Ok without a doubt I realize I can be accused of being biased on this subject. But Holy Crap is this a brutal assessment!!
http://www.foxsports.com/lastword/takes010208.sml
What’s the consensus from the Viking Fan contingent? Specifically Rysdad and pURPLE pRIDE? What’s going on in Viking land?
Yeah, I think some very hard times are about to descend upon the Vikings. That will not help their stadium bid, to say the least. (But the San Antonio Vikings just doesn’t sound right.)
[hijack] I laughed my ass off reading his comments about the Memphis Maniax of the XFL which follows the Vikings article:
“The National Mental Health Association says the name of the Memphis franchise is insensitive to the mentally ill. They are asking the Memphis Maniax to change their name…It’s not like they call themselves the Memphis bi-polar disorders, or the Memphis clincally depressed. Get over yourselves already. And God forbid we offend maniacs. I know that maniac contingent is a valuable one, we don’t want to lose their support…” [/hijack]
It’s true, it’s all true, every word of it. Or maybe I’m just a little pessimistic.
Had the Vikings gone to the Super Bowl, regardless of winning or losing, their stadium bid would have far better chances than it does now. I’m not optimistic about keeping the Vikings in the NFC Central (let alone Minnesota) for the next three years.
I think Robert Smith’s retirement will hurt the Vikings more in the locker room than on the field. (Commence talking out of my ass. Go!) I think Smith was a respected force in the locker room, even if he didn’t socialize with other players. I think Randy Moss will keep getting more and more wild, and the Vikings will at first make him a franchise player, and then trade him off in disgust as he becomes the worst ‘me-first’ player in the league. Cris Carter has one more year in him at best, at which point he’ll probably join the coaching staff.
After being tantalized and then cheated for almost a decade of watching Vikings football, I’m tempted to become an anti-Vikings fan, and cheer for whoever the hell is playing them that week.
Sigh.
I have to lay alot of the fault at the feet of Dimmy Green.
The Vikes locker room isn’t the happy-happy-nice-nice place he often claims that it is. The way he released some former players angered some others…Robert Smith in particular. That’s why the Vikings heard of Smith’s retirement by reading it in Smith’s hometown newspaper.
Personally, I don’t care if Randy Moss “takes off” 90% of the plays…as long as he scores on the other 10% (which obviously didn’t happen in the Giants game).
I wish Red McCombs would persuade The Tuna out of retirement. He could come in and kick some player’s asses and get them motivated enough to actually win a big game.
I fear that the Vikes will end up with some Packer cast-off running back (or even (shudder) a pedophilic tight end) and still not develop any kind of defense even with the money they’ll save on Smith’s contract.
Re: The stadium issue…who knows? The Governor doesn’t want to spend any public money on it; the Vikes are still trying to partner with the U of M somehow; Ol’ Red ain’t helping out much.
In sum: Denny Green bites, Randy Moss is just lazy enough to remain a superstar, and I don’t give a damn about a stadium. 
All the Vikings need to do is grab He Hate Me from the XFL and they’ll be just fine.
Isn’t Jim Rome a maniac? (He’s gotta great point, though.)
As for the OP, you never know what’s going to happen. Losing Smith probably means the Vikes won’t make a significant playoff run this year. (Wow, when I heard he retired, I just assumed I misheard.) But, Green’s great at keeping his head above water. With some rebuilding, the vikes could be back in the hunt in a couple years. The NFL is pro-parity, so everybody’s gotta chance. Ask the Rams and Ravens.
But, I’m not saying the vikes will do it in Minnesota. I hope they stay there, though. I hate to see established teams with good fan support move.
Up front: I’m a Giants fan, not a Vikings fan.
Now, though I was DELIGHTED to see the Giants wallop the Vikings, I did NOT take the Giants big win as a sign that they were waaaay better than the Vikes, or that the Vikes had no heart. Rather, the Vikings season ended as MOST teams’ seasons end: in devastating defeat. The same thing happened to the Giants, just two weeks later. Using Jim Rome’s logic, should we conclude that the GIANTS have no heart and no talent? Heck, shouldn’t we conclude that NOBODY has any talent or heart except the Ravens?
FOr a host of reasons, the championship game or Series in big time sports is often a disappointment, at least from an entertainment point of view. One team- not necessarily the better one, in fact- frequently gets on a roll, and STOMPS the second-best team. Examples abound, but we’ll stick to football.
In 1983, the Redskins beat the Raiders 37-35, in a very tight, exciting game, a game that accurately showed how evenly matched the two teams were. In the Super Bowl, however, the Raiders SLAUGHTERED the Redskins.
In 1986, the Giants and Broncos slugged it out, in a 19-16 game. That the Broncos played so well against the Giants IN NEW JERSEY shows how evenly matched the teams were. But in the Super Bowl, the Giants crushed the Broncos.
What happens? When you’re playing against top-notch opposition (in the Super Bowl, naturally, you always are!), one or two mistakes can put you in a deep hole quickly. IF Joe Montana connects to Jerry RIce early, and THEN you throw a costly interception, the 49ers can be up 14-0 in no time… and once that happens, you’re sunk. You HAVE to pass, their defense knows it, and they can come after the quarterback all afternoon! You CAN’T play your normal game, and things can get ugly in a hurry.
In their best year, the Giants beat the 49ers by a 49-3 score. Do I REALLY think the Giants were 46 points better? Do I think the 49ers “quit,” or “had no heart”? Of course not. It just so happened that things broke the Giants’ way early, Montana got hurt, and the Niners were NEVER able to do the things they do well.
In the Viking game, the Giants played well AND got lucky. They got a big lead early (rare for them), which meant they could ignore RObert SMith, take chances, blitz Culpepper a lot, and keep the Vikings out of their regular game plan.
So… I don’t love the Vikes, NEVER liked Randy Moss, and don’t care much for Denny GReen. But I respect the all a LOT more than Jim Rome does, and don’t see any reason they couldn’t be championship contenders next season.