These are the days when it’s good to be in it for the long haul.
The recurring thought running through my head during the second half of last night’s Vikings evisceration at the hands of the Green Bay Packers was:
Is this the worst Vikings team of my lifetime? Or just the perfect storm of a lousy team running into a historically great one?
After a fair amount of pondering that question (pun!), I’ve come to the conclusion that there have indeed been worse versions of the Purple, but few times that they’ve found themselves surrounded by so much strength.
The 2001 Vikings went 5-11, with a point differential of -100; the 2002 squad 6-10 and -52. Those teams had to deal with Favre-led Packer teams, and a Bears club that went 13-3 in 2001; but the Lions were a perennial doormat, and there’s no way you could convince me that those Bear teams, regardless of their great defenses, are better than the current version. When Jim Miller and Shane Mathews are your starting quarterbacks, you don’t get good team status (a point was borne out when Chicago slipped to 4-12 in 2002).
The current version sits at 2-7, and has been outscored by 65 points following last night’s 45-7 destruction. Although Viking fans, myself included, spent Monday trying to talk themselves into the “any given Sunday” angle, the reality was that they were completely outclassed from the word go. Any given Sunday, odd things can happen. But unfortunately this was Monday, it was Lambeau, and the opponent was a Packer team that, at least offensively, is among the most surgical in recent memory.
It was an embarrassment, the worst loss ever at the hands of Green Bay. There was no moral victory potential, no positive takeaways, just a flat-out asskicking administered by the team every Vikings fan wants to beat most.
But this brings us back to the point about the long haul. As usual, people are going to parse today, and try drawing grander conclusions than they should be. In a disappointing season, there’s always a rush to assign blame, regardless of how warranted it actually is. Accountability is important, but more important is the realization that quick fixes can fall apart pretty fast. If you put a Band-Aid where stitches are required, don’t be surprised when you keep bleeding. At this point, my favorite team is in transplant territory, and hoping to avoid having to amputate.
Teams go bad-to-good quickly in this league, and vice-versa, that much is true. But when you look at the teams that do, they’re typically starting from a strong foundation, built tough up front, killer defense, etc. Then a piece or two arrives and changes things dramatically. The Vikings don’t fit this mold, they simply don’t have very many capable players in most areas of the team.
Is it time to blow it up? Probably. With the exception of Jared Allen and Adrian Peterson, the “stars” on this team seem to be more getting by more on reputation these days than dominant play. The linebackers are decent, the defensive line solid, but the offensive line, defensive backs and receiving corps possesses few players who look like starters on a good NFL team. Sure, many of the guys in these spots are young, but that’s only a consolation if they’re good, and more than a few have offered plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Other than Peterson, Allen, Kevin Williams and Chad Greenway, nobody on the roster seems to be a surefire blue-chipper anymore. Even the few guys listed have had moments that made you question their value over the past couple seasons. The Vikings should listen to offers for anyone, and if they’re blown away, make the deal. The problem with free agents, be it signing them from elsewhere or paying to keep your own, is that they’re going to be overpriced at some point or another. It’s the nature of the beast, but with 5 years of suspect drafting, this team needs bodies at just about every spot, nobody should be untouchable.
They also need an experienced GM, with full control over the football personnel decisions. This is less a criticism of Rick Spielman, and more so a bizarre way of doing things that’s been around for decades. The “Triangle of Authority” structure was just the latest example of what has always been a somewhat murky front office situation, and it seems well past time to establish a clearer chain of command. Input from many sources always leads to better decisions, but ultimately it should be clear to everyone involved who’s making the calls. That clarity has been lacking for a long time, going all the way back to Mike Lynn/Gang of 10 ownership era.
Since then, it’s been a long run of quick fixes and strange bedfellows, culminating with this season, in which there’s a new coach paired with a holdover front office. This would seem to imply that a deep and talented roster was only being held back by poor gameplanning and motivation. From where I’m sitting, that has never appeared to be the case. It’s easy to Monday Morning Quarterback drafts, but my tune on the last few drafts has been the same since the day they happened.
Percy Harvin admittedly looked great for a year, but now is morphing into a rich man’s David Palmer. Chris Cook had injury and character issues in college, it’s not surprising they’re continuing (meanwhile, the guy I was pounding the table for on draft night, Patrick Robinson, is turning into a solid contributor in the Saints secondary). And don’t even get me started on this past year, whatever you think of Ponder and Rudolph, drafting a quarterback and tight end with your first two picks, when you have no offensive line or secondary, is not defensible.
As for the coach and quarterback, the only grades that can be handed out at this point are incompletes. If they want to fire Fraizer and ditch Ponder, I’m not throwing myself in front of the bus, but please, if you do so, then get serious about blowing everything up and building from scratch. The coach may not be getting the most of the players he has, but he doesn’t have the players to win, either. The best defense I heard offered for the quarterback’s up-and-down college career was that he never played with elite skill position players at Florida St. Save for Peterson and (at times) Harvin, he still hasn’t; I’ll withhold a final verdict until he plays with a line that can keep him upright and receivers who are suited to their roles. Not to mention significantly more talented than the current crop.
It’s a bummer when the Viking stink this badly, it really is. Last night’s game should’ve been an event, people should’ve been inspired to gather with friends, head out to bars, just generally gear up for the big game. Instead, most that I know expected what they ended up getting, making it tough to muster much enthusiasm for any get togethers. Unfortunately, the competition is as tough as it’s ever been, and things aren’t going to turn on a dime. As fans, we need to take the long view, be willing to consider every option, and hope the powers that be make the right calls to build something sustainable for the long term.
But hey, look at the bright side, in a couple of years, this might all be Los Angeles' problem.
Wait a minute...
Showing posts with label Vikings Game React. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vikings Game React. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
If you're not laughing, you're crying
This is getting comical.
Or sad, depending on how you want to look at things.
