Introducing the Sirloin Podcast

To help bring in the new year, we're expanding the scope of Sirloin a bit. So for your listening enjoyment, here's the first ever Sirloin Podcast, broken up into two parts. The Mayor and I preview Wild Card Weekend. Part I looks at the Saturday games, Part II the Sunday games.

PART I

PART II

They Are Who We Thought They Were: NFC North - Week 11

Minnesota Vikings (8-1, 1st)
Last week: Def. Detroit 27-10 at home
Next up: Seattle at home
We thought: Free ride for a couple weeks.
They are: For a few minutes, they had some people nervous against the Lions (mainly survivor pool people). On a happy note, a couple weeks of non-intriguing matchups means a break from Favre Media Love.

Green Bay Packers (5-4, 2nd)
Last week: Def. Dallas 17-7 at home
Next up: San Francisco at home
We thought: Extremely desperate for a win they'd probably get, as long as it didn't come down to the final few minutes.
They are: Intriguing. And after what he did Sunday, and having seen these occasional flashes of brilliance from Charles Woodson, is he underappreciated or one of these guys who's never really tapped his full potential?

Chicago Bears (4-5, 3rd)
Last week: Lost to San Francisco 10-6 on the road
We thought: Primed for a shoot-out because their D is horrible.
They are: It's easy to pick on Jay Cutler because he seems to have this antagonstic personality, but we refuse to blame him for all 5 picks (although a couple of them were brutal), and don't buy the notion that he's not a winning QB.

Detroit Lions (1-8, 4th)
Last week: Lost to Minnesota 27-10 on the road
Next up: Cleveland at home
We thought: Missing Kevin Smith, who was a fantastic soundbite last year, as he seemed to be the only one on the team to be upset at the losing.
They are: Hey, at least they compete. Not well, but they do compete.

They Are Who We Thought They Were: NFC North - Week 10

Minnesota Vikings (7-1, 1st)
Last week: Bye
We thought: It's become clear that Favre really wanted no business playing for the Jets last year. Even when his stats were good, he had that blank look on his face, like he didn't know the plays and didn't care to. Now he seems engaged, excited, and I think I just talked myself out of a Favre cold-weather collapse.
They are: If you're just interested in advancing in your suicide pool, Minny is hosting Detroit this week.

Green Bay Packers (2nd, 4-4)
Last week: Lost to Tampa Bay 38-28 on the road
We thought: Heading to Tampa should've been a nice antidote after a rough Favre-dominated weekend. But then we heard the Bucs were wearing the Creamsicle jerseys...
They are: Possibly fraudulent. Other than opening night against the Bears (more on them in a second), this team continues to lose close games. Do we blame Mike McCarthy? Aaron Rodgers? We can definitively say that Rodgers holds the ball too long.

Chicago Bears (4-4, 3rd)
Last week: Lost to Arizona 41-21 at home
We thought: On paper it was an intriguing game, and that was before all the inevitable Denny Green references.
They are: Frauds, particularly the defense. Just weird to see them get gashed like that (suppose not having Brian Urlacher doesn't help). Jay Cutler can only do so much.

Detroit Lions (1-7, 4th)
Last week: Lost to Seattle 32-20 on the road
We thought: After finally getting a win and then playing the Steelers tough, these guys seemed like they were showing some signs. And against a mediocre-to-bad Seahawks team, win #2 didn't seem out of the question.
They are: Ah, the pitfalls of playing a rookie QB. 5 INT, a blown 17-0 lead, and a late pick-six for the impossible cover. Thanks God these guys play on Thanksgiving each year.