The Vikings are happy that Antoine Winfield is in their defensive backfield. Winfield, an opportunistic Viking defense, and a trick play near the goal line are the main reasons Minnesota has a 20-10 lead over the New Orleans Saints at halftime.
After New Orleans went nearly uncontested into the endzone for a quick 7-0 lead on their first posession, Minnesota struggled on their opening posession, having to punt, and it looked like the Saints were gonna walk away from this thing in a hurry. The Saints marched down the field, but were finally slowed at the 26 and Martin Gramatica went out to add to the Saints lead. However, the Vikings got penetration and blocked the kick and Winfield took it 59 yards for the touchdown to make it 7-7. It was the first blocked kick return for a touchdown in Vikings' regular season history and just the second overall.
Both teams traded field goals and then Winfied came up with another big play. Saints' QB Drew Brees dropped back to pass on a 3rd-and-5 and was blindsided by a blitzing Winfield, who took the ball right out of Brees' hands and rolled his way forward for a few yards after the fumble recovery.
Minnesota couldn't get anything going running the football though inside the red zone, so they turned to trickery to take their first lead of the game. On a 3rd and goal from the 4, Chestor Taylor took the handoff from Gus Frerotte, probably surprising everybody in the stadium. More often than not in those situations, when Taylor is in and not Adrian Peterson it is going to be a pass. Therefore, when Taylor got the ball, the Saints defense, which had been snuffing out the run since the opening kick, got a little overzealous and started to fly at Taylor hoping to stuff him behind the line. Taylor, however, reared back his arm and, to further surprise everybody and their mother, lofted a touchdown pass to Visanthe Shiancoe. Vikings lead 17-10.
Another Ryan Longwell field goal made it 20-10 at half.
The other theme of the half has been the penalties. The first was when Saints' RB Reggie Bush took a hand off around the right side, Vikings LB Chad Greenway reached out and forced a fumble that was recovered by Minnesota and then illegally advanced by one of the linemen, though it was still Minnesota's ball. The thing was that it was clearly visible on the replay that Greenway had ahold of Bush's facemask and used it to help him get ahold of Bush in order to force the fumble. Had the penalty been called it would've been Saints ball still. But the call was missed and Minnesota got the ball. And of course they could not capitalize, having to punt shortly afterward.
The other was when Adrian Peterson got one of his longest runs of the half, his helmet strap was pulled off and then he took a shot to his helmet, which was partially off his head at the time, causing him to lose the ball and the Saints recovered. The play was reviewed, however, and the ruling was that the ball was still secured in Peterson's hand when his knee touched the ground, even though it was moving, therefore it was still Minnesota's ball. The Vikings had to settle for a field goal though.
Thus far the story has been that the Vikings are capitalizing on New Orleans' mistakes. New Orleans is dominating the offensive statistics and Minnesota cannot run the ball at all, but the Vikings still lead 20-10 thanks to the efforts of their defense.
Minnesota must get the run going in th second half and they need to be better on special teams especially against the return. The Saints have been getting great starting position off of returns. If the defense can keep making plays and Minnesota can put a few more points on the board, the Vikings could be on their way to a 2-3 record.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Monday Night Primetime
The Vikings are back in action on Monday Nigh Football facing the surging New Orleans Saints in a game that is almost a must-win scenario for Minnesota. The SuperDome will play host to this primetime game on ESPN and will feature two of the league's most dynamic running backs in Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson.
The Vikings are coming off a tough 30-17 loss at the hands of a surprisingly good Tennessee Titans squad and need to get a win tonight in order to keep up with their NFC North rivals. If things keep going like they are now, chances are the only team going to the playoffs from the North will be the division champion. Green Bay lost and Chicago moved ahead of the Packers with a win, so it's imperative that the Vikings try and keep pace. However, it's not going to be easy going on the road against the Saints.
New Orleans features a revamped offense that struggled at times last year. Drew Brees is back to form and one could say that he looks like the best quarterback in the NFL right now. Brees has 1343 passing yards and eight touchdowns in this young 2008 season and a passer rating of 106.9, which is second only to Brett Favre. Minnesota's pass defense is going to have to be up to the challenge if they want to keep this game close.
The difficulty will be if Minnesota cannot stop the pass it will open things up for the Saints duo at RB in Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush. If those two can eat up yardage then it's going to be a long night for Minnesota.