Despite my reputation for hard-bitten negativity, there’s not much you can do but laugh about the state of sports in this burg. With the Twins limping their way to the finish line of a 100-loss season and the Gophers getting throttled at home by another “lesser” opponent, it was once again the Vikings who put an emphatic stamp on a weekend in Loserville.
Shakespeare authored both comedies and tragedies, much like the Minnesota Vikings have throughout their history. The tragedies come in big games, when you stupidly start to believe that success is attainable. They rip your guts out and sting for days. The comedies happen in games like yesterday’s, when the team does something so inexplicable, all you can do is throw your hands up and laugh. Heck, that game didn’t even crack the top 100 Vikings disappointments of my lifetime, and was a distant 2nd on the 2011 list behind drafting Christian Ponder.
Reading through the game story, laughter really is the only appropriate reaction. Double-digit halftime leads in every game? Have only trailed a combined 6:51 all season? These are the stats that amount to 0-3? I was convinced that we were in for a fairly pedestrian season, so far it has been anything but. A small part of me hoped they would hold on and beat the Lions, but it was overruled by the fascination of watching the debacle unfold. Having a good team is obviously the most fun thing in sports, but having a historically bad team? Well that’s a close second!
Hanging out at the bar yesterday, the 20-point lead did little to soothe the nerves of the crowd. After watching the first two games, who could blame them? At our table, you could've offered 5-to-1 odds, asked for no points and been turned down without hesitation. Angst turned to dread on the first Detroit TD 6 minutes into the second half, and by the time they cut the Vikings lead to 3 on the first play of the 4th quarter, even the biggest Purple homer out there had to know it was over. The whole thing was like watching a glass roll off a counter in slow motion, you see it coming, but just can’t get there in time. Everything is serene and lovely on the way down, then comes the floor, and it’s smashed into smithereens.
People are calling for the coach’s head, which can’t happen, and shouldn’t. They’re calling for the rookie QB, which might happen, but probably shouldn’t until a home game against a marginal opponent (Week 5 vs. Arizona?). You have to tip your cap to this particular Vikings team, because there were very few ways they could’ve stirred up such a hornet’s nest so quickly. The new coach had some of the honeymoon period left over from last season, expectations weren’t too high, the early schedule was tough; basically the only way to piss so many people off so fast was blowing big leads in winnable games. It really is impressive, in a twisted sort of way.
Now it’s on to Kansas City and, at least as far as this fan is concerned, hoping they find new ways to up the ante. Could they lose 4 double-digit leads in a row? Is the number going to continue getting higher? Will we be discussing a 27-24 Chiefs victory this time next week, further cementing the 2011 Vikings spot in the Hall of Shame? Hope so, because that’s the sort of thing that gets people’s attention. It’s better to spontaneously combust into a towering inferno of failure than it is to fade away, at least that’s what the song said.
If you want to look for a silver lining (I know what you're thinking, but no, I’m not going to talk about the Lynx, not now, not ever. Their existence already compromised one of the TVs in my favorite football watering hole, totally reversing the good will I was feeling after convincing a bartender last week that the lack of a Lynx beer special was sexist. Lest you level the same charge against me, I’d feel the same way if it was MMA, men’s basketball or a meaningless Twins game on instead of football. Now wind up whatever best-of-3 series you’re playing quickly and stop messing with Sunday afternoon.) look no further than the city of Buffalo and Cleveland, long our rivals to the title of “Loserville”. The Browns are 2-1 after a win yesterday, and the Bills 3-0 following their vanquishing of the hated Patriots.
Watching the Bills fans finally getting to celebrate a big win over their long-time tormentors was not only entertaining, but inspiring. It was a nice reminder that nothing lasts forever, and eventually everything turns in time.
Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait as long as the folks in Buffalo.
Or sad, depending on how you want to look at things.
Despite my reputation for hard-bitten negativity, there’s not much you can do but laugh about the state of sports in this burg. With the Twins limping their way to the finish line of a 100-loss season and the Gophers getting throttled at home by another “lesser” opponent, it was once again the Vikings who put an emphatic stamp on a weekend in Loserville.
Shakespeare authored both comedies and tragedies, much like the Minnesota Vikings have throughout their history. The tragedies come in big games, when you stupidly start to believe that success is attainable. They rip your guts out and sting for days. The comedies happen in games like yesterday’s, when the team does something so inexplicable, all you can do is throw your hands up and laugh. Heck, that game didn’t even crack the top 100 Vikings disappointments of my lifetime, and was a distant 2nd on the 2011 list behind drafting Christian Ponder.
Reading through the game story, laughter really is the only appropriate reaction. Double-digit halftime leads in every game? Have only trailed a combined 6:51 all season? These are the stats that amount to 0-3? I was convinced that we were in for a fairly pedestrian season, so far it has been anything but. A small part of me hoped they would hold on and beat the Lions, but it was overruled by the fascination of watching the debacle unfold. Having a good team is obviously the most fun thing in sports, but having a historically bad team? Well that’s a close second!
Hanging out at the bar yesterday, the 20-point lead did little to soothe the nerves of the crowd. After watching the first two games, who could blame them? At our table, you could've offered 5-to-1 odds, asked for no points and been turned down without hesitation. Angst turned to dread on the first Detroit TD 6 minutes into the second half, and by the time they cut the Vikings lead to 3 on the first play of the 4th quarter, even the biggest Purple homer out there had to know it was over. The whole thing was like watching a glass roll off a counter in slow motion, you see it coming, but just can’t get there in time. Everything is serene and lovely on the way down, then comes the floor, and it’s smashed into smithereens.
People are calling for the coach’s head, which can’t happen, and shouldn’t. They’re calling for the rookie QB, which might happen, but probably shouldn’t until a home game against a marginal opponent (Week 5 vs. Arizona?). You have to tip your cap to this particular Vikings team, because there were very few ways they could’ve stirred up such a hornet’s nest so quickly. The new coach had some of the honeymoon period left over from last season, expectations weren’t too high, the early schedule was tough; basically the only way to piss so many people off so fast was blowing big leads in winnable games. It really is impressive, in a twisted sort of way.
