Listening to a local call-in show after the game, it turns out a lot of fans are realizing 2013 is not going to be the year. Instead of having their anger pointed at one person (Christian Ponder), or maybe a couple (add Leslie Frazier and/or Rick Spielman); the fans were finding fault everywhere.

It was easy to do.

Matt Cassel's first interception was a terrible overthrow that killed a drive and set the tone for the offense. And after Jamarca Sanford dropped an interception that would have killed a drive, Cam Newton and the Panthers waltzed up and down the field. From that point Carolina controlled the game.

Every time Carolina got into Minnesota's "red zone", they scored a touchdown. But an even bigger problem was that the Panthers held the ball for near 37 minutes. They scored on seemingly every drive, save for a kneel down, when the game mattered. And they never turned the ball over. Cassel was intercepted twice.

Defensively, our Vikings are playing as bad as any in recent memory. It is almost unfair to point out the worst offenders, because no one is playing well. Josh Robinson, who had a miserable rating covering receivers his rookie year, is no better. Marvin Mitchell is out of plays. On one touchdown drive by the Panthers, two first-round rookies (Floyd,Rhodes) had penalties that kept the drive alive on third down stops. Newton had far too much free time in the pocket.

Offensively, Cassel was only sharp on short passes (where have I heard that before?). He was not given enough time because the offensive line took the day off. Again. Adrian Peterson had a 31 yard run, and otherwise thirty yards the rest of the game. And when the Vikings trail by two TDs or more, they insist on throwing the ball despite not being very good at it.

And when the team went bad, the fans got quiet. Who could blame them? I think maybe the crowd walked in as cocky as the players, assuming this would be an easy win.

Oops.

The problem I have is we tried to fix the 2013 season by signing a struggling quarterback for millions of dollars at the beginning of the week. This may or may not have sent the message to Cassel he was not the answer. Now we have millions pumped into a third flailing quarterback for a team with defensive issues. Not sure the logic there?

The coaches have to be looking for pink slips these days. Maybe the general manager, too. Certainly the fans want someone's head to roll. Last year's playoff visit seems suddenly so distant. A tough schedule ahead, a division where everyone won this week, and all three teams have winning records in the North. A season's franchise with a few close losses just got humiliated at home.

It might be time to take a realistic assessment.

And let some people go.

Skol.