Vikings Game Over. PFT Still on the Prowl

They had to wrap up their coverage of Adrian Peterson's absence from the starting lineup with another Viking Crusade post.  How much of a non-story can this be?  Is it really worth 3 posts in one day?

The answer is no, but because it involves the Vikings it will make PFT headlines.  If it wasn't the credible Michael Smith doing this post I'm sure it would have been accompanied by a "Childress is an idiot for disciplining him" remark.

You Can't Give Yourself a Nickname

Everyone knows it's not acceptable to give yourself a nickname.  Adding to that edict, you can't also attribute a "curse" to yourself either.  In fact, it's probably more pathetic.

Mike Florio decided he should test the "PFT Curse" by noting the big lead the Jets have opened over the Titans.  This is the first I've ever heard of this supposed curse, so I decided to search the tubes for evidence of it's existence.

Here are the google search results.  That's right.  Four references found, and all at ProFootballTalk.com

This is really hilarious.  You can't make this stuff up.

Oh, and Florio deleted my comment that consisted pretty much of this post.

Florio's Storyline Smashed.

And he reacts with criticism of Childress of course.  Quick to point out that AD is the NFL leading rusher, and also that Chester Taylor is not Adrian Peterson, Florio also neglects to tell the readers that the Vikings scored a TD on just 3 plays.

What a moron.  No, not Childress this time.  

Peterson Enters Game. Florio Posts.

Well, he had to follow up his post regarding Peterson not playing initially.  What I don't get is the automatic assumption that it was a "benching" and not just dictated by their opening script.

Peterson is one of the really good guys in the league and there have been absolutely no reports all week in regards to trouble.  Maybe Florio is angling for a reason to tie together the sideline argument last week, or the answer he gave in the weekly press conference.

My Bad

I didn't wait those precious 10 seconds to see if Florio would mention Peterson isn't in the game yet.  How could I have been so careless?

This is shaping up to be one hell of a Vikings Crusade day at PFT.

Take a Guess at Which Game Florio is Watching?

If you guessed the Vikings vs Jags game, you win!!

Already got one post from him.  Expect at least 10 more.  I am a little surprised that he didn't mention that Peterson didn't get the ball in the Vikings first drive (which lasted all of 3 plays).

Mortensen Blows PFT Speculation Out of the Water

At least Florio posted the conflicting report.  This is another example, in a long line of examples where Florio throws some cockamamie idea against the wall and waits for traction.  Just one notable exception.  He didn't cite sources this time, so he's cleared of the Accuracy Report.

Classic Florio Post

Mike Florio loves to cite his "sources" regarding some outrageous speculation and then follow up with a post of this ilk.  It's speculation surrounding his earlier speculation.  Brilliant really, because this post makes presumptions that distract from the real speculation.  

It's an attempt to make the story, not about the contract offer to Cowher by the Browns, but rather whether Cowher would demand the firing of Phil Savage.  

How can anyone read this tripe with any seriousness?

Soure Citation on Agent Williams' Suspension

Florio cites his usual "league source" in the case surrounding the suspended agent, Greg Williams.  Florio claims the client that files the grievance was Adrian Wilson.  He's had a bit of a vendetta against Wilson this season.  Florio basically considers Wilson a dirty player and often calls for fines against him.  Makes one wonder if this report isn't a tidy coincidence.

A Reliable Source

Is "reliable source" code of some kind?  Does it actually mean "I really do have a source this time". In any case Florio actually calls his source for this post "reliable".

I'd think this story must be reported by the legitimate press at some point.  You'd figure there would be either a police or insurance report filed.  I'm anxious to see the outcome of this one.

STATUS: Unconfirmed

TMQ Is the BEST

I'm a huge fan of Gregg Easterbrook's NFL column on ESPN named "Tuesday Morning Quarterback".  You can see a link in my blogroll.  I look forward to reading him every week.

Today I decided to research some of the "citations needed" links in the PFT wikipedia entry.  While doing so I came across a snippet from a TMQ column from February of this year.  It's amazing.  Read for yourself, and make him a part of your regular reading routine:

If Your Site Contains Rumors, Do Your Predictions Have to Be True? West Virginia lawyer Mike Florio publishes Profootballtalk.com, a rumor Web site that gained standing this year when it won advertising from NFL.com. Florio runs an amazing number of breaking stories; his big time-saver is that his stories don't need to be true. What about his predictions? In September 2007, Florio predicted San Diego general manager A.J. Smith was about to be fired; three months later, Smith got an $11 million contract extension. A month into the season, Florio said "the Raiders are for real" with a good chance to make the playoffs; Oakland finished 4-12. Florio forecast the Bengals, Broncos, Saints, Bears, Rams and Eagles to win their divisions; that is, six of his eight predicted division winners did not even reach the postseason. Florio said Mike Shanahan might get the University of Michigan coaching job -- "I am serious, it could happen." Florio predicted the Rams would win the NFC championship. In mid-September, Florio predicted Tom Coughlin of the Giants would be fired by "sometime in November."

Florio Backtracks, Hopes you Forget His First Post

I noted and commented on Florio's attempt to generate a story surrounding NFL personnel celebrating with the Jets earlier.  PFT has followed up with a new post that essentially shuts down his efforts. 

I guess the "league insiders" he referred to earlier weren't the one's that stuck a fork in this story.

I posted this comment

You should have mentioned the fact that the NFL calls for the removal of all videos posted on YouTube under grounds of copyright infringement originally. You got shut down on this one.

which I'm sure will not be posted to the site.

Saying it's Pure Speculation Doesn't Get You Off the Hook

Florio, unprecedently, starts off his latest post with this pathetic statement:

We need to start this one off by making clear that this item is purely speculative.  (And if you don’t like that kind of stuff, just scroll, baby, scroll.)

Well, I'm not scrolling.  I'm documenting.  No, this won't go in the Accuracy Tracker.

No responsible journalist would ever write anything like closely resembling this nonsense.  I think he's wishfully thinking that the StarCaps appeals will fail so he can relish in the suspension of the Vikings players, and that's why I'm classifying this as a Vikings Crusade post.

I posted this comment:

Claiming up front that the post is "pure speculation" only gets you off the hook for your inaccurate "sources cited" posts. Like most of those posts this one stinks too.

I'll wait for the deletion.

Is Florio Not Even Bothering to Quote "Sources" Anymore?

In a pathetic attempt to create a story where there is none,  Florio decides to feed the trolls surrounding a video of NFL personnel purpotedly celebrating a recent Jets victory.  Whatever.  I'm not even going to get into this non story.  

I will however, point out an extremely misleading comment in this post.  

And some league insiders believe that the longer version of the video promptly exited YouTube specifically because of the presence of Anderson and “Auerbach.”

Are you kidding me?  Some league insiders believe?  How misleading can you be?  

I should also add that all major sports including the NFL have always been vigilant in having videos posted to YouTube removed based on copyright violations.  Regardless of the content of that video it would have been removed as quickly as it was discovered.