Vikings problems aren't coach's fault

Yes, some media members are calling for Vikings coach Brad Childress to be fired in the middle of the season, despite the fact that the team compiled a 12-4 record last year when wide receiver Sidney Rice and others were healthy and Childress came maybe within a penalty for a 12th man in the huddle from going to the Super Bowl.

Yes, he is the same coach he was last year, when the Vikings got a lot of good breaks that they haven't this year and when he had a much healthier team that could compete better.

Had the Vikings scored touchdowns on fourth-and-1 situations in the Miami and New England games, they might be 4-3 rather than 2-5. And had Percy Harvin gotten both feet in bounds in the back of the end zone against Green Bay, they would be 5-2.

Had those breaks gone the Vikings' way, there wouldn't be polls that indicate that the coach should be fired.

Yes, Childress made a serious mistake when he didn't call the Wilfs -- Zygi and Mark -- and inform them of his decision to release Randy Moss less than a month after the team owners agreed to give up a third-round draft choice to the Patriots and assume the balance of his contract of $3.888 million.

But you don't fire a coach for a bad decision like that when he has done so many good things and is ranked with the best coaches in the NFL.

Receiver help needed Childress has been accused of not communicating well this year. It was easier to communicate last year when the team got off to a 6-0 start.

But one big reason that Childress decided to take the chance on Moss is because of a lack of production by the receivers this year and the absence of Rice, who in the first seven games last year caught 33 passes for 585 yards and two touchdowns.

Last year through the first seven games, tight end Visanthe Shiancoe caught 21 passes for 195 yards and five touchdowns. This year through seven games, he has 20 receptions for 265 yards but only one touchdown. Bernard Berrian at this point last season had 24 receptions for 292 yards and two TDs. This year, he has nine receptions for 87 yards and no TDs.

Harvin, despite his various ailments, is having a better season in 2010. Last year through seven games he had 23 catches for 365 yards and two TDs. This year, he has 31 catches for 393 yards and three TDs.

And last but not least, there is the dropoff in production of Brett Favre. A year ago after seven games, Favre had a quarterback rating of 102.2; this year, it is 69.8. He had thrown only three interceptions in the first seven games of 2009 but has 11 this year. He passed for 12 TDs in the first seven games last year but has only seven TD passes this year.

Former Twins manager Tom Kelly and former Vikings coach Bud Grant will tell you the same thing: Players, not coaches, make the difference.

Gray is versatile Jeff Horton, the Gophers interim football coach, said a decision on whether MarQueis Gray plays quarterback or wide receiver next year will depend on the system employed by the new coach.

"Whoever the new guy that comes in, it depends on what kind of system he runs to see where he fits in the best," Horton said of Gray, who has caught 36 passes for 513 yards and four touchdowns this year.

"I think he's talented at quarterback," Horton said. "I think you run a different style of offense. You run one where he's obviously more involved in the running game and the play-action pass, kind of like the guy at Auburn [Cameron Newton] or kind of like [Ohio State's Terrelle] Pryor. I think that's a style that will benefit MarQueis the best. We'll just have to obviously wait and see who that new head guy is and what kind of system he runs."

About Gray, Horton added: "He makes a lot of big-time plays, and he's really talented. We've just got to keep him coming along."

Jottings • Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, on negotiating with Target Corporation concerning the naming rights of Target Center, which expire next September: "I think we're negotiating with them right now. We're hopeful that they will, but of course, being prudent, we're talking to some other people, too. There are other people who are interested, but I think we have a long history with Target and certainly we want to work with them."

• When the Cardinals lost to Tampa Bay last week, they suffered two consecutive losses for the first time since the 2008 season.

• One reason the Gophers will have a hard time moving the ball against Michigan State on Saturday is the presence of the top linebacker in the country, Greg Jones, who verbally committed to the Gophers when Glen Mason was coach but switched to Michigan State after Mason was fired.

• Brad Salem, son of former Gophers quarterback and coach Joe Salem, is the running backs coach at Michigan State. His brother, Tim, is tight ends coach/special teams coordinator at Central Florida.

• Joe Speed, the agent for former Gophers baseball player Robb Quinlan, who is a major league free agent, is reported to be talking to the Twins and some National League teams. Quinlan played 23 games for the Angels this season but was released in September.

• Another former Gopher, infielder Jack Hannahan, also is a free agent. He finished the 2010 season with the Red Sox' Class AAA affiliate after being acquired from the Mariners.