Over? Did You Say the Season Is Over?

by Gonzo on Dec 3, 2008 6:00 AM CST in Vikings Comment 19 comments

"Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"
-Senator John Blutarsky

So, now that we know that the National Football League has officially chosen to bend the Minnesota Vikings over the proverbial desk, what does this mean for the rest of Minnesota's season? A lot of folks immediately assume that the Vikings' season is over now that the best defensive tackle tandem in the NFL will be on the shelf for the final four games of the 2008 regular season. I, at one point, was among those people.

No longer. Here's why.

I'm of the mindset that 9-7 is going to be the record of the NFC North champion in 2008. In order to get there without the Williams Wall, the Vikings will have to go 2-2 over the last four. In that scenario, the Bears would have to go 3-1 to reach a tiebreaker (and that loss couldn't come against Green Bay), and Green Bay would have to go 4-0 just to get to a tiebreaker situation (the Packers aren't going 4-0 to finish the season).

Keep this axiom in mind as well. . .the loss of Pat and Kevin Williams is a blow to Minnesota's defense. It does not, by proxy, magically make Chicago's defense better or Green Bay's defense better. Right now, the Bears are 19th in the NFL in points allowed (22.3/game), 29th against the pass, and 8th against the run. The Packers are 22nd in the league in points allowed (24.6/game), 5th against the pass (but you can ask Drew Brees exactly what that means. . .they were #1 as recently as two weeks ago), and 27th against the run. Minnesota losing Pat and Kevin Williams does nothing to improve either of those two teams. They'll still be trotting the same average (at best) defenses out there over the last four weeks of this season as they've trotted out there for the first thirteen.

Now, in order for us to get to nine victories and a likely NFC North title, I said we'd have to split our last 4. The best chance for us to do that might be over the course of the next two games.

The Vikings start off this Sunday with the 0-12 Detroit Lions and, with all due respect to our friends from Pride of Detroit, if the Vikings don't beat the Lions this Sunday even without Pat and Kevin Williams, they don't deserve a playoff spot anyway. The Lions, much like when they visited the Metrodome way back in October, are among the NFL's worst teams in every statistical category, they've played approximately 83 different guys at quarterback this season, and their rushing offense is #30 in the NFL with only having seen Pat and Kevin Williams one time this year. Surprisingly, the Lions are one of only two teams this season to go over 100 rushing yards as a team against the Beloved Purple. If their Thanksgiving game against Tennessee was any indication, their defense has pretty much packed it in for the season, and it's up to AP, Chester Taylor, Gus Frerotte and the boys to take advantage. Minnesota should. . .repeat, should. . .win this one to get themselves to 8-5 in the standings.

The next week is the Vikings' final road game of the year, a trip to Arizona to take on the Cardinals. For all the hype that the Cardinals got early on in the season, they currently sit with the same 7-5 record as your Minnesota Vikings currently have. Remember how I said that the Lions were the #30 rush offense in the league in 2008? Well, that position puts them two spots ahead of the Arizona Cardinals rushing offense. . .and the Cards haven't seen Pat and Kevin Williams (or anyone else as good as they are) all season long. They've benefited enormously from playing in what's probably the worst all-around division in football (and if they're not THE worst, the only two divisions in the conversation are the NFC West and the AFC West). The Cardinals are also, thus far, undefeated at University of Phoenix Stadium.

So why am I optimistic that the Vikings can win this football game? Because for as well as he played over the season's first 12 games, Cardinals' QB Kurt Warner has been relatively awful in his last two. Yes, he put up 351 yards against the New York Football Giants. . .he also had to put the ball in the air 52 times to get that much. He also threw an INT in that one and fumbled twice (losing one). Yes, he threw 3 TD passes against the Eagles on Thanksgiving night. He also threw 3 INTs and had his lowest completion percentage of the season. The Cards' defense has also shown to be prone to lapses, as shown by their giving up 48 points to an Eagles' team thought to be in disarray and 56 to the New York Jets earlier this season.

