13 comments MMQB Review: How Will Breleigh Be Affected By This? Edition

Last time we checked with Peter King he had not been betrayed yet by Brett Favre and his wandering eye. What does Peter feel like this week? More importantly, can he confirm or deny that was Brett Favre's dong in the pictures to Jenn Sterger? Will Peter even acknowledge this story and the fact that Brett Favre has never denied sending those pictures? More importantly, combine this incident with the drama around the texts Favre did/did not send to Vikings teammates during training camp that said he was retiring, should Brett have phone privileges taken away?

All Peter knows this is has been one crazy NFL season, much like all the predictable NFL seasons we have seen over the past several years.

The voice from across the country late Sunday night said what we all feel, if I'm not mistaken, about the 2010 NFL season.

"What is normal in this league right now?'' Larry Fitzgerald, fan of the game, said from Arizona. "Such a strange year.''

It is definitely a strange NFL season. Much like the strange NFL season we had last year, the crazy one the year before that, the wild one the year before that and who can forget the insanity of four years ago? Wait, that's right...every NFL season is crazy and unpredictable and every year we talk about how the NFL season is unpredictable.

Max Hall 1, Drew Brees 0.

Yes Peter, because Drew Brees has never won an NFL game as a starter before and the Saints awesome award-winning defense had nothing to do with the loss.

Say it ain't so, Brett.

That's what the league has to be praying.

How many times do you think Peter has viewed the pictures? 30? 40? Not at all because it makes him so sad?

Deadspin.com last week published embarrassing voice mails and inappropriate photos (that might be the understatement of the year) that it alleges were sent from Favre to an attractive former Jets' sideline host, Jenn Sterger, in 2008.

They were inappropriate photos as much as photos sent to a woman 10+ years younger than you that show your penis can be. Oh...and you are also a married man doing this. Why isn't Peter talking about Deanna Favre now and what he thinks she thinks? He's talked about her opinion on things before on subjects that deal with Brett, why not now? Will Deanna be at the game tonight? It's not so fun putting your family out there in the public eye anymore is it Brett? When Brett wants sympathy for having to make a decision it is fun for him to trot Breleigh's name out there as someone who just wants her daddy to not get hurt, but I am sure Favre just wants privacy now.

I am not at all celebrating the fact Favre's family has been hurt by these accusations, but Favre has traditionally put his family's name into Peter's MMQB and Peter has even mentioned Favre's family on several occasions, but I'm Peter will give them some privacy at this point. If Favre had scored a game-winning touchdown, I am sure we would have a Deanna Favre quote somewhere.

Maybe I'm a jaded 53-year-old who's seen a little infidelity in this business over the years, but the voice mails don't bother me much in terms of NFL discipline; what a married man does in his off time is not something I care to police, and I don't believe the NFL should care about it either, unless there is some implied coercion involved, which does not seem to be the case here. Clumsy, yes. Coercion, no.

Except for the whole fact Sterger worked for the Jets, Favre worked for the Jets and allegedly used Jets employees to try and get Sterger to give him some attention. Also, Sterger had originally rejected Favre's advances and that didn't stop Favre, so then he sent pictures of his penis to her. It's called sexual harassment and even if you are a grizzled, fun-loving quarterback it is still not acceptable if true.

In other words, was he responsible for sending the lewd photos to Sterger? If so, the league will have to hand down some discipline on Favre.

Considering what a well-known liar Brett Favre is, even when it is clear that he is lying and he is the only one who believes himself, he still hasn't denied the allegations publicly. I would think Favre, being the liar he is, would at least deny the allegations initially, especially if he isn't lying. It's not like a statement of denial by him will make this case a bigger deal. It would get a denial on the record. Maybe Favre wishes it would all go away and thinks if he is quiet about it his friends in the media will help that happen.

I said this last night on NBC: There shouldn't be a rush to judgment in this case; Favre has never been found guilty of any matter in the league's Personal Conduct Policy in his 19 years in the NFL and should be afforded the presumption of innocence here.

So we should just assume Sterger is lying then? Naturally, she would have every reason to make up the allegations and then refuse to talk about it publicly or try to benefit in any way from it.

