Coming into Sunday night's nationally televised contest against the Bears, the Vikes were a team (and a fan base) that expected a victory.  Remarkably (if you know anything about the Vikes in pressure situations!), that is exactly what transpired, with an exclamation mark!  Why did the Vikings have no excuse not to win this game?  A quick recent-history lesson:

For starters, the Bears' defense is nowhere near the "Best in Show" category it was in during the earlier portion of the decade.  In fact, both the Vikings and Packers have eclipsed the Bears in total team defense, with the Lions probably not as far behind as one would think.  So, factor in the edge of playing the Bears twice every season (and thus knowing all their basic schemes/plays), and the Vikes would definitely be expected to light up the scoreboard.

Continue reading "Vikings 34, Bears 14: Doing What Needed To Be Done"

Well, just when you thought things were looking up for the Purple, it was announced today that both Pat Williams and Kevin Williams have been suspended for the remaining four games of the regular season.  Both will be inactive until Dec. 29 due to taking diuretics (water pills) that can serve as masking agents for certain types of steroids.  Though the Williams' vehemently declare they were taking the pills only to lose weight (Pat has a case there, Kevin not so much), it is EXPLICITLY stated in the NFL's drug and foreign substances policy that those types of pills are not acceptable.  Thus, it leads to one of two conclusions: 1. They both are trying to cover up steroid use; or 2. They both are idiots.

Continue reading "Mr. Goodell, Tear Down That Wall..."

With the tearing down of the "Williams Wall" forefront in all Vikings fans' minds right now, I would like to go off on a little bit different of a tangent, comparing the AFC juggernaut of his year to a similar 1998 NFC dominating force...

For those of you who may not know, this year's Tennessee Titans football team is currently 11-1 and pretty much blowing away the competition in the entire AFC right now.  I find this very interesting, as it reminds me of the 1998 Vikings, who went 15-1 and had a resurgence much like the Titans right now.  There are three areas in which I see similarities...

First, in the improvement from one year to the next.  The 1997 Vikings made the playoffs and won a game they shouldn't have (on a last-second field goal), then got crushed by the 49ers.  The 2007 Titans also made the playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Chargers.  Essentially, both squads were good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to make any waves.

Continue reading "Vikings-Titans: An Interesting Comparison"

With both Pat and Kevin Williams now going through the appeals process for their four-game suspensions handed down by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy, there is a lot of "taking sides" going on right now.  In one camp are the "oh, steroids...suspend them up the wazoo" people, while others think "hey, maybe the Williamses DO have a legitimate complaint".  Of course, without being privy to the details of the case, it is difficult (i.e. impossible) to know exactly what is going on.  However, I usually find myself in the "suspend up wazoo" camp (even if it involves my favorite team).  The reason?  There is so much deception going on involving the steroids issue right now, that being firm on the issue (even if it screws a few people over) is, at least in my opinion, the best policy.

Continue reading "Hard To Take Sides On Steroid Issues"

Well, anyone reading this blog likely watched Sunday's contest between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, so I'm not going to provide a summary.  Suffice it to say, though, that the Vikings got away with playing another terrible game yet walking out with a victory.

Let's begin with the first half, where Gus Frerotte threw two interceptions, 70 yards, and led the Purple to a whopping three points.  I know that I was one of the Purple fans calling for Gus after Tarvaris Jackson started off the season so poorly, but it is all too clear now that Gus is NOT the answer at QB for the Vikings.  Sadly, he probably is the best option going forward, but don't confuse that with his talent level.  He is completely immobile, takes too many huge hits, and throws just as many interceptions as Jackson ever did (if not more).

Continue reading "Vikings 20, Lions 16: Getting Away With Another One"

I just wanted to quickly comment on the recent retirement of NFL kicker Morten Andersen.  For Vikings fans, Andersen will ultimately always be remembered as the kicker who converted when our Anderson (Gary) could not in the 1998 NFC Championship Game and sent the greatest Vikings team of all-time home too early.  However, in a strange twist of fate, Andersen actually kicked for the Vikes in 2004 and had a decent season.  Bygones, I guess (!).

