Can someone please tackle, for my entertainment, how Herschel Walker is responsbile for Adrian Peterson playing for the Vikings today, and how that was a good trade because of this?
I'm not sure what you're aiming for here, but I'll give it a shot:
1) The Vikings trade a handful of players and several draft picks (including 3 first rounders) to the Cowboys for Herschel Walker. Walker performs adequately, but the Vikings are widely (and rightly) panned for the trade. The Cowboys use their draft picks to build a Super Bowl dynasty, draftin Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson and Russell Maryland as part of the trade.
2) The move actually doesn't hurt the Vikings as much as people remember (they remained competitive in all but two years of Walker's tenure), but does force coach Jerry Burns into retirement, bringing in oft lamented coach Dennis Green.
3) Green begins a rebuilding program without the benefit of the draft picks given away in the Walker trade. He wins the division in 1992, then drafts Robert Smith in 1993, securing the Vikings running back position. Good defense and heady offense leads the team into the playoffs 4 of the next 5 years.
4) Minnesota (playing with a journeyman and aging offense, including quarterback Randall Cunningham, that was not supplimented well in the draft) recognizes a lack of spark on offense and drafts Randy Moss, a troubled young player out of Marshall. They also draft a little known center out of Harvard named Matt Birk.
5) Behind Randy Moss, the team shatters several league records and goes 15-1 before falling in the playoffs.
6) Green continues building the team through the draft taking Dante Culpepper in the first round (along with draft bust/insane man Demitrius Underwood). However, he is fired during a lackluster 2001 campaign and Robert Smith's retirement in 2000.
7) The Vikings enter the coaching reign of Mike Tice. Passing-wise, the team flourishes, but Smith's retirement forces them to use a first round draft pick on Michael Bennett who, despite a solid rookie season, fizzles due to injuries. The team then leans on a pair of third round draft picks, Mewelde Moore and Ontario Smith. Moore leads the team in rushing, but is injured in every season in which he starts. Smith is a reliable runner, but not spectacular, and ends up arrested for carrying drug test cheating equipment (aka The Original Whizzinator) through airport security.
8) Without a consistant running attack to compliment the offense, the Viking's passing attack fizzles. Randy Moss becomes frustrated and unwilling to play, and Dante Culpepper shows that he is unable to process defensive reads quickly enough for an NFL quarterback.
9) The Vikings trade oft injured and complaining Moss to Oakland for solid linebacker Napolean Harris (who left via free agency) and a first round draft pick, which was used on speedy wideout Troy Williamson. Williamson, however, did not show an ability to catch like Moss, so the Vikings offense struggled without him.
9) After a few years of running in place, the Vikings fire Mike Tice after 2005, and hire Philadelphia Eagles coordinator Brad Childress. Childress is brought in to molify Dante Culpepper, by giving him the same coddling that Childress gave Donovan McNabb in Philly. Culpepper, however, working his way back from extensive knee surgeries, refuses to meet with Childress and is sent to Miami for a bag of magic beans.
10) Without Culpepper or Moss, and with geriatric quarterback Brad Johnson in as starter, Brad Childress devotes extensive portions of his offensive playbook to rushing the football. To that end he signs All-Pro Guard Steve Hutchinson away from the Seattle Seahawks and back-up runningback Chester Taylor from the Baltimore Ravens.
11) Taylor's season as the Vikings starter goes well. He gains 1,200 yards on the ground and while the pass offense sputters, the Vikings run game shows promise. However, Taylor wears down late in the season, and Mewelde Moore suffers another injury leaving a hole in the team's one skilled position.
12) Minnesota uses its 2007 draft pick on running back Adrian Peterson. In equal parts because he was the best player on the board, because they knew they would need to spell Taylor with a legitimate back, and because selecting him would mean that they would not need to change their offensive scheme for first year starter Tavaris Jackson.
13) Adrian Peterson eclipses Taylor during the season and rushes for a league-record single-game 296 rushing yards against the San Diego Chargers.
So you see, if the Vikings wouldn't have traded for Walker, they wouldn't have suffered a few mediocre seasons without draft picks under Jerry Burns. That led to his dismissal, and Dennis Green crafting the West Coast-style offense with Robert Smith. But that team imploded when Smith retired early and the Vikings, without a running back for five years, turned to Chester Taylor. Taylor couldn't carry the load for a full season, which lead to the drafting of Adrian Peterson.
It's hard to tell whether or not that was any good,because Peterson hasn't even played a full season yet. But the Walker trade was sort of responsible for the Vikings overloading on offense in the late 90s, so he can take credit for *that*.
EDIT: I just realized that I never mentioned the ownership transfer from "The Vikings Ownership Group" to Red McCombs to Ziggy Wilf. McComb's desire for a flashy offense definately had a lot to do with the transition in 1998, as did Wilf's "we're rebuilding" attitude in 2006. But other than that, I wouldn't really change anything.
(edited by Excalibur05 on 5.11.07 1315)
(edited by Excalibur05 on 5.11.07 1316)
(edited by Excalibur05 on 6.11.07 1033) For NFL Power Rankings, My Blog and More, check out Hock Show Dot Com (hockshow.com)
I'd change "league-record single-game 256 rushing yards against the San Diego Chargers." to "league-record single-game 296 rushing yards against the San Diego Chargers."
Adrian Peterson isn't going to last long in the league unless the Vikings do a slight upgrade over Jackson and Bollinger at QB. If they have a pick around 9-14 in the draft, do they call Cleveland and offer it for Brady Quinn, because Tavaris Jackson is not a playoff caliber QB and Bollinger is barely a back-up caliber QB.
Originally posted by redsoxnationAdrian Peterson isn't going to last long in the league unless the Vikings do a slight upgrade over Jackson and Bollinger at QB. If they have a pick around 9-14 in the draft, do they call Cleveland and offer it for Brady Quinn, because Tavaris Jackson is not a playoff caliber QB and Bollinger is barely a back-up caliber QB.
A. Billy Sims was on the Lions, the Bad Luck Schleprock team of the NFL.
B. The Vikings history left out 1999, where the offense was rekindled with the addition of JEFF GEORGE, who had his second-best year as a pro. Of course, the Vikes then got rid of him.
C. The Vikings haven't had any spine since they moved indoors.
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Originally posted by JimBob SkeeterI'd change "league-record single-game 256 rushing yards against the San Diego Chargers." to "league-record single-game 296 rushing yards against the San Diego Chargers."
Yes, yes. Right right.
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Originally posted by JimBob SkeeterI'd change "league-record single-game 256 rushing yards against the San Diego Chargers." to "league-record single-game 296 rushing yards against the San Diego Chargers."