FELDMAN: No offense to any Eagles fans who might be reading (do Eagles fans read or just throw stuff at Santa?), but there's no sense in breaking down Sunday night's game. The Eagles will win, we all know that, so this edition of Points on the Purple will be light on Vikes-Eagles and heavy on 'where do we go from here?' First, Helmet Hair, how cool was it to have outdoor football back in Minnesota? It's the first time I've seen our club play an outdoor home game. I don't care what the final score was, I had goosebumps before the game and especially after the Favre-to-Harvin TD on the opening drive.
LIMBECK: Hey Captain Purple, were those goosebumps or were you frozen because you had your shirt off the entire game? But it was pretty cool that the Vikings had a home game outside. Part of the draw was the wintry conditions. Seeing snow on the field and watching the fans using snow as a prop in the stands added to the appeal. A lot of people are bashing Favre for playing, but I thought it gave the Vikings a charge. And you saw what happened after he left.
FELDMAN: I was in the camp that wanted to see what Joe Webb we could do, and we saw it. I don't think anyone would be surprised if we see ol' No. 4 back under center at Detroit on Jan. 2, in the 'We don't want to be last in the NFC North' Bowl. I mean, the way this season has gone, absolutely nothing would surprise me. Bryant McKinnie could come out after the season and tell us he's pregnant and I'd just shrug my shoulders and go 'yep.' Can you think of a more bizarre season in Vikings history? It culminated Monday night with Bud Grant walking onto the field at halftime, amid a rain storm, in short sleeves. Not even the Les Steckel season can top this.
LIMBECK: I would have to agree. This is the most bizarre season in Vikings history. But in terms of on-the-field play, it would also have to be one of the most frustrating and disappointing in team history. The Vikings were supposed to compete for the Super Bowl and instead they were out of the playoff chase with a month left in the season. I don't know about you, but I would rather have had less off-field drama and a lot more on-field success.
FELDMAN: No question about that. Unfortunately, all that we're left with right now are questions. The Vikes need a head coach in place before the draft. Leslie Frazier will be in the mix, but he's far from a lock. Let me throw another at you: Marvin Lewis. While the Bengals flopped miserably (again) this season, Lewis has had his hands tied from his first day with the organization. Team owner Mike Brown has complete control of personnel decisions and is clearly no good at them. Lewis has been saddled with over-inflated egos (T.O.), an overrated, overpaid QB (Carson Palmer) and repeatedly bad first round draft picks.
ADVERTISEMENT
LIMBECK: Marvin Lewis doesn't do a lot to excite me. He's had his chance and never had a great deal of success. I would rather have the Vikings stick with Frazier. He's more of an unknown and could have a big upside. Bill Cowher looks like he wants to get back into coaching, but Minnesota isn't even on his list. The questions might be, will the Vikings go after a high profile general manager, like Bill Parcells?
FELDMAN: The Wilfs have an obvious fascination with Parcells, and I'm sure they'll make at least one call to him, but Rick Spielman has done a pretty good job with player contracts and draft picks (this year's draft class withstanding). What has Parcells done in the past 10 years that makes him such a hot commodity? As far as players go, there might be a fan revolt if Madieu Williams plays another home game in purple. Bernard Berrian can go, too. But what about QB? Making a run at Donovan McNabb, plus drafting a good, young player in the first round still seems like the best option.
LIMBECK: The way McNabb has been treated in Washington means he won't return to the Redskins. He will also be hungry when he plays for a new team. Plus with his play this year, his salary demands won't be extreme. I don't know if he has many outstanding seasons left, but he's better than T-Jack or Joe Webb would be next year. I would also like to see a quarterback be selected in the draft. And don't pan this year's draft just yet. Chris Cook will be solid in the future, Gerhart is a solid backup and a couple of the linemen might contribute in the future.
FELDMAN: The good news this week: The Vikings know what it's like to have snowballs thrown at their heads. The Philly fans will give them a quick reminder. And that will be the most pleasant part of the day: Eagles 34, Vikings 14.
LIMBECK: It would be nice to see the Vikings sack up and play some defense this week. That will be the team's only hope, because I don't see the offense producing much. Hopefully Adrian Peterson will be back on the field. Even that won't be enough: Eagles 38, Vikings 13.
