Looking Forward to the Bengals
by Christopher Gates on Dec 10, 2009 7:56 AM CST
in Vikings 2009 Season
58 comments
There have been a couple of interesting developments over the course of the past couple of days leading up to the matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Minnesota Vikings. The first was the revelation from a Cardinals' "insider" the day after the Vikings' 30-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The rumor has been circulating that the Cardinals knew whether the Vikings would be passing or running the football based on the stance of left tackle Bryant McKinnie. If McKinnie put his left foot farther back, the Cardinals anticipated pass. . .if it was farther up, they looked for the run.
While this might have something to do with some of the success the Cardinals had against Minnesota, I still think it's quite a bit of hand-wringing over nothing. Honestly, are we to believe that if there was such an obvious tell from the Vikings' offense, it took professional football coaches until Week 13 of the season to exploit it? I doubt it. . .the Vikings' offense would have been getting overrun since September if that were the case. I think what we saw on Sunday night doesn't have anything to do with stances or anything else. It had to do with the Cardinals putting together their best game of the season, the Vikings playing their worst game of the year, and those two events coinciding on the same Sunday night. Do I think the Vikings would get whipped that badly if they had to face the Cardinals again? Not at all. Arizona still might win the game, mind you, but I don't think they'd dominate the Vikings the way they did on Sunday night. Obviously, I'm a bit biased, and your mileage may vary on such matters, but that's my view of things.
Second, as Anthony pointed out in a FanShot yesterday, Chad Ochocinco is already at it, telling Adam Schefter via Twitter that when he scores against the Vikings. . .and you'll note his usage of the word "when" as opposed to "if". . .he was going to take the horn away from the Vikings' mascot and use it himself.
(Do we tell him that the horn sound that plays after first downs is pre-recorded, or do we just let him look for the horn for about half an hour or so? If. . .not when. . .it happens, mind you.)
The problem with Ochenta y Cinco telling us what's going to happen "when" he scores is a bit of a laugh, given the recent inconsistencies of the Cincinnati offense. Back in Week 7 of the season, the Bengals hosted the Chicago Bears. . .and scored on their first seven offensive possessions (6 touchdowns and a field goal) on their way to a 45-10 victory. Then they went on their bye, which was apparently badly timed. Why? Because in their five games since coming back from their bye week, the Bengals offense has put up the following results:
vs. Baltimore - 17 points
@ Pittsburgh - 18 points (4 FG and a touchdown on a 96-yard kickoff return)
@ Oakland - 17 points (and a loss)
vs. Cleveland - 16 points
vs. Detroit - 23 points
Those last three games were against teams that are in the bottom quarter of the NFL in scoring offense. The Vikings had a few easy games prior to their trip to Arizona, don't get me wrong. . .but they won those games rather convincingly, while Cincy has struggled a little bit.
That's not to say that the Bengals offense doesn't have talent, because it does. In their past three games, they've had three different running backs rush for over 100 yards. . .former Bear Cedric Benson, Chiefs refugee Larry Johnson, and rookie Bernard Scott (he of the 96-yard kickoff return mentioned above). But Carson Palmer has had a bit of trouble finding his rhythm since throwing for five touchdowns in the rout of the Bears, and the Cincinnati offense is only 21st in the NFL in passing in terms of yardage. The Bengals predicate everything they do offensively on their ability to run the football. . .which is good for the Vikings, who have moved up to #3 in the NFL in rush defense after getting off to a slow start earlier in the year.
The Bengals are one of the two teams that has been better against the run than the Vikings have, as they currently sit at #2 in the league in that category, allowing 81.8 yards/game on the ground (Minnesota allows 84.2 ypg). The Vikings really, really got away from the run in their last game against Arizona, and definitely need to get back to it. Domata Peko, the Bengals big run-stopping force, will miss this Sunday's game after having arthroscopic knee surgery, so the Vikings might find the sledding a bit easier, but the Bengals' defense has been fierce all season long, and have currently allowed the fewest points in the National Football League. Getting Adrian Peterson established early, with a nice dose of Chester Taylor thrown in, would certainly make the Vikings' efforts easier. I'd look for a lot of Visanthe Shiancoe in this game as well.
The Bengals game could serve as a tipping point in either direction for the Vikings' season. If they can come out and get a victory over the team that has all but sewn up the AFC North, it can serve to put the Arizona game out of mind and put it down as an isolated bad performance by the Vikings. If they lose, however, it could be the start of a spiral that the Vikings don't want to be on heading into the post-season. It should be an outstanding game in any case, and we'll have more on it as the game approaches.
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This game makes me nervous
Because as you say it could either be a new stepping stone into the post season, or a tragic fall from grace…
I hope the players want this win as much as I do.
But hubris is good with chicken
Wait, I mean hummus. Never mind…
"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
A winning record season team!
