Football thoughts on Wednesday morning:
-As a longtime reader pointed out, the Vikings could have taken Eric Decker instead of Toby Gerhart in the 2010 draft.
The Vikings took Gerhart in the second round, after taking cornerback Chris Cook, another bust. The Broncos selected Decker in the third round.
Now, we could do this all day - every team ``misses" on good players in every draft. But this one, to me, is worth revisiting because even at the moment the Vikings took Gerhart I thought the move was silly. A team with many needs drafted a player who at best would be Adrian Peterson's backup. They passed on a player who would have been their best receiver most of the decade for a player they didn't need.
Having seen Vikings general manager Rick Spielman in the press box at many Gopher games, it wasn't a lack of due diligence. They just valued Gehart (and Cook) more. Even GMs who build strong rosters have their misses.
-I covered Jerry Jones in 1989, when he and Jimmy Johnson (mostly Johnson) were building a great team. The great thing about Jerry is he'll always talk. The bad thing is, we always have to listen.
His latest idea is an 18-game regular season. This isn't just stupid. This is irresponsible.
One thing we know about Jones is that he cares more about money and fame than championships. If he had cared more about titles, he wouldn't have ditched Johnson when his team was capable of winning another few Super Bowls.
Now he wants an 18-game regular season. What could be his motivation? Money. Regular-season games bring in money. That schedule also would lead to more player injuries, watered-down teams entering the playoffs, and more meaningless games at the end of the season.
It's a terrible idea borne of greed.
-You can find my podcasts, including my fun conversation with Tom Thibodeau, at TalkNorth.com.