Free Agency: Vikings Football; Special Kirk Cousins edition!

It is shaping up to be the decision that could shake the foundation of the Minnesota Vikings for years to come.  Find the right quarterback to steer a fundamentally well-built team on the right course toward Valhalla; in layman’s terms, sign the guy that might reverse nearly 60 years of heartbreak by guiding the Vikings to their first Lombardi Trophy. 

Vikings fans have been through this before.  In a well-remembered tale, longtime adversary Brett Favre donned the purple and gold for one magical season, and one that was anything but.  The less said about Donovan McNabb in purple, the better.  Josh Freeman?  I have successfully repressed that memory.  The current situation is different; while Freeman was a young man who could have stuck around if not for that horrendous Monday night game, Favre’s tenure was a short window-opening, and the window slammed shut on fans’ fingers in 2010.  McNabb was the NFL equivalent of a transitional champion in professional wrestling; someone with name recognition holding the belt until the higher-ups decide “the kid” (or another better quarterback) is ready.

In 2011, “the kid” was Christian Ponder, who ultimately didn’t pan out.  In 2014, the Vikings tried again with Teddy Bridgewater, who began his career in Week 3 after an injury to Matt Cassel (with Ponder still on the team at the time).  The jury is still out on Teddy after a horrific knee injury completely derailed any season he may have had in 2016 or 2017 after a reasonably successful, though not flashy 2015. 

Indeed, the biggest on-the-field crime of the Adrian Peterson era was not building all that well around him.  For a long time, Adrian carried the team to some pretty mediocre records, but without him things would have been far worse.  In many respects, the Vikings have had the same problem as the Packers.  While Green Bay has been recently exposed as a nearly-incompetent offense/team without Aaron Rodgers, the Vikings for several years would have been as incompetent without Adrian Peterson.  While the Packers have only managed one trip and one Super Bowl win with the career Rodgers has had, it is still one more than the Vikings have even sniffed since 1977; yes, the Raiders loss predates the entire Star Wars franchise by about four months.

For the Minnesota Vikings as a franchise and a fanbase frothing at the mouth for “just one before (they) die,” the Minneapolis Miracle— ten seconds which turned back decades of agony for one week— was nice but not quite nice enough.  In a season where the hype built on a weekly basis as every Minnesota fan knew they were hosting the biggest sporting event in the nation and one of the biggest in the entire world, they were ultimately left out in the cold, once again trophy-less and ring-less.  Let the “no rings” and “empty trophy case” jokes fly for another year.

Now, a decision needs to be made.  Free agency looms and the Vikings must decide who to bring back and who to add in order to position the team for another run at glory.  Fans do not want to wait another eight years just to win a playoff game.  Some were in high school when the Vikings beat the Packers in the 2004 wild card game.  Those same people likely sat in their dorm rooms watching the Vikings beat the Cowboys in the 2009 divisional playoff game. 

Oh wait, I’m describing my own experiences.  Moving on…

Losing via Bountygate hung over the franchise like a dark cloud, and the Minneapolis Miracle was the first playoff win for the team since that fateful night nine years prior.  Other teams win playoff games with great regularity, so why can’t the Vikings?

After leading Minnesota to 13 of 14 wins after a mysterious knee injury sidelined Sam Bradford, 

Case Keenum seemed like a solid choice to try again in 2018, but he’s off to a well-deserved contract and likely the starting job in Denver according to the latest reports.  Bradford, who got saddled to an injury-riddled 2016 Vikings team, is being pursued by the Buffalo Bills after they sent Tyrod Taylor to the Browns.           

Drew Brees was thought to be available, but only for a nanosecond, as the Saints signed him to a two-year deal that will likely have him finish his career there.  I am not looking forward to the potential revenge for the MM should the Vikings and Saints make the playoffs and face off again.

In the end, the only option at this point is to make a play for Kirk Cousins, and it sounds likely that the Vikings will land him.  The real question is how do you construct the team for a situation like last year if (God forbid) it happens again?  Honestly, Josh McCown at the right price wouldn’t be a bad option to have around for a year.  Or just keep Teddy as a backup and/or draft a guy.  You need some kind of insurance policy if things go dreadfully wrong.  Last year, the Vikings lost their starting quarterback and almost made it to the Super Bowl because they had such a plan in place.  I don’t think any of us could have predicted such a run for Case Keenum, but it certainly beats the daylights out of the alternative (Aaron Rodgers walks into A. Barr and the Packers’ season goes with him).      

With the NFL news cycle going crazy, free agency truly is the most wonderful time of the year.  Whichever direction the Vikings decide to take, I just hope it doesn’t take another decade to make it back to the NFC title game.

(Edit: It appears likely that Kirk Cousins will indeed sign a 3 year contract tomorrow.)

Super Bowl Week: We didn't bring it home, and now we need a quarterback AGAIN???!

Well, that sucked.  I don’t really have many words for it; the NFC championship game was over from the moment Case Keenum threw that pick-six.  And now the Eagles are playing in what could have been “our” Super Bowl.  We never really had a chance.    

(Okay, maybe that’s a little over-dramatic, but I tried writing this post immediately after the game ended and it was an emotional diatribe about how the Vikings are always a bridesmaid but never a bride and were never going to even make it to the Super Bowl until I was dead and gone.  Writing all of it out was cathartic, but I chose not to save it.) 

It’s just as well the Vikings fell short of “bringing it home.”  No one had ever done it, and now the team no longer has to worry about being the first.  Let that duty fall to…oh man…the 28-3 catastrophe themselves, the Atlanta Falcons.  With our luck, that will wind up happening.  It would, however, be sweet, sweet revenge to win the Super Bowl there on what would be the 20^th anniversary of a certain sordid event in Vikings history.

I, personally, am ready for the big game, but I can’t help feeling like this would all be 100 times more exciting if the Vikings had made it.  Then again, I’m enjoying the relaxing feeling of knowing there’s no chance for the Vikes to go 0-5 in the Super Bowl all-time by losing to Tom Brady.  Better to lose in the NFC Title Game than to think you’re all that, only to fall hard.

