FanPost

Matt Cassel was GOOD against Kansas City. So take that!

Well, it was only a matter of time. Eventually it was going to happen. The boo birds were waiting and just licking their beaks hoping for the chance to go back to their favorite offseason phrase "and we know he's not the answer." After Saturday's game, those people got their chance. Matt Cassel was pounced on for having had a bad game. Our own Ted Glover labeled Cassel a Junk Bond after Saturday's performance.

Matt Cassel, QB: Outside of the opening drive, Cassel was very inconsistent. The Vikings offense struggled to move the ball, and the only other scoring drive in the first half was a FG in the second quarter. He fumbled the ball out of the end zone for a safety and threw a pick once the Vikings did seem to get the ball moving at one point. As well as he's played so far, this was a subtle reminder that Cassel is who we thought he is--a veteran journeyman who can have pretty good moments, but also some pretty bad ones.

And Ted wasn't the only one. There were plenty of comments by the DN faithful that indicated that they were ready to jump ship and get aboard the Bridgewater Express. Perhaps most notable for their disgust of Cassel as quarterback was Cordarrelle Wiggins, the new personality who became a DN member earlier this week for what I expect was the express purpose of telling us all how bad Matt Cassel is. Even Cassel's first drive was a source of great annoyance to Wiggins. I can only imagine his glee as the Cassel led offense struggled through much of the first half.

So let's toss Cassel to the curb. It's where he belongs anyway. He's never been good... or when he has been good, it has been a fluke or too long ago to be relevant. He's bad. For goodness sake, if he were any good, he wouldn't have been Ponder's backup last year. If you were looking for your opportunity to finally give Cassel the heave ho this season, you finally got your chance yesterday.

But guess what! I actually think Matt Cassel played well yesterday. In my opinion, the failure of the first-team offense to consistently advance the ball yesterday had very little to do with Cassel. In fact, I think Cassel was quite good. And I have come to that belief that based on things I saw while sitting in the stands as well as watching the game on television this morning. As was the case with Ponder and Webb, I think gut reactions and an overreliance on end-of-game stats lead too many fans to the wrong conclusions about their quarterbacks.

I will admit that Matt Cassel will have games in which he isn't great or even good. I believe that happens to every quarterback. However, last night's game wasn't a bad game. Cassel was just fine. In fact, he was better than just fine. He was good and, at times, dang good! Here's what I observed to be the primary challenges with the first-team offense last night after studying the game:

Running game: The Vikings relied heavily on the run game, and early in the game the run game had a lot of trouble producing. It got going later, especially in the second half, but it really had trouble early on - as it has through much of the pre-season.

Offensive line: In addition to challenges in the run game, the offensive line had some big lapses in the passing game. Three of the eight drives on Saturday night were ended by horrible pass protection and sacks. And those sacks were 100% on the offensive line. The pressure was on through much of the night, and I confess that I'm worried about what that might mean for the regular season.

Critical penalties: A holding call on Phil Loadholt and an offensive pass interference penalty on Kyle Rudolph created unnecessary challenges for the offense.

Untimely mistakes by receivers in critical situations: And then of course, there were the receiver issues.

  • Greg Jennings failed to drag his foot and instead of a 29 yard completion for a 1st down, the Vikings were facing 3 and 14.
  • Patterson dropped an easy one that I think would have been a TD.
  • And the most controversial play was an interception on Cassel when he threw into double coverage on Simpson.

I'll talk about those plays in more detail later, but I think you can see where I'm heading with this. There were plenty of issues on offense that had a very big impact on the offense's inability to sustain drives. I think Cassel was the least of the Vikings troubles. In fact, I think Cassel did an awful lot right last night.

At this point, I'm going to go drive-by-drive here to remind folks of how the drives occurred, why they failed, and how Cassel performed. Strap in for the ride or bail out now. It's gonna get a bit long and probably tedious too. Here's goes:

Offensive series #1: Dustin Colquitt made a beautiful punt that bounced at the 1 yard line and went out at the 3 yard line. That's a tough spot to start any drive.

1st and 10 from Min 3: Asiata ran right for 2 yards.

