Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings
Vikings 35
Seahawks 9
There's just something about being at the game that makes a magical season seem more magical. Normally when the 4th quarter hits and the home team is up by as much as the Vikings were, a stadium clears out. That was not the case this past Sunday. Sure a couple thousand made a run for the gates to avoid the traffic, but most of us stayed till the end, savoring another victory for a Purple team that's looking for its first trip back to the Super Bowl since the 1976 season. Just in case this season turns into one out of a Disney Fairy Tale, I'll be holding on to the ticket and program from the only game I've had a chance to attend. Speaking of seats, a special thanks to Mike Sandahl for taking me this week. Those family season tickets are fantastic (Section 108, row 22 on the 35 yard-line)!
Almost Perfect
Brett Favre continues to amaze everyone with his level of play at the age of 40. He's one of the leading candidates for League MVP and rightfully so. Sunday against the Seahawks Favre went 22 of 25 with four touchdowns, and once again, no picks. He also broke yet another NFL record, passing Dan Marino for most games with four or more touchdowns. He shared the wealth hitting four different receivers on all of his touchdown strikes. Like the Dome crowd did for Joe Mauer, the deafening chants of M-V-P have already started and Favre could become the 1st 40+ year old player to achieve the award.
Most Complete Game
The Vikings are now 9-1 and for the most part, have handily won most of their contests. Before the Seahawks game though, most of these wins were marred with an overabundance of penalties, slow starts until the second half, and never shutting down inferior opponents before the 4th quarter. This game was over midway through the 3rd quarter and Brett Favre was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson before the 4th quarter even began. The only touchdown the Seahawks got came during mop-up time in the 4th when most of the defensive starters were on the bench taking it easy. As it stands right now, the Vikings appear to be clicking on all cylinders and are doing so while still resting Antoine Winfield.
Balanced Attack
As stated already, Favre's four TD's went to four different receivers. When looking at the stats, you can see just how balanced this "kick ass" offense has become. Rice, Harvin, and Shiancoe each got more than half a dozen balls (ok Harvin had five receptions, get over it), at least one TD, and right around or over 80 yards. On the rushing side of the ball, Peterson (82 yards) and Taylor (73 yards) shared the load rather effectively . Peterson was just over the 1,000 yard mark before getting hit for a loss. He ended the game with 999 yards on the season. Anyone care to bet against him not going over 1,000 yards this coming Sunday against the Bears? I didn't think so.
As the season progresses and moves towards the playoffs, the chemistry with Favre is starting to show and teams are being forced to play pick-your-poison when going up against the Purple offense. Stack the box and Favre will pick you a part, defend the pass and, well, we all know what will happen ALL DAY in that scenario.
Minnesota Moving Company
Kudos to the offensive line, without them, none of this would be possible. Before the season started, the biggest question mark was how the right side of the line would pan out by starting the rookie Phil Loadholt and replacing Pro Bowl Center Matt Birk with John Sullivan. Both have done a phenomenal job this season and as a unit, the offensive line has surprised everyone with how well of a pass blocking group they have become. Brett Favre isn't as nimble as he once was (and let's face it, he was never a Aaron Rodgers in that regard to begin with), but he's been able to sit in the pocket progress through his reads at will lately. The first few games of the season were a bit shaky, and I feared Favre wouldn't make it through the season, but this line has really blossomed and should not be overlooked.
Stud and Goat of the Week
Stud: Brett Favre - Had one of the best games of his career and is showing no signs of wearing down. How many younger QB's can pass for four TD's, complete 88% of their passes, have a near perfect QB rating, and take more than entire quarter off?
Goat: The drunk lady with the Viking Horn behind me - I know you have to deal with the drunks when attending a NFL game, and I get that. But shouldn't there be some kind of law when it comes to operating a Viking horn while intoxicated? This lady made the well known Viking horn sound like a hound dog in heat. When she wasn't blowing in the horn, she was yelling at Childress for running the ball instead of throwing it - late in the fourth quarter!
