Tragically Flawed Team
We've never seen anything like it
... ever. This is a severely tragically flawed team of men with only one
outstanding quality ,,, the ability to relentlessly fight. Every prior prognostication
... based upon past teams or personnel issues ... simply doesn't apply.
This team is as about as far from Randy Moss, Cris Carter & Daunte Culpepper
as you can get. This team is as far from Fran Tarkenton's ego as one could
be, where it is not surprising that Fran now has it wrong that the weakest link
on the team is our kicker Blair Walsh (sending waves of red flags off in his
mind). We became reliant on these superstars ... the weak links ... only
to have the rug ripped from beneath our feet due to our tragically flawed
reasoning.
Eric Kendricks has quickly become one of my the most favorite players on this
team. Versus the Giants on Monday night, Eric may have turned in one of
his worst performances of his career. It was clear that he clearly had
known this day was coming and that he was powerless to prevent the quicksand
that he was thrust into. What became outstanding, at it's results was, the
teams response to it. Marcus Sherels, Xavier Rhodes & Adam Thielen, to
take just a small cross section of the team, all see themselves as tragically
flawed and they all have been there before, or said another way, have stood in
Eric Kendricks shoes. In other words, Erik Kendricks wasn't getting beat
... each of these individuals were getting beat. Each at that moment in
time understood that they needed to chip in big to make something happen where
the result is both unpredictable and unsettling. No one can even possibly
know or even reason as to why this team might win a game or even understand why
they have won a game. To a man ... they have all accepted their collective
tragic flaws and to a man ... all are ok with it. This team is as far from
the Super Star mentality as one could be accept of course in how to destroy that
Super Star ... and that my friends makes for some great live video.
Let's take this to the next level. If you were a Viking fan, how did you
take to the Sam Bradford trade. In your mind, was he tragically
flawed? It is a fact that Sam's prior history was tragically flawed
however there was way too much evidence that there was something still there
that too few were willing to see. So regardless of whether your name was
Bradford, Walsh or Sherels ... in Zimmer's & Spielman's mind ... they were
all severely & tragically flawed ... but they were ready to both scrap &
fight. How could Mike Zimmer single anyone out with such a diverse group
of everyone having the same problems. It is for this reason ... to the man
... they all got the back of Zim's ... and the guy standing next to him.
Where the concept of fantasy points are only something that can be taken away
from another squad. To me ... fantasy is a like some sort of cancer eating
away at what is true in the NFL.
For this franchise, timing has been very kind to us and it has shown it's ugly
head to the league on both September 25th versus the Panthers and on October 3rd
versus the Giants. On September 5, 2015 the Vikings made a trade with the
Chargers for an undrafted 6'6" kid out of Nebraska. How they pulled
off that trade when they did is a mystery however both our center Sullivan and
our right guard Loadhoalt were either lost for the season or soon would
be. I remember thinking that we were giving up a 6th round draft pick to
the Chargers for someone that apparently did well playing pre-season games for
the Chargers. At the time I was thinking, hey we need to do something to
improve our depth for our offensive line and I accepted it and it was then that
Jeremiah Sirles was stashed deep within our 53 man roster. In what
appeared to be minutes after that trade occurred with the Chargers, their
offensive line was decimated by injuries where Sirles, if he were still in San
Diego would most certainly would have been called into action. As it
turned out our pressed needs turned into a very flawed opportunity that I
couldn't possibly understand at the time. Then the new year (2016 season)
begins, when I'm thinking will this sacrificed 6th round draft pick even make
the team with the return of both the very seasoned veterans of Sullivan and
Loadholt. It's turning out to be Spielman's Bradford trade well before the
Bradford trade even occurs.
So how well did Sirles play in Carolina? I didn't even realize that our
starting left guard Boone was out & injured and he was only 25 feet in front
of me. Then Andre Smith goes down versus the Giants at right tackle and
again Sirles steps in and our offensive line actually improves to this years
best level yet where Sam Bradford wants to give his offensive line the game
ball. Now take a look at that line up again: T. J. Clemmings, Alex
Boone, Joe Berger, Brandon Fusco, and Jeremiah Sirles ... all holding down the
fort. Are you kidding me? If you were to ask the so called experts
just a few weeks ago about Clemmings they would say that he couldn't even be
relied upon to tie his own shoes ... and now, its not only working ... it's
thriving. Again, it's all tragically flawed and no one knows why it's
working.
Now hold onto your hat ... Treadwell & Morgan haven't even had their
opportunity of contributing yet. In other words there might be a reason
that this kid Morgan looks like the reincarnation of Mark Bavaro and what
exactly was Bill Parcell's role in that? There are many others.
Conspiracies abound.
Could it be a conspiracy where the cities of St. Louis, Philadelphia and San
Diego are helping this franchise win it's first Super Bowl? Cities that like us
don't have their first Super Bowl title or is a city left without a team.
Take that Pittsburgh, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, & Green
Bay.
It's interesting that no one has yet taken a pencil to paper to determine
exactly how much of our salary cap is no longer presently represented on the
field. I'm certain Adrian Peterson & Matt Kalil were a big part of
that number not to mention Teddy Bridgewater if he weren't still under his
rookie deal. Let's not forget what Sullivan's & Loadholt's number
might have been.
So here's the question of
the day ... How do you possible stop a complete set of tragically flawed men ...
desperately holding onto the one word that binds them ... Squad!
If anyone cares, my
cohearsed daughter and I watched from the National Anthem on & beyond the
moment victory at a local sports bar. For the first time my hands were
raised upward for my own personal Skoal chant by myself.
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: October 5, 2016
