NFL News & Rumors » Discussion: Should the Vikings pull their starters?

Discussion: Should the Vikings pull their starters?

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It’s always surprising to me to see a man as large as Bryant McKinnie, who is 6’8” and well over 300 pounds, get beat repeatedly in every fashion possible. Hats off to Julius Peppers for beating a giant, which caused McKinnie to be benched during the third quarter and replaced by veteran offensive tackle Artis Hicks.

Should Brett Favre have been benched? Obviously his fantasy owners will say no way, ” just keep throwing those 60-yard hail marys.” Critics of Favre on the other hand, who for most have deep admiration, had a great argument to bench him: the playoffs. The Vikings clinched their division, but in the game of football, momentum is an important part of going into the playoffs. Benching a quarterback, even for the right reasons, is a good way to throw off any balance of a great team that merely needs a little momentum.

“No secret, I was getting hit a little bit. I felt the pressure on a lot of plays. We had seven points. So I think everyone in the building was like, ‘They’re not moving the ball, they’re not getting points.’ Brad wanted to go in a different direction and I wanted to stay in the game.”

– Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre

Of course Favre’s age is thrown into the mix, and why not, he is an older quarterback. It plays a factor. However, great quarterbacks do not get benched; they play through the losses. Players are already ridiculed for not playing due to such aches and pains as the flu (Robert Smith; 2000) or turf toe, which actually is a legitimate injury. It just sounds made up. What are the reputations of players going to be if star players begin being benched if they are losing? This will only spoil players even more, and players will start expecting only to play when they are winning.

Good for Favre for standing up to Childress and staying in the game. Vikings fans are excited about Favre and their team, and they need a little momentum going into the playoffs as well.

What do you think Vikings fans? Should Brad Childress have pulled Favre out of last night’s game? React in the comment thread…

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Posted on 21 December 2009

Tags: Brad Childress, Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings, pull the starters

Jeff

No, you cant pull him. The teams confidence is built around him and his leadership on the field.
This isnt Favre’s fault entirely. The defense cannot stop the passing game. Enough of how great the run D is. I think the blitz package needs a lot of work and the linebackers need to learn how to cut off angles. They dont drop into coverage or cut off slants well at all and they lack speed to catch up.
As good as they are at angles and tackling in the running game, they do not have the same impact in the passing game.
Minnesota’s Offense has become predictable, you almost know on every play if its a run or pass. You can see that the defenses know when Minnesota is throwing because they drop into nickel packages or sometimes, like Arizona did, 6 DBs. Then during a run, they load the front line so Peterson doesnt have any holes.
This is Childress and Favre’s fault. Audible, adjust your formations etc. but when a non pro can watch a game and 9 out of 10 times know when they are going to run or pass, its safe to say that the defenses are even better prepared.
PREDICTABLE is the one word i use!