Earlier this season it got to be a chore to keep this blog going. The Vikings were losing and were not even competitive. I was tired of everything NFL. Tired of the Vikings. Tired of this blog. Tired of updating the blog that, in my already limited time, was just barely able to sustain.

Yet I had no choice but to continue. Even though on most days I felt like Sisyphus forever rolling his stone up the mountain. For I have seen slow starts by NFL teams before and felt that the Vikings future was not determined. Not all the options had been foreclosed.

And now the Boys in Purple have streaked to four wins in a row...two of them on the road! And with the remaining schedule, there is no reason for them to finish worse than 9-7 and have a shot at a playoff game. Whether they enter the playoffs as the NFC North champion or as a Wild Card entry, what was once unthinkable is now very possible. The Vikes in the playoffs.

What do you think of the teams playoff entry chances? Vote to the left under Polls and let us see what everyone is thinking.

This was a fun game to be at and I had fun with my live Game Day Moblog section. It was nice to enjoy a game with the outcome assured....even though I was still disgusted with the number of fans leaving with about four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

We will have to keep an eye on the injury report. Kevin Williams, as I mentioned on the moblog, sprained his right knee in the first quarter and didn't return. I saw a trainer work on the knee after Williams hobbled to the sidelines and an ice bag was taped to the knee. K-Will was walking the sidelines during the game, however. So I am hoping it is not serious.

Williams was replaced by rookie C.J. Mosley. All Mosley did was have two sacks and force a fumble.

Question One of the Day: Why did Darren Sharper take the INT out of the end-zone!?!?!? We can cut Sharper some slack as he has had about 1004-return yards this year. But I bet Sharper wishes he had that decision back.

Question Two of the Day: Where is Daunte? I've been harping about this for a month now. And let me first say, I could not see Daunte on the sidelines even though I scoured them searching for Pepper. And since I have yet to review the game from the glorious world that is TiVO, he could have been there....if so, please correct me!

As I wrote earlier this week:

"He was a no show for the 11/6 victory against the Lions. He was nowhere to be seen when the Vikes beat the Giants. Must have missed the flight to Green Bay this past Monday.

Yes, I know that he knee was severely swollen. But that is why they have wheel chairs and crutches. Yes, I know he had surgery recently but he is evidently already in rehab and Zygi had sent a jet down last Wednesday to give Daunte a lift back to Minnesota. What gives?

Culpepper is not returning Mike Tice's phone calls. The only member of the organization that has spoken with Culpepper is athletic trainer Chuck Barta.

We've seen Culpepper sulk on the sidelines when things aren't going well during a game. Could he be in a major mope now? If so, he needs to snap out of it and make himself visible to his teammates and fans. Let us know how he is doing. Let us know that he expects to be back next year. That the injury will not get him down.

We need Daunte on the sidelines to serve as a second set of eyes for Brad Johnson who is old enough to need reading glasses when studying the play book. We need Daunte standing on the bench, ala Burleson, waving a towel during the games.

So, snap out of it Daunte. Get back into the swing of things. Yes, you have a long road back but you will find it easier if you share your feelings and pain with your teammates.

Daunte, if you wait too long, you might just find that there will be no one to greet you at the door to Winter Park when you do decide to pop in."

So, I'd be interested to know if Daunte was shown on the sidelines during the game. If so, I will drop my harping. If not, it will only get louder as Daunte needs to show us he is a team player.

Tice Approval Poll

Ol' Pencil Ear leapt to a 69% approval rating following the win over the Packers. What will the approval rating be after this win? Vote to the left under Tice Approval Rating. Could it be, as Vikes Geek said earlier this week, that the word 'interim' can be removed from Tice's name? Could we indeed be talking, gulp, contract renewal?

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Posted by maasx003 at November 28, 2005 01:27 PM