Valuation
Jim Souhan just recently wrote an article about this Vikings franchises curse in regard to it not having a franchise quarterback since Fran Tarkenton of 1961. Well, the reason for that has nothing to do with draft order, arm strength, how quick he can run side to side, or any other particular draft measurement that we can all point to as if it were going to guarantee a Super Bowl Championship. It all has to do with valuation.

First, you have to define what a franchise quarterback is. By definition a franchise quarterback is an individual that starts at quarterback for a number of years. You could even pick a number … say five consecutive years. Again, this has nothing to do with arm strength but it does have a lot to do with the cohesiveness & continuity of the offensive line that protect that franchise quarterback.

When you consider the entirety of NFL history, this Viking franchises "model-student" for a franchise quarterback is absolutely flawed. Of course I’m referring to Fran Tarkenton, who had numerous discussions with Norm Van Brocklin in regard to being a good pocket passer, when Fran was known to say … "What Pocket". If you were old enough to watch Sir Francis play-live, what you would know was that he possessed a 6^th sense that enabled him to escape absolute annihilation … or the emergency ward, if you will … about a fraction of the second before it could happen. The league hated him for that 6^th sense but maybe what escaped this franchise was that maybe two people in history were capable of this feat … the other being Russel Wilson hailing from Seattle, WA. If this is your model to rest your laurels upon then it is not only tragically flawed … it clearly explains why this franchise history of franchise quarterbacks line the ward at the emergency room.

So if you’re reading Jim Souhan’s article, you might be demanding that this franchise wake up by selecting a franchise quarterback from the draft. Does this sound allot like Andrew Luck & where is he now because he’s certainly not on the field. Maybe you’re the Cleveland Brown where you’re demanding that they draft a running game. What results could be a series of draft picks being sent to this Minnesota Vikings Franchise for Trent Richardson. It’s funny because they are all linked in that both could have used a cohesive offensive line … that didn’t exist. Ahhh! So we are finally getting somewhere. It has to do with positional valuation.

Maybe you might have noticed Jerry Jones passing on Johnny Football in favor of an offensive lineman. Maybe you might have noticed that the Dallas Cowboys have had only one first round franchise quarterback in their history (Troy Aikman) and that was after we sent a fortune of draft picks to reinforce their entire team by some guy named Lynn. Does any of this make any sense to you? How about Fran Tarkenton being a 3^rd round pick. How about Russel Wilson being a 3^rd round pick.  Of course Christian Ponder was a 1^st round pick. Teddy Bridgewater was also a 1^st round pick and so was Sam Bradford.  Andy Dalton was selected in the 2^nd round well after Christian Ponder.

Was it just me or was I the only person that noticed that Emmitt Smith was 25 yards down the field before he was even touched by a defender whereas Barry Sanders on any particular day would record 169 yards rushing having run an addition 203 yards running side to side. Humm!  Maybe that’s a good thing, Viking fans, as today that NFL rushing record could be at 40 to 50,000 yards … most of which would have been recorded against our beloved purple.  Could it now be that the fog in the crystal ball is clearing … or could it be that we are starting to see our own reflections in that mirror of dispair? Again, the name of the game is valuation.

Does anyone remember Matt Kalil? He was the 4th selected overall that year. Now he’s in North Carolina. Sure, he got injured and sure he didn’t work out but what if Matt had been paired with more than just a façade of names passing through our organization. Maybe he doesn’t get hurt. Maybe he’s not a target for the elite franchises, or the jeolous-hope-to-be's in the NFL, to destroy anything that we might have done right.  Does something becomes crystal clear to you?

Maybe I shouldn’t be beating a dead horse but ….. Does anyone remember "The Hogs"? Does anyone remember our last chance at a championship in the Rose Bowl when we faced a man named Art Shell? Did anyone think that these guys represented immeasurable value to those organizations? Then again, there was this guy name Shula, who had a group of "no name" guys. In fact I can’t remember the names of not even one of his offensive linemen but I do remember two 1,000 yard rushers coming out of that same backfield & I do remember that 1973 team absolutely destroying our defense in Super Bowl VIII.  Paul Krause ... OOUUCH!  No team in history ever did that to our beloved Vikings where the words "World Football League" became music to our ears.  It's a good thing the name Shula isn't on that all time list for NFL victories.  Its valuation my friends … where we need to see & plan beyond the noise.

Today, we hear the word "GOAT" & it’s thrown around in our face as if it meant something. As far as I do recall, there were two games the so called "GOAT" was man handles by some team from New Jersey. On those two days, the "GOAT’s" line failed him badly. As far as I can see, that’s 5 wins and 2 losses with a winning percentage of 71.43%. Bradshaw & Montana are still at 100% with 4 wins.

Didn’t Reilly Reif get moved to Right Tackle after Detroit replaced him with an even stronger Left Tackle? Could it be that Detroit is working to protect their franchise quarterback?  Whatever you do ... don't look beyond that curtain.  

Maybe this is confusing but the word valuation is in reference to how we value a position. What’s odd, of course, is our reasoning’s. A piece of mechanical equipment may have the best gears & machining in the world. They may have polished the surfaces of all of those parts to perfection but what good are any of those parts if the bearings that bring it altogether crap the bed in short order.  Without bearings every other part is crap.  

Mike Tice believed that he could transform a project on the offensive line without investing in draft picks & although he was good at it, where is Mike now. His reasoning was flawed & as soon as he was out the door … we had a problem.


The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: September 20, 2016