The next task for the Vikings will be choosing a starter; which feels like the opening moments of any Pokemon game.  Will they choose Bradford, Bridgewater, or Keenum?  Or, will they keep one of them for depth purposes and go out and catch a wild Kirk Cousins?  From the sounds of it, he’ll give us a chance if he feels the offer is right.  He obviously feels the situation is right.  Personally, I feel like he has huge potential to thrive in an offense with a healthy Dalvin Cook and plenty of weapons plus a defense that will hopefully return to form next year and get him back on the field shortly after he leaves.  That is, of course, if he wants to come here. 

None of this will come to a head until free agency, so that will be the next time this blog gets updated.  Until then, Skol on.     

Week 12: Many Thanksgivings for a big Vikings win?

Case Keenum made a statement on Sunday.  Thankfully, whenever he makes a statement, the Vikings as a whole seem to follow, and they did in a 24-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams, whom everybody was hyping up as the next big thing prior to the game.

The game itself was a grinder; the Vikes only had a couple of great scoring opportunities prior to the fourth quarter.  One was a touchdown for Latavius Murray. The other two featured Kai Forbath doing his best Blair Walsh impression, which is hopefully just a phase. 

Regardless of how part of the game looked, the box score read 24-7 when it was all said and done, propelling the Vikings into the upper level of the NFL with an 8-2 record.  The Vikings already play again today (happy Thanksgiving, everyone) with a chance to go to 9-2.  If they win and indeed build a massive lead in the NFC North, the discussion will begin.  I don’t know about you guys, but I’m dreading this particular discussion: could the Vikings represent the NFC in their own Super Bowl?

I haven’t entertained the thought this entire year, and it’s a first for the team, as they went 8-8 and missed the playoffs the year that the Metrodome hosted Denver and Buffalo.  I’ve preferred to enjoy the season one week at a time, and it’s been a really good one in spite of knee injuries.  As far as the game today against Detroit, it’s a thrill to have the team play two years in a row on Thanksgiving after having not played since the game against Dallas years ago (no, not the famous Randy Moss game, there was another).

I’m simply hoping for a better result this time around.  I mean, half the team isn’t on IR like last year at this time, and the offensive line is simply better than the last two years.  I’m all for what Case is doing, but if this team ever becomes Teddy’s again, I think he’d do just fine behind an offensive line that won’t have him running for his life. 

Here’s hoping we can be thankful for a big Vikings win in a few hours.    

Week 11: Tune in this week for the next exciting episode; Spygate 2: Electric Boogaloo, or Keenum makes his Case!

Well, the decision to start either Case Keenum or Teddy Bridgewater just got a whole lot simpler.  It has been an interesting scenario, to say the least. 

Keenum came out looking like he knew this could be his last game if things did not go well against Washington.  If he was feeling any pressure like that, he handled it extremely well, two ugly interceptions aside.  My main concern coming out of this game is the defense.  Did Washington just give the rest of the league a roadmap to beating the Vikings defense?  The Vikings also thwarted the bye week curse from last season by winning after it.

The team is now 7-2, having won five games in a row.  If this feels vaguely familiar to you, it should; the team did the same under Teddy Bridgewater’s leadership in 2015, his last season in the league.  This team might be better than that team, given the injuries to leading RB Dalvin Cook and Sam Bradford, and they still racked up five wins to climb to first place in the NFC North.

The big storyline this week is the LA Rams.  They are also 7-2, which means they must fall if the Vikings are to be taken seriously as contenders.  This game will likely tell us a lot about both teams.  The other storyline is the fact that Greg Olsen, a future opponent of the Vikings, will be on the broadcast team.  It’s likely that nothing will come of this, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.  If the Panthers stomp the Vikings in a completely unrealistic way later this season (like 41-donut), we will all know why. 

It almost makes you wonder if there’s a conspiracy to stop the Vikings from hosting and playing in the Super Bowl this year.  Almost.  I mean, Bountygate happened.  So anything’s possible, really. 

Though, the fact that the team is actually good enough for a conspiracy to hypothetically happen feels pretty grand.     

Week 10: You say good bye week, now I say hello!

The bye week is over, and here we are.  Lots to talk about in this latest blog post.

There are rumors that Aaron Rodgers could come back for the Week 16 game, which works perfectly as a revenge angle…but the Packers had better win some games in the meantime or it won’t even matter.  There’s that pesky matter of the Vikings being 6-2, and the fact that two of their three NFC North opponents currently own tiebreakers.  

Before they worry about their State Farm Savior, they should think about winning some games first, especially since they would fall to last place if Chicago beats them this coming Sunday.  It’s hard to come back from three losses in a row, never mind four. 

The only way the Packers factor into any of this is if they win some games and the Vikings and Lions flounder.  As for our Vikings, we’ve got a sneaky tough one this week against the Redskins, who are only 4-4 but just upset Seattle.  It’s another important one, like every game, most of all because it’s a road game and the Vikes have a two-game cushion that we do NOT want to lose with the Lions having a tiebreaker over us.  If the Vikings can win these next two games, they will be in excellent shape.  I feel Detroit beats Cleveland, but wins this week and next week would put us a solid three games ahead.

The beauty of the NFL, however, is that nothing is certain.  Even at 6-2, there is a quarterback controversy brewing with the return of “Touchdown” Teddy Bridgewater.  Case Keenum has done an admirable job with the situation presented to him, and I still think the job is his to lose.  The rest of this season is going to be an interesting one, that’s for sure.  With the bad taste of last season post-bye week fresh in our mouths, here’s hoping that this year goes a lot better.

As a final point, I feel bad for Sam Bradford.  Thanks for giving us a chance in 2016, dude, and here's to a speedy recovery and possible return.

In the end, it’s all about winning YOUR games.  It’s a simple concept, really, and the Vikes are in a great place.  Now they need to fight to keep it.

Week 7 (2): The "did Packer fans not watch Bountygate?" edition.

Yes, last week was actually week 6.  Oops. 

