NFL Stuffing: Top Reasons to Be Thankful for Pro Football
It's that time again. Time to reflect on our blessings and be thankful.
Thanksgiving is a time for family, feasting and football—especially football.
Who cares that the three games scheduled for this Thanksgiving may not provide the most exciting match ups, it's still almost 12 hours of football, including pre and post games shows.
Here are the top reasons for footballs fans to be thankful.
No. 20: Three Games Of Football Means Less Face-To-Face Time Aunt Gertrude
1 of 18
Thanksgiving and football has been a tradition for as long as there has been professional football.
Traditionally Detroit and Dallas have hosted a game since 1934 and 1966 respectively.
In 1996 the NFL Network introduced a third game that has been rotated among the rest of the league.
This year's lineup:
12:30 pm, New England (8-2) at Detroit (3-7)
4:15 pm, New Orleans (7-3) at Dallas (3-7)
8:20 pm, Cincinnati (3-7) at New York Jets (8-2)
No. 19: No More Wade Phillips or Brad Childress Watches
2 of 18
No more speculation about the future of the head coaches Wade Phillips in Dallas and Brad Childress in Minnesota, who coincidentally met in the playoffs last season.
Combined these two coaches went 23-9 in the regular season last year, but stumbled to 4-14 in 2010.
Both coaches were released by their respective teams after suffering embarrassing losses to Green Bay.
The Packers host the San Francisco 49ers on December 5th, and travel to Detroit on the 12th—could Mike Singletary's and Jim Schwartz' jobs be the next ones on the line?
If your team doesn't play the Packers you have another thing to be thankful for.
No. 18: The NFL Has a Playoff
3 of 18
No need for a coaches poll or any confusing rating system.
Of course, even with playoffs it doesn't always mean the best team is crowned champion—just ask the 2007 New England Patriots.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
No. 17: Talks Are Turning Postive Towards a New CBA
4 of 18
The NFL Network reported on Wednesday that negotiations were moving forward and the tenor of the talks was positive.
Rest assured a deal will get done. There is just too much money at stake for all involved.
It looks like the league will be moving to an 18 game regular season with only two exhibition games.
For the players there will be fewer OTA's and a mandate for less contact in practices.
No. 16: 29 Teams Still in The Hunt For The Playoffs.
5 of 18
At this point almost every team is still, mathematically, in the playoff hunt—with perhaps the exception of the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and the Carolina Panthers.
So this is what parity looks like.
No. 15: The Quarterback Controversy Is Over In Philly
6 of 18
Michael Vick has gone from hero to villain and back to hero again.
It took a gamble by Philadelphia to sign Vick in 2009 for a modest $1.6 million, with a club option $5 million for 2010.
Now as the starter in Philadelphia Vick is flourishing. His 108.7 quarterback rating leads the NFL, and he is the only starter not to have thrown an interception yet this year.
No. 14: Atlanta Falcons 8-2 and Have Not Played Carolina Yet.
7 of 18
Things are looking good in Atlanta.
The Falcons are currently leading the NFC South with an 8-2 record.
With two games against the struggling Panthers still on their schedule 10 wins is a given.
There are still divisional games against Tampa Bay and New Orleans, as well as a visit from the coaching-killing Packers, but an 11-5 record looks promising.
This could be their first division title since 2004. Looking back at the history of the division, it would appear to be their turn. Since 2002 when the new alignment was introduced, every other team has won the division at least twice with the exception of the Falcons.
Interestingly, no team has ever repeated as divisional champions.
It almost feels like a youth soccer tournament—everyone ends up with a trophy.
This also means there's always hope in Carolina, as the division turns over annually!
No. 13: Donovan McNabb Gets a Contract Extension
8 of 18
Perhaps leading the Redskins to a 5-5 record is a bigger accomplishment than what many of us thought it was.
For Donovan McNabb he has $78 million reasons to be thankful after signing a five year extension with the Washington Redskins.
This move to a divisional rival is not as similar as Brett Favre's.
For Favre it took a year playing in New York before signing with Minnesota.
Also unlike Favre's first year in Minnesota, where he had the best quarterback rating of his career, McNabb is currently having his worse season statistically with a 76.1 rating.
Perhaps Executive Vice President and Head Coach Mike Shanahan sees there are no real good options at quarterback available looking into 2011.
No. 12: Adrian Peterson Has Not Fumbled in 2010
9 of 18
After leading the league in fumbles in 2009, Adrian Peterson has been about the only bright spot in Minnesota.
Since coming into the league in 2007 Peterson has led all running backs in fumbles each year.
In his fourth season with Minnesota he has 19 fumbles, the high level mark was in 2008 when he put the ball on the ground nine times.
So far in 2010 he has not been credited with a single fumble.
