About That Goal-Line Stand
by Anthony21 on Oct 26, 2009 12:42 PM CDT
in Minnesota Vikings
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PrintInteresting quote from the Steelers' perspective about their third quarter goal-line stand:
''That's the biggest point of the game,'' safety Ryan Clark said. ''You have the best running back in the world and you don't give it to him. They're saying they can't beat us running, and that's a major statement when you have the guy they have back there.''
Of course, after an offsides penalty gave the Vikings a fresh set of downs at the one yardline, Adrian Peterson was given the ball on first down but wasn't given any touches on second and third down. It hasn't been quite as easy to complain about the offensive playcalling as it once was, but that sequence of plays sticks out like a sore thumb. When you have the best running back in the NFL, keeping the ball out of his hands makes the type of statement that Clark articulated. If you can't trust your running game in that situation, you're sending a message.
Now, in the interest of being fair and balanced, here is Kevin Seifert's take:
If you want to quibble, you could argue the Vikings erred by not handing Peterson the ball four times on the goal line during a third-quarter possession. You know I never hesitate to question Childress’ decisions, but in this case I wasn’t offended. Even Peterson said: “Well, I did get two cracks at it.”
The Steelers have one of the NFL’s best run defenses and they weren’t giving up much Sunday. Peterson’s first two plunges into the line, one negated by penalty, netted nothing. Favre, meanwhile, entered the game as the NFL’s top red-zone passer.
I have to disagree. Seifert would have a point if we're talking about Joe Running Back. But when you have the league's best runner, the ball belongs in his hands when you're in these sorts of situations.
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I agree with Seifert
The Steelers have a great 3-4 run defense and in a goal line situation AD’s facing 8 in the box. Play action’s a good call and Jimmy K just dropped it. Whether that’s due to the hand injury that has plagued him all year is a different story.
Tough loss but if they beat GB at Lambeau this week they in all essence have a three game lead and first tiebreaker over the Pukers.
Hate to say it but Berrian’s fragile hammy once again is showing why he wasn’t worth anything like the money the Vikes gave him.
by VikingBillArlingtonVA on Oct 26, 2009 1:22 PM CDT reply actions
Berrian's injury-prone nature
Hate to say it but Berrian’s fragile hammy once again is showing why he wasn’t worth anything like the money the Vikes gave him.
Exactly. It’s time to shop BB around, he’s spending more time on the sideline than on the field. When you consider how much money he costs, and his lack of break-away speed, we should at least be able to expect more consistent play-time from him, rather than consistent down-time.
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!
So wait…
He misses the preseason and the first game of the year, comes back and starts making strides and then aggravates a hamstring injury in week 7 and all of a sudden he is injury-prone? Hamstring injuries are a bitch to get rid of.
He played in almost all 16 games last year, even though he was a little banged up.
I disagree with your assessments of Berrian.
IDK the exact details of BB's contract, but
He was guaranteed a crap-load of money, and the Vikings won’t get what they paid for him in return, so the Vikings are probably better-off keeping BB for a little longer than 1-2 years.
The Vikings probably $Paid too much for BB, but that’s the name of the game these days.
Me too
Hindsight always appears to be 20/20, even if you ask Mr. Magoo.
It’s not like Peterson was not given any shot or the Steelers were assigning only William Gay to stop him with their goal-line defense. The smart call is to often take what the defense is not intent on defending on any given down. If Kleinsasser catches the football, no one on earth is even having this as a topic conversation except lunatics.
Anyone who thinks the Vikings were sore afraid of the Steelers defense should be tied in a wooden chair in room alone and forced to watch the great hit that #22 puts on Peterson on that pass play over and over.
P.S.: Which NFL quarterback was the only on who threw for 334 yards yesterday? Hint: It happened against some team that dressed in black.
You're right, if Kleinsasser would have caught the ball, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Ryan Clark and the Steelers are just trying to make themselves feel better about the refs handing them the game yesterday. : )
The Vikes didn’t give-up on the run, they just tried something else instead. Jimmy K used to be “Clutch” in those situations, so IMO, it really wasn’t a bad call.
4th & 1
Go for it. If I’m going to be critical of Childress’ play calling it’s for settling for the FG.
What was the score?
Was it 13-7 at that point?
Dont mind kicking it there. Lot of game left and if you fail to convert, they bring the ball out of their endzone and kick a field goal you are down two scores and lose all momentum. Can see it both ways. I wanted them to go for it at the time, but kicking it wasnt a bad play.
I'm with you, I think the FG was the right call.
The TD would have been nice, but sometimes you gotta settle for 3. Especially when the opposing offense is moving the ball as efficiently as the Steelers were yesterday.
