I’ll admit it. I’m viewing things through purple-colored sunglasses these days, with Mike Zimmer making me an optimistic fan yet again, and finding five things I loved about our first preseason victory was much easier than this post.
Afterall, “hate” is a mighty strong word.
So, it might be best to consider this more of a list of things that annoy me.
5. Kluwe Shadow Still Looms Large
As I stated, I’m loving this new regime and all of the excitement that comes with it. Paul Allen, a homeristic homer, navigated away from the harsh truths of the Chris Kluwe versus Mike Priefer saga during his broadcast, but the national guys will not be so kind to the Vikings organization. During those first few weeks, when Priefer is serving his suspension, the new coaching staff will have their debut games tainted by this distracting drama and the talking points that are sure to follow.
4. Kicking Outdoors
I enjoyed the sight of the Vikings playing outdoors football right up until I saw the opening kickoff where Blair Walsh just didn’t seem to have the same leg behind it as we were used to seeing. Then, later on, came the missed field goal. He made a field goal, and later booted the hell out of a couple other kickoffs, so there hopefully isn’t too much cause for concern. However, I still can’t help but worry that the NFL’s most finicky position could be a sudden problem for the Vikings if Walsh has a tough time adapting tot he conditions at TCF Bank Stadium. Here’s hoping my worries are totally unfounded.
3. Back To Paul Allen
This guy, I tell ya. I just have such a hard time taking him seriously on the radio and then, AND THEN, this preseason performance was just… well, I don’t know. The guy sounded way too artificially excited for my taste, too fake sounding, and his “voice” persona just didn’t mesh well with television. Also, learn your roman numerals, Paul… especially the ones involving Vikings Super Bowl appearances.
2. Offensive Line Woes
Throughout the scrimmage, in all four quarters, I was unimpressed with the pass protection of our offensive line. At the end of the day, the team gave up six sacks (and, yeah, the quarterbacks shared some blame) for 41 yards. The Vikings have invested a ton of money and picks into their starting unit, and will soon invest more when they presumably lock up Brandon Fusco, but the unit cannot continue to underperform before some of they become the focus of criticism from the masses.
1. Ponder Proving Doubters Right
About half way through the 2012 season I declared that Christian Ponder was not the answer for the Vikings and many thought I was being unfair and premature in my assessment. Even though I as tough enough on Ponder to generate some of my own critics, I always thought he might benefit from a change of scenery or new coaching staff, but so far this year he is looking like a totally lost cause. Ponder looks defeated as he plays uninspired football and that annoys me. Convincing performances could add a layer to the quarterback competition, increase his odds of making the roster, make him a desirable trade option for other teams, and add to his potential value on the free agent market. Instead, he is looking totally helpless.
I used to compare Christian Ponder to Joey Harrington. Lately, I’m thinking I was being too kind.
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I wouldn't worry about Blair. Keep in mind they will likely be asking him NOT to kick the ball out of the endzone during the pre-season because you want to see who your best coverage guys are. They can't do that if every KO is a TB. I was far more worried by Locke's performance. After reading a lot of great camp reports on him, I was really disappointed with his performance in the game. Hopefully he'll rebound and start performing in the games like he does in practice.
Thanks Adam. As I did not see the game, your comments on the O-line are quite disheartening. I sure hope the game will serve to get someone's attention and get things corrected. Not sure how Kalil did as an individual, but I have higher expectations for him than he has shown. Alas, I must agree with you on Ponder, and have just never been a Paul Allen fan. Suffice it to say he and I are quite different from one another.
I can't stand Paul Allen.. he doesn't announce the game, he falls back on pre-scripted talking points and pointless interviews completely ignoring what is happening on the field right at the moment he is focusing on something else that would be great for a pre or post game show, but has absolutely no place on the air while the game is being played.. announce the game, do play by play. If you want to do color commentary make damn sure it is related to what is happening on the field right that moment and isn't just some talking point that is really per-scripted and not directly related to what was happening on the field right that moment.. Stick to radio.
I'm not sure what game you watched but PA is awesome I wish he was the announcer for life.
