SB Nation - Darius Reynaud

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.

Friday Injury Report: Vikings at Green Bay Packers

Brandon — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:57:32 -0000

It's a good sized injury list for both teams this week. For the Packers, they are missing players that have been out the past couple of weeks, while the Vikings might have a problem with depth at WR and LB.

Mike McCarthy spoke about the injuries at his press conference. Clifton and Tauscher were both listed as full participants in practice, but McCarthy said he and his staff will decide on Saturday who will start. Reading between the lines, LT T.J. Lang and RT Allen Barbre will remain the starters. He said Finley had a chance to play, but he hasn't practiced all week, so I expect he's out. I didn't know either Martin or Woodson was hurt, it must have happened last week in Cleveland, and while Martin is probably out, Woodson will almost certainly play. Matthews was knocked out mid-game against the Browns, but he should play against the Vikings. Rodgers has been bothered by a sore foot for a couple weeks, but it hasn't kept him out yet. Sitton must have gotten hurt this week in practice, but he should start. Hall, Nelson, Spitz and Wynn have all been out for at least two weeks, and none of them should be expected to play this week either. WR James Jones might play a big role as the 3rd WR this week as he should take all of Nelson's playing time.

For the Vikings, their big problem is that CB Antoine Winfield is out again. CB Karl Paymah is one of his replacements, they're rotating 3 different backs in place of Winfield, and he's battling a quad injury. 3 WRs are hurting. Even if Berrian does play, he won't be 100%. Harvin's injury has been undisclosed, but he's likely battling a migraine, which may or may not clear up by Sunday. Reynaud is their punt returner, and he was out for the Packers' game in Minneapolis too. I'm a fan of both Henderson and Leber, and while both starting LBs should play, neither will be 100%. Obviously Favre will play despite being listed on the injury report. It's not a critical injury report, but with 3 players listed from both WR and LB, they could run into problems if another player is hurt at either position.

The complete injury list is after the jump.

Packers:

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Chad Clifton	T	Ankle	Full Participation	Questionable
Jermichael Finley	TE	Knee	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Korey Hall	FB	Calf	Out	Out
Derrick Martin	S	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Clay Matthews	LB	Jaw	Full Participation	Probable
Jordy Nelson	WR	Knee	Out	Out
Aaron Rodgers	QB	Foot	Full Participation	Probable
Josh Sitton	G	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Jason Spitz	C/G	Back	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Mark Tauscher	T	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Charles Woodson	CB	Hip	Full Participation	Probable
Jarius Wynn	DE	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable

Vikings:

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Bernard Berrian	WR	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Jasper Brinkley	LB	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Brett Favre	QB	Hip	Limited Participation	Probable
Percy Harvin	WR	Illness	Limited Participation	Questionable
E.J. Henderson	LB	Knee	Limited Participation	Probable
Ben Leber	LB	Calf	Limited Participation	Probable
Karl Paymah	CB	Quadriceps	Full Participation	Probable
Darius Reynaud	WR	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Naufahu Tahi	FB	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Antoine Winfield	CB	Foot	Did Not Participate	Out

Harvin's Status for Sunday Remains Unclear

Anthony21 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:05:09 -0000

We've been following Percy Harvin's progress throughout the week, and after sitting out Wednesday's practice before participating in portions of practice on Thursday and Friday, he's officially been listed as "questionable" for Sunday. Percy called himself a "game-time" decision in his comments to the media today, saying he'll test out his injured shoulder prior to the Vikings' meeting with Baltimore and will then determine whether or not he can give it a go.

By the way, in case you were wondering how he's stacking up with other rookies around the league, Harvin is third in the league among rookies in receptions and receiving yards. His kickoff returning would be missed in a big way if he is unable to play against Baltimore, and as the team's leading receiver after five weeks, his absence would put quite a bit of pressure on both Bernard Berrian and Sidney Rice to make up for the absence of part of the receiving trifecta.

