Sunday, October 25, 2009

Purple Pride Ponderings 10/26/2009

Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers 27
Vikings 17

It had to come to an end sometime. It's very difficult to string six wins in a row in the NFL and losing your first in the seventh game to the World Champions is nothing be overly depressed about. I think in the beginning if you told Vikings fans that Favre would lead this team to a 6-1 start, they would be more than satisfied and surprised if that actually happened. So let's shake this one off and break it down real quick for next week is the one we've been waiting for.

Costly Mistakes
So how do you hold the Steelers - in Pittsburgh, to only 13 points of offense and lose? Simple, turn the ball over, something the Vikings did twice and both were housed allowing the Steelers Defense to out score their own offense. The Vikings also killed themselves in the penalty department, an area they've been leading the league in a positive way. 11 penalties equated to 78 costly yards and made life more difficult in an already difficult venue to play in. The Vikings marched up and down the field at will in this game but the combination of turnovers that turned directly into scores and undisciplined penalties led to their first loss.

Calm Down Already
Cut Chester Taylor? Ban the Officiating crew from the NFL? Fire Childress? This is the kind of crap I heard spewed from callers on KFAN throughout the day today (Monday). It was a horrible time for Chester Taylor to mess up. He's a Pro and he should have made that catch (I don't want to hear about how Favre threw it too hard). But wanting his head is no way to pay back a player that's done what it takes to be a team player. He's still a pivotal player on key third downs and is a solid back when Peterson needs a breather. In regards to the officiating crew, get over it! Yeah they made some horrible calls, most notably the tripping call on Dugan that clearly was NOT tripping, but that's part of the game. We as couch-bound warriors do not see the action from the field at full speed. We see multiple angles at a slower, frame-by-frame rate. As a fan, I was upset, but that's not the reason why they lost in the end. Lastly, on firing Childress. No coach in the NFL is ever going to get fired while 6-1, period.

Put them together
It's time for this team to put a full game together on both sides of the ball. Last week the Vikings nearly lost due to a complete meltdown by the defense. This week they lost due to two costly turnovers by the offense. Get both sides of the ball to play a complete game and this is not just a good team, it's a scary good team. Going against the best passing team in the NFL, the Vikings defense only gave up 13 points to the Steelers and held them to under 260 yards of total offense. Other than the final drive in the first half, they contained the Steelers rather well. Offensively, Favre had his way with the Steelers defense as he shred them for over 300 yards. Unfortunately his costly fumble and interception (clearly on Taylor) were the difference in being 6-1 instead of 7-0.

Mercy Mercy Percy
Is Percy Harvin electrifying or what? What's even more impressive though is his toughness and willingness to get out there on the field. Another player that many teams passed on in the draft and the Vikings took a chance at - credit to Childress, he did his home work and got to know Harvin before the draft. He's not afraid to go across the middle and he's got a little bit of Adrian Peterson in him when it comes to finishing off a play.

A Star is Born
Sidney Rice was expected to be that tall, down the field option that this team was expecting big things from. In his first couple of years he had some health issues, but he also had another issue - incompetence at the QB position. Favre and his receivers did not have a training camp together to build the much needed chemistry, but less than half way into the season, it's clear that Rice is his go to guy. The catch he made on the sidelines told me a lot of what we can expect from him. It was a vintage Cris Carter reception and I swear after seeing it in slow motion, his feet actually moved backwards right at the last second. Great players make other players great, and right now, Favre is making Rice great and they should give fits to secondaries the rest of this season.

Goat and Stud of the Game
This is a new section I'm starting this week and plan on including it from here on out. As you will notice this week, it's not always a Viking, just observations from the game in its entirety.

Stud: Steelers Defense - How do you pick up an offense that's having issues getting into the end zone on your home turf? Take two timely turnovers to the end zone. Very impressive the way this defense is able to score.

Goat: Santonio Holmes - Holmes is a great player and I thoroughly enjoy his game, but his fascination with flexing his arm is asinine. I can understand if you blow someone up (ala Adrian Peterson late in the 4th quarter) or when scoring a touchdown, but this tool seems to do it after every reception.....you got a first down, we're happy for you!

