Flea Flicker Week 4 Predictions

It’s already Week 4. Here are some guesses at the games. 

Miami Dolphins @ Minnesota Vikings

Pick: Vikings

Rematch of Super Bowl VIII goes to the Vikings. 

Indianapolis Colts @ Washington Commanders

Pick: Colts

The NFL’s ridiculous Europe games begin with this one. The travel and logistics of these international games often have a greater impact than the talent and scheme of the respective teams. It’s impossible to pick these stupid games. So, Colts.

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills

Pick: Bills

These two teams were expected to battle for the AFC East title. Through three weeks, they are headed in different directions. The Bills look like the best team in the league. The Patriots have had a rough start to the season. 

New York Jets @ Chicago Bears

Pick: Bears

How is it that the Bears have played three of their first four games at home? The Jets continue their run through the NFC North. They gave the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions all they could handle the last two weeks. With three weeks without any travel, the Bears should be able to handle the Jets at home. 

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Cincinnati Bengals

Pick: Bengals

This could be a fun game. 

Arizona Cardinals @ New York Giants

Pick: Giants

The Cardinals throwing a scare into the San Francisco 49ers last week is the only that gives me pause in this game.

Los Angeles Rams @ Philadelphia Eagles

Pick: Rams

After seeing the Eagles flopping around against the Chicago Bears, it’s difficult seeing them beating the Rams.

Green Bay Packers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pick: Packers

Battle of the Bays. Even the Packers should be able to handle the Buccaneers without Baker Mayfield.

Tennessee Titans @ Baltimore Ravens

Pick: Ravens

The Ravens roll.

Dallas Cowboys @ Houston Texans

Pick: Texans

It’s been a tough start for both teams. Just going with the home team.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Las Vegas Raiders

Pick: Chiefs

The Chiefs hand the Raiders their first loss.

Denver Broncos @ San Francisco 49ers

Pick: 49ers

Rematch of Super Bowl XXIV. Same outcome.

Los Angeles Chargers @ Seattle Seahawks

Pick: Seahawks

I want to pick the Chargers. They have too much talent to be 0-3. With the way they’ve played through three weeks, I can’t pick the Chargers.

Detroit Lions @ Carolina Panthers

Pick: Panthers

Dan Campbell will find a way to lose this one. 

Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints

Pick: Saints

20 years ago, Steve Gleason blocked a Falcons punt to wake up a Saints team and a city. The Saints can’t lose this game. 

Miami Dolphins All - Time Team

The Minnesota Vikings host the Miami Dolphins tomorrow. Being in different conferences, the Vikings haven’t played the Dolphins too often over the years. They did have a significant meeting on January 13, 1974. Super Bowl VIII. That game didn’t go well for the Vikings. On the eve of the rematch of that Super Bowl, here are some of the best players in Dolphins franchise history. Several of the players on this team played in that Super Bowl. 

Offense

Quarterback 

Dan Marino

Running Back

Ricky Williams

Fullback

Larry Csonka

Wide Receivers

Paul Warfield

Mark Clayton

Tight End

Bruce Hardy

Tackles

Richmond Webb

Norm Evans

Guards

Bob Kuechenberg

Larry Little

Center

Dwight Stephenson

Defense

Defensive Ends

Jason Taylor 

Cameron Wake

Defensive Tackles

Manny Fernandez

Bob Baumhower

Linebackers

Zach Thomas

Nick Buoniconti 

John Offerdahl

Cornerbacks

Sam Madison

Patrick Surtain

Safeties

Dick Anderson

Jake Scott

Special Teams

Kicker

Garo Yepremian

Punter

Reggie Roby

Kick Returner

Jakeem Grant

Punt Returner

O.J. McDuffie

Flea Flicker Favorite Football Books

I bring this list of favorite football books back when I’m thinking about football books. I even brought it back earlier this year. I bring it back now because I have a new addition to it. There are several great football players that simply don’t have enough written about them. Former New York Giants safety Emlen Tunnell is one of those players. Sure, he’s mentioned in just about every book written on the 1950’s Giants and there are many of those. The only legitimate book focused on Tunnell is his autobiography, Footsteps of a Giant. Whenever I’ve searched for it, I’ve had a difficult time finding the book. Properly motivated a few weeks ago, I finally located one. It’s terrific and finds a place on this list. Here are 28 of my favorite football books. I really should trim that number down but I really don’t want to trim any of the books. 

Flea Flicker Favorite Football Books

28. Namath: a Biography, Mark Kriegel, 2005
If you're at all curious about the Joe Namath legend this is the book to read.

27. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger, 1990
A football classic. As much sociological study as football book.

26. Going Long: The Wild Ten Year Saga of the American Football League in the Words of Those Who Lived It, Jeff Miller, 2004
Perhaps the best book on the wildly entertaining American Football League.

25. The Mannings, Lars Anderson, 2016
Any book about the Mannings that's still talking about Archie's football career 150 pages in is an entertaining read. Not to take anything away from the Manning kids but their careers are so fresh in our football minds. Archie was a very good quarterback on a very bad team. He was also one of my favorite non-Minnesota Vikings players of his era. He's a better dad. This book is as much about raising a family and relationships as it is about football. A great book.

24. About Three Bricks Shy of a Load, Roy Blount Jr., 1974
This book is an excellent season-long, inside look at the Pittsburgh Steelers just before the team took over the NFL.

23. Chuck Noll: His Life's Work, Michael MacCambridge, 2016
Blount's book took a close look at one season before the Steelers' dynasty. MacCambridge's book looks at the life of the man behind that dynasty. It's hard to imagine the Steelers being a laughing-stock but they were for nearly all of their first 40 years in the league. When Dan Rooney hired Chuck Noll in 1969 the Steelers started to change. Quickly. MacCambrige tackles one of the game's great coaches and perhaps least known.

22. Giants and Heroes: A Daughter's Memories of Y. A. Tittle, Dianne Tittle De Laet, 1998
A look at a football star from the rare perspective of his daughter. This book is simply wonderful.

21. Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe, Kate Buford, 2010
This is the best book on one of America's greatest athletes.

20. Kassulke, Karl Kassulke, 1981
The former Vikings safety delivers the wildly entertaining characters on the Minnesota Vikings of the 1960s. It's a must for Vikings fans.

19. Paper Lion, George Plimpton, 1966
George Plimpton's writing. George Plimpton's football talents. The 1963 Detroit Lions. Fun times.

18. PB: The Paul Brown Story, Paul Brown with Jack Clary, 1978
From stories of his days attending San Francisco 49ers games at Kezar Stadium in the 1940s, my father introduced me to the coaching legend of Paul Brown. As a result those Cleveland Browns teams and their coach will always have a fond place for me.

17. A Civil War, John Feinstein, 1997
A terrific, intimate look into the incredible Army-Navy rivalry.

16. Dutch Clark: The Life of an NFL Legend and the Birth of the Detroit Lions, Chris Willis, 2012

This book would probably make the list simply because of the subject. Dutch Clark is one of the best, and one of my favorite, players of the NFL’s early years. Like Emlen Tunnell, Dutch Clark’s life and great career is woefully covered. Chris Willis uncovered him. 

15. Finding the Winning Edge, Bill Walsh, 1997
This is the coach's manual on how to run a football team.

14. Instant Replay, Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap, 1968
Jerry Kramer's diary of the Packers 1967 season. There are a few season-long, peak-behind-the-curtains books on this list. This book is one of the first to be written and still one of the best.

13. Halas by Halas, The Autobiography of George Halas, George Halas with Gwen Morgan and Arthur Veysey, 1979
George Halas' story is the story of the NFL.

12. The Pros: A Documentary of Professional Football in America, Robert Riger with commentary from Tex Maule, 1960
This is a unique coffee table-type book. It presents the NFL to the reader through the fantastic artwork and photography of Robert Riger and commentary of Tex Maule.

11. Total Football/Total Football II, Bob Carroll, David Neft, John Thorn, and Michael Greshman, 1997/1998
You want a pro football encyclopedia? Here's your pro football encyclopedia.

10. Run to Daylight, Vince Lombardi with W.C. Heinz, 1963
Perhaps the first "inside look" football books. Vince Lombardi takes the reader through a week of preparation for a game during the 1962 season.

9. The Game That Was, Myron Cope, 1970
Some of my favorite football books are the oral histories of the early days of the game. Myron Cope reached many of the game's best in this one. Dutch Clark, Johnny Blood, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, Bulldog Turner.

8. The Pro Football Chronicle: The Complete (Well Almost Record of the Best Players, the Greatest Photos, the Hardest Hits, the Biggest Scandals), Dan Daly and Bob O'Donnell, 1990
As the title suggests the book has a lot of everything.

7. Education of a Coach, David Halberstam, 2005
What could be better than a book written by a writer like David Halberstam about a coach like Bill Belichick?