Don't expect to see Darius Reynaud -- he's out again with a hamstring injury. For the third consecutive week, Jaymar Johnson will be taking his place as the team's punt returner. Phil Loadholt rounds out the week's injury report -- The Load is listed as questionable, so we'll see if he can make his return or if we get another week of Artis Hicks.

Statistically Speaking, Vikings Look Solid

Anthony21 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:20:00 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Browse more photos »

I'm not a big stats guy, but even a fella like me can look at the statistical leaderboards after five weeks and see that the Vikings are excelling in multiple facets of the game. A quick glance at the numbers:

Among quarterbacks, Brett Favre is third in the league in completion percentage (69.1%) with just Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning in front of him. His 104.1 quarterback rating places him at fourth in the league. Our pal across the border, Aaron Rodgers? Well, at least he's leading the league in something (sacks). If you thought Favre's protection was a little lacking, consider that Rodgers has been sacked nearly twice as much as Favre has (20 vs. 11). And that's with Green Bay taking last weekend off. I greatly enjoy the fact that the Mullet is single-handedly responsible for nearly 25% of those sacks.
We've talked about Adrian Peterson's quiet games against the Packers and Rams, but AD is still second in the league in rushing yards. His 481 yards put him six yards behind the pace-setter, Cedric Benson. AD leads all running backs with seven rushing touchdowns.
On the defensive side, E.J. Henderson's 41 tackles put him in 10th place in the league. Jared Allen is in second place on the sack leaderboard, trailing Antwan Odom and Elvis Dumervil (who have eight sacks each) with 6.5 sacks. Allen and Chad Greenway are also among 11 players who have recovered two or more fumbles this season, and the Mullet has forced three fumbles. The numbers justify the early MVP talk.
The Steal Of The Draft (Percy Harvin) has proven himself to be a lethal kickoff returner, and the stats back that up. His 31.2 yards-per-return average puts him in second place in the league. Darius Reynaud, who has missed the last two games, is averaging 17.3 per punt return -- also good enough for second in the NFL. The guy he was replaced with, Jaymar Johnson? Three returns, averaging 18.0 yards apiece.
Points per game? The Vikings are third in the league with an average of 31.2. If you would have told me this time last season that the Vikes would be one of the highest-scoring offenses in 2009 -- after the first five weeks, at least -- there's absolutely no way I would have believed you. Just as important as the points-per-game average is the turnover differential (+8). Your Vikings lead the league in that category.

Anything I missed? Give me a shout in the comments.

The Vikings Red Zone Review, Sponsored by Comcast

Gonzo — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:47:05 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

2 months ago: Minnesota Vikings' Brett Favre (4) celebrates with Chester Taylor (29) after Favre threw a touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

Browse more photos »

This is going to become a weekly feature here on the site in conjunction with the deal that I told everyone about last week with Comcast sponsoring the site. With Comcast being the home of the NFL Red Zone Channel, the best place for you to see every score from every game every week, I thought it only appropriate that we take a look at how the Beloved Purple were doing in the Red Zone throughout the season. Red zone success is often an indicator of team success, and nobody gives you all the scores for your team and every other team like the Comcast Red Zone.

Since this is the first installment of the Vikings Red Zone Review, we'll look at the red zone performance of the Vikings for the first quarter of the season. From here on out, as I said, we'll do more of a weekly review with more specifics and so forth. Results after the jump:

Week 1 at Cleveland

Viking Red Zone trips - 5
Vikings Red Zone scores - 5 (3 TD, 2 FG)
Red Zone touchdown percentage - 60%

The Vikings' red zone offense got off to a pretty good start against the Cleveland Browns back in Week 1. On the second drive of the season, Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre moved the Vikings deep into Browns territory, but the drive stalled at the Cleveland 3-yard line, leading to a 21-yard Ryan Longwell field goal. They wasted no time getting their next score, either, as a big Darius Reynaud punt return set the Vikings up at the Cleveland 36, and Adrian Peterson took it in from a yard out four plays later for the Vikings' first touchdown of the season and another red zone conversion for Minnesota.

