vikings/nfl
Dan Wiederer began covering the Vikings in 2011, enthusiastically delivering insight on the team across the Star Tribune's print and digital products. Prior to joining the Access Vikings team, he spent seven seasons covering ACC basketball at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He also covered the Chicago Bears in 2003 and 2004. Follow him on Twitter @StribDW.
Mark Craig has covered football and the NFL the past 20 years, including the Browns from 1991-95 and the Vikings and the NFL since 2003. Since 2008, Craig has served as one of the 44 Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors. He can be followed on Twitter at @markcraignfl.
What's Frazier supposed to say?
Posted by: Mark Craig under Vikings, NFC, Super Bowl, Leslie Frazier, Leslie Frazier Updated: October 4, 2011 - 8:35 AM
The streak continues. The NFL has been around 92 seasons and a head coach has yet to open an early-October press conference by saying, "Oooooweee, are we outta this thing, or what?"
No, coaches tend not to Google things like "0-4 teams that have reached the NFL playoffs since 1990" (1992 Chargers). They don't scrap the season and treat it like a 12-game exhibition schedule for the following season.
So when Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was asked at what point does he turn his attention to 2012 when his team is 0-4, his only option as a professional head coach paid to win games was to say what he said, which was:
"It’s really about this next ballgame, the Arizona Cardinals. And that’s where I want our football team to be, this next ballgame. We’ve got to be at a point where we take every game one game at a time. We don’t have the luxury to look to Week 7, Week 8, Week 9 and think about playing for then. At this point of the season, Oct. 3, to say we’re looking to 2012, I don’t think we’re at that point at all. That’s not on my radar.”
Frazier thinks Donovan McNabb gives him the best chance to win this week. A lot of the rest of us want to see Christian Ponder because we've seen this movie before and the 0-4 team doesn't win the Super Bowl. Ever. So with that in mind, some of us would like to see the previews for '12.
Frazier shouldn't be expected to focus on 2012 in October of 2011. That falls more under the duties of a powerful general manager that can look long-term and steer the franchise accordingly without the added pressure of a win-loss record. But the Vikings don't have a general manager.
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