Zach Koenig's Minnesota Vikings fan blog

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"

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"

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..."

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"

In 1961, the first year of the Minnesota Vikings franchise, the Vikes opened their inaugural season against the powerhouse Chicago Bears.  Nobody (probably not even the Vikings themselves) gave themselves much of a chance against the class of the NFL, but on that day a young whippersnapper named Fran Tarkenton threw for 250 yards and four touchdowns to beat Da Bears 37-13 that, in all reality, rivals Super Bowl III (Joe Namath over Johnny Unitas) in "upset factor".

The Vikes will need much less to win tomorrow night's contest.  It used to be that the Bears would completely stifle even a good Vikings offense, but now they can't even stop a bad one.  If the Vikes can play smart, not turn the ball over, and capitalize on red-zone opportunities, we will stand alone at the top of the NFC North come Monday morning.

Continue reading "Vikings-Bears Preview: Nothing Too Special"

Based on the statistics sheet, this game should have been much closer than the actual final score indicated.  The Jaguars got more first downs than the Vikings (17-15), more passing yards (286-104), and held about even in time-of-possession.  However, the Vikes dominated the game in two key areas: turnovers recovered (five) and rushing yards (122-35).

So far on this Vikings forum, most people have attributed the Vikings' win to either dumb luck (the bounce of the football) or Jacksonville's wide variety of miscues.  I will admit that, without those two quick early scores that were essentially handed to the Vikings, the game would have been much more of a tense affair.  Thus, this win did relatively little to establish Minnesota as any sort of force in the NFC.  However, there are two alternate ways of looking at this win over the Jags:

Continue reading "Vikings 30, Jaguars 12: One Tough Son Of A Gus"

After meeting with NFL top brass this past week, it just just announced that DE Jared Allen will be fined $25,000 (but not suspended) for a rash of plays that NFL referees deemed to be late on the quarterback.

In all honesty, I don't even remember the exact plays that are being referred to in this case, but I have to take Allen's side on this one, as I don't ever remember him playing dirty.  Now, the hit that Ray Edwards put on Jeff Garcia last week...that's a different story.

I'm glad that Mr. Allen will continue to man the D-Line, and now we wait on the "Williams Wall" ruling...

Continue reading "Jared Allen: Fined, Not Suspended"

Eleven weeks into the 2008 NFL season, the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings all sit atop the NFC North division with identical 5-5 records.  The Bears have overachieved, the Packers the opposite, and the Vikes are right about where I thought they would be.  Here's a quick look at the remaining schedules for both teams, and how I think each will fare down the stretch...

MIN: @ JAX (L), vs. CHI (W), @ DET (W), @ ARI (L), vs. ATL (L), vs. NYG (W) = 8-8

CHI: @ STL (L), @ MIN (L), vs. JAX (W), vs. NO (L), vs. GB (L), @ HOU (W) = 7-9

GB: @ NO (L), vs. CAR (L), vs. HOU (W), @ JAX (W), @ CHI (W), vs. DET (W) = 9-7

Continue reading "Vikings, Bears, Packers...The Rest Of The Way"

Wow...I don't think I've ever pegged a Vikings matchup as exactly as what I did before last Sunday's MN-TB contest.  Unfortunately, my incredibly accurate prediction came in a losing effort.

Essentially, in my preview of this matchup, I said that the Buccaneers would dominate most aspects of the game, yet win by a close margin (20-14 was my exact prediction, I believe).  Well, let's check the stat sheet...

First Downs: TB-21, MN-14

Continue reading "Tampa Bay 19, Minnesota 13: A Tale Of Two Quarterbacks"

Tomorrow's contest between the Minnesota Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccanneers will likely shape up to be a tight, defensive-type struggle.  The Bucs can stop the run, which doesn't bode well for the Adrian Peterson-led Vikings, while the Vikes can do the same, neutralizing the Bucs' main threats as well.

It would not at all surprise me if this game came down to which team makes the fewest mistakes, which does not bode well for the Vikings.  Their ineptness at covering the pass (barring a monster game from the D-Line, which doesn't always occur) and on special teams will likely allow Tampa to make one or two more big plays and pull out a win that, while it may look close on the scoreboard, is really not that close on the field, as the Vikes will either always be clinging to a slim lead or down by a few points.

Continue reading "Minnesota-Tampa Bay Preview: A Slim TB Victory That Really Isn't Close"