Before we move on to discussing Baltimore, the initial question is in the title of the post.  Plus, it's hard for me to have too much sympathy for a fanbase that has been spoiled rotten for the past 25 years on quarterback play and quarterback health.  Without Rodgers to fall back on, possibly for the rest of the season, we get to see how good of a coach Mike McCarthy really is.

Seriously though, Packer fans...unless he makes a miraculous recovery, welcome to the world of practically every other NFL team that doesn't have a potential Hall of Fame quarterback to lead them.  Quarterback injuries happen; you've just been extremely lucky to avoid significant ones in most years.  Vikings fans felt their world come to a crashing halt when Teddy Bridgewater went down to a non-contact injury right before the season last year; there aren't many teams that are unluckier than us.

Anyway, onto Baltimore.  The Ravens at 3-3 are only a game worse than the Vikings, but they honestly don't scare me that much.  Not like the Packers pre-Rodgers-injury.  Also, the Bears beat them last week with a 113 yard performance from their rookie Mitchell Trubisky, which was by design.  Joe Flacco has been on the decline this season, and this is a very winnable game; though I know better than to guarantee anything as a Vikings fan.  Still, the Vikes should win this one as long as they stick to their fundamentals.

Teddy also came back to practice this week.  I think I'll be talking more about him in the coming weeks, though I doubt they'll rush him back to action unless Case Keenum starts to struggle. 

Then there's the London game next week with the Browns...more on that next week.  Here's hoping the next time this blog gets updated I'm talking about a 5-2 team.

 

Week 17: ...we should all be used to this by now...

With apologies to Little Orphan Annie, it truly is a hard knock life for Vikings fans.

Ah, 2015.  David Bowie, Prince, Glenn Frey, and a bunch of other people were still alive, and the Vikings won the NFC North.  Good times, good times.

A year later, 8-8, over 9,000 injuries and a wasted opportunity to truly do something great is all we got.  Though let’s be honest, this season was stolen from Vikings fans.  Teddy Bridgewater falling down and destroying his knee was something that could only happen to the Vikings.  Sam Bradford was a good bandage, but somewhere down the line, it all fell apart and the Vikes could not stop the bleeding.

Despite all of that, the real reason it’s tough to be a Vikings fan is because…they did it.  As of this writing, the Green Bay Packers are division champions.  And unlike the Vikings last year, they’ll probably go on to win a fifth Super Bowl and we will never hear the end of it.  Admit it, fellow fans; you’re more upset about that than about the Vikings collapsing.  I think a lot of us would have forgiven a lost season if the Vikes could have knocked off Green Bay on Christmas and possibly kept them out of the playoffs.  But no, the Packers continue to increase the gap and get another year to make “empty trophy case” jokes.

And I don’t think the Vikings will ever catch up.  Indeed, as a wise man once said, "they have everything, we have nothing."

So farewell, 2016-17 season.  Maybe the draft will be good.  Perhaps the Vikings will find the missing pieces to do well next year.

Or, it could all turn to crap again because Winter Park was built over a sacred burial ground. 

At least the Vikings went 1-0 against the Packers in “our house” in 2016.  Of course, you know they’ll probably return the favor by winning the Super Bowl when we host it next February.    

Boy, it was fun when the Vikings were good last year and in the first five games this year.  How I yearn for those times to return again.  The silver lining is that there won’t be a Blair Walsh vs Seattle moment in this year’s postseason, and that’s about all we can be happy about. 

Ouch.

Well, we beat the Bears anyway.  Here's to 2017.  Maybe we'll be good?

For added effect, re-read this post with this video accompaniment...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Xm7s9eGxU

       

Week 16: Hello Mr. Vikings fan, Merry bleeping Christmas!

Being a Vikings fan is absolutely maddening.  I know, breaking news, right?

The only thing more maddening than watching this team fizzle out in the clutch every single year is wondering how it happens so consistently.  Sports are a cycle.  Sure, some teams remain good for years by making the correct decisions, but even teams considered bad change something whether ownership or front office personnel or simply players and become good for a time.  

The Pittsburgh Steelers began their history as an awful, awful team, but things shifted for them around the 1970s and Franco Harris’s “Immaculate Reception” started a wave of success that continues to the present day, as the Steelers currently possess the most Super Bowl victories in the league.

A rich team history…the Vikings have that, but without the hardware to show for it. 

It’s not like the team does things any differently from any other team.  The Vikes build through the draft, having constructed a strong defense that should have been able to propel the team into the playoffs as division champions again.  The Vikings sign key free agents to provide veteran leadership and depth.  They drafted a franchise quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater in 2014 and got Adrian Peterson in 2007.

So why does this team continue to fold like a cheap suit when it gets anywhere near success?  The Vikings’ last trip to the Super Bowl predates every Star Wars movie ever made.  The team has only had four real chances to go back since (1987, 1998, 2000, 2009), and most of you reading this know how those turned out.

With the way sports tend to cycle from year to year, one figures the Vikings have to have their turn at some point.  Some of the most historically awful NFL teams (Buccaneers, Saints) put together good years and won it all.  No amount of embarrassment over a number of years could keep them from their one shining moment. 

My fellow Vikings fans must feel tortured at this moment because they can look around the NFL and see the exact same things their front office does working for other teams.  The Dallas Cowboys drafted Ezekiel Elliot, who looks like the next-generation Adrian Peterson and they are 12-2, best record in the NFC; something to which the Vikings also laid claim at one point in 2016.  Meanwhile, the Vikings wasted the prime of the actual Adrian Peterson.

The most egregious example of “they have everything and we have nothing” (despite the fact that both teams do things virtually the same way) arrives this week in the form of a Green Bay Packers team that, in a twist surely no one saw coming (/sarcasm), righted the ship after some horrible losses of their own.  Just in time for Christmas.  Oh joy.  Two teams going in completely different directions.

The Packers, of course, need no introduction to Vikings fans.  As the haughtier of Packer fans consistently remind the fans of “little brother,” they have the most combined old-school NFL Championships and Super Bowls of any team.  Titletown USA, they call it.

