Sunday, May 20, 2012

Back from Valhalla..And more thoughts from the edge with Odin

I'm back from Valhalla. I went there to check with the Viking gods on what their thoughts were about the Vikes 0-4 start. What I saw there, no mortal should see. It was not pretty. Odin was particularly upset. Loki wasn't happy either. Thor was simply pissed, but also drunk, so we forgive him. But all of them were not happy equally about Donovan McNabb.

I myself, have been too apathetic about the season so far. In my younger years, I got far more upset. Not anymore. Oh there are flareups, but not any more flame-outs, like I used to.

So, a quick summary of the season so far. Quick notes: The Vikes have been sometimes impressive on defense, especially Jared Allen. His partner in crime on the other side Brian Robison is having a nice season thus far. Line-backing core has been solid in years past, continues. This brings hope to a defense that still lacks in the secondary. Special Teams pals Longwell and Klue have been rock solid.

Now the offense. All Day continues to be the man. Nuff' said. As we learned the last couple of years, we've seen what a difference a real QB makes. The Vikes of 2009 proved when you have a QB who is dialed in, Then we saw in 2010, what a QB who is kinda in, kinda out. This year, we are seeing the last act of a dying man. With each pass attempt that drops at the feet of a Vikings receiver, Donovan McNabb dies a little bit more professionally. What he lacks, in my opinion, is the loose play we love to see. For him, loose play would equate to making a complete pass. Percy continues to dazzle. The WR corps are struggling, but I'm willing to give them a break simply because of the trigger-man. It comes down to consistency. McNabb does not appear to have it.

Season Summary: The Losses to the Chargers, Bucs and Lions hurt because those were WINNABLE games. And the story in all 3 games was this, great first half and WTF am I looking at in the second half? The road loss to Kansas City was also winnable, but I wasn't sure if the Vikes wanted to win or not. I couldn't tell. The game last week with Arizona was an awesome display of what this team can be, if they decide they want to be, in the first quarter. But as we've seen this team doesn't finish games well. They are growing together. Maybe the lockout did hurt more than we thought. I would guess that this year's version will suffer only because of so many new moving new pieces. When you look around the league, you see that cohesive teams that played together and staff that have been together for awhile, they seem to be faring better than new teams are. I guess that's what should be expected.

This brings me to tonight's annual revival of our brothers in the NFC Norris Division, Chicago. Our previous loss to the Lions, ugly as it was, stung. Losing to the Bears would not only hasten the entrance of The Christian Ponder Experience and send Donovan to riding the pine on the bench, but send the Vikes to 0-2 in the division and in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes talk. Watching the first half of the game tonight, I'm not liking what I see. I'm getting sick.

The Vikes and Bears have a historic rivalry as do all of the NFC Norris division opponents have. These teams have been playing together for 50 years now and so naturally they have stories to tell. Each year is different, but the wounds don't stay as fresh as they used to. As you get older you realize, hopefully, there's always next year. But with the Vikings 50 years in now, how much longer can we, as fans keep saying that there's always next year? When do we get our chance to win a Super Bowl? In 2009 it was all there for us, as was 1998. But this isn't time to reminisce. It's time to Occupy Winter Park! #OWP.