The Viking Age » mike smith

No Coach of the Year Love for Chilly

Dan Zinski — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:01:34 +0000

Mike Smith of the Falcons has been named the Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, beating Miami‘s Tony Sparano by one vote. Smith took over Atlanta after a tumultuous 2007 season that included the incarceration of former franchise quarterback Michael Vick and the mid-year defection of coach Bobby Petrino, and led them into the playoffs with a rookie playing behind center – an accomplishment that deserves plenty of kudos. Of course, what Sparano did was no mean feat either – he took a team that finished 1-15, installed a completely new offense with a new quarterback, and went 11-5 and won the highly competitive AFC East. At least one voter couldn’t choose between the two coaches at all, and split his vote to give Smith 23 1/2 total and Sparano 22 1/2. And what of Vikings head coach Brad Childress who improved the team by two games over 2007 and got them into their first playoffs since 2004? Not a single vote. Not even half a vote. The only coaches who got votes besides Smith and Sparano were Jeff Fisher and Bill Belichick. Maybe the national media also think the Vikings made it to 10-6 in spite of Chilly more than because of him?

Falcons @ Vikings

Dan Zinski — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:30:06 +0000

Round 2 of the redemption tour takes place today at the Metrodome against the Falcons. I don’t need to remind people what happened the last time the Vikings squared off against Atlanta in a meaningful game – those memories are seared into our minds forever, and the mere mentions of the words “Falcons” and “NFC Title Game” cause uncontrollable Tourette’s-like spasms and cursing. The stakes are slightly lower this time however: It’s only the division title on the line for the Vikes and not a trip to the Super Bowl. And the Falcons also have plenty to play for – with the Cowboys losing last night, the Falcons can put themselves in the driver’s seat for a Wild Card slot.

Atlanta has been perhaps the most shocking team in the league this year – shocking in a good way, unlike past years when activities both around and within the team have tended to stun us for all the wrong reasons. First-year coach Mike Smith deserves kudos for the rehab job he’s done on this team’s psyche in the wake of Michael Vick‘s incarceration and Bobby Petrino‘s weasel-like betrayal. Prognosticators had this team suffering through one of the worst seasons in NFL history in ’08 – instead, Matt Ryan and Michael Turner have come on-board and led the club to a 9-5 record and the cusp of the playoffs. If Smith doesn’t win Coach of the Year, then there shouldn’t be a Coach of the Year award.

All this means nothing to the Vikings of course. All they and their fans want for Christmas is a playoff berth and if getting it means trouncing Atlanta, they’ll be happy to do it. Unfortunately, they’ll have to undertake said trouncing without Pat Williams, who is out 2-6 weeks with a broken shoulder. This weakens the rush defense at a time when it needs to be strongest: Atlanta has the #2 rush offense in the league, just behind the Giants and ahead of the Vikes, and the aforementioned Michael Turner is currently second in the league behind our own Adrian Peterson with 1421 yards. Turner is probably a more solid MVP candidate than AD given his 15 touchdowns (6 more than Peterson’s 9), but voters may perceive Peterson as having had a lesser quarterback supporting him all season. Either way, today’s game will probably decide which of these two backs has the better chance of hoisting MVP hardware come season’s end.

Speaking of hardware…Tarvaris Jackson finally gets to boast some of his own after winning last week’s NFC Offensive Player of the Week award for his scintillating 4 touchdown performance against Arizona. Jackson has been on his own personal redemption tour since coming back in the second half against Detroit, and hopes to continue his fantastic work against a Falcons defense that ranks just 23rd against the pass. The main issue for Jackson will be evading the pass rush of John Abraham who is believed to be fired up after getting passed over for Pro Bowl selection. The quarterback showdown is intriguing to say the least: The stellar rookie Matt Ryan versus the resurgent Jackson. The Vikes have been hard on quarterbacks in recent weeks – just ask Kurt Warner who is probably still aching in every bone of his body – and with any luck that trend will continue against Ryan, who had his second-worst game of the year last week against Tampa.

Q&A With Pewter Plank

Dan Zinski — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:53:08 +0000

Dustin of The Pewter Plank and I exchanged a little Q&A over this weekend’s big Vikings/Buccaneers tilt. I began my half of the session by asking Dustin about Jon Gruden and all the rumors he might be headed for Tennessee:

The Viking Age: Do you believe Jon Gruden when he says he’s not interested in leaving for the Tennessee job? And just incidentally, is he as big a dick as we all think he is?

The Pewter Plank: I actually do believe Gruden. I don’t see how this would be a step up for him professionally. He was offered (apparently) the Notre Dame job, or was at least asked about it a few years ago, and turned that down as well, so why go to Tennessee? The only thing that scares me about Gruden, is the local radio personalities down here have the majority of the retarded fan base hating Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen; in Knoxville, this would not be the case, Gruden would be revered. By the way, one of my favorite underrated college towns in the country!

As far as Gruden being a dick, I’m an unabashed Gruden lover, so I might be the wrong person to ask here! He is definitely a hard-nosed coach who demands a lot out of his players. The Wade Phillips and the Norv Turners of the NFL world though, currently possess stacked teams that are underachieving. Is this because of their placidness, who knows. All I know is I like a coach who demands accountability and performance out of his players, because that is what this game is all about.

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