The big question in the NFL is whether Vikings QB Brett Favre will play tonight against the Giants.

In a text message from Vikings coach Leslie Frazier to NFL Network’s Jason LaCanfora this afternoon, Frazier expressed hope that Brett Favre would still be able to play.

“No, we have not ruled him out,” said Frazier. “We will make a decision at the stadium.”

This update on the future Hall-Of-Famer’s game-day status contradicts that of others. ESPN’s Ed Werder, reported earlier this morning that several Vikings players and Favre himself don’t expect his 297-game start streak to reach 298. The St. Paul Pioneer Press has also reported that Favre’s sprained S.C. joint in his throwing shoulder remains “severely swollen.”

Minnesota Vikings players also said that Favre’s collarbone is severely swollen and he hasn’t thrown a pass all week.

As it stands now, it looks almost certain that Brett Favre cannot play, but any announcement on his playing status is unlikely until gametime.

We’ll see if the extra day of rest Favre got, due to a blizzard, allows him to start for the Vikings.

Gametime is set for 7:20 pm EST in Detroit’s Ford Field. The Giants are 3 point favorite.

sources: nfl.com, nbcsports.com

The Minnesota Vikings fired their head coach, Brad Childress.  With the team’s performance and win-loss record this 2010 NFL season, you can’t say you didn’t see it coming.

Team owner Zygi Wilf announced the news after he and team president Mark Wilf met with Childress early Monday.

“It’s often difficult to articulate one reason why change is needed,” Wilf said.

The Wilf brothers have named Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Frazier immediately squashed any question about the quarterback situation.  He immediately named Brett Favre the starting quarterback this weekend.

“There’s no hesitation from me in that regard,” Frazier said.

During a team news conference, Frazier spelled out what he expected of Favre and the rest of the Minnesota Vikings players – fewer turnovers from Favre and a 100% effort from the rest of the Purple People Eaters.

“The challenge our players have is to understand that other people around the league are taking a look at that tape, and you owe it to your teammates and your family to go out there and play hard every single snap,” Frazier said.

What can you say about the accomplishments of Childress in his 5 seasons in Minnesota?  Better than most NFL coaches. The Vikings won back-to-back NFC North titles (2008 and ‘09) with a record of 39-35.  However, the Vikes record of 1-2 in the playoffs was disappointing. Childress summed up his thoughts about his time there:

“I am proud of our accomplishments and believe the foundation of this football team is stronger today than when I became head coach,” Childress said in a statement released by the team.

At the beginning of the 2010 NFL Football season, Childress, the Vikings and the Minnesota fans had big expectations.  Brett Favre was coming off one of his finest seasons and the Vikings finished with an impressive 12-4 regular season record.

But expectations were quickly met with 3 losses in the first four games, led by the inconsistency and poor play by Favre.

Then there was the Randy Moss fiasco. The Vikings gave up a 3rd round draft pick to the New England Patriots for the future hall-of-fame wide receiver Randy Moss.  But within weeks, Childress released Moss without consulting the Vikings owner or front office.

It came after a loss at New England, the newly acquired Moss praised his former teammates and was critical of Childress, who had given up a third-round pick to acquire him four weeks earier.

Childress told his team the next day he had released  Moss, though the coach failed to offer complete details about what had transpired. Wilf was said to be upset because his coach failed to discuss his actions beforehand. There also were anonymous reports of increasing unrest among Vikings players.

It was at this time that many NFL experts and analysts expected that Brad Childress’ days were numbered, especially as the team fell further and further out of NFL playoff contention.

And then it happened! The Vikings fired Brad Childress one day after the Vikings were embarrassed by the Green Bay Packers 31-3, their second loss in a row.

And the players, for all their frustration with Childress and his style, put the blame on themselves after getting beat up by the Packers.

”We’re grown men. He’s not out there playing with us,” tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said when asked on Sunday about Childress’s status. ”You’ve got to look in the mirror sometimes. We’re 3-7. You go 3-7, you always want to blame somebody else. Sometimes you can’t blame somebody else. Sometimes you have to focus on yourself and what you’re doing wrong.”

There were other mitigating circumstances that led to the firing, including Childress’ increasingly combative relationship with quarterback Brett Favre and Vikings fans finally got involved with thousands of “Fire Chilly” signs being handed out before their hosted Nov 7 game against Arizona.

What’s next for Brad Childress? Probably nothing short term – the same fate that awaits the awaits the Minnesota Vikings in February.

sources: foxsports.com, associated press

Some sports experts say “something’s fishy” about the Seattle Seahawks signing of Pete Carroll. It’s nothing against Pete, it’s more about how the Seattle Seahawks seemed to bypass, circumvent or completely ignore the Rooney Rule when signing their new head coach.

In 2003, the NFL implemented the Rooney Rule which requires National Football League teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior operations opportunities. The rule is named for Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the chairman of the NFL’s diversity committee.

There is considerable debate about whether the Seahawks already had decided that Pete Carroll would be the new head coach before they fired Jim Mora Jr. The Seahawks hired Pete Carroll on Monday, four days after firing Jim Mora Jr. They interviewed Minnesota Viking defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who is black, for the job over the weekend.

But the speed in which Seattle first fired Mora without a GM in place, and then lured Carroll away from USC led to questions, most notably from former head coach Tony Dungy, about whether the Seahawks interviewed Frazier merely to satisfy the Rooney Rule.

“That is not what the Rooney Rule is supposed to be, (that) you make up your mind and then interview a candidate for it anyway just to satisfy the rule,” Dungy told the Associated Press.

The head of the group that monitors NFL hiring practices believes strongly in the effectiveness of the “Rooney Rule,” which is supposed to provide more opportunities for minorities.

“I think it has done wonders in the NFL,” John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, said Monday. “They’ve put a new face on the National Football League. I think the integrity and commitment are there. It’s outstanding, and that’s why it’s worked.”

Wooten said he recommended to Frazier that he interview for the job in Seattle after getting assurances from the Seahawks and Carroll last Saturday that a deal had not yet been reached with Carroll — contrary to what ESPN had reported that morning.

“I feel comfortable that Seattle approached it the right way,” Wooten said.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said that the Seahawks have not violated the spirit of the Rooney Rule.

There is no doubt that the Rooney Rule has had a positive effect on the number of minority coaches in the NFL. In fact the 2006 Super Bowl had two African-American head coaches in Dungy and Lovie Smith. And in 2008, Mike Tomlin lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl win.

Regardless of what Wooten and Roger Goodell say, Tony Dungy may know a lot more about the truth. ESPN is reporting that Seattle contacted Tony Dungy last month about their open GM position.

“They called Tony about three weeks ago to see if he would seriously consider becoming their president. He told them he wanted to pray and sleep on it but the next day he called them back and said he wanted to stick with everything he was doing now. He would have been the guy, I believe, if he had wanted to do it.”

ESPN reported that Dungy said last month that an NFL team asked him to consider a front-office role, but he wouldn’t reveal the team.

One could argue that the Seahawks met the requirements of the Rooney Rule by interviewing Leslie Frazer. But why would Tony Dungy express his concerns about the apparent disregard of the Rooney Rule by Seattle. After all, don’t you think the Seahawks front office discussed their “plan” for Seattle’s future with Tony three weeks earlier?

Something is fishy in Seattle!