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The Vikings Red Zone Review, Sponsored by Comcast

Gonzo — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:34:56 -0000

18 days ago: Minnesota Vikings running back Chester Taylor (29) scores in the second quarter past Chicago Bears' Danieal Manning (38) during an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Star Tribune, Jerry Holt)

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Since we're going to be, as the kids say, waiting all day for Sunday night, let's kill some time by taking a final look back at the Vikings' complete and utter domination of the Chicago Bears by reviewing their performance in the Red Zone. And, as always, the Vikings Red Zone Review is brought to you by the good folks at Comcast. Comcast brings you the NFL Red Zone channel every week, and it's your way to keep in touch with all the biggest plays from every NFL game week in and week out. It's great for fantasy players, or for the late games when you're not sure which game you want to view while celebrating the Vikings' latest conquest. The Red Zone Channel is your season ticket for every single NFL game, and nobody brings it to you like the folks at Comcast.

What kind of performance did the Vikings put together in the red zone last weekend? Let's have a look and find out.

Vikings Red Zone trips - 6
Vikings Red Zone scores - 6 (4 TD, 2 FG)
Red Zone touchdown percentage - 66%

A pretty good performance for the Vikings in the red zone last week, but it still could have been better.

After an Adrian Peterson fumble halted a promising opening drive, the Bears and Vikings exchanged three and outs, and the Bears punted again, pinning the Vikings on their own 4-yard line. From there, the Vikings offense went to work. Brett Favre converted a big third down when he hit Sidney Rice for 14 yards on 3rd and 6. He continued to spread the ball around, hitting Chester Taylor twice for 27 yards out of the backfield. Peterson mixed in a 15-yard run and an 8-yard run, and Favre converted another big third down by hitting Bernard Berrian to take the Vikings down to the Chicago 6. After some questionable play calling, including Favre taking a 14-yard sack on first and goal from the 1 (following a Chicago PI penalty in the end zone), the first play of the second quarter saw Favre drill a bullet to the 2009 Offensive Rookie of the Year. . .that's Percy Harvin. . .and the Vikings went up 7-0. The Minnesota drive went 96 yards in 13 plays, and took 6:52 to complete.

After the Bears managed to luck their way into their one touchdown drive of the afternoon, the Vikings went to work again from their own 20. Harvin didn't get to return the kickoff because of a touchback, so the Vikings let him start the drive off with a 35-yard run to put the ball into Chicago territory. Favre then hit Berrian for 7, Rice for 11, and Harvin for 4 to move the ball to the Chicago 10. After a three-yard run by Peterson, Favre rolled to his right, dumped one off to Chester Taylor, and #29 did the rest as he dove into the end zone for another Minnesota touchdown. The extra point put the Vikings up 14-3. That Minnesota drive moved 80 yards in 8 plays, taking 4:06 off the clock.

The Bears fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which the Vikings turned into a 52-yard Ryan Longwell field goal. On the Bears next drive, Chicago's awesome, incredible superstar quarterback Jay Cutler threw a pass that got picked off by Cedric Griffin. The Vikings couldn't take advantage, and punted the ball back to Chicago. Cutler's second INT of the afternoon came on the subsequent drive, on a pass that was deflected by E.J. Henderson into the arms of Jared Allen. The Vikings started out at their own 30, and Favre immediately hit Visanthe Shiancoe for 21 yards to move the ball into Chicago territory. He then hit Berrian twice for 16 yards, and then lofted a beautiful pass to Rice, who got pushed out of bounds at the Chicago 2. After a touchdown pass from Favre to Shiancoe was nullified for Bryant McKinnie being downfield, Shank managed to get the touchdown anyway, as Favre found him on third and goal from the 6 for the score. The drive moved 70 yards in 7 plays, and only took 40 seconds to accomplish. It also put Minnesota ahead 24 to 7 as they went to the locker room.

After a Chicago field goal gave the Bears their final points of the afternoon, the Vikings took over at their own 33, as the Bears decided they were too scared to kick to Percy Harvin. Harvin again made them pay for it, catching passes of 12 and 22 yards from Favre to move the ball into Chicago territory. After a fumble by Peterson that was correctly challenged by Childress, Favre hit Shiancoe for 19 yards, and appeared to have another touchdown pass to Chester Taylor that was taken off the board by an unnecessary holding penalty downfield on Berrian. From there, the flags started to fly, and the referees desperately tried to level the playing field for the completely overmatched Bears. After all was said and done, the Vikings had to settle for a 37-yard Ryan Longwell field goal to make the score 27-7. The 12-play, 48-yard drive took 4:59 off of the clock.

Big third down conversions were the story of Minnesota's next drive, as Minnesota started from their own 27. You know it's going to be a productive drive when even Naufahu Tahi gets into the business of converting third downs, which he did with an 8-yard reception. On the next third down, Favre hit Bernard Berrian for 18 yards. Then, on another third down play, Favre found Percy Harvin for an outstanding 31-yard catch that put the rookie over the 100-yard mark for the first time in his young career. Unfortunately, the drive stalled when the Vikings reached the 2, and they had to settle for a 20-yard Longwell field goal. The drive needed to eat up the clock, and the drive did just that, as they took 7:36 to move the ball 71 yards in 13 plays. It also made the score 30 to 7 in favor of the Vikings.

Favre only completed one pass on his final drive of the afternoon, hitting Berrian again for eight yards. The rest of the drive was the Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor show, as the best 1-2 running back tandem in the NFL combined for 35 yards on 6 carries on the drive. A big pass interference penalty aided the Vikings as well, giving them 25 yards and putting the ball deep into Chicago territory. Harvin even mixed another carry in for 10 yards, and that one put the Vikings inside the Chicago red zone again. To cap off what had been a fairly tough afternoon, Peterson walked in from five yards out for a touchdown. Chris Kluwe, unfortunately, bobbled the hold on the extra point, so the final margin of victory for Minnesota ended up being 36-10. The final Viking drive went 68 yards in 8 plays, taking another 5:09 off of the clock.

So, to update our tally, for the season the Vikings' offense has entered the opposing red zone on 43 occasions. They've come away with 23 touchdowns (53.5%), 14 Ryan Longwell field goals (32.5%), and have only come away scoreless six times (14%). The Bears only entered the red zone once. . .and they were lucky to have that many. . .and managed one field goal. So, the Vikings have allowed their opponents to enter the red zone 24 times this season, allowing them to score 10 touchdowns (41.7%), as well as eight field goals (33.3%). On six occasions (25%), Minnesota's opponents have left the red zone empty-handed.

Here's hoping that the Vikings can improve on all of those figures during Sunday night's clash with the Arizona Cardinals.

Viking Fans Apparently Stuffing the Ballot Box

Gonzo — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:06:02 -0000

For the past few years, fan voting has accounted for 1/3 of the balloting for the NFL Pro Bowl, and you can go to NFL.com in order to vote for your favorite players (read: Vikings) to play in this year's exhibition. However, according to the folks at Viking Update, a lot of your fellow Vikings fans are way ahead of you on that front.

Right now, members of the Minnesota Vikings are leading at TEN DIFFERENT POSITIONS on the NFC's Pro Bowl ballot. Ten, I say. That's a lot.

