tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post109998597935655060..comments2023-10-30T09:37:03.456-05:00Comments on Vikes Geek: Missed Opportunityvikes geekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06530336385552424416noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100391383785471322004-11-13T18:16:00.000-06:002004-11-13T18:16:00.000-06:00There would have been no need to fire Denny to hir...There would have been no need to fire Denny to hire Tony Dungy if the Vikings had simply hired Dungy instead of hiring Denny. But I am not convinced that we would have any more championships in Vikingland had Dungy been the head coach. As good of a coach--and person--as Dungy appears to be, there is something ominous about a coach who has coached as long as Dungy and has yet to put two halves of a team together. In Tampa Bay, Dungy's teams were all defense. We thought it was because Dungy was a defensive guru. Yet, in Indy, his teams consistently have been atrocious on defense and you wonder where the offense would be without Peyton Manning. I like Dungy, but my guess is that you would be no happier with Dungy than you apparently have been with Denny and Tice. Denny and Tice provided generally good offenses, sometimes very good. But neither put a good defense on the field. It's not clear that Dungy's track record suggests any better results.vikes geekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06530336385552424416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100372681689713702004-11-13T13:04:00.000-06:002004-11-13T13:04:00.000-06:00And one more thing. The Vikings should have fired ...And one more thing. The Vikings should have fired Dennis Green and hired Tony Dungy as head coach 10 years ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100285948462206452004-11-12T12:59:00.000-06:002004-11-12T12:59:00.000-06:00Daunte can just keep going 16-for-19 and keep his ...Daunte can just keep going 16-for-19 and keep his Teflon reputation for awhile longer, I guess.<br /><br />Eventually, though, people will figure out that 16-for-19 and one TD is meaningless if the Vikes lose the game. Three or four five-touchdown games are meaningless if the Vikes don't make the playoffs.<br /><br />When facing a quality team, the guy seizes up. They can fix the defense, they can fire Tice, they can address any other problem you can think of, and it won't matter one bit if the guy at the controls of the offense can't produce touchdowns against the good teams.<br /><br />The idea that Daunte is an MVP candidate is an absolute joke. Tom Brady, Ben Rothlisberger, Donovan McNabb (well, up until last week), those guys are MVPs candidates. Daunte is decent, but he has yet to prove he belongs in that class. He is lost without Moss and I doubt that will change. I expect Favre will outplay him this weekend. The Vikes will slip to 5-4 and their playoff chances will go on life support and their Super Bowl prospects, already laughable, will be history. Might as well start playing for the draft choice that Red won't want to pay for.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100161537635928792004-11-11T02:25:00.000-06:002004-11-11T02:25:00.000-06:00BTW,
Great comment on the punt return. The Vikin...BTW,<br /><br />Great comment on the punt return. The Vikings mostly had their defensive team on the field with Burleson deep. Most of the punt return team was on the sidelines (does that mean that Cottrell would make a better special teams' coach?).<br /><br />It would be nice to find a coach who is innovative, sound, and not a retread. I don't think Wanny and Les fit the bill, however. I'll reserve full judgment until the end of the season. If Tice turns it around, he gets another shot unless there is somebody really worth the change.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100161209693825482004-11-11T02:20:00.000-06:002004-11-11T02:20:00.000-06:00Maybe. But, then you may be disappointed in today...Maybe. But, then you may be disappointed in today's column which places considerable blame elsewhere. A central question for the Vikings is whether the Vikings are bad because they lack coaching or because they lack quality players. No doubt it's a combination of the two, but what is the composition of that combination? <br /><br />For those who feel I let Tice off the hook too much by indicting Red, stay tuned. I promise another view of the Vikings' coach that may be illuminating.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100147775951798802004-11-10T22:36:00.000-06:002004-11-10T22:36:00.000-06:00Great point of view.
