Viking 2010: Get on board or get out of the way
Following the latest in a series of crushing defeats in the NFC title game, we come to yet another crossroads of our Viking fandom. Without re-hashing where we were in 1987, 1998, 2000, or 2009 when our collective jersey was pulled over our heads and we were beaten senseless (kinda felt like Dave), we embark on another journey to the Promised Land. If you read this blog, you're a cynic by nature but a rube at heart so get over yourself, get over Favre being Favre, get over hating Chilly, get over AP fumbling and put your heart on the line for one more year because, well, this could be it for a while. We return all of our starters from last year in one way or another (closed circuit to Sidney Rice "you sir, are a moron") and have an outstanding defense. Your choice is to turn tail and run crying to your mommy or put on the foil and stick 'em!The picture was taken on a walk with my family last Saturday, I call it the "Football Angel of Mercy" who has come at last to bring peace and prosperity to our little patch of gridiron heaven.
10 Comments:
Quick follow up on MCA's Twins post: That number is now 4 in the loss column, black sox fans. Lucky? Really? And having the BoSox absolutely mail it in at home isn't lucky? Jonathan "overrated" papelbon absolutely killed us.
On to the Vikings. I would like to preface this by saying, I am ALL IN! Our window closes after this year (the entire NFL window might close next year), so this is our last, best chance to get to the SB for the near future. Let's do it.
I love the current popular thinking on the Vikes, which has turned every pundit and expert in the nation against them. Somehow, the prevailing wisdom is that we got very lucky last year with our schedule, some lucky bounces, and Favre's mistake-free play. While I will grant you that our schedule was pretty weak last year, and that Favre had his best statistical year ever, we definitely caught a few horrible breaks (Steeler game anyone? AP fumbles, anyone?). Also, how can you just assume that we will absolutely regress to the mean this year? We return essentially the entire team! I guess what I'm trying to say is that I LOVE the fact that all the experts are in man-love with the Packers right now, and that the Vikings are suddenly the chic pick to fail. I won't go so far as to say we'll be under the radar, because that's impossible when you've got our QB, but I like the fact that we're not being penciled in to the NFC championship game again. As opposed to last year, we are probably underrated to start this season. I like it.
Here are my biggest concerns:
1) The offensive line - these guys HAVE to step up. There is too much talent for this unit to suck.
2) Favre's health - yes, he's the NFL's all-time ironman, but he is one bad hit from retiring.
3) D-backs - we are very thin back there right now, with Cedric Griffin still recovering from the torn ACL.
You'll notice that I'm not overly worried about Rice's absence, or AP's fumbles, or many of the things the media is harping on. Our D-line will be great, our Linebackers will be great, and I really believe our offense will continue to put up points. Percy has a year under his belt, and Berrian will step up in Sidney's absence. I also think AP will be running angry this year, which is a good thing. He just needs to combine that with some smarts (e.g. knowing when to tuck it in and go down vs fight for the extra yeard, when to go out of bounds instead of absorbing a huge hit, etc.)
September 8, 2010 at 4:40 PM
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September 8, 2010 at 4:40 PM
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September 8, 2010 at 4:40 PM
I am not so sure that window did not close last year. If it is still open a crack, it will close after this year.
How about Matt Tolbert the last couple of games? The guy has been very un-Matt Tolbert like getting some two out hits and some extra base hits. We usually make fun of this guy so I would just like to give him some kudos while he is doing well.
September 9, 2010 at 10:27 AM
Is it too late to get out of the way? Last night is why I remain a Twins fan first, Vikes second.
Actually, although the outcome kind of sucked, there are some positive takeaways.
1. The secondary held up fairly well, despite the depth issues.
2. AP looked really good.
3. Shank is a stud.
4. Sidney Rice really is turning into a heck of a receiver - witness the total ineptitude of the passing game without him. Maybe all those pundits making such a huge deal out of his absence were actually right for once.
My questions are these:
1. Is Favre done, or just rusty? I'm guessing rusty out of blind optimism, fear for my FFL team, and those two beauts to Visanthe down the middle.
2. Could Berrian be more useless?
3. Related, how much can Harvin step up and become more integral as the season goes along and he gets his sea legs?
4. Does Jared Allen's motor need a tuneup?
5. Why no Gerhart? The other dude backing up Peterson was useless.
If the answer to 1. is "just rusty" and either Berrian gets on the same page or Camarillo takes over as the possession guy and we make Harvin our long ball threat (Collinsworth was right on this last night - Camarillo comes in for one play, bang, 18 yard pickup - why didn't he play more?), we'll get back to scoring some points. As it is, 1 TD/game 'aint gonna cut it.
September 10, 2010 at 9:46 AM
Ok, anger level at Jan' house was moderate. I think while we didn't win, I think we looked good if a little rusty. I'm not worried about favre as his arm is solid, not having rice hurts but I feel like theySll figure it out. Our defense was solid, holding the saints to 14 says a lot, sure we got torched on the opening drive but that was really it. While I think moral victories are worth shit, I don't feel like we are really missing a beat from last year and we'll get better over the course of the year.
BG put it best in a text last night: The reports of the vikes demise have been greatly overexaggerated.
September 10, 2010 at 11:12 AM
I thought the O looked a whole lot worse than the D. You know on those two routes that Favre went deep on and Harvin cut short that Rice would have been going deep. Missing him is going to hurt.
The secondary had a couple of nice open field tackles and someone laid on nice hit to cause an incompletion. I would rather have lost a close one than a shoot out.
Completely different note, my daugher, who is 5 today, had a spelling test yesterday. Mrs. Rts and myself both spaced it so she went into the test without the night before review. She missed 1 word, come. She tried to sound it out and spelled it cum.
September 10, 2010 at 12:41 PM
Gamblor--
where are the picks/Big 10 commentary this week?
September 10, 2010 at 3:36 PM
The picks are on the left hand side of the blog. None of these games I liked enough to put mythical money on but I like ISU plus the points vs Iowa (the road team always seems to take this one), PSU as a backdoor cover vs Bama, Miami and the points vs OSU and SIU to make Illinois look bad (unlined).
September 10, 2010 at 8:00 PM
RTS:
1. Good thing you don't bet for real anymore.
2. Spelling tests for a 5-year-old? Are the PSAT's next month?
September 13, 2010 at 9:25 AM
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