Fighting not included

Any NHL fan will tell you that playoff hockey is better than the regular season. The defense gets tighter, the game gets more physical, and rivalries are born and reborn. Through the first round of the playoffs there have been late game comebacks, overtime game winners, upsets, and multiple game sevens. But one thing has been missing, fighting.

If the game is so much better in the playoffs and there isn't any fighting, why have it during the regular season? Players of past and present will argue that fighting is needed to defend teammates, but if it so important to the game why is it left out during playoff season? I'm not going to say I don't enjoy the fighting, it can be exciting and at times it can ignite the crowd, but most of the time it's just two guys pulling on jerseys and landing one or two glancing blows before someone falls and the ref steps in. If the officials did their jobs no one would need to be defended.

If that isn't enough, what about the product? Hockey is a great sport and millions of kids are playing and watching it everyday. There isn't fighting in peewee, junior, high school, college, or even Olympic hockey, yet there is fighting in the NHL. With the fighting gone parents and families would be even more inclined to attend games and allow their kids to become fans from a young age. Parents wouldn't need to worry about what to do if there is a fight and their 4 year old is watching the game. They wouldn't need to change the channel.

The NHL is the top hockey league in the world with the highest skilled players and could bolster an already growing popularity by making this change. Yes, some people would be angry and would complain if the fighting were gone but it wouldn't hurt the game at all. Ticket and merchandise sales would only improve over time and the game itself would be better. Teams could focus on scoring and defending instead of which meat head to look out for and which one to send out to battle. The flow of the game would only become better by reducing the sometimes untimely fights. I know fighting is part of hockey and there is some tradition so isn't going anywhere, but I think it's something the NHL should consider.

Why the Wild need the Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are a highly skilled team, they have a great goaltender, and they are the defending Stanley Cup champions. Some fans will say these are negatives for the Wild, that a matchup with a weaker, less heralded team would have been better, and some don’t give the Wild a chance. 

During round one, the Wild continually fought back against the Avalanche. They adjusted to slow down the high scoring blur that is Nathan MacKinnon, they peppered Semyon Varlamov with shots until they went through, and they answered every goal to come away with a much deserved series win. They beat the team with the second best record in the Western Conference during the regular season and at times thoroughly outplayed them. Beating an inexperienced team with no playoff experience is an accomplishment, but in order to take the next step and to establish themselves as contenders, the Wild need to face the Blackhawks.

Last season the Wild found themselves in a first round matchup against the Blackhawks and were dominated. The Blackhawks skated circles around them and beat them handily in five games on their way to the Stanley Cup. History could repeat itself this season, the Wild might lose this series, but they won’t be dominated, they won’t back down, and they won’t give up. The playoff experience of 2012 and coming back to win game seven on the road against the Avalanche shows they are ready. They have passed their first test, they belong here, and there is no greater measuring stick to see where they are as a team than facing the defending champs.

This is the year?

The Minnesota Timberwolves start their season tonight with a lot of hope. A determined Kevin Love, a revitalized Ricky Rubio, the return of Corey Brewer, and a healthy Nikola Pekovic.

The Timberwolves have long been in buried in losses, horrible personnel decisions, and bad luck. The hope is that finally they’ve finally assembled a decent post-Garnett era team and can avoid injuries. They have a point guard that excels on defense and as a passer, a sharp shooting big man who also owns the boards, and a bruiser in the low post. They’ve also added enough pieces to assemble an actual NBA roster that appears capable of at least competing for a playoff spot.

This has happened before, the past few years the Timberwolves have put together decent rosters on paper only to have their season’s ruined by injuries. In 2011 Ricky Rubio blew out his knee in December and the team couldn’t hold on to make the playoffs without him. Last year, everyone else got hurt. Kevin Love missed almost the entire season, Nikola Pekovic missed 20 games, and Chase Budinger was out for more than half of the season. You can’t win many games when 3 of your starters miss that many games.

The Timberwolves haven’t been in the playoffs since 2004 and haven’t even been close in the years since. The closest they’ve been to a winning record was last season with an amazing record of 31-51. The following stat will give you an idea of how terrible the Timberwolves have been. In the past three seasons combined the Wolves have won a total of 74 games, last season alone the Miami Heat won 66.

Going into the home opener tonight almost everyone is healthy. Budinger reinjured his knee in the preseason but the Wolves have added multiple players that can replace his production. That’s right, the season hasn’t even started and the injuries have begun, or maybe not. Maybe Budinger just came back to early, just a fluke, the rest of the team will be fine. I sure hope so. If this season goes down the same way as the last 9 seasons, I don’t know if people will buy in again. You can only burn your fans so many times before they give up.

Who am I kidding? I’ve been a Vikings fan my entire life. I’m used to having my guts ripped out, I’d just like the Wolves to do it for once.

Hit the reset button

Blow it up, fire the coach, gut the front office, its time.