What's on Tap
Packer Week with the Favre-in-Purple caveat, round two. I think there will be a ton of build up with Favre's return to Green Bay. Packer fans will be going through their usual love-hate routine while in the end stating: "We don't need ya" because Rodgers has proven he's a legit QB in this league. But bigger than Favre's return is this impact this game has on the Division. A loss finds the Vikings and Packers tied, a win gives the Vikings a nice two game cushion going into the bye and an impressive 7-1 record.


Until Next Sunday,
SKOL Vikings!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Purple Pride Ponderings 10/19/2009

Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings
Vikings 33
Ravens 31


Last week ESPN's Kevin Seifert wrote a rather interesting article comparing this year's Vikings to the 1998 team. Since we were only five games in at that time, obviously it was based on potential. After watching the game today, I think it's clear that Seifert was on to something. Starting the game on fire, looking un stoppable having a nice 14-0 lead, Childress and Bevel went all Dennis Green and Brian Billick on it. Favre was having his way, the play calling was brilliant, and all of a sudden it turned to a conservative style of play. Childress decided to take the kick-ass out of his own kick-ass offense. As for the Defense, the 4th quarter collapse was vintage '98 Vikings as well. If there's anything this team could learn from the '98 Vikings, it's that the Prevent defense is no way to finish off a team. The Vikings need to figure out how to put teams away in the 4th quarter if they are going to continue to have success this year.

Favre
This spot has been all about Brett Favre so far this season, and this week is no exception. Favre has been nothing short of sensational, and if it weren't for him, this team would be at best, 4-2. Favre had another solid outing going 21 for 29 for 278 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He's got 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions on the season so far and his arm looks as good as it did the year he won the Super Bowl. After losing the lead, the Vikings needed a leader to calm things down and march down the field for the go ahead score. Favre did just that, including a huge pass play to his favorite target, Sidney Rice (more on Rice later). His poise, experience, and professionalism is what gave the Vikings a chance to win a game they should have lost.

Double Rice, please
I'm a sucker for Hibachi grills. I'm sure most of you around the country are familiar with Benihana if you're not sure what kind of place I'm talking about. When I'm there, I love the fried rice and always ask for a double dose of it (and please don't forget to pour that lovely seafood sauce on top) and a double dose of Rice is what we got in this game. The Raven's rookie sensation Ray Rice had an exceptional game and was a catalyst for the monster 4th quarter the Ravens had. He finished the game with 77 yards rushing with two touchdowns and 10 receptions for 117 yards. The Vikings have a Rice of their own and he's become Brett Favre's go to guy. Sidney Rice had the best game of his short career catching six balls for 176 yards. He's finally 100% healthy and becoming the receiver the Vikings and fans hoped he would be.

Defensive Collapse
I had a serious case of deja vu watching this game. One of the things that hampered the Dennis Green era of Vikings football was poor defensive play to finish the big games. The Ravens scored 21 points in the 4th quarter......21! Joe Flacco tossed for almost 200 yards and Ray Rice busted off a couple of runs this defense normally never gives up. Most of it was attributed to poor tackling even in the passing defense as there were far too many yards after the catch. Does one man missing make that much of difference? Ask the Pittsburgh Steelers how much Troy Polamalu as missed. Antoine Windfield left the game in the second quarter (something CBS NEVER mentioned during the broadcast). Karl Paymah filled in and was exposed several times, including the touchdown pass to Mason in which Paymah's back was to the ball. That's still no excuse to give up the type of yardage and scores this defense allowed in one quarter, and certainly not at home. This is a team game and from what I saw, this was a defense that either ran out of gas, or failed to finish with any kind of killer instinct. This needs to be addressed now or the Vikings will surely be handed their first loss in Pittsburgh.

Learn from the Best
The best team in the NFC is without a doubt, the New Orleans Saints. Their shellacking of the New York football Giants yesterday put any doubters to rest. What the Vikings can learn from them is to put your foot down on your opponents throats. They do not get a lead and then play conservatively. The Vikings have the offensive fire power to do exactly what the Saints are doing, yet Childress seems to enjoy giving teams a chance to crawl back into games. Sure losing Winfield and Sapp didn't help, but the offense is good enough to continue putting up points and keep teams at bay.