The Packers have a quarterback who has made a career out of roasting the Vikings defense like chestnuts on an open fire.  They drafted him the same year the Vikings drafted Troy (bleeping) Williamson, though in the Vikes’ defense, Daunte Culpepper was coming off of a career year.  Before Rodgers, there was Favre; a man we all loved to hate, but he would have been our favorite player ever if only he didn't play for that team.

On the other side, the Vikings’ record at drafting QBs is spotty at best.  Fran Tarkenton is a legend and Tommy Kramer, along with Culpepper, was pretty good.  But Tavaris Jackson sucked.  Finally, they got Teddy Bridgewater, only for his leg to practically fall off as he suffered the fluke injury to end all fluke injuries, putting his future in limbo.

In closing, being a Vikings fan is like watching your friend get the hot new toy for Christmas.  It looks awesome and you beg your parents to buy you one…only for yours to wind up being a defective pile of fecal matter that breaks in ten seconds.  Except in this case, no matter how many times your parents get it replaced, it just keeps happening and happening.  It’s like you aren’t allowed to have this one specific toy.

Just like the Vikings seemingly aren’t allowed to have the same kind of success as other teams by copying their model.

Vikings-Packers at Lambeau.  Christmas Eve at noon.  Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst.

(In the improbable event of a Vikings win, potentially taking Green Bay down with them, here is a link that will brag for you!)

Ohhohohohohohohohoho, Delicious!

Week 13: The "I'm done with predicting seasons forever" edition

Amazing how a run of bad luck can completely change one’s outlook on a season.

When this season started, I was so excited that the Vikings got to play on basically every major holiday; they were going to cause Halloween havoc against the Bears, they were going to have roast Lions alongside turkey for Thanksgiving, and best of all, they were going to give their fans a very merry Christmas Eve by potentially taking the Lambeau game for a second straight year.

Did any of that happen, and will any of it happen?  No and probably not.

I’m really starting to think Winter Park was built over some kind of sacred burial ground.  An injury list that would read like a V.I.P. guest list if the Vikings were nationally relevant and a starting quarterback who destroys his knee without even trying in one of the most fluke-ish ways imaginable.  

Every other team in the NFL makes finding a franchise quarterback look easy, except maybe Cleveland.  The Vikings finally get one, and wouldn’t you know it, he may never play again.  Darn the luck.

Chalk up tonight’s Dallas game as one that looked very exciting and even winnable when the season started.  Not anymore.  The Cowboys are a juggernaut this year.  They have found the next Adrian Peterson and Dak Prescott ain’t too shabby, either.  This wouldn’t be that big of a problem if the Vikings were still good.  But they aren’t.  How many more “save our season” games can the Vikings blow before there’s no more season left to save?

The only real hope is that this Vikings team has one more sucker punch left in them.  Indeed, with the way the NFL is, one punch could be all it takes, and we could be looking at an 11-5 team when the end of the season rolls around.

But then I remember this team is cursed.  Maybe it’ll lift when the Vikings move their operations to Eagan.

Week 11: There's still time to fix this...right?

You know, after losing Teddy Bridgewater the way the Vikings did before the season even began, it was foolish to assume this season would come free of drama and anguish.

The same exact story played out again last week; the Vikings blew another game.  Because of this, the Detroit Lions are now in first place in the NFC North via tiebreaker.  Frankly, the only good thing about the past few weeks for Vikings fans is that the Packers are also going through their dumpster fire phase.

The question is, when do the Vikings snap out of it?  The great bounty hunter Spike Spiegel once said "I'm just watching a bad dream I never wake up from."  The past month of Vikings football has felt just like that; a continuous nightmare as the team falls from grace faster than Ken Bone after the internet found out his thoughts on the Trayvon Martin situation.  

The NFC North is now a three team race, but two of those teams look like hot garbage.  There is still hope, though.  If the Vikings can sneak out a pair of wins in the next two games, it would serve as a nice little bandage to stop the bleeding.  

7-4 is still a realistic possibility, and it would put the Vikings back into first place no matter what Detroit does in week 11.  

Aside from hoping for the future, I really have no answers for the last month.  I don't think any of us do.  These next two games are must-wins if this team hopes to make any noise in December. 

If the Vikings can slow David Johnson in any way, there's a chance they take back their momentum with a win. 

Otherwise, the only celebrations on tap for USBank Stadium in 2016 will be had by the 7 high school champions to be crowned when the Prep Bowl concludes next weekend.

Skol Vikings!

Week 7-8 reaction: The spookiest Halloween in some time. Are the Vikings on the decline?

As a Vikings fan, I have been conditioned to brace for certain things.  I'm always waiting around for Cinderella's coach (no pun intended) to turn back into a pumpkin.  How fitting, considering I'm writing this on October 31.

Teddy Bridgewater was supposed to have his breakout season to establish himself as at least a solid quarterback in the NFL.  His passes in the preseason were precise, and even his deep ball showed improvement, which was sure to get the loud minority of fans unsatisfied with his play off of his case.

Then, Teddy got hurt in perhaps the most Vikings way possible (yes, an even flukier way than Taylor Heinicke), and suddenly the 2016 season, as well as the entire future of the team was in doubt.  

Vikings fans know better than anybody (except maybe Browns fans) that it is not easy to find a franchise quarterback, no matter how simple everyone else makes it look.  The Packers can go out and get Favre and Rodgers, the Falcons can get Matt Ryan, the Colts can get Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck, and so on and so forth.

Teams like the Vikings have to wade through 20 guys before finally finding someone who might fit the bill. 

It was supposed to be Teddy.  The hope is that he can play again, at some point.

In came Sam Bradford, and through a combination of him and Shaun Hill, the Vikings went 2-0 including a very satisfying win over the Packers after months of their fans boasting about a ruined homecoming in shiny, new UsBank Stadium.

Then, the Vikings beat a Carolina Panthers team fresh off of losing to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.  Awesome, this might work out after all.  Wins against the Giants in prime time; this time with Odell Beckham in tow (shut down by Xavier “Road’s Closed” Rhodes) and Texans followed.

5-0 into the bye week.  Nothing’s gonna stop us now, copyright 1987 by Jefferson Starship, right?

