1. The Minnesota Vikings are so close to 4-0. They are still 1-3. There’s no way around that.
2. Instead of taking a knee at the end of a multi-score win over the Denver Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens ran a play for the sole reason of reaching a record. Thanks to that run the Ravens now have 43 straight games with at least 100 team rushing. That matches the 1974-77 Pittsburgh Steelers. Congratulations. Broncos head coach Vic Fangio was livid. The game was over. Why run the ball? Why put the players safety at the risk of another play? Especially when one of the teams wasn’t expecting an actual football play. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh pissed on Fangio being livid. Harbaugh was happy about reaching a record with a few easy yards. The play had nothing to do with winning a game. Fangio viewed it that way. Harbaugh didn’t. If a game’s outcome is no longer in doubt, should all those involved head home? Should all stats stop counting? Against the San Diego Chargers in 2007, Brad Childress took Adrian Peterson off of the field short of Jamal Lewis’ 295 yards. The game was in hand. The next game was more important than the next meaningless play. Perhaps due to sideline pressure, Childress returned Peterson to the field. He added a couple more yards to hit 296. I so wanted him to get 300. With the way Peterson was running in that second half he could’ve fallen forward for five yards. No dice. Chester Taylor finished the game. When the football action is no longer about winning, is the action still legit? For 20 years, I’ve heard people belly-ache over Michael Strahan’s easy sack of Brett Favre to set the season sack record. Every accomplished pass rusher that’s registered a sparkling season sack total had some easy ones. He lucked into a sack after a teammate did all the work. The quarterback fell into a fetal position after a bad snap. I’ve seen Kirk Cousins go limp after a hard look. Someone gets that sack even if a shit offensive line was the reason for it. Every NFL record probably had some “gimmes.” The players made some plays that were more gifted than earned. When it comes to the books, they all count the same.
3. On Sunday, defensive tackle Kevin Williams was inducted as the 26th member of the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor. As one of the best defensive linemen of his era he continued the Vikings strong tradition at the position. Alan Page, Keith Millard, Henry Thomas, John Randle. Williams was a beast of a football player. When I think of his Vikings playing days, I often think of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs during his rookie season. He blasted past Will Shields, through a Tony Richardson block, and stopped Priest Holmes for a loss. In a blink, Williams destroyed three of the league’s best players at their respective positions. He was just a rookie. It was a jaw-dropping site and a glimpse of Kevin Williams’ football talent.
4. Kevin Williams earning this much-deserved honor has an unfortunate side effect. Instead of continuing to focus on him and his great football career, it’s impossible not to think about the 27th member of the Vikings Ring of Honor. There are loads of candidates. Until he gets in, my list will always start with offensive tackle Grady Alderman. The main reason for his topping my list is that he’s been waiting the longest. He was an immediate starter at left tackle on the first Vikings team in 1961. He was a mainstay at that position through the 1973 season. He was named to the Pro Bowl six times and All-Pro once. Due to the strategic importance of the left tackle position over the last forty years, many Vikings fans assume that Hall of Fame tackle Ron Yary was the starter on the left side. Alderman was on the left side for all of his Vikings career. Yary was on the right. Yary was on the right because that’s where the team needed him and because Alderman was so good on the left. Grady Alderman earned an induction into the Vikings Ring of Honor.
After Alderman, my candidate list for the 27th member of the Vikings Ring of Honor looks something like this.
Ed White
Bobby Bryant
Tommy Kramer
Keith Millard
Henry Thomas
Carl Lee
Antoine Winfield
Chad Greenway
Steve Hutchinson
Jared Allen
If the Vikings worked their way down that list it’d take about a decade to get to Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Jared Allen. That’s nuts. My guess, is that the next three will be Hutchinson, Allen, and Winfield. By then, Adrian Peterson will probably be up. Some day, the Vikings need to honor great players like Alderman, Ed White, Keith Millard, and Henry Thomas with their deserved place in the Ring of Honor.
5. I can’t wait to see Anthony Barr on the field.
6. I can’t wait to see Christian Darrisaw on the field.
7. The Vikings are 1-3. They host the Detroit Lions on Sunday. They travel to Carolina in Week 6. They have a bye in Week 7. The Vikings must be 3-3 at their bye.
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