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.