The Monday Meltdown with Drew Magary
Posted on November 10th, 2008 – 10:11 AMBy Michael Rand
Every week, we recount the magic and the agony of Vikings games with Drew Magary, a Purple fan living in the Washington D.C. area. Drew is the kind of guy who doesn’t think you can every have too much of a good thing. He’d like a side of wings with that side of wings. And don’t skimp on the sauce! Also, buy his book. Here we go:
RandBall: Well, that was certainly one of the most exciting and intense games I’ve watched in a while. Add to it the fact that I was watching it with an equal group of Vikings and Packers fans at a house in Hudson, Wis., and you can see how critical it was that Mason Crosby pushed that kick just a little wide.
Drew Magary: What I loved was that Purple Jesus basically willed that win. I loved him bitching out Childress to go for it, even if he did fumble on the ensuing attempt. That just made him even angrier, and he freaking OWNED the field on that last drive. Just 100% awesomeness. We seem to actually be developing an offensive identity. Peterson handles the bulk of the rushing work, and then Chester Taylor makes the big 3rd down plays. Frerotte played badly yesterday. But even so, you can see now that the offense is “working,” so to speak. They know how to move the ball. That wasn’t always the case.
RB: I worry terribly about the “little things” such as the fact that the Vikings have already tied a [redacted] NFL record by giving up 6 special teams TDs this year, and they’re only 9 games in. Seriously, that is infuriating. They are brutally lucky that it hasn’t cost them more dearly (think New Orleans and yesterday).
DM: Absolutely pathetic. And why was NOTHING done after the New Orleans game about this? It’s hard enough to get this offense moving, and then turnaround and give enormous returns after a punt or kickoff. It’s insane.
RB: Jared Allen cemented his place in Minnesota yesterday.
DM: Agreed 100%. Worth every damn penny.
RB: Gus Frerotte was absolutely terrible. Sometimes you see a QB with three picks in a game, and one can be explained by a bad read, one by a tipped pass, etc. Those three throws were absolutely abysmal and they, too, could have been the difference in the game. Maybe we’re seeing why the Vikings don’t throw those delightful intermediate passes very often. Because every time they’re picked off!
DM: That’s true. And yet, I wouldn’t bench him for T-Jack in a million years. I’ll take the turnovers as the price of doing business in return for an offense that actually, you know, does stuff.
RB: Purple Jesus: From goat to hero. Son, if you are going to lobby the head coach and openly get after him to convince him to go for it on 4th-and-1, then you fumble on that play when a first down is definitely in the works, then you have to atone. And wow, did he ever atone. Outside of that kick return last year in Chicago, I can’t remember him previously putting the team on his back in a close game.
DM: Totally justified my cheap replica jersey purchase. By the way, was Peterson wearing a condom on his head yesterday? I kept watching him come off the field, and all I could think was “reservoir tip.”
RB: I was surprised by how undisciplined the Packers are (leading the league in penalty yards coming in). Also, thanks to Mike McCarthy for 1) that stupid challenge on the Peterson TD and 2) deciding that the 34 was close enough for a FG try and not attempting to get it to, say, the 25 or something like that. Those extra few yards would have made all the difference on that kick.
DM: Yeah, but the Childress challenge before the 4th down attempt was equally dumb. My guess is that Childress was going to take a time out after Peterson bitched him out so he could send in the offense. Only he said, “Hey, if I’m gonna call timeout, I may as well challenge the spot for fun.” If he seriously meant to challenge that spot, he’s an idiot.
RB: Aaron Rodgers had happy feet all day. Ten more years of that, please.
DM: Yeah, but it was justified. He got absolutely MURDERED out there. If they can pressure the QB like that the rest of the way, the Vikes can win the division.
RB: 5-4, tied for first in the division, and we’ve had to sweat out each and every game. Tough way to live. This one could have been a lot easier. Up 21-10, they should have gone for the throat. They let up, Longwell missed a FG, and it almost cost them. Better special teams. More creative passing plays. A killer instinct. These are the things upon which the final seven games will hinge.
DM: Yep. The giveaway of the lead was juuust brutal. And that’s the real problem with this team. they can go right into the dumper like that at any moment.
35 Responses to "The Monday Meltdown with Drew Magary"
Leber absolutely teed off on Rodgers yesterday. That hit was vicious. His happy feet might have been due to his trying to get away from the birds tweeting around his head.
I was shocked that the Vikes managed to win after getting two safeties and zero points from getting the ball. That can be such a huge momentum shift, but they managed to go three-and-out on at least one of them, and probably both.
Also, where was Berrian this week?
A win over the Packers is always fun but losing that game would have almost certainly doomed Chilly, which would also be fun.
My favorite part was when the Vikes went for it on fourth and one after Peterson convinced Childress to go for it, and then the channel I was watching went black and silent for the remainder of the game (similar to the Super Bowl Last year). Luckily my brothers has a sling box so I could catch the final drive. Peterson is a beast, is it to early to crown him MVP?
I’ll take the turnovers as the price of doing business in return for an offense that actually, you know, does stuff.
