Wednesday, July 27, 2011

It begins

Football, that is. Much will change in the coming days, but in the wake of the news:
  • The Star Tribune reports that the Vikings are pursuing Donovan McNabb in a potential trade from the Redskins, but only if McNabb reworks his contract. I would imagine that McNabb will agree, since his current contract is meaningless if no one is willing to pay for it. It certainly makes sense for the Vikings to find a competent guy to run the show, especially so that their rookie QB Christian Ponder doesn't get killed right away. At this point in McNabb's career, he's not that good a quarterback, but I suspect the Vikings know that and won't ask him to do things he can't do. To put it in terms that Vikings fans would understand, McNabb is better than Gus Frerotte but not as good as Warren Moon. And he's probably better than any other alternative out there.
  • The Vikings have also signed the immortal Devin Aromashadu from the Bears. I can only assume that Marty Booker wasn't available. And given their experience with Bernard Berrian, the Vikes have to know that taking wideouts from Chicago is a proven strategy.
  • Meanwhile, my beloved Packers cut ties with Nick Barnett. That was pretty much inevitable, since he's had a tough time staying on the field in recent years and they've already committed serious bucks to A. J. Hawk and Desmond Bishop. Barnett was a good Packer, but it's a brutal business. He'll find a job someplace.
  • Benster is a teenager and has only infrequently experienced bad Packer football, so it's difficult for him to understand how terrible the Packers were back in the 1970s. I found a fascinating book at the library that features statistics, rosters and the like for the Packers over the years. In 1977, the Packers went 4-10, which was pretty typical in those days. What I found fascinating is that they only managed to score 134 points for the entire season -- less than 10 points a game. We've come a very long way since then.

4 comments:

Brad Carlson said...

I like the McNabb deal for no other reason than that it may enhance the chances of the Vikings re-signing Sidney Rice. That alone would make it worth the trade.

Aromashadu signed only a 1-year deal, so comparing it to the Berrian signing (multi-year deal in '08 with lots of guaranteed $$)is a little far-fetched.

Mr. D said...

Aromashadu signed only a 1-year deal, so comparing it to the Berrian signing (multi-year deal in '08 with lots of guaranteed $$)is a little far-fetched.

True, but I'm just kidding around. Maybe if I'd suggested picking up Curtis Conway or Brian Baschnagel the humor might have been more clear.

Brad Carlson said...

Oh, I got the joke, D. But many of my fellow Vikings fans referenced the "former Bear WR" factor (ala Berrian) as to why the Aromashadu move is doomed. I guess I was just making a general statement to that meme.

BTW, for the next four Saturdays on my show, I'm thinking of taking a 15-minute segment each week to preview one of the NFC North teams. You interested in being my resident Packers insider?

Gino said...

the vikes are going through a rebuild. they know ethy wont be in the hunt this year, or next, so mcnabb is a good choice: they got somebody who knows how the game is played and can get the other players ready for next year, or the year after.

he's a solid placeholder QB.