Purple Pride Ponderings 10/14/2010

Purple Pride Ponderings 10/14/2010
Minnesota Vikings @ New York Jets
Vikings - 20
Jets - 29

At a time when Minnesota sports fans needed a boost, the prodigal son, Randy Moss came back home. The Yankees finished off the (mostly) yearly post season drubbing of the Twins, the Wild lost their first two games, and the Wolves....well, they continue to be the Wolves.

So here comes #84 to save the day and hopefully, save the season. One would think that leading up to a big game against the Jets, the buzz would be centered around the return of the Super Freak in a purple jersey. But no, instead, Brett Favre finds a way to steal that thunder (notice how the game was delayed) and Moss' triumphant return is nothing more than a sidebar all week.

You can read my take on the Favre kerfuffle below in Final Thoughts, for now, let's go over the Jets game shall we.

Two Face
We've all heard the saying that it's a 60 minute game, not 30. Many coaches will spout that off as they head into the locker room at halftime after a horrendous first half. Sometimes you hear it during the post game press conference from a coach whose team just lost after having a substantial lead in the first half.

Much like the character Two Face from the Batman comics and movies, the Vikings offense was ugly and unbearable in one half, yet showed it's potential, grace, and power in the second half. Unfortunately the second half wasn't without imperfections. When you dig yourself into a hole in the first half, odds are you need to play mistake free football in the second half. While the final interception sealed the fate of this game, it was the over throw to Havin that sticks out the most. Favre claims that's a throw he normally makes in his sleep. Well Mr. Favre, sometimes you have to admit that all is not right (mentally and physically at this point) and allow your team the chance to win by pulling yourself out.

Missing Chester
There was no question that Chester Taylor would be missed. He was the perfect third down back for this team and always seemed to get the big first downs. What's missed most though was his ability to pickup the Blitz. The Vikings running backs are struggling to do this, and with Favre's mobility issues, it's a recipe for disaster. I thought Gerhart or Tahi would be able to step in, but neither are capable of getting the job done. The Gerhart pick seemed like a good idea at the time and a possible Chester Taylor replacement. Through four games though, I'm not sure if this kid can do anything good in the NFL. He looks slow, clumsy, and lost out there. Someone needs to step in and rectify this, Peterson is good, but he's not getting paid to be a blocking back.

Honorable Effort
It's hard to praise anything after a loss, but with the field position the offense consistently left the defense with, it was amazing the Vikings even had a chance to win this game late. With the offense sputtering, the defense stood to the task in the first half and kept the Jets out of the endzone. Let's not sugar coat this too much though as the Jets receivers had some early issues catching perfectly placed balls by Sanchez.

In the end, the defense has looked good enough to sustain wins should the offense find any kind of rhythm. My main concern right now is, where's the mighty pass rush? Even more glaring, where's Jarred Allen? He makes far too much money to be shut down by every team other than the Packers.

Stud and Goat of the Week
Stud: Percy Harvin - Sure he's going to benefit from Moss (Welker owners, watch your stock plummet now), but the kid can just flat out play. The play of the game was the catch in the back of the end zone. He's strong enough to avoid a push out and keep his feet inbounds while making a great catch.

Goat: Favre/Childress - Favre for putting this team in this predicament, Childress for enabling it. Scandal aside, Favre is not healthy enough to play, period.

What's on Tap
Fox's big game of the week right? The 1-3 Cowboys come into Mall of America Field ready to avenge their 2009 Playoff loss to the 1-3 Vikings. Not exactly what the network had planned, nor could any of us guessed would be the case before the season started. The Cowboys are still ticked about the Vikings running up the score in the playoffs (though they did their share of trash talk before the game to warrant it), but that has to be last on their minds as they look to avoid going 1-4. As for the Vikings, it's the Welcome home party everyone's been waiting for, the return of Randy Moss, in the Dome! That alone will energize the crowd and create a circus atmosphere, something that does not bode well for the Cowboys. There's a lot of if's in this game, mostly related to the Vikings signal caller, but I like the Vikings to make a turn to the positive in this game. Vikings win, and I see visions of Moss jumping into the crowd on two occasions during his homecoming.

Final Thoughts
Oh Favre, you tease us with your greatness only to bring us down Tiger Woods style. Say it isn't so Brett! Penisgate, donglegate, crocgate, whatever you want to call it....why Brett, why? I know it's innocent until proven guilty, but the writing's on the wall with this one. For someone so worried about his image, he's yet to deny his involvement with the Jenn Sterger case. Add a tearful apology to the team in the locker room before the game and it doesn't take a CSI expert to figure this one out.

Looking back at the off season now, there were signs pointing back to then. We all know he likes to miss camp, but I honestly believe he wasn't coming back without Childress sending his thugs down to get him (yes, I just called Longwell a thug, what the.....). He must have known then that if he came back to play, this scandal would break, especially with the Vikings playing the Jets on Monday night. Had he stayed home, this would have gone no where and his life as a grandpa would have been uninterrupted. He's yet to show that childlike emotion and passion while on the field, instead, he looks like someone that's carrying a heavy burden. Perhaps someone that's about to lose his wife and shatter is own perfect image.

He's mentally not in these games and the tendinitis in his throwing arm is starting to cost this team games. The time is now for Childress to pull the plug on Favre and attempt to electrify this team with Tavaris Jackson. Randy Moss makes QB's look good, and Jackson surely has the arm to hit him and, dare I say, Berrian deep down field. When Jackson stepped in for Frerotte in 2008, he played well enough to put the Vikings in the post season. This offense has many more proven weapons now than it did then, plus his mobility out of the pocket could pay dividends as well. Childress has a reputation to uphold and it could come with switching to Jackson, the QB he's promised for years that will be the missing link.


Till Next Week,
SKOL Vikings!