Effort

Your job has sucked so far this year.  You are buried in work and everyone is slagging you.  Nobody is cutting you any slack.  Your company keeps losing out on every break, on every deal.  The writing appears to be on the wall.

Your boss has put all his eggs in one basket by trusting an old, way past his prime guy to lead your company to glory, hoping against hope that lightning strikes twice.  He also just made what looked like a great business deal on paper, only to bail on it at the first sign of trouble.  There are strong rumors that he nearly got in a fist-fight with one of his employees.  People are murmuring that he's as good as fired.  In fact, people are chanting that he be fired every chance they get.

Certain guys usually seen as reliable are disappointments lately.  Other guys appear to have lost their marbles overnight.  What were once strengths are now weaknesses.  The ship is sinking and everyone knows it.

Be honest.  If this were the case, how much effort would you give toward your job?  It's very easy to say, "Fuck it."  Just look at Dallas last night.

The 2010 Vikings refuse to lay down.  Down by 14 in the 4th quarter to a terrible Arizona team, they roared back.  It was a testament to... well, giving a shit.  An especially important statement after just releasing Mr. Not-Give-A-Shit.

Yesterday was a testament to professionalism.  Does it necessarily mean they can still make the playoffs?  Does it mean they've "turned it around"?  Does it mean Childress has saved his job?  No.  No effing way.

But that's besides the point.  Vikings fans LOVE to get carried away.  They're eager to -- booing the FG call on 4th and 1, when just about everyone was whining about going for it in the same situation the previous week?  That's a classic contradictory fickle Vikings fan reaction.  Nonsensical.  Can you blame us?  We're delirious from weeks of bullshit. Our heads are spinning.  We just want to win and enjoy watching the games.  That's all.

Believe me, that's hard to do when your coach is Brad Childress.  We're still very close to finding out what it'll be like with Leslie Frazier.  But it's not hard when your team busts its ass like it did yesterday. 

Pros and Cons of a 2-5 Team

PRO
Maybe Tarvaris will start.  As he showed in garbage time yesterday, he can actually move.  That 20 yard scramble was so foreign to me I thought Percy Harvin had to switch jerseys for some reason. 

CON
He's still Tarvaris Jackson.  If Tarvaris was ever even a decent option, why beg for Favre?  Why were Vikings fans clamoring for him before the 2009 season?  Are people's memories that short?  (Yes, they are.)

PRO
Maybe the time off did Tarvaris good.  He's only 27 years old.  Time on the sideline worked for Romo, Rodgers, Rivers, even guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick and Kyle Orton.  Remember, a young quarterback making an immediate impact is the exception, not the rule.  There are only so many Matt Ryans and Sam Bradfords to go around. 

CON
Or maybe being coldly shunted aside totally destroyed his confidence and the rust will be too thick to shake off. 

PRO
Adrian Peterson is still a reason to watch every week no matter what their record is.

CON
Toby Gerhart is not.  It's amazing to see AD get these 8 yard gains from seemingly nothing, while Gerhart is lucky to get 1 yard.  It could be only a matter of time to break out the B-word for him.

PRO
Percy Harvin is still a reason to watch every week no matter what their record is.

CON
I missed Pat Williams' funeral.  Luckily for us, they never buried his corpse, so we still have a chance to say goodbye.  See also: Asher Allen's ability to tackle.

PRO
One bad loss away from the Brad Childress Era coming to a close, several bad losses away from a shot at a quarterback in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

CON
They have the same record as the Detroit Lions.  And have scored 54 less points.