The key for Minnesota's offense will be to capitalize on opportunities and not hurt themselves with penalties. Many times in the last few weeks the Vikings hurt themselves with drive-killing penalties and in close games every point matters. A penalty can be the difference between six and three or even no points on the board, and right now Minnesota needs to start putting more points on the board if they want to even get back to where they were in the middle of last season- when they won 5 in a row and looked poised for a playoff run only to fall short. The Vikings need to execute more efficiently tonight on the line. Giving Peterson more room to run and Frerotte more time to pass will go a long ways to getting this team back on track.
I'll be back with updates at the half. Right now it's game time.
The Vikings are coming off a tough 30-17 loss at the hands of a surprisingly good Tennessee Titans squad and need to get a win tonight in order to keep up with their NFC North rivals. If things keep going like they are now, chances are the only team going to the playoffs from the North will be the division champion. Green Bay lost and Chicago moved ahead of the Packers with a win, so it's imperative that the Vikings try and keep pace. However, it's not going to be easy going on the road against the Saints.
New Orleans features a revamped offense that struggled at times last year. Drew Brees is back to form and one could say that he looks like the best quarterback in the NFL right now. Brees has 1343 passing yards and eight touchdowns in this young 2008 season and a passer rating of 106.9, which is second only to Brett Favre. Minnesota's pass defense is going to have to be up to the challenge if they want to keep this game close.
The difficulty will be if Minnesota cannot stop the pass it will open things up for the Saints duo at RB in Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush. If those two can eat up yardage then it's going to be a long night for Minnesota.
The key for Minnesota's offense will be to capitalize on opportunities and not hurt themselves with penalties. Many times in the last few weeks the Vikings hurt themselves with drive-killing penalties and in close games every point matters. A penalty can be the difference between six and three or even no points on the board, and right now Minnesota needs to start putting more points on the board if they want to even get back to where they were in the middle of last season- when they won 5 in a row and looked poised for a playoff run only to fall short. The Vikings need to execute more efficiently tonight on the line. Giving Peterson more room to run and Frerotte more time to pass will go a long ways to getting this team back on track.
I'll be back with updates at the half. Right now it's game time.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
NFC North Recap- Week 4
Tampa Bay 30, Green Bay 21- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers knock off their second cosecutive NFC North opponent in the Packers. The Bucs were formerly in the same division with the Packers as part of the Central division before the divisional realignment. The Buccaneers built a 20-7 lead only to watch Green Bay comeback and take a 21-20 lead early in the 4th. However, turnovers and a stingy Buccaneer defense allowed them to make a comeback of their own as Matt Bryant's 24-yard field goal with 2:26 remaining gave the Bucs the lead again, and then Earnest Graham's 1-yard score 30 seconds later put the Bucs on top 30-21. Graham finished with 111 yards rushing on 20 carries and the TD. Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers struggled at times despite throwing two touchdowns in 14-of-27 passes for 165 yards . Rodgers also threw three critical interceptions, including one right after Tampa Bay had retaken the lead in the 4th. Green Bay was held to just 28 total yards rushing.
Next game: Atlanta (2-2) at Green Bay (2-2)
Next game: Atlanta (2-2) at Green Bay (2-2)
Chicago 24, Philadelphia 20- The Chicago Bears used a terrific goal line stand to stop the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football and be the only team in the NFC North to come out a winner in week 4. The Bears are now in a tie with Green Bay atop the division standings and will face their first divisional opponent next week in Detroit. The Bears were outgained in total offense (340-256), but were able to put points on the board and the defense was able to come through when needed. Kyle Orton went 18-of-34 passing for 199 yards 3 TDs and 2 interceptions. One of those TD passes was to Devin Hester in the 2nd quarter to give Chicago a lead they would not relinquish. After Robbie Gould's 41-yard field goal gave the Bears a 24-20 lead in the 4th, Philadelphia marched down the field from their own 24 yard-line and had 1st and goal from the 4 with 5:40 to play. The Eagles' first run gained 3 yards but, with just a yard to gain, the Bears tightened up and stuffed the Eagles' next three running plays to keep Philadelphia off the scoreboard. The Bears would eventually have to punt the ball away giving Eagles' QB Donovan McNabb one last shot at the endzone, but the pass play was snuffed out by Nathan Vasher and the Bears sealed the victory.
Next game: Chicago (2-2) at Detroit (0-3)
Detroit- Bye week. Next game vs. Chicago. The good news for Lions fans is that Detroit didn't lose this week.
