ET Says: "Quarterback Democracy (September 18, 2008)"

I still haven't determined who the best candidate is in this race, and it has made my life nuts. Each person I meet feels that he or she must share their opinion on what is best, and while both sides have valid points, I am starting to get sick of the election talk.

There is one thing that both sides can agree upon, and that is that the current leader needs to be replaced. Whether it be his boneheaded decision making, or his way of speaking that begs the question, "has this guy ever opened a dictionary?", the leadership role needed a change.

The candidates available for replacement, however, are less than spectacular. On one side, we have a nominee who promotes change and efficiency. Yet his experience, or better put, lack of experience, leads one to question if we can trust the hype, or will he start begging for a pacifier now that he is in the higher levels? On the other side, we have a near senile candidate who, while knows the ins-and-outs of how things work, makes me wonder if he should be eating food from a tube instead.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Chilldress announced recently about his decision to remove the team's current starting quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson, and instead start the well known veteran, Gus Frerotte, against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday. The other replacement options includes the team's fifth-round quarterback, John David Booty, who many think will eventually take over as the Viking's passing leader. Coming out of USC, experts touted him to be the most "NFL ready" quarterback in the draft. This has yet to be seen, however, considering he's looked a lot like Vince Young taking the Wonderlic test.

Vikings fans showed their discontent for the 16 game starter during the Vikings' contest with the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday, by boo'ing the starter off the field when the team was protecting a 15 point lead. It seems unusual to show disappointment to these extremities when the team is doing well. Apparently we've all succumbed to the illness known as "YankeeFanitis".

Flashback to 2006.

Wily old quarterback Brad Johnson had the starting position for 14 games, and was expected to "manage the offense" into the playoffs. Johnson failed to do so, however, by throwing 15 interceptions to only 9 touchdowns. Tarvaris Jackson was still filling the diapers from his rookie season, and was meant to learn under Johnson's decrepit wing. Flash forward to December 17th. Brad Johnson executed one of his better games of the season, throwing a touchdown while completing 10 of 17 passes. Then, as if Reagan had suddenly wandered into a Democratic National Convention, you could hear it.

"BOOOOOOOOOO!"

Fans displayed their impatience on every drive in which Johnson was named the Quarterback, that is until late in the third quarter.

"Now in at Quarterback, number seven, Tarvaris Jackson!"

An uproar, not heard since the Prohibition act was removed, filled the stadium. Maybe the Dome Dogs were filled with LSD that day, because the fans must have been drugged in order to think that a project, rookie QB, who was projected to be an undrafted player, was going to lead the Vikings to the promised land.

The Field Fare vendors must be hard at work again, because the only place that Gus Frerotte will lead this team to is the top of the draft order.

It seems that the fan's fetish is whoever replaces the current starting quarterback. Whether it be Brad Johnson in 2005, Tarvaris Jackson in 2006, or Gus Frerotte this year, the fan's will put their full support in the new quarterback. For whatever reason, we throw out the fact that none of these replacement quarterbacks have had any real success in the past. No, that's irrelevant data. What is relevant is that the new guy will always look better than his predecessor. It's the same logic Al Davis uses with head coaches, and he's obviously been extremely successful with that mindset.

It's time to face the facts. Gus Frerotte, 37 years old, is a career backup who has posted a career quarterback rating of 74.3. For a comparison, recently cut quarterback Brooks Bollinger has a career rating of 75.2, and we all know how much success he has had as a Viking. As a Ram last year, Frerotte threw 12 interceptions in just eight games, and completed 56% of his passes, which, while well below par for NFL standards, is actually above his career completion percentage (54.2%). All of this was done with talents such as Torry Holt (wide receiver) and Stephen Jackson (half back), both considered top five at their respected positions.

This leads one to question... where the hell do the Vikings expect to go with this nutcase at the helm?

The public needs to take this move for what it is, a desperate attempt to find a stop-gap at the quarterback position. Gus Frerotte isn't going to win the Vikings any games, but coach Chilldress doesn't necessarily want him to do so. Instead, he is hoping that he will play just "well enough" in order let the rest of the team make a run at the postseason.

There's a reason that I'm an undecided voter when I look at this bunch of QBs. No matter which one is put at the helm, the problems in the passing game will not be solved. There isn't an answer in our system currently to our offensive woes, and there isn't anyone currently available that could turn this entire team around.

Fact is, the only thing that is going to help this team turn the season around is for the entire team to start executing properly. That can't be solved by simply playing musical chairs with this set of QBs.


Go Vikings, and happy voting!

ET Says: "Oh Canada! (July 30th, 2008)"

Inexperienced Pitching Staff? Check.

Team Leader Lost? Check.

Cy Young Winner traded? Check.

Best Young Pitcher traded? Check.

Bill Smith's first offseason as GM of the Minnesota Twins left fans with a feeling similar to a crowbar repeatedly striking a man's left testicle. Experts concluded that the Twins would be the worst team in the AL Central. The Detroit Tigers and Cleavland Indians looked to fight for 1st and 2nd place with dominating offensive attacks. The Minnesota Twins were not going to compete for a division title.

Three months later, that left testicle has healed up just fine.

Despite Smith's big offseason investments in Mike Lamb and Adam Everett being complete non factors, the Twins have had one hell of a season. Livan Hernandez, regardless of having an ERA higher than Willie Nelson, has eaten his innings to 10 wins, 8 of which are at home. Alexi Casilla, who was hitting near .200 in the minors, has given the Twins great defense at second base, as well as a .300 average. Former strikeout king Denard Span has stepped it up this year, and has taken over the lead-off role. Joe Nathan, nearly traded in the offseason, has had the best season of his career, recording his 29th save last night. Jason Morneau, the unknown Home Run Derby champ, is making Canada proud with his gaudy RBI numbers. Golden Boy Joe Mauer is still driving women wild with his fantastic sideburns.

Oh, and did I mention the 24, 25, 26, and 27 year old pitchers that all have winning records?

Maybe it's Livan's veteran presence.

Maybe it's Delmon Young's rigid running style.

Maybe it's the smell of Gomez's bat.

Or maybe, just maybe, the Twins have a good team.

Whatever it is, its working.

Experts? Fuck the experts. The Twins are rolling.