Special teams, questionable decisions by Childress cost Vikings in Chicago

By Eric Krupka  |   Tuesday, October 21, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Minnesota Vikings
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!
When the Vikings return home in two weeks (they have a bye this Sunday) to face the Houston Texans, the "Fire Childress!" chants might be so loud that head coach Brad Childress hears them.

The boos and anti-Childress chants roared in the Metrodome as the Vikings struggled against the hapless Lions in Week 6, eventually winning the game 12-10. Although the players said they heard the fans' mockery of Childress, the coach himself claimed he didn't.

Prior to Week 7, the Vikings escaped two weeks in a row with wins in games that they could have -- and maybe should have -- lost. The first being the Monday night road game at New Orleans that saw Reggie Bush exploit the Vikings' awful punt coverage, returning two punts for touchdowns and nearly a third.

Childress threw his punter, Chris Kluwe, under the bus after the New Orleans game. Minnesota's special teams have failed all year. Sunday's visit to Chicago was no exception.

The unit has continually experienced breakdowns in both kickoff and punt coverage. Fearful of sending the ball deep to the Bears' Devin Hester on kickoffs, Childress opted to have Ryan Longwell pooch kick the ball, giving Chicago excellent field position.

"[Hester] is a weapon," Childress said. "We just didn't want to put it in his hands too much."

The idea is nice, but if you can't cover kickoffs seven games into the season, there's a big problem. Giving the Bears the ball around their 45-yard line every time is asking for trouble, even with a great defense. Time and again, Chicago was able to capitalize on the short field.

Hester was injured on the first kickoff of the second half, so Minnesota kicked the ball deep the rest of the afternoon.

Then there was the punt team, a unit that failed miserably Sunday. On one occasion, Kluwe fumbled a perfect snap, proceeded to get the punt blocked, and then illegally kicked the ball right into the Bears' Garrett Wolfe -- who returned it for a touchdown. Moreover, Vikings returner Charles Gordon had a punt bounce off him at the Chicago 2-yard line that was recovered by the Bears in the end zone for a touchdown.

"It's unfortunate that that ball took a funny hit on Chuck Gordon; he's trying to get away from it and block the gunner so that he can't down it at the 1-yard line," Childress said. "I appreciate the effort."

The special teams did block a field goal, but they were also penalized for lining up offside on a kickoff, not to mention an encroachment on a 53-yard field goal attempt.

It will be interesting to see if special teams coach Paul Ferraro becomes Childress' scapegoat. The Vikings have allowed an NFL-worst five touchdowns on special teams this season.

Childress' mishaps on Sunday go beyond special teams, though. Trailing 34-31 late in the third quarter, Minnesota faced a fourth-and-1 at the Chicago 36. A 53-yard field goal attempt was out of the question because it would have been into the wind. Instead of giving the ball to Adrian Peterson or Chester Taylor, who had combined for 138 yards and three touchdowns on the ground already, Childress opted for a passing play. Quarterback Gus Frerotte rolled out to his right and threw an incomplete pass intended for Bernard Berrian.

"We were trying to give it a hard run fake inside," Childress stated. "Those are the kind you would love to have back, but you've got to make the call. We wanted to be aggressive throughout the day."

This isn't the first time that Childress' offensive play-calling has come under question. In fact, it's regularly a topic of debate in Minnesota. In a Week 3 game against the Tennessee Titans, Childress' team was down by 13, didn't have a timeout and there were two minutes to play. Yet he elected to punt.

"Based on the way we were playing defense, I thought we'd have a chance to get it back," Childress said afterward.

Ultimately, the Titans took three knees and the game was over.

If Minnesota comes out flat after its bye week, Childress' job at the end of the season will be very much in jeopardy. The Vikings have made numerous mistakes that have cost them dearly. And some of it has to come down on the coach. Childress and his players can only talk so much about looking at the tape and correcting it. The mistakes need to stop now, or the season will slip away.

With nine games left, there's still time for the Vikings to correct things and get to the playoffs. At 3-4, they're underachieving but only one game out of first place in the NFC North.

"I like the fight of my football team," Childress said. "If you give someone 21 points off turnovers, it's amazing that you are in a position to come back up the field and beat them."

In the second half of the season, the Vikings need to cut down on mistakes and shore up their special teams play if they want to ensure that their coach is around in 2009.

With Super Bowl aspirations and expectations for a division title, sitting below .500 at the bye week is unacceptable.
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (2)

About Eric Krupka

Eric Krupka joined RealFootball365 as a Vikings columnist in November 2005.
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report