Vikings-Bucs

November 17th, 2008

Unfortunately I didn't get to see the whole game live yesterday, but I followed the stats on my computer and got to watch the very end on Fox. As the fourth quarter went along, I kept wondering to myself: "Where is Adrian Peterson?" I just watched some analysis on the game and it was just what I had suspected - zero touches for Peterson in the fourth quarter. It's not as if he was getting shut down, he was averaging 4.5 yards per carry, not freakish but certainly solid.

There was plenty of blame to go around but when you do not give someone like Adrian Peterson a single touch in the fourth quarter (a 13-13 game at the end of the third), there is absolutely no excuse, It is a major coaching error that probably cost us the game. And in our final offensive possession, it is Chester Taylor, not Adrian Peterson who gets the ball and fittingly, fumbles to effectively end the game. Now I'm not an anti-Taylor guy, I think he's a solid back. But as everyone knows, no matter the sport, you get the ball in your best player's hands in crunch time and Peterson is not only our best player, but one of the top few in the game. You don't see the Lakers giving the ball to Lamar Odom for the final shot.

Here's our spot right now: We have six games left, only 2 against sub-.500 teams. One of those games is against the 9-1 Giants. Based on tie-breakers and the general makeup of the NFC right now, I think we can only afford to lose one game the rest of the way out. If we lose two, we still could be in but a lot of other factors will be in play.

I've given Childress the benefit of the doubt his entire way along so far, but his actions in the fourth quarter of that game are unacceptable - that, along with convincing the state of Minnesota that Tavaris Jackson was NFL-ready this year. If he loses next game, I want him gone. Over the last couple years I have seen us piss away a number of games because of bad coaching decisions and that is no reason to be losing games. We have the personnel right now, we are right on the cusp of being an elite NFL team, but I don't know if it can happen with Childress as coach. I hope Zigi keeps Childress on a very short leash, if he waits for one loss, the season can still be salvaged. If he delays, it will be another depressing year to be a Vikings fan.