I don’t know why I don’t write more about sports. Sports are certainly a major interest of mine and occupy a lot of my free (and not so free) time, but I apparently get enough venting done watching the local teams play so I don’t have to blog about it. I now realize that our teams are all struggling because I’ve kept my insights to myself instead of giving our coaches and team owners the benefit of my wisdom. In the hopes that 2006 won’t be as dismal as 2005, I’m going to plug in a series of posts about our Minnesota squads, beginning with these deep thoughts on the Vikings. Please, hold your applause until until I’ve dissected every team.
Vikings: Yeah, the way Zygi fired Mike Tice was about as ham-handed as Tice’s own efforts to psychologically motivate his players, but it’s not the embarrassment some people portray it as being (and believe me, we Vikings fans know embarrassment when we see it). With 8 coaching openings in the league, Zygi knew every minute was going to count (the top coaching and GM candidates were, in fact, locked up and out of the Vikings reach immediately). I don’t know that much about the coaches that are left except to be suspicious of all the hype. I won’t pretend to be an expert based on reading a two-paragraph biography of each of the names out there. From what I’ve seen over the past few years, though, I’d love it if they could find a way to get Herm Edwards from the Jets, even if it costs a high draft pick, because he’s a great combination of class and ability. My overall concern, however, is that there is no way there are enough “geniuses” out there to fill all the coaching openings and the Vikes will end up in a worse situation than what they had.
Still, it’s great players that make good coaches, so from a personnel standpoint, I think Matt Birk is the first player to ever earn a raise by missing a season. This past year has shown how much he was missed and how hard he is to replace. There’re also hopes that Laurence Maroney will still be available when the Vikings draft make their first round pick. A premium running back is vital, but might be available as a free agent or in a trade. I’m thinking that Chester Taylor is worth a long look. He outplayed Jamal Lewis this last year in Baltimore, is young, has good size and is likely to be very affordable. For that matter, Lewis could be a free agent and is coming off a bad year. I don’t think you should stick a fork in him, though, because he was really hampered by spending last off-season working out at the Graybar Spa, and professional sports are a year-round job now (as Justin Morneau also discovered this year). A fit Lewis with something to prove could be a monster for a couple more years.
If Houston gets the first overall pick and goes for Reggie Bush, Domanick Davis might be available. Davis has performed very well the last few years behind an inferior offensive line; bring back Birk, further bolster the O-line and Davis could be huge (there are durability issues). I like Mewelde Moore’s ability and elusiveness, but he’s probably better suited to be a third down back and special teams ace.
Grabbing one of these backs would free up the Vikes to pick a monster linebacker in the middle of round one, or, if these are gone, a cornerback/safety like Michael Huff from Texas. This guy looks like Roy Williams or Ronnie Lott; pair him with Sharper at the back of the D and let him splatter all the people the linebackers miss.
In the later rounds (4-6) I’d like to see them take a chance on Brad Smith of Missouri. There are questions about his accuracy, but have you seen the rushing and passing yardage and touchdown totals he’s put up the last four years? He’s a poor man’s Michael Vick (or Vince Young) and on athleticism alone is worth a look. (Of course, he could be Akili Smith or Spergeon Wynn, but take a look anyway).