The second half saw the Vikings take the opening kickoff and march straight down the field for another red zone success, a drive that ended in another Adrian Peterson 1-yard touchdown run to give the Vikings a lead they'd never relinquish. The Vikings' next drive also saw them enter the Cleveland red zone, and the end result was Percy Harvin's first ever NFL touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Brett Favre. Towards the end of the game, the Beloved Purple tacked on one more red zone score on a 37-yard Ryan Longwell field goal. All in all, you can't say too many things about the Vikings' red zone offense in Week 1.

Week 2 at Detroit

Viking Red Zone trips - 3
Viking Red Zone scores - 3 (2 TD, 1 FG)
Red Zone touchdown percentage - 66%

The Vikings as a whole got off to quite a slow start at Ford Field in Week 2, as they didn't penetrate the Lions' red zone until nearly the end of the first half. That was when the Vikings cobbled together a ten play, 76-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Visanthe Shiancoe and pulled the Vikings to within 10-7 at halftime. However, much like they did against the Browns, the Vikings came to life in the second half, but only needed to hit the red zone twice to secure a victory. The first came as they drove to the Detroit 8-yard line but couldn't punch the ball into the end zone. Ryan Longwell then came on and hit on a 26-yard field goal to tie the game.

The final red zone trip for Minnesota came after Matthew Stafford was intercepted by Chad Greenway, and the linebacker took the ball all the way down to the Detroit 16. From there, Percy Harvin picked up his second touchdown reception of the season on a 3-yard strike, putting the game out of reach for Minnesota and helping the Vikings move to 2-0.

Week 3 vs. San Francisco

Viking Red Zone trips - 0
Viking Red Zone scores - 0
Red Zone touchdown percentage - 0%

Red zone offense? Red zone offense? The Vikings didn't need no stinking red zone offense against the 49ers in Week 3, as they didn't run a single play from inside the San Francisco 20-yard line all afternoon long.

Well, that certainly makes that easy to review, eh?

Week 4 vs. Green Bay

Viking Red Zone trips - 3
Viking Red Zone scores - 3 (3 TD)
Red Zone touchdown percentage - 100%

In order to beat a team like the Packers, conversion in the red zone is crucial, and Brett Favre had no trouble doing that against his former teammates. Minnesota's good luck inside the 20 started early, as Minnesota's first drive took Minnesota deep into the Green Bay red zone, and a 1-yard pass from Favre to Visanthe Shiancoe game the Vikings a quick 7-0 lead. Following an Antoine Winfield interception of Aaron Rodgers, Favre and company went to work again, moving 77 yards in 10 plays and concluding with a beautiful 14-yard bullet to Sidney Rice to put the Vikings back ahead 14-7. After the Packers scored again, the Vikings took the ball and drove downfield in the waning moments of the first half. A beautiful throw from Favre to Harvin put the Vikings on the Green Bay 1, and Adrian Peterson knew what to do from there as he slammed into the end zone to put the Vikings up 21-14 going into the locker room.

Minnesota didn't need to visit the red zone in the second half, as their only second half touchdown came on a rainbow from Favre to Bernard Berrian from 31 yards out to make the score 28-14.

All in all, the Vikings have done pretty well for themselves in the red zone this season on offense. In 11 trips to the red zone, they've yet to come away without points, having converted for eight touchdowns and three field goals. If the Vikings can keep up with that kind of success the rest of the way, there's no reason to think that they shouldn't be playing deep into January.

Check out the Comcast Red Zone channel this weekend to keep up with all the NFL red zone action! We'll be back with more later, folks.

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

Preview: Green Bay Packers at Vikings

Brandon — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:55 -0000

by Jeff Roberson - AP

View full size photo »

My pessimism level is high for the game at Mall of America Field next Monday night. For two reasons: 1) the offensive line has looked bad, at times; and 2) the team really struggled in their game last season in Minnesota. But I'm coming around to the fact that it could be a heck of a game. Their last three meetings under the dome have been close, within one score. But what really turned me into an optimist was when looked at the stats.