Something’s gone wrong in the happy-go-lucky world of the Minnesota Vikings.

As Carson Wentz broke out, I looked to the matchup against the Eagles as a potential first loss.  Oh, it happened.  Injuries finally caught up to the Vikings, and Mike Zimmer’s “next man up” philosophy could only go so far before Sam Bradford’s offensive line made Philadelphia look like the 1985 Chicago Bears.

Oh well, we said.  We shrugged it off.  One loss to a team on the rise isn’t the end of the world, right?  After all, the Vikings were in the same position as the Eagles with Teddy two seasons ago, just trying to put some good games together and sell some hope for the future.  Though, Philly might actually make some noise this year.

Well, the future is now.  The Vikings next lined up to play the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, which is always a struggle.  But hey, the Bears were 1-6, right?  Easy money.  6-1, then on to Detroit for 7-1.  Winnable games.  Winnable games everywhere.

*whack*

I wake up from my unplanned nap and notice that the other shoe has fallen.  As usual, I say to myself.  After covering up several flaws for five weeks, the Vikings have gone 0-2 due to a laundry list of problems.  Unfortunately, there is no “quick fix” for what just happened.  For Halloween, the Vikings broke out the 1984 version of themselves and made the 1-6 Bears look like, you guessed it, the ’85 Bears.  In front of the entire nation.  Happy bleeping Halloween.

Again, through my years of watching Vikings football, I have been conditioned to expect such turns of events.  Mike Zimmer’s reputation as a great coach may have taken a hit tonight.  We can only hope that the play of the team improves from here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this team lays another rotten egg at home against the Lions.  Detroit has just become a scary team. 

If the Ed Thorpe curse is real, it must be ending soon, because the Vikings are really getting punched in the mouth right now.  

Then again, if you had told me that this team would be 5-2 without Teddy, Adrian, or an offensive line worth a dollar, I still think I would have taken that; though I would have swapped out this awful loss to Chicago with a loss to a better team, because that was dishearteningly ugly.

Week 7: A Field Trip to Wentzylvania!

Well, here we go…another game that’s tough to call.

Of course, the Eagles looked a lot more dangerous a couple of weeks ago.

But first, a little recap of the previous game.

The bye week took forever to pass.  Seriously, this past week of football was exciting, yet something was definitely missing. 

The Vikings went into the bye about as perfectly as one could expect; 5-0, first place in the NFC North and a string of 20 quarters without a turnover on offense (seriously, that weird fumble-to-fumble against Green Bay is still the only giveaway the Vikes have this year).  Sam Bradford looks great, though this blogger sincerely believes Teddy would have the team in the same place if healthy. 

The defense, of course, continues to stymie the rest of the league and is a big reason for 5-0 instead of 4-1 or 3-2.  Typically, there has been an element of drama in every Vikings game I have ever personally attended.  Houston provided very little drama as the Vikes rushed out to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter.  It was about as relaxed as I ever felt at a game, which is not a bad thing at all (relaxed minus the constant cheering when things went right, that is).

USBank Stadium is amazing and if you have a chance to attend a game or go there for any other reason (second round state tournament games for high school football and soccer are coming up), do yourself a favor and go.

…So when does the other shoe drop? 

It had to be asked.  This is the tradition of Minnesota Vikings football; to occasionally explode out of the starting blocks only to trip and fall just before the finish line.  I’ll spare us the painful memories, because the networks have a thing for showing Vikings pratfalls when the team is actually good.

Philadelphia took a couple of bad losses in the past two weeks and looks about as threatening as Apollo Creed did against Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.  But, when they are on their game, they are as capable as Mr. Balboa himself.  No one has forgotten their Texas-sized whooping of the Pittsburgh Steelers; the team that some thought could win it all this year.

The Vikings are rested, and they just need to go into Philly and play their game.  Carson Wentz may very well be a star someday, but he’ll have to get past the Zim Reapers first. 

Halloween may come early for Mr. Wentz, for all the wrong reasons.  And I may have to restrain myself from unloading all of my Halloween puns now when the Vikings have a game on the actual day next week.

This one won’t be easy, but I think 6-0 is in sight.  Just…don’t go researching what has happened to 6-0 Vikings teams…the results are frightful, but the fire is so delightful.

Wait, wrong holiday. 

Skol Vikings, and fear the Zim Reapers.

Fear the Zim Reapers!

Hello, Vikings fans.  This is a bonus post for this week.  Expect the main post later this week. 

After dismantling Cam Newton and making him look like a rookie, people began to praise the Vikings defense calling them the “Purple People Eaters.” 

You may remember this as the nickname the Vikings defense acquired in the 1970s when they were really, really good.  Drawing comparisons to the past is never a bad thing, but I also feel like that name belongs to Alan Page, Jim Marshall, Paul Krause, and the rest of that team that served as the heyday of the Vikings when we were good enough to at least appear in Super Bowls.

It’s a new era in Vikings football with a new stadium and expectations for the near future are as high as they have been in some time.  Mike Zimmer is doing his best to put the Vikings in a position to succeed for years.      

Not to mention, the defense is really, really good again.    I will always respect Bud Grant and his legacy of putting this team in the national consciousness, but taking the nickname he and his players earned just wouldn’t be right.  We need a new nickname to pay tribute to the monster Zimmer has created.

This blog cannot take credit for creating this name, but we really like it and think it best sums up what the Vikings defense does and will hopefully continue to do.

“The Zim Reapers.”  

Right away, it leaps out at you.  “The Zim Reapers are knocking at your door!”  “Fear the Zim Reapers” could very well be the slogan of the 2016 Minnesota Vikings.  I can foresee some kind of chant involving the Zim Reapers being invented in the future.  Cam and Aaron will be seeing Harrison Smith, Everson Griffen and others in their nightmares for the next month.

I love this name and I heartily endorse it for the nickname of the Zimmer defense that is finally starting to catch the attention of the nation.

Fear the Zim Reapers.

Week 18: Wild Card; on to…uh, Minneapolis!

