If Childress if still the HC, I hope he surrounds himself with some better coaching staff: OC, Spec. Ed. Teams, and we all know finding a replacement for Fraiser is gonna be the toughest spot to fill.

I wouldn’t be surprised though if a lot of the coaches stay!

certain roster positions. The special teams were wiped after Heath Farwell and Boulware went down in preseason as both were counted on big there. You can coach until the cows come home but when a kr catches kick with no defender within 15 yds. of him that’s a player problem.

Yes, Bevell’s playcalling, brilliant in the first but horrid in the second, is a problem at times but even given some of Jackson’s limitations this team isn’t exactly scaring anyone at WR. Sidney Rice, who many were predicting would have a breakout year, regressed horribly. Some of that may be due to the early season knee injury but the fact is he’s not physical enough to shed press coverage and his route-running is pathetic. If you’re gonna run a drive route you damn well best get it in gear, stick your foot in the ground and make that db hesitate on the break. Otherwise, he’s gonna jump that route every time. That pick Samuel ran back was as much Rice’s fault as TJ’s.

Berrian’s a home run hitter and he needs a dependable underneath guy to get the safeties attention. The Vikes currently have no one who fits that bill even though I like Bobby Wade and Shiancoe’s a future Pro Bowler.

The OL needs a real ORT (although Cook didn’t play terribly as is his usual practice) and possibly a new center as Birk didn’t have a real great year.

On defense, Sharper’s lost a step the past two years and is late getting over all the time. Plus, his tackling angles have declined as well (as witnessed by Marty Booker turning a routine curl into a 60 yd td in the first Bears game). Tyrrell Johnson looked somewhat lost at times y’day (the Iggle TEs killed us the second half) but he’s got the talent to get the job done and should benefit by another full camp working with Madieu Williams. Otherwise, I don’t have much to say about the defense that has been quite good enough the last couple years to get a team to the big game.

I say try and get a decent WR in FA or the draft and a couple of OL prospects in the draft and the Vikings should be in the playoffs again next year.

Oh. . . and cut out the damn stupid mistakes.

but seriously, is there any doubt that if Bill Billichick is the coach of this team, that the Vikings finish the season 13-3 or 14-2?

You can’t fire a guy that has a win/loss record that is steadily improving, and that just won his division… or can you? I don’t think you can, and it certainly seems that the Wilf’s agree, so what happens now?

The offense has to change. We all know Peterson may very well be the second coming, but Chester Taylor has been under-utilized. He’s too good for 10 touches a game. I don’t think the Vikings have a single pass play that’s designed to go longer than 15-yards, unless a defensive back falls down or some idiot leaves one db to cover two guys (thanks again Lovie, by far the highlight of the year). The only long play the Vikes seem to run with any regularity is ‘chuck it deep and hope for intereference… on two.’

Figure something out. Lose Bevell. Pay someone to kidnapp Brad Childress and see if someone can coax The Chin out of retirement.

Well… nevermind that last idea. That’s so crazy it just might work.

lol boo to no option of letting me choose my eagles as the better half lol , granted i understand everything about being a disgruntled fan lol but a 1 option survey lol boo gonzo boo … jk

I think that the Vikes are in desperate need of the right QB. Anyone know why they didn’t make a play for Pennington when Pennington came free? If they had, the Vikes might have been the ones coming of a bye week right now, fresh and rested.

The QB situation has been hammered to death, but the bottom line is that the Vikes need a competent, accurate veteran QB. We don’t even know if Gus is going to return next year, and at 39 years old, I wouldn’t count on it.

Berrian isn’t a dog, but he’s no super fast speedster, either. He relies on the defense being out of position in order to get separation, and that’s not good enough. Rice and Allison were picked up on the cheap and the Vikes got what they paid for there. I’m not hatin’ on any of them, but I think the Vikings really need a significant very fast threat to anchor the receiving corps and stretch the field more than 20-30 yards. Slow recievers mean the QB has to hang in there longer, waiting for someone to get into position and open, and that’s going to get him sacked more often.

Shanko’s really improved at the TE spot, and I think he’s just going to get better. Same for the D-Line, they stepped up big-time and showed that we have some formidable depth there. The O-Line worries me though. As good as Hutch and McKinney are, they aren’t enough, and an NFL QB can only take so much pounding before he breaks. Moreover, an improved O-Line can only help AP and CT to rack up some truly impressive numbers. We definitely need some shoring up there, and this draft is supposed to be a good one for linemen.

Sharper may be long in the tooth, but those teeth are still pretty sharp. I don’t think that screen pass would have gone 71 yards for a TD if Sharper had been in the backfield, the man is canny and often makes up for any loss in speed with his experience and knowledge. Had that TD not happened, the Vikes could have played harder for field position, and a field goal to win the game. Sharper is going to be tough to replace.

