Assigning blame for 2009 debacle
Assigning blame for 2009 debacle - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN
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Assigning blame for 2009 debacle
Assigning blame for 2009 debacle - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN
Meh.
It is done and over. Did the cheap shots make an impact? Yes. Did the crappy officiating make an impact? Yes. Did the turnovers and unbelievable 12 men in the huddle have an impact? Yes. All of these things contributed to the loss. There is no single thing to "blame".
I am less interested in assigning blame for a missed opportunity that happened in 2009 than I am in worrying about the opportunities we are missing in 2012. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by NodakPaul
No fear. We will draft a franchise LT and from there on out it will be nothing but SB homeboy.
I know ... it is shocking how many Super Bowls Jake Long and Joe Thomas have. Those teams hit it out of the park with those picks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Purple Floyd
Not to mock your mockery but they did kinda hit it out of the park. Both have been to the last 4 pro-bowls.Quote:
Originally Posted by midgensa
Well, I guess if having a pro bowl LT and a pick at the top of the draft every year is what makes your day you may just be in for a very long happy spell.Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcdon00
Ding Ding! That is why a Pro Bowl LT does not matter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Purple Floyd
I have no problem with picking Matt Kalil. I think it would be nice to sure up the offensive line and he has a chance to be really special. But, let's be honest, in the grand scheme of things the LT does not matter NEARLY as much as people make it out to be.
2011 All Pros - Jason Peters, Joe Thomas (0-0 in the playoffs)
2010 - Joe Thomas, Jake Long (0-0)
2009 - Ryan Clady, Joe Thomas (0-0)
2008 - Jordan Gross, Michael Roos (0-2)
2007 - Walter Jones, Matt Light (3-2 — Super Bowl loss)
2006 - Willie Anderson, Jamaal Brown (1-1)
2005 - Walter Jones, Willie Anderson (2-1 — Super Bowl loss)
2004 - Walter Jones, William Roaf (0-1)
2003 - Jonathon Ogden, William Roaf (0-2)
2002 - Jonathon Ogden, Lincoln Kennedy (2-1 — Super Bowl loss)
So there are the last 20 All Pro tackles in the NFL. A combined ZERO Super Bowls in those years (Ogden and Light the only ones in the group with any Super Bowls) and a combined 7-9 in the playoffs (which means more than half of them did not even make the playoffs) and ZERO playoff appearances in the last three years.
While it is a huge position and important to have someone capable there, ELITE LTs are one of the most overvalued positions in all of sports (second to maybe point guards because those guys don't win shit anymore either — though Mr. Rose may prove an exception there soon).
You can call it "hitting it out of the park" all you want ... but the Fins passed on Matt Ryan (who has been to the playoffs three times) and took Jake Long ... who has been there once.
All that said ... I still would like Matt Kalil here, but there are a reason glamor positions tend to get drafted high ... they tend to matter a whole hell-of-a lot more.
Just because one player is great, doesn't mean the team he is on is good enough to win a SB. Pro Bowl linemen don't necessarily guarantee SB wins. Hell, even Pro Bowl WR's don't even guarantee one.
How many rings does Moss have? Chad Ochocinco? Larry Fitzgerald?
Bottom line is if you can't protect your QB, Your QB is typically not going to have great success.
You've really convinced yourself on this one I see.
I'm much more concerned with the 2010 and 2011 debacle... which were all caused by the same thing.
By feeding a "Win Now" mentality and signing Brett Favre to a $20M/year contract set this team back at least 5 years... if not more. The quick fix that was guaranteed to not last more than 2 seasons was ill-thought-out and poorly planned. Many of us on the site were pointing this out two years ago, only to be met with the "hater" label by the pro-Favre crowd, who were simply blinded by the name on the jersey.
Sure, some of us pointed out that Favre's last plays with the Packers and Jets were both INT's and that his last play with the Vikes would be an INT... which it was... but these fell on deaf ears.
Sure, some of us said that he was too old and that even if we were good enough to make the playoffs, Favre wouldn't get us to the Super Bowl. We were right on this point too.
So now here we are, 3 years later and our team just finished the worst season in franchise history. Free Agents are not signing here, opting for teams like Washington and San Fran. All the other teams in the NFC North continue to get better... and with YOUNG PLAYERS, instead of signing band-aid fixes like the Vikings were doing during the Childress era, hence why we're in the scenario we are now.
At the bottom of all this, you have to look at Spielman and Wilf. Those are the people to blame. They simply are not football minds.
But I also blame Vikings fans who were more concerned with signing Favre than they were building a winning football team. Now we are in for about 10 years of cellar dwelling. M0r0ns.