Welcome to the Division Champion edition of Vikings Cavalcade!  

I was pretty ecstatic Sunday night.  At least, I felt that way after the Vikings properly defended a play that may or may not have happened on time (in slow motion, Rodgers appeared to get the play off in time, but it’s extremely bang-bang and would have almost certainly been carefully reviewed had the Packers scored). 

In a way, ending the game like that was the perfect way for Minnesota to win the NFC North; Vikings fans were extremely upset when the Lions forgot how to play defense on the Hail Mary awarded to Green Bay after what I like to call “the Phantom Facemask.”

After losing to Seattle a few days later, the Vikings fell behind Green Bay in the division race, seemingly for good; and it burned fans up that the division turned on what we thought was a screwy sequence at the end of that Thursday game (and that THEY got to win like THAT and all WE got was a beating from the Seahawks).  

How appropriate, then, that the Vikings showed the Lions how it was done; knocking down one final heave from one of the best quarterbacks in the game today.

After years of Packer dominance (with the Bears winning in 2005, 2006 and 2010 and the Vikings winning previously in 2008 and 2009), does this win signal a changing of the guard?  Or will the teams trade the title over time?  That seems the more likely route, unless Green Bay reverts to 1970s form anytime soon, which won’t happen as long as they have a HOF quarterback behind center. 

My, what a long way we have come from Week One, where most of us shut the television off in disgust and said “Playoffs?  You kiddin’ me?  I just hope we can win a game!”  Well, 11 wins later, here we are.  We get a rematch against Seattle; not a favorable matchup, but we also aren’t missing half of our defense this time.  And speaking of those other guys, I’m not so sure Green Bay got the “easy” matchup, either. 

Kirk Cousins is red-hot right now.  The Redskins are no cupcake, in my opinion.  Yes, they probably are an easier team to beat than Seattle, but not if Cousins has all day to pick apart that defense.  We had a 17 point lead on Green Bay in the third quarter with hardly a contribution from Teddy.  If the Redskins get going, watch out!

It’s just a nice thought at this point, but if the Vikings can get past Seattle and Arizona and Carolina follows the trend of bye-week teams losing immediately, TCF Bank Stadium would be able to go out with a bang hosting the NFC Title game.  I just hope Green Bay has lost by that point, because after the way it ended for them last season, I’m not sure if I want an angry Aaron Rodgers slinging the ball around on the second-biggest stage of them all.  That is, unless our defense could shine again, and have an exact repeat of last Sunday’s game.

Mike Zimmer might not consider it a signature win, but it was.  The Vikings won two Sunday Night Football games in a row (literally) after losing so much under the lights in recent years.  Furthermore, when the people doubted the team after bad losses, the Vikings always seemed to answer the bell and bounce back with a win or a closely-contested loss to show they hadn’t lost their edge. 

Some people doubt the Vikings again as they welcome Seattle.  I say let them doubt, and let’s see if the Vikings can get the last laugh.  It’s the playoffs, where “any given Sunday” goes from oldest cliché in the book to sudden reality.  It’s time to stop being pessimists and believe in this team. 

Bring it on.

Week 17: Return of the Ted-i?

Here it is…week 17 is upon us.

The Vikings have returned to Sunday Night Football in an attempt to rescue the NFC North title from the clutches of the vile Green Bay Packers.

The Packers, fresh off the worst beating of the season (against a team the Vikings nearly pushed to overtime, by the way) need to regroup for a rematch that could result in them losing a treasure they have held for most of the season.

Vikings fans once again have a reason to feel confident, even if Week 11 was a disaster.  Packer fans…well, when you’ve ruled the NFC North since the NFC Central kicked Tampa Bay to the curb, you’ve got every reason to remain confident even when your team looks mortal for the first time since 2008.

Which side’s overconfidence will be its weakness?

It’s finally time for the big one.  All season, we’ve been waiting for the Vikings to beat a good team.  The win over Atlanta is as good as it got, as the Falcons at least were decent when we played them.  Eh, I’m going to count Kansas City as well.  Sure, they were down and out when we beat them, but it wasn’t by much.  The Vikings were the last team to beat KC…they are in the playoffs now.

But, every other chance they’ve had to beat a good team has gone badly with two close losses and a pair of not-so-close losses (Packer game wasn’t a rout; Vikes trailed by 6 in the fourth quarter). In other words, 10-5 is made up of roughly nine wins over mediocre teams, four losses to good teams and the still-inexplicable San Francisco loss that thankfully did not cost the Vikings the playoffs altogether.

Sure, we won in prime time, but this team still lacks that one win that would make people stand up and say, “You’d better watch out for the Vikings; they could win the NFC!”

They could get that win this Sunday.  Much like Week 11, even though Green Bay is wounded, it’s still Green Bay.  A win here would boost Minnesota’s stock exponentially.  Winning the division in Mike Zimmer’s second season would echo Mike McCarthy’s second season when the Packers did the same thing (though to be fair, McCarthy had Brett Favre that year).

The nice thing here is that the Vikings play next week no matter what.  Fans can relax, if only a little at the fact that Aaron Rodgers, if he bounces back here and the Packers beat us for the nine thousandth time in his career, cannot end our season and knock us out of the playoffs in Week 17.

Still, we want that win.  We want that division title.  We just want to beat the Packers, period.  It has 

been 3 long years since that magical game where Christian Ponder threw three touchdowns and 

Adrian Peterson ran through the Packers defense before Blair Walsh kicked us into the playoffs.  It has been so frustrating watching these games the past ten years.  They have been the better team consistently, but in 2015, I feel the Vikings are the more complete team, which made Week 11 all the more upsetting when we lost. 

Once again, Vikings-Packers serves as a measuring stick for the purple.  They’ve proven they can play with anyone else.  The team’s progress the past two seasons has been remarkable if you think about where we were in 2013.  It’s time to purge some demons of the past and do something that even Detroit and Chicago (both teams we swept, in case you’ve forgotten) managed to do this season…beat the Packers at Lambeau Field.

If we fail, it simply isn’t our time yet.  I think we know better than to be overconfident.

