Some Football Thoughts

Here are some football thoughts currently pounding through my head.

1. The 2021 Minnesota Vikings are doing my long-term health no favors. Through nine weeks and eight games, the Vikings have five losses. Five losses by a total of 18 points. Each by a single score. Each to one of the best teams in the league. 

Cincinnati Bengals: 24-27

Arizona Cardinals: 33-34

Cleveland Browns: 7-14

Dallas Cowboys: 16-20

Baltimore Ravens: 31-34

As is often the case in single score games, each game was lost on the final play of the game. Missed field goals, dropped interceptions, officiating blunders. Each loss could’ve gone the other way. The Vikings could be 8-0. They could also be 0-8. Perhaps 3-5 is about right. 

The Vikings are a competitive team. They can be a very good team. They’ve yet to be a good team for more than a couple quarters. If they can be a good team or an entire game, they’ll win far more than they lose. Hopefully, they can manage that over the remaining nine games. And no more heart-thumping finishes. 

2. Welcome to the NFL, Kene Nwangwu. His 98-yard kick return for a score against the Ravens was the Vikings’ first since 2016 (Cordarrelle Patterson). From Percy Harvin to Marcus Sherels to Patterson, the Vikings boasted a potent return game for nearly a decade. Hopefully, Nwangwu’s 98-yard return is a return to those days. His speed is special. Hopefully, his special speed will make an appearance on offense as well.

3. So, the Vikings get to see Odell Beckham Jr. twice this year. They saw him with the Cleveland Browns in Week 4. Now, they’ll see him with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16. It’s odd to see a player on two different teams in a season. Mostly due to a run of injuries, it’s been a while since Beckham worried defenses. Maybe with Matthew Stafford throwing to him, Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods running routes with him, and Sean McVay calling plays for him, Beckham will return to the days when he worried defenses. 

4. Welcome back, Cam Newton. 

5. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler recently released his updated 2022 NFL Draft Top 50. Here are some tidbits from Brugler’s list.

-4 offensive tackles in Top-8 overall

-the most well-represented position: Edge (11 of them)

-the most well-represented program: Georgia

Top-50 draft board broken down by conference:

SEC: 18

Big Ten: 12

ACC: 6

Pac 12: 5

AAC: 3

Independent: 3

MAC: 1

MVFC: 1

MWC: 1

Big 12: 0

6. I don’t like thinking about the draft during the season. Taking a peak at Brugler’s Top-50 got me thinking about the draft. I wouldn’t mind seeing any of the following in the Vikings training camp next summer.

Kayvon Thibodeaux, Edhe, Oregon

Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame

Derrick Stingley Jr., CB, LSU

Aidan Hutchinson, Edge, Michigan

Travon Walker, DL, Georgia

7. I actually hope that the Vikings aren’t close to being in position to draft any of those football players. 

8. Aaron Rodgers is an idiot. He bellyached that the league’s COVID protocols weren’t based on science yet he sought medical assistance from Joe Rogan. 

9. The league’s punishment of the Green Bay Packers and Rodgers was a joke. It was a tap on the wrist. The actions of team and player endangered the lives of everyone in the building. The punishment was comparable to that for a uniform violation. 

10. I’ll be at Sofi Stadium for Sunday’s Vikings-Chargers game. Hopefully, this game is the start of a Vikings winning streak. Skol!