The Purple Buckeye

Tapping Out

2009-11-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I never really knew where this would take me, or how long I would do it, but the answers are in: Not very far, and not very long. I just don't have the time to commit to full blog posts daily or even monthly.

Thanks for following me, all three of you. I will still post on the Vikings over at dailynorseman.com and vikingsvalhalla.com, but I'm bringing this blog to a close.

Thanks, and take care.

The Purple Buckeye

5 Takeaways from the Vikings Game

2009-09-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Five thoughts on the Vikings win over Cleveland:

1) This had all the makings of a Vikings 'play down to the competition' game, and it looked like that in the first half. This is where I think Favre's veteran presence made a difference. He stayed calm, didn't panic, made a couple of clutch third down throws and second and long throws, and the Vikes score two TD's and hold the ball for almost 13 minutes in the third quarter. Ballgame. Jackson seemed to...not rise up, if you will, in situations like that. Would Jackson have audibled into those throws or made those throws? Tough to say. Maybe he would've scrambled out of a couple of sacks that Favre took and made a big play. I know it's all speculative, but I also know you played the game, and having a vet and a leader at the QB position makes all the difference. It's something you can't measure, but you know it when you see it. I saw it in the Vikes yesterday.

The team has a different feel to it with Favre, one that exudes a quiet confidence, and one that doesn't panic. A 'I know they will do it' attitude as opposed to a 'I hope they can do it' attitude. That, my friend, is the difference between a Super Bowl team and a playoff team.

2) Adrian Peterson will exit the game as the best running back to ever play the game. Just think if we still had Moss. Excuse me while I go cry a little. Both AP and Favre made a 'pick your poison' comment in the post game pressers. Put 8 in the box and AP will still get three or four yards, and give you a manageable down and distance. Put 6 or 7 in the box, and AP will embarrass you, especially if you try and arm tackle him. Give Favre two weeks to get his timing down with his receivers and nail down hot reads, my God...

3) John Sullivan is an adequate replacement to Birk. I love Birk, but Sullivan acquitted himself well, I thought. He got owned on one play, but he did a good job. Ditto for Loadholt, but Cook was so damn mediocre last year a pulse and no false starts would have been an improvement.

4) Yeah, it was the Browns, but the defense was oppressive as the desert heat at noon. Jamal Lewis had a few decent runs, but I think the Vikings gameplan was to not worry about him, to be honest. Lewis is what, older than Favre? He's gonna get a couple of 10-20 yard runs, but he's not a home run hitter, and when the Vikings needed to stop a short run, they did. I think they went into the game wanting to give Brady Quinn about 310 different looks to confuse him, and it worked. The only significant yardage the Browns had was in garbage time once the Vikings second string was on the field. Awesome defensive display.

5) My Dad and I ripped Chilly for the onside kick, but after 24 hours to digest it, I like the move. If the Vikes get the ball, they get momentum, and if they go down and score, game is probably over by halftime. It also sends a message to the defense that if it fails, we still believe that you will give up no worse than a field goal. It's the opening game, against a team you should beat soundly, so there was really little risk. Hell, the Browns weren't driving 50 yards to score a touchdown; just wasn't gonna happen. And as much as we've criticized Chilly about being too conservative, so when he opens it up and rolls the dice we shouldn't crucify him. I mean, it's not like he ran a fake punt inside his own 30 clinging to a two point lead with the game hanging in the balance.

Chewing on the Mouthpiece

2009-09-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well, some intemperate thoughts looking back on a great weekend of college and professional football.

Adrian Peterson 34, Browns 20: There are good players, great players, and once in a generation player. After watching Adrian Peterson rush for 155 second half yards and toss around defensive backs like he was pulling weeds, Peterson, barring injury, will end his career as the greatest running back in NFL history. What he is doing is truly remarkable, and just when I think I've seen an 'Oh my God!' moment, he does something even more incredible. He has the line of scrimmage vision of Barry Sanders, the speed and power of Walter Payton, and the attitude of Jim Brown. He is a wrecking machine, and whenever he gets the ball, you expect something great to happen...and it usually does. Be thankful, Viking fans, that we can cheer a talent of this magnitude. It doesn't come along very often, and leaves far before we're ready for it to.

As for the rest of the Vikings, I like the feel of this team. You know that the offense will go through Peterson, and I think the veteran leadership or calming presence of Brett Favre really hasn't been talked about today. This was a classic 'play down to the level of competition' game for Minnesota. Historically, they're terrible outside on grass, and this had all the earmarks of a nail biter with one screwy play or turnover costing Minnesota the game late. At halftime, it seemed like you could see the game unfolding that way. But the Vikes came out and took their first two drives and shoved the ball right down the throat of the Browns, effectively ending the game. When you have a vet like Favre, who stays calm under early adversity, it allows the rest of the offense to take a deep breath, collect themselves, and go to work. Put in an exciteable or inexperienced guy, doubt creeps in, people start pressing, mistakes are made and then the game is lost.

Favre made a couple of clutch throws on both those drives on either third and long (Shiancoe for a first down) or second and long (Harvin on 2nd and long to set up third and short inside the 10) to keep drives alive and set up a touchdown. Peterson scores a touchdown four plays after the Shiancoe catch, Vikes take a 17-13 lead. Harvin scores the next play after his clutch catch, and then Peterson cuts the heart out of the Browns with his amazing 4th quarter run.

Would Jackson or Rosenfels have made those plays? I'll let you decide.

Percy Harvin had an impressive debut. I liked his ability to catch a ball, sit down in a zone or find a seam. He has a nose for the end zone, and as the season progresses he will really begin to stretch the field.

NFC North Quarterbacks not named Brett Favre: Matthew Stafford was 16-37, 205 yards and three picks as the Lions got drilled by the Saints. Hey, the kid's a rookie making his first start, and the Lions didn't lay down. Interceptions are part of the growing process for a rookie. Let's hope the Vikings secondary helps him grow next week.

Jay Cutler managed to look like every other quarterback that the Bears have employed in the past 25 years. Wow, was he horrid. Occasional good throw, but he also had 4 picks, including two in the red zone and the back breaker to Al Harris to clinch it for the Pack. Brian Urlacher looked like he was ready to kill someone as he was walking off the field. Kyle Orton had a better game than Cutler did, which is saying something. Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, stood tall in the face of a tough defense all night, didn't make any game breaking mistakes, and drove Green Bay to the win with about a minute to go.

USC 18, OSU 15: Damn. Just.....damn it. Terrelle Pryor needs a signature win for OSU to get to the level of national championship contender. Right now, for all his talent, I don't see it. He can run, he's got a strong arm, but he gets rattled and seemingly can't read defenses. It's either that or he's unsure of what he sees and gets tentative. Great defensive effort was wasted, and OSU could, and should have, won that game. If Pryor can learn from this and get better, OSU wins the Big 10 and goes to a BCS game. But I expect at least one more loss, to either Penn State or Michigan.

The Big 10: I think the Big 10 had a good weekend, even with the outcome of the USC game. Michigan won a classic against Notre Dame, and it appears that the demise of Michigan football has been greatly exaggerated. Yeah, Michigan State spit the bit against Central Michigan, but everyone else in the conference won, and Minnesota opened up an outdoor stadium on campus. It looks absolutely gorgeous, and it's great for the Gopher program and the conference. And it makes me yearn for an outdoor Vikings stadium. And they beat a pretty good Air Force team in the process.

Overall, a great weekend of football. Let's hope the Vikes keep it rolling at Detroit and OSU can bounce back against Toledo.

Vikes Wade-ed Too Late to Release Bobby

2009-09-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

So Bobby Wade was let go, right before the beginning of the regular season, and right after he agreed to a 50% pay cut. Ouch. This is just another example of the…uneasiness…that Brad Childress gives me as a head coach.

To be fair, Childress has done some good things as coach of the Vikings. The talent he has brought to the defense is flat out impressive. Granted, he gets help from the college scouting department and ownership when he wants to get a guy like Jared Allen, but he still went out and had to convince them to be a Viking. His methodical plan to get the Vikings back to one of the elite teams in the NFL started with an overhaul of the offensive and defensive lines, and he has done that. The second thing he did was commit to a strong running game. With the free agent acquisition of Chester Taylor and the drafting of Adrian Peterson, that can be checked off as accomplished. The Vikings have improved each year under Childress, and are a legitimate Super Bowl contender entering 2009.

But where Childress seems to lack is in his handling, or mishandling, of personnel. In 2006, Marcus Robinson, who was arguably the best red zone option on a team that thought offensive touchdowns a luxury, found himself given a pink slip on Christmas Eve. He wasn’t injured, he was a starting wide receiver, but he popped off to the St Paul Pioneer press at the end of a frustrating season and was sent walking.

On the day before Christmas. Nice. Ho, ho, ho, Marcus. Now pack your shit.

And there are other guys as well that have been done wrong by Childress and the Vikings. Matt Birk was not offered a chance to retire as a Viking and is now in Baltimore. But before that, he went to Harvard. Daunte Culpepper and Brad Childress got into it about 11 seconds after Chilly's introductory press conference, and he was shipped off to Miami for the draft pick that eventually became Ryan Cook. He invested a lot of time and effort into Tarvaris Jackson as his quarterback, tried to further upgrade the depth by trading for a solid backup in Sage Rosenfels...and then pretty much both told them without telling them they sucked when he wooed Brett Favre. Yesterday, Bobby Wade took a 50% pay cut for catching 105 passes the last two years and being a pretty decent slot guy. Today, he's unemployed.

I'm no longer a kid, and I understand that football is a business, and you can make a legitimate argument that the Vikings needed to get younger on the offensive line, and that there might have been legitimate reasons for releasing Wade. But there's a way to go about letting people go, and then there's what Childress and the Vikings have done to some fairly high profile guys since 2006. Football is about building team chemistry and asking guys to suffer and bleed and buy what you're selling, so as a group you can achieve great things.

So when you ask a guy to take a pay cut and then turn around and cut him the week before the season begins, what message does that send? If the coach doesn't have their back, wiill they cover his? I doubt it.

Going off Tangent, One Time Only

2009-09-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

I try not to get political in here. This is a sports blog, and as such, I try to avoid wading into waters that don't relate to either the Vikes or the Bucks. But this time, I must comment on something that I saw today.

This is about that picture that was taken by an Associated Press photographer of a mortally wounded United States Marine, and then published by multiple news outlets in the United States.

Frankly, this photograph and subsequent publishing is despicable on several levels. 99% of Americans don't know and frankly don't care what trials Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines endure. And we don't care that you don't care, if we're being brutally honest. We do our job, as we have volunteered to do, and ask nothing in return, except for the government to live up to their end of the contract that we signed--a modest pension (if we do 20 years and retire), mediocre health care (and trust me, the VA sucks), and a headstone in a cemetary when we die.

We ask for neither glory nor recognition, only food, water, and enough ammunition to press the fight to the enemy.

When we bleed and die, let us do it amongst our own, our brothers in arms, for only they really, truly know what we do and what we deal with on a daily basis. What I did in Afghanistan I will never share with my family, because (yes, this is trite and cliche, but accurate) unless you were there, you don't know. If you don't know, the feelings and raw emotions of war cannot be explained, except with those that have shared it. If you want to experience the raw emotion of a firefight or lose a good friend to an RPG, enlist or get a commission as an officer. Jump in all the way, or stay the hell out, and spare us what you think this picture might do to "influence the opinion of the war", because I really don't give two flying shits what your opinion of the war is.

War sucks, how's that for an opinion?

His family didn't need to see this, nor should they. Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard needs to be remembered for who he was and how he lived, not how he died. His family didn't want this photo published, and I know if it was me that was dying in a far away land, I wouldn't want it all over the Internet, either.

This wasn't published to honor him or the sacrifice he made, as the photographer suggests, but to advance an agenda.

The photographer who took this photo and the media outlets that published it to promote that political agenda deserve our scorn, not our praise.

That is reserved for LCpl Bernard.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Scott Studwell's Stare to be Inducted Into the Ring of Honor

2009-08-22T04:46:00.000-07:00

There's a good chance that you've never heard of one of the greatest Vikings to ever don the purple, at least as a player. Scott Studwell, arguably the best linebacker in Vikings history, will have his name enshrined in the Viking Ring of Honor during a haltime ceremony Nov. 26. As a guy that has been a Vikings fan since the early 1970's, I was surprised that he wasn't already in there, and then when I realized how overlooked he has been both as a player and a front office executive it didn't really surprise me at all.

His time as a player was a 'tweener' period for the organization--his rookie season was in 1977, the season after the Vikings last appeared in the Super Bowl, and his career ended in 1990, right before the string of success the Vikes had with The Sheriff, Denny Green. The 1980's, with the exception of a deep playoff run in 1987, was a pretty forgettable decade, both on and off the field. Bud Grant retired, Les Steckel was hired and fired, the franchise moved away from the frigid Bloomington prairie and into the Metropimple, and the Vikings traded for Herschel Walker. If the 1970's were a decade of excellence highlighted with 4 Super Bowl trips, the 1980's were marked by mediocre football, some pretty bad teams, a historically bad trade, and one magical run during a strike-shortened season that slipped through Darrin Nelson's hands. On the fucking goal line. As time expired. FUCK! Sorry, better now.

During Studwell's career, the Vikings made the playoffs 7 times, three in his first four seasons as the Purple People Eaters aged and retired. All Studwell did was was retire as the Vikings all-time leader in combined tackles, defensive tackles, single season tackles, single game tackles, and soul crushing stares that would make opponents wet their pants. Seriously, you old guys and gals remember--he had that Mike Singletary stare down long before Mike Singletary was in the NFL. I mean Jeebus, he looked at me through the TV with that stare of his and it could give a kid nightmares. It was the most intense look I've ever seen on a human being's face.

I've been scared, really scared, four times in my life--three of them were in Afghanistan when I thought I might not be making it home after all, and the fourth was when I got to meet Scott Studwell in 2006 when I covered the Vikings for a now defunct website. When I looked into his eyes and shook his hand (his grip broke four bones, by the way) I thought he was going to kill me as he was smiling and saying 'nice to meet you, Ted.' He doesn't look at you, he looks THROUGH you. But Studwell and Mike Tomlin were the nicest guys I met in Mankato, though.

Most of today's Vikings fans know Studwell as the front office guy in charge of college scouting. If you want to completely discount Studwell's numbers as inflated because he was a talented guy on a bad defense, then fine. I respectfully submit you're wrong and HIGHLY recommend you not let Mr. Studwell know how you feel lest he burn a hole into your soul when he looks at you. I would still argue he should be inducted just based on his body of work as a personnel guy. Think about this for a minute--when Studwell joined the front office, they were just starting to feel the fallout of the Walker trade and how many early first round draft picks they DIDN'T have, and he made lemonade out of lemons, helping to find guys like Jake Reed (3rd round 1991) Brad Johnson (9th round 1992), and Ed McDaniel (5th in '92). All of those players became significant contributors to the success of the 1990's teams, and Studwell's efforts have increased over time, resulting in what is arguably some of the strongest drafts in club history starting in 2006.

But like his playing days, he never really gets his due credit for his contributions. He logs thousands of miles on the road looking for potential NFL players, and his department helps to largely determine who could and who couldn't be a Minnesota Viking. The superstars are easy to find, but it's the late round guys who could become an All-Pro where a team is built, and that's where Studwell's department make their money. They've had a lot more hits than misses since he's moved to the front office, and those hits off the field mirror the savage ones he delivered on the field.

Congratulations to Scott Studwell. Thanks for giving a shit and playing to the final gun when it looked like some of your teammates in the early 1980's weren't, and thanks for helping keep the roster stocked with enough talent that we can today call the Vikings a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

All I have is one request. Please don't look directly into the camera during your induction ceremony. I'm older now and my bladder isn't what it used to be, and even though I know you'll have no malice in your heart, there's a good chance I'll still pee my pants from fright.

Favregnugen Winners and Losers

2009-08-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

Look, I apologize. I want to write more; really I do. I'm just busier than hell, so I try and get some comments up on Viva El Birdos, Daily Norseman, or Vikings Valhalla. I promise I'll try and do better.

I was a fan of Favre becoming a Viking two years ago, so yeah, I'm happy about it. Packer fans are apoplectic, the Vikings now have the look and feel of a legitimate championship contender, and the Vikings now have an inside track to get a new stadium deal done, which was arguably the main reason I want him in purple.

Oh, wait. Nevermind on that last part.

So who wins and who loses in this deal? Let's break it down.

Winners:

Zygi Wilf--In his time as owner, Zygi Wilf has become the anti-Red McCombs. He has been aggressive in getting talent, and when the coaching staff has asked for money to get a guy, he hasn't hesitated about writing the check. Wilf has given the coaching staff all they have asked for, and he is now reaping the financial windfall and fan loyalty that might, just might, start framing the stadium debate in his favor. Gov. Pawlenty's initial comments are far from encouraging, but a Super Bowl run can change a lot of minds.

Brett Favre--Yeah, he's a prima donna. Yeah, he loves the spotlight, but did you see the reaction when he landed? Proper, refined, and very Lutheran Minnesota flipped the fuck OUT. There was a helicopter following his drive from the airport to Winter Park, which turned into one part Beatles concert, one part Health Care Townhall, and no parts Lutefisk social. He is now loved in a place he was despised and he plays indoors, playing with a potentially explosive offense. He gets a chance to give the 'eat my ass' to Ted Thompson he wanted to give last year, he's got $25 more million in the bank, and he's on a team that is a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Vikings Defense--The Vikings defense never said it, but there were times when you could almost feel the frustration of pitching a near shutout and coming up short due to offensive ineptitude over the last few seasons. Favre gives the offense instant creditability in the defensive side of the locker room, and puts them on equal footing talent wise. The defense can now breathe a little bit, take more gambles now and then, and not worry about falling behind by 10 points anymore.

Receivers--If Brett Favre can make Bill Schroeder, Javon Walker, and Antonio Freeman 1,000 yard receivers, then Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, and Bobby Wade are going to Canton, baby!! Seriously, they have the chance to have career years.

Adrian Peterson--Peterson's stated goal has been to rush for 2,000 yards, and he has his best chance to do it. Defenses will now have to play the Vikings honest, and that means more running room for Peterson. He has been devastating running against eight man fronts; my penis gets hard thinking about him running against normal looks.

Sage Rosenfels--Look, I panned the Vikings for working on the Rosenfels trade for two years, but Sage has been a stand-up guy through all of this. It had to be tough to play solidly in your debut, then watch the statewide orgy over Favre take place, and then stand in front of the cameras and say you'll do whatever's necessary to help the team win. When this does become your team, Mr. Rosenfels, the locker room and the fanbase will have your back.

My Dad--He's 80, and has suffered through all the agony since 1961. He now lives down the street and we get to enjoy the games every week. We have our last, best hope for a Vikings championship in his lifetime, and I think I can speak for all Fathers and Sons out there when I say I want to share a championship with my Dad before he leaves. I'm not asking for a dynasty, nor an undefeated season, just a Vince Lombardi trophy. He gave me this love for the Vikings, and it would be sweet to share the greatest of joys with him after suffering through some of the most agonizing, torturous defeats in NFL history. He's ecstatic, so I am ecstatic.