2nd and 8 from Min 5: Cassel took the snap and looked to the center of the field. He then looked right. He didn't see anything he liked so he looked to Asiata swinging to the left. Derrick Johnson, the 9 year veteran linebacker for the Chiefs, saw where Cassel was going and ran towards Asiata to cut off the pass. The TV angle doesn't show just how great a pass it was. From the stands, it was clear that Cassel had to throw a perfect pass to Asiata. Less than a perfect pass would have resulted in either an interception, or a loss of momentum for Asiata and a tackle for a loss. Cassel's throw was on the money and it allowed Asiata to catch the ball while moving to the sidelines and up field. Without breaking stride he was able to catch the ball and run around Johnson and turn the bailout option on the play into a 31 yard gain. When Cassel made the pass, I exclaimed amidst a sea of Chiefs fans, "Oh, WOW! What a throw!" My small son, who was wearing his Chiefs jersey, wasn't happy hearing his dad say that.

1st and 10 Min 6: Asiata up the middle for 6 yards behind a really nice lead block from fullback Jerome Felton.

2nd and 4 Min 42: Asiata went right for 5 yards.

1st and 10 Min 47: Cassel threw a beautiful bomb to Patterson for a 53 yard touchdown. Kansas City only rushed 4 on the play, and Cassel had a perfect pocket and clearly used the time to look downfield. He quickly saw that Patterson had beat the coverage, and Cassel threw a perfect throw. The result was 53 yards and a TD. Wow! Chiefs fans were pretty surprised. Candidly, I was too. It was an amazing start to the game, and it relied almost entirely on two picture perfect throws from Matt Cassel.

Drive summary: Could this drive have been any better? Nope. Cassel was magic.

Offensive Series #2: Dustin Colquitt got off another beautiful 54 yard punt. Sherrels fielded it and was tackled for a 1 yard loss.

1st and 10 Min 22: Asiata ran right but tripped and fell before getting to the line of scrimmage. The result was a 3 yard loss.

2nd and 13 Min 19: So on 2nd and 13, I figured the Vikings would call a passing play. They didn't. They tried Asiata again, and he delivered a pretty good 7 yards by fighting his way for the last 4 yards.

3rd and 6 Min 26: This was a passing play, and it wasn't pretty. Tamba Hali abused Matt Kalil with a speed rush around the left edge. He came on Cassel's blind side. Cassel didn't have a chance. He was sacked for a 6 yard loss. The drive stalled. And the Vikings had their first 3 and out.

Drive summary: Is there any opportunity to blame Cassel for this drive? Nope. The drive consisted of two runs and a blown block. Cassel was sacked faster than you could say, "Oh no! Cassel! Watch out!"

Offensive Series #3: Captain Munnerlein's interception put the ball at the Minnesota 6. I'm sure the offense would have preferred that Munnerlein take a knee in the end zone, but what are you going to do? Sometimes the offense just has to do its business from deep in its own territory.

1st and 10 Min 6: Asiata ran up the middle. He was met by Derrick Johnson who shot the gap and tackled Asiata for a 3 yard loss. Felton probably should have blocked Johnson but instead chose to block a different gap. Asiata never had a chance to follow him. Johnson got through the hole too soon.

2nd and 13 Min 3: Loadholt was out for this series. He was replaced by Austin Wentworth at right tackle. Wentworth had a nice run block on the previous play, but he looked awful on this play action pass. When the ball was snapped, Cassel faked a handoff to Asiata. There was noone left in the backfield to block. By the time Cassel turned to look downfield, the Chiefs defensive end, Jaye Howard, was past Wentworth and was crossing the plane of the end zone with a full head of steam on his way to Matt Cassel who stood only 2 or, at most, 3 yards away. Cassel had been back pedaling when he saw the charging Howard. He tried to tuck the ball while simultaneously dodging Howard. Cassel faked to his left and went right, while at the same time tucking the ball into his right arm. Howard missed tackling Cassel but hit the ball as Cassel was securing it. The ball came out and rolled out of the end zone for a safety.

I read some comments that suggested that Cassel needed to do a better job of protecting the ball. I disagree. Cassel did everything that could be hoped for from a QB. He reacted in an instant to Howard's rush and managed to avoid the tackle. By rights he should have been tackled for a safety. Instead, Howard managed to hit the ball as he passed Cassel. It was unlucky for Matt and the Vikings, but the problem on this play wasn't Cassel. It was Wentworth's missed block. There was some debate on the part of the announcers as to whether or not Rudolph was responsible for helping Wentworth out. I can't answer that as I don't know what Rudolph's assignment was on the play, but Wentworth completely whiffed on his block, and Cassel didn't stand a chance on that play.

