I'm spent, but here is your post to rant on. Suggested topics:
--the total ineptitude of the Viking passing game (total ineptitude is not hyperbole, is it? The passing game is awful)
--the questionable offensive playcalling
--the inability of a team dominating the game to score a touchdown
--the great effort of the Viking defense in defeat
--how brilliant Adrian Peterson is, and how long it will be before there is a passing game to compliment him
I'll add one anecdote. As my friend Brad and I were leaving Thunderdome, we stopped at a gas station. Who should walk in to get pop and a snack? The angriest billionaire I've ever seen: Zygi Wilf. I just stood there afraid to say anything for a few minutes: the man looked worn out and just absolutely furious.
i was so so upset last week that i had to lower my expectations of the vikings. they are no different than other years when you know even when things are going good they are not doing enough and will find a way to f it up. only 1 turnover but come on. help travaris out and catch the touchdown shancoe! it may be a long year. so i will keep my expectations low so that i stay sane. i still love them but don't expect much. peterson is great!
ReplyDeleteRunning game and the Defense were amazing, hats off to them. Despite a healthy Bob Sanders for most of the game, Peterson showed the world once again how dominant he really is. The Defense SHUT OUT the Colts for an entire half and most of the 3rd quarter. Hell of a job in my opinion, they brought their game face and stuck it to Manning. The passing game, Shiancoe, Berrian, Wade, and Jackson are all flawed. Berrian may not be getting the best passes thrown to him, but he's not exactly getting any separation either. I still think playcalling is mostly to blame, not so much on the players. It's the coaches job to evaluate talent and devise strategies based on players' strengths and weaknesses to give the team the best chance to win. I don't believe Childress has done that. I don't even think he's done that for Peterson and the running game even despite the success.
ReplyDeleteThis is so hard to watch now, I really had high expectations at the beginning of the year, because on paper this team looks awesome. I'm just hoping for an early christmas present: new QB or a new coach.
Marty Shottenhiemer anyone?
I believe we have the worst starting QB in the NFL. Childress has shown he is not a head coach. His tenure is tied to Jackson and that is not a good thing for him! (Where will those two land next year?) Even Dan Dierdorf knew we would run bootleg on 3rd and 5. Think Indy didn't know it?
ReplyDeleteGus or Booty cannot be worse that Jackson. 0-2 is not the end of the world, but the 2-0 Panthers are next.
Way too good a defense for this team to waste and Peterson is simply the best RB in football. I just wish we could pass so he could really show what he could do.
100 plus yards against 8 and 9 man fronts that do not honor our passing at all.
Jackson was not to blame for today's debacle, the wide receivers were. Anthony Gonzalez made three catches that NONE of the players on the Vikes could make, and that's beyond the dropped passes (Shiancoe's TD!)
ReplyDeletePlus, the play calling is awful. Every 3rd and 3 or 4 in the whole game was a pass. No variation. Tavaris always rolled to his right. The shotgun gave away the pass call every time. Peterson 29 carries, Taylor 4!!!! Why wasn't Taylor in in the fourth?
I'm not giving up on the season, but damn, there are a lot of points being wasted by this team.
Maybe, just maybe, these early losses could save the Vikings' season.
ReplyDeleteThe Viking WRs have not done anything to help Tarvaris Jackson: they're not getting open, and they're not making plays (just think of Shiancoe's dropped TD catch). Still, Jackson is in his 3rd season, and he is not doing anything to suggest he can be a competent NFL quarterback. His decisions are sometimes questionable, his passing accuracy is often terrible, and the playcalling suggests the coaches know he's limiting their options.
But let's say Jackson's playing terribly, but the Vikings still pull out a win today with no TDs. Then maybe, just maybe, the coaches are thinking "See, we can win games like this: gut it out with defense and running, make up for our nonthreatening passing attack." If the Vikes win games like this, maybe it takes the coaches too long to make the decision to go in a different direction at quarterback. But by losing a game like this, it should be screaming obvious that a) the Vikes as currently constructed do not have a competent pro passing game and b) the lack of a competent pro passing game prevents this team from winning.
And thus they may make a change. The most obvious change is at quarterback, but that's not the only change. Jackson just doesn't look like a pro QB should look in his 3rd season: his passes are inaccurate, and his inability to throw well from the pocket and to hit deep passes are both limiting the Viking playcalling and leading defenses to stack up on the one superstud skill position player we have, Adrian Peterson.
So maybe, just maybe, the Viking coaches will realize the team can't win like this, and will make some changes in the passing game. At the very least, I'd put Mills in for Shiancoe: make Mills show us whether or not he can make catches regularly, because Shiancoe has clearly shown us he can't. And then I'd look at how to get the WRs open more. And I'd seriously consider Gus Frerotte (I might even consider trading for Jeff Garcia and starting him after the bye--have I lost my mind?).
There really isn't much we can do to save the season, imo. This problem has been neglected. This team has been in total denial of the QB issue with coaching staff claiming improvement and teammates standing behind him (which is what they should do). As much as I hate to say it I'm already looking at next year's draft. We have to draft for a QB and receivers, TE, maybe some OL. Defense is set, they're a superbowl caliber defense, we need to build this team fast through the draft. I don't know what we could give up for additional picks, but the free agent market is spent, at least for this season. We can only hope a decent QB is on the market next year along with some receivers. Even the Bears' WR, who are a bunch of no-names, look better than the Vikings.
ReplyDeletePV, yes, games like this could save the season by showing the coaches what to do, but games like this also show how stubborn and inflexible of an idiot Childress is.
ReplyDeleteHopefully Wilf was mad enough that he demanded that changes start happening now, or he'll get a new coach.
You should have asked him how Bevell was allowed to leave the stadium with a job.
ReplyDeleteThe O play calling is SO BAD we don't even know what Jackson can do because he is not allowed to play.