Now it’s on to Kansas City and, at least as far as this fan is concerned, hoping they find new ways to up the ante. Could they lose 4 double-digit leads in a row? Is the number going to continue getting higher? Will we be discussing a 27-24 Chiefs victory this time next week, further cementing the 2011 Vikings spot in the Hall of Shame? Hope so, because that’s the sort of thing that gets people’s attention. It’s better to spontaneously combust into a towering inferno of failure than it is to fade away, at least that’s what the song said.
If you want to look for a silver lining (I know what you're thinking, but no, I’m not going to talk about the Lynx, not now, not ever. Their existence already compromised one of the TVs in my favorite football watering hole, totally reversing the good will I was feeling after convincing a bartender last week that the lack of a Lynx beer special was sexist. Lest you level the same charge against me, I’d feel the same way if it was MMA, men’s basketball or a meaningless Twins game on instead of football. Now wind up whatever best-of-3 series you’re playing quickly and stop messing with Sunday afternoon.) look no further than the city of Buffalo and Cleveland, long our rivals to the title of “Loserville”. The Browns are 2-1 after a win yesterday, and the Bills 3-0 following their vanquishing of the hated Patriots.
Watching the Bills fans finally getting to celebrate a big win over their long-time tormentors was not only entertaining, but inspiring. It was a nice reminder that nothing lasts forever, and eventually everything turns in time.
Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait as long as the folks in Buffalo.
Monday, September 19, 2011
You mad?
Yesterday, the Vikings played a strikingly similar game to the one that led to a loss in the season's first week. Impressive starts in both games led to healthy halftime leads, but second-half meltdowns caused them to evaporate, leaving fans and media to bemoan "collapses" that cost the team victory.
Some people are really ticked off at the thought of how close the team is to 2-0, a few of the most reactionary are already calling for the coach's head and backup QB.
My view is slightly different, but has remained unchanged from the beginning: This team just isn't that good.
The Vikes have looked impressive for stretches, and Adrian Peterson in particular has played certain series like a one-man wrecking crew. The problem here is the same one that has plauged them since Randy Moss left town the first time (save for Favre-to-Rice -- Season I), the passing game isn't going to make big plays routinely.
You can do the coulda/shoulda/woulda routine if you like, but the current level of angst has far more to do with opposing teams forgetting to show up early than it does the Purple failing to seal the deal late.
If either of the first two opponents were to be moved back a few weeks on the schedule, it's doubtful that the Vikes would've had the opportunity to blow the game in the first place. Touchdowns count the same in the 1st quarter as they do the 4th, but the fast starts in these two games have felt a bit fluky, and subsequent events have borne that out.
Take a closer look at who they've played.
The Chargers are the most notorious early-season underperformers in the league. They have special teams breakdowns with the same frequency as Chris Cook injuries, so the opening kick return that made the game look so winnable at halftime was not a shock. Neither was the fact that it took them the better part of two quarters to get their bearings, that's about five quarters sooner than the average Norv Turner squad figures things out. Once they did, sans kicker and all, dispatching the Vikes was not a problem.
Similar things can be said yesterday of Tampa, a good matchup for the power running game and suspect secondary of Minnesota. The youngest team in the league did what young teams do, walked into a road game without their minds in the right place. After a half of getting things taken to them physically, they got them in the right place, and the rest was history. Nothing was a foregone conclusion, but it did have a feeling of inevitability to it as soon as they cut the lead to 7 late in the 3rd quarter.
Not to play the "Knew it all along" card here, but nobody should've expected to be anything other than 0-2 at this point. It's not illegal for a team to jump up and win a football game it should probably lose, it happens all the time, and the Vikings had ample opportunities to do so. You can hang your hat on dropped passes, missed interceptions or blown coverages all you want, and a moment or two can certainly be the difference. But over time, all of those little moments form a trend, and all the trends eventually morph into percentages. The percentages say that for the long haul, we are going to see more failure than success from this club.
I picked this team to be 7-9 this season, and 2-3 when they travel to Chicago in Week 6. Two weeks into the season, that still seems pretty likely. The victory chalked up for next week against Detroit is suddenly dicey, but Kansas City appears to be the worst team in the league, and even this putrid pass offense stands a good chance of carving up Arizona. Our team isn't all that bad, they just need to play someone worse.
In the meantime, let's focus less on the scores, and more on how they occur. Does it look like our veterans will stay productive? Does it look like the young guys are figuring it out? Can our coaching staff throw out an interesting gameplan once in awhile? Basically anything positive that can distract you from the fact the division suddenly looks really good, and at least six games a year for the forseeable future will be played against quarterbacks far superior to ours.
Losing close games will always stink, and the comeback here is that these two games could be the difference between making the playoffs or sitting at home. While that may be true, it does nothing to change the fact that the absolute ceiling for this team is a Wild Card upset, at best. Hanging in with a couple good teams is good for the psyche, but did you see anything to convince you that the current collection of players is destined for great things?
Me neither, but that's what happens when you gamble and lose. We had a party, and this is the hangover, you can either go with some hair-of-the-dog, and a quick fix that will cost you more in the long-term, or gut out the unpleasantness.
Put your focus on whether the QB of the future can show promise, some other pieces can emerge, and what sort of playmakers need to be put around them going forward. I can't guarantee positive thoughts on that score either, but I can guarantee it will be better for your blood pressure.
Some people are really ticked off at the thought of how close the team is to 2-0, a few of the most reactionary are already calling for the coach's head and backup QB.
My view is slightly different, but has remained unchanged from the beginning: This team just isn't that good.
The Vikes have looked impressive for stretches, and Adrian Peterson in particular has played certain series like a one-man wrecking crew. The problem here is the same one that has plauged them since Randy Moss left town the first time (save for Favre-to-Rice -- Season I), the passing game isn't going to make big plays routinely.
You can do the coulda/shoulda/woulda routine if you like, but the current level of angst has far more to do with opposing teams forgetting to show up early than it does the Purple failing to seal the deal late.
