SN: The Quiet Vikings Will Make Some Noise This Year
by UnBannedVikingholic on Aug 24, 2011 6:03 PM CDT
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I just read an interesting article over at the Star Tribune. I seen some interesting quotes from the players that make me "optimistic" for this season.
"Last year was a little interesting," Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield said in his best deadpan. "We had the Brett Favre will-he, won't-he thing, Coach [Brad] Childress getting fired, Randy Moss coming and going and all that stuff with him, the Metrodome collapsing, games getting delayed and moved ...
"You name it and it happened to us in 2010."
Translation: The Vikings had a horrible year. Nothing could go right for them. The Bright Spot in the season is when head coach Leslie Frazier took over and led the team to a 3-3 record, including a win against the red hot Eagles at the time. The Randy Moss trade turned out to be a waist of time, money, and a draft pick. Keeping Childress for that long may have been worst.
I think the Vikings may be responsible for killing the Eagles momentum entering the playoffs. I also think that this season can't get worst than last season. Winfield uses the word "interesting" to the describe last season and in an aspect he's correct. My term for last season is "horrid".
"Leslie's influence on this team is big," defensive line coach Karl Dunbar said. "The kids can just relax, focus and work on getting better."
Translation: Frazier has come in and is in the process of turning this team around, while installing his demeanor into the whole squad.
I can't judge Frazier for being an excellent coach until he proves it in the regular season and playoffs, but he has gotten off to an excellent start with the team. Everyone seems to like his approach of things and hopefully it will pay its dividends.
"It feels as normal as normal can be in the NFL," Vikings defensive end Jared Allen said. "You have to take the bad with the good. With all the publicity and media attention we got the past two years with Brett comes all the chaos. Philly's going through it now because they got the so-called 'Dream Team.' They can have it.
"Look at all the teams picked to reach the Super Bowl every year," Allen said. "How many teams picked 'on paper' actually get there?"
Translation: Why did I go down to Mississippi last year, listening to our sucky head coach, just to bring back Brett Freaking Favre? It's a relief that that storybook is over and buried under all of the animals I've successfully haunted. I'm excited to know that the spot light isn't on us to shine this year, that's Philly. We don't need a light to shine on us, we will glow by ourselves. We may not win it on paper but we have a hell of a squad that no one expects to do anything.
Not a quote but I'd like to share this with you anyway.
Greenway called this year "almost a sense of relief." Neither he nor Peterson have complained about going into the final year of their contracts without long-term extensions. And Frazier's release of overweight left tackle Bryant McKinnie on Day 2 of training camp was met with support in the locker room when it could have gone the other way under a different leader.
How awesome are the leaders on this team? I think it's a HUGE deal that Greenway and Peterson aren't whining and complaining about a deal and have put their trust into the ownership to give them their well-deserved pay when the time is right. This is a positive encouraging situation. Leaders should lead by example. And Mt. Kinnie, didn't lead anything other than the hamburger eating contest.
"This season is the way I like things," Harvin said. "I loved playing with Brett, but I don't like people talking about us, saying what we could do, what we should do. I like being under the radar. That's the kind of person I am. I don't like interviews or brag or boast."
Translation: Our team will be way better without media attention and Cocky players. I'd rather be David than Goliath. The truth is NO team has proven anything this season yet and until then, no one should be crowned champions, especially the Vikings.
Before I post the last quote I'd like to say that this quote should tell the whole Story without translation.
"If you look at the division we're in, nobody is talking about us," Williams said. "That's a good thing. We can go quietly about our work and then make a lot of noise when the season starts."
Quotes Copied from: http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/128285378.html
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LF
The players really seem to be buying into Frazier. We FINALLY didn’t let one slip away from us. I’ve never felt confident in our head coaches (wasn’t around for Grant) and every time the HC spot was vacated they hired/promoted the wrong coach and let the good ones go on to other teams to become successes. We’ve had some very talented players and teams over the years but didn’t have the right HC. I think he could be the one to rally the troops and get the Viking organization that much deserved/needed championship. I realize he hasn’t even lead us in a single game yet and that it may take time but I think we finally have our HCOTF.
I don't know in the beginning I had confidence in Green
he really seemed to know what he was doing, just needed a lot of help on Defense.. He did take us to a crap ton of play off games though. Just couldn’t pony us up to the big dance.
Childress gone, TJack gone, new stadium on the way: it's like that Christmas when Santa brought prostitutes!
I wont argue with you
He definately was better than anything else we’ve had in my viking lifetime. He had a calm approach(like frazier) that seemed right at the time too. I was like 10 or 11 when he became our coach and I remember being cautiously optimistic (I guess I was a nervous kid). But never having a feeling that Green was going to go all the way. I enjoyed our high powered offense back in the late 90’s. We did come close..a couple times under green, but he couldnt take us over the hump.
