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PSPOS November 17,
2022
Super Bowl IX at Tulane
Stadium was a dreadful day that was manifested by something unseen before ...
missed kicks by Fred Cox. Would it be a foreshadowing of years to
come. Regardless, as it took a long time for us all to grasp onto the
concept of controlling the outcome of a game by kickers. Today we refer to
them as Point Shaving Pieces of Sh-t!
Recently, under Mike Zimmer, he had a clear & present plan in place to win
football games. It was a solid concept of field position, the running game
& solid defensive play however in most cases that meant close games.
For coach Zimmer, everything fell into place, that is unless he couldn't control
his PSPOS. Does anyone remember Blair Walsh's attempt in Frigid Minnesota
played upon a universities campus? That one kick destroyed an entire
season of collective resources, where that PSPOS would soon find his hind
quarters on the pavement ... well at least relocated to Seattle the following
mid-season as that team directly benefited from the PSPOS. Once a PSPOS
... always a PSPOS ... that would soon find him out of Seattle's door
too.
This wasn't the first instance of course as we all recall the 98 Championship
Game involving two Gary Anderson/sen's. Somehow all these PSPOS would
evade the lie detectors & were allowed to continue their craft unabated.
Which brings us to today where we ask the question, "Has the investment in
these once dominant scoring figures ... actually paid off?"
Everyone remembers Stephon Digg's miracle catch in the playoffs that propelled
this Vikings team to the NFC's championship game in Philadelphia. On that
play, Digg's made a conscious decision to stay in bounds, rather than go out of
bounds to once again rely on a long field goal attempt to get this Viking
franchise to the Championship Game. What was clear & seared into his
brain was the Blair Walsh gaff where he was determined to never let that happen
again.
Well in 2022, we once again clearly see the emergence of our PSPOS, however
there is now an affectionate embrace of his roll on this team. As after
all, he can only control the outcome of so much & our eyes are now clearly
wide open.
Versus Buffalo, in the 4th quarter, we are working to erase their 17 point
deficit, first by Cook's 81 yard run, followed by C.J. Ham's TD plunge that
followed Kirk Cousins "man-up" run inside the 5 yard line. In
comes the PSPOS & he missed the extra point ... doink! At that very
moment in time, the PSPOS changed the dynamics of the game. To win, the
Vikings had to score a touchdown where Buffalo's 4 point lead could not be
overtaken by a field goal to put the game into overtime.
In effect, what that did was to put Buffalo into an air of complacency & it
immediately changed the teams defensive mind set. In other words, needing
only a field goal to tie the game, their defense would need to prevent the
Vikings from obtaining field goal range. Instead the defense was aligned
into not to give up anything over the top where they'd invite this offense into
the Red Zone where the defended portion of the field is shrunk down into their
favor. It also forced the Vikings into a 4 down mentality, where
regardless of distance they would have to go for it on every 4th down. In
other words, that PSPOS forced head coach Kevin O'Connell's
hand as there would be only one clear set of choices to make ... do or
die. Buffalo's compressed Red Zone concept worked to perfection where the
PSPOS had executed his roll to perfection. The Bills defended their goal,
halting Kirk Cousins 6" or less from it, where victory was achieved in
totality.
The Bills could have performed a kneel down in the end zone, giving up the
safety however that would have reduced the differential to 2 points as well as
give the ball back to the Vikings offense with time left on the clock to kick a
field goal for a 1 point Vikings victory. Instead, all they would need to
do is push that ball out of the end zone followed by a few kneel downs & the
game would be over. It didn't happen. Instead what resulted was a
virtual disaster where Josh Allen's fumble resulted in a Viking touchdown &
a 3 point Viking lead with time left on the game to tie-up the game into
overtime.
The NFL is first & foremost entertainment. If this is true then there
needs to be some sort of script. How is it that in one instance the PSPOS
acts in this direction whereas in another instance he executes for the team in
absolute perfection? Well, even after securing 3 points in overtime, the
Bills had plenty of time to either tie the ball game or win with a touchdown of
their own. In short, for the PSPOS the impact of making his kick in OT had
little outcome on the game or the script had changed once both teams found
themselves in OT. My guess, it's the former that is more
likely.
Regardless of the actual impact of the PSPOS, it is now clear that for the
effect of it to work, the leaders of this ship have to act in a specific
way. In the past, the leadership of Mike Zimmer, and many others before
him, were astonished, startled, stunned, shocked, dumbfounded & bewildered
at the effects of the PSPOS. Those days are over. Maybe its time for
those resources to move on. It is now clear that everything will be done
to win each & every game ... even to overcome the
PSPOS.
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: November 17, 2022
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