Week 15: A New Hope?

Everybody else is referencing Star Wars because of the new film, so I’m just following suit.

It is a period of uncertainty.  A decimated Vikings team has won a moral victory by simply not getting destroyed on national television by the powerful Arizona Cardinals. 

During the battle, the young team appeared to regain the confidence thought lost in a devastating encounter with the Seattle Seahawks.

With the losses fresh in their memory, the Vikings strive to get healthy for a battle with the Chicago Bears… 

Anyway…to celebrate The Force Awakens, I will be doing a Star Wars-ish intro on the last three blog posts of the regular season.

In spite of losing two Thursdays ago, the Vikings may have re-discovered the fight within them that got them to 8-3 before losing twice in a row.  Here’s hoping it carries over into this week, because there are some important things on the line.

First off, because some teams have lost and kept the NFC playoff picture weak, the Bears are not yet dead in the hunt.  Therefore, I expect them to come after the Vikings with all they’ve got.  Jay Cutler, for the most part, is not making the same old mistakes on which he staked his claim to fame.  On the other hand, the Bears just lost to the Redskins.

Because of the way things have shaken out over the past two weeks, even in spite of losing twice, the Vikings can clinch a playoff spot as early as this week with a win and some help.  Typically, people balk at the mention of needing “help” to make the playoffs, but this is a situation where clinching early would definitely be welcomed with a prime time game next week (the place where Minnesota sports dreams go to die) and the looming showdown with Green Bay (which may or may not decide everything).

In case you care that much about “getting help,” the Vikings currently have seven, yes seven scenarios in which they could clinch a playoff spot.  I’m not going to list them here, so head to Vikings.com if you’re curious. 

Adrian Peterson owns the Bears, so I have no doubt he will get his yards and hopefully a couple of touchdowns, too.  What I really want to see is a continuation of the Arizona game from Teddy Bridgewater.  Despite the final play of that game, Teddy looked great throughout the evening and showed flashes of the quarterback we all hope he can be.  If he can come out and shred the Bears, there’s a good chance this team goes to 9-5 and possibly clinches a berth (surely one of those seven things has to happen, right?). 

Above all else, the Vikings need to take care of business on their own end.  All year long, the Vikings have been a team that knows how to take care of business…at least against mediocre teams.  The Bears are 5-8; this is no time for a letdown. 

The Force has awakened in theaters this weekend…let’s see if our favorite football team can do the same.  Is the Force strong in this family?

Week 13: The Vikings, the Seahawks, and the race to stay in first place!

Before I start the usual weekend Cavalcade post, I want to get one thing off my chest.

Regardless of how things went in that Green Bay-Detroit game, I want to ask the NFL one question: do you actually care about the safety of all of your players?  Or do you only care about protecting your sacred cow superstars?  I’m just saying, that facemask penalty on the Lions was the weakest I’ve ever seen.  Meanwhile, the Packers almost decapitated Teddy Bridgewater in Week 11…and nothing. 

Never mind…I think I just got my answer.

Anyway…let’s move on to more important things.  Are the Vikings feeling much pressure right now?  They are an up-and-coming team, whereas the Packers have been consistently good ever since the NFC North came into existence.  Everyone else has been up-and-down.  Thus, it’s always easy to say the Packers will win the division.  It’s clear the Packers are feeling pressure despite winning Thursday.

The Vikings are 8-3 coming into Sunday’s game.  It’s a huge one.  They’re all huge coming down the stretch, as the Vikes try to steal the division from the team that has owned it throughout its 13 year history.  Seattle appears to be finding its late-season form.  The defense ain’t what it used to be, but apparently the offense has hit its stride after shredding Pittsburgh.  On our side, we appear to be getting our hitman back, but Andrew Sendejo is still injured, which means we may get my personal wish of a Smith-Exum backfield.

Here’s a chance for the Vikings to make a major statement.  I’m not saying they have to win by 30 points…this offense isn’t built that way.  Just get a win to stay in first place.  I’m looking forward to an incredibly gritty game, because this Vikings defense has been consistently good this season.  As far as score…well, you know this blog never predicts scores; we leave that to everyone else.

I just know I do NOT want to hand first place back to the Packers after the “Phantom Facemask” incident, so the Vikings need to rise up and beat the Seahawks.  So let’s go, Vikings.  Show the league we are 8-3 for a reason and go to 9-3.  If the Vikings win Sunday, you’ve got to think only a major meltdown could keep them out of the postseason.  It’s simple…to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and the Hawks are pretty close to the best.  They should have been back-to-back champions.

Sunday is yet another chance for the Vikings (who have no doubt already pleased the fans just by winning enough games to start December relevant) to prove they are ready for bigger and better things.  

Let’s do it.  SKOL Vikings!

Vikings vs Packers: Little Brown Jug 2.0? The slow and painful death of a once-great rivalry.

Well…that Vikings game against the Packers certainly…existed.

With the puke in my sink as my witness, I have to say that we saw one of the worst losses in all of Border Battle history on Sunday.

What made this one so bad?  Was it the fact that the Vikings were more than willing to be the slump-buster for a wounded Packers team that fell behind them in the standings after an inexplicable loss to Detroit last week, handing back the keys to the NFC North in the process? 

Was it the seemingly one-sided officiating?  Yes, the Vikings’ penalties were mostly self-inflicted, but the Packers got off scot free with quite a lot (like nearly decapitating Teddy on a facemask). 

Or was it the fact that at 7-2, the Vikings had finally begun to look like a professional football team for the first time since 2012 (possibly 2009), only to lose badly to Green Bay and make all of this progress seem like a total fluke? 

It’s likely a combination of all three.  That, and there’s the fact that with so many green and gold fans living in Minnesota, the taunting certainly won’t stop anytime soon.  “We have Super Bowls and you don’t!”  “We have Aaron Rodgers and you don’t!”  “You thought you could actually beat us?  That’s cute!”  They might even steal a great line from Dodgeball; “We’re better than you, and we know it!”

