Tonight’s game was originally supposed to be meaningful NFC East game, but now is barely on the radar of most sports fans. The Redskins completely fell on their face this season and have struggled their way to a 4-9 record. The Giants came out of the gate firing, starting out 5-0. Since then they have gone just 2-6 and are holding on to their playoff hopes by the skin of their teeth. The good news for the Giants is they play the Redskins, who up until a few weeks ago looked like a gimme win for a team like the Giants. The bad news for the Giants is a couple of things have changed for the Redskins in the last few weeks.

First, they realized that scoring more points than your opponent is the recipe for success in the NFL. Their patchwork offensive line has held up fairly well, and opened a few running lanes. Their new play-calling approach is surprisingly working, and creating a more potent attack. Their new offensive approach also seems to be helping the defense (looking up at the scoreboard and seeing a lead must be a nice change), by keeping opposing offenses off the field. Right now the Redskins look like the team we all expected at the beginning of the season.

The second thing that has changed for Washington is the resigning of Vinny Cerrato, who is replaced by Bruce Allen as General Manager. While the move seems insignificant to an outsider, or even something that could negatively impact a team, any Redskin insider knows that this is maybe the best news since the Redskins won the Super Bowl in 1991. Cerrato was reviled by fans (and from the sounds of it, around the league), and responsible for some horrible moves during his tenure for the Redskins. With Cerrato gone, fans can breathe a little easier and have hope that there is a light at the end of this tunnel. Even if this same reaction isn’t amongst the players, this is bad news for the Giants because fans now have something to cheer about tonight, despite the Skins record (or the temperature).

Anytime the Giants and Redskins meet its always a great game, and given the Redskins recent mini-turnaround I’d expect a pretty close game tonight. In the end, the Giants are the better team and have more to play for. I think they squeak out a 27-24 victory.

Tonight’s New Orleans Saints versus the New England Patriots has all the makings of an epic game. The Patriots are the most prolific team of the past decade with three Super Bowl wins and four appearances. They have a dominate defense that always seems to make the big play, as well as having one of the top quarterbacks and wide receivers in the league. The Saints on the other hand, usually don’t get the same credit as the Patriots and other great teams. Part of that has to do with their history; never winning a Super Bowl (or even going to one), and being an up and down playoff contender the past few seasons. Another reason why the Saints don’t get respect is that with the exception of Drew Brees, they don’t have the star power that New England, Indianapolis, Minnesota and other great teams have.

Also when it comes to star power, Brees doesn’t hold a candle to Tom Brady. Yet with the exception of Super Bowl rings, Brady doesn’t have the numbers to back up the argument that Brady is a superior quarterback to Brees. All you ever hear about when it comes to quarterbacks is that its Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and then everyone else (side note…what exactly does Brett Favre have to do to get out of this ‘everyone else’ purgatory?). If you take a look at the numbers Brees is equal to Brady (if not better).

First let’s look at Tom Brady. In 121 starts (123 games) Brady is 2,562 of 4,046 (completions and attempts) for 29,495 yards and has been sacked 217 times. He has thrown 217 touchdowns to 93 interceptions for a 93.6 quarterback rating. Brees in 116 starts (117 games) is 2,552 of 3,970 for 29,004 yards and has been sacked 152 times. He has thrown for 190 touchdowns to 108 interceptions for a 90.7 quarterback rating. Those numbers are about as close as can be. And when you factor in the five more starts for Brady, his completions, yards and sacks aren’t nearly as comparable to Brees’ numbers (unless Brees was behind the Redskins’ offensive line, I doubt he would get sacked 65 times in five games). Now in fairness, Brady’s touchdown numbers and interception numbers are still impressive even if Brees had five more games to his resume, as there is no way he would throw for 27 touchdowns in five games and the picks would only go up. What is worth noting, is that Brees’ numbers since joining the Saints have been exceptional, and his interceptions, sacks and incomplete passes have all gone down significantly, while his yards and touchdowns have improved. In reality, Brees has been an elite quarterback these past four years, but still carries the weight of his early Charger days with him (his last two years in San Diego weren’t too shabby either).

So why is one quarterback considered a surefire Hall of Famer and the other considered just a very good quarterback? Winning games, and winning Super Bowls. Why didn’t I consider those numbers for comparison? Because regardless what people try to tell you football is a team sport, and games aren’t won or lost by a quarterback alone. How many Super Bowl rings do Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Fouts and Jim Kelly have combined? The answer is ZERO, despite the fact that all five are Hall of Famers and elite quarterbacks of their day. Is Troy Aikman a better quarterback than Dan Marino because he won Super Bowls? No, (though he might be a luckier quarterback) Aikman is deserving of a Hall of Fame bust, but he isn’t a better signal caller. And I think the same can be said here for Brady and Brees. Brady has played every single season on a playoff caliber team. Brees has played with some great players, but not great teams, until maybe this season. So while everyone else on the planet might want Brady over Brees. I’ll take Brees every Sunday (and Monday Nights) simply because he does more with less.

I don’t think tonight’s game will settle the debate one way or another, but I think the Saints will win tonight, behind a good balanced attack led by Brees. I’ll say the Saints win 31-24.