What's on Tap
The Vikings find themselves limping into Pittsburgh next Sunday. Winfield may be out for several weeks, Sapp's status is unknown at this time, Peterson tweaked is ankle, and Harvin's shoulder is a concern. With that said, this team still has the depth and talent to win this game, but if the defense continues to allow the yardage they been allowing thus far, it's going to be a very long day for the Purple. They cannot not afford to play conservatively on the offensive side of the ball in this one either. The Steelers will not back down, especially at home so it's imperative that the Vikings play a solid game all around.

6-0 is nothing to complain about. You have to make plays at the right times to put yourself in position to win games and the Vikings have done that. The concern right now is a trend on both sides of the ball that needs to stop if they truly want to be there come next February. I said last week that they need to go 2-1 during this tough stretch to be considered a legit contender. While the Ravens did indeed lose the game for the Vikings, they are still 1-0 and need to pull off one more win before the bye to set themselves up nicely for second half playoff push.

Till Next Sunday,
SKOL Vikings!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Purple Pride Ponderings 10/12/2009

Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis Rams
Vikings 38
Rams 10

For years, Vikings fans have dealt with witnessing their favorite football squad play down to the level of competition. When the Vikings appear to have a solid team that can step it up and win big, emotional games (such as the Monday nighter against the Pack), they normally follow it up with a dud to a team that's not even in the same stratosphere. Thankfully, that trend appears to have stopped as the Vikings took control early in St. Louis going up 14-0 before the first half of the first quarter was even over. The Vikings won their 400th game as a franchise, have not given up a rushing TD this year or a 100 yard rusher in 28 straight games now.

Lordy Lordy, you sure he's 40?
Brett Favre is officially an old man as he celebrated his 40th birthday on Saturday. This is the first time in his illustrious career that he's been 5-0 and he claims that this is by far the best all around team he's played on. He's taking care of himself and appears to be 100% dedicated to ending his career like John Elway, riding off into the sunset. As long as the offensive line continues to protect him as they've done the last couple of games, he should get through this season just fine. It's always a good sign to see Tarvaris Jackson come in the 4th quarter and take care of the clean up time. After five games, Favre has a passer rating of 104.1, only behind the Manning brothers and Drew Brees - and is third in completion percentage (69.1).

Good win, still room for improvement
The Vikings are 5-0 and starting to reach near the top of most Power Rankings. 5-0 is great, but there's only been one truly decent team (Packers) and another questionable one (49ers) during this stretch. In the end, the Vikings put the hammer down and took care of bad teams (Brown, Lions, Rams) like they should, but even then we've seen far to many yards amassed on this defense. After seeing the Falcons dismantle the 49ers yesterday, one has to wonder about the Vikings secondary and how they allowed Shaun Hill to look like Steve Young. This is something that will either be exposed or shored up in the next three weeks, that's for sure. Thanks to fumbles at key times and an opportunistic defense, the Vikings were able to make this game appear as a no contest affair. Truth be told though, the Rams marched up and down the field several times.

Silence of the Rams
What in the world happened to this team? How did this team become so bad, so fast? It's got to be tough going out there each week, finding another way to stall a drive, cause a penalty, or be completely unprepared and un-matched. I feel for guys like Steve Jackson, it's one heck of a tough gig right now.

What's on Tap
Time to see what this team is really made of. The easy part of the schedule is over and the Vikings find themselves at 5-0, in control of the NFC North and a front-runner in the Conference. This three game stretch followed by the bye is what I've been waiting for. It starts with a pissed off Ravens team coming to the Dome - err sorry, Mall of America Field - and does not get any easier from there (at Pittsburgh, at Green Bay). Favre must get protection and the real Adrian Peterson (the one that went for 180 yards in Cleveland) needs to lace them up and bust out some big runs again. That should come in due time now that Favre has established himself on this team and proven that he can, and will beat you with his arm still. Vikings need to come out of this stretch going 2-1 at least, if they want to be viewed as a serious Super Bowl contender.


Till next Sunday,
SKOL Vikings!