Um, by stuff do you mean suck mercilessly? Because that’s all the offense did if it wasn’t named Adrian Peterson or Chester Taylor. Gus Frerotte has gotten worse every game. He’s now on par with Mike McMahon and Brooks Bollinger in the pantheon of horrible Viking QBs.
Can T-Jack or JDB be worse? Honestly?
I liked how Joe Buck said “we’re not going to show the replay” of when Gordon got hurt….even though they showed it right before commercial and it looked really bad.. I have to turn 90 degrees to get my foot to point that way… Pretty bad.
I’ll repeat that I enjoyed Joe Buck retelling the story of how Mason Crosby kicked TWO 60+ yard field goals in practice before the game. And claiming that the Packers were “well within field goal range” when they’d reach the 39 yard line.
Yeah, because kicking in an empty stadium is exactly the same as kicking with the game on the line and 60,000+ fans screaming their drunken [redacteds] off.
Why have I never seen BDD on here before? It’s like Jambaroo Jr! Keep it up, Drew.
I agree with Nathan that Gus is tracking from mediocre -> tarvaris at this point. But does anyone who likes “stats” have data to back that up? Or am I just the victim of that “no longer new” feeling, and Gus been underthrowing receivers the whole time?
Can T-Jack or JDB be worse? Honestly?
The answer is an emphatic YES. Please do not do what the idiot Dallas fans did in talking themselves into Brooks Bollinger. Frerotte is the best the Vikings have, for better or worse.
This offseason is going to be the time for the Vikings to scrap their current QB situation. Pick someone up in free agency, and draft a solid developmental QB who can really throw the ball and run an offense (i.e. not a Michael Vick-type or second rate Michael Vick-type)
I think that part of the problem is that the Packers secondary is actually pretty good, and the receivers weren’t getting open so there was simply less margin for error. I don’t think that the throws Gus was making yesterday were any worse than the ones he has been making, I just think that the quality of the opposition was better and they were better able to take advantage of his mistakes.
He’s still better than T-Jack though.
Let the record reflect that DM also wants Paul Ferraro, the Vikings’ special teams coach, fired. It was an accidental deletion.
Did anyone catch Tyler Thigpen’s game yesterday? Aren’t you glad they kept that seventh WR instead of him.
Tyler Thigpen will be a good NFL QB. Chilli can not judge quarterback talent. Remember Mike Mcmahon? Kelly Holcomb? Brooks Bollinger? Chilli is clueless.
I watched the game in Milw. and driving back I had on some Chicago sport’s segment. The guy talking (remember this is Chicago so he had no love loss for either the Purps or G. Bay) was saying something interesting so I couldn’t wait to get home and watch the game again (I tape ‘em all)
Anyway, he was outlining all defsinitions of a safety, and one in particular did NOT appear. That was if a a) qb’s knee never touches the turf and b) he throws the ball c) to an eligible receiver.
As the guy outlined it even if the ball only comes within 10 ft of the receiver (which it did), it is then a forward pass since, after all, hundreds of passes are thrown from the end zone.
This was clearly a marginal call at best that should have been overturned. In other words, like that interference call weeks back, it was surely the results of refs having their brains shouted out by 50 thousand fans who came in with no brains at all.
And the other safety was almost as comical, a valid safety, by Allen who fooled all of Viking land about his “bad” shoulder. What a clown, but Karma always bites. For him it waits
In any event, the Vikes won by 1 and w/o that miscalled safety they lose by 1. Now it’s time to play the better teams than the Packers. Go Karma, go..
How much of the poor punt coverage should be blamed on Kluwe? Is Guitar Hero cutting into his punting time? How have his hangtime’s been on those returns?
P3:
Re: Allen’s shoulder.
Yeah, because I’m sure the Packers offensive lineman took it easy on him because he thought he was hurt. Give me a break.
I know that you don’t want to give him credit for playing through an injury, but to call the safety “comical” is a stretch, even for you.
The other safety was borderline, but, once again, why were they in that situation at all? Didn’t the Vikings D pressure Rodgers and knock the ball out? That’s what I remember.
I think the Bears or Pack will still win the North for the reasons I said…balanced teams win over the long haul since they can find the weaknesses and overcome the opposing team’s passing AND run defense.
Imbalanced teams lose in the long run since if a team that lives on the run like the Vikes do face a tough run defense…it’s bye, bye Purple Pie. And three of the teams the Vikes must play, the Jaquars, Cardinals and esp Giants will stop Peterson far better than the Packers who were imbalanced themselves when it came to their run and pass defense.
But one thing has bothered me about the Vikings, the new edition Vikings so to speak. Last year, Henderson took out the Seattle’s qb, Hasselbeck by simply not stopping his roll after being blocked, and kept rolling even though everyone else on both lines were getting up. He took out the qb, the qb said so on Natl’ tv and Henderson was fined. It was a dirty play. Let’s call it what it was.
Now we have this amped up Allen clown doing something else. Once he got blocked into the qb last week. That was a clean play. But once, very clearly, he had a clean shot anywhere on the qbs body, shoulder to knees and he went below the knee tearing the guy’s ligament. Allen pissed and moaned about that the same way he pisses and moans about everything, but the NFL seeing the films we all did fined him 20 grand. 20 grand ! And this for a guy laughing all the way to the bank about how he and Chrome Dome fooled the media about his phoney shoulder “injury”. Like I said, the guy is a clown.