6. What a Game They Played, Richard Whittingham, 1984
This is probably the best oral history book on football. Whittingham brings the reader the voices and experiences of many of the greats that made football great. Mel Hein, Don Hutson, Sid Luckman, Sammy Baugh, and so many others.

5. Footsteps of a Giant, Emlen Tunnell w/William Gleason, 1966

Perhaps it’s a recency thing that places this book in the Top 5. I didn’t know Emlen Tunnell but I really felt like I got to know him through this book. I hope that Gleason accurately captured Tunnell’s voice. I’ve always liked the player. Now, I really like the person. This is a great, fun book about a great, fun football player. 

4. Red Grange: The Life And Legacy of the NFL’s First Superstar, Chris Willis, 2019

This might be the most thoroughly researched and comprehensive book ever written on an individual football player. And it’s a fun read. 

3. A Thinking Man's Guide To Pro Football/The New Thinking Man's Guide To Pro Football, Paul Zimmerman, 1970 and 1984
This book is so great that it had to be done twice. I only wish that there were Newer... and Newest... editions as well. Zimmerman was probably the most knowledgeable football writer in the business. He could talk and write about the game like a coach.

2. When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, David Maraniss, 1999
The best football biography that I've read. There were a handful of years in which I had to re-read this book prior to the start of the NFL season. Just to get ready.

1. America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, Michael MacCambridge, 2005
Michael MacCambridge tells the story of the NFL since World War II through a focus on the Browns, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Raiders, and Rams. Well researched and very well written. If you want one book on the history of the NFL to read, this is it.

Vikings Roster Moves

Mostly due to an injury, a trade, and a the Minnesota Vikings made several roster moves over the past couple of days. 

Signed to 53-man Roster:

Kyle Van Noy, OLB

Max Brosmer, QB

Reverted to Active Roster from Suspended List:

Jeshaun Jones, WR

Placed on Injured/Reserve

Josh Oliver, TE

Terminated contract:

Johnny Hekker, P

Released from Practice Squad:

Jerome Ford, RB

Jaret Patterson, RB

Jonathan Harris, DL

Signed to the Practice Squad:

Kenny Dyson, OLB

Audric Estime, RB

Devin Neal, RB

Johnny Hekker, P

Keshawn Banks, OLB

Josh Priebe, G

It’s been a busy week. The work started with the trade of quarterback J.J. McCarthy to the New York Giants for a 2027 fifth-round pick. Plenty has already been said about the trade. Plenty will be said about the trade for the entirety of McCarthy’s career. The quarterback vacancy prompted Max Brosmer’s elevation from the practice squad. Speaking of practice squad elevations, the Vikings did so for each of the first three games with outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy. League rules allow only three such elevations so he was signed to the active roster on Tuesday. This was a move considered inevitable when he was initially signed to the practice squad on September 2. Josh Oliver’s unfortunate bicep injury forced a move to injured reserve. Hopefully, he’ll be back later in the season. Oliver is so critical to the Vikings offense, in general, and run game, in particular. 

As for the practice squad moves, the focus was on supplementing the running backs. Jerome Ford and Jaret Patterson did so for a week. Audric Estime and Devin Neal will do so moving forward. The addition of Neal is especially intriguing. He was terrific in college at Kansas. That got him selected in the sixth-round of a 2025 NFL draft that was loaded with talented running backs. The Vikings run game will require a delicate balance until Jordan Mason returns from thumb surgery. Aaron Jones Sr. is being forced to carry too much of the load right now. He’s still an effective runner at 31 but his carries can’t get out of hand over multiple weeks. Punter Johnny Hekker was signed to the active roster last week to replace injured Brett Thorson in Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hekker and Thorson competed for the punter job through training camp. The rookie won the job and was punting well until he tweaked a hamstring in Week 2 on the soggy home field of the Chicago Bears. It was incredibly convenient that Hekker was available as he already had familiarity with the Vikings kicking battery of kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola. It seems holding for kicks has become as important as the actual punting for the modern punter. Maintaining Hekker’s presence on the roster was important as Thorson works to return to the lineup. Keshawn Banks and Josh Priebe will supplement the depth at their respective positions. 

Then we get to the almost comical case of Kenny Dyson. The Vikings initially brought him in at the latter stages of training camp. He impressed defensive coaches immediately and was a likely candidate for the initial practice squad. Whether a clerical oversight or just a procedural mistake by a new front office finding their way, the Vikings released Dyson with an injury settlement. He was then signed to the practice squad. Can’t do that. The practice squad contract was disallowed because of a league rule that says players waived with an injury settlement can’t be re-signed by that team until the length of that settlement, plus three weeks. It was a mistake/oversight that didn’t reflect well on the Vikings. The three weeks have now passed and Dyson was still available. Now, he’s on the Vikings practice squad. And it’s legal. So far. 

