[CBFF] Vikings release Brad Johnson

[Ryan Dietzenbach]

I can only hope that the Vikings continue to hire/keep coaches as
idiotic as Tice and Childress.

RD

On 3/1/07, Victor Waldron <victor19 at gmail.com> wrote:
> (he'll end up somewhere, no doubt.)
>
> MINNEAPOLIS -- In a long-expected move, the Minnesota Vikings released
> quarterback Brad Johnson on Wednesday and made the 15-year veteran an
> unrestricted free agent.
>
>        Brad Johnson
>        Johnson
>
> Tarvaris Jackson, who started the final two games of last season as a
> rookie, and Brooks Bollinger are the only quarterbacks remaining on
> the roster.
>
> After the Vikings had recurring problems on offense and finished 6-10,
> coach Brad Childress ruled Johnson out of the running for the job in
> 2007 and declared the position an open competition between Jackson and
> Bollinger. At the time, Childress indicated he was confident in
> finding a starter between them.
>
> At the NFL's scouting combine last week, however, Childress
> acknowledged that he spoke with Jackson about the chance that
> Minnesota could use the seventh overall draft pick on a quarterback --
> or perhaps in a later round. Notre Dame's Brady Quinn might be
> available when the Vikings are up at No. 7.
>
> The league's free-agent signing period opens Friday, but the team has
> all but eliminated -- at least publicly -- the possibility of pursuing
> a quarterback through that avenue. They have plenty of other positions
> in need of an upgrade.
>
> When the season ended, Childress indicated that Johnson would be
> welcomed back in a mentoring role, but the 38-year-old -- who has a
> fierce competitive drive that belies his easygoing demeanor -- said
> that he still believes he can be a starter.
>
> A ninth-round draft pick by Minnesota in 1992 out of Florida State who
> spent nine years with the team spanning two stints, Johnson revived
> his career in 2005 when he took over as the starter following a
> season-ending injury to Daunte Culpepper's knee.
>
> Helped by an improved defense, the Vikings went 7-2 with Johnson under
> center and just missed the playoffs at 9-7. Johnson looked like the
> ideal player to run the low-risk, grind-it-out offense that Childress
> installed when he was named head coach in 2006.
>
> But he made uncharacteristic mistakes, throwing 15 interceptions
> against only nine touchdown passes and drawing criticism from
> Childress after more than one bad game.
>
> Johnson, who won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in the 2002-03 season, is
> fifth in franchise history with 11,093 yards passing behind Fran
> Tarkenton, Tommy Kramer, Culpepper and Wade Wilson.
>
> "Brad has been a true pro throughout his career, and we wish him the
> best as he moves forward," Childress said in a prepared statement
> released by the club. "Brad was an important part of the team and a
> guy who led by example on and off the field. He's a class act and a
> guy younger players could learn a lot from about what it takes to play
> in the NFL."
>
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