Vikings "Failed" Season

For those who truly know me, knows that I don't hide my allegiance to my favorite sports teams (mostly all Minnesota teams). I created this blog to cover everything that I like or find interesting, not necessarily my teams exclusively. But I was requested to do a report on a team (okay my team) the Minnesota Vikings. For starters, before the season started, I believed could win 10-11 games with this team as currently constituted. Okay, I was wrong, but that's not a discredit for this team. I still believe that this team is an 10-win team, just not in 2011.

I'll come up with 3 things that doomed this season as to date:

1.) Lockout: Lets face it folks, it is what it is, the NFL lockout really did a number on the Minnesota Vikings this off-season (or lack thereof). When a team is in transition from one coaching system to another coaching system, they need a full off-season to implement their system into the players and organization. Now for those that will say that Coach Leslie Frazier had 6 games of 2010 to help put his stamp on the team, he also had former coach Brad Childress system from which he had to run for the last 6 games of 2010.

Now to Coach Frazier's defense, this season isn't really how any first year head coach wants to make his "mark" onto the organization. With only having about 8 weeks of training camp/preseason, the offense is the only thing that had a huge makeover (the defense is still under the cover 2 format).

2.) Frazier Offensive Coordinator Choice: The only issue I had with Frazier when it came to the offense is that he should of kept, then offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell (at least for this season). Considering that IF Frazier knew that he would try to get Donovan McNabb from the Washington Redskins, it would made things a little easier for McNabb to run this offense with Bevell calling the plays (i.e. Brett Favre 2 years ago under this same system).

Nothing against current Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave, but I believe that if you we're going to bring in a new system that I would of brought it in with a new QB (insert Christian Ponder or Joe Webb). I'll admit, I was strong against bringing in Ponder before Webb and in place of McNabb, but after watching the horrible performance against the Chicago Bears (on Sunday Night at that), I felt that it was time to see what we had in both QB's. Ponder has played VERY GOOD football, considering the few times I've watched him at Florida State.

3.) Re-tread Veteran Quarterbacks: Well as we saw a few years ago, 2008 to be exact, we saw the Vikings give up on what had been planned on the "Quarterback of the future" in Tarvaris Jackson after 2 games of the season. Gus Frerotte, a Veteran QB, was inserted and the Vikings season was saved. Now after that season, one could of said that Childress should of drafted another QB and tried that experiment again. He actually drafted John David Booty from USC, then to cut him when he decided to bring in a "Re-tread Veteran" in Brett Favre.

The Vikings QB situation has been screwed up since that bad day in Carolina in 2005. Yea the day, then Vikings Franchise QB, Daunte Culpepper had his knee destroyed and ultimately ended his career. Since that time the Vikings had these QB's as starters: Brad Johnson, Tarvis Jackson, Kelly Holcomb, Brooks Bollinger, Gus Frerotte, Brett Favre, Joe Webb, Donovan McNabb and now Christian Ponder. Of those QB's I've mentioned, only two of them are under the age of 30. Safe to say that Ponder could be that replacement that the Vikings been looking for over the last 6 years.

Ponder and Frazier are now married at the hip. After 2 games they have a 1-1 record, so far so good. Only time will tell.........