DanAS wrote:
I'm seeing an incredibly large cloud here and am having trouble seeing the silver lining -- other than that it is likely to turn the Vikes into a passing team when they make their next run at a Title, which is generally a good thing given the modern game. When Adrian comes back, he almost surely won't be the same player. That means that while he might be able to play NFL football, I find it hard to believe he'll be worth what the Vikes are paying him.
Really, this is just a sickening thing, and as a guy who can't stand the Redskins, I'm doubly pained to think that it happened against them.
(P.S. -- I edited an earlier version of this post in which I defended the Vikes decision to play Adrian. The question is whether Adrian was playing at full speed, if he was, there was no problem in my view with letting him play, even in a meaningless game. If he wasn't playing at full speed, then I'd agree with those who say it was crazy to play him. I just don't know the answer to that question.)
I was wondering when someone was going to bring this up. I thought that he looked like he wasn't himself yesterday as he seemed a little apprehensive in his "attack mode" style of running. there were a few plays where he seemed to lay off or shy away from contact and it made me think that he wasn't 100%. I understand the "fans want him to play/he wants to play" but you don't risk your only surefire franchise player in a meaningless game(Gerhart is a fine replacement). Now the organization has a brutal and maybe cold callous decision to make if he can't make it back to where he was. Another "bad luck" event in the long list of organizational mistakes. As soon as I saw the replay, I said to myself that it was a career ender. I hope I'm wrong but I know better. He will never be the same and now we have committed sooo much money to him and we have soo many holes to fill. The only way to salvage this is to probably renegotiate his contract at the beginning of next year before the draft. If we wait longer it will handcuff the organization once again and hamper personnel moves and decisions.
I know, I'm heartless in thinking this way, but in reality, if we want this team to get better it's the only way. I love AD and his style of running but there is a real good chance we may not see that happen for 2 years, if ever again and by that time age will be playing a factor. Playing him 2 weeks after a high ankle sprain was a ridiculous mistake by the coaching staff and I don't think it is all that tough of a call to make. Not that I like Chilly, but he always referenced making sure a player was able to "protect himself" and this was a fine example of that.
Gentleman, this organization has just hit rock bottom. Other than Jared Allen, there is no one I would pay to see play. It's really time to clean house from the top down. You build a team on a foundation and our foundation was AD. Now that foundation has been compromised by the neglect of the contractor(coach), if you will. AD must be taken out of the equation at this point and we have to find a new foundation.
In some regards, since the rest of the team sucks so bad, maybe this was a just as good a time as any for this to happen but they must cancel/renegotiate his contract.
I say fire Speilman, the whole coaching staff and keep the top 10 players and trade away anything else with value for picks and see what you can find for cheap in FA and rebuild from the ground up through the draft. Hire a GM and let him find a coach. The organization, of this organization, is dysfunctional at best. There seems to be no accountability from top to bottom and as I read somewhere before that each situation is handled in it's own light. Just a terrible way to do things.
Every team cycles from highs to lows. We have been "lucky" enough to have a relatively successful franchise(in terms of wins) for quite sometime. Even after the Herschel trade we remained competitive. A trade that would have crippled most organizations.
I've been a fan for about 40 years now and I would trade a couple of years of sucky losing years(like the Lions) if we could build a team through the draft and win a championship. I'm just tired of band-aid fixes and all I can see with the AD situation is a another "see what happens" string of events which we will probably come out on the bottom.
If Payton Manning is still on the roster of the colts in March, Pollian will have to pay him 28 million to maybe not play. I highly doubt that will happen.
It's time to turn the page on this DISorganization and find a better way.
Daryn
P.S. Merry Christmas
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds,the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps.
Elenore Roosevelt. 1945