December 14, 2020

Merry Monday, everyone

Although MOST of the Vikings played well yesterday (icy stare at Dan Bailey), it wasn’t enough, and the Buccaneers, along with the 12th men wearing white and black stripes, got the W. After a touchdown put the Vikings up by 6 (glance at Bailey), the Vikings got the ball back and had an opportunity to really put themselves in the drivers seat, but they couldn’t get the ball into the end zone, so they had to settle for 3 (uncomfortably long silence while I stare at Bailey). Scratch that, they didn’t go up by 3 (clears throat and throws a quick glance at Bailey). The missed FG gave the Bucs the ball at midfield, they scored a touchdown, and the Vikings weren’t in the driver’s seat.

You watched it, you saw the team fight & try to come back, but they were never able to. Why couldn’t they come back? I think there were two main factors, and we touched on one, and that is Dan Bailey. The kicker left 10 points on the table all by himself. I’d give him a pass on the 54 yarder, but that attempt landed in Tampa Bay. Not Tampa Bay the town, Tampa Bay the bay, which is 3.7 miles west of the stadium, and that’s where the kick landed. I’m not on the “fire Bailey” bandwagon. In my opinion, you hire good people, and stick with them through the peaks and valleys. It’s a little different in the NFL, but I still wouldn’t abandon Bailey, he’s a good kicker, but he has to figure out what the problem is, and get it taken care of. The next main factor, in my opinion, was the officiating. It was, once again, horrible and one-sided, and I think that officiating played a role in the outcome of the game. Either call it tight or call it loose, but call it the same for both teams. Oh, and quit sucking.

Anyway, the team is 6-7, but if they can play tough the rest of the season, the playoffs are still a possibility. They no longer control their own destiny, but that could change by the end of next week’s games. Keep the faith. SKOL!!!

Around the DN since our last open thread:

Wludford has your Vikings Updated Playoff Scenarios.

The latest Stock Market Report 2.0 Vikings-Bucs Blair’s Revenge is here, courtesy of vhcadet.

Other Vikings/NFL news and random oddities and annoyances:

Here are all of the NFL week 14 scores and highlights, courtesy of ESPN.

At Vikings.com, catch Coach Zimmer’s post-game presser, see all the highlights from yesterday’s game, and there’s lots more to look through in the media vault.

From the Detroit Free Press, the Raiders fired DC Paul Guenther. The firing came on the heels of the team’s 44-27 loss to the Colts, and one week after the defense was gashed by the Jets (you’ll recall the Jets nearly got their first win until they were Gregggggggged in the final seconds).

We come to today’s media selection:

I dunno, drawing a blank so I’ll go with a classic. Here’s Highwayman performed by The Highwaymen. Enjoy!

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

-No discussion of politics or religion
-No feeding of the trolls
-Take the gender hatred elsewhere, it won’t be tolerated
-Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
-If discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
-No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
-If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
-While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm.

With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up & tie one on, don’t forget to tip your waitress (from a minimum of six feet away, of course), and try the tiger meat.