So maybe I've been a bit negative over the last few weeks, and you're probably getting tired of me bitching and pissing and moaning. I do it because I care, and because I want the Vikings to win the Super Bowl. An 0-2 start doesn't help that cause, and neither does the latest move, the re-acquisition of WR Hank Baskett. You remember Hank Baskett, right? Well, let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?
Baskett was signed by the VIkings as an undrafted free agent in 2006, or '01 A.T. (Year one after Tice). Baskett was a guy that was absolutely RAVED about by Internet draftniks, and we were promised that he was going to be TEH AWESOMEZZZZZ. Kind of like Kyries Hebert was supposed to be the undrafted free agent answer at safety when Tice was coach. Hebert never made it out of Mankato, and as soon as Chilly welcomed Baskett to Minnesota, he poured him a cup of coffee and told him he had been traded to Philadelphia for the legend that is Billy McMullen. Chilly was branded an idiot for trading away a guy that was SO TALENTED HE WENT UNDRAFTED, and people bemoaned what a waste of a roster space McMullen was.
McMullen had 23 catches for 307 yards as a Viking, Baskett had 22 catches for 464. It was, in fact, TEH AWESOMEZZ of a rookie season for Baskett, even though the numbers were pretty close. Just ask the Baskett Army, they'll tell you. But Baskett was going to be a household name, his supporters insisted, just you wait. Until he got cut by the Eagles and landed in relative obscurity in Indianapolis. Where he did nothing. Well, he did do ONE thing.
Fast forward to last season's Super Bowl. The Saints open the half with an onside kick, and they send it straight to...wait for it...wait for it...HANK BASKETT'S DIRECTION. THIS IS IT, THIS IS WHERE THE HOUSEHOLD NAME LEGEND STARTS!!! OMGLOLZ I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!11
Uhhhhh, yeah. Baskett fumbles, the Saints recover. Momentum shifts to New Orleans for the rest of the game, Saints win, and yes, Hank Baskett becomes a household name.
So now it has come full circle. Hank Baskett has come home to Minnesota, where it all began. The same Hank Baskett who couldn't make it on an Eagles roster that had a WR situation worse than what we currently have in Minnesota when he arrived there. The same Hank Baskett had arguably the signature play of last season's Super Bowl...in a bad way. The same Hank Baskett who has a smoking...hot...wife.
I'm sorry, this is not the way to address the WR situation. Did Javon Walker key Chilly's car, or something? Because you can't tell me with a straight face that Hank Baskett is better than Javon Walker, can you?
If the Vikings are going to make a move, just go get Vincent Jackson. At least he could contribute...after his suspension and all.
Or maybe Billy McMullen is available, too.