Déjà Vu All Over Again?

No, I am not going to write about Brett Fav-ruh. The mere mention of his name in my house has become a sin. Instead of discussing "You-Know-Who" I will take a brief delve back into the history of our Minnesota Vikings.

The year? 1993. The current quarterback? Sean Salisbury. The veteran new-comer? Jim McMahon.

via ultimatebearsfan.com

The Minnesota Vikings of 1992 were the first coached by Denny Green. After a brief stint as the head coach of the Stanford football team the Vikings brought him to lead their team to the promised land.

The 1992 season came and went, leaving an 11-5 record behind. After earning a Wild Card slot the Vikings then lost to the Redskins (who lost to San Francisco, who lost to Dallas, who won the Super Bowl that year). Behind center for the first few games of the season was Rich Gannon, who is officially given the credit of 12 starts on the year.

Actually, a virtual nobody by the name of Sean Salisbury was accumilating a significant amount of playing time thanks to less-than-stellar play from Gannon. On November 29 Salisbury was given credit for his first start of the season when the Vikings traveled to play the Los Angeles Rams. He threw for 238 yards, one interception, and no touchdowns. (Terry Allen kept the offense on pace during that contest, scoring a total of three times; twice on the ground, once through the air on a trick play from Keith Henderson.)

Salisbury would go on to start three of the next four games, leading the Vikings to a record of 3-1 during his starts. It also can't go without notice the fact that Salisbury out-threw the great "You-Know-Who" during the last game of the regular season. Salisbury threw two touchdowns and a total of 292 yards and no interceptions. That other guy? No touchdowns, three picks, and only 187 yards.

Gannon remained on the bench for the Wild Card game the next weekend and the 29-year old Salisbury was given perhaps the biggest oppurtunity of his life. He didn't deliver. Throwing just 113 yards, Salisbury totaled two picks and no touchdowns. The Vikings lost to the Redskins 24-7. (Remind anybody of our most recent Wild Card game?)

At this point, the debate of whether the Vikings should bring another quarterback on the roster raged in Minnesota. Jim McMahon, the successful quarterback from the Chicago Bears was available. Should the Vikings splurge, or was Salisbury enough to allow the Vikings to advance deeper than the Wild Card weekend next year?

Although there are conflicting reports regarding "He-Who-Shall-Go-Unnamed," will he be a better quarterback than McMahon was? McMahon was 34 when the Vikings brought him on the roster, and started twelve games in 1993. He would later leave the Vikings for the Eagles, where he would start just one game before eventually retiring after a few years of backup status.

I'm not going to sit here on my couch and tell you whether "You-Know-Who" is going to bring a Super Bowl to Minnesota or not. I will, however, post McMahon's 1993 stats below and let you decide for yourselves.