As it stands now, Adrian Peterson is the #3 overall vote getter, and Brett Favre is (appropriately enough) the #4 overall vote getter. Unfortunately, since Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints has the most overall votes, that means that Favre is only second among NFC quarterbacks.

Who are some of the other Vikings that are leading at their positions? Well, let's take a look. . .

John Sullivan is the leading vote getter at center
Bryant McKinnie is the leader among offensive tackles (Phil Loadholt is fourth)
Steve Hutchinson has more votes than any other guard
Naufahu Tahi is the leader at fullback. . .and if you're currently drinking anything, I apologize for making it shoot out of your nose. But that statement is true.
Jared Allen is the pace setter among NFC defensive ends (almost twice as many as second place Julius Peppers)
Pat Williams and Kevin Williams are the top two defensive tackles in the NFC
Percy Harvin is leading all NFC kick returners in the voting thus far
Ryan Longwell is the top NFC kicker thus far
And Heath Farwell is the top in the NFC special teams category

Four Vikings hold down the #2 spot at their positions as well. Those three are punter Chris Kluwe, cornerback Antoine Winfield, outside linebacker Chad Greenway, and guard Anthony Herrera.

Now, will all these Minnesota players make the Pro Bowl? Certainly not. Heck, hopefully we won't see any of them in the Pro Bowl this year. After all, the NFL has changed the schedule so that the Pro Bowl will be played the weekend before the Super Bowl, not the weekend after as it has been for all these years. Hopefully our guys will have more important things to worry about.

Minnesota Vikings Player Power Rankings, Mid-Season Edition

Gonzo — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:44:23 -0000

I really meant to do one of these back during the pre-season so that we'd have something to compare it to at this point, but I forgot to. I apologize for that. But, as usual, we'll have our mid-season version. . .conveniently designed to go along with the Vikings' bye week. . .and our post-season version to compare.

I've done these for the past couple of seasons, after originally getting the idea from our friends over at Dawgs by Nature. (See the 2007 mid-season and post-season versions, as well as the 2008 mid-season and post-season versions.) These aren't official or anything, and are more designed to spark conversations/debate than anything else. Since the table that these rankings are placed in is pretty huge, I'll put it in after the jump for everyone to have a look at. Enjoy, and tell us what you think!

