Viking player you hated to see leave the most

[NextQuestion]

Laugh all you want. I wasn't being 100% serious. Frankly, no one player is going to make us go to a Super Bowl. However, if Birk was here in 2009, we would have had a much better chance. Sullivan wasn't ready to take over for Birk. Birk was a very important player because he would make all of the line adjustments and was a better blocker. It is a known fact that Sullivan struggled with blitz recognition and struggled as a blocker in 2009. Favre did get beat to hell and a big reason was because of the inexperience of Sullivan during the 2009.

So Birk prevents us from fumbling 5x and prevents Favre from the bonehead interception?

[HardcoreVikesFan]

So Birk prevents us from fumbling 5x and prevents Favre from the bonehead interception?

Ho ho, I can do this too. If Birk is on the team, do those plays necessarily happen?

All I am saying is having Birk on that 2009 would have been a huge asset to us. Something that may have (or may not have) propelled us to the Super Bowl.

[The Breeze]

Mine are in order of my emotional reality at the time:
1. Chris Doleman....this was the move that destroyed my innocence regarding the "business" of the game. I quickly learned to not get as attached to players after this. I was too removed geographically to be as affected by the Page move....but Doleman on the 49ers really chapped me.

2. Randy Moss....I'm sure I don't know all the details here, but this felt like McCombs sticking it to us all. Didn't help to draft Williamson either. It did more to raise my ire against McCombs than it did to make me feel bad about losing Moss.

3. Chester Taylor.... I just hated losing this guy. He was a complete player and gave everything he had.

4. Winfield..... Business and all aside, I fell this was handled badly by the team.

5. Matt Birk.....more in retrospect than anything. His departure crippled the O-line IMO....but I never really cared for his personality off the field based on his comments in the media and such. He wasn't one of my favorite guys, but he had a huge role on this team.

* The retirement of Robert Smith was hard to deal with. He was a great RB who was just peaking IMO. Easily my #2 choice if not for the non-retirement caveat.

[Viva la Vikings]

1. Joe Kapp - Wish that contract wouldv'e got done. Favorite Viking of all time.

2. Steve Hutch - Always saw him in the Minneapolis area when my family and I were in town past couple of years. Great guy, sucked to see him leave.

3. Moss - I think what still hurts about this is what we got in the return for him. Although his attitude was shakey, still was the best deep threat ever.

4. Birk - Longtime Viking. Sad to see him go.

5. Robert Smith - Wish he could have played longer. Talented back.

[Reignman]

1. Fred Smoot ... oh wait, hated to see leave ...

1. Randy Moss
2. John Randle
3. Chester Taylor
4. Mitch Berger
5. bunch of linemen (Christy, Steussie, Birk, McDaniel)
6. Terry Allen
7. Robert Griffith
8. Brian Russell
9. Darren Sharper

[PurpleMustReign]

1. Fred Smoot ... oh wait, hated to see leave ...

1. Randy Moss
2. John Randle
3. Chester Taylor
4. Mitch Berger
5. bunch of linemen (Christy, Steussie, Birk, McDaniel)
6. Terry Allen
7. Robert Griffith
8. Brian Russell
9. Darren Sharper

Is your signature from an official boxscore?

[Reignman]

Is your signature from an official boxscore?

Yes it is. You can see it here.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201209230 ... playbyplay

Don't you remember the end of the 49ers game last year? The replacement refs really had a hard time keeping track of the 49ers challenges and timeouts lol. The 49ers took 3 timeouts and challenged 2 plays in a relatively short amount of time near the end of the game. They lost one of the challenges so they essentially ended up with 4 timeouts. I could of swore it was 5 though. To help jog your memory, that was the game where Gerhart fumbled 3 times (lost 2) on 4 carries when the Vikings were trying to run out the clock.

[Texas Vike]

Yes it is. You can see it here.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201209230 ... playbyplay

Don't you remember the end of the 49ers game last year? The replacement refs really had a hard time keeping track of the 49ers challenges and timeouts lol. The 49ers took 3 timeouts and challenged 2 plays in a relatively short amount of time near the end of the game. They lost one of the challenges so they essentially ended up with 4 timeouts. I could of swore it was 5 though. To help jog your memory, that was the game where Gerhart fumbled 3 times (lost 2) on 4 carries when the Vikings were trying to run out the clock.

I'd forgotten about Toby's sudden rash of butterfingers. Between the refs and our Bay Area Alum (Stanford) RB, it sure smelled funny, didn't it?

[PurpleMustReign]

Yes it is. You can see it here.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201209230 ... playbyplay

Don't you remember the end of the 49ers game last year? The replacement refs really had a hard time keeping track of the 49ers challenges and timeouts lol. The 49ers took 3 timeouts and challenged 2 plays in a relatively short amount of time near the end of the game. They lost one of the challenges so they essentially ended up with 4 timeouts. I could of swore it was 5 though. To help jog your memory, that was the game where Gerhart fumbled 3 times (lost 2) on 4 carries when the Vikings were trying to run out the clock.

I totally remember but i never saw a boxscorr of the gamd before. That's hilarious!

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2

[Reignman]

I totally remember but i never saw a boxscorr of the gamd before. That's hilarious!

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2

You know what's hilarious? I went to check espn's boxscore of that game http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/playbypla ... 6&period=4 and they appear to have covered up the 4th timeout by wording the challenge differently lol. At 2:18 (time of the 4th TO) they have it listed as #3. I mean which is it? Was Gerhart down by contact before the fumble (play upheld), or was he down by contact after recovering his own fumble (play reversed)?

(2:18) 32-T.Gerhart up the middle to SF 42 for 2 yards (55-A.Brooks). San Francisco challenged the runner was down by contact ruling, and the play was Upheld. (Timeout #3.)

San Fran lost the challenge and it cost them their 3rd TO, and because the play was upheld, the clock kept running, and that's why San Fran immediately took their 4th TO, to stop the clock. Frazier #### about it, in fact it was the most animated I've ever seen the guy, but the replacement refs allowed the 4th TO.

T.Gerhart up the middle to SF 42 for 2 yards (A.Brooks). San Francisco challenged the fumble ruling, and the play was REVERSED. T.Gerhart up the middle to SF 42 for 2 yards. FUMBLES, and recovers at SF 42.

This description doesn't make much sense. How can San Fran win the fumble challenge and the Vikings retain the ball? Gerhart was either down by contact before he fumbled, or he was down by contact after recovering his own fumble. Who would risk their final TO over semantics? Harbaugh would only challenge if he believed his team recovered the fumble, which they didn't, and that's a lost challenge and a timeout.

[Eli]

This description doesn't make much sense. How can San Fran win the fumble challenge and the Vikings retain the ball? Gerhart was either down by contact before he fumbled, or he was down by contact after recovering his own fumble. Who would risk their final TO over semantics? Harbaugh would only challenge if he believed his team recovered the fumble, which they didn't, and that's a lost challenge and a timeout.

This describes one play, but it's incorrect. Gerhart fumbled, but he also clearly recovered his own fumble. SF challenged the play, but the ruling on the field was NOT reversed. Instead, their challenge failed and Minnesota retained the ball.

[Funkytown]

This describes one play, but it's incorrect. Gerhart fumbled, but he also clearly recovered his own fumble. SF challenged the play, but the ruling on the field was NOT reversed. Instead, their challenge failed and Minnesota retained the ball.

That Niners game was fun. Ponder ran that TD in right in front of me. It seemed all slow-mo and I didn't think he was going to make it! Whew!

The last moments of that game were just plain interesting, but it kept the crowd in it--and roaring. I hope someone smacked Gerhart around a bit after the game. lol.

I can't say that I miss the replacement refs--except for how that Green Bay/Seattle game turned out. THAT was fun! Me and my two little brothers were laughing up a storm! That's all I heard about for a week. Poor Packers got screwed. Waaah. Didn't feel for them one bit.

[CbusVikesFan]

WHAT????????? Nobody is sad that Bryant McKinnie left????

[Mothman]

WHAT????????? Nobody is sad that Bryant McKinnie left????

Nobody seemed to miss Fred Smoot either.

[yezzir]

WHAT????????? Nobody is sad that Bryant McKinnie left????

370 pounds of us, I mean fans of us were sad.