I have always been fascinated by NFL kickers and how they keep hanging around (how many young kickers do you see...ever?!) into their middle age years, but Mort finally hung it up because of knee trouble.  However, it wouldn't surprise me if, after a year of rest for his knee, he gets a call or two (or three or four) from a team desperate for a kicker after theirs succumbed to injury.  You just never know...

Continue reading "A Great Tormentor (And One-Time Friend) Takes His Final Bow"

Because of my work schedule, I was unable to preview this past Sunday's MN/Arizona game.  However, had I done so, I would have predicted a 35-14 Arizona victory (that was the number in my head).  I would have gotten the scoring correct, at least!

The kind of game that the Vikings played on Sunday, I imagine, is EXACTLY the type of contest that Brad Childress envisioned for this offense when he took over as Head Coach three years ago.  QB Tarvaris Jackson was smart with the ball AND made a heap of outstanding throws (a combination we had never seen from him until this point) to give the Vikings a lead, after which point they rode Adrian Peterson (165 yards) for the rest of the game.  Throw in the tremendous pressure that the defense put on Kurt Warner and the Arizona receivers, and a blowout was almost inevitable.

Continue reading "Vikings 35, Cardinals 14: An Impressive Victory...Finally"

In the wake of all the playoff hoopla surrounding the Vikings seemingly imminent (famous last words, I know) clinching of the NFC North sometime during the next two weeks, news came down that DT Pat Williams suffered a fractured shoulder and will miss 2-6 weeks.

Now, I'm no doctor, but I do know that any fractured body part (especially one that gets as much work as a shoulder) is likely extremely painful and very weak.  However, I am confident in the knowledge that Big Pat will be on the field the moment he knows he can stand the pain without rendering his arm lifeless.  I mean, the humanity in me wants to say that Pat should just let the injury fully heal before hitting the line again, but I know he won't do that.  Just look at the guy...he's pretty much an early heart attack waiting to happen already, so he has pretty much given his body to the game he loves already.

Continue reading "Pat Williams Eats Fractured Shoulders For Lunch"

Boy, that was a headline I never thought I would write...WANTING Tarvaris Jackson to be under center of a crucial, playoff-implication game!  At the beginning of the season, I was one of those fans calling for Gus Frerotte to replace the struggling Jackson, and even supported Rot with a post about a month ago on this very blog.  However, it became clear in that much-too-close game against the Lions that Gus Frerotte just isn't a very good quarterback any more.  Not only is he slow and prone to being sacked, but he also isn't careful enough with the ball (basically the premium task he is charged with) and throws many interceptions as well.  Basically, when Gus is under center the defense had to dominate for the Purple to get into the win column.  With T-Jack, the offense has a chance to stretch the field and get some aggressive scores (not lucky 99 yarders or screen passes).

Continue reading "The Right Man Under Center"

To me, this Sunday's Minnesota Vikings-Atlanta Falcons matchup is very even: On defense, the Vikings are clearly the better squad.  Offensively, though, the Falcons have more star talent (Michael Turner, Matt Ryan, Roddy White) than the Vikings, so, again, a big effort from Adrian Peterson will likely be the key to victory.

However, I think the key matchup in the contest will be the Vikings' ability to put pressure on young Atlanta QB Matt Ryan (pictured above).  If the D-Line can hurry Ryan, their offense will get out of sync and become one-dimensional.  If he is allowed to stand in the pocket and deliver clean passes, though, there is a good chance that White or Michael Jenkins will haul them in against a Purple secondary that needs help up front to succeed.

Continue reading "Vikings/Falcons Preview: An Even Line"

I'm not going to analyze this game a whole lot, as it is pretty simple why the Vikings fell to the Falcons.  Despite dominating in nearly aspect of the game, turnovers (four fumbles in all) doomed the Purple in their quest for the NFC North Division title.

I probably should be ruing this loss as just "one more" in the long line of Vikings late-season choke jobs from years past, but I'm not going to do so.  The reason?  For the first time since Mike Tice was fired nearly before leaving the field in 2005, the Vikings were an exciting team to watch.

Without the bonehead turnovers, the Vikings could have turned this game into a blowout, as every aspect of the game was clicking:

Continue reading "Falcons 24, Vikings 17: I Should Be Steamed, But I'm Not...Seriously"