It’s Time to Be Done with the Dantzler Madness

  |  
Oct 2, 2021
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

This tweet from Minnesota Vikings cornerback didn’t ignite his discontentment with the team, but it sure intensified it.

Shrouded in mystery as to why, the Vikings are not utilizing the services of Dantzler — at least not very much — and he isn’t too thrilled about it.

This now-deleted tweet occurred some 30 minutes after Minnesota notched its first win of the 2021 season, downing the Seattle Seahawks 30-17. Russell Wilson’s team was a thorny nuisance for nine seasons, toppling the Vikings seven consecutive times before last weekend.

In the wake of that triumph, here’s Dantzler tweeting personal grievances. Not a good look.

The second-year corner got rid of the tweet, posting a different thought totally opposite of the “bite my tongue” resentment from early Sunday evening.

So long as Dantzler didn’t do something Jeff Gladney-like — he didn’t — it’s time to resolve the Dantzler mystery and move forward. The man was phenomenal in 2020, earning the NFL’s top rookie grade from Pro Football Focus. He’s a talented, developing defender. Who cares if his special teams performance is suspect? Evidently, the Vikings coach staff does, but they should get over it.

Dantzler registering the best score by a rookie CB in 2020 should silence the criticism of his special teams enthusiasm. Nobody cares. Find other men to play special teams and protect the pass-coverage asset. At some point, one has to wonder, are the Vikings hindering his CB development with this strange standoff?

Indeed, there could be “more to the story” than just special teams insolence. If that’s the case, suspend him or fine him — and move on.

To date through three games, Dantzler’s “replacement” is underwhelming. Minnesota elected to start Bashaud Breeland this season, and so far, it was a disastrous decision. Breeland ranks dead last in the NFL among cornerbacks — 100 of them — for PFF grade. Breeland might reverse course and play phenomenally in the coming weeks — and that would be peachy. But Minnesota is losing games by whiskers, meaning the abhorrent cornerback play is actually significant. An average cornerback might’ve propelled the Vikings to wins over Cincinnati or Arizona because — as they say — the game is one of inches. Breeland’s 30.4 PFF score and 133.9 passer-rating-against transcend inches. Those are kilometers worth of damage.

The kumbaya is simple — playing time. If Breeland is up to his Week 1-3 tricks early on versus the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the hook should be quick. Should Dantzler continue to marinate on the sideline, well, play Kris Boyd, Harrison Hand, or Parry Nickerson. It is unlikely any of those men will fire up the NFL’s worst cornerback PFF grade.

Otherwise, the Dantzler Drama will linger. He’s already “liking” posts on Instagram that infer his trade to the San Francisco 49ers. Analyzing likes as a source of news is already a flimsy practice, but fans run with it — so does the media. The tweets-then-deletes will probably persist as well.

The Vikings need to win games because they lost the first two of 2021 due to fluky tomfoolery. The margin for error is slim due to those losses. The time to teach Dantzler a lesson — no matter his offence — should end. Three games is a long time to be grounded — for a football player, teenager, or little kid.

Dantzler is a professional, even if he overreacts on Twitter. The lesson was taught. Play the man. Because Minnesota needs to fix this stat:

Dantzler can help.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

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