The Minnesota Vikings rolled over, allowed the Packers to secure the #1 seed, and eliminated ourselves from the playoffs. When the coaching staff thought it was a good idea to start QB Sean Mannion, ya just knew this one was over before kickoff. Yes, I predicted a 60-9 victory for the good guys, but that's only because I would NEVER pick a WI team to beat a MN team. I'm not a lunatic. Why would the Vikings start a guy at QB that shouldn't even be in the NFL? The guy is basically a High School level QB. Mannion had a losing record as a starter in college (24-26) and had been in the NFL since 2015 and had never thrown a touchdown pass until tonight. It just doesn't make sense why a guy like him is even on a roster. Just be a coach, if that's what he is being used for. I thought the Vikings could have gotten way more creative to try to pull off an upset against their biggest rival by starting 2 other guys at the QB position.
First option: They could have sent out the Rookie QB, Kellen Mond, to give him his first career start and be able to see him with most of the first team, for the first time. Even if this guy doesn't seem ready to play in practice, what is there to lose? Some guys are just absolute gamers and maybe he would have brought a spark to the team. He also has legs that can allow his body to move around, extend plays, and keep the defense in place in order to stop him from getting first downs by running. I am not saying we would have won, but it would have at least given us a chance to see what our Rookie can do and it might have provided a small spark to the squad. Kellen Mond owns all of Texas A&M's all time passing records. That's at an SEC school and is incredibly impressive. I don't care what anyone says, the dude has the ability to ball out.
Second option (and what I thought would have been the best option): The Vikings had just re-signed QB Kyle Sloter. This guy was an absolute menace in the preseason for the Vikings for a couple years in a row. I know he was never playing against #1 defenses, but every time this dude would come into the game, the Vikings would finish with the W. Between running and passing, Sloter was able to move the offense and score points almost every drive. The Vikings staff could have dumbed down the playbook and told Sloter to go out, ball out, AND HAVE FUN! This guy is fast and elusive and I don't think the Packers defense would have had much success in stopping him. Again, I'm not saying we would have won, but a guarantee we would have scored more points and starting Sloter would have given us our best chance to actually win due to this decision being such a wildcard. A lot of NFL teams don't seem to have the balls to just have fun and be creative. Mannion was the least creative decision they could have made in this case and it was an absolutely embarrassing decision. He needs to never be on an NFL roster again after this season. So annoying.
The Minnesota Vikings are now 7-9 and will not be in the playoffs. We have one more game against the division rival Bears to finish 8-9 and end the season on a high note. We don't want to lose to the Bears in this one, no matter what other fans might say. There is also lots of talk that there could be changes coming this offseason with this squad, but remember that this has only been fan and media driven. QB Cousins, HC Zimmer, and GM Spielman are all still on contract for 1+ more seasons, respectively. This means in order to move on, there would need to be trades and buyouts in order for changes to happen. Let's focus on the final game of the year before we get to the offseason! Go Vikings!!!! BEAT THE BEARS!
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