Daunte shouldn't be back, team needs to rebuild

The funny thing about the whole QB situation for the Vikings is that 2 weeks ago I, along with I'm guessing a good percentage of other fans, would have been elated to see Brad Johnson starting. Don't get me wrong, I feel terrible for Daunte and I wish him the best in his recovery and career. However I think that the hit that Panthers DB Chris Gamble put on his knee may have inadvertently ushered in a rebuilding phase for Minnesota. Culpepper will not return this year and may never play another down as a Viking.

It is time to face the reality that this year's team is probably the most underachieving group of players in recent memory and under the current team infrastructure they will not be able to "right the ship". It looked like something had clicked in the Packer game but that in a big part can be accredited to Daunte Culpepper and now he is gone for the season. It has become apparent that the Chicago Bears are probably the team to beat in the division and a 7-9 or 8-8 record for the Vikes just won't fly as some of us had expected it to. It is hard to believe that Brad Johnson will lead the team to any kind of a playoff run this year so the obvious thing to do is to look to the future.

Trading Randy Moss was supposed to be the end of an era here in Minnesota and Daunte was expected to take control of the team and lead us to glory, it now appears that as a Viking he is little more than a leftover from the Moss Era. It is impossible to tell how much trade value Culpepper will have this offseason but it should be the duty of the front office to put him in a better situation and start anew with the Vikings. That would mean bringing in a Phillip Rivers or a top draft pick such as Matt Leinart if it is possible to do so. The Vikes should move forward with the defense that they have in place, over the rest of this season they will continue to gel even more and be a top squad for the next few years at least.

If there is anyone out there who thinks Mike Tice should keep his job beyond this year is kidding themselves. All he has proven during his tenure is that he was never fit to be a head coach and will never get another job as a head coach in the NFL. It is almost a certainty that he will not return for next year, it is time to start evaluating who is going to be a part of the future of this franchise and who needs to go. Wipe the slate clean, bring in a young franchise-type QB and a proven NFL head coach and it wont be long before the Minnesota Vikings are once again among the prominent teams in the National Football League.

We beat Green Bay

I am hoping that whatever happened at halftime during the Vikings/Packers game on Sunday will end up being the turning point for the whole season. I was very down on the team up until that point but in the big 2nd half comeback they looked like they were supposed to look all year long. I know that Green Bay is a horrible team but for those last 30 minutes of football it looked like a game between a championship caliber team and a horrible team. Daunte was phenomenal but I am still very hesitant to jump on the bandwagon, the true test will come this week when the Vikings play a tough road game at Carolina.

Now lets focus on the important thing. We beat the Green Bay Packers, no matter how bad they are that always feels good. I love seeing the look of defeat on Brett Favre's face and I would have loved to see the looks that some of the cheeseheads present on Sunday had. To me there is nothing more satisfying then a victory over the Packers. Given the circumstances, I would probably put this game in the top 3 games that I've seen against the Pack just behind the win at Lambeau on Monday Night in '98 and of course the playoff upset last year. As happy as I am to see the Vikings finally play well I am just as happy to see Green Bay sitting at 1-5 staring at 4 almost certain losses on the schedule. Can't wait for the Monday Night game at Lambeau later this year.

Vikings

I'm not going to go into the recent situation with the Vikings, but after the fact I am for the first time questioning my loyalty to the team. For my entire life I have been unwavering in rooting for the Vikes and hating the Packers in any and all circumstances. Don't think I'm gonna turn into a cheesehead, I will always hate Green Bay, but the current state of the Vikings is embarrasing. If things are not turned around immediately and the players responsible for the incident don't come forward and apologize I don't know if I can continue to support the team.

At this point I think a complete overhaul of the franchise is necessary, dump Tice and anyone who is in any way a distraction to the team no matter how much talent they have, that includes Daunte. It may be time for this team to wipe the slate clean and start over. Before the start of this season I really believed that we would see a return to the glory of the Purple People Eater days, what we have seen is the complete opposite. The Vikings aren't just losing, they're embarrasing themselves on and off the field.