Player Power Rankings
Rank	Player	Comment
1	Jared Allen, DE	Greatest trade in Vikings' history? If it's not, it's certainly on the short list. In 24 games since coming to Minnesota, #69 has 25 sacks (3 of which have resulted in safeties), 5 passes defended, 6 forced fumbles, and has generally just been the best 4-3 defensive end in the National Football League. He'd probably be the Defensive Player of the Year if the season ended today.
2	Brett Favre, QB	Okay, raise your hand if you thought the guy would be this good. looks around I doubt it was that many, but anyhow. . .in eight games, Favre has turned the ball over all of four times (only one of which. . .against St. Louis. . .could probably be classed as egregiously awful), has a 4:1 TD/turnover ratio, and a quarterback rating of a cool 106.0. Yes, it remains to see how he'll perform over the second half of the year, but the returns have been good so far.
3	Adrian Peterson, RB	You know the bar has been set pretty high for you when you're tied for second in the NFL in rushing yards, averaging almost 5 yards/carry, are second in the league in rushing touchdowns. . .and some folks are under the perception that you're struggling. He's on pace for 40 fewer regular season carries this year than he got last year, and as long as teams still want to defend the Vikings like they have Gus Frerotte at quarterback, his numbers will probably stay low. . .keeping him fresh for the post-season.
4	Percy Harvin, WR	Surprised to see him this high? Don't be. How much of an impact has Harvin had? With him returning kickoffs, the Vikings have the best average starting field position in the NFL. He's also been a big part of the Vikings going from having one of the worst special teams units of the last 20 years to being one of the better units in the league, according to the DVOA rankings from Football Outsiders. Oh, and he's done alright catching the ball, too. Barring an injury, we can probably just stop the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting right now and hand the award to #12. (Oh, and another big thank you to T.J. Houshmandzadeh for signing with the Seahawks. . .because if we had him, we likely wouldn't have Harvin.)
5	Kevin Williams, DT	The best all-around defensive tackle in football has been blowing up interior linemen all season long. He's on pace to have his first double-digit sack season since 2004, and he's still incredible against the run. Oh, and he's thrown in 6 defended passes, too. To borrow a phrase from Eric. . .greatest "missed draft pick" ever? Greatest "missed draft pick" ever.
6	Sidney Rice, WR	Nobody on the Vikings' roster has benefited more from the addition of Brett Favre than El Sid. It's hard to believe that the University of South Carolina produced both Rice and Troy Williamson, since Sidney is pretty much the anti-Williamson. He's on pace to have 1170 receiving yards (and hopefully more than the 2 TDs he has currently), and he has the most ridiculous set of hands this team has seen since Cris Carter left town. Yes, Randy Moss included.
7	Ryan Longwell, K	Ridiculous to put the kicker this high? Perhaps. . .but ponder this: Every time this season a ball that he's kicked has gone past the line of scrimmage, it's gone through the uprights (his only "miss" this season was the block at the end of the first half of the San Francisco game). His kickoffs have been pretty darn good, too. One can't underestimate the importance of a kicker as good as Longwell has been this season.
8	Chad Greenway, LB	The Vikings' leading tackler after the first half of the season, he's also tossed in a couple of interceptions and 4 passes defended. He's really gotten a lot better in coverage over the course of his Viking career, and has become one of the better all-around linebackers in the NFL.
9	Steve Hutchinson, G	Still the best at his position in the National Football League, despite getting called for his first holding penalty in 27 games last weekend against Green Bay. Meanwhile, Nate Burleson is still doing nothing in Seattle. Yeah, I still think the Vikings got the better of that little exchange.
10	Bryant McKinnie, T	McKinnie has been much maligned over the course of the past couple of seasons, and we would lament how he would get abused by speed rushers. However, after making the adjustment to having Brett Favre at QB early in the season (along with the rest of the O-line), McKinnie has done a hell of a job, and is finally really starting to live up to the huge payday he got a couple of years ago. He looks like the tackle the Vikings thought they were getting when they drafted him in 2002.
11	Antoine Winfield, CB	Ordinarily he would be much higher on this list, but his injuries. . .coupled with the fact that the Vikings haven't missed him nearly as much this year as anybody might have thought. . .push him down a little bit. Don't get me wrong, he's still one of the best in the league at his position, but he hasn't had quite the impact so far this season that one would think.
12	Pat Williams, DT	Phat Pat got off to a bit of a rough start in 2009, some of which could possibly be attributed to getting a late start on the pre-season festivities, but has come around over the course of the past few games, and is back to being his usual bad-ass, run-stuffing self. He's even contributed his annual sack with his takedown of Aaron Rodgers in Week 8.
13	Ray Edwards, DE	You know. . .when he's not busy jumping offsides or getting ridiculous late hit penalties, Ray Ray has actually had a pretty solid year thus far, with 26 combined tackles and 3.5 sacks. Sure, he might be the "weak link" on the defensive line, but being the weak link on a defensive line this good is sort of like being a MENSA member with an IQ of "only" 135.
14	Visanthe Shiancoe, TE	Second in the NFL in touchdown catches among tight ends, he gives the Vikings yet another weapon to utilize around the goal line. One could argue that he should be getting more catches, but with the emergence of Harvin and Rice, I'm not sure where those catches would come from. (Yes, I know, "Tahi" is the obvious answer.)
15	Ben Leber, LB	Still the quietest member of the defense, but as always, you don't hear his name called very often, which means he's doing what he's asked to do. Occasionally spectacular, but always solid. Still the only good thing Fran Foley ever did for the Minnesota Vikings.
16	Phil Loadholt, OT	The massive rookie from Oklahoma grabbed hold of the starting RT slot in training camp and, like most things he gets a hold of, he hasn't shown any signs of letting go of it any time soon. He did miss a game because of injury, but overall has provided a level of play that few may have expected from him as a rookie. We'll have to keep an eye on him to see if he hits the "wall" during the course of the year.
17	E.J. Henderson, LB	I'm surprised that he's down this far, too, but really. . .who ahead of him do you move? Frankly, E.J. just hasn't looked like E.J. most of the time this season. A good portion of the Vikings' woes against tight ends can be attributed to him (though there is blame to be spread around. . .give me a bit), and he just hasn't been the beast that he was prior to the dislocated toes that caused him to miss most of 2008. He is getting better, though, and hopefully will continue to do so as the season goes on.
18	Bernard Berrian, WR	He's had some injury problems this year, and his average yards/catch is significantly lower than it was in 2008, but he's still providing a pretty steady presence on the outside. He's become pretty much automatic on slant routes thus far this season, and it's only a matter of time before corners and safeties start biting on those and opening up big gainers over the top. He's not the #1 option any more, but he's still solid.
19	Cedric Griffin, CB	This is just my personal opinion, but there isn't a more frustrating player on the Vikings' roster to watch than Cedric Griffin. The guy has a ton of talent, and we know he has the capability to be really good (see the second half of last year), but there are too many times when he forgets how to tackle and gets beaten in coverage. Sadly, he's not even the most disappointing member of the secondary this season.
20	Anthony Herrera, G	Another guy we haven't heard a whole lot from this season, which is a positive. For the most part, he seems to be doing a relatively solid job at the right guard spot.
21	John Sullivan, C	For a guy starting at center for the first time in the NFL to be the pivot on an offense this good says a lot about Sullivan's ability. Has he been great all the time? No. . .but he hasn't been a tremendous drop-off from Matt Birk's play last year, either, and he's still been pretty good, despite a couple of mental errors (like the mis-timed snap in Green Bay).
22	Chris Kluwe, P	Yeah, he had a crappy ~~game~~ half against Pittsburgh, and Joshua Cribbs got a punt return TD against the Vikings in Week 1. . .he does that to a lot of teams. . .but Kluwe has made a lot of strides over last season, in my opinion. The willingness of the Guitar Hero to (finally) sacrifice some distance for hang time has been another part of the Vikings' special teams turnaround.
23	Jimmy Kennedy, DT	If Jimmy Kennedy isn't a testament to the amazing abilities of Vikings' defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, I'm really not sure what is. Kennedy has served the Vikings very well as a rotation player to this point of the season, and may be putting himself in line to be a replacement for Pat Williams in the near future. Yeah, "solid rotation" player isn't necessarily what you want from a guy that was once drafted #11 overall. . .but it's a hell of a lot more than St. Louis, Jacksonville, or Chicago got out of him.
24	Madieu Williams, S	One of the bigger disappointments on the team this year, in my opinion. There have been a few occasions where Williams has just looked completely lost this season, and for a veteran guy like him, that shouldn't happen. He really, really needs to step up his level of play in the second half of the season in order to bring the Vikings' pass defense up to where it needs to be.
25	Tyrell Johnson, S	The other biggest disappointment for the Vikings this year. I know this is his first year as the full-time starter, but he just hasn't been all that good. Nobody questions Johnson's physical ability, to be sure, but he needs to show more of why the Vikings took him in the second round in 2008.
26	Jim Kleinsasser, TE	We just keep putting Kleinsasser out there as a blocker every year, and he just keeps destroying everything in his path. I'm not sure how many years the guy can keep doing this, but he certainly hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.
27	Cullen Loeffler, LS	I'll put the same thing I put next to his entry every year. . .when's the last time you remember the Vikings' special teams units being victimized by a bad snap? Loeffler is solid.
28	Heath Farwell, LB	The Vikings had a lot of turnover in their special teams coverage units between 2008 and 2009, but the return of Heath Farwell has been huge. He's always around the ball on special teams, whether it's kick returns or punt returns, and his tackling is as sure as ever.
29	Jeff Dugan, FB/TE	Remember when most of us thought the only reason the Vikings drafted Jeff Dugan was because he went to Maryland like Mike Tice did? Yeah, that was five seasons ago, and Dugan is still here. He's a solid blocker, and has even gotten a couple of passes this year. One of the more underrated Vikings. . .probably underrated on this list, too.
30	Chester Taylor, RB	This may seem way too low for Chester, but his yards/carry average is way down this year, and I really think we're seeing his last season in Minnesota, as he's in the final year of his contract. With the expansion of Adrian Peterson's role as a receiver and the improvement in his pass blocking, #29 just isn't as vital as he's been in years past.
31	Naufahu Tahi, FB	Good enough blocker, but again, I'll go with something I say every year. . .STOP THROWING HIM THE FOOTBALL. (Although he did have a 30+ yard catch-and-run against St. Louis, which means there are probably more plays in the playbook for him than ever.)
32	Brian Robison, DE	It's not that Robison is bad or anything, because he's clearly not. He just doesn't get a whole lot of opportunities with the guy he has in front of him taking all the snaps. Oh, and Brian. . .the next time a kickoff bounces into your hands, just fall down. . .please?
33	Jaymar Johnson, WR	Another guy that could probably be a few spots higher, he's stepped into the punt return role quite nicely after the injury to Darius Reynaud. Wouldn't mind seeing him get a few more shots as a receiver, but who's he going to displace, barring injury?
34	Kenny Onatolu, LB	I was really rooting for this guy to make the squad after his pre-season performance, and he hasn't disappointed, adding more solid play to the Vikings' special teams units.
35	Greg Lewis, WR	IT'S GREG LEWIS! TOUCHDOWN! OH MY GOODNESS! GREG LEWIS! WELCOME TO MINNESOTA! OH MY HEAVENS!
36	Fred Evans, DT	Twenty-nine taser-free months and counting for Evans. Way to go, #90!
37	Benny Sapp, CB	Could make an argument that he could be higher, I suppose. He's had his moments but, like many parts of the Vikings' secondary this season, he's made a few highlight reels for the wrong reasons, too.
38	Tarvaris Jackson, QB	Hasn't been a disruption, and has actually taken his demotion quite well. Has seen a bit of time in mop-up duty as well. I hope we don't have to see him this year, but if we do, I have confidence that he could do the job for a little while, at least.
39	Letroy Guion, DT	Has bounced back and forth between the active roster and the inactive list, but has done a solid enough job in the time he's gotten.
40	Artis Hicks, OL	Filled in for Phil Loadholt when the big guy was out with an injury, and played pretty well. Still a solid backup at numerous positions.
41	Asher Allen, CB	Has spent most of the year on the inactive list, but has been up for the last two games and has asserted himself pretty well. Easy to see the potential the Vikings seem to think he has.
42	Jasper Brinkley, LB	Hasn't seen much time as a LB, but has been a very good special teamer thus far.
43	Karl Paymah, CB	After watching him get thoroughly abused against Baltimore, it became clear why he was brought in as a special teamer and not a cornerback. He recovered nicely against Pittsburgh, though. . .and, hopefully, will be finding his way back to a strictly special teams role here soon.
44	Darius Reynaud, WR	Was doing an outstanding job as a punt returner before his injury, and now might not get his punt returner spot back thanks to Jaymar Johnson's performance.
45	Eric Frampton, S	Hasn't gotten the opportunity to come alive on defense. . .yes, I continue to murder that joke. . .but has been a good special teamer.
46	Husain Abdullah, S	See above, but without the reference to Peter Frampton.
47	Jamarca Sanford, S	Hasn't been up for all the games, but again has been a solid special teamer in the games that he has been.
48	Ryan Cook, OT	No Ryan Cook on the field makes Gonzo a happy blogger and Vikings quarterbacks much healthier than they may normally be.
Non-Ranked Players/Incomplete Grades
Rank	Player	Comment
NA	Sage Rosenfels, QB	The best-compensated #3 quarterback in the league. Nice work, if you can get it.
NA	Jayme Mitchell, DE	Still pretty talented, but there just isn't room for him in Minnesota's defensive line rotation. Damn shame, too.
NA	Erin Henderson, LB	Heck, I'm not sure if Henderson the Younger is even still on the team.
NA	Jon Cooper, C	Was signed, then released, then signed again, and I don't think he's seen the field this year.
NA	Albert Young, RB	Hasn't seen the field this year, either.