This game will be big! The Bengals hold the AFC North & the Vikings hold the NFC North. Both teams will be pushing for a win to secure a #2 seed for play-offs.
The Bengals seem to be in the situation the Vikings were in last week. Coming off of a few easy wins to have a hard game on the road. Now they are going to play a team that their last game was a disappointing loss. Any of this sound familiar?
We just beat up the Seahawks & the Bears with ease coming off of a nice win streak to finally have a hard game, yet it was on the road. The 49er’s had just lost that previous week to a last play TD pass from the Titans.
Now some of the differences from our past easy games & the Bengals easy games are simple. Bengals didn’t win their easy games with a lot of the points on the game, they did it by holding up on their defensive side.
Bears & Lions games – low points on the scoreboard
If the Vikings can get 28 points or more on the scoreboard, I believe we will win.. Bengals remind me of the Ravens.. Great defense, but can’t do too much offensively. This could be an ugly game like how the Packers & Ravens game went with everyone knowing that they are playing for something important.
I think if we win this game, it could create the momentum, the self-confidence, to roll into the playoffs with wins.
This will tell us
if we are going to make a legit shot at the title. We just got steamrolled by an inconsistent but talented team. We have now taken a punch in the face called adversity, it’s all about how we overcome it. Something about this veteran locker room tells me they will, but we will find out for certain come this sunday. The Bengals are a team that no one has given a chance, and they’ll likely win the AFC North (still weird for me to say), so they have a chip on their shoulder, and are playing like bitter underdogs all season. They’ll be no pushover, I really don’t know if we’ll win this game. It’ll be interesting to watch.
If we lose, I’ll start worrying about our chances in the playoffs…
Bengals have taken the Top before
But normally the Steelers have taken the WC and gone deeper in the playoffs.
They don’t have the explosive offense like the Cardinals do. But their defense is just as good.
If we get 25+ points on the board, I believe this will be our game if our defense doesn’t collapse.
Total agreement with CDUB's post
Well said, sir. +10
Update on EJ
He’s flying home to MN today. Erin stayed with him the whole time, and Erin had some really good things to say. He told media that EJ has good spirit and is going to “watch the vikings make a push for the super bowl”. He’s also quoted saying that the injury wasn’t as bad as it could have been, that that he’s confident EJ will be back on the field.
Let’s hope he’s right.
Sweet
I hope he mentored Jasper well. I’ve heard good thing about Jasper and I am not too concerned with the absense of EJ as I once was. I hope EJ is able to return next season at 100%
Comparisons
Vikes Cincy Advantage
Secondary- Good Receivers- Avg. Vikes
D-Line- Very Good Rush – Very Good Push
O-Line Average D-Line – Good Cincy
Pass Rush- Very Good Passing- good Vikes
Passing- Very Good Pass Rush- Fair Vikes
Rushing – Good D-Line – Good Push
Sp. Teams- Very Good Sp.teams- Good Vikes
Plus Vikes have home field advantage
All in all I say the Vikes by one touchdown
This is a piece of junk comparison. I’m sorry you wasted your time.
by MISUNDERESTIMATED on Dec 11, 2009 3:11 PM CST up reply actions
Sorry about the bad spacing
That post was suppose to be in three colums. The spacing was awful, sorry.
chad johnson.
please all i want for Christmas is chad (ocho stinko) to get no touchdowns this week.just saw his interview he is good for football?i guess hitler was good for gemany.lol go get him vikes.and i think he would be making a mistake trying to get the horn .the vikings mascot looks like he would eat chad.. humm that might be a good thing.lol
The ‘lol’ makes anything ok. haha. I disagree…I think the NFL could use more OchoCincos. He never gets into legal trouble, donates quite a bit to charity, never makes his antics personal or harsh, and always brings a levity to his humor. Play on
by Jepp The Viking on Dec 10, 2009 12:09 PM CST up reply actions
Agreed.
I find OchoCinco pretty entertaining. Hitler, however…erm, bad comparison.
"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all." -Earl Weaver
Agreed
Comparing ANYONE to Hitler is a horrible comparison
Except Packer fans
Because as this video proves, Hitler was a Packer fan. And an upset one at that.
I keed, I keed
"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
I mean this video
"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
Ahahaha.
Wonderful.
"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all." -Earl Weaver
chad ochocinco
is an incredibly avant garde artist.
he planned on making it to the nfl, getting good enough at football so people had to care a little bit who he was, then changed his name to the rifdiculous ‘ochocinco’
now i get the immense pleasure of hearing the bryant gumbels of the world say ‘ochocinco’ every sunday. its amazing how committed this guy is to turning the ‘no fun league’ on its ear. and i applaud him for it. this is entertainment, after all. and chadwick is probably my favorite non-viking. (with the possible exception of randy ’straight cash homie" moss, who may count as a viking)
Lurking since 2006
by boyonthedock on Dec 11, 2009 3:45 AM CST up reply actions
Coming from a loss...