Losers:

Packer Fans--'Losers' and 'Packer Fans' is about as oxymoronic as it gets, but SUCK IT GREEN AND GOLD!!! BOO-FUCKIN-YAH!!!!! How's it feel for your Idol to give you the ultimate finger and play for your HATED rival?

Tarvaris Jackson and/or JD Booty--One of them is gone. The numbers don't support 4 QB's on the roster, so unless the Vikes can get Booty on the practice squad, they will have a depth issue come Mankato this time next year.

The NFC North--The Vikes put a stranglehold on the division before the first coin flip. Green Bay and Chicago are playing for a wild card spot, and Detroit is playing for a win. Just one.

Brad Childress--Chilly really handled this poorly, but Favre's on the team, so I don't care. He's probably alienated Rosenfels and TJ, but winning can put a damper on hurt feelings. He pushed his pile of chips all in, though, and if this blows up in his face and the Vikes don't at least win a playoff game, I have to think he's done as coach.

Vikings Fans--As much as seeing Favre in purple made me actually laugh with delight, we saw a glimpse of the 'look at me' downside of Favre--the on again, off again drama, the late press conference, the media circus. It won't be a problem in about three days, but it will be a problem in about 340, because the Vikes signed him to a two year contract. So come February, we will be held hostage with all the drama we used to lampoon the Packer fans over. Get used to it and be an adult about it; we dished it out, so we'll have to take it.

Schadenfreude

2009-06-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

Howdy! It's been a month since I've written a blog. Look, it's summer, there's stuff to do, and I have a life. Sorry. One note: I'm not going to blog about the Cardinals anymore. It's not that I don't like the team or that I've quit cheering for them, but Ohio State and the Vikings take enough time, or will. So, on to a topic not discussed much over the summer: Brett Favre.

Embrace it, Accept it, Love it

No, not my monkey, you perverts, but the fact that Brett Favre, statistically the greatest quarterback ever to play in the NFL, will be a Minnesota Viking for the 2009 season. As the late, great, Ed McMahon would say:

YES!

Look, I know there’s a lot of anger towards the Vikings in this, and I get that. Some people feel that it’s similar to the Allies hiring Erwin Rommel to close out WWII; it’s just not natural. We’ve grown up to not like Green Bay and their players; hell, about the only thing that ever came out of the entire state of Wisconsin that I care about is Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat Beer (Honey Weiss will do in a pinch). I’ve never liked the Packers, I’ve never liked Favre, but I always respected his talents and ability, and I secretly wished the Vikings had a QB as good as him for a good portion of his career. We had a brief glimmer of hope with Daunte Culpepper, but that disappeared as quickly as the business end of a dildo did on the Love Boat that he captained.

And I think this is what half of the Vikings fans feel as well, and that’s okay. The other half is just pissed off that Brett Effing Favre is going to be the quarterback of their beloved purple, and can’t get over the fact that the former Packers great is going to be a current Vikings great. Maybe I can help you at least deal with your anger, and channel it in a direction that will help you deal with Favre calling the signals this year.

I have one word for you: ‘schadenfreude’.

As a cap tip to the aforementioned Field Marshall, it’s German, and essentially it means enjoying someone else’s misery. Turn your anger into schadenfreude towards the average Green Bay Packer fan. Think about how betrayed, hurt, and angry they feel towards their idol, now that he’s playing for the hated Vikings. I turned on the TV this weekend and I saw people rioting in the streets, soccer players wearing green in solidarity of their people back home, and endless coverage of said events on TV. Naturally, I assumed I had stumbled across Milwaukee Public Access TV and I was watching the unraveling of Packer nation. Sadly, it was only a popular uprising in Iran. As an aside, for a brutal, oppressive dictatorship, I’m not impressed with the mullahs in Iran. Voting, press coverage, street protests, candy ass crackdown, keeping Internet access open—rookie mistakes that they cover in Dictatorship 101. You won’t see any of this shit in Kim Jong-Il’s North Korea, I’ll tell you that much. But I digress.

If, for some reason, you want to somehow cheer for AND against Brett Favre simultaneously, cheer like hell for him to lead the league in passing yards, passing TD’s, fewest interceptions thrown, completion percentage, and a Super Bowl victory. Because the more success Brett has with the Vikings the more his standing with the Packers and their fans drops, and if he has his best statistical season in his career while leading the Vikings to the Holy Grail, he will be burned in effigy in Green Bay and will NEVER be welcomed back there. He would be Green Bay’s baseball’s equivalent to a steroids user, banned as a pariah and when he was spoken of, it would only be in whispers, like that crazy ass uncle that’s in prison for being a kiddie diddler.

The more success Favre has as the Vikings quarterback, the worse he does for his legacy in Green Bay, and the less the loyal fans of the Packers want anything to do with him.

Schadenfreude bitches, schadenfreude.

Window of Opportunity, Part II

2009-05-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I looked at what kind of window of opportunity the Vikings had for a serious championship run. Today, I want to continue down that path with a look at the defense.

DL:

Pat Williams, 37
Kevin Williams, 28
Jared Allen, 27
Kenechi Udeze, 26
Fred Evans, 26
Jimmy Kennedy, 30
Brian Robison, 26
Ray Edwards, 24

The Vikings defensive line is almost as dominant as the halcyon days of the legendary Purple People Eaters. You don’t run on them, and quarterbacks drop back to pass at their own risk. They are at least as effective as the Keith Millard-Chris Doleman defensive lines of the early 1990’s, but the anchor of the line, Pat Williams, is going to be 37. This line didn’t become dominant until ‘Phat Pat’ was signed, and it became elite when the Vikes traded for Jared Allen. Pat Williams seems ageless, but he isn’t, and the Vikings need to look towards his eventual replacement. There isn’t another Pat Williams currently on the roster, so something will need to be done. When he is out of the lineup, the Vikings are not dominant as a run defense. The rest of the line is in their prime, and if Kenechi Udeze can get back his strength and quickness, he will be a force in 2009, and will take this defensive line to another level. Kevin Williams and Jared Allen have at least 5 more years playing together at an elite level; throw in a healthy Udeze, and these guys will be a lot of fun to watch.

Projection: 1-2 years, as the next Pat Williams needs to be identified. If the Williams transition is seamless, 5-7 years of high end productivity.

LB:

Chad Greenway, 26
EJ Henderson, 29
Ben Leber, 31
Heath Farwell, 28
David Herron, 25

The front line starters for the Vikings are one of the best LB units in the NFL. They complement each other well, and are a solid mix of youth and veteran leadership. But the replacements currently on the roster are not considered NFL-caliber starters, as the signings of ex-Vikings Napoleon Harris and Dontarrious Thomas showed. Ben Leber is north of 30, EJ Henderson is approaching 30 and has an injury history, and Chad Greenway has developed into a quality NFL LB after a season ending knee injury as a rookie. I thought that LB would be addressed early in the 2009 draft, but you can’t argue with Percy Harvin and Phil Loadholt. LB’s can be had in free agency, and it should be a position of need next year in the draft.

Projection: 2 years, but they need depth right now. Not re-signing Harris or Thomas could turn out to be a big mistake if one of the top three goes down.

DB:

Antoine Winfield, 32
Cedric Griffin, 27
Marcus McCauley, 26
Tyrell Johnson, 24
Madieu Williams, 28
Karl Paymah, 27
Asher Allen, 21

I love Antoine Winfield. I mean, I started a blog called The Purple Buckeye, for God Sakes. Winfield has been a mainstay in the defensive backfield, and has been the best all-around CB in the NFL for about his entire time in Minnesota. I hope he retires a Viking, but with contract extension talks stalled, that seems up in the air. But he’s north of 30, and the Vikings used a third round pick on Asher Allen, so Minnesota is laying the groundwork for Winfield’s eventual replacement. The Vikings wisely inked Cedric Griffin to an extension, meaning that his productive years will be spent as a Viking. For the safeties, Tyrell Johnson has already taken over for Darren Sharper and will be a fixture for several years, and Madieu Williams has 3-4 years of above average production left. Overall, this unit looks pretty good, as long as Allen can get close to the level of THE Antoine Winfield, a tall order indeed.

Projection: Winfield will probably be replaced after 2009, 3-5 years after that.

There is no need to raise the alarm yet, but the defense, which has done most of the heavy lifting on this team during the Brad Childress era, is the side of the ball where the window opening is currently the smallest. The line, linebackers, and defensive backfield will need to be addressed, both for front-line starters and depth, especially in the linebacking corps. If the starters can stay relatively healthy in 2009 and 2010, this defense, with a ferocious defensive line that can neuter a running game and punish a quarterback that dare try to pass, can take this team a long way. But Ben Leber, Antoine Winfield, and Pat Williams, key veterans that made this defense what it is, will be replaced in the next few years, and who comes in behind them will largely determine how competitive the Vikings will be.

Along with the play of the quarterback.

Hey, Who Left the Window Open?

2009-05-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

I feel the Vikings 'window of opportunity' to win a Super Bowl is open.

But for for how long?

Some teams, through good drafting, player retention, trading, and free agency keep their window perpetually open, like the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New England Patriots. Most teams go through cycles, kind of like the Vikings are right now, where they amass enough talent to seem like a legitimate championship caliber team, then fall into mediocrity for a period of time, and then rise again. Other than the Vikings, Tennessee, the New York Giants, and Seattle seem to best fit this mold—but there are a lot of teams that seem to go through these cycles. There are one year wonder teams, like the Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears. Finally, there are teams that seem like their window of opportunity has been nailed shut and sealed with epoxy; Detroit fans, I’m looking your way.

So how long will the Vikings window of opportunity stay open with this current roster?

Let’s try and figure it out. I’m going to look at the current starters, and most of the primary back-ups. I’ll consider their age and then project when they might need to draft a player to look at as eventual replacement. I’m also going to throw in the first three draft picks from the 2009 class, as everyone after round three is what I consider a complementary player, whereas the top end guys are expected to start at some point. If you disagree with the methodology, I’m open to hearing another way to figure it out.

This post will look at the offensive side of the ball, and the next post will address defense.

QB:
Tarvaris Jackson, 26
Sage Rosenfels, 31
John David Booty (he said booty), 24

A good quarterback, along with effective roster replenishment, is the key component for maintaining an extended window of opportunity. Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, and Donovan McNabb have been the common ingredient in their respective teams’ sustained runs of excellence. If Jackson or Booty pan out and raise their game to an elite level, the Vikings will be in business for years to come, especially when you consider the relative youth at the rest of the skill positions. The window will be smaller if it’s Rosenfels, simply for the fact he is older. If not, then they may explore other options. Like, ahem, He Who Shall Not Be Named, trying to draft a franchise QB, trying to trade for one, or hoping one becomes available in free agency.

Projection: If Jackson works out, 7 years. If Rosenfels works out, 4 years. If neither works out, QB window is year to year, if not closed.

RB:

Adrian Peterson, 23
Chester Taylor, 30
Naufahu Tahi, 29

At his current rate Adrian Peterson will go down as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history, and he’s only 23. Running backs take an enormous amount of punishment, though, and their shelf life is shorter than other position players. LaDainian Tomlinson is approaching the dreaded age of 30, and he has begun the long, slow, decline. His numbers are down, and his injuries are up. Let’s say Peterson has 3-4 tremendous seasons left in him, 6-7 productive seasons. As good as Peterson has been, it’s easy to overlook the contributions of Chester Taylor. Brought in to be ‘the Guy’ by Chilly in 2006, Taylor had one of the most productive seasons ever for a Vikings running back, including the longest run from scrimmage in the NFL, a 95 yard TD scamper in a romp over Seattle. More importantly, when the Vikings drafted Taylor, he could’ve been a dick about it and demanded a trade, but he’s been a team guy and excelled in the role of the third down/change of pace back. In his current role, Taylor has a couple of years left, but will probably want one last chance as a starter somewhere, so depth will be an issue in a year or two. And as exciting as the one yard swing pass to Naufau Tahi is, the NFL fullback is becoming about as irrelevant as the Republican Party these days. Yeah, they’ll need someone to eventually replace Tahi, but in this day and age it’s a fairly nameless, faceless position.

Projection: 5-7 years for frontline production, two years for depth.

WR/TE:
Bernard Berrian, 29
Sidney Rice, 23
Percy Harvin, 21
Bobby Wade, 28
Visanthe Shiancoe, 29
Jim Kleinsasser, 32
Garrett Mills, 25

I like the mix of youth and experience that the Vikings have at both receiver positions. With the WR corps, the Vikings have the potential for long term success. Percy Harvin can be a legitimate deep threat, and Sidney Rice has the physical tools to be a devastating possession/ red zone threat in the mold of Cris Carter. He had the typical sophomore slump last season, but he was also battling a knee injury for most of the season. He needs to step up and take control of the #2 WR position in training camp this season. Bernard Berrian is the current deep threat, and brought legitimacy to the Vikings WR corps not seen since the days of Moss and Carter. He has a few good years left, and is the type of veteran presence that should be beneficial to the skilled but raw Harvin. Bobby Wade has developed into a decent slot guy. He’s not ever going to be a game changer, or a consistent move-the-chains type guy, but he’s a good complimentary player that has several years of decent production left. Harvin is the wildcard. He can either be a Troy Williamson flame-out, or a Randy Moss jackpot. My guess is that he’ll be somewhere in between; a plus Reggie Bush. Worst case is Harvin is a bust and Rice never figures it out, I give it three years with Berrian and Wade as the top guys with a constant parade of the Derrick Alexander and Robert Ferguson-types trying to fill in as required. Tight end is a similar situation. I tip my cap to Brad Childress on the Shiancoe signing; he has emerged as a reliable, legitimate target after having what seemed like an incurable case of the dropsies when he first took the field. He still has three or four years of solid production left, and Garrett Mills is a guy that has that ’it’ about him. He has limited experience, but on the rare occasion he caught a pass, or I noticed him on the field, he stood out. I love Jim Kleinsasser, but he’s never been an offensive threat. His job is to block, and he does it quite well. He’s on the downside of his fine career, and I think it’s right and appropriate that he will probably retire as a Minnesota Viking.

WR Projection: If Harvin and Rice get untracked, the Vikings have 10 years of production at wide receiver. If Harvin is a bust and Rice never figures it out, I give it three years with Berrian and Wade as the top guys, and a constant parade of the Derrick Alexander and Robert Ferguson-types trying to fill in as required.

TE Projection: Shiancoe has anywhere from 3-5 years with Garrett Mills on the rise to make a seamless transition. Call it 8-10 years with a big, blocking TE type to take over for Kleinsasser in the next two years.

Offensive Line:

Bryant McKinnie, 30
Steve Hutchinson, 32
John Sullivan, 24
Anthony Herrera, 29
Ryan Cook, 26
Phil Loadholt, 23
Artis Hicks, 31

A solid offensive line is the unsung but critical ingredient to take a team to the next level. The Vikings have one of the five best offensive lines in the NFL, but if you look, it’s getting up there in age. Initially, I was against letting Matt Birk go, but if he had stayed, 80% of the starting line would have been either 29 or older. Time marches on in the NFL, and in looking at this through the age prism, letting Birk go and letting Sullivan transition in with experience to his immediate right and left is pretty smart…as long as Sullivan pans out. McKinnie and Hutch each have about 3-5 years left. For whatever reason, linemen take as much punishment as anyone, but (at least anecdotally to me) seem to have a more prolonged career. Sullivan has 10 years, Herrera 5 or 6, and Loadholt and Cook will be around 7-10 years as well. Hutch is a road grader, but I would look for the Vikings to find his replacement in the next draft or two.

OL Projection: Short term, the line will begin the left side transition in the next 2 years, with full turnover of all five positions (counting Birk and assuming Loadholt replaces Cook) in four. So until the next generation of snot blowin’ big uglies line up and hit someone, this is the shortest window. I’ll give it three years average, with the big hits coming in the McKinnie and Hutch replacements. But assuming the replacements adequately fill in for the current crop, this will be one of the most stable units in the NFL for years to come.

So looking at the offense, the Minnesota Vikings are averaging about a three or four year window, but it has one huge caveat: effective, championship-caliber quarterback play. If the Vikings cannot get that from Jackson, Rosenfels, or somebody else, this will be a talented team that will not advance far in the playoffs.

If they do get it, you have to consider the Vikings on the short list of teams with legitimate championship aspirations.

Yeah, I'm Twittering

2009-05-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Follow intemperate thoughts and new blog posts here:

http://twitter.com/purplebuckeye

No, I don't Facebook. No, I'm not on MySpace. This is as about as technical as I get.

Now, enjoy the rest of your Mother's Day.

Oh, Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

My Last Favre Post Until He Signs or Stays Retired

2009-05-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

The Brett Favre saga is sucking the oxygen out of the Vikings room, so let me pipe in on why, once and for all, the Vikings should sign him. And I promise, this will be the last I mention it until he either signs or stays retired.

There is one segment of the fanbase that wants nothing to do with Brett Favre, largely because he played for the arch rival Packers. They feel that if Favre were to take the Vikings to and win the Super Bowl, it would somehow be tainted, and all credit would go to Favre. Others think that cheering for Favre would be akin to rooting for the Taliban or Al Qaeda. The other segment of the non-Favre camp doesn't want to buy in and cheer for him because they fear he will throw an interception to lose to the Packers, or lose in the NFC championship, or God Forbid, the Super Bowl. I get it. Rivalry is an important thing in sports, and having a public enemy #1 is good for the sporting soul. But I’m north of 40, and have seen too much professional football tragedy as a Vikings fan to think this is the worst possible thing that could befall the franchise. Hell, Favre playing for the Vikings wouldn't crack the top 50. Favre throwing a soul crushing interception to lose to the Packers doesn't even make the top 25. There is onlt one Darkest Day in Vikings History, and it is the infamous 'Hail Mary' Game. For those of you too young to remember, get down on your knees right now and give thanks to God. For those of you who do remember, the sullen nodding of the head and involuntary grimace and twitching tell me you concur.

We were at my aunt and uncle’s in White Bear Lake. My Aunt, a church going, Sunday school teacher, dropped an F-bomb after the blatant offensive pass interference that robbed the Vikings of their destiny. My dad threw a beer bottle against my uncle’s wall, shattering it and staining the wall. My uncle cared not. No ne moved for 10 minutes, just staring at the TV. My uncle cursed the medical attendants that assisted the goddamn idiot referee who took the whisky bottle to the head. I can’t explain the anguish I feel every time I see that goddamn play. 33 years have not healed that wound, and another 50 will not, either. Ever. On the way home to Richfield we heard on the radio Fran Tarkenton’s dad had died during the game. I cried all the way home.