It should surprise no one that Vikings are in the spot they are now. The Carolina Panthers destroyed the defense and completely shut down the offense. I am confident the offense can be fixed, but the defense needs serious work.

The offense isn’t great, but they have some pieces in place. They have a good group of receivers and when you have Adrian Peterson, your offense always has a chance to be great. The Vikings rank 11^th in scoring and 19^th in overall offense. Numbers that aren’t spectacular, but numbers that aren’t terrible either.

Through 5 games this season, the Vikings have given up 189 points. That amounts to about 31 points a game. They have the 28^th ranked pass defense, are 17^th against the run, and are ranked second to last in overall defense. For a team led by a “defensive minded” coach, the Vikings don’t play much defense.

Since Rick Spielman has been with the Vikings, the team’s pass defense has only been ranked in the top 10 once and no better than 15^th overall any other year. What’s worse is that since Leslie Frazier has been the head coach (I’m not counting his interim coaching in 2010) the pass defense has ranked no better than 24^th.

They tried to bolster the pass defense by drafting Harrison Smith in the 1^st round and Josh Robinson in the 3^rd round of the 2012 draft. Smith is a great young player and should be a starter for a long time while Robinson has been thrust into a starting role, which he clearly is not suited for. They also added Xavier Rhodes in the 1^st round this year but it is too early to tell how good of a player he will be. In addition to these issues, the team has continually neglected the strong safety position. Jamarca Sanford, Mistral Raymond, and Andrew Sendejo are not starting NFL safeties but the team has made no effort to find a suitable player to replace them.

If the front office doesn’t know how to stop the pass and the coach doesn’t know how to stop, so how will the players?

It doesn’t matter if you can stop the run, which the Vikings have shown they can do (currently 17^th), if you can’t stop the pass. For the team to start winning consistently they need to change who signs the players, who drafts the players, and who coaches the players. Their deficiencies on defense, particularly in the secondary, are a far greater detriment to the team than the guy throwing passes.

It’s time to rebuild, it’s time to let go, and it’s time to fire the people who got the Vikings into this mess.

Wanted: Franchise Quarterback

The Vikings will tell you that Matt Cassel only played because Christian Ponder was hurt, everyone else will tell you the truth, it was time for a change.

Given every chance to succeed and complete confidence from the team, coaching staff, and his teammates, Christian Ponder has shown he does not have what it takes to be a successful NFL quarterback.

Matt Cassel isn’t going to the Pro Bowl, but on Sunday he showed that he deserves to be a starting quarterback. He looked decisive, threw the ball with the velocity, and took chances downfield. Three things Christian Ponder either can’t or won’t do.

Matt Cassel is just another name in the long list of veteran free agent quarterbacks to become starters for the Vikings. The Vikings have relied on free agency to find their starting quarterbacks going back to the 80s. Since Tommy Kramer was let go following the ’86 season, the Vikings have drafted four quarterbacks, and rarely have things worked out. Christian Ponder failing is disappointing but it shouldn’t be surprising.

Rich Gannon was drafted in 1987, didn’t start a game until 1990, and was no longer on the team following the 1992 season. He was selected in the fourth round so this kind of career arc is not surprising.

Daunte Culpepper was drafted 1999, became the starting quarterback in 2000, went to three Pro Bowls, suffered a devastating knee injury, and forced a trade which sent him to Miami in 2006. Easily one of the best quarterbacks the Vikings drafted, Culpepper might still be playing had he not been injured and decided to become his own agent.

Tarvaris Jackson was drafted in 2006, started 20 games over the next five years, and was let go following the 2010 season. Never looked like a starting NFL quarterback, played like one once or twice.

Christian Ponder was drafted in 2011, underwhelmed his rookie season, underwhelmed in 2012, and was benched is currently nursing an injured rib on the sidelines. Pundits and fans scratched their heads when he was drafted and they still are.

Rich Gannon was never plan A, Daunte Culpepper was almost a franchise quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson was a mistake, and Christian Ponder would make a fine back up.

Other than Culpepper, the other draft choices were poor selections. No one but Brad Childress saw Jackson as a starting quarterback and no one saw Ponder as one except for the Vikings.

The coaches have changed, the front office has changed, but the situation has not. The Vikings are still looking for their franchise quarterback and they have wasted the prime years of Adrian Peterson’s career looking for their guy.

At some point the Vikings need to find a quarterback that can effectively play the position for several years. Signing a different veteran from year to year to cover for an inability to draft might win some games, but it won’t win you any Super Bowls.

After this season Christian Ponder will be gone and the Vikings will back in the mix to draft a quarterback. If history is any indication, they will probably pick the wrong guy. Other teams will draft Pro Bowlers, future hall of famers, and day one starters while the Vikings will be stuck with a passer they need to make excuses for until they find excuses to bench him.

