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Three things rattling around in my cranium…

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Yet again, after a hard day at the radio/internet/selling/consulting/newspaper grind, here are three things banging inside my gray matter…

 

(1) In the end, the Minnesota Vikings just didn’t have enough offence on Sunday. Defensively, the Vikings were not embarrassed in that 26-14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, but on offence, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson just couldn’t get it done. 

 

However, in fairness, his receivers didn’t do much to get open, and that’s probably because Jackson had virtually no time to throw. On Sunday, the Vikings mediocre offensive line didn’t even reach mediocrity. Jackson went 15-for-35 For 164 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. On Monday and Tuesday, all the pundits in the Twin Cities were calling for his head.

 

And that’s fine, but if the Vikings don’t fix the right side of the offensive line and don’t find a better left tackle than Bryant (Where’d he go?) McKinnie, it won’t matter if the Vikings make a trade to get Peyton Frickin’ Manning next season. Before poor Jackson got set on Sunday, his pocket had already collapsed. That offensive line was embarrassing.

 

Still, overall, it was a good season for the Vikes. Brad Childress isn’t much of a coach and while his offensive line is terrible and his defensive secondary is thin, it’s apparent you can build an offence around Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. There might be a future yet.

 

(2) Happy to see Canada beat Sweden 5-1 in the gold medal final at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Men’s Hockey Championship. Somewhat disturbed to see the Swedes live up to every Don Cherry stereotype.

 

I really thought, after Thomas Steen, Nick Lidstrom, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg, that whole “Chicken Swede” thing had gone the way of the dinosaurs. After Monday night’s Canada-Sweden junior final, however, Cherry’s jingoistic rants about “Euro-hockey” might have been true.

 

If your goalie dives whenever someone comes within three strides of his crease and when your players spend every stoppage of play checking for blood, you’ve regressed back to the days when Swedish hockey players were so frightened of Canadians they almost always seemed on the verge of filing assault charges.

 

Sadly, the real gold medal final at the World Junior was Saturday night’s Canada-Russia semi. That was a great game featuring the two best teams in the tournament.

 

(3) Why is it, whenever I turn on a hockey game on Canadian television, I get Mike Milbury? Milbury is a Yank who singlehandedly destroyed the New York Islanders franchise, now he’s telling Canadians how the game should be played. Thank gawd for the mute button.

 

To make matters worse this week, former Detroit Lions president and franchise destroyer Matt Millen is now a TV football analyst and on Monday, he told the New York Times that he liked his new job. He also told the Times, he didn’t regret one thing about his eight seasons ruining the Detroit Lions and if he had to do it over again, he’d do it exactly the same way. That’s a moronic statement.

 

Sadly, that’s what passes for a TV football analyst these days.

 

Again, thank gawd for the mute button. 

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Random thoughts: Three things on my mind after a day of football and a week of hockey.

Posted on December 14, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Just some random activity in my grey matter…

No. 1…

 

As the Boston Bruins remain among the Top 3 teams in the National Hockey League, it’s been fun to watch the brilliant play of 33-year-old Shane Hnidy of Neepawa, Mb.

 

Here’s a guy who has bounced around the NHL for about eight seasons. He made it to the big time after toiling in the East Coast League and the American League. He’s been in Detroit (although he never actually played in Detroit), Ottawa, Nashville, Atlanta, Anaheim and Boston and now, he’s finally found a home — on the Bruins defence. 

 

And now that he’s averaging 20 minutes a game on a terrific team, it’s a good home, too.

 

No. 2…

 

Sean Avery is no longer a member of the Dallas Stars. The tough guy with the crazy mouth who made disparaging public comments about two ex-girlfriends has been dumped by Dallas.

 

Most hockey fans figured it was coming, but there is something just a tad disturbing about it. 

 

Frankly, it makes Dallas GM Brett Hull look really bad. In fact, it makes you wonder if Hull and the people around him have paid any attention to anything at all. Did they not know what they were getting when they signed Avery?

 

And No. 3…

 

I wonder how these big time mainstream media folks in Winnipeg, the one or two who clearly suggested the Minnesota Vikings were on the right track — and a better team — when Gus Frerotte took over as the team’s quarterback, feel about their ridiculous statements today?

 

Yesterday in Glendale, Arizona, Tarvaris Jackson pitched an almost perfect game for the Vikes – 11-for-17 for 163 yards four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 135.5 passer’s rating. He also turned and handed the ball to Adrian Peterson enough times so that Peterson could run for 165 yards on 28 carries.