And there you have it. I'm pretty sure that I haven't missed anybody. . .if I have, let me know, and I'll work them into the rankings at the appropriate place.

And On the Ninth Week, They Rested.

ericj69 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:56:19 -0000

It appears only one NFC team stands in the Vikings' way at the halfway point of the season. Here are their cheerleaders.

View full size photo »

If you gave every NFL team the option of when they wanted their bye week, I'm guessing most teams would pick Week 9 because it is the precise median of the 17-week NFL season. Thankfully, the Vikings get that perfect weekend off to kick back and enjoy their perch atop the NFC North. Of course I don't know any of the players personally, but here's how I envision some of them spending their free time this week:

Jared Allen: Hunting at least four species of wild animal using a variety of weapons: bow, shotgun, rifle, his bare hands, and his mullet. The nice thing for Jared is that he doesn't have to change his wardrobe at all when he goes hunting. (Speaking of hunting, I'm heading up to Warroad for my annual deer hunting trip in a few hours, which is why my weekly picks are coming out a day early. Didja see da turdy pointer?)

Brad Childress: Working the drive-thru at McDonald's. (What, you didn't think Mickey D's was just going to give him that headset did you? He has to work it off!) Childress also plans to watch his favorite DVD, "Awesome Beards in History, narrated by Chuck Norris" about five or six more times.

Adrian Peterson: Destroying brick walls and large construction equipment by simply lowering his shoulder into them. You know, just to stay sharp.

Percy Harvin: Making room in his trophy case for the 2009 NFL Rookie of the Year Award. And thinking up more mysterious illnesses to get out of practice during the week.

Asher Allen: Hopefully throwing away his "How to Tackle, by Deion Sanders" book.

Antoine Winfield: Miraculously healing his sprained foot in time for next week's game. (Please?!)

Chris Kluwe: Finally beating "Through the Fire and Flames" on Expert in Guitar Hero III and upgrading his Dark Elf Mage to Level 50 on World of Warcraft.

Brett Favre: Finally choosing that TV at Sears.

Tarvaris Jackson: Watching game film from last year's Arizona game alone in his house and quietly sobbing. "I had FOUR TOUCHDOWNS! FOUR! I CAN DO IT TOO!"

Sage Rosenfels: Finish writing his novel titled "The Easiest Money I Ever Made: My Time with Brett and the 2009 Vikings."

Pat Williams: Eating. A lot. Duh.

Bryant McKinnie: I actually know this one. He went through the "ESPN Car Wash" yesterday, appearing on roughly 42 ESPN radio and TV segments. This is a much better alternative to his original plan of ~~fighting in parking lots~~ clubbing in Miami.

(More bye week thoughts and my Week 9 picks after the jump.)

Obviously, the Vikings are in great shape halfway through the 2009 season. They're 7-1, they already have 5 road games out of the way, they pick up after the bye with three home games, and if that wasn't enough, the first one is against the Lions!

But as The Wolf uttered one of my favorite lines of all time in Pulp Fiction, "Let's not start sucking each other's d---- just yet."

We all remember the team that our quarterback was on last year, right? The Jets started 8-3, then Favre got hurt and the wheels fell off. Yes, I know, this team is different, and undoubtedly better overall. I'm just sayin', OK? Of any fan base, we Vikings fans should know that a season can turn at any time without warning. We have a looong way to go before we start seriously talking about that February game in Miami, especially with that team in New Orleans putting up 40 points a game at will. But so far, so good, right?

Let's just hope that the Vikings take this most opportune time to rest, recharge, and be ready to make the second half of the season even better than the first.

Now for my Week 9 NFL picks (home team in CAPS):

FALCONS over Redskins: My Eliminator pick this week (still going at 8-0). I have always loved Clinton Portis' wild characters and costumes he thinks up during press conferences. This year, he's even wearing them on the field! Although I'm not sure "Washed-up NFL Malcontent Running Back" is quite as funny as "Dolla Bill."

BEARS over Cardinals: I wouldn't bet your money on this game. Have two teams ever looked so good and bad on a week-to-week basis? I'm taking the Bears here, but I wouldn't be surprised by a 40-point blowout either way in this one.

Ravens over BENGALS: Big-time revenge game here; Baltimore had their first meeting locked up until they went all penalty-happy. Fun drinking game if you're watching this one: drink every time the announcers mention "leader", "motivator", or "intensity" when referring to Ray Lewis. You should be bombed halfway through the second quarter.

COLTS over Texans: It only took Houston seven and a half years to get two games over .500! Congratulations! I'm a little worried about Indy's rushing attack, but the Colts are in the "not picking against them until they lose" category with New Orleans.

JAGUARS over Chiefs: If I was Maurice Jones-Drew and my team fell behind early to Kansas City on Sunday, I would strip the ball from David Garrard and run it myself every time a pass play was called.

PATRIOTS over Dolphins: Like I'm going to pick against Bellichick at home when he's had two weeks to prepare for a gimmick offense.

Packers over BUCCANEERS: Give the Packers credit--they have looked AMAZING against awful teams this year. Good work Pack! You're 4-1 against teams not named the Vikings!

SAINTS over Panthers: It looks like John Fox is finally figuring out that his rush offense is approximately 48 times more efficient than his pass offense...but it's hard to run the ball a lot when the Saints are putting up Arena League scores.

SEAHAWKS over Lions: Hey, T.J. Houshmandzadeh: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! How's choosing Seattle over Minnesota working out for you?

GIANTS over Chargers: The Chargers are 0-3 against teams with winning records. Believe it or not, the Giants still have a winning record.

