Winding Down

Quick, name a forty-something-year-old quarterback whose threw away a game on interceptions this week. No, it's not Brett Favre, though, like Favre, Jeff Garcia is probably the biggest name in his league.

So that was a bit of a harsh opening, and I don't mean to rag on Garcia overly much. It's funny how similar Favre and Garcia are, if not in general, than at least right this very moment. Both are battling foot injuries, both have spectacular longevity in what is arguably the toughest sport in the world. Favre gave up three interceptions on Sunday: Garcia threw four last night.

Are they washed up? Overrated? No. But, when injured, they do show their age. It's tough enough for even a young player to go out there and play with an injury. Each is in trouble, however, because as risky as it is to send a limping Garcia or Favre out there, it's not certain how much confidence anyone has in their backups. Tarvaris Jackson is probably a league average QB, but how rusty is he after not playing a regular season game in two years? Matt Gutierrez is young, and likely very raw. You have to ask yourself the same question: is it better to play the injured vet and risk a game, or to play the young guy and give the old men a chance to heal? For the 2-4 Vikings, it may already be too late.

For the Nighthawks, it's a much tougher call. After last night's loss to a strong defensive showing by Las Vegas, their hopes for a championship appearance may be in jeopardy if their star quarterback can't get healthy. It may also be in jeopardy if they fall to 3-3, which could realistically happen if they risk sending in a quarterback with some thirteen fewer years of experience.

Apropos of nothing, it also struck me today that the UFL season is more than half over. Seems like it'll be ending right about when all the leaves are finally off the trees. As a writer, I like the narrative appropriateness of this, though I already miss not having home games at the Rent to look forwards, and have since I took my Colonials/Nighthawks season tickets off the wall. With such a long off season, it'll be interesting to see what the Colonials can do to keep them in the public consciousness. It's a big job, but I hope that next year we'll rival Omaha for fans in the seats.