Maybe they don’t get good enough draft picks, maybe they are unlucky, or maybe the truth is that the Vikings haven’t seen a franchise quarterback in Minnesota for so long that no one knows what one looks like.

Marcus Sherels: Just doing his job

Usually when you lose there is something positive you can pull out of it, regardless of the final score. Sunday’s game against the Browns left the Vikings with very little to be positive about. The defense couldn’t stop a 3^rd string quarterback, the offense faltered in the red zone (again), and the special teams allowed the Browns to score a touchdown on a fake field goal and gain 34 yards on a fake punt. Combined with 3 untimely turnovers, it was difficult to watch.

The only positive thing the Vikings can take from this game is the play of Marcus Sherels. He led the team with 8 tackles, 2 passes defended, and made a critical tackle on a fake punt, which would have gone for a touchdown had he not made the play. He wasn’t perfect, he did fumble the ball once and you would much prefer your defensive backs to record interceptions instead of tackles, but he didn’t give up any big plays on defense and made several impressive plays in the open field.

Forced into a much larger defensive role following injuries to starter Chris Cook and backup, A.J. Jefferson, Sherels played much better than anyone expected. For a guy that keeps finding a way to stay on the roster he played extremely well.

Marcus Sherels came to the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He was assigned to the practice, then cut from the practice squad, then resigned to the practice squad, and finally added the active roster all during the 2010 season. The next two seasons he remained on the roster as a return man/backup cornerback and his spot on the roster was as safe as it could be for a player who is primarily a special teamer. In training camp this season the Vikings brought in Bobby Felder to compete with Sherels, following training camp and a few preseason games, Felder was winning the competition.

During the final preseason game Sherels returned a kickoff 109 yards for a score and intercepted a pass, while Felder suffered a serious ankle injury, ending any competition for Sherels' job.

During the game against the Browns, Sherels once again played his best when the pressure was on. Forced into a much larger role, he far outplayed expectations and didn’t let the spotlight affect him. It speaks volumes for him but it also speaks volumes for the rest of the defense. When the pressure has risen, they have wilted.

When needing one stop with the game on the line, two weeks in a row the defense has failed. The Vikings have sack leaders, consecutive pro-bowlers, and first round draft picks and on Sunday their best player was an undersized, undrafted, backup. The rest of the defense needs to start playing like their jobs are on the line, they need to start playing like they might not get another chance, they need to start playing like Marcus Sherels.

Sunday Rundown: Week 2

MIN 30 – CHI 31: What do minimal defensive adjustments late in the 4^th, poor play calling in the red zone, and a huge gaffe on special teams mean? Bad coaching.

WSH 20 – GB 38: RG3 isn’t back to form and might never get back if he stays on the field. He has been taking some vicious hits and his poor play isn’t helping his confidence or his team.

DET 21 – ARI 24: Arizona kicked a bunch of field goals and the Lions committed a bunch of penalties. Cardinals win.

CAR 23 – BUF 24: EJ Manuel led a great drive at the end and Carolina handed Buffalo the victory by leaving Stevie Johnson wide open with 2 seconds left. Nice way for the Bills’ rookie qb to get his first win.

STL 24 – ATL 31: The Rams and Falcons didn’t care much for running the ball in this one. In the end Matt Ryan and the Falcons beat Sam Bradford’s Rams in a shootout.

MIA 24 – IND 20: Mike Wallace, the Dolphins expensive offseason acquisition, recorded 9 catches, 115 yards receiving, and td after failing to catch a pass in week one.

CLE 6 – BAL 14: The Ravens defense is pretty good but the Browns offense is pretty bad.

TEN 24 – HOU 30: DeAndre Hopkins lassoed a Matt Schaub pass to beat the Titans in overtime. Jake Locker was efficient but the Titans need him bigger plays from him if they want to win.

JAX 9 – OAK 19: Jacksonville rushed for 34 yards, Oakland rushed for 224. Can you guess who won?

TB 14 – NO 16: 118 yards of penalties by Tampa Bay and a Garrett Hartley field goal at the end is all the Saints needed to put away the Buccaneers in a game interrupted by an extended delay due to lightning.

DEN 41 – NYG 21: Peyton doubled his little brother’s quarterback rating and the Broncos almost doubled the Giants point total.

DAL 16 – KC 17: DeMarco Murray rushed for 24 yards while Alex Smith ran for 57. Most the time when your opponent’s quarterback outrushes your running back, you are going to lose.

SD 33 – PHI 30: The Chargers offense played like Chip Kelly was coaching them and the Eagles couldn’t keep up. Philly missed a chip shot field goal in the final two minutes, which led to a Nick Novak game winning kick with only a few seconds left.

SEA 30 – SAN 3: The Seahawks defense and the 12^th man in the stands forced Colin Kaepernick into one of his worst games as a pro. Sure he ran for 87 yards but he also completed less than half of his passes and threw 3 picks.