Oh Well

In some ways, I’m kind of relieved that the Vikings lost.

Even though I’m a Vikings fan (and have been for over ten years now), I had very little confidence or belief in this team. I think it’d have been hard for them to challenge either team they’d face next week, and regardless of who they faced it probably wouldn’t have ended well for them.

To be honest, the Vikings probably outplayed the Eagles today. Their defense played extremely well (save for the Westbrook TD) and AP had an AP day running the ball (read: very good). However, the two problems that have plagued them all year (and the two problems that would have prevented serious contention this season) – special teams coverage and QB play – were glaring weaknesses.

Tavaris Jackson started off fairly well I think. The stats didn’t show that he was effective, but I remember seeing him be 3-7 for something like 40 yards and thinking that he was doing better than that. I’m not sure if it’s just my expectation for him to make costly mistake after costly mistake that would lead me to accept a mediocre game, but I felt that if he had continued to keep up that pace, they’d be in good shape. However, it wasn’t long after that he began to unravel, opting to throw difficult passes and trying to force things too much. Asante Samuel easily could have had a second pick-six on a pass to Sidney Rice in (I think) the third quarter after having one earlier. I really hope the team addresses the quarterback situation. I know it isn’t easy to find quarterbacks, but they seem to have no confidence in Gus Frerotte and I think that by now Tavaris has proven he’s not the answer (even though at times this season I thought he might be).

As for special teams, the Vikings always seem to have a really hard time covering punt returns. A major factor today was that the Eagles constantly pinned the Vikings deep in their own territory, and because of their sputtering offense, the Vikes were forced to punt from near their goal line or from within their end zone, leaving DeSean Jackson plenty of space to run amok.

Remember back on that MNF game when Reggie Bush ran in two punt returns? Yeah. DeSean seemed to be on Reggie’s level today. Everyone knows he’s an explosive, big-play guy, yet the Vikings had no answer to stopping him. I’m not even sure how you improve this kind of aspect of your team. I don’t think it’s Kluwe’s fault – his punts were more than adequate – it was more a matter of the rest of the team just not being able (or not knowing how) to contain or force DeSean to the sidelines.

Oh well. I don’t know if Brad Childress is the problem or if he just doesn’t have enough talent to turn in a solid performance against a playoff team. I think a major issue is the offensive playcalling, which reared its ugly head as the Eagles quickly learned how to contain the Vikings offense. Had AP not broken free on his first TD, the score would have been even more lopsided.

Here’s to next year.