If either of the first two opponents were to be moved back a few weeks on the schedule, it's doubtful that the Vikes would've had the opportunity to blow the game in the first place. Touchdowns count the same in the 1st quarter as they do the 4th, but the fast starts in these two games have felt a bit fluky, and subsequent events have borne that out.
Take a closer look at who they've played.
The Chargers are the most notorious early-season underperformers in the league. They have special teams breakdowns with the same frequency as Chris Cook injuries, so the opening kick return that made the game look so winnable at halftime was not a shock. Neither was the fact that it took them the better part of two quarters to get their bearings, that's about five quarters sooner than the average Norv Turner squad figures things out. Once they did, sans kicker and all, dispatching the Vikes was not a problem.
Similar things can be said yesterday of Tampa, a good matchup for the power running game and suspect secondary of Minnesota. The youngest team in the league did what young teams do, walked into a road game without their minds in the right place. After a half of getting things taken to them physically, they got them in the right place, and the rest was history. Nothing was a foregone conclusion, but it did have a feeling of inevitability to it as soon as they cut the lead to 7 late in the 3rd quarter.
Not to play the "Knew it all along" card here, but nobody should've expected to be anything other than 0-2 at this point. It's not illegal for a team to jump up and win a football game it should probably lose, it happens all the time, and the Vikings had ample opportunities to do so. You can hang your hat on dropped passes, missed interceptions or blown coverages all you want, and a moment or two can certainly be the difference. But over time, all of those little moments form a trend, and all the trends eventually morph into percentages. The percentages say that for the long haul, we are going to see more failure than success from this club.
I picked this team to be 7-9 this season, and 2-3 when they travel to Chicago in Week 6. Two weeks into the season, that still seems pretty likely. The victory chalked up for next week against Detroit is suddenly dicey, but Kansas City appears to be the worst team in the league, and even this putrid pass offense stands a good chance of carving up Arizona. Our team isn't all that bad, they just need to play someone worse.
In the meantime, let's focus less on the scores, and more on how they occur. Does it look like our veterans will stay productive? Does it look like the young guys are figuring it out? Can our coaching staff throw out an interesting gameplan once in awhile? Basically anything positive that can distract you from the fact the division suddenly looks really good, and at least six games a year for the forseeable future will be played against quarterbacks far superior to ours.
Losing close games will always stink, and the comeback here is that these two games could be the difference between making the playoffs or sitting at home. While that may be true, it does nothing to change the fact that the absolute ceiling for this team is a Wild Card upset, at best. Hanging in with a couple good teams is good for the psyche, but did you see anything to convince you that the current collection of players is destined for great things?
Me neither, but that's what happens when you gamble and lose. We had a party, and this is the hangover, you can either go with some hair-of-the-dog, and a quick fix that will cost you more in the long-term, or gut out the unpleasantness.
Put your focus on whether the QB of the future can show promise, some other pieces can emerge, and what sort of playmakers need to be put around them going forward. I can't guarantee positive thoughts on that score either, but I can guarantee it will be better for your blood pressure.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Going down with the ship
Stop me if you've heard this one before: It's a very disappointing season to be a fan of the Minnesota Vikings.
Seven games into a highly-anticipated year, the USS Viking is taking on water in ever-increasing quantities. Yesterday's loss left the team sitting at 2-5 and you'd be hard pressed to come up with any positives from the team's play. The quarterback was a bit better, but the receivers couldn't get open with enough frequency or hold onto the ball when they did. The defensive backfield played better than I anticipated, but that's likely the result of a gameplan focused on minimizing risk. As a result, the pass rush was nonexistent and Tom Brady had all the time he needed to chuck the ball around.
Now the schedule softens up considerably, but there is no indication that any turnaround is about to occur, at least not one of the magnitude need to reach 9-10 win neighborhood needed for the playoffs. Popular opinion has long held that the Vikings winning ways of the last few years were accomplished more IN SPITE of their coaching than BECAUSE of it. While I've tried to give Brad Childress the benefit of the doubt, pointing out that winning in the NFL is no easy task, things are starting to wear thin. It's the easiest thing in the world to throw everything at the feet of the coach when tough scheduling, injuries and just plain bad luck, so I'm trying not to be knee-jerk...but he's lost me.
There's no one among us who'd call him a great tactician, despite what we were told upon his arrival about the game plans he crafted in Philadelphia. There's no one who'd call him an inspiring or colorful leader, given his monotone press conferences and generally flavorless appearance. And he is certainly not the quarterback guru that some (most notably himself) appeared to think that he was, look no further than the ongoing charade that is Tavaris Jackson. But what you could say about Chilly is: He had control of the room.
In the game of ego management and millionaire motivation, key to any professional sports endeavor, Brad Childress seemed to know how to push the right buttons to keep his teams focused and ready to play. One can't overlook the huge upgrade in resources he had over his predecessors, or the self-inflicted wounds that his ego inflicted on offense by remaining undermanned at QB, but at least you could say he knew how to work with what he had. Over the last season and a half, that reputation has been turned on it's head, because like most of us fans out there, Chilly got desparate.
It started with Favre, and the new set of rules that were crafted for him. Continued into the swing for the fences that was Randy Moss this season. And it almost worked. Unfortunately the history books are packed with near-misses, and with today's release of Moss, following his press conference tirade after yesterday's game, the chickens have truly come home to roost. I don't know who made the call on bringing him back, but based on what has happened since he returned, Childress must've been strong-armed. You have to be one of two things to think that using Randy as a decoy was going to end in harmony: Naive or stupid. Contrary to popular opinion, I do not think Brad Childress is stupid, so I'm rather befuddled here.
I mean alert the media, Randy Moss went off in a press conference, why should this be a shock? If you don't get him involved in the gameplan, he's going to check out, he's going to pop off, that's what he does. Instead of heeding a decade of past history, you spent four games antagonizing the man. Again, what did you think was going to happen? Please don't take this as a defense of his behavior, anyone who's a fan of sports should find characters like this revolting. Randy Moss represent every ugly truth we don't want to acknowledge about our obsession with sports, every me-first jerk out there who gets special treatment because of their athletic abilities. But there are two things that need to be acknowledged here:
The offense was better with him here.
