For Joel

I'll try not to make this too long, but it's been awhile since I've posted, and there are a number of stories going on in the NFL that deserve some notice. We'll go one-by-one.

Brett Favre

I'll be honest, it's one of the weirdest things in the world to see a #4 Favre jersey that's purple and gold. Many if not most fans are "sick of the Favre story," what with his retiring and un-retiring saga that we've been through about three times in the last 18 months. I guess I'm not sick of it. I just want to know how it'll affect the season! So I'll say this: The Vikings were a good team last year, playing without any talent at the quarterback position. It stands to reason that they'll be very good this year. Adrian Peterson is the most explosive player in the game. But, the NFC North is going to be a tough division. The Lions will still stink, but Chicago will be better than last year, and Green Bay is apparently some kind of dark horse. They haven't gotten a whole lot of press, but that's going to be a tough team. Favre is certainly a better option for the Vikings than anyone else on the roster, but I'd like to see what the team will do in preparation for the next few years to come. The Vikings quarterback of the future is not yet on the team.

Michael Vick

Vick played in last night's Eagles preseason game, and it was the first time he's been on the field for a live game since the end of 2006. He only took a few snaps. It was enough for people to see that he didn't become fat and arthritic while in the slammer (in other words, he seems like he'll be able to handle the speed of the game okay), but not enough for us to get any kind of feel for how he'll impact the Eagles, the NFC East, or the NFL as a whole. I don't think he'll be some fantastic stand-out pro-bowl caliber player this year, but the fact that he's on an already very solid team means there's just one more factor that opponents have to prepare for when planning defensive schemes against Philadelphia. I'm glad Vick didn't end up on my team, but I'm not real happy that he's playing for another team in the East!

Cowboys Stadium Video Board

This is, in my opinion, one of the most ridiculous things being talked about in sports right now. If you're out of the loop I'll fill you in: The big huge ginormous high def video boards hanging in the new Cowboys stadium are 90 feet above the field. In the first preseason game that the stadium hosted last weekend one of the Titans' punters hit the bottom of the board with the ball on one of his kicks. The rules state that if that happens, the play is blown dead and repeated; a do-over of sorts. The competition committee has apparently had a couple of conference calls and meetings this week to determine what must be done about this ghastly imposition. This morning I read that they've officially decided to leave the rule as it is for this season, with the likelihood that they will revisit the dilemma after the season's over (and perhaps make a long-term change in the rules, or make the Cowboys raise the video board so that it's out of reach of kicked footballs). Now, even though the video board is about the biggest thing anyone's ever seen, it's hanging 5 feet higher than the NFL's minimum allowance for such things (which means the Cowboys fully complied with all the rules when building the stadium). Also, this isn't going to cause some kind of disadvantage for visiting teams. The Cowboys punters have to deal with the issue too. And, from everything I've seen and read, it seems like you'd almost have to be trying to hit the board in order to do it. The same rule that determines what happens when a kick hits the board also determines what happens when the ball hits any kind of obstruction over the field, including the cables that carry those "skycam" video cameras that all of the networks are using now. I don't know. I don't really care if they end up having to raise the boards a few feet, I just think there are other things viewers and analysts should be concentrating on this season.

And just so you know, I think the Cowboys will do fine this season. I'm not going to say that they're going to win the Super Bowl (yet), but they're definitely going to be tough to beat. Colin Cowherd predicted they'd go 10-6, getting third in their own division after Philadelphia and the New York Giants. I would consider that a pretty good guess. Of course, I'm hoping for something a little better than that. I think the running attack of Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice is going to be quite difficult to stop, and that might make things a little easier for Roy Williams and Jason Witten in the passing game. Those are just my brief thoughts, though. I'm happy to argue with you more if you'd like!

Brandon Marshall

As a resident of Englewood, Colorado (home of the Denver Broncos training camp) I feel I must mention the Brandon Marshall drama. Marshall wanted a new contract a few months back, which the Broncos denied him. So then he asked for a trade, which the Broncos denied him. He's a whiner and a complainer who's trying to cry his way out of Denver (much like Jay Cutler did... so this is sort of the team's fault for allowing that to happen), but this time they're not going for it. This morning Marshall was suspended for a week due to "conduct detrimental to the team." If you ask me, his whole attitude is detrimental to the team. I'm glad the Broncos aren't giving in to his cry-baby demands, but this guy is NOT going to be ready for the season. I don't see any way that the Broncos make this city happy this season. They don't have a pancake schedule either. All of the NFC East teams are on it (including an October 4 visit from my Cowboys!). I think a .500 season would be shooting the moon.

What are the other major stories I'm missing? Tom Brady is back. Which is why the Patriots will be one of the best teams in the league (again).