Peyton Manning's Status for next season

It is hard to have missed the bru-haha in the press this week regarding the older Manning's injuries calling into question his return to Indy for the 2012-13 season. Let's face it, he sucks up a lot of salary cap, and if he's not 100%, they need to cut bait and run.

 

 

So what team would possibly be interested in a Super Bowl winning quarterback of questionable health / longevity to build a season with? What team, by virtue of it's starting QB choices over the last 20 years would even DREAM of picking up Manning-the-Elder for the 2012-13 season? hmmm? Who would spend the millions to bring in this long-shot for a go at an appearance in the Big Game? What organization would do more than even think about this possibility?

MN Vikings Starting QB, '93-today

Jim McMahon - 1993
Warren Moon - 1994-1996
Randall Cunningham - 1998
Jeff George - 1999
Brad Johnson - 2006 (after he had won his superbowl and not his rookie season with them)
Gus Ferrotte - 2008
Brett Favre - 2009-10
Donaovan McNabb - 2011

 

 

Poor Vikes.

2011-12 NFL Regular Season Roundup

Phallus in Wonderland

With the Vikes struggling to the end, and following the tragic and completely uncalled for knee injury to Adrian Peterson, (truly saddening that this had to occur on the tail end of a failed season), I turned my attention to my backup team, Los Bronco's. Unless you live in a hole, the name Tim Tebow is not unbeknownst to you. Following a stunning victory over the stealer's in the wild card game, Tebow and the Pony's got their asses handed to them in the divisional playoff by New England. With Bronco's VP of Operations, John Elway, firmly on the Tebow train, it should be an interesting off season for the team. We will see how our boy, Tim, progresses over the summer when he takes the field at Mile High next season. In other news, the flatulent Pack managed to pooch their shot at a return to the big game, to the disappointment of some. I guess I would have liked to see them go, but after watching the Patriots last week and the Giants this week in the NFC Championship, I think they would have gotten beat down by the beast from the East. The big game is up in two weeks in Indy, and could be a good one if El Gigantes show up to play football. they looked like a regimented unit last night, but still only managed to squeak by the 9'ers by a hair. But 'round here, I'm looking to next year when the Purple headed warriors will be super bowel bound! Until then, Go Vikes!

Vikes bench the Pounder, bet on Webb (again...)

After giving the Lion's 24 points in turnovers last week, the Vikes decided to sit Ponder and go with Webb for the win. A late game officiating travesty of epic proportions cost the poor Vikes the game when Webb's head was nearly torn off, forcing a fumble for the Lion's win as time ran out. It was basically the opposite the luck the Broncos have been having. Poor Vikes. We will see what happens this week when they face the Saints.

Rumor has it the AP will be back in the game, along with all of the rest of the vikings squad, save Cook, who is still dealing with the legal aftermath of beating up his girlfriend. Dumbass.

Da Bears!

Ho HO! With Cutler hurt and Haine playing like a heine, the desperate Bears going looking for help. But where can they find the calm hand of experience this deep into the season, you ask?!?

Hey Chicago, I'm your Huckleberry!

Vikes wave McNabb, bet on the Pounder

What the...?

As my buddy Dave said, "Duh Oh, McRib outlasted Mcnabb!" I, for one, am not sad, except at the money and draft pick that it cost the team. I think there is a lot of field presence in Christian Ponder, and with some time in the pocket from the offensive line, a few receivers to throw it at, and some re-vamping of the backfield defense, the Vikes will be on a roll. Oh well, next Year.

And from the official story, "McNabb was in the locker room, seen rather innocuously asking running backAdrian Peterson to autograph a jersey. But he was gone by the time practice began and unavailable for comment."

McNabb a Purple Headed Warrior?!?

Aww, man! I can't believe it. I normally have to wait until the season starts to begin talking about the Vikes and their debacles, but goddamn if they havn't given me reason to already with the pending deal to acquire Donnovan McNabb from the 'Skins ... and it's still July! I have been talking steady trash about this guy being a lazy sack of sh*T for years, and now he's going to grace the squad of the purple headed warriors in 2011-12. Check out the blog below from the Washington post. It seems to sum it up well.

Romanowski: ‘McNabb was lazy’
By Dan Steinberg

I’m not sure just how often Bill Romanowski talks to Mike Shanahan nowadays, but he sure seems to think he has a read on his former coach. The ex-NFL linebacker made a bunch of radio appearances this week, and in one of them — with ESPN Boston — he attempted to clear up just what went wrong last year in Washington.