 

That’s how the Vikings win (they won 35-14 in Arizona yesterday)  and that’s why T-Jack is the Vikings one and only quarterback. At least he’s the one and only quarterback if the Vikings expect to win in the post-season.

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Jackson benched. Frerotte will start against Carolina.

Posted on September 17, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress has made a decision. Gus Frerotte will start at quarterback this Sunday.

 

Apparently, this 0-2 start is Tarvaris Jackson’s fault. Apparently, it’s Tarvaris Jackson’s fault even though his receivers can’t catch (see: Bernard Berrian and Visanthe Shiancoe*) a cold and his coach calls all the plays anyway.

 

So this Sunday afternoon against the Carolina Panthers, 37-year-old Gus Frerotte will start at QB for the Vikings. One hopes this will be a one-week move.

 

The Vikings future is either Jackson or John David Booty. But Gus Frerotte? Remember, he’s 37-years-old.

 

Brad Childress, the one-time offensive co-ordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles and we hear, a quarterback coach of some renown, has had nothing but trouble with quarterbacks in Minnesota. When he arrived, he let Daunte Culpepper go and went with 37-year-old Brad Johnson. Then he drafted Jackson and went with him — or Brooks Bollinger — until now. Now he’s going back to a 37-year-old again.

 

Oh, and when is Jared Allen going to sack somebody? One in two weeks ain’t enough for what they’re paying this guy. 

 

The Vikings have the best runningback in the game in Adrian Peterson and a pretty interesting young quarterback in Jackson, but Brad Childress is a dud. When he goes, the Vikings will get going.

 

(*Just a thought. I could have caught the pass Shiancoe dropped in the end zone.)  

 

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No quit in Colts. Vikings blow 15-0 lead, lose 18-15 in fourth quarter collapse.

Posted on September 14, 2008 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

MINNEAPOLIS — There was absolutely no quit in the Indianapolis Colts offence on Sunday afternoon. 

 

After trailing for the entire game, the Colts put up 18 unanswered points in the second half, 11 in the fourth quarter, as the Colts came from behind to defeat the Minnesota Vikings 18-15.

 

The Vikings had built a 15-0 lead in the third quarter on a five Ryan Longwell field goals (of 45, 27, 53, 46 and 28 yards) but without any touchdowns, the Vikes simply didn’t get far enough ahead of Peyton Manning and the Colts, 

 

“I’m very proud of our effort today,” said Colts head coach Tony Dungy in a strangely quiet Colts locker room after the game. “We never got discouraged even though we were down 15-0 and I think a lot of that had to do with the fact we didn’t give up a touchdown. We had this feeling that if we hold them to field goals, then we can still catch them. It was great to see us win that game even though we continued to make a lot of mistakes.”

 

This was a huge win for Indy. As Dungy pointed out, “It’s important to get to 1-1 with Jacksonville next week.”

 

“That’s a big inter-divisional game for us and being 0-2 and facing those guys (the Jaguars) would have been really tough,” Dungy added. “What we take out of this victory is that we kept it close enough to win.”

 

Not surprisingly, the Colts comeback was led by quarterback Peyton Manning who played almost flawlessly in the final quarter to give the Colts their first win two starts this season.

 

On the final Indianapolis drive — right after the Colts defence stopped the Vikings inside their own five — Manning got Indy into  position for Adam Vinatieri to kick a 39-yard field goal with three seconds left on the clock to win it. 

 

On a third-and-nine, Manning threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne in the fourth quarter to tie the game, after Joseph Addai had run a yard for a disputed touchdown in the third quarter (not one replay showed clearly that the football ever got near the plane of the goal-line let alone crossed it).

 

With the win, Manning avoided the first 0-2 start since his rookie season in 1998. Yesterday Manning completed 26-of-42 passes for 311 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

 

“It just took a long time for us to get going,” Manning said afterward. “That’s two games in a row that we just didn’t come out firing on all cylinders. We’ll have to work on that.”

 

The Vikings, meanwhile, wasted an outstanding defensive effort and a particularly solid bit of work from tailback Adrian Peterson. Peterson rushed for 160 yards while Jared Allen, the multi-million dollar free-agent defensive end, who was acquired in a trade with Mansas City in the off-season, had three tackles and his first sack as a Viking.

But as the Colts’ Canadian offensive lineman, Calgary’s Dan Federkeil pointed out, the Vikings tired in the fourth quarter. 