Frazier just calms my nerves for some reason…from his determined gaze and calm appearance to his defensive knowledge and the obvious love the players have for him. Theres just something about the guy.
What I also like about the situation is we have potential offensive firepower with the likes of AP, shank and Percy yet the vikes have a bunch of knowledge and a number of stars on defense. Which is something Green didnt have besides a couple playmakers on D i.e. Randall. Which was one of the reasons he never took us to the promised land. A whole crapload of offense, but we could not stop anyone.
Forgot to mention that this was a great article, Vikingholic…Cheers
Revenge4McNabb (Revenge5McNabb won't work)
I’m not sure if I want to see McNabb smiling and having such a laid back good time. The man has something to prove to Philadelphia and something to prove to the Shanahans. I want to see Donovan McMad pissed off. He can do it quietly or loudly, just so he gets the job done.
Lead us to the playoffs & beyond Donovan. This is the year!
Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. - John Lennon
Great work once again Vikingholic
Good to see your site up and running again also.
The road to fulfillment in any line of endeavor is always marked by an initial breakthrough; however, that first taste of success needs to be replicated again and again in order for supremacy to be sustained. We are Vikings, and we shall rise again.
by Alittlemore_cowbell on Aug 24, 2011 11:25 PM CDT reply actions
Nice article man
thanks for putting all of this over here so we can see it, and nice opinions.
Childress gone, TJack gone, new stadium on the way: it's like that Christmas when Santa brought prostitutes!
I like flying under the radar.
This team has a lot of talent. Attitude & motivation go a long way in the NFL. Frazier seems to have a firm hold on the reins. I honestly think that if we win our 1st game at San Diego it will go a long way in determining our season. No ones go to pick us to win that game. We could go in there & destroy them & the pundits will just credit it to San Diego’s recent history of starting slow. We need to adopt Rodney Dangerfield as an honorary mascot.
Good job and a very positive sign
but you still need talent and quotes do not win games.
The offensive line is average at best. There are no two ways about that.
The wide receivers are average at best too. Percy is above average but the rest are at average or below.
The secondary is a huge question mark as is the WLB spot.
I am not very confident at all. I am hopeful though.
I think the first strike was McKinnie showing up out of shape and overweight. I am sure the front office was hoping he would be in great shape and have a really good year. What a HUGE disappointment already!
The players are saying good things and Frazier has their attention and respect. But you need talent most of all IMHO.
Good coaching can trump talent to a point.
Childress gone, TJack gone, new stadium on the way: it's like that Christmas when Santa brought prostitutes!
A kitchen fully stocked ain't nothing without a good chef
There were many years when the Vikes were loaded with talent and could not get deep into the playoffs.
In the NFL, most everyone has talent and ability. That is how they got there. Some have exceptional talent, but the two biggest variables, I think, are
1) Scheme — and everything that goes with it: out-scheming the other side, adapting during the season and during the game, adapting to the skills of your players and your team as a whole this is why coaching and coordinators are so key; and
2) Mindset — pick your cliche: the guy’s a winner, he is money, he is clutch, he plays mean, he plays with confidence, big mo. This is where team leaders come in. Farve comes in with some Mojo, and the whole team gels. Farve comes in looking old and off-key, the whole team seems to fall apart. What could Dumbo do before he got his magic feather??
All the naysayers are focusing on the weak spots — Herrera, Taylor, Sullivan, Johnson/Sanford. That’s really not where it’s at, in my view. If McNaab and AD and Percy get it going, if Allen and EJ and Winfield kick it into highlight gear, and the coaches come up with schemes that produce success — EVERYONE on the team will play better. The players are not robots. They are human beings, and body chemistry has a LOT to do with muscle performance and on-field decisionmaking. (Just recall AD single-handedly destroying the Pack in the 4th Qtr a few years ago — whatever brain cells kicked in for him, he became unstoppable. If only it came in a bottle.
Why do you think the stats in the NFL prove demonstratively that there is a home field advantage??? You think traveling really hurts performance? Or is it the crowd? Which do YOU think is more likely?
This team has enough horses. It may even be on the cusp of enjoying some new and effective schemes. We need team leaders to get everyone on a roll, and then …. WATCH OUT!!
TiggerSr
Jets
They bought into Ryans hype,and from what I have seen it works,they have a swagger,and play hard for him,why cant the Vikes buy into Fraziers hype.Talent is great,look at Randy Moss,could have been the Greatest ever,but look at Jerry Rice worked hard,didnt have the God given talent Moss has but he had the 1 thing Randy didnt,Determination,you cant put a measure on that.Ill take 22 players that are determined to win vs 22 players raw talent any day and thats what we got on the Vikes this year, Players buying into the hype.
