NFL Review: It shouldn’t happen to a vet

The careers of three of the NFL’s most famous players – Brett Favre, Randy Moss and Donovan McNabb - seem to be in serious trouble.

By Sean Nolan

For the last decade Brett Favre, Randy Moss and Donovan McNabb have been among the most important players in the NFL. They all contributed hugely to whatever teams they played for and while you could certainly never claim any of them were perfect, they were always highly valued.

After this weekend though, two are in serious trouble and another’s career looks to be in terminal decline.

Donovan McNabb: Stupid, lazy and unfit

Firstly we go to Washington and the wildly unpredictable Redskins. They lost 25-37 to the Detroit Lions, a defeat that leaves them at 4-4, but Mike Shanahan seemed to have them moving slowly in the right direction. His big summer move, bringing Donovan McNabb in from Philadelphia, was seen as a work in progress but with an experienced duo like Shanahan and McNabb driving the team, fans were cautiously optimistic.

But on Sunday, with his team just a score down and with two minutes to go in the game, McNabb was benched. Rex Grossman was brought in, was sacked on his first play and fumbled the ball, allowing the excellent Ndamukong Suh to return it for the killer TD.

After the game, Shanahan said he benched his starting QB because Grossman knew the two-minute drill better; essentially saying McNabb was a bit stupid and lazy.

On Monday he followed it up by saying that McNabb did not have the “cardio-vascular endurance” for the last part of the game, essentially calling him unfit.

Donovan McNabb was the subject of serious criticism from Redskins' coach Mike Shanahan

Calling your star player stupid, lazy and unfit is always a bad move, even if he is. Keep it in-house and try and resolve it. By going public Shanahan may have wanted to shock McNabb into action and to play at a level the coach believes he has yet to produce at Washington, but this already looks really bad.

The Redskins are off next week and they return in week 10 to play the Eagles, McNabb’s old team. If picked he will certainly be motivated for that one.

Randy Moss: In search of a new home

Another player who recently moved was wide receiver Randy Moss, who left the New England Patriots for the Minnesota Vikings four weeks ago. He left one good friend, Tom Brady, to hook up with another, Brett Favre, and he was returning to his original home. The Vikings needed his ability and he needed a move. Perfect, right?

Four weeks later, after two touchdowns, Moss has been placed on waiver, effectively fired by coach Brad Childress. Moss looked particularly lacklustre in the Viking’s 18-28 defeat to the Patriots and now he is looking for a new home. He will have no shortage of suitors but the entire episode reflects badly on everybody involved and it tarnishes Moss’s reputation in the league.

Brett Favre: In trouble on and off the pitch

But more damaged is Childress’s. The Vikings are 2-5, and by pinning all their hopes on Brett Favre, they gambled big and they look like they are losing. So far this year, the 41-year-old Favre has had a double ankle fracture and he has also had other ankle and elbow injuries. That is even without the distraction of off-field issues arising from sexual harassment allegations while he was a New York Jet.

He ended Sunday’s 18-28 defeat to the New England on the bench, having left the field feeling woozy and requiring eight stitches to his chin after he got pinged by the Pats’ Myron Pryor. He has played almost every snap for the Vikings this year but those knocks are affecting him.

The great man is the 29th ranked quarterback in the league, with seven TD's but 11 interceptions. Green Bay and Chicago are not out of sight in the NFC North but the margin for error is almost gone and if Favre’s career ends with a losing record and no post-season it will rankle. It may even push him to come back again. Please don’t Brett, the numbers don’t lie.

Elsewhere, two veteran owners are having mixed fortunes. For Jerry Jones, the Cowboys are now an embarrassment. At 1-6, the post-season dreams are over and coach Wade Phillips is a certainty to be fired sooner rather than later. His team quit on the field against the Jaguars, losing 35-17 and with Tony Romo out, it is hard to see when they will win again.

Meanwhile, 81-year old Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, is a happy man once again. Second in the AFC West at 4-4, his team has racked up 77 points in two games, including a 33-3 win over Seattle this weekend.

It is the first time in eight years the Raiders have a .500 record and they have made an old man happy. That is a rare commodity in this week’s NFL.

Week 8 results:

Carolina Panthers (1-6) 10 St. Louis Rams (4-4) 20

Buffalo Bills (0-7) 10 Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) 13 (O/T)

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4) 35 Dallas Cowboys (1-6) 17

Miami Dolphins (4-3) 22 Cincinnati Bengals (2-5) 14

Green Bay Packers (5-3) 9 New York Jets (5-2) 0

Washington Redskins (4-4) 25 Detroit Lions (2-5) 37

Denver Broncos (2-6) 16 San Francisco 49ers (2-6) 24

Tennessee Titans (5-3) 25 San Diego Chargers (3-5) 33

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) 38 Arizona Cardinals (3-4) 35

Seattle Seahawks (4-3) 3 Oakland Raiders (4-4) 33

Minnesota Vikings (2-5) 18 New England Patriots (6-1) 28

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) 10 New Orleans Saints (5-3) 20

Houston Texans (4-3) 17 Indianapolis Colts (5-2) 30