I took a hard look at the stats available at Football Outsiders. Team passing ranks out of 32 teams:

Team	Pass Offense	Pass Defense	QB	WR	OL Pass Protect	DL Pass Protect
Packers	10	5	12	4 and 19	32	18
Vikings	15	7	15	20 and 38	28	5

According to FO, the 4th best WR so far this season is WR Donald Driver. Despite all the 50 yard catches by WR Greg Jennings (ranked No. 19 overall), Driver has outplayed him this season. The top two receivers for the Vikings are WR Percy Harvin (No. 20) and WR Sidney Rice (No. 38).

The Packers pass offense has done well, in large part because they've avoided any INTs this season, but the Vikings pass defense is very good and they've been getting after the QB. That is a bad matchup for the Packers, who currently are the worst team in the NFL at protecting the QB.

The same can be said for the Vikings. The Packers don't have as many sacks, but the Vikings aren't doing a good job at stopping the pass rush either. QB Brett Favre has been playing it safe in the passing attack, and he'll have to avoid taking any risks because the Packers' secondary has been very opportunistic this season. Both teams will struggle to pass the ball.

The analysis of the running game, and the rest of the preview, are after the jump.

More stats from Football Outsiders:

Team	Run Offense	Run Defense	RB	OL Run Block	DL Run Block
Packers	6	15	17	18	18
Vikings	14	6	5	8	5

This might not make much sense at first. How can the Vikings be the No. 14 run offense when RB Adrian Peterson is the 5th best RB? How can the Packers be so much better when RB Ryan Grant is only the 17th best RB? The answer: Peterson is getting no help from his teammates. RB Chester Taylor is averaging only 2.4 yards/carry. Meanwhile, Rodgers has 88 yards rushing (5.9/carry avg.) and a TD. Also, FB John Kuhn ran for a TD on his only carry of the season. The Packers run defense has allowed two 100 yard rushers in their first three games, but that's still good enough for just below average. The Vikings will have some success against them, when they're handing the ball off to Peterson, but the Packers can be productive too despite the excellent Vikings run defense.

For an added edge, despite the blocked FG attempt that the 49ers returned for a TD last week, Football Outsiders currently has the Vikings ranked 2nd best on special teams. The Packers are way down at No. 26. The one thing both teams have in common is that they are among the worst when punting and on punt coverage. K Mason Crosby is ranked low right now due a missed PAT. For the Vikings, their strength is in the return game. WR Percy Harvin had a kickoff return for a TD last week, and WR Darius Reynaud is one of the best punt returners in the league, although he might be hobbled by a leg injury.

Neither team is an offensive juggernaut at the moment. The Packers offense has played better over the first three games, but the Vikings present the biggest defensive challenge they've faced so far this season. Still, it's hard to tell if the Vikings defense is really as good as their stats indicate. Their first three games were against three of the worst offenses in the NFL, and the best offensive player they've faced so far this season, RB Frank Gore, was injured on the first series of the game. Still, the Vikings offense could easily outplay the Packers, but only if Peterson carries the offense on his back.

The Packers offense is going to have to produce if they are going to win this game. No lead will be safe until the Packers score 30+ points. I'm still not overly optimistic, but there's no way I'm picking the Vikings. Packers 31, Vikings 27.

Vikings Complete Cuts; Final 53-Man Roster Announced

Gonzo — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:09:15 -0000

We'll get cut together
So now it's farewell
And maybe we'll come back
To the league, who can tell?
The coach wants to see me he said
"Bring your playbook"
Well I'll still get paid I hope because. . .

IT'S THE FINAL CUTDOWN!!
DUH NUH NUH NUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. . .DUH NUH NUH UH UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

Stupid Youtube making me put this below the video rather than right next to it. Took me half an hour to realize that you apparently can't do that like you used to.