When this game was originally scheduled for Monday Night Football, I’m sure ESPN thought they were getting an NFC East showdown that would have a lasting impact on the NFC playoff race. I’m sure ESPN was also happy with the return of Michael Vick to an area where almost a decade ago he was considered a hero for returning Virginia Tech to college football prominence. These were going to be the major storylines of the week, and the hype leading up to the game. Neither of these predictions came close to coming true. Vick was supposed to cause a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia, instead the team is already considering ways to cut ties with him after the season. Vick couldn’t even take advantage of a injured/ineffective Donovan McNabb, (who could have a coming out party tonight against the Skins) and overtake him in practice. Vick has been a complete bust anytime he is on the field (which has been getting more and more infrequent).

If anyone has bigger problems right now than Michael Vick, it’s the Washington Redskins. The Redskins were supposed to be a team on the rise, they had a great offseason in free agency and the NFL Draft. In fact the Redskins were so well thought of, that tonight is just the first of three (bad call schedulers) prime time games they have. In their spending and drafting they forgot one crucial issue, the offensive line. They came into the season strong at four of the five offensive line positions, with good veteran starters. The problem with veterans is that collectively they have a lot of years of wear and tear, as well as a pretty extensive injury history. The Redskins needed some competent backups, but didn’t sign any big names or draft any additional lineman. Now the Redskins have their two best offensive lineman out for the year, including Pro Bowl tackle Chris Samuels.  The scary thing is that even losing two offensive lineman for the year and having no depth to turn to, is not the worst thing about the Washington offensive line. The fifth starter among the original five, Stephon Heyer, (was at right tackle now moved to the blindside) has been absolutely awful. He is dominated by the pass rush, and routinely whiffs at blocks in the open field. Unfortunately he still has a starting position for the Skins and as long as he does the offense will grind to a halt. As bad as some other team’s offensive lines are, I really don’t know if he could start for any other team in this league. Now you can’t blame everything that’s going wrong with this team on roster construction or the offensive line. Lame duck coach Jim Zorn has had some very questionable play calling, especially in the red zone. Also quarterback Jason Campbell, who once showed so much promise, has looked like a shell of his former self (or maybe he’s just shell-shocked). Whatever the reason the Redskins are one of this season’s biggest disappointments, and are headed to an offseason with a lot of overhaul and turmoil. In the meantime the Eagles will feast on the Redskins’ mistakes Stephon Heyer, and come away with a convincing victory 23-13.

How lucky can ESPN get by having the broadcast rights to the first Packers-Vikings Favre game of the season? This game has so many good storylines that its hard to pick the most relevant.You have the revenge factor, as both Favre and the Packers try to prove that they were justified for their actions two summers ago. So far the Packers are losing that argument, as Favre-led teams have a much better record over the last year and a half, than the Favre-less Packers do (must be hard for the Pack to convince their fans that Favre was done when he still makes plays like this). Favre’s success post-Green Bay is even more impressive considering he’s working with new personnel and in a new system, is pushing 40, and had a bum arm last year. While you can say all you want about how Favre handled himself off the field, (and I have) you have to respect his humility with the situation, and no one can question what he does on the field.

The other big storyline of the game is the master-apprentice relationship between Favre and his replacement Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers spent three years as Favre’s understudy after being drafted in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft. I think those years on the bench were the best thing for Rodgers in the long run. Despite this only being his second year starting, Rodgers has had more success than his fellow first round quarterbacks, Alex Smith and Jason Campbell (not to mention Rodgers cashed in on a lucrative contract extension, while the other two are fighting for jobs). Rodgers wasn’t a Ben Roethlisberger or Matt Ryan type of prospect, who could have just stepped in right away and been successful. Rodgers needed that time on the bench to mature and learn from the master. Now he goes up against his mentor for the first time (even though the media has pretty much compared his numbers and production to Favre weekly). Watching the Packers icon of old, battle against the new face of the franchise is pretty fun to watch, and it will be interesting to see who the last man is standing tonight.

In addition to the two main storylines there are a few other things to watch tonight. Despite being week four, this game does have some playoff implications for these two division rivals. If the Vikings win and go to 4-0, they will already have a two game lead on the Packers in the division. If the Packers win, then they vault to the top of the three team tie for first because of wins over Chicago and Minnesota. A win by Green Bay would also show that the North is the power conference of the NFC, and not the East or South like most people expected. Another thing to watch tonight is a win by Minnesota would give Brett Favre wins against all 32 franchise’s in the NFL, the only player to do so.

While this topic will continue to be debated throughout the season (and maybe years to come), I’m glad Brett Favre is back and playing on Sundays (and Mondays), and not just for the good drama tonight. So far its not a case of some guy trying to play past his prime, like we’ve seen far too often in sports in recent years. If Favre still has something left in the tank, then he should be playing for the fans and for the game. How many times have we’ve seen wonderful careers cut short due to injury, tragedy, or simple loss of desire to play. While I think the media circus that Favre and the Packers have created the last few years (more Favre than the Packers), has tarnished their images, I do respect Favre for having the passion to just want to play football. Favre is an artist and entertainer, where would we be if other artists and entertainers had quit before their time. What if Leonardo da Vinci quit painting after The Last Supper, or if William Shakespeare quit writing after Romeo and Juliet, or if Vanilla Ice had quit rapping after “Ice Ice Baby” (alright bad example, but we would never have “Go Ninja, Go Ninja Go”). Even though I’m glad that Favre is still throwing the ball, it will be weird tonight to see 53 players wearing yellow and green and No. 4 not being one of them.