49ERS over Titans: Although the Niners seem to have mastered the art of "How to Look Good and Still Lose", I think they'll get a big enough lead in this game to not have to worry about their new skill.

EAGLES over Cowboys: I'm rooting for only one thing in this game: lots and lots of injuries. Worst two fan bases in football? Worst two fan bases in football.

Steelers over BRONCOS: Like Christina Hendricks and Lindsay Lohan, these two teams seem like they're heading in opposite directions.

Last week: 8-5

Season so far: 83-33

The Vikings Red Zone Review, Sponsored by Comcast

Gonzo — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:04:59 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Don't worry, man. . .no way we get that unlucky every week. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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Yes, the latest most important regular season game in the history of any football season ever kicks off in a little more than five hours, but we still need to take one final look back at Minnesota's first loss of 2009, as painful as it might be to do so. As always, this look at the Vikings' red zone prowess is brought to you by the folks at Comcast, the providers of the NFL's Red Zone channel. The Red Zone channel is, bar none, the best way cable TV offers you to keep track of all the biggest plays and all the huge scores at one time. Red zone success is a big indicator of team success, and nobody is more successful in bringing you the biggest and most important plays of the day than the Comcast Red Zone channel.

Well, last week the Steelers provided the Vikings with their biggest challenge of the season to date, and the Vikings responded by. . .putting up their worst red zone performance of the year. This is what we in the business call "bad timing."

Vikings Red Zone trips - 5
Vikings Red Zone scores - 2 (1 TD, 1 FG)
Red Zone touchdown percentage - 20%

Definitely not the numbers one wants to see against a team the caliber of the defending world champions.

The game got off to a bit of a slow start for the Vikings, as they pretty much failed to move the football at all on their first three drives, and Chris Kluwe kept giving the Steelers good field position by shanking punts of 35 and 19 yards. After said 19-yarder, the Steelers drove all the way down to the Minnesota 4-yard line, and appeared to have a touchdown on a pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes, but an offensive pass interference penalty on Heath Miller wiped it out. A couple of plays later, the Steelers were forced to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Jeff Reed to make the score 3-0, Pittsburgh.

Into the second quarter, the two teams exchanged punts again, and with 10:34 left in the half, the Vikings took over from their own 24. Brett Favre converted a huge first down early in the drive, as he hit Percy Harvin on the left sideline for 28 yards on third and six to move the ball into Steeler territory. Favre connected on passes to Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian (twice) and Visanthe Shiancoe, and Adrian Peterson picked up another big third down to put the ball at the Pittsburgh 3. The drive concluded with the best running back in football slamming his way into the end zone from two yards out, and the Vikings took a 7-3 lead. Peterson had four carries for 16 yards on the drive, and Favre connected on five of seven passes for 60 yards.

Neither team would make a red zone appearance for the remainder of the first half, although the Steelers did pick up a touchdown pass on a 40-yard connection from Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace ~~of 60 Minutes fame~~ to make the score 10-7 in favor of Pittsburgh going into the locker room.

After the Vikings allowed the Steelers another field goal to start the first half, a 27-yarder by Jeff Reed, the Vikings set about putting together the drive that, in my opinion, decided the football game. Starting from their own 35 after a nice kick return by Percy Harvin, the Vikings made their way to the Pittsburgh 35-yard line, where they faced 4th and 1. Favre took the snap, faded to his left, and fired a bullet to Sidney Rice. Rice made the catch and turned the play into a 34-yard catch and run that set the Vikings up inside the Steelers' 1-yard line. Unfortunately, after an unsuccessful run by Peterson and two incomplete passes, Brad Childress elected to settle for an 18-yard Ryan Longwell field goal rather than attempting to slam it into the end zone on 4th and about six inches. The field goal made the score 13-10 in favor of Pittsburgh. Peterson had just two carries for two yards on the drive, and the remaining 72 yards were picked up by Brett Favre, as he completed seven of ten passes on the drive.

After the teams exchanged three and outs, the Vikings allowed the Steelers to drive into the red zone again on a big pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes that allowed Pittsburgh to set up and the Vikings' 9-yard line. However, on first and goal, Steelers' running back Rashard Mendenhall inexplicably decided that he was going to dive all the way into the end zone from the five yard line, and managed to get the ball knocked out by big Pat Williams in the process. The Vikings recovered the ensuing fumble, and methodically put together a very impressive drive.

Starting from the Pittsburgh 3-yard line, the Vikings passed their way down the field. Favre was hitting everything in sight, completing passes to Rice and Shiancoe, and even getting Greg Lewis involved in the act. Highlighting the drive was an absolutely ridiculous 26-yard reception by Rice that converted a big 3rd and 18 for the Beloved Purple. After Purple Jesus moved the Vikings into the Pittsburgh red zone with a 19-yard run and an 11-yard catch, the Vikings appeared to score the go-ahead touchdown on a 10-yarder from Favre to Rice, but a horrendous tripping penalty on Jeff Dugan negated the play and pushed the Vikings back. (For the record. . .was it a BS call? You're damn right it was a BS call.) On third and 8, Favre dropped back to pass, and as he was getting ready to fire, he got the ball knocked out of his hands by Pittsburgh defensive lineman Brent Kiesel. The fumble was recovered by Lamar Woodley at the 23, and he rumbled all the way to the other end for a 77-yard fumble return. Rather than going up 17-13, the Vikings now found themselves down 20-10.and seemingly out of it. This was the first drive the Vikings experienced all season where they reached the red zone and failed to score points, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.

However, the dark cloud was lifted temporarily as Harvin made his presence felt again, taking the ensuing Jeff Reed kickoff and blasting 88 yards for a touchdown. Harvin managed to run through Reed's ridiculous "tackle" attempt and turn on the jets to put the Vikings right back into the game at 20-17.

The Vikings' defense did what they needed to do and forced the Steelers to punt, starting their next drive at their own 26. Once again, Favre moved the Vikings along, but the drive was highlighted by Peterson pushing up on the "truck stick" against Steelers' CB William Gay on a 29-yard catch and run that moved the Vikings to the Steeler 26. On second and 3 from the Pittsburgh 19, Favre flipped a screen pass to Chester Taylor, who appeared to be well-covered. Still, the pass bounced off of Taylor's hands and into the waiting arms of LB Keyaron Fox, who proceeded to go 82 yards for the score that put the dagger into Minnesota's hopes. The final score was 27-17. The Vikings technically made it into the end zone on their final desperation drive, but although it counts in the NFL's official stats, it really doesn't mean much.

So now, for the season, the Vikings have scored points on 23 of their 26 red zone trips, having notched 13 touchdowns and 10 Ryan Longwell field goals. The Minnesota red zone defense continues to be outstanding, as Viking opponents have reached the red zone 17 times in seven games, and have only come away with six touchdowns and five field goals. On six trips into the red zone, opposing teams have come away with no points against Minnesota's defense.

Hopefully the Vikings' offense can get their red zone prowess back this afternoon at the House that Brett Favre (Re)Built.

Okay, That's Over. . .So Now What?

Gonzo — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:42:40 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

Are you not entertained? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!? (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

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EDITed to add poll. . .enjoy!