It’s been a busy week of roster-tweaking for the Minnesota Vikings. 

Minnesota Vikings Week 3 Superlatives

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday 23-16. Offensively, it wasn’t pretty. The defense and special teams carried the Vikings to the win and a 3-0 start to the season. Here are some of the players that made the big win possible. 

Offensive Player of the Game

Jordan Addison, WR

Jordan Addison has had a slow start to the season. With Justin Jefferson departing early in the first quarter with an ankle injury, the Vikings really needed Addison to get untracked. He did.

5 catches 

90 yards

1 TD

On the Vikings only offensive touchdown drive of the game, Addison had 71 of the 73 yards. The final 41 was the touchdown. If Kyler Murray had been a bit more accurate with his throws, Addison would’ve had an even bigger game. Including another long touchdown. 

Defensive Player of the Game

Eric Wilson, LB

Once again, this Vikings defense had several contenders for Defensive Player of the Game honors. Eric Wilson was a game-long menace against the Buccaneers. 10 tackle and 1.5 sacks. He made plays behind the line of scrimmage, at the line of scrimmage, and in coverage. 

Wilson may have gotten away with couple facemask penalties. In his defense, they looked more like touches of the facemask rather than grabs. 

Special Teams Player of the Game

Myles Price, Returner

Finally. Myles Price took a kick a back for a touchdown. I believed that he’d get one last season as a rookie. He didn’t. His 68-yard kick return against the Packers in Week 1 kick-started that great comeback. His 86-yard punt return score against the Buccaneers got the Vikings off to a hot start. Those seven points ended up being the difference in the game. 

Special Teams Honorable Mention:

Will Reichard, K

With the way that the Vikings offense has struggled through three games, Will Reichard might be the team’s MVP after the entire defense. He scored all of the points in last week’s 9-3 win over the Chicago Bears. He scored 11 of the 23 points on Sunday against the Buccaneers. He’s the best kicker in the league and one of the most impactful football players on the Vikings. 

Vikings Trade J.J. McCarthy

“I believe organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations.”

      - Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell

Sometimes, no one failed. Sometimes, it simply doesn’t work out.

The Minnesota Vikings selected quarterbacks J.J. McCarthy with the 10th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Yesterday, the Vikings traded McCarthy to the New York Giants for a fifth-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. 

As one of the few fans that still believes in J.J. McCarthy’s potential, I’m disappointed in the trade. If I’m forced to be realistic with the situation, I get it. Really, I have no choice but to get it. If one were so evil as to script a horror-filled, initial two-plus years for a young quarterback, it might be McCarthy’s start with the Vikings. He lost his rookie season to a torn meniscus suffered in his first preseason game. Anointed the starter in his second season, three separate injuries forced him to bounce between the field and sideline throughout the season. McCarthy was never on the field consistently enough to establish any consistency. Still, he managed to start 10 games and lead his team to a 6-4 record in those games. It might not always have been pretty but the first starts of a young quarterback often aren’t always pretty. Ultimately, only wins matter and McCarthy won more than he lost. For what it’s worth, the Vikings selected Christian Ponder with the 12th pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. He was given three seasons to prove his worth as the starter. He never showed anything close to the potential in those three seasons that McCarthy showed in those 10 games. As the head coach, it’s probably safe to assume that Kevin O’Connell has a higher standard for quarterbacks than Leslie Frazier. Going into McCathy’s third season, the Vikings signed Kyler Murray to compete for the starting job. Neither quarterback really separated himself from the other. It felt that experience was the tiebreaker and Murray had that. The “lost” quarterback competition was the beginning of McCarthy’s end in Minnesota. I hoped that it wasn’t but I felt that it was. When the Vikings released Alan Page early in the 1978 season, I was forced to understand that my feelings on a player simple don’t matter. It’d be a beautiful thing if all of your favorite players could stay with your favorite team forever. It might not be a successful thing but it’d be a beautiful thing. 

