Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Vikings To Welcome Another Geriatric Quarterback


Jim McMahon. Warren Moon. Brad Johnson. Randall Cunningham. Jeff George. Gus Frerrote. Kelly Holcomb. Brett Favre.

Donovan McNabb.

If you've been to this blog, you're well aware of my disdain for McNabb. At 10:15 PM tonight, Jay Glazer tweeted that the Vikings have agreed to send two sixth round picks (2012, and a conditional 2013) to Washington for the 34-year old. The deal is contingent on the egotistical vet taking a massive pay cut from the $12.5M he's owed this season (he's just one year in to a six-year, $89.2M deal).

The optimist in me hopes that the delusional McNabb, who still thinks he's elite, will put the kibosh on it. Realistically, it's a lock that the Vikings will head into the season with their third (or fourth) choice under center. According to Glazer and others, the Vikings moved on to McNabb after catching wind of the money Tennessee is prepared to throw at first choice (Matt Hasselbeck), and after their second choice (Tyler Thigpen) locked in on Buffalo. Bruce Gradkowski was apparently also in the mix.

So why do I hate McNabb?

How much time do I have? Last year marked his lowest quarterback rating (77.1) since his 1999 rookie season. For a little purple perspective, the maligned Tarvaris Jackson's career quarterback rating is a comparable 76.6. In 2010, McNabb tossed more picks (15) than touchdowns (14), and his completion percentage (58.3 percent) was his lowest mark in the past seven years. He regularly one-hopped receivers. His own coach implied that he's fat and lazy. He was benched for Rex Grossman.

Twice.

The ideal situation, in my opinion, would have involved a veteran clipboard mentor (like Marc Bulger or Billy Volek) who would come cheap, could start in a pinch, and would never gripe about playing time. McNabb goes 1-for-3 in my free agent quarterback criteria. He'll obviously take a pay cut, but he'll still cost a sub-.500 team chock-full of holes way too much cap space (in addition to the draft picks). Specifics for the restructured deal are expected tomorrow.

If the coaching staff were really worried about throwing first-rounder Christian Ponder (who's been preparing like a maniac) to the wolves, then spend pennies on the backup mentor and let Joe Webb take the early-season starts. Ponder's the future, so you have nothing to lose by letting a sixth-round wide receiver be the sacrificial lamb. Who knows, you might just discover that you stumbled on to a gem. As it stands, you can stick a fork in Joe Webb, the quarterback.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'd rather be a 5-win team on the rise than a 7-win team on the decline.

The Vikings are now a 7-win team on the decline.

While initial fan reaction is upbeat, I'm waiting to hear the dollars, all the while struggling with the reality that Adrian Peterson's not getting any younger and we're delaying the rebuild.

I promise you, It's a bad day to be a Vikings fan. Mediocrity just became a goal.

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