So worst case, Favre throws a soul crushing interception in either the NFC Championship or the Super Bowl, and I shut off the TV, numb and lifeless. Hey, I’ve been down that road with this team more than I care to remember. It's amost a badge of Honor at this point. ('Hey, I've been more haertbroken over the Vikings than you have!')

It still wouldn’t hit the top 5 in all time Vikings agony. And I will be back next season, convinced the Vikes are going to win it all.

Favre is one of the gretest quarterbacks of all time. At 40, he's still better than Sage or Tarvaris. He doesn't guarantee a Super Bowl; no one player does. But I think he has a better chance of taking the Vikings farther in the playoffs than either jackson or Rosenfels. Jackson folded like a wet cardboard box under the pressure of the Eagles defense and the post-season.

He makes the offense as a whole better, and demands that defenses play the Vikings honest. Teams will be forced to respect the pass, and unable to stuff the box with 8 or 9 guys, Adrian Peterson will be even better than he is now. When teams try to key on Peterson and stop him, Favre will have the ability to make them pay consistently. Can you say that about Jackson or Sage? He is able to read a defense and audible out of a bad play. Currently, the Vikings do that infrequently at best. If there are 9 guys stacked at or close to the line of scrimmage, the Vikings run into the teeth of that defense much like the Australian army did against the Turks at Gallipoli. And if you want to look at the stats, I'll compare any stats you want of Favre's against Sage or Tarvaris.

My Dad is 80 now, he’s lost a step, and his memory isn’t what it was. It was my Dad that gave me this unconditional love of the Minnesota Vikings, and nothing would please me more than watching a Vikings Super Bowl victory with him. And if Brett Favre is the quarterback that would lead them to that, and allow me to share that with my Dad before he leaves me, I will be forever indebted to Zygi Wilf, Brad Childress, and Brett Favre for allowing that to happen.
So if he signs with the Vikes, I’m buying me and my Dad matching Favre jerseys, and we’ll be whooping it up like Viking fanatics once again this fall.

Oh, and one more thing. Fuck Drew Pearson. Fuck Drew Pearson to Hell.

Mercenaries-R-Us

2009-05-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

Let’s put our cards on the table here when it comes to Brett Favre and his desire to come to Minnesota. His reason for playing isn’t to play for the Vikings, it’s to play against the Packers. He hates Ted Thompson. He wants to stick it up Ted Thompson’s ass and break it off. Sideways. Twice. His is a completely selfish and mercenarial reason to come to Minnesota.

Brad Childress needs to win and make a deep playoff run to keep his job, at least I think so. He’s had incrementally better seasons in three years, and with solid drafting, smart trades, and good free agent acquisitions, the Vikings are poised to be able to do that. Except that they need a proven quarterback to take them on that run. Childress has said that he likes his quarterback situation, but Favre at age 40 is still better than Sagevaris Jacksonfels. So if he were to sign Favre, it would be for one reason and one reason only: To try and win the Super Bowl and prove he is as smart as he claims to be. His is a completely selfish and mercenarial reason to bring Favre to Minnesota.

Zygi Wilf needs a new stadium to keep the Vikings viable in the state of Minnesota. He has Adrian Peterson and little else. He needs that elusive ‘buzz’, and a guy like Favre with the NFC North backdrop is something that cannot be ignored. Would it be enough to finagle financing for a new stadium out of the State Legislature? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, his is a completely selfish and mercenarial reason to bring Favre to Minnesota.

As my good buddy Luft Krigare pointed out in his blog, I was all about Favre coming to Minnesota last season, but I have some reservations this year. But the bottom line is simple:

Do I want the Vikings to essentially hire a mercenary who excelled on a team I can’t stand come in and lead the team that I have loved since birth, and go all out to try and win a Super Bowl?

Yes. Once I separate the facts from the emotion, the fact for me is this: Brett Favre, as long as he is healthy, is better than Sagevaris Jacksonfels, and all the hand-wringing I have about team chemistry will be rendered moot on the first Favre to Harvin touchdown pass.

Draft Day 1 Recap

2009-04-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

Busy Saturday here in my little corner of the Internets. It started at five this morning when me and a couple of buddies went fishing out at Carlyle Lake. Got home just in time to take a nap as the draft kicked off, but woke up in time to see the Raiders set their franchise back another 25 years. They made it to the Super Bowl in this decade? Really?

Anyways, looking at day 1 of the draft, I like what the Vikings did, and although I'm sad to see that they haven't drafted any Buckeyes, neither did the Packers. To recap:

Oh Mercy, Percy!! I give Brad Childress and the Vikings a lot of credit for this pick. I liked and advocated for Percy Harvin on multiple Vikings message boards (yeah, multiple...I'm a total loser) because I thought he was the best athlete in the draft, and could fill multiple roles for the Vikes. When it came out that he was dancing with Mary Jane, I thought the Vikings had taken him off of their board, and no one would have ripped them for bypassing him and looking to offensive line or defensive back, consensus areas of need entering the draft.

But they didn't. They took him, and with it, they have taken on quite possibly the biggest boom or bust, feast or famine pick in recent Vikings memory. Harvin not only has off the field issues, but he has on the field injury concerns as well. Adrian Peterson had injury issues that caused a few people to question the pick, but that seems to have worked out all right.

What Harvin brings to the table is speed. Fast, blinding, holy-fuck-did-you-just-see-that speed.

Kind of like this (start at about 1:57).

If Brad Childress can harness that speed, put Harvin in favorable match ups, opposing defenses will either have to pick to stop Adrian Peterson or Percy Harvin. If he can't, the Vikings will have a hard time rising to the level of an elite team, and Childress, with a lot of expectations on him and his team, will be out of a job.

They also addressed the right tackle position, which a lot of fans think was the weak link on the offensive line, and a lot of draft experts thought it would be a position addressed in round 1. Phil Loadholt, who is nearly 340 pounds of moving pissed off, will challenge Ryan Cook immiedately as the starting right tackle, and is great value for that deep in the second round.

For the Buckeyes, I was disapointed to see James Laurinaitis slip to the second round, but hey, he's now a St Louis Ram, so I will get to follow him closely in his post-Buckeye career. Malcolm Jenkins was about the only guy save Matthew Stafford to go where he was predicted to go, to New Orleans, Beanie Wells heads to the Arizona desert, and Brian Robiskie stays in Ohio.

Biggest surprises for me was seeing Ray Maualuga drop out of the first round, and the Jets moving up so far to draft Mark Sanchez. I think the Vikings had a about as good as a first day as the Raiders had bad. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be a Raider fan this evening. Michael Crabtree, who was on the board when your team selected Darius Hayward-Bey, is now just across the bay in San Francisco, while your team drafts the 2009 version of Troy WIlliamson. Then your team grabs a safety that wasn't even on the board of a lot of teams, by most accounts. Ouch.

Why I think the VIkes will go LB in Round 1

2009-04-24T16:03:00.001-07:00

Okay, so after looking at all the draft stuff I can stand, I think the Vikes are going to go with a LB, I really do. Let me walk this logic backwards:

Percy Harvin is probably off the board, and Childress said before the draft last season, I think it was, that WR’s in general are really a crap shoot in the first round, and I agree, so I don’t see them going in that direction. RB is not a need, and I think the TOA doesn’t believe QB is. I must grudgingly give it up for Shiancoe, as he really emerged last season, so TE is off the board, eliminating all skill positions.

That leaves the o-line. Sullivan looks to be the next Matt Birk, and Herrera and Hutch are a pretty good guard tandem. McKinnie is locked in at LT, and I think with Ryan Cook you have what I call Tarvaris Jackson syndrome. Cook was a high round Childress pick, like Jackson, and Childress has a lot in terms of reputation on the line to see the kid succeed, much like Jackson, albeit not as much as he has invested with TJ. Many detractors think he was taken too high, like Jackson, and as a player, Cook has yet to achieve what the coaches envisioned him doing when drafted, much like Jackson. He’s also shown flashes of good play with maddening periods of mediocrity and inconsistency, also like Jackson. And I think Cook showed enough last year to warrant giving him ample opportunity to remain the RT, but he has got to cut down on his penalties.

On the d-line, DE appears to be set, especially with Kenechi Udeze coming back, which will be a huge emotional lift. DT looks good as well. After re-signing Jimmy Kennedy and Fred Evans, there’s really no room for a new guy. You can make an argument for DB, especially with Antoine Winfield getting up there, but they re-signed Benny Sapp, signed Carl Paymah as a FA, and already had decent depth for both CB and S. I can see adding a guy in the later rounds, but I don’t see DB as a first round pick, especially when you factor in who’s probably available.

That leaves LB. EJ’s coming off of an injury, Ben Leber is good, but is north of 30, and after Chad Greenway, there really isn’t anyone that can jump in and start. Erin Henderson? No. Heath Farwell? Good special teams guy, but not really. I mean, they had to bring Napoleon Harris back after EJ got hurt. Nap did a great job as a stopgap, but they let him go again. So LB is very thin after you get past the starters. Almost every mock draft I see has either James Laurinaitis, Ray Maualuga, or both available at that spot. Both are high character guys, both have great college pedigrees, and yeah, you think I want them to pick Laurinaitis because he’s a Buckeye, but he can also play on the outside, and he’s a local Minnesota kid. Childress hit the jackpot with the ‘local kid, Big 10 LB, high character guy’ trifecta with Greenway in 2006, and that has to be factored in as well.

So with everyone screaming for the Vikes to take a tackle, I think the Vikes mildly surprise some folks and go with either Maualuga or Laurinaitis. If they’re both on the board, it’s Laurinaitis.

Wrapping Up The Schedule

2009-04-20T17:02:00.001-07:00

Continuing on with a game by game breakdown for the Vikes 2009 schedule:

Week 7: at Pittsburgh I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this game, because the Vikings will lose it. Remember my stunning outdoor grass on the road stat I impressed you with way back in week 1? Same thing applies here, except Pittsburgh ain’t Cleveland. Minnesota will turn the ball over a couple of times, Pittsburgh will get a double digit lead, and everyone in Minnesota will be pissed off that Mike Tomlin is coaching the Steelers and not the Vikings. What should piss them off is that Ben Roethlisberger is the quarterback of the Steelers, not the Vikings.

Week 8: at Green Bay I have to be honest with you, I’m not too impressed with any of the other teams in the NFC North this year. Aaron Rogers is one pulled ovary from the IR, their defense, outside of Charles Woodson and AJ Hawk really doesn’t impress me, and although their personnel are 4-3 type players, they’re switching to the 3-4. The Vikes still lose this game, because there’s no way Brad Childress could sweep the season series from Green Bay. Mike Tice could, but Brad Childress can’t. Vikes are 4-4, but when you consider 5 of 8 games were on the road it’s not a terrible record.

Week 9: Bye

Week 10: Detroit By week 10, Detroit realizes that they’re, well, Detroit. Dan Orlovsky runs out of the end zone again, but the Vikes don’t allow this game to be decided on a safety. I have my issues with Brad Childress, but he is 3-0 after the bye week, beating Houston, Chicago on the road (something Mike Tice couldn’t do, BTW), and Seattle on the road. Vikes right the ship and start on a roll.

Week 11: Seattle Speaking of everyone’s favorite whiny fan base, the Semenhawks come to town for an obligatory ass beating. Seattle really is pissed off at Minnesota, and I can’t figure out why. Could it be because the Vikes front office made the Seahawks front office look like a bunch of bitches when they got Steve Hutchinson? And yes, Seattle fan will retort, that they did the same thing for Nate Burleson. Hmm, Hutch has been to three Pro Bowls and Burleson has about 950 yards receiving in three seasons. Which is about 50 less than he had in 2004 with the Vikes. Yep, you got us there. Maybe it’s because of the legal hit that EJ Henderson put on Matt Hasselback and knocked him out for awhile in 2006? Or maybe it’s the 95 yard TD run Chester Taylor had in that same game that pretty much sealed that game up for the Vikes. Maybe they’re just pissy because the sun never shines in that city. Who knows? Who cares? Vikes still win, because I think it will be the Seneca Wallace show by that point, and he’s just slightly better than Tarvaris Jackson.

Week 12: Chicago The Bears will be better because of Jay Cutler, but no one, outside of our friends at the Daily Norseman, have brought up the point that the Chicago Bear defense aged right in front of us last season, and they have done nothing to address that so far this off-season. And while the Bears have Cutler, they still don’t have anyone to get him the ball, so it will be a great test of the ‘Great QB’s Make Great Receivers’ theory, or it will validate the ‘Great Receivers Make Great QB’s’ theory. Devin Hester? Great return guy, mediocre receiver. This is the first meeting with the Cutler-lead Bears, yet we have finished up our seasonal tilts with both the Packers and Lions. Vikes win this home game and Adrian Peterson continues to make the Chicago Bears his personal play toy.

Week 13: at Arizona Last season the Vikes rolled into Arizona and took it to the future NFC champions. I mean, they really kicked their ass. But that was about 4 weeks before Larry Fitzgerald made a deal with Satan to elevate his game to Randy Moss in his prime levels. I take nothing away from the Cardinals because their run was a lot of fun to watch, but keep in mind they were still a 9-7 team in football’s worst division, but they got hot at the right time. This is an offense that matches up very well against the Viking defense. Arizona will have to pass, because they have no running game, and the Vikes stop the run better than anyone. With a front four of Allen, Udeze, Williams, and Williams, the great but immobile Kurt Warner will be in trouble early and often. Vikes win and are 8-4.

Week 14: Cincinnati Cincinnati sucks. Vikes are 9-4.

Week 15: at Carolina Hmm, tough game to call. It was the Carolina victory at home that helped the Vikes salvage their season and avoid an 0-3 collar to begin the year. Carolina’s a good team, but I can’t help but think that the 12-4 record they posted last season was a bit of an anomaly. Jake Delhomme had a good season, but his schizophrenic ‘Bad Jake’ returned just in time for the playoffs, and it seems he show up just when the Panthers can least afford for him to. I still think this is a tall order for a Vikes victory, though. Until they show they can consistently win tough road games I can’t be convinced they’ll win games like this.

Week 16: at Chicago Just reiterating from what I said above, it’s December and you’re probably playing in some nasty Chicago weather. Because as you know, Chicago is a ‘tough guy’ town. That means the Vikes need to run the ball. Hmm. The Bears defense isn’t what it was, the Vikes have the best running game in the NFL, and Adrian Peterson absolutely owns the Chicago Bears. Give me the Bears defense from three years ago, VIkes lose. Give me the 2009 Bears defense and a healthy Peterson, VIkes win.

Week 17: New York Giants I just don’t think the Giants will be a 12-4 team in 2009. They’re good, but I just get a 10-6 vibe about them. It’s a winnable game for the Vikes, and I think a bye, if not a #1 seed, will be on the line. Expect the Metrodome to be loud, and expect a Vikings win.

So there you have it. A snapshot look tells me this is an 11-5 team, but if Jackson or Rosenfels doesn’t pan out, it has an 8-8 or worse. I think the Vikes will do well this year, and if the quarterback play is just minimally better than what Gus Frerotte gave the team, 11-5 is very realistic.

Breaking Down the Vikings Schedule Week by Week

2009-04-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

Scheduling Gods smile on the Vikes

In looking at the 2009 schedule for the Vikings, a couple of things caught my attention. One, that it’s a pretty decent schedule for a defending division winner, and two, the NFL age old conspiracy memo against the Vikes must not have been distributed to the scheduling office (I personally don’t believe there’s an actual memo, but I must play to my audience). The bye comes smack dab in the middle of the schedule, they finish off 5 of their last 8 games at home, and their slate of road games aren’t an NFL equivalent of the Bataan Death March. So let’s look at the formality of the 2009 regular season that we must unfortunately go through before the Vikings win the Super Bowl.

Week 1: at Cleveland— The bad news for Vikings fans is that recent history shows the Vikings have an anemic record with the road, outdoors, grass trifecta, going an embarrassing 8-18 (including playoffs) since 2004. Two of those ‘outdoor’ wins are at Houston and Arizona, retractable roof stadiums where yeah, it was outdoors on grass, but that’s kind of stretching it. Kind of like saying John McCain is a Republican stretching it. The good news is that although it’s a road, outdoor, grass game, it’s against the Cleveland Browns, who are really, really, terrible, which goes a long way to alleviating the disadvantage the Vikes have under those conditions. See 2008, Jaguars, Jacksonville. What the Browns lack in an offensive attack they make up for with a glaring inability to defend the run, something the Vikings excel at. Sagevaris Jacksonfels goes without an interception, but that’s because Adrian Peterson runs 55 times for 300 yards and 4 TD’s, as Brad Childress is reluctant to break out the passing component of the KAO. The Jacksonfels line for week 1: 0-0, 0 yards, 0 TD’s, 0 picks, solid game management. Vikes win and are 1-0. Brad Childress bronze statue plans are unveiled in the Minnesota Legislature.

Week 2: at Detroit—I’m not kidding when I say this is the game that worries me the most. Quit laughing, it really does. The Vikings have a maddening way of playing up or down to their competition, and this is a team that the Vikings usually beat, but it’s a lot tougher than it should be. Had it not been for Dan Orlovsky being an idiot, and a VERY generous pass interference call in the 4th quarter, the Vikings would have been the only win last year for the Lions. Kind of like the Vikings were for the Carolina Panthers a few years back. When you add the ‘new coach and attitude’ intangible into the equation…I hate to say it, but I think the Vikes lose this game. The Childress family is forced into hiding, entering the Federal Witness Protection Program.

Week 3: San Francisco—Vikings home opener against San Francisco. Our longtime antagonist Mike Singletary returns to the Metrodome, but this time, he’s coaching a pretty bad 49ers team, and he isn’t the middle linebacker for one of the greatest defenses of all time. His sideline stare still causes Sagevaris Jacksonfels to piddle himself midway through the second quarter, but The Greatest Running Back Ever not only stares down Singletary, but he causes him to…wait for it…BLINK! Singletary then drops his pants and tells Peterson to kiss it, but Peterson hears ‘kick it’, and he does. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D- San Francisco) files a motion to vacate the Vikings win and give it to the 49ers, saying that although the Vikings worked for the win, it should be taxed at 100% and given to those ‘less fortunate’. Norm Coleman sues somebody, saying he should be a Senator somewhere, and it’s Nancy Pelosi’s fault he isn’t. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell brokers a deal where the Vikings keep the victory and Pelosi is promised an NFL team in the Bay Area ‘real soon’. Coleman’s suit makes it to the Minnesota Supreme Court, where once again he’s told to pack sand…in Fargo, because it’s still dangerous up dere, donchaknow.

