A moment to celebrate?
December 1st, 2008 – 3:22 PM by Judd ZulgadA day after the Vikings moved into sole possession of first place in the NFC North with a victory over Chicago, Brad Childress was in fine form at his Monday news conference. Asked if he allowed himself a moment to enjoy his team’s place in the standings, Childress said: “Yeah, I had a vodka as big as your head last night.”
Childress was referring to my head and I’ll tell you right now it isn’t all that small. An attempt to turn the question serious — remember, fans were chanting for Childress to be fired as recently as November — only got this answer. “I haven’t had a chance to glance at anything,” he said. “I’m aware of [being in first place] but that’s about it right now.”
Players are off today and Tuesday and Childress’ primary concern is keeping them focused for Sunday’s game at Detroit. The Lions are 0-12 and seem to have a real shot at not winning a game this season. But that’s exactly the type of thing that keeps a coach up at night.
Safety Darren Sharper knows the concern of playing a team that has absolutely nothing to lose — no matter how bad they might be. “It’s scary, it can be scary because you know they’re going to come out fighting,” Sharper said. “That old adage of a dog backed into a corner. It’s kind of like that because they are playing at home, too, which is going to make them feel more comfortable. They’re going to know that we’re the first place team now in the NFC North and they’re going to give us their best shot. We have to make sure we come out fast and answer their intensity early on. If we do that, we’ll be fine. If we play as consistent as we did against Chicago and have the same mentality that this is a big game for us and we’re still playing for first place. It’s not sewn up yet.”
There wasn’t much news to come out of Childress’ presser today. One point of interest is that while Ryan Cook got the start for the injured Artis Hicks (right elbow) at right tackle on Sunday, that doesn’t mean Cook has won the job back. “If Artis is able to get healthy and come back, then he’ll go back in there,” Childress said.
92 Responses to "A moment to celebrate?"
JUDD:
I think fans were chanting for Childress to be fired as recently as……….this morning! ! !
Detroit is not going to lay down. They better be ready for them.
Wow…Brad had a vodka…
I had him pegged for a wine cooler sort of guy.
Maybe not a vodka…but a beer the size of Judd’s head would probably be about right.
At least, that’s what I’d go for…
This is kind of weird:
The Colts now are 11-9 in the regular season when Peyton Manning doesn’t throw a touchdown pass. — Indy Star
This is also kinda weird:
The Vikings now are 7-3 this year when Tarvaris Jackson doesn’t throw ANY pass.
Chili actually coached a game without totally screwing it up, WOO-HOO, vodkas for everybody!
I wish NFCNorthChumps would come play with us.
He’s strangely absent. Wonder why that is.
Jared Allen…machine. I DO think he could swim through land.
Tomb, Bardrunky was here last night for awhile. But in the 2nd half he went away, he said he needed to be alone for a while.
LIONS are hungry and frustrated.
Divison games - always interesting.
The PURPLE - 1 QB whack away from
being very average.
keep that GUSSIE healthy, good play calling, spread it around, always someone to dump it to on & on and the VIKES will be OK .
DUMP PENALTIES gotta be eliminaned
difficult stretch ….
Jared Allen carved out the Panama Canal accidentally while he was swimming.
DUMB penalties that is . . . .
Jared was a manimal yesterday. Bardrunky was an idiot.
I think the PURPLE should have tossed
JD BOOTY in there when the game was
out of reach …get some game experience.
thoughts ??? not T JACK - who needs
to be selling programs at CFL games
Gonzo at Daily Norsemen says he’d be afraid for Booty to play because Chris Berman would probably get so excited about all the possibilites he could use his last name he’d probably die of a heart attack.
It’s weird that when Jared plays hurt, he doesn’t seem to show it…he just gets meaner.
Plum mad dog mean.
LOL j.ay
things would snowball
Jared is 4 sacks from his personal best. I hope he doesn’t reinjure himself with all those sack calf ropes. I can’t remember if he uses his left or right hand when he does it.
