I have not been following the NFL very closely this season, but I am very surprised about the direction the Vikings have gone this year: down, very far down. One could certainly fault Mike Tice in the past, but he certainly took a lot more abuse from his players that Childress has (but also had many players stick up for him when he was very abruptly fired). Tice certainly did not drop his players as easily with seemingly no justification.

Then there is the lack of communication between players and coach. That is a just a recipe for brooding and not playing at the top level. I suppose releasing top wide receivers and sitting out other top players who may be eligible for bonuses probably does not help team morale. Frankly, it borders on unethical and while coaches certainly do not want problem athletes, there really was no justification for releasing Marcus Robinson.

Well, at some level, I believe the outcome is very well deserved and I almost wish the Vikings had done worse. At least this shows that Tice showed some skill has head coach, and a cheap one at that.

-Trevor