Jim Souhan: Changes don't help, and the rut gets deeper

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, then the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission needs to turn the Metrodome into the world's largest padded room.

Despite a new starting running back, a new hierarchy at quarterback and an opponent that should have brought out the best in their head coach, the Vikings managed to reprise all of the mistakes and continue all of the negative trends that have made them one of the worst teams in the NFL over the past 17 games.

In a 23-16 loss that leaves the Vikings at 2-5, and 4-13 in their past 17, they once again gave up a country mile in passing yards and failed to throw the ball effectively. The offense again scored a touchdown on the first drive, then went cleats up the rest of the game.

And, once again, Brad Childress looked overmatched on the sideline, this time getting outcoached by friend and former boss Andy Reid.

Childress, who during the week preaches the sanctity of timeouts, blew two with foolish challenges, the second providing insight into how he must spend his practice time.

It was 17-10 Eagles at the half. Philly kicked off to start the third quarter. Adrian Peterson, finally installed as the starting running back, was back to take the kick. The ball scooted toward the corner. Peterson rushed over and tried to place one foot out of bounds while fielding the ball. The officials ruled him out at the 1, leaving the Vikings with the worst possible field position.

Did Peterson make a mistake? No. He was obeying orders.

Childress said he coaches his return men, when the ball is kicked off toward a corner, to first place one foot out of bounds, then catch the ball. If done properly, Childress said, this would result in a penalty to the kicking team and the Vikings would get the ball on the 40.

In theory, this is fine. In reality, this forced a rookie to sprint toward the sideline while glancing up to check the coverage team and trying to do a Riverdance jig along the sideline while determining whether the ball was headed out of bounds or into the end zone.

What we have here is a team that rarely scores offensive touchdowns after the first drive of the game, yet spends practice time thusly confusing its own players, hoping a nebulous ruling can result in a slight field position advantage.

Wouldn't the Vikings' time be better spent learning the art of the forward pass?

Childress challenged the ruling on the field. He lost, leaving his progress-challenged offense stuck on the 1. It also cost his team a timeout that would have saved a few dozen valuable seconds at the end of the game.

"It's a little-known rule, particularly by you guys here, but if you put your foot out of bounds when you're worried about a ball that's going out of bounds and you're not sure, 'Is it staying in? Is it going through the end line? Do I sit and watch it?' -- the minute you put your foot out of bounds and possess the football, the football is out of bounds," Childress said.

Everyone in the room took a deep breath, then Childress said, "We coach our guys quite often on that fact."

This is endemic of Childress' tenure. The more picayune the detail, the more passionate he becomes. Since arriving in town, he has obsessed over silliness like media access and cloaking the identity of his starting quarterback.

Problem is, we always know who's playing quarterback any given week -- he's the guy with the glazed eyes and the phone-book-sized binder of "little-known rules."

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP. jsouhan@startribune.com