Depending on how well we play this game….
Will depend on how the rest of our season will come to be.
If we give another AZ Cardinal performance, we may be in trouble. However, if we give a great performance and play well, that’ll prove a lot. Win or Lose.
I still considered the Steeler game to be a good game, despite the turnovers. We played some of our best ball yet. Big Ben didn’t have much of a game, and our defense held up very well. I hope to see the same this game. It will be tough to put up points on the board, but, I think we’ll do alright in that category.
Yep....
Bet on it…
Vikes by 14….and we get over 30 pts….
Cinci D be damned….
We are out for blood!!!!
OK maybe a BIG W, w/no blood?
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
I would rather be IN the Arena than watching from the stands...That is my life!
* Read Teddy Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" if you need further explanation...
by vikingfanfrom afar on Dec 10, 2009 11:45 AM CST up reply actions
AZ Cardddzz
One thing I find similar to both the AZ Cardinal game & the Pittsburgh Steeler game. It really came down to injured players on whether they were going to play or not.
For the Steelers, it was Pohlamu.
For the Cardinals, it was K. Warner
For us, it was Winfield both times. I know back then, we were anticipating a return of Winfield as a possibility.
How bad is our injury report looking as of now?
Yesterday had
13 players on report. THIRTEEN! All starters or sub package starters.
by Jepp The Viking on Dec 10, 2009 1:44 PM CST up reply actions
Status's?
I know that there were alot. But how serious were they?
Is everyong probably Questionable? Probable? Doubtful?
Just wondering how minor to serious the injuries were.
According to Access Vikings
Only T. Johnson and Percy missed practice today. Johnson- concussion..who knows and could go tomorrow if it clears up. Big if though. Percy- Illness, which has always meant migranes in the past. I’m sure he’ll be fine.
Everyone else went at least part of today. Better than yesterday.
by Jepp The Viking on Dec 10, 2009 3:07 PM CST up reply actions
Wooohhh...
That is good to hear…
Woudln’t want to play a game w/o P. Harvin, but he has played in games after being injured in the past. That day off w/ the illness may just be enough to help him out big.
I, for one,
Wouldn’t minde seeing what Jamarca Sanford has, can’t be any worse than T. Johnson. Can he?
by Jepp The Viking on Dec 10, 2009 3:08 PM CST reply actions
Who knows...
Sometimes these 2nd stringers are just itching to get out & play and go all out. Give themselves a name, or, prove that they are worthy so they can lengthen their contract and get more $$$.
Sometimes, people should almost fear some of the 2nd stringers the worst. That’s one reason why I am expecting Jasper to replace EJ so well. I think he’s going to go all out as if he has something to prove. I hear he hits very hard!!! EJ has been mentoring him, so I believe he’ll feel right at home soon enough.
I was mostly concerned w/ our O-line.
If we don’t have time to pass, we may not get much passing done!
O=Line will be fine
The concern with them is more run blocking than pass blocking. We had the wake up call. Now its time to go to work.
Skoal
by lifelongvike on Dec 10, 2009 3:59 PM CST up reply actions
More peace of mind
Glad to hear that the O-line is okay. I know we got pretty banged up in AZ.
Almost had to have Kleinsasser at Tackle I hear.
Wouldn’t that of been weird.
Too many 2nd stringers
means too many of your top line starters are hurt, and there’s a reason these guys are second string. For the o-line, it looks like Herrera will be back, and if Loadholt can’t go, Hicks can slide to RT, which I am fine with. Ryan Cook, I am NOT fine with.
Can Sanford play? I think he’s young and undisciplined. From what I remember, he was out of position more than he wasn’t, but Jaspar Brinkley looked fast and strong. Granted, these are snapshot impressions, but Tyrell Johnson starts because Tyrell Johnson is…better.
With Johnson probably out, and maybe Cedric Griffin, it’s really important that Winfield play if possible, because at this point Winfield at 85-90% is better than whatever is left at 100%.
"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
CINCY
This is a very hard hitting Physical team….I think more so than the Cards…It will definately be a grind it out game….We need and I mean Need Adrian to Get his head out of his AZZ….He is the best back in the game, and needs to get over his head trip…We have almost the same unit as we had last year and the majority of the indecisivenss is on our boy! If we can establish a dominant running game again, we can kiss our super bowl hopes goodbye…….I love my beloved purple dearly, and this is where CHILLY needs to earn that contract extension……SKOL
by PURPLEPUSSYEATER on Dec 10, 2009 4:15 PM CST reply actions
Too bad he already got his extension
From the only TRUE North division
by thewild_viking_twins on Dec 10, 2009 4:28 PM CST up reply actions
10-2
Our two losses were teams in the Superbowl last year…..
