Nothing Has Gone Right for Vikings

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. —  When Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green promoted Jeff George to starting quarterback, he made it clear Randall Cunningham wasn’t the cause of all the team’s troubles.

Indeed, nothing has gone right for the franchise since its crash in the NFC championship game in January.

Poor play, sideline squawking, finger-pointing between teammates, grumbling about coaches and just plain rotten luck have dogged the team that so many anointed Super Bowl favorites after their 15-1 regular season in 1998.

But they’ve already lost four times--albeit by a combined 12 points--including three to NFC Central opponents. So with a 2-4 record that puts them in the division cellar, Green turned the reins over to George, who will attempt to turn around the Vikings’ season and also rehabilitate his own dubious reputation.

“Who’s to stay we can’t run off nine or 10 wins in a row?” asked George, who is 39-68 as a starter and has been run off teams since high school for his self-centered--some would say arrogant--approach.

“They said the same thing about Randall Cunningham,” Green said.

The Vikings expect George, who signed a paltry $400,000 contract over the winter after being run out of Oakland, Atlanta and Indianapolis, to have the same effect on the offense that Cunningham did last season when he replaced an injured Brad Johnson and guided Minnesota to the cusp of the Super Bowl.

Cunningham, who signed a $28 million deal last December, just wasn’t the same this season without the help of offensive coordinator Brian Billick, quarterbacks coach Chip Myers and Johnson, whose combined expertise in the system allowed Cunningham to operate with a level of comfort.

Under new offensive coordinator Ray Sherman, who rejoined Green’s staff after a forgettable year in charge of Pittsburgh’s offense, Cunningham tried to take on more of the decision-making duties. But he struggled mightily, forcing the Vikings to scale back their offense.

The scoring machine that averaged 35 points a game last year and never scored fewer than 24 in any game failed to produce more than 23, and the team lost its faith in Cunningham, who threw more interceptions (nine) than touchdown passes (eight).

“All it takes is one win to get this thing turned around and get the confidence back,” said George, who replaced Cunningham with the Vikings trailing 19-0 at Detroit last week and twice led Minnesota to one-point leads in the fourth quarter before the Lions prevailed 25-23.

George was 10-of-12 for 214 yards and two touchdowns, providing the spark that was missing all season.

But Green went conservative on the Vikings’ final drive. With a first down at the Lions’ 15 and two minutes left, Minnesota ran the ball three times and settled for a short field goal rather than taking a shot at the end zone.

After Detroit drove for the game-winning field goal, handing the Vikings their fourth loss in five weeks, Randy Moss, last year’s rookie star, went off again, criticizing the play-calling and wondering whether the Vikings could even reach the playoffs.

“I talk about the fire in the Vikings’ eyes, and that second half we had that fire, we came back,” Moss said. “That field goal, it was like they put it out with a fire extinguisher.”

“Last year’s team went for everything,” Moss added.

Soothing many of Moss’ concerns, however, was the promotion of George, who will start against San Francisco on Sunday.

Even though Robert Smith, the top running back, underwent a hernia operation on Tuesday and will be out for six weeks, the Vikings are upbeat thanks to the quarterback shuffle.

George’s reputation as a talented troublemaker more concerned with his own stats than the team’s success, hasn’t followed him to Minnesota--at least not yet. Even Cunningham said he’s George’s biggest fan now.

“I’m pulling for him to do well, not only for us as a team but also I know what he’s been through. I’d love to see him have a lot of joy in his life,” Cunningham said.

All this comes after all kinds of disharmony, like Cris Carter blaming the Vikings’ best cornerback for a loss at Green Bay and Moss criticizing the offensive coordinator for not figuring out ways to get him open.

Johnson, who was traded to Washington and has guided the Redskins to a 4-1 start, said the Vikings are “very talented and can reel off six or seven wins very quickly. They have just been in a slump and I expect them to turn it around.”

Cunningham, the object of constant yelling and disdainful stares from Moss and Carter on the sideline, is also on the bandwagon.

“It could really happen like it did last year. The amazing thing is it seems like that’s the trend with this team,” Cunningham said. “One year Brad steps in and does a great job and gets a new contract. The next year, Randall steps in and gets a new contract. It’s Jeff’s turn.”

To save a season and a career.