I'm not terribly optimistic about our chances against the Falcons. . .even though Atlanta's rush defense hasn't been particularly good this year. . .because Michael Turner absolutely scares the crap out of me at this point. And I can't even begin to project the Giants' game to close the season because I don't know if the Giants will be playing for anything at that point. . .my guess is that they won't be. Even if they aren't playing for anything, though, who knows if Tom Coughlin will rest anybody anyway? Remember last year's Giants finale against New England? The G-Men played all their starters and gave the undefeated Patriots a hell of a football game.

If Minnesota can somehow, some way, find the ability to pull out victories in their next two ball games, they should find themselves in the post-season. Can it happen? Will it happen? I certainly hope so.

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Thank you

Gonzo,

I knew I could count on you to serve up some kool-aid. You make a very solid arguement for pulling it off……….If we do the WWC will be rested and pissed so who knows what can happen……as they say all you need is a chip and a chair……lets hope

by vikeincheeseland on Dec 3, 2008 7:37 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

You hit the nail on the head Gonzo. I wish our ST hadn’t sucked so badly so we could just back into the playoffs, but its still doable. Let’s examine GBs and Chitown’s schedule.

Green Bay takes on Houston next sunday. Both teams are 5-7. Rodgers will have to avoid Mario Williams all day, but I think they’ll do fine. After Houston, its Jaxonville, where they take on a very angry Jones-drew and Taylor who aren’t going to the playoffs, and will want to make sure the Packers don’t either. And the Pack’s run D is terrible. This will be the los that takes them out of the run.

Chicago faces off against the Jags, but I don’t really see them having trouble in this game. They might have some difficulty against Houston though, since I can see Andre Johnson carving up their secondary. Then its at Green Bay, a game I’m sure they will lose but that’s just optimism. It’s going to be a close one for sure, and I will actually be rooting for GB. Finally, they face off against N.O. a team with nothing to play for except stats at this point. Drew Brees will hopefully pass them to death and let us back up into the playoffs.

by Frost on Dec 3, 2008 7:50 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

It does not, by proxy, magically make Chicago’s defense better or Green Bay’s defense better.

but it could…right???

in all seriousness, you’re probably right. I’ve already done the dishonorable thing and jumped ship over on APC. I hate myself.

"I'm so clean, cats think I sip Ajax."

by Mitchell_M on Dec 3, 2008 8:50 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Confession is good for the soul.

In AP I trust

by FarvaForTheVikings on Dec 3, 2008 9:07 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

So’s your face.

/so’s your face always makes sense

"I'm so clean, cats think I sip Ajax."

by Mitchell_M on Dec 3, 2008 2:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

First thing's first

Let’s beat the Lions Sunday. None of this 12-10 B.S. either. A good thumping of the possible worst team ever will be just what we need. A loss (which would kill us on potential tiebreakers as well)…then I think we can all hammer on that panic button as much as we want.

by ericj69 on Dec 3, 2008 9:28 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Nice Post Gonzo

One thing is for sure… our defense is going to be worse for the remainder of the regular season. That’s obvious. However, as Gonzo pointed out, that does not mean that the season is over. I think that Sunday night, for the first time all year, our offense finally clicked. They “got it.” O-line played well, Gus managed the game well (and made one HELL of a play), our receivers made big plays when we needed them to, Shiancoe continued to put a glue-grip on the ball, and AP and CT played like monsters. We have relied on our defense to win games for us all year, but as the season is coming to a close we might finally be in a position where we can rely on our offense to win them.

If we lose to Detroit this weekend, however, we can start panicing big time, because that 3-3 division record will not be looking too pretty at the end of the season, and the games will only get harder after that.

V-I-K-I-N-G-S! Skol Vikings, Let's Go!!

by TheViking83 on Dec 3, 2008 9:32 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Knowing Zen Master Chilly

He’ll probably come up with some dopey, half accurate speech from some misquoted author about the importance of taking the first step before you take the last. I have confidence that this team knows the ramifications of losing this game and will slaughter Detroit. Hopefully GM will have to ask Congress for another Billion to bail out the Lions so their depressed fans will work harder. Sorry…but I went there.

by Jepp The Viking on Dec 3, 2008 9:44 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

What I want to see

The Williams Wall somehow reduce their suspension to 3.5 games. Then, with us trailing at halftime of the Giants game with a playoff spot on the line, they show up in the locker room dressed and ready to play. This is shortly followed by an inspirational speech, the crowd going wild when they walk out of the tunnel. Then, a montage of Eli getting pressured, hit, and sacked a bunch of times in the second half while the Vikings rally and win on a last second Peterson run. Or a field goal. You decide.

by PizzaDelivery on Dec 3, 2008 9:45 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

PizzaDelivery, I love the movie scenario you painted. Too bad this is not “The Replacements” or even “Little Giants” (“The Icebox is gonna defrost you!”)

