Hi kids! Hope your 4th of July was a good one, and your first day back at work isn't as boring and unhappy as they usually are after a long weekend.
There's really still not a lot going on in Vikings Land, but it seems we're getting closer to this interminable lockout ending, and that's a good thing. Yes, the retired players have filed suit to stop the mediation that's currently going on between the owners and players, and I think they'll get their day in court, but this thing is going to end pretty soon.
Not much going on in terms of the stadium bill, either. There have been reports that the cost of the stadium dropped $200 million with no explantion as to why from the Vikings, Sid Hartman said that probably wasn't true, but none of that matters anyway because the state government is still shut down.
To heck with all of that, though. Throughout the off season, whenever we've actually talked about, you know, football, two of the names that have been associated as a good backup QB option for the Vikings have been Donovan McNabb and Marc Bulger.
But are they?
At this point, do the Vikings even need a backup quarterback? Christian Ponder is going to be given every opportunity to win the starting job; as a first round draft pick, he has the weight of expectations on him. Joe Webb had an up and down late season debut last year, but showed enough potential that you could talk yourself into Webb being the long term answer. Rhett Bomar, who no one really expects to be a starting NFL quarterback at this point, can hold a clipboard as easily as anyone.
Well, yes, they do need a veteran. Bulger has been more of an under the radar guy than McNabb has, so let's talk about him first. The latest bit of info on McNabb is that the Redskins, if they are looking to trade for him, probably won't get anything more than a sixth rounder for him. At least that's what Jason Reid of the Washington Post says:
McNabb probably would give back his $3.5 million signing bonus if the Redskins were willing to release him when the lockout ends, but Shanahan wants something more than money after squandering second- and fourth-round picks on McNabb. If the Redskins move McNabb a minute after a new collective bargaining agreement is formally implemented or wait until the day after their first regular season game — the option deadline — it would still be surprising if any team offered more than a sixth- or conditional seventh-round pick for him. Shanahan needs to let McNabb move on at any price.
Man, when you're willing to give up over 3 million bucks to get the hell out of town, that's what we call in the business a less than optimal situation. McNabb would be a downgraded version of Brett Favre 2009, and my guess is that his 2011 season would fall somewhere between the 2009 and 2010 iterations of Favre in purple. Bottom line, it seems like 'meh' to me, and giving up a sixth rounder for McNabb, or even a conditional seventh, seems WAY too much.
The other guy, Marc Bulger, seems like more of a fit. A solid veteran who seemingly would understand his role as a mentor for the future QB's for the team, as it was a role he helped fill admirably in Baltimore under young gun Joe Flacco.
But hold on for a second--Bulger still has the 'fire to start':
"He still has the fire to play," said one member of the Bulger camp. "Last year, when he didn't get off the bench (in Baltimore), it wasn't like he got completely cozy with being the No. 2 guy. The situation, though, will have to be the right one."
So the $64,000 question is: Is Minnesota the right situation? No, not if Bulger wants to start. I don't know that any team looks at the list of impending free agents and says 'ooh! Marc Bulger, let's get him!'. This isn't meant to disparage Bulger. He's had some good years as the Rams quarterback, and ran the last iterations of the Greatest Show on Turf. But too many beatings have made Bulger nothing more than a backup at this point, and the Vikings need to find a guy that's willing to come in and be willing to accept a backup role, sooner probably rather than later.
We now return you to CASEYANTHONYNOTGUILYZOMG!!!11!!