10 Things

Here are 10 Football Things that have been on my mind recently.

1. It sure would be nice if the Minnesota Vikings could wrap the NFC North title with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals today. So nice. It would be their fourth NFC North title and 20th division title overall.

2. The NFL has a lot of issues. They can't fix them all. One that they really need to corral is the ridiculous inconsistencies in suspensions. New England Patriots tight end gets a one-game suspension for delivering a pre-meditated shot to the head of Buffalo Bills corner Tre'Davious White. After the play. The hit put White in the concussion protocol. This is the sort of thing that the league is trying to control within the play of the game. Gronkowski's blatant act was outside of the play of the game. If players can get a game suspension for a tackle that's high and delivered at game speed, Gronkowski should've gotten much more for a clear intent to injure after the play. Then we come to Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett diving at the knees of Jacksonville Jaguars center Brandon Linder on a kneel-down to run out the clock. Bennett didn't get suspended at all. He didn't even get fined. The league said that he was going for the ball. Maybe he was going for the ball on his first dive at Linder's legs. Maybe. He wasn't going for the ball on his second dive at Linder's legs because it was in the hands of Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles on the other side of the line of scrimmage. There were several fines handed out to players from both teams for fracas that ensued as a result of Bennett's dives. The player that started it all wasn't touched. It made no sense. Sometimes the league seems to be dishing out these suspensions without even taking a look at the play/act in question.

3. The Catch Rule. Minnesota fans had their opportunity to turn on the catch rule last weekend when receiver Adam Thielen caught a touchdown and then, on review, didn't catch a touchdown. He caught the ball cleanly and secured his presence in the end zone but bobbled the ball when he landed out of bounds. By the rule, this isn't a catch. The bobble part kills it. Everyone cries about this rule but it's really quite simple. Don't bobble the ball. Ever. When I saw the entirety of Thielen's catch on replay it was real clear to me that it wasn't a catch. In their bitching, everyone cries "If it looks like a catch, it's a catch." Well, if a professional football player bobbles a catch at any point during the catch and doesn't secure it while in the field of play it doesn't look like a catch. There's no mystery to this rule.

4. Speaking of Thielen. It's laughable that Bengals corner Pacman Jones calls Thielen "soft" when Jones is sitting on IR. That and the fact that Thielen's play has been a huge part of Vikings 10-3 season and Jones hadn't done much in the Bengals 5-8 season before he landed on IR.

5. This week's Sports Illustrated had an article about the terribly large number of injuries in the NFL this season. It brought back the sad memory of seeing the knee of Vikings rookie running back Dalvin Cook's knee buckle in Week 4. We only got 3.5 games to see Cook play football but I miss it. He's a special talent with a very bright football future. Here's hoping that he returns to the game even better than he left it.

6. Heat seems to building for handing the NFL MVP Award to Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown. It's one of those things that's hard to believe until it happens. Quarterbacks take home this prize so consistently that it should be renamed MVQ. If I had a vote, and I should, Brown would get it. He's been fantastic this season.

7. Vikings defensive end Brian Robison was fined $6,076 for having his undershirt showing last week in Carolina. The league didn't see Bennett diving at the knees of Linder as a punishable offense but this is? Un-be-liev-able.

8. Kurt Warner did a fine job with his call of yesterday's Detroit Lions-Chicago Bears game. I can't recall if this was his first game but it was the first time that I've watched a game that he's called. He's been involved with the media side of the game since he threw his last pass so it's really no surprise that he's taken to this particular job so well.

9. Football's fun!

10. Go Vikings!!!

Extra Thought: It was awesome to see Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali give pass rushing tips Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa after their game last night. Bosa has taken the league by storm in his short time in the league but Hali has seen a lot in his terrific career. It was great to see Bosa thirsty for instruction and Hali happy to give it. Some people complain about the player camaraderie after games. I think it's great. These guys are human.