Of Things Undeniable
"Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms." - Mark TwainThere is judgement and there is "better judgement".
Never has a concept been more human than that.
There are things we know and things we believe, ...and those things often conflict.
I admit that I believed up until the 3rd quarter today that there was still hope for this season. My better judgement told me otherwise. In fact, all the words I've written in this space have told me otherwise, ...but I am one of the wretched and proud and legion. I am a fan.
A fan looks at a weak division, a resurgent legend refusing to lay down, a scrappy scattering of position players with more heart than talent, and says, ...maybe.
And for thirty minutes, ...maybe was sailing high on lake Minnetonka. Unfortunately, maybe failed to return to port.
And now, the cold cinder of better judgement lays plainly in our lap. The season is over.
And not just "over" in the rhetorical sense that we've all been lamenting. I mean that we are broken in the face of an irreversible fate. No matter what we do from here on out, our fate is sealed.
One by one, the players will begin to realise it. It is only a matter of time until they ask, what are we fighting for? It is only a matter of time before they turn their back on the season and wait out the end.
The season is over.
The only meaningful or practical question at this point is, what happens next year?
Anyone who is concerned about next week is a fool. Unless you are a player, in which case you have a job to do. But that's all it is now. A contractual obligation. It's no longer a crusade.
And there is really no point in talking about next year right now either, ...we've got more than half the season left to ponder the future. But, these things I believe:
Aaron Rodgers is not the answer
Ahman Green is done as a number one back
Brett Favre is not done playing football
And still, I cannot get past what happened on 3rd and 2 on the Packers last possesion of the day.
Favre tries to call a timeout, but the Packers decide not to use a timeout. Why? They rush a play in, the receivers look confused and don't know what the play is. Favre is talking to his offense when the ball comes flying at him unexpectantly. The receivers don't move, Favre catches the unexpected ball and flips it to Fisher, who gains nothing.
A timeout at that spot gives the Packers a chance to convert, and possibly go on to win the game, or at least burn off enough clock to prevent the Vikes from winning in regulation.
While the bulk of the fault does not land on Sherman, ...the failure of that play, the most critical play of the season, does fall on his shoulders.
I always say that a coach's number one job is to put their players in a position that gives them the best chance for success. The easiest way for a coach to fail is to do something that hurts his team's chances.
Sherman did not hurt his team for 59 minutes of a 60 minute game.
But in true Sherman fashion, he cracked yet again when the team needed him the most.
And there's the answer to the first what happens next year question.
Now the second question, ...who to replace him?
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