Chester Taylor

ever, now with three years of hindsight, Brad Johnson throwing to Koren Robinson and handing off to Chester Taylor (the last year of the Tice regime) was just as productive as Tarvaris Jackson throwing to Bernard Berrian and giving to Adrian Peterson.  Essentially, what I'm trying to say is that Childress has come nowhere near delivering the "kick-ass" offense he promised a few seasons ago.  Sure, the defense has been incredible, but Chilly lucked out in that regard (and was likely helped by the presence of Mike Tomlin, now Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers), as the Wilfs had just doled out the money to Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, and Darren Sharper, while Kevin Williams was becoming a major inside force.

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for ten total yards, which is unacceptable if the Vikes want to win a game.  I understand that Chester Taylor is much better at picking up the blitz and thus needs to be on the field for many third-and-long passing situations, but (at least to me) that doesn't excuse the strange non-usage of Peterson.

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nt Jackson as the newest old savior, consider the fact that he pretty much rode Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor for the entire second half.  Against the Lions that was acceptable, as the Vikes were not afraid in the least of Detroit's offense (in fact, Detroit having the ball played right into MN's hands).  So, even hanging on to a slim lead, the Vikes were content to pound the line and not try anything too crazy.

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The game was much closer than the score would indicate as the Vikings downed the Bears 34-14.

After a no-call on a roughing the passer, Minnesota had to settle for a field goal. The next possession, Minnesota forced a Chicago punt... which they didn't have to do because one of our DBs got a stupid (and I can't say that enough), stupid personal foul. He got bailed out by four stops from the two-yard line. The first play of the next Vikings' drive was a 99-yard, perfect pass to Berrian that resulted in a TD (and 15 points for anyone playing Berrian in fantasy football--the most you can have on one play in a non-point-per-catch league).

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uld know what is being referenced by "Taylor Power".  Meaning the importance of Chester Taylor.  He has been an unbelievable relief for A.P. when it seems the All Day aspect of A.P. isn't necessarily "All Game".  When the break away speed or frequent big play ability of A.P. is set aside, going to

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, the Vikings tied the game (24-24) with 22 seconds left on the clock on a pile-jumping hurdle from Chester Taylor into the end zone.

Yet, in typical Vikings fashion, the Purple could not go into halftime on a high note.  With just 22 seconds on the clock, Kyle Orton led the Bears down the field (two passes to wide-open receivers) and set up Gould for a 57-yard field goal, which would have been the longest attempt of his career.  Of course, the Vikings promptly jumped off sides and moved the ball five yards closer, after which Gould punched it through to give the Bears a 27-24 halftime lead.  Another Purple folly that would come back to haunt them later.

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, the Vikings (like most teams in the NFL) rely heavily on runs (from Adrian Peterson and sometimes Chester Taylor) and short passes to set up the occasional deep strike.  Essentially, it is a West Coast offense.  When run to perfection, this type of offenses does two things: 1. It softens up the defense line by pounding the ball at them time and time again; and 2. Because of that pounding, the line is not strong enough to put pressure on the QB, who is then free to complete short passes (under ten yards) and look for the occasional man coverage on the outside to take a deep shot.  However, the Vikings lack one key component of that system: the ability to complete short passes.  Leaving Bernard Berrian out of the equation for the moment, the Vikings' other receivers (Bobby Wade, Aundrae Allison, and Robert Ferguson) are just not good enough to consistently get open and make the play required of them.  Allison is too inexperienced and penalty-prone, while Fergie and Wade are too old).  So, what ends up happening is that opposing defenses even leave the short-yardage receivers in loose coverage, instead choosing to stop-up Peterson, a strategy that has been quite successful in rendering the Purple impotent with the ball.  The end result is Peterson getting stuffed, and the receivers dropping enough passes (or just plain not getting open) to set up third and long situations, which a West Coast offense is not equipped to convert, as the defense can finally play a little looser knowing that a pass is almost surely coming.

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, the Vikings almost squandered the golden opportunity once again, this time needing a pass from RB Chester Taylor to TE Visanthe Shiancoe to get the TD (isn't the QB supposed to do that?!).

For the remainder of the second quarter, the Saints continued to give the Vikings the ball on a silver platter thanks to a fumble by Reggie Bush and a Brees interception (picked off by LB Ben Leber).  The Vikes turned all those opportunities into a "scintillating" three points, and went into the half with a 20-10 lead.  I don't think many people would have guessed that the Vikings would be leading by so much at the half, but the consensus (even from the broadcasters) was that the Saints were bound to come back and take charge of the game.  They did do exactly that later, although in a much different way than anyone thought they would...

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