What does it mean for Minnesota?- It means that Minnesota is right back where they were last year and in probably worse shape on both sides of the ball. Teams are figuring out how to stop Minnesota's ground game, and since the Vikings don't have a passing game that scares anybody folks up north are getting a little nervous about whether or not the Vikings will even make the playoffs this year. Minnesota's 30-17 loss at Tennessee drops them to 1-3 on the year. Next week they play at the New Orleans Saints (2-2), who took care of San Francisco last week. If the Vikings fall to 1-4 you can pretty much assume the Vikings will be done. Both Green Bay and Chicago have very winnable games next week and Minnesota is gonna need to start winning some games if they want to keep pace. Gus Frerotte will still be the starter at QB despite cutting his hand at the end of Sunday's loss. The defense will be in for a stern test against one of the more high-powered offenses in the NFC and if the Vikings' offense can't find ways to score more than 20 points in a game then 1-4 is looking like a very good possibility. Despite the fact that the odds are not in their favor, Sunday's game is a must win.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
QB Controversy
Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress made a drastic change in his starting line-up last Sunday when he announced that 37-year old Gus Frerotte would start over a struggling Tarvaris Jackson. Minnesota would go on to defeat Carolina 20-10 to win their first game of the season. Frerotte put up good-enough numbers for the game (16-28, 204 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT) to help a once immobile Viking offense.
Frerotte improved his numbers a little in Sunday's 30-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans (25-43, 266 yds, 1 INT), and while Minnesota outgained Tennessee in total yards offensively, it was the lack of points put up on the board and the lack of execution at crucial points in the game that ultimately cost Minnesota.
As for Frerotte, who threw a critical interception inside the Minnesota 20 in the 4th quarter and got his hand cut in the process, the question must be raised: how long is Frerotte going to stay the starter?
According to Childress, Frerotte is expected to be the starter for the remainder of the season. So what does that mean really? Is Tarvaris Jackson done? Is there no one else out there for the Vikings to turn to that could possibly aid them if Frerotte struggles to get the Vikings into the endzone like Jackson did?
First off, I'll start by saying that the option for Minnesota to go shopping in the free agent market is probably one the Vikings will save for a very rainy day. Minnesota would have to suffer numerous injuries at the QB position before this staff would consider acquiring another QB. Dante Culpepper is available after having retired before the season started, and while that may seem like a popular choice, chances are the Vikings won't be asking the former Pro Bowl quarterback to return to Minneapolis. Culpepper also is a shadow of what he used to be and Minnesota probably wouldn't want to risk seeing if he could shake off the rust and make plays for the Vikings or if he will continue to look hobbled from wear and tear through the years.
The other thing is, Tarvaris Jackson by no means has been thrown under the bus. I did get the sense that the Vikings organization may have lost some faith in the kid, but in all likelihood, if Frerotte cannot go for one reason or another, Jackson would most likely take his place. He is the most experienced backup Minnesota has. It will be interesting, though to see where the Vikings will go in the offseason next year. Will they look to draft another quarterback perhaps early on in the draft? It will all depend on just how much faith Minnesota has really lost in Jackson being the starter agian. Frerotte is a temporary solution. He will not continue to be the Vikings starter for the next couple of years. This is why it is becoming urgent that Minnesota starts looking at their options if Jackson isn't the guy they want.
The Vikings did draft John David Booty in the 5th round of this year's draft, but early indications have JDB holding a clipboard for the remainder of the year and possibly into next season as well while he grows into his role. He could be the quarterback of the future for Minnesota, but it's gonna take much longer than the Vikings are willing to wait for.
For now it looks like Frerotte is the guy for Minnesota for better or worse. It's not like Minnesota lacks guys who can make plays. It's that there seems to be chemistry issues on offense. Minnesota lacks a cohesiveness on offense and that is affecting their execution. When you can't convert at critical points, especially on third downs, and you turn the ball over at crucial moments it hinders the development of any offense.
But the season is still young and there is plenty of time left for the Vikings to make improvements, so it's still a little too early to hit the panic button just yet.
Frerotte improved his numbers a little in Sunday's 30-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans (25-43, 266 yds, 1 INT), and while Minnesota outgained Tennessee in total yards offensively, it was the lack of points put up on the board and the lack of execution at crucial points in the game that ultimately cost Minnesota.
As for Frerotte, who threw a critical interception inside the Minnesota 20 in the 4th quarter and got his hand cut in the process, the question must be raised: how long is Frerotte going to stay the starter?
According to Childress, Frerotte is expected to be the starter for the remainder of the season. So what does that mean really? Is Tarvaris Jackson done? Is there no one else out there for the Vikings to turn to that could possibly aid them if Frerotte struggles to get the Vikings into the endzone like Jackson did?
