Purple Pride Ponderings 12/15/2009

Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings
Vikings 30
Bengals 10

Bounce back. Two words used often in sports. Two words that sum up the Vikings efforts against the Bengals. A quick search on the meaning of Bounce back returns this: To recover quickly, as from a setback. Calling the game in Arizona the week before a setback would be a nice way of putting it. After getting physically beat down in ever facet of the game in the desert, the Vikings needed a true bounce back effort and had to show the ability to establish dominance on the offensive and defensive lines. That is exactly the kind of effort the Vikings gave this past Sunday against the Bengals.

Welcome Back Tempo Setter
Antoine Winfield made his presence known right away in this game during the opening drive when he up ended a Bengal wide out sending him into a shot down helicopter plunge to the turf. He led the team in tackles with nine, forced a fumble, and nearly had a pick (which he punished himself for with push-ups). Not bad for a guy that missed the past six weeks. What's even more important is the energy he brings seems to be contagious. Madieu Williams and Cedric Griffin appeared to have a lot more pop in their hits, just ask Chad Ochocinco. He may not be 100% healthy until the off season, but his pure art of tackling and inspiration for the rest of the secondary are much needed for the push into the Playoffs and beyond.

Oh no you don't Ocho
Chad Ochocinco (I still can't believe we actually call him this) did his usual trash talking leading up to this game. It's well documented that he was going to go for Ragnar's horn and possibly even his bike. After scoring on a well designed play that fooled even Antoine Winfield, all cameras and eyes were on number 85 in anticipation of his theatrics. Instead, Chad made his way to the sidelines where Coach Lewis said something into his ear, and moments later, he was on the bench catching a breather. After all the speculation and hype, that was it. Good call by Chad (or perhaps it was Marvin Lewis telling him to just take a seat) in this case because the Bengals were still down and it would be the last touchdown the Bengals scored the rest of the game. I know a lot of people get ticked off about these planed celebrations in the NFL, but when it comes to Chad, I don't have a problem with it. He still plays the game hard on every down (which is more than a certain receiver in Boston can say) and enjoys being a entertainer. His acts are usually classy and clearly just meant to be fun. While he didn't get a chance to steal Ragnar's horn, he was presented with a Vikings horn of his own, autographed by Ragnar himself.

Speaking of Bounce Back
I know I already mentioned that the team in general had a bounce back game, but there's a few individual efforts to point out in this area. Favre, Peterson, and the Secondary. All three had their worst games last week and followed that up with solid performances against the Bengals. Favre's number may not have been as great as they've been through most of the season, but he took command of this game and his experience and leadership showed in the final drives, keeping the ball away from Carson Palmer and company. Peterson; who appears to be having a rather off year even though he's third in the NFL with 1200 yards, ran with passion and finished with 137 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. Without Winfield last week, the secondary got torched for almost 300 yards and three touchdowns against the Cardinals. This week, with Winfield back, they terrorized Palmer as they held him to under 100 yards. Also to be noted here is that the secondaries job is a bit easier when the front four are applying pressure, something they did very well this week.

Whew, that was close!
Sure streaks are meant to be broken and in the end, who really cares unless you are talking about Super Bowls, but come on, 36 games now with out a 100 yard rusher, that's something to pound your chest about. Ok, so maybe something for the Williams Wall to pound their chest about, but it feels good on the fan side of things as well. Cedric Benson did all he could to end this streak coming just four yards shy of the elusive triple digit. 42 yards of it did come on one run and thankfully, due to the large lead the Vikings had, the Bengals were forced to abandon the run in the final few drives. The next true shot for a back to stop this streak is this coming Sunday against the Panthers. Despite the Panthers record and issues this season, DeAngelo Williams is still having a nice season and is over 1100 yards after 13 games.

Stud and Goat of the Week
Stud: Antoine Winfield - He might only be 5'9", but you won't find a more pure, hard hitting corner in the league. After missing six weeks, Winfield looked like he's still in Pro Bowl form and ready to lead a talented Vikings Defense into the Playoffs. EJ Henderson will be missed, but Winfield's return is huge.

Goat: Carson Palmer - With many Fantasy Football Leagues in the 1st week of their playoffs (I've got the Bye in all three of mine, thank you very much), how many owners got burned by the horrible performance from Carson Palmer?

What's on Tap
Back-to-back road games under the lights coming up, first stop, Carolina. Here's hoping the Panthers don't play the role of a wounded animal and sneak up and bite the Vikings. The Vikings are a much better team and should be able to take care of business in this one. The QB situation in Carolina is in disarray and the Panthers have been giving up a ton of yards and points this season.

Final Thoughts
Feels good to know the Vikings have a Playoff spot locked up after 13 games, but let's not stop there. The Saints should have no problem locking up the number one seed so the Vikings have take care of business here and lockup the number two seed. I don't like looking ahead too much, but a Vikings/Saints showdown sure does look mighty tasty. Out of all the other teams that appear to be headed for January play, the Eagles worry me the most. There's just something about Childress going up against Andy Reid again. Plus, the Eagles appear to be hitting their stride and DeSean Jackson has turned out to be exactly what Devin Hester wishes he were.


Till Next Week,
SKOL Vikings!