Anyway, let's hit the jump here and we'll compare the Vikings' roster to what I had envisioned them doing.

Quarterback

Gonzo's Prediction (3): Brett Favre, Sage Rosenfels, John David Booty
Actual Roster (3): Favre, Tarvaris Jackson, Rosenfels

I didn't think they'd cut Booty, but I'm guessing they'll try to get him to the practice squad. Whether that actually happens or not is another matter. However, based on what we've seen from him the last two pre-seasons, I don't think I'll be terribly disappointed if he slips through our grasp.

By the way, the order in the "actual roster" list there reflects how I think the depth chart should look. Jackson clearly outplayed Rosenfels for most of the post-season, which means we spent a fourth-round pick and gave a three-year extension to a guy that should be inactive most Sundays. Peachy.

Running Back

Gonzo's Prediction (4): Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor, Albert Young, Naufahu Tahi
Actual Roster (4): Peterson, Taylor, Young, Tahi

No real suspense here. The coaching staff has liked Albert Young since last year, and Ian Johnson just couldn't overcome that. I honestly don't think that he'll get through to the practice squad, which is a real shame.

Wide Receiver

Gonzo's Prediction (6): Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin, Bobby Wade, Jaymar Johnson, Darius Reynaud
Actual Roster (6): Berrian, Rice, Harvin, Wade, Johnson, Reynaud

Kevin Seifert said in his "Three and Out" about the Vikings that they "suddenly have the deepest group of receivers in the NFC North." That became obvious today when, for the first time in the Brad Childress era, the team chose to keep six wide receivers instead of five. With this group of receivers and Brett Favre behind center, I can't help but think that this might be the year that the "Kick Ass Offense" finally starts. . .you know. . .kicking ass.

Tight End

Gonzo's Prediction (3): Visanthe Shiancoe, Jim Kleinsasser, Jeff Dugan
Actual Roster (3): Shiancoe, Kleinsasser, Dugan

Dugan is technically listed as a fullback. Meh. Garrett Mills has, indeed, been released, so he's now free to be injured and take up an inactive roster spot for one of the other 31 NFL teams.

Offensive Line

Gonzo's Prediction (8): Bryant McKinnie, Steve Hutchinson, John Sullivan, Anthony Herrera, Phil Loadholt, Drew Radovich, Artis Hicks, Ryan Cook
Actual Roster (8): McKinnie, Hutchinson, Sullivan, Herrera, Loadholt, Hicks, Cook, Jon Cooper

Cooper over Radovich is a small surprise, since Cooper is strictly a one-position backup at this point (as Mike Mayock pointed out last night). I'm not sure how much versatility Radovich had, but he didn't look spectacular last night by any means. No other surprises along the rest of this unit, although I'm sure that some people will still be surprised that the Vikings only kept eight offensive lineman rather than nine.

Defensive Line

Gonzo's Prediction (9): Jared Allen, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, Ray Edwards, Brian Robison, Fred Evans, Letroy Guion, Jimmy Kennedy, Jayme Mitchell
Actual Roster (9): Allen, Williams, Williams, Edwards, Robison, Evans, Guion, Kennedy, Mitchell

Again, no surprises here. The team will no doubt try to slide Martail Burnett back to the practice squad, and it remains to be seen whether he gets that far. That's a disadvantage that teams like the Vikings have. . .they have to cut some really talented guys, and as a result their potential practice squadders tend to get "poached" more frequently than those from some other teams.

Linebacker

Gonzo's Prediction (7): Ben Leber, E.J. Henderson, Chad Greenway, Heath Farwell, Erin Henderson, Jasper Brinkley, Kenny Onatolu
Actual Roster (7): Leber, Henderson the Elder, Greenway, Farwell, Henderson the Younger, Brinkley, Onatolu

I guess Erin Henderson's injury isn't all that serious. Sorry, David Herron. . .if Bill Belichick wants to "steal" you back again, he can have at it. I'm actually really excited to see this group in action, particularly with the return of the man beast wearing #56 in the middle again.

