Souhan: Desperate and shorthanded, Vikings can blame betrayals of unvaccinated players

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The lexicon of sport has tragically grown.

Every athlete needs to be ‘focused’, even though Vince Lombardi’s Packers excelled before one athlete spoke the word.

Every athlete “squeals,” which means a two-hour workout is more impressive than an eight-hour shift at a fast food restaurant.

With the rise of media sites and journalists belonging to the league and teams, we have also received the never-ending gift – the notion of “adversity”.

The word “adversity” allows team-owned and team-friendly media to celebrate each victory as if it had been won by Sisyphus, and to excuse each loss as if it were a reenactment of Sisyphus. the Alamo. As if every sprained ankle was a burden that only a rare team can overcome.

On Sunday, the Vikings will, yes, face adversity. Anyone who uses this word as an excuse or as a celebration on Sunday afternoon will carry water for the fools.

Vikings face “adversity” because of their own actions and decisions.

They will play against the Los Angeles Rams without star running back Dalvin Cook. Cook will miss next week’s game and possibly showdown in Green Bay because he tested positive for COVID-19 and is not vaccinated.

They have to win this game because they missed games they should have won. In Detroit. At home against Baker Mayfield as Mayfield was not healthy enough to pitch the pitch. In Cincinnati when Cook fumbled. Against Dallas at home against the immortal Cooper Rush.

There was also a loss in Baltimore in which another defensive play would have given the Vikings a victory … but safety star Harrison Smith was not there as he is not vaccinated and tested positive for COVID.

Apply the word “adversity” to these Vikings, and you must precede it with “self-imposed”.

It’s possible for the Vikings to beat the Rams without Cook, or lose in a way that Cook’s presence may not have affected.

It does not matter. What matters is that the Minnesota Vikings face an important game that could determine whether many key figures keep their jobs, and they are once again sold by one of their highest paid players.

The Vikings signed contracts with Smith that could total around $ 75 million. He turned down pleas from Viking officials and medical staff for a vaccine that would keep him as healthy as possible, keep his team as healthy as possible, and give them the best possible chance to play a full season.

The Vikings have signed contracts with Cook that could total around $ 63 million. He, like Smith, decided not to get the vaccine.

These are betrayals. They are also acts of idiocy. TV personalities and politicians who urge people like Smith and Cook to stay unvaccinated are themselves vaccinated. They play people like Smith and Cook for fools.

Which brings us to Kirk Cousins, the quarterback you can’t trust.

It was only by sheer luck that Cousins, who is also unvaccinated, avoided testing positive and leaving the Vikings in a playoff race with Sean Mannion as quarterback. Of course, working alongside Cousins ​​also leaves Mannion more at risk of contracting the virus.

By the end of next season, Cousins ​​will have earned $ 200 million in the NFL, a league that begged him to get the shot.

He might also appear to be using a dose of adrenaline.

Until November 21, Cousins ​​was having his best season and had just performed as a superstar in back-to-back wins against the Chargers and Packers.

In his last four games, he has:

• Lost to a mediocre 49ers team by throwing a bad interception and failing to produce a passing play of more than 30 yards.

• Loss to the Detroit Lions.

• Thrown two interceptions while completing 14 of 31 assists as the Vikings nearly blew up a 29-point lead to the Steelers.

• Thrown another interception and produced 87 passing yards in an appalling performance against the terrible Bears.

Due to the mediocrity of the NFL and the extended playoffs, the Vikings could well qualify for the playoffs.

If they do, it will be a triumph over self-imposed adversity, survival of fools.

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