NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
This one is kind of important to me, because the Squibster is currently enjoying a day at home without pay affectionately known as a furlough day. Yeah, my place of business chose to do that in place of pay cuts or layoffs. Kind of hard to argue the logic, but it still cuts into the bottom line.

Now we hear that the San Francisco 49er’s are also enjoying some furlough days.

Will Michael Crabtree have to wash his own uniform?

He didn’t need to comment. If the employees were getting paid, it wouldn’t be a furlough. It would be a vacation.

Or, more likely, they’d be working.

So are the Niners having trouble making ends meet? Or are they merely creating the impression of money problems in order to bolster the case for a new labor agreement featuring decreased payments to players?

We don’t know and won’t know — unless and until the NFL agrees to open its books to the union.

We’ve said it before the launch of our NBC partnership and (if for no reason other than to prove that we haven’t changed) we’ll say it again: Profitable businesses that use the cover of a “bad economy” to justify laying off or otherwise reducing employee compensation fuel the downward spiral.

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Man, when even the pro football teams in the NFL are suffering furlough days, you know it is hard for the common working stiff to survive.

Image: Zuma Press

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NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
The Detroit Lions are willing to hand a boat load of money to Matt Stafford to come and rescue them from being 0 - 16. For his part, Matt Stafford wants to do it. Yes, he wants to.

Now the NFL is famous for the different tests the potential draft picks have to go through, but this just seems like a no brainer and a catch 22. We will get to that in a minute.

Matt proves himself crazy. He wants to be a Lion

First it must be mentioned that Stafford got upset at the San Francisco 49ers for questions about his parent’s divorce. He thought, and rightfully so, that they had overstepped their bounds.

“As the money has gone up, the pressure has increased on everybody – not only the player, but the coaches, the GMs and everyone,” he said. “The higher the money goes, the more infallible people think you should be. [People believe] you should never lose a game, you should never throw an interception, and you should never miss a draft pick. And that’s just not going to happen.”

But what constitutes right and wrong continues to be a debatable point. While the 49ers have gotten the most recent attention for having their team psychologist sit in on interviews, it’s not exactly a ground-breaking move. Some NFL teams have employed a written psychological test for decades. The New York Giants have been one of the biggest proponents of it, often giving prospects exams that last up to two hours, asking potential picks what kind of animal they would like to be or what color car they would like to drive.

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Now getting back to the no brainer catch 22. There is no reason for Matt Stafford to take any tests or to talk to any psychologist. He wants to play for my Lions. That makes him crazy. It is that simple.

Photo source Newscom

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It does not seem plausible to add Michael Vick to your football team. It seems like a personal relations nightmare. None the less, both the Vikes and Niners are thinking that Vick would be a good addition.

You remember that Vick was sent to prison for running a dog fighting gambling ring on his property and that just about destroyed the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons made a tremendous comeback this year with rookie Matt Ryan from Boston College playing quarterback. The Falcons owner, Mr. Blank, has stated the Michael would not become a Falcon again. Still Vick is under contract and teams cannot communicate with him at this time. To be sure, though, the Falcons will be getting rid of him at some time.

There might be questions about Vick’s sharpness and conditioning because he hasn’t played since 2006, but he’s a proven winner who led the Falcons to an NFC Championship game and has been to three Pro Bowls. The dynamic athlete has the NFL single-season record for yards rushing by a quarterback with 1,039 in 2006, and is third all-time. He also has passed for 11,505 yards in six seasons, with 71 touchdowns and 52 interceptions.

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The 49er’s coach, Mike Singletary, hinted that Vick would play in the NFL and why not on his team. That had to be a confidence booster for Shaun Hill.

Vikings coach Brad Childress played it a little closer to the vest by refusing to comment on anything Michael Vick oriented, but did admit that Tarvaris Jackson needed some competition. In NFL lingo that means he is not yet good enough.

Photo source Newscom

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The greatest mystery of the Universe is how Matt Millen, seen here shaking hands with Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford, can keep his job

The real question is how the Detroit Lions remain in the NFL.

