By Kerry J. Byrne
Cold, Hard Football Facts Smooth Operator
We gotta admit: the best part of Minnesota's 24-14 win in Philadelphia Tuesday night was when washed up old quarterback BrettFavre drunkenly leaned over to Suzy Kolber on the sideline and slurred: "I wanna kisshh you."
Ooops, sorry ... we're confusing washed-up old gunslingers with histories of big interceptions and ugly substance-abuse problems.
Our bad.
Nope, in this case, the best part was wondering what might have been had the Vikings not suffered from an ugly case of
Old Yeller Fever this year. Imagine if, back in August, they had put the future of the organization in the hands of some promising young athletic quarterback instead of in the washed-up hands of 41-year-old BrettFavre, a guy destined to leave the team in tatters?
But whatever: the Vikings have only themselves to blame for their terrible personnel decisions in recent years. So we're not going to shed a tear for them.
In the case of Tuesday night, the Vikings took the first step on the long road to recovery from
Old Yeller Fever. And you know what, it was a great first step!
Minnesota rookie quarterback Joe Webb did everything you'd expect and more out of a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start:
- He was accurate, completing 17 of 26 passes (65.4%)
- He was efficient, averaging 7.5 yards per pass (26 attempts for 195 yards)
- He played "within himself" to use a popular cliché, rarely throwing the ball recklessly downfield like a certain older quarterback might
- He came through with a Big Play or two when needed, including a highlight-reel toss and catch to Percy Harvin for 46 yards
- He ran a balanced offense, attempting 26 passes, handing off 25 times, while running the ball six times himself, including a 9-yard TD run in the third quarter that proved to be the winning points
- He did what team leaders do and relied on his weapons: Adrian Peterson ran 22 times for 118 yards and a score; Harvin caught seven passes.
And, ahh, one other thing. What was that one other thing he did right? Oh, that's right: Webb didn't throw a single f'in interception! Zero picks!!!
F*ck a duck, who'd a thunk it?! Don't throw picks, win games! Who knew?
Low and behold, the Vikings enjoyed their most impressive win of the year – and they did it with a rookie quarterback at the helm doing all the little things right.
Fans of imaginary fake football would look at Webb's performance and scoff. But it was a great, great day – especially by the standards of a rookie making his first start – in all the efficiency indicators that we look at that ultimately add up to victory.
Philadelphia, for its part, looked like a team that spent the past nine days
reading its press clippings rather than preparing for a football game.
Michael Vick played the role of gunslinger in an unbalanced offensive attack that simply does not work for him – or for any player, for that matter. Vick threw 43 passes (263 yards, 6.1 YPA) and handed the ball off just 14 times (44 yards, 3.1 YPA), while running the ball eight times himself (63 yards, 7.9 YPA).
Most importantly, Vick made critical mistakes: he fumbled in the backfield in the second quarter and Vikings CB Antoine Winfield picked up the ball and raced 45 yards for score that handed his team a 7-7 tie and plenty of momentum.
The tying score seemed to sap the life out of the Eagles, a team that walked out of the tunnel expecting a coronation and not a street fight. The Vikings scored the next 10 points and held a 17-7 lead entering the fourth quarter.
It was a costly defeat for Philadelphia: Vick officially lost the MVP race thanks to his three turnovers (one pick, two lost fumbles) and the team's impotent offensive effort; and the Eagles lost their last shot at a first-round bye.
Webb, meanwhile, is the story for today, anyway: with consistent performances like the one he gave Tuesday night, against one of the league's top teams, the Vikings might have been serious contenders today rather than 6-9 pretenders looking back on one of the most disappointing, dysfunctional yet ultimately predictable seasons in NFL history.
At worst under a guy like Webb from Day 1, the Vikings would be better off than they are today: they might still be a sub-.500 team at this point. But they'd be a sub.-.500 team that had spent the season grooming its proverbial quarterback of the future, rather than groveling at the feet of one of the worst quarterbacks in football merely because he had a Big Name.
At the end of the day, that's the most debilitating symptom of
Old Yeller Fever: It infects otherwise rational fans and organizations with the indefensible belief that you simply cannot win without Big Name Quarterback.
Old Yeller Fever is a unique phenomenon, because the past decade-plus of evidence tells us that you can't win with Big Name Quarterback. But, in any case, the belief that all is lost without Big Name Quarterback has infected other fans through the years.
Common sense and history should tell us that this disease should have been eradicated decades ago.
Hell, Colts fans in the 1950s – like victims of Old Yeller Fever today – thought they'd never win a game without big-named George Shaw, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1955 draft. But he got injured in 1956 and Johnny Unitas walked onto the field.
Patriots fans in the 1990s thought they'd never win without big-named Drew Bledsoe, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 draft. But he got injured in 2001 and Tom Brady walked onto the field.
Packers fans and the Green Bay organization sufferred a long, ugly bout with Old Yeller Fever before they finally kicked the disease. Funny: they've kept winning and Old Yeller's replacement, Aaron Rodgers, is today the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history.
Jets fans, during a brief bout of Old Yeller Fever in 2008, thought they needed BrettFavre to win. But he "retired" at the end of the season, the organization went another way and, lo and behold, it reached the AFC title game in the immediate aftermath of his departure.
In the case of the Vikings, we're not saying that Webb will become a franchise quarterback. This win over the Eagles could be the highlight of his career. But we do know this: members of the Minnesota fandom and organization took the first step Tuesday night toward a cure for Old Yeller Fever.
They learned that there are guys out there – young, promising guys – who can win games without the Big Name on the back of the jersey.
And, finally, call us crazy, but it looked like Joe Webb was just having fun out there.