I'll say that I like what Wilf had to say about the situation, but I think we will need to see a lot of new faces for the franchise to live up to his vision. I really don't know what to think about the rest of the season but as for next year I want to see a completely different team and if that means a last place team I won't care as long as it is a rebuilding phase. I for one will accept a couple years of losing teams if it takes us back to being a respected, winning team.

NHL!

It is great to see the Wild back in action after a year off, especially with the Vikings struggling and the Twins out of the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. The Wild are unlike any other major pro team in this way: no matter how bad or how good they are the fans will always love them and fill the arena on a nightly basis. So they have started off with just one win in their first three games, who cares? its hockey. To tell the truth I have no idea how good of a team we are suppost to have this year but I will watch them whenever I can and judging by the first three seasons Coach Lemaire will make them into a contender regardless of how much talent they have. I know that I, along with most fans, am going to miss the veteran winger Andrew Brunnette, I'll never forget his overtime goal in game 7 at Colorado which is in my opinion the greatest Minnesota sports moment since the '91 World Series. We still have some of the original favorites like Wes Walz, Marian Gaborik and now 2nd Goaltender Manny Fernandez. Oh and who is this Koivu kid?

So I'll say it right, unlike our governor, Let's Play Hockey.

And We're Back

The Saints fumble the opening kickoff, Culpepper hits Travis Taylor in the endzone on the first play from scrimmage, and the nightmarish start to the 2005 season is over. To say that Sunday's game was a breath of fresh air is an understatement, it is more like being released from a bear trap at the bottom of Lake Minnetonka. With no clear cut opposition to the North crown the Vikings appear to have a great shot at the playoffs afterall.

Everything seemed to click on Sunday, especially during the first half when Minnesota took a 24-6 lead going into the locker room. Daunte was Daunte again, going 21-29 passing with 300 yards, 3 touchdowns and no picks. Mewelde Moore had an excellent showing and made a great case to be the #1 guy in the Purple's backfield this season. The long TD pass to rookie Troy Williamson somehow reminded us Randy Moss and helped us forget at the same time. Even without star safety Darren Sharper the defense was superb and one can imagin what it will look like with him back in the secondary.

So I'll admit that after the 37-8 disaster in Cincinatti I wasn't so sure about this team, coming into the year I had high expectations and I said that they were a Super Bowl caliber squad. The Bengals game was quite possibly the worst performance I have ever seen by a proffessional sports team and the week 1 loss to Tampa was not much better. However now I have come to believe that those two games were just snags, flukes even. Sure the Bucs and Bengals played great but the Vikes just didn't show up to put up any kind of opposition. So here following an impressive 33-16 win over New Orleans I will once again predict the Minnesota Vikings to make their biggest postseason run since 1998.

Moon's Law

Remember back when Warren Moon lost his starting job to Brad Johnson? Or when Johnson lost his due to injury to Randall Cunningham, who went on to lose the job himself the next season to Jeff George? This seems to be a recurring theme here in Minnesota, the backup always plays better than the starter. In 2001 Todd Bouman replaced an injured Daunte Culpepper and played as well as any other QB in football with a 98.3 rating. The exception to that example is obviously that Daunte kept his job, however there was not an abscence of people calling for a Bouman-led offense. You can look to as late as two years ago when Gus Frerotte went 4-0 as a starter and once again a contingency of fans were advocating for him to be the permanent starter. Is all this coincidence? a product of the curse that has held the Purple without a Super Bowl win? or something else?

With the horrendous start that the team has had this year don't be surprised if this scenario presents itself once again with the man who started it all, Brad Johnson. If he is given a shot to play I confidently predict that he will jumpstart the offense and lead them to the playoffs. We have already heard rumblings of benching Daunte, if the Vikes continue to struggle and Zygi sticks to his word and doesn't give Mike Tice the boot during the season expect to see Johnson under center very soon.