Drive summary: The Vikings drive stalled after 2 plays for a 2 point safety. The drive consisted of one negative yard run and a missing blocking assignment on the subsequent play. Again, I think anyone who studies this play from an unbiased perspective would find it to be incredibly difficult to blame Cassel for the safety and the fact that the drive sputtered to a stop after 2 plays.

4th offensive series: After the Greenway interception the Vikings had their best starting field position.

1st and 10 Min 36: For the fourth consecutive series, the Vikings started with an Asiata run. He got a respectable 4 yards.

2nd and 6 Min 40: Jerick McKinnon got the call on the next snap and ran for a 1 yard gain up the middle.

3rd and 5 Min 41: Cassel hit Patterson on a slant route. It was a nicely thrown ball that Patterson took for 9 yards and a first down. It was pretty fun watching Patterson fighting for the two after-the-catch yards. It reminded me of Percy Harvin's all-out running style after he made a catch.

1st and 10 at the 50: Cassel hit McKinnon on a throw behind the line of scrimmage that went for a two yard gain. Unfortunately, Loadholt was called for offensive holding. I didn't really see it, and Loadholt showed his displeasure for the call, but it was what it was. The Vikings were now looking at 1st and 20 instead of 2nd and 8.

1st and 20 Min 40: I was figuring this would be a passing down. Instead it was another run. The Vikings gained 6 yards.

2nd and 14 Min 46: I had a perfect view of this play unfolding from where I was sitting. It blew my mind as I watched it occur. From my vantage point I could watch both Cassel and Jennings. When Cassel threw the ball, I had no idea what was going to happen. Jennings's route wasn't a straight line route. Two defenders were converging. When Cassel put the ball in the air, I was worried and a tad perplexed. I couldn't see what was going to happen next.

As it turned out, the play resolved itself perfectly. Cassel's throw was picture perfect, and the ball sailed over the defenders into Jennings hands. It was the perfect 29 yard pass with one exception: Greg Jennings, the ultimate veteran receiver, failed to drag his right foot. It would have been easy to do. There was really no reason not to. I honestly think, given the route he ran and the fact that he was looking back for the ball, that he simply didn't realize how close he was to the side line. The fact that the ball was ruled an incompletion was on Jennings. The throw could not have been any better. It was a thing of beauty to see that play unfold and to see Cassel make the throw before it was clear to me what was going to happen. I was so disappointed for Cassel that the play was ruled incomplete. Jennings got lazy on his footwork and it cost the team a first down.

Instead of 1st and 10 from the 25, the Vikings were looking at 3rd and 14 from the Min 46.

3rd and 14 Min 25. Before getting into this play, let's take a moment and realize that 3rd and 14 is a down and distance that favors the defense. No QB, no matter who they are, is going to convert these sorts of plays all of the time. When the QB fails to get a first down on a 3rd and 14, do I think that means that the QB is a failure? Nope.

On this passing play, the Chiefs rushed four. Cassel got the snap and looked downfield. Two of the Chiefs defensive linemen ran a stunt and broke through the line almost immediately. Cassel made a throw off his back foot to Patterson. On the television, the throw looks to be behind Patterson. And it's true, Cassel did force Patterson to stop and attempt to make the catch behind him. However, that is where the throw HAD to be. You can see at the end of the play on the television, but it was blindingly obvious from the stands; if Cassel had led Patterson, Patterson would have been ABSOLUTELY WREAKED by the covering cornerback. Cassel did the best he could under the circumstances. He ended up with an incompletion under immediate and intense pressure.

Drive summary: The failure of this drive had nothing to do with Cassel. There were three runs. One holding call on Loadholt. An amazing throw to Jennings that ended up with Jennings stepping out of bounds instead of getting two feet down. And under pressure, Cassel had one incompletion on 3rd and 14 that probably saved Patterson from being carted off the field. At this point in the game, through 4 series, Cassel had one legitimate incompletion, and in this case, as I just pointed out, Cassel put the ball where it had to go (i.e. behind Patterson).

5th offensive series: This drive started after a touchback.