V-I-K-I-N-G-S! Skol Vikings, Let's Go!!

by TheViking83 on Dec 3, 2008 11:06 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

For a little extra hope...The

Cardinals are not undefeated at home. They lost to the Giants there a couple weeks ago in a good game. So there is another hole in their armor.

by vikingfuture8816 on Dec 3, 2008 12:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

2-2 doesn't mean playoffs...

If you’re being honest with yourself, Green Bay has a very good shot at winning their last 4 games against Houston, Jacksonville, Detroit and Chicago, (combined record = 15 – 33). They’ve already pounded Chicago by 24 and creamed Detroit by 23. If GB wins all of their games, and you guys go 2-2, GB gets the playoff spot. The head-to-head is split, and GB’s division record of 5-1 would be better than your 4-2/3-3. If Green Bay can be counted on to win their last 4 games, and I think they can, only a 3-1 finish would save the Williams-Less Vikings from playoff frustration. A tall order, given you play Atlanta, NY Giants, and Arizona.

72-90 - TIMMY FOR CY YOUNG!!!

Adopted Giant: Daryl Maday - The roller coaster ride continues - Augusta to Norwich to San Jose, the latter of which has been a success so far. 1.59 ERA.

by rhys on Dec 3, 2008 3:23 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Sorry, we actually beat Chicago by 34, my bad

72-90 - TIMMY FOR CY YOUNG!!!

Adopted Giant: Daryl Maday - The roller coaster ride continues - Augusta to Norwich to San Jose, the latter of which has been a success so far. 1.59 ERA.

by rhys on Dec 3, 2008 3:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yea right

Houston,and Chicago should be a handful for G.B. and if Detroit doesnt get a win by then,do you really think they want to go winless.Chicago no doubt will come loaded knowing that they are only a game behind the Vikes.Doesnt look good for GB,Bears sitting in the Cat bird seat atm.I do believe the Vikes could possibly go 3-1 out of the next 4 games.The suspension of the Williams wall and peeps like you selling the rest of the Team short,will just add fuel to the Fire.Expect the Vikes Def to man up and play with a purpose.

by speedlod on Dec 3, 2008 4:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Time of Possesion

The Vikes should do-run run till they are (Honolulu) blue in the face. Treat all the remaining games as if we were playing Indy and P. Manning. Control the clock, keep THEIR offence of the field. The Vikes in the end will be just fine.

Vikings No Ka Oi

by maui on Dec 3, 2008 3:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I'm even more optimistic

I think 8-8 gets it done. A win over Detroit and we would hold every tiebreaker over Chicago. Which means they have to go 3-1 if we only manage 1-3. While 3-1 from Chicago is possible I think the smart money is on the Vikings going 1-3, Chicago going 2-2 and we finish tied for first at 8-8. We win division based on common opponents (all four of Bears remaining teams are opponents we have beaten so it doesn’t matter who they lose to).

If we go 1-3, Chi goes 2-2 and GB goes 3-1 (losing to Chicago) then I don’t know what happens (didn’t do that research). But GB is unlikely to pull this off, since week 2 they are 3-7. That is not the mark of a team that is primed to win 3 of their final 4.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you

by GopherNation on Dec 3, 2008 4:43 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

One game at a time...

When word 1st broke that they might be suspended, I was like we are done.. but as this has lingered, I’m gettin faith we can still get some things done, we caught a break(very little break) that it was after Chicago, before Detroit.. Hopefully Brian Robison misses only 1 game with that Knee scope, and this makes everybody else totally focus!! We still got some Playmakers. Detroit is the New biggest game of the year!! (a game without the Williams Wall & E.J Henderson) who would have thunk it!!

by Marvin T on Dec 3, 2008 5:36 PM CST reply actions 0 recs