As a noted contrarian, we spent yesterday trying to find some silver linings (instead of shoveling on the dirt) as the Vikings move forward from 2010 to 2011. It was not easy.
The reality is the 2010 season was a whole bunch of things. But great is not one of them. Here are a few of the key takeaways as far as we can see:
1) Don't let this team off the hook (copyright: Denny Green). We will look back on 2010 as a crazy season. Freshest in your mind might be the Metrodome roof collapse, the game at TCF Bank Stadium, the postponement in Philadelphia and other such logistical challenges. Do not forget that most of the wackiness of this season was self-inflicted and that the latter "woe is us" inconveniences came well after the wheels had come off what was supposed to be a Super Bowl-caliber team. The Brett Favre waffling; the Randy Moss debacle. The fall of Brad Childress. Etc. The vast majority of the players and schemes from 2009 returned for 2010. The Vikings were hurt by injuries, by they weren't decimated as badly as other teams who still managed to make the playoffs. In short: The Vikings have nobody to blame but themselves for the way 2010 went, and there should be no excuses.
2) If the 2010 Vikings proved anything, it's that the NFL is not a league for the flat-footed. You can keep a core at key positions, but you have to be constantly getting younger, stronger and faster at others. Teams are constantly scheming and figuring you out. Half-steps and key plays define the league. Minnesota's version of all-in was largely hoping 2009 would be duplicated with the same cast of characters in 2010. It was flawed.
3) It's time for the first bona fide long-term plan at QB since the day Daunte Culpepper shredded his knee in 2005. Brett Favre was a perfect (and fortunate) fit for Brad Childress in 2009. Aside from that, the QB spot was a hodge-podge nightmare for the last half of the decade. Joe Webb is not the 2011 starter. He's intriguing, but he's not the 2011 starter. Whether the plan is getting someone for 1-2 years WHILE DEVELOPING A QB OF THE FUTURE (the part Childress either ignored or stubbornly wished would be Tarvaris Jackson during the Favre era) or drafting a QB in the first round of the draft and throwing him in there opening day 2011, there needs to be a long-term plan.
4) As it stands right now, the Vikings are the fourth-best team in the NFC North. Their last-place finish is accurate. The Lions are improving. The Bears are seemingly always capable of pulling out a double-digit win season when you least expect it. The Packers are flawed and inconsistent, but they are very talented. With the Twins and Target Field primed to eclipse the Vikings and their woeful stadium situation as the No. 1 show in town -- and with the Timberwolves slowly growing a fan base, Gophers football feeling a surge of optimism, Gophers basketball still a threat, the Wild still putting fans in the stands, etc. -- the Vikings are vulnerable. What they do between now and next season will be very important. And we will be curious to see how this all shakes out.
Your thoughts, as always, in the comments.