First off, I'll start by saying that the option for Minnesota to go shopping in the free agent market is probably one the Vikings will save for a very rainy day. Minnesota would have to suffer numerous injuries at the QB position before this staff would consider acquiring another QB. Dante Culpepper is available after having retired before the season started, and while that may seem like a popular choice, chances are the Vikings won't be asking the former Pro Bowl quarterback to return to Minneapolis. Culpepper also is a shadow of what he used to be and Minnesota probably wouldn't want to risk seeing if he could shake off the rust and make plays for the Vikings or if he will continue to look hobbled from wear and tear through the years.
The other thing is, Tarvaris Jackson by no means has been thrown under the bus. I did get the sense that the Vikings organization may have lost some faith in the kid, but in all likelihood, if Frerotte cannot go for one reason or another, Jackson would most likely take his place. He is the most experienced backup Minnesota has. It will be interesting, though to see where the Vikings will go in the offseason next year. Will they look to draft another quarterback perhaps early on in the draft? It will all depend on just how much faith Minnesota has really lost in Jackson being the starter agian. Frerotte is a temporary solution. He will not continue to be the Vikings starter for the next couple of years. This is why it is becoming urgent that Minnesota starts looking at their options if Jackson isn't the guy they want.
The Vikings did draft John David Booty in the 5th round of this year's draft, but early indications have JDB holding a clipboard for the remainder of the year and possibly into next season as well while he grows into his role. He could be the quarterback of the future for Minnesota, but it's gonna take much longer than the Vikings are willing to wait for.
For now it looks like Frerotte is the guy for Minnesota for better or worse. It's not like Minnesota lacks guys who can make plays. It's that there seems to be chemistry issues on offense. Minnesota lacks a cohesiveness on offense and that is affecting their execution. When you can't convert at critical points, especially on third downs, and you turn the ball over at crucial moments it hinders the development of any offense.
But the season is still young and there is plenty of time left for the Vikings to make improvements, so it's still a little too early to hit the panic button just yet.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
NFC North Recap
Tampa Bay 27, Chicago 24 OT- One word comes to mind when you see the highlights of the Buccaneers' overtime win at Soldier Field...Irony. Brain Griese is just a year removed from standing on the opposite side of the field donning the purple and orange as one of the infamous quarterbacks of the Chicago Bears. But Griese left after 2007 leaving just Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman to share the limelight and catch all the flack for the Bears' struggles. Bears quarterbacks have never been known to light it up on the scoreboard or stat sheet, so that's what makes Sunday's score ironic. It is ironic in the sense that Brian Griese, who has also made trips to Denver and Miami along with his stops in Chicago and Tampa Bay, torched the Bears' secondary for 407 yards passing and two touchdowns on 38-for a franchise record setting-67, just three attempts shy of the all-time NFL mark. Griese also threw three picks, but the fact that he orchestrated a late 4th quarter comeback and led his team to a road victory over his former team certainly makes up for it. Tampa Bay is now 2-1 on the year.
Next Game: Philadelphia (2-1) at Chicago (1-2)
San Francisco 31, Detroit 13- The San Francisco 49ers offense proved to be too much for the Lions' defense in what has become a recurring theme over the past several years. Basically insert almost any team where the "San Francisco 49ers" were and you've got your headline. Detroit's defense has not improved at all from last year and their offense is much worse than last year at this time when they were 6-2 after week 9 and talking playoffs. They resemble more of the second-half-of-the-season Lions that went 1-7.
Frank Gore rushed for 130 yards and a score and J.T. O'Sullivan threw for 189 yards and a touchdown to pace the 49ers who improve to 2-1.
Next Game: BYE, Week 5 vs. Chicago
Dallas 27, Green Bay 16- The rivalry renewed. This used to be one of the marquee match-ups in the '90s when Green Bay and Dallas were powerhouses in the NFC. This was back when Favre and Aikman were at their finest. This time around it was Romo versus Rodgers, and Romo won. Marion Barber rushed for a career-high 142 yards and a touchdown and Tony Romo passed for 260 yards with a touchdown and an interception to pace the Cowboys, who put up 453 yards of offense on Green Bay in Lambeau Field. Aaron Rodgers suffered his first defeat as the starter for the Packers going 22-of-39 for 290 yards and a rushing touchdown (the only TD for the Packers). Dallas moves to 3-0 now and looks to be the team to beat in the NFL afer week three.
