SHOCK AND AWE

THE VIKINGS WON A GAME!!!


(Gee...one I couldn't watch because I can't afford NFL Network...imagine that!)

OT: Packers

So, fellow Vikes, if Rodgers does indeed have a broken collar bone, where does that leave us?








































Answer:  Still without a gameplan!

Vikings @ Cowboys 11/3/2013

I didn't watch the whole game.  I'm not a masochist.

I had two major thoughts during the game:

THOUGHT ONE: Well, I'll go out on a limb here and say the no-huddle offense agrees with Ponder more than our old offense did.
He's got a TD - a rushing one, but still 7 points - and he SEEMS to actually  be looking around the field, which is a positive.  In fact, so far as the first half goes, he looks like last year's reasonably-in-control Ponder.

THOUGHT TWO: [insert="personal game commentary"]
Kevin Williams destroys DeMarco Murray for a 7 yard loss!!  Ugh, and then when we've nearly backed them into their own endzone on a 3rd and long we let them convert with a 29 yard pass play.  We CANNOT allow that to happen! [/commentary]
The biggest problem with our team is we do well, we do well, and then BOOM we do something shitty we can't recover from.

Like that last Dallas drive.  [insert="stiff drink"]

Post game thoughts:
Phil Loadholt has a concussion.  Do we have any defensive players left?  I'm almost afraid to write their names in case they too get injured!!
Our players are depressed.  Half of me says "GOOD, I'M DEPRESSED TOO."  Half of me says, "Crud.  This is going to make it harder for us to win.  Tired, defeated, emotionally drained guys are not going to be able to rally and win in tight games or turn around drawn-out games.
Our coaching staff aren't going to keep their jobs if they don't stop making boneheaded calls.  YES they make some good ones.  But they have made some BAD ones too.

But whatever happens, I'll still be a Viking.  SKOL!

Injuries! Injuries! Injuries!!

First Desmond Bishop goes down with a torn hamstring (because we could really afford to lose people on the line GAH), and now Harrison Smith (who I have picked as my Viking crush this year) is on IR with turf toe.  Not that I disagree he should be on IR - I would one million times rather sit him and make sure that toe/ligament/tendon/whatever gets FULLY rested and healed, rather than rushing him back too soon and having it linger for weeks, months, or years.

I promised I'd post about Ponder, Cassel and Freeman, but my work is overloading me, especially since my car got ruined in a flash flood (probably a total write-off and I got it less than eight MONTHS ago) and I don't know when I can get it done.  Suffice it to say, the management is starting to freak about our QB situation (about time) and they're turning into whirling dervishes trying to fix it.

SKOL!

Post Bye Week Vikings

Have we EVER won after a bye week under Frazier?  My car got flooded this weekend and I still managed to get SCUBA certified but I missed the game (thank the Football Gods for that ultimate mercy).  Will go over "highlights" and commentary...sometime.  Grad school is no joke.

Wondering if Freeman will morph into Tom Brady.  Not likely, but it's something nice to dream about.

Classy Cassel

Soundbite from today: "My approach hasn’t changed -- continue to work hard, do what I can and be accountable to my teammates and see what happens."

He also stated (but I can't find the direct quote) that he doesn't feel slighted, and this pickup is "not about [him]".

Good for him!  That's the kind of attitude I want!

To be fair, Ponder was very classy as well (I've never had a problem with his off-the-field personality, whatever his issues on the field) and said something along the lines of his only frustration was at being injured and he was going to work through whatever it took to get healthy and earn his starting spot.

So...we shall see...we shall see.

SKOL!

BREAKING

Josh Freeman has signed a reportedly one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings!!!

Oooh boy...Cassel and Ponder must be feeling their seats heat up!!

EDIT - The deal is reportedly worth THREE MILLION DOLLARS!

EDIT - Thinking about this a little more carefully, I have to wonder if Cassel is going to ask to be released.  I still think he's the starter this week, but let's face it, the Bills need a QB badly, and if Houston starts screaming bloody murder, they might look at Cassel too.  Still, this is only a one year deal (and, what with his salary and termination pay from Tampa, as well as this $3 million we're paying him, Josh Freeman's going to make $11.43 million dollars this year), and Cassel may decide to up the ante and beat out Freeman at his own game.

Let's face it.  Freeman has had more than his fair share of INTs over the years, his accuracy is suspect, and so is his dedication.  He not only missed a TON of team meetings with TB, he also missed the TEAM PHOTO.  How many players miss that???

So far as skill goes, Freeman's numbers are pretty similar to Ponder's.  Ponder's average career QB rating is 75.8, Freeman's is 78.8, Ponder's career completion percentage is 59.2, Freeman's is 58.2.  They can both scramble.  They can both freeze up.

Here is the Vikings' official statement about the signing:

"Josh Freeman is coming in as a backup quarterback for the time being. We have to see how he learns and have him adjust to our system. As long as Christian [Ponder] or Matt [Cassel] are having success, and the team is playing well, they’ll continue to run our offense. We wouldn’t make a change just to make a change. But, if we struggle as a team then we have to consider when we will put Josh on the field."

Freeman's best year - statistically - was his second year with 61.4% completions, 25 TDs, 6 INTs, 95.9 QB rating.

I am shocked.  The Vikings are saying loud and clear for the world to hear that they are NOT happy with our QB situation and are going to employ every tactic necessary to fix it, both within this season and in the offseason.  

I am already looking over the QB selection for the upcoming draft, and considering Teddy Bridgewater and AJ McCarron are our best options, I can only see the future becoming a worse headache.  Ponder is clearly not our future anymore (not unless he gets significantly better very quickly).  But who is?

SKOL!

EDIT - Apparently the Vikings wanted a 2 year deal but Freeman insisted on 1!  I'm blown away!!