Vikes choke

I. You go into a game, knowing that it’ll be decided by turnovers. Then you fumble six times, losing the ball three of them, and throw two interceptions. The Vikes deserved to lose that game, and let’s be fair: it wasn’t Favre’s final baffling interception that lost it. It was the fumbles. The only reason we still held in was Favre.

II. Two weeks in a row, the Saints’ defensive scheme was explicitly to knock the opposing quarterback out of the game. The hits may have been largely legal, but they were shitty. Seriously, does beating up on 38- and 40-year-olds make you a good team?

III. Never mind that, let’s look forward to next year here.

a. On the offense, Berrian, Rice, Harvin, Shiancoe, and Harvin are all returning; Chester Taylor will likely leave, which does hurt. He was the ultimate utility back this year.

b. The problem—repeatedly—was the offensive line. When you look at AP’s dropoff, it really came down to the o-line; when you look at Favre’s handful of bad games, it came down to the o-line. Losing Matt Birk was a big deal. That’s where they need to draft, and draft hard.

c. Quarterback…of course we don’t know, but Favre’s likely done, and neither T-Jack nor Rosenfels is the solution. Here’s a place to look at trading and free agency; with the weapons they have in place, you don’t want to wait for a QB to develop.

d. There’s not a lot of good choices on the market, but what about McNabb? He and Childress should fit together well. His biggest problem is injuries, which brings us back to the o-line.

e. And on that note, we’re stuck with Childress.

f. On the defense, is everyone returning? I think so…Winfield will be back to full health, which is big. They also need to look at middle linebacker; if Henderson comes back at full strength, he’s a great player, but that was one helluva injury.

IV. Super Bowl pick—the Colts. They won’t fumble, and Manning will pick apart the Saints D.