I'm not sure how many of you folks are gambling types. . .I am when I can afford it. As I can't at the moment, I haven't really looked at betting lines or anything like that for a while. However, when I was looking at USA Today's "Zen Zone", I noticed something that I found a bit troubling.
If you have small children, I urge you to have them look away from the screen now, lest they be scarred for life by what I'm about to write down.
What I saw. . .was this:
Yes. . .this is how bad the Vikings are. They enter this game as an underdog.
An underdog to the Detroit Lions.
An underdog to a team that currently sits at 2-10 and, if the season ended today, would have the #1 overall pick in the draft.
An underdog to a team that the Vikings haven't lost to in 1,817 calendar days. . .not that I'm counting.
But do you know what's even sadder than that? The fact that I really can't make anything resembling a convincing argument that the Vikings should be favored. None at all. Not with Brad Johnson at quarterback again, as has been rumored. Hell, the Lions SHOULD have beaten the Vikings the last time these two teams met, but the Minnesota defense once again decided they'd bail out the offense and put up two fourth-quarter touchdowns to give the Vikings the victory.
It's just a little strange looking at the line and seeing your team as the underdog against a team that they haven't lost to since December of 2001. A loss to the Lions would just be the final nail in the coffin of what has turned into a rather disappointing season. I'd love to say that it's definitely not going to happen, but I don't have nearly that level of confidence in this team any more.