You can always tell when an NFL team's season ends, because suddenly your shitty-ass team
actually starts getting the fans excited and doing something. It's a function of having nothing to play for, way down with the clock running out in a must-win game, because that's when the third string QB and other young talent come off the bench and start going for stupid stuff, like throwing bombs down field and going for two-point conversions, 4th down conversions, and recovering onside kicks, because hey, who gives a fuck. And the other team is giving them a lot of slack because they've got the game in the bag, and they really didn't game-plan for the 3rd string QB running naked bootlegs to throw to a practice squad receiver in a four wide-out set. So that's what kind of game it ended up being.
Things looked more hopeful early, and the Vikings were still technically looking for a shot at a play-off game in Seattle, where they won 31-13 earlier this year, and then potentially another goofy match-up with the Bears, where anything can happen. And they had to stay ahead of the Packers to prevent the storming of the Winter Park by the Bolshevikes, presumably led by former Viking Stalin Colinet, just to flesh out my weak attempt at Russian history jokes. I miss my friends who got history jokes (and made better ones).
The first Jets drive promised a good day for the Vikings. On their second offensive play of the game, Vikings defensive end Kenechi Udeze smacked down his opposing number on the Jets line like an inflatable clown and then trampled him as he launched himself onto Chad Pennington, who had barely time to take a step back from the snap. Pennington fumbled, and Napoleon "don't call me dynamite" Harris recovered it for the Vikings. The resulting Vikings touchdown was something I've been waiting for all year, Travis Taylor beat his man and came wide open across the middle, and Johnson hit him in stride allowing Taylor a clear path into the end zone.
Alas, the rest of the game didn't exactly go so well. There was one nasty tackle by Pat Williams where he penetrated deep into the backfield, and spotting Cedric Houston rushing past him, Williams threw an arm out and pulled him back into a bear hug, ripping Houston completely off his feet. Seriously, I thought for a minute he must have done the Scorpion "Get over here!" move from Mortal Kombat. But for the most part, the Jets moved the ball pretty well, six scoring drives in all. It didn't help that our offense was shockingly anemic and gave the Jets twice as much time of possession through three quarters. At one point, the 1st downs were something like 21 for the Jets and 2 for the Vikings.
In the 4th quarter, when nobody cared anymore, the Tardis came in, to much rejoicing by Vikings fans. In one quarter, Jackson threw for nearly twice as many yards as Brad Johnson did in the first three, and his scrambling throw for a touchdown to Mewelde Moore was the shining example of the much higher degree of mobility and confidence in his arm shown by the Tardis today. Sure, a TD, a failed 2-point conversion and a pick in garbage time isn't anything to get overly excited about, but we were fairly desperate for something to get excited about. Up until that point the highlight of the game was when four guys dressed as Vikings coach Brad Childress with headsets and fake mustaches, all filed out early, while the crowd took out their frustration with the real Childress on those guys.
At halftime, Randall McDaniel was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor, and I wish he could have gotten a better game. McDaniel played in 12 Pro Bowls, was on the NFL's all-decade team
for the 90's, and will probably make it to the Hall of Fame, which has proved strangely difficult for Vikings. I'll always remember him for the goal-line plays where he'd come in as a fullback, because either a blitzer nailed the runningback in the backfield, or it was a TD, because if the line opened up a running lane McDaniel running through it would flatten any linebacker or safety trying to plug the hole. A phenomenal athlete, and from what I hear, a good schoolteacher as well.
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