What's on Tap
Here comes the mighty Bears, led by Jay Cutler. Remember when Cutler was the Chicago Savior? Remember when all the experts claimed that Cutler was by far, the best QB in the NFC North? Remember when the Bears and Packers would be giving the Vikings fits when it came to winning the Division? Well it's Week 11, take care of the Bears at home this week and the Division is a early Christmas gift sitting under the tree.
Final Thoughts
Just wanted give some congratulations to Brad Childress for his contract extension. I'm just as mixed as everyone about the timing of this, but numbers do not lie. He's made this team better each season since taking over and is directly responsible for bringing Brett Favre and Percy Harvin on board.
Lastly, it's nice to see that the Vikings at Cardinals game on December 6th got moved to the Sunday Night game. I didn't that it was possible to bump the Patriots out of the prime time spotlight, but it happened. This should be a great game though and the Vikings now play three of their final six games in the evening slot.
Happy Thanksgiving and don't forget to give if you can. There's a lot of folks out there that could use a little Holiday cheer.
Till next Sunday,
SKOL VIKINGS!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Purple Pride Ponderings 11/19/2009
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
Vikings 27
Lions 10
I'm a bit late on this one, but there is a theme, or method to this madness. After watching the Vikings slog through the game on Sunday, I found myself starting slow this week as well. Not sure what it is with the Vikings this year when it comes to playing inferior teams. It's not that they play down to their level, it just seems to take them longer to get into the game and finish off teams like the Lions. While I was unable to attend the game live, I should be there for the Seattle game so perhaps I'll have some pictures to share as well.
Since it's mid week already and it was just the Lions, I'm going to make this a bit shorter than normal.
Lack of morning Caffeine?
At halftime the score was 10-3. This after piling up over 300 yards of offense in the half. For the second time this season against the Lions, the Vikings waited until the 4th quarter to put them away. Turnovers (thankfully it's the Lions so they don't end up being costly turnovers) and penalties (13 - unacceptable) slowed the Vikings down. Not exactly the way you want to perform out of the bye. Adrian Peterson is doing some soul searching after turning the ball over twice. One of which included a questionable horse collar that may have led to the fumble. But that play also tossed up a sign for me. Peterson normally never gets run down from behind once he's beyond the secondary. In the end however, Peterson finished the day with 133 yards on only 18 carries and two more touchdowns.
Showtime!
That's Adrian Peterson's nickname for Sidney Rice and a rather fitting one. No one has benefited from Favre's addition as much as Rice. He had another monster game pulling in seven balls for 201 yards. It's a shame that his only drop cost himself the team single-game record, set by Sammy White with 210 yards against the Lions in 1976. He took that drop out on himself by doing a couple dozen fist push-ups on the sideline. What makes players great is hard work, something Rice is no stranger to. During the off season he took part in Larry Fitzgerald's receiver camp at the University of Minnesota. Fitz brought in the likes of Jerry Rice and Cris Carter to help several rising NFL stars to include Brandon Marshall, Lee Evans, Greg Jennings, Michael Clayton, Brian Robiskie, and of course Larry and Sidney. Favre helps, but it's the extra time and effort that Rice puts into the game that's starting to pay off.
Second Half Collapse Watch
Favre had a phenomenal first half, but Jets fans warned that the second half would be different. I disagreed with that due to the fact that he's not playing hurt as he was last season. In the first game in the second half, Favre threw for 344 yards, a touchdown, and once again, no picks. After nine games Brett Favre has only three interceptions and leads the league in QB Rating (107.5). Of course this will continue to be watched, other than suffering a major injury again, I don't see Favre heading towards any kind of downward spiral any time soon.
Stud and Goat of the Week
Stud: Sidney Rice - As mentioned above, Rice had a monster game going over 200 yards and earned the NFC Player of the Week award. He currently leads the NFC with 768 receiving yards.
Goat: Team Discipline - I don't care if it's against the Lions or the defending champs. You cannot come out of the bye as sluggish as this team did. 13 penalties is enough to drive any coach nuts and I hope Childress added a bit more to the team's workouts this week. The upcoming games get tougher again with a trip to Arizona and the Bengals here in the coming weeks.
