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The Old Man December 7, 2020
The most important word in that title being "THE".
Many have speculated about Justin Jefferson &
have even gone so far as to ask him, what have you done that makes you so
special or what have you done that has brought you to this success. The
same has been asked of Dalvin Cook. Well, if you're apart of the
"it" culture, they stumble over a bunch of words, talking about
themselves as if some sort of self promotion will lead somewhere ... like to a magical
pot of gold. Dalvin has been special because his discomfort clearly shows
trying to answer such foolishness, but he does his best. The answer to the
question is obvious however it is too pedestrian in thought but powerful
nonetheless. There is only one Dalvin Cook & there is only one Justin
Jefferson & both are humble within the experience. Every one of those
guys isn't special ... they are unique ... a unique bunch of knuckleheads.
Today, they try to compare Justin to Randy Moss by
comparing his numbers to which he should reply. Thank you for sentiment
but there will only ever be one Randy Moss where comparisons to how he
transformed "Tear-UP" the league can never be made. Just allow
me to do my best to be Justin Jefferson as there might be someone else inspired
by what I do ... what I might do.
So, how do you know something so simple can be so powerful, well ... prior to
game time no one is preparing all week, or in the case of Tampa Bay, all two
weeks ... to face me. The same cannot be said when referring to either
Justin or Dalvin.
Which brings me to a thought. How many Vikings, that used to be apart of
this franchise, wish they could still be apart of it now ... at this very
moment. What might Trae Waynes, Everson Griffen & many others, be
feeling at this very moment? Many of us already know the answer to that
question. They've spent so much time & effort collectively pushing
that huge boulder up that hill that they still dream of something ... a burden
... that's not even there anymore. It's the same way we still feel about
them. To put it into perspective, I haven't been immersed in my
undergraduate studies for 35 years & I'm still toiling over some paper or
lab or test or whatever still feeling & hoping to one day finally receive
that elusive sheep skin ... that was earned so many years ago. In fact, if
you were to interview Jim Marshal today... the NFL Iron Man ... and you were to
ask does he still have those same dreams, he might say no, but his wish might be
to have that feeling just one more time. "For what gives
meaning to our lives is the struggle itself ... and the pride we take in
it ... carrying it forward." No, the burden never
fades.
Now, we find ourselves on this great battlefield. Alexander Mattison ...
the beating heart ... is ripped from me. There is no Irv Jr. The
vortex Wonnum is shelved. Then the hand of fate steps in & removes my
queen ... Eric Kendricks ... from my chess board, even before the game even
begins. All will return in time my son. We've been in survival-mode
since our 2nd fudgie reunion. What could be next? Blamoe!
Gladney goes down, our two most strident-strategic-tackling-machines ...picked
off my board. Then the onslaught begins. We fall behind, then we
find a way to add insult to injury. There is only one thought ... Kirk
Cousins can win any game in which he plays & apparently that includes
spotting the other team some additional points. He's my knucklehead.
To be direct, my lead never returned after half time, so I didn't know that our
quarterback had thrown a pick 6 until watching the highlights after the
game. The kid responded by the hard taught lessons that he's learned,
spreading the pill around using every last one of his available weapons to grind
it out.
Why was it that they could not stop Dalvin Cook in that final OT drive?
Did it have anything to do the fallacy ... the number of overall carries or was
it something else ... like the willingness to stick it up in there as the game
ages. No, Dalvin still had fresh legs at that moment & for all
purposes he wasn't pounded into ground round anywhere near his recent past
contests. In other words, it not how much you use him as much as when you
unleash him. Just as finding success with Ham ... so to ... shall you find
success applying Mattison ... just one more additional weapon.
Which brings me to the old man. It's not only the active members of this
franchise. It's the players that we now see throughout the league that
have crossed the old man's path. Everyone seems to have a grocery list of
needs where it has become fashionable to pilfer our cupboards. All due to
the wake of an old man.
Before the games began, it was understood that this franchise might move into
the 7th seed position in the NFC, which meant considering its
ramifications. In that position, the 7th seed as to face the #2 seed in
round 1, and if #7 wins that contest, moves onto the #1 seed after getting a
week off followed by potentially facing the #3 seed in the NFC championship game
before getting a sniff of Super Bowl Sunday. The gentle idea was to absorb
teams that got hot & struggled back from adversity to qualify for the
tournament ... not to be burned at the steak. The 7 team playoff format,
for the #7 seed, is beyond brutal. It is reminiscent of the playoff
expansion in scab league year 1987. Is it any wonder why the league
decided to go to an 8 team format if the outbreak influenced the regular season.
Then, I think back to Hall of Fame offensive guard Jerry Kramer that understood
something about coach Lombardi's near future. Lombardi, as it turned out,
was soon to be severed from the Packers. In Kramer's mind, just like for
the rest, wanted to win one (more) for the old man. The rest is now a
legend.
Sometimes, we see things, which zoom over our heads. Is it disbelief or is
it something for which our attention is due? Watching the old man on the
sideline I see his hand shake while holding the card. Is it nothing or is
it the onset of Parkinson's, or is it shell shock (See World War One stress from
artillery fire) ... we don't know but one thing is for certain. The earth
still revolves around the sun & no one gets out alive. In my book, as
long as the old man is cognoscente he's running the show where anything that
shakes is just a prelude to the dance floor but again my dream was to see coach
Paterno grasp at his chest on the 90+ degree practice field & take his final
breath ... doing what he loved.
So what's the point here? Well, when you look at that list of impressive
NFC teams you have to ask yourself a question. Which team really scares
you knowing that any one of them, or all of them can be beaten by this
franchises present set of knuckleheads? Well, if that is true, maybe
it's time to understand that all things do not last forever where you do what
needs to be done.
The image of Keith Moon, sporting a chair stating, "Not to be taken
away" on the album cover of "Who are you?" really says it
all. It's not so much what we lose as much as what we take with us going
forward. Show me the impossible & there will be someone leading the
way. Some are called sergeant & some are just called the old
man. The one who has forgotten more than I'll ever hope to know. The
old man ... what should be the 2020 coach of the year.
I understand that head coaches are now seriously considering playing the game
hangman with their kickers to boost their performance levels where there are no
letters to guess & there are no blanks lines that conceal the word to guess
... it's just a noose. Two missed extra points & a missed field goal
... are you kidding me?
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: December 7, 2020
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