Prove or Dump
The NFL's proving ground ... frost bitten Metropolitan Stadium. Benches
aligned side by side. Fire breathing dragons ... schooners fighting an incessant
battle of no contest. Players picking off their scabs watching the steam
rise in front of the away bench just before kickoff. Towers swaying in the
torrent winds. The sun ducking then dying bringing forth the frigid nation
as its 12th man. What manner of men are these chanting ... Odin ... Odin
... Odin. Set deep in mind, there is no comparison.
Short term thinking has turned the franchise into the NFL's dumping
ground. Are you kidding me ... Hershel ... McNabb ... V-Young???
Just send your dreg to our open & awaiting arms. The dumping ground
didn't happen overnight, it has been in process for a long long time.
We've become complacent with its easy decision. Pencil whipping our
assured destiny. The planned obsolescence of coaching.
For it to all end, you really have to know what to ask for.
Are we really asking so much to avoid players where their soul purpose in life
is to continually audition their skills for another team or to demand a contract
so overwhelming that it literally guts the franchise. Are we asking so
much to have players benched for not playing as part of the team? Are we
asking so much to have high priced talent, regardless of what has been spent
(sunk costs), to have it jettisoned in favor of clearing a roster spot for
someone that can grow & develop with hunger in the belly rather than having
their only concern be for their next check? Are we really asking so much
for our owner to invest in our home grown nucleus rather than searching for
flawed high priced free agents. Are we asking too much for our franchise
to firmly stand up to the word "BUST", knowing full well that
championships are built through the draft? Are we asking so much to
disregard foolish statements like, "We need a receiver that can stretch the
field" or "We need to draft a franchise quarterback" or
"With the team that we have, we can win with just about anyone playing
quarterback"?
Every argument has its flaw, like everyone has their opinion, however could you
not see where our organization finds itself today the day this organization
began pursuing Brett Favre in earnest. It was a simple formula ... we lose
... he wins, in so many ways. Sure it was wildly entertaining, some of the
most watched entertainment of all time for the league however it was doomed to
fall short because the plan itself was vitally flawed. Fran Tarkenton
could clearly see the end result. Teams win championships, not individuals
& the chain is only as strong as its weakest
link.
Just about anyone can tell you that they work hard. Coach John Wooden
tells us to never mistake industriousness (hard work) for achievement. In
fact, in so many ways, since the 60's & 70's, this franchise has violated
Wooden's principles at just about every juncture.
For example, watching Jared Allen speed rush around the tackle, play after play,
is like watching
a petulant child at point driving the lane at too quick a speed, missing bucket after
bucket as a 1-move wonder, wasting all the teams opportunities. All the
while you see this very same individual making incredible jaw dropping plays in
anterior situations. "We don't stunt!", What! What the
hell! The Eaters of yesteryear provided its blue print & lived upon
the stunt. In short, your opposition becomes dependent upon it ... the
petulance of its intent.
Many years ago Fran Tarkenton was interviewed about the petulance of his
scrambling where he was asked, "Why won't you just stay in the
pocket?" His response, "What Pocket?" Running, he
created art on the run, sort of like Joe Webb did. He didn't know, what he
didn't know, but he found its art upon the
field.
In both Fran & Jared, as examples, both were quite petulant. Just ask "The
Dutchman" how he felt about Sir Francis. The difference however was
within the strength of character as one was eventually allowed to create art,
the other lacks the simple observations to strengthen its message. Growth,
change & evolution is inevitable ... fail to do either & your destined
for the heap of history.
They used to say, I wish I had a nickel for every time this happened but with
inflation, I'd want a dollar. A dollar for every time Chili either told AD
how to run the ball or had his assistants convey the very same message.
The greats, stuttered, shuddered, cut, waited, changed or reversed directions,
ran backwards but they always ran to day light. How many times has AD
sprinted into a hole that wasn't there ... before the leverage had its chance to
take its toll ... to shatter the concept of holding onto your lane. How
many times have I said to myself, under my breath, did he just miss that block
because Favre audibled out of the run & into the pass? All are signs
of depleted personal championship equity exposing AD onto an island. For
the worshipers, this isn't Peterson's team ... it is Minnesota's franchise ...
that is until the franchise with the leagues greatest equity is sold out to the
highest bidder.
My problem is not just with theses players, but for some it is, it's in what
lies behind the players. I apologize for my petulant behavior however I'm
running out of decades to await our next shot at a championship. I guess
for some it would be sufficient for one of my heirs to put a banner on my head stone one
day but in its time I've leaned that it might be better to beat you into
submission.
Joe Webb, I don't care what is said. I don't care what is written.
When I look up I can only see the beauty of the Sistine Chapel. It doesn't
lie within your precarious communications, your Bambi like mannerisms, it
manifest itself within the art that only you can create.
Oh Boy! The
franchise that has more NFL championships than an other franchise is going to
face the franchise with the most modern NFL Super Bowl Championships. In
years pasts, solutions like these used to be solved with somebody's head impaled
upon the pike. I know just the tyrant. Me no happy!
The Viking Ghost
Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: January 30, 2011