You bought the ticket, now take the ride.
Instead we cut bait, in "too little, too late" fashion. Instead of trying to salvage what we could out of a bad situation, by clearing the air and making a commitment to doing what should've been done, we gave up, throwing away a 3rd round pick in the process. This may help Chilly's bruised ego heal faster, but it's not going to help with winning football games. Rules have been bent and broken, team unity is most likely hanging by a thread, and things aren't going to improve any time soon. The coach has no clothes and has very likely lost this team. My apologies for that mental image.
At the end of the day Vikings fans, we probably are all getting what we deserved. We quite literally made a deal with the devil here and it backfired, trying to paper over it with a second unholy addition just made things worse. Brett Favre has been breaking our hearts for the better part of two decades, why should it change just because he's wearing a purple jersey? Randy Moss already quit on us once when he didn't like what was going on, why should the second time around be any different?
Things have been ugly, now they're just getting sad, but easier to handle when they were seen coming a mile off. The whole thing just brings a lot of fundamental questions to mind. Did Childress ever want Moss on this team in the first place? Would Childress still be coaching here at all if not for Favre coming to save him? Could Mike Tice, a guy everyone laughed at, have done just as well or better with all the resources the current regime has been handed? Which is more important, the success that's been had over the past couple years, or that fact that the seeming arrogance of the coach has led to the current house-of-cards situation?
Or is it all just pointless to ponder?
Times like this it's good to be a diehard, because there's always the chance to sit back, bide time, and wait til next year.
Seven games into a highly-anticipated year, the USS Viking is taking on water in ever-increasing quantities. Yesterday's loss left the team sitting at 2-5 and you'd be hard pressed to come up with any positives from the team's play. The quarterback was a bit better, but the receivers couldn't get open with enough frequency or hold onto the ball when they did. The defensive backfield played better than I anticipated, but that's likely the result of a gameplan focused on minimizing risk. As a result, the pass rush was nonexistent and Tom Brady had all the time he needed to chuck the ball around.
Now the schedule softens up considerably, but there is no indication that any turnaround is about to occur, at least not one of the magnitude need to reach 9-10 win neighborhood needed for the playoffs. Popular opinion has long held that the Vikings winning ways of the last few years were accomplished more IN SPITE of their coaching than BECAUSE of it. While I've tried to give Brad Childress the benefit of the doubt, pointing out that winning in the NFL is no easy task, things are starting to wear thin. It's the easiest thing in the world to throw everything at the feet of the coach when tough scheduling, injuries and just plain bad luck, so I'm trying not to be knee-jerk...but he's lost me.
There's no one among us who'd call him a great tactician, despite what we were told upon his arrival about the game plans he crafted in Philadelphia. There's no one who'd call him an inspiring or colorful leader, given his monotone press conferences and generally flavorless appearance. And he is certainly not the quarterback guru that some (most notably himself) appeared to think that he was, look no further than the ongoing charade that is Tavaris Jackson. But what you could say about Chilly is: He had control of the room.
In the game of ego management and millionaire motivation, key to any professional sports endeavor, Brad Childress seemed to know how to push the right buttons to keep his teams focused and ready to play. One can't overlook the huge upgrade in resources he had over his predecessors, or the self-inflicted wounds that his ego inflicted on offense by remaining undermanned at QB, but at least you could say he knew how to work with what he had. Over the last season and a half, that reputation has been turned on it's head, because like most of us fans out there, Chilly got desparate.
It started with Favre, and the new set of rules that were crafted for him. Continued into the swing for the fences that was Randy Moss this season. And it almost worked. Unfortunately the history books are packed with near-misses, and with today's release of Moss, following his press conference tirade after yesterday's game, the chickens have truly come home to roost. I don't know who made the call on bringing him back, but based on what has happened since he returned, Childress must've been strong-armed. You have to be one of two things to think that using Randy as a decoy was going to end in harmony: Naive or stupid. Contrary to popular opinion, I do not think Brad Childress is stupid, so I'm rather befuddled here.
I mean alert the media, Randy Moss went off in a press conference, why should this be a shock? If you don't get him involved in the gameplan, he's going to check out, he's going to pop off, that's what he does. Instead of heeding a decade of past history, you spent four games antagonizing the man. Again, what did you think was going to happen? Please don't take this as a defense of his behavior, anyone who's a fan of sports should find characters like this revolting. Randy Moss represent every ugly truth we don't want to acknowledge about our obsession with sports, every me-first jerk out there who gets special treatment because of their athletic abilities. But there are two things that need to be acknowledged here:
The offense was better with him here.
You bought the ticket, now take the ride.
Instead we cut bait, in "too little, too late" fashion. Instead of trying to salvage what we could out of a bad situation, by clearing the air and making a commitment to doing what should've been done, we gave up, throwing away a 3rd round pick in the process. This may help Chilly's bruised ego heal faster, but it's not going to help with winning football games. Rules have been bent and broken, team unity is most likely hanging by a thread, and things aren't going to improve any time soon. The coach has no clothes and has very likely lost this team. My apologies for that mental image.
At the end of the day Vikings fans, we probably are all getting what we deserved. We quite literally made a deal with the devil here and it backfired, trying to paper over it with a second unholy addition just made things worse. Brett Favre has been breaking our hearts for the better part of two decades, why should it change just because he's wearing a purple jersey? Randy Moss already quit on us once when he didn't like what was going on, why should the second time around be any different?
Things have been ugly, now they're just getting sad, but easier to handle when they were seen coming a mile off. The whole thing just brings a lot of fundamental questions to mind. Did Childress ever want Moss on this team in the first place? Would Childress still be coaching here at all if not for Favre coming to save him? Could Mike Tice, a guy everyone laughed at, have done just as well or better with all the resources the current regime has been handed? Which is more important, the success that's been had over the past couple years, or that fact that the seeming arrogance of the coach has led to the current house-of-cards situation?
