To help the haters

I think you read into my comment more than I was stating. I was not trying to be defensive; I was basically saying that fans are like that ... for any sport.

As for me, I have been accused of being negative - until my premises have been proven valid. Years back, I said McKinney was giving tells to the defense. People said, "No he isn't," until a defender from another team said he was. I said that the Vikings offensive line wasn't good enough years ago, and I was told I was wrong. I broke down why I thought the blocking scheme was bad, and I was told I didn't know what I was talking about. During a game, I said the Vikings offense was predictable and Pat Shurmur ran the ball on first and 10 almost 70 percent of the time. I was told that was bullsh*t until I posted the plays showing it was something like 68% of the time when I had posted my comment.

I said I didn't want Cousins to be signed here because his contract would not match his play. I said the Vikings should draft Aaron Rodgers, sign Drew Brees, and sign Cameron Wake from the CFL. I said Treadwell would be a bust from day one, and I didn't like Shariff Floyd in the first round. I thought the Vikings paid too much to move up to take Patterson, and I didn't like Mackensie Alexander in the second round. I said Reiff was prone to getting beat on speed moves and power rushes, so no thanks.

On the other hand, my number one free agent target of the year was Linval Joseph, and he got signed. Harry Hitman was better than expected, and so was Diggs. The Vikings were smart enough to take Jefferson, but they almost blew that one. Jalen Reagor being taken by the Eagles just one pick earlier was serendipitous.

I have been watching the Vikings, and the NFL, for about a half century. I am a student of the game, and I call it as I see it. That does not make me right, but I try to explain why I think this or that. My dad disliked watching football with me because I was always talking about the blocking, routes, and schemes. He just wanted to watch the ball and see what happened. I was never like that - even as a kid.

When I attended a Vikings/Packers game with Funkytown, I often noted the outcome of plays just after the snap because I knew what Rodgers was reading and how defenders were playing it. I'd say things like, "touchdown in the right corner," and that is what happened. Being at a live game increases awareness of what is going on, but one has to understand the game to take advantage of it. During that game, Rodgers was reading and attacking Trae Waynes, and it looked like the Packers would win the game on the final drive - until Waynes picked Rodgers off. I didn't see that coming, but I was happy that it did.

Of course, we only see part of the picture, so there is some information bias in our thinking. We can't take ourselves entirely seriously. We see a defender getting "burned," but we don't know who was actually supposed to be doing what. We see an errant pass, but we don't know what the route or reads were. We see blocking breaking down, but we don't know the entire scheme or line calls.

People may say I am a pessimist because I point out problems, but nothing gets changed if we don't know what needs to be changed. Then again, I am still a fan of the team and not of the flavor of the day like some "fans" are. I would call fans like me being guardedly optimistic rather than pessimistic. Or ... maybe, yeah, we are just tired of this crap.

Just remember new is not necessarily better. Gotta be careful with that. You will be crying 5yrs from now wanting a new coach and QB again. Look how many high QB picks who haven't saved sh*t. Everything that glitters ain't gold. Ask the Lions on Patricia over Caldwell and I have a million more examples QBs too.