Defensive Back

Gonzo's Prediction (10): Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin, Madieu Williams, Tyrell Johnson, Asher Allen, Karl Paymah, Benny Sapp, Jamarca Sanford, Husain Abdullah, Eric Frampton
Actual Roster (10): Winfield, Griffin, Williams, Johnson, Allen, Payman, Sapp, Sanford, Abdullah, Frampton

They. . .and by "they," I mean "some of you guys". . .thought I was crazy to suggest the Vikings would keep ten defensive backs. Well, lo and behold, there they are. There was just too darn much talent there to cut guys from this portion of the team. . .which is a nice problem to have, considering that the Vikings are going to have a lot of leads this year and opposing teams are going to have to throw a lot.

Special Teams

Gonzo's Prediction (3): Chris Kluwe, Ryan Longwell, Cullen Loeffler
Actual Roster (3): Kluwe, Longwell, Loeffler

Duh.

Okay. . .so, I went 51 for 53, which is a pretty decent percentage, I think. Just missed on a backup offensive lineman and how the QB battle would shake out. I don't see any huge surprises in the final 53 man roster. How's about everybody else? Any major heartburns or problems with what Rick Spielman, Brad Childress and company have done here? Have at it!

Gonzo's Fearless 53-Man Roster Projection for the 2009 Minnesota Vikings, Part II

Gonzo — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:32:37 -0000

by Paul Battaglia - AP

Will Vikings' seventh-round choice Jamarca Sanford (#33) be a member of Minnesota's 53-man roster? We'll know for sure by 5 PM Central time Saturday.(AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

View full size photo »

So on Wednesday, I took a look at who I thought would stay on the Vikings' roster for Opening Day on the offensive side of the ball. If you'll recall, I had 27 of the 53 spots on the roster reserved.

QB (3) - Brett Favre, Sage Rosenfels, John David Booty
RB (4) - Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor, Albert Young, Naufahu Tahi
WR (6) - Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin, Bobby Wade, Jaymar Johnson, Darius Reynaud
TE (3) - Visanthe Shiancoe, Jim Kleinsasser, Jeff Dugan
OL (8) - Bryant McKinnie, Steve Hutchinson, John Sullivan, Anthony Herrera, Phil Loadholt, Ryan Cook, Drew Radovich, Artis Hicks
Special Teams (3) - Ryan Longwell, Chris Kluwe, Cullen Loeffler

So we need 26 more names in order to fill out the roster, and unlike the offense, there's a chance that this could potentially change due to injuries, since DE Brian Robison and LB Erin Henderson were both carted off of the Metrodome field this evening. But, assuming their injuries aren't that serious, here's who I'd go with if I were in charge of things at Winter Park. Believe me. . .I do not envy Rick Spielman right now.

Defensive Line

Starters: Jared Allen, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, Ray Edwards
Backups: Fred Evans, Letroy Guion, Jimmy Kennedy, Brian Robison, Jayme Mitchell
Cut: Otis Grigsby, Antoine Holmes, Tremain Johnson, Martail Burnett

Kennedy is pretty much here for insurance as far as the whole StarCaps saga is concerned. If it were to come out between now and 5 PM Central tomorrow that the trial of the Williams' brothers wouldn't affect their availability for the 2009 season, you can scratch Kennedy off the list. He just hasn't done enough this pre-season, in my opinion, to warrant keeping him around in the event that #93 and #94 are going to be around all season. I originally had Martail Burnett on the big roster, but he unfortunately got caught up in a bit of a numbers game. The Vikings might be able to sneak him back onto the practice squad again, though.

Mitchell has made pretty good progress coming back from a torn ACL that ended his 2008 campaign in the pre-season, and Evans and Guion have shown themselves to be serviceable in the middle of the defensive line. Ten defensive linemen may seem like a lot, but with the way this team likes to rotate players around, particularly at defensive tackle, it might not be such a bad idea.