“I’m really tired, but I don’t think I’m as tired as those guys (the Vikings defence),” said Federkeil, the University of Calgary grad who starts at right guard for the Colts. “That was a tough game today, but if you look at the way their defence played in the first quarter, compared to the fourth quarter, there was just no comparison. They tired and we were able to hang in there long enough to get the offence going.”

Vikings fans, in a loud, sold out Metrodome, really wanted to blame quarterback Tarvaris Jackson for the loss, but it was hardly his fault. Bernard Berrian, who was paid $16 million as a free-agent this past off-season, dropped three passes right in his hands. Visanthe Shiancoe dropped a perfect pass in the end zone. With any kind of help, Jackson could have been the hero.

The Vikings, now 0-2, face Carolina at the Metrodome next Sunday.

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It’s Week 2 in the NFL. Here are the 10 things you need to know.

Posted on September 14, 2008 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s Week 2 in the National Football League and we’re here in the press box at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis for a pretty important matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings.

One of these teams will shuffle out of the Humphrey Dome with an 0-2 record and after both teams were borderline dreadful in Week 1, no one will be surprised which of these two teams it is.

As he was called in a headline in the Twin Cities Star-Tribune this morning, Indy’s Peyton Manning is the "rusty, slow, dangerous quarterback." Granted, he and the Colts were drilled at home by Chicago last week, but you can never underestimate the things Manning can do.

The Vikings, meanwhile, are a team that didn’t pass the consistency test last week in Green Bay. They lost 24-19, but had a dozen opportunities to win the game. In the end, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson threw an interception on the final drive to lose it.

One of these teams will snap out of it today and we’ll have all the action and colour right after the final gun.

In the meantime, here are the 10 things you need to know heading into Week 2. (By the way, go see Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Burn After Reading. Spectacular flick.)

1.  By Tuesday morning, only 16 teams will be able to boast about having a perfect 2-0 record. That leaves at least 16 clubs at 1-1 or 0-2. Since NFL realignment in 2002, 42 of the 72 playoff teams (58.3 per cent) began the year at either 1-1 or 0-2.  Four of the past seven Super Bowl champions began their seasons with a 1-1 or 0-2 record, including the Super Bowl XLII Champion New York Giants. In case you’ve forgotten, the Giants started 0-2 last season and coach Tom Coughlin nearly got his butt fired.

2.  In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a scoop: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury. However, the NFL still has plenty of durable quarterbacks. New York Jets QB Brett Favre (I still have trouble writing, "New York Jets QB Brett Favre), who goes head-to-head against Matt Cassel and the Patriots today (more on that later), holds the NFL record for consecutive regular-season starts with 254. Indy’s Peyton manning will start No. 162 here in Minnie today.

3. Speaking of Peyton, he’s had plenty of success against the Vikings. According to the league, Manning has thrown four touchdowns in each of his two career games against Minnesota. With a similar performance today, he can become the first NFL quarterback to pass for four touchdowns in three consecutive games against an opponent. OK, that’s an obscure milestone, but it’s still pretty good.

4. And on the topic of obscure milestones the Eagles Donovan McNabb can break a 22-year-old record this Monday night when Philadelphia plays the Cowboys in Dallas. McNabb, coming off a three-touchdown performance last week against St. Louis, needs two TD passes against Dallas tomorrow night to surpass former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski (1977-86) as the Eagles’ career leader. Oh yeah, and Jaworski will be covering the game in Dallas for ESPN.

 5. When the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals meet up in the Cards home opener today, history suggests there will not be very many incomplete passes. Dolphins QB Chad Pennington (65.5) and Cardinals starter Kurt Warner (65.1) lead the NFL with the highest career completion percentages. That’s right, Pennington and Warner are 1-2 ahead of No. 3 Steve Young and No. 4 Peyton Manning.

6. Perhaps the most intriguing game of the weekend will feature the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. Before the season began, this was going to be a matchup between Jets QB Brett Favre, the NFL career leader in all the major passing categories, against three-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady. But Brady’s gone for the duration (knee surgery) and a seventh-round draft choice from 2005 named Matt Cassel is the quarterback. Cassel, who backed up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinert at USC, hasn’t started a game since high school. However, be fair. Brady was a sixth-round pick who carried a clipboard for a year before replacing the injured Drew Bledsoe. Favre, who now calls himself "a New Yorkian," was a second-round pick who was traded after his rookie year (and no starts) from Atlanta to Green Bay before he got his chance. This will be an intriguing matchup because after Brady’s success, you can’t write off Cassel quite yet.     

