Pelissero: Onus is on Vikings veterans to keep craziness under control
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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Ryan Longwell was wrapping a conversation at his locker on Thursday when a visitor mentioned it was an unusually quiet day at Minnesota Vikings headquarters.
"Yeah, but we don't say that anymore," Longwell said, "because you never know what's behind Door Number Three."
Hours later, the first report surfaced that an unemployed TV host had spent the afternoon talking with NFL security about whether Brett Favre texted her photos of his junk.
This is the world the Vikings live in -- one where the weirdest thing that possibly could occur is 24 hours of normality.
"I've never been in a situation like this," said Longwell, who's in his 14th NFL season.
"It's not a lot of fun to kind of wake up and see what the flavor of the day is, the story. But at the same time, I certainly wouldn't want to have to go through this with any other group, because this group has seen so much that it almost becomes kind of a rallying cry -- 'We've only got each other, so let's go do this.'"
"This" is redefining a season marked by Favre's indecision and alleged indiscretions, Randy Moss' arrival and departure, Percy Harvin's migraines, coach Brad Childress' tenuous status and five losses at its midway point.
"This" is reviving playoff hopes that were left for dead in the fourth quarter on Sunday against Arizona, before the Vikings improbably rallied from a 14-point deficit with less than 4 minutes to play.
"If we're sitting here and we're at 11-5 or 10-6 at the end of the season, we're not even talking about this," end Jared Allen said. "We're laughing and like, 'Hey, look at all the adversity we went through. Now let's move onto the playoffs.'"
But is this really possible? Can the Vikings shove all the madness aside long enough to accomplish more than they have so far -- recovering from early deficits to beat three grenades with a combined record of 6-18?
Good vibes from one miraculous recovery against the quarterback-less Cardinals only go so far entering division games against Chicago and Green Bay that may define the Vikings' season.
"That's big," tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said of that stretch, which begins Sunday at Soldier Field.
"But we're not going to lose those games, so don't worry about that."
Don't worry about the impact of another loss on the playoff picture and Childress' job security? Or don't worry about the unnamed sources inside the locker room who continue to impugn their embattled coach to reporters?
Several respected veterans -- including Allen, linebacker Chad Greenway and nose tackle Pat Williams -- took issue this week with the media for perpetuating the problem. The reality is both the leaks and the content of the gripes present one more unique and troubling issue for a team that needs to get its act together in a hurry.
"It's one of those things where ultimately, we're responsible for our own play and we're responsible to help the guy next to us," Longwell said. "Nothing that has come out or is coming out has changed the group of guys in the locker room, and nobody is looking over their shoulder at the guy next to him. We're still a tight group."
This is what the season will boil down to -- the most talented team in the division uniting from the locker room out, regardless of the anger, frustration and disrespect held by some within for the man running the show.
The same names come up over and over in an informal survey about locker-room leaders. Favre is a virtually unanimous pick. Allen and guard Steve Hutchinson appear on most ballots, too, and Adrian Peterson, Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, Longwell, E.J. Henderson, Ben Leber, Greenway and Heath Farwell all get votes.
"Obviously, this year, we've had a lot of stuff beyond the football," Longwell said. "It's guys like that that can rally out of a 2-5 hole and just focus on the game when everything else is going crazy."
All signs suggest Crazy is going to keep coming with this team. The entrance to the locker room probably should be renamed Door Number Three.
The Vikings' best chance to keep climbing out of their hole is for players to control what's on the inside of it.