Week 4: Green Bay (Monday Night)—Monday Night, at home, against Green Bay. The Curious Case of Brad Childress finally unleashes the secret weapon that is Sagevaris Jacksonfels, who goes a torrid 3-11 for 11 yards and no touchdowns. But his play was ‘solid, no mistakes, kind of the flatline you look for in a good game manager’ TCCOBC says afterwards. About halfway through the first quarter, Kenechi Udeze and Jared Allen come up with a plan to ‘meet at the quarterback’, and Aaron Rogers pays the price. Brett Favre comes out of retirement, and the Monday Night crew phones John Madden, so he can call the game. Favre throws 11 interceptions, and John Madden declares that no one in the history of the game threw a prettier interception than Brett Favre, because Brett Favre just loves playing the game, and if he had 53 Brett Favre’s he’d have…605 interceptions a game…BOOM! Vikes win, the Childress’ come out of hiding, and the statue plans are back on, baby! Peterson is such a battering ram against the Packers, they just lay down in the fetal position and suck their thumbs early in the fourth quarter. Vikes are 3-1 and life looks pretty good in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Week 5: at St Louis—I will tell you now that I will be at this game, and my revered father will be with me. I mention this because at every single gut wrenching, soul crushing, life-sucking-out-of-you, open-a-vein-in-your-arm-and-wait-for-the-blissful-dark moment that has tortured Vikings fans since 1961, my Dad has been there right next to me. I was too young to remember Super Bowl IV, but I was there. Dad almost mistakenly threw me against the wall instead of the Grain Belt can when Otis Taylor beat Karl Kassulke to put the game out of reach. We were at my Uncle Russ’ in White Bear Lake during the Hail Mary game. We watched in horror from the comfort of our Richfield living room as the Vikes lost Super Bowl VIII, IX, and XI. He tried to get his mind off of the SB XI loss by helping me build a soapbox derby race car for Cub Scouts after the game. Let’s just say if you picked power tools, Grain Belt beer, and a Super Bowl loss in your disaster trifecta at Canterbury Downs, you’re a winner! Car didn’t get built, but a lot of frustration was let out on that poor piece of balsa wood. Dad only has three fingers on one hand now, but god damnit, it was worth it. (Just kidding on the three fingers part). In the 1987 NFC Championship, we watched from his home in Columbus, Ohio, with me taking leave to be there. For Wide Left, we commiserated on the phone the whole game, he in retirement in Florida, me stationed in Alabama. When my phone bill came, I was billed an extra $850 surcharge for the excessive use of the word ‘fuck’. In the Nate Poole game, Dad was visiting me over Christmas, and we took in the game at a local sports bar. For a little guy, he can sure talk some shit to Packer fans half his age and twice his size, and my face almost cashed that check. Nothing like dragging a pissed off 70-something guy out of a bar while trying to avoid an ass beating. I’ve never cornered an angry badger, but I imagine it’s similar. Dad assures me it would have been a character builder. For me, not him. For him, it would have been funny. The only reason that I mention this tortured history is because we will both be at the game, live and in person. That can only mean bad shit will happen. Adrian Peterson will blow out a knee, Jared Allen’s arm will fall off, and Brad Childress will be given a lifetime contract and 50% ownership in the team. At the conclusion of the game, there will be a press conference to announce that the team will move to Pierre, SD, at the end of the season, because, well, there’s a better chance of getting a stadium there than there than in Minneapolis. Vikes are a crushing 3-2, and I'm pretty sure my Dad finishes the character building exercise he started for me at the end of the Nate Poole game. We are in the most dangerous city in America, after all. And my character needs some buildin'.

Week 6: Baltimore—Matt Birk’s homecoming will be an emotional one. Birk was one of my favorite players, but he now wears the purple of the Baltimore Ravens, so fuck him. So much for emotion. Kevin and Pat Williams make him their Scandanavian bitch, and the Vikes roll. At 4-2, Vikes get their mojo back, and am discharged from the hospital the Saturday before, character better than ever.

I'll add a few more games as the days go by, but right now I'm too pissed off at Alfonso Soriano, Chris Perez, and the Cardinals front office for not getting a decent closer in the off season.

2009-04-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

Around the Circuit

Vikings: Looks like the Vikings, as with most NFL teams, are hunkering down and are focusing in on the draft, now less than two weeks away. Although many fans might disagree, the Vikings feel that their quarterback situation was adequately addressed during free agency, and Sagevaris Jacksonfels is their guy. So, what direction do the Vikings go? I was pretty high on Percy Harvin until revelations hit the presses about a positive drug test (high, get it?) at the NFL combine. Oh, MERCY Percy! (If you’ve never heard U of F radio announcer Mick Hurbert call a game, it’s a treat. Oh, my!) Anyways, if recent track record is any indication, there’s a good chance Harvin has been crossed off the Vikings draft board, along with 77 other turds, malcontents, or injury risks. They’ve been red-dotted, much in the same way the Navy Seals red-dotted the Somali pirates, the AAA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As much grief as Brad Childress received for his drafting of Tarvaris Jackson, the quality of Vikings drafts has been as good as anyone in the NFL since they bottomed out with Mike Tice’s last draft in 2005, with not one, but two first round busts in Troy Williamson and Erasmus James. 2006 brought Chad Greenway, Cedric Griffin, Ryan Cook, and Ray Edwards. Greenway and Griffin have become key components for a top notch defense, and Cook has become a false start machine at RT. Seriously, in fairness to Cook, the kid never played tackle before the NFL, and he managed to beat out two veteran NFL tackles to win the job. He’s no All-Pro, but he’s not terrible, either. Give him a little slack. 2007 brought us Purple Jesus, Marcus McCauley, Brian Robison, and Sidney Rice. Rice had a promising rookie season and emerged as a serious red zone threat. He was slowed by a knee injury last season and never looked comfortable, but I think he has the ability to be a solid NFL receiver. Robison and Edwards rotated in at both defensive end positions, and have provided quality depth in Kenechi Udeze’s absence, combining for 9.5 and 7.5 sacks in two seasons. 2008 was a draft that was highlighted by the Jared Allen trade. It was costly, yes, but it netted…Jared…Allen. With their remaining picks, the Vikings drafted Tyrell Johnson in the second round, who looks to take over in the secondary for the now departed Darren Sharper. They also snagged backup QB JD Booty and the heir apparent at center in John Sullivan, a 6th rounder who will try to fill some might big shoes of another 6th round center that anchored the Vikings line for 10 years or so.

So all in all, I have no worries in the Vikings ability to manage the draft. I expect a starter or two, and quality throughout. It has become the trademark for Childress, Spielman, and Studwell, and I tip my cap to them.

Cardinals: It’s only one week, 7 games, making it a small sampling size. But I like this team. With all of the injuries last season, the Cardinals won 86 games. They were in the thick of the pennant race until September, with a patchwork rotation, bad middle relief, and no closer. The bullpen is better, and if Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright can stay healthy, this team will win the division. If Adrian Peterson is the Purple Jesus, Albert Pujols is the Red Jesus, and that was apparent again on Saturday. He’s just Da Mang. With all the angst about Skip Schumaker transitioning from the outfield to second base, he seems to be doing pretty good. I think it’s early to proclaim him a gold glove winner, but he’s made some sparkling defensive plays, and has handled the double play pivot with no serious issues to this point. His hitting hasn’t suffered yet, either, as some thought would happen with such a fielding paradigm shift. The angst over the closer’s role is a valid one. I can’t remember the dreaded closer by committee ever working over the course of a season, but if anyone can put his players in a favorable match up, it’s LaRussa. If Jason Motte can’t handle the role, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chris Perez come back up to the big club to see what he can do. He showed promise last year, and has started off strong down in Memphis.

It’s gonna be a fun year in the ‘Lou.

Well, That Was a Kick in the Junk

2009-04-11T10:48:00.000-07:00

For everyone that is laughing at the Bears for giving up a lot of draft picks for Jay Cutler, and getting an alleged turd in return, I ask you this—would you like Cutler over Sagevaris Jacksonfels? I know I would. I understand that it was a steep price to pay, and the Vikings, after paying a steep price for Jared Allen last season, couldn’t do another trade like that two years in a row, but did it have to be the Bears?

There are few certainties in my life as I age; sometimes those truisms are all you can hold on to in tumultuous times. For example, the annual St Louis Cardinals devastating shoulder injury has occurred, this time taking out Troy Glaus until the All Star game. Whew, glad that’s out of the way. Ohio State always has great running backs. France gets their ass kicked in battle. Illinois politics is corrupt. The Chicago Bears have quarterbacks that are terrible.

You see, the one thing that’s held back the Bears over the years is that they couldn’t find a quarterback that was NFL caliber, which would be okay if they weren’t an NFL franchise. They even made it to the Super Bowl with a great defense and a quarterback named Rex the Wonder Dog. Had they had Jay Cutler on that team, they quite possibly would have won that game.

The Bears have a lot of similarities to the Vikings offensively—good running game, an emerging tight end, and a HUGE question at quarterback. Their wide receivers are bad, but I can expect them to get better simply for the fact they have a better QB throwing to them. The Bears were 9-7 with an average defense and bad quarterback play. Is Cutler worth 2 wins? Yeah, I think he is when you look at his stats and realize that he went 8-8 on a team with a defense that’s slightly worse than some good high school programs. Get a proven WR, like Torry Holt, give him a good running game that will allow Devin Hester to make some plays, and all of a sudden the Bears are a thoroughly dangerous team.

But that dominating defense that is the Bears calling card slipped a little bit last year, and they’re a year older. The Bears have a much better quarterback than the Vikings, but the Vikes still have the better defense, running game, and receivers, making them the more complete team.

If Sage "We Worked on That Trade For Two Years" Rosenfels improves the quarterback play minimally, by just a win, they win the division, but the Bears will be hot on their heels all season long.

Why College Basketball Sucks, and College Football Doesn't

2009-03-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

College basketball sucks, we all know that. Not as bad as the pro game; which is like trying to watch flies fornicate on drying paint while my wife regales me with tales about her latest foray into the cooking of pork chops, but it still sucks.

In college basketball, the entire regular season is rendered completely, totally, and irrevocably meaningless because of conference tournaments. If your team does reasonably well, but doesn’t win the conference or conference tournament championship game, there’s a decent chance you won’t go to the NCAA tournament. Conversely, if your team sucks worse than the movie ‘Mirrors’, starring Kiefer Sutherland, but you magically get on a hot streak and win your conference tournament, you’re automatically in…knocking out said good team annotated above.

In college football, NOTHING matters more than what you do in the regular season…nothing. In college basketball, you can have an off night if you’re North Carolina or Duke, and recover to get a #1 tournament seed. If you have an off night in college football, it reverberates throughout the season. Just ask USC how bad that loss to Oregon State was.

In college basketball, rivalries are extremely watered down, and matter little outside of the teams and fan bases that are playing. Duke beats North Carolina in December? Oh, that sucks, but we’ll get ‘em again in a month or so, thinks the Tar Heel fans.

In college football, it’s often more important to beat your rival than it is to win your bowl game. Ask a Michigan fan how much better their off-season would be had they beaten Ohio State to close out their pathetic, miserable, embarrassment of a season. You lose to your rival in college football, it eats at your soul for a fucking year. Or if you’re Michigan, a decade…BWAHAHAHAHA…Michigan sucks. Ohio State rocks.

For office pools, college basketball REALLY sucks. Worse than Michigan sucks. Worse than trying to be ‘that guy’ and watching the entire ‘Pride and Prejudice’ mini-series over a weekend sucks. If one of your favorites to make the final four loses in the first or second round, you can pretty much kiss that pile of money goodbye. Your favorite to win the magicjack.com bowl loses by a FG in overtime, you can live to fight another day. Unless, of course, you were a complete homer and picked six out of seven Big 10 teams to win their bowl game. Jesus, Wisconsin over Florida State, Minnesota over Kansas…what the HELL was I thinking?

College basketball fans like to point out that a legitimate champion is crowned, and their champion isn’t decided via a popularity contest. Really? The selection process isn’t a political popularity contest? You don’t think Kentucky would have a better chance than North Dakota State? Really?

To those of you that will spend the next couple of days agonizing over ‘bracketology’ and all that it entails, I have one thing to say: Pass the pork chops, honey, and set my alarm for spring practice.

All Sapped Out

2009-03-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

So, Benny Sapp got re-signed. You remember Benny Sapp, because he was the catalyst in what turned out to be the most exciting six play sequence in recent Vikings history. Remember the Bears game at the ‘Dome from last November?

Vikes are down 7-3, early second quarter. The Bears had a first and goal at the Vikings one yard line after a 26 yard run by Matt Forte, and the Vikings held, dramatically stopping the Bears from inside the one yard line on third and fourth down. The crowd went nuts, Jared Allen came sprinting off the field, arms raised in jubilation. The next play, Gus Frerotte hit Bernard Berrian in stride for a 99 yard touchdown pass. The Metrodome was as loud as I can remember it being in several years, momentum permanently shifted to the Vikings, and they won going away, 34-14, taking over first place in the NFC North en route to a division championship.

And it was all thanks to Benny Sapp.

But how, Purple Buckeye? His name isn’t mentioned. Was it the great Benny Sapp that tackled Matt Forte on the one, saving a touchdown?

No.

Was it the great Benny Sapp that plugged an emerging hole at the goal line, stuffing Matt Forte short of a score?

No.

It was the great Benny Sapp that was flagged for a personal foul, blow to the head penalty after in incomplete pass on third down that would have forced a Bears punt. You can’t make it up.

Benny Sapp? Benny Sapp? I mean, let’s put this in terms we can understand. If you’re lucky enough to have a job in this era of hope and change, (because after the last few weeks, I hope I got some change in my pocket at the end of the day), let’s say you were responsible for roofing a building, and the building was scheduled for its grand opening on Friday morning at 7:00. Let’s say on Thursday, ten minutes before happy hour, you take a claw hammer and put 50 holes the size of a quarter in the roof, slap an apprentice roofer on the head, and then sit around while the other ten guys on your crew bust their ass to cover for your mistake and they fix the roof. At the opening the building is hailed as a marvel of modern construction, in spite of your blatant stupidity.

Why the hell should you be retained? Even though the end result was good, you had nothing to do with it. As a matter of fact, your actions almost ruined it! Yet you keep your job, when there are several roofing apprentices that look promising and could probably do a better job by just not putting a claw hammer through the roof.

I’ve gone on record many times supporting the free agency moves and drafts of Spielman and Childress, but this is one move I can’t get on board with. What Benny lacks in self discipline, he makes up for with a keen inability to tackle or cover a receiver. If you can’t cover, you should be able to tackle. If you can’t tackle, you better be able to cover. Benny can do neither, and he does neither quite spectacularly.

This is quickly becoming the off-season of my discontent, which is in stark contrast to the last two or three seasons. If Sage Rosenfels is the answer at quarterback the Vikes are on the very short list of legitimate Super Bowl teams, but the supporting cast is just as important. Sapp has a penchant for excruciatingly stupid plays at the most inopportune times, and what happened against the Bears is most assuredly the exception to the rule. 9 times out of 10 a team that’s given that kind of gift will score the touchdown, and if the Bears had scored there, it’s 14-3 Chicago and the outcome of the game could be very different. Normally, stupid penalties that lead to a score for the bad guys completely deflates a team, but hats off to the Vikings defense for the stunning reversal and a heart-stopping moment that was reminiscent of the Purple People Eaters…all thanks to Benny Sapp??

The defense will carry this team, and they can’t afford to have role players like Sapp take a walk down Bonehead Lane, because it will eventually cost the Vikings dearly.

Underwhelming, To Say the Least

2009-03-05T14:51:00.001-08:00

Well, if you weren't aware, the economy sucks. No, really, it does. But it's not quite as bad as the off-season the Minnesota Vikings have constructed to this point.

They're not in danger of dropping off the cliff into Green Bay Packer suckitude, but let's recap to this point:

1) Two year quest for a quarterback ends with...Sage Rosenfels. You can't make it up.

2) Jim Kleinsasser re-signed. Yeah!!!!! We love Jimmy here at THE Purple Buckeye, and that moves gets a big thumbs up. Glad to see JK will more than likely retire a Viking.

3) TJ Howsyouspellit spurns the Vikings for Seattle. Fuck 'em, we still got Hutch, and Seattle is still full of a bunch of bitchy, whiny, Birkenstock wearing ass monkey tree huggers.

4) Matty Birk sleeps with the fishes, but now in Baltimore. He went to Harvard.

5) There is still no stadium deal.

Of all those happenings, the Birk one was the most puzzling, in many ways. It seemed like Matt Birk, being the man that he is, was able to put his differences with Brad Childress aside and wanted to finish his career in Minnesota. The money he was asking for wasn't ridiculous, and he was very affordable for the Vikings. Yes, Birk's play dropped off some last year, but he was still the best offensive lineman on the team who's name wasn't Steve Hutchinson. Letting Birk leave does a couple of things, and I don't see an upside in any of them:

1) A legiitimate locker room leader leaves, and now someone else has to fill the void. In the darkest days of the Vikings off the field issues with Tice scalping Super Bowl tickets and the Love Boat, he was the "good guy" life preserver that we could look to as fans and find something positive about.

2) The Vikings are now worse on the offensive line, and that's not speculation. One of three things happens now. John Sullivan, a very raw second year guy, could move into the starting slot. If he can do it, I think this is the direction the Vikes need to go. Remember, we were pretty worried when Jeff Christy left for Tampa and the Vikings turned to an unknown in Matt Birk. But Tice was the o-line coach at the time, and head coaching foibles aside, Mike Tice can develop offensive linemen. If he said Birk was ready, then Birk was ready. After the cut and dried Sullivan option, things get muddied up. The next option would seem to be moving college center turned false start machine...I mean right tackle...Ryan Cook back inside. Cook was a very good center in college, and it's a tough adjustment going from college to the NFL and learning a new position at the same time. Cook actually acquitted himself well, for the most part, and he has the size to be absolutely dominant as a center. But if you move Cook, you need a new RT to take the place of Cook. So now, you've got essentially two new starters on the offensive line, and you either move up Marcus Johnson or Artis Hicks, get someone else in free agency (and no one really jumps out), or you draft someone. Either scenario represents a downgrade at this point. The other option that the Strib mentioned was moving Anthony Herrera to center, which seems to be about as far fetched as Skip Schumaker moving from right field to second base...oh wait, nevermind. I think Herrera is one of the more under rated linemen in the NFL, and has been a solid player that plugged a big hole in that line.

Cook was the weakest link on a pretty good line, and moving him back inside can turn him into a potential strength, buit now you need to plug the RT hole. If the RT replacement sucks, you can at least line up a TE to help out, go from a shotgun formation, and run to the left side to help alleviate a perimeter issue like that. If you move Herrera inside and he falters, and the replacement RG sucks, you now have two new guys on the inside that can't do the job, pressure comes a lot quicker, is extremely disruptive, and your offense will have a lot more issues than we've seen since the advent of the KAO.

Maybe Sullivan works out, maybe Andre Smith drops thanks to his WTF combine, maybe Sage Rosenfels blossoms after getting his chance, maybe Tarvaris Jackson realizes his potential with some earnest competition.

But for a team at a critical juncture in their history, and seemingly ascending, now is not the time for maybes.

A Sage Move to Spice up the Offense?