Or is it all just pointless to ponder?
Times like this it's good to be a diehard, because there's always the chance to sit back, bide time, and wait til next year.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Good Grief
A lot of iconic sayings ran through my head last night while watching football. The first was "When it rains, it pours", in reference to both the inclement weather and the never-ending avalanche of bad luck/news that's following this Vikings season around like Charlie Brown on a bad day. The second, via a text from my brother during the second half, was the iconic Godfather III line "Everytime I think I'm out, they pull me back in" (with accompanying hand gesture, of course). Finally, after the final collapse, I was channeling George Jetson, "Get me off this crazy thing."
I wanted to be in Walter Sobchak mode ("Nothing is f**ked here dude, nothing is f**cked") based on the glimmers of hope that were offered last night from a solid defense and improving offense. But I just can't get past my inner Herb Brooks here ("You're playing worse and worse every day and right now you're playing like it's next month"). Glass half-full guy says the NFC is terrible, competition is falling apart and the Vikes will get better with time to gel; half-empty view still sees three make-or-break games closing out October and doesn't like the odds.
While it should be said that Brett Favre dusted off some of the old magic in the second half last night, and made some impressive plays, watching him gimp around hardly inspired confidence. Grasping his arm after every throw like it was about to snap off at the elbow was not very helpful either. It's become clear that the guy is either A) Seriously hurting or B) Setting himself up with a convenient excuse when things go in the tank. I'm not sure which I consider more likely, as I think winning is important to him, but only slight more so than maintaining the Legend of Brett Favre.
Anyhoo, Packer fans, and to a lesser extent Jet fans, had to be laughing their asses off last night, and who can blame them? For all the hoopla about Favre's history, the game always seems to end with him winging a pass into the arms of a defensive player. Perhaps that's just the nature of the beast when you're being asked to pull off comebacks in tough spots, but anyone who's watched him can recall at least 2 or 3 off the top of their head that were unforced errors totally on him. Maybe ending things with a pick in two NFC Championship games are the reason he's still here at all? Could walk away with a loss, but not with an INT as the last pass on his record? Whatever the reason, it's clear that this is it, too many miles, too much accompanying nonsense, we're seeing the end of Brett Favre.
Not that last night is all, or even mostly, on him. What has happened to the Vikings offensive line the past two years is a crime, apparently Matt Birk really was the glue that held things together. Since his departure, this has gone from a unit that could open holes against stacked defenses with no fear of our inept passing game, to a disturbingly dismal set of widebodies who just sort of mill around the line of scrimmage, with no real plan of attack. Steve Hutchinson is a shell of his former self, the fact that Bryant McKinnie was ever a Pro Bowler is baffling, and Phil Loadholt, although decent in pass protection, remains perplexingly inefficient in the run game. I'm a big Loadholt guy, love the name, love the size, want to see him do well. But if a 6'8" 330-punder can't get a push up front, well just what the hell is going on here? (And yes, I know AP is still churning out yards, but that's because he's running harder than ever, go back and look at him in '07/'08, then tell me there's not a serious problem here)
Toss in dumb penalties and cornerback depth thinner than my patience with political ads, you get what we got last night. The Jets are a good team. The Vikings will be better. The problem is it must happen very quickly, time is not on our side here, and the road gets no easier.
See what a great job I'm doing not wasting too much thought on the struggles of this team? :)
I wanted to be in Walter Sobchak mode ("Nothing is f**ked here dude, nothing is f**cked") based on the glimmers of hope that were offered last night from a solid defense and improving offense. But I just can't get past my inner Herb Brooks here ("You're playing worse and worse every day and right now you're playing like it's next month"). Glass half-full guy says the NFC is terrible, competition is falling apart and the Vikes will get better with time to gel; half-empty view still sees three make-or-break games closing out October and doesn't like the odds.
While it should be said that Brett Favre dusted off some of the old magic in the second half last night, and made some impressive plays, watching him gimp around hardly inspired confidence. Grasping his arm after every throw like it was about to snap off at the elbow was not very helpful either. It's become clear that the guy is either A) Seriously hurting or B) Setting himself up with a convenient excuse when things go in the tank. I'm not sure which I consider more likely, as I think winning is important to him, but only slight more so than maintaining the Legend of Brett Favre.
Anyhoo, Packer fans, and to a lesser extent Jet fans, had to be laughing their asses off last night, and who can blame them? For all the hoopla about Favre's history, the game always seems to end with him winging a pass into the arms of a defensive player. Perhaps that's just the nature of the beast when you're being asked to pull off comebacks in tough spots, but anyone who's watched him can recall at least 2 or 3 off the top of their head that were unforced errors totally on him. Maybe ending things with a pick in two NFC Championship games are the reason he's still here at all? Could walk away with a loss, but not with an INT as the last pass on his record? Whatever the reason, it's clear that this is it, too many miles, too much accompanying nonsense, we're seeing the end of Brett Favre.
Not that last night is all, or even mostly, on him. What has happened to the Vikings offensive line the past two years is a crime, apparently Matt Birk really was the glue that held things together. Since his departure, this has gone from a unit that could open holes against stacked defenses with no fear of our inept passing game, to a disturbingly dismal set of widebodies who just sort of mill around the line of scrimmage, with no real plan of attack. Steve Hutchinson is a shell of his former self, the fact that Bryant McKinnie was ever a Pro Bowler is baffling, and Phil Loadholt, although decent in pass protection, remains perplexingly inefficient in the run game. I'm a big Loadholt guy, love the name, love the size, want to see him do well. But if a 6'8" 330-punder can't get a push up front, well just what the hell is going on here? (And yes, I know AP is still churning out yards, but that's because he's running harder than ever, go back and look at him in '07/'08, then tell me there's not a serious problem here)
Toss in dumb penalties and cornerback depth thinner than my patience with political ads, you get what we got last night. The Jets are a good team. The Vikings will be better. The problem is it must happen very quickly, time is not on our side here, and the road gets no easier.