What's on Tap
The Seattle Seahawks come to Mall of America Field ready to play inspired football with the news of their owner Paul Allen being diagnosed with non- Hodgkin's lymphoma this week. Other story lines include how T.J. Houshmandzadeh is handling picking the Seahawks over the Vikings during the off season. He claims that had he known that Brett Favre would be the QB in Minny, that he may very well be wearing Purple today. Instead, he finds himself on a 3-6 club that's shown they are capable of scoring in bunches. Which team will show up this week? Hopefully with a possible return of Winfield, our defense will be able to dictate that.
Until Next Week,
SKOL VIKINGS!
Vikings 27
Lions 10
I'm a bit late on this one, but there is a theme, or method to this madness. After watching the Vikings slog through the game on Sunday, I found myself starting slow this week as well. Not sure what it is with the Vikings this year when it comes to playing inferior teams. It's not that they play down to their level, it just seems to take them longer to get into the game and finish off teams like the Lions. While I was unable to attend the game live, I should be there for the Seattle game so perhaps I'll have some pictures to share as well.
Since it's mid week already and it was just the Lions, I'm going to make this a bit shorter than normal.
Lack of morning Caffeine?
At halftime the score was 10-3. This after piling up over 300 yards of offense in the half. For the second time this season against the Lions, the Vikings waited until the 4th quarter to put them away. Turnovers (thankfully it's the Lions so they don't end up being costly turnovers) and penalties (13 - unacceptable) slowed the Vikings down. Not exactly the way you want to perform out of the bye. Adrian Peterson is doing some soul searching after turning the ball over twice. One of which included a questionable horse collar that may have led to the fumble. But that play also tossed up a sign for me. Peterson normally never gets run down from behind once he's beyond the secondary. In the end however, Peterson finished the day with 133 yards on only 18 carries and two more touchdowns.
Showtime!
That's Adrian Peterson's nickname for Sidney Rice and a rather fitting one. No one has benefited from Favre's addition as much as Rice. He had another monster game pulling in seven balls for 201 yards. It's a shame that his only drop cost himself the team single-game record, set by Sammy White with 210 yards against the Lions in 1976. He took that drop out on himself by doing a couple dozen fist push-ups on the sideline. What makes players great is hard work, something Rice is no stranger to. During the off season he took part in Larry Fitzgerald's receiver camp at the University of Minnesota. Fitz brought in the likes of Jerry Rice and Cris Carter to help several rising NFL stars to include Brandon Marshall, Lee Evans, Greg Jennings, Michael Clayton, Brian Robiskie, and of course Larry and Sidney. Favre helps, but it's the extra time and effort that Rice puts into the game that's starting to pay off.
Second Half Collapse Watch
Favre had a phenomenal first half, but Jets fans warned that the second half would be different. I disagreed with that due to the fact that he's not playing hurt as he was last season. In the first game in the second half, Favre threw for 344 yards, a touchdown, and once again, no picks. After nine games Brett Favre has only three interceptions and leads the league in QB Rating (107.5). Of course this will continue to be watched, other than suffering a major injury again, I don't see Favre heading towards any kind of downward spiral any time soon.
Stud and Goat of the Week
Stud: Sidney Rice - As mentioned above, Rice had a monster game going over 200 yards and earned the NFC Player of the Week award. He currently leads the NFC with 768 receiving yards.
Goat: Team Discipline - I don't care if it's against the Lions or the defending champs. You cannot come out of the bye as sluggish as this team did. 13 penalties is enough to drive any coach nuts and I hope Childress added a bit more to the team's workouts this week. The upcoming games get tougher again with a trip to Arizona and the Bengals here in the coming weeks.
What's on Tap
The Seattle Seahawks come to Mall of America Field ready to play inspired football with the news of their owner Paul Allen being diagnosed with non- Hodgkin's lymphoma this week. Other story lines include how T.J. Houshmandzadeh is handling picking the Seahawks over the Vikings during the off season. He claims that had he known that Brett Favre would be the QB in Minny, that he may very well be wearing Purple today. Instead, he finds himself on a 3-6 club that's shown they are capable of scoring in bunches. Which team will show up this week? Hopefully with a possible return of Winfield, our defense will be able to dictate that.
