Yesterday’s game had some great work by Percy Harvin, fewer rookie mistakes from Christian Ponder, and random guys pulled in off the street playing in the Vikings’ secondary. Okay, that last part isn’t quite true, but when you’re playing your fourth-best corner against the opponent’s number one receiver (at least, until he leaves the game with a shoulder injury), and your third-best safety (until he leaves the game with a hamstring pull), it’s going to be a long, long day for the defence.
In traditional Viking style, Harvin entered the record books, but not in a good way: his 104-yard kick return is almost certainly the longest in NFL history that didn’t conclude with a touchdown.
Tom Pelissero thinks that the game showed that head coach Leslie Frazier isn’t up to the job:
There are dead men walking at Winter Park, and deep down, Frazier must know it. A defensive coaching staff largely assembled by predecessor Brad Childress probably has as much time left with the Vikings as Donovan McNabb.
[. . .]
The general feeling continues to be that Frazier is safe. The Wilfs, who have been monitoring the situation with increasing concern, have high regard for Frazier’s character and no interest in paying two men not to coach.
Still, it has to be concerning when some of the same tendencies that contributed to the roster’s current state are being repeated behind closed doors.
The problem with giving coaches an equal voice in personnel matters is they tend to prefer players with whom they’re comfortable and sometimes overlook decline. Childress always wanted to plug a hole with a veteran, often at the expense of draft picks or a younger player whose development would benefit from the extra reps.
So, what was Frazier’s first move? He won a contentious debate and traded a draft pick for McNabb, whose lost season in Washington had made clear the 34-year-old was a shell of the player who went to six Pro Bowls with the Philadelphia Eagles.
That’s one less pick the Vikings will have in April’s draft at a time they need a lot of them. And that’s been far from the only polar disagreement over the roster in an organization that is supposed to be governed by consensus.
Bill Hubbell agrees that Frazier is in over his head:
Leslie Frazier is, by all accounts, a great person and a good defensive football coach. He is not a good head football coach in the NFL.
Once again, nobody will argue that Frazier has been dealt a very good hand in his first go-round as a head coach. The Vikings roster has more holes than a Minnesota street in March, but Frazier, game after game, seems to be another hole rather than someone who knows how to fix it.
Sunday’s biggest coaching gaffes came fast and furious after Percy Harvin’s 104-yard kickoff return to the Falcon’s three-yard line. A burned timeout before first down smelled like a team that wasn’t ready to go. Harvin’s 3rd down run to the goal line looked to clearly break the plane on replays, but the Vikings don’t challenge the call.
Why not? What have you got to lose?
Ray Tannock gives the secondary a failing grade:
I am only talking about this unit because I have to.
The Vikings secondary as a whole put on one miserable performance this Sunday that was filled with blown coverage, missed tackles and an all-around deplorable performance.
The problem here is the fact that the Vikings secondary just didn’t seem to even be in it mentally.
These guys, whether they like it or not, are still playing for a job, whether it be in Minnesota, or possibly elsewhere after this year, but the way things are going right now, there’s going to be a few unemployed Vikings players after this season that may not even find a starting job again if things don’t improve.
