The Vikings are one of the most boring and inept teams in the league right now. They are stale and lack creativity on offense, they have horrible special teams and there is no hurry or hustle when the game is on the line. All of those point directly at one person, the head coach.
Childress was brought in to fix a beleaguered offense that ranked 25th in total yards and 19th in scoring in 2005. They got worse the next year finishing 21st and 26th, respectively. The addition of Adrian Peterson, a gift falling to the Vikings at #7 in the 2007 draft, bumped the production up to 13th and 15th, but the Vikings finished 28th in passing yards.
This season the Vikings are 18th in total yards per game and 22nd in points per game, that's with the NFL's third leading rusher in Peterson. Surprisingly, the Vikings are 20th in pass yards per game. That's primarily because Gus Frerotte has accounted for 73% of those passing yards in his three games as starter. Unfortunately, Frerotte's 74.2 QB rating is 23rd among NFL quarterbacks. Is this really what the Vikings expected when giving Childress a five-year contract in 2006? How about when they gave Bernard Berrian, who coincidentally has 17 receptions in five games, a six-year, $43.4 million deal in the offseason?
At what point does Vikings owner Zygi Wilf realize Childress is a snake oil salesman and cut his losses?
In addition to the offense underperforming, the defense, supposedly the team's strength, only ranks 15th in the league in total yards allowed and points allowed. That has a lot to do with the Vikings only having four defensive interceptions (tied for 16th in the NFL) and eight sacks (tied for 22nd). On top of that, the Vikings are the 9th most penalized team in the league (257 yards), have the league's fifth worst kick return coverage (25.8 yards per return) and the league's worst punt return coverage (an astonishing 20.5 yards per return).
Players have also openly criticized Childress and his coaching style during his tenure in Minnesota. Brad Johnson, Jermaine Wiggins and Travis Taylor all asked for and received their release due to the unhappiness with their roles on the team. Wiggins, for one, was a huge upgrade over the Vikings current tight end Vicente Shiancoe. Marcus Robinson, the team's leading receiver in 2006, claimed there was a "total lack of communication" with Childress and the players and was subsequently released. The Vikings finished 6-10 that year after having won nine games the previous year.
The overall talent has improved significantly since Childress took over, however the results have not. Childress continues to underutilize Peterson, lacks creativity and imagination on play calling and has one of the most undisciplined, lacksidasical teams in the NFL. Its time for a change in Minnesota and that change needs to start with the head coach.
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