Several teams have dealt with on- and off-the-field issues throughout this NFL season, but few teams in history have had to deal with as many as the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets. Before the 2010 regular season even began, the teams were facing several issues vital to their success, and as the season has gone on, things have only gotten more bizarre.
Coming off their surprise run to the AFC Championship Game last season, the Jets were the favorites of many to win the AFC East and advance to the Super Bowl. Never one to shy away from attention, brazen Jets coach Rex Ryan indulged in the spotlight and used it to build his team's confidence. Ryan went so far as to guarantee a Super Bowl victory for the Jets; a bold statement, but one that many analysts believed to be a real possibility.
The Jets' training camp was documented for the HBO show "Hard Knocks," an uncensored look at an NFL team's preseason preparation that centers on no-holds-barred interviews and exclusive access to team functions. The show immediately brought the Jets unwanted attention thanks to Ryan's colorfully profane vocabulary. Former NFL coach Tony Dungy openly criticized Ryan's language, and Ryan apologized for his remarks on the show, but he never failed to defend his coaching style and his team.
More drama emerged when Azteca TV reporter Ines Sainz accused the team of harassing her during her visit to interview the Jets' Mexican-American quarterback, Mark Sanchez. Sainz alleged that Jets players, encouraged by Ryan and his coaching staff, deliberately threw footballs in her direction and later made inappropriate remarks as she stood in the locker room.
The Sainz incident sparked a national debate over the role of female reporters in the male-dominated NFL, and it cast the Jets' organizational treatment of women in a bad light. In the end, Jets players and staff were required to attend an educational meeting on professional communication within their workplace.
While the Jets had their sights set on representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, the Vikings had plans of their own in the NFC. After yet another heartbreaking end for the Vikings and their fans in last year's NFC Championship Game, the organization believed the 2010 season would be its best opportunity to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 1976.
But the Vikings' hopes took a severe blow when quarterback Brett Favre supposedly texted his teammates during training camp that he was going to retire (again). Most Vikings fans did not believe the team's backup quarterbacks, Tarvaris Jackson or the now-departed Sage Rosenfels, could lead them to victory, and they remained hopeful that Favre would change his mind about retirement as he had done so frequently in the past.
On Aug. 17, Vikings fans got their wish, and Favre formally rejoined the team. With their starting quarterback back in place, the Vikings appeared strong enough to reach the Super Bowl, starting in Week 1 with a planned revenge victory over the New Orleans Saints, the team that only a few months earlier had eliminated them from the playoffs.
Instead of vindication, the Vikings tasted defeat in the first game, and Favre finished the game with ho-hum stats (171 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception). The Vikings then lost to Miami at home (with Favre throwing three picks and losing a fumble in the end zone for a Dolphins TD), and fans were beginning to notice that he was not the MVP-caliber quarterback they had cheered on last season. His numbers were down, and his injury problems became a clear hindrance to the offense.
Two of Favre's favorite receivers also were hampered by health concerns that limited the offense's effectiveness. Sidney Rice, who reached the Pro Bowl with a breakout 2010 season, waited until training camp before opting for hip surgery that sidelined him well into November. And Percy Harvin, another 2010 Pro Bowler, missed numerous practices and two games while struggling with migraine headaches. Harvin collapsed during an August practice and had to be hospitalized, and his status was another weekly distraction.
Even with his mediocre stats and the Vikings not looking like a Super Bowl-worthy team, Favre's biggest problems were only beginning. They would affect both the Jets and Vikings, especially as the two teams were about to meet in their Week 5 Monday night matchup. On Oct. 7, the controversial sports blog Deadspin released audio recordings and a lewd photo allegedly sent via text from Favre to former Jets sideline reporter Jenn Sterger. The NFL opened an investigation into the allegations, the outcome of which is pending.
The Vikings were having enough difficulty getting their offense on track and couldn't afford any off-field distractions, or having to worry about the possibility of their starting quarterback being suspended. The Jets, who had cut their ties with Favre after the 2008 season, didn't need another sexual-harassment allegation tied to their organization. The Jets also were dealing with off-field issues involving wide receiver Braylon Edwards being arrested on DWI charges, and the four-game suspension issued before the start of the season to wide receiver Santonio Holmes for violation of the league's drug policies.
Fortunately for the Jets, the Favre-Sterger issue seemed to become more of a distraction for the Vikings, despite the fact that it allegedly occurred while Favre was with the Jets. Since the story broke, Favre has had to deal with questions regarding the matter all season, which has added further stress beyond his poor performances and injury concerns.
After the Vikings' 29-20 loss at New York (which was sealed by another Favre interception returned for a touchdown), Minnesota lost four of its next six games, while the Jets welcomed the return of Holmes and won five of their next six. Embarrassed by the string of losses and the catastrophic mishandling of the Randy Moss return and departure, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf fired head coach Brad Childress after an embarrassing loss to division rival Green Bay. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier took over as interim head coach, and the Vikings won their next two games before one of the most bizarre events in the team's 50-year history occurred.
The second weekend of December 2010 will be remembered for the massive blizzard that blanketed Minnesota, dropping nearly 20 inches of snow on the Twin Cities. The weight of the snow and the high winds that accompanied it caused the Metrodome's roof to collapse. Shortly after, the NFL decided the Vikings' game against the New York Giants would be played at a neutral site, Ford Field in Detroit.
That game became memorable not just for the weather-created displacement, but also as the game that snapped Favre's remarkable streak of 297 consecutive starts. The Vikings were sloppy and lethargic in their Detroit "home" game, losing 21-3 and being officially eliminated from playoff contention.
With their season now officially in shambles, the Vikings had little to play for, until it was announced their Monday Night Football game would be played outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium, where a halftime celebration of the 50 all-time greatest Vikings would take place in the winter elements that accompanied so many great moments in the team's history.
Fans braved frigid temperatures and yet another winter storm, and Favre made a last-minute recovery from a shoulder injury to start the game, but he was knocked out in the second quarter with a concussion. Rookie quarterback Joe Webb played the rest of the way, but the Vikings were trounced at home by the rival Bears 40-14.
As the Vikings' hopes faded, the Jets had the potential to move into first place in their division with a strong December run, but after a week of hype they were shellacked at New England 45-3, all but guaranteeing the Patriots the AFC East title. In an attempt to exorcise the demons from that game, the Jets decided to pull a Jimmy Hoffa on the game ball and buried it in the end zone of New Meadowlands Stadium.
Instead of rebounding, the Jets' image took another hit when strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi ordered inactive players to form a sideline wall and intentionally tripped a Miami Dolphins player running downfield during punt coverage. The team suspended Alosi indefinitely, but the incident provided more fodder for its critics.
As the regular season draws to a close, the Jets have clinched the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs despite losing to the Bears on Sunday. But another scandal involving Ryan and foot-fetish videos he allegedly recorded with his wife (also leaked on Deadspin) is providing yet another distraction for a team that is just stumbling into the playoffs.
The Vikings are simply playing for pride at this point, and will have several issues to address this offseason. Just to add a little more turmoil to the season, Sunday night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles has been postponed to Tuesday because of, wait for it...weather concerns. The Eastern seaboard was hammered by a weekend blizzard that has left the Vikings stranded in Philadelphia as their families celebrate the holidays back in Minnesota.
It is safe to label the Vikings' season a disappointment, and should the Jets be one-and-done in the playoffs, they can expect equal disdain from the media and their fans. It is difficult to say which team responded better to their various crises, but one thing is certain, Vikings and Jets fans will not soon forget the nightmare of 2010.
