So here we are, halfway through the 2005 NFL season and some things never change, at least in the AFC. If the playoffs were to start today, there would be only one change in the conference from a year ago. The Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Broncos and Chiefs are once again tops in the league with the Bengals looking to rain on their parade.
On the NFC side, it is a shake-up of 2004, as only two teams that made the postseason would be back in it - Atlanta and St. Louis. The Giants, Panthers and, cough cough, Bears and Bucs would round up the chase for the NFC crown. So who is missing from this picture?
For one, Brett Favre. In what promises to be his last hurrah in a weak NFC North, Green Bay currently sits at 1-6, and yes, he threw five picks, yes five, against Cincinnati on Sunday. However, his Packers are not the most disappointing team to start the 2005 campaign. That falls into the lap of Mike Tice and the Minnesota Vikings.
With Green Bay looking like they're more and more tempted to put Aaron Rodgers in for the aging Favre, Jeff Garcia taking over for a surprisingly hapless offense in Detroit and da Bears as the only other competition in the division, one would have thought the Vikings would have run away with it.
Where do they stand now? How about 2-5 with their only wins coming in games against the Packers and Saints. They sit in third place, two games behind division leader Chicago, with nine to play. So what happened over the course of the first eight weeks to cause a team that gave up Randy Moss in the offseason to plummet to one of the worst teams in the league? Or could the answer be in that question?
Injuries, scandal or just plain bad football can describe a day in the life of a Vikings player of late and it just got worse for fans in the Twin Cities. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper went down with a torn ACL, MCL and PCL Sunday, the same injury that has Pats safety Rodney Harrison on the shelf for the year. First round draft pick Troy Williamson has yet to step in and look like the Gamecock he was back in South Carolina.
Their running back situation is one thing that cannot be figured out. Four talented backs in Mewelde Moore, Michael Bennett, Moe Williams and Onterrio Smith have not done the job for the Vikings. Moore leads the team with close to 380 yards, but has only reached the end zone twice, once through the air. Smith, who is suspended, has not even seen a snap, while Bennett and Williams have not come close to 100 yards for the entire year.
Their talented group of receivers - Nate Burleson, Travis Taylor, Koren Robinson, Marcus Robinson and Williamson have combined for only six touchdowns. Prior his injury, Culpepper had six touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Many considered Culpepper one of the top quarterbacks in the league, but now we know it was just Randy Moss.
What were the Vikings thinking when they let him go? In seven seasons, Moss had 574 receptions for 9,142 yards and 90 touchdowns. If the front office thought Burleson would be able to take his place, they were gravely mistaken. If it was a behavioral issue, well what happened a couple weeks ago has proved that Moss is not the only one misbehaving in the NFL.
Early in October, several Vikings players organized an outing for teammates and friends on a pair of chartered cruises during their bye week. What happened there is well known now. Stephen Doyle, an attorney representing the boat owners, said that crew members complained of wild, lewd behavior, including visible sexual activity, and they feared for their safety.
"I can promise you that the players want to see this thing come to head," Tice said. "They want the truth to be out there. I don't think at this point any of the players are very comfortable that the real story is out there."
So, can the Vikings turn it around? After their comeback win over the Pack two weeks ago it looked like they would, but last week brought them back to reality with a 38-13 loss to the Panthers. Expect more of the same for the rest of the year as Brad Johnson will be taking over at quarterback. Minnesota fans are probably saying an all too familiar phrase from around here, "wait 'til next year."
-Information from the Associated Press contributed to this column.
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