In the end, it's Tice's faul...Great point of view.<br /><br />In the end, it's Tice's fault. He's the head coach. It's his job to prepare his players. Week after week, the Vikings are not prepared.<br /><br />Top-rated NFL passer Daunte Culpepper throwing only 9 passes in the first half against the 32nd ranked defense is an inexcusable blunder by the coaching staff.<br /><br />Chronic false start penalties. Coaching staff.<br /><br />Having a running attack that is at or near the top of the NFL, and not using more play action, inexcusable. Coaching staff.<br /><br />Best punt return of season with punt return team not in game tells us a lot about the special teams.<br /><br />Mike Tice is the worst coach in the league.<br /><br />Fire Tice. Hire Wannstedt, or Les Steckel, or anybody.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100105560380087482004-11-10T10:52:00.000-06:002004-11-10T10:52:00.000-06:00I will address Tice a bit more in today's/tomorrow...I will address Tice a bit more in today's/tomorrow's column with a bit different emphasis. With respect to playing the injured Moss, suffice it to say that anyone who has had a hip flexor, groin, quad, or hamstring injury knows how difficult they are to overcome and how imperative it is to rest the injury. No matter the reason for starting Moss, it is difficult to defend. Just putting on equipment with a pulled hammy is painful, Moss was asked to actually move--and with the possibility of getting hit. Not a wise use of your highest paid player. The local media continues to trot out the line that "different players are treated differently." That reasoning doesn't fit the circumstances that Moss' injury presents unless what is meant is that, when dealing with an injury to another player the team will use common sense but will abandon common sense when dealing with Moss' injury.<br /><br />VGvikes geekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06530336385552424416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100067805249180202004-11-10T00:23:00.000-06:002004-11-10T00:23:00.000-06:00The average madden player knows how to manage a TE...The average madden player knows how to manage a TEAM better than Tice does. Hell I know better and I've never played a game of Madden in my life.<br /><br />Vikesgeek, can you talk about the stupidity of Tice in playing Randy Moss two weeks in a row, two weeks when he could be resting, and making things worse? It's nice to know that regardless of what a person thinks about his endorsement of BC04 (and whether that was a McCombs order or not) we can all unite in saying that Tice is monumentally stupid and those who apparently think Daunte is not very good are close behind. You know what? Manning barely won. How much better does competition get in regards to quarterbacks?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100039664976450852004-11-09T16:34:00.000-06:002004-11-09T16:34:00.000-06:00The fact that anyone would seriously blame Culpepp...The fact that anyone would seriously blame Culpepper for this loss is baffling to me. He completed a high percentage of his passes, threw for one td and no int's, and ran to pick up important yardage including a huge fourth and one play.<br /><br />It's like a logrithm has been written for them that says: If game='loss' Then response ='Blame Culpepper'. This makes it so much easier, becuase you don't even have to watch the game in order to "know" what went wrong.<br /><br />I know that there will be a lot of talk about, "Here we go again" regarding the Vikings collapse, but I've been saying that the story isn't, "Vikes can't play well once they reach the seventh game", but rather that the Vikes reached the part of the schedule where they are playing legit playoff teams and they unfortunately have to play them without Moss for now.<br /><br />I really don't understand Tice and his game management skills. Your average Madden player knows how to manage the clock better than Tice does.Jamisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12110449366018645548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100017412503258762004-11-09T10:23:00.000-06:002004-11-09T10:23:00.000-06:00This loss was not Daunte's fault. Daunte continue...This loss was not Daunte's fault. Daunte continues to make plays out of nothing. I blame a scaredy-cat game plan on offense that is so afraid that they will not be any good without Moss that they go into a conservative shell. There are plenty of playmakers left on the field with Moss on the sideline, but Linehan was too afraid to use any of them, and when he did a penalty would screw it up.<br /><br />Pass protection schemes were grossly inadequate as it should have been apparent that McKinnie needed help with Freeney after the first sack. Freeny was on the snap count the entire night and it was never altered (althoug one time he did jump offisides). Having Moe in there to help protect on passing downs may have saved a couple of those sacks.<br /><br />Is Bennett done? He seems to have lost the plot out there. This really seems like SOD's team now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268346.post-1100015847758669942004-11-09T09:57:00.000-06:002004-11-09T09:57:00.000-06:00Tice learned clock management under Denny Green, t...Tice learned clock management under Denny Green, that should be all that needs to be said.<br /><br />Yeah, blame Tice, blame Matt Birk, blame Mt. McKinnie, blame the hapless defense. But when do we blame the supposed MVP quarterback? MVPs do not clinch up in big games. Anyone can light up Dallas or Tennessee. It's more obvious all the time that the real MVPs of this team are Randy Moss and Jim Kleinsasser. Although it hardly matters. This team is going nowhere. Most likely, they will see the playoffs only if they buy a ticket. And if they do sneak in somehow, it will be just long enough to pick up their souvenir program. This a talented team full of underachievers. Going nowhere fast.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com