How about the two massage therapists who have said Favre tried stuff on them as well? Are they lying when they told Deadspin about this? Why do I get the feeling we wouldn't get a "wait-and-see" plea from the media if it wasn't Brett Favre who is the accused?

On Sunday, she was in seclusion, and now she may be rethinking how to deal with NFL investigators talking to her. But if she no-comments the NFL, and if the investigation cannot continue because she won't cooperate (which I'm not sure is a logical conclusion to draw), she risks being seen as an enabler. Sterger probably wishes she had deleted the voice mails, other electronic communication and photos.

She probably does wish this had happened. Why would Sterger wish the alleged pictures of Favre's penis be deleted if they weren't pictures of Favre's penis? She could stop all of this right now. Couldn't she just come out and end the investigation immediately saying that it is someone else's private parts and Brett Favre never acted in any inappropriate way towards her? If Favre acted appropriately and those aren't pictures of his junk, Sterger (who obviously doesn't want this publicity) would probably just say so to end it all, since she doesn't crave this attention...assuming that isn't Brett's junk of course. Circumstantially I am led to believe it is his junk since this story could have been a non-story very quickly.

Goodell's going to have a tough call if he finds Favre at fault, but his recent history shows (Ben Roethlisberger in particular) he won't shirk that tough call. I expect a resolution by the end of the month.

If Jenn Sterger did not work for the Jets at the time and if Favre had quit calling and leaving her messages after she had initially rejected him, there would be no issue. Favre can do whatever he wants then, but all the circumstantial evidence points to him committing what amounts to sexual harassment of a co-worker.

Then Peter King gives the statistics for how Favre performed back in Green Bay last year and after his father died as an indication of how he may play tonight. I guess Peter equates the emotion of having a dead father with the emotion from showing your junk to a co-worker in a text message and having those photos published.

Derek Anderson finished the half, but Hall came back to start the third quarter. "For me to not finish that game, I've got to be dead, or something like that,'' Hall said. Sounds like the Valley of the Sun might have a new hero, and some hope in the horrible NFC West.

Sounds like Peter King is taking one game by Max Hall and overreacting to it, which is something he traditionally does. The Saints aren't the same team as last year. The Falcons beat them at home, the horrible Panthers almost beat them at home and now a rookie QB beats them. I think it says more about the Saints than it says about the long-term talent set of Max Hall.

Landry was a first-round pick by the Redskins in 2007, and the coach then, Joe Gibbs, wanted to pair him with Sean Taylor long-term to give Washington the most feared set of safeties in the league. But Taylor died that November,

Oh yes, Sean Taylor. The guy Peter King seemed to refer to as a draft bust because he had the audacity to die.

Here's what I find interesting: Think of all the teams with employees who have close ties to the Patriots and needs at receiver. None of them wanted Moss.

I agree with Peter no one wanted Moss, but each of the four teams Peter will list had a reason other than Moss's behavior to not want him.

Kansas City (GM Scott Pioli, Belichick's right hand-man for a decade, and Charlie Weis, former Belichick offensive coordinator) has a tight end as its leading receiver and could use a deep threat to supplement Dwayne Bowe, Chris Chambers and multipurpose threat Dexter McCluster. No interest.

Why give up a draft pick for another wide receiver that Matt Cassel throws the ball poorly to? I know Bowe has been bad, but will putting Moss on the team fix that?

Carolina (offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson, former Belichick line coach) has the injured Steve Smith, who may be in decline, and three rookies. No interest.

Same thing. Clausen needs veteran receivers to throw the ball to, but Moss isn't a good fit at all in a ball control offense. Also, how is Steve Smith in decline any less than the older Randy Moss may be in decline? Smith is younger than Moss.

Cleveland (coach Eric Mangini, former Belichick defensive coordinator) has young receivers, none of whom has been a difference-maker, except for the versatile Josh Cribbs. No interest.

Again, why give up a draft pick for a guy who won't make a difference on your team going 4-12 and 6-10? Then the Browns would have to not sign him thereby essentially giving up a needed draft pick for less than a full season of Moss or give him a new contract.

No interest from former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in Denver, though that's understandable. The Broncos are set at receiver.