2009-02-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

In the last few seasons, the Minnesota Vikings have done an extremely good job in free agency (Steve Hutchinson, Bernard Berrian), the draft (Adrian Peterson), and trade (Jared Allen) to address areas where the Vikings needed to improve to get them to the cusp of a Superbowl championship.

But for all the effort in trying to upgrade the roster, the quarterback position has been the one area that has been the weak link throughout the Brad Childress era. Entering free agency, the Vikes need to make a splash and add some sizzle and buzz to the offseason. Hopefully that will build some 'Minnesota Momentum' towards a new stadium and the long elusive Lombardi trophy, and to get free agency jump started, the Vikings capped two years of effort minutes into by trading for...wait for it...wait for it a little more...Sage Rosenfels.

Let me say that again so it can appropriately sink in. The Minnesota Vikings, a quarterback away from seriously contending for the Superbowl, spent two years in trading for Sage Rosenfels.

Sizzle? Snap...crackle...pop.

Look, I know that every quarterback option out there has negatives. Kurt Warner is a one or two year option. Ditto Brett Favre, and he's probalby really retired this time. Matt Cassel is probably the best combination of talent and youth, but it would more than likely require a Jared Allen-type trade to acquire him, and the Vikings did that last year for...Jared...Allen. According to Adam Caplan of scout.com, Matt Hasselbeck is damaged goods. Donovan McNabb might be a three or four year guy, but has McNabb, in a similar situation in Philadelhia (good/great defense, solid offense, mostly pedestrian receivers) ever win the Supebowl? And it looks like he's mended fences in Philly, anyways.

But Sage Rosenfels? Sage Rosenfels? Really? He's the answer? If he is the answer, what, pray tell, might the question be?

The positives: He's from Maquoketa, Iowa, about 15-20 miles where almost my entire family is from and still currently live, so he comes from good stock. He has shown ability, but like another quarterback currently on the Vikings roster, he has been maddeningly inconsistent when given an opportunity.

The negatives: He was on the wrong end of one of the most-played highlights from last year, and stop me if you've heard this before: He's a career journeyman, north of 30, a very cerebral, flat line guy that's just expected to manage the game and play mistake free.

With 24 career TD passes, and 23 career fumbles.

Rosenfels is the biggest gamble of Wilf's tenure, both on the field and off, because the Vikings are at a critical juncture in team history. They are tantalizingly close to a serious championship run, and if successful, they will go a long way to securing a new facility in Minneapolis for them to play in for the next generation of Viking fans. Failure to go deep in the playoffs will not help that effort, and a series ofmediocre 8-8 seasons in the near future could be the death blow for the team's future existence in Minnesota.

Matty Birk Sleeps WIth the Fishes

2009-02-12T16:30:00.000-08:00

I generally try not to get too emotionally attached to guys who play for the Vikings anymore. This is not the relative static roster, give or take a few role players, of the Purple People Eaters of my youth, so attaching emotional investment for a guy that will be gone in about five or six years can kind of suck. Free agency has changed the dynamic of pro football, and overall that’s a pretty good thing. As you grow up you realize that pro sports is a bottom line business, and that teams undergo significant upheaval on a regular basis. But from time to time, there’s a player or two that I get attached to, an underdog or a blue-collar type guy that you just love to root for, because you can identify with that person in some sort of way.

Matt Birk has been that guy for me. I don’t identify with him because we went to Harvard. Hell, the only way I’d find myself in Harvard would be by getting lost looking for a strip joint in Beantown proper. I don’t identify with Birk athletically. I was probably the worst starting quarterback in the history of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. I mean, there’s bad, there’s craptastic, and then there was me, hovering somewhere below the high school version of Spergon Wynn. I don’t even relate to Birk physiologically. Where Birk is probably 310 pounds of twisted steel, I’m 210 pounds of chewed bubble gum, and growing at a rate that makes the stimulus bill look miniscule.

But I do relate to Birk in this regard: He got to live his dream, and he worked hard to get where he is. When I was a kid, I wanted to play for the Vikings, my hometown team, but I realized pretty early on that I better adjust my expectations. I did, and made the most out of a 20 plus career in the military. Birk was fortunate enough to get drafted by the Vikings in 1998, but didn’t play. He was primarily a practice squad guy, but hard work paid off, and in 2000 he took over as the team’s starting center, and has been one of the few positive faces for this team in the early part of the 21st century, as they navigated the through Randy “I Made Al Harris My Bitch” Moss, Daunte “I’m a one knee, $10 million QB” Culpepper, Mike “I got Super Bowl tickets” Tice, and the rough waters of the Love Boat.

But now, it looks like Matty B will sleep with the fishes, at least as a Minnesota Viking. Don Vito Childress seems like he wants to move in another direction and get rid of Birk. Hey, it happens all the time in the NFL, but this one hurts a little more. For one, I like Birk, for reasons stated above. Secondly, there really doesn’t seem to be an experienced backup that is ready made to move into Birk’s spot…but we said that about Birk when he took over for Pro Bowler Jeff Christy, so maybe there is. But the part that annoys me is that Chilly is whacking him not for a drop in performance, but because Birk and the coach “disagree philosophically” or something similar. I can just imagine how that conversation went down.

Matt Birk: Coach, our offense sucks, and we need to do something about it. Adrian’s a once in a generation type back, and our defense rocks, but if we can’t throw the ball and keep using AP as a battering ram, we won’t get anywhere, our defense will get old, and our golden opportunity to bring a Super Bowl championship to the good people of Minnesota will evaporate.

Brad Childress: Our offense doesn’t suck. Our offense kicks ass. Didn’t you see my final press conference in 2006?

MB: Really? You run left on first down, run left on second down, throw a screen pass on third down, and then we punt. How is that kick ass? You’re more predictable than a porn movie plot. Guys who were terrible high school quarterbacks know what you’re going to call 80% of the time. Don’t you think if some idiot that writes a little-known blog knows what coming an NFL defensive coordinator might have a clue?

BC: We have Adrian Peterson. And I know quarterbacks. We kick ass.

MB: You’re playing checkers, and everyone else is playing chess.

BC: We had a 99 yard touchdown pass.

MB: Even a blind squirrel can find a nut, coach.

BC: Our offense kicks ass.

MB: No it doesn’t, unless you masturbate to Big 10 football game film from the 1970’s.

BC: I guess we disagree philosophically. Pack your shit.

So Birk crossed the Godfather, and the Godfather took his revenge. Godspeed to you, Matty B. Wherever you land, may it be on your feet, over a football, on an offensive line that wins the Super Bowl.

Just don’t piss off your next boss, okay? (Watch this last link if you're at work...it's the Christian Bale rant...NSFW)

Draft Pick Value

2009-02-09T16:57:00.000-08:00

It seems to me that draft picks are more over-valued now than at anytime in my 40+ years of following professional football. When that happened for the NFL as a whole, I can't say for sure, but I think this might have had something to do with it. For the Vikings, it came sometime after the trade for this man. Now that Matt Cassel has been franchised by the New England Patriots, it seems that at a minimum, the Vikings will have to give up a first round draft pick. If they go the traditional route of the non-exclusive franchise tag, they can sign him to an offer sheet and give up two first round picks, or maybe they can do a sign and trade and negotiate and give up something less. I doubt the Vikings want to go three years without a first round draft pick; long term that's not a smart play. But let's say they get some deal worked out that involves this year's first round draft pick, would that be worth it?

To answer that question, I asked a couple of other questions. If the Vikings did trade a first round pick for Cassel, how long would I expect him to be wearing purple? He'll be 27 for the 2009 season, and realistically, most players start dropping off due to injury or ability at about age 33, give or take. So I should reasonably expect 6 years of productive service. What's productive service? Well, since it's hard to quantify when comparing players at different positions, let's call it starting over 66% of the games your team played, just as a starting point. First round draft picks are expected, in this day and age, to come in and start right away, and guys tyou give up for a first round draft choice are as well, so I think 2/3 of the games started over a six year period is reasonable. I then looked at the draft slot of the Vikings in the 2009 first round, which is pick number 22, and looked at every first round player drafted from 2000-2004 at spot 22 or later and determined how many years they stayed with the team that drafted them, how many games they started, and whether or not there were any Pro Bowl appearances. I have completely disregarded salaries for these players, because really, how does that matter? There are always 53 players on a team every year, and every team is under the cap. Does it matter if we think someone gets overpaid? (That was a rhetorical question...it doesn't).

Between 2000-2004, there were only 53 total picks taken from spot 22-31 or spot 22-32 ('00-'01 had only 31 teams). Of those 53 picks, the average time spent with their original team was 4.7 years. 49%, or 26 of those picks, could be considered starters or guys that gave productive service. 10 of those players, or 18%, made All-Pro with the team that drafted them. So realistically, you can trade that draft pick, and you've got a 50-50 shot of the guy even panning out, and chances are if he does pan out he won't be around for more than five years. If you're really lucky, you'll find a diamond in the rough that will develop into a Pro Bowl caliber player.

So what does this mean? Well, primarily, it means I killed a lot of time doing this research when I could have been doing something productive. But for the four of you that look to this as your football salvation, I think it means that you make the trade. If you really think that this guy is the missing piece, and immediately upgrades your team, do it. If you don't, at best, you've got a 50-50 shot of getting the right guy regardless of position, and other than Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco, quarterbacks aren't first year salvations.

That said, you can't do another Herschel deal. Two first round draft picks is very steep, and will impact the Vikings being able to replenish the roster with quality athletes. As much as a trade for a quality player helps a team, the majority of your team roster is still filled by the draft, so if you keep doing these type of deals, somewhere along the line you get to a point of diminishing returns. The Jared Allen deal was steep, it was worth it, but you can't do an Allen deal three or four years in a row. It was, for the most part, a one year impact, with the exception of a third round pick in this upcoming draft. Allen lead the NFL in sacks, and his added pressure helped cut the defense pass yards allowed from 31 overall to 18 overall. Could that kind of production come from a guy at the lower end of round one? Maybe, but as even as good as Childress, Spielman, and Studwell have been, that would be a long shot. Can you trade off two more first round picks? I don't think so, but another Allen type trade is very doable, in my estimation.

Just don't let Mike Lynn negotiate the deal.

Super Bowl Thoughts and Recruiting

2009-02-04T04:13:00.000-08:00

Hello again. Before we get to my recruiting thoughts, I want to take a minute to talk about the Super Bowl. First of all, I was quite impressed with the game, the telecast, Madden and Michaels, and The Boss was awesome for a halftime show, but I’m a Springsteen fan, so probably no surprise there. And by the way, his 12 minute halftime show was infinitely better than the three hour disaster he gave here in St Louis in October, but I digress. There was one thing that really bugged me about the game, though: The officiating was horrid, and for the greatest sports league in the greatest country in the world, that’s a problem. Would full time refs help? Maybe, maybe not. I’m still not convinced having guys on the payroll all year long are going to make a difference. I mean, do you want them breaking down their performances in March? How does that make them better? No, what makes them better is fines or termination for continually sloppy officiating.

I didn’t really have any particular dog in the fight; I tend to cheer for the underdog in games that I have no vested interest, and I really like Kurt Warner. There’s still a lot of warm feelings for him in the Land of the Arch, and it’s kind of rubbed off on me. That said, with former Vikings Defensive Coordinator Mike Tomlin and former Buckeye Santonio Holmes on the Steelers sideline, I wasn’t at all upset to see them holding the Lombardi at the end of the game. Thanks, Santonio, for making Buckeye Nation so proud! Brought back fond memories of the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and the 2005 version of The Game up in Ann Arbor.

Okay, let’s talk recruiting. I’ve made disclaimers in the past that for the most part, I don’t know beans about recruiting, and after doing some anecdotal research that I’m going to share in just a minute, I don’t think most experts do, either. Ranking recruiting classes before the ink dries on the letter of intent has become the college equivalent of handing out draft grades less than 24 hours after Mr. Irrelevant gets his 15 minutes of fame. I’m going to use Scout.com’s draft rankings and look at the past few Ohio State classes to try and substantiate my argument. My point is to not say that one player was terrible and/or over-rated and another is under-rated, but simply to say it’s asinine to rack and stack 17 and 18 year old kids and proclaim them to be either this or that before they play a game in college.

In 2002, the Ohio State recruiting class was 24 strong, and was considered by many to be Jim Tressel’s best class prior to this 2009 class that is about to sign. Among the 24 recruits were 3 5-star recruits, 13 4-star recruits, and 4 3-star recruits. The three five star recruits were Maurice Clarett, Mike Kudla, and Mike D’Andrea. Clarett, well…tragic story of epic proportions, and had it not ended the way it did, was well on his way to becoming an all-time great. The Buckeyes were just a different team, with a different attitude, when he was in there. Sigh. Mike D’Andrea never panned out, battling numerous knee injuries before ending his playing career in 2006. Mike Kudla had a good senior season after overcoming injuries, a position change from LB to DE, and a bizarre, life-threatening disease that nearly killed him in 2003. So out of those three “can’t miss” guys, Clarett was a horrid miss, D’Andrea was a miss, and Kudla ended on a very respectable note, but didn’t do it for his whole career. Most of the four star guys were pretty good, among them the aforementioned Holmes, Bobby Carpenter, Nate Salley, and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith. But for every Smith there’s a Justin Zwick, a guy that never seemed to get comfortable playing in the harsh spotlight that is Ohio State football. Then there’s one star recruit Nick Mangold, who went on to become one of the better centers in recent memory, a first round draft pick, and will be going to the Pro Bowl.

2003 had one five star guy, Donte Whittner. Yeah, that seemed about right. Whittner had a very good career in Columbus and was a first round pick of the Buffalo Bills. 4 star recruit Luis Irizrry, however, couldn’t saty out of trouble and is in 1-AA. Ashton Youbouty and Kirk Barton were only three star prospects, but sere solid starters and contributors their entire careers.

2005 had a 2 star WR in Brian Robiskie and a 3 star LB in James Laurinaitis turn out to be pretty outstanding, and both ended up playing at least one star above what they were ranked. Maurice Wells was considered one of the hot 4 star RB prospects when recruited, but could never crack the starting lineup, even given every opportunity to do so.

And the list goes on. And it just isn’t Ohio State, this happens with every recruiting class at every school. Except, of course, Notre Dame. Their prospects are all the greatest ever, because they play in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus. And don’t give Charlie Weiss a month to gameplan, because he’ll give up 600 yards of total offense in the Fiesta Bowl.

So just keep things in perspective when the 'experts' sdtart proclaiming one thing or the other about a particular recruiting class. Unless, of course, they sing the praises of Ohio State and how gifted, talented, athletic, and fast everyone is.

That will all be true. Enjoy national signing day.

Mixed Emotions on the NFL Hall of Fame

2009-01-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

It's a good day to be a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, and even a greater day for Randall McDaniel. If ever there was a guy that deserved to be in the Hall of Fame, it was #64.

He was the first round draft pick of the Vikings in 1988, made the all-rookie team, and then the Pro Bowl...every year, except his final season. He was an incredibly durable player, missing only two games in his NFL career. As a guard. Over 14 seasons. He physically dominated just about everyone that he played against, and was the anchor for the 1998 offensive line that protected Randall Cunningham, went 15-1, and set an NFL recors for points in a season. Over the course of his career, teams he played for averaged over 1,800 yards a season on the ground and 14 touchdowns. He blocked for 1,000 yard backs 6 times in his career, and helped Robert Smith to become the Vikings all time leading rusher in the process. I couldn't be happier for him, for the Vikings organization, and Viking Nation. But I do have a few questions I would like to ask:

1) What the hell took so long for Randall McDaniel? He should have been a first ballot guy.

2) Why are Jim Marshall and Mick Tingelhoff still on the outside looking in? It's the the NFL Hall of Fame equivalent of the first OJ trial, it's such a miscarraige of justice. it's a sham. It's a travesty. It's a mockery. it's a...travishamockery.

3) How the hell can Bob Hayes make the Hall of Fame before Cris Carter? I mean, he was such a memorable player I had to look up how to spell the guys name. Did I have to add an 'e' in Hayes, or not?

I mean, Jesus doing jumprope, who the hell has Cris Carter pissed off? He scored twice as many yards, scored twice as many TD's, was a Pro Bowler twice as often, and the list goes on. I understand that Bob Hayes was a veteran's committee selection, so if you want to focus on other veteran's that should have been selected over Hayes (ahem, Tingelhoff and Marshall) I'm still your Huckleberry.

But okay, let's look at the contemporary guys that got selected over Carter. Bruce Smith, the second best defensive end behind Reggie White, never won a Super Bowl, got in on his first ballot. Okay, fair enough. He should have been. But Carter, the second best WR ever behind Jerry Rice, didn't get in on the first ballot? Why? Rod Woodson. Rod freaking Woodson deserved it over Cris Carter? Are you kidding me? Look, Woodson is a Hall of Famer, I'm not saying he isn't, but can you honestly say he was the second best defensive back in the history of the NFL? He's a top 5, definitely a top 10, but I'm sorry, he wasn't as good at his job as Cris Carter was at his--Carter played longer and is the best revceiver, ever, in the history of the NFL who isn't named Jerry Rice. Woodson got in on the first ballot. And that's bullshit.

Finally, Derrick Thomas. Great player, died tragically, had numbers that put him in the Hall of Fame discussion, but again, was he as much of a standout over his career, at his position, than Cris Carter? Borderline maybe.

My point of this rant isn't that those other guys don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, it's that Cris Carter shouldn't be denied entry because of some bullshit belief that there's not enough defensive guys in, they already selected a WR so you can't have another, or there's already one Viking picked and you can't have two in the same class. Why? Show me where it's written that only one WR, one Viking, or so many defensive players have to go in over offensive players.

You're either a Hall of Famer or you're not. Cris Carter clearly is.

Give him that gay ass yellow jacket.

Getting on the QB Carousel

2009-01-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

So I’ve been reading in the blogosphere that the Minnesota Vikings need to address the QB position in 2009, and I agree. You can make an argument that Tarvaris Jackson should be given every opportunity to succeed, but let’s say he isn’t the guy, and the Vikes need to find a new guy to run the show next season. Who would the Vikings sign? Now, I’m not looking at this as a fan who would love to see a certain guy, but as a guy that tries to look at how Chilly, Chris Spielman’s brother, and Zygi will look at it, and go from there.

Matt Cassel—Depending on what the Patriots do with him, I think he’s the guy the Vikes will target. Mr. WIlf has shown no reservations to open up the checkbook, so signing him to a big money contract isn’t the issue. If the Patriots franchise Cassel, now you have to look at doing a deal with the devil (Bill Belichick). Do you give the Patriots two first round draft picks for a guy that’s played full one full season? The Lions did for Scott Mitchell. But that’s the Lions…and it was Scott Mitchell. If you take it, you’re pretty much going all in, because you now go three years without a first round draft pick, when you factor in the Jared Allen trade. By the way, there were a lot of people outside of Minnesota who thought that was a bad trade for the Vikings. Turned out okay, it appears. Would the Vikings catch lightning in a bottle twice, or would Matt Cassel turn out to be just another quarterback who looked really good passing to Randy Moss? I think he’d actually be somewhere in between. No question the Patriots, even without Moss, have a better receiving corps than the Vikings, but the few times I saw Cassel play this year (and they were game snippets, not a complete outing) he seemed to play…older, in a good way, than he is. He seemed to have a veteran presence that belies his youth; that “flatline” that Coach Childress discusses so often when talking about quarterbacks. He reminds me a lot of Brad Johnson, circa 1997-98, and that’s a good thing.

