Article:Monday Check"Marks"

TOPIC #1: Tavaris Jackson still scares me, but not as much as he used to. He finished yesterdays 35-14 win with 4 Touchdown passes. Except for a little crappy side-arm pass to Chester Taylor for a TD, all of T-Jack’s TD passes were crisp and really impressive. When he was in before, I felt his passes had way too much loft on them, but yesterday… his pass to Berrian was perfectly placed and his pass to Bobby Wade was the BEST pass I’ve ever seen T-Jack throw. Because he was able to get the team ahead early, and he had a fantastic defense behind him, AP and Chester were able to grind out the win. I also, cannot say enough about how good Cedric Griffin was. He has taken a lot of crap this year about being a bad CB, and most of the time it was rightfully so. 2 things yesterday led me to realize he isn’t bad. First, he played really well, shutting down Fitzgerald and whoever else came his way, and second because we got to see how bad Marcus McCauley has fallen. Great Win Vikings!

TOPIC #2: Did anyone else see the Baltimore/Pittsburgh game? It was your “classic” AFC North defensive battle. Down 9-6, the Steelers marched 92 yards up the field and on 3rd-and-goal had another controversial play. This time it was whether or not a pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes crossed the end zone. Holmes did have 2-feet in the end zone, but the ball NEVER crossed the plain. The original call was down at the 1-inch line, but then the referee overruled it, saying he had 2-feet in the end zone. Unfortunately, that isn’t the rule I have some vested interest in Ravens’ games now, and I hope that my sister’s boyfriend still ate the delicious meal she prepared for him after watching his team get screwed out of a game. I hope that the Ravens make the playoffs and play the Steelers and beat them.

TOPIC #3: The Minnesota Timberwolves are officially the worst team in the NBA, I don’t care what Oklahoma City’s record is, the Wolves are worse. I finally realize how badly we wasted our draft picks over the year. Corey Brewer, when healthy sucks. Kevin Love can’t make a layup, Randy Foye shoots poorly and then there is Rashad McCants. Rashad’s new nickname from me is “THE BLACKHOLE OF BASKETBALL”. Every time he got the ball in either the Spurs game Friday night, or the Lakers game Sunday evening he didn’t pass and then went on to miss a shot or an easy lay-up. Rashad also refuses to play defense. He is my least favorite NBA Player.

TOPIC #4: The Vikings are in good shape for a playoff first-round bye. In a way, they control their own destiny. The winner of the Giants v Panthers game will be the #1 seed. The Vikings already hold the tiebreaker over the Panthers and if either of those two teams loses out and the Vikings win out, then they’re the #2 Seed. From 1-3 to…playoffs…sounds like the 2007 Giants to me.