You have Strahan calling them out on Fox TV saying you could see it in their eyes; they just don’t want to play. He got so bad even Jimmy Johnson tried to quiet him down, but he was just expressing what all of us have witnessed for 44 years of the William Clay Ford regime. The Lions stink.

One playoff victory in 44 years of Bill Ford ownership.

Today his son, Bill Ford Jr. called for Matt Millen’s head. Matt is the losingest GM in any sport anywhere all time. Here is Bill Ford Jr. at the Detroit Economic Club where they talk about Michigan’s 8.9% unemployment.

“It was an embarrassment, the fans deserve better, and if I had the authority, I would have fired the general manager,” Matt Millen, Ford said.

When asked again a few minutes later if he would fire Millen, he said, “Yes, but I don’t have that authority.”

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The season has turned into a mockery. The latest loss has two former Lions coming back to haunt us with J.T. O’Sullivan and Coach Mike Martz both of the San Francisco 49er’s combining to destroy the Lions.

O’Sullivan ran around and slung the ball as if he couldn’t have been more confident. In one stretch, he threw three straight completions, covered 67 yards and finished with a touchdown. It took a little over a minute.

And Martz? Well, this was like Dr. Evil playing basketball against Mini-Me. He was able to use double-reverses, over–the-top passes and running back Frank Gore, whom he sent into the teeth of the Lions’ worst-in-the-NFL rush defense — OK, not teeth, gums — only to see him burst out the other side for 130 yards and a touchdown.

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My complaints earlier pointed towards firing Coach Rod Marinelli thinking Matt Millen untouchable, but now? Hey, who knows?

It only gets worse as my complaints about the Lions failing to develop a backup quarterback to take over when Jon Kitna falls apart got worse as J.T. O’Sullivan looked pretty darn good and the games have gotten to the point that it does not matter if there is a backup QB.

Meanwhile, the Lions may have lost their starting quarterback. (Only in Detroit would this rank as the bottom third of a column.) Jon Kitna, who was getting mauled all game long, left the field with a knee injury in the final two minutes.

Kitna plays as if he’s ready to die on the field, and afterward, he looks like he has. He rightly points out that you can’t do much when you’re always two or three touchdowns behind.

By the way, the actual backup, Dan Orlovsky, came in and threw a screen pass for an interception. That pretty much seals his fate as the next starter. What else could you do with a Lions quarterback that actually threw a ball that was caught by someone?

Photo source Newscom

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NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Mike Martz came to the 49ers from my Detroit Lions. Hope you like him out there, because we were pretty disgusted with him in Detroit.

You know, he can be the most brilliant coach that ever lived, but if your offense ain’t working, then bring me a dumber coach.

Most of the time the Lions hardly even called plays for their running backs. Now Mike Martz says he will get Frank Gore 20 carries a game. right.

Most of the time our offensive line was back on their heels pass blocking as the defense knew the Lions would pass and could not wait to put Jon Kitna on his butt. Now Mike Martz seems to have Alex Smith all convinced that he is the answer to every defense. right.

Alex Smith better get used to this with Mike Martz calling the offensive shots. How appropriate a Lion is tackling him

Image details: San Francisco 49ers v Detroit Lions served by picapp.com

Then, of course, are the rumors of Martz wanting to take over the head coaching duties from Mike Nolan. The same rumors persisted with Coach Rod Marinelli in Detroit.

Again, that success will largely revolve around the offense led by Martz and Smith, assuming Smith recovers and wins the battle with journeyman backup Shaun Hill. Martz is the most brilliant offensive mind the 49ers have had since Bill Walsh was in charge. Unfortunately, his brilliance has evolved into a mad scientist reputation, fed by what happened in Detroit the past two years and by the whispers that all he wants is to become a head coach again, even if that means taking over from long-time friend Nolan.

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Maybe the worst criticism of all is that Mike Martz’s offense just does not work anymore. Linebackers are faster. Teams bump more. The run is never established.

Good Luck Mike and San Francisco.

NFL Football special comment Frank Gore is a tremendous running back that belongs in a run first system.

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The 49ers got a little too eager last year and paid for it.

