That is how many times the Vikings passed on first downs vs. Cleveland.
Other things of note...
Deep passing attempts: 1/4 (counting a nullified play), but at least they tried. Brady Quinn was 3/7 with 2 TD and an INT (counting a nullified TD) on deep passes.
3rd down plays called on 3-and-outs:
* a short right pass for -1 yards to Chester Taylor on 3rd and 9.
* a handoff to Chester Taylor on 3rd and 1 for no gain.
* a short right pass for 10 yards to Chester Taylor on 3rd and 16.
* an incomplete short left pass to Chester Taylor on 3rd and 2 (from shotgun).
* incomplete short left pass from TJ to Berrian on 3rd and 9.
Other drive killers:
* shotgun incomplete short right to Kleinsasser on 3rd and 6.
* shotgun short middle shuffle pass to CT for -2 yards on 3rd and 15.
At least they (sort of) figured out that the Browns were expecting the Vikes to give or pass to CT short of the markers on most 3rd downs. I'll bet they try it over and over next time, too, though.
Short passes which resulted in a gain of 9+ yards: 5/17.
Really, when the key of one's offensive philosophy is to succeed less then 33% of the time, then it's probably time to try something else. 5/17 is generous since I counted 1 or 2 gains of 9 yards (and counted CT's 10 yard completion as a success even though the team needed 6 more yards on that 3rd down). The completion % on these passes is also much lower than one would expect of a practice (vs. a mediocre defense) which is supposed to generate excellent production, but doesn't. Some will say that the other 8x a short pass was completed for 8 or fewer yards should be considered successful, but that would only be possibly true on 1st or 2nd down, and the Vikings do not pass to set up the run even 1/2 of the time.
BOTTOM LINE: Yay, a win...but more should be expected of the offense, especially since the Vikings will play much better teams than Cleveland this season.
This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.
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