Smash Articles
14
Playoff Teams
Rule Changes
17 Game
Season
Low Lights
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Schedule Two
Ought 17
When I first reviewed our 2017
schedule, my first thought was … stick a fork in us because we are done. At
the end of the season we have so many road games that it’s virtually
impossible for us to make the playoffs … based upon our past history. Then the
answers started to evolve to explain it all. It started with Bud Grants immortal
words, "it’ not who you play … it’s when you play them".
The first item is that we tend
to look at our opponents based upon the prior year’s performance. Said another
way, A. A. Ron’s team may be only a shadow of itself at seasons end as his
offensive line is suspect, so what looked like a loss before the season ever
started may not be.
Next up is in reference to the
noise leveled by our elite press core of vultures. They immediately dug their
talons deep within the flesh of Latavius Murray by always referring to drafting
of Dalvin Cook … and then losing his starting role … that he never got the
opportunity to earn. Then I got "on-line" where the message evolved
& then became clear. Latavius has a major role on this squad not so much
like Jim Kiick & Larry Csonka but more in the roles of Taylor & Hornung
but not in the way you think (power sweep). Cook runs wild between the 20’s
whereas Murray fulfills another role by having a nose for the end zone. Of
course, Cook can do that too but when asked if he'd rather score touch downs or
win championships ... Cook came up with the right answer. He's young but
he knows that his first year could be his only year with that chance. Now
ask yourself ... with both Murray & Cook on the field how would the Steelers have responded to a double
screen or even a double screen flee flicker. This concept is unheard of in today’s
game & Pat Shurmur hasn’t even begun to prepare for such a notion but no
one has the horses that he has. Just be patient Latavius ... your role will
become clear in time ... found ... one lost cog.
Then we watch the schedule
evolve in time & with it you get the return of Michael Floyd & then
Teddy Bridgewater. In strategic war games, these reinforcements are referred to
as an Order of Appearance. They become additional cogs thrown into the mix to
make thing interesting. All I know is that things happen for a reason.
We just had to play our first game without Sam Bradford. Did Teddy
Bridgewater come to mind, especially after week six & is it important that
four of our next five games are at home? Did this schedule happen for a
reason? In the mind of the Vultures, Teddy has
been written off into the sunset of an unachievable career. Whereas, in Teddy’s
mind, he’s brimming with the thoughts that "Thou doest protest too
much" & "The news of my demise may have been too premature or even
exaggerated." The way they tell it ... Teddy's already six feet under
ground. I can't wait to see that infectious smile again. Hey, I would love to see Bradford play it out but we don’t
get to choose that, do we? We are Vikings living in a world of …..
So what evolves in Time: Teddy
Bridgewater, Latavius Murray, Michael Floyd & of course Pat Shurmur. Does
this fit our schedule?
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: September 18, 2016
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