“Mike was not a difficult guy to get along with,” Romanowski said of Shanahan. “You had to be a pro. He wanted you to work hard every day. He wanted you to get there early and leave late and do not be a problem in the locker room. That’s who and what he is....

“If you get under his skin, I’ll tell you what, he will make it miserable for you. That’s the way Mike is....

“You have to be able to make the tough decisions. Look what he did with Donovan McNabb. Do you know why he had issues with Donovan McNabb? He had issues because Donovan McNabb was LAZY. He wasn’t prepared. It is a real bad thing. But guess what, Mike tried to save face, and he got caught in some situations where he should have just come out and said you know what....

“But he thought he would lose the locker room. He didn’t have to worry about losing the locker room with Albert Haynesworth. But with Donovan McNabb, he could have completely lost the locker room, so he got caught up with some issues there, kind of skating around. We all heard it last year when they benched Donovan at the end of a game and they brought Rex Grossman in and said he wasn’t ready to handle [the two-minute offense]....

“I was looking at it and I was like ‘Mike, what are you doing? Why are you doing this?’ And it was pretty clear to me. I know Mike. I’ve played for him. When you kick butt for him, you work your butt off, he will give you ultimate respect. When you don’t, he won’t.”

This does, in fact, track with much of what Jason Reid wrote this week:

People in the organization say McNabb deserves much of the blame for his disastrous partnership with the Shanahans.

They say Mike Shanahan felt betrayed by McNabb. He believed McNabb would embrace new ideas, and work harder, after being dumped by the Philadelphia Eagles. That’s why Shanahan ignored his son’s strong objections and traded second- and fourth-round draft picks for McNabb.

They say once McNabb arrived, Shanahan quickly determined his son was right. McNabb moved too slowly during practice and in games to operate their offense.

Except for the whole “lazy” word.

Pack wins the big game, completes Vikings "Season of Shame"

Poor Vikes. I look at the 2010-11 season like I look at the Bush administration... It is highly unlikely that in my lifetime, it'll be this bad again. Go Vikes.

Joe Webb, rookie no mo!

While it is wayyy to early to call Joe Webb road tested, he sure put on a solid performance last evening, including two completions for serious yardage and a sweet rushing TD. He definatly held up his end of the deal, as did the D both the line AND the backfield! Wow. Where has this team been all year!?

Cris Collinsworth is an asseater, pt II

As described here, our old boy Collinsworth was up to his old tricks during the Tuesday night "Sunday Night Football" game between the vikes and the eagles. Up until 7:02 left in the game, his only contribution was to tough-talk the Rookie Webb. What a putz. It's apparent that the rumors of Dan Marino showing him what an 8 second bull-ride is all about after each taping of "Inside the NFL" are true.

Ed Rendell, a democrat with balls.

The Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, stepped up this week and called out the NFL for canceling the Sunday night football game between the Vikes and Eagles this week. The quote as follows:

"My biggest beef is that this is part of what's happened in this country," Rendell said.

"We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything," he added. "If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."

Later on he name checks Bud Grant and Vince Lombardi. I like this guy.

More proof that god hates the Vikes

Vikes / Eagles game postponed until Tuesday due to a massive blizzard bearing down on Eastern Pennsylvania. What more could happen to the 2010 season?

A Monday night beating

Favre miraculously starts, and then goes out with a concussion. Webb finishes the ice bowl. Team crushed by Bears 40-14 in the snow. This is the last vikes post for the season. Poor vikes. I hope that wasn't the last homegame ever.

Favre out - Webb to start ice-bowl

Game time temps in the single digits with a predicted 10 below windchill and 4-6" of snow accumulation over the course of the afternoon. hahahahahahahaha suckers. Bulletproof field. Rookie starting quarterback.

Should be a great game, right?

Is the "Home Field Advantage" worth it?

From NFL.com today:

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who suffered a concussion in a game earlier this season, said the condition of the field was "the main concern with the guys in the locker room."

"We don't want to go out there and play on a concrete-type surface," Cutler said.

University officials said they planned to use a tarp over heating coils to soften the field before the game.

Considering the temps should be in the single digits, the generous warmth from the heating coils (yet to be deployed) will likely penetrate what, maybe 1 inch? They ought to just plow the dome parking lot, make it standing room only / BYOB, and play the sucker street-fighter style.