Until Next Week,
SKOL VIKINGS!
Monday, November 02, 2009
Purple Pride Ponderings 11/2/2009
Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers
Vikings 38
Packers 26
The biggest spectacle in the NFL aside from the Super Bowl is finally over and Vikings fans are left grinning while Packer fans hang their heads low, still wondering what hit them. So now that this game is over with, the rest of the NFL world can concentrate on the second half of the season (that includes you, ESPN). First things first though, a little PPP following Favre Bowl II as Purple Moses continued his dominance against his former squad.
Been there, Done That
Since the season began, Packer fans have wasted all of their energy trying to come up with ways to stick it to Favre once he came running onto the field in Vikings white and purple. All they could come up with was a chorus of boo's and wasted plane fuel pulling a banner no one paid any attention to. Meanwhile, Favre did what he was used to doing in Lambeau Field, dominate. Four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a ton more class than anyone in Green Bay has later, Favre left there with another win and more importantly, a commanding lead in the Division. The only thing that was missing was one final Lambeau Leap, but with the bamboozled state of mind the fans were in, it was better left undone. Many say that Favre wanted to stick it to the Pack, Ted Thompson in general. In the two games, Favre not only got two important wins, he also had 7 td's and no interceptions. Whether he did or not, he stuck it to the Pack just based off his play.
Second Half Defense
After holding the Packers to 47 yards of total offense in the 1st half, the Vikings defense once again gave up huge numbers in the second half (300+ yards), giving the Packers a glimmer of hope to beat their once beloved Favre. Not sure what's going on with this unit. Are they running out of gas in the second half, or just losing interest? One thing's for sure, this trend cannot continue, especially come playoff time. Hopefully in the coming bye week they can all do a little soul searching and fix the issue. Getting Winfield back will also be key.
Rookie of the Year?
Percy Harvin is making big case for Rookie of the Year. Not only is he a dynamic kick returner, he's also displaying skills as a wide-out that normally take three plus years to develop at the Pro level. It's amazing how fast he and Favre have come together. On his receiving touchdown he displayed some unreal body control and desire to make the catch. He's not afraid to go across the middle and he's as tough as an Ox, something I've mentioned a couple of times in this young season. The Vikings are proving once again that sometimes, you just have to take a chance on someone as talented as him.
Goat and Stud of the Week
Stud: Percy Harvin - Yeah I know, it's easy to place Favre in this slot this week, too easy. The reason I'm going with Harvin is because of the field position he provide the Vikings offense all game long. While the Packers tried bringing back a washed up Ahman Green for kick returns, Harvin lit up the Packers with a 35 yard average getting 175 yards on five returns. Toss in another five receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown, and it's not too hard to argue with this choice.
Goat: Packer Fans - All the build up to this game, all the schemes to dis Favre, make him feel hated, un-wanted, exiled. For what? He's a future Hall of Fame QB that resurrected your franchise back in 1992. That's right, resurrected. Before Favre, who were the Packers? Oh sure you dub yourselves title town and we're happy for all those titles you had before there was even a NFL. Yeah you won the first two Super Bowls, back when most of the Nation didn't even know what a Super Bowl was. And guess what, that was the 60's. From that time on till Favre stepped on your hallowed grounds, the Packers were along the same lines as the 80's Buccaneers or today's Lions. So seriously, enough with the "We don't need ya" act. He brought your franchise back into the limelight, he loved his time there, and he will always love you, the fans, even though you treat him like minced meat all because he felt he wasn't done playing yet. From what I've seen so far, he wasn't done, and he's still not done.
What's on tap
A much deserved bye week. Time to rest weary bones, clear the mind and recharge for that second half push into the playoffs. I said a few weeks ago that if the Vikings could go 2-1 in the final three games before the Bye, that they are legit Super Bowl contenders. They did just that and are sitting on top of the NFC North at 7-1. Enjoy the week off, spend it with family and I'll see you back here again after the Lions game at home where I'll have a live take on that one from the 30-yard line, lower level.