Ahem…getting back to my earlier point, I think the worst part about losing to the Packers for the 15^th time in 20 games since 2006 is that the Vikings proved once again beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are simply not ready for the spotlight (though let’s be honest, this team’s entire history is built around not being ready for prime time).

This team can win games.  They proved that by winning seven of eight after that awful MNF loss to begin the season.  You can say whatever you want about “getting fat” on mediocre/bad teams; the Vikings are finally decent at winning games again.

What we wanted to see was progress.  A win against the Packers would have sent the Vikings’ playoff stock skyrocketing.  As I said last week, even a win over a wounded Packers team would have been huge.  It would have also provided the confidence to beat just about any of the tougher teams on the back seven (Atlanta, Arizona, etc).  If the Vikings are going to become a premier team in this league, they must be able to defeat the team that has run the NFC North since its inception in 2002 when the realignment happened.

By choking away such a huge chance on Sunday with awful line play and inexcusable penalties that we weren’t taking in previous weeks, fans will surely enter this week moaning, “If we can’t beat the Packers, how can we expect to beat Atlanta or Arizona or Seattle?”

The biggest question the Vikings need to answer beginning next Sunday at Atlanta is this; are the Packers just an Achilles heel like the Yankees to the Twins or the BlackHawks to the Wild? Or is this team lacking the ability to beat the elite? 

If the answer to the first question is yes, the Vikes might be able to do just enough to avoid a season’s on the line situation at Lambeau Field in Week 17.  After Week 11’s pathetic showing, it's clear we want no part of that.

Rising Vikes vs Slumping Pack: Who takes first place?

And so it begins…the tough part of the schedule.  Green Bay twice, Arizona, Seattle, Chicago (which might get very interesting the second time around if the Bears keep winning games), Atlanta and the New York Giants.

After a 7-2 start, that schedule does not look as brutal as it once did.  However, those other games will have to wait.  After all, it’s Packer week.

Things have been going well for the Vikings lately.  Players seem to get nominated as “player of the week” after every game, and winning that honor quite a bit.  Terrence Newman is the most recent recipient on the defensive side after scoring two huge interceptions.  His second one came at a critical time, as a third Derek Carr touchdown might have given Oakland a late chance to come from behind and beat the Vikings.  Of course, All Day sealed the deal with another “HE’S LOOSE!” run for a touchdown.

The Vikings are on a five game winning streak.  The defense is becoming more legitimate with each passing week.  You can say what you want about “feasting on bad teams,” but I’ll take it because the Vikes used to lose to some of those teams (like in the opener this year).  The team is 5-0 since a game in which it had a legitimate shot to beat Denver way before Andrew Luck did.

Historically, this is the point where it all comes crashing down.  But, the Vikings seem to be adopting a Marty McFly attitude (“Yeah, well, history is gonna change”). 

One thing I doubt many people saw coming in the March to the Border Battle was what happened to the Packers the past few weeks.  As the Vikings beat Kansas City and Detroit, the Packers kept a steady hold on the division lead at 6-0 while the Vikings sat at 4-2.  The next week, the Vikings finally won at Soldier Field for the first time since 2007 while the Packers got stomped by Denver.  Minnesota won again in overtime against the Rams the next week to go to 6-2.  The Packers lost to Carolina 37-29, and suddenly Green Bay stared the “inferior” Vikings straight in the face.

Typically, Aaron Rodgers bounces back from one loss.  He usually doesn’t lose two in a row.  He most certainly doesn’t lose three in a row…right?  Wrong.  In a game that apparently wasn’t televised outside the Wisconsin and Michigan markets (Vikings fans see the Packers almost as often as their own team most seasons), the Packers lost at home against the previously 1-7 Lions for the first time since the first Bush administration.  The Vikings took care of Oakland, as previously mentioned, to claim sole possession of first place.

The Vikings come into the first Packers game in a rare position.  Green Bay is in a slump the likes of which Aaron Rodgers has avoided since his rookie year, when he suffered a five-game losing streak that took the Packers out of any possible playoff contention.  Yeah, as Vikings fans, we are used to losing to them and they are not used to losing period.

The rest, as they say, is history.  But, as we all know, you can throw silly things like records and history out the window whenever rivals play.  One thing is for sure, the Vikings need to smell blood and get after a limping rival.  The Packers are still the Packers, and they will be enraged after losing to the Lions last week.

Mike Zimmer has had his team fight and claw its way to increasing levels of respect.  The Vikings might very well be favored against Green Bay at TCF this weekend.  He sounds like he’s doing everything he can to keep his players’ heads on straight and not fall victim to believing their own hype.  That’s probably what happened against San Francisco, right?

This begins a test to see if the Vikings can stand up with the elite teams in the league.  7-2 is still 7-2 no matter how you got there, but that’s not enough for some people, including Coach Z.  A win over Green Bay, even a wounded Green Bay, would keep the respect coming and the Vikings hype train would keep rolling. 

Best of all, the Vikings would open up a two-game lead in the division.  It would also guarantee a winning record in the divison one year after losing all but one game within the North.  The Vikings are playing football as a fairly complete team right now.  Sure, Teddy Bridgewater could be throwing for more yards, but Minnesota is playing to all of its strengths, which has proven to be a winning formula.

If they can do the same against the Packers and get a win, watch out. 

On the flip side, a loss would prove that the Vikings are still a fringe team; good at beating the Detroits and St. Louis’s of the world, but not quite ready for the next level; something which has really defined the Vikings throughout their history. 

Could the Vikings make the playoffs without beating the Packers?  It’s possible.  Seattle’s looking decidedly less invincible than in previous years, and I’m pretty sure Eli Manning hates us by now.  If 7-2 was to drop to 7-3, that’s still a pretty record through the first ten games.  It’s likely the Vikings could still control their own destiny regardless of this game.

But, count on Vikings territory to be disappointed if it happens.  We’re sick of being pushed around.  If change is coming as soon as this season, a win against the Packers needs to become a reality.  Expectations have changed in a hurry for the purple and gold, and the biggest rivalry we have needs to turn the corner at some point, so why not now?    

Sunday, we find out if this team is ready to step up to the big stage.