Next Game: Green Bay (2-1) at Tampa Bay (2-1)
What does it mean for the Vikings?- Minnesota's 20-10 win over Carolina should give new life to this team. Couple that with the fact that every other NFC North team lost and the Vikings aren't in as bad a shape as people once thought. Granted it's still early in the season, but Minnesota can still keep pace with Green Bay as they're only a game back. Right now Minnesota is tied with Chicago in the division and can move into a tie for first with a loss by the Bears and Packers this week (Detroit is off). Neither team has a gimme. Of course nor do the Vikings, who travel to face the Tennessee Titans, but the opportunity is there and Minnesota must seize these kinds of opportunities early if they want to get back to the playoffs.
Next Game: Philadelphia (2-1) at Chicago (1-2)
San Francisco 31, Detroit 13- The San Francisco 49ers offense proved to be too much for the Lions' defense in what has become a recurring theme over the past several years. Basically insert almost any team where the "San Francisco 49ers" were and you've got your headline. Detroit's defense has not improved at all from last year and their offense is much worse than last year at this time when they were 6-2 after week 9 and talking playoffs. They resemble more of the second-half-of-the-season Lions that went 1-7.
Frank Gore rushed for 130 yards and a score and J.T. O'Sullivan threw for 189 yards and a touchdown to pace the 49ers who improve to 2-1.
Next Game: BYE, Week 5 vs. Chicago
Dallas 27, Green Bay 16- The rivalry renewed. This used to be one of the marquee match-ups in the '90s when Green Bay and Dallas were powerhouses in the NFC. This was back when Favre and Aikman were at their finest. This time around it was Romo versus Rodgers, and Romo won. Marion Barber rushed for a career-high 142 yards and a touchdown and Tony Romo passed for 260 yards with a touchdown and an interception to pace the Cowboys, who put up 453 yards of offense on Green Bay in Lambeau Field. Aaron Rodgers suffered his first defeat as the starter for the Packers going 22-of-39 for 290 yards and a rushing touchdown (the only TD for the Packers). Dallas moves to 3-0 now and looks to be the team to beat in the NFL afer week three.
Next Game: Green Bay (2-1) at Tampa Bay (2-1)
What does it mean for the Vikings?- Minnesota's 20-10 win over Carolina should give new life to this team. Couple that with the fact that every other NFC North team lost and the Vikings aren't in as bad a shape as people once thought. Granted it's still early in the season, but Minnesota can still keep pace with Green Bay as they're only a game back. Right now Minnesota is tied with Chicago in the division and can move into a tie for first with a loss by the Bears and Packers this week (Detroit is off). Neither team has a gimme. Of course nor do the Vikings, who travel to face the Tennessee Titans, but the opportunity is there and Minnesota must seize these kinds of opportunities early if they want to get back to the playoffs.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Vikings Pitch Shut Out in 2nd Half, Win 20-10
It was obvious the Minnesota Vikings took the momentum into halftime. Antoine Winfield 
had just scored a touchdown off of a sack on Jake Delhomme in which he forced the fumble and then recovered it and danced into the endzone all in one play to tie the ball game at 10-10. It was the 14th touchdown by the opportunistic Minnesota defense since 2006 (most in the NFL in that time span).
The second half belonged to the Vikings. When I left I said Minnesota was going to get the ball. I said they needed to start getting Peterson more involved. And I talked about how they needed to get the ball into the endzone on the offensive side.
Well that's exactly what they did on their opening possession. They marched 80 yards in 5 plays on a drive that was jump-started by a Gus Frerotte deep ball to Bernard Berrian (a former Chicago Bear- more on them later) for a gain of 48 yards on 3rd and 7. 2 plays later Frerotte hit the much-maligned tight end Visanthe Shiancoe on a crossing route and he walked into the endzone from 34 yards out for Minnesota's first offensive touchdown since midway through the fourth quarter of the Green Bay game.
A Ryan Longwell field goal in the fourth quarter added insurance to the lead to give the Vikings a 20-10 cushion which would hold to be the final. However, what was troubling about that drive is that Minnesota had the ball inside the 10 knocking on the door for another TD when back-to-back penalities crushed the drive. Chestor Taylor caught a touchdown pass from 13 yards out, but that was nullified. Carolina even helped out by getting an illegal contact penalty which gave Minnesota a first down, but the Vikes couldn't muster anything and settled for the trusty right leg of Longwell.
What was good about that drive is the amount of clock the Vikings chewed up. A drive that started at the 5:41 mark in the third culminated in a 19-play, 75-yard drive that ended with 9:11 to go in the fourth quarter. Minnesota had taken all the wind out of the Panthers' sails with that drive.
