I promise this isn't going to be a Vikings weblog. I just have to speak out on this. Everybody (eg) says that the Vikings aren't playing up to their potential and is looking to point fingers. Wrong. The problem is that they are playing at their potential. Remember how they were predicted to have a losing season, or .500 at best? There's a reason for that. Yes, Daunte Culpepper has been great, a great surprise, and Robert Smith has had a breakout year. But the offense can be stopped. It has been by mediocre Rams and Packers offenses, not to mention Tampa Bay. They make too many mistakes that we can't recover from, especially turnovers and penalties. And the defense is horrible. We just don't have the personnel there. It's my impression that they've been overachieving because of the good work of the defensive coordinator to compensate for our horrible secondary. Now, teams have it figured out.

Here's the smart bet: don't expect much more from the Vikings this year. We have to draft for defense and keep what offense we can while trimming our salary cap number 19 million $. It might get worse before it gets better.