The excitement among the knowledgable football fans in Minnesota for this season was very justified, the improvements on defense would no doubt make up for the departure of Randy Moss. However inexplicibly the team has looked like they couldn't hang with the St. Thomas Tommies in a packed Metrodome. One would assume that the season will eventually be turned around, but if we have learned anything in the past the old custom of making the #2 the #1 may be necessary to take the Vikes back to the postseason.

Twins: Looking Ahead

For the first time in four years the Minnesota Twins will not be in the playoffs, whis is disappointing to a diehard fan such as myself, but the 2005 season has not left us with nothing to look forward to. We have learned a lot about what the next few years should look like for the franchise, Joe Mauer seems to be capable of becoming the face of the Twins, Luis Rivas has lost his last chance to be an everyday player and he is now a 2nd baseman of the past rather than the future, Michael Cuddyer didn't seem to be an adequate replacement for Koskie at 3rd but a bright 2nd half has kept him in contention for the job in the future, and the pitching staff should be a non-issue. Not to say that there aren't any questions remaining such as Jason Bartlett at short, whether the Soul Patrol outfield will be kept in tact, who that 2nd baseman of the future will be, and whether Justin Morneau will turn into that 50 homer-a-year hitter we've been promised.

So will the Twinkies be back to playing October baseball in '06? I believe it is a very attainable goal, however some dollars will need to be spent and it will not be easy to overcome the Indians who appear to be built for a sustained run. Alfonso Soriano may be the answer at 2nd base, Scott Baker or Francisco Liriano may need to be shipped to Texas for that to happen, but considering the pitching depth the Twins have it would be a fair trade to get a much needed power bat. Cuddyer will most likely get another shot next year to play 3rd, Bartlett should start at short, Morneau at 1st, if Soriano isn't here by spring training expect to see Nick Punto at 2nd on a regular basis. Here is a projected 2006 lineup for Minnesota:

1-Shannon Stewart LF
2-Joe Mauer C
3-Alfonso Soriano 2B
4-Justin Morneau 1B
5-Torii Hunter CF
6-Matt Lecroy DH
7-Michael Cuddyer 3B
8-Lew Ford RF
9-Jason Bartlett SS

So with that there appears to be what could be a winning lineup, the noticeable absence is Jacque Jones who could end up back in a Twins uniform, however you can't expect the ownership to dish out enough dough to keep him assuming that Soriano is brought in. The importance of Alfonso to the lineup above is immense, take him out and you see essentially the same 2005 stagnant offense. The young hitters should mature and hit the ball better, however it would be a longshot for them to be a contending team without the big bat in the middle of it all.

Ah the pitching staff.....there is nothing to suggest that it won't be among the best in baseball next year. Nothing needs to be said about Johan Santana, Radke still has some good years left, and Silva should continue to be one of the most consistent starters in the majors. With the impending rookie seasons of phenoms Baker and Liriano, I would expect managment to eventully give in and let one of them go to get that aforementioned bat thus saving a spot in the rotation for Kyle Lohse. As for the bullpen, Joe Nathan is a lights out closer, Rincon and Romero provide good relief from both sides of the rubber, Jesse Crain should only get better, Grant Balfour will be back and hopefully ready to dominate, and Travis Bowyer should make the team out of spring training. Needless to say this staff should be able to keep the team in most games and hopefully in the playoff race, here is a projected 2006 staff:

Rotation:
Johan Santana
Brad Radke
Carlos Silva
Francisco Liriano/Scott Baker
Kyle Lohse

Bullpen:
Joe Nathan
Juan Rincon
J.C. Romero
Jesse Crain
Grant Balfour
Travis Bowyer
Matt Guerrier

So on paper, this team should be able to compete, if the ownership is willing to do what is necessary to make it happen, which isn't much. Of course it is impossible to predict what will happen between now and Opening Day 2006 that will affect Minnesota's chances, and this article is full of assumptions. With that said, here is a very preliminary prediction for the 2006 Minnesota Twins:

90-72, Wild Card