Once the Vikings had the lead the coaches turned the defense loose. It was refreshing to finally see Minnesota's defense be able to pin their ears back for a change, whereas I've been accustomed to opposing teams doing that to Minnesota and making our line and QBs look silly trying to frantically stop or avoid the pass rush.
Delhomme was sacked three times in the 2nd half ( five total) and twice in the 4th quarter. He also lost 2 fumbles on the game one being the critical forced fumble by Winfield that was returned for the game-tying score.
The Vikings had knocked off the previously unbeaten Panthers (2-1) to get their first win of the season (1-2).
Gus Frerotte went 16-of-28 for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first start of the season. Adrian Peterson looked a little banged up at times and you could tell there might hae been some hesitance due to the hamstring injury he was nursing earlier in the week, but he finished with 17 carries for 77 yards. Chestor Taylor added 44 yards in relief. Bernard Berrian led the Vikings in receiving with 3 catches for 79 yards and E.J. Henderson recorded 12 tackles to lead all defenders.
A few notes from the game:
- The Vikings may have surprised even Carolina by coming out aggressive and pass-happy to start the game. They used the pass to set up the run and it started to work in the second half. Minnesota showed that it wasn't afraid to go down field and by actually completing some of those Carolina had to show some respect. I doubt it will be a continuing trend as Minnesota will always be a run-oriented team, but it sure was a nice change of pace once I saw the way things came together for the offense.
- Frerotte had a solid outing. I was actually kind of impressed by his performance. I expected him to do just enough and let Adrian Peterson lead the team to victory, but it was Frerotte's accuracy and reading ability that was key for Minnesota on Sunday that was the main part of Minnesota's offensive success.
Frerotte is not the quarterback of the future by any means, but the Vikings want to win now and if Head Coach Brad Childress sees that the 37-year old Frerotte gives this team the best chance to win then I'll go with that. What is it with ageless quarterbacks nowadays?
- The defense is coming around. Finally a complete game by the defense. This is what you're gonna get when you have an offense that doesn't sputter and leave the defense out to dry when they take the field again, or in some cases seem like they never left. Minnesota held Carolina to just 204 yards of total offense and just 47 yards rushing. It was the second game the Vikings haven't allowed an opponent to rush for more than 50 yards- they held Indianapolis to just 25.
Green Bay as a team rushed for 139, but the Vikings have not allowed an individual 100-yard rusher yet this season. The prolific Carolina combo of DeAngelo Williams and rookie sensation Jonathon Stewart were held in check rushing for 27 and 15 yards respectively on Sunday.
- The offense needs to stop shooting themselves in the foot. Dear lord this game wouldn't have been as close as it was if Minnesota would've limited the uncharacteristic penalties on the line. Too many drives were killed because of them including the last scoring drive that resulted in a field goal, but should've been a touchdown. The play calling was better this week, so I'll lay off them for now, but hopefully we'll see more of what we got this week against Carolina in the weeks to come. Maybe not so much the pass, but just more creativity and variety instead of run three times and punt or pass three times and punt. But back to what I said earlier, they need to get those penalties out of their system now so it doesn't end up continuously costing them down the road.
The other thing is: Find a way to involve Chestor Taylor. This has become a common topic among sports fans interested in the Vikings. Peterson is the stronger of the two, but Taylor has an elusiveness about him that forces defenses to think differently when he's in there. He can also catch well out of the backfield and make defenders miss, and it's definitely not like he lacks game-breaking speed. After all he holds the franchise record for longest run from scrimmage at 95 yards. The Vikings use him on special teams, but if they can find a way to utilize him more on offense it might be even more benificial to them and could give them one more weapon defenses must worry about. It might also take some pressure off of Peterson to perform every single play.
The Vikings head to Nashville next Sunday to take on the Tennessee Titans, who could again be without Vince Young at quarterback. A win on the road would move Minnesota back to .500 early in the 2008 season. The Vikings can do it. They just need to keep executing like they did on Sunday against the Panthers.
Hawkeyes at the Metrodome- Chad Greenway had another solid performance with nine tackles and a sack against Carolina. Greenway now has 23 tackles on the year (tied for 21st best in the NFL). The former Hawk who surprised me, though, was rookie Charles Godfrey. Godfrey has worked his way up through the ranks after signing on as an undrafted rookie and has earned himself a starting position for the Panthers at cornerback. Godfrey had six tackles and a sack and was all over the place yesterday. It looks like another Hawkeye has a solid career ahead of him in the NFL.
had just scored a touchdown off of a sack on Jake Delhomme in which he forced the fumble and then recovered it and danced into the endzone all in one play to tie the ball game at 10-10. It was the 14th touchdown by the opportunistic Minnesota defense since 2006 (most in the NFL in that time span).The second half belonged to the Vikings. When I left I said Minnesota was going to get the ball. I said they needed to start getting Peterson more involved. And I talked about how they needed to get the ball into the endzone on the offensive side.