Linebackers

Starters: Ben Leber, E.J. Henderson, Chad Greenway
Backups: Heath Farwell, Jasper Brinkley, Erin Henderson, Kenny Onatolu
Cut: David Herron

If Erin Henderson's injury is serious enough to put him on IR, then Herron makes the team. I think he'd be a bit of a downgrade from Erin Henderson, but hey. . .injuries happen.

If you're of the mindset that the Vikings' special teams will be much improved in 2009. . .and I am. . .then this unit is probably going to be at the heart of that transformation, and that's what you're looking for when you're deciding the back half of the roster. We know that Henderson, Leber, and Greenway are outstanding, and I don't need to drum it into your heads any further. But we saw what losing Heath Farwell did to this team in 2008, and his presence will definitely be felt in 2009. Jasper Brinkley has been regarded as one of the bigger steals of the draft, and his combination of size and speed make him a good candidate to be a special teams demon as well. Henderson the Younger played on special teams last year as well, and should only get better with another season.

The guy that intrigues the heck out of me, however, is Kenny Onatolu. Having played his college ball at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he went undrafted by the NFL and spent two seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League and was signed by the Vikings after the 2008 season. If you saw the final pre-season game, you saw #55 flying all over the place and hitting everything in sight. He might be a little raw, but I think the guy could be great on special teams for the time being and eventually develop into a pretty good outside linebacker as well.

Defensive Backs

Starters: Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin, Tyrell Johnson, Madieu Williams
Backups: Asher Allen, Benny Sapp, Karl Paymah, Eric Frampton, Husain Abdullah, Jamarca Sanford
Cuts: Marcus McCauley, Marcus Walker, Colt Anderson, De'Von Hall

I know that keeping ten defensive backs might be a bit excessive, too, but there's also a lot of special teams impact to be had here as well. Frampton was one of the team's leading special teams tacklers last year, and Abdullah is also a capable special teamer. Paymah was brought in, at least in part, because of his special teams prowess as well, and Jamarca Sanford has too much speed and heart (in my opinion) to warrant cutting him. Now, if the team has to flip a coin as to whether to keep an extra DB or keep a d-lineman line Martail Burnett on the roster, I think they'll probably lean towards keeping the extra lineman. In that case, I think either Abdullah or Sanford is most likely to find themselves on the chopping block.

This also closes out the fairly disappointing Marcus McCauley era in Minnesota. After looking promising as a rookie in 2007, the third-round pick out of Fresno State couldn't even get on the field in 2008, and has spent most of this season playing too soft in zone coverage and getting beaten on a fairly regular basis by backup wide receivers on opposing teams. He's officially a disappointment, and it's time for the Vikings to cut their losses with him and move on, in my opinion. Asher Allen has looked really good, and looks to be taking after current Vikings' CB Antoine Winfield when it comes to sticking his nose into the running game and mixing things up. He could certainly have a worse role model, that's for sure.

There you have it. . .my 53-man Vikings' roster prediction for the 2009 season. Obviously there are some unanswered questions after tonight's pre-season finale, and we'll look over those tomorrow before the final cuts come down. Also, we're still awaiting word on the injuries to Erin Henderson and Brian Robison, and we'll pass that info along as soon as we've got it.

Vikings Fall to Cowboys 35-31 in Pre-Season Finale, and the Crowd Goes Mild

Gonzo — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:48:25 -0000

by Paul Battaglia - AP

"Okay, so with the way I looked this evening, I can drop my playbook off. . .right over there, huh?" (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

View full size photo »

The fourth pre-season game of the year was pretty much what you'd expect. . .a fairly entertaining football game played largely by people that we'll be seeing on practice squads and UFL rosters from coast to coast in a couple of weeks. In the end, it was a special teams blunder that cost the Beloved Purple a chance to go 4-0 in the pre-season in a 35-31 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys struck first, as Jon Kitna led his new team on a 12-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Ogletree to give Dallas a quick 7-0 lead. After a three-and-out for the Vikings, Kitna proceeded to fumble a center/quarterback exchange, and Letroy Guion jumped on the loose ball at the Dallas 36. Two plays later, Tarvaris Jackson took a snap, rolled to his right, and lofted one downfield for a 36-yard touchdown pass to. . .Jeff Dugan?