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Purple Pride Ponderings 10/6/2009

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Vikings 30
Packers 23

The Twin Cities sports scene has been buzzing since Friday night. Thanks to the fall of the Detroit Tigers and the never-say-never Minnesota Twins, a final push for extended October baseball in the Metrodome is more than possible - it's here, in the form a 163rd game tonight. Toss in a border battle at the new TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday between the Gophers and Badgers for Paul Bunyan's Axe (which ended as a heart breaker for the Gophers) and the return of regular season Wild hockey and you've got a nice sports vibe going on here. Somewhere in between all that action though, was a little game on Monday Night Football - ok, so one billed as a game for the ages. As large a number as Brett Favre's age is about to hit this Saturday, this game lived up to its large billing.

Vintage Favre
On a night when the Packers did all they could to stop Adrian Peterson (and stop him they did), Brett Favre picked them apart for three touchdowns. Since his surgery, Favre says his arm feels great, and from what we saw last night, I don't think anyone can doubt that now. His passes had the same zip he's been known for during his MVP years and his accuracy was spot on. The touchdown pass his tossed to Berrian was classic, freezing Harris with the quick pump followed by a perfect arcing pass for the score. This may be Adrian's team, but defenses will be forced to pay attention to number 4 behind center and his bevy of play making receivers. Kudos to the Offensive Line, they protected Favre incredibly well as be basically went untouched in this game. If he continues to get protection like that, he could be poised for another MVP-like season, amazing for a 40 year-old.

About, Face!
Time to give credit where credit is due. Over the first few games, I've ripped Berrian, the pass protection, and the team in general for penalties. All three of these areas were damn near perfect in this game. Berrian stepped it up and made all the catches this time. He and Favre might finally be building some chemistry after a slow start due to Berrian's injury during training camp. Can't say enough about the pass protection. This was something that needed to change or there would be no way that Favre makes it through an entire season. The offensive line was amazing and gave Favre all the time in the world to survey the field and pick Packers D apart. On the penalty side of things, the team only had two for 10 yards, a huge improvement. Nice to see the discipline there and know that the coaching staff is taking the right steps to improve as the season moves on.

The Beast
What more can be said about Jarred Allen that hasn't been said already? The guy has an amazing motor from start to finish. Sure the Packers O-line is in complete disarray, but you still need the stamina and poise to make the endless plays that Allen did Monday Night. It's guys like him that rub off and inspire an entire team, reminds me of the way John Randle used to play. One of the best off season pickups for the Vikings, ever.

Jump Ball Expert
There just isn't enough game balls to go around in a game like this. While Sidney Rice did have a solid game as a receiver, it's the two plays during the on sides kicks that will go un-noticed in the stat sheets. Mason Crosby had two on sides kicks that were picture perfect (all kickers should learn from him), but Sidney Rice skied high and snatched the ball out of the air both times. If Kevin Garnett happened to be watching this game, I'm sure he'd be proud of the way Rice wanted the ball more than anyone on the field during those critical kicks.

Rodgers is the Real Deal
Much like I did for Favre when he was a Packer, I'm starting to respect Aaron Rodger's game. I honestly didn't think he would cut it or turn out to be as good as he appears to be right now. The game he had, the numbers he put up, with the second worst offensive line in the NFL (ahem, St. Louis - Allen is licking his chops already) - is nothing short of amazing. He's got a quick release and throws on the run with the best of the QB's in this league. The Green Bay Packers made the right decision to move on without Brett, but they are doing a poor job of protecting their new franchise quarterback. It would be scary to see what Rodgers could do with a good offensive line and solid running game, down right scary.

What's On Tap
I don't want to get into calling Sunday's game against the Rams in St. Louis a trap game because they are just plain bad. But, the Vikings need to stay focused and not over look this one. That's something that could easily happen when you take a look at the three games after this one - Ravens at home, Steelers in Pittsburgh, and Packers in Green Bay. That's a daunting stretch of games before the Bye and a stretch that will let us all know exactly where this team stands. So with those games just around the corner, it's important to first focus on the Rams, take care of business, and then prepare to protect our house against Ray Lewis and the Ravens.

Till Sunday,
SKOL VIKINGS!