Honestly, folks, is there a better time than right now to be a fan of Minnesota sports? We got to watch the Minnesota Twins win five consecutive must-win games (starting with Thursday's series finale in Detroit and concluding with Tuesday's play-in victory), and sandwiched in-between was the Vikings defeating their cross-border rivals in what was, quite possibly, the most hyped and most heavily promoted regular-season game in the last couple of decades. Now, at the quarter pole of the 2009 NFL season, the Beloved Purple are one of only five teams in the National Football League whose record remains unblemished (along with the Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, and New York Giants).

Yep, it's a pretty good time to be cheering for teams that call Minnesota home. So let's go into what happened on Monday night. . .oh, and if you want to re-live everything again, the NFL Network will be re-playing the Packers/Vikings game at 8:30 PM Central time. I'll be flipping back and forth between that and the new episode of South Park from 9 to 9:30. Hey. . .man's gotta get away every once in a while. (-:

Last season, had you come out before a Vikings game and said that Adrian Peterson would rush for 55 yards, average around two yards/carry, and that he'd lose a fumble that was taken back for a touchdown, the only question you would have gotten from a Vikings fan would have been along the lines of "So, did we lose by three touchdowns, or did we manage to keep it within two?" Over the last couple of years of the Brad Childress era, when Adrian Peterson has had a bad game, the Vikings have gotten beaten (with a couple of exceptions). But watching Monday night's game, you knew things were going to be different. . .and you didn't know how you knew, you just knew.

On a night when the best running back in the National Football League just couldn't get himself going, a guy that will turn 40 years old on Saturday put his new team on his back and showed his old team. . .and the rest of America's doubters. . .that he's still plenty capable of getting the job done. After he connected on a beautiful 31-yard rainbow to Bernard Berrian in the third quarter to make the score 28-14, he was 18-for-21 for 226 yards and three touchdowns. For a team. . .and, specifically, a secondary. . .that allegedly knew everything there was to know about Brett Favre, #4 spent a lot of time making the guys in green and yellow look foolish. On the touchdown pass to Berrian, Al Harris looked about as lost as he did on a certain touchdown pass in a certain playoff game a few years ago, as he thought he had deep help that simply wasn't there, and Berrian slipped untouched into the end zone.

Favre's performance was good enough to earn him the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week for Week 4, as he finished up with a stat line of 24/31, 271 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. More importantly, he didn't take a single sack during the entire evening after taking nine in the first three weeks, and was rarely even pressured by Green Bay's front seven.

This was a pretty stark contrast to his counterpart on the other side, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers spent his night under constant pressure from the Vikings' defensive line, and the pressure came almost exclusively from the outsides, as Jared Allen, Ray Edwards, and Brian Robison continuously made the Packer offensive tackles on both sides look silly. Allen wound up with 4.5 sacks on the evening, half a sack shy of tying the Vikings' single-game record of five, and that included a forced fumble by Rodgers on the opening drive of the game, and Allen's third safety in the last two Viking/Packer games at the Metrodome, as he took Rodgers down in the end zone after a beautiful Chris Kluwe punt in the fourth quarter. At first, it appeared as though it was another fumble by Rodgers that Allen recovered at the Green Bay 1-yard line, but the Packers challenged it, and replay confirmed that #69 had taken Rodgers down in the end zone before the ball came loose. Overall, the Vikings wound up with eight sacks on the evening, and seven of them came from defensive ends (4.5 for Allen, 1.5 for Robison, and 1 for Ray Edwards). Jimmy Kennedy was the lone interior lineman to register a sack for Minnesota on Monday night.

Not everything about Monday night's game was all sunshine and lollipops, however. On the rare occasions that Rodgers did get time to throw, he ripped the Vikings apart pretty good, finishing the game with 347 yards passing and two touchdown passes of his own (along with his first interception of the season, a pick by Antoine Winfield that led to another Minnesota touchdown). The Vikings also got mauled by a fast, strong tight end again, just as they did by Vernon Davis against the 49ers the week before, as Jermichael Finley caught six passes for 128 yards, including the 62-yard touchdown pass that answered the Vikings opening score.

I'm not the world's biggest Aaron Rodgers fan. I don't think he's the next Johnny Unitas or anything crazy like that. But after the absolute beating the Vikings subjected him to on Monday night and for him to answer the way he did, it's really, really hard to question his toughness at this point. That guy put his big boy pants on this Monday night, and it was darn near enough for him to lead his team to a victory even after getting sacked eight times and spending his evening running for his life almost every time he dropped back to pass.

Speaking of quarterbacks, much was made of the quarterback makeover that the NFC North underwent this season. Rodgers is the only quarterback starting for an NFC North team this year that started for the same team last year, with the Lions, Bears, and Vikings all bringing in new starters. At the quarter point of the season, how do those quarterbacks compare? Well. . .see for yourself:

Player	Team	Comp	Att	Comp %	Yards	TD	INT	Sacked	Rating
Jay Cutler	CHI	83	129	64.3	901	8	5	8	89.3
Brett Favre	MIN	85	125	68.0	837	8	1	9	104.6
Aaron Rodgers	GB	77	127	60.6	1,098	6	1	20	101.1
Matthew Stafford	DET	79	139	56.8	894	3	6	10	65.5

Yep. . .the old guy seems to be living up to the hype after all, I'd say. Will he be able to maintain his current pace? Well, I don't think he's going to end the season with a 32/4 TD-to-INT ratio or anything, but I think he's still going to have a significantly larger number in the TD column than he'll have in the INT column. In any event, it sure as heck has been fun to watch so far, hasn't it?

So, what do we have to look forward to in the second quarter of the season? Well, only one of Minnesota's next four games will be in the comfy confines of the Metrodome, for starters. They'll start this stanza with a trip to St. Louis. . .a potential trap game if there ever was one. . .for a date with the Rams before hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6 in what should be an extremely physical, hard-hitting contest. No rest for the Vikings after that, however, as they travel to the House that Ketchup Built in Week 7 to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then make the annual pilgrimage to Lambeau Field to take on these same Packers before heading into their bye in Week 9.

As far as the rest of the NFC North, since we should be tracking them, too, both Chicago and Green Bay have Week 5 off. The Packers will host the Lions and travel to Cleveland before hosting the rematch with the Vikings. Chicago has a Sunday night date with the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6, followed by a trip to Cincinnati to take on the surprising Bengals and a home game against Cleveland. Detroit has the defending world champions at home this Sunday, followed by a trip to Green Bay, a bye week of their own, and a home contest against St. Louis.

It's been a great start to the 2009 season, ladies and gentlemen. . .and I'm happy as heck as you've spent it here with DN. Don't go anywhere the rest of the year, since we'll still be here providing the best Vikings coverage you'll find anywhere. Have a good rest of your evening, ladies and gentlemen. . .go Twins, and SKOL Vikings!!!!

Poll

Vikings MVP through the first four games. . .WHO YA GOT?

DE Jared Allen (18 tackles, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles)

477 votes

QB Brett Favre (104.6 QB rating, 8 TD, 1 INT)

874 votes

RB Adrian Peterson (84 carries, 412 yards, 5 TD, 2nd in NFL in rushing)

219 votes

CB Antoine Winfield (28 tackles, 1 INT)

52 votes

Someone else (specify in comments)

12 votes

1634 votes | Poll has closed

Insert Upbeat Title Here

Mitchell_M — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:08:33 -0000

So Green Bay kind of got crushed. So what? AT LEAST JERMICHAEL FINLEY HELPED MY FANTASY TEAM! Other than that, I haven't seen a game where everything went so wrong so quickly in a long, long time. If you want to read on, go ahead. But beware, all ye who enter here, for there is no good news to follow.

