I still feel like punching Chili in the nutsack, but I’m appreciating the win a bit more…

But I have one typo:

“Yet, with 11 seconds to go, the Bears had a 1-point lead and appeared to have a victory in hand. Minutes later, Jason Elam was hitting a 48-yard field goal…”

With 11 seconds to go…minutes later…

Doesn’t quite work out, does it? Haha, you know I’m just messing, Gonzo. Nice work.

And props to you for taking the high road in your recap. In my blog I couldn’t stay away from the negatives.

Hmm when the Vikings lose you usually write a good detailed article hitting all the points but reading this article I didn’t see you mention the Vikings kicking a field goal instead of going for 2? That was the bonehead play..

It’s OK to win ugly when you’re playing a good team. We were playing the Lions, the worst team in football. A team that had been blown out by both Chicago and Green Bay. I would also mention that we were playing at home except that our fans hate Childress so much (with good reason) they are so quick to boo that might be a disadvantage.

I take Vikings losses hard, and a Purple win puts a spring in my step. Yesterdays game did nothing for me either way.

The fact that we needed the officials to help us beat up on a severely handicapped team gives me no satisfaction, but the Lions are an NFL team so it is incumbent on them to find a way to win. They didn’t so the victory fell into our lap.

Sigh. . . When will the Chili era end?

Seriously, I know we won and everything, and that I should probably be happier…but.

The negatives (because I’m in a crap mood):

1. We gave up FIVE sacks to one of the worst defenses in the league.
2. We outscored Detroit by 2 measly points (although we were favored to win by 14+ points).
3. Peterson fumbled 3 times, twice in the red zone, twice recovered by Detroit. Not good at all.
4. If Longwell hadn’t made the winning FG, we would’ve LOST to the Detroit (frickin) Lions!
5. Also safe to assume if Longwell had missed that FG, Childress would be trying out kickers this week…
6. The Vikings failed to score on their first 8 drives of the game. Unacceptable and unbelievable.

The (few) positives:

1. Kevin Williams recorded 4 sacks…by…him…self. He deserves the “Antoine Winfield Defensive Terrorizer of the Week” trophy, in my opinion.
2. Jared Allen also recorded 1 sack (about time!) and also made the difference while pursuing Orlovsky, forcing him to commit a safety, almost unknowingly (hilariously).
3. Berrian is finally being put to good use, making plays, running like the wind.
4. Frerotte threw for 301 yds (although finished with 296 yds for the day). Those are Jay Cutler numbers (which is good – or good enough at least).

A few extra observations.

The Vikings need to start utilizing the passing game much more, now that Frerotte has proven he can throw the ball safely to players on his own team. Frerotte has also proven that he can take some pretty severe punishment, and remain intact – which is important because it shows that he can be a consistent leader with alot of toughness – something a certain other Vikings QB lacks.

I also think if the Vikings can be more consistent on at least trying some more 4WR or even some 5WR formations, they could really mess with the opposing teams’ gameplan. It seems fairly obvious that opposing teams are basing their game plans around stopping Adrian Peterson, containing the run, and just defending a shorter field (because “the Vikings cannot throw the ball” – I’ve heard it a million times from just about every Packer fan).

So.

Why not stretch an opposing defense with a good 4WR formation on a second down (when they fully expect a nice, safe, run play)?

This is why I have a general problem with Childress. His play calling is too predictable, and he’s not utilizing the talent that the Vikings have. Instead he’s playing it safe, handing the ball to Adrian, throwing a TE slant in there once in a while, and calling it good enough to get into FG range.

It’s enough to drive a Vikings fan crazy!

Additionally: Brad Childress’s (ESPN) approval rating is currently 15%.
Source: http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfl/sportsnation/coach?coachId=52

1) Right now the Vikings look much more like an Air Coryell offense than a Bill Walsh one. This is definitely welcome, as they’re just not built to dink-and-dunk it down the field, never have been, and maybe, just maybe, the coaching staff is finally waking up and realizing you play to your personnel, not your wacky schemes. I think Jackson would be better served playing this way, as well (although he’d need to hang in the pocket better while things developed downfield). That said, there still doesn’t seem to be much flow to the offense (can anybody recall a single offensive possession during the Childress era where you thought the offense was really executing or flowing, outside of a huge Peterson run?). We’ll see. If/when Sidney Rice returns, it could get better.

2) The Vikings offensive line is overrated. Q: How many sacks did the Lions have coming into this game? A: 4. 4 in 4 games, and they rolled up 5 on the Vikes. Granted, a lot of that was due to packing the box (teams still aren’t worrying themselves about the passing attack, which could partially explain some of the success Frerrotte’s finding downfield), but still, the line’s a big concern. Why commentator’s seemingly hype it every broadcast is a mystery (although it probably has something to do with Peterson’s explosion on the league).

3) I feel bad for Aundrae Allison. Last week he ran a beautiful route deep, had his guy beat, and was prepared to haul in his first career TD catch, on MNF, but got Bogarted by Berrian. Yesterday he had a good reception negated by penalty, and then had his guy beat on that last bogus interference call that gave the Vikes the game. Now, drawing the “penalty” was big, but it would have been nice to see him haul it in and run. Perhaps he’s close to breaking out, which would be big. Before long, we could have Berrian and Rice with Allison in the slot. That’s actually got potential to be pretty explosive.

4) The Vikes still look to be one D-lineman short of a good front four. Kevin Williams had a monster day, and Jared Allen got a gift wrapped sack courtesy of the OB forgetting about that whole “out of bounds” thing, but they still seem to be less than formidable. Don’t get me wrong, they’re improved from last year. They don’t need to rely on linebacker blitzes anymore, and while Allen’s well off his pace from previous years (and I’d say disappointing, considered they gave up 3 picks and a couple trucks full of money for the guy), at least he’s providing better presence than they got last year. But I still think they have trouble providing consistent pressure. I think it’s time they really consider either giving Edwards job to Robison, or at the very least make those two more of a 50-50 platoon. Edwards has all the tools in the world to be a really good defensive end, but as was the knock on him coming out of Purdue, he just doesn’t seem to play as well as he “should,” given his size, strength, speed, etc. Robison’s a little similar in that he’s more impressive as an athlete than as a football player, but in very limited time last year the guy did get 4.5 sacks, making him one of the Vikes more productive lineman on a per-minute basis. And you don’t have to worry about Robison’s motor.