Ken from Des Moines, IA
Vic, I've been following the NFL since the days of Bart Starr and Jim Brown, and I can't remember a season in which so many teams win by 30 one week and lose by 30 the next. What's going on?
I'm not a statistics guy, but I would be inclined to believe that as you increase the number of points scored in a game, you increase the size of the point difference in games. I can remember covering games in the 1970s when the score would be 10-3 heading into the fourth quarter, and it was over.
Jon from Cheyenne, WY
It appears Peyton Manning is already in postseason form. Tom Brady seems to not get rattled, but Peyton does. What are your thoughts on his performance yesterday?
I thought Manning played very well, though the game did have a postseason feel to it. The thing about Manning's game that's amazing now is his ball placement. He's playing lob ball late in his career, and his ability to drop the ball to a specific place where his receiver might run under the ball is beyond impressive.
Dave from Chesterfield, MO
I agree you must play the cards you're dealt, once the whistle blows and the ball is kicked off. However, Ted and Dom and Coach McCarthy have had multiple years to fix problems on defense, with little to show for it. They have the opportunity to pick their cards during the offseason, rather than accept what they are dealt. I watched the Rams defense stuff the 49ers once again this week, just like the Rams have handled Seattle multiple times, yet, the Dom-coached defense can't seem to figure these offenses out. How many more years of absolving the defensive coaches of any responsibility must we endure?
Three more years. It could be two more or four more, but I'm thinking three. Hey, I'm just kidding; I don't know how long. I know the pain must be excruciating for you, but you can do it. As for the Rams, did you know they haven't picked out of the top half of the draft in any of the last nine years. In those nine years, they have had the second and 13th, eighth, 14th, 14th, first, second, second, 13th and 15th picks of the draft.
Alan from Jefferson City, MO
What's a Ben Roethlisberger?
The most underrated quarterback in NFL history?
Lambeau from Barre, WI
Do you consider yourself in the press corps or a writer in a public relations department? I would think the difference in choices would dictate your agenda or goals.
If you need to ask that question, then I have failed you terribly and you should never read this column again as long as you live.
Jason from Pine Island, MN
The NFL just announced the Packers/Eagles will be moving to 3:25 p.m., and also announced the Vikings/Bears game is moved to CBS. I understand it's a new rule that allows the NFL to switch networks, but I can't understand why, generally speaking, they would do this for any game?
I'm guessing it has something to do with ratings and money.
Joe from Bloomington, IN
It appears offensive players are now allowed to push their running back forward. Vic, on a short-yardage play, why not run a play in which four or five hulks get behind another hulk, the RB, and simply push him forward for the TD or first down?
Isn't that what they're doing? The running back has become the ball. Be the ball.