Bevell… as the saying goes, “hangin’s too good for him!”. There’s got to be some good replacements available there. Chilly will be around at least another year, hard to argue with success, but the damned play calling needs to be a lot less conservative.

a play maker for you guys would none the less make a difference, and in any defense one more play maker is all the better but you guys had a solid d starting sunday …. you had me on my toes as a fan the whole time , you def stood up to being a good run D just as much as we did minus both our star running backs td runs ( you cant count aps red zone run really) both our d’s played very very hard and held the run game to very limited stats … like i believed along with jason b (admin of our bleeding green nation) the first score after half time would be the deciding factor … you guys have a sick d and when fully healthy would be even worse … im telling you guys as much as i dont want to admit it , with smart draft choices in the next two years ( and for your sake ) a smarter tavaris jackson … will be a HEAVY force to recon with !!!

Soooo, been around for LOTS of disappointments.. We can’t have a coach who is soooo conservative and QB who can not read blitzs. So as long as Vikings have both, which we have, no matter how good our defense is and Peterson is, we will continue to suffer thru disappointments…Defense wins championships..We have had best running defense for last 3 years with passing defensive getting better each year. Again, conservative coach and QB we have, we will continue to suffer disappointments…And as with every team that is close to having a championship team, you have a window of few years and that window will be closing soon…

The Lions are the best of the North

p.s. tune in Sunday at 1:00 EST to learn some of our starters’ names

We want to go far in the playoffs…which is y we need a QB and a new coach to develop said QB… I say we go out and get Matt Cassell…any one whose done reps behind Tom Brady and took the Patriots to 11-5 with only basically two other good players on that team (the great Randy Moss and Wes Welker) needs to be considered. Plus Cassell versus Rodgers would be the next Manning versus Brady.

And as a coach we get Mike Shanahan…..might i remind you people he coached Elway.. Enough said.

Detroit Lions…ROFL….i crack up any time i hear their names!

I knew there was no chance we had the team to go all the way, but MAN, it still hurts. Good job of putting an optimistic twist on it Gonzo, it does ease the pain somewhat. I agree, we have a defense to reckon with. Who else thinks that if Pat would’ve been healthy, the Vikes would have gotten that safety? Man, that was so close! To all Vikings fans that were at the game, great job at making bellowing out the sound. The stadium was deafening. And to all the Philly fans, great job at supporting your team while acting like perfect guests. There may have been some who did not, but I did not see any. Oh well, bring on the draft.

casually coming over to your blog cause i was bored…

this poll is awesome lol

If you keep trying the same thing over and over and recieving the same results that is the definition of insanity. And the Vikings are insane. Childress has no killer instinct we need a good veteran QB not Frerotte he sucks someone like Garcia or McNabb. Use Peterson for something besides running up the gut. Try a flea-flicker or run to the outside more often… the offense is a serious joke t-jack is not it anyone that says he is is a moron.

It looks like the Vikes know they need a #1 WR, but they weren’t willing to pay the big bucks for the Canadian Football League’s top WR, Jamal Richardson;

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=262262&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_cfl

Makes me wonder who else they’re eyeballing right now, and how high Wilf is willing to jump for it

Several things…learn from the past and don’t let your defensive coordinator get hired by another team. Fire Childress-promote Frazier. Okay, unlikely to happen in ‘09, so court Cowher (as he said he’s not coaching this year-get him for 2010) and trade for a QB who has Drew Brees like capability when he came out of San Diego…Carson Palmer coming off an injury season in crappy Cincy where he’s been stuck in oblivion. Put him behind Fort Knox in MN. with a D and running game and we have ourselves an inexpensive, experienced with good miles left in the tank QB. Cassel will be overpriced now that he’s been franchised, so go with Palmer! Also could use another quality WR opposite Berrian so go get Palmer’s favorite WR in TJ Housh (free agent) and bring ’em north for a Super Bowl!

Resign: Birk, Kleinsasser
Dont Resign: Sharper (hes done), Bevell, or our Not so Special Team’s Coord.
FA: Cassel-starter and Hasselbeck (seahawks) as a primary backup, and TJ-Whosyermomma from Cincy.
     Gus wont/shouldnt be back, Tjack is third string, Booty practice Squad/third string
Draft: Right Tackle, A specials teams returner/tackler, and a corner (Sapp sucks)
   Move Hicks back to right guard

Depth Chart at WR: Berrian, TJ, Wade, and Rice
Coaching: Keep Chilly, Fire Bevell, bring Billick to handle the play calling (former Viking OC). That way should Chilly somehow manage to have a losing season with the schedule in 09, we have our pick in ’10 from The Chin, Marty Shotty, Shannahan, or Brian Billick if he does a great job as our OC in 09!
-Sounds Good, Vikings have hope with Ziggy writing the checks.