See what a great job I'm doing not wasting too much thought on the struggles of this team? :)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Quick thoughts
Was going to post a few thoughts on last night's game, but Brent O, Denver's biggest Vikings fan beat me to the punch, since he pretty much sums it up for me, I'll just re-post his comment:
Overall thoughts:
I hate the Saints, I hate the City of NO. Now, it is not the teams fault or even the people of the city's fault. No, it is the fault of the media. I believe they are going a tish overboard with the how resilient and courageous the city and the team are. [use of the word tish there is like "Paris Hilton is a tish skanky" or "Greg Oden is a tish injury prone"] They got wet, there was some wind, now they are dry and the team won a super bowl....I get it SHUT UP. I would wish another rain storm on them if only it wouldn't mean I would have to hear about it for another 20 years.
The game itself was not fun. There were not more than about 10 minutes of the night where I was actually entertained. Now, it may be possible I am not in game shape yet, or my naturally short patience fuse has burned down to the nub, or maybe it was because it was the first game of the year so they did more, but in any case, the network went a tish (see above) overboard with how many commercials they ran! I could not stand having one play, commercial, play, commercial. They need to make a rule that there needs to be at least 6 plays from scrimmage before cutting to a crippled female cop chasing a leprechaun for the new upcoming series the network tries to shove down your throat.
And then the game itself when it was on made me wish I was watching commercials. I spent half the game day dreaming about how much fun I would be having doing other things. It is going to be a real challenge for me to watch every game like I have every year since I was born. At one point I was hoping for Farve to get hurt because at least laughing at T-Joke is entertaining.
Good:
EJ looked good
Camarillo looked solid for his 2 play
You have to be impressed with the way the DB's played vs the saints with only 3 CB's. Solid effort all the way around
AP looked like the typical early season AP
Shank looked great
Kick coverage was solid
Bad:
Sullivan was F**KING B R U T A L. He would have been better off snapping the ball and running to the sideline. That was one of the worst performances I have ever seen out of an NFL O-lineman
Berrian looked like throwing a ball to a 5 year old and watching him concentrate as hard as he can to catch it. Sometimes he holds on, but usually the throw ends up with the ball bouncing off his head.
Albert Young....for the love of god, you can not tell me you can't find someone walking the street that has more business being an NFL rb than this guy
Coaching (not going to explain this one, same thing for the last 4 years, no need to pile on yet again)
All WR's are freaking bad. Percy is not a WR, they put him out wide and that will never work. He can't do it. There is nothing else to throw to outside of Shank.
Longwell's kickoffs were shorter than a Cowboys playoff run and having an XP blocked in inexcusable
There is more Bads but this is as much time as I can put in to that turd of a game.
Thanks Brent, like I said, have to agree with most of your points, particularly on the network presentation. If you were actually interested in watching Dave Matthews sing a song last night, raise your hand and prepare for deportation off NFL fan island. Vikings got stuck with opening night this year, I wasn't happy about it for several reasons, primarily because I think it's a better played game if it happens two weeks from now. But it is what it is, and now it's over, so we can move on.
As far as the actual game went, I'm trying not to read too much into it. Liked the defense, hated the offense, and that's about it. The silver lining on things is that even in a loss, there's high comedy to be witnessed among the fanbase. Interesting moment last night at the bar when Vilma intercepted Favre after a questionable push of Shiancoe, one of the patrons chose to introduce the phrase "Katrina Call" into the Minnesota football fan lexicon, heard it a few more times as the game went on. Apparently 5 years and one Super Bowl is the official statute of limitations for hurricane-related sympathy. Doesn't offend me at all, just made me chuckle, we consider ourselves fairly highly evolved in this state, but NFL football reduces otherwise normal people into a howling mob, and I love it.
And don't even get me started on Vikings Fanline, on my worst day I am not that reactionary, makes me wonder how so many mental patients have access to a phone.
Other odds 'n ends:
Twins up 6 games with 21 to play, things are looking good. However, seems appropriate to remind everyone that they were sitting 6 1/2 back on this date last year, then lost 4 of their next 5, and STILL came back to win the division. This brings to mind a certain Harvey Keitel line from Pulp Fiction, and if you don't know which one, I'd be ashamed to call you a friend.
NFL picks for Week 1 (Home team in CAPS):
NEW ORLEANS -5.5 over Minnesota - Lost this one last night, these Vegas types apparently know what they're doing
Cincinnati +4.5 over NEW ENGLAND - Bengals cover, but lose by a FG
Oakland +6.5 over TENNESSEE - Another road team covering, but home team winning, can't give Vince Young this much credit just yet
JACKSONVILLE -3 over Denver - Defaulting to the home team
Cleveland +3 over TAMPA - 0-0 tie potentially in play
CHICAGO -6.5 over Detroit - Show me something Lions
Carolina +7 over NEW YORK GIANTS - Zero TDs in the preseason for the Panthers, so of course I have to expect them to score a bunch, that's how things work, not winning outright though
Atlanta -2 over PITTSBURGH - I like Dennis Dixon, but two points? Apparently there are a lot of Steelers fans who like to wager out there
Miami -3 over BUFFALO - Wrong team at the wrong time for the Bills, get a passing offense in town on a cold day and I'm back in their corner
Indianapolis -2.5 over HOUSTON - So far the 3-team parlay is shaping up Falcons, Colts, who will be third?