Matt Hasselbeck—He’ll be 34 early into the 2009 campaign, and is coming off of an assortment of injuries that caused him to miss 9 games. And the games he did play in he pretty much sucked, quite frankly, although he was playing injured. But he is a quarterback with a proven track record of success that if healthy, can still play at the Pro Bowl level. Seattle’s wide receivers were a horror shop of injuries this year, and that has to be factored in when looking at Hasselbeck’s performance this year as well. He is a good character guy, another flatliner, and with all things being equal I can see the Vikings making a run at him. He has a more proven track record than Matt Cassel, more veteran presence, which I think weighs heavily into this equation based on the sense of urgency the Vikings have to win now, and he could be had much cheaper than a franchised Cassel. Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell said on the 9th of January that they won’t trade him, but Seneca Wallace played well in his absence, so never say never, especially if the Vikes dangle a good offer in front of them. Seattle needs help, and a couple of mid round draft picks and/or players might look like a good deal.

Donovan McNabb—The Vikings have been an off-season destination rumor for McNabb for a couple of seasons now, but I really don’t see it. Like Hasselbeck, he is a veteran with a proven track record, he has a good relationship with Childress, and would seem like a perfect fit. Had the Eagles gone 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs, I could see Philadelphia seriously consider a change. I mean, they replaced McNabb in Baltimore, they…tied…Cincinnati, and they would have missed the playoffs. But they went 9-6-1…and went to the NFC Championship, which changes the dynamic. McNabb played very well during the post-season, and that made everything that happened during the regular season sort of drift into the background. His post season exploits have probably held off the Philadelphia dogs for one more season, but I’m sure if the Vikings QB and McNabb struggle again in 2009, we’ll be talking about this again next year.

Michael Vick—Speaking of dogs, how about convicted felon Michael Vick? He has serious character issues since, he’s like, in PRISON, really doesn’t show a propensity as a “flatline” guy when he flips the bird to home fans coming off the field, and if he ever does get reinstated by the NFL, will have gone anywhere from three to five (estimate) years from playing professional football. Thanks for playing in the 2009 Minnesota Vikings quarterback sweepstakes. We have some lovely parting gifts for you.

As John McEnroe would say, ‘you CAN’T be SERIOUS!”

Brett Favre—Oh God, here we go. Let me say this before I go any further: If Brett Favre hadn’t played almost his whole career in Green Bay, would you still want him on your team? Last off-season, the answer was yes, if you looked at the situation dispassionately. Favre, like it or not, is one of the five best quarterbacks who ever played, and was coming off of one of the more remarkable seasons in his career, leading the Packers to the NFC Championship. I was all for Favre coming to the Vikings, and I still am, with a couple of caveats. He’s one year older, and is realistically a one year guy for the Vikings. His shoulder is messed up, and if that isn’t fixed, don’t bother. But IF his shoulder is healthy, and IF he wants to play for Minnesota, I say go for it. I think Favre thought he could orchestrate his departure from Green Bay, and when he landed in New York, his give a crap level went down. I don’t think he half-assed it or mailed it in, but he didn’t play with the passion or fire he has in the past. I think he would in Minnesota, and has one good season left in him.

John David Booty—Maybe JDB will be a good quarterback someday; I hope he is. But this is a veteran team that is built to win now, and I don’t think this is a realistic option. You’d face a mutiny on two fronts: One, you throw Jackson to the curb for a guy that’s never played a regular season down, and you alienate him. Two, you don’t necessarily upgrade the position with a veteran on a veteran team, so you risk losing the locker room. I can easily see the locker room split in a Jackson camp and a JDB camp, and that is a disaster waiting to happen. But that said, no one, and I mean NO ONE thought Daunte Culpepper was ready in 2000 after the Vikings failed to lure Dan Marino out of retirement. Still, JDB isn’t an option for 2009 if the Vikings want to seriously contend for the Super Bowl.

But he should be ready by 2012, when the Vikes have relocated to LA.

BUILD A DAMN STADIUM!!!

Random Thoughts

2009-01-24T15:43:00.000-08:00

First of all, to my two or three loyal followers, sorry for the length of time between posts. Real life gets in the way of this stuff too often, and frankly it's kind of irritating.

Vikings Thought For the Day: There is a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth now that billionaire Ed Roski is one step closer to buidling a stadium near the City of Angels. There are a lot of naysayers that think one of two things: foremost, that LA will never build a stadium because LA doesn't want an NFL team there, and two, even if they do, the Vikings will never move. Let's look at those two things a little more in detail.

Even though Los Angeles hasn't been too keen about luring an NFL franchise since the Rams and Raiders left, it's the NFL that wants a team there. There is tremendous amounts of money to be made, and if there is a semi-serious effort to build a facility there, the NFL will bend over backwards to see that it succeeds. Ed Roski is more than semi-serious, and he's cleared a major hurdle. It's not a done deal, but it's further down the rabbit hole than any other stadium effort has gotten in LA.

Most Viking fans think that LA is the only possible destination, and if LA isn't feasible, the Vikes aren't moving. The Vikings are last in the league in terms of value and profitability (they actually went from a $16 million profit to a $19 million loss between '06 and '07) and there is more than one location that would crawl over broken glass to get an NFL franchise in their city. Los Angeles is the pre-occupation in everyone’s mind when it comes to this team re-locating, and you think that if you can somehow cross that city off the list, the Vikings are safe. Not necessarily so. There are plenty of cities that would kill to have the NFL, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Vikings relocate to a city that no one is talking about. Portland, Toronto, Vegas (20-1 longshot there—get it?), Birmingham. Hell, even Chicago wants a 2nd team.
People laughed when the Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis, which was/is considered a cow town. If a city with a decent population wants a team and will build a new stadium, the Vikes will leave, whether it’s LA or somewhere else.

Or how about…London? The NFL sells out an 80,000 seat stadium in 10 minutes, they have a media market that is almost as large as Los Angeles, playing games over there to match a 1 pm EST start means every game in London is in primetime, they have an untapped reservoir of souvenir sales, and a star to market them (AP).

Finally, to those fans that think the Vikes have too much tradition and history with the state to move, I offer up the Baltimore COlts and the Cleveland Browns, two franchises that had a more storied tradition with their cities than the Vikings have with Minnesota. If they can move, the Vikes can move. And they will, if the Legislature doesn't do something.

Still, at the end of the day, when push came to absoulte shove, they got something done for the Twins and Gophers, and I feel they will get something done for the Vikings.

Ohio State Thought For the Day: I got almost nothing. Looks like recruiting is going well, and even though I don't know anything about these guys right now, I'm sure I'll love watching most of them suit up for the Scarlet and Gray in the coming years. 25 years from now, when we look back on the Jim Tressel era, we'll appreciate what he's done even more than we are right now living in the moment.

Cardinals Thought For the Day: Did George Paletta get his degree from Jose's school of Medicine in Grenada or something? I mean, Troy Glaus had shoulder issues late last season, and the Cardinals JUST NOW operated on him??? I understand that injuries are a part of the game, I get it. But is it me, or have the Cardinals had WAY more than their share of bizrre shit happen to their marquee players over the last 4-5 years. Mark Mulder, Chris Carpenter, Scott Rolen, Jimmy Ballgame, Mike Matheny, and now Glaus? The Cards had some power issues before this happened, and now it looks like Glaus will miss the first part of the season. He's a historically slow starter to begin with, so does this mean his power issues will linger into possibly June or July? On the positive side, everything points to Chris Carpenter being on track and ready to go on opening day. But we've been down that road before. Good luck to Mark Mulder, by the way. I heard on local sports talk radio that he was going to throw for a couple of teams this week and that could end up as a spring training invite as a non-roster player. I know there's a lot of anger towards him from Cardinal fans that felt the Cards got screwed in a deal that saw Dan Haren blossom into a star in Oakland, but I never saw a guy work as hard as Mulder did to try and get back into game shape. I wish him nothing but the best.

Vikings Draft Musings

2009-01-15T16:16:00.000-08:00

With a division title under their belt and only a few needs that need to be addressed this coming off-season, the Minnesota Vikings find themselves in a somewhat enviable position as they prepare for the 2009 draft. Unlike years past, where there were almost too many holes that could be plugged with the draft, the Vikings have only a few needs, and it’s almost a stretch to say that. With maybe the exception of the quarterback position, the Vikings enter the 2009 NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting with a pretty strong roster from top to bottom. There are several positions that need to be addressed, but with the overall strength of the roster, the Vikings can go with the “best player available” strategery at the expense of having to reach for a player at a position of need. See Underwood, Demetrius. These needs are in no particular order, and with the willingness of owner Zygi Wilf to spend money for whatever free agent the club identifies as a need, these could very well be taken care of prior to the draft.

QB: Is it going to be Tarvaris Jackson or not? If it is, he needs a backup, unless the legend that is John David Booty will suffice. If it isn’t, there won’t be a Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan in the low 20’s available, and let’s face it, the Vikings aren’t going to draft a quarterback on the first day to be a backup. If you think that QB is your number one priority, make a trade for a proven guy that’s going to hit the free agent market, and don’t half ass it. Whoever you deem the top quarterback on the free agent market to be, go get him. I would be utterly shocked if the VIkes use a first day pick on a quarterback.

OT: Todd Steussie, I mean Ryan Cook, has become a false start machine, which is great if there was a need in the NFL for offensive lineman who twitch more than Michael J. Fox when they go in the set position. There isn’t, so that’s a big drawback for the big man. When the Vikings actually get the ball snapped, his run blocking is pretty good, and in my opinion he tends to get better in that department as the game progresses, but he seems very inconsistent as a pass blocker. He’s a serviceable lineman, but is still sub-par as an NFL starter. Same for the two primary backups, Marcus Johnson and Artis Hicks. All three seem to do pretty good for short periods of time, but none of them can elevate their performance and stay consistent for an entire game, like former journeyman Anthony Herrera has done. On the other side, Bryant McKinnie isn’t going to go to the Hall of Fame, but it’s not his on field performance that is the problem. If he doesn’t get his off the field issues straightened out, he could be facing a one year suspension. Therefore, I think it’s necessary for the Vikings to look for a tackle in the draft.

C: The most unsettled position next to quarterback is the center position, and that is very troubling. Matt Birk has played at a very high level for 10 years, and it seems that the Vikings are lukewarm, at best, to bring him back for the 2009 campaign. As good as the left side of the line has been, it’s the center that makes the blocking audibles at the line, and Birk has been almost taken for granted he’s been go good at it. If the Vikings aren’t going to bring Birk back, then the question remains whether or not it will be Cook or John Sullivan that will take over. If it’s going to be Cook, who was a center in college, that makes the drafting of a tackle even more imperative. If it’s going to be Sullivan, then the Vikings will need to find a backup for him.

DB: CB Antoine Winfield and S Darren Sharper have been great players for the Vikings, but Sharper seemed to have lost a step this year, and with the combination of age and reckless abandon that Winfield approaches the game, he’s down to maybe two years left at the high level he’s playing at. He is north of 30, and has never shied away from contact. The Vikings got younger last year with the selection of Tyrell Johnson, but when Sharper went out in the playoff game against Philadelphia, deep pass coverage took a noticeable drop. Madieu Williams was a significant upgrade over Dwight ‘The Original Stairmaster’ Smith, so the Vikings are drafting both the CB and S position for depth and eventual successor to a proven veteran, although the CB has a chance to be a nickel guy right off the bat, depending on the status of Charles Gordon.

DE: I think this depends a lot on what the status os Kenechi Udeze is. First of all, I hope that he lives a long and healthy life, whether he steps between the lines again or not. If doctors clear him to play, I really, really like the line of Allen, Williams, Williams, and Udeze, with Robison, Edwards, and Evans being the primary backups. Maybe throw Jimmy Kennedy in there, too. He seemed to be okay as a late season fill-in. So, Udeze healthy I think the Vikings bypass DE in the draft, if not, they draft for depth.

If I had to place a bet, I'd say the Vikes address the QB issue through free agency, and my money there is on Matt Cassel. Then they spend the first couple of picks on the defensive backfield and then move to the offensive line.

Of course, all rational bets are off if James Laurinaitis or Malcolm Jenkins are still on the board. If one of those two guys fall to the Vikings, I'd soil myself with joy if the Vikings picked them.

But that's just me.

Random Thoughts

2009-01-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

Viking Thoughts for the Day: Well, I guess there’s going to be an open competition for the quarterback position next season. That’s a good thing, but I hoped it isn’t rigged in the Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals sort of way. Of course, if Tarvaris Jackson had played football like the Globetrotters play basketball, maybe there wouldn’t be a need for an open competition…Not sure who the quarterback competition will be, but if I had to guess it will be someone that currently isn’t on anyone’s radar…I have mixed emotions about Leslie Frazier being in the running for a head coaching vacancy. As a fan of the game, I think he deserves a chance to be a head coach. His body of work over the years shows that he knows the defensive side of the football, and indicates he can make a successful transition from top assistant to numero uno honcho. As a fan of the Vikings, I’d like a defensive coordinator to stick around longer than a teenage baby daddy, because defensive coordinators leave Minnesota with more regularity than a drunk leaves a Wisconsin bar. And is it just me, but do the Vikings have more than their fair share of assistant coaches that leave Minnesota and the success of the remaining head coach elsewhere? Brian Billick, Mike Tomlin, Tony Dungy…Speaking of Tony Dungy, he announced his retirement today, and he got his career started in Minnesota, so I think it’s more than appropriate I spend a minute or two on this…Many of you remember him as an up and coming defensive coordinator that turned the Vikings defense of the early 1990’s into a fearsome unit, but how many of you remember him as the starting quarterback at the University of Minnesota in the 1970’s, or as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers ‘Steel Curtain’ defense? There’s not a lot of guys better than Tony Dungy, and he proved it could be done with a calm voice and a nudge as opposed to yelling and a swift kick in the ass. He will be missed, but you get the feeling Dungy will make a far greater impact in whatever he does next than what he did in football…If I had to lay odds on Gus Frerotte coming back to the Vikings, I’m giving it about as much chance of Kevin James pushing back from the buffet table...

Ohio State Thought for the Day: Goodbye, Beanie, and good luck in the NFL. I wish you had been healthier while you were in Columbus, but thanks for pouring the 55 gallon drum of whoop ass on Michigan while you were here…I don’t think any other Buckeye has a decent chance of being a first day draft pick if they leave early, so I hope no one does. Jim Cordle is okay, but will help himself more by staying. The wildcard has to be Ray Small, but I don’t think he’ll go. He has a good chance to start next year, and if he leaves now he could have that dreaded “attitude problem” tag attached to his name. You could argue that Brian Hartline should leave early because he’s going to graduate in May, but I think that’s the perfect reason to stay. No school to worry about, degree in hand, still on scholarship AND playing at Ohio State? I mean, it’s not like the guy is passing up NFL millions.

Tim Tebow Thought for the Day: This is my usual spot for my Big 10 thought of the day, but as you know, the Big 10 is part of college football, and Tim Tebow is college football right now, so by federal law, I must now rename this the Tim Tebow section. Look, I have nothing against the guy. I want to hate him, and I want to hate Florida, but I don’t. You would think it would be easy to because I witnessed Florida’s dismantling of Ohio State live and in person, but it’s not. You see, all the Florida people I ran across after the game were the most gracios, humble, and complimentary winners I have ever been around. So as much as I want to hate Tebow and Florida, I don’t. I can’t stand the fuckin’ SEC, but that’s something else entirely. So there. And if St Tim of Gainseville played for OSU and got this much attention, I’d be eating that shit up. I’d even offer to have his child out of wedlock. But that’ll never happen because I don’t look like this, he doesn’t play for OSU, and I’m not gay. So really, can we stop with all the ‘Tebow is Jesus” bullshit? Besides, I thought Barack Obama was Jesus. I mean, Tebow just plays football and has questionable mechanics to make it at the next level, but Obama’s gonna pay all my bills. But back to Tebow. He’s good, I get it.

St Louis Cardinals Thought for the Day: I have none. They’ve kind of pissed me off with their inactivity. Do something! Anything! Get a starter, find another bat, just stay away from low hanging fruit!

And the Greeatest Viking/Buckeye is...

2009-01-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, the poll says Cris Carter, and that's a fine pick. But this is a blog about several teams, one of which is in Minnesota. And in Minnesota, apparently, you can vote, re-count, double count, subtract, and do whatever the hell it is you want to to get Al Franken elected, so I'm overturning the result of this poll and installing/declaring Jim Marshall the winner!

Remember, a vote for Al is 2 votes for Stuart Smalley! Look, I was rockin' Jesse 'The Body" as Governor, because as he says, his muscles were bigger than Mean Gene's head, and the dude was a Navy Seal.

Al Franken is just a bad comic who couldn't make it in radio.

And since I live on the Illinois side of St Louis, I know a little bit about chief executive corruption as well. I am willing, for the right price, to install anyone as the "Greatest Buckeye/Viking".

Darrion Scott, Mike Doss, Derek Ross, Winfield Garnett, or even LeShun Daniels will be elevated to the top, so give me a bleeping price.

On a serious note, no one can deny the greatness of Cris Carter. Robert Smith and Antoine Winfield have both had distinguished careers as OSU alum playing for the Vikes, but Jim Marshall holds a special place in my heart, which is why he may have finished a distant second in the poll, he'll always be my personal favorite.

Marshall played in an era that helped make pro football what it is today. His streak of 282 consecutive games is staggering, and it's insulting that the streak was a: broken by a punter, and b: not heralded and given more reflection as said punter approached and then passed it. And he did it at the most demanding position on the field, defensive end.

He went up against, and often whipped, lineman who were 20 and 30 pounds heavier, because he played at abour 230 pounds. And he did it for over 20 years. He has 127 sacks unofficially, because the sack was not a statistic that was kept when he played. He does hold the NFL record for most fumble recoveries, and as a member of the Purple People Eaters, he was a key component in one of the greatest defensive lines in NFL history.

Sadly, when people think of Jim Marshall, they think of this. Not the entire body of work. What they don't mention about the wrong way run is that Marshall sacked Billy Kilmer later in the game and that caused a fumble to set up the winning score for the Vikings. You see, Marshall was often overshadowed by Alan Page and Carl Eller, who are both in the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. But Marshall is remembered for two things, the wrong way run and poor Super Bowl performances in which his vaunted defensive line was manhandled, for the most part.

But for those of you that think Cris Carter is the winner, you have a valid argument, and one that is tough to beat. Carter's long distinguised career included many fantastic highlights, both for the Buckeyes and Vikings. His career stats put him in elite company, and it is a certainty he will be in Canton, sooner rather than later.

