If you’re choosing sides in this developing fracas between ESPN football analyst Marcellus Wiley and former Vikings quarterback great Fran Tarkenton, just ask yourself this question: Can I trust a man who routinely goes on the air pantsless? If the answer is yes, you’ll appreciate these quotes, presented to you fresh from the oven.

Tarkenton, of course, started the whole thing by ripping Brett Farve, who was (is?) considering coming out of “retirement” to play for the Vikings. Whatever happened to loyalty? asked Tarkenton. Wiley, a former Pro Bowl linebacker, called Tarkenton “a grumpy old man” for the comments. This caused Tarkenton to fire back at Wiley, and now Wiley is responding to Tarkenton … let’s play the feud! Read more…

Did you know the Dallas Cowboys haven’t won a playoff game since 1996? That’s pretty spectacular for haters of America’s Team, which includes, oh, most of America. But according to one ESPN analyst, don’t blame the players, or coaches, or even Jerry Jones. Blame the trainer.

Marcellus Wiley believes he’s identified the culprit for Dallas’ late-season collapses: strength and conditioning coach Joe Juraszek, who maybe-not-so-coincidentally joined the club in 1997. Wiley, a former defensive end who played one season for the Cowboys, thinks the team is never in shape to handle the grind of a 16-game season. And Cowboy fans, eager to find a scapegoat, quickly rounded up the posse. (Wiley’s words, and the ensuing fan lynch mob, after the jump.)

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For all the grumbling about football officiating this season, has anyone bothered to actually check out accurate the refs have been? The NFL has, and the refs have been really, really good.

According to the league’s grading, 97.64 percent of all plays have been correctly officiated. Since about 150 plays are run in the average game, that’s about 4 missed calls per game. If you want to compare it to all the times you leaped off the coach to protest a clearly biased call against your favorite team, only to see on the replay that they got the call right, then the refs are doing a pretty damn good job.
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