Every once in a while, there comes along a matchup that is almost too easy to exploit. Your opponent has a shaky offensive line made shakier by injuries to their best pass protector? Use your already superb pass rush to get after the quarterback. The other team's starting safety is out, leaving inexperienced and mistake-prone backups in his place? Take a shot down the field when you recognize a miscommunication. Your rival's starting MLB is coming off an ACL injury and is still regaining his mobility? Wait til he's matched up with a TE or WR, and then isolate him.

These mismatches and countless more were all present in Monday night's 30-23 shellacking in the Metrodome. I don't care if you're rolling with Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, and Jared Allen or JaMarcus Russell, Larry Johnson, and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (post-injury); if you have mismatches and you manage to exploit them, you're going to succeed. And the Vikings succeeded while the Packers did not.

Exactly how poor was this week's performance? Well, Rodgers was sacked a season-high 8 times. David Carr cringes at that statistic. He also took a safety, lost a fumble, and threw his first interception. Donald Lee flat-out dropped a TD pass that could have closed the gap to 28-21 in the third quarter. Mike McCarthy wasted a challenge in the first quarter and used another one to turn a fumble into a safety against Green Bay. Daryn Colledge got hurt, inserting T.J. Lang into the game at left tackle. Antoine Winfield upended Ryan Grant as if Grant were a high schooler AND jumped a hitch-out route like it was in slow motion, getting an admittedly nice pick. Al Harris let Bernard Berrian go free on a deep route because Derrick Martin was supposed to help over the top...but was nowhere to be found. Chris Kluwe put the Packers at the 1 and 4 yard line to start two fourth-quarter drives, resulting in a safety for Minnesota and an eventual TD for Green Bay. Will Blackmon messed up his knee, leaving Green Bay's already iffy return units even thinner.

And it wasn't even just that Green Bay played awful. Minnesota played outstanding. Favre put on a clinic on how to exploit the defensive mismatches (see section above), putting up 271 yards and 3 scores. Adrian Peterson was limited (55 yards on 25 carries), but still made life difficult for the defense. Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, and Sidney Rice simply got open. Jared Allen got more than his fair share of sacks (4.5). The Vikings line did a better job protecting Favre than the Secret Service.

Look at it this way: Green Bay's 14 meaningful points came on fluky plays. Nine times out of ten, Jermichael Finley doesn't break a pair of tackles on his way to a 62-yard score, and nine times out of ten, Clay Matthews doesn't manage to rip the ball out of Adrian Peterson's hands. Rodgers' fourth quarter drive culminating in a 33-yard score to Jordy Nelson was impressive because it went 96 yards in less than a minute-and-a-half. But the failed conversion and ensuing onside kick left the score at 30-20 with little hope of regaining possession. They even teased us by getting the ball back and converting a field goal with :55 seconds left. But another failed onside kick (despite a pair of GREAT attempts by Mason Crosby) sealed the deal.

So, yeah, the margin of victory wasn't evident of a blowout, but let's be honest: it was a blowout. A blowout with a valiant effort at the very end, but a blowout nonetheless. Green Bay got beat like they stole something. Plain and simple.

(Now that all that is out of the way...a much-overlooked detail in this game was penalties. 7 for 57 yards for Green Bay compared to 2 for 10 for Minnesota...and there were a TON of missed calls when the Vikings had the ball. I'm not saying penalties scuttled Green Bay's chances, but the officiating wasn't even close to evenly distributed. If you're gonna call Donald Driver for holding outside the shoulder pads, you have to call Percy Harvin for the exact same thing on the very next possession.)

Saturday Injury Report: Green Bay Packers at Vikings

Brandon — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:52:50 -0000

Usually this is written on Friday, but with a Monday night game, the final practice of the week is on Saturday instead. More time to heal!

For the Packers, there are a lot of familiar names. SS Atari Bigby has been out since week 1, but he should be back after the bye week (next week). It means the first big game for SS Derrick Martin who barely played last week because they substituted him for an extra LB. RB Brandon Jackson has been out since the preseason. LB Jeremy Thompson has been battling a knee injury the past two weeks, but he's gotten off to a poor start on special teams so his absence might be noticed in a good way. The big name this week has been LT Chad Clifton, who's been listed as questionable but hasn't practiced all week. I'm not a big fan of LT Daryn Colledge, but I'd rather see him start then an injured player. Mike McCarthy expects Colledge will start, so don't expect Clifton to be active. Everyone else should play.

For the Vikings, they've got a number of big names on their injury list. Of course QB Brett Favre will play, so there's no need to discuss that one. I wonder if he's only being listed because of the Jets injury-report fiasco. LB Erin Henderson probably won't play, but since he's most famous for being LB E.J. Henderson's brother, and only has 15 career tackles, I don't expect they'll miss him. The Vikings struggling pass protection would take a blow if Pro Bowl LG Steve Hutchinson is out with a back injury. He looks like a game-time decision. Don't expect WR Darius Reynaud will play, which might not seem like a big loss, but he's having a great season as a punt returner. It looks like starting FB Naufahu Tahi won't play either. They won't miss his meager offensive production, but his blocking could be missed.

These are not game changing injuries for either team, but they are hitting both teams struggling pass protection units. Complete injury list after the jump.

From Packers.com:

Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Atari Bigby	S	Knee	Out	Out
Chad Clifton	T	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Brandon Jackson	RB	Ankle	Out	Out
Cullen Jenkins	DE	Groin	Full Participation	Probable
Greg Jennings	WR	Wrist	Full Participation	Probable
Johnny Jolly	DE	Abdomen	Full Participation	Probable
B.J. Raji	NT	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Knee	Did Not Participate	Out
Charles Woodson	CB	Foot	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Brett Favre	QB	Foot	Limited Participation	Probable
Cedric Griffin	CB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
E.J. Henderson	LB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Erin Henderson	LB	Calf	Limited Participation	Doubtful
Steve Hutchinson	G	Back	Limited Participation	Questionable
Jim Kleinsasser	TE	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Chris Kluwe	P	Illness	Full Participation	Probable
Darius Reynaud	WR	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Naufahu Tahi	FB	Back	Limited Participation	Questionable

Chilly's Giddy for Favre

Anthony21 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:52:48 -0000

I previously thought Chilly's fascination with Tarvaris Jackson to be indestructible. The idea of separating the two seemed almost as impossible as separating Chris Kluwe from World of Warcraft -- just wasn't gonna happen. But if there's another quarterback who can give Chilly a giddiness we once thought only Alabama State quarterbacks could give him, his recent interview with Grandpa Sports is revealing:

Childress added, "I think [Favre] is a top-five passer in the NFL, and obviously if he has all of his faculties, if he can play the way he wants to, there is no reason he can't be that way."

A top-five passer in the NFL this season? I don't know about that, but hey, I can hardly blame Chilly for being excited about the upcoming arrival of Favre. He's getting a solid quarterback without having to give anything up (except perhaps JDB) and without having to admit that Sagevaris Jacksonfels would have been an underwhelming option at quarterback for a team looking to contend. Favre will surely raise expectations for the Vikings and put more pressure on the team than we've seen in quite some time, but he could also be Chilly's ticket to avoid the unemployment line.