But I feel it is almost my duty to let younger Viking fans know about how great Jim Marshall truly was, and how deserving he is for enshrinement in Canton. Remember when it was third down, and the Vikings needed a first down? You knew, just knew, the ball was going to Cris Carter. And you got this sense of excitement, anticipation, use whatever word you want. But the ball got to Carter, he made the first down, you went wild, and life was good.

Well, it was that way with Marshall in the 1970's. When the Vikings needed a big play, a sack, a forced fumble, you knew, you just knew, Marshall was going to be there to make it happen. Either bringing pressure from the perimeter to force an early throw, a sack, or a forced fumble, it seemed that when the Vikes needed to get off the field, Jim Marshall was the guy that made the play.

No, I can't give you any eye-popping stats like I can for Cris Carter, and to a lesser extent, John Randle. But I can tell you that Jim Marshall WAS the Minnesota Vikings and epitomized their hard nosed approach to football in the bruising NFC Central, and if anyone deserves a place in Canton, it is he.

Comparing Mike Tice to Brad Childress

2009-01-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

When Mike Tice took over for Denny Green in late 2001, the Minnesota Vikings were a team in turmoil, but only one year removed from the NFC Championship. Granted, it was the 41-doughnut game, but still, it was the NFC Championship. Korey Stringer had tragically died during training camp, Denny Green had lost the locker room with preferential treatment of certain players, some of Denny’s assistant coaches only had two qualifications for employment-- they kissed Denny’s ass and had plenty of chapstick-- because they didn’t know beans about football, and the defense that had been kept together with duct tape and bailing wire finally imploded. Daunte Culpepper was out for the year with a knee injury, a former wide receiver was a starting cornerback, and Vikings fans were suffering through the Spergeon Wynn era, which was about as painful to watch as Cloris Leachman in one of her dancing outfits. And who are you kidding? You’d hit it.

When Brad Childress took over for Mike Tice approximately eleven seconds after the 2005 season ended, the Vikings were a team that had been the butt of every joke in the NFL for most of the season. The Love Boat had been all over the news, as had revelations about Tice scalping Super Bowl tickets. Daunte Culpepper left his knee and career on the field in Carolina, right next to Fred Smoot’s charred remains. But through it all, the Vikings came off the canvas to finish 9-7, and by almost every measuring stick Mike Tice left the franchise in better shape than when he inherited it. Oh sure, they underachieved, but there was never a dull minute with Ringmaster Mike and those Wild and Crazy Vikings. Tice’s career was as colorful as Childress’ has been bland, but the results, in many ways, are strikingly similar, with Childress having a distinct advantage in one area.

After four years and one game, Tice went 32-33, with a 1-1 post season record.

After three years, Childress has gone 24-24, with a 0-1 post season record.

Tice’s draft record is spotty at best, with 2005 the beginning of the end. The Vikings had two first round picks and whiffed horribly on both of them. I blame that draft disaster on me, because I attended the Vikings draft party live and in person, much like I blame the 2006 Ohio State BCS Championship on me as well. Nothing like seeing old Red McCombs come out and yell “Purple Pride!”, only to be almost booed and fuck you’d off the stage. I was 38 at the time and pissed my pants I was laughing so hard. As usual, I digress. Tice did have some pretty good picks, though, from Brian Williams (who became a pretty good cover corner but was let go in favor of Fred “I’m Steve Smith’s Bitch” Smoot), Bryant McKinnie, Nate “Poison Pill Payback” Burleson, EJ Henderson, and Kevin Williams. But there were a lot more misses than hits, so his draft record can only be described as minimally acceptable to borderline failure, especially considering that 2005 draft. With two first round picks, the Vikings currently have zero players left from that draft still on the roster, and that is unacceptable.

But Tice was a master recruiter, and he got some pretty good talent to sign with the Vikings through free agency. Corey Chavous, Darren Sharper, Antoine Winfield, Pat Williams, and the aforementioned Smoot are his big free agency prizes. Now I admit Smoot was a bust in Minnesota, but the pick was lauded at the time, by no less than the New York Times.

Childress has had his fair share of free agent success as well. He’s signed Chester Taylor, Bernard Berrian, Madieu Williams, Ben Leber, and Steve Hutchinso, all who have had a significant impact on the success of the Vikings

Where Childress has seemed to far exceed Tice is in his ability to draft. 2006 was like winning the lottery for Childress, as five of the seven draft picks have become starters. Chad Greenway, Cedric Griffin, Ryan Cook, and Ray Edwards stand out in that group, and if Tarvaris Jackson pans out, it will be one of the all-time great draft classes in team history. 2007 was pretty good as well, with Adrian Peterson headlining a class that also includes key contributors Marcus McCauley and Brian Robison. The players selected in 2008 don’t really stand out, unless you consider John David “Gino Torretta” Booty a steal. But you must factor in the trade that brought Jared Allen to the Vikings for a 2008 first and third round pick…a deal that Red McCombs would have never done.

Speaking of ownership, when comparing Tice to Childress, that is the one variable that is undeniable, and skews the results towards Tice. While Tice was coach, Red McCombs ran the Vikings much like Ebeneezer Scrooge ran his business, only without the Christmas epiphany. His epiphany was to trade Randy Moss.

What a fucker. A school of business at...Texas. The same Texas that beat Ohio State.

Somewhere, God is pissing his pants he's laughing at me so hard.

Brad Childress has had the luxury of Zygi Wilf, who throws money around like Pacman Jones in a strip club, only in a classy, let’s not shoot people or ‘make it rain’ sort of way.

When Childress has asked for something, either in terms of people, facilities, or coaches, he has received it.

Tice had to pay for repairing the air conditioning at the teams Winter Park headquarters out of hide. No wonder he scalped Super Bowl tickets.

I guess the point of this is that Tice wasn’t nearly as bad as he is remembered, and Childress isn’t as incompetent as he is perceived to be. Unless, of course, he is calling a goddamn screen pass on third and 9. Then he’s a dope.

Both had their shortcomings, and both have qualities that I tend to like. Tice was a guy I would have loved to have played with or played for, and his Monday pressers became must-see TV. And when you factor in the fact he had a penny pinching owner that was cheap on everything, from facilities to coaching staff budget, I think Tice deserves another chance at a head coaching job somewhere that will give him a level playing field. Childress gives off more of the parent vibe, and like my Dad, he pisses me off with some of the decisions he makes, and I don’t understand them at the time.

My hope is that 20 years from now, I’ll realize he was right. Especially if there’s a Super Bowl trophy in the glass case.

Final Thoughts on the Fiesta Bowl

2009-01-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

Well, damn.

A couple of silver linings from the Fiesta Bowl:

I thought overall it was a great game. Ohio State acquitted themselves well and regained some of their tarnished reputation, but take nothing away from Colt McCoy and Texas. That is a great team that many argue should have played for the National Championship. Save for a missed tackle with less than 20 seconds left, Ohio State probably wins that game. By the way, I agreed with the blitz call in that situation. And admit it, Heacock was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. If he blitzes, and the guy scores because of a missed tackle (which he did), everyone scratches their head and says what the hell is he thinking, blitzing in that situation? The only call was to drop into a zone and prevent the TD. If he drops into a zone, and McCoy gets all day in to survey the field, someone gets open and they still might score. No matter how good your corners are, they can’t cover all day with no pressure. Now everyone scratches their head and says what the hell was he thinking dropping into a soft zone? The only call was to blitz and to put pressure on McCoy. You can’t give an All-American all that time. Nope, if the tackle is made, it’s a fairly short gain, Texas has to burn their last time out, and they have maybe two plays left. It’s still anyone’s game.

I’ve read a fair amount of criticism directed at the coaching staff, but my sentiments on that are different. I had no problem with the conservative gameplan on offense for this game, especially with Terrelle Pryor taking most of the snaps. Get too aggressive and make a few mistakes, I think the “here we go again” mentality creeps in and things steamroll against the good guys. What I did like was the Pryor-Boeckman shuttling. I thought Coach Tressel did a great job of realizing when Pryor was starting to get overwhelmed, rattled, go on a cold streak, whatever it is you want to call it, and calling in Boeckman to provide a calming effect with his senior leadership. I wonder if he had done that against Penn State what might have happened…

Speaking of Todd Boeckman, he has made my all-time top 10 favorite Buckeye list for the way he played, and the way he carried himself on and off the field this season. It would have been easy for a guy in his position to fracture the locker room, but he didn’t. He was the consummate teammate and leader, and I hope he is rewarded for his efforts with a job playing on Sundays. If I could paraphrase the junior senator-elect from Minnesota:

He’s smart enough, he’s good enough, and doggone it, people like him!

Now, for the “Tressel Needs to be Fired” crowd: Shut up. Please, you’re embarrassing yourself. Jim Tressel has presided over what is one of the greatest periods of Ohio State football in the history of the program. Do you really want another John Cooper era? Really?

He has been to a New Year’s/BCS bowl in 7 of 8 years, and is 4-4 in bowl games. He has three appearances in the National Championship game, and won it. Until 2006, he beat top 5/10 programs with regularity, and you can argue that with the 2009 Fiesta Bowl that he has turned the corner on the “Big Game Jinx”. He owns Michigan, going 7-1 with a 5 game winning streak, and has won the Big 10 title 5 of his eight years in Columbus. A couple of plays go the other way and Craig Krenzel doesn’t get knocked goofy in Ann Arbor in 2003, and he might be undefeated against Michigan with four NCG appearances and 6 Big 1o titles. Indiana, as an institution, has won the Big 10 twice. Michigan State, 7 times. Northwestern and Purdue, 8 times. Minnesota hasn’t won it since 1967. I find it ironic that a Big 10 championship and a BCS bowl is now considered a letdown. Considering where this program was, I’ll take that all day every day, and twice on Sundays.

I’m not a recruiting expert, but the guys who are say Ohio State has had a top 10 recruiting class four out of his nine years (counting 2009), and with a top ranked 2009 following up a top five 2008 class, Ohio State has the most promising young talent in the program since Woody Hayes was bragging about his 1968 team…at the end of 1967. Terrelle Pryor has huge upside, it seems that the offensive and defensive line issues have been addressed, and guys like DeVier Posey bring WR speed and playmaking ability that hasn’t been around these parts since…Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez, guys Jim Tressel also managed to recruit.

So contrary to popular belief, the sky isn’t falling, Chicken Little. Enjoy what we have now, because whoever succeeds Tressel will be hard pressed to match his achievements. And you’ll probably be bitching about how that guy sucks in comparison to Tressel.

Purple Buckeye One Hitters:

--If I was Beanie Wells, I’m gone. The guy is a beast, but he can’t stay healthy. Make the NFL jump before your stock falls any farther, or you get hurt and don’t even make it to the NFL.

--If Beanie comes back, the running game is in great shape.

--If Beanie goes, the running game is in great shape.

--Randall McDaniel, John Randle, and Cris Carter all made the final 15 for the NFL Hall of Fame voting. McDaniel and Carter are no-brainers in my opinion, and John Randle should be. He has more sacks than any other interior lineman in NFL history, and I think he eventually gets in, but a lot of people look at him as a pass rushing specialist, so I think he has an uphill battle.

--The Cubs sign Milton Bradley, the Cardinals sign a guy with an ERA that was north of 8.00 in 2008. While Milton Bradley is blowing up in the locker room, Royce Ring will be blowing up on the mound. Sweet.

--I do like the Khalil Greene signing. However, I will miss the resistible force (or is it the moveable object) that is Cesar Izturis.

--Off Topic: Although my condolences go out to the Pohlad family, I have mixed emotions about his legacy as Twins owner. Yes, he brought the only major professional sports championships to Minnesota, and he actually got an outdoor stadium deal done, but he was more than willing to sell the team and let them move, and/or contract them for a hefty profit. Marry that up with an unwillingness to keep top flight talent and his legacy is quite a cloudy one.

--2009 NFL Draft: 107 days

--2009 Buckeye Season Opener: 240 Days

--Pitchers and Catchers Report…37 Days

That’s all for now. Take care and thanks to all six of you that bothered to read this.

Well, that pretty much sucked ass.

2009-01-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

Although I'm very disappointed in the outcome of the game, I tip my hat to the 2008 NFC North Division champions. There are a lot of things to like about this team, from ownership on down. Adrian Peterson is a once in a generation type player, an owner that has no problems spending money to bring in top talent, and a dominating defense that is has a championship swagger about them.

But Tarvaris Jackson has become the 600 lb. gorilla in the room. I think it's premature to say that Tarvaris Jackson isn't an NFL quarterback, but there is a sense of urgency about this team that will not allow the quarterback position to remain in a state of flux. Either Jackson is the guy, or he isn't. Fish or cut bait. Shit or get off the pot. Insert your cliche here.

For every bad decision or series of drives that Jackson has, like his horrible interception today that Asante Samuel returned for a touchdown, he has a good series or game that gives you a glimpse into his potential, and makes you think he's the guy, like the TD drive right after the interception. Cool in the pocket, good decisions, solid throws. Or like his come from behind victory against Detroit. Or his 4 TD performance on the road against Arizona. Or his 4th quarter, come from behind victory against the Giants. The kid has shown NFL talent, but at what point does your patience run out?

This is a team that has few weaknesses. There are some key veterans that are aging, like Darren Sharper, Antoine Winfield, and Pat Williams, but they either have one or two years of productivity left or a promising young guy waiting in the wings to take their place. The right side of the offensive line needs some help, the defensive line needs a bookend pass rusher to complement Jared Allen, and...the 600 lb. gorilla.

I'll entrust the Vikings front office on the quarterback evaluation. But the winow of opportunity for this core of Vikings players is as open as it as going to get, so get a guy that can drive this car to Super Bowl glory, be it Tarvaris Jackson or someoene else.

Top 10 Viking Playoff Wins

2009-01-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

With the "Drive for Five" commencing tomorrow, I thought this would be a good time to take a walk down Vikings post season memory lane and take a look at what I think are the 10 best Viking playoff victories in franchise history. I gave more weight in the rankings to conference championships than divisional or wildcard games, but with that said I think we will all agree on what the #1 game is. Anyways, sit back, relax, and enjoy the blog.

10. at New Orleans, 1987 (Wildcard): Vikes 44, Saints 10. The first post season appearance by the New Orleans Saints turned out to be the most lopsided post season victory in Vikings history. The Vikings jumped out to a 31-10 halftime lead, and Wade Wilson hit Hassan Jones on a 44 yard hail mary as time expired in the first half. The Vikes amassed over 200 yards rushing from the likes of Darrin Nelson, DJ Dozier, Alfred Anderson, and Rick Fenney.

9. Los Angeles, 1976 (Conference Championship): Vikes 24, Rams 13. The Rams took control early, but the momentum completely changed when Bobby Bryant went 90 yards on a blocked field goal, and although the Rams got close, the Vikes closed them out in the 4th quarter to send Minnesota to their third Super Bowl in four years, and fourth overall. Chuck Foreman had almost 200 yards of total offense, and the aging but proud Purple People Eaters harassed Pat Haden (yeah, the same guy that does the Notre Dame games) all day long.

8. Washington, 1976 (Divisional): Vikes 35, Redskins 20. George Allen brought his over-the-hill gang to Met Stadium to meet the almost-over-the-hill Purple People Eaters, and the Vikings set the tone early. Brent McClanahan (who would later become part of Viking Super Bowl infamy, but I digress) ripped off a huge run on the first play from scrimmage, and both he and Chuck Foreman had over 100 yards rushing on the day. Sammy White caught a 27 yard touchdown pass that deflected off the back of Chis Hanburger, and it was essentially over by halftime.

7. at Dallas, 1973 (Conference Championship): Vikes 27, Dallas 10. Rookie Chuck Foreman gave the Vikes an early lead, but future dope addict Golden Richards returned a punt to make it close. Two big plays by the Vikings, a 54 yard Fran Tarkenton to John Gilliam pass and a 63 yard Bobby Bryant pick six put the nail in the coffin for Dallas, sending Minnesota to their second Super Bowl in four years. The Gilliam touchdown was my earliest Viking memory, because my Dad got up from his chair and whooped and hollered, and I am proud to say that he passed that family tradition down to me, and it continues to this day.

6. Cleveland, 1969 (League Championship): Vikes 27, Cleveland 7. The last NFL championship was won by the Minnesota Vikings over the Cleveland Browns in a game that sent the "40 for 60" Vikings to what was then called the AFL-NFL Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Purple People Eaters dominated Cleveland, and the Vikes jumped out to a 27-0 score before Cleveland avoided the shutout in the fourth quarter. Oh, when I'm on my deathbed I'll know I'll be going to Hell if I hear Hank Stramm and that whiny little voice say "65 Toss Power Trap" over. And over. And over.

5. Los Angeles, 1974 (Conference Championship): Vikes 14, Rams 10. I remember this being a close game throughout, and Rams quarterback James Harris giving the defense fits but threw two costly picks as the Rams were driving. The Vikes won behind a steady, but not spectacular running game spearheaded by an aging Dave Osborn, #41 in your program, but #1 in your heart.

4. Los Angeles, 1969 (Divisional): Vikes 23, Rams 21. My Dad is getting older, and his memory isn't what it once was, but he remembers this game pretty well. Joe Kapp went and won it in the fourth after he tried to lose it for the first three. The Rams jumped out to a 17-7 lead at the Met. He willed the team to a late fourth quarter touchdown, and Carl Eller sacked Roman Gabriel in the end zone to cap a 10 point, come from behind victory.

3. at New York, 1997 (Wildcard): Vikes 23, Giants 22. Denny 'The Sheriff' Green gets his first playoff win as Vikings coach in a game the Vikings had absolutely no business winning. They looked lethargic and disinterested the entire game, and in the last 90 seconds scored 10 points to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

2. at San Francisco, 1987 (Divisional): Vikes 36, 49ers 24. And it wasn't that close. The 49ers were the #1 seed going into the playoffs, and a Reggie Rutland/Najee Mustafaa 48 yard pick six put the 49ers into a 20-3 hole which they would never climb out of. Joe Montana was so bad that he was benched, and Anthony Carter had 227 yards receiving, which is/was an NFL playoff record. He also had 6,407 yards in punt returns that game as well.

1. at Green Bay, 2004 (Wildcard): Vikes 31, Packers 17. How do I love this game? Let me count the ways. The Vikes underachieved all year and backed into the playoffs after they lost at Washington and Randy Moss walked off the field. No one, and I mean no one, thought the Vikings had a chance. Daunte Culpepper played flawlessly, the defense picked off Brett Favre four times, Randy Moss treated Al Harris like a little bitch the whole game, and then mooned Lambeau. Joe Buck's head almost exploded, I pissed myself I was laughing so hard, and after the decade long media orgasm over Brett Favre, it was nice to see him get his ass whipped by the Vikings. In the playoffs. At Lambeau. Ironically, the Lambeau moon by Moss was the catalyst that lead to his trade that brought the Vikings the Troy WIlliamson pick. What was your favorite Troy Willimason moment?

