The sudden release of Moss after only 4 weeks is just another reason you've got to feel bad for Vikings fans...
With Randy Moss being unexpectedly released you have to wonder...what did the fans in Minnesota do to deserve all of this? The history of the Minnesota Vikings has been tortured enough.
With Fran Tarkenton in the '70s they went to 3 Super Bowls in 4 years, yet lost every one of them. That's four total super bowl appearances and 0 trophies. Then of course there's Roger Staubach's "Haily Mary Pass" in 1975, one of the key gut punching moments in Vikings history. Then there's last year, Favre's pick. With a chance to go to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1976, the old gunslinger throws one of his trademark clutch picks to help send the eventual champion Saints to Miami.
On top of all that, this year has been an absolute disaster for Minnesota. Currently at 2-5.
First, there was the Favre debacle in the summer. It was embarrassing enough when Brad Childress literally picked him up from the airport the summer before, but this year the Vikings sent three of their players to beg the Quarterback not to retire. The move made the team look desperate and already hopeless - setting the tone for what would take place in the season.
Favre threw 7 interceptions all season in 2009. This year he's already thrown 11. The 41 year old Quarterback the Vikings begged to come back is battling elbow tendinitis, a broken ankle and now a laceration in his chin. On top of that, Favre has been under investigation by the league for sending revealing pictures of his privates to a former New York Jets employee, Jen Sterger, as well as several massage therapists.
On top of that the Vikings have had problems with their receiving core. They lost Sidney Rice (their best receiver and Favre's favorite target) before the season to injury, Percy Harvin struggled with injuries and migraines to start the season and Bernard Berrian has looked like a corpse on the field. The explosive offense from a year ago has appeared to be dead.
Their coach is making matters even worse. After losing to the Packers last Sunday night, he called out his Quarterback publicly for turning the ball over. Later in the week he attacked the Patriots, calling them the greatest "signal stealers of all time", prompting many to ponder, "What is Childress doing??".
Randy Moss spent three years in New England before being traded to Minnesota this season, and in his press conference after Sunday's loss to his former team, he made it clear he missed them,
"The captains -- (Vince) Wilfork, Tommy Boy (Brady), (Jerod) Mayo. Am I forgetting somebody? Kevin Faulk. Man, I miss them guys, man. I miss the team. It was hard for me to come here and play. Been an up-and-down rollercoaster emotionally all week. And then to be able to come in here and see those guys running plays that I know what they're doing, and the success they had on the field, the running game -- so, I kind of know what kind of feeling they have in their locker room, man, and I just want to be able to tell the guys that I miss the hell out of them. Every last helmet in that locker room, man."
Moss went on to call Belichick the "greatest coach in football history" and then proceeded to criticize the Vikings for not kicking a field goal at the end of the first half. He also expressed frustration that the Vikings staff did not fully appreciate the inside info he gave them on the Patriots schemes and plays, saying, "It hurts as a player that you put a lot of hard work in all week, and toward the end of the week, Sunday, when you get on the field, that's when they acknowledge about the hard work you put in throughout the week. That's actually a disappointment."
What was Brad Childress' reaction? He released him. After only 4 weeks. Childress didn't even consult the Vikings front office or GM. Reportedly, they were just as surprised as anyone when the news broke. He just let go a sure-fire future Hall of Fame receiver for nothing. The 3rd round pick the team gave up for Moss was all for not. Now the Patriots even have an outside chance of getting Moss back - meaning they'd have given up nothing for that high draft pick.
The reaction to the move has obviously not been positive. ESPN analyst and former Patriots linebacker, Tedy Bruschi, said, "The way that it’s being done right now is what I’m upset about. You don’t do this to Randy Moss. This is one of the best receivers ever to play football. You don’t just release him on a whim like this, after some postgame press conference and one bad performance." Bruschi also defended Moss' post-game statements, “He spent three-plus years with coach Belichick and then he spent three-plus weeks with Brad Childress. He sees the difference. He saw the difference between Belichick and the Patriot way of doing things and then he saw the Vikings and Childress’ way off doing things. That’s what he did not like.."
The fans in Minnesota aren't happy either. Dan Cole, KFAN radio host in the state, said one fan pitched the idea of rallying outside the Metrodome with Pitchforks and demanding Brad Childress' removal.
For a team that was so close to the Super Bowl this year, it's looked anything but bright this season. You've got to feel bad for the Vikings fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment