Putting The Vikings Season in Perspective

Viking nation is furious! There's knashing of teeth, kicking of water coolers, expletives being tossed out at the poor defenseless house pet, and then there's the talking to no one in the room syndrome. Well, at least that describes me, I guess. Sorry Tonka, the family dog. I think he needs therapy now,  but perhaps he is not the only one. How do we wrap our heads around a season swirling downward like the bathroom toilet? Flush!

Here are my top five reasons the Vikings are looking at a sub .500 year, and then five ways to run the table for an improbable 10-6 finish.

Sub .500

Reason 1: Super Bowl syndrome. Let's face it, the Vikings and Cowboys have been the underperformers of the year no doubt, and yet expectations were so high. What happened? This is where you think you are more talented than you really are, and that you can turn on your talent like a switch. Uh, sorry, no can do. This is the NFL, full of outstanding athletes who sometimes take exceptions to those "high and mighty." The first sign of a downfall is too much pride. "I am Michael Vick, yo."

Reason 2: Injuries - every team has injuries, but some teams lose certain players that just mean too much to their game planning, philosophy, etc. Ryan Grant being lost in Green Bay was not as significant as people think because the Packers weren't really known for their running game. Yet, you take away AP for Minnesota and it makes a huge impact. Ergo, Sydney Rice's loss was more impacting than the Vikings thought, and the loss of Griffin (again) and the early loss of Cook impacted the defense.

Reason 3: Execution - and no, not the head coach, more on him later. Eleven guys doing their job, it's that simple. This has been the greatest struggle thus far. They have moments of absolutely flawless execution, and then moments of absolute dumbfoundery (my own word). It's cliche but true about it all being about the X's and O's, and right now, Minnesota is not excelling in those areas.

Reason 4: Planning - perhaps the reason there is a lack of execution is the game planning is too obvious. We're all armchair QB's, but when you look at Minnesota's offense or defense, tell me where you see originality or real creativity? Now, I am not ignorant, I realize you have to line up and play and that you can't resort to trickeration all the time, but you can certainly utilize your talent where necessary. I mean, at least try it. It's not like these guys are mailmen or teachers where they go to work, then to practice. This is their job 100% of the time. You can't tell me that you can't add six or seven creative plays per week. Especially in today's NFL, how many games have you seen come down to the last play, or go into overtime? I rest my case.

Reason 5: 60 minute football - the Vikings have yet to play 60 minutes of football. Actually, if you look at the real number, each play averages five to six seconds, and let's say you get 60 plays on offense and 60 plays defensively. Offensively you are averaging about six minutes of real time play; the same goes for the defense. Now, as a former coach, I used to say to my defenses, three plays of all out, doing your job, and you should be able to get off the field. For my offense, it was about 10-12 plays of all out execution to enable us to score. Does it always happen? No, but you know what, at least you have that mentality of execution and all out. The Vikings have not shown that this year.

Okay, now let's look at the glass as half full....oops, just spilled some, sorry...okay, about a third full.

Five reasons the Vikings can still make the playoffs. See above in the opposite. Okay, that was too easy. It's real simple and it goes like this

Reason 1: Run the table. It's all out, Katie bar the door time. These guys are paid huge sums of money to perform. It's time to earn that 'real' check.

Reason 2: Getting key players back. Sydney Rice, a fully receovered Cook and Sullivan are starters. On offense, the Vikings have yet to be able to all practice together the entire year. That still might not happen in the next week, but it sure would help.

Reason 3: Better execution. It's just about each guy doing his job on every play.

Reason 4: Better game planning. Apparently the secret is out, the Vikings are predictable. It's time for Childress and the gang to go deep in the play book and pull some creative plays that can lead to momentum shifters or game changers. A short pass on third and eight and "hoping" your guy gets the rest is not a recipe for success.

Reason 5: The stars align. That's right. Any super bowl team will tell you that everything basically went right. Now that is not obviously going to happen for Minnesota, but for the next seven games, it could. However, part of that aligning of the stars is going to take a tremendous amount of effort and work on their part. What is it they say about luck, it's a combination of timing and preparation. Up to this point, the Vikings have had neither. This also means the Packers and Bears have to stumble because only the division winner goes from this division; there will be no wild card team from the NFC North unless you have two 10-6 teams.

Well, there you have it! I am not Nostradamus, so I cannot predict with any certainty what is going to happen with the Vikings. In some ways, I think Vikings fans are hoping for failure just so they can get rid of Childress, but even a 6-10, or 7-9 season does not guarantee that the Wilf's will get rid of Childress. They have a lot invested in him, and unless they've seen things behind closed doors, Childress likely stays, but may be forced to make some changes. Remember Tom Coughlin, prior to winning the SB in 2008, the Giants went 8-8, coming off an 11-5 previous year. They were ready to run him out of the country; Afghanistan may have been a safer place than NYC, but look what happened. The Wilf's are practical men, and they do not seem to be knee jerk owners. So it wouldn't surprise me that Childress stays, albeit on a shorter leash.

Final prediction: 8-8, but I hope I am wrong.