Week Eight Crystal Ball - Thursday: We Meet Again
"The Ball always bounces back." - Brother Bluenik, Pearl River, N.Y., date unknown
My friends, THE GURU is ready for the Rams (2-4, 2-1 home) to host the Vikings (5-1, 2-0 away), a very interesting matchup as we kick off Week Eight. Catch all the action on Prime Video at 8:15 pm ET.
At first glance, these teams don’t strike one as bitter rivals, but there’s history there and that means there are stories to be told.
Let’s start with the coaches, Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell, men who know each other well. They both served three years under Jay Gruden in Washington - McVay from 2014-16 and O’Connell from 2017-19 - before McVay hired O’Connell as his LA Rams offensive coordinator in 2020. They then won the Super Bowl together in the 2021 postseason, landing O’Connell his current coaching gig in Minnesota.
Of course, that’s the story that most folks know but, unless you’re either (a) a pro football historian or (b) have a one-track mind, you may not know about these teams on-field battles. Fortunately, I’m firmly in the (b) camp.
The Vikings entered the football world in 1961, giving the National Football League an even 14 teams. Back then, the league was divided into two conferences - divisional play didn’t begin until 1967 - and Minnesota was dead last in the Western in ‘61 with a 3-11 mark, a game behind LA.
Sprite also hit the shelves for the first time and my boys in DC were a league worst 1-12-1, salvaging just a morsel of dignity by beating a horrific Dallas team in the season finale. What a time to be alive, eh?
As an expansion franchise, the Vikes got the first overall pick in 1961 and used it on a talented Tulane running back by the name of Tommy Mason, passing on four eventual Hall of Famers, including Mike Ditka, and future acting star Bernie Casey. How does one say “no” to Colonel Rhombus?
To be fair, Mason was a talented player who became the team’s first All Pro two years later. He was also a different type of dude, buying two things with his first paycheck - a Cadillac and a pet monkey. He named the latter “Dutch” after his head coach, the legendary passer Norm Van Brocklin1. Happens all the time.
Two rounds later, Minnesota righted its ship by selecting a slight-of-build QB named Francis Asbury Tarkenton, who quickly became the team’s starter. Who knew he’d become the most important player in franchise history?
Led by Tarkenton’s steady hand and scrambling feet, the Vikings held a 7-4-1 head-to-head edge against the Rams until divisional play began in ‘67 with Minnesota and Los Angeles joining the Central and Coastal Divisions, respectively. And that’s when the battles really began.
You see, from 1969-1978, these teams met in the postseason five times with Minnesota winning four of them. Both squads were terrific during this 10-year stretch with the Vikes making nine playoff appearances, five NFC Championship games and a quartet of Super Bowls under legendary head coach Bud Grant.
LA wasn’t quite as good, but they were no slouch with seven postseasons and four NFC title games, including two losses to Minnesota. But, while the Vikes were stable with Grant at the helm, the Rams employed four head coaches from 1969-78: George Allen, Tommy Prothro, Chuck Knox and Ray Malavasi. It’s enough to make a guy pick up a bad habit.
Fast forward to today and we’ve got two teams moving in opposite directions with Minnesota at 5-1 and the Rams at 2-4. The Vikings hot start is a testament to Kevin O’Connell and players like Sam Darnold, who has been one of the league’s top QBs through the season’s first seven weeks.
As for LA, their hard time out of the gate shows how difficult it is to find - and sustain - success in the NFL. By any measure, McVay is a highly accomplished coach with a .599 winning percentage, seven playoff victories and a Super Bowl title in seven full seasons. But, since that championship, the team is 17-24 (.415) with no playoff wins.
Injuries are surely a factor with sophomore wideout Puka Nacua on the shelf since this past August and Cooper Kupp missing 44% of the team’s games the past three seasons. And, of course, the retirements of offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth (after the 2021 championship season) and all-world defensive tackle Aaron Donald (after the 2023 campaign) haven’t helped either.
As that old sage Thomas Callahan, Sr., once said of the auto parts industry, “You’re either growing or you’re dying. There ain’t no third direction.” Well, as McVay could attest, Callahan may as well have been talking about pro football.
Fortunately for the Rams, the NFC West is a mess this year and a win tonight would pull them within a game of division-leading Seattle and catapult them into the race. I like this Vikings squad a lot but, with Kupp and Nacua likely playing for LA, I’ll roll with the hosts. Rams by three.
Last week THE GURU finally got on a roll and posted an 11-4 record, moving the season mark to 58-46 (.558). We can only hope the luck continues this weekend.
Enjoy the game and I’ll be back this weekend. God bless!
A solid player, Mason was even more prolific off the field, marrying four times. One of his wives: figure skating star Cathy Rigby.