Yup, I’m still alive.
The NFL season is about over and anyone that actually stops by knows that I haven’t written in a long time. Why you ask? Well, sports are kind of depressing right now. W
ith one game left in the NFL regular season the Vikings are playing out the string hoping that no one gets killed before the team can go home for the playoffs. It was a season that started so well and with lots of promise. Beating Carolina, Washington and Seattle to start the season 4-2 tends to do that to a fan. After 6 weeks the Viking were riding high in the power rankings and even the most dour of Viking supporter had a glint in their eye. Of course, fools gold will always be worthless.
After going to Seattle and beating the Seahawks the Vikings then got shellacked by the Patriots. This game was the start of a 4 game losing skid that basically spelled the end of the season. Although not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, most agreed that the Vikings were done. After losing to the Packers for the second time this season (December 21st) even the mathematical door was slammed shut.
What has the season shown us? Well, our defense can really stop the run. Right now the human landslide in the middle of the Vikings defensive line (Kevin and Pat Williams) has held opposing teams to a miniscule 54.5 yards per game rushing. Of course that has only forced those same opponents to air it out a league leading 37.9 times per game for an also league leading 238 yards per game. Makes the average fan like me wonder, is our run defense really this good or is our pass defense so bad that other teams don’t have to run?
On offense things really stink. Minnesota is currently the most penalized team in the NFL with close to 8 penalties on the offense per game. When you couple lack of concentration (penalties) with mediocre talent you end up with the Vikings offense. A Vikings offense that is in the bottom 4 for 3rd down efficiency, top 10 in turnovers, and bottom 3 for reception average. All in all, anemic is almost giving this offense too much credit.
How can this be cured? I think Childress needs to be given atleast one more year. My buddy Todd and I have argued a lot about this. He’s of the opinion that Childress has no business being the head coach of this team. His belief is that although Childress has never been a head coach he has been in the NFL for quite a while and should no how to run a game better. My thought is that he was an offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles before coming to Minnesota. While in Philly he basically didn’t have much input on game day beacause Andy Reid (Eagles head coach) called all the plays. To me this means that Childress was more a specator on Sunday than an active participant.
Does this all add up to Childress being a good head coach in the future? No. However, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and see what he can do next year when he starts to get more of “his” guys in place. If the teams shows that they haven’t learned anything at this time next year then I will firmly be on the bandwagon asking for Childress’ release.
In summary, this year was a pretty normal year for us Vikings fans. There was hope for a while and then everything came crashing down. The mantra “There’s always next year” is again being heard. Same tune, different season.