That would be a life where you don't actually get to watch the game.. you miss complete plays with no commentary whatsoever on what happened while the camera was busy showing some player saying something completely canned and predictable on the sidelines, or some conversation about something completely unrelated to what is going on with the actual game that you wanted to see.. PA has moments where he is good and does good play by play, but he is way to with the idea of doing some kind of football analysis show the problem is.. that is not what people who are interested in watching the game want to see.. they actually want to see the game, the whole game, not most of it.. and not some show that would be fine before or after the game.. but certainly not during... and btw.. the days where interviews with players were interesting is completely over.. they are all coached and all say essentially the same things, which detracts from them actually really saying anything and they are boring. The only interesting player commentary I saw all of last year was Richard Sherman... and he'll never make that mistake again.. don't interrupt the game with bad company line player interviews..
Sherman is a douche. I'll take the company line over that crap any day. Have some respect for your opponent.
Paul Allen could sing the Macarena the entire time and I'd prefer him to Mr. Buck.
Skol, just wonderinv how far back you go in terms of experiencing announcers? Ray Scott, Lindsey Nelson, Keith Jackson, Pat Summerall? These people were true professionals at their craft, realizing the game itself was the entertainment. I see/hear nothing of them in this Allen guy. Just sayin' that's my style preference.
Loved Pat Summerall..Madden too. Which would seem inconsistent because Madden would go on big tangents during the game.. but it was always started with something happening on the field...I'm no Millenial that's for sure. Hopefully PA will improve over time.
I don't go that far back I started watching football on occasion in 98, and regularly in 05(remember I'm only 23). But even though he's a homer i still love PA
I think the group I expect the greatest improvement from this season will be the d-backs. Lots of indication that the Zimmer/Edwards system makes them a greater influence on the defense. Its strange to suggest they could improve over having Leslie Frazier as a head coach, being a former d-back and DC himself. I heard Cook got an int. in his first pre-season game, while not having one in 4 years here. Go figure.
I'm very curious to see how Greenway fits into the new system. Any indications from his brief stint in the first game? It may actually reduce the number of times we hear his name called if Harrison Smith is used more aggressively and the rookie LB is turned loose.
I agree.. the pickup of Munnerlyn is huge and the often overlooked pickup of Cox is a great addition. Cox thrives in Press Man.. and if they keep him, Praters not too shabby either.
It's pretty simple, Frazier had no clue what he was doing. Zimmer is quickly righting the ship on defense.
Me too Adam, purple-colored sunglasses firmly in place.
Just for Coach's sake, I'll say that the O-line I saw in the first series with Cassel looked pretty good.
And not too shabby when Teddy worked behind them in his first series.
And yeah Coach, that secondary is looking way better than we've seen in a long time.
While wearing my purple-colored sunglasses the other day, I laid some serious dough down that the Vikings make the playoffs this year.
Heard it here first. . .
I think you're right on point Adam . Firstly, I have no idea why this team continues to invest any time in Ponder, they would be better served in taking a flyer on a younger guy and coaching him up. Secondly the O Line is worrisome to me when you consider that the future of the position is a young mobile guy who can extend plays .The line looked at it's best when the ball came out quickly, but when Teddy was looking downfield or moving around,the protection broke down too quickly. I think the defense will be markedly improved as the season progresses.
As a Vikings fan living in Chicago(Shitcago, Chiraq, whatever), PA has NOTHING, and I MEAN NOTHING on Hawk Harrelson.....
I feel for you Bart. And yes, HH is high on the annoyance meter as well.
Is it possible to cut the voice of the Vikings?
PA himself says he is better at radio than at TV simulcasts, so give him a little break at least on that account. Overall there are so many Vikings haters in the national press, it's refreshing to hear a true Vikings homer.
Ssh, you are only allowed to agree with the people who don't like Paul Allen's style, thus he is horrible overall in his job and needs to be fired. And you aren't allowed to ignore the fact that he has really doesn't like the simul-cast.
Fall in line, man. Geez.
I'm with Tom and Tommy...haters gonna hate. PA has a style all his own, yes he is a true homer, but he's a fan. His TOUCHDOWN call is great, you can hear the disappointment in his voice when things go sucky. And how about...AND HE'S LOOSE!
Adam could be right about trying too hard to sound excited...maybe it was being on the tube and all. But I love hearing his radio calls.