I wonder how many times Mr. Allen will “introduce” himself to Mr. Culpepper…I look forward to many introductions.
Chad - Booty could only play if the other two were hurt.
A tip of the hat is deserved for the coverage teams last night. I recall one decent return, otherwise the Bears were totally frustrated with their lack of production there. A key element of this team’s success is not giving the opponent a short field against our D.
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Coach, agreed. That was a pleasant surprise.
One of MANY pleasant surprises, actually.
I DEMAND that we get an explanation from that referee for not throwing the flag on the Ferrotte late hit. That was a total biff, and I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION!!
Your old pal Fred’s observations from the games:
1) Sharper is done, old, slow and it really showed last nights. Hope he goes back to Green Bays next year.
2) Windfields got burned 3 times last nights, he’s lucky the Bear receivers can’t catch.
3) 9 punts? Fred was yelling for Gus to stay down when he flopped. This team can’t do much with the Statue playing QB.
4)The Vikings cheerleaders looked good for the first time in a long times
5) Kyle Ortons is ugly, real ugly
6) Ray Edwards is dumb, real dumbs
7) Pat and Kevin William cheated…so sad, so sads..
8) Plexicos is no John Waynes
9) Fred is terribles at Fantasy Footballs
10) Fred wants to fist fight Al Franklins
Mr. Culpepper may discover a mysterious hammy Sunday morning and be unable to participate with Mr. Allen.
Coach, another surprise about last night was Griffin, he actually covered some receivers.
blatant foul.
the ref was right there point blank
looking at the hit.
makes no sense.
So…? AP plays in the 4th quarter when we are up by 20 and he has been beaten up all night, but not in the 4th quarter when we are down by one score????
Well, whatever. Nice game by your team Chili, congratulations on a nice win, and some good decisions during the game. (I think I acutally saw some adjusting taking place during the game!)
They said the zebra on the late hit hasn’t called a single late hit all year. And he was standing right there watching it happen.
Buds,
Maybe Pele would be able to help you explains that flop
My initial thought was that the hit wasn’t hard enough to actually knock down Gus, and Gus was faking…so the refs didn’t call it.
But in a replay, was definitely enough to warrant a flag.
AWESOME UNIFORMS!!! Throw the new ones far away and wear the ones from last night for the rest of the year. We wore throwback uni’s and played like the throwback Vikes!!
I paid him to tag the Statue….
Tomb, I thought the same thing, it was a late hit but Gus was faking. It didn’t look that hard. But I guess unless he and Chili are really good liars he really did get his bell rung. And I doubt Chili is smart enough to lie that well.
I think you’re right, that’s why the ref didn’t call it, but regardless it was a late hit that should have been called.
Didn’t you see the ref holding the yellow card up after the hits?
Hey Guys
Oh well hellos there Olives!
If that Bear doesn’t get a fine Allen should get a refund. Although Allen gets his money’s worth with his late hits.
Madden was right, the rule says you can’t hit the QB after the ball is clearly away. It doesn’t include torque pounds as a requirement. That was later than Edwards on Garcia. If nothing else, it was a block in the back. He better get fined, and there better be a reprimand for Mr. No-Late-Hits.
A block in the backs? Buds, why didn’t your old pal Fragile get an invite to your house before you started poundings the Colt 45s?
LOL…you’re right jay…Jared definitely gets his money’s worth…
I so dig that crazy cat, man (I don’t know how to type a Sammy Davis Jr. voice, so read it that way in your head please, thank you for your cooperation).
I cannot believe how many of you idiots are jumping on the Frerotte bandwagon. AGAIN, the Vikings won in spite of him, NOT because of him. Also, it was nice to see the worst safety in the league, Darren Sharper, make a play last night.
On the other hand, Williams, Williams and Allen are absolute studs! And how about the play of McKinnie, Hutch and Birk? The guys are in Pro-Bowlesque kind of zone!