1st and 10 MIN 20: This is the first throw of the game that I think is a debatable call by Cassel. I don't think it was a bad play, but it was a close call. Jennings ran an intermediate out route to the right sideline. Cassel looked downfield and then to the right. He threw to Jennings and the defensive back, Ron Parker, jumped the route and dove for the ball. He deflected the ball for an incompletion. As I said, it was a close call, but Parker would have had to make a really nice diving catch to make this an interception. He didn't, and the truth is that a lot of receptions in the NFL beyond 10 yards are going to be close. I don't fault Cassel on this play, but it was, as I said, a close call. I can see both sides of the argument on whether or not this was a bad decision by Cassel. For my part, I think some plays are going to be close. I don't expect any QB to be perfect all game long. This is the first debatable throw in my opinion, and we are on the 5th offensive series and well into the 2nd quarter at this point. I can live with that.

2 & 10 MIN 20: Cassel faked a bubble screen to the left and handed off to Asiata who ran for 7 yards.

3 & 3 MIN 27: This was a passing play and pressure broke down the pocket almost immediately. The pressure was primarily from the right side and Cassel left the pocket to the left, continued to look downfield and then scrambled four yards and out of bounds for a first down.

1 & 10 MIN 31: This is the play that some seemed to be waiting for; a chance to see a Cassel interception and a chance to heap scorn on his mediocrity. This play was a 49 yard interception on Cassel. It is the second debatable throw of the night. As I saw the play unfold from my vantage point in the stadium, it looked to me like Simpson slowed down on the play. However, later watching it on television, it looks like Simpson got beat to the spot and Ron Parker, that pesky Chiefs DB, pushed off of Simpson's right shoulder to get himself some distance from Simpson and slow Simpson down. Parker then made a very nice play on the ball for an interception. Simpson was furious with the refs after the play. He claimed that he had been interfered with. And the truth is that he had been interfered with. That said, the sort of interference he experienced is something that nearly every receiver does to nearly every defensive back. It happens, and it is rarely called.

This ended up being Cassel's first turnover of the pre-season, and it happened on a 49 yard bomb. It is perhaps true that Cassel should have laid off the throw and seen the double coverage. For the second time this series, Ron Parker made a very nice play on the ball. On the other hand, Cassel has been really great this pre-season on these deep balls. He's been aggressive and has been rewarded. The ball was well thrown. It's just that Simpson was beaten to the spot and impeded when he got there. It's sad, but no big deal in my opinion. Cassel isn't racking up interceptions running a dink and dunk. He's been airing it out, and this will happen from time to time. Again, I can live with that.

Drive summary: This is the one drive so far in which I think Cassel can be blamed for the way the drive went. On the one hand, he got a first down on a nice scramble. On the other hand, he had two passes that opened him up to reasonable criticism. I tend to think deflected passes and interceptions on 50 yard throws can and do happen. I can live with them if they are the exception rather than the norm. Others will undoubtedly disagree.

6th offensive drive: The Chiefs punter had a 50 yard punt and Sherrels had a 6 yard return.

1st and 10 MIN 47: With 1:36 remaining in the half, the Vikings call a play action pass. The Chiefs deliver good pass rush pressure, and Cassel is flushed from the pocket. He throws on the run and hits a wide open Rudolph. The ball travels 13 yards in the air which Rudolph turns into a 27 yard gain down the right side line. He goes out of bounds to stop the clock. Cassel's throw on the run wasn't as accurate as usual. It was a bit behind Rudolph, but Rudolph was so open that he easily turned up field and gained a lot of yardage. Cassel did a nice job of finding Rudolph while on the run.

1 and 10 KC 26: Cassel gets good protection from the offensive line on this play. He throws a two yard pass to Asiata. It hits him squarely in the hands, and he drops it. Oops.

2 and 10 KC 26: This next play could have, should have, would have been a touchdown (in my opinion) if Patterson caught the ball. On the play, Patterson runs a crossing route three yards past the line of scrimmage. Cassel is hit at the knees by Tamba Hali immediately after releasing the ball (he's been under pressure all day). Patterson is all alone, and he drops an easy catch and run. After the ball hits the ground, Patterson grabs his facemask with regret. The announcer says, "Cordarrelle Patterson can't believe he dropped that football. He stands there in disbelief."

