Well, with the Vikings having literally and figuratively gimped their way to a 2-5 record, I think it's fair to say: Stick a fork in the Vikes....they're done. Having said that, I'll reiterate that these are my guys, and I'm sticking with them for the duration. And don't get me wrong, I'd love to see this team catch lightning in a bottle and rattle off 9 straight and soar into the playoffs, but....eh?.....I doubt it. There's still a ton of talent here, and we'll win some games and have some highlight worthy moments, but I'm just not seeing a dominant stretch run on the horizon. Failures in multiple areas are the culprit: dumb penalties, dropped passes, inconsistent o-line play, poor Favre play, zero pass rush, failure to create turnovers,...it all adds up to a 2-5 team, and that's just where we should be. I think we're seeing the aging process affecting former studs like G Steve Hutchinson and the Williams Wall, and for some reason, DE Jared Allen has reaffirmed my hatred of haircuts: He cuts his mullet and becomes a crappy player in one offseason. That's incredible. If he has any credibility whatsoever, he'd be giving back game checks on a weekly basis. I'm honestly thinking that maybe it's time to pull the plug on the Favre-era and give QB Tarvaris Jackson a 9 game audition to see what we have there, if anything. Thinking ahead to next year, I'd like to see WR Randy Moss re-signed to a 3-year deal while cutting WR Bernard Berrian's ridiculous contract from the books, and also dicing S Madieu Williams, who isn't a bad football player, but who's play doesn't nearly equate to the (also) ridiculous contract that he's getting. I know there's a ton of support for getting rid of Head Coach Brad Childress, but I'm not comfortable with that idea unless I know that Bill Cowher or someone of that ilk is willing to come in. There is still of lot of football to be played yet, so we will see how this all plays out, and with the rather surprising mediocrity of the NFC conference, anything can happen, but I'm seeing a Packers division title well within their grasp. Oh, and the Bears?....no,...their frauds. Stay tuned....
In cheerier news, the Wild have started the year 4-4-2, which is a notch better than last years 5-9 start. They haven't been great, but they've been competitive, and have played watchable hockey. G Nicklas Backstrom mirrors this statement: He's not elite, but if he has decent defensive play in front of him, he's a very good positional goalie that we can win with, provided we can get some goals of our own. I also wish Head Coach Todd Richards would quit messing around with his line pairings, (a criticism I also had of former Head Coach Jaques Lemaire). Last year RW Marty Havlat and LW Guillaume Latandresse were excellent together and I was hoping that adding C Matt Cullen to this line would really add some zip, but Havlat hasn't played much and Cullen has been used with everybody, so I'm not seeing how ANY of these lines can develop the continuity that is so crucial to melding a top-flight line together when it's just a nightly mish-mash. Here's hoping Richards settles on some lines and these guys get used to playing with each other!
Also, just out of the gate, the new look Timberwolves have started out 1-1, and could have been 2-0. If you haven't seen them play yet, they're WAY beyond last years snooze-fest of "dump it in to Al......and wait". These guys are active, athletic, and are at least TRYING to play defense. I mean, let's face it,..F Kevin Love is never going to be confused with Dennis Rodman, but he's trying, and if the team plays good team defense, we're going to surprise some people because we can PLAY!
Anyone happen to catch that Gophers-Ohio State (yawn) "football game" this past weekend? If you did.........shame on you. You must get some perverse enjoyment of watching executions or something too......eh?
And lastly, I originally wanted to ignore this subject totally, but I suppose I should say something about the Twins repeated meek demise from the MLB playoffs, getting swept, yet again, by the Yankees 3 games to none. I think it's become crystal clear that this is a good team, not a great team, and it's a team of players incapable of stepping up in the big moment and delivering. It's very frustrating, but big-time teams have big-time players who step up and get a clutch hit, or make a diving stop, or get a key double-play, and it's very obvious that this team has zero players capable of doing that. They've been in the playoffs most of this decade and I believe we've lost a dozen playoff games in a row. 12 IN A ROW. That's not exactly going down fighting is it. That's just an embarrassment. And there has been some clamoring for Manager Ron Gardenhire's dismissal as a result of this. This is understandable, but he can only work with what he has. I don't recall Gardenhire hitting a two-hopper to 2nd with the bases loaded for the fortieth time in this past series? Hmm...and don't forget, this team will look different next year with RHP Carl Pavano, DH Jim Thome, 2B Orlando Hudson, RHP Matt Guerrier, RHP Jon Rauch, RHP Jesse Crain, LHP Brian Fuentes, LHP Randy Flores, LHP Ron Mahay, and INF Nick Punto all up with contracts due.
Mike Veiseth can be found this NFL season cringing over the Vikings crappy start, drinking Coldies, chowing Hot Wingees, and hoping my Steelers can salvage my NFL enjoyment over the next few months.
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