Sports December 5, 2010

Football is a team sport. This is especially visible in the Colts this season. Despite having Petyon Manning, possibly the single best player in the NFL today, they still have struggled to win games and are second in their division to the Jaguars. Injuries have hit them hard, and several of Manning's receivers are out for a long time. I believe they are no longer the dominant team they were before without many of their players. As they have struggled to give Manning help, they are no longer the offense that dominates teams. Sure Manning will make them competitive, but they will still miss the playoffs to a Jaguars.

With the Vikings season pretty much over, I think they should bench Brett Farve and start Tarvaris Jackson. They have already fired their head coach, and Farve is too old to be a long term solution. The quaterback problem will definitely be addressed in the offseason, but they should give Jackson a shot before they make any move for a quarterback. When Farve went out in today's game, they had their highest offensive output this season under Jackson. Jackson was also their future before they acquired Farve. Even if Jackson doesn't do well, the season is lost, and then you would know Jackson is not future, and that another quarterback would be necessary.

The Nationals are one of those teams who are hardly ever in contention and attempt to make a big splash by signing a big name free agent but never do. Well, they finally did this season by signing outfielder Jayson Werth. The Nationals over the last couple season have had a solid batting order with the likes of Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn. Despite the loss of Dunn, the addition of Werth should offset that. Plus, Werth is a better defender. I believe the move to get Werth was huge for the Nationals, and if their starting pitching improves, they may be able to compete for a postseason berth.