This from the Vikes marketing shill, Steve LaCroix:

"We think it's going to be great," LaCroix said. "It's nighttime football, it's going to be freezing cold temperatures, it's going to be very memorable."

That guy is *full* of horseshit. I guess that's his job, isn't it?

Oh wait, there's more! Sounds like The Rookie Joe Webb will be the starting QB for the Vikes.

go vikes?

And the hits just keep on commin'

Seriously? Check out the loaders that are waist deep in snow. According to NFL.com "The two biggest concerns (over playing at TCF Stadium), according to Minnesota assistant athletic director Scott Ellison, were if all the snow can be removed in time and whether or not the frozen field could be softened to a level that won't hurt the players".

Thaw the field. Like with steam and tarps... yeah - it'll be just dandy when the wraps come off, and the sucker tightens up like a drum in the sub-freezing temps. maybe a nice slick of glaze ice to slow down the receivers?

As for injuries, NFL.com reports that Favre is still broken, TJ has a serious case of Turf-Toe, and the rookie Webb has a pulled hamstring (in addition to BEING A ROOKIE!) So the vikes have pulled in CFL grade vet Ramsey to help finish out the season.

Just end it now....

Get ready for a shit show

After 29 years without an outdoors home game, the stage *may* be set for Monday night when the Bears come to twon for the Vikes 50th anniversary show. I say *may* as no source can yet predict wither or not the flipping seasonal stadium a the U of MN can be prepped in time. Even assuming they can pull this together in time, there are some practical issues, like parking, beer (none is normally served at college games - wha?), security, and all of the other practical considerations of inviting 50,000 people over to your place for a party. On top of all that, this is the current NOAA weather predicition for Minneapolis:

Monday: A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 17.

Sounds F'ing lovely. By game time, the field will be a sheet of ice, and that's without the wind chill.

To all my Pack buddies out there, you win. Compared to all of the humiliations that the vikes have heaped upon your hapless team, there is no comparison with the complete meltdown of a season, the physical failure of a great player, the firing of a coach, and the implosion of your stadium. Truly, god hates the vikes.

Dome is Hosed, Vikes to play outdoors on Monday Night

With the metrodome in apparent ruin,

The Vikes and league will spend an estimated $700k to get the U of M stadium thawed out and ready for the NFL on Monday night.

It's like a freaking circus. The vikes ought to enter the field packed in to little clown cars with favre popping out of a big cake that they wheel in. Poor vikes. This may be the last homegame ever for this team. just lovely.

Vikes take a beating, Favre sits at 297

In signs that the Dome collapse will portent an ill fate to the 2010 season, the vikes got crushed handily by the flatulent Giants in DETROIT last night after the game was moved due to a roof failure at the metrodome. Calamity number two was the ending of Brett Favre's starting streak at 297, due to a serious injury to his shoulder last week. Add to this a brief moment of sheer panic when T.J banged his knee and had to sit a down, coupled with the odd metric of zero fan noise due to the fact the freaking GAME WAS IN DETROIT, and it is hard to conclude anything other than disaster for the remains of the season.

Issue number one is where the scheduled Monday night game against the stinking Bears will take place next week. With some talk of an outdoors game at the U of M stadium, I can't wait to see a below zero snow bowl in MN for the first time since the early 80's. That's exactly what is needed to end the crap about building an open stadium for the vikes. You people are crazy, and enjoy freezing your butts off next week, suckers.

Issue number two is the question of a new stadium and if the team will move. With money together in LA, the stadium is a must to keep the team. The owner would be mad to refuse a decent offer after his stadium collapsed. It's really up to the MN taxpayer now. I don't envy the cost, but I also remember the North Stars moving to Dallas the year after wining the Stanley Cup due to the inability to get a new stadium built. The new stadium was then built some time later at a greater cost, and a new team created, sans 30 years of history. Real clever, MN sportsfan. If the Vikes leave, there's only the face in the mirror to look at.

Metrodome collapse - an ill omen for the Vikes

I hope this is not an ill omen for the Vikes, the season, and the possibility of a move to LA.

Something amiss in Viking Land.

Well, the inability to convert 3rd downs, or do-or-die 4th downs, the persistent failure to stop anyone on 3rd & long, or just 3rd down, and special teams thinking that 32 yards is fair for an opponents punt or kick return brought a mournful end to the vikings playoffs hopes yesterday. ouch. Green Bay at the dome next week, and I'm not looking forward to it. A nice 35 to 7 victory at any point this season would be nice. These last minute nail-biters are painful. Oh well. next year.