This Team is Special (Oh, and I was Wrong About Keenum… Too)
Joe Johnson
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For some reason I feared today’s game against the Rams. On last week’s episode of the purpleJOURNAL Podcast I picked the Vikings to lose (for only the second time this season) 24-10 for a couple reasons. First, I’m 33 and I’ve seen the Vikings do things that the Vikings do (in terms of getting our hopes up and then imploding) so I’m always sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Secondly, I still felt uneasy about Case Keenum’s ability to (continue to) play consistently, as even his amazing game against the Redskins showed (so I anticipated an implosion that may have brought Teddy in at some point). I was also basically agreeing with what the team apparently said last week, that ‘Teddy is the franchise and his return is/was inevitable’. Also, considering the adage “Case Keenum is a back-up for a reason!” that I’ve heard EVERYWHERE, I really just let all of that sort of blind me while I overlooked Keenum and really what he means for this team, or rather, what this team means for him. Or, some mix of both…
Now, I’ve always been an unabashed Sam Bradford fan, but knowing that he was going on IR I switched my allegiance to Teddy as I really just thought that Keenum was going to crash and burn at some point (or at least play bad enough or Zimmer to get his guy/soul mate back under Center). Sure, Keenum broke basically every NCAA record, and played on garbage teams in garbage situations (since joining the NFL and) before the Vikings signed him this past off-season, but there’s no way that the Vikings found a quarterback who is playing this well as a FREE AGENT. There’s no way that this team that is coming off of a 2016 that was ruined by injury, only to lose Bradford and Dalvin Cook in the first quarter of 2017, could continue to play at this level. I thought that they did beat some bad teams and some injured teams (and some injured bad teams) before the Bye this year and that they basically needed three absolutely perfect quarters from Keenum against the Redskins to win last week. So, I figured that today would be the day that Keenum would revert back to the idea of Keenum that existed in my brain. Well, I’m here to say that that idea is gone and that I believe in Case Keenum and that may mean that the general negative optimism I somehow mix together in regards to the team in general may be dissipating, as well.
Sure, now that Teddy is activated the Vikings will have to figure out his contract before next year (or perhaps trade him? Or sign and trade him?) but this team is playing as a unit and Keenum is their leader, or at least shares that title with this defense…. And wide receiver corps, so the Vikings obviously can’t change the dynamic they have right now. After Bradford went down I heard a lot of people comparing this team to the 2000 Ravens, the team that the Vikings would’ve faced in the Super Bowl had they not lost 41-0 against the Giants in the NFC ‘ship. That team had an all-time great defense and an iffy quarterback (and really offense in general). While I understand the comparison I really don’t think that this team, as it stands right now, should be compared to the ’00 Ravens. They really are a team that I can’t compare any team to, at least any Vikings team. We’ve had great teams, don’t get me wrong, but we’ve never had a defense like this (at least since I became cognizant of football in 1990), especially when we’ve had amazing WR duos (the Carter/Moss teams had AWFUL defenses… F-ing Red McCombs). We’ve really never had a quarterback, receiver, running game and defense combination like this. The closest thing I can think of is the 2009 Vikings, because Keenum often reminds me of Favre (With his YOLO game plan) and while we don’t have the X-factor that was Adrian Peterson then, we also don’t fumble away games. Obviously, while Favre made Sidney Rice and others look great in 2009, they were a product of his greatness, where as I do think that Thielen and Diggs are sharing some of their greatness with Keenum.
So, am I saying that this is the best Vikings team I’ve ever witnessed? Ehhh… I think that the ’98 team was more explosive and talented (offensively, but Moss and Carter together negated a terrible Jimmy Hitcockian defense) but I think that this is the most balanced team I’ve seen. Yes, with Keenum at quarterback. I also think that, especially considering what we witnessed against the Rams (and even Redskins), this team also has one of the best chances to make the Super Bowl of any team we’ve had since I was born (1984). The Rams were supposed to be the class of the NFC and after a strong opening drive they were basically shut down (really after the fumble on the one-yard line killed their momentum) with relative “ease”. This team is just so stacked on defense, with playmakers everywhere (the young corners are looking better, too!) and obviously has so much talent on offense that the players that they do have can elevate the play of a quarterback (think about Gus Frerrotte throwing seven touchdowns in two games when he played with Moss). I think that’s part of what is happening with Keenum (Having Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen to throw to would make most quarterbacks look good), but I also don’t want to take the credit away from what he’s been doing, especially considering the circumstances under which he is doing what he’s doing.
Considering he’s been playing each week (as of late) with the hook just waiting on the sidelines every time he glances over from the huddle and has basically just been plugging along, playing more and more consistent (and dangerous) each week as the Vikings just keep getting better and adding to their winning streak… You’d think that it’d have some sort of impact on how he’s playing. And really, maybe it does? It’s been said that Keenum does have an “edge” and a “chip on his shoulder” and perhaps the idea of Teddy taking “his spot” is motivating him. Beyond that, he is an objectively great quarterback right now and that shouldn’t be a HUGE surprise as he broke those NCAA records for a reason, he’s obviously talented (he plays in the NFL)… Perhaps he just ended up on bad teams at bad times, perhaps he is the young quarterback this team has been searching for since Culpepper ran Randy Moss out of town and his knee exploded. Perhaps this is the team that will accomplish the thing I never thought I’d actually see… AT HOME! Or perhaps I’m just really excited that the Vikings completely dominated the Rams and are now 8-2 and basically the best team in the NFC. I’m (technically) man enough to admit that I am extremely psyched right now (hence all of … these), while also pointing out that the reason I’m this excited is basically because of what Keenum and company are doing together. So… Maybe there’s something to this team?