Favre Finds a Way to Screw the Vikings
This week, Brad Childress got himself a three year extension, which will keep him at the helm of the Vikings through 2013. His salary will roughly double, putting him up into the upper echelon of coaches.
Good for him, right?
Well, his careeer regular season record is 32-25 -- 7 games over .500; this season, he's 8-1 -- 7 games over .500. You read that right: coming into 2009, Brad Childress had struggled to a .500 record, and he'd done it with a talented team. He had Adrian Peterson and the #1 rushing offense. He had Kevin & Pat Williams and the #1 rushing defense.
And he'd amassed a .500 record. He was already overpaid, not due for a big raise!
I'd wanted him fired during and after each of his previous seasons. His original signing made no sense to me,* and nothing he did in his first three seasons explained why it was a good idea.
* Childress was previously the offensive coordinator of the Eagles ... not bad, right? They have a good offense! Well, yes they do, and Andy Reid calls the offensive plays for them. So if you were wondering what exactly an offensive coordinator who doesn't call plays actually does, just know that you're not alone. I wonder too. Although Brad Childress has spent three and a half years showing us: not much.
I've said repeatedly this year that Childress is the main force holding the Vikings back. When the Vikings take an early lead, he takes his foot off the pedal ... presumably so the opponents feel like they have a chance and thus don't get too sad. When the Vikings have a lead near the end of a half, he goes into the soft zone defense, which might work against the practice team with Tarvaris Jackson running the offense, but real NFL quarterbacks can just carve that up -- and they do it every god damn time.
He's predictably-unpredictable: what does he do on 4th and 1?
Of course you know the answer: he throws deep. It worked the first time he ever tried it, because the defense had no idea it was coming. Then the entire league made the adjustment, and he still hasn't figured out that it's failed 50 times in a row now.
But in comes Brett Favre. Suddenly the Vikings have added an explosive vertical passing attack to their still-(almost)-dominant rushing attack. With Jared Allen and Kevin Williams on the defensive line, the front four puts constant pressure on the opposing quarterback. This team simply has so much talent* that it doesn't matter what Childress does. They'll probably win.
* I defy you to name a team that has more talent, across the board, than the Vikings do. I'm talking about both the offense and the defense. The Saints probably have more talent on offense, but certainly not on defense. The Ravens may have more talent on defense, but certainly not on offense. The Colts have Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, a good offensive line, and nothing else. The Patriots have Brady/Moss/Welker and an aging/overrated line, an abysmal running game, and not much of a defense. The Vikings simply have the most talent in the league. The reason it doesn't seem like it is because of Childress.
So thank you, Brett Favre. You've finally fucked the Vikings over in a way that would have been impossible while you were still with the Packers:
We'll be stuck with Childress long after you're gone.
Posted by Sean Schulte at 2009-11-20 14:11
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