Personally, I don’t understand why the NFL allows these thugs to play considering 20 thou is cab fare to them. I say for every such possible career threatening infraction, clowns like this sit ou 4 games, next infraction the whole year.
Now most of the Vikes are cool..Winfield is cool, Sharper is too slow to hurt anyone and most off the offense, but the D line from Kevin (future felon) Williams to Allen should be closely watched by the refs every game. I can’t stand guys who would end a player’s career to pad their own sack list. Esp. Allen. He should be drug tested 3 times a day…loudmouth
???????????
Stu, it’s time for more interpreting please.
P3: Allen is a piece of crap. He’s done nothing in any of his talking to make anyone think otherwise. However, how many of these guys are actually “good guys” that we would consider “role models”? I would guess none. If I was to point a young person to a role model, I think a professional athlete is among the last people I would choose.
Your favorite team has had its share of examples of this. Chumura. Yeah. Enough said there. Favre turned out to be an egotistical, poorly educated a-hole (when the press would have had us believe that he was the second coming).
None of these guys are angels. I think we’re better off not trying try to make them into something they’re not. If a guy gets injured, he gets paid. It’s not like he’s suffering that much. Yeah, he may have lost his career, but even the lowliest NFL players make more in a year than a lot of people do in six. And, really, how often do injured players not make a comeback?
Do we actually think that Tom Brady is never going to play again? Of course not. We all just get overdramatic about these athletes and these teams, without thinking about how [redacted] ridiculous it all is.
If you want something to worry about, how about the fact that, as a country, we tend to worry more about how badly a football player is injured and whether they’ll come back than we do about the wounded who come back from war.
So, let’s stop complaining about “dirty” hits from overgrown men who are running at a speed both mentally and physically that makes it hard to stop in time to avoid a “dirty” play. I don’t know what people expect when the hyper-aggressive nature of the game is so emphasized.
“Go full-speed and get whoever has the ball, but stop on a dime if it’s going to be a penalty” I think it’s amazing that there aren’t more fines handed out due to mental error by players.
There. I think this comment string wins for highest word count ever.
Dave, Last year you remember when I said something stupid…that when Peterson was tearing up the joint, I wanted him hurt. Dumb. That was dumb.
Not so with Allen. If Peterson hurts someone it’s in the realm of the game, it’s legal. He just hits people hard. But Allen is a piece of s..t cheap shot artist surrounded by other rah rah clowns like the Williams “boys” yet they play the game honestly. Allen
plays only for himself, tries to live up to his notoriety, not worrying who he hurts, in fact hurting them as last week when tore that qbs ligament when he easily could have tackled above the knee noot so far below. The NFL doesn’t hand out those rididulously small fines for no reason.
So, him, I wish to be hurt badly…and soon. And I’m not ashamed to say that. The man is scum and should be banished if I had my way.
I’m curious who is going around masquerading as me.
MR
Sorry, I didn’t notice. It was the Ghost of Strib Blogs past rearing it’s ugly head again.
P3
When 50K becomes a small fine, I’m moving to Mexico. I don’t care how much you make, giving away 50K makes you notice. That is a quarter of some NFL players salaries. If I got fined 25% of my salary I’d have to move back to Stearns County and move into Stu’s garage.
On a complete side note:
Why is one of the factors of an NFL fine how much that player makes? Would Brian Robison have been fined 50K instead of Allen? I think the NFL Players Association is going to fight hard to get fines lowered, or at least assessed differently, in the next CBA.
The fact that Stu has a garage is proof that he is among the wealthy elite of Stearns County.
Stu, where are you when we need you most? You’re like Brett Favre and the Packers right now.
Reading P3 So You Don’t Have To
Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets. I go all over. I take people to the Bronx, Brooklyn, I take ‘em to Harlem. I don’t care. Don’t make no difference to me. Also, Pat Williams is a fat cheaterpants and Jared Allen is dirty.
This has been another edition of Reading P3 So You Don’t Have To, a joint service of the Center for American Progress and Four Christmases, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, coming soon to theaters everywhere.
I sense fear in the wordvomit spewed by P3 above. Fear of playing Jared Allen twice a year for the next half decade.
I put the over/under on Allen’s sacks of Packer QBs at 9 and quarterback hurries at 72 over the next five years.
I know that reading P3’s posts is foolish and I shouldn’t even bother, but did anyone else find it odd that he referred to Kevin Williams as “a future felon”? I don’t recall Williams ever having any kind of trouble with the law and it seems strange to randomly pick him as some sort of secret criminal rather than, say, Chad Greenway.
Larry, my only guess is that P3’s hatred of “Phat” Williams has bubbled over and is now oozing onto Kevin. But as they say, the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference, so I think he’s covering up some other strong feelings. (By the way, your Chad Greenway example was not the best, as you know how those South Dakotans think they’re above the law.)
AZ
You mean we aren’t? Bill Janklow strongly disagrees.
jama: +1 for reminding us of Bill Janklow