SKOL Vikings!!
Vikings 38
Packers 26
The biggest spectacle in the NFL aside from the Super Bowl is finally over and Vikings fans are left grinning while Packer fans hang their heads low, still wondering what hit them. So now that this game is over with, the rest of the NFL world can concentrate on the second half of the season (that includes you, ESPN). First things first though, a little PPP following Favre Bowl II as Purple Moses continued his dominance against his former squad.
Been there, Done That
Since the season began, Packer fans have wasted all of their energy trying to come up with ways to stick it to Favre once he came running onto the field in Vikings white and purple. All they could come up with was a chorus of boo's and wasted plane fuel pulling a banner no one paid any attention to. Meanwhile, Favre did what he was used to doing in Lambeau Field, dominate. Four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a ton more class than anyone in Green Bay has later, Favre left there with another win and more importantly, a commanding lead in the Division. The only thing that was missing was one final Lambeau Leap, but with the bamboozled state of mind the fans were in, it was better left undone. Many say that Favre wanted to stick it to the Pack, Ted Thompson in general. In the two games, Favre not only got two important wins, he also had 7 td's and no interceptions. Whether he did or not, he stuck it to the Pack just based off his play.
Second Half Defense
After holding the Packers to 47 yards of total offense in the 1st half, the Vikings defense once again gave up huge numbers in the second half (300+ yards), giving the Packers a glimmer of hope to beat their once beloved Favre. Not sure what's going on with this unit. Are they running out of gas in the second half, or just losing interest? One thing's for sure, this trend cannot continue, especially come playoff time. Hopefully in the coming bye week they can all do a little soul searching and fix the issue. Getting Winfield back will also be key.
Rookie of the Year?
Percy Harvin is making big case for Rookie of the Year. Not only is he a dynamic kick returner, he's also displaying skills as a wide-out that normally take three plus years to develop at the Pro level. It's amazing how fast he and Favre have come together. On his receiving touchdown he displayed some unreal body control and desire to make the catch. He's not afraid to go across the middle and he's as tough as an Ox, something I've mentioned a couple of times in this young season. The Vikings are proving once again that sometimes, you just have to take a chance on someone as talented as him.
Goat and Stud of the Week
Stud: Percy Harvin - Yeah I know, it's easy to place Favre in this slot this week, too easy. The reason I'm going with Harvin is because of the field position he provide the Vikings offense all game long. While the Packers tried bringing back a washed up Ahman Green for kick returns, Harvin lit up the Packers with a 35 yard average getting 175 yards on five returns. Toss in another five receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown, and it's not too hard to argue with this choice.
Goat: Packer Fans - All the build up to this game, all the schemes to dis Favre, make him feel hated, un-wanted, exiled. For what? He's a future Hall of Fame QB that resurrected your franchise back in 1992. That's right, resurrected. Before Favre, who were the Packers? Oh sure you dub yourselves title town and we're happy for all those titles you had before there was even a NFL. Yeah you won the first two Super Bowls, back when most of the Nation didn't even know what a Super Bowl was. And guess what, that was the 60's. From that time on till Favre stepped on your hallowed grounds, the Packers were along the same lines as the 80's Buccaneers or today's Lions. So seriously, enough with the "We don't need ya" act. He brought your franchise back into the limelight, he loved his time there, and he will always love you, the fans, even though you treat him like minced meat all because he felt he wasn't done playing yet. From what I've seen so far, he wasn't done, and he's still not done.
What's on tap
A much deserved bye week. Time to rest weary bones, clear the mind and recharge for that second half push into the playoffs. I said a few weeks ago that if the Vikings could go 2-1 in the final three games before the Bye, that they are legit Super Bowl contenders. They did just that and are sitting on top of the NFC North at 7-1. Enjoy the week off, spend it with family and I'll see you back here again after the Lions game at home where I'll have a live take on that one from the 30-yard line, lower level.
SKOL Vikings!!
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