So basically three teams with bad quarterbacks did not want Moss and a team that was set at receiver didn't want Moss either. I agree with Peter's conclusion that Moss is a headache, but these teams would not have possibly had interest in Moss even if he wasn't a headache.

Postscript: CBS insider Charley Casserly reported Sunday that Moss and Tom Brady had to be separated in recent days from going "toe-to-toe,'' as Casserly put it. But I reported on NBC's Football Night in America show Sunday night that two high-ranking Patriots sources told me the story isn't true. One of them said, "Someone lied to CBS.''

Peter's source #1: Tom Brady
Peter's source #2: Bill Belichick

Neither of them would tell the truth even if this were the truth.

In 2009, the Patriots had more draft picks in the top 100 than any other team in the league (6). Same thing in 2010 -- five picks in the top 100 led all of football. Now, looking forward to 2011, New England's extra picks in the first, second and third rounds will give it the most prime picks again.

Let's see how that compares to their archrival, the Jets, with the round and overall choice before each draftee.

Two weeks ago I asked where a chart was that would talk about the Patriots draft picks over the last few seasons. Today, Peter gives us that chart. He's always good for a graph/chart about the Patriots in MMQB. It's pretty much his favorite thing to do.

I will spare you the chart, but suffice to say Peter feels pretty good about his favorite team's future prospects.

The chart doesn't account for the players mined after the top 100 -- like the Pats using the 113rd overall pick this year on Aaron Hernandez, who, early on, looks like a great addition to the passing game. I wouldn't be surprised to see him take up a good bit of the slack for the departed Moss. He's become a downfield threat early.

It's almost ridiculous how much Peter chooses to focus on the Patriots draft picks and how much he likes to chart the progress of the Patriots team in MMQB. It's surprisingly frequent for those who read it every week.

5. Indianapolis (3-2). I keep figuring we'll all wake up one of these days and see the Colts of old. Problem is, Indy has so many injuries forcing new guys into the lineup that I keep seeing a lot of shaky Colts of new.

The Colts are the only team in the history of the NFL to have injuries. That's why you have backups. Sympathy to the Colts is denied. Injuries are a part of the NFL and even the best teams in the NFL this year have had injuries.

Baltimore is #1 on Peter's Fine Fifteen and they haven't had Ed Reed play this year yet.

New York Jets are #2 on Peter's Fine Fifteen and they haven't had Darrelle Revis at 100% all year.

I'm not going to feel bad for a franchise that has had its franchise quarterback start every game for them since his rookie year. That's pretty damn good luck when it comes to injuries.

7. New England (3-1). If you've got a fantasy football team, you want to trade for Aaron Hernandez. Now. Just watch him be more of a downfield threat than you could ever have imagined for a fourth-round rookie.

(Peter King quickly does an internet search for "Aaron Hernandez naughty pictures")

11. Chicago (4-1). The Bears won with a quarterback, Todd Collins, completing six passes and throwing four interceptions Sunday ... and they won by 17! Such is life when you play the Carolina Panthers and have a runner like Matt Forte (22 carries, 166 yards) pushing the defense around.

Forte had 2 carries for 86 yards in the first 7 minutes of the game. Take away those two carries (which I know can't be done really, I'm just getting rid of the outliers at the beginning of the game to show a point) and he ran 20 times for 80 yards, which is very good, but not nearly as impressive as his total numbers would suggest. He didn't really push the Panthers defense around.

Coach of the Week

Jim Haslett, defensive coordinator, Washington.

Over a 44-minute span Sunday against the once-mighty Packers, Haslett's aggressive defense held Green Bay to three points.

I wonder what excuse or complaint Gregg Easterbrook will have against the Redskins being "blitz-happy" and shutting down the strong Packers offense? I bet he just ignores this occurred because it doesn't fit with his theory that blitzing is not a good thing.

Well, I'm sitting here early this morning writing with a walking boot on my right foot, because of my stupidity. I have a stress reaction to my right fibula, which is to say it hurts a little bit to walk, and it's a nuisance, and I'm not really injured but the thing won't go away unless I have this boot on for a couple of weeks. I felt some discomfort there, above my right ankle, before the half-marathon in New Hampshire last weekend, and then the pounding I put on it by sprinting the last 200 or 250 yards exacerbated it. Turns out you're not supposed to do that, which was news to me. So I'll cool my heels, and heal.

