Thursday, October 31, 2013

The most over-rated Minnesota Vikings of all time

Sometimes coaches and general managers draft or trade for players who they think will put their team "over the top" and lead them to a Super Bowl. It doesn't always work out that way though. Here are some of the Vikings who were not worth the high draft pick or the trade that brought them to Minnesota.


10) Warren Moon, QB: Another one of Dennis Green's silly decisions, bringing in a washed up quarterback and the end of his career, in the hopes of catching lightning in a bottle. Didn't work out, as Moon's three years in Minnesota resulted in a big nothing.

9) E.J Henderson, LB: Started a lot of games for the Vikings but never really lived up to the hype that accompanied him coming out of college. Was basically an average linebacker, and never dominated opponents.

8) Randall Cunningham, QB: Only had a great year in 1998 because he was surrounded by other outstanding players on offense, and had coach Brian Billick calling the plays. Choked in the team's NFC championship game, and there's no way he should have been kept on for the 1999 season over QB Brad Johnson.

7) Darrin Nelson, RB: A much heralded first round pick in 1982, Nelson did not become a standout running back the team had envisioned. He never rushed for 1,000 yards in a season and wasn't very explosive, averaging only 8.8 yards per reception, 8.0 yards per punt return, and 22.4 yards on kick returns. The Vikings passed up Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen to take Nelson. Big mistake.

6) Mark Mullaney, DE: Although he played in 151 games and started 97 in his 12 years with the team, Mullaney didn't seem to learn much from playing behind great ends Carl Eller and Jim Marshall. He never came close to being even an average pass rusher, let alone one that was worth a first round selection. A symbol of the Vikes' mediocrity from 1979 through the mid-1980's.
5) James White, DT: Although a first round draft pick, White didn't exactly turn out to be the next Alan Page. Started 61 games for Bud Grant during his eight years with the team. Not sure why Grant cut Page, thus making White the regular RDT; Bud must have been an optimist. White didn't even make Les Steckel's 1984 mess of team, being waived at the end of training camp.

4) David Palmer, WR: Before the start of each season coach Dennis Green would rave about "his" 1994 second round pick Palmer. What did Palmer produce in his seven year career? A mere 9.9 yard average on punt returns, only 22.6 yards on kickoffs, and no more than 26 receptions in a season, with a career average of 8.6 yards per catch. Whee!

3) Duante Culpepper, QB: Culpepper only had two good years (2000 & 2004) but was still named to many "50 Greatest Vikings of All Time" lists. Why? He was mediocre most of the time and hardly worthy of a first round draft pick. He's just another one of Denny Green's "guys" who never panned out.

2) Bryant McKinnie, OT: Why was this guy named to some Greatest Vikings of All-Time lists? McKinnie was reliable but was never a standout. The team has had other offensive tackles who were much better players.

1) Herschel Walker, RB: Obviously wasn't worth what the Vikings gave up for him. Never even rushed for a thousand yards once in his three years with the team. What a disaster.



source for statistics: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Minnesota Vikings are a lost cause

Only the Chicago Cubs can come close to the agony that the Minnesota Vikings put their fans through.

I doubt if we'll ever know the truth behind the recent signing of quarterback Josh Freeman.

Was it ordered by owner Zygi Wilf, because Wilf was disgusted with the team's quarterback play, namely Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel? Did Wilf instruct head coach Leslie Frazier to start Freeman, even though he wasn't ready to play even at the minimum level required for a professional quarterback?

Did Frazier want Freeman on the team because he's a black quarterback? Did Frazier start Freeman because he's a black quarterback?

Did general manager Rick Spielman and the scouting staff push to sign Freeman because of his impressive physical tools?  Scouts tend to get excited about athletic players - even if they have lousy on-field statistics.  He's got a cannon for an arm - so what if he only completed 40% of his passes in a season.

Freeman overthrew his receivers so many time in Monday Night's loss to the Giants he must have thought they were all eight feet tall.

At the start of the season I was optimistic and thought the Vikings would go 11-5 and reach the playoffs, although probably not get past the first round. Now I'm not so optimistic. I'm afraid Viking fans might be looking at another 3-13 season.