Well that's exactly what they did on their opening possession. They marched 80 yards in 5 plays on a drive that was jump-started by a Gus Frerotte deep ball to Bernard Berrian (a former Chicago Bear- more on them later) for a gain of 48 yards on 3rd and 7. 2 plays later Frerotte hit the much-maligned tight end Visanthe Shiancoe on a crossing route and he walked into the endzone from 34 yards out for Minnesota's first offensive touchdown since midway through the fourth quarter of the Green Bay game.
A Ryan Longwell field goal in the fourth quarter added insurance to the lead to give the Vikings a 20-10 cushion which would hold to be the final. However, what was troubling about that drive is that Minnesota had the ball inside the 10 knocking on the door for another TD when back-to-back penalities crushed the drive. Chestor Taylor caught a touchdown pass from 13 yards out, but that was nullified. Carolina even helped out by getting an illegal contact penalty which gave Minnesota a first down, but the Vikes couldn't muster anything and settled for the trusty right leg of Longwell.
What was good about that drive is the amount of clock the Vikings chewed up. A drive that started at the 5:41 mark in the third culminated in a 19-play, 75-yard drive that ended with 9:11 to go in the fourth quarter. Minnesota had taken all the wind out of the Panthers' sails with that drive.
Once the Vikings had the lead the coaches turned the defense loose. It was refreshing to finally see Minnesota's defense be able to pin their ears back for a change, whereas I've been accustomed to opposing teams doing that to Minnesota and making our line and QBs look silly trying to frantically stop or avoid the pass rush.
Delhomme was sacked three times in the 2nd half ( five total) and twice in the 4th quarter. He also lost 2 fumbles on the game one being the critical forced fumble by Winfield that was returned for the game-tying score.
The Vikings had knocked off the previously unbeaten Panthers (2-1) to get their first win of the season (1-2).
Gus Frerotte went 16-of-28 for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first start of the season. Adrian Peterson looked a little banged up at times and you could tell there might hae been some hesitance due to the hamstring injury he was nursing earlier in the week, but he finished with 17 carries for 77 yards. Chestor Taylor added 44 yards in relief. Bernard Berrian led the Vikings in receiving with 3 catches for 79 yards and E.J. Henderson recorded 12 tackles to lead all defenders.
A few notes from the game:
- The Vikings may have surprised even Carolina by coming out aggressive and pass-happy to start the game. They used the pass to set up the run and it started to work in the second half. Minnesota showed that it wasn't afraid to go down field and by actually completing some of those Carolina had to show some respect. I doubt it will be a continuing trend as Minnesota will always be a run-oriented team, but it sure was a nice change of pace once I saw the way things came together for the offense.
- Frerotte had a solid outing. I was actually kind of impressed by his performance. I expected him to do just enough and let Adrian Peterson lead the team to victory, but it was Frerotte's accuracy and reading ability that was key for Minnesota on Sunday that was the main part of Minnesota's offensive success.
Frerotte is not the quarterback of the future by any means, but the Vikings want to win now and if Head Coach Brad Childress sees that the 37-year old Frerotte gives this team the best chance to win then I'll go with that. What is it with ageless quarterbacks nowadays?
- The defense is coming around. Finally a complete game by the defense. This is what you're gonna get when you have an offense that doesn't sputter and leave the defense out to dry when they take the field again, or in some cases seem like they never left. Minnesota held Carolina to just 204 yards of total offense and just 47 yards rushing. It was the second game the Vikings haven't allowed an opponent to rush for more than 50 yards- they held Indianapolis to just 25.
Green Bay as a team rushed for 139, but the Vikings have not allowed an individual 100-yard rusher yet this season. The prolific Carolina combo of DeAngelo Williams and rookie sensation Jonathon Stewart were held in check rushing for 27 and 15 yards respectively on Sunday.
- The offense needs to stop shooting themselves in the foot. Dear lord this game wouldn't have been as close as it was if Minnesota would've limited the uncharacteristic penalties on the line. Too many drives were killed because of them including the last scoring drive that resulted in a field goal, but should've been a touchdown. The play calling was better this week, so I'll lay off them for now, but hopefully we'll see more of what we got this week against Carolina in the weeks to come. Maybe not so much the pass, but just more creativity and variety instead of run three times and punt or pass three times and punt. But back to what I said earlier, they need to get those penalties out of their system now so it doesn't end up continuously costing them down the road.