Poll

Is Favre currently a top-five passer in the NFL?

Yes -- he still belongs in the top five.

577 votes

No -- not at this stage in his career.

476 votes

1053 votes | Poll has closed

A (Slightly Less) Insanely Early Look at the Vikings' Schedule, Part Four

Gonzo — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:42:42 -0000

Yes, only two months or so after the third installment of our look at the Vikings' schedule, I'm finally getting around to finishing it. Pretty awesome, huh? (Damn your black heart, Brett Favre.) I apologize for not having a lot of stuff on here outside of Favre this and Favre that recently, but. . .well. . .that's about the only Vikings-related thing there's been to talk about recently. News coming out of OTAs has been few and far between, the StarCaps case is still on hold. . .and Anthony pretty much has the Favre situation on lockdown. Behind the scenes, I'm still organizing the Podcast and stuff like that. . .it's going to be a live format, but I'm still working on dates, times, that sort of thing. As soon as I have everything figured out, it will be up here for everybody to access.

However, now it's time to look at the fourth quarter of the Vikings' 2009 schedule. The Vikings should have some solid momentum going their way at this point, and based on their first 12 games, I think there's a very good chance they could be looking at an 8-4/9-3 kind of mark before we head into the home stretch. If you need to review the previous three articles to remind yourselves where we're at, they're right here.

What will that last quarter hold? Let's take a look!

The Fourth Quarter - Elevation (See what I did there? U2 song titles. Why? Because U2 is awesome, that's why.)

The thirteenth game of the 2009 season will have the Beloved Purple playing host to the Cincinnati Bengals. Now, contrary to what a couple of folks I know think, I don't have the feeling that the Bengals will be that great this year. Even with the return of Carson Palmer, their offense is a mess, and Chad ~~Johnson~~ ~~Douchenozzle~~ Ochocinco is liable to go off at any time. Even if he's not in Bellevue by the time the Vikings and Bengals meet up, it's going to be a little bit rougher for him, as he'll no longer have T.J. Houshmandzadeh lined up on the other side of the formation. Chris Henry may or may not end up in jail again, too. . .really, you never know.

Cedric Benson is the #1 running back in town. Yeah, that Cedric Benson.

(pauses long enough to allow the laughter to subside)

I guess what I'm saying is that the Bengals should have trouble scoring against the Minnesota defense, to put it mildly.

The Vikings, on the other hand, should have no such problem. While the Bengals were #12 in the league in total yards allowed in 2008, they were 21st against the run. They were also a blistering 1-7 on the road. There are no easy wins in the National Football League. . .but I would be pretty surprised if Minnesota didn't handle this one with some level of ease. The final three games of the 2009 season, however, should be pretty tough. They're winnable football games, but they definitely won't be easy wins.

It starts out with what (as of now) is projected to be the first of two consecutive prime-time games for the Beloved Purple, as they travel to ~~Bank of America~~ (insert new name here) Stadium to take on the Carolina Panthers. I say projected to be consecutive prime-time games, because this game is on NBC's Sunday Night schedule, which means it could get "flexed" if there's another more compelling matchup out there. However, if these two teams play the way they're capable of, I wouldn't expect this game to get moved.

Now, we all remember the 2008 game between these two teams, with Antoine Winfield crushing Jake Delhomme and the defense completely dominating the second half as the Vikings won 20-10. The Panthers have one of the best one-two rushing tandems in the NFL in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. However, as we all know, this plays right into Minnesota's strength, and in last year's matchup the Viking defense limited Williams and Stewart to 42 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor fared slightly better against Carolina's defense, combining for 121 yards on 28 carries. Considering that Carolina finished 3rd in the NFL in rushing yardage in 2008 (behind only the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons), holding their backs to those sort of numbers again would be a tall order. . .but if any defense would be capable of it, it would be Minnesota's.

The outcome of this game could depend on whether we see "good" Jake Delhomme. . .and Delhomme has the capability to be pretty good when he's given sufficient time in the pocket. . .or whether we see the Jake Delhomme that showed up in the NFC Divisional Playoffs in January that used Arizona Cardinal defenders for target practice. If Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, and company can get after Delhomme the way they did in Minneapolis last year (where they registered five sacks), "bad" Delhomme could be out in full force (along with the boobirds) in Charlotte. This is one of the more interesting games on the schedule, though, and it could really go either way.

The final road game of the year will definitely occur in prime time, as the Vikings will travel to what should be a cold and blustery Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears. Last year's game at Soldier Field was a nightmare, with Gus Frerotte throwing four interceptions, Chris Kluwe being awful, and the special teams just being generally terrible. Despite all of that, the Vikings managed to stay within a touchdown of the Bears and put up their highest scoring output of the year in a 48-41 loss. Since I can't imagine the Vikings' special teams being that awful again, and I can't envision that many turnovers, this game could easily go the other way.

This will be the one game the Vikings play all season where weather should have any significant effect. . .and if it's anything like it usually is in Chicago in December, it's going to be a display of power football on both sides, and both defenses should be amped up and ready to go for this one. If that's the case, the easy choice is Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor over Matt Forte and Kevin Jones, I think.

"But what about Jay Cutler," you might say. The thing is. . .the next time Jay Cutler carries his team in a big situation will be the first time. He was terrible down the stretch in 2008, and has never won a single NFL game that actually meant anything when there was any sort of pressure on him. Since this game could very easily be for the division title, it wouldn't surprise me one single bit to see the diva fall apart again, this time on national TV. I know it's a division game and you can throw the records out and all those other cliches. . .but if you could rest your team's chances of winning on the shoulders of either Adrian Peterson (who has put a team on his back before and carried them when they needed it) or Jay Cutler (who has really done no such thing). . .who are you taking? I know who I'm taking. Unfortunately, this is far from an automatic win. . .but it is winnable.

The season finale will be the same as the 2008 season finale, as the Vikings will play host to the New York Giants at the Metrodome. Yes, we heard all the crap last year. . ."the Vikings only beat the Giants' backups. The Giants starters would have destroyed the Vikings." Blah blah blah. The Vikings did enough in their first 15 games to put themselves in a situation where they could have a game against a team that had nothing to play for with a playoff spot on the line. The Bears had a game against a team that had nothing to play for with a playoff spot on the line, too. . .and they would have gotten in, had they beaten the Houston Texans. But, they didn't, so they got to sit at home and watch us in the post-season.

(Oh, and when the Giants pulled their starters, the Vikings were winning the football game. Minor thing, but I thought it should be mentioned.)

There's a good chance that one or both teams will be resting players for this one if there's nothing on the line. I can hope that the Vikings are in a situation to rest players, unless there's a first-round bye to be had or something like that. So, I'm not going to project this one too much, since we don't really know who's going to be on the field for either team at this point. However, if the season goes the way I've projected it for the first 15 games, there won't be as much concern for Game #16 as there will be for Game #17.

And that's the final look at the 2009 schedule, ladies and gentlemen! Despite what many of the "experts" are thinking at this point, I don't see any reason that this team can't be in the 10-6/11-5 range and celebrating their second consecutive NFC North division crown on or before 3 January 2010.

What do you think, folks? Agree? Disagree? Discuss it here!