Minnesota has talented players who are not playing up to their potential (see cornerbacks Josh Robinson and Chris Cook), were over-rated by the coaches and scouts (see quarterback Christian Ponder and guard Brandon Fusco), or just aren't that good in the first place (see offensive tackle Phil Loadholt and guard Charlie Johnson).

It's time for the  coaches to scrap the Tampa-2 defense, which clearly isn't working anymore, either due to the scheme itself or because the team doesn't have the right players to operate it effectively.

The offense has no creativity at all. The play calling was conservative and boring even before Freeman's start on Monday.

Maybe this team needs new ownership (again) to go along with a new GM, scouts and coaches. For now Viking fans can only dream about the day when their team will be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Yankees should fire Cashman, scouting staff

At an end of the season press conference New York Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman took responsibility for the team missing out on the playoffs for only the second time in twenty years.

Well if that's the case, ownership ought to fire him, as well as the administrators and scouts that handle drafting of high school and college players.

Certainly a major league team that finishes with an 85-77 record can hardly be considered a dismal failure. However what can be considered a failure is the team's drafts for the past ten years, or longer. The Yankees have not produced enough legitimate players from their farm system to be a contender.

While George Steinbrenner's win-now philosophy contributed to the team's chasing after free agents and trading prospects for established players (some of whom were already washed up and over the hill) this has been entirely Cashman's operation for over eight years now. He demanded full control of the farm system operation and got it. So far, he hasn't held up his end of the deal. Cashman also spoke out against one move ownership made without his approval - signing closer Rafael Soriano - and he turned out to be wrong about that one too, as Soriano filled in capably last year when Mariano Rivera was out with a knee injury.

Obviously, no one is going to replace Rivera, but with all the injuries that occurred in 2013 you would think the Yankees could have brought up at least one decent player from the minor leagues to fill a hole in the lineup. Nope. So all Cashman did was claim whatever flim-flam was available on the waiver wire, then throw it up against the wall and hope that it would stick. Anyone can do that. What takes some skill and expertise is knowing which baseball player to draft out of high school and college each year, and also how to develop them in the minor leagues.

In the press conference Cashman admitted that the Yankees have a lot of holes to fill before the 2014 season begins. It's too bad they can't count on any of their own prospects to plug those gaps.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

The biggest TV news moments of all time

Television has provided people with the opportunity to view news as it happens. TV Guide recently released its list of the 60 biggest news moments on TV in the history of the medium. Here is one viewer's opinion of the 10 most notable news events on TV of all time, based on too many years of watching television...

10) A man stands in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China - 1989

9) Walter Cronkite speaks out against the Vietnam War - 1968

8) Morley Safer reports on U.S. Marines burning the village of Cam Ne in Vietnam - 1965

7) President Nixon's resignation - 1974

6) Th Gulf War - 1991

5) Jack Ruby's shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald - 1963

4) The Challenger explosion - 1986

3) The September 11 attacks - 2001

2) The John F. Kennedy assassination - 1963

1) The moon landing -1969

Thursday, October 10, 2013

How about a Detroit Lions - Cleveland Browns Super Bowl?

We’re five weeks into the NFL season and some teams already seem to be looking toward next year. Still, parity in the NFL has resulted in most teams reaching the Super Bowl at least one time. The Jacksonville Jaguars, in existence since 1995, have yet to make it. Nor have the Houston Texans, but they’ve been around for only 10 years.

On the other hand, two established franchises still have never been to a Super Bowl. The Detroit Lions formed in 1930 and the Cleveland Browns in 1946. Neither have been to a Super Bowl. The last NFL championship for the Browns was in 1964, just before the first Super Bowl. The Lions? A NFL title in in 1957. Since the Super Bowl began? Merely one appearance in the NFC championship game, in 1991. Whew.

Management of these two clubs need to put some extra effort into making their teams competitive. Manage your salary cap better, sign some quality free agents, don’t get cute in the college draft. Some teams may not have won a Super Bowl yet, but at least they’re contenders during most seasons. It must be tough to be a fan of a non-competitive team, sticking with them year after year. I give you all a lot of credit.

So far this season the Lions and Browns have been competitive, so here’s hoping they both find success for the rest of 2013 and are able to make the playoffs. They are certainly capable of putting a winning team on the field come January. Their fans deserve no less.