THE RATASS GAZETTE

We're over 3/4 of the way through the NFL season and the Minnesota Vikings are 2-11, one of the worst teams in the league.  As the resident Vikings fan on the staff here, I feel I need to address their abysmal performance.  I feel there are some important, burning questions that friends of mine are probably afraid to ask me for fear I may either A) lash out in rage, or B) break down into tears at any given moment. If you've seen the Vikings play this year, it's pretty clear why they're so bad.  Their O-Line is terrible, their rookie quarterback stinks, and their defensive secondary is awful.  I'm not wondering how they got to 2-11, it makes complete sense.  So me, personally, I have no questions... but still there are things that people want to know about the Vikings.  You know, big picture questions.  I'll try my best to answer them, and pardon my French. On to the burning questions... The Vikings suck. How do you feel about that?   - I...

PETERSON'S NEW FACE MASK - Has anyone else noticed that Adrian Peterson has a different face mask these days?  Ever since his college days at Oklahoma, Peterson has always worn the style of face mask seen here... He has worn that style his entire 5-year NFL career, including as recently as Week 4 of the 2011 season against the Chiefs... But when the Vikings played the Cardinals in Week 5, All Day was sporting a new look... He's now wearing a mask popular with wide receivers and quarterbacks, positions where most guys prefer maximum vision. On defense and the offensive line, most guys want full cages because more bars in your face mask means more protection.  Most running backs seem to prefer a fuller cage, too, often preferring the very face mask that Peterson is switching away from.  (The "Deion Sanders-style" face mask also seems to be popular among RB's.) So why is he changing?  Face mask changes are pretty rare.  Ben Roethlisberger and P...

Well, we're here.  The Christian Ponder Era begins.  The Minnesota Vikings have started 1-5, and they're going to turn QB duties over to rookie Christian Ponder in Week 7.  That means veteran Donovan McNabb is headed to the bench, and while the move seems reasonable, I don't necessarily agree with the decision. I've been a McNabb apologist this season.  I honestly don't believe it's McNabb's fault they're 1-5 right now.  The offensive line looks terrible, and it appears releasing Bryant McKinnie before the season was a huge mistake.  It's also not McNabb's fault that Bernard Berrian can't get open and that Percy Harvin was put on a low snap count (for some unexplained reason) early in the season.  Those woes can not be blamed on McNabb.  He's just working with what they gave him, which other than Adrian Peterson, is not much. McNabb has not played poorly this year, and he hasn't played great, either.  His numbers (4 TD, 2 INT, 60...

As the resident Vikings fan on the RATASS Staff, I feel I should weigh in with my take on their off-season maneuvers, so here goes... MOUNT MCKINNIE RELEASED -  I was pretty surprised when I heard the Vikings released Bryant McKinnie, and I was also pretty disappointed.  I know he showed up to training camp out of shape, but I was hoping they would give him some time before they let him go.  Big men like McKinnie do not grow on trees, and he will certainly be hard to replace.  New LT Charlie Johnson seems like a nice enough guy, and the fact that people call him Charlie makes me like him even more, but I seriously doubt he's the blocker Mount McKinnie was.  I'll miss the big guy, and I'm still holding out hope they re-sign him in the future.    Here's how the Vikings O-Line looks at the moment ( according to Vikings.com ): LT - Charlie Johnson LG - Steve Hutchinson C - John Sullivan RG - Chris DeGeare RT - Phil Loadholt Outlook:   U...

MCNABB TO THE VIKINGS - As a long-time Vikings fan, I am excited the team traded for Donovan McNabb.  It means my favorite team will actually be watchable this year!  In a division full of quality QB's (Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matt Stafford), I feared a big step backwards, but it looks like they should be playoff-caliber once again.  I'm not going to lie, I was not looking forward to a season with Christian Ponder as the QB. Who really wants to sit through 16 games of rookie mistakes and bumbling offensive football?  McNabb should take command right away, the veterans should be motivated, and the 2011 season, at the very least, has hope.  I am very much looking forward to the Donovan McNabb Era in Minnesota! Just take a look at that photo of McNabb.  Look at that smile!  How can you not want to play for that guy?!  And THAT is the part of the trade that I like the best:  McNabb is a leader and hopefully the O-Line and the rest of ...