7. Atlanta Falcons rookie QB Matt Ryan’s 62-yard touchdown pass on his first NFL attempt last Sunday was the first time a player threw a TD pass of 50 or more yards in the first quarter of his NFL debut since Roger Staubach hit Lance Rentzel on a 75-yard TD bomb on Sept. 21, 1969.

8. The Cleveland Browns will try to bounce back, as they did last year, from a 28-10 opening game shellacking at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys, to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and end an ugly streak. After losing 34-7 in their 2007 opener to the Steelers, the Browns roared back in Week 2 last year with a 51-45 win over Cincinnati, so they know a quick turnaround is possible (they eventually finished 10-6). Problem is, the Browns are playing Pittsburgh a team that has won nine in a row over the Browns and 14 of the last 15.

9. What a Monday night matchup. Last week, the Philadelphia Eagles amassed  522 yards of total offence while the Cowboys picked up 487, to rank 1 and 2 after Week1. That means, Monday will be the first time since Nov. 19, 2006 (Cincinnati, 545 at New Orleans, 513) that teams have met the week after posting at least 475 yards of offense.

10. Oh yeah, and the quarterbacks were pretty hot last Sunday, too. Philly’s Donovan McNabb threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns while three Eagles receivers (rookie DE Sean Jackson, Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett) each  put up at least 100 receiving yards (the first time that has happened for Philly since 1960). Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ Tony Romo threw for 320 yards while putting together four long touchdown drives against the Browns.
 

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Could the Vikings be the best team in the NFC? Probably not, but they should be around in January.

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

When your quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson and you’re thin at half-a-dozen important positions, it’s unlikely you’ll be the team to beat in any league. Even if you happen to reside in the less-than-frightening NFC North.

 

However, all things being equal, the Minnesota Vikings should make some noise this coming National Football League season. After all…

 

The Vikings made an outstanding off-season acquisition by getting defensive end Jared Allen, the league’s sack king, from the Kansas City Chiefs for a couple of first-round picks. It was a good deal for the Vikings, a team that believes it can win right now. First round picks are obviously important, but if a team can acquire a player who can help it win right now, it’s a deal that has to be done. As most NFL coaches know, there might not be a next year, at least if you don’t win now.

 

The Vikings also acquired unrestricted free agents Bernard Berrian from the Chicago Bears and  unrestricted free agent Madieu Williams from the Cincinnati Bengals. Throw Berrian into the mix with Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade and the Vikings receiving corps is solid. Toss in Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson at runningback and there might not be enough footballs in the Twin Cities to make everyone happy. 

 

The offensive line of Jim Kleinsasser or Visanthe Shiancoe at tight end, Ryan Cook at right tackle, Anthony Herrera at right guard, Matt Birk at centre, Steve Hutchinson at left guard and Bryant McKinnie at left tackle is well above average and the kick and punt return teams are passable.

 

On defence, the front seven is very good with Jared Allen at left end, Pat Williams at left tackle, Kevin Williams at right tackle, and Ray Edwards at right end. The linebackers are Ben Leber at WILL, E.J. Henderson at MAC and Chad Greenway at SAM. However, lose one starter and the whole thing could come apart. The Vikings defensive front seven — healthy — is very, very good. It’s so thin and unproven, however, that injuries could rip it apart 

 

The defensive secondary is led by Darren Sharper at strong safety, with Madieu Williams at free safety and Antoine Winfield and Cedric Griffin on the corners. Marcus McCauley will see a lot of time in nickel and dime packages.

 

On the surface, and on paper, this team is pretty good. The key to the Vikings’ 2008 season, however, is health. If Tarvaris Jackson is healthy (he was 8-4 when he started last year), if Adrian Peterson stays healthy and if the defence stays healthy, the Vikings will challenge the Giants, Bucs, Seahawks and Redskins in the NFC.

 

If injuries strike down the important players on this team, the Vikings will find themselves battling Detroit for .500 and a trip to Giants Stadium to get smoked in the opening round of the playoffs.

 

Thousands of Winnipeggers head to the Twin Cities for Vikings football every year and I must admit, it’s been a few years since I liked my regional team at the start of a season.  

 

But I do like a healthy Minnesota Vikings team. In fact, I like them to challenge in the NFC.

 

Injuries? Well, then it could get ugly.

 

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