the big guy on the right

Image details: Jim Brown On The Bench served by picapp.com

1. JIM BROWN

2. BARRY SANDERS

3. WALTER PAYTON

4. EMMITT SMITH

5. GALE SAYERS

6. LADAINIAN TOMLINSON

7. MARSHALL FAULK

8. O.J. SIMPSON

9. LENNY MOORE

10. ERIC DICKERSON

source

Here is a list of the evaluators for ESPN

By the time all was said and done, Don Shula, Marv Levy, Dan Reeves, Robert Smith, Jerry Richardson, Floyd Reese, Jack Bushofsky and Emmitt Thomas had thrown around nearly four dozen names, debated the merits of runners who had seemed flawless when they entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame and helped pare a list to include only the most elite of the elite.

Jim Brown

Hey, Jim Brown was 6′2″ tall and 232 pounds in an era where a lot of linemen weren’t any bigger. He was fast and elusive. Brown only played for 9 years, but dominated all nine. Think of it, 12,000 yards in his career and they only played a 12 game season!

Barry Sanders

The Barry played for my hapless Lions. Oddly coaches used to pull him near the goal line, because of his small stature. Big mistake. Barry was the Lions for his entire career as they rarely surrounded him with any talent. Barry did not even have a good line in front of him. He was so fun to watch.

Walter Payton and Gale Sayers

The two great Chicago Bears blend in my memory. With power, grace, speed, and elusiveness, it seemed the Chicago Bears had great running backs forever.

Emmitt Smith

Dallas would usually give Emmitt a lead fullback block into a huge offensive line. Emmitt had the knack of making one cut off of the block and accelerating for max yards.

Who is in your top 10?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Now the Squibster has not always been the main writer for Squibkick.com. There have been other writers, but still this is a momentous occasion.

This is post 1,000 for Squibkick.com, the blog on NFL football.

Maybe it would be a good time to watch a YouTube of Barry Sanders. You see, your intrepid author is a lifetime Lions fan and a huge Barry Sanders fan. For many years, Barry was all the Lions had, no offensive line, no quarterback, nothing. The dumb Lions used to pull Barry when he got close to the goal line. Like they had someone better than Barry?

Anyway, being a National Football League fan and a Lions fan meant seeing a lot of Barry Sanders.

How can you not get hooked on NFL Football watching Barry Sanders?

Time for the Squibster to get busy on the next 1,000 posts for Squibkick.com.

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Darren McFadden is learning how to hold the ball. Well, maybe not in this picture.

Image details: Oakland Raiders Rookie Mini Camp served by picapp.com

He is big. He is strong and he runs a 4.3. A legitimate 4.3. He is Darren McFadden, the top rated running back out of the draft.

Oakland needs him badly. They need excitement. They need Darren.

Last year they drafted JaMarcus Russell number one in the draft and he sat for most of the season with contract problems. Here is a guy that threw the ball 60 yards while on his knees. He has all the properties of a great quarterback.

Throw in Lane Kiffen, a coach that somehow has the ear of Al Davis as well as his confidence and Oakland fans have to be drooling.

Will they win a lot of games this year? Probably not.

Will they have a lot of highlights this year. It sure looks like it.

Start with Darren McFadden. Everyone is comparing him to Adrian Peterson. That is a lot to put on a rookie. Hey, Darren, go out and be as good as Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. All he did was break the single game rushing record and look like the best back since Barry Sanders played in this league.

Right now Oakland is being a bit more cautious and working on fundamentals.

But coach Lane Kiffin cautions about putting too much pressure on McFadden so early.

“He’s not here to save the franchise. He just happens to be our first pick of the draft,” Kiffin said.

One of the immediate priorities is working on McFadden’s ball security. He fumbled 15 times last season at Arkansas, although some of those came as a quarterback or kick returner as opposed to a tailback.

Rathman pointed out that McFadden carried held his elbow too far from his body when they first met before the draft last month and is working on fixing the flaw before the season.

“You’ve got to be a good fundamental football player, and that’s what we’re working on right now,” Rathman said. “Obviously, coming out of college his biggest negative was probably his ball security, so we’ve jumped on that early. He understands where we’re coming from. He’s using better technique, better decision on where he’s putting the ball at certain times. So he understands what he needs to do.”
source

At some point, the season starts and Darren McFadden gets revved up and the Oakland fans will go wild.

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Brett Favre just always seemed to be grinning

Brett will discuss his retirement on Thursday and will be joined by his wife Deanna.

Favre first told Packers coach Mike McCarthy he intends to retire Monday night. He then made it official in a discussion with general manager Ted Thompson on Tuesday. source

My best friend Ron B calls it a class move on Brett’s part. No farewell tour. No final drive. Just knowing it was time to hang it up.

The excitement to play for one of the best teams is outweighed by the grind of another NFL season.

Who will the Packers be?

For the younger crowd the Packers are nothing without Favre. He is all they have known.

Now would be a good time for the Packers to change their colors, their uniforms, their logo, etc. Just go with a completely different look, because when Brett Favre retires, he takes the identity of the Packers with him.

If you’re under 35, for most of your life, Brett Favre has been the Packers. If you thought of the Packers, you thought of Favre. source

Bart Starr

One of my earliest favorite players was Bart Starr of the Packers. Bart led the Packers to 5 NFL Titles and 2 Super Bowls. He was a gutsy quarterback playing for the legendary Vince Lombardi.

Later my favorite player was Billy Sims of the Lions and then when he got hurt it was a tie with Barry Sanders and Brett Favre.

Geez, what kind of Lions fan does this make me? Maybe it is a good thing Brett is retiring. Now what Lions player is there? Oh, that is right, with the GM His Name We Do Not Use and it is not Lord Valdemort, there are no Lions players that are any good.

Anyway, Brett smiling and firing frozen ropes on the tundra of Lombardi field will truly be missed.

NFL Football Fan Question Will you miss Brett Favre?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Ok, where is the Top Ten?

Sorry, Squibster is a little under the weather and in danger of being fired by the wife after a tough Valentines evening.

She took it well, but who knows.

Anyway, the USA Today Sports Staff in their Sports Scope article highlighted 6 coaches on the hot seat.

Ok, where is the Top Seven?

Your gallivanting author added the seventh. My comments will be in italics.

1. Brad Childress:

A five-game winning streak down the stretch may have saved him from the ax this offseason. But Childress must hope that stud RB Adrian Peterson can propel this team to the postseason or that his investment in Tarvaris Jackson as the starting QB doesn’t becoming his undoing. source

Jackson has a lot to show to become a good enough QB to take the Vikings to victory. Peterson is awesome, but so was Barry Sanders. Can a running back carry a team to anything more than a .500 record in today’s pass happy league?

2. Jon Gruden:

The win in Super Bowl XXXVII seems like so long ago. Gruden led the Bucs through the weak NFC South this season, but their playoff flop to the Giants exposed the team as a pretender. The heat will turn up significantly if this team doesn’t look like a Super Bowl contender next season.

Gruden’s job seems a little safer, because they did reach the playoffs with a weak team in a weak division, but so much more was expected out of Gruden when he came to Tampa Bay.

3. John Fox

The USA Today writers mention a weakening team needing a good draft and maybe a replacement for Delhomme at QB.

Fox is in big trouble, with only a very weak division to save him. North Carolina competes with the Saints, Bucs, and Falcons.

4. Mike Nolan

The USA Today writers mention that Nolan lost control of the team and the respect of his QB, Alex Smith.

This one seems so impossible a year ago Read more