Who’s jumpings on the Ferotte bandwagon Jacks?
There is no one in PURPLE that can
handle the QB spot better than GUSSIE at this time.
Not T JACK - he should be selling programs at CFL games.
Worst draft pick in history.
Booty - dunno if he is worth keeping - too early to tell. USC a worthy offense in college to transition to NFL but who in the hell knows.
One thing for sure … the vikes are most like SCREWED at the QB position in the near to mid-term future thank to
the . . . HELM MELON .
Fred thinks that TJack will be all pro in 2 years. Give the guy a chance, you’ll sees!!
I think he has some physical skills; but
the melon … not sure he has it upstairs
to play the position. 1-AA maybe.
time tells … will be an interesting
off season . .
TJack scored very high on the Heimlich test, I hear he almost a genius.
LOL good 1
Fred thinks the Vikes will keep TJack as a number 3 QB. They will signs or trade for a #1, draft a QB and let him fight it out with Booty for the #2 spot. Gus will retire for sure.
I think TJax enjoys lifting weights and carryings a clip board, not a bad job really.
Sounds pretty good Fred.
That QB and amazin”’ running back combination needs to be in place.
Jack H, it is not a bandwagon. It is more a lack of options, right? Gus is everything he was brought here for - a decent backup. We lack a starter. IMHO. Freds, where were you last nighters?
Where was Fred suppose to be last nights?
On the blog Freds.
Fred left the “in game” blogging to those who are smarters than your old pal Freds. That doesn’t really limit participation does it.
So how long will it take before the Dallas Cowboy sign Plaxico Burrgess? Imagine that dude packing heat in the lonestar states?
Freds, Plaxico might give a whole new meaning to offensive pass interference in the lone star state. Once he hooks up with his future best friend Pacman he will find a way to have a special holster made that fits in his uniform.
2 weeks ago everyone on here was calling Jared Allen an over-paid, under-achieving, bust that’ll go down into Vikes history as a Herschel Walker type trade. Hmmm…
2 weeks ago, some people on here were saying Berrian was an over-paid, under-achieving, stone-handed slacker that was incapable of stretching the field. Hmmmm…
We have Det, Az, Atlanta, NYG so how do you think we fair? Hope to see us put together another a strong consistent performance. Gus is adequate 3 step drops keeps him out of trouble. We should always think run first then pass would like to see Chester and AP on the field together more often. Hate to see AP out on 3rd down.
Why is AD such a pass protection liability that we have to pull him on 3rd down, but in the fourth quarter, in agame we’ve already won, and he’s hobbling around on a twisted ankle is it then okay to rush AD on 3rd down? Chili-logic.
Tomorrow will tell us how good our chances are with the outcome of the Williams wall likely announced. It’s going to be good news or bad news…
Detroit: 24 to 10 Vikes
Arizona: 34 to 19 Cards
Atlanta: 21 to 17 Vikes
Giants: 28 to 21 Vikes
Herschel Walker
dumbest trade in the history of sports.
ALLEN & BERRIAN
if you go back and look at stats against the TOP TEAMS … the play wasn’t shall we say unbelievable.
Against average teams … not bad ..
Jury is still out if you ask me . . .
I would ask the panel ..
What team(s) would offer a #1 draft pick
for any VIKING besides AP ????
I think we split, I like AK’s version the best…..I think we beat DET and AZ. Atl and NYG could give us trouble and that’s with the Williams wall…….
Walker trade definitely the worst, Jimmy Johnson still laughing…..
what was it 11 players ?
3 1st rounders on & on ??
good god …. talk about mortgaging the
future …
We mortgaged the future and gave the Cowboys another Super Bowl….75 season comes to mind…Jimmy didn’t make it in Miami because Vike’s didn’t have any thing to trade for Marino.