Well, it is the pre-season, after all.

That tied things up at 7-7, and the teams exchanged punts. Dallas drove down the field again, and reached the Minnesota 34-yard line.

On a 1st and 20 play for the Cowboys, Brian Robison came steaming around the edge and knocked the ball away from an unsuspecting Kitna. The ball bounced off of a Dallas offensive lineman, and into the arms of Letroy Guion. In his march downfield, Guion had a moment of thinking that he was Adrian Peterson or Chester Taylor, and fumbled the ball without being touched as he tried to swtich hands. (Dude. . .you're a defensive lineman. Let's be serious here.) Fortunately, Kenny Onatolu was trailing the play and jumped on the fumble, and the Vikings set up shop at the 25-yard line. Six plays later. . .all runs. . .Ian Johnson blasted into the end zone to give the Vikings a 14-7 lead.

After the Cowboys went three plays without getting a first down, Mat McBriar punted a line drive to Darius Reynaud. Reynaud broke a tackle, made a couple of nice moves, and before you knew it he was standing in the end zone celebrating an 82-yard punt return and the Vikings were up 21-7, a score they took into the locker room. The Vikings really dominated the first half of football, and looked to be rolling along.

And then the second half started.

On the Vikings' first offensive play of the second half, Rosenfels threw a 25-yard touchdown strike to Patrick Watkins. This is unfortunate, because if you look at Minnesota's roster, you won't see a Patrick Watkins on it. There is, however, a Patrick Watkins on the Cowboys roster. So, you can probably figure out why the Cowboys narrowed the gap from 21-7 to 21-14 at that point. So, on the next offensive series, Rosenfels was replaced by John David Booty. After getting a first down on three straight running plays, Booty decided that he didn't want to feel left out, so he hit Dallas linebacker Steve Octaiven in the chest with a pass. Octavien returned the ball 44 yards for a touchdown, and after being the dominant team in the first half of football, the Vikings found themselves tied with the Cowboys at 21.

Rosenfels came back in, and I'm not sure if Mrs. Gonzo had a rerun of the Benny Hill Show on BBC America in another room, but I'm pretty sure I heard "Yakkety Sax" coming from somewhere.

After a fumble by Cowboys' running back Julius Crosslin, the Rosenfels-led Vikings engineered a six-play, 30-yard drive that culminated in Ian Johnson's second 1-yard touchdown run of the night to take a 28-21 lead, and added a 41-yard Ryan Longwell field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 31-21. That would end the Vikings' scoring for the evening.

Not wanting to just roll over, the Cowboys and quarterback Rudy Carpenter. . .a rookie out of Arizona State that I was fairly impressed with this evening. . .marched 77 yards in 14 plays, ending with a 4-yard TD pass to tight end Scott Chandler to cut Minnesota's lead to 31-28. After the Vikings moved the ball to the Dallas 35-yard line, Chris Kluwe came in to punt.

Kluwe's kick went over the head of Cowboys' return man Willie Reid, and took a Cowboys' bounce. . .right into the hands of Dallas receiver Jesse Holley. As the Vikings inexplicably decided not to down the ball as soon as it started travelling the wrong direction, Holley was able to take the ball on the bounce, slip a tackle, and race 82 yards for the deciding score.

And there you have it. . .the fourth pre-season game of the year, and just eight days separating us from real football. Cutdown day is tomorrow, and the other half of my roster preview is forthcoming, so stay tuned for that. Enjoy the rest of your night, folks!