Especially when the opposing offense is moving the ball as efficiently as the Steelers were yesterday.
You must have been watching a different game than I was. I seem to recall them doing essentially nothing on offense, save for the two big plays which accounted for 85 of the 175 yards they had through the air.
But I agree with your view on the field goal. We tried to get cute and pass the ball in, but when it failed it was best to take the field goal. It was a defensive battle, and in that type of a game ANY points are at a premium.
I guess statistically you're correct, the Steelers didn't rack-up a bunch of offensive yards,
but really, anybody can move the ball when playing the Vikings, ask the Browns, Lions and Rams.
Tomlin is a smart coach, and I’m sure he was playing a little on the conservative side. If the steelers had needed to make a play offensively, I’m pretty sure they would have been successful. You know as well as I do, that as soon as an offense uses the “No-huddle offense”, the Vikes-D automatically self destructs.
Thing with play calling...
Is that you can always question it when it doesn’t work. Vikings have nailed some TD’s throwing on the goal line this season where maybe they would be otherwise stopped. Earlier in the game, they went run on 3rd down and a long 2 and got the TD, which showed confidence in the run and weakness in their run D much more so than an attempt from inside the 1.
Plus looking at AP he is the best back in the NFL but in goal line situations he’s just pretty good. His explosiveness is negated by the fact that he runs out of playing field right away.
I don't have a problem with throwing
I have a problem with who they were trying to throw it to. Sidney almost pulled down that high throw at the goal post. Fake the dive and throw to Shank to Percy etc. I would prefer you put Tahi and Jimmy K in front of AP and just bust it, but if you have to throw, throw it to someone who is used to catching passes from #4.
Skol Vikings
by SouthernNorseman on Oct 26, 2009 2:42 PM CDT reply actions
My bad
the Tahi one was on a previous 1 yd line play.
by JasonAve6413 on Oct 26, 2009 3:59 PM CDT up reply actions
I was more mad....
That AP wasn’t on the field when that last interception came.
He just made a huge run… you’re in field goal range, and he’s got the hot hand…
Give…
Him…
The…
Ball.
Let him carry the team on his back on that last drive.
Oh well. Good game and I’ve heard from a lot of people that we proved we could play with the big boys even with a loss.
I’m just mad that both of my purple teams are no longer undefeated.
"American made, White Trash raised, and Bad Ass engraved"
Chilly's call
What the Steeler’s players said later about a statement was true, with the Vikes having 4 cracks at running the ball less than a yard with a ProBowl Guard and ProBowl RB, and choosing to pass, Chilly is saying he doesn’t trust his team to get the job done. Being the best is about pride, and believing you can get the job done. If I was Hutch, Big Mac, or AP I would have been pissed for the lack of respect their own coach showed them, and the loss of face the entire team suffered when Chilly took the low road. That is the diff between Chilly and the top coaches, they have the cajones to risk it all to show they can shove it down the throats of the opposition. How much shame can a team take not having their own coach back them up? They should have run it until they punched it in, changing up the run play to where they didn’t expect it, but not letting up until the job was done.
Or...
the Steelers are that good against the run in the Red Zone and you take your points and try again.
I BELIEVE...
by ArizonaVikingsFan on Oct 26, 2009 5:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Agreed
Whether the Vikings could have done it or not is moot; we were never given the chance because Chilly doesn’t believe that AP or CT could have run the ball in from less than 1 yard, behind Mt. McKinney and Hutch. That says a lot about his confidence in the ‘run-first’ offense.
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!
agreed but
I’d like to see more creative ways of getting the ball to Peterson on the goal line than your typical dive up the middle. The one he scored on, for instance, was a little tricky in that it involved a pulling guard (a bold move on the goal line). An inside draw in a 4 receiver set? A counter? A screen maybe? I know these are not typically goal line plays but with teams keying on a dive up the middle, they are an important part of keeping defenses off balance.
We sent the message that Ryan Clark stated, but I don’t think it was on purpose. I think we wanted to try some play action to take advantage of their focus on Peterson and we didn’t run good routes or send out good receivers.
4 shots inside the one
with the best running back in the world. You not only run four times, but you call a timeout and walk over to the Steelers huddle. You say we’re running the fucking ball between the best goddamn guard in the NFL, the best goddamn tackle in the NFL, and our fullback will knock the ever loving piss out of anyone who wants to try and be a fucking hero.
If anyone manages to lay a hand on said best running back in the whole world, your next cognizant memory for that person will be about a week from now, when you wake up in the hospital with amnesia and tubes in your arms.
Good luck.
That’s what you do on 1st and goal from the one.
"We're used to Favre-a-palooza now. We're engulfed in Favre-a-palooza. It's not even Favre-a-palooza anymore. He's family now."
--Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe, on Brett Favre
by Ted Glover on Oct 26, 2009 8:14 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Yeahhhh!
Now that’s what I’m talking about! If we can’t get a yard with Purple Jesus and four chances, then God bless ‘em for stopping us, and we don’t deserve to win against a defense that dominating.
by Eric J. Thompson on Oct 27, 2009 5:00 PM CDT up reply actions
I’m certainly one of those guys who swears by the mantra of “put the ball in the hands of your best players” but that doesn’t necessarily mean run it into the line with Peterson 3 times. Knowing how hard they’re cuing on Peterson, how about a halfback pass? Or some other way to use the threat of Peterson without being predictable?
Shiancoe is our biggest redzone receiving threat imo, so why no tries to him? Oh well, I still feel that we outplayed them and that our defense was impressive against a team that had been having it’s way with everyone else so it’s not the worst loss.
A little more creativity wouldn’t hurt Chilly thought.
MilCardFan
That was the best rant/true statement i’ve ever heard i think. COMPLETELY agree with you.
It also made me laugh quite hard if that counts for anything…
If T-Jack were the QB i guarentee it woulda been 4 straight runs…and i guarantee we woulda scored. I realize Favre is a little bit different than T-Jack. (sarcasm :)
Bottom line: We need to ride our horse…and our horse is Adrian Peterson. If he doesn’t get at least 20-25 carries this week then something is wrong.
Thanks
I just think if you can’t score with four shots from inside the one with AD and a $100 million dollar offensive line, you’re a pretender. AP would’ve willed himself in.
Hell, line Pat Williams up as a lead blocker a la the Fridge. Bet he’d blow a hole wider than any C4 charge could.
Just sayin’…
"We're used to Favre-a-palooza now. We're engulfed in Favre-a-palooza. It's not even Favre-a-palooza anymore. He's family now."
--Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe, on Brett Favre
1st and goal
The goal when you have the ball first and goal is to score a touchdown. Now if you’re the Steelers, in your mind who do you think is going to get the ball? That’s right AP is getting the ball, so key the whole team on stopping him, wherever he goes. So if you’re the Vikes, the best way to score here is a play action to AP and either a quick toss to the TE or a jump ball to Rice. We made the correct call on the toss to Kleinsasser, but he just couldnt hold on. And when we got to 4th down, we just had to take the points. It doesnt matter that you dont think they will go 99 yards down the field. They only have to go 30 yards and then punt, and now you get the ball on your own side of the field, and come away with no points. The right call was to take the 3 points..early in the game and not knowing how the remainder of the game is going to transpire. As it turns out, we had several chances to win the game, but the ball didnt bounce our way. They got the breaks and made us pay. I feel we played a great game except for the last minute and 1/2 of the first half. We had just shut down one of the top rated offenses for nearly the full half, and we then allow them to march down the field and score. Stick with what worked so far and make them beat you straight up. Other than that we played well and look forward to stomping on Rodgers in Green Bay.
YOU can't win
Last week, I bitterly complained about Childress not going for the TD against Baltimore. That resulted in the Ravens having the opportunity to win with a field goal.
Three staight running plays.
This week, he should have run it three times. Lets face it, the coach is ALWAYS wrong…..unless he scores. period.
Apples and oranges situation, though
Chilly was wrong on both counts. Against Balt, it was Favre that had the hot hand, and they needed 8 yards (I think) to convert. It wasn’t a given that the Vikes would’ve passed for the first down, but the chances of converting were better than three straight running plays that the Ravens were looking for. Against the Steelers, you need 18 inches. 18 inches!!! You have the best RB, the best LG, and a quality OT. Oh, and a punishing blocker in Jim Kleinsasser who can knock anyone on their ass. So you throw a pass to…Jim Kleinsasser?
Really?
Look, I said at the beginning of the year I’d try really hard not to bag on Childress. He’s taken a bad rap in a lot of ways, and for the most part he’s turned in his checkers for pawns, rooks, bishops, and knights during the weekly chess matches, but he still gets too conservative in critical moments.
When you’re at home and your defense is reeling, you play for the knockout, not the FG and pray strategy. When you’re on the road, you play to win and impose your will on arguably the most physical team in football.
In either case, you don’t play not to lose. And he did twice, and got fortunate once.
Really?
"We're used to Favre-a-palooza now. We're engulfed in Favre-a-palooza. It's not even Favre-a-palooza anymore. He's family now."
--Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe, on Brett Favre
It wont happen
But we need to get rid of Childress….That has been my wish since his 1st yr with Vikings. Peterson and Favre will hoepfully win Superbowl in spite of Childress
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