Oh, and burn in Hell, Red McCombs.

And I can't get out of here without mentioning the 1980 hail mary against the Browns. It wasn't a playoff game, but it clinched the division for the Vikings. Joe Senser and Ted Brown ran a hook and ladder to set up the Touchdown Tommy Kramer to Ahmad Rashad and his one handed catch, and for pure theater, I think it was the most exciting game I can ever remember watching.

Enjoy the game.

Thinking about...stuff

2009-01-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Vikings thought for today: I can’t argue with Peyton Manning as the league MVP, but I expect to see Adrian Peterson win one or two before his career ends. I thought he was a serious candidate to win until his late season fumbling problem, because you can make a legitimate argument that no player is more valuable to the Vikings than Peterson is to the Vikings. I think Pat Williams will play, but Philadelphia never runs the ball, anyway. Still, his presence is needed on that defensive line, as he takes up 14 blockers per play, giving Jared Allen and Kevin Williams an opportunity to have a big day against an effective, but just-a-step-slower Donovan McNabb.

If I was Zygi WIlf, I’d be on the phone to any potential Southern California buyer asking how much. I mean really, fans are so disenchanted with a…division…title…that they don’t want to come watch the first home playoff game since 2000? Add that to the comments of state senator Larry Pogemiller, and the Vikings are pretty much as good as gone. Seriously, when the fan base bitches about a head coach that just won the division title and state politicians literally laughs the Vikings out of the building when a new stadium is brought up, do you really think that the Vikings will be in Minnesota much longer? The NFL would love to put a marquee player like Adrian Peterson in a media market like Los Angeles, and thanks to a fickle fan base and an ignorant legislative body, the NFL will get their wish.

Ohio State thought for today: The Ohio State fan in me wants to see Beanie Wells wearing the Scarlet and gray next year, but a running back can only absorb so many hits before he ends up like Earl Campbell. I appreciate his passion and his determination to leave Columbus with a lasting legacy, but I can’t fault him if he bolts for NFL riches.

I still don’t get how a formation with both Todd Boeckman and Terrelle Pryor in it will be beneficial. Are you going to have them both line up in the backfield? Are you going to line Boeckman up wide and throw him the ball? Really? Are you going to throw him a screen and then send Pryor deep? Run an option with Boeckman and Pryor? I’m not Jim Bollman or Jim Tressel, but I just don’t see the upside here. I’d spend more time coming up with a way to shut down Colt McCoy, but we’ll see come Monday.

The country may have entered an economic downturn earlier year, but the Big 10 has been in a down cycle since January of 2007. Michigan laid an egg against USC in the Rose Bowl that year, OSU got killed by Florida, Michigan then got beat by Appalachian St. in the 2007 season opener, and then OSU got killed…again…but by LSU this time. I submit that if OSU beats Texas Monday, Ohio State gets a large measure of redemption, and the Big 10 will start the road to recovery. But for the conference to fully recover, they need to do better than 2-5 in bowls (assuming OSU wins), and marquee teams need to at least show up against out of conference marquee opponents.

St. Louis Cardinals thought for today: I’ve been patient, I really have. I didn’t have a problem with not spending insane money on the latest and greatest free agent. I think it’s a great idea to rebuild the farm system and get some young, fresh talent. But the terms “low hanging fruit” and “keeping the powder dry” have become synonymous with another word: “cheap”. The Cardinals have now finished in second place for another affordable free agent in Brian Fuentes, and have now decided that Adam Kennedy is the answer at second base as opposed to Aaron Miles or Javier Lopez. I’m aware that Miles isn’t going to go to the Hall of Fame, or even to the Hall of Pretty Good. It’s not the fact that they didn’t sign Miles, who’s value I think is over-rated in the eyes of many Cardinal fans; it’s the fact that they haven’t signed…anyone. I give John Mozeliak credit where it’s due; trading Scott Rolen for Troy Glaus was a phenomenal trade, and giving Kyle Lohse an extension was a smart move. But the Cardinals are over-valuing talent on the farm at the expense of making the club better, and Miles would have been good insurance if Adam Kennedy ends up playing more like Adam Carolla. I get the importance of a good farm system, but at what point does this club become the St. Louis Twins? They’re not there yet, because they have a good track record of keeping marquee (not Marquis) players, but once guys like Chris Carpenter, Rick Ankiel, Yadier Molina, and…gulp…Albert Pujols are gone, the record seems to indicate that the Cardinals will look from within to replace these players, and not pursue quality from the free agent pool.

But man, what progress on Ballpark Village!!

Big 10 thought for today: Yesterday I wrote that to fix the Big 10, you need to add a team, split into divisions, and have a conference championship game. Let me caveat that by saying that works only if every major conference does that, and this becomes the foundation for a college football playoff. If you go that route, the bowls must be completely eliminated. Quarter and semi-final games are played at the higher ranked teams home stadium, with the Championship game played at a neutral site, just like they do in the NFL…and in the FCS. The only potential problem with that is the ranking of the teams. Give it to sportswriters and/or coaches and I think there would be a natural bias towards their region or conference. I can’t honestly say if that exists in the FCS or not, because I frankly don’t care what happens in the FCS. But I haven’t heard a lot of complaining about it, so it must not be too problematic. If you try to incorporate the current BCS bowls as a semi-final and championship game location, you’re asking fans to travel across the country on consecutive weeks, or at best in two weeks, to watch their team play. That’s asking a lot in robust economic times; in an economy like this, it just isn’t feasible for 95% of us. If the NCAA isn’t going to go that route, then just eliminate the damn BCS and go back to the way it used to be, and cut the number of bowls down to about 20 or so. Maybe I’m just waxing nostalgic, but I miss the gluttony of football on New Year’s Day, and I think it stinks that all the major bowl games have been rendered essentially irrelevant. And I might do better than 9-18 on my office bowl pick ‘em.

And bring back the Bluebonnet Bowl!!

But a playoff isn’t going to happen anytime soon. There is too much money in the bowl system for the schools and conferences involved to eliminate them, and that money helps to fund not only football, but other sports that aren’t high revenue producers. A playoff that eliminates the bowls will produce a large amount of money, but only for a select few schools. Secondly, I thought part of the growing disparity between the Big 10 and the rest of the country would be solved by a conference championship, but that’s only part of the problem.

Yesterday, Kirk Herbstreit brought up a great point about the speed disparity between USC and Penn State (and the SEC and the Big 10, for that matter). It’s not the speed at the skill positions, it’s the speed on the interior line and linebacker that is just killing the Big 10. And in the groupthink that is the Big 10, you first play to win the Big 10 first, not the national championship. So do you go and start recruiting a team to play with the USC’s of the world, but might not be physically imposing enough to withstand a Big 10 schedule? Because I submit that if you put Florida or USC up in our climate in October and November and make them play as physically as the Big 10 plays week in and week out, they wouldn’t be as effective as they are on a regular basis.

Thanks for reading, all three of you.

How to Fix the Big 10

2009-01-01T05:34:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!

I'm not nearly as hung over as I thought, and watching the Gophers look terrible, for the most part, has pissed me off so much I have come up with a solution to the Big 10 problem. No, SEC fans, we can't disband it. But we can make it better.

After watching the Big 10 get steamrolled during bowl season so far, it's become apparent that the conference is hurt by two things: Ending the season before Thanksgiving while everyone else plays leaves too much time between the regular season and their respective bowl game, and with the conference out of the limelight for those two weeks while everyone else plays, I think recruiting takes a hit as well. Of course, it doesn't help when you have your 5th, 6th, and 7th place teams playing 3rd, 4th, and 5th place teams of other conferences, but I digress. I am a big traditionalist, so my natural inclination is to not support the addition of a 12th team and a conference championship game, but the time has come for the Big 10 to enter the 21st century and do it, as long as you keep most significant and historical rivalries intact.

So, who should the Big 10 add? I think the most natural answer, both from a geographic standpoint and rivalry standpoint, is Notre Dame. Adding Notre Dame makes perfect sense. They add to an already rich history, the addition is mutually beneficial for both the school and the conference, and they have natural rivalrieas already set up with Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue. And when setting up the divisions, let's be more creative than North/South or East/West. I think the conference should be split geographically along an East West orientation, but let's call the divisions the Great Lakes and the Great Plains Division, because it's cool.

So, breaking down the divisions would look something like this:

Great Plains (West):
Minnesota
Iowa
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Illinois
Notre Dame

Great Lakes (East):
Michigan
Micigan State
Purdue
Indiana
Ohio State
Penn State

In the Great Plains, you keep natural/trophy/historic rivals MN-IA, MN-WI, IA-WI and NU-IL. In the Great Lakes, you keep natural/historic/trophy games with UM-MSU, IN-MSU, MSU-PSU, The Game, and PU-IN. Notre Dame still keeps their MSU and UM rivalry games because they can still play them every year, and then rotate between the remaining four teams in the division. The only real rival/trophy games that stands out as one that is in yearly jeopardy is the UM-MN game for the Little Brown Jug, but you can easily schedule a UM-MN game on a yearly basis. And really, when one team wins the trophy once every 20-25 years, how much of a rivalry is it? The OSU-IL game for the Illibuck isn't a yearly game anymore, either, and there's no real rivalry there, as much as Illinois might think so.

I think Notre Dame is the obvious answer, but they do align with the Big East in other major sports like basketball, so I could see them going to the Big East if they abandon their independent status. If not Notre Dame, I think there are a few possibilities that would be intriguing, and somewhat out of the box. Keeping in mind that a new entry into the Big 10 must be a school that borders a current Big 10 state (Big 10 rule), the pick would come from the Big East or Big XII North. I think Pitt, Cincinnati, or West Virginia would be prime candidates to join. Pitt has an up and coming team, and could renew an historic rivalry with Penn State. Cincinnati football has been revived under Brian Kelly, and they would play a perfect New Jersey Generals to Ohio State's Harlem Globetrotters on a yearly basis. West Virginia fans are still bitter about Rich Rodriguez going to Michigan, so if RichRod can be successful in Ann Arbor, that makes for great theater, and a great rivalry. So let's replace Nore Dame with one of these three teams. Division breakdown looks something like this:

Great Lakes (East):
Penn State
Pitt or Cincy or WVU
OSU
UM
MSU
Indiana

Great Plains (West):
Purdue
NU
IL
WI
MN
IA

Again, most rivalry/trophy games of meaning are left intact, with the main exception of the Old Oaken Bucket game. But again, on a case by case basis, you can schedule natural rivals in different division every year, and rotate the remaining teams through the schedule. But with Pitt in, you would revive a great Pitt-PSU rivalry, and there would be a natural geographical rivalry with OSU. And with kids growing up in Northern Ohio hating the Steelers, it might help recruiting...who knows? Cincinnati has a natural rivalry with OSU, West Virginia with OSU, Michigan, and Penn State.

Let's look west. The Big XII has taken a decidedly southern flavor in recent years, and that's okay...for some. For the old Big 8 crowd, it isn't sitting well. Big XII headquarters was moved from Kansas City to Dallas, and the conference championship game is going there as well, thanks to Jerry Jones and his billion dollar playground. From the Big XII, I see two possibilities, Missouri and Nebraska. Mizzou is a longshot, though, because they have a rivalry in Kansas that is every bit as bitter as OSU-UM. Even though they have a budding rivalry with Illinois, I don't see them giving up over 100 years of the Border War for the Arch rivalry.

So that leaves...wait for it...Nebraska. Yeah, Nebraska. Another powerhouse program on the way to redemption, with only a faded rivalry with Oklahoma keeping them where they are now. And the ruination of the grat Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry was the prime reason that I feel you need to keep OSU-UM in the same division. They only play every few years now, and at one time it was one of the top three rivalries in the country. So if you can add Nebraska, it would look something like this:

Great Plains (West):
Minnesota
Iowa
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Illinois
Nebraska

Great Lakes (East):
Michigan
Micigan State
Purdue
Indiana
Ohio State
Penn State

The only drawback is that there aren't any rivalries that jump out for Nebraska in the Big 10, but Iowa and Wisconsin, the two strongest programs in that division, would quickly become top rivals with the Cornhuskers.

Now, for the conference championship game. It could be rotated throughout the Midwest, and there are some great facilities that can host it. Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, Soldier Field, Ford Field in Dertoit, even the new Vikings stadium, if they ever build the damn thing. But how about, at least in the inagural championship game, you go to Lambeau Field?

You have the Mecca of football (and God I hate to say that) hosting one of the most historic games in college fottbal history. It would make great theater.

Anyways, enjoy the bowls today. And let's hope Iowa, Penn State, and Michigan State can get some respect back for the conference today, and Ohio State can bring us all the way back on the 5th.

Vikes Eagles Preview

2008-12-31T11:15:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, Everyone. Well, Happy New Year's Eve, any way. I'm doing the Eagles-Vikings game breakdown a little early in the week, but tomorrow I will be in no condition to do anything other than bitch about my headache and the Big 10 bowl season, so tomorrow is out. Friday, I have to work all day, so that's out. Saturday I owe to my wife, so no deal there. Sunday is gameday, so that doesn't do anyone a lot of good. So, enjoy:

The Philadelphia Eagles come to the yet-to-be-soldout Metrodome Sunday afternoon labeled the "hottest team in the NFL." That statement pisses me off right there, because it's factually incorrect. They have gone a blistering 4-3-1 over the second half of the season, which means if you're an East Coast, media preferred team, you're on a roll. The Vikings, the team that no one is really giving any credit to, has gone 6-2. Philly's four wins have come against the Giants (impressive), Cardinals (division winner), Browns, and an utterly incompetent Cowboys team that has more problems than Britney Spears. They managed to tie the Cincinnati Bengals, who have been charged by federal prosecutors for impersonating a professional football team, and lost to the Giants, Ravens, and a mediocre Redskins team that really had nothing to play for, while the Eagles had everything to play for.

The Vikings, on the other hand, have had impressive victories over the Giants and Cardinals, beat the teams they were supposed to beat in the Jaguars, Lions, Packers, and Bears, but couldn't get out of their own way against the Falcons and Buccaneers.

So stop with the "Eagles are the hottest team in the NFL" talk. Right now. One win over a team that's more dysfunctional than the "Arrested Development" family does not qualify you for that moniker. Oh, wait. It was against the Cowboys, the media darlings. Never mind.

When the Eagles have the ball: Quite simply, the Vikings must stop Brian Westbrook. Account for him on every play, and don't let him get in the open field. One thing that the Vikings have done exceptionally well this year has been open field tackling. There haven't been a lot of big yardage plays by opponents due to poor tackling, and that must contnue Sunday. Lateral pursuit and good gap resonsibility have resulted in a fundamentally solid defense, and one that doesn't beat itself. Westbrook will get many opportunities, but LB's Chad Greenway and Ben Leber must lead the swarm to the ball, contain, and tackle. Donovan McNabb has had a resurgence this year, and DeSean Jackson has emerged has his top wide receiver threat. He only has two touchdowns, but he averages almost 15 yards per catch. Sean Andrews, Todd Herremans, and Jamaal Jackson will have to deal with the interior line of Kevin and Pat Williams, but I think the key matchup on the line is the battle between DE Jared Allen and T Tra Thomas. McNabb looked terrible in a loss at Baltimore, and he looked terrible because he was under constant pressure. The Vikings defensive line has been able to take over a game at points during the season, and if they can apply heat without a lot of blitz packages from the linebackers and secondary, the Eagles could be in for a long day.

When the Vikings have the ball: It could be a tough day for the Viking offense. Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Johnson will have an elaborate gameplan ready for the young Tarvaris Jackson, and he must be ready. Needless to say, Adrian Peterson will be instrumental in taking the heat off of Jackson, both literally and figuratively. Philadelphia will stack the box, and if Peterson gets it going early, it will help take the pressure off Jackson. When the Eagles do blitz, blitz responsibility will be key for the Vikings. If Peterson and Chester Taylor can pick up the extra man, Jackson will have enough time to find Visanthe Shiancoe, and he could have a huge day. If they leave man coverage on the outside, Bernard Berrian has the speed to beat anyone deep, although the Eagles secondary has Asante Samual and Brian Dawkins, both Pro Bowlers, ready to gobble up any Tarvaris Jackson mistakes. And when pressured he does make mistakes. The key matchup will be Shiancoe against the Eagles linebackers, and wide receiver Bobby Wade against Sheldon Brown. I think the Eagles defense is the classic whole-is-greater-than-the-parts defense. Other than maybe Brian Dawkins and Asante Samuel, no one really stands out, but they complement each other very well and run a scheme that is very disruptive.

Fearless Prediction: This will be a close, low scoring game, and the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win. I expect Tarvaris Jackson to come out skittish and make an early mistake that will lead to a Philadelphia touchdown, but the Vikings will hang around until the 4th quarter. In the fourth, I think Philly returns the turnover favor and the Vikes kick a late field goal to win. Vikes 17, Eagles 16.

And 65% of Vikings fans will still want Brad Childress fired.

So, it begins

2008-12-30T13:40:00.000-08:00

Well, first of all, hi. Thanks for coming to my little part of the Internets. Let's get right to it.

Everybody can just shut the hell up about Brad Childress. I'm not a fan of the run left, run left, screen pass, punt offense, either, but he has opened it up this year, and the Vikings are 10-6. And division champions. And hosting a first round playoff game.

For those of you that don't like Tarvaris Jackson, you are also cordially invited to close your grocery hole. He's come from behind twice to win the Vikings absolutely needed to win late in the season, played well in the Atlanta loss, and dominated, on the road, against a division winning playoff team. I mean really, what more do you want?

As this team enters "the tournament" as everyone likes to call it now, I like their chances. They do two things fundamentally well that is essential come playoff time--they run the ball well, and they stop the run exceedingly well...as long as Pat Williams returns, which as of this posting, looks probable. When breaking them down against Philadelphia, the only significant advantage the Eagles have is at the quarterback position. Although that is the most important position on the field, the Vikings have a couple of things going for them they will help neutralize that advantage. Most importantly, they are at home, and as long as Adrian Peterson can hold on to the ball, they will be able to run, taking pressure off of Jackson. The Vikings have been much better this season at blitz pick up, and if the Vikings can give Jackson an extra second, or if Jackson can step up and buy himself some more time, there should be yardage available in huge chunks. If they can control the clock and the tempo with their ground game, Jackson will be a lot more comfortable. When he's at a good comfort level, he doesn't press, and he doesn't make mistakes. If he doesn't make mistakes, the Vikings win.

I'll be back tomorrow with a position by position comparison, with a prediction on the game's outcome. Later on in the week, I'll look at how the Buckeyes will win the Fiesta Bowl (you, in the back of the room, quit your snickering or you'll go to the principal's office), and review the Big 10 bowl season.

I also want your input. If there's something you want me to write about, let me know. Something you think I shouldn't be wasting my time on, let me know that. But keep in mind, I have final say. I mean, it is my blog, for Christ's sake.