Athlete.

d. Matt Forte. With 18- and 68-yard touchdown runs in the first half of the first quarter, he did what the Bear running game hadn't been able to do in the first four games: dominate behind a shaky line.

The Panthers offense is terrible. It has nothing to do with Matt Forte, but it needs to be said. Whose fault is it? The owner, Jerry Richardson. Before the season he had the team cut payroll to take a hard-line position in preparation for the strike. There wasn't much on offense already, but he cut all the veterans so there is no one for Clausen to throw to without Smith in the lineup. He has essentially destroyed the product on the field to prove a point to the players, while the fans are the ones who are really paying. It's bad business, but I think it shows how little he cares. I hope other NFL owners don't do the same thing. I am afraid we, the fans, are in for a long offseason because it feels like this owners-players thing is going to be contentious.

a. Carson Palmer looks like a shot-putter, not a quarterback.

Jemele Hill actually had a good point on Twitter (I know, it shocked me too). When is Palmer going to start getting the same amount of heat that Vince Young and Donovan McNabb took? I personally was hard on Young before. Carson Palmer is no longer a quality starting quarterback. The question I have is whether the Bengals should bring in someone to compete with him. It feels like the national media sort of stays out Palmer's case.

c. I agree with Tony Dungy. If Carolina and Buffalo were to meet, justice would be a scoreless tie.

I think Carolina could beat Buffalo...hopefully. It doesn't really matter. This would be a shit-bowl of a game.

Warner is a devout Christian. He has to dance very closely with his very attractive partner, Anna Trebunskaya, and he had to do it recently on TV -- on the 13th anniversary of his wedding anniversary to wife Brenda.

"It's been fun,'' Warner said, "but it's been challenging too, and more of a commitment than I ever thought it would be. I'm busier than I was as a football player.'' And Brenda's reaction? "She has her moments,'' Warner said. "I totally understand. It's tough on us. When I was dancing 'the dance of love' with my partner, it was our anniversary, and Brenda said, 'Do you find it ironic that you're dancing the dance of love on our 13th anniversary?' ''

It's dancing. It's not like Kurt Warner is trying to have sex with his dance partner or is grinding up on her. It's faster-paced ballroom dancing essentially...just more boring.

9. I think I'm not sure how many men of God have cocked and loaded guns in the glove box, Glen Coffee.

I think sheltered little Peter King may be surprised at how many men of God have locked and loaded guns close to them.

b. If Billy Wagner didn't get hurt, it'd be the Braves up in the NLDS over the Giants, 2-1, not the other way around.

If, if, if...doesn't matter. If Bobby Cox doesn't pull his typical October shit-managing job and take out the hottest reliever on the team so he can have a LH pitcher v. LH batter matchup with Aubrey Huff, a guy who hits lefties better than righties by the way, then the Braves may be up 2-1. If Cox pulls Conrad in the 9th inning for defensive purposes after he had dropped a fly ball and muffed an easy grounder then it would be 2-1. If Bobby Cox had done any of these other two things, the result would be different. He didn't. The loss isn't just his fault, but the game wasn't lost because the Braves didn't have Wagner.

Just remember, Cox is a legend. We don't question why legends with three Hall of Fame pitchers on the same team over an 11 year span only have one World Series ring. It's a funny thing about managing. Managers don't make that big of a difference until they decide they want to make a big difference.

e. Media Quote of the Week: Maureen Dowd of the New York Times visited a motivational seminar at the Verizon Center in Washington recently and reached this conclusion on one of the panel's speakers, Terry Bradshaw: "He seemed more like a man who could use some advice rather than one paid for giving it."

Funny thing is, I bet he'd agree.

Which is why he advertises himself as a motivational speaker?

f. Coffeenerdness: Rough weekend at the Starbucks on 56th and 6th Sunday night, just before 11. All the milk in the place was wiped out except for skim. Can't have a skim latte. Just won't do.

Those Cowboys are dirty pigs for having an expensive dinner out while so many Americans are struggling! That's what Peter said last week. This week when Peter goes to Starbucks and they are out of all the milk except skim milk, he calls it a "rough weekend." Amazing.