thesportsfag | my gay sports blog

NFL Power Rankings – Week 12

Week 12 of the 2009 NFL season will be remembered mostly for Monday Nights Saint’s beat down of the New England Patriots, the Steelers losing another divisional game and the NY Giants lackluster play in Denver.

So how do I rank them from #1 to #32 or in gay terms from top to bottom?

1. New Orleans – the Saints take over the top spot from the Colts based on their total domination of the Patriots.

2. Indianapolis – last week I considered New Orleans and Indy as close as 1 and 1a but the Colts are simply not as dominant in victory as the Saints are right now.

3. Minnesota

4. San Diego – a convincing win over the Chiefs was expected and delivered.

5. New England – dropped 2 out of 3, granted both games were on the road against the NFL’s two undefeated teams but the Patriots look ‘un-Patriot-like’ in New Orleans.

6. Arizona – losing on the road in the last seconds to a hungry Titans team is not that bad especially with Kurt Warner sitting out. Although Matt Leinart looks better, he doesn’t give the Cardinals the best chance to win.

7. Green Bay

8. Cincinnati

9. Dallas – geared up for a tough five-game stretch with a ho hum victory over the Raiders.

10. Philadelphia

11. Denver – the big movers this week up from last week’s #16 ranking. The Broncos bounce back with Kyle Orton’s return and out everything’d the Giants.

12. Baltimore – beat the Steelers in OT at home but their defense doesn’t scare anyone anymore.

13. Pittsburgh

14. Tennessee Titans – Vince Young and Chris Johnson are carrying the Titans.

15. Jacksonville Jaguars

16. Atlanta – good win with a backup QB but the Falcons playoff hopes are fading.

17. Houston – lost a 17-point lead against the Colts. With remaining games at Jacksonville, Miami and ending the season at home against New England means the Texans are done.

18. San Francisco 49′ers

19. Miami – playoff contenders don’t lose to the Bills.

20. New York Giants – I’ve never seen a team with this much talent play dead.

21. New York Jets – wasn’t it Pete Carroll who said Mark Sanchez needed another year of college?

22. Chicago

23. Carolina

24. Seattle

25. Buffalo

26. Washington

27. Kansas City

28. Oakland

29. Detroit

30. Tampa Bay

31. Cleveland

32. St Louis – losing at home to the Seahawks is about as bad as it gets.

The pre-season football schedule really gets rolling tonight with four games on the schedule two of which hold some intrigue.
Cowboys and Raiders from Oakland tonight. Hottie and gay favorite Tony Romo removed two drama queens, Terrell Owens and Jessica, from his life during the off season and the Cowboys will be improved this year with Felix Jones and Marty B playing big roles. Roy Williams has to prove that he can fill TO’s shoes in Dallas. But I still think the Cowboys are the third best team in the NFC East.

Then there’s the annual Super Bowl rematch between the Steelers and Cardinals @8:00 EST on ESPN. One of the story lines will certainly focus on the Roethlisberger lawsuit.. Already in his 4th year, look for Santonio Holmes to become Ben’s favorite target. Will Willie Parker be able to make it through another full season? He’s probable tonight with back spasms, not a good sign for Steeler fans who need a productive running game to start the offense.

It’s the return of always styling Tom Brady tonight at Philly and the Eagles look loaded on offense. Really interested in getting my first look at how rookie running back LeSean McCoy will fit into the Eagles offense.

Finally, it’s the Battle for the Capitol as Washington travels to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. My pick to click this year; Washington QB Jason Campbell.

Let’s get it on.

Oh yea if anyone is interested in joining a gay fantasy league (insert your own pun here) for football let me know by commenting on this post.

So with the rampant speculation regarding Michael Vick’s return to football, what can his new team expect? I imagine ESPN is gearing up for 24-hour coverage. After all, if they bent over to stick a washed up, 40-year old QB like Brett Favre up their ass what are they gonna do with someone who could actually contribute down the road? They might even start up a new channel, ESPNVICKHD.

But what about the team that’s about to sign Vick, what should the organization and their fans expect? In grad school I studied a marketing theory called the Rogers Adoption/Innovation Curve that explains how consumers, and fans are consumers, adapt or embrace new products or changes with existing products. A simple summary of the theory goes a little something like this:

When dealing with new products or changes to an existing product, consumers, or fans in this case, can usually be divided into 5 groups:

1. Innovators & Early Adopters Makes up about 16% of consumers. This group will quickly accept the change and even champion it in an effort to bring others along. This is the group of people who have probably already forgiven Vick cause he has served his debt to society and made changes in his life.
2. Early Majority and Late Majority The biggest slice of people weighing in around 68%. This group will take between a few months and a few years to get on board.
3. Laggards The final 16% of people who are hesitant to accept change or new ways. We all know an older family member like this who longs for the ‘good ‘ol days’. It’s doubtful that many out of this group will ever embrace the idea of Michael Vick playing football again.

I think this model is a good starting point for the organization to consider. However, if not messaged properly, this could be a huge negative for the organization. On the other hand, if the organization works hard to put this signing in the best light then they have a chance to build on the loyalties of their base and skew the numbers towards innovators and early adopters. You can bet there are some people hard at work right now crafting how to deliver this news.

Not to be overlooked here is that the Laggards will probably never accept that fact that Vick is playing at all. The organization in question should expect an early negative outcry from the Laggards.

I believe in second chances, no matter how much of a douchebag, prick or ahole you were at one point in your life. If you are truely remorseful you should be given a second chance. And, yes I am a dog owner. But if we aren’t able to give people second chances then what’s the incentive for anyone to turn their life around.

Michael Vick isn’t gonna be an effective QB in the NFL for quite some time, maybe ever. He has lost too much time, but he deserves a second chance.

Flippin’ back and forth between the College World Series (CWS), Rangers vs. Astros and the MLB Network tonight. Hello, is this what heaven’s like? At this time of year I’m sure Eric, my bf, is getting beat down by the constant influx of baseball. I could literally leave MLB Network on 24 hours a day and not get bored. Before I met Eric I would even sleep with the TV on ESPN so I wouldn’t have to miss any highlights or news if I woke up during the night. Since I don’t need to know how many farts Brett Favre dealt today I can leave ESPN off for good when it’s baseball season. (more…)

The Ever Self Promoting Network (ESPN) has it’s sights set on Brett Favre and they will not let go. Hey ESPN, No More FavreWatch. Favre is done, washed up and he was never cute enough for me to follow. (more…)