Game Day Thoughts

Washington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings

Rich Eisen selected this game as a sneaky-good game on his show, appropriately named The Rich Eisen Show. There are some interesting story lines in and around this game. The University of Minnesota decided this past summer that they want no mention of the "Redskins" name on their campus. As a result it will be "Washington" on the University of Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium scoreboard and it will be simply "Washington" over the public address system. Hopefully, that doesn't impact the play on the field. As for the game, Robert Griffin III returns to the Redskins lineup. He's been out since dislocating his ankle in week 2. The most interesting story line involves the coaches. Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden are in the first year of their first shots at running their own team. They should know each other well. They were the offensive and defensive coordinators of the Cincinnati Bengals for the past three seasons. They have faced each other on the practice field a bunch. Now, they face each other in a game that counts. Both teams are 3-5. Both teams have their bye next week. The winner of the game enters that bye week at 4-5 with some hope for the playoffs. The loser of the game enters the bye week with little hope for the playoffs. Unless they played in the NFC South but neither team plays in the NFC South.

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen is emerging as one of the top defensive ends in the game. He was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October. The Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers had little success in blocking him the last two weeks. 8 sacks. He's not just a pass rusher. He's stout in the running game. The Vikings aren't missing Jared Allen at all. Many in the media snickered when the Vikings re-signed Griffen to a nice extension last spring. He's earning that new contract.

Vikings rookie linebacker Anthony Barr is also emerging as an impact football player. He had the strip, fumble recovery, and touchdown return to win against the Buccaneers last week in overtime. That was his "take notice" play of the season but he's impacted every game. Griffen might have something to say about it but Barr might be the best football player on the Vikings defense. He's played only 8 NFL games. He's only played linebacker for about two years. Incredible.

Manning-Brady 16.
Everyone is so focused on the quarterbacks that they seem to forget that two of the best teams in the league, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots, are playing a football game. The two quarterbacks will never even be on the field at the same time. Well, maybe for the coin toss and some practice throws. Actually, the Manning-Brady thing deserves all of the attention that it gets. Everyone one of their matchups is an event. Often, a classic.

Vikings-Redskins in the morning.
Patriots-Broncos in the afternoon.
Steelers-Ravens in the evening.

Oh my, that's good stuff.

The Patriots-Broncos game has the feel of a playoff game, In a way, it is. Home field advantage in the AFC could hinge on the game. The Dallas Cowboys-Arizona Cardinals game has the same feel and impact in the NFC. The Cowboys are 6-2. The Cardinals are 6-1. Both are surprise teams. Everyone was talking Seahawks, 49ers, Packers, and Saints in the NFC before the season. Cowboys and Cardinals lead the way in the conference. It's awesome to have playoff-like games on the second day of November. Fans love it. The NFL loves it. The TV suits love it.

There are other games today. It's easy to forget about that with highlight games like Vikings-Redskins!, Cowboys-Cardinals, Patriots-Broncos, and Steelers-Ravens.