What you can see from the television angle is that the first down looked well at hand had Patterson caught the ball. What you can't see is the fact that the defensive backs were close to the end zone. Patterson catching the ball at the 23 on the run with tons of open space had an incredible opportunity to score a touchdown. This is the scenario that plays to Patterson's skills. Norv Turner drew it up perfectly and must have rolled his eyes when Patterson dropped the ball. I think it was likely to have been a touchdown if Patterson caught the ball, but that's impossible to know for sure. I can guarantee you it would have been a first down if Patterson hadn't dropped the ball. It ended up being the second straight dropped ball on the drive.

3 and 10 KC 26: Again, through no fault of Cassel's, he was staring at a down and distance that favored the defense. On this play, Cassel looked down field but ended up checking down to Asiata for a 3 yard gain. Based on Cassel to this point, does anyone doubt that Cassel would have thrown the ball downfield had the opportunity been there? This series ended with a 41 yard field goal and 1:07 left in the half.

Drive Summary: Oh man! Two dropped passes in a row after Cassel delivers a 27 yard pass. But how will Cassel likely be judged on this drive? Probably for throwing two incompletions and bailing out to Asiata for 3 yards on 3rd and 10.

At half time score was Vikings 10, Chiefs 5.

7th offensive series: In the second half, the Vikings started at their 20 yard line, and the running game started to click.

1 and 10 MIN 20: Asiata runs to the right for a 12 yard gain.

1 and 10 MIN 32: Cassel makes a nice quick pass to Rudolph. The ball is well delivered 6 yards past the line of scrimmage and allows Rudolph to quickly turn up field for an 11 yard gain.

1 and 10 MIN 43: Asiata runs up the middle for 5 yards.

2 and 5 MIN 48: The Vikings call a screen play, and it doesn't look good. Cassel played it well. He looked left before coming back to the right to McKinnon. The offensive line was trying to release their guys while McKinnon back pedaled looking at Cassel for the throw that would be coming. It's no wonder that the play got sniffed out. The Vikings ended up getting 1 yard on the play. I'm sure practice this week will include a few discussions about how to better disguise a screen. (McKinnon, I'm talking to you here).

3 and 4 MIN 49: The Vikings called a pass play on 3rd and 4. Kansas City rushed 6, and the pressure on Cassel was immediate. Both tackles (Wentworth again and Kalil) were beaten around the edge. Patterson was tightly covered. Rudolph was wide open on the slant, but his route doesn't include him looking back at the quarterback. There was something wrong with this play call (or the play design) in my opinion as the one cornerback covering Patterson (tightly I might add) ended up in a position to defend both Patterson and Rudolph as they crossed the first down line. However, the play call didn't matter, because as Rudolph reached the 1st down line, he still didn't look back for the ball, and by that time, both of Kansas City's defensive ends had beaten their tackles around the edge. Cassel stepped up and was immediately sacked by Derrick Johnson who once again came up the middle untouched. This play was doomed by pass pressure with three defenders essentially getting to Cassel virtually unimpeded. The series ends.

Drive Summary: Again, the failure of this drive isn't on Cassel. The Vikings moved the ball well to start. Then they had a run, a screen that got sniffed out (probably because McKinnon looked like he was getting ready for a screen) and ended when the offensive line fell apart again on a critical passing down. If there's a theme to be worried about this game, I think it's that the offensive line had a lot of trouble with handling Kansas City's pass rush. Kalil looked outmatched a number of times, several times Derrick Johnson came through the line of scrimmage without being touched and Wentworth, well, he wasn't good on passing downs at all.

8th offensive series: After a huge punt that Sherels muffed, Sendejo saves the day.

1 and 10 MIN 37: Again, the run game seemed to be working in the second half. McKinnon ran down the right side for a 24 yard gain.

1 and 10 KC 39: This was a weird situation. There was a lot of milling around by the players. It was obvious that the play call hadn't been sent in to the Vikings huddle. And then all of sudden, someone realizes that the play clock is almost at zero. The Vikings call a time out, and Zimmer comes onto the field to have a looooong chat with the refs.

When play resumes, the pressure on Cassel resumes. He responds nicely with a throw underneath to McKinnon who gains 8 yards.

2 and 2 KC 31: McKinnon runs up the middle for 6 yards.