Remember that, we’ve been doing good and last year the AZ Cardinals were more dominant in the 2nd 1/2 of their season. It’s what helped them steamroll to thru the playoffs w/ the worst record out of all the playoff teams. I believe their record was 9-7, yet they went to the Superbowl! Did they win it? No – but they made it there. (Wild Card teams had better records than the Cardinals did….) <— That would mean that 6 of the Cards wins were within its own division and should of been considered easy games.
You really can’t count anyone out!!! — Cinci has had problems putting points on the board, so lets keep it that way.
Let’s get our offense going & we should come out with a nice big fat W
Cardinals more dominant
in the second half of their season last year?
Dude, they stunk closing out the season last year. They lost 4 of their last six, including ass beatings at the hands of the Vikes and New England. They went into the playoffs with zero momentum and had no one thinking they would do anything other than lose to the Falcons and go home.
But they got hot and came within one remarkable play of winning the Super Bowl.
"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
Should have clarified..
When I meant finished hot their 2nd half of the season, I meant for that to include the playoffs. I was viewing their whole season (including playoffs) as a whole season, and not seperating the two. Since they made it to the Superbowl, they finished out their games hot.. Except the last 1 of course.
One game does not a season make
Losing E.J. is far worse than losing the game. Our season is far from over but come playoff time it could be the difference between glory & heartbreak. Lets face it 12 teams make the playoffs but only 1 is going to be happy at the end. Of those 12 about half are pretenders & half are contenders. I do believe we are a contender. It really all boils down to playing our best come playoff time. The Saints & Colts could end up undefeated entering the playoffs.
If they don’t play their best or close to it they will be watching the SB instead of playing in it. It’s a crap shoot. Even if the Bengals came in and put a whipping on us it really doesn’t change anything other than our confidence in our team. I’m just hoping Favre can step up along with a host of talent on this team when it counts the most. If we do that then we will be fine. If we play well and lose then we really weren’t the better team.
Undefeateds!!!
As of now, I would not put my $$$ on a the two 12-0 teams going to the Superbowl…
W/ the Colts barely playing any teams w/ over a .500 record & the Saints nearly losing to a team that was a bottom barrel team last year, they are overrated
Vikings are 10-2, but they have losses to the Steelers (Who were all healthy and playing hot at the time) and the Cardinals (Who had one of their best games… )
If our only two losses were from the previous year’s superbowl, can we really complain??
Some of us are so used to winning we forget that we are not perfect & can make mistakes.
I’m glad the pressure of losing is off our shoulders and we are reminded how it feels, so we know not to let it happen again.
Hey Deek you missed my post
The 2 teams with the best records in each conference have not faced each other in the Superbowl since 1994. It bodes well for one of them getting there but not for both.
I'd bet.....
Neither of them make it there over both of them making it there.
I also highly doubt both of them will go undefeated in the regular season.
They have yet to play any real contenders.
Redskins were at the bottom of their division last year, just as the Saints were, and they nearly beat them in OT.
With the Colts, they are a team you can really predict that they are going to pass frequently. Eventually a team will strategize correctly and beat them. (Patriots almost did, and they have been struggling on the road this year..)
Winfield!!
Will play this week!!! Or fail to do so!!!
Mt. McKinnie's foothills
The position of one OL’s foot on run vs. pass plays is a small detail that could have been overlooked by several teams, or it may have been a bad habit that started recently.
I am surprised that the Cards blabbed about it since it takes away the advantage they would have had going into a possible playoff game vs. the Vikes. It would have made more sense to e-mail that covertly to the Vikes’ remaining schedule if at all.
I’m not surprised that this validates the theory that the Vikings were simply outcoached.
I agree that the McKinney tip off sounds a bit fishy. The bottome line is if you execute your blocks,routes, reads, and holes right it shouldn’t matter if they know what your doing.
Don't forget
This could of been a “TELL” that was considered during the game.
The grass was slippery!! The Cardinals maybe knew that, and assumed that as soon as a player was anticipating a pass-rush play versus a rush-block play they may have positioned their feet differently. McKinnie could of feared that lining his feet up normally on such slippery conditions that a pass-block may have but him on his back, or not effectively blocked.
Take that into consideration. This could be somethign McKinnie does not always do, but in this circumstance he did.
OchoDiko is a joke.
That’s all I wanted to say. He’s a clown. I don’t laugh with him – I laugh at him. The fact that the man sets up a fund for his NFL fines ahead of him…I mean, the disparity in class between him and Favre is like 0 and 1,000.
He’s a joke. I pray he gets pounded Sunday afternoon. Joke. Can’t even outrun a horse with half distance lead. Joke. SKOL FAVRE! SKOL VIKINGS!
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