The other thing is: Find a way to involve Chestor Taylor. This has become a common topic among sports fans interested in the Vikings. Peterson is the stronger of the two, but Taylor has an elusiveness about him that forces defenses to think differently when he's in there. He can also catch well out of the backfield and make defenders miss, and it's definitely not like he lacks game-breaking speed. After all he holds the franchise record for longest run from scrimmage at 95 yards. The Vikings use him on special teams, but if they can find a way to utilize him more on offense it might be even more benificial to them and could give them one more weapon defenses must worry about. It might also take some pressure off of Peterson to perform every single play.
The Vikings head to Nashville next Sunday to take on the Tennessee Titans, who could again be without Vince Young at quarterback. A win on the road would move Minnesota back to .500 early in the 2008 season. The Vikings can do it. They just need to keep executing like they did on Sunday against the Panthers.
Hawkeyes at the Metrodome- Chad Greenway had another solid performance with nine tackles and a sack against Carolina. Greenway now has 23 tackles on the year (tied for 21st best in the NFL). The former Hawk who surprised me, though, was rookie Charles Godfrey. Godfrey has worked his way up through the ranks after signing on as an undrafted rookie and has earned himself a starting position for the Panthers at cornerback. Godfrey had six tackles and a sack and was all over the place yesterday. It looks like another Hawkeye has a solid career ahead of him in the NFL.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Halftime: Vikings D Ties the Game
When I left you, Minnesota had just gotten the ball. They hadn't done anything on offense prior to my post and had several costly penalties kill a couple of drives as well. But that all changed when they decided to...give Adrian Peterson the ball.
Having only 3 carries prior to their last posession of the half, the Vikings decided to give their playmaker the ball and he got chunks of yardage that finally got their offense inside the Carolina 30. Mix in a few completed passes and the Vikings were knocking on the door. However once again Minnesota was held out of the endzone and they had to settle for a field goal. 10-3 Carolina.
But then the defense finally made a big play of their own. Antoine Winfield came in on a corner blitz on the Panthers' ensuing possession and, all in one play, got a QB sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a defensive touchdown. Not bad. 10-10 tie ball game at half.
Now all we need from the Vikings is to find the endzone on offense. I will be worried, whether they win the game or not, if they are held out of the endzone on offense through 8 quarters of play. Right now that streak is at 6. If the offense can start opening some holes for Peterson and Taylor that streak should end. If they can continue to keep the Panther D guessing after their most recent offensive drive by mixing up the plays with a few completed passes that will also aid in ending the endzone drought. I, for one, am tired of settling for field goals.
Halftime stats:
Minn:
Pass- Frerotte 9/17 87 yds
Rush- Peterson 9 car. 36 yds
Rec- Wade 2 rec. 28 yds
Car:
Pass- Delhomme 9/15 115 yds
Rush- Stewart 6 car. 14 yds TD
Rec- Smith 3 rec. 60 yds
Well second half is about to start so back to the game. Vikings will get the ball to start.
Having only 3 carries prior to their last posession of the half, the Vikings decided to give their playmaker the ball and he got chunks of yardage that finally got their offense inside the Carolina 30. Mix in a few completed passes and the Vikings were knocking on the door. However once again Minnesota was held out of the endzone and they had to settle for a field goal. 10-3 Carolina.
But then the defense finally made a big play of their own. Antoine Winfield came in on a corner blitz on the Panthers' ensuing possession and, all in one play, got a QB sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a defensive touchdown. Not bad. 10-10 tie ball game at half.
Now all we need from the Vikings is to find the endzone on offense. I will be worried, whether they win the game or not, if they are held out of the endzone on offense through 8 quarters of play. Right now that streak is at 6. If the offense can start opening some holes for Peterson and Taylor that streak should end. If they can continue to keep the Panther D guessing after their most recent offensive drive by mixing up the plays with a few completed passes that will also aid in ending the endzone drought. I, for one, am tired of settling for field goals.
Halftime stats:
Minn:
Pass- Frerotte 9/17 87 yds
Rush- Peterson 9 car. 36 yds
Rec- Wade 2 rec. 28 yds
Car:
Pass- Delhomme 9/15 115 yds
Rush- Stewart 6 car. 14 yds TD
Rec- Smith 3 rec. 60 yds
Well second half is about to start so back to the game. Vikings will get the ball to start.
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