I think we read too much what so called pundits believe as fact,when we should believe our own eyes,and our own feelings.
Gotta go with U.B.V. and Tigger here drink the Purple drink and believe,what can it hurt,drank it over 40 yrs ago,whats another Season believing,aint like I am going to give up after 40 yrs,Refill my glass Bartender,ill have what your having,if anything it should be interesting.
by speedlod on Aug 25, 2011 10:52 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd
☠★☪Creator of http://skolnation.co.cc and dedicated DN reader.
by UnBannedVikingholic on Aug 25, 2011 11:35 PM CDT up reply actions
Don’t underestimate talent though. I think Ryan’s attitude plays a part in their success but they’ve also got one of the strongest defenses in football, as well as a great OL.
Fire Slocum
by packallday555 on Aug 26, 2011 12:12 AM CDT up reply actions
Hmmmm
There is a circularity in the argument on both sides. What makes a defense “one of the strongest in football” and what makes an OL “great”? In the end, you are talking about their “performance” as compared to the performance of other defenses or Ols. You can measure “performance” to some extent (beyond the W-L record) by looking at stats, but even the stats are overdetermined — the performance of the offense can have a material effect on the performance of the defense; the performance of the QB can effect the stats of the OL, etc.
Even if you can accurately measure performance, how do you ascertain whether superior performance is due to “talent” or attitude/determination, mindset?? Generally, I think and surmise, we assume talent is given and nonvariable whereas attitude/detemination/mindset seem to ebb and flow, depending on all sorts of variables (momentum, leaders, pep talks, buying into the system, whatever). Yet, some players’ “talent” seems to go up and down independent of the aging process (eg, look at Farve in 2009) or Moss with the Patriots) and some players just seem to have that attitude that always seems to set them apart as winners, clutch, money (MJ, Bird, Mr. October, Magic, Elway, Farve, Manning, Jerry West) or as guys who always seem to leave everything they got on the floor or on the field for the entire game.
Is the Jet’s defense one of the strongest because of talent or attitude? In the end, how can you ever be sure you know what the difference is between the two?
I am a Northwestern alum. They won 3 games my entire 4 years there. I watched a guy named Barnett take a team of “nobodies” and, out of nowhere, smack down the Irish in South Bend, Michigan in the Big House, and go to the RTose Bowl as the number 2 or 3 team in the country (they easily could have been number 1 at that time but for a botched snap on a punt late in the 4th Qtr against the powerhoue from Miami of Ohio that year…) Anybody who thinks that was primarily “talent” as opposed to scheme and mindset is engaged in a thought process that is largely circular or tautological, in my view.
Buy into the scheme, lift each other up, and WIN.
Go Vikes!
TiggerSr
I hope you are right speedlod
but the comparison to the Jets is off IMHO.
In 2006 they took D’Brickashaw Ferguson OT and Nick Mangold C in the first round.
In 2007 they took Darelle Revis CB in the 1stround and David Harris LB in the 2nd round
In 2008 they took Vernon Goldson DE (bust) and Dustin Keller TE in the 1st round
They also added Calvin Pace DE/LB and Damien Woody OT/OG in free agency
In 2009 they took Mark Sanchez QB in the 1st round, Shonne Greene RB in the 3rd round, and Matt Slauson OG in the 6th round
They also added Jim Leonhard S and Bart Scott LB in free agency
In 2010 they took Kyle Wilson CB in the 1st round, Vladimir Ducasse OG in the 2nd round, Joe McKnight in the 4th round, and John Connor FB in the 5th round.
They also added Brodney Pool S and Ladanian Tomlinson RB in free agency and traded for Antonio Cromartie (conditional 3rd round pick which did become a 2nd round pick) and Santonio Holmes (for a 5th round pick).
In 2011 they took Muhammad Wilkerson DT in the 1st round and Kenrick Ellis DT in the 3rd round.
They also added Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason in free agency.
Comparing the Vikings to the Jets is way off base. Since 2006, they have drafted a first round left tackle and center, a second round tackle/guard, TWO first round corner backs (and trade fro another former first round CB), added another former first round pick in Woody for the offensive line, a first round QB, second round LB, and third round RB.
Just looking at what they have done to improve their offensive line and secondary blows the Vikings out of the water.
If you have a really good line then you can run the ball well. And if you have a really good secondary then you can blitz like crazy (i.e., scheme).
I agree scheme is important but TALENT trumps everything.
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