After news broke of the J.J. McCarthy trade, Kevin O’Connell and general manager Nolan Teasley addressed the media. Both addressed sentiments that they believe McCarthy’s NFL story has yet to be written, that they believe he has the potential to succeed. If they truly believe any of that, why trade him? The truth is that the Vikings decision-makers no longer believed that J.J. McCarthy has the potential to be the team’s long-term answer at the all-important quarterback position. Agree or disagree, they should know better than any of us. I’ve been waiting since Fran Tarkenton retired in 1978 for the Vikings to draft their next long-term franchise quarterback. For nearly 50 years, I’ve wanted the next drafted quarterback to be that quarterback. Tommy Kramer, Steve Dils, Wade Wilson, Rich Gannon (technically, the Vikings traded for Gannon but they still got him as a rookie), Brad Johnson, Daunte Culpepper, Christian Ponder, Teddy Bridgewater, J.J. McCarthy. I wanted every damn one of them to be Tarkenton’s heir. Most showed potential. A few showed great potential. Without fail, the future of each was wrecked by injuries. The Vikings quarterback story since Fran Tarkenton has been so frustrating. J.J. McCarthy is simply the latest quarterback in that story. 

The media and many fans want to blame someone for the failure of the Vikings - McCarthy union. Why does there always have to be someone to blame? The situation with team and player on draft day is very different than the situation today. Teams would have a much better success rate if the draft was done in hindsight but you can’t redo something that’s already been done. If McCarthy hadn’t missed his rookie season and missed time during his second season, I believe that he’d be the starter this season. But it really doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what I believe. Those injuries happened. That can’t be undone. McCarthy’s time as a Vikings quarterback was disrupted too often for him to ever get comfortable in the job. Is that anyone’s fault? The only way to prevent injuries in football is to never play. No one failed at their job. The draft is always a risk, a gamble. The Vikings took a shot with J.J. McCarthy. It simply didn’t work. 

I’m disappointed in the trade. Mostly because another first-round quarterback didn’t become the Vikings next franchise quarterback. I’m also disappointed in the fifth-round return. Then again, I’m often surprised by the compensation in most NFL trades. 

Moving forward, best of luck J.J. McCarthy. Unless the Minnesota Vikings are involved. Thank you for the fun of the ten games that you played. 

Vikings - Buccaneers

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-16 on Sunday. The Vikings are 3-0.

It’s a win. It wasn’t a pretty win. Actually, it was a nice game from the defense and special teams but the Vikings offense has to get better. A lot better.

I’d like to say that the Vikings offense looked rough because receiver Justin Jefferson left in the first quarter with an ankle injury. He spent most of the rest of the first half on the sideline with his helmet on his head and looking itchy to get back in the game. He never got back in the game and the offense definitely missed him. 

Kyler Murray looked out of sync all game. Very little looked right with him. At least he finished the game. Murray’s best throw was his first throw. It was probably the only throw that looked in rhythm. Of course, the throw went to Justin Jefferson. A nice 22-yarder to start one of the two best drives of the game. The last offensive play of the drive was a 10-yard catch-and-run to Jefferson. Unfortunately, that 10-yard play was on 3rd-and-19. The Vikings had to settle for a 54-yard Will Reichard field goal. 

The other good drive of the game came after the Buccaneers had tied the score at 10-10. Unlike the first good drive, this good drive ended with a touchdown. Four plays, 73 yards. 71 of those yards came on two plays. The first was a 30-yard sideline throw to Jordan Addison. The great toe-tapping catch of Addison saved Kyler Murray from another overthrow. Three players later, Murray chucked a 41-yard pass to Addison. He caught the ball at about the three, hit the ground untouched, and rolled into the end zone for a touchdown. 17-10 Vikings with about four minutes remaining in the first half. That was the score at the half. 

Thanks to strong defenses on both sides, neither of the offenses moved the ball much. The Buccaneers punted nine times. The Vikings punted 8 times. 17 punts. The teams combined for 20 first downs. Combined, the offenses were 4-32 on third down. It was that sort of game. 

The difference in the game may have been the 86-yard punt return touchdown by Myles Price. It’s been ten years since the Vikings returned a punt for a touchdown. Price showed big return potential as a rookie last season. His 68-yard kick return in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers was one of the key plays in that wild comeback win. His 86-yard punt return score yesterday against the Buccaneers provided the winning margin. On a day the Vikings offense struggled, the special teams score was critical. 

After a rough first half in the Week 1 game against the Packers, the Vikings defense has been outstanding. With the offensive struggles, the Vikings needed that sort of performance. 

Kyler Murray and the Vikings offense have to get things figured out. Hopefully, Justin Jefferson misses zero games. Things can get difficult when a team loses their best and most explosive player. Still, the Vikings have too many playmakers, not named Jefferson, on offense to make moving the chains so difficult. Maybe being at home next week will ignite the offense. Next up is a home game against the Miami Dolphins. A rematch of Super Bowl VIII.