No. 11: More Wins By Thanksgiving in 2010 Than All Of 2009!
10 of 18
For the fans of these teams it appears things are moving in the right direction.
For Chicago (7-3), Tampa Bay 7-3), Kansas City (6-4), Oakland (5-5), Washington (5-5), Seattle (5-5), St. Louis (4-6), and Detroit (2-8) they won as many games, or more, by Thanksgiving as they did for all of 2010.
Granted for some of these teams the bar was not set very high.
Include Atlanta (8-2) and Jacksonville (6-4) who are only one win short of matching last season, and that's an improvement in almost one-third of the league.
But alas, for every gain there is a fall—just ask any fan in Cincinnati or Minnesota!
No. 10: For Those Teams on The Downside, There Are Only Six Games Left.
11 of 18
For some fans, they are giving thanks the season is past the half-way point.
With only six weeks remaining they can hold on until the hope of a new season and the rebuilding of their franchise begins.
Six weeks, that equates to the same amount of time between Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, and the end of winter.
No. 9: If Your Team Is In The Mild, Mild, West
12 of 18
No one is ever out of it in either the AFC or NFC West divisions.
Between the two West divisions in the NFL there is only one team with a winning record—the Kansas City Chiefs currently at 6-4.
There is the possibility that the NFC West Divisional Champion could host a playoff game with an 8-8 record.
Mike Singletary should be thankful he's out West.
No. 7: Super Bowl XLV Will Be Remain a Neutral Site.
13 of 18
Super Bowl XLV will be hosted in the colossal venue that is Cowboys Stadium.
At the beginning of the season there were some prognosticators picking Dallas to be the first team to host the Super Bowl.
Here's some advice—don't take any stock tips from any of these guys!
No. 6: The Future Looks Bright In Cleveland
14 of 18
For Cleveland the future looks bright in the hands of quarterback Colt McCoy and running back Peyton Hillis.
For the pair of 24 year-olds, both in their first year in Cleveland, there is hope for Browns' fans.
So far in five games McCoy has looked decent with three touchdown passes and three interceptions.
McCoy's 85.3 quarterback rating is the same as that for Kevin Kolb in Philadelphia, and better than the likes of Mark Sanchez, Donovan McNabb, and Brett Favre.
Hillis is currently 11th in the league with 774 yards rushing and has a healthy 4.5 yards per carry average.
The two accounted for three of four touchdowns in the victory over New England in week 9.
No. 5: There Is New Hope in Jason Garrett and Leslie Frazier
15 of 18
They say to every cloud there is a silver lining.
Jason Garrett was already positioned in Dallas to be the long term replacement for Wade Phillips. It just happened a little sooner than expected.
After taking over the 1-7 Cowboys, Garrett has them on a two-game winning streak.
For Leslie Frazier he has been on every team's interview list for a head coaching position. Many were wondering if he would ever get the chance to follow in the steps of former Vikings' defensive coordinators Tony Dungy and Mike Tomlin.
Now too, his chance has come in an unexpected way. For Minnesota fans there's hope he can get the effort and results expected from this talented roster like Garrett has done in so far in Dallas.
No. 3: There's T.O. on Your Team!
16 of 18
This guy just seems to have a way to wear out a welcome!
It took Terrell Owens eight years to wear out his welcome in San Francisco, but since then he's gotten much better at alienating team mates and fans.
The fall this cancer has caused in Cincinnati is not unprecedented.
In two years in Philadelphia he took the Eagles from 13-3 in 2004 to 6-10 in 2005.
In one season in Buffalo the Bills won one less game with Owens over the previous season.
Now in Cincinnati, after a 10-6 season last year they have fallen to 2-8 so far in 2010.
So much for the Dynamic Duo—it's more like the antics of Spy vs Spy!
No. 2: Randy Moss Is Not On Your Team Either!
17 of 18
Is Randy Moss the next T.O.?
For the talent that is Randy Moss, he may be best remembered for his comment that he plays when he wants to play.
Obviously he didn't want to play in New England or Minnesota this year.
Maybe he will turn things around in Tennessee and become the deep threat to compliment the running game of Chris Johnson?
His 26 yards per reception is the best in his career. Now he just needs to catch another pass!
Perhaps Moss and Terrell Owens can team up. All they need is a friend on team they can join.
No. 1: This Will Be Brett Favre's Last Season—No, Really!
18 of 18
The media-seeking persona that is Brett Favre announced that this will definitely be his last season.
There's no way he plays again next year, right?
After having one of the worst seasons in his career he's got to hang it up?
Of course a look at his stats show there have been some ups and downs over his career.
After a spectacular 2009 with a quarterback rating of 107.2, there could be someone willing to keep the consecutive streak intact once Favre reconsiders—again!
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")