The San Francisco 49ers forfeited their fifth-round pick in next month’s NFL draft after commissioner Roger Goodell said they tampered with Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs.

In a statement released by the league Monday, Goodell also said the teams will switch picks in the third round of the April 26-27 draft. Chicago, which had the 12th pick, will get San Francisco’s seventh pick and the 49ers will get Chicago’s choice.

Goodell said the 49ers violated the NFL’s anti-tampering policy by contacting Briggs’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, about his client during the 2007 season.

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The 49ers were a major disappointment last year as Alex Smith failed to develop at QB and the whole team just kind of went downhill.

Now they get a major slap in the face.

NFL Football Fan Question Did Commissioner Roger Goodell make the right call?

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By Guest Blogger, Kori Ellis

-All of a sudden the New England Patriots look beatable. The Philadelphia Eagles gave the Patriots all they could handle and that was without the services of Donovan McNabb. While AJ Feeley played very well, New England looked far from dominant in their 31-28 victory. Perhaps it’s too early to crown the Patriots as undefeated Super Bowl champions.

-Devin Hester is good. Really good. Less than 30 games into his NFL career, Hester is arguably the best return man of all-time. In the Chicago Bears versus Denver Broncos game on Sunday, Hester had two more returns for touchdowns. That gives him ten in his career. The all-time record for punt and kickoff return touchdowns is 13. Hester could break that record by the end of his second season. Amazing.

-Frank Gore is alive. Gore, who has struggled for much of the season, exploded on Sunday. Gore had 116 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns, while also catching 11 passes for 98 yards. Almost single-handedly, Gore carried the San Francisco 49ers to a 37-31 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

-David Carr is horrible. Carr, a former number one overall draft pick, got the start for the Carolina Panthers and played pitifully. He had no touchdowns, two interceptions and connected on only 10-of-22 pass attempts. Many blamed the Houston Texans for Carr’s struggles earlier in his career. Now that he’s struggling with the Panthers, it’s safe to say he’s just a bad quarterback.

-Don’t sleep on Monday night. After seeing the Patriots almost lose against the Eagles, don’t be surprised if the 0-10 Miami Dolphins show some life against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Perhaps this is the week of the upset … or at least the week of the near upset.

Photo credit: ESPN

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

Frank Gore shredding Seahawks on his way down the field

One of the up and coming teams in the NFL is the San Francisco 49ers. Last year they missed the playoffs, but established a few winning ways. This year they seem destined for the playoffs.

First off they put together a strong defense. While the stats don’t seem to bear this out, you have to keep in mind that the 49ers gave up a lot of points early in the year and also seemed to play a number of the high scoring teams.

Secondly there was Frank Gore. Putting together Read more

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

Frank Gore running away from my Lions and towards a pile of cash!

How can this be? You, me, your neighbor, we are all trying to hold on to our jobs. If only, yes, if only we could make just a little more. It would be great, right?

What you need to do is simple. Just bulk up out of your mind and join the NFL. Yeah, the NFL has the money.

There are 32 teams in the NFL and fully 14 of them have 10 million out of the 109 million dollar salary cap left over. How would you like to have 10 million bucks just left over?

The poor 49ers just resigned Frank Gore to a long term contract and spent a ton of dough on Nate Clements and consequently missed the 10 mill club by .2 mill. Read more

After a bit of negotiating the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos have agreed on a trade that will send a second first round draft pick to the 49ers in exchange for 2 later picks.

This move makes the 72,481 mock drafts done thus far wrong. And yes, this is one of the reasons why I have resisted the urge to do one. I can almost guarantee there will be a couple more trades between now and the end of the draft, and no one is going to predict them, and they’re going to screw all the mock drafts up, so why even bother?

The one thing you can take away from this is that the 49ers are looking to aggressively build up in the next year or two, and they’re not worried about spending money on doing it.

First round draft picks cost quite a bit of money, so you have to have a good feeling about them. It could be the 49ers have seen something in LenDale White that they really like, and after the rumours swirlling around that put him going somewhere between the Broncos and the Steelers, they went ahead and put themselves into position to take him before anyone else could.