NFL Week Eight: My Three Wishes

1. That the NFL ban Larry Johnson for a sensible amount of time

I don't know where to begin with this one. It is hard to even comprehend someone acting as stupidly as Johnson did last weekend. The Internet has been around long enough for even the biggest simpleton to realise that nothing you say on there can be regarded as private. To use it to hurl homophobic abuse and to criticize your coach, no matter what your personal views, is just inviting trouble.

Realistically, Johnson's days in Kansas are numbered. A long ban—and, to be consistent, Roger Goodell must surely ban him—would just allow him to play the martyr. That the man doesn't like his coach and has utterly contemptible views shouldn't prevent him plying his trade in the long run, but it ought to earn him at least a couple of weeks off to reflect upon what he has done.

2. That Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson are fit this week

You're coming off the worst season in NFL history, you've got an exciting new coach and, perhaps most importantly, you're playing a side who are, arguably, playing even worse this year than you did in 2008. Your best chance of another morale-boosting win all season, you might think. And then your rookie quarterback and No. 1 wideout go down injured.

I don't want to see anyone beat up on the Rams, who at least (unlike the 2008 Lions) seem to have a long term plan for the franchise. I'm also not sure that it is good for the NFL to have another 0-16 team so soon.

But when you need a bit of a lift and your two best offensive players might not be able to play, it's a bit too much. The game might well turn out to be a festival of ineptness, but it ought to be a game where both inept teams are at full strength

3. That the Cheeseheads remember the good times and not just the bad

I am sure that Brett Favre expects a barrage of abuse from Packers fans this Sunday. I'm also sure that those fans will never forgive him for the way that he left their team. I hope, though, that they also remember all of the good things that he did for the franchise, including being the leader of one of the best sides in NFL history.

He might have made a fool of himself with the manner of his leaving and his subsequent behaviour, but he's also a guaranteed first time Hall of Famer who made his name playing for them. I hope that memories are not really as short as they seem to be in Green Bay