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[size=13pt]His way, like it or not[/size]
Brad Childress is trying to win games, not a popularity contest. The strong-willed Vikings coach has critics on the team but also has his owner's backing.
BY SEAN JENSEN
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 12/02/2007 12:24:17 AM CST
About three weeks ago, a day after a humiliating 34-0 loss in Green Bay, two Vikings players broached one of the most dreaded terms in a locker room: rebuilding year......
Well, that article pretty much confirmed most everything I suspected about Childress.
I am not a big fan of his, and I don't believe that his philosophy is the best course.
But here are some highlights (lowlights?) I plucked:
Wilf is commited to the "Childress Doctrine", the players aren't.Quote:
Last week, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf even said publicly that Childress will be back in 2008. A number of Vikings players would rather be playing for another coach, but they know that Childress isn't going anywhere.
"It's hard to play for someone you don't like," one player said. "But I don't think Zygi will let him go. You've just got to be professional."
While I don't advocate allowing the players to run the show, at some point you have to allow the guys on the field to do what they do...after all, that's why you drafted/signed them.
Sounds to me like we might see more departures this offseason...and once a coach gets a negative rep, it's tough to bring in those top tier players via free agency.
A much bandied about theory here, Garcia was available but Chiller is committed to Jackson.Quote:
In early March, veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia considered signing with the Vikings, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. But Garcia wanted something Childress was not ready to give him, according to the source - the starting job.
As a very active detractor of rushing Jackson into the line-up, I think this highlights what I have railed against for so long.
Garcia would have made this team better NOW and allowed Jackson to develop while we brought in more talent at WR (through draft or FA).
Now, while you can argue that Jackson needs game time to develop, I think that he would have been better off had we gone the other way...and God knows our record would likely be better.
Oddly, this mirrors many of the things I have been saying all season.Quote:
Players have hinted or complained about the offensive and defensive philosophies, namely the lack of aggressiveness on defense and the lack of pass plays on offense. Among the public dissenters: Shiancoe, receivers Robert Ferguson and Troy Williamson, and safeties Darren Sharper and Dwight Smith.
Among the complaints about Childress: He is quick to anger and slow to admit his fault, he is close-minded, he can be petty, and he is controlling.
Childress appears to me to be much like Ted Cottrell was - so committed to HIS system that he fails to recognize when it isn't working and doesn't adapt to current situations.
As for the players who have publicly been detractors, I wonder how much longer we'll have them on the roster.
Williamson will probably be gone - he hasn't done anything worthy of his contract - but the others have been productive, some more than others.
It wouldn't suprise me to see holes in our starting secondary after the season.
There's a lot in that article that I found interesting.
But, by and large, it simply confirmed an image of Brad Childress that I already had.
While I don't fault his INTENT, I'm not a fan of his methods.
And, like the players, we're stuck with him.
Caine
I already had the impression of the may
way
vibe from Childress when he took so many games until AD go to run wild
As this team starts to win games, and the systems coaches Childress, and Frazier have implemented, and tuned to better fit our personnel start to enable our guys to play to their skills, the learning process to get here has been the source of some malcontent. Both the fans who seek instant gratification, and the players who feel they aren't being used properly.
Now we have won two games in a row, Tarvaris is looking better, and the offense is executing better. The defense isn't locked into the Tampa2 everydown, and the mix has presented lots of problems to opposing QB's the last couple weeks. I like what I'm seeing and that is a subtle give and take between coaches and players to do what they do best in our system. It takes awhile to figure out what's best, and I think Childress has a plan for today as well a plan for the future. As Marrdro would say "the whole picture. ;D"
I was suprised by two things....
One that someone actually admitted that we could have gotten Garcia.
One day the whole story will come out.
The other is that fact that all the negative quotes are attributed to "A Player" or "One Player said,".
Sure is alot of "Off the Record" reporting going on inside the halls of Winter Park.
Of course it is his way if you like it or not, that is why he is the head of the franchise and the Head coach.
What i do think is that Childress has to adjust a little bit more, but he is growing in that more and more and listening to the players and the 180 turn that Sharper has made...
About Garcia, everybody wanted him here i think, but it's like Marrdro said we don't know the whole story and someday hopefully we will know that. after all BJ was starting Qb and bollinger was back-up last season so i can't imagine that Childress already decided that Tarvaris would get the starting role this season
LOL!
Please do something first.Quote:
Among the public dissenters: Shiancoe, receivers Robert Ferguson and Troy Williamson, and safeties Darren Sharper and Dwight Smith.
Smith has looked golden, then plummets with terrible judgement in the passing game.
Granted he did good last week, but he has a way to go.
Sharper, find another team please.
We could use a player who can (and wants to tackle) and defend passes.
Troy:
no explanation needed.
Shiancoe who?
"ultravikingfan" wrote:
Quote:
LOL!
Please do something first.Quote:
Among the public dissenters: Shiancoe, receivers Robert Ferguson and Troy Williamson, and safeties Darren Sharper and Dwight Smith.
Smith has looked golden, then plummets with terrible judgement in the passing game.
Granted he did good last week, but he has a way to go.
Sharper, find another team please.
We could use a player who can (and wants to tackle) and defend passes.
Troy:
no explanation needed.
Shiancoe who?
Shiancoe who?......Thats what I say also,
but I would love to see them try to get him into the mix more....He's got good hands and has looked good when we have gone to him.......I"m not sure if it's him not finding the creases or is he just being overlooked?....
He was a first year coach walking into a messed up team with a number of Veterans.
The Vikings had a screwed up personality, a lot of issues on the field and off, and had a complete legacy of under achievement.
Sometimes, in situations like that, you need to come in with a brick head and just force change through.
It's never an easy process but sometimes it's necessary.
If you don't push hard you'll get knocked over and knocked out by the team.
I'd challenge this writer to find any team who is 3-6 and find players who aren't saying the same things.
Losing breeds this type of malcontent while winning makes all the problems of the world go away.
Nothing in this article is terribly surprising.
What I'm seeing is the beginning of compromise between the coaches and the players.
I'm seeing a connection forming, an understanding of systems and abilities.
That process took time and now we're starting to see the fruits of it.
as long as AP gets the ball, i am happy