A long lockout could keep Vikes locked in the basement

I see that my Matt Hasselbeck idea went over like a 12th man in the huddle, but we march on regardless (P.S. The idea was to acquire TWO quarterbacks, one from the first round to be great long-term and one from the veteran scrap pile to at least be competitive and keep us all awake through a portion of 2011. Matt could be heading for that pile since his contract is up this year. Of course, I suppose I could have suggested that Tom Brady be cloned, fall from the sky and land on a purple pillow on the stoop outside Winter Park) ...

Ah, that feels better.

FIRST DOWN:

In a perfect world, the owners and the players would have common sense. They'd believe all of their hollow quotes about how important the fans are to them. They'd put down the hatchet that's about to lop off the head of the goose that lays the $9 billion eggs.

However, we all know we're heading toward a lockout. The two sides won't get together by March 3, which means the collective bargaining agreement will expire. Asked on a conference call yesterday if he felt a lockout was "inevitable," NFL Players' Association committee member Scott Fujita, a Browns linebacker, said, "It certainly looks that way to me."

Few fans will care about a lockout on March 4. That will be about the time y'all are filling out your MARCH MADNESS! brackets. (Is it really "MADNESS" when Duke, North Carolina or Kansas always seem to win anyway?)

Anyhoo, true football fans -- true Vikings fans in particular -- DO NOT want their teams' shutting down offseason activities in March.

Teams like that are better able to withstand time off from the offseason activities. The Vikings, meanwhile, need every second they can get their hands on to get better. They'll have a different coaching staff, a vastly different roster, and the QB who will start for them in 2011 most likely isn't with them at this point.

The Packers and Bears have reached the divisional playoff round. The Lions have a strong nucleus of young players. The Vikings' cupboard is far from bare, but of the four teams in the division, the Vikings need to find more players and re-sign more of their own players in free agency.

And free agency may never happen if the owners and players take this lockout fiasco with them into the fall.

SECOND DOWN:

People have asked me if this is the year Cris Carter will get in the Hall of Fame. I've given them a firm, "We'll see what happens." Trying to predict the thoughts of 44 voters isn't easy. It's impossible.

After giving it some thought this week, I think there are two first-year guys I feel confident in saying will make it in.

One is Marshall Faulk. The other is Deion Sanders.

Faulk was the best dual-threat running back in NFL history. When he retired, he was ninth in rushing yards and 16th in receptions in NFL history. He's the only player to have four consecutive seasons with 2,000 or more yards from scrimmage. He's the only player with 12,000 yards rushing and 6,000 receiving. The only one with at least 70 rushing TDs and 30 receiving TDs. He also was NFL MVP once and NFL Offensive Player of the Year three times.

He's now 10th in rushing and 25th in receptions. Although he's fallen nine spots in receptions, he still had more catches than 17 receivers who are in the Hall of Fame.

So, Marshall, congrats, you're in.

So, if Faulk and Deion are in, that would leave Carter battling 12 other qualified individuals for three potential spots. Among those are Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis, who are Nos. 4-5, in career rushing, and OT Willie Roaf, a seven-time All-Pro.

Carter retired as No. 2 all-time in receptions and receiving touchdowns. You'd think he'd get in soon, if not this year. But others have had to wait as well. Shannon Sharpe retired as the greatest receiving tight end of all-time, yet he's also back again for his crack as a finalist.

THIRD DOWN:

The Newsday headline yesterday proclaimed: "Rex goes bonkers on Belichick, Brady."

According to thefreedictionary.com, "bonkers" is "informal or slang term for mentally irregular." Or, as I'd like to call it, "nutso."

Hardly.

Ryan was doing it to take the attention off what the game really comes down to: Mark Sanchez, an inconsistent second-year QB vs. Brady, a three-time Super Bowl champion, soon-to-be two-time league MVP and future Hall of Famer.

FOURTH DOWN:

Anybody else get the feeling Jets CB Antonio Cromartie made a really, really big mistake in calling Brady a swear word that I'm not going to use out of fear that my blogging rights and paychecks will cease.

In a profanity-laced interview, Cromartie made it known that he doesn't much care for Brady. That's only fair, considering Brady has come out before and said he hates the Jets.

Huh?

Cromartie has been beaten enough times to realize that Brady is the one who will be throwing touchdown passes over the top of Cromartie to those receivers.

AND FINALLY: Sporting News has released its All-Pro and All-Rookie teams. They're on the Sporting News website and will be in the Jan. 17 edition of the magazine.

There were 617 players, coaches and team executives that voted. I helped TSN by getting votes from Vikings players.

Much like their season, the Vikings didn't do so hot in the Sporting News awards. They were shut out.

Packers: Clay Matthews, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, All-Pro at outside linebacker.

Bears: Two All-Pro selections: DE Julius Peppers and KR Devin Hester.

Lions: Ndamukong Suh was NFL Rookie of the Year (beating Sam Bradford 260-221), All-Pro at defensive tackle, and All-Rookie at defensive tackle.