Packers -3 over Eagles - I know offenses might not be clicking week one, but a chance for an epic fantasy matchup here
Arizona -4 over ST. LOUIS - Wish you could by insurance on Derek Anderson going INT-crazy, like a blackjack bet
San Francisco -3 over SEATTLE - Ding! Third leg of the parlay appears. Three road dogs covering is probably a terrible sign, but the hell with it, I believe in the Seahawks stinkability
Dallas -3.5 over WASHINGTON - Tempting, but I need to see a wide receiver make a play for the Skins before I pick them to upset a good team
NEW YORK JETS -2.5 over Baltimore - Toughest internal debate of the week
KANSAS CITY +5 over San Diego - Upset special with Chiefs winning outright
Overall thoughts:
I hate the Saints, I hate the City of NO. Now, it is not the teams fault or even the people of the city's fault. No, it is the fault of the media. I believe they are going a tish overboard with the how resilient and courageous the city and the team are. [use of the word tish there is like "Paris Hilton is a tish skanky" or "Greg Oden is a tish injury prone"] They got wet, there was some wind, now they are dry and the team won a super bowl....I get it SHUT UP. I would wish another rain storm on them if only it wouldn't mean I would have to hear about it for another 20 years.
The game itself was not fun. There were not more than about 10 minutes of the night where I was actually entertained. Now, it may be possible I am not in game shape yet, or my naturally short patience fuse has burned down to the nub, or maybe it was because it was the first game of the year so they did more, but in any case, the network went a tish (see above) overboard with how many commercials they ran! I could not stand having one play, commercial, play, commercial. They need to make a rule that there needs to be at least 6 plays from scrimmage before cutting to a crippled female cop chasing a leprechaun for the new upcoming series the network tries to shove down your throat.
And then the game itself when it was on made me wish I was watching commercials. I spent half the game day dreaming about how much fun I would be having doing other things. It is going to be a real challenge for me to watch every game like I have every year since I was born. At one point I was hoping for Farve to get hurt because at least laughing at T-Joke is entertaining.
Good:
EJ looked good
Camarillo looked solid for his 2 play
You have to be impressed with the way the DB's played vs the saints with only 3 CB's. Solid effort all the way around
AP looked like the typical early season AP
Shank looked great
Kick coverage was solid
Bad:
Sullivan was F**KING B R U T A L. He would have been better off snapping the ball and running to the sideline. That was one of the worst performances I have ever seen out of an NFL O-lineman
Berrian looked like throwing a ball to a 5 year old and watching him concentrate as hard as he can to catch it. Sometimes he holds on, but usually the throw ends up with the ball bouncing off his head.
Albert Young....for the love of god, you can not tell me you can't find someone walking the street that has more business being an NFL rb than this guy
Coaching (not going to explain this one, same thing for the last 4 years, no need to pile on yet again)
All WR's are freaking bad. Percy is not a WR, they put him out wide and that will never work. He can't do it. There is nothing else to throw to outside of Shank.
Longwell's kickoffs were shorter than a Cowboys playoff run and having an XP blocked in inexcusable
There is more Bads but this is as much time as I can put in to that turd of a game.
Thanks Brent, like I said, have to agree with most of your points, particularly on the network presentation. If you were actually interested in watching Dave Matthews sing a song last night, raise your hand and prepare for deportation off NFL fan island. Vikings got stuck with opening night this year, I wasn't happy about it for several reasons, primarily because I think it's a better played game if it happens two weeks from now. But it is what it is, and now it's over, so we can move on.
As far as the actual game went, I'm trying not to read too much into it. Liked the defense, hated the offense, and that's about it. The silver lining on things is that even in a loss, there's high comedy to be witnessed among the fanbase. Interesting moment last night at the bar when Vilma intercepted Favre after a questionable push of Shiancoe, one of the patrons chose to introduce the phrase "Katrina Call" into the Minnesota football fan lexicon, heard it a few more times as the game went on. Apparently 5 years and one Super Bowl is the official statute of limitations for hurricane-related sympathy. Doesn't offend me at all, just made me chuckle, we consider ourselves fairly highly evolved in this state, but NFL football reduces otherwise normal people into a howling mob, and I love it.
And don't even get me started on Vikings Fanline, on my worst day I am not that reactionary, makes me wonder how so many mental patients have access to a phone.
Other odds 'n ends:
Twins up 6 games with 21 to play, things are looking good. However, seems appropriate to remind everyone that they were sitting 6 1/2 back on this date last year, then lost 4 of their next 5, and STILL came back to win the division. This brings to mind a certain Harvey Keitel line from Pulp Fiction, and if you don't know which one, I'd be ashamed to call you a friend.
NFL picks for Week 1 (Home team in CAPS):
NEW ORLEANS -5.5 over Minnesota - Lost this one last night, these Vegas types apparently know what they're doing
Cincinnati +4.5 over NEW ENGLAND - Bengals cover, but lose by a FG
Oakland +6.5 over TENNESSEE - Another road team covering, but home team winning, can't give Vince Young this much credit just yet
JACKSONVILLE -3 over Denver - Defaulting to the home team
Cleveland +3 over TAMPA - 0-0 tie potentially in play
CHICAGO -6.5 over Detroit - Show me something Lions
Carolina +7 over NEW YORK GIANTS - Zero TDs in the preseason for the Panthers, so of course I have to expect them to score a bunch, that's how things work, not winning outright though
Atlanta -2 over PITTSBURGH - I like Dennis Dixon, but two points? Apparently there are a lot of Steelers fans who like to wager out there
Miami -3 over BUFFALO - Wrong team at the wrong time for the Bills, get a passing offense in town on a cold day and I'm back in their corner
Indianapolis -2.5 over HOUSTON - So far the 3-team parlay is shaping up Falcons, Colts, who will be third?
Packers -3 over Eagles - I know offenses might not be clicking week one, but a chance for an epic fantasy matchup here
Arizona -4 over ST. LOUIS - Wish you could by insurance on Derek Anderson going INT-crazy, like a blackjack bet
San Francisco -3 over SEATTLE - Ding! Third leg of the parlay appears. Three road dogs covering is probably a terrible sign, but the hell with it, I believe in the Seahawks stinkability
Dallas -3.5 over WASHINGTON - Tempting, but I need to see a wide receiver make a play for the Skins before I pick them to upset a good team
NEW YORK JETS -2.5 over Baltimore - Toughest internal debate of the week
KANSAS CITY +5 over San Diego - Upset special with Chiefs winning outright
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