Someone explain divisional tie breakers to your old pal Fragiles
Was it Mike Lynn that made the Walker deal? Hey, at least he ran out of his shoe on the first game. Got his own talk show, and always said “Hershel needs to “… Nice trade. Did Dallas ever thank us for the Super Bowl?
AGS
yep - remember the shoe coming off
like it was yesterday.
he ran for like 148 yards or something
everyone was bookign tickets for the SB
and …. eventually pffffffft
and draft picks gone for years to come ..
ughhhhhhhhhh
In typical Cowboy fashion….NO…..f**k those Cowboys…..Go Vikes
Thank you Chads
you bet !!
ours for the taking ….
tain’t gonna be easy
but there for the taking
Coach Chili at press conference trying to concentrate with a thick head.
Juggzy at press conference saving his big head for the concentrating
Fragile Freddy concentrating on the cheerleaders wondering if there’s head to be had
Yea ChadB, I remember where I was watching that game. Pretty sure Mike Lynn made that sorry a$$ deal. Can you imagine the negotiator from Dallas when that trade was proposed? Umm, let me get back to you - right after you sign the paperwork immediately! We will even pay to ship him to Minnesota!
Im Mike’s defense how was he to know he was having homoerotic fanatasies over Herschel?
At the time he still didn’t know he was gay…
Remember shaking the head saying no
player is was worth all those draft picks
good god ..
gang …. whatever happens this season
please please please PURPLE put a hurting
on the LIONS this week.
If ever there was a sucker game, this
is it ……. gotta notch that “W” !
If there is any game that Detroit wants to win this year it is this one. Play the spoiler against the division leader that they almost beat last time. Regardless of their record it is a division game. They are always tough. I hope the Vikes take this serious. If Detroit continues to suck as bad as Thanksgiving I hope we rest some players after we get a good lead. Either way - we have to beat Detroit. They have nothing to lose and name one team that wants to be winless for an entire season…
JUST WIN BABY !!!!!!!!!
gotta gotta gotta have this 1
and yep yep they are hungry & frustrated +
It should be noted about last night’s game that until the goal line stand, we were playing pretty much like we had all year. Little if any offense, no answer for the 9 man front, good D but gave up a 60 yard slant for a TD, somebody decided a fade to Bobby Wade was a good idea, etc. Obviously the momentum changed quickly, but the first 20+ minutes weren’t much different from the rest of the year. Remember vividly thinking when it was goal to go for the Bears from inside the five that we were going to wet our socks again in a big game.
Freds…the “block in the back” was a little thing we like to call sarcasm. And no, you can’t have one of my C45’s.
Haven’t you heard? We’re in a recession, my friend, no free beers!
Eighty-seventh!!!
Go Vikes!
Hire Cowher (and a gm)
ZYGs probably thinks the PURPLE are
superbowl bound with the last 2 wins.
Probably thinking of giving CHILDLESS
a lifetime contract …
good god …ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
a long way to go with a long-term
QB solution far from in place . .
I can’t wait to cheer for the wyvans wall on sunday.
(wyms , evans)
this is far from over, I would not be at all surprised if the Kitties come out and beat us on sunday (trap game, Chili’s big ego returns after the inflation due to the 1 week reign at the top), and da Bears are playing the Jags at home. Jacksonville has already packed it in this season, they looked horrid last nite.
Then its the Air Attack of Warner-Boldin-Fitzgerald the following week, followed by a much improved Atlanta team and a Giants squad that could still have something to play for if they drop a game between now and then and Tampa keeps winning.
Could go 4-0, but could just as easily go 0-4… Can’t count on anything, especially with Chili at the helm.
And Judd, just so you’ve heard it in December too,
FIRE CHILDRESS NOW!!!
(seriously, he still needs to go)
Other blogs are still talking about the Frerotte Flop. This is funny from a Bears fan:
“gus is a bad actor and thats why he didnt get that call, he got tapped on the back and threw himself on the ground and it looked like he was dead for a second”
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