The Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions today in the last game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The roof will be deflated soon and the structure will come down in February. The Vikings will play the 2014 and 2015 NFL seasons at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium. A stadium with no roof will be the Vikings home for the first time since 1981. If all goes as planned the Minnesota Vikings will open the new stadium in time to kick off the 2016 NFL season.
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will miss the Lions game due to ankle and groin injuries. Closing the Metrodome without Peterson doesn't feel right. He's brought to much excitement to that stadium to be on the sidelines for the last game.
Calvin Johnson is also out for this game. Two of the best players in the game will be on the sideline.
There are only three games today that have no playoff implications. Detroit Lions-Minnesota Vikings. Washington Redskins-New York Giants. Houston Texans-Tennessee Titans.
It's amazing that 13 games today have playoff implications.
It's very amazing that every NFC division is up for grabs entering the final week of the season. The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys will fight it out for the NFC East title. The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears will do the same for the NFC North title. The other two divisions won't be decided on the same field but will be decided today. The last day.
The Arizona Cardinals could finish the regular season with an 11-5 record and not make the playoffs. That doesn't seem right. It really doesn't seem right when the Green Bay Packers could take the NFC North with a 8-7-1 record.
The AFC playoff picture is much more clear but still quite complicated. There is one spot remaining. The Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and San Diego Chargers all have a shot. The guess here is that the Chargers grab that spot.
Tomorrow is not a fun day for some coaches. Black Monday. The Houston Texans got a jump on the head coach firing when they cut Gary Kubiak loose a few weeks ago. The tension in Washington between coach Mike Shanahan and owner Daniel Snyder is such that a change is inevitable. Many expect Vikings coach Leslie Frazier and Lions coach Jim Schwartz to without jobs by Monday. Dennis Allen in Oakland and Mike Munchak in Tennessee could be gone as well. Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano was on the hot seat earlier this season. That seat has cooled. I see Shanahan and Schwartz as the most likely to be fired. Washington is a mess mostly because owner and coach aren't even close to being on the same page. That can't happen. The Lions have fallen apart in too many seasons. The players are undisciplined. Schwartz brought a spark when he was first hired. That spark is real cold now. As for Allen, two years doesn't seem like much time to give a coach but it's hard to ignore two four-win seasons. I think that Frazier and Munchak deserve a little more time but I doubt that either will get that time. It's a win now league. NFL owners don't have much patience with potential.
ESPN's reporting that Penn St. coach Bill O'Brien is in the negotiating stage to be the next coach of the Texans. I have a hunch that those reports are premature. Just a hunch that he stays at Penn St. for at least one more year. He's an excellent football coach.
I liked what I saw of Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater against Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl. All season, I've been impressed with his ability to hit his receivers in stride. Bridgewater is a real good friend to his receivers. I can see why many have kept him at the top of the 2014 NFL Draft all season.
The Dallas Cowboys signed 41-year old quarterback Jon Kitna this week. They needed a warm arm after Tony Romo had back surgery. Kitna's story is a great one. He's teaching math and coaching football at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington. He's on Christmas break so he has time to do some football work in Dallas. He's also donating his first-week salary to Lincoln High. Very nice Jon Kitna.
The Vikings opened the Metrodome with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They close it today with the Detroit Lions. 32 years of indoor Vikings fun.
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