1 and 10 KC 26: Believe it or not, Derrick Johnson comes through the line untouched again. Cassel was hit as he was releasing the ball. He had been targeting Rudolph in the end zone. The hit on Cassel caused the ball to soar into the air. It ended up landing in the corner of the end zone. The Vikings were lucky it had enough oomph on it to get as far as it did. The closest person to the ball by the time it landed was Rudolph.

2 and 10 KC 26: McKinnon starts up the middle and then cuts outside to the left for an 11 yard gain.

1 and 10 KC 15: McKinnon again runs the ball; this time up the middle for 2 yards.

2 and 8 KC 13: It's a pass play. The pressure comes, but it's manageable. Cassel steps up into the pocket as he throws but gets pressure up the middle. He overthrows Rudolph in the end zone. No big deal. It turns out that Rudolph committed offensive pass interference on the play. I didn't see it when at the stadium, and the telecast didn't show a replay. They were too busy talking to the Chiefs General Manager in the booth.

2 and 18 KC 23: Now the Vikings have been moved back 10 yards on the Rudolph penalty, and the down and distance advantage has moved decidedly to the defense's advantage. The Vikings call a pass play, but something about the timing of the play is off. Cassel delivered a ball to Jennings at the 10 yard line, but Jennings doesn't look up for the ball until it is passing by. He gets his arms up in a quick reaction to seeing the ball, but he's startled, and it's too late for him to do anything about it. The ball is incomplete. Who was at fault? I don't know. My guess is that Cassel threw the ball too soon, but I don't know for sure. Again, no biggie. It ended up being an incomplete pass.

3 and 18 KC 23: Cassel throws a 5 yard pass to Patterson. The ball is well placed. Patterson catches it and moves up field to the 14 yard line for a 9 yard gain. Were there other options for Cassel on 3rd and 18? I don't know for sure, but I didn't see any from where I sat in the stands, and apparently Cassel didn't either. The Vikings opted to kick a field goal on 4 and 9 from the KC 15.

Drive summary: There were a nice mix of runs and passes in this series. The run plays for the most part, until the final series of downs, were very effective. Pass pressure was a bit of a problem again, but the main things that killed the drive were an offensive pass interference penalty on Rudolph followed by a passing play in which the timing on the play was messed up.

So those were the eight drives of the game, and after watching them carefully on television and live at the stadium, I have come to my own conclusion: I think Cassel had a good game. The idea that he was a "junk bond" or should be replaced as the starter on the basis of last night's performance leads me to believe the obvious - most fans don't bother to study the game. They simply watch, have fun, and then post whatever comes to mind based on their gut reaction and a look at the box score.

I don't expect perfection from my team's quarterbacks. However, I do expect that they play the game the right way. I expect them to work well in the pocket, see the field and know the offense and where their options will be. I expect some grace under pressure and some fortitude in the face of pass rush pressure. I expect good decisions and good accuracy most of the time. I believe Cassel showed that and more in this game. He had some very big plays that fell apart because otherwise dependable receivers let themselves down. Cassel ended the night 9 of 17 for 152 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. I've noted three passes that were dropped that would have added another 50 yards at a minimum onto that total and possibly another touchdown, and they would have sustained drives that ultimately failed. And Cassel played under intense pass rushing pressure throughout much of the game - pressure that ultimately ended a number of drives.

So despite all the hand wringing and claims that Cassel was bad, I've put forward what I think is a more accurate (and certainly longer) version of events. In my opinion, Cassel had three passes that were questionable and possibly bad. He also threw three absolutely picture perfect passes. And he was very accurate through most of the night. Cassel's offense only managed 13 points despite playing to the 4 minute mark in the 3rd quarter. However, when I look at Cassel's performance on Saturday night, I honestly like what I saw. If he plays the rest of the season like he played on Saturday, we're going to be in good shape. Unfortunately, if our pass protection is anything like what it was on Saturday, we're going to be in big trouble. We can and should expect more.

Normally, I'd add a bunch of other stuff to this analysis and include my thoughts on Teddy and others that I saw play. I have notes on all of them, but this post has taken way too much time, and I doubt that many of you will actually make it all the way through. So I'm going to save you and me from writing more. The main thing I wanted to get across is that I think Cassel had a good game, and I continue to really like what I see from him. I'm optimistic that what Cassel is doing now will continue into the regular season, and I think you should be optimistic too.

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.